E-Paper
IG?s order to curb flesh trade in Meerganj
With cops tightening the noose around flesh trade this profession in the city is on the verge of disappearance. However, the drive is confined only to banishing this flourishing business from just one area-Meerganj.
With cops tightening the noose around flesh trade this profession in the city is on the verge of disappearance. However, the drive is confined only to banishing this flourishing business from just one area-Meerganj.
If Dalmandi in Varanasi and Moolganj in Kanpur can be shut permanently why not Meerganj here, says IG Zone Suvrat Tripathi who has ordered to stop the flesh trade in Meerganj. Prostitutes here are not just selling sex but death.
They are not only transmitting the deadly AIDS virus but several other sexually transmitted diseases to hundreds of persons making their life hellish.
However, the IG's move is being viewed with skepticism. There have been numerous raids in the past and cops have cracked down on the prostitutes operating from a cluster of dingy houses situated in the area but their business continues to flourish despite several odds, says a shopkeeper in the area. What about the money which cops are squeezing from these prostitutes every week.
Can this stop? he asked. If this does, certainly this business will see its end.
If cops really want this business to close down once and for all they will have to sacrifice the lure of illegal money, said another shopkeeper of the area on condition of anonymity. Time will only tell what the men in uniform are having up their sleeves.
The IG may be well meaning but what about the men down the line in the department, says Anand Mohan a prominent social activist.
Even if Meerganj flesh trade is really closed down the cheap hotels on the city side will employ the prostitutes for their customers.
The only difference will be that those among the have-nots who can afford the prostitutes in this area will not be in the same position as the rates of the prostitutes will be higher, said a tea stall owner who has a good clientele amongst the prostitutes.
