KOLKATA: The transgender community’s quest to be a part of the mainstream got a shot in the arm on Saturday when West Bengal Electronics Department ( Webel ) announced its plans to impart computer education to people from the community. This will be the first time a government agency willdo its bit in bringing the community into the mainstream.“We aim to train around 100 people. They are one of the most marginalized sections. So, we decided to do our bit,” Webel CEO Prodip Mukhopadhyay said at American Centre on the eve of Transgender Day of Visibility. The training will include MS Office suite, data entry operations and internet browsing. It will be aimed at enhancing employability of transgenders in different organizations. “They will also be given soft skill training,” Mukhopadhyay added.Transman Kaviraag Poddar and transwoman Anuradha Sarkar will be among the first to be trained. They, in turn, will teach others in the community. Webel will set up the necessary infrastructure at the Association of Transgenders/Hijaras of Bengal (ATHB) office on Gokhale Road. “We are happy more and more organisations are coming forward to make us a part of the mainstream,” said Ranjita Sinha of ATHB.Earlier, School for Skills and Allied Health Sciences had trained two from the community to be OT technicians. Medica Superspecialty Hospital provideda job to one of them. Peerless Hospital, too, is planning to open a transgender sensitized health clinic.

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