New plans to help missing children

Hyderabad: More than 40 new missing children on an average, who run away from homes or become street kids, are spotted every month across railway stations, revealed a survey by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPR). 

According to child rights experts due to the confusion between the jurisdiction of the railway police or civil police, many children are found wandering near the station and are vulnerable to trafficking or bonded labour by unscrupulous elements.

Currently, the Missing and Found persons website created by the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare in association with the police has stated that for the united state of Andhra Pradesh, till December 2013, a total of 6,941 boys and 13,152 girls were found missing and of these, just about 547 boys and 376 girls were found.

Whereas nationally, from January 2011 to December 2013, 79 boys and 63 girls in the age group of (0-5), 451 boys and 232 girls in the age group of 6-14 and 917 boys 1449 girls in the age group of 15-18 are still missing.

In the last three months, 46 missing cases of children were recorded just from the LB Nagar police station limits.

Mamatha Raghuveer, member, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said, “Many children who are rescued from railway stations are immediately taken to an NGO, shelter home or are put in the state home for boys or girls. Some find it difficult to recall their whereabouts and end up living at the home for many years. In other cases, they run away from the remand homes. Sometimes even if we take all effort and accompany them as escorts to back home, their parents refuse to acknowledge them and as a result, the children have to come back to the home. Hence, the number of missing children is always increasing and railway stations create an ideal hideout.”

She also mentioned that there is a need to develop a separate structure at the railway stations.

“As part of the survey, NCPCR issued guidelines across railway stations to appoint a help desk for such complaints headed by a nodal officer to facilitate in addressing these complaints,” Ms Mamatha said.

There are also plans to associate NGOs that work on similar issues with the website and help update data of missing children regularly.

“There are many NGOs that work for these kids. It is important to take the data available from them and put them up on the website, so that it gets convenient for parents to locate their missing children,” said Achyuta Rao, member, SCPCR.

Figures for AP (united) from 2008

Missing              Found
6,941 boys           547
13,152 girls         376

National figures from January 2011 to December 2013

Age group                              Missing

0-5 years                                   79 boys
                                                  63 girls

6-14 years                               451 boys
                                                232 girls

15-18 years                             917 boys
                                              1,449 girls