Gujarat Reports Second Highest Incidence of “Street Children”
According to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Gujarat had the second-highest number of children “in street circumstances,” with 1,990 cases.
Maharashtra tops the list with 4,952 childhoods reared on the street. The report totals “street children” at 17,914 in India.
“This is just the official count. The real numbers are beyond belief and point to the failed welfare state objective enshrined in the Constituion,” stated a human rights activist, who did not wish to be named.
The data for Gujarat showed 1,086 children live on the streets with their families. Of this count, 895 retired to adjacent slums or settlements at night.
The others were discovered to be living alone. According to the activist: “Data gathering methodology is critical. The children who are part of the groups that migrate frequently also live on the streets. Those who sell paraphernalia on crossroads often come from specific neighbourhoods. Do we classify them also as street children? Or, do we exclude them from any planned operation for their upward mobility?”
