Andhra Pradesh government offers beggars Rs 5,000 to stay away from river festival

RAJAHMUNDRY: The Andhra Pradesh government has come up with a novel scheme to keep beggars away from the crowded ghats where Godavari Pushkaralu is now being held — they've been told to take home Rs 5,000 as compensation for loss of income and steer clear of the once-in-144-year event.

The administration announced the scheme along with the promise of free food on condition that the beggars keep off the Mahakumbh of the south till July 25. But, a new problem confronts the Godavari Pushkaram Organising Committee (GPOC): hordes of people, and not all of them beggars, are queuing up for reparation.

More than 1,000 beggars have been seen thronging almost all the Pushkaram ghats, particularly the 17 main ghats in the temple town, since the beginning of the holy river festival on July 14.

According to rules of the government initiative, only beggars without ration cards and access to welfare schemes like the NTR Bharosa pension scheme are eligible to the largesse.

However, officials said they have seen many locals, who have ration cards and are beneficiaries of state government welfare schemes, posing as beggars to claim Rs 5,000.

East Godavari collector and GPOC member H Arun Kumar said chief minister Chandrababu Naidu took the decision to reimburse beggars to curb disruption that could be caused by them during the Pushkaram.

"So far, we've identified 200 beggars within the town, but surprisingly others are approaching us as well. We'll provide reimbursement to genuine beggars after verification at the end of the Pushkaram," said Kumar.

The committee is also running a check on the fingerprints of beggars and matching these with ration card data to ensure reimbursement claimants are not fake.

"The beggar reimbursement scheme is not new for Naidu. The government had used the same trick to shift beggars from Hyderabad to a rehabilitation centre during President Clinton's visit in 2000," a police officer said.

A beggar at Pushkar Ghat said, "I've no home or income and have been begging here for the past decade. I can't go from here to some other place. Moreover, the entire town is packed with pilgrims. I want to ask the government who is responsible for people like me seeking alms?"