No money for dad’s final rites

At the mercy of loan sharks

Plenty of red tape

‘Trying to release funds before Diwali’

Festival of Lights is all about fun, bonding and shopping. But this Diwali season, there is nothing but gloom that reigns supreme in the homes and hearts of several LGBT (lesbian, gay , bisexual and transgender) and straight youngsters who have been working diligently to fight the menace of HIV/AIDS in the region. The reason is simple- they have not been paid salaries for the past six months by Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), a government run organisation. It has led to gloom and a feeling of desolation ahead of Diwali…Things have turned so abysmal that many youngsters have borrowed money from their friends and acquaintances to run their homes. Sourav Joshi (name changed on request), a 25-year-old gay volunteer, shares, “Nothing can be more heart-breaking than borrowing money from people when you have a so-called regular job. But, the saddest moment for me was when I lost my father recently and I had no money to perform his last rites. My tears just won’t stop. If it wasn’t for some of my friends, I don’t know what I would have done.”Things have gone from bad to worse for many young transgenders who don’t even have the family support. Ragini (name changed on request) a 26-year-old field worker and a transgender speaks for many as she says, “I have no support from my family; it is my job as a field officer that keeps me going. And to make the two ends meet, I had to borrow heavily from the loan sharks and now they are hounding me every day. I can’t even get another job because people don’t like to employ transgenders. I wish the government would wake up to our plight.”When we contacted district programme manager of MSACS, Tanuja Fale, she almost washed her hands off, saying, “I just look after the administration and monitor the HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. But the funds are released by the state.” When asked if she is aware of the problems of over 350 young volunteers working for AIDS prevention in the city who have not been paid for months, she merely said, “Yes, I’m aware of the problem and I have written to the state authorities; I can’t do anything else.”When we apprised the joint director of MSACS, Mumbai, of the problem, he said, “There has been delay in the payments because last year the funds were first sent by the central government to the treasury and there were a lot of issues regarding the disbursal of funds. I assure you that the first installment of pending dues will be paid in the next couple of days. I’m sure the young volunteers’ dilemma will be solved before Diwali.”