27 March 2024 09:36 pm
Senior Professor (Professor in Economics) Wasantha Athukorala from the Statistics and Data Studies Department of Peradeniya University conducted a study in Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Ampara, and Kandy to inform authorities about the current situation of underage street children across the country.
He told the Daily Mirror that the estimated figure was determined through informal discussions held in those areas, drawing from previous surveys conducted by a specific non-governmental organization (NGO) in 2019. He noted that, according to the data from these surveys, approximately 15,000 underage street children were identified across the country.
However, through informal discussions in those areas, it was suggested that the number of underage street children may have doubled compared to the figure reported in 2019.
He mentioned that no previous data pertaining to research, analysis, or projects conducted by any other organization or authority regarding underage street children and their outcomes as adults could be found.
He also mentioned that due to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic situation, this condition is showing growth.
These people are often seen around sacred places and using children to beg has become a business.
Meanwhile, National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairman Chanaka Udyakumara Amarasinghe said that the use of children in begging is a criminal offense. While commenting on the issue, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshbandu Tennakoon said that although there is the possibility of taking child beggars into police custody, the existing legal obstacles to taking action against them have become a problem.