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Oh you bugger! Kerala beggars are degree holders






KOCHI: Since last week, Das has been an inmate in ‘Theruvu Velicham’ – a shelter home at
Kakkanad. Police picked him up during a street brawl at Eramellor, Aroor, near here. An everyday police case that ends up as a mere footnote in crime files. Wait. This story has more layers The 50-year-old Das, native of a North Indian city which he struggled to name, is a post graduate degree holder. He was employed abroad. He is fluent in Hindi and English.



He is passionate about photography and knows the intricacies of Nikon cameras. But here he’s living the life of a mendicant.But Das is not alone in the ‘educated beggar’ club.



The statistics available with the Registrar General of India reveal that 41.3 percent of the beggars in the state are literate. As per the data, Kerala has 3,715 beggars on its streets and among them 1,533 are literate.



The statistics noted that 1,115 are literate but below matriculation level. While 198 are below graduate, 16 have technical diploma or certificates not equal to degree and 24 are graduates. Five persons hold technical degree and one among them is a female.





Murukan S Theruvoram, a social worker in Kochi, who is involved in the rehabilitation of street urchins and destitute, said addiction to drugs, liquor and extravaganza in life led many of educated persons to perdition. “I had rescued a person who was a graduate from BITS Pilani. Relatives abandoned him after he lost money while leading a lavish life. Some choose beggary to earn the kind of money that a daily job cannot land them. But educated beggars do not come under this category,” he said. As per the data, a beggar earns Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 a day. Officers with the Social Justice Department said it was difficult to assess exact number of beggars because of their floating nature.





According to the officials, 20 states and two Union Territories have either enacted their own anti-beggary legislation or adopted legislation enacted by other states. Preethy Wilson, social justice officer, Ernakulam, said the department has various programmes to rehabilitate the destitute.






Source:EastCostDaily
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