It does not always take an adult to bring some change in society, even children can do it. In a bid to prevent sale of drugs and child abuse in their locality, a group of children in Korukkupet pooled money and handed it over to the police to install CCTV cameras.
An unsafe environment prevails in Korukkupet due to the sale of drugs and eve- teasing by some anti-social elements. There has been no action from the the police to make the place safer for women and children, say residents.
Around 30 children of the Arunodhaya Children Sangam in Korukkupet took the initiative to make the locality safe by installing CCTV cameras.
“We discussed the issue in the Children Nagara Sabhai that we organise and pooled in money. While some sold scrap materials in the house, a few contributed from their pocket money. Some also collected money from neighbours and family,” said K.A. Saveetha, a member of Arunodhaya.
The children collected a total of ₹20,000. “Out of this, we gave ₹9,500 to the R. K. Nagar police station and they have assured us that they will install cameras,” she said.
Virgil D. Sami, director of Arunodhaya, lamented over the increase in drug abuse incidents in the city. “It is highly commendable that the children themselves identified the issue and came forward to install the cameras,” she said.
Visit to mall
The children also took a group of homeless elders in north Chennai to a mall in the city.
“We took a total of 24 persons — one male and 23 females. They have never stepped inside a shopping mall. So we gave them a tour. We also presented dhotis and saris to them,” said K. Sruthi, another member.
