Girl from red-light area in Mumbai flies to the US for studies

Mumbai: For 18-year-old Shweta Katti, who grew up as the daughter of a devdasi in the infamous red-light area of Kamathipura in the city, getting scholarship to study in the US is a dream coming true.

Shweta, who once studied in a civic school, flew to New York on Thursday to pursue a course in psychology at Bard University.


"Shweta has got the opportunity to study in the US. I don't know what she would be studying there. But I feel proud of her," her mother Vandana, a dev

dasi, told PTI here on Sunday.

Devdasis are girls who are 'dedicated' to a life of sex work in the name of religion.

"Since childhood Shweta had been good at studies. Earlier, she studied in the municipality school. From class VIII, she started going a private school in south Mumbai," she added.

After Shweta completed her higher secondary school (HSC), she approached 'Apne Aap', an organisation in Kamathipura to which she was associated since her class IV.

'Apne Aap' then took her to 'Kranti'--an NGO--which educates and empowers trafficked girls, to help her in pursuing further education.

Knowing well about her field of interest, the organisation then cleared the deck for Shweta to get further education in the US.

When asked about the funding part of Shweta's education abroad, Robin from 'Kranti' said, "Around 200 people from all over the world have contributed to towards her education in the US. She would be studying psychology over there. She had told us about her dream and we promised that we will make it happen."

Her mother says that Shweta would come back only after four years. "I am missing her. But I have to make myself strong," she said.

PTI 

Now, Goa Tourism to promote backwaters

Kolkata: Going beyond sea and beaches for which the state is known globally, Goa Tourism wants to promote its backwaters to cash in on the monsoon season.

"There are many a things beyond the beaches of Goa and the monsoons are the best time to experience them. We also have very good backwaters like Kerala," Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd Chairman Nilesh Cabral said.

Goa, which experiences a lean period during the monsoon months in terms of tourism revenue, is trying to create more utility infrastructure for the rich experience of backwater cruises.

Cabral said that GTDC offers monsoon packa

ges at nearly 50 per cent discount compared to the peak season which would be valid till September.

Goa is also promoting safari tours, spice plantations, white-water rafting, trekking, mountaineering and traditional Goan festivals.

For the safari tours, the tourism board is promoting places such as Bhagwan Mahavir National Park, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, among others.

The spice plantation guided tours cover places such as tropical spice plantation in Ponda, Savoi, Pascoal Spice Village near Khandepar and Sahakar Spice Farm on the Ponda-Belgaum road.


Goa also offers world class spa resorts and day spas with a variety of Ayurvedic treatments, a niche of Kerala known globally.

Goa would also complete installing basic amenities on all its beaches in public private partnership over the next one year, Cabral added.

PTI

Video chat facility unveiled in Himachal prisons

Shimla: In an effort to connect prisoners with their family and friends online, a video chat facility has been introduced in all the six prisons in Himachal Pradesh, a police officer said on Saturday.

"Our website (www.hpprisons.nic.in) will enable video chat with any prisoner in all the six prisons in the state," Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) SR Mardi told a news agency.


He said the facility was launched by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the state capital Shimla on Friday.

He said the video-conference facility, first of its kind in the country, would help family and friends save time and money on travelling to prisons to meet the inmates.

"Even foreigners can avail this facility," he added.

The government has already amended the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), enabling the courts to utilise the video-conference facility between the jails and the courts.

Mardi said this would also help save time and money of the prison department in escorting the prisoners from jails to courts.

"Around 2,000 policemen are daily involved in escort duty," he added.

The state has already taken many initiatives to reform the prisons. It has declared one barrack each in six jails as "open air jail" in Kanda, Nahan, Solan, Mandi, Dharamsala and Chamba towns.

These jails allow prisoners to go out after serving a stipulated term and earn their livelihood.

IANS

China ready to invest $160 billion in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: China is ready to invest about $160 billion in different sectors in Andhra Pradesh and improve bilateral ties with India, according to economic advisor to the President of China.

Shoosan Maa, the economic advisor to Xi Jinping and also the Member of Parliament, met Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad and discussed plans to invest in sectors like food processing, small-scale industries, infrastructure and education, among others, a CMO release said.

While quoting Shoosan on China's intention of pumping in $160 billion in the state, the release did not state any timeframe or phases in which such a huge investment could materialise.

"The Chief Minister invited proposals and asked Shoosan to spell out the areas in which they were interested in investing. Shoosan said he would make efforts for promoting investments and improving relations between the two countries," the release said.

