Trafficking of Nepali people to India and the third countries through India remains rife and only a few cases, after the victims are rescued by security agencies or social organisations, are made public, stakeholders said at a function in New Delhi on Friday.

The stakeholders from both Nepal and India expressed their concerns about the challenges of controlling human trafficking. Speaking at the function organised by Maiti India in New Delhi, they stressed the need for joint efforts of the security authorities and organisations of both Nepal and India.

Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women in India, said the incidents of human trafficking that were rife after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal further increased during Covid-19 pandemic. She added that even the family members of some trafficked victims handed over their daughters to the traffickers for money. Poverty and illiteracy are the root causes behind human trafficking, she said.

“Girls, women and youths in remote Nepali villages are vulnerable to trafficking,” Sharma said. “The data shows it. So the government authorities and social organisations should be active in such areas to control human trafficking.”

Nepal and India share approximately 1,800 km of open border. The traffickers easily take the victims to India through the porous border, luring them of good jobs in India or other countries.

Nepali ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma said that the Nepal government has been working to alleviate poverty and enhance literacy as they are the leading causes behind human trafficking. He underscored the need for collaboration between the government authorities and non-governmental agencies of both Nepal and India to combat trafficking.

Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Chhaya Sharma, DIG of Seema Suraksha Bal Suresh Subramaniam, Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Uma Prasad Chaturvedi, Chairman of Maiti India Balkrishna Pandey were also present in the function.