National
Kids go missing after joining circus
Kids go missing after joining circusPratap Bista
Nine-year-old Sukra Pariyar and 11-year-old Chameli Pariyar of Manahari VDC-2 in the district are out of contact after they went to work with a circus in India five years ago.
Their father Somlal Pariyar, 51, said his brother-in-law Gopal Nepali, who had taken the kids to the circus, has also gone missing.
Somlal said he had received Rs 5,000 for sending the kids to India. “I have no any idea about my kids’ condition,” he said.
It is said that circus operators do not allow kids to return home.
Jhabindra Gyawali, chief of the Child Workers in Nepal Helpline in the district, said human traffickers have adopted new methods to send children to India of late. “Currently, traffickers have been luring children to India promising good jobs and handsome salaries,” he said.
According to Gyawali, traffickers used to take women to Indian brothels in the past but they have targeted impoverished people and lured them into sending their kids to India in the recent years. He said parents who have sent their kids to India for jobs also hide information.
Sources said around 500 kids from Makwanpur used to go to Indian circuses for jobs each year in the past. Maiti Nepal chief in the district Maya Lama said many traffickers have taken children from Manahari to Indian circuses. Lama, however,
said the number of children trafficking cases decreased after courts started announcing 10-20 year jail terms for convicts.