Street Begging

Usama Mahesar
Pakistan is facing street begging at an alarming ratio. The country is suffering from poverty which has forced hundreds of people to commit suicide, forced women to sell out their children and forced youngsters to leave their homes and start begging. According to a latest survey, a large number of our people are living under poverty line earning less than Rs 4000 per month, which makes it very difficult for a person to live a reasonable life. On the contrary a street beggar is earning more than a normal person.Begging is supposed to be an easy source of earning money. This is the reason why most of the physically fit young persons are usually seen begging on the streets. This profession now has become an industry (mafia) where young men, women and children are mostly trained, recruited and relocated. These beggars and specifically children come from backward areas of the country. They earn around 200-250 rupees per day. They have to handover their earnings to the mafia which keeps a big chunk of it and leaves a minimum amount for these children to take home. This beggars mafia is exploiting the children.Beggars are a burden on the society. Some Beggars may really be needy but there numbers are few. Now, our government and we the masses have a responsibility to take appropriate measures to eliminate this curse from our society. The government should introduce some schemes and trainings through which they can earn their future living. There should be strict laws to restrict beggary and police should have powers to punish those who are responsible for bringing them on streets.Zakat funds should be utilised on deserving persons. Job opportunities should be provide to the eligible persons according to their skills and aptitude.