Chattrapathi Shivaji Terminus or CST forms a major area where most street children frequent. The glamour of being part of the bustling areas around CST, interactions with tourists and availability of local jobs attract the street children to these areas. In recent times, it is also noted that the frequent evictions by police personnel in the city has forced many street children to locate to far-flung areas such as Virar, Kalyan, Mira-Road etc.
e) Figure 5: Age Distribution of Street Children
Most street children fall in the 13-18 age group category, followed by street children of age-group of 9-12 years. It is also worth noting that children as young as 4 years are also seen on streets of Mumbai. There is also a minor percentage of street youth who are on streets.
f) Figure 6: Time Spent in Mumbai
Most street children have spent around 5-10 years in Mumbai city streets. It can be seen by various activities of NGOs as listed in Annexure I than very few of them are actually working towards repatriation of these children back to their homes.
g) Figure 7: Time spent on the streets
A study (Railway Children, 2006) conducted over two days at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) revealed the following:
a) Around 221 children live inside and outside CST station.
b) Of the children who live inside CST station, 100% (n=58) are boys.
c) Of the children who live outside the station, 83% (n=135) are boys and only 17% (n=28) are girls.
During the period Oct-Dec 2007, YUVA conducted a survey (See Annexure II ) of street children in Mumbai, some findings are provided below.
Table 2: Places frequented by Street Children in Mumbai City
Places Visited
|
Frequency
|
Places Visited
|
Frequency
|
Data Not Available
|
5
|
Dadar Shanti Nagar
|
7
|
Kurla Station
|
1
|
Dadar station
|
14
|
Andheri
|
1
|
Dadar Station
|
5
|
Andheri Station
|
1
|
Goregaon
|
1
|
Bandra
|
2
|
Goregaon Check naka
|
3
|
Bandra station
|
4
|
Khar station
|
1
|
Bandra Station
|
10
|
Kurla
|
1
|
Borivli
|
19
|
Kurla Station
|
3
|
Borivli and Nalasopara
|
1
|
Mahim
|
6
|
Borivli Station
|
7
|
Malad
|
1
|
C.S.T.Station
|
4
|
Matunga
|
1
|
Church Gate
|
1
|
Mumbai Central
|
9
|
Dadar
|
14
|
Shelter
|
1
|
Dadar (w)
|
1
|
Station (Name not mentioned)
|
4
|
Total
|
128
|
Source: Analysis of data of YUVA survey (author’s findings)
Table 3: Status of Street Child
Status of Street Child
|
Number
|
Living alone on the streets
|
33
|
Living with family members
|
40
|
Living with other members of the street
|
53
|
Data not available
|
02
|
Total
|
128
|
Most of the children were found living on the pavements along the streets. These children are usually on the streets for most part of the day, due to lack of living spaces. However, almost 40% of the children were found living alone on the streets, with only 6 % (n=5) street children who had family members living in the city.
Table 4: Age-group of Street Child
Age-Group (in years)
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
Less than 2
|
2
|
1.56
|
3-5
|
2
|
1.56
|
6-8
|
6
|
4.68
|
9-11
|
18
|
14.06
|
12-14
|
39
|
30.46
|
15-18
|
51
|
39.84
|
Data not available
|
10
|
7.81
|
Total
|
128
|
100
|
Most of the children found on the streets were in the category of 15-18 years. This find is consistent with other studies (Rane, 2004 & D’souza 2002). It is worrying that children less than 6 years of age are found on the streets, of which some of them were less than 2 years. These could be children who were abandoned by parents or had lost their parents.
Only 10% (n= 13) of the street children were found living for most part of the day with some shelter with NGOs. Most of them were found to be living near railway stations. Due to recent crackdowns by Mumbai Police on living on platforms very few children were found living on railway platforms. But, few children mentioned that they slept in areas such as near the sea on beaches or under the bridge exposing them to various hazards.
For sleeping, most street children preferred areas near the railway stations. Some of them had access to night shelters run by NGOs. Some street children are used to sleeping under railway bridges, which could result in deaths or accidents in case the child happens to fall below.
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