Human trafficking rising in Darjeeling hills: NGO

IANS, New Delhi, July 12 : Human trafficking has been rising in the hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, a voluntary organisation said here Friday. 

"Flesh trade is on the rise mainly due to unemployment resulting from political unrest and porous borders that the district shares with three countries (Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh)," said Nirnay John Chettri of Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG). "In only about a year, 473 girls have been reported missing from the district. 

There may be many families who did not even report such cases fearing the social stigma," Chettri added. MARG has been raising awareness about human trafficking through a documentary film "Sapana" that is based on the life of a 14-year-old victim, who was rescued from here last year. 

At the screening of the film at the American Centre in the national capital, Chettri said: "We want to air this documentary nationally so that some measures taken by the authorities and help provided to the victims for rehabilitation." 

Darjeeling district does not have even a single protective home for rescued victims, he added. MARG is a non-government organisation (NGO) working since 2006 on raising awareness about human trafficking in India. 

From 2011 to 2012, the organisation has rescued 45 girls, among which 12 were minors.

PTI: Human trafficking for flesh trade is on the rise in the villages of North Bengal, Sikkim and parts of the North East, according to a non government body. 

"Widespread poverty in the region with the tea gardens closing down have led to people of North Bengal, Sikkim and parts of North-east resorting to the practice of human trafficking," said Nirnay John Chhetri, General Secretary, Mankind in Action for Rural Growth( MARG), a Darjeeling-based NGO, which assists in rescuing trafficked girls. 

Chhetri was in the capital for a screening of documentary film "Sapana", which revolves around the life of Reena, a teenaged school dropout from a tea garden in Darjeeling, who gets lured to go to a big city in search of a lucrative job, and ultimately gets sold to a brothel. 

The screening held at the American Center here last evening was attended by representatives of the UN Women, police agencies and members of various city based rights groups. 

"The close proximity to four international borders of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China have made the chicken's neck region of West Bengal near Siliguri a favourite transit point for traffickers who have resorted to GPS technology to track victims," said Chhetri. 

Expressing his concerns for the incidence of the crime in South Asia, Joshua Polachek, Assistant Cultural Attache of the US Embassy said US and their partner nations are striving to to create an awareness about the issue. 

"I am deeply touched by the story of one of the girls is shown in the short film. This is a crime that happens all over the world but in South and East Asia, the lack of awareness lead to a few of them getting rescued," Polachek said.