Jalandhar City police must crack down heavily on begging cartels

Open House: what should the administration and social bodies do to check the menace of begging?

Govt should come up with a strict law

The problem of beggary is becoming a major concern warranting urgent attention and intervention in view of increasing numbers, especially of children and women. Most of them are homeless and should be put in rehabilitation centres set up by state authorities. Instead of money, give them food and clothes. The government should come up with a strict law to ban begging and should teach skill development techniques so that they can work on their own and live the life of dignity.

Shabnam Chouhan

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All of us have a duty to check this menace

Begging is no doubt a menace. We see it everywhere — on the streets, on the crossings and in front of the religious places. Even when the buses stop on the way, beggars encircle it and pester passengers for alms. Also, some gangs even abduct poor, maim them and then make them sit on the roads or crossings for begging and grab whatever alms are given to them by pious people. This practice should be stopped forthwith. The police, social organisations and the administration all have a role to play in ending it. First of all, people themselves should be made aware of not giving money or matters to the beggars. The social organisations should motivate such people who are quite active physically and mentally to do some earning by doing some sort of work instead of begging. The administration can allocate some designated places for the extremely poor and handicapped and people made aware of giving alms to them. This way they don’t need to roam whole day in the streets or on the roads. The police should stop the beggars roaming about for begging. They should be temporarily imprisoned and then social workers should be asked to motivate and convince them to stop begging. Even the help of psychologists and psychiatrists can be taken for the same purpose. All of us have a duty to stop this menace.

Dr JS Wadhwa

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To end it, one must stop giving alms

Begging is one of the most serious social issues in India. In spite of its rapid economic growth, India is a poverty-stricken country, which is also leading to the growth of beggars in the country. There are a few beggars in the country who actually are the real ones, who beg because they are handicapped, old or blind or they really need money for basic needs. There are many others who live far below the poverty line and opt for begging to earn their livelihood. But as the citizens of this country, it is our moral responsibility to stop this menace and the best way is to stop giving alms. It might seem that we are very heartless in not giving money to a little child begging on the street. If more and more people come out and take a pledge that they are not going to give a single penny to any beggar, irrespective of their need, I am sure beggary will be completely uprooted from our country.

Akshar Kumar Singla

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Begging cartels must be exposed

People seeking alms are a common sight in India. And we often out of empathy give them some change, it might not affect us much as an individual, but as a society, it is a big threat to our nation and its development. The problem of begging is multi-dimensional. Along with issues like poverty and hunger, it has now showed another side of it – begging cartels. Begging has now become a big racket to scam people, which in itself is another concerning issue. The exploitation that happens within such cartels is condemnable and a punishable act. The authorities claim that steps to abolish begging have been taken but more necessary steps should be taken. Poverty alleviation schemes should be promoted, rehabiliation centres should be made so that these people could be skilled and employed and earn their livelihood.

Kalpana Bhatia

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Abolish begging by all means

Begging is a burden and nuisance and there is no guarantee that the beggar is genuine or disguised as one and they spend the money earned from begging on alcohol and drugs. The root cause of begging is mainly poverty, homelessness, gender discrimination, child labour and sometimes sexually abused. Because of poverty, children tend to beg and do labour for their families. Begging is also a big business in a well-organised way. There is mafia and a racket to control all this, the beggars are assigned different locations and in different disguises. It’s a great nuisance to have them around, no doubt they present a sorry picture of the country and often irritate by harassing. Some make lucrative money and are multi-millionaires. We need to abolish begging by every means, we should arrange affordable food and clothes which are basic necessities, encourage and give them employment. NGOs should come forward for their counselling and tell them the importance of doing work and also education for their children. The government should make shelter homes for their stay, engage them in some activities and ensure that they don’t ran away from these homes because they found easy to beg. We should stop giving them and discourage them from begging.

