Traffic signals turn haven for alms-seekers

Carrying an ’injured’ child, a woman seeks alms from motorists at a traffic signal at RS Puram in the city. (Right) A group of visually challenged persons collecting money from motorists near the Anna Statue traffic signal on Avanashi Road in the city. Gangs from North India indulging in organised alms-seeking racket exploiting the sympathy of motorists have resurfaced once again on the city roads. The alms-seekers at the busy traffic signals besides endangering their lives also pose a risk to the safety of motorists.

Gangs from New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh are indulging in alms-seeking capitalising on the sympathy of motorists. The gangs visit metropolitan, semi-metro and smaller cities in almost all the States and camp there for a week to eke out a living.The gangs changed their locations frequently to escape from the police, pointed out merchants near the traffic signals. Inquiries with merchants and shop-keepers at a number of traffic signals frequented by the gangs in the last few days revealed that the gangs exploit the sentiments of women.

Most of the time, the child carried by the alms-seeker would have a bandage to make it appear as if the child was injured. They even make the child weep or cry to give an impression that the child was reeling under pain or hunger. The gangs make the child look ailing by starving it or even by “drugging” the child to keep it under sedation to make the motorist shell out a few coins. It was also learnt that the gangs hire children from groups that abducted them for engaging them in begging. Till a motorist offered a coin, the alms-seekers were seen pestering them besides knocking at the wind-shields of the cars.

In addition, a mobile orchestra by visually challenged persons at traffic signals was also a bone of contention for the motorists. The point in dispute was not the alms-seeking or the compassion displayed by motorists but the place chosen for alms-seeking endangering the safety of everyone, say motorists. The visually challenged persons park their mobile orchestra at the traffic signals at Ramanathapuram, Cowley Brown Road, Nava India Signal and at a number of other signals on the city’s busy roads. Motorists pointed out that when visually challenged persons sing and play instruments from the van, the other visually challenged persons escorted by those with eye-sight get on to the roads approaching motorists for money. When contacted, the City Police Commissioner, C.K. Gandhirajan, said that the police would organise a drive and remove the beggars from traffic signals after arranging a temporary shelter for them and efforts would be taken to arrange for rehabilitation, if they were really keen to give up begging. Such drives were conducted earlier and it was unfortunate that these gangsters refuse to give up begging, he pointed out.

Regarding mobile orchestra, Mr. Gandhirajan said that instead of turning traffic signals into places for begging it would be ideal to earmark places of public congregation wherein the visually challenged persons could demonstrate their talent and win the appreciation and contribution of the people without disrupting traffic and endangering their safety as well as that of motorists.These measures would be carried out within the next few days, he said.

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