Ninth Avenue is a fashionable address to have in New York’s upscale Manhattan area but in Chemmenchery, a slum resettlement colony off the Old Mahabalipuram Road, it’s a flesh trade hub.
Three female pimps with around 250 women and girls in the age group of 18 to 28 on their rolls operate from the Chemmenchery colony that came into existence seven years ago, after people from 22 Chennai slums were relocated as part of a beautification drive. Chemmenchery now is home to 25,000 people.
Of the various roads and avenues in Chemmenchery, the Ninth Avenue, which leads to a graveyard, is the sex bazaar. The three pimp ‘akkas’ use unoccupied houses on that avenue to service their clients or supply women to hotels and lodges elsewhere in the city.
Amisha (45), Meherunissa (50) and Krishnaveni (40) run a close-knit network, which is patronised heavily by political parties and their guests, policemen, goondas and other lonely men, besides foreigners.
Amisha is known for her skill in bringing ‘fresh girls’ into the trade. Meherunissa has five daughters and had earlier lived near Adyar. Krishnaveni moved into Chemmenchery from Choolaimedu.
According to Ranjitha, a former sex worker, “Amisha has strong communication skills. She knows how to reach out to young girls and tempt them with job offers.” The pimps target the vulnerable — young girls without mothers or with drunkard dads.
At times, young widows are easy prey. “Women deserted by their husbands too are possible targets,” says Ranjitha.
The pimps blackmail most of the victims with videos shot when they are in a compromising position. From then on, it is a one-way street. There can no exit. Besides, the girls get less than 10 per cent of what the clients pay.
“The ‘akkas’ are beyond the reach of law. Right from policemen to politicians to goondas to advocates, they have all kinds of clients. These women have positioned themselves strongly by acquiring some party post in political parties, which kind of legitimises their social position. A couple of them even head the women’s wings of parties,” points out Ranjitha. Of the 7,000 houses in the colony, around 500 remain empty. It is these locked houses that are accessed by the pimps and used for sex work, informs Savitri, a resident of Chemmenchery. That apart, they solicit clients in various shady lodges and hotels, says Sheela.
Krishnaveni and Meherunissa offer another package: young girls for marriage. The target: monied men in their sixties, who are bored with their wives or widowed. Marry the girl, offer her a house, visit her at night. Period. According to Akila (22), a sex worker: “The girls are generally in age group of 17-21 and would have already fallen into the trap of Krishnaveni or Meherunissa. After marriage, the girl stays in Chemmenchery, with the old man visiting her only at night and leaving at dawn. This leaves her free to service clients in the day.” The married girl’s stay in Chemmenchery is not negotiable. Last month, a man in his 60s married a 19-year-old, and lived with her for a while in Chemmenchery. Krishnaveni got wind of it and sent goons to threaten him. Finally, he had to leave without the girl.
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