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Rise in sex workers in Indian tourist towns
October 19, 2004
Shimla - There has been an alarming increase in the number of sex workers in
Himachal Pradesh towns popular with tourists, with an estimated 1,200 operating
in this state capital alone, an NGO survey has revealed.
The HP Voluntary Health Association's survey conducted as part of a UN project
revealed that most of the 1,200 sex workers in Shimla belong to the poorest
sections of society including rag pickers and domestic helps.
Association president Ranjan Mahajan said most of these women were not aware of
the danger of sexually transmitted diseases.
Often, women from the middle classes, including college students, are also
involved in prostitution in many hotels and guesthouses of the state. Shimla,
for instance, has a population of 175,000 but hundreds of hotels and
guesthouses to cater to tourists.
The survey also points out to the presence of "mobile brothels", which increase
every summer and winter in peak tourist season.
"Our findings have shown a rise in the number of couples posing as married
couples in several tourist spots," said Anirudh Uppal, additional director
general of police here.
This trend is reflected in hotels on the Kalka-Shimla, Kufri and Chail roads
popular with tourists from nearby Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
Findings by other NGOs in the recent past have also pointed to the rise in
flesh trade in Manali and Dharamsala. Several taxi drivers were found to be
functioning as touts in Manali.
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