5 minutes agoWriters: Ashish Urmalia
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On the election pamphlet, below the number of leaders, the numbers of tawaifs are distributing papers.
A new form of politics is visible in the infamous streets of UP. No leader comes here. But the workers are hovering. Actually, these are not real workers. These are the brokers of the same streets, who are wearing BJP-Congress or whatever party’s garland around their neck. Then roaming around and distributing the pamphlets to the people, when given a chance, they are also giving their contacts in the same pamphlets. This was the condition of Mirganj, the red light area of Prayagraj. Apart from Prayagraj, we have also measured the election temperature of Safedabad in Barabanki, Shivdaspur in Varanasi and Italia in Basti city. Let’s go one by one…
Badnaam Gali 1, Safedabad of Barabanki
4 streets, more than 200 doors, 800 women, they do not talk about elections
Just behind the Safedabad police booth, 50 steps away, four lanes start one after the other. There are more than 200 small doors in them. Girls stand outside them from 9 o’clock in the morning. We went through all three streets in turn. In the meantime, we heard only 3 sentences more…
- Oh bearded, will you see the dance?
- where to walk
- To dance in a party or at home
women waiting for customers
After completing 2 rounds in all the four lanes, no election card, pamphlet or poster is visible on any door. After completing two rounds, 7-8 boys in the age group of 25 to 30 years followed us. He only counts the merits of women.
When it came to know that the media persons have come, everyone says, ‘Meet Pradeep’.
The road that connects these four lanes to the police booth, at the same entry point is a man wearing a white kerchief sitting on a plastic chair. Age is around 40. This man, who looks like a strong five and a half feet, is the owner of all four streets. My name is Pradeep Kumar Yadav.
“We didn’t let BJP win here in Modi wave, now Akhilesh’s government has to be formed”
Even after saying a lot, he does not agree to talk on camera. He said, “Even in the Modi wave in the 2017 elections, we did not allow the BJP to win. Will not let you win this time also. Akhilesh Yadav’s government has to be formed. The Yogi government has not done anything for the people of this community.”
Women forced to live in a one-room house amidst filth
While keeping his point, Pradeep repeatedly makes the surrounding crowd agree. The crowd says, ‘Pradeep bhaiya will vote for whomever he speaks.’ Seema Natt and Aarti Natt standing in the crowd say, “No one has come to our street to ask for votes so far. She tells that her house is in Hardoi and Kasganj.
Been in this business at the same place for 80 years, only after Corona there has been a recession
The women living here are not able to do anything openly. After knowing this we are media people, she runs away. When asked something, they do not answer. Those who are over 40 just say, “The rent of our rooms has been reduced to 4000. From where do you get so much money? Earlier, 500 to 2000 used to meet for dancing in a party. Now I have to work in 200.”
While leaving from there, Anju gently calls aside and says, “There is a lot of dirt here. Can’t breathe. Get this mess removed by writing in the newspaper.
Badnaam Gali 2, Mirganj of Prayagraj
4 lanes, 15 girls, 70 men bargaining; But by putting BJP-Congress pots around the neck
There are maximum BJP flags in the streets of Mirganj. There are 22 BJP flags hanging in total 4 infamous streets Madrasi Gali, Satya Gali, Julaha Gali and Nepali or Pahari Gali. Outside the street, 20-25 people are roaming around with pamphlets of BJP, Congress and Raja Bhaiya’s Jansatta Party in their hands, but they talk to people not on politics but about women’s rates and their merits.
Praveen Gupta, who runs a cloth shop at the mouth of the street, says, “None of them are workers. All are business people. But they have worked out the formula for the time being. They run the business under the guise of election banners and posters.”
Praveen says, “These people see which party’s people are coming to campaign more. From that, they guess which party is overwhelming in this area. Then they put banners and posters of the same party on their homes. This gives them confidence that the police will not bother much.”
At present, BJP Nand Gopal Nandi is the most visible candidate of Jansatta Party of Raja Bhaiya. Many Congressmen with claws of their hands are also hanging around their necks. 20-25 workers of an independent candidate with Kanni election symbol are constantly hovering in the area. Below is a picture of one of them.
Once 600 women used to perform sex here, due to 2 soldiers now the locks have been locked.
At present only 15 are left in Mirganj. They too come and sit at the mouth of the street after dusk. Bargaining takes place outside the street. Then the girls sit on the bike and go away with the youths. This was not the case till 2013.
There were three types of tawaifs in Mirganj. The first one was from here. Second, those who were brought in by purchase and third, those who chose this path because of poverty. Then here, girls from Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, Rajasthan’s Dholpur and West Bengal used to stand at the gates of the streets for the whole day.
