'Sandeep Nagar' is located in Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu. It is a small village. A place to live a happy life with cows and farms. There, only transgender women are beginning their new lives. They live happily there with cows and farms. Last month, a transgender women-only center was inaugurated in Sandeep Nagar. About 30 newcomers settled there. 'I used to get ten or three hundred rupees a day begging and dancing. Today I have land and a cow of my own. Says a transgender.

Bhumika is the president of the co-operative. They live there looking after the cow, milking it, buying cow feed, cleaning the house and surroundings, and talking to the neighbors. However, the emergence of such a city was not so sudden. There was a lot of work behind it. The concept of 'Sandeep Nagar' was first conceived six years ago by Grace Banu, one of India's leading transgender activists. To this end, the Trans Rights Now Collective, led by Banu, has been working and campaigning for years to keep the city alive. The Chennai-based consortium works with the transgender community in India to implement educational and employment initiatives. Grace Banu says we have been approaching the government for years for identity cards for the trans community, homes and so on, but have not received them.

Things changed when Sandeep Nanduri finally came to the district magistrate and the chief administrator of the place. He was a sympathizer of the transgender community.  He quickly granted the transgender community a place to live. At the same time, he suggested the idea of ​​raising a cow. So they started a community - the Mantithoppu Transgender Milk Cooperative Society. It also works with the help of the government. The village is named after Sandeep Nanduri in his honor.

The housing community already exists for the transgender community. What is special about them is that they also have a job here, ”says Sandeep Nanduri. He is also planning to set up a milk parlor in Sandeep Nagar and provide milk and allied products there. Nanduri says if the Sandeep Nagar model succeeds, it will be possible to build villages on its model across the country.

The residents of this place are from Kovilpatti. Most of them have endured years of severe financial insecurity, homelessness and neglect. They were often denied a place to stay, a good job, or an education. The situation was similar across India. The transgender community was often marginalized. A 2018 report by the National Human Rights Commission of India found that 92 per cent of the country's transgender community was excluded from recognized workplaces and 100 per cent of respondents in the study said they faced social stigma. They found that about 30 percent of the transgender population never went to school and that 50 percent of those who attended dropped out before finishing 10th grade.

In any case, Sandeep Nagar is expected to be a solid model against all this. For those who have not completed their studies there, they are planning everything to study facilities, including sewing and computer training. They also hope to welcome the transgender community into it.