ISLAMABAD, April 2: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration in a special drive has sent hundreds of beggars to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, ICT sources have told this scribe.

The sources said child-beggars were not being sent to the jail but were boarded in buses and sent outside the ICT.

They said that after registration of cases against these beggars, they were produced before magistrates who sent them to jail for 30 days.

However, an ICT official said, the effort was unlikely to end the menace of begging because, he added, after completing their sentences, beggars again spread out in the city. He was of the view that it was not possible to uproot the menace without establishing rehabilitation centres for beggars, where they could get educated and acquire some technical skill which they could use to earn their livelihood.

It is observed that the menace of begging is on the rise in the capital these days. Groups of beggars are witnessed at all main roads and shopping centres creating a nuisance for commuters and shoppers alike.

Police sources said most of the woman-beggars were prostitutes. Many other beggars were involved in drug-selling and stealing, they said.