BALANGIR: For the last six days, eightyear- old Kanha Parabhoi of Tentelmunda has been eagerly waiting for his parents to return from Hyderabad. A day after the lockdown, the district administration abruptly closed down all seasonal hostels under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan where children of migrant labourers like Kanha were accommodated and provided education. Authorities of the seasonal hostel in the village under Belpada block asked Kanha and the rest to return to their homes.
The boy had no other option but to go back to his empty house. Due to the lockdown, his parents are unable to return from Hyderabad where they have been working at a construction site since December last year. When his father Kishore came to know about closure of the hostel, he requested his friend Tarani Mallick to take Kanha to his house and look after him till he returns or the hostel opens.
Mallick obliged. Speaking to this paper, Kishore said he is unable to return due to the restriction on public transport and closed state borders. “I came to Hyderabad with my wife and three children to work. We had to leave behind Kanha and his sister Sanjukta in Balangir as I could not afford to take them with me. Kanha was admitted to the seasonal hostel by his teachers of Tentelmunda UP School while Sanjukta is being taken care of by my brotherin- law at Dahimal village. How can the authorities close down the hostels and ask the children to leave when their parents are stuck in other states and there is no one to look after them”, he questioned.
Kanha is not alone. An activist Bhajaram Sahu, who has been working for the cause of migrant workers, said the list of children affected by closure of hostels is long. After the lockdown, all seasonal hostels in the district were shut down on March 24 and children asked to return to their homes. Some were handed over to their distant relatives and others to acquaintances. But no thought was given to plight of children who neither have their relatives nor family members to look after them, he said, adding that the district administration should have made alternative arrangements for children who do not have anyone to look after them in case of emergency like this.
The district has 62 seasonal hostels where 2848 children from Balangir and 2500 from Nuapada have been accommodated. The seasonal hostel project was started by the State Government in 2012-13 with an aim to prevent children from migrating with their families to other districts or states so that their education is not hampered. Another activist, Jatin Kumar Patra said the decision to close down all the seasonal hostels was taken without consulting any of the stakeholders.
“Many parents of the children cannot return now. This decision will only make these children more vulnerable” he said. District Education Officer, Dhruba Charan Behera said they had to close down all seasonal hostels following the Government order. “All we could do within a short span of time was to handover the children to their relatives or acquaintances”, he said.
LEFT IN LURCH
Number of seasonal hostels - 62
2848 children from Balangir and 2500 from Nuapada have been admitted to these hostels
Hostels closed on March 24
Many children left alone in the absence of relatives and family members