Bhubaneswar, June 23: The strain of growing is telling on the city. Sudden pockets of darkness pockmark the city's journey from temple town to smart city as disturbing incidents of sex trade increasingly come to light.

In May, police nabbed 33-year-old sex trade kingpin Sunil Meher. This led to the shocking discovery that sex trade had made deep inroads into the city. The police found that Meher's network included sex workers from not just all over the country, but many foreign countries as well.

Meher had been operating the racket for around six years and is said to have about 300 girls on the payroll. He used to procure girls from East Europe, Bangladesh and within the country from Delhi, Calcutta and elsewhere. A Kyrgyz sex worker working for Meher was recently rescued from an apartment in the city.

"The incident has thrown light on the growing network of sex trade in the city. On an average, we conduct a dozen or more raids in a month to bust sex rackets. It is because we conduct more raids than say, in Cuttack or any other city in Odisha, that we uncover so many sex trade operations and also arrest the pimps running them. However, there is no doubt that sex trade is rising in Bhubaneswar and it is related to the growth of the city," said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Satyabrata Bhoi.

Once known for its simple lifestyle, the city has transformed visibly from conservative to outgoing. Many corporate companies and educational hubs have come up over the past two decades, bringing people from all over the world to the city. This has changed the city forever. It now resembles a metropolis much more than a small town. Sociologists believe that growing sex trade is just one of the symptoms of a growing city driven by consumerism, which in turn drives crime.

"Even less than two decades ago, the culture of Bhubaneswar was different. It was the capital even then and hence the biggest city of Odisha. But then it used to be a hub of government employees and the average day-in-the-life was to go back to the family in the evening after work was done. Get-togethers did not mean partying out, but hosting relatives and friends at home. There was a sense of responsibility and answerability towards family and a typical Odia family culture existed," said Nabanita Rath, professor of sociology at Utkal University.

"Sex trade was limited to red light areas and sex workers came from poor families. Today, things have completely changed. The red light area has expanded and trafficking exists across the state. In Bhubaneswar, the lure of glamour and consumerism is drawing sex workers from educated backgrounds as well. Many find this an easy way to make money and afford a glamorous life. This has led to more young intermediaries coming up and hence sex trade is bustling in the city," Rath added.

Activists said this was a problem plaguing any city that is growing rapidly. Also, since consensual sex is not illegal, new rackets emerge despite the raids as the victims return to the trade.

"Any town growing into a city and city growing into a super city witnesses rampant sex trade. This is a case of demand and supply. There is a demand and owing to high returns, supply is also easily made available without any real investment," said activist Namrata Chaddha.

Over time, sex trade has changed several addresses, the latest being numerous and seedy beauty salons, restaurants and even private homes and flats.

Women and young girls are often lured with offers to work in beauty parlours and it is not long before they learn that they have been trapped. Owners of such seedy parlours lure and even coerce them into flesh trade with the offer of more money.

A couple of years ago, the police had unearthed sex rackets running under the cover of beauty salons at Chandrasekharpur and along Cuttack Road. Most of these rackets operated under the cover of parlours and massage centres.

A series of raids forced the pimps to hunt for a fresh address. They soon switched to residential buildings and targeted houses where the owners did not stay. This change of place helped them avoid the prying eyes of cops and residents.

"The pimps contact customers over the phone. The customers often arrive for the rendezvous claiming to be relatives of the girls or the pimp," said a senior police official.

The police said most of the girls involved in sex trade came from Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh, as well as from the neighbouring states, especially Bengal.

"The middlemen generally demand between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 for girls from Odisha, but the demand is double in the case of girls from other states," said a police official.

Sociologists say poverty and the dearth of jobs are key factors behind the rise of sex trade.

"The attraction to make a quick buck has led to many students getting into prostitution," a sociologist said. from the accused.