The bustling traffic intersections of Guwahati have undergone a disturbing transformation, becoming makeshift hubs for child begging. This alarming trend sees young children, often carrying even younger siblings, swarming around vehicles whenever traffic comes to a halt.
A City Struggling with an Influx of Young Beggars
According to official data from the social welfare department, the city is grappling with nearly 1,000 child beggars. The situation is highly fluid, with the number constantly changing as more children arrive from other states including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Bihar, as well as from neighboring districts like Kamrup, Morigaon, and Barpeta.
Santosh Kutum, the Kamrup (Metro) district social welfare officer, confirmed that daily rescue drives are conducted. "We conduct daily rescue drives and children are sent to shelter homes," he stated. However, he highlighted the core of the problem: the city's shelter homes have a capacity of just 50 beds, a number woefully inadequate to address the scale of the crisis.
Why Rescue Efforts Are Failing on the Ground
Even with more than 300 children rescued this year alone, the visible situation on Guwahati's streets remains grim. The existing child protection system is severely overstretched. The city's child helpline services are crippled by a severe shortage of manpower and vehicles, which forces partnering NGOs to delay or significantly scale down their rescue operations.
Kutum emphasized the need for a more sustainable solution. "We need larger institutions with vocational training facilities so these children can earn a livelihood instead of returning to begging," he said. This cycle of rescue and return is a major challenge, as many rescued children either flee from their homes or are taken away by their parents, only to reappear at new begging locations across the city.
Commuters Harassed and Safety at Risk
For daily commuters, this phenomenon is more than just a unsettling sight; it poses a constant risk of accidents, endangering both the children and motorists. Key begging hotspots identified across the city include:
- Ulubari
- Six Mile
- Fancy Bazar
- Pandu
- Jalukbari
- Paltan Bazar
Commuters report that Fancy Bazar and Ulubari are the worst-affected areas. Biraj Kashyap, a regular commuter, shared his frustrating experience. "I frequently encounter children demanding alms. If I refuse, they sometimes shout slurs. It feels like harassment," he said. Roadside shopkeepers have echoed these concerns, alleging that some individuals resort to theft and can turn aggressive when confronted.
Meanwhile, the role of the city police has remained largely limited. They are primarily involved in providing vehicles for operations or forwarding rescued children to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), leaving the social welfare department and NGOs to manage the overwhelming core of the problem with insufficient resources.
