Three-months-old Darsha (name changed) was being bounced on the platform like a bundle of worn out rags when she was rescued by the Railway Child Help Desk authorities at South railway station early this year.
The toddler with the eight-year-old sister by her side was mistreated by their father and the grandmother who were heavily drunk by the time they landed here from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. It was the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel who alerted the Railway Child Help Desk, an extension of the Childline, about the plight of the child.
Despite stiff protest from the father-grandmother duo, both children were rescued by the help desk team at the direction of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). They were moved to two shelter homes in Kochi where they continue to live.
Darsha is among the youngest of the 140 children from over 10 States to be rescued by the Railway Child Help Desk, being run by the Ernakulam-based NGO Sahrudaya Welfare Services, from the six platforms and trains at the South railway station where it started functioning just six months ago.
“Among the rescued were 121 boys and 19 girls, including differently-abled and those already reported as missing. Kerala accounted for 50% of those children followed by Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” Shano Jose, coordinator of the help desk, told The Hindu.
He said that troubled family was one of the major reasons behind children from the State fleeing their homes. There have been instances in which children lured by the attraction of being in a city having left home on their own. When it comes to rescued migrant children, counselling sessions often pointed at the complications of child labour.
The facility is being manned round-the-clock by a 12-member team, including the coordinator and a councillor, in three shifts. “At any point, one person will be manning the desk while three or four members will be roaming around the platforms and trains in search of children in need. We are well supported by the RPF, Government Railway Police, CWC and the District Child Protection Unit,” said Mr. Jose.