Shoosan said his country would send 10,000 students to Hyderabad for education in various streams, according to the release.
PTI

Odisha boy addresses UN Youth Assembly

Bhubaneswar: A tribal student from Odisha left his folks proud after participating in the Malala Day United Nations Youth Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Laxman Hembram represented India at the prestigious international event held on July 12 where altogether 120 youth leaders from as many countries participated in the event, said a release from Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS).

He spoke on the topic of 'Education for All' at the Malala Day United Nations Youth Assembly, outlining quality education system and youth union.

Laxman discussed how to eradicate

poverty through education. The release said the visit gave him an opportunity to learn about education systems of other countries.

Talking about his four-day visit, Laxman said he got a chance to talk with Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai and representatives of various other countries.

Laxman's participation in the meet is a matter of great pride for KISS, tribal community and Odisha, said founder of KISS and KIIT Achyut Samanta.

PTI 

Educated youths chuck plum jobs to enter PR polls

Educated youths chuck plum jobs to enter PR polls

MAHBUBNAGAR: Elections to local bodies have acquired significance this time as quite a few members of highly educated class are throwing their hat into the electoral ring.

Nearly half a dozen youths, with B Tech, BAMS, M Sc and B Ed are contesting the elections in the district by even resigning from their cozy jobs.

M Krishna of Yelkur village of Maldhakal mandal who is contesting in the elections said he felt it was the right time to enter politics to strengthen administration at village level. Krishna who has a B Tech degree said he wants to weed out corruption.

Another B Tech graduate M Balakrishna is contesting from Mulamalla village of Atmakur mandal. "From the inception of panchayat raj system only a single family is holding power in the village. How can decentralization take place when a single family is holding on to the post? I have joined the fray to bring about a change in the village," he said.

S Radhika, a software professional with an enviable monthly salary of Rs 60,000 in Hyderabad, has now entered the electoral fray for the post of sarpanch in Marripally village of Uppunuthala mandal. She is an M Sc (Computers) from Osmania University.

"A village should be self-contained and should not depend on cities for growth. But many villages still lack basic amenities. My main goal in getting into politics is to develop the village," she said.

Another woman candidate, M Shoba Rani, who has a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medical Science (BAMS) degree filed nomination for the Ajilapur village of Devarkadra mandal. Shoba is presently pursuing higher studies in ayurvedic medicine and is a contestant for the sarpanch post.

"There is too much of corruption and many schemes targeted at the rural people are not being implemented properly. As Rajiv Gandhi said out of the Re 1 sanctioned from the government, only 20 paise is reaching the village for development. This has to change," she said.

All the educated lot who are in fray have clear goals and have the conviction to reach them. Rajamani with M A, B Ed degrees is contesting from Jeklaru panchayat of Makthal mandal. "More educated people should come into politics. They can bring reforms in the society. Our villages are mainly agrarian. Farmers are cheated by middle men. My focus will be to educate farmers apart from providing better education facilities, sanitation and medical facilities," she said.

It may be mentioned here that in Khammam district, an MBBS graduate, Lakki Nani Raghu, has filed nomination for ward member in Kallur village panchayat. Similarly an M SC (Organic Chemistry) graduate, M Swapna, has filed nomination for the sarpanch post at Ashwaraopet village of Khammam.

For Gundugula and Dhammapet gram panchayats, two MBA graduates have filed papers. B Krishna Kumari and A Balaji are promising to bring changes in the village and educate people about the many schemes meant for them.

Several PG and B Ed degree holders too have filed their nominations. In some areas, the educated candidates are being supported by all parties so that they can get elected unanimously.

"With educated people in fray, the local governments can only become stronger. Once elected, they should stick to their motto of developing villages," said Lok Satta party president Jayaprakash Narayan.

French Police Commissioner to train Pondy official

Puducherry: In order to check fraudulent practices by some touts and intermediaries cheating those seeking French citizenship, a Police Commissioner of France is camping here to train officials to detect and prevent such activities.

Fabrice Grossir, a Commissioner of Police in France, who is the Homeland Security Attache in the French Embassy in New Delhi, has been deputed by the French government to hold discussions with the Puducherry government and also local police on the matter.

A release from office of the French Consul General here said today the Consulate had drawn the attention of the French and Indian authorities to the "dubious practices" adopted by some intermediaries to procure French citizenship for Indian families residing in Puducherry.

