Civic body ropes in transgenders to collect parking fees in Berhampur

Berhampur: The Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) has roped in transgender people for collecting parking fees from different public stands in the city from Tuesday. At least 10 members of two self-help groups (SHG)s of transgenders have been engaged for the task.
“They have been entrusted with at least four public stands including Old Berhampur, Arnnapurna Market, Sai Market Complex and near Girija Square where large vehicles are usually parked for collecting parking fees on a pilot basis,” BeMC commissioner Chakravarti Singh Rathore said. He added, “We will decide on entrusting them with more areas only after seeing the response to the existing ones.” Parking fees makes up the bulk of revenue for the BeMC. Each group has been provided with mPOS (mobile point of sale) machines for the purpose. Prior to this, they were trained in handling these machines for four days. These transgenders have to do abide by the Covid-19 regulations and wear masks and maintain a social distance while on the job.
Rathore said, “The objective behind engaging the transgenders to collect the parking fees was to bring them into the mainstream and also make them self-reliant.”
Sweety Sahu, president of Sakhi, an organization of the transgenders, said, “This will help us lead a dignified life. Besides, it will also help us earn at a time when our traditional sources of livelihood have been severely affected owing to the lockdown.” Silk City boasts of around 20 transgenders. Most of them make ends meet by dancing in family functions, at fairs and during festivals and by running beauty parlours. But the lockdown has dealt a blow to their sources of income.
Earlier, the BeMC had provided training to at least 26 transgenders, the members of three SHGs, in shoe-making under the Odisha Livelihood Mission. Experts from a reputed shoe-manufacturing company of Kolkata had taught them to make slippers as well as market the products. Sources said some of them have already started their business.