CHILDREN/CHILD LABOUR - 2013

January to December - 2013

Compiled By Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre

2012 saw govt nod for complete ban on child labour below 14 (14) New Delhi: Clearing of a proposal to put a complete ban on employing a child below 14 years was the major highlight of the Labour and Employment Ministry in 2012 during which it remained largely occupied with labour unrest and general strikes. The ban on child labour, contravening of which would land one with a three-year jail term, was cleared by the Cabinet in August as it gave its nod to amend the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. The amendment also seeks a blanket ban on employing children below 18 years in hazardous industries like mining. At present children under the age of 14 years are prohibited from employment only in hazardous industry. The move came even as Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge underlined that lack of proper implementation of labour laws was leading to simmering discontentment among the working class. The huge difference in wages between regular and contract workers for example, he said, was leading to labour unrest in several states and cited the violence in Maruti Suzuki plant to be one such instance. In July, violence broke out at the Maruti Suzuki plant in Manesar following an alleged scuffle between a worker and a supervisor. A general manager was killed in the incident and 100 others were injured. The company declared a lockout at the plant which was lifted a month later. According to the Ministry, the Contract Labour Act is expected to be placed before Cabinet for amendment to address the issue of wage disparity among the contract and regular workers. (Indian Express 1/1/13) Villagers vow to root out child labour, school dropouts (14) Ahmedabad: Apart from working in his farm and running his small provision shop at Vasada village in Surendranagar district for last three years, Jasmat Patel (35) has another daily routine to visit each house in the village to convince parents and ensure that all children are enrolled in the government primary school. Jasmats village is one of those 320 villages in the cottonseed farming districts of the state that have set an example by passing a resolution against child labour. Among these, more than 80 villages have also taken a pledge to make their village child labour and school dropout free. The resolution and pledge is passed on the letter head of village panchayat and signed by community leaders. The initiative involved from the grassroots level through awareness campaigns, rallies, street plays, puppet shows and community meetings followed by presentations, drawings and stories by children to the gram and block panchayats. Jasmat has been an inspiration to not only his village but several others in the district as he had decided not to marry and devote his entire life for this cause. As I do not have my own family and children, initially it was tough to convince parents. As children are equally paid as adults so they are taken as a source of income at an early age. Rather than ignoring this important factor, I told them that they can get this additional money by working extra for two-three hours but once their childhood is gone, it will never be redeemed by any amount, said Jasmat. (Indian Express 2/1/13) Rescued child labourers in Andhra dist to get stip (14) Rajahmundry (AP): Students rescued from child labour here will get a monthly stipend from the central government under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) through Aadhar-Enabled Payment System
This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

