A panel charged with getting beggars off the streets in Chonburi held its first meeting after passage of a landmark national law last year.
Samart Tiewpoonwong, director of Chonburi Culture Office, chaired the Feb. meeting of the Beggar Control Commission, which laid out its mission for the coming months.
The commission, established by the Chonburi Social Development and Human Security Department, came into being after enactment of the Beggar Control Act of 2016, which aims to provide beggars better protection and improve their lives so they can rejoin society and not return to the streets.
The department must now make an operational plan on how to do that and prepare a survey of the current beggar situation in the province.
A key part of the law requires the government to enlist the support of charity groups, NGOs and volunteers in their operation. (CPRD)
