PESHAWAR:With the advent of Eid ul Adha, the numbers of beggars were mounting with each passing day as groups of such people including women and children were seen begging alms at almost every busy place of the city.
A brief survey of the city on Wednesday revealed that scores of beggars were reaching Peshawar from different parts of the country, especially from Punjab to cash in on the busy days of Eid ul Adha.
The beggars including children, women and scores of elderly people have spread into various markets, bus stops and crossings of the city with some beggar women having new born babies in their laps were among the top earners.
Earlier, in Peshawar a mass campaign was carried out which helped reduce the numbers of beggars to a great extent in the city however, with favorable situation now these beggars have once again established their strong footing in the city by grabbing the prominent places of earning.
These beggars have occupied their favorite spots for begging at various busy roads, crossings, bazaars and even streets and were reluctant to leave due to their hefty earnings. These beggars have adopted various tactics to fool the people as some were pretending to be in great agony by making false cuts on their bodies and wrapping fake bandages around their artificial wounds.
A beggar caught with fake bandage told people that begging was the most easy and profitable profession as they have nothing to invest and no fear to lose. He said they have their own spacious homes in Punjab while some even have their own vehicles. He said a good begging season helps them earn hundreds of thousands of rupees for one beggar family.
The people when asked about the situation said, begging has become a scourge for the society that was shedding a very negative impact and harming our image. A man, Rashid Khan said the district administration seemed helpless to contain this nuisance as beggars nowadays have become very insistent in their profession.