The safe home, Astana, is located in Jodhpur Garden area of south Kolkata. (Photo by Partha Paul)The Covid-19 pandemic has made several marginalised communities, including transgender people, vulnerable, raising concern about their safety and well-being. So, to provide a safe environment to transgender people who do not have a roof above their head, members of the community have come up with a temporary home, Astana, in south Kolkata.
“It is for people like us who are driven out of houses and we fail to find a place to stay. Even hotels turn their back on us,” Ranjita Sinha , who runs Association of Transgender Hijra in Bengal (ATHB), told The Sunday Express.
The facility Astana, which can provide accommodation to six people, was inaugurated by dancer Alokananda Roy at Jodhpur Garden area in south Kolkata on August 26. The initiative banks on voluntary contribution of people. It is expected to welcome visitors from the first week of September.
According to the members who started the facility, they were getting requests from several quarters to open a place in the city, where those from the community can stay for a few days. “It will offer a free stay and we will stay like a family,” said Ranjita.
“The idea is not just to provide shelter, but also impart vocational training to transgenderpeople in future,” said Moon Saha, a member who has contributed for the facility.