Gulte News
In a shocking report, beggars in Hyderabad are earning 18 lakh to 24 lakh per annum on an average which is 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh per month. A few families who are into this full-time profession and begging at the traffic signals and junctions are pocketing a fancy sum. These beggar families are said to have full control over traffic junctions in the tri-commissionerates – Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda.
It is learnt that the whole beggar family, including husband, wife, four to five children and the elderly, take over a traffic junction and target commuters at traffic junctions as they seek alms from commuters. They do not allow other beggars to operate there. On average, they earn anywhere between Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000 a day. Their day begins early in the morning and stays till night. They come and go in auto rickshaws. It is noticed some beggars returning home taking liquor along with biryani parcels. What’s more? These beggars are also into the money lending business.
This shocking fact came into light when police spoke to a few beggars and families. Following crackdown on ‘beggars mafia’ in Hyderabad, police rounded up some beggar families. Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force team swung into action.
These beggar gangs choose crowded junctions such as Paradise, Jubilee Hills Checkpost, KBR Park, Masab Tank, Abid Road, Tank Bund, Koti Women’s College, Chandrayangutta and Mehdipatnam. They divide the areas among themselves. If any disputes arise between any of them, the elders step in and solve the disputes. The elders of beggars fix the problems by allotting different timing slots or traffic signal points among the groups.
There is a further dark side to the whole story. Seeing the income, some started operating mafia and employed physically challenged people, weak children, old men and women to beg at the junctions they control. Along with food and accommodation, At the end of the day, the beggars are paid an amount of Rs 200 to each of them.
Recently, the Jubilee Hills police caught a man, Ajit Pawar (28) of Gulbarga, who runs a beggar mafia. He had reportedly employed 23 persons including children. Eight vehicles are seized from him. Cops learnt that he owned a couple of houses in Karnataka and was investing largely in the chit fund business with the income from the begging mafia he operates.
