GUNTUR: Child Line, the toll-free helpline `1098' for rescuing children in distress will soon be set up in the district, making it the first-of-its kind facility in the district. Child Line has so far been set up in various cities like, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. However, for the first time, it will be set up in the district covering all the 57 mandals.

Collector's consent

The Guntur Forum for Child Rights, constituted in early 2006, with representatives from has been entrusted with the task of setting up the facility. District Collector G. Jayalakshmi, who is the chief patron of the forum, gave her consent to set up the control room at the Women Police Station."We have already secured the consent of the BSNL to make necessary arrangements for installing the toll-free number. We hope to activate the facility in the next three months,'' Child Rights facilitator P. Francis Babu has said.A task force constituted by the district administration had completed the feasibility study and submitted its report.

The committee, comprising senior officials of Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan, Women and Child Welfare Department and representatives from Child Rights Advocacy Foundation, conducted a study on the need to set up a child line facility, elicited opinions from the police and enumerated street children in the district. Meanwhile, the fact-finding committee probing into child rights violations has so far rescued six children from the bondage of child labour. The committee was now fighting to rescue a 15-year-old girl of Chiluvuru, who had gone missing from Vijayawada in the last week of January.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail