KATHMANDU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- As part of the campaign to rescue and rehabilitate people from the streets of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, around 750 people have been rescued in the past two months, according to authorities.
The campaign was launched by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) on Dec. 15 last year, coinciding with its 25th Metropolis Day, to make the city free from street-dependent people.
According to Hari Bahadur Kunwar, director of Urban Management Department at KMC, at least 749 people have been rescued and rehabilitated from different parts of the metropolitan so far.
"We rescue the street people and put them in our screening center first to identify the causes, their physical and mental health state and monitor them for few days. Then, either we reunite them with their respective families or provide them decent shelter in a humanitarian organization," Kunwar told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Kunwar said that among the rescued, 605 were males, 123 females and 15 children, while remaining few died in the course of treatment owing to their health problems.
"Majority of the rescued from streets are from 40-60 age group followed by 16-40 years old people, while we have minimal number of children," the official said.
Among the rescued people, majority have been reunited with their families, some are undergoing treatment at hospitals, some are in screening center while others are rehabilitated at a non-profit social organization called Manav Sewa Ashram based in Makwanpur, neighboring district to capital city.
The rescued people were found to be spending nights in the open space, mostly near the world heritage sites and corners of temples and religious structures. Some of them were orphans, disabled and also beggars, according to the official.
According to Article 126 of the General Code, which is known as Muluki Ain, street begging is prohibited in Nepal, and anyone found violating the rule may face a fine of Rs 30,000 (261 U.S. dollars) or jail term of at least 3 months or even both.
According to KMC, there is no exact statistics on how many people are currently living on streets of Kathmandu; however it informed that the major reason of people being dependent upon street is poverty and unemployment.
"We found that those who have been reunited with families are also back on the streets, while new ones are being added gradually. So, it's a tough task, but we are coming up with strong programs and strict plans," Kunwar said.
