New Delhi, October 03: Beggars in the national capital have done the vanishing act! Almost all roads and temples complexes are now looking beggar-free and hawkers selling balloons, magazines, pens and cheap accessories at traffic signals have also quietly disappeared overnight without explanation.
While human rights activists and NGOs have blamed the Delhi government for forcing hundreds of beggars to leave the city or remain invisible till the Commonwealth Games are over, state officials have denied such allegations.
“We have confirmed reports that many of the poor were taken to railway stations, boarded on trains and sent to neighbouring cities. They were also told not to return to the city till the Games are over,” says Indu Prakash Singh of Indo-Global Social Service Society.
“Authorities have unleashed a state of terror among the poor, who have been criminalised for seeking alms,” Singh told PTI.