School girls beg on holidays to support family

Guna, MP, Nov 20 (UNI) Despite the existence of multi-crore schemes for Dalit uplift and female education, two Dalit girls in this district are forced to beg on school holidays to feed dependent kin.

Meena and Tina, who hail from the sapera (snakecharmer) community and reside at Vinayak Khedi village 15 km from this town, beg here on holidays to support their brother and visually-challenged maternal grandmother. The girls' mentally unsound mother had been abandoned at Hussain Tekri village by relatives. The duo have never seen their father who deserted them in their infancy.

The community does not have much affinity for education. The girls told UNI that the Midday Meal Scheme at school was proving a boon. A day's mendicant earns about Rs 40 that was spent on purchasing wheat and vegetables. No social organisation has come forward to the girls' aid.

UNI