Helpline for children in distress available in 72 cities

New Delhi, Sep 27 (UNI) A toll-free telephone helpline for children in distress has been made available in 72 cities of the country.

'Childline' being supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development is available 24 hours. Its toll free number, 1098 can be accessed by any child or concerned adult on his or her behalf. On the receipt of the call immediate emergency assistance is provided to children which may include medical assistance, shelter, restoration, rescue, sponsorship and counselling and then links them to services for their long term care and rehabilitation.

Ministry of Women and Child Development has entrusted the job of Childline services to the Childline India Foundation, a voluntary organisation established by the Government.

Currently, the Childline service is available in Agartala, Aurangabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Kanchipuram, Kozhlkode, Nadia, Pune, South 24 Paraganas, Varanasi, Simla, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kanyakumari, Kutch, Nagapattinam, Puri, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada, Ludhiana, Ahmednagar, Baroda, Cuddalore, Imphal, Karaikal, Lucknow, Nagpur, Rourkela, thirunelveli, Vishakhapatnam, Akola, Bhopal, Delhi, Indore, Kochi, Mangalore, Nasik, Ranchi, Thrissur, Waynad, Allahabad, Bhubaneshwar, East Midanapore Jammu, Kolkata, Madurai, New Jalpaiguri, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, West Midnapore, Alwar, Chandigarh, Goa, Jaipur, Kollam, Mumbai, Patna, Shillong, Udaipur, Agra, Amarawati, Cuddalore, Gorakhpur, Kalyan, Kota, Murshidabad, Port Blair, Sholapur, Ujjain and Gurgaon.

UNI AJ PM GC1945