Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): After Indore, now the campaign to free Ujjain city from beggars has intensified. On Tuesday, Mahakal police station police caught 25 beggars from Ramghat area. Similar action will be taken in other places of the city in future.

During the action at Ram Ghat, some beggars also protested against being taken away forcibly, but the police put everyone in a jeep and sent them to the rain shelter. Under the campaign, action will soon start in other parts of the city as well.

According to Mahakal TI Narendra Singh Parihar, the beggars will be kept in the rain shelter for now. Discussions are going on with Sevadham Ashram, where a decision can be taken to keep them permanently.

Collector Neeraj Singh said that under Mission Smile, rehabilitation arrangements will be made for beggars. With the help of NGOs, their accommodation, food and employment opportunities will be provided. The aim of this step is not only to make the city beggar-free, but also to give a better direction to their lives.

Under the Union government’s ‘Smile Project’, Ujjain was selected to make it a beggar-free city about a year ago. However, due to the lack of suitable rehabilitation centres for beggars, this scheme could not be effective till now. Taking inspiration from the success of Indore, this process has now been started in Ujjain as well, he added.