Hyderabad: Operation Smile, also known as Operation MUSKAAN, which is a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) project to locate and rehabilitate missing children, will be conducted in Telangana from July 1 to July 31. The eighth edition of Operation Muskaan will begin from July 1, a senior police official said.

While addressing a virtual convergence meeting on Operation Muskaan-VIII, Additional Director General of Police, Women Safety Wing, Swati Lakra said, “Tracing of missing children, bonded/child labour, rescue of street children, beggars and trafficked children is the duty of those who are going to participate in the operation.”

Hoping for better coordination among the stakeholders of Operation Muskaan in order to realise the objectives of the programme, Lakra said the rescued children should be provided good education, working skills to make them self-reliant and only then they would be able to lead their lives with dignity and respect in the society.

According to a press release, the main objective was to discuss the strategies for tracing missing children, bonded/child labour, rescue of street children, beggars and child trafficking under month long Operation Muskaan-VIII Programme.

Also Read: Byreddy Siddharth Reddy Made YSRCP State Youth Wing President

The Muskaan-VIII programme envisages that the rescued children have to be reunited with their families or sent to the Child Care Institutions or other hostels and the rescued children (boys and girls) would be admitted in the specialised schools in coordination with the Education Department.

Convergence meeting with all stakeholders for conducting the month long #OperationMuskan during July.
For tracing, rescuing and rehabilitating missing children....
Leveraging #Technology #Darpan #FacialRecognitionTool @TelanganaCOPs @ts_womensafety pic.twitter.com/xTyw1FWvMS
— Swati Lakra (@SwatiLakra_IPS) June 28, 2022

D Divya, Commissioner and Special Secretary to Women Development and Child Welfare Department, B Sumathi, DIG, Women Safety Wing, were among other officials, who participated in the meeting.