The release said the French police official had been deputed by the French Ambassador to camp here for three days from today to train the officials (concerned with processing of applications for French citizenship) on the procedures and legal provisions available for detection of fraudulent practices and to prevent activities of intermediaries.

French authorities here said the Consulate would be ready to help those legitimately claiming for the citizenship in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Forgery and use of forged documents for official purposes is punishable under both Indian and French laws.

PTI 

Modi says 'Ramzan Mubarak' to Muslims brothers

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Thursday greeted the Muslims at the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan, a move that invited criticism from the Congress, which said," they will do anything to get votes".

"Happy Ramzan. May this holy month bring joy, peace and prosperity in our lives," Modi wrote on his twitter account, extending warm greetings to the Muslims.

Modi, who has been fighting hard to erase the taint of the 2002 communal riots, was recently elevated as chief of the BJP's Election Campaign Committee and his greetings to the Muslims is being seen as part of his image makeover ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Reacting to Modi's tweet, Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhw

adia, without naming any party or individual, said, "They will do anything to get votes. They will rake up the Ram temple issue and then drop it. They will say that Mohammed Ali Jinnah was secular.

They will burn Sachar committee report and they will extend greetings on Ramzan."

"Yeh janata hai, yeh sab jaanti hai (the public knows everything)," he added.

Modhwadia also took to Twitter to extended Ramzan greetings, saying "Ramzan Mubarak to everyone. May this holy month bring peace and prosperity to all."

PTI 

Kolkata's largest Metro station to open today

Kolkata: Commuters using the city's lifeline -- the Kolkata Metro Railway -- will have two reasons to celebrate this summer. The Metro will throw open its largest station today, and starting later this month it will play instrumental music at select stations.

The largest station at Noapara, 2.2 km from the Dumdum stop, the northernmost of the Metro, boasts of four platforms instead of the usual two.

The sprawling station will have three elevators and six escalators for the ease of passengers, and will link the city and Barasat in North 24-Parganas.

"We have 24 stations, now this will be the 25th one and the largest. There will be four platforms instead of two and host of other facilities," the Metro Railway's deputy general manager Protyush Ghosh told IANS.

Stretching across 25.135 km on the city's busy north-south axis, from D

umdum to Kavi Subhash, the Kolkata Metro ferries around 6.5 lakh commuters on weekdays and nearly four lakh passengers on weekends.

Close on the heels of the inauguration of the new stop, sound systems at 16 stations will play a collection of instrumental music for the travelling public from the end of July.

"Initially, we will start music at 16 stations, then it will be followed in six more stops," said Mr Ghosh.

Currently those travelling in AC coaches can revel in lilting tunes of Hindustani classical, Rabindra Sangeet and world music.

IANS

Odisha special unit to counter urban terrorism

Bhubaneswar: A special police unit has been created in Odisha to deal with terrorism in the state's urban areas, police said on Tuesday.

The Special Tactical Unit (STU) has currently 30 Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel who were trained for about three months at the National Security Guard (NSG) camp in Manesar, Haryana.

"This unit is a part of the Special Operations Group (SOG). We plan to gradually raise the strength of this unit to about 100," Odisha Director General of Police Prakash Mishra said.

The SOG, which has 3,000 personnel, was set up in the state in 2004. It is primarily being used to counter left wing extremism.

"There was a need for creating a dedicated force to counter attacks like those happened in Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Mumbai," he said.

The STU unit conducted its first mock drill at the battalion ground of the state's armed police force in Bhubaneswar Monday. Chief Secretary Jugal Kishor Mohapatra and police chief Prakash Mishra were among those present.

Odisha is now the third state in India after Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to have a dedicated force to counter terrorism in urban areas.

IANS

South African Indians raising funds for Uttarakhand

Johannesburg: Indian community in South Africa has launched a fund raising drive to contribute to the relief efforts in flood-hit Uttarakhand.

Local welfare organisation 'Atmadaan' and the 'Johannesburg Yuvak Mandal' have launched a collection drive already, while the BAPS Charities organisation is on the verge of launching a national relief fund.


"We are appealing to South Africans to open their hearts and wallets, as they have done in the past with relief efforts for earthquake and tsunami victims in India," said Atmadaan spokesman Ishwarlal Govan.

Indian High Commissioner to South Africa, Virendra Gupta, has lauded the efforts of local organisations in raising relief funds for the victims of the floods that devastating killed thousands of people.