Shashi Kiran

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Provide jobs and see the miracle

We all know that begging is one of the many problems of our country. We see a number of beggars not only on roads but also at the public places like bus stands, parks, etc. Even the people who are healthy are begging instead working. Now the solution of this problem is that social organisations should motivate and encourage them to do any kind of job that can fulfill their basic needs and help them provide a job. NGOs can hold seminars, programmes on this topic. Even the children, who should go to school, their parents take them for begging. Not only is the life of a child spoiled but also the future is endangered. Poverty can also result into crimes like robbery, gambling, rapes, etc. Police should take a strict action. The only method to finish poverty is providing jobs to all the people. Automatically, beggary will also finish.

Rukshan

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Everyone should come forward to help needy

A single person can’t change everything but helping one beggar, especially a child can make a difference. We should not be dependent on district authorities or NGOs only. If everyone helps at least one, in future number of beggars will fall. You can stop these rackets and mafia gangs who run these child beggars’ racket. Also, paying them money means that you are supporting these rackets. Do not pay money to them as it is equal to destroying their lives.

Kanwarpreet Singh

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Population control: The only way out

Since it is more than clear that poverty is one of the outcomes of what our corrupt and under designated leaders’ doing to this precious country, it automatically becomes their role to clean this up. Though if we look deeper, it’s somehow related to overpopulation that out nation is currently facing and about which no legit precautions are been delegated. Shamefully, India is still a developing country that straight away mean it certainly lacks on economic front, but that is exactly what the government is bound to do: to analyse and plan. So, the only way out to this problem lies in controlling the overgrowing population of India as people can actually get jobs and the nation touches equilibrium. However, this is just a theory. Flaws like religion, cultural beliefs and prevailing stereotypical approaches are capable of causing some severe damage.

Sahib Singh

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Task is difficult but not impossible

Begging is a social evil and needs to be eradicated by the society as a whole. All the governing bodies, the people and the social organisations are required to work in unison while carrying out their respective responsibilities diligently to achieve this difficult but possible task. Any government can pass the Bill to make the begging illegal but the aspect of its enforcement is challenging. While the beggars may be arrested, prosecuted, punished and jailed taking away considerable time and energy but in the long run it is not going to solve the problem at macro level. To start with solutions, people must be stopped from paying alms to the beggars to discourage them from begging which they consider remunerative as compared to any other job. The public needs to be educated about this by local administration through all available modes of publicity and may be even penalised for violating the order. Those who are destitute/ handicapped in one way or the other must be rehabilitated with the help of social organisations and those who are able-bodied and/or motivated to this unholy profession are required to be sheltered, professionally trained to make them self-reliant under well-documented government sponsored scheme.

Jagdish Chander

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Need to curb overpopulation

In my opinion, there is only one valid solution to every problem in India, ie, to control the population. If we have a control over the number, people we have to support, the quality of that support and the results will be much better! Providing education to all is of utmost importance but having enough number of jobs for them is also crucial which again brings us back to our population issue. Another factor that plays a vital role in the development of any country is whether the people of that country are aware of the facilities, rights and benefits they are being provided and also, very importantly, their duties towards nation. Our people should be aware that they have a right to education, the facility of free education and mid-day meals in government schools. They should be encouraged to utilise them, and especially use them for the right things.

Anirudh Saini

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It is the responsibility of the administration

Due to massive overpopulation, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, disability, old age and natural calamities, begging is a perennial social problem afflicting all states in the country. Despite several initiatives, the Punjab government has failed to achieve the desired success. An exponential increase in the number of beggars in recent years with wide-ranging socio-economic, psychological and legal ramifications has caused serious concern. Since anti-begging laws are violated with impunity, beggars are frequently seen at public places such as railway stations, bus stands, markets, religious places, tourist resorts, hotels, marriages palaces and so on. They not only present an abominable sight and disrupt the smooth flow of traffic but also tarnish the country’s international image and hinder its smooth economic development. It is the constitutional responsibility of the state government to tackle the menace of begging. As begging is a criminal act punishable under the law, the district administration should outrightly take a strict action against organised professional beggars. It should regularly conduct awareness campaigns about the ill-effects of begging. In case of the overwhelmingly destitute and vulnerable ones, it should adopt a softer stance rather than a challengeable legal recourse. The civic authorities should judiciously identify these beggars, give medical treatment to the needy and keep them in rehabilitation centres. They should encourage the able-bodied to work honestly for their livelihood and continue launching various enabling schemes to ameliorate their lot. The general public should rise above orthodoxy, superstitions and religious compulsions, and avoid giving alms to beggars. Only collaborative, concerted efforts by the government, social organisations, activists, media and academic institutions will reduce the nuisance of begging and make India a better place to live in.

