Wherever you go you can’t miss the beggars these days, though it is the cities’ main roads, big markets and bazaars, which are their favourite haunts. While the old and ailing evoke instant sympathy, it is the younger women whose persistence makes even the niggardly part with a coin or two. Since family planning is not their cup of tea, they are pregnant year after year and just to emphasize their misery, they carry a dirty baby in their arms too. The older children are, of course, left behind to take care of the younger ones. It’s late in the evenings when they normally return to their slums happily with pockets full of coins and notes.

There are beggars who feign illnesses for more gains. Some wear dark glasses and stagger about with a child’s help to show that they are really blind. There are others who sometimes carry fake medical prescriptions and pretend to be in great suffering. The more innovative get their arms so expertly painted that it looks like a genuine case of leprosy. Authorities concerned need to look into the matter.