SANGSAD BHABAN, Oct 22, 2023 (BSS) - Social Welfare Minister Nuruzzaman Ahmed today said the government has so far rehabilitated 14,707 beggars in different professions.

"The social welfare department under the Social Welfare Ministry has rehabilitated some 14,707 beggars in sixty-four districts through the programme on 'Rehabilitation and Alternative Employment for the People Engaged in Begging", said the minister.

The minister told the parliament while responding to a query made by treasury bench lawmaker Morshed Alam of Noakhali-2 at the question-answer session which was tabled at the Jatiya Sangsad with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhruy in the chair.

The government rehabilitated these beggars in small business, grocery, tea shop, pan shop, raw material business, peanut selling, spices selling, wood selling, hawker, tailoring, cake making, egg business, poultry, livestock and employment with providing rickshaw/van training.

Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council under the Social Welfare Ministry has provided Taka one crore as grant in 2022-23 fiscal year in sixty-four districts and the grant also will be provided during this current fiscal.

The government has taken the programme for rehabilitating the beggars in 2010-11 fiscal.