mid-day: Who are the children who call your helpline?
Sahasrabuddhe: When we started Childline in Pune in 2001, we would get 1,500 calls every month from children going through emotional turmoil. This number increased to 25,000 per month in 2010. Since then we have been operating the helpline as a call centre model from Mumbai. We get calls from kids as young as 2.5-year-olds to those going to college. Most of these calls are from children seeking emotional support in suicidal cases or child marriage issues.

When Dr Anuradha Sahasrabuddhe founded Dyana Devi Childline in Pune in 2001, their helpline would receive 1,500 calls every month, which increased to 25,000 calls a month within ten years. In recent times, most of the calls are from children distressed about sexual abuse or child marriage. Pic/Shashank Sane