New Delhi, Jul 17 (IANS): Nearly all children living on the streets of the metropolitan cities are exposed to abuse and violence, and majority of them face harassment from police, said a new study released here Tuesday.

The study, a situational analysis of street children done by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) Ladies League, shows that 33 percent of the street children face harassment from police, while 23 percent are sexually abused.

A staggering 31 percent children face abuse from employers, eight percent are used for trafficking drugs, while another five percent are convicted for theft or other crimes, it said.

Boys and girls on the street are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse by strangers, adult street dwellers and at times by family members. It also reveals that nearly 86 percent of boys in the age group 14-18 years are sexually active; however a very low number of them know about safe sex protection and condom usage.

Delhi is home to over 100,000 street children, Mumbai 125,000, Bangalore 110,000 and Kolkata 85,000. Most of them belong to migrant families from Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The study also points out that over 92 percent of street children were linked to abuse of inhalants, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and gutka. Nearly 35 percent fall prey to inhalant solutions, 21 percent smoke tobacco, 16 percent chew tobacco while 12 percent are addicted to alcohol.

Though most of these children work or beg for aliving, 72 percent of them earn less than Rs.20 a day, while 22 percent children earn between Rs.20-50 per day. Only six percent of the children earn over Rs.50 per day. A significant proportion of children earning more than Rs.20, are skilled workers, domestic help or commission agents on behalf of hoteliers or trade agents.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who released the report, urged the industry to come forward and adopt such children.

"I would appeal to the industry to make a special trust for street children and adopt them to provide for their food, education, shelter and their over all well-being," he said.

According to the UN figures, India has the highest number of street children in the world. Though exact numbers are not available, estimates say 20 million children live and work on the streets of urban centres across the country.

Interviews for the study were conducted in Delhi (520), Kolkata (500), Mumbai (480), and Chennai (400).