India is grateful for the contributions by South Africans, both with the empathy shown and the material assistance, Gupta said at an event at the Indian Cultural Centre here yesterday.

"The exact extent of the loss will never be known. Many thousands have been simply lost without being able to account for them. But the magnitude of the loss is not in numbers. It is in the trail of tragedy which has been left behind, with huge devastation which will take several months if not years for reconstruction," Gupta said.

Gupta said all funds raised in South Africa will be sent to either the Prime Minister's Relief Fund or to any other organisation which can channel it into the relief effor

ts.

PTI 

Badal offers Rs 10 cr for reconstruction work in U'khand

Dehradun: Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for reconstruction of Kedarnath shrine, Hemkunt Sahib and other Himalayan centres of faith in the wake of the recent calamity.

Badal, who met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at the secretariat here, said in these moments of crisis Punjab stands in solidarity with Uttarakhand and will offer all help to the state government in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Besides announcing a financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for reconstruction of the damaged Himalayan temples, Badal also announced that relief material including 10 thousand tonnes of flour and rice, 100 tonnes of sugar, 10,000 blankets and woollens as per requirements will be provided by Punjab government.

Expressing his gratefulness to Badal, Bahuguna said the Punjab Chief Minister's gesture reflects the country's ethos of helping each other in times of need.

PTI 

Food inspectors to check mid-day meal in Goa schools

Panaji: Goa Government has decided to recruit food inspectors to check the mid-day meal at schools before it is served to students.

The decision comes in the backdrop of food poisoning incident in a school at Canacona, where 100 students had taken ill after partaking mid-day meal a few weeks ago.

"We will recruit 10-15 food inspectors who will inspect the mid-day meal which is served to students," Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said. They would be recruited by Education Department, he added.

To a query, Parrikar said it is not possible for the food, s

erved under a Government-sponsored scheme, to be transported to Food and Drugs Administration lab in Panaji for checking from schools located in rural areas.

The Chief Minister said process was on to empanel new self-help groups to supply mid-day meal in schools.

PTI 

US adds better-than-expected 195,000 jobs in June

Washington: The US unemployment rate in June has remained unchanged at 7.6 percent as more than 195,000 jobs were added to the economy this month, latest official figures said Friday.

"Non farm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent. Over the prior 12 months, job gains averaged 182,000 per month," said Erica L Groshen, Commissioner of Bureau of Labour Statistics.

"In June, employment increased in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and financial activities," Groshen said.

The number of unemployed persons remained steady at 11.8 million, while the number of part-time workers increased by 322,000, Groshen said.

PTI

Kerala to strengthen disaster management system

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will strengthen its disaster management system to tackle crisis arising from natural calamities and outbreak of epidemics, taking the cue from havoc wrought by cloudburst in Uttarakhand.

Health Minister V S Shivakumar said on Thursday that the government was working out plans in this regard in view of the Uttarakhand calamity which claimed thousands of lives in cloudburst and the following flood.

"We are taking steps to strengthen the disaster management system. Doctors and paramedical staff will be given special training to tackle unexpected calamities and outbreak of

epidemics," he said at a function organised to congratulate a medical team from Kerala sent to Uttarakhand as part of emergency response initiatives.

The government, in co-operation with National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), had sent a 10-member team comprising doctors, nurses, health inspectors and other paramedical staff, to the calamity-stricken state last month.

Showering praise on the services rendered by the team, the minister said its members would be given good service entry in appreciation of the help they lent to the affected people.

"They managed to reach the flood-hit area with great difficulty and rendered services in Haridwar and Uttara Kashi and surrounding areas. They also conducted medical camps in six flood-hit villages. They did all these risking their own lives," he added.

The team was led by Dr S Sajith, Associate Professor, Alappuzha Medical College.

PTI

Kevin Rudd appoints record number of women in cabinet

Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday unveiled his new cabinet, including a record number of six women, along with the first ever Muslim in the country's parliament.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce swore in the ministers this afternoon before a first cabinet meeting in Canberra.

Rudd named six women to his cabinet, the largest number in Australian parliamentary history.

Days after he dramatically ousted the country's first woman premier Julia Gillard, the 55-year-old Rudd named 11 women ministers out of the 30 all up on the frontbench - and six in cabinet.

In another first, 43-year-old Ed Husic was elevated to a senior role and named parliament secretary to the Prime Minister as he become the first ever Muslim to be sworn on to a federal government frontbench.

