79 professional beggars arrested across city in two days

The city administration has started a crackdown on professional beggars with 79 individuals arrested over the past two days.

According to a press statement issued by the Commissioner Office, all the deputy commissioners submitted reports on Saturday detailing their actions against professional beggars within their respective districts. South Deputy Commissioner Altaf Sario said the campaign in his district began in March, and so far 127 beggars had been arrested. In total, 205 beggars had been apprehended as part of this ongoing effort.

The Karachi administration has established rehabilitation centres to prevent beggars from returning to the streets. Various deputy commissioners have started identifying locations for these centres.

The commissioner has instructed the deputy commissioners to take effective measures to ensure that the beggars do not return to the public spaces, emphasising that citizens face inconvenience due to their presence at traffic signals, intersections and main roads.

East Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Abbasi stated that six professional beggars were arrested on Tariq Road. In District West, four beggars were arrested near the Qatar Hospital, and in District Keamari, 18 others were arrested at Ghareeb Shah Mazar, 34 in markets, and some more on Manghopir Road.

A total of 24 beggars were arrested in District Korangi, 18 in District Malir and nine in District Central.