(AEPS). About 669 students rescued from child labour in the district will get the stipend of Rs 150 per month from the Centre under the NCLP, which will be formally launched by Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at Gollaprollu Mandal of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh today, an official release said here today. The state and central governments have launched several schemes and programmes for the development of such children, the release said. The Centre has sanctioned an amount of Rs 150 each as stipend to the students and it will be directly deposited in their accounts through AEPS. As many as 891 students from East Godavari district have opened their bank accounts while accounts of 669 of them have been linked to AEPS and remaining 231 accounts will be connected to this system shortly, the release said. The objective of the project is to eliminate child labour in hazardous industries and complete elimination of labour is a gradual aim of the project, the release said. To set up a legal framework for prohibition and regulation of child labour and to use various development programmes to address the needs of working children under this scheme, the target group is children below 14 years of age who are working in occupations and processes listed in the Schedule to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 or occupations and processes that are harmful to the health of the children. (Zee News 6/1/13) No one's child in a world of abuse (14) BHUBANESWAR: There are around a dozen children born out of alleged rapes in different parts of the state, who are leading a pathetic life in the absence of any government support to raise them. Meera's (name changed) four-year-old son was refused admission in school when the teachers discovered the child was born out of rape. The incident happened in the Khaprakhol area of Balangir. Later, Meera managed to get him admitted in a school which was not familiar with her status. She had to leave her parents and shift to other places to ensure her son's education. Now she is facing difficulties earning a living. Meera was raped in 2007. Although a case was registered with the police, the accused is still absconding. Local NGO Kalyan gave her hope and courage to live. And also helped her fight for justice. "Meera was two months pregnant when she came to us, completely lost and disillusioned. We counseled her and convinced her not to go for abortion," said Meenakshi Purohit of Kalyan, blaming the government for not rehabilitating her. The story of a 14-year-old disabled girl in Deogarh district is equally painful. She got pregnant after being raped by a 70-year-old man. She gave birth to a child in July last year and is now living with her parents. Since her father is a daily wage labourer, she is not getting any support from him. "She visited several government offices for help. But everyone jeered at her. Neighbours also look down at her," said a local. A minor girl, who was raped in Tusura in Balangir, is working in a beauty parlour in Raipur after she was deserted by her parents. She has a three-year-old daughter. The boy who raped her is a juvenile and is under trial. The seven-month pregnant Class IV dropout in Kuchinda area conceived after being raped by a 25-year-old neighbour at knife point. The then State Commission for Women (SCW) chairperson Jyoti Panigrahi, who visited Sambalpur discussed her rehabilitation with the district authorities. But she got little help. The girl suffered from anemia during pregnancy. "A rape victim even if she is not pregnant is entitled to be rehabilitated under the criminal injury relief and rehabilitation scheme. Each victim gets Rs 2 lakh compensation under the scheme. At the district level the collectors should ensure its implementation," said Panigrahi. (Times of India 9/1/13) Juvenile act: HC seeks Centre's response to PIL on lowering age bar New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Centre to respond to a PIL seeking annulment of certain provisions in the juvenile law, including those that spare minor convicts from life imprisonment and death penalty. "Issue notice to respondents (the Union ministries of Parliamentary Affairs and Law and Justice). Put up for hearing on February 14," a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and V K Jain said. Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra appearing for the Centre said, "So far as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act is concerned, I will have to take instructions and so far as the other prayer (seeking harsher punishment for rape) is concerned, a committee has already been constituted to

look into it." The counsel for Shweta Kapoor, a Supreme Court lawyer who filed the PIL, said various provisions of the Act, including section 16, require to be held as ultra-vires as it prohibits a juvenile above the age of 16 years from being awarded life imprisonment and death penalty. The PIL also highlights the alleged contradiction in various provisions of the Act which allows a juvenile convict to go out of a special home after attaining majority. The Act provides that delinquents, above 16 years, shall be kept in special homes away from other minors and the period of detention would be of three years, while another provision says that a juvenile can only be kept at the special home till he attains 18 years of age. "In other words section 16 envisages a different class of juveniles who have committed an offence of serious nature and cannot be kept in the special homes. Therefore subsection 1 of section 16 (1st part) of the Act is ultravires...," it said. The PIL assumes significance in the backdrop of the December 16 gang rape and murder of a 23-years old woman in Delhi in which the probe indicated that the minor, 17, was allegedly the "most brutal" among the six accused. The minor accused in the gang rape case was 17 and half year old at the time of incident and would come out of special home, if convicted, after attaining majority. He can neither be kept with minor convicts at a special home nor can he be sent to jail with adult convicts. "The very fact that gruesome acts and heinous crimes have been committed by a number of juveniles between the age of 16 and 18 years would show that certain provisions of the Act are ultra-vires the provisions of the Constitution of India in view of the fact that unequals have been clubbed together and given the same benefit though the same benefit cannot be given to the class of juveniles between the age of 16 to 18 years who have been found involved in heinous and grave crimes," the PIL said. "A person committing a serious crime after attaining the age of 17 years and 364 days cannot be treated differently from the person who commits the same crime after attaining the age of 18 years and one day," it said. (Hindustan Times 9/1/13) HC notice to govt, cops on child labour NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre, Delhi government and the police for failing to implement its order on elimination of child labour as a PIL claimed that the juvenile accused in Delhi gang-rape case was also a victim of such abuse. A bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice D K Jain issued notice after the petitioner claimed the juvenile allegedly involved in the gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus on December 16 has been a victim of child labour since the past 11 years. With the plea alleging "lackadaisical approach" of the authorities, the court questioned why its directions for implementing the action plans of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and other departments were not carried out. The court is scheduled to hold further proceedings on January 16. The PIL alleged that the government agencies do not have any plausible reason for not implementing the directions of the court by which 500 child labourers should be rescued every month keeping in mind the capacity of children homes. It further stated that failure to comply with the directions has resulted in child labourers growing up as "anti-social elements". (Times of India 10/1/13) NHRC to look into child labour deaths in Bihar brick kiln (14) Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Odisha government on the death of two children in a fire at a brick kiln in the state last year, an activist said on Wednesday. The NHRC issued notice to the states Chief Secretary B.K. Patnaik and directed him to submit a report on the incident within four weeks. The human rights organisation acted on a complaint of India Media Centre (IMC), Akhanda, who filed the complaint, said. Akhanda said two child workers were killed and two others were injured in a major fire mishap in Durga Brick Industries at K. Nuagaon of Ganjam district of Odisha on January 20. Their parents were also working as bonded labourers in the same brick kiln. (The Hindu 11/1/13) Over 1,000 kids killed in Pakistan in 2012 (14)

