Hailing the State Government for its Re-1-a-kg rice scheme for poor people, the Odisha Patita Uddhar Samiti (OPUS), a women’s body working for welfare of sex workers and the destitute, claimed that the pro-poor scheme has gone a long way in checking underprivileged girls resort to flesh trade in the State.
Samiti secretary Abharani Choudhury in a Press release said her organisation has been working for welfare of around 500 sex workers in the capital city. A few years ago, about 400 of them were poor girls and women belonging to Nayagarh, Boudh, Phulbani, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Angul, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts, she said, adding that after the subsidized rice scheme was implemented with the poor people’s food security ensured, most of these girls quit the profession and returned to their villages.
Alleging that more than 400 girls from West Bengal have filled the gap created by the Odia girls these days, Choudhury suggested that the West Bengal Government needs to implement the Re 1-a kg rice scheme to alleviate hunger in the State which would again prevent the vulnerable girls take to prostitution.
Choudhury further explained that prostitution has been openly in practice in Bhubaneswar. There is a demand for 1,000 sex workers in the city while the number of girls and women in the trade is far too less, she said, informing further that given the demand-supply gap, the costs of sex workers have hiked in last few years with only those who can afford are availing the opportunity.
She also informed that at present while at least 100 Odia girls are employed in flesh trade, 400 are from WB and a few are from Bangladesh. She stated that 150 men and 20 women are running the trade while 15 three-wheelers, 30 four-wheelers and over 50 two-wheelers are in service.
Claiming that flesh trade is not illegal in India, she said as per Section 7 (b) of Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 flesh trade is not permissible within 200 metre radius of hospitals, temples, hostels and educational institutes only while it is not restricted in other areas. She said that even it is against the law to arrest anybody if he/she is found in the immoral act in the unrestricted areas.