Jalpaiguri being troubled by rise in human trafficking

RAJESH PRADHAN, EOI, BANARHAT, 19 Apr 2014: The rural areas of Jalpaiguri comprising forest villages and tea gardens have been witnessing an alarming growth in the rate of human trafficking. Despite serious efforts by various social organisations, NGOs and the local administration, there are no signs of trafficking declining anytime soon.

It is well-known how pimps take advantage of the pitiful financial conditions of households to lure young girls. They promise victims good jobs and a better future in other states and sell them off in red-light areas or as domestic slaves. Minor girls and boys get regularly trafficked from the rural areas of the Dooars.

The administration claims it holds regular awareness campaigns against human trafficking, but the reality is stark. Traffickers are suspected to be more active in tea garden areas. Statistics show 514 girls from various tea gardens of the district were trafficked over the last three years. From this number, 180 girls from Mujnai, 65 from Dalmore, 30 from Rahimpur, 120 from Bandapani, 35 from Nagdala and 75 girls from Dekhlapara are reported to be missing. There are a total of 154 tea gardens in Jalpaiguri district and the administration has no data to show how many girls and boys have been trafficked till date.

Mujnai resident Mugli Oraon has been missing since the past five years, while Amuli Naik has not come home since the past four years. Likewise, Sharmila Oraon and Lalita Oraon remain untraceable even after 10 and three years, respectively. The general idea is that the girls have relocated to other states to work, but no one knows what type of work or whether they are even alive.

Traffickers are running a well-organised racket here to net young girls and boys. Their agents are active especially in closed tea gardens and target the financially weak, unemployed, illiterate and those frustrated by family matters. Many pimps also ensnare young aspiring girls by false promises of marriage. Reports say such girls get sold in cities in Punjab, UP, Bihar, Mumbai, Delhi and other places.

Besides Jalpaiguri, girls from the neighbouring nations of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are also being forced into the flesh trade and domestic slavery. As the efforts of local administrations and social organisations are getting defeated despite giving their best, more stringent methods are needed to curb the growth trajectory of this dastardly crime.