The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Cuddalore News : Village-level panels set up to prevent child abduction, abuse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore

Village-level panels set up to prevent child abduction, abuse

Special Correspondent

Training camp for committee members inaugurated

The committees are empowered to probe complaints of child abduction, desertion, atrocities and infringement of rights

CUDDALORE: Village-level monitoring committees have been set up in Cuddalore district to prevent the abduction of children and their abuse. These committees would also see to it that all the children of school-going age are enrolled in schools, and child labour eradicated, according to Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Collector.

Speaking at a function to mark the inauguration of a training camp for the members of the committees here on Tuesday, he said the committees would consist of the panchayat president, the village administrative officer, the headmaster or headmistress of the village school, a representative from the local police station and a member of a Self-Help Group.

The committees will be empowered to probe complaints of child abduction, desertion, atrocities, infringement of rights and so on, and take remedial action.

Mr Bedi said that abducted children were exploited in various ways: they were turned into beggars, or employed in households or hazardous units, or initiated into anti-social activities.

The Collector noted that such unscrupulous acts had an adverse physical and psychological impact on the hapless children.

Mr Bedi said that 20 children from the Thittakudi area who had been taken to Kerala for doing household chores were rescued and brought here recently.

On the December tsunami, the Collector said that 617 people, including 222 children died due to the giant waves. The calamity had deeply disturbed the children and to revive their spirits, the district administration had set up 68 children's parks at a cost of Rs 70 lakhs.

Free books, uniforms

The State government had taken special interest in these children and distributed free uniforms, textbooks and notebooks to 7,500 students from the tsunami-hit areas in the district. The government had waived their tuition fees amounting to Rs 49 lakhs.

It had set up a separate home for taking care of 60 children who had lost either or both parents to the tsunami, and put Rs 5 lakhs for each of them in fixed deposit, so they could avail themselves of the amount once they turned 18.

The government had earmarked funds for renovating the Manjakuppam orphanage and the blind school, Mr Bedi added.

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