Scouting different places within the State for last 11 days, joint teams of the Women and Child Development Department (WCDD) and police have rescued at least 626 children by August 4. These children were away from their families either working as labourers or begging at railway stations or bus-stands.
The rescue operation was part of Operation Smile or Muskan, a programme launched by Union Home Ministry three years ago. Over 900 missing children had been rescued and rehabilitated by the State Government in 2015.
This year’s programme started on July 24 and will continue till August 24. While the month-long programme will continue inside the State, at least ten teams will go to other States from August 10to rescue missing children of Odisha.
Personnel from the WCDD and the Odisha police to be part of these teams were sensitised at an orientation session held at the police headquarters here on Friday where senior officials educated the team members about the procedures to be adopted for this sensitive exercise.
The teams would leave for different destinations in States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal to rescue the missing children, said sources in the State Crime Branch headquarters here.