Daily Times

The swarms of beggers arrived from different cities to Peshawar on Sunday has irked the shoppers and general public ahead of the holy month of Ramzan ul Mubarak. Inspite of begging has been declared illegal under the country’s laws, the beggars’ influx including male, female, children and persons with disabilities are being witnessed in crossing points, mosques’ gates and mostly frequented public places and food outlets in the city and cantonment areas, making shopping difficult for Ramazan.

Hashtnagri, Gantagar, Firdus, Nothia, Tehkal, Gulbahar, Faqirabad, Meena Bazaar, Karimpura, Shafi Market, Saddar Road, University Town, City Tower, Jawad Tower and Deans Trade Centre are flooded with beggars on Sunday.

The professional and non professional beggars have tried hard to cash the situation after witnessing an increase of buyers at Dean’s Trade Centre, Karimpura, Qissa Khwani, University Road, Hasthnagri, Faqirabad, Qissa Khwani and others famous bazaars, which were flooded with customers and shopers.

Occupied key points in front of shopping malls, mosques, road signals, bus terminals, railway stations, traffic squares and streets, the professional beggars used different indecent techniques to get maximum alms.

“I came from Wapda Town Peshawar to buy edible commodities for my family for Ramazan, however has faced difficulty in shopping due to swarm of beggars both male and female,” said Qaiser Khan, an ex employee of PESCO while talking to APP at Hashtnagri bazaar.

He said some beggars roaming with exposed wounds keep on holding and touching customers when they come out of their vehicles, which could expose them to contiguous diseases and viral infections.

“Most professional beggars employ various tricks to exploit human nature and religious sentiments by crying, weeping and chasing people in public places while wearing miserable attire.”

The unchecked trained beggars are pestering shoppers in markets or running after them or behind their cars to collect maximum alms in the name of Sadqa and Khairat, he said.

It has been witnessed that some beggars were emotionally blackmailing people by carrying medical prescriptions and disability certificates.

Charity seekers can also be seen in City markets asking money in the name of construction of mosques while many beggars were resorting to lame-duck excuses like seeking treatment of their ailing family or lost jobs.

“Begging has emerged as a major social evil in recent years to the nuisance of Peshawarties,” Riazul Haq, an Ex PST teacher who was irritated by beggars during shopping at Qissa Khwani bazaar Peshawar, told APP on Sunday.

He said one of the reason of increased in beggars was price hike and inflation. The 2022 devastated floods, high population growth and climate change besides shabby economy have also contributed to increase in inflation and price hike affecting common man.

Besides bazaars, fruits, vegetables markets and shopping arcades, he said shoppers were facing great inconvenience at traffic signals, food restaurants, bus terminals, railways stations, mosques, hospitals, markets and public places due to swarms of beggars in Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda and other big cities ahead of Ramazan.

“It is heartbreaking to see young girls and boys’ beggars carrying wipers in hands often start cleaning cars windows on traffic signals without permission in order to get money.”

Some beggars come with water bottles, flowers, garlands, caps and rosary to give an impression that they are selling it, but actually they beg for money without an intention of selling anything.

Riaz Khan said that he was busy in Ramazan shopping along with his family at Qissa Khwani where a teenage beggar with black colour in hand rushed towards him, asking for money or otherwise his clothes would be made dirty.

“To save my clothes, I immediately offered him Rs50, which was refused. On several requests, the beggar accepted Rs100 and started running towards other shoppers by using the same technique that was intolerable in a civilized society.”

He demanded the KP government to take instantaneous action against swarms of beggars in the city so that people could take a sigh of relief and do Ramazan shopping with an ease.

“Beggary has been declared illegal under West Pakistan Loitering Ordinance 1958,” said advocate Noman Bokhari, adding this law had not been fully implemented, which resulted in an increase of beggars.

The central and provincial laws such as Control of Narcotics Substance Act 1997, West Pakistan Vagrancy Ordinance 1959, Pakistan Employment of Children Act 1991, KP Child Protection and Welfare Act (KPCPWA) 2010 and KP Orphanage Supervision and Control Act 1976 had been promulgated to check drug addiction and streets begging, he maintained.

Similarly, KPCPWA was enacted in 2010 to protect rights of women and children, but it has not been fully implemented on ground, resulting in swarms of beggars in Nowshera, Kohat, Peshawar and Charsadda.

He said the role of Child Welfare Commission (CWC) was important to provide protection to child beggars in KP.

KP government has been urged to impose a ban on child beggars on the pattern of Sindh province and may direct the social welfare department to pick child beggars from markets, roads, traffic signals, streets and rehabilitate them at their welfare centres.

The spokesman of social welfare department said that special drive have recently been launched to shift drugs addicts beggars to rehabilitation centres for treatment.

Besides treatment, these beggars were provided vocational education and training to make them useful citizens of the society.

He urged well off people to donate alms and charity to their known poor deserving people and reputable organizations having clean service record so that their alms could be used for a noble cause.