In a joint operation, the local Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF), and Railway ChildLine have rescued a total of 195 children to date this year.
According to the officials, many of these children had run away from their homes after altercations with their families and were found sitting at the railway station. They were timely rescued and counselled by the railway security teams along with the child helpline officials.
The railway teams rescued and counselled nine children in January, 16 in February, 39 in March, 18 in April, 33 in May, 30 in June, 32 in July, and 18 to date in August.
Kuldip Mann, director of Railway Child Line, said that families could have lost their children if they weren’t rescued timely.
“These children could have become beggars or could have become prey to child labour or child trafficking if they weren’t rescued in time. We work as a unit along with RPF and GRP and try our best to save families,” said Mann.
{{/usCountry}}“These children could have become beggars or could have become prey to child labour or child trafficking if they weren’t rescued in time. We work as a unit along with RPF and GRP and try our best to save families,” said Mann.
{{/usCountry}}SAKHI reunites over 50 families
SAKHI, the special women team of Ludhiana Railway Protection Force (RPF), formed in April this year, for ensuring the safety of women and children in the trains and at the railway platforms, rescued 57 children out of the total 195 and reunited them with their families.
The team rescued six children in April, 10 in May, 25 in June, 10 in July, and six in August to date.
Seema Rani, a resident of Jodhewal Basti, Ludhiana, and mother of a Class seven student who was rescued from platform number four of Ludhiana railway station on August 15, said, “I can’t thank railway authorities enough for reuniting us with our 14-year-old child. I will always be grateful to them”
Praising the women RPF team, station director Tarun Kumar said that the team works hard to ensure women’s safety in trains too.
“Other than rescuing children, the SAKHI team has caught over 5,500 people violating railway rules. These violations include passengers travelling without ticket, unauthorised food vendors, consumption of tobacco at public places, littering at railway stations or trains, and people travelling without masks”, told Kumar.