Fewer destitute children spotted at stations as Railways launches rehab drive

KOLKATA: Children in tattered clothes fighting over scraps from dustbins, others begging or searching for discarded plastic bottles under seats: such scenes at important railway stations around Kolkata are on their way out, thanks to an initiative by Indian Railways and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to rescue destitute children and rehabilitate them.

Some of the rescued children turned out to be victims of trafficking and nearly all of them were addicted to glue, inhaling vapours from certain adhesives, primarily to drive away hunger. “Due to socio-economic factors, children sometimes run away from home and board trains. Later, they land up at stations and are too scared to approach the authorities for help to return home. Such kids are vulnerable to trafficking. Indian Railways has taken up this matter seriously. RPF staff have been trained to look out for runaway or trafficked kids at stations and on trains. Any child found loitering on railway premises are being immediately detained,” a senior RPF officer said.


Busier stations like Howrah and Sealdah used to be home to hundreds of such children. Several fell victim to trafficking, intelligence reports indicated. The aim of the drive was to prevent trafficking and provide a better life to the children so they did not take to crimes to earn a living, an officer said.

“After rescuing the children, we first try to trace their families. If the families are found, the kids are handed to them after proper verification. Otherwise, they are handed over to NGOs for rehabilitation. In 2018, the RPF rescued 922 children from Eastern Railway (ER) jurisdiction. Of them, 540 were girls. Of these kids, 471 have reunited with their parents. Of the remaining, 427 were taken over by NGOs that the railways has tied up with. The other 27 have been handed to the police,” the officer added.

Rajinder Malik, IG and principal chief security commissioner, ER, pointed out it was a humongous job. The figures for 2018 are 38% higher than those of 2017. “Our staff are doing a good job. I recently inspected Howrah and Sealdah at night but found no kids. The exercise will continue,” he said.