Illegal activities keep people off several parks

Illegal activities keep people off several parks

LAW &ORDER Prostitutes and transsexuals soliciting customers is a routine affair at parks
The Hindu


BANGALORE: Some of the important parks, particularly the Cubbon Park, have apparently turned into an eyesore of the Garden City.

People are being forced to keep away from these parks because of certain alleged nefarious activities that are taking place there in full public view. Prostitutes, mainly transsexuals, soliciting customers has become a routine affair at some large parks such as the Cubbon Park and M.N. Krishna Rao park in Basavanagudi.

There have also been incidents of people being robbed at parks. In one such case, an engineer was threatened at knife-point and was robbed of Rs. 6,000 by armed men at Bugle Rock park recently.

One can find several transsexuals, clad in glossy saris and salwar kameezs, lined up all along the metal fence of the Cubbon Park on Kasturba Road and soliciting customers, both during the day and the night. There have also been complaints of transsexuals harassing the visitors to the park to pay them money.

The Horticulture Department, that maintains the park, and the police do not seem to have taken the issue seriously. When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), G.B. Chebbi, admitted that the Cubbon Park is a haven for the eunuchs soliciting customers.

Mr. Chebbi told The Hindu that police have chased away the transsexuals on several occasions. When the police try to chase them away, they drop their saris and create an awkward situation. The police find it difficult to initiate action against them, he said.

"We will take up a drive against the transsexuals indulging in prostitution at the Cubbon Park," he said.

Besides the problem of transsexuals, the visitors to the Cubbon Park also have to bear with drunkards, who, many a times, are seen consuming liquor inside the park. It is also said that the park is also a centre for drug addicts.

Visitors to the M.N. Krishna Rao Park in Basavanagudi also complain that the problem of eunuchs soliciting customers is rampant there. Recently, a eunuch accosted a travel agent who had been to the park and sought a lift on his motorcycle to Minerva Circle. After travelling some distance, the eunuch robbed the travel agent of his gold chain.

Visitors frequenting the parks in the city say that though the parks are well maintained, there is no authority to check the unlawful activities that take place there. All the parks in Bangalore, except Lalbagh, have unrestricted entry. Only Lalbagh charges an entry fee and is closed during the night.

Manohar, who is associated with Sangama, an NGO working for sexual minorities, says transsexuals harassing the visitors to the parks are stray incidents. The police, especially constables, harass transsexuals for huge bribes, he alleges. "We support sex work and it is the only form of vocation for transsexuals," he adds.