Thirteen-year-old Rohan (name changed) was one of the 21 runaway children reunited with his family here on Friday. He was found on the platform by volunteers of Sathi, a non-governmental organisation.
For Rohan, it was the third time that he had run away from home in Srirangapatna.
After a brief visit to Tumkur enroute, Rohan, a high school student, arrived in the city after saving Rs. 300 from what he earned while working in a juice shop in his home town. Volunteers of Sathi had found him on the railway platform and had taken him to a a rehabilitation camp. Twice earlier, he had run away to Goa and Bangalore. “I wasn’t interested in school and would be scolded at home. So I ran away,” Rohan says. His mother, a single parent, says, “I scold Rohan only to make him understand that he should go to school. I am working very hard to educate both my children. I’m just thankful that he is back and didn’t get caught up with any anti-social elements.”
At least 10 children reunited on Friday had runaway from their home more than once.
ProgrammeSathi in coordination with the Railway authorities had organised the programme at the Yeshwanthpur railway station to reunite runaway children with their families. The children, who were found at platforms, were taken to the ‘Home Orientation and Removal of Substance Abuse’ camps before being reunited with their family members. Of the 21 runaway children who were reunited, 11 are from Karnataka, three from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu each followed by two children each from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Most of these are aged between 15 and 17 years (11 children) followed by eight children aged between 11 and 14 years, and two aged between 8 and ten years. Pramod Kulkarni, Sathi member, said that on an average 10 runaway children are found on the Railway platforms every day.
According to him, only seven members are engaged in finding runaway children while at least 20 personnel (both Railway and NGO workers) are needed for the purpose. He said that it was necessary to have a separate unit on the railway platform to keep the children there once they have been taken under the wing of the NGO or the police. He highlighted that the Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) were not there in all railway stations. Minister of State for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil said that he would talk to Railway Minister Mallikarjuna M. Kharge regarding the lack of personnel and facility for rescuing runaway children. “The government will try to provide more facilities and increase the number of police personnel at railway platforms so that they can assist the NGO workers in the rescue operations,” he added. The Minister said he would also instruct the police not to delay booking cases whenever families of such children come forward with complaints.
