Begging has become an easy way of earning money. With the beginning of the summer season, beggars from different places of the country have entered the valley. Every day local and non-local beggars are annoying the general public. Men, women, and small children are seen wandering in public places forcefully asking for food and money. People who refuse are verbally abused and attacked by street beggars. Daily officegoers, businessmen, and schoolchildren often complain of continuous harassment on the streets. A 55-year-old woman told Good Morning Kashmir that she was surrounded by a group of beggars which was life-threatening. Beggers have evaded Srinagar city creating problems for the passersby and commuters. Congested places like Lal Chowk, Batmaloo, Fruit Mandi, Jamia Masjid, and Goni Khan are full of beggars. Shoppers fear visiting markets due to this menace. We have noticed beggars following innocent people everywhere it has become a daily routine nowadays. It becomes difficult to escape from fettle. Beggers are also present in shrines like Mukdoom Saeb, Dastgeer Saeb, Khawaja Saeb, and many more. People can’t even stand for a second. As soon as a person enters a shrine beggars encircle the visitors and force them to give money. Furthermore, women beggars emotionally blackmail people and make money through begging. They shower compliments and stick like glue. They do it to raise money without labor. It is unfortunate that children are used as a source of making money. We must not give money to the hand of small ones. If we encourage them into begging then they follow the same path for their whole life. We must teach them to earn through hard work, dedication, and self-respect. Beggers today seem to be in good health and good mental state. They can easily earn a livelihood through labor, yet they chose to beg. It is the mistake of the common person who extends help to such clever beggars. Home-to-home begging incidents have taken place in many districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Beggers are openly robbing in the daylight hurting the sentiments of people. Why we are giving to someone who is capable of working? Why not orphans and handicaps? We must distribute the money among the needy but not give money to people who are capable. The past successive Governments have not taken action in this regard. Beggers are annoying the general public in one way or the other. We request the administration to put a full stop to the begging menace and take serious action against the culprits.
Discussion about this post