DS Kang

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Society should not entertain beggars

Begging has indeed become a nuisance and problem of great magnitude in every part of the country. Many times it is seen operated by anti-social elements which drive it on a begging business scale by forcing their wards and other abducted persons, particularly children, to bring heavy alms or so. No doubt there are so many anti-begging laws, however, these cannot be implemented harshly out of remorse and amity. The best solution for an all-together eradication of this problem is that society should not entertain the beggars no matter what. At the same time the government should come forward and create shelter homes, especially for old people so that they may live a just life of honour instead of turning into beggars devoid of basic facilities. District administration, NGOs, and allied organisations should step forward for such solutions. Special care should be accorded to infants and children who are usually exploited in cases of begging. Females, kids and old age people should be taken to shelter homes and the nexus of exploitation should be broken so that it may not be dependent on such earnings, which are based out of begging. Strict steps are indeed required to curb such exploitations.

Aman Mittal

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Entire scenario may run amok soon

In our nation, begging has widely increased day by day at roads and in public transport and this is a matter of deep concern. People should not give any kind of money to beggars because this practice has already become a huge affliction to the society. There are multiple children on roads who beg for the survival. However, the truth is many are pretending that they are handicapped and begging for help. Their parents force them to beg in front of lavish cars so that people sitting in the cars feel pity for them. This whole scenario is going out of control these days and administration should take harsh actions. Whoever is forcing the children to beg should be taken in the police custody.

Saahil Hans

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One of the most conspicuous evils

Way back in mid-1980s, I had the chance to visit state administered beggars’ home in Kapurthala. It was housed in a very majestic looking spacious building. However, there was only one beggar lodged there and I was told in lighter vein that he might have gone out for begging. Of course, the place was in shambles though its visitor book showed that Secretary/Director Social Welfare Department had paid many visits there. In Amritsar, we have well run ‘Panghurha’ scheme for abandoned newly born babies, Pingalwara for the sick destitute, institute for the blinds, home for the destitute ladies and juvenile home for young delinquents and most importantly orphanage run by Chief Khalsa Diwan. Incidentally, Shahid Udham singh, who shot Michael O’Dwyer in London, to avenge the massacre of patriots at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, was brought up in this orphanage. Raen Basera also exists for the beggars, but this place remains almost deserted. Some of the social welfare institutes are running very well but some are colossally neglected. Beggary, though legally banned, has emerged as one of the most conspicuous social evils. At every crossing, especially at the traffic lights, many beggars start knocking on the glasses of the cars to seek alms. This endangers theirs as well as drivers’ lives. Their regular presence does not indicate that the district administration is taking any step for their rehabilitation. Since majority of the beggars are able-bodied, they must be rehabilitated to start their lives afresh. Amritsar’s Pingalwara is known throughout the world for its charitable activities and it has the honour of the halo of Bhagat Puran Singh and its incumbent head Dr Inderjit Kaur. It may start the rehabilitation centre for the beggars. Since most of the social welfare schemes run by the government leave much to be desired, only social or charitable organisations can run such institutions.

Hardish Sandhu

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QUESTION

The MC has a complaint redressal system — landline, toll-free number, email and web portal. Do you think these are effective and helpful in addressing the grievances of residents?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to [email protected] by Thursday (February 18).