Showing it’s top concern towards cross-border trafficking particularly on porous Indo-Nepal border after recent earthquake, state government had decided to constitute a `Joint Task Force’ for continuous monitoring of above unlawful activities. Besides, the government would also organized sensitisation programme of the law enforcing agencies through video conferencing in the on-going month.
An alert has been also sounded 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. The decision were taken in a high level meeting of the home department chaired by principal secretary, home and other senior officers along with some activists hailing from Sakti Vahini, the training partner of Police Department in Anti Human Trafficking, with active support of Unicef.
Rishi Kant of Sakti Vahini, who would co-ordinate the sensitisation programme, disclosed here on Thursday afternoon that in the context of Nepal earthquake, the government hoped of an increase in cross border human trafficking, so they decided to update the officials about how they could fight with this major challenge. He said that they would sensitise programmes for all the stakeholders of seven bordering districts in this month only through video-conferencing and field level training session. He said that special Training programme for sensitisation will be also conducted for all 35-Anti Human Trafficking Units of the State immediately.
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. Kant further said that a state wide training program will be also 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. This is aimed to be conducted over the next four months.
“A State Advisory Committe under the patronage of Chief Secretary, Alok Ranjan, with the chairmanship of Principal Secretary Home, with members from relevant departments and stakeholders, will provide leadership of all the programmes to tackle the menace of Human Trafficking”, Kant asserted. A Joint Task Force will be also constituted to monitor and review the targets and programmes at frequent intervals, under the leadership of Home Department. He said that 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”, he added.
Kant also claimed that 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. Any victim is free to approach the District legal Services Authority, headed by the District Judge and pursue his or her case therein. He also high-lighted the success of `Operation Muskaan’, a special step taken to trace and rescue missing children in Ghaziabad and said that just on the said pattern, the other districts would also implement it from the coming July.
It may be also mentioned that senior officials of both Nepal and India had recently held a meeting in which they discussed possible bilateral security assistance for controlling criminal activities like human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorism in bordering areas. The meeting identified trafficking of women and children, illegal activities by armed groups operational in India, trading of counterfeit money, child abuse, management of border pillars and religious extremism as major areas of concern.