20000113

Beggars demand

firewood in alms

KARACHI: Several residents of the Defence Housing Authority, PECHS and Clifton areas were surprised on Wednesday to find that the beggars did not ask for cash as charity but instead wanted that they should be given firewood or coal, a few kilomgrammes, to keep warm.

The demand for firewood and coal went up in the city following the cold wave and the wet weather.

Many of the beggars, though from upcountry areas, huddled in the evening around bonfires they made of pieces of wood and firewood collected as charity from those who gave the same to them.ÑUPP