Beggars abound in streets

Rawalpindi : It is 9 am, and Rizwan Ali driving his car on the Kali Tanki Road comes to a halt at the traffic intersection. As he waits for the traffic signal, he is hassled by a horde of unkempt haggard haggard-looking beggars screaming at the top of their voices, “Sir, the child is crying for milk, please give one rupee, Sir. After a while, the beggars switch over to “Give me one rupee, my child is feeling hungry.

“Well, this is a common sight at all busy traffic signal intersections and the trend seems to evolve with each passing day. Today, one can find them at just about every place; from religious places to bus and railway stations, shopping malls, hotels, parks, flyovers, etc., says Rafiq Hussain. “Loath it or pamper it, you are bound to be greeted by adult or kid beggars with some kind of injuries or the other - burn marks all across their faces, bruises here and there, impaired limbs. Wearing tattered clothes and carrying an emaciated infant on their shoulders, flaky tears roll down from their eyes as they plead mercilessly for a dole,” adds Rafiq.

“You are either touched or irritated by the sight. Braving the hot sun or pouring rain or biting cold, these weather-beaten human souls are either pursuing begging careers on their own or toeing the line of some mafia gang involved in the field of begging,” says Shafqat Ali. “It is a pathetic sight to see these beggars haggling the whole day long for some rupees only to get barely something to feed themselves. However, at the same time, I have witnessed that many of them resort to beggary as an easy profession. They look fine and also feel fine, but are lazy and as such seek the easy way to make some quick money,” says Akbar Zaidi.

“Most of the motorists, who wait impatiently revving up their engines for the traffic signal to light up, are not touched by the persistent pleas of the beggars. Some tuck into their pockets and hand over a few rupees to the persistent beggar, while others give a smirking look to show their annoyance,” says Wafa Naqvi. “Regarding the favored begging spots, 34% found religious places to be a lucrative spot, followed by footpaths 15%, commercial centers 12% and traffic junctions 8%. Around 41% of the beggars lived on pavements, 11% under bus shelters, 15% in railway stations, and the remaining in parks,” says Sanya Haider.

Murtaza Ali says, “The beggars include males 55.5%, females 44.1% and eunuchs 0.4%. Most of the beggars belong to weaker sections. Around 21% of beggars earn above Rs. 2,000 per day, while 47% make between Rs. 900 to Rs. 2,000 pm and the remaining 30% earn less than Rs. 900 a day.”