Younger runaway kids land in B’luru

They are 11-16-year-old. Most come in search of jobs. Some want to see the big city and meet stars

Younger children are coming to Bengaluru in search of jobs since the lockdowns lifted, according to rescue groups in the city.

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Bengaluru, says the age-group of children coming for labour has slipped from 15-16 before the outbreak of the pandemic to 11-12 now.

The State Labour Department is currently curating the ‘Child Labour Survey 21-22’ and the data should be out soon, an official told Metrolife.

CWC spokesperson Anjali Ramanna added: “We have received one sex trade case this year.”

Children and women in distress mostly arrive at Majestic, Bengaluru’s transit nerve centre.

Kempegowda Bus Station

An NGO, BOSCO (Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota) runs one rescue booth each adjacent to the BMTC building and inside the KSRTC terminal. It found 43 runaway children at these transit hubs in April alone.

Twenty-seven were from across Karnataka — nine from Bengaluru. The rest arrived from places as far as Rajasthan and Nepal, with Rs 200-Rs 300 in cash and no plans or contacts.

Fr Varghese Pallipuram, executive director of the NGO, points to a worrying trend: “The numbers had come down during peak Covid season because of travel restrictions. But they are climbing back. Mostly 15-16-year-olds are coming in search of work. I am assuming it is because of acute poverty caused by the pandemic.”

A majority of job-seekers are boys, and they come in groups. “Recently, we rescued four boys from Gauribidanur (96 km from Bengaluru). They were Class 10-pass outs looking for work. Their parents were clueless about the boys’ plans,” says Pallipuram.

A small percentage of children run away only to see the big city. Children from Bengaluru also end up at the bus hub while wandering around. Some want to escape strife and physical abuse at home. Some underage boys and girls in love run away with the hope of living together.

However, Nirbhaya Kendra — Sakhi One Stop Centre, a distress assistance centre that opened in February on second floor of the BMTC building in Majestic, has not received many cases involving children.

KRS City Railway Station

Police rescued 152 runaway children between 12 and 18 from the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station in April, 2022.

Most children arriving here are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Since a majority are accompanied by acquaintances or villager elders, it is difficult to pinpoint if they are trafficked, say authorities concerned.

“Many come with fake Aadhar cards and claim they are not underage for hard labour jobs,” says Pallipuram of BOSCO, which also coordinates rescue work at the railway stations. “Two months back, three cases of fake Aadhar cards were filed,” he says.

Runaway children from within the state were from Belagavi, Raichur and Gulbarga in north Karnataka. “They wanted to see film stars, meet cricket heroes and visit the attractions in Bengaluru. One wanted to see the (freshwater tunnel) aquarium we have at the station. A few came looking for jobs,” says additional divisional railway manager Kusuma Hariprasad.

These children are taken for counselling to a space run by a child welfare organisation at the railway station and also to Khushi Hub, a child-friendly facility that opened on Platform 1 in early April. Khushi Hub is done up with paintings and has resting areas. It encourages children to share their struggles without feeling intimidated.

“We have reunited about 85% of runaway children with their families. We send the rest to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Some parents from north India don’t want to take their children back. They can’t support them financially because of the Covid-19 crisis,” she says.

The number of runaway children arriving at the Yeshwanthpur railway station has shot up, so a plan to open Khushi Hub there is being mooted.

A senior cop from the west zone, under which Majestic falls, says they have not received any FIR relating to child labour or sex trade trafficking this year.

Call for help

Childline: 1098

Railway helpline: 139

Nirbhaya Kendra: 2653 8977

CWC Bengaluru: 2656 3392