Children, especially, from the underprivileged sections, often fall prey to child labor and trafficking. At an age when they should have been studying and preparing for a good future, they are literally pushed into child labor, either by their parents or by child traffickers.
Telangana police rescue such children and bring smiles back on their faces. That is why they have named their initiative, ‘Operation Smile VIII’. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, the Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, Telangana, Mr. Mahesh Bhagwat spoke to us in detail about the project.
WHAT IS OPERATION SMILE?
Operation Smile is a program originally initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India in 2017. The program is conducted in the months of January and July every year by all the police units in the country.
“Within these months, we lay special focus on rescuing children stuck in child labor and tracing missing children. It is a child-oriented project to bring a smile to the faces of these children. The program is carried out by police in collaboration with the labor department, revenue department, and civil society organizations,” Mr. Bhagwat told Indian Masterminds.
RESCUING CHILDREN FROM BRICK KILNS
Telangana has been at the forefront when it comes to rescuing children under Operation Smile. In Mr. Bhagwat’s Commissionerate of Rachakonda, in January 2017 alone, they rescued 350 children from the brick kiln industry. These children originally belonged to Orissa, where they lived with their parents.
“It was difficult to keep them in a shelter or send them back to their homes because their parents were also working here in the same brick kilns. That’s when we decided to start Odia medium schools, where we brought teachers from Orissa with the help of NGOs, revived mid-day meals, and got Odia medium books from Odisha. The brick kiln workers association volunteered to provide uniforms and other requirements of the school,” said Mr. Bhagwat.
Since then, the Rachakonda police have been conducting worksite Odia schools for the children. As of today, over 3000 children have received education from these schools.
“They study here from January to May, after which their parents go back to Odisha, and they accompany them. They continue their further studies in the state after that.”
OPERATION SMILE VIII
The ‘Operation Smile VIII’ campaign was conducted for one month across the state of Telangana, from 1 to 31 January 2022. Since the program began, the teams have rescued, among others, vulnerable minors from train stations, bus stops, religious sites, traffic intersections, mechanical stores, shops, tea booths, and footpaths.
A total of 2785 children were rescued, of whom 2296 were boys and 489 were girls. 2,432 children were relocated to their parents or guardians and 353 were sent to shelter homes. A total of 812 children were rescued belonging to other states. 165 were street children, 1413 were saved from child labor, 236 were from bricklayers, 97 were beggars, and 874 were from various other jobs.
“In Rachakonda alone, 166 children were rescued from different industries in the month of January 2022, amongst which 40 children belonged to different states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Odisha. The remaining 126 children are from Telangana itself. These children will be soon reunited with their families.”
POICE RAIDS
Talking about the steps involved in rescuing the children, Mr. Bhagwat explained that the state has several ‘SHE teams’, which along with the Department of Labour, conduct physical raids in such kilns and industries where child labor is rampant.
“If there is any human trafficking happening in the place, then accordingly, we register cases against them under the Child Labour Act, Indian Penal Code, etc. Under these different laws, cases are booked against these employers, and they are punished,” Mr. Bhagwat told Indian Masterminds.
INTERNATION RECOGNITION
This particular project of Rachakonda Police received the Civil and Human Rights Award in 2018 from the International Association of Chief of Police, United States of America.
The model project of worksite schools was also appreciated by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who received Nobel Prize in 2014, and is a social reformer who campaigns against child labor in India and advocates the universal right to education.
Looking at the popularity of Odia medium schools, the commissioner has decided to start Marathi medium schools in the state soon, as many migrant laborers from Maharashtra come there to work.