An incident on 7 September 2013 sealed the area in such a way that even after 9 years the doors are locked. That day was a Sunday evening. Two soldiers of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had actually come to Mirganj for Anoop Kumar and Lalmani Tafri. It was alleged that he was talking to a tawaif. Then the boyfriend of that girl came and shot both of them.
Now forced to sell body for 30 rupees
Zohra (name changed) from Murshidabad says, “Everyone has their own rates fixed here. Some 100 rupees and some 500 rupees. One part of this goes to the police and the other to the owner of the brothel. The broker also takes his share on every client. We are left with only Rs 30 out of Rs 100. If a happy customer gives something separately, it becomes ours.”
Badnaam Gali 3, Shivdas Pur of Varanasi
Women peeping through broken houses, SP-Congress election posters on the walls, but no leader reached for 18 years
Walking half a kilometer to the right from Banaras railway station, we reached Shivdaspur. Here after walking 50 steps in the narrow street, a different atmosphere was seen. Some women are peeping from the houses built in a line. At the same time, the song ‘Kitna Haseen Chehra’ from the film Dilwale is playing. There are more than 30 such houses here, where the lock is hanging. Roads are bad and garbage is scattered all around these houses.
After roaming the entire Shivdaspur from 9 am to 11 am, we did not see any election atmosphere. But in the meantime, we saw a blurred Congress campaign on an old wall in the area. At the same time, when posters of SP-Alliance were seen outside many houses, we took the initiative on our own. To know the election situation, we reached outside a semi-constructed house…
This woman is living in this half-baked house since childhood
The sound comes from inside the house…
What’s the work, Babu, how here… what do you want?
A woman comes out combing her hair. The name suggests Kajal. Showing the picture of Akhilesh printed on the SP’s poster, we asked if he knew him. Kajal said, “No, how to recognize it, it has never been seen here.”
It’s been 18 years, no big leader came to Shivdaspur… His chintu comes
We found Rani (name changed) next to the pond in the heart of Shivdaspur. Rani is a sex worker, who has been living here for the last 25 years. He told on the condition of not appearing on camera, “All was well here till 2005. Such was the glee that Juhu-Chowpatty of Mumbai was a failure. But after Chaudhary’s encounter in 2005, everything was ruined. The police took the girls here. Many people were put in jail. Since then no leader has come here. Just send their kins to paste the election paper.
After the business slowed down, the woman has opened a small shop to feed herself.
Rahmat Khan made Shivdarpur a bad lane
It’s the 1970s. Then the Dalmandi area near the Kashi Vishwanath temple was famous for Tawaikas. When the temple area was reformed in 1980, the police started chasing the women working here. When the government hunter started, the beauty of Dalmandi settled in Shivdaspur far away.
Chauthi Prasad, who runs a groceries shop in Shivdaspur, says, “Earlier, women used to sing and play here. But Rahmat Khan threw women into the business of sexual intercourse. Their identity was as far as Kanpur, Bihar, Nepal and Bengal. There. He used to bring girls here from far and wide. But he was killed in a police encounter in 2005. Since then the situation here has worsened.
“There were more than 200 women here at the time of Rahmat. But in 2005 there was a big police raid here. Many women were jailed. Today only 10 to 12 houses are left here, where this work is done secretly.” Prasad added. Shivdaspur has 64 houses. About 460 people live here.
Italia Mohalla of Badnaam Gali 4, Basti City
BJP government snatched our employment, will make Akhilesh the Chief Minister
Italia Mohalla comes just after moving 100 meters from Basti railway station. It has about 3 infamous streets. There are still 20-30 women standing here. Seeing her mobile and camera, she runs further away. When we assured that we were not a threat to them, a woman without anonymity said, “The BJP government has closed our rooms. Now we are tempted to grain.”
woman describing the current state of poverty
He said, “The BJP government has also increased inflation. What will happen with 5 kg ration? Our rooms are closed, no one gives us work outside. Where do we go?”
The people around are relieved, but the women living in the street are very angry with the BJP.
Santosh Pandey, who lives in the second street of the locality, says, “Earlier mujra used to run here all night. Traveling was difficult. But all this stopped as soon as the BJP government came. It’s a great relief.” He says, “But still not completely closed. Even now some women do business.”
If anyone lives, no one comes; But we will definitely vote
Without revealing her name, a 25- to 30-year-old girl standing at a door in the street says, “There is a voter card, we all go to vote every time. But no leader is ever seen after winning. But we will vote this time also.”
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