Despite constant awareness programmes by NGOs and government agencies, Assam is still at the top among the seven states in the region when it comes to child trafficking and labour
In the past few years, the northeast, Assam in particular, has emerged as one of the biggest source areas and transit routes for child trafficking. I have come across dozens of cases where Assamese girls have become victims of trafficking and slavery. Most of these children are trafficked from Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar districts. The tea gardens of Udalguri, Sonitpur and Bongaigaon, among other poor areas of lower Assam, also happen to be source areas. Some people from West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya have set 'placement agencies' to supply domestic helps to metropolitan cities. Other agencies have engaged local agents from the northeast to procure children. Besides being trafficked to work as domestic helps, thousands of minor children are held in bondage in the 'zari-embroidery' and garment industry in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Additionally, a large number of adolescent girls are duped and they find themselves in prostitution or sold as brides in states like Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
KAILASH SATYARTHI
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