SIR camps conducted for sex workers in Kolkata's red-light areas

Kolkata, Dec 10 (PTI) The West Bengal CEO's office on Wednesday organised camps in several red-light areas in Kolkata to help sex workers fill up enumeration forms as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state, an official said.

These camps were set up in red-light zones in Kidderpore, Kalighat and Chetla areas in the city, he said.

The move comes a day after similar assistance camps were organised in Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, in the eastern metropolis.

"The camps are being held at Five Star Club on Munshiganj Road in Kidderpore, and also at 148 Kalighat Road, and at 29/A Rakhaldas Addhya Road in Chetla," the Election Commission official said.

These special camps started functioning from 11 am, he said.

"The sex workers will be assisted in filling up the enumeration forms. The camp will continue till 4 pm," he said.

In Kidderpore, there are at least 70 sex workers, while the number is nearly 100 and around 60 in Kalighat and Chetla, respectively, the official told PTI.

This initiative comes in response to concerns raised by several organisations working for the welfare of sex workers and their children.

The CEO’s office had assured that dedicated camps would be organised to address the concerns and support the community.

Hundreds of sex workers from Sonagachi had thronged EC assistance camps on Tuesday with anxiety writ large on their faces, even as Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said not a single eligible voter would be excluded.

Many of the women, who have been living for years in the narrow lanes and congested 'kothis' of north Kolkata's ward number 18, said they were worried that their names might be struck off the voters' list as they lack proof of ancestry or have long lost contact with their natal families after being trafficked, abandoned or fleeing home decades ago. PTI SCH BDC