Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant governor, said on Thursday in Srinagar that it was important to provide homeless and institutionalised children homes.
According to a statement released here by an official spokesman, the LG stressed the importance of giving homes to children living in institutional care and on the streets as he opened a two-day workshop for training and sensitization programmes for representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Police, and other stakeholders to strengthen the child protection system and mechanism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Institutional care should be the last resort since, in his opinion, children thrives in a lively home setting.
According to Sinha, the government has launched a number of efforts for rehabilitation and child care, and adoption has begun thanks to a collaboration between the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), which will support family-based, non-institutional child care.
He expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Women and Child Development and praised the Social Welfare Department for their creative plan to arrange a training curriculum for 15,000 people in 2023–2024.
The Women and Child Development Ministry of the Indian Government ran the nation’s first campaign of this kind.
The LG said that the training course was evidence of the J&K administration’s dedication to ensuring children have happy childhoods and a nurturing environment that allows them to reach their full potential.
“Our children did not get the childhood they deserved for many years. They were misled by those who benefit from armed conflict and were given stones. Our youngsters now carry computers and tablets and help to create the country because we have destroyed that ecology, he said.
Additionally, Sinha urged NGOs, community elders, religious figures, and youth organisations to join the battle against the drug epidemic.
“One of the main causes for worry is adolescent drug usage. We have a zero tolerance policy against drugs, and it is up to us all to increase awareness and step up efforts to accomplish the goal of a drug-free J&K, the official added.
On this occasion, the LG requested that the federal government authorities take into account establishing a Vatsalya Sadan in both Jammu and Srinagar.
Senior officials from the Central Government and the J&K administration were also present, along with the Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta, Additional Secretary for the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, Joint Secretary for the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Indra Mallo, Commissioner Secretary for the Social Welfare Department (SWD), Sheetal Nanda.
Participants in the initial session included PRIs and ULB members, police officers, resource people, Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) representatives, members of the court, NGOs, and other interested parties.
