West Bengal: Protesting RG Kar Rape And Murder, Kolkata Sex Workers Refuse To Provide Soil For Durga Puja Idols

Many of the sex workers living in Kolkata's red-light area Sonagachhi have refused to give soil from their homes for the Durga Puja celebrations protesting the RG Kar rape and murder case.

The dead body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata after rape and murder on 9 August.

Since then, not only the medical fraternity but all sections of society, especially in West Bengal, have been protesting and demanding justice for her.

In those lines, a sex worker was quoted as saying by Dainik Bhaskar, "The woman doctor of RG Kar hospital did not get justice. Doctors are like gods. When people can't respect them, why we should give the soil."

Notably, it has been a tradition in West Bengal to sculpt idols of Goddess Durga for the Puja by using soil from the homes of sex workers, to mark the all-inclusivity of the Hindu religious festival.

"If the doctor does not get justice until the next year. Then we will not give soil for the Durga Puja next year as well," she added. Even local clubs, which organise Puja, have denied taking celebration money from the government.

As per Bhaskar, West Bengal's Rs 50,000 crore economy of Durga Puja is under threat due to people's displeasure over the RG Kar case. Durga Puja organisers are also not getting sponsorships.

Another sex worker said, "Women are not safe in Bengal. After all, we are sex workers, how can we feel safe? This is our way of protesting against the Mamata Banerjee government."