AP: Op Muskaan rescues over 16k, 240% more than earlier phases

VIJAYAWADA: Concluding the week-long Operation Muskaan, director general of police (DGP) D Gautam Sawang said they had rescued over 240% more children compared to the previous two phases of the drive on Wednesday.
Addressing a webinar at Andhra Pradesh Police Headquarters in Mangalagiri, Sawang said they are focusing on ensuring that the need to rescue children already rescued during previous Operation Muskaan drives does not arise again.

In this regard, the DGP said they are now focusing on raising Operation Muskaan to another level by including the rescued children in the state’s welfare measures such as Amma Vodi, Jagan Anna Vidya Kanuka and Vasathi Deevena to ensure every child gets to go to school.
The DGP presented a detailed analysis on Operation Muskaan and said 70% of the children who were rescued from October 28 till November 3 had turned to child labour due to poverty. Sawang also indicated that the police department is planning to build a rehabilitation mechanism to reduce recidivism and make the state child labour-free by means of state and central welfare measures.
The third phase of Operation Muskaan this year saw 16,457 children being rescued, of which 82.6% were boys.
Around 13% of the rescued children had never been to school, while 60% of child labourers had studied between class 6 to 10 and 27% had studied between Class 1 to 5.
In terms of the types of labour done by these children, 53% had worked as coolies, 2.4% of had been forced to take to begging, 14% were living on the streets at the time of rescue and had never been to school, while 30% of rescued children were employed in a number of other jobs.
Officials registered 370 cases against employers during the drive. “The police inspected all shops, hotels, dhabas, market yards, railway stations, bus stations and other places where the possibility of child labour is high to ensure that the drive is more efficient,” Sawang said.