KOLKATA: The Bengal government has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra government to prevent migration and trafficking of women since a lot of movement of people takes place between the two states, a
minister said.
West Bengal Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Dr Shashi Panja said to help save children from being trafficked and fall prey to other forms of cyber abuse; the state is telling students and heads of colleges and universities to build awareness about the online menace of cyber-bullying, trafficking and other forms of abuses among the students.
Awareness is being built primarily through seminars, symposiums at the college-level and in rural areas Kanyashree clubs are being formed to make rural students aware of the menace of trafficking, the minister said.
She was speaking at the state-level consultation on 'Uses and Abuses of Technology' organised by the state government and UNICEF here on the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons. An MoU has been inked with the Maharashtra government in this regard to prevent migration of women in between the two states for trafficking, Panja said.
The state is vulnerable to trafficking for having porus international border with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and other states. Besides, there is a vulnerability index in certain districts and certain pockets in the state, she said. The minister said that since 2013, the state government's primary focus has been on the prevention of trafficking along with the rehabilitation of the rescued girls and women.