by JUNAID YOUSAFZAI
MARDAN: Mardan District government and District Administration, collectively, launched an operation against professional beggars in Mardan on Wednesday.
On the special instructions of acting District Nazim Asad Ali Kashmiri, Assistant Commissioner Imran Khan formed a special team in which Additional Assistant Commissioner Qaisar Khan, Social Welfare Officer Iftikhar Takar and City Police Station SHO Aashiq Hussain were included.
This team will visit the city’s main bazaars and roads in order to take strict measures against the beggars. It is pertinent to mention here that groups of beggars mostly women and children are seen begging in markets, shopping centres, roads and streets of the city.
The shopping malls in the city are also amongst the choicest business locations of these beggars. The beggars are witnessed everywhere, particularly in College Chowk, Malakand Chowk, Bank Road, bus terminal, Mall Road and Pakistan Chowk. Several groups of beggars have occupied main traffic signals on Mardan-Nowshera Road, where one can see a lot of children and women thronging vehicles asking for money.
The beggars are using new techniques to attract people for making their ends meet. Professional beggary is becoming a social menace as more and more beggars, including healthy young men, women and children turning towards this profession. Mosques and other religious places are also among the most profitable sources for the professional beggars.
Acting District Nazim Asad Ali Kashmiri and Assistant Commissioner Mardan Imran Khan while talking to Pakistan Today said that a professional begging is a blemish on the face of a civilised society. They said the professional beggars have also disturbed the life of people. They said operation against professional beggars will be continued for one month.
A large number of men, women and children beg regularly on roads and streets from dawn to dusk. Mostly, these very professional and expert beggars beg indirectly. They have many heart-wrenching stories to tell. They claim they are not professional beggars, but are being forced to beg due to some tragedy. They often manage to soften the hearts of their listeners with their tragic tales told in an emotional voice.
Police in a one-day operation had arrested 12 male, 8 female and 8 young beggars from different areas.