Shawdesh Desk:

Young Abu Taleb (pseudonym) was seeking alms from inmates of private cars and rickshaws at Kakrail intersection of the capital. He was found quite healthy though a little bit dwarf.

When this correspondent approached him for reasons behind taking begging as profession, he said his family taught him how to beg from his childhood, but not any other work. “So, I beg though I have the ability to work,” he said.

Another woman, Sufia Begum, was found using a child with physical disability on a wheelchair to seek alms from commuters.

Asked, she admitted that a gang hired the child in exchange for money for begging.

Like Taleb and Sufia, over 50,000 people seek alms at different points of the capital every day in violation of law.

The act of begging on streets and public places is totally forbidden as per Section 81 of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance-1976. However, the section is hardly applied.

The Section 81 stipulates: “Whoever in any street or public place begs or applies for alms, or exposes or exhibits any sores, wounds, bodily ailment or deformity with the object of exciting charity or obtaining alms shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month.”

Taking the opportunity of non-application of the law by police and slow pace of beggar rehabilitation by the Department of Social Services (DSS), several syndicates are leading more than 50,000 beggars in the city to seek alms in exchange for commission, said sources.

It was learnt that children, including differently abled ones, are also used in seeking alms.

The sources say the syndicates are now trying to bring beggars to the capital from rural areas ahead of holy Shab-e-Barat to be observed on the night of March 18.

Although the government declared some areas beggar-free, begging continues there unabated, said the sources.

The areas are east intersection of the entry to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Airport Police Outpost and its adjacent areas, Hotel Radisson Blue Water Garden, VIP Road, Bailey Road, Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka, InterContinental Dhaka and diplomatic zones.

DMP Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam has recently voiced concern over the beggar syndicates and directed his deputies to take action against them.

He discussed the issue at a crime conference at the DMP headquarters, said police sources.

“Police are generally soft on alms seekers due to their poor condition and so they don’t apply the section concerned on them,” said Faruk Hossain, DMP deputy commissioner (Media and public relations).

About the DMP chief’s directives, he said they were trying to bring the culprits to book.

DMP spokesperson Faruk said it was the DSS which should mainly work in this regard.

Contacted, Md Shah Jahan, deputy director (Tea labour and beggar rehab) of the DSS, told the Daily Sun that there were some syndicates leading the beggars to seek alms in the mega city.

“We have heard that children are hired for begging,” he said.

About their duty, he said, “Our duty is to rehabilitate the beggars. It’s the duty of law enforcers to trace the syndicate members and bring them to book,” he said.

The DSS said it has rehabilitated 14,407 beggars by spending Tk 15.84 crore throughout the country from 2010-11 to 2020-21 fiscal years.

The government allocated Tk 6 crore for the rehabilitation purpose in 2021-22 FY.

In 2020-21 FY, the DSS conducted 18 mobile court drives and caught 180 professional beggars who have the ability to work. Of them, 72 were kept detained at the government shelter centre and given training for rehabilitation. The rest 108 were also rehabilitated, according to the DSS data.