28% street children in Kolkata studying, nursing a dream

KOLKATA: Remember the 2016 biographical drama ‘Lion’, in which five-year-old Saroo lands up in the Howrah station after being separated from his elder brother? Lost and alone, he spent a night on the streets and nearly got trafficked. Luckily, he was adopted by an Australian couple. Years later, he returned to Kolkata as a young man to trace his mother in a Madhya Pradesh village.
Like Saroo, there are hundreds of children — lost, abandoned and homeless — in Howrah and Sealdah.But they aren’t as lucky. Azgar was 12 when he ran away from home due to physical abuse. He was found on a platform at Sealdah, deep into addiction. Rahima, 14, was found on Rafi Ahmed Kiwai Road. She had fled from home after being forced to marry against her will. Ram, 11, was stranded at the Howrah station with his deaf-mute mother. They were often subject to physical abuse by local goons on the platform.
These voiceless, defenceless and often invisible kids spend the day picking rags, begging and lifting heavy loads and spend the nights on pavements in unhygienic and unsafe conditions.
While Sealdah and Howrah stations account for the highest number of street children in the city, Lebutala, Gobra, Natun Pally, Phool Bagan, Jorabagan bus stand, Dhakuria and Park Circus account for 85% of street kids in Kolkata.
A study conducted by child welfare organisation, Save the Children, revealed that 84% street kids in the city are from a different city, town or village.
What is heart-warming though, is that nearly half of them are literate. Despite the hard life, nearly 28% street kids are still studying, nursing a dream for a better future. While most of them are engaged in domestic work, many are also involved in selling products ranging from toys to newspapers. Many are also working on roadside eateries, small restaurants and teastalls.
Only 6% spend the night in a facility meant for children, while some 46% of children sleep on streets and pavements. This leaves them vulnerable to physical abuse and sexual exploitation.
On Wednesday, Save the Children and several other NGOs discussed the application of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for protection of street kids.
Controller of vagrancy Biswanath Chakraborty pointed out that since different kids face different kinds of situations on the street, SOPs must provide different intervention plans for the various situations. The meeting also stressed on the creation of proper identity documents for such kids as without one they will not be able to demand their rights and opportunities.
West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Ananya Chakraborti said that routinely allocating children to institutionalised homes was not a solution. “Most children don’t want institutional care. They want security but no curbs on their freedom,” she said.