Rudd staged a remarkable comeback by winning a caucus vote by 57 to 45 last week, three years after Gillard toppled him in a similar showdown to become the first woman premier.

Rudd said he wanted the "best players on the field" and his new ministry has been chosen on merit and it outpoints the opposition on quality and experience, local media reported.

He pledged to work for a "stronger, fairer Australia... and never ever, ever allow the fair-go to be thrown out the backdoor."

The women ministers include newcomers Jacinta Collins as minister of Mental Health and Ageing, Tasmanian MP Julie Collins as minister for housing, Homelessnes and status of Women and Catherine King as minister for Regional Australia.

Following the appointment of the women, Rudd today said women in his ministry were there based on their talents, not their gender.

"I'm a guy who believes in meritocracy, and when you find people of merit, they should be promoted," he said.

Some of his key supporters Joel Fitzgibbon and Kim Carr have returned as Agriculture Minister and Industry and Innovation Minister respectively whereas some supporters of Gillard continue to remain in Cabinet with different roles.

The 20-member cabinet includes finance minister Penny Wong, health minister Tanya Plibersek and families minister Jenny Macklin.

Meanwhile, a new poll, the first since Rudd's return as Prime Minister, has ranked him in a significant lead as the country's preferred leader.

Galaxy poll published in News Limited papers says 51 per cent of respondents believe Rudd would make the best prime minister, compared to 34 per cent for rival Tony Abbott.

Fifteen per cent of those surveyed were uncommitted.

Rudd's position shows an 18 per cent jump from Gillard's position in March. Rudd has said he was heartened by the boost Labor has received. In a statement, he said it was encouraging to see voters already responding to his brand of "positive, policy-driven" politics.

However, the poll shows the opposition Coalition still leads Labor 51 per cent to 49 per cent, on a two-party preferred basis.

PTI

MP announces Rs 5 lakh for kids orphaned in Uttarakhand tragedy

Bhopal: Amid an emotional reunion of stranded pilgrims with their families, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday described the tragedy in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand as "terrible" and announced a relief of Rs five lakh to the children, who lost their parents in it.

"I have never seen a disaster of such a magnitude. It was terrible, much bigger than the Bhopal gas tragedy," Chouhan, who arrived at the airport along with 167 stranded pilgrims in a special plane, told reporters.

After landing, the Chief Minister along with his wife Sadhna, welcomed all the stranded pilgrims by offering them garlands and directed officials to ensure proper arrangements for their onward journey to their respective towns/villages by bus.


The state government will provide an assistance of Rs five lakh to those children who have lost both their parents, Chouhan said while narrating the horrific tale of Snehlata from Gwalior, who lost her mother and father in the tragedy.

"Snehlata's story is very heart rending. She was constantly crying for her parents who were missing since the tragedy struck the hill state," Chouhan said.

"The state government will not only take care of Snehlata and her sister Ayushi for their entire life, but also look after other such children," he said.

Besides, the state government will also provide an immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 to the families of those missing and another Rs 1.5 lakh after a week if they were not found, by relaxing the mandatory seven-year period for providing relief in such cases.

A total of 741 are still missing from the state and of them, the government has a list of 593 pilgrims along with their photographs, Chouhan said, adding that efforts were on to identify the remaining missing persons.

The state has so far evacuated 1,301 pilgrims by special planes. One more flight will arrive tomorrow and another day after with stranded persons, he said. The Chief Minister said that besides the pilgrims from MP, the state's rescue teams have also rescued 1,810 pilgrims belonging to other states without any discrimination.

The state government's choppers rescued 292 pilgrims of Madhya Pradesh and 247 of other states, Chouhan said while praising the efforts of the two pilots, who, despite not having much experience of flying in difficult terrains, did a commendable job.

Chouhan said the rescue team has so far evacuated 5,330 stranded pilgrims and has made arrangements for food and other facilities for over 7,200 people in the relief camp, set up at Gayatri Pariwar's premises in the hill state.

"There were many pilgrims who insisted on camping in relief camps in the hope that their missing relatives would soon join them and therefore we allowed them to remain there for some more time," he said.

The CM has urged his Uttarakhand counterpart to continue the relief and rescue operation till all the missing pilgrims are found.

The state government has also decided to adopt a village in Uttarakhand for rehabilitation, but the decision on which village would be adopted will be taken later on in consultation with the Uttarakhand government, he said.

In view of the magnitude of the tragedy, Chouhan has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare it as a national calamity so that entire nation can pool resources for rebuilding the hill state, he said.

