Maharashtra: BMC gives essential items and ration kits to 4,500 commercial sex workers and transgender community members

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, BMC, with the help of NGOs on Tuesday, distributed essential items and ration kits to 4,500 commercial sex workers (CSWs) and memebrs of the transgender community.
BMC officials said that as part of measures to support CSWs, ration kits were distributed to CSWs and NGOs in the city.
The initiative was started by the BMC’s planning department.
The initiative was launched by additional municipal commissioner (eastern suburbs) Ashwini Bhide, additional municipal commissioner (city) Sanjeev Jaiswal, Congress corporator Javed Juneja at Savitribai Phule Municipal School on NM Joshi Marg.
Officials said that under this initiative, with the help of various NGOs, around 4,500 women were provided with kits containing various daily essentials.
“There are about 4,500 CSWs and transgender community members in the city. As these women are facing various difficulties during the current lockdown, the planning department of the BMC has taken the initiative to distribute food kits with the help of various NGOs,” said a civic official.
“The kit includes items like rice, flour, sugar, tea, salt, red chilli, turmeric, garam masala, lentils, gram, onions, potatoes, edible oil, body soap and laundry soap. The kits were distributed in the same manner during the lockdown last year as well,” the official added.