City anchor: Rescued sex workers sew napkins,pledge Rs 1 lakh to fight drought

The group is part of over 2,000 sex workers who were rescued through a special operation carried out by former Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Prakash in June 2010. On this operation,several brothels,massage parlors and dhabas,with active flesh trade,were busted.

Following this, the rescued women who were booked under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention Act),1986 (PITA) stayed in jail for 21 days. On their release,most women went back to prostitution,but for a group of 25 workers who resolved to steer clear.

With help from an NGO,Snehalaya,which trained them in sewing and lent financial aid to buy the machines and set up a business,this group of women spent the past two years sewing and selling napkins at markets. This became their livelihood.

“This is the worst drought that we can remember. Our locality is also going through severe water scarcity. Many of us have to struggle to get one handa (pot) of water. Many a times,we are shooed away by people who have wells and borewells. The condition is really bad in the rural areas. So we decided to help as per our might,” Sangita Pawar,a member of the group,said.

Deepa Qureshi,another member,said,“When we were into prostitution,we earned around Rs 2,000 to 2,500 per day. Today,we don’t earn that much. But,we yearn to help people in these troubled times. So we handed over Rs 15,000 to the collector. In a month’s time,we will contribute Rs 1 lakh to the Drought Relief Fund.”

The napkin business of Bhagatgalli in Ahmednagar,a place that until two years ago had a repute for being a red light district,is now doing quit well. On an average,a woman from the group earns Rs 550 to 600 by making and selling about 25 to 30 bunches of napkin a day. A bunch usually contains 12 pieces of napkins and is sold at Rs 25.