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In a remarkable move to eliminate begging, a beggar rehabilitation centre located in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district is dedicated to making beggars 'Atma Nirbhar' under the 'Bhiksha Vriti Mukt Bharat Abhiyan' in the city.
The centre rescues beggars from the streets or religious places and reintegrates them into mainstream society by uplifting them and making them self-reliant through teaching various skill sets and courses. In view of the upcoming 'Raksha Bandhan' festival, which will be celebrated on August 19, the beggars are preparing 'Rakhis'. The centre has received a pre-order of 1 lakh rakhis, and the beneficiaries at the rehabilitation centre are engaged in making them. President of the NGO 'Pravesh', which runs the beggar rehabilitation centre, Rupali Jain, told ANI, "Under the Prime Minister's ambitious campaign 'Bhiksha Vriti Mukt Bharat' (Beggar Free India), we have been working for the last three years to make Indore a beggar-free city under the leadership of Indore Collector Ashish Singh. We rescue beggars from the streets or religious places and bring them to our rehabilitation centre. Our aim is to reintegrate them into mainstream society by treating them if they are sick, depressed, mentally ill, or addicted to drugs." Along with providing them with basic necessities--housing and food--the rehabilitation centre is also dedicated to their employment by teaching them various skill sets, she said. "We teach them different courses like sewing, making handicraft items, incense sticks, and rakhis. With these employment opportunities, we are working towards their upliftment and making them 'Atma Nirbhar' (self-reliant). We also work on seasonal festivals, like Raksha Bandhan, so we have received an order of one lakh rakhis, for which our beneficiaries are making thousands of rakhis every day," Rupali Jain said. After completing this order of rakhis, another order of one lakh rakhis will be received from the same client. In this way, they are being uplifted. Currently, 17 beneficiaries are engaged in preparing rakhis, and several others are engaged in making handmade items. Different types of rakhis made of cow dung, resin, and pearls are prepared here, she added. "Currently, there are around 50 people in the rehabilitation centre. Besides, under the SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) Yojana, we have trained them, and some have also secured jobs. A few are working in a paver block-making factory, and some are working with a sewing manufacturing unit. Those who want to start their own businesses are given training according to their interests. All of them were involved in begging and are now working in mainstream society," she said. (ANI)
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