Whose Duty Is It to Rid the City of Beggars?
However, three years since the approval of the plan, beggars still roam the city's streets and are even increasing in number.
The head of the Welfare Organization, Mohammadreza Rah-Chamani, talking about the plan, said: "Beggars, runaways and stowaways should be removed from the streets of cities by Law Enforcement Forces on the order of the Interior Ministry, and given a common residence by the Tehran governor's office.
Pointing out the fact that most countries have programs on their cities' beggars, Rah-Chamani said that currently beggars are afforded health and counseling services by the Welfare Organization and that after they are counseled they are transferred to special places.
"It is our duty to give these people the chance to return to normal life in society. We should also open production lines where they can be employed productively in the near future, Rah-Chamani said.
The deputy for political affairs of the Tehran Governor's Office, Rezaei Babadi, said that the duty of his department is to coordinate with various organizations on matters affecting beggars.
Dr. Mo'tamedi, managing director of the social maladies unit of the Welfare Organization, said: "The capacity of centers providing homes to beggars is far less than their total number. For example, there are about 20,000 beggars in Tehran and one center for every 300. Obviously, they cannot meet the needs of the beggar population." Stressing that unemployment and poverty are the main factors that force people to beg, Mo'tamedi said that if there was a law which prohibited families from making their children beg in streets, the problem of child beggars would be eliminated." Acknowledging the shortage in national and city funds, Mo'tamedi nonetheless emphasized that a 100-billion-rial credit was needed just to gather these beggars and give them a place to stay in Tehran.