VIJAYAWADA: The victims of trafficking addressed a meeting, organised jointly by Vimukthi and HELP, two AP-based NGOs, in the city on Saturday, in connection with the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, which was approved by the Union cabinet on February 28, and introduced in the Lok Sabha, by Maneka Gandhi, Women and Child Development Minister, on Wednesday, July 18. The women, who attended the meeting were apparently happy with the bill. Some of them, with whom this correspondent spoke, said that the Central government must pass this bill and that the parliamentarians of all parties should support the bill to stop trafficking in the country.
Addressing the gathering, Child Welfare Committee, chairman, Krishna district, Dr BVS Kumar said that children and minors were being trafficked the most and their condition was vulnerable. “Due to lack of sufficient special courts and fast-track courts, the issues are being dragged and left unaddressed. There should be separate buildings for special courts. With this anti-trafficking bill (becoming an Act) child labour will also be reduced in a big way.”
HELP secretary Nimmaraju Rammohan, speaking on the occasion, said that the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 was not able to rein in the traffickers and that the compensation for the victims was not even being paid properly. “There are thousands of children being trafficked every year, but the conviction rate in the State is as low as two per cent. Majority of the cases are not even being registered, due to political influence, misuse of power etc. Thousands of victims of human trafficking, even when rescued, have complained of inadequate and inefficient rehabilitation services, where they have been subjected to poverty, stigma and even threats from the traffickers,” said Rammohan.
He wondered why some leaders were opposing the bill, which would control and punish the traffickers and said that why they were opposing the bill was a million-dollar question. He went on to add that if the bill was passed by the Parliament, the State and Central government would provide funds for rehabilitation of the victims.
P Vijaya Nirmala, state executive committee member of Vimukti said, “It is a good thing to know that the anti-trafficking bill has been listed in this parliament session and we are hoping that it gets passed without any hurdles. Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi, should be lauded for her efforts in bringing about the much needed legal reform in human trafficking, a long-standing recommendation of the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, human rights activists and most importantly, of victims of human trafficking themselves”.
The poster on the anti-trafficking bill was released on the occasion by the chairman of District Child Welfare Committee, Dr BVS Kumar, IJU state vice president, Ambati Anjaneyulu, APUWJ Krishna District Urban president Chava Ravi. Senior journalist Nimmaraju Chalapati Rao, several victims of trafficking from across the State, representatives of NGOs and others participated in the programme.
QUOTEDue to lack of sufficient special courts and fast-track courts, the issues are being dragged and left unaddressed. There should be separate buildings for special courts. With this anti-trafficking bill (becoming an Act) child labour will also be reduced in a big way Nimmaraju Rammohan, secretary, HELP