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Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body hires transgenders as security guards, green marshals
The letter of appointment has been handed over to the transgender community by the municipal commissioner and administrator Rajesh Patil
To bring the transgender community into the mainstream, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has appointed 35 of them to work with the civic body. They have been appointed on a contract basis as security guards and green marshals for private municipal services. Most of them started working from July 1.
The letter of appointment has been handed over to the transgender community by the municipal commissioner and administrator Rajesh Patil.
Patil said, “The transgender community have taken a bold step by accepting the job offered by the municipal corporation to be a part of the mainstream operations. There are many challenges in bringing a neglected section of society into mainstream operations. The transgender community must accept this challenge to live a self-reliant life.”
“The positive change in their lives and the successful journey they have made will be exemplary for others,” added Patil.
Recently, the civic body had also set up separate public toilets for the community. PCMC also made a budgetary provision of ₹24 lakh in the civic budget 2022-23 for the upliftment of transgender people.
Nikita Mukhyadal, a newly appointed security guard, said, “The civic body has taken a bold step and given us a helping hand. We remain committed to fulfilling the trust placed in us.”
Prem Lotlikar, who was appointed to the green marshal’s squad, said, “Transman’s certificate is not easily obtained. Many establishments do not even offer jobs. You can’t even beg. Such is the situation. In such a situation, the corporation understood our plight and offered us jobs.”
Security guard Rupa Taksal who is deployed outside the commissioner’s office, said, “Before being recruited here, I worked in an NGO as a project assistant and counsellor. I had also worked as a logistics assistant with Mitr Clinic, Pune which is the first transgender clinic in India.”
