SHUBHANGI SHFA
Ranchi, June 2: The Ranchi district administration is working to provide a shelter home equipped with amenities for transgenders in the city soon. The transgenders staying here will also be provided facilities for medical and skill development. This scheme will benefit those transgenders who have been nowhere to go and have no place to live.
The district administration has shortlisted five places for this at the moment. However, preparations will be started after finalizing one of these places. This work was stalled initially due to the Panchayat elections; however, now that the elections are almost over, the administration is set to begin the work in full swing.
Kumud Jha, president of Divyam Dream Foundation, an organisation working for the transgender community, said that there are more than 200 such transgender in Ranchi, who have no arrangements for living, eating and drinking. For this, work is being done in collaboration with the district administration to provide them with all kinds of facilities by making shelter homes for them.
Jha further informed that the foundation is trying to make people aware of the benefit of the scheme to the transgender community-based in Ranchi. They are being made aware to get registered and have transgender certificates. The community has also been told that if someone does not have a medical certificate of being transgender, then they can apply for a certificate by submitting an affidavit on a stamp paper for just Rs 10. For transgender certificates, one notably has to apply on the portal of the National Portal for Transgender Person, Ministry of Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
With the help of the district administration, vacant places have been identified in Khelgaon, Hehal, Haram, Madhukam and Dhurwa in Ranchi. The most suitable place among these is Hehal, where all kinds of facilities can be started immediately. The district administration has also been informed about this. However, the district administration wants to make sure that the place will be completely safe for the community members.
Ranchi DDC Vishal Sagar said, “The district administration is making preparations to provide free accommodation to the transgender community. It will be more like a shelter home that will be run along the lines of an old age home or children’s home. We will provide them with food and other amenities just like other shelter homes in the city. However, we will need approval in this regard from the Women and Child Welfare department. We are also looking at a select few places but we need to make sure that they will be safe in those areas, keeping the stigma related to the community in mind.”
“We will try to start vocational training for them or to help them get Aadhaar certificates made among others for we are trying to make them independent, though it will not be a permanent home for people. We will also be outsourcing the work of maintenance and cleaning of the shelter homes to NGOs,” Sagar added.
When asked about rumours of a school building near Piska More being chosen for the same, he said, “We did shortlist a building there which was originally a school. However, the building originally belongs to the education department. Along with this, it is a school, and making it a shelter home does not seem feasible.”
