Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Delhi home to over 50,000 street children

Delhi home to over 50,000 street children

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jul 4, 2011   modified Modified on Jul 4, 2011

-The Hindu

 

More than half of these children are illiterate

The streets of Delhi are home to more than 50,000 children, according to a census conducted by non-government organisation Save the Children and Institute for Human Development.

Conducted in July and August last year, the findings of the census have been compiled into an extensive report titled “Surviving the Streets” which was recently presented to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

The study used the UNICEF definition of “street children” which includes street-working children who return home on a regular basis, street-living children who live alone on the streets without families, and finally children of street families.

The study reveals that more than half the street children are illiterate and one-fifth are girls. A largely working population, the dominant profession among these children is rag-picking, followed by street vending, begging and working in roadside shops and hotels. The survey reveals that these children earned mainly to support their families and meet their own food consumption needs. Apart from food security, they are also forced to use the money to maintain basic personal hygiene, health care and drinking water.

A shocking 87 per cent paid for accessing toilet facility, with the figure being more than 90 per cent in the case of girls. The study confirms drug abuse among such children with 22 per cent admitting to regular drug usage and half being daily consumers of tobacco,pan masala, alcohol, whiteners and thinners.

The report condemns the exclusionary attitude of the State towards poor slum and street dwellers, which came to be the subject of controversy during the Commonwealth Games 2010 when they were sent out of the city for the duration of the Games in pursuit of a “Clean Delhi”. The study revealed that these children were mainly migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, either with their families in Delhi or here with the consent of the families. Despite the daily struggles they face, the study revealed that very few children would prefer to go back to their place of origin (some other State) with most desiring to continue to live in Delhi.

In an analysis of the daily abuse faced by these children, the report identified visible gender differences. While it was largely relatives and friends who abused girls, in the case of boys it was mainly guardians, police and agents, leaving many with threats to their lives on a daily basis.

The report concluded that lack of identity proof for many street children posed a major hindrance in access to government support. Along with such findings, the report has made several recommendations for policy intervention by the government. The report makes specific suggestions for facilitation of identity proof to enable access to education, increase in number of day and night shelters and interventions in rural areas to reduce the large-scale migration of young children from rural to urban areas. Also employment possibilities for adults should be increased dramatically in those rural areas from which large-scale out-migration is taking place, the report recommended.

The Hindu, 4 July, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2157250.ece


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close