Today we talk about beggars in Sri Lanka because they have become a direct threat to the lives of innocent people 
in this country. Anyone can be killed by a beggar at any time when considering the current situation of the issue. If Sri Lankan people remember things for more than two weeks, they should remember how a beggar killed a customer who visited a reputed supermarket some time ago. We do not need to witness a second murder, especially during any key National Festival or event. This is why we talk about this issue today.
According to some media reports published, telecast, and aired last week, there is an ‘association’ of beggars in Kandy, and their ‘executive committee’ will decide what to do, where, and when during the upcoming Kandy Esala Perahera to be held next month (August). This is something amusing but at the same time it is a type of ‘highly dangerous’ news because criminals can pose as beggars at any time and move freely.
Two months ago (in May), the police decided to take stern action against the beggars who beg from vehicles that stop at traffic lights and fine drivers who offer money, food, etc. to those beggars. This step is highly admirable because sometimes beggars rob valuables once the shutter of the vehicle opens to offer money, etc. Sometimes the vehicles do not move when the green light appears because the drivers are giving money and talking with beggars. Some beggars put their hands into three-wheelers and threaten passengers, asking for money. If not given, they try to snatch gold chains, handbags, etc. from the passenger, especially female passengers. The beggars scratch luxury cars, etc. out of hatred. They do it even after being offered money. Sometimes their conduct causes accidents.
It is very interesting to see the drastic transformation of Sri Lankan beggars, which now has a direct negative impact on all citizens of the country. Some time ago the media reported about a discussion held in connection with transporting the beggars in Galle Face to a location in the South, rehabilitating them and letting them live as ordinary citizens without begging. This needs to be done for all beggars in the country, especially in Colombo, Kandy, and suburbs. But it seems this arrangement was postponed or cancelled. This is something that urgently needs to be done by all relevant authorities.
The task is not that simple when examining the current situation of Sri Lankan beggars. The first problem is they escape from their new locations using all tactics and return to the same place or a different place and restart begging. By now, almost everyone knows that begging is a widespread business run by giant businessmen who earn over one million per day through beggars. Recently, the media revealed how children at a Children’s Home are used as beggars after burning their bodies and drugging them. This is a very small part of the issue.
The majority of beggars are now forceful and threatening people. Inside trains, they threaten passengers by hitting them with various objects and shouting at them in front of other passengers. They hide inside car parks and other places in popular supermarket chains, luxury shops, etc., and threaten customers by blocking their way.
On 23 May 2023, the Thalangama Police arrested the beggar near the Nawala supermarket for the killing of a 57-year-old Ayurvedic doctor of Pothuarawa Road, Malabe, in 2022. In 2022, the Ayurvedic doctor was hacked to death by this beggar near a leading supermarket in the Battaramulla area in Thalangama after he refused to give him money. Investigations revealed that the beggar had stabbed the doctor to death with a sharp weapon following an argument with a beggar who was nearby when the deceased was leaving the supermarket. According to the Police, the incident was captured on the supermarket’s CCTV. The suspect fled the scene after killing the Ayurvedic doctor. This was in April 2022, and he was arrested on 23 May 2023.
There are several other incidents where beggars snatched gold chains, etc., from people when their vehicles stopped at traffic lights. The situation has become serious because nowadays many drug addicts who are pretending to be beggars beg everywhere, and they often threaten ordinary people. Criminals often pose as beggars. Therefore, all people, especially women, are at risk when moving in public places and using public transport services (trains).
No matter how many times people are warned and advised not to offer money or anything else to beggars who beg inside public transport services, on roads, near traffic lights, etc., some people continue to offer them money, food, etc., because they do not worry about their own safety, and they think that such offerings will help them to get more wealth or a better life in the next birth. They do not see the plight of children used by beggars. Stupid ordinary people believe that those children belong to beggars, but the reality is that children used by beggars belong to others.
The best place to observe the cunning tactics of beggars is the train. Anyone can travel on trains that run during off-peak hours in the evening and observe what beggars do. All their ‘disabilities’ vanish as soon as the train becomes empty with very few passengers. Then they start their normal lives. The very first thing they do is remove their masks. Some beggars still wear masks not to protect themselves or people from any disease but to hide their faces from people. Then they count the day’s collection and enjoy food and beverages bought from reputed fast food outlets in the town. The people can very easily identify food from the packaging. Then they take their modern mobile phones out and make calls. Then they check and re-pack their fake documents, fake limbs, crutches, etc., used for begging. They do it laughing at people who gave money.
But one thing is crystal clear. That is, the children they use do not belong to them. They do not feed them or care about them at all. The children are sleeping all the time. Even when they are awake, they look sleepy. Many of the begging couples say that they need to beg and offer a ‘pooja’ to god in return for having a baby, curing a disease of the baby, etc. But they use the collected money to buy illicit drugs. This can be detected very easily if law enforcement officers follow them.
It is next to impossible to rehabilitate beggars and prevent them from starting begging because of one reason: the gap in income they earn from begging and doing self-employment or some other job. The daily income of a beggar varies, and it is well-beyond the income of any other daily paid work. Sometimes beggars earn Rs. 15,000 or more daily from begging, but they earn below Rs. 5,000 daily from any other job. Therefore, they prefer begging. The other issue is they do not like to get tired or follow rules and regulations. That is why they do not like to engage in any other activity to earn money. Who likes to get tired and obey rules and regulations if only Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 come to hand? Who does not like to sit in one place or just walk here and there on roads or inside public transport services freely and earn over Rs. 15,000 within eight or nine hours?
This is why the relevant authorities should be creative and take every possible step to prevent beggars from returning to their usual ‘employment’ after shifting them to a new location. Maybe the relevant authorities can select a location that cannot be reached by land or a location that is guarded by Armed Forces and Police 24/7. Otherwise, the money spent on shifting those cunning beggars and rehabilitating them becomes wasted. The other most important fact is tracking their whereabouts after releasing them from rehabilitation. Tracking can be very easily implemented through various state officials who are attached to various regional state offices without any duty. According to media reports, there are over 100,000 public servants without any specific duty. But the most important part of the whole issue is implementing the law against all ‘businessmen’ who use beggars to earn money on a large scale and amending existing laws to make them tougher than they are now.
According to recent research by the Economics and Statistics Department of Peradeniya University, there are over 30,000 male and female child beggars in the country at the moment. There is no point talking about the number of adult and aged beggars because they must be extremely high.
