Virus lockdown worsens suffering for beggars

Aurangabad, April 11:

The lockdown imposed by the state government due to coronavirus is giving a hard time to the vulnerable population, including beggars. The beggars, who were dependent for food and alms on donors, are now left empty-handed due to lockdown and don’t know how they would survive if restrictions are tightened.

Covid has not only affected the livelihood of traders and citizens, but it has also hit more than five thousand beggars and their families in the city. The beggars have not been able to get alms for the last month due to reduced traffic flow at intersections and passerby on sidewalks and streets. The situation has become more complex for handicapped beggars who are finding it difficult to get any donation as markets are closed. Most streets and traffic signals are occupied by beggars. Many beggars are also seen at markets, bus stands, railway station and restaurants to get a donation. A beggar earns at least two hundred to three hundred rupees a day. A disabled beggar can even earn five hundred to one thousand rupees a day. However, no beggar confesses how much money he received in a day. At present, the beggars are getting thirty to forty rupees a day. During the lockdown last year, various organizations and associations donated food and alms to beggars. Now their number has dropped.

Will starve to death

If the state government imposes a strict lockdown like last year for a period of fifteen days or more, then at least the ration kits should be distributed free by the government. Otherwise the poor will starve to death, said Sheikh Shakeel, handicapped beggar.