Agra ? from city of love to city of lust

Agra is gaining notoriety for flesh trade which has made inroads into the city's residential areas and tourist complexes.

A world famous monument to love may no longer be Agra's only claim to fame.
In this city of the Taj Mahal, police have over the past fortnight busted one call girl racket a day.

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Police say Agra, one of India's biggest tourist hubs, is gaining notoriety for flesh trade which has made inroads into the city's residential areas and tourist complexes.

While the 'mandis', or brothels, in Mal ka Bazaar, Seo ka Bazaar, Basai or Sikandra are as old as the ancient monuments this city is famous for, newer centres have sprung up.

Says Surendra Sharma, founder president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association: "Tourism brings dollars no doubt, but in many a country it has also opened the gates for cultural devaluation."

"The city of the Taj, which till now had remained virtually insulated from tourism-related pollution, is beginning to feel the impact of changing perceptions and lifestyles, falling prey to demands from tourists for forbidden pleasures."

Police say a thriving market for prostitutes and even gigolos has come up to cater to the needs of tourists, mostly domestic.

In recent raids a large number of people booked were found to be of the nouveau riche variety.

A few days ago, a shoe manufacturer of Sanjay Place commercial complex in the city was caught with a group of call girls from Delhi. Two days later, a leading generator dealer of Chatta bazaar was accused of links with a call girl racket.

The police have busted a series of call girl rackets in neighbourhoods close to the major centres of tourist activity. Some of the girls arrested were locals, while some came from Delhi.

Police said from the confessions of three call girls from Delhi who were caught from a hotel two days ago, they had evidence confirming how local emporium staff and travel agents patronise the flesh trade.

Agra has become a transit point for recruitment and supply of dancing girls for bars in Mumbai, informed sources said. Two days ago, police took into custody two teenaged girls who were being taken to Mumbai to work in bars.

The Shaheed Nagar colony has become infamous as a haven for flesh traders, mostly from the Beria tribe.

A senior police official indicated that whole families were involved in the supply of girls picked up early and later administered hormone injections for inducing accelerated physical growth.

However, doctors at the district hospital and local officials deny any such cases.

"A stray case does not make a pattern. In any case medically it was unwise and impractical to fake physical growth. There could be any number of side-effects which would only make the person unfit for the flesh trade in the long run," a senior medico said.

But unconfirmed reports continue to do the rounds about certain tribes in the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh belt where young girls are injected with hormonal injections.

Two interesting cases in the past week provided new insights into the working of the trade.

In one instance a newly built nursing home was being used for prostitution, with the doctor himself coordinating the racket. The other case involved a musical orchestra. The dancing and singing girls with the orchestras took up part time assignments as call girls, according to city Superintendent of Police Gulab Singh.

With hundreds of small and big hotels where one can stay in anonymity, informed sources say that every weekend a large number of so-called tourists from Delhi and neighbouring areas descend on Agra for fun and entertainment.

"If this is going to be the new trend as a fallout of tourism promotion, Agra would do well to maintain a low profile and stick to its traditional industries," says a retired professor.