PATNA: Some of the people seen with begging bowls in the state are literate and earn up to Rs 600 a day. They belong to different religions, castes and age groups but few of them hold ration cards. These findings have come out through a survey conducted in two districts - Patna and Gaya - under the state government's Mukhyamantri Bhikshavriti Nivaran Yojana (MBNY).

The recently-held survey conducted by an independent agency on pilot basis identified 2,356 beggars in Gaya and Bodh Gaya and 2,223 in Patna.

At least 15 of them are matriculates and one Intermediate pass in Patna and two matriculates in Gaya. In Patna, about 300 of them earn between Rs 200-600 per day and in Gaya, 18 beggars earn up to Rs 500 per day.

"Beggary is a compulsion as well as an attitude. The condition of beggars is totally inhuman and they struggle for their survival. They are deprived of all the needs that human beings require to lead a normal life," said Parveen Amanullah, minister of social welfare department, which has launched MBNY.

She said the state government introduced MBNY with the aim to protect and promote the rights of beggars by ensuring their care, protection, development, socio-economic and cultural empowerment through enabling policies and programmes. The state government has established 'Saksham' in the social welfare department for working on the issue of beggars. Saksham has been piloting MBNY since January 2012 and in Patna and Gaya districts, surveys have been completed where identified beggars have been provided MBNY cards, she said.

In Gaya, 87% beggars are Mahadalits and dalits and 179 differently abled, 53 leprosy patients, 105 are literate and most of them earn Rs 25 daily as alms. Of them, 1,509 are women and 847 are male, with the majority of them in the age group of 19-55 while 388 hold ration cards.

Most of these beggars are seen around the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya and Vishnupad temple in Gaya. Children can be seen everyday on the Mahabodhi temple premises running after foreign tourists and yelling, "No father, no mother, give me dollar."

In Patna, only 60 beggars are literate with one being Intermediate pass. Of the total 2,223 beggars in Patna, 1,514 are Hindu and 709 Muslim. The majority of beggars (945) belong to extremely backward caste and 280 to the scheduled caste. Only 302 are in possession of ration cards, while 300 beggars earn Rs 100 to 200 per day. A majority of them (1,531) earn a maximum of Rs 55.

The strategy under the scheme is de-addiction, basic education, vocational training and placement for employment and rehabilitation. The social welfare department sources said so far, 1,500 beggars have been issued ID cards, voter ID card for 114 applied to the Election Commission, 40 persons approved for Baba Amte pension and bank account of 35 opened and 1,500 are in reach of health services. A 50-bed male beggars' rehabilitation home has been started in Patna by an NGO, Nav Jagriti.

