| Monday, July 13, 2009 |
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Government drive to check child trafficking
By Nireesh @ 10:43 AM :: 221 Views ::
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According to the statistics available with the committee, 35 children were trafficked from the district to other states in four separate cases since last year. So far 110 children of Manipur, including minor girls, were rescued from various parts of the country since January 2008, the state unit of Childline added. In most of these cases, the traffickers used the Imphal-Dimapur route to take the children to illegal orphanages located in different parts of the country.
The rescue of 25 children from Manipur by police in Howrah on June 17 is the latest case of child trafficking by rackets operating in the state. The children, all from Keibi village of Senapati district, were intercepted by the police while three persons, who claimed to be pastors, from the district were escorting them to Andhra Pradesh. The children were brought back to Manipur and were handed over to their parents on June 30.
“Recognising the sensitivity of the district we felt that more awareness programmes should be carried out in the interior villages. The social welfare department has also agreed to provide funds and we will soon be visiting the interiors to create awareness,” L. Salony, a member of the Senapati child welfare committee, told The Telegraph. The member said in most cases the parents handed over their children to traffickers who promised free education.
“Mostly the parents are poor and ignorant. Church leaders also lack awareness. We held a rally in collaboration with United NGO Mission in November last year in the district headquarters. We also organised a district-level awareness programme recently. But these are not enough,” he said. In one case, three children of Senapati were trafficked to Bangalore and put up at an orphanage there. They were not properly looked after and were made to work hard. However, they were rescued by Bangalore Childline and brought back to Manipur.
An awareness programme was held in the border town of Moreh on July 1. The state unit of Childline in co-ordination with the district child welfare committees and NGOs also stepped up awareness programmes. One such programme was held at the border township of Moreh on July 1. The state co-ordinator of the Imphal Childline, Mala Lisam, expressed concern that cases of child trafficking were increasing in Manipur. In most cases those involved in child trafficking escaped punishment, she added. |
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