Government’s plan to combat increasing number of cases of human trafficking and child labour in Jharkhand seem to be losing its place in the absence of proper institutional mechanism.
lack of adequate number of rehabilitation centres and no proper mode of communication in interior areas of the state are emerging as biggest challenge in-front of the state police to curb these two social evils that are spread everywhere in Jharkhand.
Expressing concern over rise in cases of human trafficking in the recent time, in a workshop organized by Campaign for Right to Education in Jharkhand (CREJ) to deliberately discuss over the issue, IG (CID) Sampat Meena said, “The biggest problem in-front of police is to provide shelter to rescued trafficked children as the State do not rehabilitation centres in adequate number. The need of the hour is to open new rehabilitation centre in the state.” In Jharkhand there are only one rehabilitation centre Kishori Niketan of Social Welfare Department and two after care homes managed by State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) - one in Ranchi (for girls) and other in Gumla (for boys).
Explaining the problem of trafficking Meena said that the initial recruitment of the adolescent children was done by their own relatives. “They promise employment and handsome salaries to the young girls in metropolitan cities and are often forced into the profession of prostitution,” she said.
“CID has also launched a helpline number- 9471300008, to help trafficked children, I request the NGOs to popularize this helpline number among the vulnerable section of the society who wonder whom to approach in such cases,” Meena added.