Srinagar, June 24: As if other hazards of driving like bad and congested roads in the City were not enough that now beggars suddenly jump before the vehicles and don’t let them go ahead till alms are given. The incident isn’t rare but almost a common scene at busy places like Jehangir Chowk, Lal Chowk and even the plush Boulevard.
 A drive on the Boulevard near Grand Palace hotel these days ships with a risk of meeting an accident because a beggar suddenly jumps before the vehicle the moment it lowers the speed near the crossing there.
 People travelling by the route said the menace has become a routine. “For around a week I just heard of the anecdote till finally a man wearing a Phiran jumped before my car. Had my car breaks not worked, we would end up in a trouble,” said Nisar Ahmed, a businessman living in Nishat area.
 While some say the Boulevard beggar could be insane, those who have faced him don’t agree. “How would an insane know the particular spot where he doesn’t leave you till a crisp Rs 50 or 100 are surrendered,” said a golfer who often visits the Royal Springs Golf Course and has come across the situation.
 Similar is the scene near Jehangir Chowk. The moment one lowers the speed near the crossing, a man wearing Phiran rushes towards a vehicle and leans over it literally taking the target hostage.
 “He doesn’t leave you till you pay him something even if it leads to traffic jam,” said Hakeem Firdous Hussain of south City. He too suspects that the beggar wasn’t any insane but “wicked businessman.”
 “They pretend to be Dervish. And given the fact that we people are soft hearted towards such cases, they cash our sentiments,” Firdous added.
 Interestingly, even a prominent psychiatrist Dr Arshad Hussain has come across such a case at Jehangir Chowk. And like others he too managed escape only by exhausting his coin stock in the car.
 Medicos, however, declined to comment on the mental state of such cases. “For that they need to undergo proper medical check-up,” said a psychiatrist.
 When contacted the SP Traffic Srinagar Maqsood-Ul-Zaman said it was not his domain to check the menace of beggars which disrupts traffic.
  “We are supposed to regulate traffic not beggars,” he pleaded.
 He said it was the role of other concerned agencies like Srinagar Municipal Corporation to keep an eye on such developments which become public nuisance.
 When contacted a senior SMC official said the matter would be looked into.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 IST