A Public and Police Association (PAPA) Home for street children (girls) was inaugurated by the Director-General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy at Seethammadhara North Extension here on Thursday.
The three-storied building was constructed on a 400-square yard site belonging to the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) at an estimated cost of Rs.45 lakh with donation from a Railway contractor B.H. Rajagopal Raju of the city, who undertook the construction as a charity.
The PAPA Home (Boys) was established on November 14, 1999 by the then Commissioner of Police K. Durga Prasad at Suryabagh in the city.
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The idea of starting of similar PAPA Home for Girls was mooted in view of the success of the Boys Home and the same was now realised with the cooperation of Mr. Rajagopal Raju.
Retired additional superintendents of police R.V. Raju and P. Satyanarayana, who are acting as president and secretary of the PAPA Home (Boys),have been designated as president and secretary for PAPA Home (Girls) as well in recognition of their dedicated and selfless service.
As many as 73 children in PAPA Home for Boys are getting primary and secondary education, besides technical education. PAPA Home for Girls, which is presently housed with 10 girls in the age group of 10 to 12 years, is aimed to extend helping hand to the street and destitute girls from Visakhapatnam to Guntur.
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The main aim of PAPA Home are to bring street and destitute children back into social mainstream, release them from the grip of mafia gangs and anti-social elements, free them psychologically from criminal tendencies and give them schooling according to their aptitude besides vocational training.
Inspector General of Police (North Coastal Zone) K.V. Rajendranath Reddy, Police Commissioner B. Shivadhar Reddy, Deputy Inspector General (Visakhapatnam Range) Swathi Lakra, Superintendent of Police (Visakhapatnam Rural) G. Srinivas, Deputy Commissioner of Police (L & O) P. Viswa Prasad and a host of other police officers were present.
Meanwhile, Mr Dinesh Reddy inaugurated the residential complex for the Deputy Commissioners of Police, Visakhapatnam city, beside the Police Commissioner’s bungalow, near the AU Registrar office on Thursday.
The three-floor building, the construction of which was funded by the Visakhapatnam Port, will house the residences of each of three DCPs.