Mumbai's police officers are doing their bit to help rehabilitate underprivileged children who have turned to begging or hawking to make a living instead of going to school. With the help of a bunch of NGOs, the force has launched an initiative called 'Project Parivartan', in association with the Women and Child Welfare Department and Tribal Development Department, which was kicked off at the Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan auditorium in south Mumbai.
Supporting the cause, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn on Wednesday urged a group of underprivileged children to pursue education. "Our country and future is in the hands of children. I urge you all to go to school, lighten up your lives and build your future," said Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn amid applause by children and their families.
According to figures provided by the NGOs involved in the project, 491 families of Faase Pardhi and Waghri tribes, including 1,233 children, beg on the streets of south Mumbai alone. Appealing to parents to send their children to government schools, Devgn said, "Government officials are here to assist you in all possible ways to ensure that the children can study without any hassles and are given optimum opportunities and a holistic growth. There are various NGOs too which will provide you jobs while your children study in schools."
Devgn reminded the children that if they desist from from studying, the efforts made so far by him, the government and NGOs would go waste.
Krishna Prakash, additional commissioner of police, south region, who organised the event, said that the parents of these children will also be rehabilitated, provided skills training and employment by government agencies and NGOs so they do not let their children drop out of school and re-initiate them into begging.
"We will help the children to enroll in government schools. We aim to create a beggar-free zone in south Mumbai," he said.
The programme was also attended by Mumbai Police Joint Commissioners B K Upadhyay (Traffic), Dhananjay Kamalakar (Law and Order).
Laxmi Chavan, a first-year science student from Ruia College, is a living example that such a project can be a success. "I was a child hawker and supported my family, but for the past many years, I have started studying with the help and guidance of NGOs," she said.
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