Child beggars, unwanted vendors irk Bari Imam Shrine’s devotees

ISLAMABAD, Mar 6 (APP):Devotees at Bari Imam Shrine, daily visiting from across the country, have expressed their resentment over the increasing number of child beggars and unwanted vendors having amalgamation with crime syndicate.
These beggars and vendors remain glued with the devotees until they enter the shrine’s premises demanding alms and forcing devotees to buy packets of white sugar nuts, already declared harmful for human consumption by the Punjab Food Authority.
A visitor Danish from Swat while talking to APP Tuesday called it mafia’s affairs as these people were neither homeless nor hunger forced them to beg as “Lunger” (free food) was all time available in the shrine.
“These people are brought from the other less developed areas of Pakistan and as an organized reinforcement also engage children for begging” a devotee Bilal Ahmed from Rawalpindi remarked.
Doctor Mohsin a follower from Bara Kahu said that unwanted sellers frustrated the devotees from the Bari stop to the entrance of the shrine forcing soft minded to pay alms, unintentionally encouraging the curse of beggary.
Shaukat Abbasi, police in-charge of the area said they were aware of the issue and time and again launched operation against beggars but there was no legal coverage to take action against under age beggars. However, he said, they had warned their parents many times.
“The police have also handed over these minor spongers multiple times to Edhi but they reemerge from the surroundings of the shrine” he deplored.
“They skip on seeing police and sometimes we do not chase them to avoid a road accident” he informed.