E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, NOV 21 -

In the wake of troubles to tourists in the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, street children dwelling in major tourist hubs are being shifted to a child care shelter at Gaushala.

The move follows a decision among tourism entrepreneurs, Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Traffic Police Division, and local residents to make Thamel, New road, and Basantapur Durbar Square free from street children. “We have been directed to make these places street children free areas. So we have been catching street children and taking them to the temporary home,” said DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh of Hanumandhoka Metropolitan Police Range.

According to Singh, an all-party meeting came up with this idea saying that many street children are giving  a lot of hassle to tourists. Street children, however, are taken aback by the move. “I only beg and sniff glue, but I don’t steal like other kids. The police looked all the street children through the same eye and harassed us,” said Raju Kandel (name changed) who lives on the streets of Humandhoka Durbar Square.

Local people of Basantapur have the other side of story to tell. They blame NGOs for the mismanagement and misuse of hefty donations they get from abroad for the welfare of street children. According to them, negligence of these organisations is encouraging street children to take up crime.

“They just know how to beg money. There is a competition among them to bring more children under their fold to get more aid. They just care money, not children,” said a local, Laxmi Manandhar.

According to Manandhar, many organisations ill-treat street children and force them to take refugee on footpaths and as a result of this, the children take to crime like stealing, pickpocketing, and begging. People running NGOs admit that there are some organisations who just work for money. Misdeeds committed by some people, according to them, have tarnished the image of entire NGOs.

“Due to wrongdoing of some people we hesitate to introduce ourselves as social workers. We must address these problems together,” said Rajesh Shahi, who runs an NGO near Naradevi.

According to Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre, there are around 5,000 street children in Nepal. Out of them, 90 percent live in Kathmandu. Similarly, a study on glue sniffing conducted by Association for the Protection of Children says 61 percent of the street children sniff glue.

Posted on: 2011-11-21 08:31

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.
* Full Name
* Address
* Email Address
* Comment
* Captcha	Get another CAPTCHA code
Note:	Comments containing abusive words or slander shall not be published.