Deputy Superintendent of Police (Disha wing) T. Trinatha Rao on Thursday advised girl students to download the Disha App on their mobile phones, stating that the app would prove to be useful in times of distress.
Police can render help to girls quickly in an emergency as their location will be shared through the app on a real-time basis, Mr. Trinatha Rao said at an awareness programme organised on human trafficking by the Integrated Rural People Welfare Association at Lendi Institute of of Engineering and Technology (LIET).
Child Welfare Committee chairman P. Chittibabu said that one person was being trafficked in the State every five minutes, and called for efforts to crack down on the menace. Nehru Yuva Kendra coordinator G. Vikramaditya said that the drug mafia was playing a major role in human trafficking in the country. Mr. Trinatha Rao commended LIET chairman P. Madhusudana Rao for establishing an ‘Anti Human Trafficking Club’ in the college.
Vizianagaram Mayor Vempadapu Vijayalakshmi asked girl students to be on their guard while dealing with strangers. Deputy Mayor Kolagatla Sravani urged members of the club to conduct a study on the condition of children seen in the company of beggars, pointing out that the children might be victims of human trafficking and that the beggars might not be their real parents.
Naa Vooru Vizianagaram president Gummuluri Vishala urged girls to inform parents or their teachers immediately if they are subjected to harassment. IRPWA president P.K. Prakasha Rao said that many children in rural areas were becoming victims of trafficking and urged activists to focus on the issue.
Lendi College vice-principal Haribabu Thammineni, Red Rope founder Chrysoltye Sanamanda and Gracious Wing Charities Founder K.Grace attended the meeting.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act-1956 ensures stringent punishments for persons involved in suppression, assault and sexual harassment, Mr. Trinatha Rao said.
