Beggar gangs move into Mysuru, mafia operation suspected

Mysore/Mysuru: Efforts to make Mysuru a beggar‑free city have shown encouraging results in recent years. Yet residents are now voicing concern over the growing presence of beggars from outside the State at major roads and traffic signals, warning that the trend could tarnish the city’s image.

During Dasara, traders from northern States and other regions arrive in Mysuru to sell toys and miscellaneous goods. Many have since stayed back, engaging in street vending at prominent junctions such as circles and intersections along the Outer Ring Road.

Alongside them, elderly persons, women and children have reportedly taken to begging, causing embarrassment to tourists and raising fears that Mysuru may once again be perceived as being overrun by beggars. Civic activists allege that this surge is not merely incidental but linked to a beggary mafia that exploits vulnerable individuals by deploying them at busy traffic points.

They claim organised groups are transporting beggars into the city, controlling prime locations and pocketing the collections. Residents have urged the Police and the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to intensify monitoring and enforcement to dismantle the beggary mafia.

Rehabilitation efforts

To curb begging, the District Administration had earlier set up a Beggar Rehabilitation Centre at Jyothinagar. Persons found soliciting alms were shifted to the centre, reunited with their families wherever possible or provided shelter and care if destitute. The initiative had significantly reduced the incidence of begging across the city. Residents now allege that some outsiders are disguising begging as petty trade. At traffic signals, individuals hold pens or small trinkets under the guise of selling them.

When motorists decline, they reportedly plead for money, claiming they have not eaten. Citizens have demanded stricter regulations to check such practices.

At busy junctions, including K.R. Circle, J.K. Grounds, Bamboo Bazaar, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Circle (Metropole Circle), Vinayakanagar (Paduvarahalli) Junction and SrimanMaharaja Sanskrit Patashala, beggars have reportedly been pushing elderly persons in wheelchairs into the middle of the road to solicit alms.

Others, leaning on walking sticks, approach vehicles at signals. Motorists say that when the lights turn green, vehicles move forward while beggars remain on the carriageway, leading to near-miss incidents and posing serious safety risks. They have urged the Police to intervene immediately.

Glass cleaning for money

Another emerging trend involves individuals splashing soap-mixed water on car windshields at traffic signals and wiping them without consent, followed by demands for payment.

Reports suggest that some clean 50 to 100 vehicles a day, earning Rs. 10 to Rs. 20 per vehicle. The practice has become a quick source of income, with several outsiders reportedly adopting windshield cleaning as a routine activity.

Public safety groups have called upon the District Administration and the Police to take stringent measures. They have demanded that beggars be relocated to rehabilitation centres and that unchecked solicitation at traffic junctions be curbed.

“If firm action is not taken, tourists from other States and abroad may leave with the impression that Mysuru is overrun by beggars, which would harm the city’s heritage and reputation,” said M.S. Gururaj Shetty and Pramod Gowda of the Mysuru Rakshana Vedike.

“For Mysuru’s safety and dignity, no activity that undermines its tradition and prominence should be encouraged,” they added.