The Aryavarth Express
Bengaluru: Eight-year-old Madhavi (name changed) has been given a target of earning every day. She has to work for about eight hours every day. The target of earning every day is about 800 to 1500 rupees. Madhavi begs every day from 9 am to 6 pm at Indiranagar KFC signal. At an age when her little eyes should have dreams of studying and achieving something, today those little eyes are waiting for the traffic signal to turn red. There must be many such Madhavis in various areas of the city whose dreams are crushed and they are forced to beg at the traffic signals of the city.
You will easily see girls, women, transgender people, and elderly people begging at the traffic signals in the city. Compared to other cities of the country, begging in Bengaluru is considered convenient because people here give more money in alms than in other cities. The surprising thing is that the children or anyone else begging at traffic signals do not beg to feed themselves, but they are forced to beg. Their earnings are not used for their welfare or for the country’s work but for the destruction of the country or for the shady business run outside the country.
Apart from begging, you must have seen these innocent children, transgender people, and elderly people selling various things at traffic signals many times. So in simple language, we can say that today in Bengaluru, two types of people wait for the signal to turn red at traffic signals. One is those who sell pens, pencils, bouquets, baskets, mats, towels, etc., and the other begs by showing their helplessness.
Akash says that stopping at a signal with an auto or bike is nothing less than a nightmare. People begging and selling goods at the traffic signal keep bothering you by touching you. If you don’t answer, many abuse you and curse you. If this isn’t harassment, then what is it?
The thing to think about is that why has the state government not taken any concrete steps till now to get the children, women, or elderly people involved in these activities out of the clutches of traffickers? On one hand, while we take a step forward towards becoming a developed country by talking about Making India and Digital India, on the other hand, we take two steps back due to human trafficking, illegal business, and scams.
When we talked to a person who begs at one of the signals in the city, he told us that there are many ways to beg at traffic signals. They are taught to harass the person waiting for the signal to turn green until he gives them money. Not only this, he also told us not to take less than Rs. 10. A senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, told us that many times children and elderly people begging at such traffic signals in the city have been rescued from the clutches of the mafia.
But the matter gets stuck at a point where the next day this practice starts again in a new form. He, on the condition of anonymity, told us that the state government will have to show promptness to stop this business. If the government itself does not intervene in this matter, then it is impossible to stop it. They say that no concrete data has been prepared on this till now because this dirty business has spread so much that it has become almost impossible to count it.
What do the figures say?
As per an estimate, the earnings from begging at traffic signals in a month are at least around five lakh rupees. What happens to this money? What is it used for? This is still a question. According to a recent report, more than 6 lakh people beg daily across the country. In Bengaluru alone, the number of beggars is more than 5 thousand.
Dr. Ruchi, the president of Pragati, an organisation working for the psychiatry of children in the city, says that such children are often brought to us who are victims of mental and physical torture in some way or another. She said that it is very difficult to bring the begging children out of their mental state. Because children are given different types of drugs, due to which they lose their ability to understand common sense.
Bangalore is a better city for earning
Compared to other cities of the country, Bangalore is considered better for many reasons, but the city is called the best for begging and earning from it. It is very unfortunate that this city is not only famous for IT cities and Silicon Valley but also for begging at the signal and doing illegal business. It also includes the names of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata. In Bangalore city, there is a need to save the children begging at the traffic signal and give them a job.
Renu, the president of the NGO that provides a good life, says that Bengaluru is considered a good city for beggars because when children beg at traffic signals here, the beggars give them the desired amount. She said that the number of children, transgender people, and elderly people who are forced to beg here is equal to the number of traffic signals. She also said that from time to time her organisation brings children from traffic signals for rehabilitation.
Renu says that traffickers prepare children in such a way that it becomes difficult to make them say anything. She says that many times children come to us who take several months to get out of their current mental state. Renu said that the money earned through children is used to promote anti-social elements and terrorism outside the country. She said that children are brought here from various states and cities of the country. These mainly include Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Bangladesh.
This business is beyond imagination.
Kumaran, a member of the Child Welfare Society located in the city, where begging children are rehabilitated, says that the organisation raided many places in the city and more than 300 children were freed from the captivity of these mafias. At that time, seven people associated with the business were detained by the police. During interrogation, it was revealed that this scam is beyond imagination.
