Two girls have been rescued from being sold, while 14 children have been found to be engaged in hazardous work.
What you should know
Two children from Saptari reached Janakpur by bus. The children, aged 7 and 9, were brought to Janakpur to board a train.
‘After getting off the bus, they took us straight to the railway station,’ said the 9-year-old boy. ‘As soon as we got on the train, it started moving. We didn’t find any meat.’
16 children rescued from various districts of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bihar in India were handed over to their families on Thursday. 14 boys and 2 girls who were taken to India through the Madhesh border at different times were rescued and brought to Janakpur on Wednesday. The rescued children are between the ages of 7 and 14. They are from Dhanusha, Mahottari, Siraha, Saptari and Rautahat. Naveen Joshi from India explained why the two girls were rescued just as they were about to be sold for sexual activities.
‘Both girls were repeatedly sexually exploited,’ Joshi said at a program organized by the Ministry of Sports and Social Welfare of the Madhesh Province Government, ‘We were able to rescue them in a state where they were ready to be sold. One girl has mental health problems. She needs treatment and counseling.’ According to Joshi, the Madhesh Province border is being used to take women and children to India.
‘Our study has shown that many women and children are being taken to India through the Madhesh border,’ Joshi said, ‘Recently, children from Madhesh Province have been taken to India and made to do risky work.’
According to him, Nepali children are increasingly being used in India for kidney extraction, sex workers, maids, orchestras and circuses. Joshi, who lives in New Delhi, India, said that 1,000 people have been rescued in the last one year with the help of the Nepali Embassy in India. ‘Nepali women and girls are initially kept in flats and used in the sex trade through WhatsApp,’ said Joshi. ‘Photos are sent on WhatsApp and women and girls are brought to the country for a one-time deal of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000. Later, they are sold to brothels.’
16 children rescued in India have been repatriated with the help of the Rotary Club Rupandehi Lumbini. Club president Parashuram Parajuli said that since the number of children being lured to India or other countries is high, everyone’s support is needed in the rescue operation and repatriation campaign. Former Secretary to the Government of Nepal Bhim Upadhyay complained that the government has not received much support in rescuing the children.
Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and Social Welfare of the Madhesh government, Ranjit Kumar Yadav, said that despite the law being in place, the trend of women and children being taken to India under various temptations and forced into risky work has increased. ''The provincial government will establish a separate fund for the rescue, return of children from Madhesh province, and the treatment or psychological counseling they need,'' Secretary Yadav said, ''The provincial government will move forward in this matter by coordinating with organizations working in the field of women and children.''
Sanjeev Mahato, head of the Child Search and Rescue Office, Janakpur, said that 61 children from Madhesh province were rescued from India last year and handed over to their families. He informed that during that period, about 115 children who went missing in Nepal were found and handed over to their parents.
