Since childhood, Harihar loved listening to people and engaging with them. Growing up in a hostel, vacations for him meant festivals and meeting people from his community. Harihar belongs to a family of tea estate workers residing in Bhatkawa Tea estate in Alipurduar, West Bengal, and has been an active member of various organisations like the Dhumkuria Trust working for…

Harihar Nagbansi

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Human trafficking in West Bengal's tea gardens is one of the biggest problems in the state. So much so that the central government in its recent budget earmarked a special package for the welfare of those affected. Low wages, lack of awareness, and the lure of a better future in distant lands has made many gullible tea garden workers fall prey to human traffickers. Those trafficked include women and children from the tea gardens forced into household work and sex in Indian metros and beyond.

Our community correspondent Harihar Nagbansi has been reporting on the issue from Alipurduar for several years now. In a latest case put to light, a man called Phulan Barman from Satkodari village of West Bengal's Alipurduar district migrated to the southern Indian city of Hyderabad only to never return. It has been four years since he left and neither has he visited his family in all these years nor do the parents have any information of his whereabouts.

Police have been informed of the case and they have also questioned two people related to the victim. But they are yet to gain any significant breakthrough. There has been no progress in the case and the parents await the return of their son. We will keep reporting on this issue as and when there is a new development.

To see more reports on human trafficking by the same correspondent, click here.