Hyderabad: Operation Beggars, which was on in full swing before the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, has now been put on hold by all departments and it is as usual on city roads for beggars who must not be seen by foreign delegates lest all the hype spouted at the summit is proven to be less than true.
While the Telangana State Prisons Department launched Operation Beggars on October 20, 2017, other departments such as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the police department joined in 10 days before the Summit.
All departments deputed two special patrolling vehicles and special teams at police station level. Till November 20, Operation Beggars had shifted 212 male and 123 female beggars to Anand Ashrams, and shelter homes run by the prisons department.
The prisons department had announced on November 25, that Operation Beggars would be re-launched from December 1, but no such action is visible and gangs of beggars are back at all major junctions in the city.
G. Ramesh from Malakpet market said, throughout November Malakpet, Nal-gonda Chowrasta, Moosa-rambagh and Dilsukhnagar localities were free from beggars.
“From Sunday onwards, many beggars have begun appearing on roads and junctions. The operation was launched for making the roads beggar-free in view of the GES and as the programme has been completed, no department is focusing on it,” he said.
M. Ganesh, a retired defence officer from Gachibowli, observed that beggars were back at work at Cyber Towers Junction, Kothaguda and Gachibowli on Monday.
Organised beggar gangs can be seen again at Ranigunj, Begumpet, Secu-nderabad railway station, and Church at Mettuguda, Sangeeth Junction and at major temples in Secunderabad.
Vinoy Kumar Singh, Dire-ctor General of Telangana Prisons, said that as promised, city roads will be beggar-free by December 20. “We will launch the operation again. We stand by our promise to give '500 cash reward to those who pass us information on beggars after December 25,” he said.
