Social welfare minister Dipu Moni told Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday that the government had no statistics on the number of beggars in Bangladesh.
She said that the government had taken a plan to create a database of beggars across the country.
The minister said this in response to a question of independent lawmaker Tahmina Begum in the question and answer session of the ongoing budget session of the parliament.
鈥楤egging will be eradicated by imparting various training and counselling to genuine beggars through accurate statistics,鈥� she said, adding that there are no accurate statistics on how many people without addresses live in the Dhaka city and depend on others for their livelihood.
鈥楧ue to river erosion, extreme poverty, diseases, illiteracy etc., some people are resorting to begging. But some unemployed people also choose begging as a way of easy income,鈥� the minister said.
Besides, some miscreants are begging under the guise of helpless people to serve their interests, she added.
In response to a question of AL lawmaker Mamunur Rashid, housing and public works minister RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury said that an updated list of unauthorised houses in the area under the jurisdiction of RAJUK in the Dhaka city had not been made.
He added that preparations to make an updated list of unauthorised buildings were in progress.