Sex workers, HIV patients to get rice at Rs 2 per kg in Bengal

In a first, the West Bengal government has decided to provide rice at Rs two per kg to sex workers and poor HIV patients in the state.
"This project is the brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. For the first time in the country, a state government has decided that sex workers and poor HIV patients will be given rice at Rs 2 per Kg," state Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick told PTI here.
Poor leprosy patients, deaf and dumb children in various homes will also be included in the scheme and in the first phase, about one lakh beneficiaries from across the state will be identified for the purpose, the minister said in an interview.

The state food department, he said, is all set to start a survey in a few days to identify sex workers and HIV positive patients in the state.
"The survey will be completed in the next six months and the implementation of the project will start from January next year," Mullick said.
"We have seen how old and ill sex workers suffer at times. So this project of providing them rice at a subsidised rate will help them to some extent. The same applies for poor HIV patients in the state," he said.

The survey would be first carried out in the red light areas of the state such as Sonagachhi in the city. It would be done by officials of the food department in coordination with local authorities.

"To identify HIV positive patients, we will appoint a food department official in all the state-run hospitals. We will collect the data from the hospital and send those details to the health department for further verification," Mullick said.
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Asked whether this would make public the details of the beneficiaries when social taboos existed regarding HIV and sex workers, Mullick replied in the negative.
"The details would be available only to the food department. Every ration card has a number and beneficiaries under this scheme, if they want to avail of subsidised rice, will use that number just like lakhs of other below poverty line beneficiaries across the state. Neither the ration shop owner of the locality nor the local food inspector or officials will be privy to the details," the minister said.

A large section of sex workers of Sonagachi, which is considered the largest red-light area in Asia, welcomed the project.
"If we get rice at subsidised rates it will help feed our families," said a sex worker.
With his department facing flak and accusations by opposition parties that it was pursuing vote bank politics by making available Ramzan food package in ration shops, Mullick said, "It has nothing to do with vote bank politics or appeasement politics. Ramzan food package can be availed by people of all community - it is not religion or community specific.
"Id is celebrated by people of all communities in our country. We had started this system in 2012 in a small way. But this time it is being done in a bigger way."

Ramzan food packages will be available in all ration shops from June 5 to July 6 across the state. It will be given twice in the one-month period and contain all ingredients - sugar, flour, chick peas and others food items and will cost lesser than in the open market.
"Like Ramzan food package, we have decided to give Durga Puja food packages from the ration shops," he said.
"Durga Puja is a five-day festival. So we will give the food package once, just a week before the Puja starts. It will have flour, sugar and edible oil," Mullick said, adding that like Ramzan package, it can be availed by people of all communities.