Gujarat: Surrogate becomes sarpanch in Gorva

AHMEDABAD: Bhanu Vankar, 43, who has turned her life around by renting her womb twice to become surrogate mother and deliver set of twins for two childless couples, has been elected unopposed as sarpanch of her village Gorva in Borsad taluka of Anand in the recently held village polls.
Her uncontested election as the villlage head has become yet another milestone in the life story of Bhanu who chose the tough and unconventional route of renting her womb to free herself from the clutches of poverty.
"I was so poor, I used to live in a shanty put together using tarpauline and dried leaves. I was married off at 15 years and bore three sons. As I stayed home to look after the children, my husband was barely able to run the house with his meagre earnings of Rs 200 per day as a daily wager. There were many days he would not get work. When the ration store owner refused to give us grains till we paid off the pending dues, he would sign up for clinical trials," recalls Bhanu.
It was during those times that Bhanu's sister told her about Dr Nayana Patel's hospital IVF hospital which needed surrogates to help childless couples with specific medical conditions to become parents.
A reluctant Bhanu went to the hospital and that one visit changed her entire life. "A mother of three sons, I chose to become surrogate twice. For the first pregnancy I was paid Rs 3.5 lakh for carrying twins to term in 2007. In 2011, I was paid Rs 5.5 lakh. For somebody who did not have a pucca roof over her head, it changed my family's fortunes," says Bhanu.
Bhanu says that she used the money to build herself a house, freed her husband's mortgaged land, started milk business and got his brother-in-law married. "Recently, a surrogacy bill has been passed banning surrogacy citing exploitation but I was never shortchanged. In fact, surrogacy changed my life for the better," says Bhanu.
People in Bhanu's village are aware of her successful journey as a surrogate. Bhanu says that while initially there were apprehensions, her husband and entire family supported her in her choices.
Currently, Bhanu works as a nanny and helps new parents settle with their precious babies by helping them. "Many times, I fly into other cities for work. It is a very gratifying experience to see a couple who thought they could never become parents to hold a child in their hand," says Bhanu.
Bhanu says having built a good life for herself, she decided to contest elections be the head of the village with a population of 2,000-odd villagers. She says she proposes to better roads, sewage connection and start programmes to empower women.