Even though the State Government has opened a department especially for the eunuchs, till now it has remained a signboard department. For which the third gender persons have to beg in trains, bus-stands and markets for their livelihood, said All Odisha Kinnar and Third Gender Association president Pratap Sahu at a Press meet here on Tuesday.
The eunuchs with the alms they get, besides taking care of their basic needs, also save some money to spend on social welfare activities. But shockingly, the eunuchs begging in the trains are being harassed and tortured by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and forced to pay Rs 1,000 per day, alleged Sahu.
On Saturday, a eunuch, Annu, travelling by the Dhauli Express from Cuttack to Jajpur was allegedly asked by a RPF jawan to pay Rs 1,000. But as he did not have the money with him, she out of fright, jumped from the train. He is presently fighting for her life in a hospital. Though the DGP office had sent a letter to the RPF authorities, no action has been taken on it, alleged the association president.