THE Punjab Government has initiated a campaign to address the chronic problem of organized begging and as part of the strategy separate barracks are being established for beggar mafia chiefs in jails of the province. And in another move, manufacturing, distribution and sale and purchase of plastic will be banned throughout the province from June 5.
These two issues have assumed serious dimensions not just in Punjab but also in other provinces. However, Punjab deserves credit for taking a lead in initiating effective practical measures to address them squarely. Deserving people are a fraction of thousands of beggars infesting our streets, roads, crossings, bazaars, bus stands, outside the premises of mosques and hospitals. Beggar mafias kidnap the needy and poor people from underdeveloped areas and force them to beg by threatening them of dire consequences. The mafia is so organized that it recruits beggars for deployment abroad, especially during Hajj in Saudi Arabia bringing bad name to the country. The Punjab Government is focusing on these mafias and apart from specialized barracks in jails, a law is being drafted targeting those involved in the kidnapping and coercion of children, imposing severe penalties on those found guilty. There is, however, need to target all beggars as there was hardly any justification for allowing this social evil to exist in the presence of social safety net programmes like the BISP. The measures against plastic are being taken by the Punjab Government in the light of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s directive to launch the “No to Plastic” campaign. We hope this would be taken to fruition as use of plastic bag has become one of the major environmental hazards in the country, posing serious threats to human health and waste management systems.
