By Phurbu thinley
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Dharamsala, June 2: Phayul has received some photographs taken in Lhasa earlier on Thursday (May 31) as Tibetans observed an extremely auspicious full moon day of the holy Sa-ka Da-wa month.
The photos clearly show large number of beggars reaching out for alms in the vicinity of Lhasa city.
The sources said that there were around 8000 beggars, including both Tibetan and Chinese around the city.
The 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar is particularly holy for Tibetans as Buddha Shakyamuni’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana day.
On this day, Tibetan Buddhists generously distribute alms making it a hay day for beggars.
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Source said the picture of impoverished Tibetans openly begging in Tibet and more particularly in Lhasa is fast becoming a common sight.
Critics claim that more and more rural Tibetans are being forced into begging after being displaced from their traditional form of living. Tibetans in Tibet find it difficult to find job due to lack of modern education and professional skill and training.
The source indicated that the number of Tibetan beggars has been rising steadily in recent years.
Critics have lately been accusing Beijing of using new railway link to flood Tibet with beggars, prostitutes and the unemployed, destroying its culture and traditions.
In his talk to a large number of Tibetan youths in Dharamsala this morning, the Dalai Lama specifically raised concern over a large number of prostitutes driven into Tibet from surrounding ethnic regions and disrupting the traditional life set of Tibetans.
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