Patna, May 4: Security agencies in Bihar have sounded an alert and stepped up vigil along the India-Nepal border apprehending young girls and women may fall prey to human trafficking gangs after the April 25 temblor in the Himalayan country.

The state police headquarters issued directives to all the superintendents of police (SPs) in the districts close to the porous international border on Monday asking them to keep a vigil on the people, especially children and women, coming to India from Nepal.

"We have directed all the police chiefs of the border districts to keep surveillance along the border to thwart human trafficking. The police apprehend the human trafficking gangs may target the families who lost everything in the quake and now battling hard for their survival," additional director-general (weaker sections) Arvind Pandey said.

There are several districts in the state, which share borders with Nepal or are close to the Bangladesh border. The districts considered vulnerable for human trafficking include East Champaran, West Champaran, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Kishanganj, Purnea, Saharsa and Katihar.

Pandey said: "The police chiefs of these districts have been directed to work in coordination with other security agencies like Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Government Railway Police and the Border Security Force to prevent cases of human trafficking. Past studies have shown natural calamities often trigger trafficking making women and children the most vulnerable."

According to rough estimates, more than 40,000 people have left Nepal and come to India after the temblor hit Kathmandu and other places in the neighbouring country. Apart from Indian citizens, a number of Nepali residents have also entered the Indian territory in search of food and shelter as they have lost almost everything in the quake.

Though the government has set up relief camps to provide food and shelter albeit temporarily to the victims, these camps would not last long. Many of them have already been closed.

"Under such circumstances, traffickers may try to lure young girls and women after promising them food and shelter in big towns," the directive stated. Pandey revealed that every border district has been equipped with anti-human trafficking cell. The police officials associated with the cell were imparted training at a workshop in Patna last month and asked to launch campaign in their respective areas to check exploitation of girls and women.

Another senior IPS officer revealed that the authorities at the airport and the immigration centre at Raxaul in East Champaran have also been directed to keep tabs on the new fliers.

"The SSB, which has been asked to guard the porous border, has also been put on alert," he told The Telegraph . Sources in the state administration said Nepal has been a hub for human trafficking for long. A study conducted by a Nepal-based NGO - Maiti Nepal - claimed that 1.5 lakh girls and women of Nepalese origin were working as sex workers in different parts of India.