Chandrapur Collector wants child protection committees in all villages and urban wards

Chandrapur District Collector Vasumana Pant has told the administration to set up a child protection committee in every village of the district and in every ward of its towns and cities. Officials have also been asked to send in reports on these committees without delay once they are in place.

Pant gave the directions at a quarterly review meeting at the Collector's office, which she chaired. The meeting went through the work of the District Child Protection Unit, the district Childline, the railway Childline, the Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice Board. Child-related schemes and cases awaiting disposal were also examined in detail.

The Collector said a campaign of raids against child labour should be carried out with full force. The campaign and the new committees are meant to prevent atrocities against children, child marriage, child labour and the exploitation of children, and to safeguard their rights and safety.

Pant said the protection, upbringing and rehabilitation of children must get top priority from the administration. She asked that all pending applications for orphan certificates for orphaned children in the district be cleared quickly. Rehabilitation of children living in children's homes should be sped up, she said, and children who qualify should be rehabilitated at the earliest as the rules allow. The District Child Protection Unit has been asked to coordinate with every agency concerned and move fast.

To end child labour altogether, regular inspections have been ordered at every place where children may be found working. The departments concerned were told to act in step with one another.

So that children in distress, and those needing care and protection, can get help right away, Pant asked that the emergency number Childline 1098 be publicised widely, reaching every village and ward of the district. She also ordered that cases pending before the Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice Board be disposed of promptly and according to the rules.

District Women and Child Development Officer Prakash Bhandakkar made a presentation at the meeting. It laid out how the District Child Protection Unit, Childline 1098, the Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice Board have been functioning.

Among those who attended were Adv. Kshama Basarkar, who chairs the Child Welfare Committee, and Ashwini Kelkar, the Education Officer. Probation officers Atish Chavan and Sayali Patil were there, as were Ajay Sakharkar, the District Child Protection Officer, and psychiatrist Sandeep Bhatkar. Abhishek Mohurle, the Childline district coordinator, also took part.

Representatives of the District Legal Services Authority and the office of the Assistant Labour Commissioner were present too. So were members of the Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice Board, along with a large number of officials and staff from several other departments.