COIMBATORE:The District Child Protection Office, on Tuesday, closed down two homes for children at Uppilipalayam for functioning without registration and also flouting the norms stipulated by the government to run the facility.
The two homes, Corner Stone Trust and Christ Compassion Trust at Ramaswamy Nagar in Uppilipalayam were found to be lacking the basic facilities required to run an orphanage.
District Child Protection Officer G Vijaya said that a team was formed to inspect the orphanages in the district as per the direction of Collector Archana Patnaik.
“During the inspection, we found that the two orphanages were not registered with the Social Welfare Department and lacked basic facilities. They did not even have a record with the details of inmates. There were no toilets or space for the children and they were not being given nutritious food,” she added.
The officer informed that two more orphanages will be inspected this week and special teams will be formed shortly to visit all the 78 children's homes in the district.
When contacted, Collector Archana Patnaik told Express that if an orphanage or children's home flouts norms, a warning will be issued first. “If they still don't rectify the issues, then we will close them. Even after closure, they are given a chance to reopen the homes if they follow guidelines,” she said.
The Collector said that it was important that boys and girls are housed in separate living quarters and a record of the inmates are maintained.