In what might not augur well for a developing city, the number of street children, ranging from those engaged in begging to those employed illegally, being brought to the Childline facility here is going up.
While six boys, aged between 14 and 18, were rescued from a confectionery unit in the city on Monday, two more children were rescued from trains that reached the city on Wednesday and Thursday.
George Manuel, a Childline team member said the six boys were sent home, to Tirunelveli, after their parents turned up with documents proving their age before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Tuesday.
A three-year-old boy, who was seen begging along with his mother on a train from Guntur, was brought to Childline on Thursday after passengers called up 1098. He was produced before the CWC on Friday with a decision on his future to be taken soon.
On Wednesday, it was a 13-year-old girl, again seen begging on a train, who was rescued after passengers dialled 1098. She has been temporarily lodged with Sri Chitra Home here, Mr. Manuel said.
The number of children being rescued from various parts of the city, excluding those such as the three-year-old boy or teenaged girl who were rescued from trains, and brought to the Childline facility at Thampanoor here before being sent home or rehabilitated has been higher this year.
Childline officials said 105 children were brought to the facility between June 1, 2012, and June 1, 2013. The number from June 1, 2013, till June 1, 2014, however went up to 131, and in just a month into the next corresponding period, the number has crossed 10.
Interestingly, in many of the cases in which the rescued children were employed, legal proceedings against the employers have been tough and literally nil.
One reason is that Childline cannot directly register a case and has to proceed via the CWC and the police, thus prolonging procedures. Another is that in most cases, the children did not have age documents to prove that they were minors.