‘Climate crisis pushes up trafficking in Sundarbans’
Times of India | 30 July 2024
Kolkata: Frequent migration from the Sundarbans, often induced by climate change, is to be blamed for the rise in human trafficking in the region during the post Covid period, besides other factors like poverty and loss of livelihood, reveals a study by the NGOs working in the belt.
Integrated Leadership Forum Against Trafficking (ILFAT)has released its report on Sundarbans on the occasion of World Anti-Human trafficking Day on Monday.The report claimed that the frequent storms and rain had turned the river water saline, limiting agricultural activities in the region. Loss of livelihood forces the population to move out of the area in search of greener pastures.
“In the Sundarbans, reports indicate that 80% of the villages have a marginal male population as they have migrated to Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Mumbai. Families are increasingly leaving their children behind with their grandparents, putting these kids at a higher risk of trafficking,” the ILFAT report states.
Subhasree Raptan of Goranbose Gram Bikash Kendra claims they receive between two to four “missing” complaints a month from Sundarbans. The official numbers show as many as 18 cases of human trafficking cases from South 24 Parganas last year.
Pooja (name changed), a survivor, said , “I was only 11 years old when I was trafficked by a relative for money. I was kept in a small room in Canning, where I was injected with unknown substances, and physically tortured. I was rescued by the local police when they were transporting me to Delhi from the Kolkata railway station. When I returned to my village, I faced stigma.” Today, the survivor works in a bag boutique, and aspires to start her own venture to generate more jobs.“The recoveries in the last few years have been very satisfying. But ground penetration and resistance are the need of the hour,” said Rishi Kant from Shakti Vahini. Shakila Khatun Katakhali, director, Katakhali Empowerment Youth Association, said, “Increased poverty is a major driver of this trafficking.”