1. Mobile populations – F rom
Nepal

2. Understanding mobile
populations
• Routes
• Who are they?
• What d o they d o?
• What are their vulnerabil
ities?
• Legal awareness/ status
• Awareness about HIV/ Access to services
• Locations and num bers

3. The Routes
M id -western
Tulsipur Gorahi Khiri Agra D el
hi
Gorahi D hangad hi Bareill
y D el
hi

4. Who is mobile?
• M obile popul ation from the M id -western d istricts
• Easily d istinguishabl e-Fair M ongol features
oid
• M ostl single m obile m en
y
• Highl m obil across cities as well as within cities
y e
• Set up tents and stay in one area
• Go back hom e at l east once in three/ four m onths
• General d o not m ix with others/
ly local population

5. What do they do?
• M ostly artisans/ ers
trad
• Sell two m aj item s (shoes and bed sheets)
or
• They get shoes/ leather from Agra and cloth/sheets
from pilkhawa from UP
• Sell in various parts of d estination sites

6. Vulnerabilities
• Reported exploitation by police
• Som e reported going to SWs at d estination

7. The Routes
Western
Tam ghar Butwal Parasi Pal
pa
Sid harthnagar
Sunol
i
D el
hi

8. The Routes
Far Western
Achham D hangarhi Baitarhi D ad eld hura
Banbasa Tanakpur Pilibhit
D el
hi

9. Who is mobile?
• M obile population from the western d istricts
• Easil d istinguishable-Fair M ongoloid features
y
• Initially single m ales com e to d estination sites
• Som e get their fam il and som e m arry here
ies
• Approxim atel 40% are single/ ale
y m
• O l est inhabitants-8 years Newest inhabitants-2
d
m onths
• Average num ber of years in d estination – 3/ 4

10. What do they do?
• Stay near ind ustrial areas
• Work as security guard s
• Work as sem i-skil workers in factories
led
• Wom en work as house m aid s
• Sm all proportion work as Sex workers

11. Vulnerabilities
• Fem al as house m aid s reported having sex in houses
es
worked for (extra m oney/ forced )
• Ind ustrial area attracts a l
arge num ber of people-som e
Nepalis act as pim ps
• As security guard s provid e safe space for sex
• Approxim ate average of having sex for girls is 1 2/ 3 years
1
• Both m ales and fem ales d rink alcohol
• Som e al take d rugs (M arij
so uana/ charas)
• Very few child ren are sent to schools-sent to work

12. The Routes
C entral
Gaur Kal
aiya
Raxaul
Birganj
M uzzafarpur D el
hi

13. Who is mobile?
• M obile popul ation from the central d istricts
• Easily d istinguishabl e-Fair M ongol features
oid
• Initiall singl m ales and single fem al com e to d estination
y e es
sites
• M ost m arry here
• Approx. Average age – 25-30
• Average num ber of years in d estination – 7/ 8
• Go back hom e at l east once in three/ four m onths

14. What do they do?
• Stay near ind ustrial/resid ential areas
• Work in shops/ habas/ restaurants
d
• Som e wom en work as house m aid s/ workers
sex

15. Vulnerabilities
• Both m en and wom en reported exploitation be
supervisors.
• All wom en are seen as sex workers
• M en are paid less than other workers

16. The Routes
East
Raj
biraj Supaul Barauni Patna D el
hi
Janakpur M ad hepura Barauni Patna D el
hi

17. Who is mobile?
• M obile popul ation from the Eastern d istricts
• Not d istinguishabl from other Biharis/
e
• M ostl m obile with fam il
y ies
• Average num ber of years in d estination – 8/ 9
• Go back hom e at once a year
• Population increased since unrest in Nepal
• Known as Biharis in d estination – Speak M aithili
• C al them selves as Nepalis-M ad heshis
l

18. What do they do?
• Stay near ind ustrial areas
• Work as security guard s
• Work as sem i-skil workers in factories
led
• Wom en work as house m aid s
• Som e wom en as sex workers

19. Vulnerabilities
• Reported less vulnerabilities
• Access the governm ent services-School, health,
and ration card s
• Som e read y to go back to Nepal as situation
im proves

20. The Routes
East
J pa
ham Kankarm ita J paiguri
al Katihar D el
hi

21. What do they do?
• Work as trad ers
• Sell tea and hing

22. Mobile population in K olkata
• Nepali m al work in shops/
es restaurents
• Single m ales
• Single fem ales ( m ostl sex workers)
y
• Som e are trafficked
• Approxim ate num ber in three Nepali specific
brothels/areas - 600

23. S ome general observations

24. How do they move across
borders?
• Through a relative or som eone from their own
village
• There is no agent system
• Relatives and friend s provid e them with shelter at
the d estination sites
• Visit at least once a year. C ould be m ore for
peopl on d aily wages
e

25. How do they get work?
• Peopl from Nepal are highly regard ed for their
e
honesty and hard work
• Usuall supervisors ask existing Nepali people to
y
get other Nepalis
• Supervisors can m ake them work for long hours for
l pay
ess
• Supervisors can throw the out of j whenever
ob
they want to

26. L egal status
• Som e (l ers) are aware of the Ind o-Nepal Treaty.
ead
• They fel that Ind ia is not following the term s of the treaty.
t
• “Nepali peopl in Ind ia are not getting healthcare, security,
e
em pl ent, Ed ucation… as m and ated , whereas Ind ians in
oym
Nepal are getting all that.”
• At least half had Ind ian ration card s
• None of the card s have been renewed in the last 6-8
m onths

27. A wareness/access to servic es
• In general, awareness about HIV is low, Am ong wom en
even l ower.
• In general, m obile Nepali d o not access the governm ent
health services (have to stand in lines, get no respect, not
treated wel l..)
• Access private practitioners. Som e always consult the
trad itional healer within their com m unity. Som e consult
private M BBS practiioners
• General exploited for health care. A person with TB had to
ly
spend m ore than 20,000 rupees before D O TS
• D o not access anganwad i services or school for child ren

28. Resourc es/S upport
• Fam ily and village networks (for j
obs, m oney
transfer, support)
• Nepali associations
– Nepali Ekta Sam aj – Bharat
– Nepali M igrants Association
• Transfer of m oney
– Inform al transfer system
– Transfer through banks

29. Mobile populations – F rom
Bangladesh

30. The Routes
Transit points
• Benapol - Petrapol
e e
• Ghoj D anga
a
• Long open bord ers/vilages/rivers
l

31. The Routes
Where d o they go?
• 24 Parganas
• Howrah (sm aler proportion in Kol
l kata)
• O ther d istricts in WB
O ther parts of Ind ia - D el
hi

32. Who is mobile?
• M ostly with fam ilies
• Few single m ales
• Few single fem al es

33. What do they do?
• In arm eniam colony (fem ales work as sex workers)
• M anual labour - Unskilled labour
• Sem i-skilled (m asons)
• Trad ers (big) bring in good s from Banglad esh
• Trad ers (sm all) sell in other parts of Ind ia

34. Vulnerabilities
• Reported exploitation by police/ civil society
• Sex workers (banglad esh) reported not being paid
by clients
• Som e are ID Us
• Sex workers in Kol kata refuse to acknowled ge
origins
• Recent crackd owns (2/ years)
3
• Newspaper reports

35. Gaps
• Valid ated d ata on num bers in each location for
Nepali m obile population
• Inform ation on Banglad eshi m obile population
• Vulnerabilities and risk am ong sub-popul ations of
m obile m en and wom en.

36. THANK YO U