SWABI, July 15: The beggars of various age groups, who adopt different tactics to seek alms and donations, have thronged the district during the recent days.

Often the grownup beggars carry a written statement with them that says that their children have been suffering from a fatal disease for the last few months and they have no money for their treatment.

The child beggars often claim that circumstances have forced them into beggary as they have lost their parents and have no source of income and can’t get two square meals.

Showing a written statement a 10-year-old girl told this correspondent that her parents had died. “I have two little brothers and a sister. I feed them with the money donated by people,” she said. However, despite repeated requests she was not ready to disclose her name and the area of her residence.

Some of the women, begging in the streets of Swabi, claim that they have migrated from Punjab province. Most of them can be seen carrying babies in their arms on busy roads and squares.

“No one knows if they are really helpless or they are just using different tactics to make money,” said Jehanzeb Khan, a resident of Maneri.

It has been witnessed that most of the people don’t pay any attention to these beggars, saying they are professionals.

The beggars usually target women passengers in the general bus stand. Usually they manage to extract something from the women passengers, who consider them needy and helpless.

The beggars also sit outside mosques, especially on Friday, and beg people to pay them alms. “There were about 15 women and children sitting outside our mosque to beg,” said Abbas Khan of Topi.

A beggar said that they earned more than ordinary workers. “Why should we work for the whole day in scorching heat when we can earn easily,” he said.

A local trader said that government was responsible for increase in the number of beggars. “The government should create job opportunities for people, provide education to youth and take care of elders. These are the duties of a government but it has failed to help people or create jobs for them. That’s why the number of beggars has been increasing,” he added.