It might sound funny but begging in India is Rs.200 crore industry and this has been said after two year survey by Dr. Rafiuddin, on average a beggar earns Rs.24,000/- per month in cities which is almost equal to a white collar job salary. There are instances of rich beggars in India for example a beggar was found with Rs.8,00,000/- in his garbage bag or a beggar with an insurance of Rs.36,000/- per year and though there are rich beggars the income is spread unevenly across the country.
So is begging really a lucrative job?????? The answer is NO b'coz though its a billion dollar industry beggars have to beg in harsh climates such as in winter, in rains, in scorching heat and after struggling hard for the whole day majority of share goes to local begging mafia (run by goons, politicians etc...) as protection money who run it (begging) as a well organised crime. Begging mafia is very cruel to beggars often break their bones or amputate their body parts so people would feel pity and give more money to them. Most of the beggars belong to 200 million poor Indians in our country that are living in acute poverty and are forced into this profession.
How to stop this menace ?????
So now suddenly begging has become a dangerous profession from being a profitable one. What can we do from our side to stop this menace??? Answer is simple, instead of coaxing government for this menace we our self can stop it by following one simple solution, we have to first stop giving beggars money directly but in turn divert that money every month to a nearby organization that deals with rehabilitation of beggars. In the rehabilitation the beggars are thought importance of a respectable life, doing small business such as selling small toys, importance of education etc...
Only a total boycott of giving money directly to beggars is the key here because the more they receive money from begging the more they get addicted to it and also with regular inflow of money begging will be a lucrative business for the mafia. But we may find many beggars malnutrition-ed and diseased in the roads and our heart melts to help them, so the best thing to do here is instead of throwing few rupees we can buy some food and give it to them and trust me you will feel a lot better after doing this.
Just remember a body part might have been removed or bones may have been broken just for you to feel pity and give few rupees extra to them, instead donate the money to nearby charity organization that looks after beggars and rehabilitates them to a better life. Below link redirects you to various NGO's present in our country, if you really want to help select any one NGO and donate regularly.
Just remember a body part might have been removed or bones may have been broken just for you to feel pity and give few rupees extra to them, instead donate the money to nearby charity organization that looks after beggars and rehabilitates them to a better life. Below link redirects you to various NGO's present in our country, if you really want to help select any one NGO and donate regularly.
You have all valid point... thanks for sharing this blog with us.
ReplyDeletemy pleasure and pls do share it in social networking sites and spread the message
Deletevery effective solutions u have given .....thank u... i'll try to implement them..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the appreciation
DeleteBegging mafia thrives because there would be no effective policing on the dark world. Begging is lucrative profession or business because of Indian sentiment and belief that it is one way of cleansing one's sins.
ReplyDelete