We Are Like This Onlee - 2

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Minimum alms: A rupee and nothing less</b>
G.C. SHEKHAR
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FIXING WAGES?
Chennai, July 8: In Tamil Nadu, beggars can be choosers.

So if you are in the mood to give, it had better be at least Re 1. Nothing less will do.

<b>The “minimum wage” was fixed at a recent meeting in the northern district of Erode, where the local beggars association decided not to accept “useless” 50- and 25-paise coins.</b>

“When we give these coins in tea-stalls or shops, the shopkeepers refuse to accept them saying they are of no value in the current times. So we appeal to the public to give us nothing less than Re 1,” said N. Periasamy, the convener of the Erode District Beggars Association.

<b>The association also wanted the state government to give old-age pension to those who can’t beg any more and allot land for beggars to build small housing colonies</b>.

While the public might react positively to the appeal — if only to avoid the embarrassment of seeing the alms tossed back with disdain — the state government can’t really heed the other demands as begging is an offence under the 1945 Tamil Nadu Prevention of Begging Act.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->