Berhampur: The Berhampur railway station in Ganjam district has turned into a major transit point for human trafficking. In 2022, a total 343 children that were being trafficked as labourers were rescued from the station, sources said Monday. Being one of the largest commuting hubs in Odisha with a huge number of footfalls daily, the Berhampur railway station has turned into a lucrative outlet for labour agents.
Even though 343 kids have been rescued, the persons behind their plights have evaded arrests. Childline, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been the key figures behind the rescue of the children last year. Eleven such kids were saved in December by GRP and RPF officials while being trafficked from Bihar via Berhampur to Andhra Pradesh. They were later handed over to their respective families.
However, except for reuniting the children with their families, the concerned departments have failed to include them or their family members in various government-run welfare schemes. This has happened due to a lack of proper coordination among the Child Protection, Labour, Education departments, and Childline, sources informed.
In January last year, 12 boys and nine girls were rescued from the station followed by seven boys and two girls in February. The figures for the other months stood at March (15), April (43), May (23), June (21), July (26), August (22), September (34), October (45), November (21) and December (51). Overall 220 boys and 123 girls were rescued from the station premises by December 25, officials informed. Bhalachandra Sarangi, who is the national secretary of Akhil Bharat Kishan Mazdoor Sabha, alleged Monday that officials are not taking any proactive steps after reuniting the rescued kids with their families. He pointed out that financial constraints force these kids to seek jobs in other states and added that if efforts are made to rehabilitate them or their families through government welfare schemes, child trafficking will go down substantially.
Sources pointed out that kids in the 15-18 age group are the worst sufferers. Sarangi said that if they are brought under the Biju Sishu Surakshya Yojana, they will not try to migrate to other states in search of work. As these kids are gullible, they are easy ‘fodder’ for the middlemen involved in trafficking. Local advocate Surendra Behera said exemplary punishment should be handed out to the traffickers.