Dimapur, a city where beggars are richer than daily wage earner?

Pfushuo
February 19

DIMAPUR, (MExN): Ever wondered who earns more, the daily wagers or the beggars? Obviously, the daily wage earners. No, in Dimapur, beggars earn more than the daily wage earners. 

A beggar revealed that his daily income comes to an average of Rs.150 per day while another says he earns Rs 70-100 per day on the other hand the daily wage earners especially the rickshaw wallas and thella pullers earn a daily income of about Rs 100 per day after paying the taxes and the rental to the owners. 

It is interesting to learn that a beggar can feed 6 children with his income through begging when an average person finds it difficult to feed 6 childrens though the food and dress he provides for his offspring are better. 

A beggar who hails from Assam and who is often seen begging at the Fly over at Railway Station said that he has 4 children who are still too young to work and that he feeds them by his income alone which comes to about Rs 150 per day. He further said that the income shoots up to about Rs 200 during festive season. And when queried, he said that he has no plan to go back to his native place as he gets enough income in Dimapur to feed the whole family. 

The beggars population has increased much in Dimapur in the last few years due to its easy accessibility and that has added to the inconvenience of the pedestrians who are often bothered by the beggars by blocking the road or by pulling the passersby asking few coins to add to their idle income. An irate passerby said, ‘we must get rid of all the beggars”. 

“They are a nuisance… They are not handicapped but they are just indolent and we should not allow these people to cheat us” he added. The beggars too have their own story of not getting work, a partially handicapped beggar said, ‘Sahib, humlok ko kaun kam dega, humlok to bighari hoon’ (Sir, who’ll give us work, we are beggars). 

What ever be the reasons for not getting work to earn a livelihood, one thing we know for sure is the increasing number of beggars in Dimapur day by day and the subsequent inconveniences created by them.