Patna, Feb. 4: Cases of human trafficking being reported from Bihar and bordering areas are a reason for alarm, said activists attending a workshop on the issue in the state capital today.
The workshop was organised to discuss ways to stop trafficking of women and children from Bihar and areas near the Nepal border.
The meet was organised by international organisation Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Bihar Inter Agency Group (BIAG), which is a consortium of 50 international agencies working in the field of disaster management in Bihar.
Speaking on the occasion Sanjay Pandey, convener, BIAG, said: “In most of the cases victims are used as bonded labourers, beggars, domestic help and are pushed into sex business.”
He said: “Most of the victims of human trafficking and bonded labour are from Bihar and Jharkhand. They work for various industries like sari weaving industry in Varanasi, carpet industry in Sonebhadra, Bhodhi, and Allahabad, stone breaking, brick kilns, and various other activities both in formal and non-formal sectors of the economy. Majority of the women and children trafficked from these two states are also taken to other states and are pushed into flesh trade. This is a cause of major concern.”
Antonia Paliwal, the program director of ADRA, India, said: “The abuses suffered by trafficking victims are not only violations of internationally recognised human rights but are specifically prohibited under the domestic laws of both the countries.”
Paliwal said: “The willingness of Indian and Nepali government officials to tolerate and in some cases participate in the burgeoning flesh trade exacerbates abuse. Human rights organisations in Nepal have reported extensively on the forced trafficking of Nepali girls to Indian brothels, however, majority of these cases are never publicised and even when traffickers have been identified there have been few arrests and fewer prosecution.”
The workshop was attended by a large number of representatives of NGOs working in the field. Naomi Miller, senior gender integration specialist, ADRA International, stressed the fact that existing laws in both the countries have had virtually no effect on curbing trafficking.
