Two Million Indian Children "Lost" on the Streets!

In the narrow alleys of the Paharganj neighborhood in New Delhi, the scents of food stalls, incense, and rotting garbage mingle. Above the buildings, a dense web of electrical wires stretches across the sky. During the monsoon season, water drainage slows down, forcing residents at times to wade through puddles and mud. This vibrant neighborhood in the heart of India’s capital is known for its budget hotels and hostels, as well as its markets filled with stalls, cheap souvenir shops, and restaurants.

Shefani, 18, and Jafar, 24, both residents of the area, told The Associated Press in an interview published today that many children and teenagers work on the streets of the neighborhood or live alone, with friends, or with their families around the New Delhi Railway Station. Both work for the Safer Palak Trust, where they accompany tourists on guided tours through Paharganj.

The New Delhi Railway Station complex is one of the city’s most important long-distance rail hubs. Many children arrive there having run away from home or become separated from their families, spending their first night in Delhi on the station platforms or in its vicinity. Other families also arrive from states such as Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, hoping to improve their living conditions.

There are no accurate statistics on the number of street children in India. A frequently cited old estimate by the government’s National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights suggests their number may range between 1.5 million and 2 million. Other estimates suggest the figure is much higher, as many children lack identity documents or fall under the control of criminal gangs.

The tourist tours help fund the organization’s projects and aim to introduce visitors to the realities of street children’s lives. These tours are led by young people who have previously lived on the streets or grown up in poverty. Jafar and Shefani were among the beneficiaries of the organization’s programs in the past.