Odisha Govt Not Serious About Child Security: NCPCR Member

Bhubaneswar: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Thursday criticised the Odisha government for its gross apathy towards the safety of the children.

“The state government has not all adhered to the NCPCR guidelines. I had come last year to Odisha and had a discussion on this matter with the senior government officials and asked them to ensure proper implementation of the guidelines on security of the children residing in the child care units (CCUs) and shelter homes. Unfortunately, the officials in charge of the CCUs and shelter homes have completely ignored them,” NCPCR member Yashwant Jain told mediapersons after a meeting with senior government officials at the State Secretariat here.

The state government neither has any specific information about the organisations, who are running CCUs and shelter homes, nor the places where these are located, he said.

“Our teams are currently inspecting CCUs and shelter homes. If any irregularities are found in these institutions, exemplary action would be taken in accordance with the law,” Jain pointed out.

Meanwhile, a four-member NCPCR team arrived at the shelter home on the outskirts of Dhenkanal in the afternoon. The team will collect details about the alleged sexual harassment of the minor girls and other illegal activities at the shelter home from the local people and the media.