Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 22 Aug: Dr Geeta Khanna, Chairperson, Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights, stated today that in order to free India from the heinous crime of child trafficking, a special month is observed every year under the Prevention of Child Trafficking campaign. In continuation of this, this year as well, under the campaign “Freedom from Child Trafficking 3.0”, a special awareness drive is being launched in collaboration with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. On this occasion, all Deputy Commissioners/District Magistrates of border districts have been directed to inaugurate this campaign on the World Day against Trafficking in Persons.
Under this campaign, the following directions have been issued:
- Information regarding the prevention of child trafficking should be widely disseminated at major locations such as bus stands, railway stations, and marketplaces through banners, posters, and public announcements in Hindi, English, or regional languages.
- Awareness should be spread among children about child trafficking, its prevention, and the necessary actions to be taken in case of any incident.
- The campaign should be popularised through extensive coverage in local print and electronic media.
For the prevention of child trafficking, the Chairperson has also written to the Union Minister of Railways and the Union Minister of Transport, submitting suggestions and requests to ensure special monitoring of the movement of minors in Indian Railways. It has been proposed that while booking railway tickets (both online and offline), the name, identity proof details, and contact information of the accompanying parent/guardian must be mandatorily recorded. Additionally, during the journey, the responsibility of the minor should be entrusted to the Ticket Examiner (TTE), who should be provided with specialised training on this subject, so that incidents related to child trafficking can be effectively curbed.
Earlier as well, in response to a memorandum submitted by Gurpreet Singh, President, Charity and Research Centre, the Commission had written to the authorities, directing them to take strict action against child trafficking.
