KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has rounded up 140 homeless people wandering the city in efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the on-going Movement Control Order (MCO).
Kuala Lumpur mayor, Datuk Mahadi Che Ngah, said the homeless are being housed at temporary shelters in Sentul Perdana and Setiawangsa here, until the end of February.
In early March, they will be brought to the Homeless Transformation Centre in Taman Desa (formerly Desa Water Park), where they will be assisted in securing employment.
"(There), they will be given skills training to prepare them for permanent employment to earn a living. The courses planned include basic skills for urban agricultural projects and other suitable skills," he said in a statement, today.
Last night, Mahadi participated in an integrated operation involving 95 personnel from the police, the Social Welfare Department, the Health Ministry and the Immigration Department.
Meanwhile, Mahadi said DBKL is looking into a comprehensive solution to tackle the problem of homelessness.
"We are looking into a more structured programme to facilitate management in terms of food distribution to this group by non-governmental organisations or private parties.
"It is not appropriate to go on with the current food distribution system in the city centre because besides the traffic congestion, it leaves a negative impact on municipal management," he said. - BERNAMA