Coming to the aid of the transgender community who live on the margins of society and are forced to seeks alms for survival, the Telangana DGP Prisons and Correctional Services Vinoy Kumar Singh has said that the department will hire people from the transgender community to operate at petrol pumps run by the Prisons department.
Addressing the media on Friday, the DGP that the pumps would be entirely operated by people from the trans community, similar to the all-women petrol pump at Chanchalguda.
“The transgender community don’t seek alms willingly. Since they are denied employment and are looked down upon by the society, they are left with no other option but to seek alms. We are thinking of providing employment to them like how we opened petrol pumps exclusively for women,” the DGP said.
The Prisons department has plans to open 20 petrol pumps across the state in the next three months. The department has already entered into an agreement with petroleum companies and are considering taking lands on lease for the purpose.
The DGP disclosed that they would be providing employment for about 400 prisoners, who will be released soon.
Already, the department has been operating 18 petrol pumps run by prison inmates.
Further, the DGP stated that there’s a decline in the number of prisoners in Telangana, and they have closed down 17 out of 49 jails in the state due to the success of their rehabilitation programmes.
The DGP has already sent a proposal to the government to convert these temporarily closed prisons into shelter homes for destitutes and elderly persons.
The Prisons department will also be foraying into housing development activity. The DGP said that they will purchase land from private parties, construct houses and give it to the prison staff. The former inmates would be hired for construction activity, the DGP said.