-Narayan Dhungana
Kathmandu, November 21: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has decided to declare itself as the ‘Beggar-free Metropolitan City’. This declaration would be made on December 15 on the occasion of the 25th KMC Day. A meeting of the KMC Executive on November 19 took the decision to this effect, KMC mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya said. KMC would become the second ‘beggar-free metropolis’ after this declaration.
Before this, Bharatpur Metropolitan City has declared itself beggar-free metropolis on October 26. According to the mayor, Shakya KMC will lead this initiative and the Manav Sewa Ashram will manage it. The Ashram is a social organization that is working for rescuing the helpless, mentally ill and the destitute who live by begging in the streets, providing them with food and shelter and giving them health care.
It has also been reuniting those whose families have been identified with their families. The Ashram is working in this sector since the last eight years. KMC has been working together with the Ashram for the last two years. The metropolis has been supporting the Ashram by paying the rent of the building where the people rescued from the streets are sheltered, purchasing vehicle for the Ashram and construction of its building.
Mayor Shakya said the KMC will also collaborate with the other state agencies like the District Administration Office, Nepal Police and the statutory bodies of society and the media. He said the beggars and the destitute living in the street are being sheltered and looked after by officially declaring the metropolis a beggar-free city as the local government has the greatest responsibility of making the streets well-managed.
“We are going to run the campaign with the mission that no person should go hungry and no one should die due to hunger and by making a formal declaration. Although the number of such needy people has decreased, still there are some people living in the street and begging. We will make arrangements for sheltering, feeding and providing medical care of such needy people,” mayor Shakya said.
The metropolis has a plan to take appropriate decision by forming a committee in case of any problems in the management of beggars. Manav Sewa Ashram State 3 Coordinator, Suman Bartaula said it would be possible to manage the beggars if the state was forthcoming and the local level provided the necessary guardianship.
The Ashram, which has its presence in 16 places of 14 districts of the country, has so far rescued about 2,000 such needy people and reunited 600 of them with their families. There are currently around 800 such destitute people under its custody. RSS
