Panel formed to take care of ‘Covid-orphaned’ kids in Faridkot

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 12

The district administration has constituted the Child Welfare Committee for those who lose parents during the pandemic and whose parents are undergoing treatment, but there is no one to take care of children at home.

For immediate rehabilitation of children, particularly those of migrant labourers, a helpline has been started under the command of the District Child Security and Welfare Officer, in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act. The orphans will be sent to the Radha Krishan Dham, a child care institute in the town.

This adoption agency, being run by some voluntary organisations in the town, has given over 70 ‘abandoned’ children in adoption, under the Juvenile Justice Act, in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, in the past two years.

The Child Welfare Committee has been constituted after the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development had written to the state governments, asking them to direct all district magistrates to ensure immediate rehabilitation of ‘Covid-orphaned’ children.

“After the parents die, or when they undergo treatment, children are put in a vulnerable situation, due to which they can be manipulated, resulting in child labour or trafficking,” said DC Vimal Setia, adding that the measure would ensure that children’s interests are protected. “The information about such cases can be sent by hospitals to the Child Welfare Committee for further follow-up,” he said.

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