By IANS,
New Delhi : Moved by the plight of the large number of women and girls trafficked in the wake of Bihar’s devastating floods, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi took time off from his tour of the flood affected areas to commiserate with one such group that has been rescued and promised them all help in rebuilding their lives.
At his first stop at Araria Wednesday during his two-day visit to the state, Gandhi interacted with the women and girls of the maginalised Nutt community in a programme organised by self-help group Apne Aap Women Worldwide.
Many women and children who have been seperated from their families in the aftermath of the floods have been soft targets of notorious gangs and are being trafficked out of Bihar.
While interacting with the group, Gandhi said: “I have come to meet children like you who are affected by the floods to find out what needs to be done.” He also asked the girls about their favourite subjects.
Gandhi said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had sent him to Bihar to get a first hand idea about the ground realities on the rescue and relief work being conducted in the state.
He also hinted that the centre might pump in additional resources over and above the Rs.10 billion that has already been committed, if the need for this arose.
Apne Aap Women Worldwide workers told Gandhi that there are people who are still marooned and waiting for assistance in Chhatarpur, Bhimpur Phari, Lalitgram areas of the state.
Founder president of the organisation Ruchira Gupta said: “Flood relief work needs to be both gender and caste sensitive to be equitable and sustainable.”
Gandhi also toured the flood ravaged Purnea and Madhepura districts.