However, the police are taking action. Pointing out that beggary is a criminal offence under Section 151 of the MC Act of 1996, Reddy said: "More arrests were made in 1998 than at any time since the MC Act was passed".

Reddy blames the influx of migrants for the rise in numbers of beggars in city and sees no remedy for the problem "until people stop giving alms for the sake of punya". He also suggests "a strong check on infiltration from outside and perhaps a food-for-work scheme to give them some relief".

According to PU Sociology Department chairperson Raj Mohini Sethi: "A beggar in Chandigarh may earn as much as Rs 60 to 70, which works out to around Rs 2,800 a month. As urban labourers they would not earn more, as bonded labourers they would certainly earn less ... hence, begging is a `good' choice from their economic point of view."

As for child beggars, she believes: "They enjoy the work. First of all, they have seen their parents begging and see nothing wrong in it. Secondly, their parents do not ill treat them because they earn. Working as domestic servants would keep them away from their families; begging does not."

Keeping a check on the number of beggars in the city "will be very difficult", she says. "The only way, I see it, is either to provide some employment or put them in correctional homes where they can be taught some marketable skills." She argues that the only way to eliminate beggary is to eliminate poverty.

You get to meet these beggars in every corner of the city especially in crowded markets. They do not let you go till the time you actually hand over something to them.