MADURAI: As many as 518 stranded children have been rescued by the Railway Child Help Desk in four years in Madurai Railway Junction areas.
According to a statement by the Madurai Division of Southern Railway (MDSR), Railway Child Help Desks are functioning at Madurai, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram and other important Railway stations. One such help desk taken care of by an NGO EKTA at Madurai Junction has rescued a total of 518 children — 441 boys and 77 girls — in the last four years. Of these, 177 children had been sent to their respective parents and the remaining were transferred to the Child Welfare Committee functioning under the district administration. Besides, the help desk also monitors the status of rescued children for a year to prevent any incidents, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the help desk's fifth anniversary was celebrated at Madurai Railway Junction on Monday. DRM Padmanabhan Ananth, Divisional Security Commissioner VJP Anbarasu, felicitated the occasion.
A drawing exhibition depicting awareness on child welfare was also organised. NGO's Director Bimla Chandrasekar, Co-ordinator GS Sujatha, Station Manager A Prabharan, and Commercial Inspector Vijay were present.