Taking full advantage of the holy month of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid ul-Fitr, professional beggars have thronged across the capital to earn some extra.
The beggars are seen either working in small groups or individually to collect alms at different places including traffic signals, markets, mosques and main streets.
Social welfare ministry sources said some 50,000 beggars had come to the capital during the month of Ramadan and Eid, besides the already existing some 1,00,000 beggars in the capital.
Omar Faruk, a resident of Laxmibazar area, pointed out that the beggars were sometimes brought to their begging spots by taxicabs.
Even in certain cases, the beggars enjoyed lift from and to their dwellings by private cars, he said.
Their ages range between eight and 70 years including women, kids and old persons, Faruk added.
A Jagannath University lecturer HM Saidur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune steps should be taken to discourage begging.
He termed begging a menace in the society. The teacher said according to Islamic teachings, it is not a good practice.
"It is high time steps be taken to create social awareness about it among people," he added.
Talking to this correspondent, two baggers Jahura Begum and Mohammad Ali said they would go back to their native town in Mymensingh on the second day of Eid after earning around Tk40,000 to Tk50,000 in this month.
The Dhaka district administration conducted a number of drives to rein in begging, but it so far remained unchecked in commercial, residential, hospital and bus station areas and at different traffic signals of the city.
Beggars have adopted new tactics such as selling newspapers and pens, plus wiping car screens with pieces of clothes when the vehicles stand still on the roads either waiting for green signal or getting stuck in tailbacks.
Even, some of them show fake or stolen medical certificates to coax the commuters into showing sympathy towards them and giving them some money.
District administrations of twin cities had initiated several campaigns against beggars but could not control this social problem.
Sources in the social welfare ministry said a steering committee meeting held on December 30 last year decided to make several areas of the capital beggar-free.
Those areas include the airport vicinity, Hotel Sonargaon, Ruposhi Bangla, Radisson, Baily Road, Baridhara Diplomatic zone and intelligence zone areas.
However, no steps have yet been taken even seven months after the meeting.
The High Court on January 9, 2011 passed an order to stop begging in the capital by using children.
It also issued a letter to the home secretary to take action, but no steps were so far in sight.
In this regard, Mohammad Abdul Mahbub, coordinator of beggar system removal activities of social welfare ministry, said: "We failed to operate mobile court to take action against begging due to absence of magistrates."
A meeting on how to eliminate this social problem would be held soon and after that meeting, steps would be taken, he added.