Resorting to drugs
Some children enjoy the freedom life on the streets can offer, and may even earn reasonable money scouring trains, sorting rubbish or becoming expert petty thieves. But, they remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and are exposed to extremely unhygienic conditions. To cope with all this many resort to glue sniffing and drug taking, both growing problems in Kolkata, and ones which can seriously damage a child’s brain and reduce life expectancy.