he Jakarta city administation is to launch a month-long operation to round up beggars and the syndicates employing them from the capital`s streets starting July 14, ahead of Ramadhan (Muslim fasting month), a spokesman said.
City public order officers would sweep the streets and nab all beggars they encounter, including people who keep and organize them, the head of the city`s social affairs office, Kian Kelana, said here Monday
Police detectives had already begun identifying and stalking existing begging syndicates which would be targeted during the cleanup operation starting July 14.
Most of the beggars operating in the capital under the control of the syndicates were children aged one to 18 years. When caught these children would be taken to five homes the city amdinistration had set up across Jakarta, he said.
Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation Urban Poor Consortium (IPC) said the city government`s plan to crack down on begging syndicates was commendable because these rings were exploiting poor people, children of poor families in particular.
However, merely arresting them would not solve the problem because what the poor people needed was jobs, IPC chief Wardah Hafidz said,
Therefore, she said, the Jakarta city admninistration should cooperate with the administrations of the regions the beggars came from and the central government in creating job opportunities for them so they no longer needed to come to the capital to beg
