Beggars swarm city markets

Residents urge authorities to take action

RAWALPINDI:

With the onset of the fasting month, scores of professional beggars have thronged the garrison city from the surrounding areas to collect alms during the holy month of Ramazan – a time when Muslims give away the most in charity.

The menace has gone to the extent that the patience of residents is wearing thin and they are demanding of the authorities to rein in these supplicants who harass people at every nook and cranny of the city.

Professional beggars display physical deformities and in some cases, they emaciated babies among other tactics to gain the sympathies of the faithful who consider charity a must during Ramazan.

Families of beggars comprising males, females, young children, and the elderly make queues outside places of worship and shopping centres to collect alms.

One can find dozens of beggars gathered together at every major free iftar and sehri distribution point in the city. They remain in the business from dawn till dusk and sometimes till sehri in markets, streets, and even residential neighborhoods.

Despite a ban on begging, beggars can also be seen collecting alms at the doors of district courts.

On the other hand, the efforts of the police and authorities concerned have failed to bear good fruits.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2023.