CB BureauHonda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd (HMSI) recently felicitated 28 officials of Railway Protection Force (RPF) for their effort in protecting children from child abuse and other risks at railway stations in Delhi. This is part of the Surakshit Bachpan programme of Honda 2 Wheelers India being implemented in partnership with Railway Children India (RCI), which works to save and protect abandoned children in and around the railway stations of Delhi. The project also intends to create mass awareness on child-protection issues.
RCI along with Railway Protection Force and Child Welfare Committee have implemented a 24×7 outreach programme for children found alone at Sarai Rohilla and Delhi Cantonment railway stations. From January 2017 to March 2018, 600 plus children have been impacted. It is estimated that every five minutes a child arrives alone at a railway station in India, exposing them to several risks and abuse.
However, questions regarding the details of the kind of protection given and for how long, steps to ensure the continued protection of the children, and long-term plans for them received no response from HMSI.
The felicitation of the RPF officials took place in the presence of AN Mishra, deputy inspector general and chief security commissioner, Railway Protection Force (Northern Railway), and Harbhajan Singh, director, general & corporate affairs, HMSI.