Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India's Kumbh Mela festival steps up anti-trafficking efforts

CAMPS to protect children from human traffickers have been set up for the first time at the world's biggest religious festival, the Kumbh Mela in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state.

During the event, as many as 150 million people are expected to visit the festival city of Prayagraj to bathe at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and a mythical third river, the Saraswati, from January 15 to March 31.


"In the melee, it is very easy for a child to just disappear," said Subedar Singh, a campaigner with anti-trafficking charity Pragati Gramodyog Evam Samaj Kalyan Sansthan.

"Thousands of children, particularly girls between 12-15 years old, are left behind by their families to take care of the elderly, who spend up to a month here. These girls are always at risk," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday (12).

Armed with temporary identity cards and pamphlets, Singh and a group of volunteers have helped set up seven camps to keep track of children who travel with their families to attend the eight-week festival.

Religious congregations are an integral part of Indian culture but are becoming dangerous places for children and thousands are reported missing each year, child rights campaigners say.

"We have consistently seen that during these events, there is a noticeable spike in the number of children reported missing," said Smita Dharmamer of Aangan Trust, a charity that works on child protection across six Indian states.

"And while we say missing, the fact is that there are organised groups at work and the children are trafficked."

Many families believe that because they are in a place of faith, that God will protect them, so often ignore safety checklists, anti-trafficking campaigners added.

Practices to protect children that were first developed by the Aangan Trust and used in two separate religious fairs in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in 2018, have now become the template at the Kumbh Mela.

At the seven booths, housed near the temporary ashrams where pilgrims stay, a database of all children visiting the event will be maintained.

Each child will also be given a detailed identification card that includes the exact ashram where their family are staying.

The Kumbh Mela has always had lost and found booths to help reunite lost children and the elderly with their families.

But often children are unable to remember the name of the ashram where they are staying or their parent's telephone number, said police officer Neeraj Pandey, who is in-charge of the security at the Kumbh Mela.

"Children are often confused when they are brought to the booths and we spend many days trying to locate their families," said Pandey.

Parents at the event have often complained about adolescent girls who have gone missing, though no human trafficking cases have ever been filed to date, he added.

The police have also for the first time set up a fully computerised network to track children with 14 booths spread across the enormous venue.

"It seems like a small intervention, but the impact is big," said Shitla Prasad Pandey, a fourth generation priest at the Kumbh Mela.

"So many sacred activities go on at this event but what can be more sacred than ensuring the safety of children."

(Thomson Reuters Foundation)

More For You

Bollywood meets British Rail in a celebration of 200 years of trains and 30 years of DDLJ

A still from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge featuring the film’s iconic train station

Amazon Prime Video

Bollywood meets British Rail in a celebration of 200 years of trains and 30 years of DDLJ

In a one-of-a-kind cultural crossover, Britain’s railway system is teaming up with Bollywood powerhouse Yash Raj Films to mark two massive milestones—the 200th anniversary of modern rail travel and 30 years of the legendary film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ). The partnership taps into the timeless romance of train journeys and the global love for DDLJ.

Trains, Love, and DDLJ

Keep ReadingShow less
Royal Navy mess dress code now allows saris

An honorary female captain in a white sari, paired with a white shirt, bow tie, and mess jacket, alongside Royal Navy officers and other attendees dressed in cultural attire.

Royal Navy mess dress code now allows saris

Eastern Eye

IN AN effort to reflect the diversity of modern Britain, the Royal Navy has expanded its mess dress code policy for formal and ceremonial occasions to include ethnic outfits, including the sari.

Lance Corporal Jack Kanani, chair of the Royal Navy’s Race Diversity Network, recently announced the update to the dress code as part of the force’s wider “cultural equivalent” initiative.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

Narendra Modi in a group picture with US vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance and their children Ewan and Vivek, at Elysee Palace in Paris. (ANI Photo)

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

US vice president JD Vance and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke on Tuesday (11) about how the US can assist India in diversifying its energy sourcing through investments in US nuclear technology, the White House said.

The meeting between Vance and Modi in Paris, where they were both attending an artificial intelligence summit, came ahead of the prime minister's US visit later this week in which topics like trade, investment, technology and immigration are expected to be discussed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

A British Airways passenger plane takes off behind houses next to land earmarked for a third runway at Longford near Heathrow Airport. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

LONDON's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs, will submit its proposal for a third runway to the British government by summer, its chief executive Thomas Woldbye will say in a speech on Wednesday (12).

The move comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves said last month the government would back the construction of a new runway at Heathrow to boost trade and economic growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
trump-musk-

Musk, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office with his 4-year-old son, said he was leading the effort to cut government waste. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump, Musk move to cut federal workforce under new order

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to work with Elon Musk to identify government jobs that can be cut and functions that can be eliminated.

The move is part of an effort to reduce the federal workforce and align it with Trump’s policy priorities.

Keep ReadingShow less