ADVOCATES FOR STRONG DETERRENCE AGAINST CHILD TRAFFICKING
GUWAHATI: Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi said that child trafficking was a social menace which hindered a nation's progress and therefore advocated for strict deterrence against child trafficking.
Releasing a video of a poem Okoni Okoni Boli, written by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, at a programme organized at Raj Bhavan here on Sunday, Governor Prof. Mukhi said that to address the problem of child trafficking, village-level child protection committees should be established and child protection mechanism should be strengthened across the State, stated a press release. He at the same time, advocated for a sound rehabilitation system along with assiduous law enforcement and police vigilance. Prof. Mukhi also said that prosecution of those accused of child trafficking should be prosecuted on a fast track basis to put a spanner on the malice of child trafficking.
Prof. Mukhi also said, "Children constitute an extremely important segment of our nation. Therefore, it becomes pertinent to take special care for their protection." He added, "It is important for all stakeholders ranging from the government, non-government to private sector to fulfill their responsibilities towards the children."
The Governor also said, "We all know that today's children are tomorrow's leaders. However, many a time because of some reasons, childhood, which is the formative period of everybody's life is ruined. Assam has 41 per cent of its population who are children and it is our prime responsibility to act responsibly and create an environment for their holistic development." In this context, he, however, hailed the timely intervention of Assam Police of rescuing 40 children of Chirang district from Sikkim very recently. He said that the rescued children were reunited with their parents and the government has taken special steps for the education and upbringing of the rescued children as per the recommendations of the Child Welfare Committees.
Prof. Mukhi also lauded the initiative of UTSAH for creating this beautiful video poem. He also thanked Partha Sarathi Mahanta for this thought-provoking poem. He hoped that the message of the poem would help everybody to realize the pains and sufferings of every children and motivate every single individual to fight against the ills of child trafficking and child abuse in the society. The Governor on this occasion also reiterated that for securing the future of the children, every individual of the society should take a pledge and commit themselves to the task of securing a better future of the children.
The First Lady of Assam, Prem Mukhi, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati city, Harmeet Singh, IGP, Vigilance and AC Surendra Kumar, Secretary Home and Political Diganta Barah, writer of the poem, DIG Partha Sarathi Mahanta, along with a host of other dignitaries were present in the occasion.
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