NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 18, 2003: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the officials of the Social Welfare Department of the Delhi government to visit four temples in the capital and report on the problems created by beggars and to suggest ways begging can be eliminated. The temples where the problem was at its peak were identified — Hanuman temple in Connaught Place, Sai Baba temple on Lodhi Road, Hanuman temple in Kashmir Gate and the Bairon temple near the Old Fort. Attorney Rajeev Awasthi told the court that there was an organized gang which brought the beggars to the temples on chosen days. “The beggars were earning US$100 to $125 every day at the temples,” he said. V.K. Shali, counsel for Delhi government, said the Social Welfare Department was doing its best to keep the beggars away from the public places and has been providing vocational training to relieve them from depending on alms.
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