Showing it’s top concern towards cross-border trafficking particularly on porous Indo-Nepal border in wake of recent earthquake, principal secretary (Home), Dewasheesh Panda, who had already constituted a `Joint Task Force’ for continuous monitoring of above unlawful activities, had held a video-conferencing with the officers of seven bordering districts to further sensitise them on the issue, on Thursday.
It may be mentioned that the Government already sounded an alert in all the bordering districts touching Nepal, directing that no one could take advantage of the natural calamity to facilitate unlawful activities in Uttar Pradesh or used the state as transit route for such activities.
According to an official communiqué of the home department released on Thursday evening, Panda, and other senior officers held a video conferencing with all the stakeholders like Special Juvenile Police units, local NGOs, Officers of Women and Child department, District legal Services Authority, Child line, Transport, Railway, Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) etc along with district police chiefs of Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Siddharthnagar, Philibhit, Balrampur, and lakhimpur Kheri etc, on Thursday afternoon. Besides the government officials, Ravi Kant of Sakti Vahini, who was entrusted to co-ordinate the sensitisation programme, along with Unicef, were also present in the meeting.
Panda directed that the officers should kept a close eye on movement through roads, railways, other transit points by installing close circuit televisions, besides posters and pamphlets of contact numbers of all the officers concerned showed by put at all the barriers, hotel and kiosks on borders, public places etc so if anyone suspect foul play, he could pass on the message and necessary action could be ensure. Panda also informed that 35 anti-trafficking cells for women were active on border areas to check trafficking of fairer sex. Panda claimed that they would now organize training programmes at zonal levels starting with Gorakhpur on June 22 and lucknow on June 29. He said that such training camps were already organized in Meerut and Varanasi.
It may be mentioned here that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, had recently made the announcement of sensitising the whole state police machinery on Anti-Human Trafficking. On his initiative, a state wide training program rolled out to cover the districts in a systematic manner, involving not only the police officers but all stakeholders like Special Juvenile Police units, local NGOs, Officers of Women and Child department, District legal Services Authority, Child line, Transport, Railway, SSB etc.
A State Advisory Committee under the patronage of Chief Secretary, Alok Ranjan, with the chairmanship of Principal Secretary Home, with members from relevant departments and stakeholders, has been also formed. Besides, on the model of the Chattisgarh and Delhi Acts to regulate placement agencies indulging in Human trafficking, an act for the state of UP is also proposed to be rolled out soon. ``MoUs with neighbouring states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgrah etc is planned to facilitate better Inter State Coordination in tackling Human trafficking”, the communique added. Rs 2 crore has been handed over to the UP State legal Services Authority to give effect to the Victims Compensation Scheme 2014, which has compensation provision of Rs 2 lakh for victims of Human Trafficking.