Patna: Thirty children have been provided emergency medical help, 52 provided shelter, 95 protected from abuse, 136 runaways returned home, and 89 counselled and given emotional support from April last year to February - NGO Childline's Patna chapter revealed on Tuesday.

The NGO, which operates a 1098 helpline service to help children in distress, announced its accomplishments over the past year. Coordinator Neha Singh said the NGO had received 1,053 calls in Patna between April 2017 and February 2018. The data reveals that 258 missing children were repatriated to their homes, 329 runaway children and 72 missing children returned to parents by railway Childline.

Neha said: "We have sufficient fund support from the Union ministry of women and child development. We conduct sensitisation programmes under various police station areas in Patna to create awareness about children in need of care and protection."

The Union ministry of women and child development website shows 272 of 1,122 missing children in Bihar over the past year were recovered till Tuesday.

"We are witnessing a decline in the number of cases handled by Childline because of increased level of awareness among the people. Policemen who used to be slack earlier in such cases have also become more aware about the needs of these children," said Neha.