Displaced sex workers demand rehab

SURAT: After being displaced from Chakla Bazaar in 1999, sex workers are all set to start a fresh movement against the state government for ignoring their rehabilitation issue.
A recently held meeting with the police department, attended officials from social welfare department, arrived at a decision to provide them land in Bhatha area located on the outskirts of the city.According to leaders of sex workers, this would take at least a couple of years to become a reality. Tired of false promises by the government, the sex workers are now planning to start a fresh agitation for their rights.
According to additional police commissioner V M Pargi, who is nodal officer to address the issue, a peace of land has been identified in Bhatha where there is a possibility of colony for sex workers. "The problem of their rehabilitation is genuine and earlier efforts to provide them houses in government colony in Sachin were opposed by the local residents. In the last meeting, it was decided that a piece of land in Bhatha could be given to them. They would also be given sewing machines for a decent livelihood."
However, these are false promises and will never be kept, said displaced sex workers who said they were often harassed by police. "We attended the meeting, but it yielded no result. It will take another couple of years to actually get the land which they are talking about. We even met the officials at district collectorate and we were once again offered permission to stay in Nari Niketan Kendra. That is a temporary arrangement, and we are seeking a permanent solution," said Kantaben, an affected sex worker.
Some of them even felt that the offer of sewing machines by the social justice department was not enough. "Cost of living in Surat is so high, it's difficult to manage with without proper means of livelihood. The government needs to more to help us get out of this profession," said Farzana, an aggrieved sex worker.
"Some of our members do not even have money to go to Gandhinagar to present our case before the government. But soon we would force the government to fulfil its promise of rehabilitating us," Kantaben said.
(Name of the sex workers have been changed to protect their identity)