MADURAI: The Member of Tamil Nadu Commission for the Protection of Child Rights V Ramaraj, who held inspections at shelter homes for children in Madurai, interacted with the children living at Anaiyur Sri Lankan refugee camp.
During his one-day visit, Ramaraj visited five shelter homes for children, along with the District Child Protection Officer Ganesan, a member of the district Child Welfare Committee L Shanmugam and reviewed the amenities and security provided.
He also met the children living in the Anaiyur Sri Lankan refugee camp and discussed issues pertaining to their citizenship and birth certificates. During the meeting at the collectorate, the issue pertaining to the recent death of a 17-year-old girl, who reportedly died by suicide days after she sought help from the police to stop her marriage, was also looked into.
Ramaraj, who hailed the state government’s decision to enact the Right to Services Act, stated that the legislation must ensure hassle-free access to education by children through timely issuance of documents like birth certificates, community certificates. He further insisted on adding a chapter in the Juvenile Justice Act to provide legal status to the child protection committees to effectively curb and act upon child sexual offences.