Islamabad: As many as 1,113 children were murdered and around 1,400 injured in Pakistan last year in cases related to violence against minors, a leading human rights attorney has said. Growing lawlessness in the country and the weak role of police have resulted in a spike in such cases, Zia Ahmed Awan told the Daily Times. Awan is the president of the Lawyers of Human Rights and Legal Aid and founder of the Madadgaar National Helpline. He said their database showed that from January to December 2012, as many as 6,444 cases of violence against children were reported by the media. A total of 1,113 children were murdered, 582 kidnapped, 246 sodomised, 455 sexually assaulted, 330 raped and 235 trafficked. There were 476 forced marriages, 188 honour killings and 195 child marriages. A total of 355 children committed suicide. (Hindustan Times 13/1/13)

Hospitals need protocol for child abuse cases (14) Mumbai: Despite the gravity and prevalence of child sexual abuse, and the nuanced handling required in such cases, most hospitals in the city dont seem to have a protocol in place for examining victims. Unlike adult sexual assault crimes, most such cases against children go unreported and are only detected by doctors when the victims come to the hospital complaining of unexplainable pain or injury, said experts. This means that the responsibility on doctors to detect and then report such cases is higher. A forensic doctor from JJ Hospital, Byculla, said most cases are handled either by paediatricians or gynaecologists. We are only called if the child has sustained an injury, the doctor said. Doctors expressed the need to sensitise the medical fraternity so that they can raise an alarm when children come for treatment of suspicious injuries, on their genitals, for instance, of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Once it is ruled that the child did not contract the STD through the mother, it is important to report the matter to the police. There should also be a protocol to provide psychiatric counselling to the child, said Dr Indrajit Khandekar, assistant professor, Forensic Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha. Experts also cautioned that cases pertaining to sexual violence against children needs to be handled with greater sensitivity, as the child rarely understands the crime s/he has suffered. Keeping in mind the rise in cases of assault against children, the civic run Nair Hospitals forensic department has instituted a Multi Disciplinary Child Protection Centre, a first-of-its kind facility that exclusively looks into cases of child abuse. If a department receives a suspected case of child sexual abuse, a team of forensics, psychiatrists and doctors treating the patient examine the child together. If each doctor in turn asks the same questions to the family and the victim, it will only add to their agony, said Dr Shailesh Mohite, head of the hospitals forensic department, adding that the doctor should develop a rapport with the victim. Under the law, any private doctor is permitted to collect evidence, said Dr Duru Shah, member, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India. In case of child abuse, doctors need to be very sensitive when collecting evidence, he cautioned. We even get false cases, where children lie about abuse. Other times, children may lie about the accused, as they are afraid. We had a case where a girl kept insisting that she was raped by an outsider, but later confided in me that her elder brother was raping her, said Dr Mohite. (Hindustan Times 15/1/13) 68% of rapes in 2012 were against children (14) PANAJI: Goa has turned unsafe for minor girls. Statistics with Goa police reveal that 68% of rape cases registered in 2012 involved minors. Last year, police registered 54 rape cases across the state of which 31 cases were registered under the Goa Children's Act. Police detected over 90% of the rape cases and charges have been filed in a majority of these. Bailancho Ekvott president Auda Viegas said rapes on children are taking place because of misconception that if one has sex with children they can cure certain diseases. "Our children are vulnerable because we don't make them aware about the risks and dangers of associating with strangers," Viegas said. Bailancho Saad convener Sabina Martins said rapes on children have increased because children are a vulnerable section and easy targets for perverted minds. Martins said, "Rapes against children are reported because of the sympathy attached to the victim."

