New Delhi: The lockdown imposed due to the COVID 19 pandemic has turned into extended impoundment not just for women but for children who are either prone to domestic abuse, violence or are either orphans or abandoned and are living with a family with no shelter.
The apex child right body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) claims that the commission has been dealing with 4 lakh such complaints from past ten months i.e. from June 2019 to March 2020 even before the lockdown was imposed.
And during the ongoing lockdown, the NCPCR is leaving no stone unturned to work holistically in addressing the issue reported by children from all across the country.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Priyank Kanungo, chairperson, NCPCR, says that while the commission has been receiving plenty of complaints from various parts of the country relating to child trafficking, missing children or children and families with no access to meals and other necessities during the lockdown, the final tally will only be disclosed after the lockdown is lifted.
Several such cases have come to light which includes a 16-year-old minor girl who has been rescued along with the accused, namely, Saluddin Gaazi from Khazuri in North East Delhi, which is a ‘containment zone’. The NCPCR has monitored the rescue and the West Bengal girl is being produced before the child welfare committee (CWC).
“We are issuing instructions to states during the lockdown and we are taking suo moto cognizance during this time of crisis. The government authority is supporting us and they are providing all the facilities to the children. We have received a complaint from Bihar's Jahanabad three days ago where a child died due to non-availability of an ambulance. We immediately took cognizance, sent a notice to the District Magistrate and he suspended all the assigned officers and started a departmental enquiry on that. We are not getting complaints from schools but we are receiving complaints from the states where the children are not getting proper shelter,” Kanungoo said.
“Recently, we have received another complaint from Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh where a newborn baby was denied treatment in the government hospital because the mother of the child was found to be COVID positive. I immediately spoke to the DM there and it was ensured that the mother and the child get the right treatment. NCPCR has received a complaint regarding the Moradabad incident where children were used to pelt stones on doctors and the police, we took cognizance in that case and recommended the Moradabad police to register a case against the people who used the children under Section 83 (2) of the Juvenile Justice Act. We are intervening after the complaints and taking steps to save the children from any undue stress in this crucial time,” the chairperson added.
An advisory was also issued by the NCPCR to all the state governments and UTs regarding care and protection of children moving with migrant families; children living on streets/child care Institutions in light of COVID-19.
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The advisory read that after the preliminary enquiry and interaction if the child is alone, they shall be temporarily placed in Child Care Institution(CCI) or a fit facility with approval of the concerned Child Welfare Committee. In case the child is with family, adequate measures to provide shelter to the family may be taken as deemed appropriate by the competent authority designated by the state keeping in view the best interest of the child.
Moreover, the commission has sought a response from Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) over a complaint regarding the use of Zoom—a video and audio-conferencing platform—by schools for taking online classes of children during the lockdown.
“We received a complaint regarding the use of Zoom software by the school, the commission immediately wrote to CERT seeking guidance whether the Zoom app is safe for use in online interaction with children, especially during the enforced lockdown. They reverted in 24 hours with solutions confirming the online safety of children, their identity and well-being,” Kanungoo said.
A senior technical expert with the NCPCR who did not want to be identified said that the commission is taking cognizance of the grievances received. The expert said, “The commission is following the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and is connected with experts from NIMHANS, seeking guidance from the psychiatrists. Even before the lockdown was imposed, the commission conducted a workshop for children on how to overcome anxiety during the crisis. We have a team of psychologists in the commission, who are providing counselling to children and parents whenever they reach out to us.”
(Reported by Chandrakala Choudhury, ETV Bharat reporter)
