A two-day international conference on trafficking will be held at Siliguri this week and experts from various countries will take part in it.
Anti-trafficking experts and government officials from the country, besides Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, UK and Germany will meet here for the Fifth Trafficking in Persons Conclave to be held on Friday and Saturday.
New Delhi-based NGO 'Shakti Vahini' and the US Consulate General office, Kolkata are organising the conference.
"Siliguri is part of a transit route for trafficking due to its proximity to the Nepal border. After the Nepal earthquake trafficking has increased," Rishi Kant of the NGO said.
Closure of tea gardens has aggravated the problem in the north Bengal region, he said adding Siliguri is also gateway to the northeastern states.
At the conclave the participants will share information about the on-the-ground situation and best practice initiatives in their respective countries as well as identify the way forward for a coordinated regional response to trafficking.
The proposed legislation defines "trafficking of person"
as per Section 370 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, which is, "Whoever, for the purpose of exploitation, (a) recruits, (b) transports, (c) harbours, (d) transfers, or (e) receives, a person or persons commits the offence of trafficking."
The draft bill also clubs together different forms of trafficking under the category of "aggravated trafficking", with punishment of up to life imprisonment. This category includes bonded labour, trafficking for the purpose of bearing a child, trafficking for the purpose of marriage, trafficking for begging, trafficking of a pregnant woman or resulting into pregnancy, among others.
The draft also seeks to create a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau for preventing, investigating and protecting cases or victims of trafficking.
