Professional beggars plague hospitals in Karachi

Target patients, doctors amid police crackdown across city

KARACHI:

As the law enforcement agencies launched a citywide crackdown, professional beggars who have swarmed the metropolis from various cities have sought refuge in an unexpected place - major government-run hospitals. A burgeoning network of beggar syndicates has become increasingly active within these hospital compounds, deceiving both patients and medical professionals.

As per reports, with the start of the Ramazan, beggars flocks to Karachi, driven by unemployment, inflation, and other economic hardships plaguing the country. However, this influx often correlates with a rise in theft and robbery incidents across the metropolis. This year, faced with the threat of police intervention targeting street beggars, these syndicates have shifted their operations to city’s hospitals.

Under the guise of nomadic women, children, and men, these syndicates have infiltrated the premises of top healthcare facilities such as JPMC, Civil Hospital, National Institute of Child Health (NICH), and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), all managed by the Sindh Health Department. Employing novel and sophisticated tactics, mafia operatives feign assistance and fabricate prescriptions to solicit sympathy and financial aid from unsuspecting citizens.

The situation is dire even within the largest health facility in Karachi. Visitors to these hospitals lament the increasing activity of beggar syndicates, which brazenly target both patients and medical staff, resorting to prescription forgery to further their gains. Some concerned bystanders rebuke the beggars and drive them away, while others feel compelled to part with their money.

All medicines are provided free of charge to outpatients (OPD) in these hospitals, with medics striving to supply as many medications as possible at no cost. Despite these efforts, citizens are calling upon the provincial police chief and hospital authorities to take actions to curb this menace, enabling citizens to break free from the clutches of professional beggar syndicates.