Children's Rights in Goa (CRG) director Nishtha Desai said people should be concerned and everyone should take care of children. Desai said the state government needs to pay attention to strengthening child protection mechanisms. "It is now almost 10 years since the Goa Children's Act was passed but a number of its salient provisions are yet to be implemented," Desai said, adding that the conviction rate of crimes against children is not satisfactory and there are a number of pending cases over the past years and there is need for speedy disposal of cases. NGO Savera chairperson Tara Kerkar said, "Government should immediately take all measures to protect children from such incidents." (Times of India 17/1/13) Register FIRs for missing children: Supreme Court (14) NEW DELHI: More than a decade after Parliament enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the Supreme Court on Thursday cracked the whip for its implementation, making it mandatory for states to provide a plain-clothed special juvenile police officer (SJPO) in every police station. In addition, the states have to create a Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU), comprising personnel specially trained and oriented for child causes (read offences) in every district and each missing child report must be converted into FIRs, the court ordered. Though the court had ordered implementation of the law enacted in 2000 by Parliament, very few states have responded to a PIL by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which alleged that very little was done to trace nearly 55,000 children who go missing every year. Senior advocate H S Phoolka complained that there was lack of scientific investigation to trace the children and that the law for juveniles had not been implemented. The Supreme Court on Thursday made it mandatory for police stations across the country to compulsorily register missing complaints of any minor and appoint a special police officer to handle complaints of juveniles. Such police personnel should be stationed at every police station in plain clothes. At a time when there has been a spurt in reports of trafficking of minor children and their abuse, a bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices J Chelameswar and Vikramjit Sen was livid with the casual approach of six states, which did not even bother to depute a lawyer to represent them during the hearing. It ordered the chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa to be present in court on February 5. The chief secretaries of West Bengal and Karnataka got an exemption after their respective counsels pleaded miscommunication. Advocate Shobha, on behalf of National Human Rights Commission, pointed out that Section 62 of the law on juveniles mandating plain clothed SJPOs to deal with child offenders was not implemented. "So, is it only on paper?" asked the bench. "In the first instance, the police should not shirk its responsibility," the bench said, ordering police to register an FIR for every missing child complaint. The court had on March 17 last year issued notices to the Centre and the states on the NGO's PIL advocating setting up of an advanced scientific mechanism to investigate and recover missing children. "In India, in the period of January 2008 to January 2010, over 1.17 lakh children have gone missing in 392 districts in India. Out of them, 41,546 are still untraced," it had said. The petitioner said, "The instances of missing children are highest in Maharashtra followed by West Bengal, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. The number of untraced missing children is highest in West Bengal followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh." The petitioner sought a direction to the Union government to formulate a National Action Plan on the issue of missing children which should include investigation, recovery, counseling and standard operating procedures (SOP) for law enforcing agencies on coordinating their efforts. It said on the efforts of Delhi High Court, the police had made some SOPs in place. (Times of India 18/1/13) Discrimination main reason for Dalit kids dropping out: study (14) SALEM: A public hearing on child rights violations in western districts here has identified caste-based discrimination in classrooms as a major reason for rise in the number of school dropouts in six western districts of the State, especially Salem. Dropout among girls, it is found out, has led to the high rate of child marriages. A shocking 13 per cent of children, majority of them Dalits, have become victims of classroom discrimination, thus forcing them to drop out at the elementary or middle school levels. A

