VIJAYAWADA: AP has the shameful distinction of being ranked second among the states in India from which the most number of humans are trafficked, while India is ranked a high fourth among 167 countries globally that traffick people, according to a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The damning report reveals that India has been a significant source, transit point, and destination for human trafficking and 90 per cent of trafficking is done domestically.
The backward areas of AP, Telangana state, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka, UP, MP and West Bengal are the areas from which people are trafficked. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa and Chennai are the destinations where the victims land up.
The report noted that 80 per cent of the trafficked persons are women and girls and over 60 per cent are minors. Forty per cent of the trafficked girls face sexual exploitation. Some 30 lakh women and girls are involved in prostitution and 12 lakh are underaged girls.
According to a study by the National Human Rights Commission, Krishna, East Godavari, Anantapur, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari and Guntur districts in AP are the key sources of exploitation, and Hyderabad and Guntur are the destination points.
A huge 60 per cent of the trafficked girls from these areas are minors. Nimmaraju Rammohan, the founder of HELP, and recipient of the President’s Award, said that human trafficking is rampant in AP and Vijayawada is one of the main transit hubs for human trafficking.
State project officer Dr S.V. Bhavani said that effective implementation of laws is required to bring the perpetrators to book. “While we have stringent laws on paper, their implementation is very poor,” she said.
