Medaram Jatara witnesses 15,308 lost and found cases

Warangal: Social media platform - WhatsApp has turned out to be a saviour for a missing four-year-old boy. It may be recalled here that Vinnu, the only son of Bheemanapally Anil and Yamuna, who was to the Sammakka Saralamma jatara at Medaram with his parents, went missing on February 6.

The boy's family hail from Kannada village under Palakurthi Mandal in Peddapally district. Vinnu went missing while playing in Medaram.

The Woman Development and Child Welfare Department and the police who tried in vain to trace the boy took to the WhatsApp messaging.

The message went viral on the social networking sites. Finally, they managed to trace the child on Monday when some people noticed the boy at Gundala village in Jangaon district.

According to reports, an old woman named Jayamma who found Vinnu at the jatara took him to her village.

The villagers who identified the boy as missing child immediately reported to the Bhongir police and to the number mentioned in the WhatsApp message. Anil and Yamuna who have been searching for their child rushed to the Bhongir police station.

After reuniting with their child, the couple said that they would fulfil their mokku (vow) by offering bangaram (jaggery) to the tribal deities – Sammakka and Saralamma for finding their child.

According to official figures, a whopping 15,308 missing cases were registered during the four-day jatara at Medaram. The Woman Development and Child Welfare and the Childline-1098 led by Mulugu DWO G Malleshwari managed to reunite all the missing persons with their families.

The administration set up six centres to deal with the missing cases.

In all, the officials made nearly 23,000 announcements in the public address systems to alert the families who missed their near and dear.

The officials also gave bus fares to 58 persons to reach their residences, Warangal Rural District Child Protection Officer G Mahender Reddy told The Hans India.