Spa surprise in Delhi: DCW says 5000+ spas running in city; MCDs says nope, only 498
The DCW had earlier issued a notice to a search engine, seeking information related to the registration of spa centres on their portal. In its reply to the women's panel, the portal had said there are more than 5,000 spas operating in Delhi.
In Short
- The three MCDs said that only 498 spas operating in the city
- The Commission has granted the portal two weeks to collate the entire data
- The licencing process of the MCDs is a joke, said DCW chief
The Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) on Saturday said that there are more than 5,000 spas operating in Delhi. Denying the DCW's claim, the three municipal corporations in Delhi - East Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and North Delhi Municipal Corporation - said that only 498 spas have been operating in the city.
The DCW had earlier issued a notice to a search engine, seeking information related to the registration of spa centres on their portal. In its reply to the women's panel, the portal had said there are more than 5,000 spas operating in Delhi.
The development comes a few days after the DCW conducted an inspection of spa centres across Delhi and busted alleged sex rackets operating in these centres. On September 12, the panel had busted an alleged sex racket operating in a spa centre in north Delhi's Burari area and a few days earlier, it had raided three spa centres in Delhi's Madhu Vihar area and found that the establishments were running a sex racket under the garb of spa services.
Following which, the DCW issued a notice to a search engine and demanded to know the number of spas that have been running in the city. The panel has also instituted an inquiry in the matter of illegal spas flourishing in the capital and running prostitution rackets, it said.
After the search engine informed that there were a total of 5,000 spas operating in the city, the south MCD informed the panel that 297 spas are operating in its zone, the North MCD said 127 spas are operating in its zone and the east MCD said 60 spas are operating in its zone.
Meanwhile, in a fresh notice to the portal on Saturday, the Commission has granted the portal two weeks to collate the entire data and provide it to the commission.
Speaking with India Today TV, DCW chief Swati Maliwal said, "Over 5,000 spa centres have been running in Delhi and the MCDs have claimed that there are only 498. The licencing process of the MCDs is also a joke. The MCDs don't even inspect the sites before granting them licences. What proof do you need to believe that some illegal spas have been running in Delhi."
In a tweet, Swati Maliwal said that a search engine had informed the women's panel that more than 5,000 spas have been operating in Delhi, while the MCDs, in its reply, claimed that they have given licenses to only 498.
Just Dial 5,000 , MCD 498 !
MCD& Just Dial , ?
? pic.twitter.com/oZC5hsmZfc Vandana Singh (@VandanaSsingh) October 5, 2019
(With inputs from PTI)