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The state government in Bihar has launched an ambitious project to help alter the socio-economic position of the state by providing stability and jobs to beggars across the state.

With the plan, the government aims to remove poverty from the state, by helping the poor with a choice of profession and consequently enabling their absorption into the society.

The State Society for Ultra Poor and Some Welfare, SAKSHAM, under Bhikshavritti Niwaran Yojna programme will ensure that beggars either get trained to become entrepreneurs or publicity managers for government run-programmes.

We are preparing a database of beggars. Soon after this process is completed, they will not only be provided employment but also shelter, social welfare minister Ashok Chaudhary told the media on Sunday. According to him, beggars will also be provided financial help to run their own business.

Until now, 18 beggars have been provided the financial support to run their own business. Each one was given the financial support of Rs10,000. They have also been provided Aadhar cards and regular bank accounts. However, the number of beggars showing interest in running business activities is very less.

Some of them wish to sell vegetables while others want to sell other items, a SAKSHAM official told Hindustan Times. He added that the agency has set a target to provide financial support to 100 beggars in Patna.

The project has been initiated in 12 districts of the state, such as Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Saran, Araria, Vaishal, Gaya, Nalanda, Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Purnia, Katihar and Araria. Ashok Chaudhary, the social welfare minister, said, there’s a plan to make Patna beggar-free by March 2021.

Randhir Kumar working with this project told the media on Sunday that they had identified 2,200 beggars in Patna but many of them don’t want to quit begging. We were able to convince some of them to start life afresh but some have become so used to this kind of living that they don’t want to switch to other jobs.

The agency reportedly has discovered among the beggars, multiple talents, which the agency says can be put to use for creating awareness amongst the poor about these government welfare programmes.

They may do street plays and motivate others to avail the facilities provided to them by the government, Kumar added.

Bhikshavritti Nivaran Yojna is run in 10 cities of the country and Patna has been made a part of this. The other cities covered under this project are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.