The ministry of social justice and empowerment working with municipal corporations across 10 states reached out to over 1.27 crore destitutes, beggars and homeless persons with meals at feeding centres set up during the the first phase of the 21-day lockdown The ministry has also been working on introducing a comprehensive scheme for rehabilitation of those engaged in beggary in these 10 cities in these states. Data is being collated to enable the outreach once the Covid-19 pandemic subsides and normalcy is restored.The rehabilitation scheme seeks to wean off persons engaged in the act of begging. The outreach will involve identification, rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development with the support of state governments, local bodies and voluntary organisations. Under the scheme, 100% assistance will be provided by MoSJE to the state and Union Territories for its implementation.When the lockdown came into effect for the first 21 days, the ministry decided to reach out with assistance to the destitutes on the streets in ten cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna and Indore where the comprehensive scheme for rehabilitation of beggars is to be implemented. Through feeding centres, the ministry and the municipalities have been able to reach out with meals to 75 lakh in Delhi, 14 lakh in Bengaluru, 9.8 lakh in Mumbai, 8.4 lakh in Indore, 7 lakh each in Hyderabad and Lucknow, 3.5 lakh in Chennai, 1.3 lakh in Kolkata, 8,000 in Nagpur and 5,000 in Patna."In the current circumstances facing the country in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, and the resulting lockdown all over the country, it was feared that many people currently engaged in begging, vagrants would be facing serious difficulties resulting in starvation. In view of this, municipal corporations of ten cities were instructed in the wake of lockdown to set up feeding centres for providing free cooked food for the persons engaged in beggary with immediate effect," MoSJE said in a statement. This arrangement was also seen as a space to identify people who could be brought under rehabilitation projects in the future.