study carried out in 30 villages in Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Krishnagiri, Namakkal and Dharmapuri claims there was 53 per cent of children dropouts at the primary level and 39 per cent at the high school level. Eighty-four per cent of the dropouts become child labourers, majority of them being Dalit children. The disturbing statistics were placed before a panel of jurists at a public hearing, organised by Salem Peoples Trust and Samakalvi Iyakkam and supported by Child Rights and You (CRY), here on Monday. Girls who drop out end up as labourers in mills, brick kilns, fields, poultry etc. Seven percent of girls who dropout at 10{+t}{+h}and 11{+t}{+h}standards are married off immediately. The panellists urged the State to declare the entire western zone as a Critical Child Right Violation Zone so that a concerted and coordinated effort by all could be initiated to address the myriad issues. We need to galvanise the Education Department to ensure committed implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act that would prevent even a single child from dropping out, said Henry Tiphagne, Tamil Nadu State representative of National Commission for Protection for Child Rights, who shared the podium with G Kalavathi, Sub Judge cum Secretary, Salem District Legal Authority Services, P. Krishnamoorthy (CRY) and A Xavier, Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee. A few dropouts, who deposed before the jurists, alleged that they faced castebased discrimination in classrooms. S. Bhavani of Vellalakundam in Ayothiapattinam block in Salem, an Arunthathiyar girl, and a 7{+t}{+h}class dropout, said she had to leave school since teachers and classmates teased her on caste lines. Verbal abuse with caste connotations is very common for us in schools in Salem, she said. M. Aravndhan of Kuppanoor and M. Dhavamani of Kullampatti, also of Salem, were among a few who shared similar experiences. 6{+t}{+h}standard dropout Nandini of Vallipuram in Namakkal district was working in a mill under Sumangali scheme. Non-availability of middle and high schools in the neighbourhood, poverty, family debt, lack of transport and bus passes and migration were the other significant factors that contributed to a sharp increase in dropouts. The panel demanded the district administration to check caste-based discrimination in schools. The officials must admit dropouts in regular schools and not in SMILE schools. They asked the Chief Educational Officer R Eswaran to expedite the construction of school buildings for Government High School at Karipatti in Salem district and the upgrade elementary school to middle level at Eripudur. They wanted the State to appoint an independent body to monitor child rights violations. M. Jayam, Director, Salem People Trust, presided. Nearly 500 people including officials, social activists, parents and children took part in the daylong child right initiative. (The Hindu 22/1/13) 50 child labourers rescued (14) Bangalore: Ten-year-old Sunil Kumar (name changed) should have been in school and leading a carefree life like other children his age. Instead he helps his seth in making gunny bags by cutting thread and other materials in a small room behind K.R Market. Sunil says he has been helping his seth ever since he was brought to the city two months ago from his hometown in Nepal. I was brought in a bus from Chainpura to Patna and after that we came here. I work from morning and until midnight sometimes. I get to speak once a week to my parents who are also manual labourers in Nepal, he says. He seems to be unperturbed by the fact that he has been working as a child labourer. He was promised Rs. 2,500 per month, of which Rs. 1,000 would be cut for his food. Sunil is one of 50 such child labourers rescued in Jolli Mohalla behind K.R Market after a two-hour raid in the area on Tuesday afternoon. As members of the rescue team explained, the process of the operation, four-year-old Asha (name changed), a native of Bihar and the only girl child among the 50, generously offered to share her coffee with this reporter. The rescue team comprised officials of Department of Labour, Revenue Department, Women and Child Welfare Department and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a voluntary organisation working for child welfare under the supervision of Bangalore District (Urban) Deputy Commissioner G.C. Prakash. Mr. Prakash said that most of the children were aged between 5 and 15 years and hailed from Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Punjab. Many were put to work from morning till midnight or even later, making of gunny bags and incense sticks. The children willingly came with us when we introduced ourselves to them. We expected to rescue more but some ran away and escaped. The owners too were missing and when we went to

