Hyderabad: Drug abuse becomes rampant in Old City

Hyderabad: Anyone travelling from Santosh Nagar towards Chandrayangutta cannot pass by without being hassled by a group of beggars who come in the way at junctions and traffic signals demanding money.

You refuse and what you get is a string of expletives. A majority of them are addicted to whiteners and the moment they get a few rupees, they are off to indulge.

They can be spotted at Santosh Nagar, Madannapet, Chaderghat, Shalibanda, Nampally and one of the busiest signal Moazzam Jahi Market signal. What is worrisome is they stay put at junctions and close to traffic signals, with families in tow.

Not just troubling passerby, they also get into brawls with family members and fight right in the middle of the road. There have been instances when traffic was stopped.

Mohammed Shafi, a worker at Hotel in Santosh Nagar X Roads, narrates, "On Monday morning, a beggar came in front of a car and pretended to sleep. He refused to move until he was tipped. Traffic came to a standstill for close to six minutes. He was later moved by locals."

The nuisance is a daily affair so much so that even policemen now do not take notice. There are times when they harm themselves with stones and blades when the police approach them.

Before lockdown they would trouble school and college going students. "In spite of several warnings from police, surprise checking, these addicts return back to these spots without any deterrence, we are also going to intensify the drive and solve the problem" said a police officer deployed at traffic signal.