Lack Of Toilets: Delhi Slum Kids Go To Forest, Get Raped, Murdered & Kidnapped

A Shahbad Dairy slum cluster in the Delhi NCR region has drawn major attention recently as 66 children have been reportedly gone missing while returning from the nearby forest after responding to the call of nature because they don’t have lavatories in their area.

This is not all, the actual report suggests that between December 2013 and March 2015, 171 children went missing in the forest. Hindustan Times reports that five children — four of them below 10 — were killed; 28 girls have been raped and another 17 sexually abused.

The figures have been derived by an NGO called Saksham after analysing RTI replies for missing children of the slum.

The main reason for this has been cited as lack of toilets. For the 500 families living at Shahbad Dairy, there is not even a single toilet. As a result, everyone has to go to the adjacent forest to defecate. It is at these times, women and children are subjected to vulnerable attacks, reports Hindustan Times.

The 2 km radius have no toilets, and it is unsafe to go to the forests also.

Even after reported complaints, the police has hardly taken any step to ensure their security.

“There have been cases of missing children and women were suffering a lot. There was no toilet for the past 25 years. I got 27 toilets sanctioned and it will be constructed soon,” said AAP legislator Ved Prakash to Hindustan Times.

When the Centre is ensuring the construction of toilets across many parts of India, then why there is an apathy towards those who stay so close to the capital. The state and central government should come forward and immediately start building toilets for the residents of Shahbad Dairy. It is a matter of concern because it poses a serious threat to their security.

Read more at Hindustan Times.