PANJIM: Following Herald’s expose of child exploitation along the Calangute and Baga coast last week, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa submitted a memorandum to Calangute Police Station to stop the exploitation and trafficking of children.
The delegation, led by AAP leader Pradeep Padgaonkar, sought the attention of Calangute Police and submitted the memorandum demanding a stop to any such activities in their jurisdiction.
AAP informed the Police that it has become a trend that people from other states bring their children to beg and sell items along the beaches and in the villages. AAP said that the issue has increased to alarming proportions over the last two years.
AAP’s Women Front had submitted a petition to the Collector’s Office in the North, and the South Goa Collectorate on Tuesday, giving the Collector’s office 30 days to act upon this growing menace and stigma to society.
“Goa is known for its beautiful beaches, good food, leisure tourism, and harmonious communities. The increase in nefarious activities in the flesh trade is earning us a bad name globally. If not checked now, it will destroy our good businesses, and tourists will no longer come to our State,” AAP told the police.
AAP suggested that the Police hold awareness drives with tourism stakeholders to conduct vigilance raids to control the exploitation of children.
