BENGALURU: A day after his appointment as nodal officer to identify and provide immediate and long-term facilities to Covid-19 orphaned children in Karnataka, senior IAS officer Mohan Raj on Tuesday held a marathon meeting with State Child Rights Commission, nodal officers, civil society and voluntary organisations working with children. Raj is Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Commissioner of Stamps.
Representatives of civil society organisations, while voicing concern regarding children whose parents are in hospital or no more, said it was important to trace their relatives. They asked the government to build quarantine centres, temporary shelters and milk banks for orphaned infants. “There is a need for housing of such children. District Covid centres for children should be linked to Childline and civil society to prevent illegal adoption of orphaned infants, child trafficking, child labour, marriage and sexual violence,” said well-known child rights advocate Nina Nayak.
Some other key recommendations to the State include declaring Childline an essential service, activating women and child protection committees, Makkala Gram Sabhas to prevent child trafficking and exploitation, providing adequate medicines, oximeters, oxygen cylinders to child care institutions (CCIs), setting up of a medical unit within a social service complex for testing and protection of CCIs, Childline and district child protection units (DCPU) staff.