Begging

The following article published in TOI today needs attention. The other day another article came where a 'beggar' family owning a two storied house in Bhubaneshwar earns greater than Rs.25000 p.m. by beggging - the male member complaining that his wife has became lazy, else they could have earned more. They also lend money to traders. I also heard that there are begging syndicates which auction train, foot path etc. and other beggars are not allowed there. Today's article also says "begging is a punishable offence." Are we serious? Also, how to seek help when somebody is in distress and considers begging as the only option? Can the local youth organizations create a helpdesk and look at the merit of each case and act as a facilitator? They may approach local councillor, block development officer etc. - act as an interface between the needy and the Government. How to put a system in place?
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Nanny sedates baby, rents out to beggars in B’lore
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Bangalore: This would beggar belief. As soon as the parents would kiss their little one goodbye, the nanny would feed him and get him ready for the day — not one full of fun and frolic, but for begging on the streets of Bangalore. Instead of giving milk to the baby, she would feed him sedatives; instead of nice warm clothes his parents had picked, she would dress him up in rags. That’s not all. She would hand the baby to beggars for Rs 100 a day and stay back at her employers’ home, watch soaps and feed herself to her heart’s content. This is the chilling tale of a seven-month-old baby of a working couple, who — relying on their ayah recruited from an employment agency (hence considered safe) — found their child was being abused. The horrifying tale surfaced when the nanny was caught by the child’s mother — she works in an MNC — who returned home early one day. She saw the ayah sitting in front of TV, but the baby was missing. Taken aback, she confronted her, who confessed to renting the child for begging for the past three weeks. The parents realized why their baby was drowsy and inactive in the evenings — he was being sedated every day but for weekends when the couple would be home. Strangely, they have not lodged a police complaint. “The parents want to remain anonymous and don’t want to even talk about it,” a source said. They are reportedly planning to move abroad. It isn’t clear if the incident has forced them to take the step. According to State Children Commission officials, a suo motu case will be filed against the nanny. “We are trying to track the family and get more details of the crime. As begging is a punishable offence, stringent action will be taken against the culprit. The panel will meet on Friday to decide on the course of action.