On queries regarding rebuilding of Kedarnath temple and allegations of negligence, the Chief Minister said this was not the time for doing politics on the issue.

However, he said that the Uttarakhand government should have remained more alert when it was warned about heavy rains by experts.

PTI 

Goa to ban Plaster of Paris Ganesh idols again

Panaji: The Goa government proposes to impose a ban on Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) which, after immersion, end up polluting the water source, state Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said on Monday.

The state has imposed a ban on PoP idols earlier too, though such idols continue to have a market as they are relatively cheaper and have a good finish.

Saldanha, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government function in the capital, said: "PoP does cause a lot of pollution. The decision (to ban PoP idols) will be taken soon, much before Ganesh Chaturthi, so that people have enough time on their hands to get the right idols."


The PoP idols, often containing gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium as well as lead paints, disintegrate slowly and, in the process, poison the waters of lakes, ponds and rivers, as well as choking the beds of water bodies.

Last year, after the state government banned the idols, it also started selling eco-friendly Ganesh idols through its handicrafts corporation.

Ganesh Chaturthi, which is scheduled for September 09 this year, is one of Goa's most popular religious festivals.

IANS 

Mumbai police rescue 15 women forced into flesh trade

Mumbai: The social service branch of the Mumbai Police and members of Rescue Foundation raided a flat in central Mumbai city and rescued 15 women forced into the flesh trade. One person was arrested.

"We got the information that some girls were being forced into prostitution at Kamathipura. So to rescue them, we took the help of the S S branch and we have succeeded in freeing them. Some 15 girls have been rescued," said Rescue Foundation investigation officer, Nitin Narayan Mangekur.

It is speculated that one or two girls might be minors but the officials said they would get a clear picture only after medical tests are conducted and police have filed charges under the PITA (Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act).

According to United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) officials, hu

man trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in South Asia, as over 150,000 people are known to be trafficked within the region every year - for sex work, labour, forced marriages and as part of the organ trade.

Traffickers often take advantage of impoverished communities, luring girls and young women with promises of jobs as maids or nannies in wealthy households in the cities.

ANI 

Rahul to ensure 50% representation for women in AICC

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday vowed to ensure 50 per cent representation to women in AICC and other party wings as he held his first formal interaction with newly-appointed party office bearers, the team set up by him for the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

"Gandhi talked about how to ensure 50 per cent representation to women in AICC...It's not about reservation. It's about their representation.

"When he observed that their (women) presence is not in the proportion it should be, he said the presence of women is less but it will definitely be 50 per cent in the coming two-three years," party spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told reporters after the meeting.

Ambika Sonia is the only women among the 12 AICC general secretaries, while of the 44 secretaries only five are women.

Gandhi also made it categorically clear to the office bearers, mainly general secretaries and secretaries, that those who have been given responsibility will also be held accountable.

As the reshuffled AICC now wears a younger look with 52 being the average age of office bearers, he also chose the occasion to remind the party leaders that youths should move forward by respecting seniors and taking the help of their experience.

The statement is seen as a move by Gandhi to allay misgivings, if any, among the old guards in the party and some sort of assurance that senior leaders won't be overlooked.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress vice president emphasised on the need to connect the party with masses and directed party leaders to focus on strengthening the organisation more than anything else.

The issue of alliances was not discussed in the meeting, a party leader said, adding that there was no mention of any other party or its leader during the interaction session that lasted for more than two hours.

Asked whether Narendra Modi was discussed in the meeting, Das said, "Do you think we take interest in such things? We do not give importance to him. We totally ignore him."

The newcomers thanked Gandhi for putting his trust in them and giving them responsibilities in the organisation.

"Trust begets trust and we should trust people," he said.

The Congress vice president has in his last several meetings with the party workers had laid great emphasis on working together.

To a question whether Gandhi taking most of the party building initiatives is an indication that the command is now in his hand rather than Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Das said, "Sonia Gandhi is Congress president. She is respectable for all and our top most."

The meeting came at a time when Assembly elections in four states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi - are on the cards this year.

Besides AICC secretaries and general secretaries, the meeting was also attended by party treasurer Motilal Vora.

Prior to this meeting, Gandhi had held one-to-one interaction with general secretaries in-charge of various states, especially the poll-bound states.

Party leaders have been insisting that Gandhi has been impressing upon partymen to concentrate on building up the organisation and not to focus on other issues, including alliances.

PTI