PESHAWAR, Dec 2: The NWFP government has launched a three-year Kafala scheme at a cost of Rs6.5 million to provide vocational training to beggars and drug addicts in order to eliminate beggary.

This was revealed during visits by Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani to  a rehabilitation centre at Faqirabad and a welfare home and training centre for women at Hayatabad on Monday.

The chief minister said the government had worked out a strategy to eliminate beggary and rehabilitate the deserving beggars.

Strict action would be taken against the patrons of professional beggars, he said.

He said the government was committed to rehabilitating the addicts and deserving beggars by providing them education and job opportunities.

He said the police and other agencies had been directed to compile the data of professional beggars and take action against them. He said professional beggars would be sent to jails.

He said the men would be accommodated at the rehabilitation centre and women and child beggars would join the training centre at Hayatabad. He said the facilities at the centres would be doubled.

Provincial Zakat and Social Welfare Minister Hafiz Hashmat, MPA Kashif Azam Khan and District Nazim Azam Afridi were also present.