PANAJI
In a surprising turn of events, the Ministry of Women & Child Development has pulled down outdated reports on Human Trafficking in various States and Union Territories, barely two days after uploading the extensive study on its official website.
The report on Goa which contained inputs from multiple sources tagged Goa as a ‘source’ State in addition to being a ‘destination’ State.
Hours after The Goan’s news article on Friday went viral on various social media platforms mentioning that the partially-government funded survey carried out by Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai was published on the Ministry’s website three years after its submission in November 2019, the reports were pulled down.
Social workers have now called for re-uploading of the document. “Surprised that the ‘National Report’ on ‘Human Trafficking in Vulnerable Districts of India’ done by #TISS which was uploaded on your site 2 days back is no more there. The report with all its limitations did provide few insights which would definitely help the public,” reads a post by Padmashree Sunitha Krishna as she tagged the official Twitter handle of the Ministry.
NGO ARZ Director Arun Pandey, who also questioned the delay in publishing the government report, also sought to re-upload the information, stating, “It is an important report. Public & LEA should have access to the report to plan action to implement the recommendation. I appeal to MWCD to re-upload the report on their website for easy access to all.”
The survey, while pointing fingers at Tourism for the flourishing trafficking of women and child for sex trafficking, also spoke about the challenge faced by the Tourism Department to keep a check on all the hotels and lodges in Goa, despite issuing a circular those identity cards of room occupants should be submitted. A copy of the report, in possession of The Goan, further claimed that "a rise in all forms of trafficking is observed during the tourist season from October to March."
In order to keep vigilance on the beach belts, the tourism department has Flying Squads of Police. The police constables are located at various spots along the tourist belt and act under the command of the Assistant Director. However, this number is not enough to tackle the entire state of Goa. The main role of the flying squads is implementation, protection and maintenance of the Goa Registration of Tourists Act,” it states.
The report also emphasized that though beach shacks are provided with Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras that could ‘capture any sort of crimes’ on the beaches with its range till the waters, the issue of infringing on the privacy of families bathing in the sea cropped up.
“Hence, the range had to be limited,” it said, adding that the beaches faced yet another problem of non-illumination.
The report suggests that it is essential for the tourism department to develop a way forward as tourism emerges as one of the potential drivers for trafficking in Goa.
