The women, whose children are between six months and two years old, were seen begging near major centers such as the clock tower in Nalgonda, Ramgiri, the bus station and the NC college area
Published Date – Sat 25 Mar 23 06:33pm
A group of women and children beg together at the Ramagiri Center in Nalgonda.
Nalgonda: The number of women begging on the streets of Nalgonda with their children is increasing.
Every morning around 20 to 25 women from the Kanagal and Gurrampode districts arrive in Nalgonda and start their businesses while law enforcement authorities turn a blind eye. The women’s children, aged between 6 months and 2 years, with a thick cloth wrapped around their shoulders, were seen wandering around major centers such as the Clock Tower, Ramgiri, the bus station and the NC College area in Nalgonda.
Once they manage to get people’s attention, they try to gain sympathy by begging for money “to buy milk to feed the children”.
Telangana Today, convener of People’s Action for Creative Education (PEACE) K Nimmaiah, said there was a need for a special law to help these children recover. Existing laws do not adequately address the problem, and authorities have failed to stop the practice.
B Venkat Ratnam, a former member and advocate of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), said women use children as an easy way to earn money. Many of these children were found in a state of intoxication after being forced to drink palm wine by the women. In addition, it is unclear whether the women holding the children were their biological mothers. People should not encourage them by donating money, he added.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) K Ganesh said Childline teams had delivered these women and children several times before CWC. After a written pledge not to use their children for begging, the women would slowly return to the streets and start their businesses again.
“We are doing our best to stop the threat in accordance with the law,” he said.
