E-Paper
Beggary now a ‘multi-crore business’ in Lucknow; over 14k involved in it, say experts
According to a Lucknow Municipal Corporation survey in June 2019, the number of beggars in the state capital was around 4,500 back then.
LUCKNOW Busy streets, road crossings, or marketplaces -- they are everywhere. Despite appreciable efforts towards checking beggary, the population of beggars pestering people for a few coins has only increased in the city. In fact, some experts believe that Lucknow could soon become a ‘beggar’s capital’ if the population of those involved in mendicancy goes on increasing at the current pace.
According to a Lucknow Municipal Corporation survey in June 2019, the number of beggars in the state capital was around 4,500 back then. In the last four years, this number has increased to 5,884 beggars as per government records. However, activists believe that their actual number is much higher.
Talking to HT, Balbir Singh Mann, a member of the Umeed NGO, said, “About 4,000 beggars are concentrated only around temples, mosques, hospitals, railway stations, and bus stations. Apart from these, the city has another 10,000 beggars scattered across different localities.” He added that beggary has become more ‘organised’ in the state capital in the last few years.
Also Read: Larger criminal nexus suspected behind organised child beggary in U.P.
Mann further said, “While there is no official data, these 14,000 (or so) beggars make about ₹5-7 crore annually. Many of them are ‘shuttling beggars’ i.e. they come from nearby districts to beg in the state capital. Such beggars have their areas marked. No other beggar is ‘allowed’ in their territory. Everything has become organised so there are no conflicts among them.”
Contrary to the popular idea that most beggars are disabled, a majority of those begging for pennies in Lucknow are able-bodied. “A majority of them are physically fit to work. They just don’t work to make easy money. Interestingly, it has become a common practice for beggars from the Nat Community to give their begging territory as a dowry gift to their sons-in-law. Authorities should take strict action against such people who force their women and kids into begging,” said Balbir Singh Mann.
However, he also appreciated Project Smile and Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) for rehabilitating child beggars, educating them, and ‘transforming’ their lives.
Sharing further details on the issue, Chandra Mishra, convener of Common Man Trust and founder of Varanasi-based Beggars’ Corporation which has taken the responsibility of turning beggars into entrepreneurs, said, “Initially, when I started working for the upliftment of beggars, I received several threats. Similarly, when I started contacting beggars to turn them into entrepreneurs, many people started threatening me. Some gangs didn’t want beggars to turn into entrepreneurs because of the huge size of the begging market in India. You will be surprised to know that Indians donate ₹34,242 crore annually (according to figures from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report 2017) to 41,3,670 beggars (as per the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) in India.”
Mishra added, “One cannot deny that some children and women are coerced into begging. Some of them are even targeted by organ mafias. I have come across beggars who are drug addicts and drug peddlers; some are child traffickers; and some even get children on rent for begging. Many of us have seen women beggars sleeping with a kid while appealing for donations for some treatment. The kids are usually given opium. Some children are even trained to clean car screens on signals for begging.”
The activist further said, “West Bengal has 85,000 beggars; followed by 65,835 in Uttar Pradesh. In fact, I decided to work out of Varanasi as the city has more than 12,000 beggars. Among them, 6,000 are healthy adults. Our Beggars’ Corporation is working out employment models, and building capacities for startups without any help from the government.”
When queried on the issue, additional municipal commissioner Pankaj Singh said that the LMC has worked for the rehabilitation of children between 11 and 18 years of age, who used to beg on signals in the city. We contacted NGO Umeed and 40 such kids, who used to beg earlier, participated in this year’s Republic Day Parade. They were holding placards saying -- Bhiksha Se Shiksha Ki Ore (from beggary to education). Perhaps, it was for the first time that beggars participated in the Republic Day parade of any state.”
The official added, “These children used to beg at the crossings. Today, their life has totally transformed due to Project Smile. Under the project, we have been working with these children for the last one-and-a-half years. These children belong to a community that is traditionally associated with begging. The SMILE project is working to bring these children out of beggary and bring them to the mainstream. The work of educating them and connecting them with schools is being done... Earlier these poor children used to beg for money. However, we have been educating them since last year and today, they are full of confidence.”
