BENGALURU: Bengaluru is where many runaway children reach for various reasons. They come here because it is well connected to other cities by rail and roads, and also looking for jobs. But the number of runaways have come down, according to a recent survey by Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), an NGO that rescues and rehabilitates street and working children from the streets and slums. In 2014, the NGO has rescued 5,347 children from various contact points.
‘Contact points’ is where children are generally found, like in railway stations or bus stands. In 2015, the number of runways went up to 6,246 and last year (2016) it fell significantly to 4,459. The NGO says timely intervention by the Railways is what has helped. In 2015, the Railways had opened a Railway Childline across many important stations in the country to rescue lost children. These centres manage to stop and help children at the ‘source’ station, which means fewer find their way to Bengaluru.
Catching at Source “Earlier we used to get many children from Tamil Nadu, but these days only few turn up because the Railway Childline is very active in that state,” says Fr John MA SDB , Director, Railway Childline Bengaluru. “Nowadays, children come to the city with the consent of their parents to find a job in the city. We talk to them and send them back home with their parents.” Besides posting staff at the railway stations, the NGO stations employees in and around major bus stations of the city.
In 2015, they had opened a rescue booth at the Majestic bus station. Through this one booth alone, they were able to rescue 2,256 children including 164 girls. The BMTC is also happy with the work and has promised every support necessary. Chairman of BMTC M Nagaraju Yadav says that the transport service’s staff will actively reach out and provide support and safety to runaway children, who reach the bus stands in Bengaluru.
New Rescue Counter Every day, BOSCO spots 15 to 20 runaway children from various parts of the city. The NGO’s volunteers, including sex workers, platform vendors and Railways cleaning staff, then contact BOSCO to complete the rescue procedure. In 2014, BOSCO bagged a national award for child welfare. Fr Mathew Thomas, Executive Director BOSCO, says, “We plan to open more rescue counters in the city bus stands and have approached the BMTC for this. We urgently need a counter at Shivaji Nagar bus station.”