Andhra Pradesh DGP D Gautam Sawang launches ‘Operation Muskaan COVID-19’

The week-long campaign is aimed at protecting street children from getting affected by virus and till now, 119 kids rescued in Krishna district.
Andhra Pradesh DGP D Gautam Sawang during the launch of ‘Operation Muskaan COVID-19’ at Mangalagiri in Guntur district on Tuesday.(Photo| EPS)
Andhra Pradesh DGP D Gautam Sawang during the launch of ‘Operation Muskaan COVID-19’ at Mangalagiri in Guntur district on Tuesday.(Photo| EPS)

VIJAYAWADA: The sixth phase of ‘Operation Muskaan COVID-19’ took off in Andhra Pradesh. Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang formally launched rescue vehicles for Vijayawada, Guntur Urban and Rural units for the week-long campaign (July 14-20) at his office in Mangalagiri on Tuesday.

The campaign is a first-of-its kind in the country, launched by AP police to protect the street children from getting affected by coronavirus, following the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to search for missing minors and adults.

As part of the campaign, the AP Crime Investigation Department (CID) will trace child labourers and orphans wandering at railway stations, bus stands and other public places and take them to the nearby hospitals to get them tested for COVID-19.

The CID will shift the rescued children to hospital if they test positive for virus and need treatment. Later, the children will be handed over to their parents or guardians. Orphans will be admitted to child care and rehabilitation centres to provide them education, the DGP said.

About 8,200 children have been rescued in the State during the five phases of Operation Muskaan. About 2,500 children were rescued as part of the campaign conducted twice in the last one year.

In Krishna district, 119 children were rescued during the joint operation conducted by police with the support of various government departments in Nuzvid, Avanigadda, Machilipatnam, Gudivada and Nandigama sub-divisions.

Special kits containing masks, sanitisers, thermal scanners, multivitamin tablets, toothpaste and brush, were distributed to district units by the DGP.He lauded the initiative of the CID in taking up the campaign during the pandemic. NGOs Rural Development Trust and Pure Hands Organisation sponsored the kits.

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