Operation to bring street children back to school launched

Hyderabad: Hyderabad city police have launched operation “Muskan” (smile) to rescue street and runaway children, and bring them back to school.

Police commissioner Anjani Kumar told journalists on Monday so far police have rescued 325 children, including 11 girls. Of these, 272 children have been reunited with their families while 53 are living at government shelter homes, while awaiting reunification with their relatives.

Police said many of the children were from other states.

“The children who were rescued from the shops and the factories include 53 from about a dozen other states including Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and other parts of southern India. They had runway from their homes and were working in Hyderabad” said Shikha Goyal, additional deputy commissioner of police (Crime).

Five children from Nepal were also saved from the city streets.

“They were sent by their families to stay with relatives in Hyderabad but, instead of being taken care of, they were forced to work,” she said adding that a 13 year old Nepali boy was being sent back after contacting his family.

Most of the rescued children from Hyderabad, who have now been enrolled in schools, are from poor families.

One orphaned boy who was loitering on the roads in Golkonda was counselled and admitted back into school after he expressed his intention to resume studies.

The boy’s mother told reporters that he had to discontinue his studies because of economic hardship after the death of his father.

“He had taken to whiling away his time roaming around and would not listen to us. But after police took him into their custody and counselled him, he has changed. I am grateful to the police”, she said.

The uncle of another boy said the police intervention had instilled discipline in his nephew and he has now started going back to the school.

“Now he is refusing to go around with his friends”, he said adding that the school in which he was admitted has also waived off his fee.

Sub-inspector Syed Mohammad Rafiuddin, who had rescued two children in Golkonda said that managements of private schools were also extending cooperation by offering to waive off the fee. “As economic factors play a major role in children of poor families dropping out of schools and going to work in shops and other places, we have taken the responsibility of providing them with uniform and the books. We are also counseling the families why education was necessary for their better future”, he said.

Officer Rajani, sub-inspector of police for Tirmulagiri, said that the after rescuing the children their teams were also monitoring their progress in school and also ensuring that they don’t go back to their old ways.

Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that 17 teams were constituted in 17 divisions of the city and each team had members from women and child welfare, revenue, education and other departments to deal with the different aspects of the problem.

“We have identified the hotspots in the city where children loiter around or work in shops. We keep an eye on such places for a few days before taking action”, Shikha Goyal said.

Business establishments employing children were also being listed and action was launched against them, she added.

Operation Muskan will be taken up twice every year, Shikha Goyal said.