Panaji, May 12 (IANS): Lamenting about the woes of street dwellers, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said there was a dire need to inculcate values-based education in younger generation in order to stop people from being abandoned who are then forced to live in the streets.

Sawant while inaugurating the two-day National Conference on issues of street dwellers, also stressed upon the need to take measures to curb this menace. He appealed to the experts to come out with strategies to deal with the situation.

"Basically what happens is that some families abandon mentally ill and old people, who are then forced to live on the roads. We need to change this picture and for that our government has already started the values-based education for the young minds, so that we don't see street dwellers after 25 years," Sawant said.

According to Sawant, if the value-based education is given to children, then in future they will not shun their parents.

He said that the Goa government was working for aged people through old age homes and also for orphans by supporting NGOs and their guardians.