Punjab cabinet minister Baljit Kaur
The Punjab government has intensified the campaign against begging children on the roads. Under this, the government has started Jeevanjot Project-2. 41 children have been rescued by raiding 18 places in only two days.
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However, the case of some children caught in Bathinda looks suspicious. In such a situation, the DNA test of those children will now be conducted to know whether they were with their real parents or not. Until the report comes, these children will remain in the child improvement home.
Warning to parents, gang punished severely
State Social Security Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur has said that if a parent forcibly begs his children, they will be explained first. If they do not agree, they will be declared an unfit guard. After this, the process of adopting their children can be started.
At the same time, people of a gang or racket involved in such work can be punished from 5 years to life imprisonment.
No clue of 57 children yet
The minister said that in the last 9 months, the government rescued 350 children for begging and they were linked to schools and other institutions. But 57 of these children have not been found to have any clue and their investigation is also going on.
Know the action of Punjab government so far in point:
1.Jeevan Jot Project: Baljit Kaur said that the Jeevan holding project was launched by the government in September 2024. Its purpose was to prevent children from begging on the streets, saving their childhood, connecting them to school and getting treatment.
2. 367 children were rescued in 9 months. A total of 753 were raided during this period. When our teams used to go, children and beggers used to run away, which did not get success many times.
3. Out of these children, 350 children were returned to their families. Of these, 150 children were from other states. There were 17 children whose family members could not be identified, they were kept in the Children’s Home.
4. 183 children were removed from begging and connected to schools. There were 13 children under 6 years of age, who were sent to the Anganwadi center.
5. 30 children were linked to sponsorship, who are given Rs 4000 every month so that they can study in schools and continue their studies. 16 children were given a pension of Rs 1500 a month. DCPO checks every three months whether children are regular or not. However, 57 children have been found missing from schools. A thorough investigation is being done in this regard.