Punjab: 41 child beggars rescued

Punjab: State authorities have rescued 41 children in the last two days under the Jeevanjot Project to root out the problem of child begging. The Punjab government has introduced DNA testing in suspected cases to ascertain whether the accompanying adults are the biological parents of the child. The first phase of the project began in September 2024, under which 367 children were rescued, the government said in a statement.

Of these, 350 children were reunited with their families, while 17 children, whose parents could not be identified, were sent to a child correction home, the statement said. Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Baljit Kaur said, “When we see children begging on the streets, not only does it hurt their dignity, but it also raises serious questions on the collective conscience of our society.”