Lost, runaway, trafficked children found in city are waiting for home states to allow them back; around 30 kids live in the shelter in Dongri
The kids at the Observation Home at Dongri were set to go back home but could not as the lockdown was implemented. File pic
As life returns to a new -normal- for Mumbaikars, children who were rescued in Mumbai and were not able to go back to their home states because of the lockdown, are still waiting to be reunited with their families. While inter-state travel resumed last month, there is a delay in completing the formalities and many kids in children-s homes are still waiting for the approval from their home states.
Before the lockdown was announced, around 40 children who were rescued mostly from CSMT and Mumbai Central Railway station late last year and kept at the Observation Home in Dongri were all set to return to their hometowns. However, after the lockdown was implemented, they had to stay back.
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"We are in the process of coordinating with the government of their home states. We are waiting for a confirmation from them but the homes there are not ready yet. We are also looking to book train tickets for them so that they can return home as soon as possible," said Rahul Kanthikar, superintendent of the Children-s Observation Home.
Once the approvals are in order, the children will travel back to their hometown accompanied by a police officer from the city.
Kanthikar added that while a few children who live in Mumbai were allowed to return home recently, parents of a couple of children came to pick them up from other states.
"The parents had procured an e pass and come in their private vehicle from Hyderabad and from Uttar Pradesh. Some children went back home in the city and we are checking if the parents are healthy and with the help of the local police, if there are any COVID cases in the building where a child lives," he said.
Currently, around 30 children stay at the home in Dongri. These children who are between 13-18 years are mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
While Kanthikar is confident that the children should be able to return at the end of the month, they are being allowed to speak to their parents over the phone and are receiving counselling through video calls.
Similarly, at the home in Mankhurd, there are around 2-3 rescued children from Haryana who are stuck. "These children had run away from home. Since there are no direct trains, we are not able to send them back home. We are coordinating with their parents and they are trying to arrange for their own transport to come and pick them up," said SA Jadhav, chairperson of the CWC, Mumbai Suburban.
He added that they are trying to send around 10 of them who live in Mumbai and have recently turned 18 years old, back home. Jadhav added that children will only be sent back if their homes are not in containment areas.
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