BEGGARS IN BRAJ MANDAL

Mathura  NOVEMBER 15

 

The mass influx of child-beggars in Mathura and other religious shrines that draw hordes of pilgrims round the year, is causing concern as the number of petty crimes like snatching of purses or bags, pick-pocketing and fights over looted dividends, has gone up alarmingly.

 

Two days ago, a child beggar ran away with the purse of a lady from Gujarat in Goverdhan. In another incident, a shabby looking child lifted the mobile phone of a person from Chandigarh, while he was having tea at a stall. And within seconds he disappeared in the narrow lanes in Mathura. Each day the complaints are multiplying.

 

A large number of "child-beggars" are from outside the district. "Often they are part of a big gang headed by a goon who pulls the strings," said activist Dhananjaya Gautam of Vrindavan.

 

Mathura police does not have exact figures of "missing" children, but cops admit there has been a noticeable increase in the number of beggars not only in Mathura but also Goverdhan and Vrindavan. " Begging  till some times ago was considered part of the religious paraphernalia. Outside the temples in Vrindavan there were long lines of female beggars, mostly from Bengal, but now that institutionalised practice has taken a back seat, but the entry of child beggars is surely an issue that we all should be seriously concerned about," said author-activist of Mathura Dr Ashok Bansal.

 

On the parikrama route in Goverdhan, one sees gangs of "child-beggars"  pestering pilgrims. "Every day you hear of a bag disappearing or a mobile and even laptops suddenly lost. When a kid gets caught, he is let off after a few slaps. This emboldens him to graduate higher into the world of crime. Most of these kids are under the influence of some intoxicant or the other, cough syrup or some cheap chemicals," adds Manju Sharma.

 

In Goverdhan you can hundreds of beggars, old men and women, disabled lined up near the main Daan Ghati temple or on the 21 km parikrama route. In Mathura the railway stations provide the hordes of child beggars  a comfortable shelter.

 

Child beggars are ubiquitous all over Braj mandal, their well-rehearsed melo-dramatic lines sure to move the hardest heart to shell out a five or ten rupee note, the lower denomination coins are frowned upon with abuses.

 

Senior police officials do not admit "its such a big problem." But pilgrims visiting Mathura or Vrindavan unfortunately return with haunting nightmarish experiences of having been deprived of their valuables.

 

"In Mathura and all the nearby religious places, food is not a problem. They all get enough to eat from temples and ashrams which regularly hold bhandaras or mass distribution of prasad. But its the monetary support in terms of cash collection that is a big draw and sustains the local begging industry," says social activist Jagan Nath Poddar.

 

Quite frankly, this whole belt is fairly prosperous and the average local lives a life that would not force him to beg. These beggars are from outside the district and they bring such a bad name to Braj Mandal. The police should do something about this evil. If the children who are forced into this profession do not stop begging, they should all be rounded up and put in the reformatory where they can receive some education and security," suggests pandit Ram Babu Sharma, a temple priest in Barsana.

 

 

Rajendra Kumar Nagar, Kotwal of Vrindavan said

"the problem is there. The smaller kids are either local or from nearby areas, but the bigger ones come from distant districts like Etah or Mainpuri. When they are caught for the first time we call their parents and advise them to control their kids. If caught they are sent to reformatory. Now the marriage season has started. We have to be extra cautious, as these gangs become more active."

A retired police cop Ashok Kumar, who was posted at Goverdhan said "yes there have been many cases of bag lifting and snatching by the kids who seem to operate in groups all along the parikrama marg. The pilgrims usually avoid lodging formal complaints as they are short of time."

 

A home guard Murari Lal, in Vrindavan said many kids work as rag pickers collecting polythene and plastic waste in the morning. "I have heard lots of people complaining their bags or shoes or whatever disappearing. The child beggars manage to run away without a trace."

 

Its both a seasonal and a part-time vocation. "Around festivals or parikrama days you will see hordes of these beggars asking for alms. When the pilgrims thin, they get back to collecting trash for the contractors," says a Goverdhan panda Damodar ji. The state government should rehabilitate them in the hostels and ensure they go to schools. "Unfortunately many of these kids who swarm the bus stands and railway stations are addicted to drugs," says social worker Purushottam.