(Shutterstock)The state child rights’ watchdog has set up a helpdesk to address the issues of child marriage and child trafficking, which it says have increased with Covid-19 and Amphan pushing families into extreme poverty. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has on its website www.wbcpcr.org posted three mobile numbers, which one can call to lodge a complaint or pass on information related to child marriage and trafficking. Commission chairperson Ananya Chatterjee Chakrabarti said since the launch of the helpdesk on June 2, they had been receiving hundreds of calls about child marriage and child trafficking. In such a situation, child marriage and child trafficking are bound to rise,” said Chatterjee Chakraborty. Another official of the commission said the complaints were coming from South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas, Nadia, Malda and Murshidabad — hotspots for child marriage and child trafficking.

Source: The Telegraph June 10, 2020 23:15 UTC