Visakhapatnam: Reluctance to go to school and sightseeing are among the main reasons causing schoolchildren to run away from their homes. This was revealed by some children who were rescued in Vizag during the second round of Operation Muskan conducted from July 1 to 31 aiming at tracing missing children. In a changing trend, most of the children rescued were not into forced begging or child labour, but had fled their home due to various reasons. Of the 30 children traced from Vizag by district child protection unit and the railway protection force, 27 were found to have ran away.
A 10-year-old boy Rakesh (name changed) from Chennai had left home after his parents thrashed him receiving a school complaint that he was not studying well. Fearing punishment by a teacher at school, he fled home and later was picked up on the drive at the city station. Similarly, other three children from Vizag and Bihar told the Child Welfare Committee that their parents were beating them because they did not go school regularly.
Interestingly, five children from East Godavari district fled home for sightseeing in Vizag. The children bluffed their parents saying that they would visit Annavaram to see the Lord Satyana-rayana Swamy temple to plan for sightseeing in Vizag. They were seen roaming in the railway stations when they ran out of money. “We wanted to see RK Beach, Kailasagiri, zoo, and airport,” the children informed the rescue team.
Three children from other states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh were also rescued. Children begging at the railway stations were also rescued in this drive. They mostly belonged to other states. In some cases, children after some wrongdoing did not go back home, fearing punishment by parents.
“The parents and school teachers should counsel the children at regular intervals. Many a times, we have observed that children staying at school hostels are running away unable to bear study pressure. Initially, the children would flee home or schools, but if not properly guided after their rescue, they might resort to suicide,” said the district child protection unit officer A. Satyanarayana.