The children who are used for begging are also physically exploited. He told me that they are not kept in one place for long. From time to time, they are rotated in other cities of the country. The mental state of the children is made in such a way that they do not say anything except asking for money. He said that in this type of business of begging, especially children are used in a dual way. Many are pushed into the trap of prostitution outside the country.
Why is the government silent?
Every person standing at the traffic signal has many questions in his mind. Like, do these beggars have any identity of their own or not? Is there any account of the money given to them?
Do they run their own house with the money they get from begging in a day? Where does the money earned by begging at the signal and selling goods and materials go?
Who is giving protection to the gangs involved in these activities? Is this money being used for anti-national activities? Can any criminal act be done by luring the beggars with money? Are they being used to promote corruption and terrorism in the country? The money received through begging is black money, which has no record in government records, so is the country’s economy getting weakened in this way? Does the government have any way to fight these mafias? The biggest question in the midst of all this is whether the state governments have not noticed this till now or why are the state and central governments silent even after knowing everything? Why begging in a country where taxes are paid? Sandeep, a resident of Koramangala Fourth Block, says that after paying thousands of rupees in taxes every month and lakhs of rupees every year, the situation comes to such a pass that one has to pay money even at traffic signals.
He said that the state or central government does not even have any account of this anonymous money. Whereas in every small and big city of the country, there are many beggars and sellers at traffic signals. He says that at almost every signal of two minutes, at least five to seven such people come and bang on the glass of the car. Some of them beg by showing helplessness, while others sell pens, pencils, and bouquets. If you do not answer for some time, they curse silently and go away. The government should not only take concrete steps against this, but all the state governments should be ordered to stop this.
There is a law but no action.
Making children beg and engaging in child labour is a legal crime. If the parents of the children make them beg, they too may have to go to jail. It is the responsibility of the Juvenile Justice Board to rehabilitate the children begging on the streets. The chairman of the board is the District Commissioner, while there are members in the board too. In many states, the board has not been formed for the last several years.
Apart from this, the Right to Education Act is in force throughout the country. Under this, if children up to the age of fourteen beg, then it is the responsibility of the SHO of the area to take them to school. This is not happening. Business points have been created.
According to an estimate, with the expansion of the city, there are more than 500 traffic signals in the city. Traffic signal points are now also identified as points for selling goods and begging. Various kinds of people stand here to sell small items. Such people standing on the roadside become active as soon as the signal turns red.
Then they reach the vehicles with their goods. Some are selling pens, some earthen pots. Some have strings in their hands, some tissue paper. This business is now seen growing at every signal. This business has started flourishing at every major intersection. May be due to the connivance of the police and government negligence, these traffic signals have now become business points.
Begging has its own corporate house.
Beggars have their own corporate house. If you hear this someday, don’t be surprised that the beggar to whom you gave 10 rupees at the signal out of sympathy has assets worth lakhs of rupees. Statistics tell us that the annual turnover of beggars is two hundred crores! Begging is a crime in the Indian constitution, but in Bihar one gets a license to beg.
Every signal in the city is surrounded by beggars. Out of the approximately four lakh beggars in the country, 45 thousand are children. Police and white collar people also have a share in the money of the beggars.
More than 40 percent of the people in the country are living below the poverty line somehow pulling the cart of life. The intersections of every big city are populated by beggars. Every time there is a red signal, as soon as the vehicles stop, a group of beggars comes out quickly. There are more children than adults.
They come towards you with outstretched hands. If they earn even ten rupees for every trip at the signal in a day, then by late evening they have at least two to three thousand rupees in their pocket. Then, in the darkness of the night, they reach home in style by auto. This is the daily routine of lakhpati and crorepati beggars in our country. If someone knows their bank balance, then they will know how big this business is.
At a glance
The age of children begging at traffic signals is 6 to 15 years.
The number of traffic signals in the city is more than 500.
The smugglers bring children from Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Bangladesh.
Compared to other cities, the minimum amount of alms they get is 10 rupees.
A child is forced to beg for 8 to 10 hours a day.
A child’s daily income is around 500 to 800 rupees.
Those who beg at traffic signals include children, women, transgenders, and the elderly.
5000 people in the city are forced to beg at signals every day.
The statistics are shocking.
On average, one child disappears every hour in the country.
According to the report of the National Human Rights Commission, about 44,000 children go missing every year.
Out of the missing children, only about 11,000 are found.
According to a recent UN report, India has become a big market for human trafficking.
Children and women are brought from all over the country and sent not only to nearby areas but also abroad.
