Begging Problem in India

One of my friends recently visited India and said this story to me which I found shocking. He was traveling one day in Chennai and his car stopped in a traffic signal. A beggar who had no legs was pushing himself on a wooden slab with wheels begging for money.So my friend out of sympathy handed over five rupees to the beggar. But to his surprise the beggar started cursing my friend saying that he is cheap and demanded more money from him. My friend was totally embarrassed and didn’t know what to do.

I am not sure how I would have reacted in that circumstance. But I think such things should not be encouraged. Begging has become more like a business in India. I have heard horrible stories about people choosing begging as a profession since its easy money. I have also heard stories about how people force their kids to beg since it extracts more money from people out of sympathy.

What would you have done?