Migrant children in search of alms

KOCHI: Though the authorities claim to have kept a tab on forced beggary racket in the city, the practice of bringing  children from neighbouring states for begging is rampant.  The incident wherein three children were rescued from the Ernakulam Junction Railway Station the other day  throws light on the fact that the district administration’s move to turn Kochi into   child-begging free zone has failed to produce any results. The children were rescued from two women who were allegedly forcing them to beggary.The district administration in an earlier move to make the  district a child-begging free zone, had chalked out a plan. It had directed the Kochi Corporation authorities to carry out proper measures to prevent child beggary in the city. As part of it, an awareness campaign on child begging and  child labour was directed to be conducted regularly. However, the corporation is yet to carry out any such   campaign to curb the menace. Mayor Tony Chammany said the Corporation had taken measures   to tackle the issue though it was short of rehabilitation  centres. “The Corporation has taken measures to tackle the issue  though the authority concerned is the district administration and the police. There were programmes to make Kochi a begging-free zone. In Kochi, the major hurdle is that we don’t have sufficient rehabilitation centres to carry out the project. We are rehabilitating many children despite all the constraints,” Tony Chammany said. Meanwhile, Childline officials say that the main problem is   the rise in the number of migrant labourers settled in different parts of the city. These children have taken to begging on their own. Several such cases were identified recently,” Childline officials said.Social activists in the city said there were mafias who bring   children from other states and force them to beggary. “The  children are brought here from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. We don’t know whether they are abducted or bought  from their parents. Neither the Corporation nor the district administration has taken any measures in this regard. They  dont have any centre to rehabilitate the rescued children. The district administration had chalked out plans to curb the  menace last year. But, the plans still remain on paper,” Murugan a social activist, said.