Burdwan, July 14: In Burdwan, beggars can be choosers — and moneylenders too.

There are at least 10 beggars in Burdwan town who earn between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 a month and what is more, they have chosen to lend money to small-time traders and hawkers.

Ganesh Das, a fruit seller in Burdwan town, said he could not have started his business had it not been for a beggar. Das said Suresh Dhara, 50, had lent him Rs 2,500 at 6 per cent interest to set up a roadside stall. “I shall be grateful to him for ever. If it were not for Sureshda, I would never have been able to start my business,” said Ganesh, who sells fruits at Tinkonia bus stand in Burdwan town.

The fact that some beggars here earn so much came to light after the death of the elderly Krishnadas Thakur. Thakur, who drowned while bathing in a pond near Sarbamangala temple six months ago, had left a cloth bundle on the ghat that contained Rs 75,000.

“The bag contained notes of Rs 500, Rs 100 and Rs 10. I was surprised. Then I enquired and found out that some of these beggars even lend money,” said Apurba Das, the chairman-in-council of Burdwan municipality.

Suresh and others such as Swapan Bairagya, 48, Kanai Rajbangshi, 57, Sheikh Samad Ali, 53, and Bipin Das, 55, dress up like sadhus and beg at Tinkonia bus terminus, Burdwan railway station and the Sarbamangala temple.

However, the beggars claim that they cannot live the lifestyle they want to despite earning so much money.

“We can’t wear good clothes or go to a restaurant. If people see us doing so, they will stop giving alms to us,” said Suresh, who lives in a hut on the outskirts of the town.

Suresh, who has been begging for 40 years at Burdwan railway station, told The Telegraph he earned around Rs 8,000 a month. Although he refused to disclose where he kept the cash, he was candid about his money-lending business.

“I lend money to petty businessmen and hawkers who sell their wares in local trains. I charge a nominal interest of 6 per cent. If they go to professional moneylenders, they will be charged an interest of at least 10 per cent,” Suresh said.

People like Bablu Das, who sells garments on a pavement at Tinkonia bus stand, frequently take loans from Kanai and Suresh. Bablu said an interest of 6 per cent suited him fine.

“If we go to the moneylenders in Burdwan town, they would charge around 12 per cent interest. But people like Sureshda and Kanaida lend us money at much lower rates. I had taken a loan of Rs 15,000 from Kanaida after some professional moneylenders refused to give a loan to a poor man like me,” Bablu said.

Kanai takes his physically challenged wife with him in a wheelchair when he roams the streets near the railway station, begging for alms.

“I earn about Rs 10,000 a month and manage to save half the money, which I loan out to traders. Bablu and garment trader Sushil Kundu borrow money from me. They have never defaulted. But I will not tell you where I keep my money,” said Kanai, who lives with his wife in a shanty in the Tejgunj area of the town.

Sheikh Samad Ali, a polio patient who begs at Tinkonia bus terminus, said he had lent Rs 30,000 to six traders.

“I started my money-lending business about 25 years ago. Today, I am a known face among traders,” said Samad, who travels to Burdwan every day from Hooghly.

The inspector in charge of Burdwan police station, Subhashis Chowdhury, said he felt there was “nothing wrong in beggars earning so much money”. “There is no law that bars beggars from lending money,” Chowdhury said.