The pandemic had a devastating impact on railway-connected children, who faced miseries after operations ceased 

Several street children, who themselves or through their families depended on the Railways' ecosystem for their livelihood, were forced to sell drugs, steal iron rods and beg in order to survive during the pandemic, according to stories covered in Balaknama, which is a newsletter brought out by street children. Balaknama sheds light on a wide ranging issue that affects children living in streets spread across Delhi, Noida, Lucknow and Agra.

Overall, all such children saw families losing their jobs, running out of funds to buy food and pay rent, facing lack of drinking water, clocking long waiting time in queues to get food and parents getting pushed into debt, flagged Balaknama team in its April-May 2020 edition, the first issue published after the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.

Bringing out the newsletter, Balaknama team worked 'virtually' during the phases of pandemic to continue publishing the newsletter. The team formed a WhatsApp group where everyone could inform the newsletter's Editor about the stories they were pursuing, according to Sanjay Gupta, Founder of Childhood Enhancement through Training and Action (CHETNA), a civil society organisation, which drives publishing of Balaknama.

"The children learnt how to make Zoom calls, and reporters used phones to connect with other street connected children for stories and continued publishing Balaknama during the pandemic," said Gupta.

Balaknama empowers street connected children, who plan, report and distribute the newsletter. To report and write for Balaknama, children have to "pursue their studies", said Gupta.

How railway-connected

children survived

Sahil, another child who was good in studies, and whose mother sold various items in trains, had seen earnings cease. To survive, his family dipped into their savings that had accumulated through an informal mechanism (termed 'Committee') where a group of people pool in their money.

Some children - who were earlier ragpickers at railway stations - were pushed to sell intoxicants, reported Balaknama in August 2020. By this time, phased unlocking had started as pandemic had spread in different intensities, but there were hardly four-five trains at a station.

Some children - who were ragpickers at Nizamuddin station but had lost income avenues as the station had closed - had been engaged by the house-owners as 'informers'. These children had to inform the house-owner about visitors, among others in the neighbourhood.

Another issue that has been cited is about the change in the passenger behaviour in trains due to the pandemic. The trains were cleaner and the passengers did not throw water bottles. This meant there were not enough empty plastic water bottles to be collected and sold. Thus the rag-picking children started selling 'intoxicants'.

As people were carrying their own food in trains, street-connected children who sold food in trains began looking for alternatives, and some children had to steal iron rods, as per the September 2021 Balaknama.

The newsletter documented cases of children and families pushed to begging, kids being paid less and families surviving on one meal. In Sarai Kale Khan, Balaknama reporters found some children hiring handicapped persons at Rs 300 a day or Rs 150 for half a day, who would accompany them in buses to beg.

 Pushed to hunger

A group of 30 rag-picking kids near Sarai Kale Khan had no money to buy food or medicines, as per the young team of reporters. It was a time when trains were not operational. Many families and/or children are dependent on train operations and the railway ecosystem.

The rag-pickers rued that they were without clean clothes, and Aadhaar cards, an identity card that could have helped them get some benefit through government schemes. They sought help from Balaknama for admission at a shelter home where they could get food. Getting food, which was distributed in schools, involved long waits for hours in scorching heat.

Accessing government benefits was not possible for those who were without ration or Aadhaar cards or Jan Dhan Bank accounts. Also, Balaknama cited a case of children who were forced to shell out extra money to get their Aadhaar card made.

This article has focused on one sub-group-children in contact with railways-for a qualitative analysis of the newsletter. Balaknama-originally published in Hindi-sheds light on varied hardships faced by those on the margins of society and falling off social security net. So, challenges of open defecation, lack of toilets, children being paid less or being paid to work for food, lack of education, mental health issues, are covered in Balaknama.

This newsletter is useful for all stakeholders keen on delivering social goals so that they could study the gaps in social security roll out and design solutions accordingly.

The article is written as a part of the WNCB Awards for Untold Stories on child labour. Author is a senior journalist (Charkha Features)