Hyderabad: Coordination meeting held for homeless dwellers in city

Hyderabad: As a precautionary measure to avoid any incidents involving homeless people in the city, Police Commissioner C V Anand conducted a coordination meeting with authorities of various government departments and prominent NGOs, working in the field, at the Command and Control Centre on Tuesday.

He discussed street dwellers and homeless persons. The day-by-day growing number of vagabonds in the city and the mentally challenged people and their involvement in various crimes was discussed extensively.

The meeting discussed a comprehensive action plan and decided to identify street dwellers and homeless, demented persons, rag pickers, drunkards and to give immediate shelter to those living on the streets; to streamline medical and mental health services; and to make suitable arrangements to prevent them from engaging in any crime.

The meeting decided to establish a geo-tagging system for local PS to identify places of worship and religious places in each police station area. Local PS sector SIs should establish good relations with the area committee members.

As a precautionary measure, CCTVs, compound walls, gates, and lock systems should be installed around prayer halls. Any suspicious mentally unstable person should be reported immediately to the local police, who will be checked at the local hospital and taken to a shelter home.

Anand said many incidents involving homeless people are taking place in the city limits; some are mentally retarded. “They are going to religious processions and places and causing distress; if not checked and restrained, there is a possibility of disrupting law and order,” he said.

Officials of all departments have expressed their willingness to work together to formulate a comprehensive action plan, keeping in mind the city’s growing population.

Dr Soumya Mishra, DGP, Prisoners, Correctional Service, Vikram Singh Man, Additional CP (Law and Order), Y Murali Babu, IG Prisoners, Ramadevi, Director, Social Welfare, VB Kamalasan Reddy, IGP, Drug Control Administration, P Vishwa Prasad, Additional CP Traffic, Mohammed Sadan Zeb Khan, DIG Railways, besides officials from TG RTC, RPF, GHMC, Medical & Health, Women & Child Welfare, Revenue, Prohibition and Excise, Public Health, Horticulture, Mental Health Hospital, Erragadda, and all zonal DCPs and Task Force officials attended.