RANCHI: The Jharkhand government has vowed to end the menaces of human trafficking and migrant workers' exploitation, and steps taken by it so far have led to the rescue and rehabilitation of many people, including 30 minor girls and boys last week, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Tuesday.
Prompt action by the state police ensured that all traffickers were arrested, he said in a statement.
Soren, shortly after taking charge as the CM, had asked all deputy commissioners to ensure strict action against people engaged in human trafficking.
"Removing the blot of human trafficking from Jharkhand is our priority. On 24 June 2021, a crackdown by the Jharkhand Police led to the rescue of 30 minor girls and boys from Ranchi railway station and Birsa Munda Airport. They were being trafficked to Delhi," he explained.
Every measure is being taken to ensure the rehabilitation of girls rescued from the clutches of the traffickers, he said.
"They are being provided Rs 2,000 per month as living expense until they attain 18 years of age.
Apart from that, the girls are also entitled to free education, and vocational training which would help them become self-reliant," the statement said.
Soren further said that his government was also concerned about the welfare of migrant workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic induced one of the biggest migration crises in the country, but the state has handled the matter sensitively, the CM maintained.
Migrant labourers are being provided with welfare benefits and jobs in accordance with their skill sets, he underlined.
Citing examples, the statement said that the Soren government had ensured the safe return of migrant labourers from Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.
"Thirty migrant labourers including women and children were escued and brought back to Jharkhand," it maintained.
In yet another operation in February, the statement said, 14 minors, including 12 girls and two boys, were rescued from the national capital.
Similar measures have also been taken in the past, the CM stated, adding a proposal has been approved for the establishment of anti-human trafficking units especially in the vulnerable pockets of Jharkhand.
Also, women police officers will be appointed across the state to keep a check on human trafficking in the rural part of Jharkhand, he added.
The statement further added that the government will soon come up with a detailed plan for rehabilitation of children who have lost their parents to COVID-19.