Mangaluru: Yes, Mangaluru is known for many homeless/beggars/destitute that spend their day and night on streets/pavements etc. Many of them beg to make their living, and some of them with their earning through begging spend it all on alcohol, get highly intoxicated and get into fights with others.
Horror stories ranging from sexual abuse, police and goon atrocities to regular fights for two square meals, Mangaluru’s homeless population, who have no roofs over their heads, are leading a hellish life. Many pavement dwellers whom I interviewed in less than a hour near Central Railway/Wenlock Hospital vicinity revealed that if women are exposed to regular sexual assaults, then men are at the mercy of police and goon atrocities.
I also found out from some of the people, including auto-rickshaw drivers that there is large scale physical and mental torture of homeless people in the city. Many drink a lot, and due to that there are some petty to severe fights every day. Here is an example of a fight that took place this morning in front of Wenlock footpath .
Ramu and Rukmani, both from Northern Karnataka who were fully drunk got into a fight with yet another homeless couple namely Chandra Bhagawan and his wife Fausia from Gujarath, who had also spend their night on the same footpath. The latter couple had just arrived yesterday into the city, after they lost their only 24 year old son in a freak train accident at Tellichery.
Ramu and Rukmani who were jealous about the Gujrathi couple begging and spending their days in Mangaluru got into a fight with them, which resulted in bloody injuries. At that time, ASI Rosamma who was controlling traffic at the busy Hampankatta junction noticing the quarrel, came rushing to the spot to stop the fight. Even in spite of ASI Rosamma trying to convince them to stop fighting, they didn’t budge to her orders. Instead they came to attack Rosamma with a knife and a broken bottle, but were intercepted by the public.
In the meantime, smelling more trouble from this drunken couple, ASI Rosamma called for an ambulance and police help to shift them to the hospital. Fearing that they would get into trouble with the cops, Ramu and Rukmani quickly disappeared from that location, and walked down the street towards the railway station, and both crashed themselves on the side of the street.
Fausia had a broken nose when she was pushed on the ground by Rukmani, her husband Chandra also suffered some bruises in the fight. Since Ramu and Rukmani were in a drunken state, and since it has been their routine habit, ASI Rosamma was quite reluctant in taking action against them- instead she said that when she notices then again on the footpath, she would deal with them and straighten them up.
MCC and other district authorities should control the growing menace of beggars/destitute on Mangaluru streets, who have been a nuisance to the pedestrians and citizens, especially when they are drunk. Example like the one that occurred today created by the drunken homeless couple may someday result in attacks on general public with casualties. It’s time that the concerned city/district authorities do something about drunken situation/misbehaving of the street beggars, so that no untoward incidents take place.