VIJAYAWADA: A total of 2,940 children (2,252 boys and 688 girls) were rescued by the Child Help Desks set up at the railway stations in the South Central Railway (SCR) in the last three financial years. The rescued children included runaways, child labourers and orphans.
As many as 84 children who were brought to the railway stations for trafficking, were also rescued and cases were registered against the traffickers, an official release said. Because of easy access, runaway children, child labourers and orphans reach major the railway stations. Child traffickers also use trains as the mode of transport.
Hence, Child Help Desks came up at major railway stations like Tirupati, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Kacheguda and Nanded. The help desks were set up by Railway Protection Force (RPF)/ Government Railway Police (GRP), in coordination with NGOs.
The help desks keep a vigil at railway stations, coordinate with the departments concerned and provide immediate care and support to the rescued children.
The desks also assist people who approach them or want information about any missing and found child, apart from creating awareness in public.
After Secunderabad, which is one of the major divisions of SCR, consisting of crowded stations like Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Warangal, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Guntakal and Nanded railway stations of other divisions also witness huge passenger traffic requiring extra attention by the security wing.
CCTV cameras at the railway stations help the RPF and GRP to keep a close watch on lonely children and also the movement of anti-social elements. Security wing of railways keeps a vigilant eye to prevent trafficking of women and children and takes appropriate action to rehabilitate the destitute children, the release said.
SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya regularly monitors the security at railway stations and on trains during coordination meetings with divisional officials and heads of various departments, the release added.