Neemuch: For generations, Jetpura, Hadi Pipliya, Chaldu, Bardiya, and Borkhedi villages in Neemuch district had seen widespread prostitution with women passing on the trade to their daughters.
But it may be a thing of past now. The area is set to overcome its dark past thanks to training courses and coaching for recruitment by different government departments.
At a meeting held on Thursday evening, district collector Jitendra Singh Raje directed that a full-scale effort be made to provide employment to young girls of Banchhada community who have cleared class 12 or have other special qualifications. Flesh trade is common in community.
A meeting was organised under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for socio-economic uplift of women and girls of Banchhada community. Collector Raje directed officials to organise separate employment fair for those who are unable to get job in fair.
The collector instructed women and child development department to coordinate with police department and arrange special coaching for written examination of police constable recruitment examination for Banchhada community youths under Sashaktvahini Yojana.
Also, in the departments where employees are outsourced, eligible women of Banchhada community should be given priority in employment. The district education officer was also instructed to make arrangements for special evening coaching classes for girls in their villages. He directed e-governance manager to arrange Aadhaar card by resolving the problems faced by women of the community.
Collector Raje directed that a nodal officer be appointed in predominant Banchhada villages who should ensure to solve their problems. He also instructed chief medical officer to organise a health check-up camp in villages and check whether women and adolescent girls are anaemic.
District panchayat CEO Ashish Sangwan, women and child development officer Sanjay Bhardwaj and other officials were present in the meeting.
FACTS AT A GLANCE:
In Neemuch district, there are only 25 villages where a large chunk of population belongs to the Banchhada community. The 15,000-odd members of the community are spread over 70 deras (settlements) in Neemuch, Mandsaur and Ratlam districts.
In 2012, Madhya Pradesh Women Empowerment Department conducted a survey in 24 Banchhada-dominated villages showed that the number of women is more than the men - 3,595 women and 2,770 men.
A similar exercise conducted in 38 villages in Mandsaur in 2015 and the data revealed that their population in district was 3,435, with 2,243 women and 1,192 men, which means two women for every man.
