Answer 2:

SEX WORKERS: NOW & THEN

The term prostitution is popularly used to refer to the trade of sexual services for payment
in cash or kind, and so to a form of social interaction that is simultaneously sexual and
economic. This makes prostitution a difficult cultural category, for in most societies sexual
and economic relations are imagined and regulated in very different ways.
Yet prostitution is often simultaneously viewed as an inevitable feature of all human
societies, for it is held to meet the supposedly powerful and biologically given sexual
impulses of men. Thus it is sometimes described as a “necessary evil” and considered to
protect the virtue of “good” girls and women by “soaking up” excess male sexual urges
which would otherwise lead to rape and marital breakdown.

However, sex worker organizations are leading efforts to advance their human rights and
access to HIV services in many countries. The nationwide programme enlisted peer
motivators to assist in the distribution of condoms and lubricant, information on sexually
transmitted infections and HIV prevention, paralegal services and health service referrals.
Community empowerment services that aim to reduce violence, stigma and discrimination
included sensitization training and a helpline for sex workers.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 is the first comprehensive federal law
to address trafficking in persons. The law provides a three-pronged approach that includes
prevention, protection, and prosecution. The TVPA was reauthorized through the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013.
Under U.S. federal law, “severe forms of trafficking in persons” includes both sex trafficking
and labor trafficking:
Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining,
patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the
commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to
perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.
OPINION:
You don’t have to be a sex worker to know what it’s like to feel excluded from society. I
couldn’t be myself. Most people weren’t in a place where they could deal with my sex work.
Prostitution is a multimillion-dollar-a-year business in Las Vegas, and nobody gets any taxes
off of it … The city and the county could probably make about $25 million a year in taxes off
of legalized prostitution, Right now they spend a lot of money policing vice. Why not
eliminate that and turn it into a revenue-maker, instead of having to pay to police it?
Sex work is a profession held all over the world and in many different forms. Though
trafficking laws also need to be improved, victims still slip into the hands of traffickers with
our current system. Decriminalization and legalization of sex work broadly across the
country will increase protections for sex workers, who currently are exposed to abuses
without the protection of the law.

Answer 3:

CHENNAI WATER CRISIS CAUSES

& PREVENTION MEASURES

Chennai (formerly Madras), the capital of India's southern Tamil Nadu state, is gaining
notoriety as the disaster capital of the world - floods one year, cyclone the next, and drought
the year after.
CAUSES:

 Almost 2400 acres of water bodies disappeared by 2016

 Only 5 out of 210 water bodies restored
 Over 50% structures non-compliant with rainwater harvesting
 20% decrease in reservoir capacity due to poor maintenance
 No action on 3 heavily polluted rivers
 At least 3 different agencies oversee Chennai’s water bodies
 13-year delay in Master Plan notification, 25-year delay in revision of State Water
Policy
MEASURES:

 Tamil Nadu, the state government on Friday announced a 220km water train every
day to bring water to its capital city Chennai. The trains will carry water from
Jolarpettai, 220 km away, every day at an expense of ₹65 crore, according to the
government.
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) which has worked closely with many Asian
countries to deal with water crisis, will be happy to share its knowledge to deal
efficiently with water scarcity problems in Chennai, said Ramesh Subramaniam,
director general (Southeast Asia department), ADB.
 Municipal Administration minister Velumani, however, rejected reports that some IT
companies were directing its employees to work from home due to the water
shortage. He said that the government is ready to help the IT firms by arranging
private water tanker supply if they require.

PREVENTION MEASURES FOR FUTURE:

 Need for water governance: a permanent body similar to urban development

authorities that regulate the supply, demand and maintenance of water services
and structures. On the supply side, this authority should monitor and regulate
groundwater in Chennai. Water Supply by private tankers must also be regulated
with pricing for their services having reached exorbitant levels.
 Stakeholder Coordination: The management of lakes comes under the Public Works
Department, which works in isolation from Chennai Metro Water. This lack of
coordination leads to a water policy that operates in silos. The board must also have
regulatory powers to monitor the maintenance of RWH structures at homes and in
offices. In existing RWH structures, pipes are either broken or clogged, filtration
equipment is not cleaned, bore pits have too much silt and drains are poorly
maintained.

ROOTS CLUB INITIATIVE:

 As a active member, we would organize a donation fund camp which would finally be
sent to Tamil Nadu government to help people out there.
  We can also cut back our own water day-to-day usage and use as per limited.
 Awareness camps could be organised to make people aware about the water crises
situation and prevention measures for the future sake.
 We can also supply water tankers to the suffering people out there, with a consult
from the government, the initiatives could be applied to help the people.

Answer 4:

MOB LYNCHING

Lynching, a form of violence in which a mob, under the pretext of administering justice
without trial, executes a presumed offender, often after inflicting torture and corporal
mutilation. The term lynch law refers to a self-constituted court that imposes sentence on a
person without due process of law.
REASONS:

 Rise of cow vigilante: Even since, Government imposed a ban on the sale and
purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across India, under Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals statutes (26th May 2017), it sparked a new wave of cow vigilante
in the country. Though the Supreme Court, suspended the ban on the sale of cattle
in its judgment in July 2017, giving relief to the multi-billion dollar beef and leather
industries and several states where beef is one among the primary foods there was a
rise in attacks on Muslims accusing them as beef eaters.
 Silence of political class: Despite the rising mob violence, the political class and
bureaucracy continued remain a silent spectator. The human rights observers, feel
political class in behind the rise mob lynching since most of the people who are
ruling the country retained or captured the power through political system which
aggressive and violent. Besides, they have built their political career propagating
violence against minorities, where the mobs feel empowered and strong. The
political class, apart from their customary condemnation, they avoid visiting the
victims or their surviving families.
 Rumours of child lifters: Rumours of child kidnappers proved to an ignition point for
mob violence, where WhatsApp posts were circulated Odisha, Tamilnadu, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal. This claimed several lives on
domestic visitors, mentally deranged peoples and incited numerous mob attacks.
According to various reports, at least 20 persons have been killed and several injured
in incidents of mob violence sparked by rumours of child kidnapping in 10 states for
 the past three months. One way could be to keep detect rumours circulating on
social media in their respective areas well before the public vents its anger and
frustration at the innocent individuals.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:

A) Creation of nodal officers

Central government on its part has asked states to appoint a nodal officer in each district to
prevent the incidents of mob violence and lynching. In its advisory, the Home Ministry said,
the nodal officer should be of superintendent of police-level officer.
B) Creation of Two high level committees
Two high-level committees have been constituted by the Central government to suggest
ways and legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching.