KOZHIKODE: A child rescue force has been set up under the district child protection unit to check trafficking, labour, beggary and abuse cases of children. The project launched in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Kollam districts will be expanded to other districts in the next phase. The force consisting of six rescue officers in each district will trace, rescue and rehabilitate the children. This is on the lines of ‘Operation Sharanabalyam’ programme which helped curb child labour during Sabarimala pilgrimage.
“The child rescue force will coordinate with the child help desk of the child welfare committee (CWC). The rescue officers will function on shift basis round the clock. The inspection to trace out children will be carried out three days in a week,” said A.O. Abeen, state nodal officer of the Saranabalyam project. The rescued children should be brought before the CWC and sheltered at observation homes before sending them with the parents.
In case of children from other states, the rescue officers should contact the CWC in the home district of the child and facilitate repatriation. Sabarimala pilgrimage has witnessed children largely being employed in shops at Laaha, Pampa, Kanamala, Nilakkal and Chengannur. As many as 12 such children were rescued from Sabarimala last year. “These children, girls and boys, were sheltered in pathetic conditions making them vulnerable to sexual abuse,” said Abeen.
Child labour racket thrives during Oachira temple festival also. “This year, six children were rescued from child labour and beggary. All of them are natives,” said Siju Ben, district child protection officer of Kollam. Since 2015, 35 children had been rescued from Oachira alone, a majority of them from outside Kerala. The child rescue officers have already been appointed in the four districts.
