A theatre group of former child labourers has been enacting short skits and campaigning across Delhi along with an NGO to press the issue of missing kids and spread awareness in the capital.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights organisation which helped in the rescue of children in the theatre group, said that most of the kids who go missing in the city are in the age group of five to six.
‘As per our survey, most children who go missing in Delhi are from the northeast area of the city. Most of these kids are girls and 90 percent from the slums and the unorganised sector,’ said Umesh Gupta of BBA.
‘In most cases it’s found that immediate action is not taken by the police on the complaints filed by the parents and despite the parents of the child giving complete detail about the suspected trafficker. As the parents are illiterate they are not able to take the case forward to higher authorities and therefore the case remains unnoticed,’ he added.
According to 2009 statistics by the Delhi Police, the capital has the maximum number of missing children in the country. On an average, 19 children go missing in the capital every day and at least six of them are never reported back.
‘The missing children are predominantly girls – a fact which leads to a striking revelation that most missing and trafficked children find themselves engulfed in the trap of forced labour, including domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation,’ Gupta said.
The mobile theatre group of former child labourers started the five-day campaign Sunday.
