Recently, the Fatorda police went on a spree arresting beggars only to release several women beggars with children in the evening on the same day. The rest were reportedly sent to the Margao Railway Station.
The thought that comes to mind is why send them to the railway station? What happened to the shelter home for the homeless/destitutes and beggars that was proposed by the government?
In the 2017, a provision was made in the Budget for a shelter home by the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He garnered national attention by stating that Goa would be the first beggar-free State in the country. Alas, the story ended with that and there was no sign of the shelter home. Nobody also knows what happened to the funds that were earmarked for the shelter home.
During the start of the current pandemic, such people were in dire straits as there was no shelter home in sight.
We all know that the public is enemy number one of all welfare projects that are proposed by the government. Did the people also object to the shelter home in this case or was there another reason for it not to see the light of day?
Hope the authorities take note of the situation and at least make a new provision for a shelter home in the forthcoming Budget.
