Kochi: Class VI student Pavan was devastated when he stepped out of his home on Monday morning. Somebody had made away with a gooseberry sapling that he had been caring for the past two years.
The boy then dialled the number of Chiri, a tele-counselling initiative of Kerala government to address children's issues.
"Someone took away my gooseberry sapling. Please capture the culprit who did this," he pleaded over the phone. Pavan is a student of the Lobelia Higher Secondary School at Nayarambalam in Ernakulam district.
The cop, who attended this call, was bewildered at the request. However, he soon realised that this was no crank call and took up the issue with the state nodal officer IG P Vijayan.
The IG then directed the Njarakkal police station to address the complaint. Soon, saplings of gooseberry, guava, and sitafal among others were brought to Pavan's house by the cops. Also, an assurance that the culprit, who cut his gooseberry sapling, would be caught soon.
Pavan was elated as the new saplings were planted at the house premises.
Njarakkal station inspector P S Dharmajith and ASI Gopi and other cops were also delighted to see the sheer joy on the boy’s face.
Pawan had got the sapling from his school two years ago. His sister Pavithra, also a student police cadet, had informed her teacher Harikumar about the incident. He gave them the Chiri helpline number and instructed them to make the call.
Pavan is the son of Kudungassery native A A Nash, a marble flooring worker, and Divya.
Chiri in the time of COVID-19
The initiative, Chiri (smile), was started to address the mental health issues of children, who are stuck indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme aims to provide counselling and address the apprehensions of both children and parents. Over 2,000 people have already availed the services of this programme. Chiri deals with a host of issues ranging from the excessive use of a smartphone to atrocities against the children.
Chiri number: 94979 00200
