LUCKNOW: The child welfare committee (CWC) of Lucknow has claimed to have rehabilitated and extended aid to 10,013 children, including orphans, during its term of over four-and-a-half years.
The five-member committee, commissioned on December 23, 2016, had a three-year tenure but was given an extension.
On an average, 182 cases related to children rescued from the clutches of child-traffickers or who had fled home due to poor domestic environment, were taken up every month. Cases of child abuse, forced begging and child labour were also taken up.
Sangeeta Sharma, a member of the outgoing CWC, said: “The committee executed 9,868 cases which included 2,953 of runaway kids and 55 of sexual abuse. At least 1,403 children were shifted to shelters while 4,649 minors were repatriated.”
“Further, 278 children of different districts or states were transferred and 187 minors were helped to get adopted by foster parents. The committee also rescued 198 minors who were forced into labour-intensive jobs. Timely intervention secured the lives of 50 children who were forced to marry adults. We also helped 95 minors who were forced to beg on streets,” added Sharma, who has been a child rights activist for decades.
She said that besides 9,868 cases, CWC also intervened in 145 cases of children who were victims of dispute between their parents (like divorce).
“In 55 months, CWC coordinated with NGOs, district probation office, police and others for the betterment of children. Immense efforts were put into clearing the lacunas in the system, such as preparing strong paperwork to protect children’s interest, legal aid and other things,” she added.
The other committee members were Kuldeep Ranjan (president), Vinay Kumar Shrivastav, Sudha Rani and Richa Khanna. The members will continue to guide the new CWC members for a few more weeks.
The new CWC members are chairman Ravinder Singh Jadon, Dr Sujeet Kumar Pandey, lawyer Om Prakash Yadav, judicial activist Manju Nigam and child activist Sandhya Misra.
