Campaign against immoral trafficking of women and children gains momentum in DK

Mangalore, November 19: As part of 'Childline Se Dosti' week, a massive nationwide campaign against immoral trafficking of women and children, a programme was jointly organised by Dakshina Kannada district administration, Zilla Panchayat and Women and Children Welfare Department (WCWD), Mangalore, at the Town Hall here on Monday.

Speaking after inaugurating the programme, Mangalore South MLA and Deputy Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly N Yogish Bhat said that after drugs, human trafficking was the largest racketeering business in the world. Poverty is not the sole reason for increase in human trafficking, but factors related to sex were involved too, he said.

Expressing concern on the rising number of children being pulled in the vortex of flesh trade, he said that while cases of 14 boys and 15 girls going missing had been reported in the district, there could be many more cases gone unnoticed. The Narcotics Cell/Anti-Drugs Trafficking Cell as well as Intelligence Wing had to be strengthened to check the illegal flesh trade in the state. The reasons for unnatural deaths of girls living in boarding houses and hostels also should be probed and brought to the fore. Awareness should be brought among people and students in colleges, and a co-ordinated committee of all departments of the state should be formed, which would help in checking this problem, he said.

Chairperson of Child Welfare Committee Asha Nayak, member of DK Juvenile Justice Board Dr Rameela Shekhar and activist Premanand Kalmadi presented facts and statistics of human trafficking racket in the district.

Dr Rameela Shekhar advised to educate the girl child, and to avoid gender discrimination between children at home. Asha Nayak stressed on the need for awareness of the laws regarding human and child rights in order to prevent them from being exploited. Rehabilitation of the victims of flesh trade also should be looked into, she said.

Zilla Panchayat Chief Planning Officer Mohammed Nazeer said that ignorance and poverty were the primary reasons for victims falling into the net of trafficking. Pro-people programmes should be conducted by the government at village levels to reach out to large number of rural people, which will be affective in creating awareness among them, he said.

Mangalore MLA U T Khader said that along with the co-operation of self-help groups, educating children went a long way in keeping them from being exploited. It should be made a priority, he said.

District-level Committee for Prevention of Women and Children Trafficking vice-president Dhanalakshmi Janardhan delivered the presidential remarks. Mayor of Mangalore City Corporation Gulzar Banu spoke on the occasion. Deputy Director of WCWD Shakuntaka A welcomed the gathering. Director of Padi-Valored Mangalore Renny D'Souza was present.

An awareness rally was taken out prior to the progarmme from Jyothi Circle to Town Hall.