16 homeless children identified in Shimla

Himachal Pradesh Police are looking for the abodes of 16 homeless children who have been identified in a special campaign, an official said on Friday.

During the fortnight-long campaign, 'Operation Smile-II', 16 homeless children in the age group of six to 17 years have been identified in Shimla district alone, a senior police official associated with the campaign told IANS.

He said they had been staying in shelter and children homes, religious places, railway platform and the bus stand.

"Five of them seemed to be of Nepali origin. Most of them don't know about their whereabouts but their biographical details have been compiled," he said.

One of them is visually-impaired and undergoing treatment at the state-run Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital here.

The government of India in last December asked all the states to start "Operation Smile-II" as a follow up of the earlier campaign s to rescue and rehabilitate the missing children.

The states have reported 9,146 children under 'Operation Smile' and 19,742 children under 'Operation Muskaan', an official statement quoting the Press Information Bureau said.