GRP report sharp increase in number of abandoned children at stations

Chasing down criminals and reining in train bullies may not bother them, but the Government Railway Police are grappling with a more softer issue – dealing with children abandoned at stations across the city.

According to the statistics available with the GRP, there has been a sharp increase in the number rescued by the cops from platforms, with Kalyan, Thane, Kurla, Dadar and Bandra topping the list.

Till October, 2,975 kids were rescued from various stations across Mumbai and suburbans platforms – a rise of 1,218 children over last year. This has prompted the force to sensitize its personnel on the issue, which was largely neglected.

"It is an important issue and we have to make sure that no such child who is found at the railway platform without their parents or guardians fall into wrong hands," said GRP Commissioner Ravindra Singal.

The rising numbers may point to a larger socio-economic problem, but they also prove that the railway police are taking the issue seriously, said Singhal. He said the chances of a child getting reunited with his/her parents improves when he is under the attention of the police.

NGOs that have been working closely with the GRP and railways say if the abandoned children are not rescued at the right time, there is a possibility of them getting into crime and drugs.

"As soon as these children get down at railway platforms, they become vulnerable to all sorts of abuses by anti-social elements," said Navin Sellaraju, India Country director for Railway Children, an NGO that has been working closely on the issue. Sellaraju added, "From commuters to governmental agencies to NGOs, everyone has an important role to play. If all of us can work together, we can make lot of difference."

Activists point to a host of factors such as acute poverty, abusive parents or sometimes sheer excitement of going to big cities for children landing up on platforms. They say boys form the majority of such children.

"One of the biggest challenges that we face is to keep a track of the child rescued by us after they are united with their parents as if the reason for which he had escaped from home is not addressed, it's likely that the child will again run away. Hence NGOs have to work at the basic level to address the problems that prompt children to run away from home," said Sellaraju from Railway Children.

Standard operating procedure for all stakeholders

Taking a serious note of the issue in December 2013, the Railway Board after getting recommendations from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) implemented a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the safeguarding rights of the children found at railway platforms.

As per the SOP, it was mandatory to create a Child Protection Committee (CPC) comprising station manager/station master/station superintendent and other railway staffers, GRP and RPF personnel at every major station. The CPC was entrusted with the responsibility of setting ensuring a mechanism to take care and protect children found at and around stations. Interestingly, the SOP also involved other non-government people like coolies, commuters, taxi drivers, and other service providers at stations for the job.

The SOP also detailed the responsibility of GRP, RPF, railways and other stakeholders with regard to food arrangement, shelter, drinking water, toilet and medical facilities for these children.

Lost in numbers

Kids found at stations (2014) - 2975

United with parents immediately - 2514

Sent to children's home- 461

United with parents after court order -274

Still in remand home – 187

Stations Children found

Kalyan 624

Vashi 297

Vasai 283