Beggars take up tsunami relief!

BANGALORE: The State Beggar Relief Committee is mighty pleased these days. It owes it to tsunami. A majority of the city''s beggar community has left Bangalore''s streets for greener pastures. Over the fortnight, temples, mosques and churches, bus stands and railway stations, Shivajinagar and city market areas witnessed fewer beggars.
Pitching tents en route tsunami-affected areas, particularly Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts, they are in a bid to lap up relief materials meant for tsunami victims.It''s complete relief: they have their begging bowls full with packaged food and water, clothes, blankets, buckets, cooking stoves etc.
Though there is no official count of how many beggars would have packed their bags to Tamil Nadu, the Beggar Relief Committee is aware of the trend. "In fact, we expected more beggars from Tamil Nadu and other tsunami-affected areas to inhabit the city....We are happy the numbers have reduced in the city for now," says committee superintendent Chandrappa B. Madar.
With the experience it claims in dealing with the beggar community, the relief committee says, "Beggars are a very intelligent breed but are lazy. They have been trained a lifetime to tell lies. They can survive anywhere and in any season. They are very capable in conning tsunami volunteers."
Realising the trend, the Tamil Nadu State Relief Commission had issued a statement that any charitable work has to be carried out through the Commission, following which volunteers would be issued a certificate of acknowledgement.
This way, we can reach the right kind of relief materials to genuine victims and also keep a check on conmen, said the office of the district administration at Nagapattinam.
Meanwhile, beggars who chose to stay home, had a different point of view. "Jaan bachi rahi to idhar hi bheek mang ke kha loongi...," (If I am safe, I''ll beg and eat here only," said a beggar woman, who offered details on her brethren having gone to strike a booty in tsunami areas.