On the fifth day of Operation Mukti in Dehradun, field units continued to identify child beggars, collecting their family history and the reason behind their choice of work.
According to Circle Officer (city) Shekhar Suyal, who is also appointed as the nodal officer of the campaign, more than 50 children have been identified so far. This includes children who were found begging, who were being forced to work and children who were not going to school.
Suyal said, “In the initial 15 days during the observation period we are trying to know what the basic needs of these children are. We are also trying to ascertain where they are coming from and what their surrounding is. After that we will start our enforcement and awareness programme.”
When asked about the decreasing number of child beggars near Gandhi Park he said, “Some of these children are more like nomadic people; they migrate from one place to another from time to time.
For example, today they are here because some circus that is going to organised on Parade Ground, tomorrow they will be somewhere else.
Our main focus is on the children from Madrasi Colony, Lakkhibagh area and Bindal slums. That is why we have kept the duration of 15 days, to identify whether these children are rag pickers or beggars, whether they are doing it with the permission of their parents or without. In 15 days we will have a better picture and comparatively more information about these children.”
When asked about whether these children are cooperating in the inquiry, he said, “Yes, initially they used to run away from us.
However, now they are bonding with our units, sometimes they even eat together. This is our motive, to do in-depth investigation.”