The Project area extends in and around BAHARAGORA, a small town of East Singhbhum District in Jharkhand and also covering the adjoining districts of Mayurbhanj and West Midnapore in the state of Orissa and West Bengal respectively, falling within a radius of around 150 Sq. KMs. Baharagora lies at the intersection of NH—33 & 6, a tri-junction of Jharkhand, West Bengal & Orissa. An average of 4000 trucks pass daily through this area, out of which quite a large number get impounded at the check posts of Jamsola in Orissa & Chichra in West Bengal, for lack of proper documents. Added to it, truckers halt at roadside dhabas for the much needed rest and refreshment provide impetus to the thriving sex-industry.

This Cross—Border area being located far away from the State and District Headquarters, poor communication, coupled with hilly terrain prompts Government officials to seldom visit the region resulting in less attention. Language barrier, migrating trend of population due to single cropping pattern, poverty, drying up of traditional sources of income, dense forest cover and ever increasing demand for unskilled labour in the nearby industrial pockets further aggravate the problem. The peculiarity of this region has made it more difficult for the government to provide adequate health services at one point.

Another feature, common to Indian subcontinent, is the “zero points” where a number of highways converge, a natural place to reach mobile populations at risk of HIV. These cross border areas share common cultural, economic, demographic or epidemiological characteristics. Linked with National Highway —6 Baharagora is connected to the industrial town and railway junction of Kharagpur as well as with Kolkata the capital of West Bengal in the east.  It further proceeds down southwards to Orissa’s famous Simlipal National Park, known for its tourist attraction, all round the year and to the Steel City of Rourkela and then to Mumbai. National Highway —5 that initiates from Bombay Chowk proceeds to Baripada the district headquaters of Mayurbhanj and eventually to Bhubaneswar and then links Chennai. The National Highway—33 links Jharkhand’s industrial hub of Tata Nagar and the state capital of Ranchi. The well-known tourist spots of Ghatsila & Galudih also fall along this National Highway.