Beggars in the city including all major markets have been testing the nerves of people by using all kinds of tricks to get sympathy from people for grabbing money.
Instead of getting some donations from people, their constant forceful tactics create nuisance for general public who feel themselves attacked by their offensive behavior.
The groups of beggars start annoying people from 6th road chowk while their groups continue chasing people in Commercial market as those visiting the market describe them as a complex issue that seems out of control now.
“The interruption of beggars becomes unbearable while shopping in the commercial market or sitting in car as their common tactics create nuisance,” said Rehana Khalid, a resident of Rawalpindi. A group of women carrying infants, bandaged arm of a young man, middle age men showing disabilities, barefoot child, she-males and others selling low quality products, are the most common kinds of using beggary as a tool to get sympathies of people. People feel that there is a big mafia behind them as the police is unable to arrest them and they continue to interrupt people while visiting the market. When contacted New Town Police Station, the officials said that they arrest 8 to 10 beggars from Commercial Market on daily basis and mostly the police officials on duty keep them away from the market in morning and evening but they come back as the police leave the scene. Hundreds of beggars belonging to different age groups are observed roaming in main points of commercial market and police do nothing to control them, said Rizwan Sabir, a commuter in the area.
These beggars sometimes create awkward situation by holding arms of people and forcing them to give money at any cost and when any one refuses to give them money, they use offensive or abusive language, he said.
Besides using beggary for getting money from people, adolescents belonging to the group of beggars, holding car wash wipers attempt to wash the windscreen with unclean water and force the drivers to give them money.