More than 4000 overseas job seekers from Sirajganj district went to Malaysia by sea route last year, said a preliminary study report.
Of them, 400 migrants have been missing while going to Malaysia by trawler, it also said.
The report prepared by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) was presented Saturday at a press conference on 'Irregular Migration by sea route and Implementation of Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013 at the National Press Club.
RMMRU organised the press conference where nine migrant victims' family members from Sirajganj were present who told the stories about how their sons or brothers were allured by the middlemen and sent to Malaysia.
Tasneem Siddiqui, founding chair of RMMRU, presented the keynote paper at the press meet.
Quoting press reports she said the number of migration by sea route can be 15000 to 20,000 last year. And it mostly happened from lower migration areas like Jessore, Khulna, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Kurigram, Bogra, Sirajganj, Satkhira and Natore.
Sheepa Hafiza, director, Gender Justice and Diversity and Migration Programme, Syed Saiful Haque, chairman, WARBE Development Foundation-Bangladesh, Shakirul Islam, chairman of Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme (OKUP), among others, were present at the programme,
Terming it irregular migration, Sheepa Hafiza said it is not labour migration but it is human trafficking.
She said the law enforcers of the respective districts should sort out the middlemen and take stern action against them.
Dr Choudhury Abrar, executive director of RMMRU said there was a red alert about such massive irregularities in migration sector.
"But there were no effective initiatives from the government to check it," he said adding that government do not accept criticism and do not re-evaluate about its activities.
He, however, said there is no importance to observe December18 as the world migration day, if government does not take effective measures to resolve existing problems.
Migration rights activists and civil society have also demanded immediate action from government to check irregular migration to save victims from immense sufferings.
They also said if it does not take initiatives before world migration day they will put on black badge on the day.
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