Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita has directed the officials to extend the government schemes rolled out for the children rescued during the ‘Operation Muskaan’ in the State.
The State government has introduced Amma Vodi, Vidya Deevena, Vasathi Deevena, Vidya Kanuka, Goru Mudda, Mana Badi, Naadu Needu, and other schemes for helping the poor children, according to Ms. Sucharita. The Home Minister was speaking at a webinar in which officials of Women Development and Child Welfare, Police, Labour, Juvenile Welfare, Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and NGOs participated, from the AP Police Headquarters at Mangalagiri on Wednesday.
She praised the official teams for rescuing 16,457 children in the seventh phase of the ‘Operation Muskaan’ during the Police Commemoration Day programmes in the State.
“Of the total rescued, 2,869 (17.4%) are girls. Going by the figures, it seems that child trafficking is rampant in the State. Cases should be booked against the employers and parents, if a child is caught more than once,” said Ms. Sucharita and stressed the need for increasing more bridge schools.
Director-General of Police Gautam Sawang said the teams rescued 25,298 children during the three phases of ‘Operation Muskaan’ in the State this year. “The officers are studying on the reasons for rise in the cases of child labour, begging, street children and trafficking,” he said.
COVID impact
Owing to severe financial crisis due to the pandemic situation and closure of educational institutions, some parents engaged children for work, to help their families, said Women and Child Welfare Principal Secretary A.R. Anuradha.
“We are planning for vulnerability mapping, creating a web application to prepare data of rescued children, visit of officers to homes in districts and other strategies to protect childhood and increase literacy rate,” the DGP said.
Principal Secretary (Labour) B. Udaya Lakshmi stressed the need for case study on each child rescued from high risk and special conditions. Joint Commissioner of Labour M. Rama Rao explained the procedure being followed by officers to repatriate children with their parents.
Women and Child Welfare Director Krithika Shukla spoke on prevention of child marriages and providing monetary benefit to the poor children and who came from broken families under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS).