The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Women's panel happy with juvenile home's work

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Women's panel happy with juvenile home's work

Staff Reporter

The children appeared to be happy staying there

HYDERABAD: Just over nine years old, Manisha is a mute mentally-challenged girl and cannot say who her parents are and where she is from. But when she sees visitors she begs them, saying "Amma phone", "Nanna phone", turning their eyes moist.

Kavitha, a teenaged girl from Indervelli, in Adilabad district, who is an orphan, was living with her father's brother and fell in love with a neighbour. When her folks did not accept their affair she ran away from home, only to find herself a few weeks later at the Home.

These are just two different cases of girls aged between four and 18 years among the 84 inmates at the State-run Juvenile Home for Girls. When members of the Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission - Padmezza Naromally, K. Renuka Reddy and Majji Sarada - made a surprise visit to the Home with mediapersons in tow on Sunday, they found it being run in as good a fashion as it should.

Good food

Ms. Padmezza told presspersons that the commission did not expect things to be in good shape at the Home. The food was good, the children had a smile on their faces and except for a couple of them, they appeared to be happy staying there. Another member said the food was better than what was served at the Chanchalguda Central Prison for Women.

Yet another case involves Kavitha (18) and Amar (20), residents of the Old City. Being in love, they eloped hoping to marry but were traced by the police in Adilabad, two years ago. However, being a minor, she was sent to the State-run Home here while the boy was remanded to custody following a complaint from her parents.

Vanaja, Superintendent, who arrived when told of the surprise visit, said the Home was striving hard to provide good food, care and medical support to the inmates.

(Names of the girls have been changed as per provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act)

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