Human trafficking - a major crisis at the Banbasa - Nepal border

Khatima, 24th May

Apart from poisoning and looting, instances of human trafficking of Nepali migrants are also rapidly increasing at the Banbasa – Nepal border in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, governments of India or Nepal are not taking any proactive steps to curb this practice. Nepali migrants are often robbed while returning back to their country from India, but very little effort have been made by the local authorities to prevent this harassment. There are many dubious money exchangers in Banbasa who cheat home-bound Nepali nationals out of their hard-earned money, in the name of converting Indian currency to Nepali currency. According to CARE India, a non-profit organization which works for Nepali migrants at the region, currency denominations of INR 500 and INR 1000 are banned in Nepal and as per the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act, the banned currency is confiscated at the border. Hence, the money exchange agents at the border capitalize on this situation and lure the returnee Nepali migrants to get their money exchanged at Banbasa itself. CARE India promotes safe remittance through banks, but since most people are unaware of the ban on INR 500 and INR 1000 notes in Nepal, they end up facing a lot of problems.

The Station House Officer of the Banbasa Police station, Mr. Bhoopal Singh Sambhal says that the police is aware of such incidents of harassment at the Indo-Nepal border, but cannot take any action unless a formal complaint is lodged. He further adds that strict action shall be taken against the offenders, if reported to the police.

CARE India has been working to increase awareness among the vulnerable Nepali migrant population. Rokaiya Parween, a partnership co-ordinator from CARE India, says that the engagement of local level stakeholders like the Rickshaw Union, Roadways department and the Police has helped in significantly lowering the occurrence of such harassment.

Similar work is done on the Nepal side of the border, by an organization called Maiti, which focuses on Nepali nationals migrating to India, especially young women and girls. A representative from Maiti says that human trafficking is a menace common to both India and Nepal and is rampant on both sides of the border.