Sikkim help to be sought to make entire India organic: Maneka

Union minister Maneka Gandhi today said she requested Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling to offer the resources and help to convert the whole of India into an organic farming country.

Sikkim is the only state in the country where organic farming is initiated by the state Government, the Union Woman & Child Development Minister said after meeting Chamling.

"I have sought his help in this regard so that everybody benefits. I will be very happy if I get help to turn at least my constituency organic, to start with," she said.

Gandhi said she would discuss with the Central Government about seeking Sikkim's technical support to impart training on organic farming to the rest of the states.

The Union minister, who is on a three-day visit to Sikkim, also lauded the environmental initiatives of the state government such as ban on use of plastic, grazing and felling of trees, besides poaching of wild animals.

The orchids of the state have a unique identity and should be propagated and spread throughout the country, she said adding that the youth should get into this field and more people should try greenhouse agriculture.

Gandhi said her ministry is committed to provide all assistance to Sikkim government to strengthen and improve institutions related to women and child care.

On the rise in human trafficking especially from the North Eastern states, she said a Bill on anti-trafficking has been introduced in the Parliament in the current session.

The Bill in its present form is the best in the world and will give a huge respite to victims of trafficking, especially in terms of rehabilitating them, she claimed.

On measures for rehabilitation of trafficked women, she said activities such as cooking and bakery have been experimented in places like Pune and they have been successful to rehabilitate these women.