their family members refused to say where they were. Bachpan Bachao Andolan member Rizwan Ali said the team found at least 10 children housed in small rooms. They are promised money but it never reaches their hands. The children will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee and shifted to short stay homes or welfare homes, he said. Another team member, Fancy Anita, said they have sought the help of the police to track down the owners of these small enterprises using child labour. They will be booked under Juvenile Justice Act, Child Labour Act and even for trafficking as many of these children are migrants. (The Hindu 24/1/13) Child labour: HC summons senior cop, government official (14) NEW DELHI: Annoyed with the failure of authorities to curb child labour and bring in a law to regulate placement agencies in the city, the Delhi high court on Thursday summoned joint commissioner of police and the labour commissioner of the Delhi government. A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain expressed displeasure at the authorities for not filing the status report and continuous failure to implement its order on elimination of child labour. The court pointed out that it has been nearly two years since it directed the government to amend the law to ensure placement agencies are regulated but the government is yet to bring in a new Act. HC directed that the joint commissioner of police concerned with child labour and commissioner of labour department should be present along with the status report on March 6, the next date of hearing. An NGO, Save the Child Foundation, had filed a plea through senior advocate H S Phoolka alleging "lackadaisical approach" of the authorities while implement the high court order to eliminate child labour or to regulate placement agencies. While one petition highlighted failure of the government to prevent child labour another blamed it for not registering all placement agencies operating in the capital to prevent alleged trafficking of women and minors. Pointing to the case of juvenile accused in the Nirbhaya case, Phoolka argued that the juvenile was also a child labour and had the government implemented HC directions the tragedy could have been averted. He further added that the juvenile allegedly involved in the case has been a victim of child labour for the past 11 years and failure to comply with the directions have resulted in child labourers growing up as antisocial elements. The court had earlier questioned why its directions regarding implementing the action plan of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and other government departments were not carried out. The PIL alleged that the government agencies do not have any plausible reason for not implementing the July 15, 2007 directions of the high court by which 500 child labourers should be rescued every month keeping in mind the capacity of children homes. In its judgment, HC had accepted an action plan for elimination of child labour in the capital by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and other government departments and had issued directions in the case. Had the Delhi government complied with the order, over 18,000 victims would have been saved till now. However, only 3,500 children have been rescued in Delhi since July 15, 2007, the plea claimed. The petition sought court's direction to the government and police for rescuing and rehabilitating child labourers. The court had also directed the government to file a status report on the actions taken by it to check child labour. (Times of India 25/1/13) Labour department works hard to crack down on child labour (14) MANGALORE: Department of labour will appoint 'MakalaMitra' at each gram panchayat level and train them to create awareness on the evils of child labour, said labour commissioner D J Nagaraj here on Wednesday. The department of labour is carrying out adequate awareness programmes on child labour eradication, detecting cases and imposing fines on those violating norms. However, cases of child labour are recurring again, he pointed. Addressing district child labour project society meeting, Nagaraj said the department is in receipt of information about occupants of apartments using child labour. The department will carry out house to house raid to detect such cases, he said, adding owners of such units who are found using child labour will be fined Rs 20,000 on the spot. The department has detected 17 such cases from 2010 to 2012 and take action against the employers, he said. The department has also sought

permission of the deputy commissioner, who is also the district magistrate to empower inspectors of labour department to raid apartments in order to keep tabs on child labour cases there, he said. The department has stepped up awareness drive among the masses against the practice of child labour, Srinivas, project officer, DK Zilla Panchayat said adding awareness drive will be carried out in all taluks by March 31. (Times of India 30/1/13)

84 child labourers rescued since 2010 in district (14) Patiala: The district administration has rescued 84 children below 14 years of age since 2010, who were doing menial jobs, and issued 134 challans in this regard for violation of Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act-1986. Deputy commissioner GK Singh conducted a meeting of officials of different departments and urged them to implement the provisions of the Act strictly. The DC said that strict action would be taken against those who employ children as labour. He said that they would continue raids at hotels, dabhas, vendors, workshops and business places to check this menace. He urged all departments to cooperate in eradicating child labour. He also urged residents to cooperate with the administration by not employing children below 14 years of age as domestic help. (Hindustan Times 1/2/13) Dreams are not dead yet for Hazaribag child labourers (14) HAZARIBAG: Child labourers, who were rehabilitated by the labour department under the Bal Shramik Pariyojana have received scholarships through direct cash transfer scheme from a bank here for the first time on Saturday. Deputy commissioner Manish Ranjan, who launched this direct cash transfer to the beneficiaries' accounts, said it was a big achievement for Hazaribag. "The scholarships will reach the child labourers who are rehabilitated in 16 centres run by the government in different parts of the district. Altogether 947 will be benefited." The child labourers, the DC said, were rescued from various hotels and houses where they were engaged in domestic work on nominal pay. "These children belonging to the age group of 8 to 15 years were released and rehabilitated in the above centres where they are receiving education, food and vocational training. With the successful launch of the direct cash transfer, more scholarships will be directly transferred to their accounts soon for which final touches are being given." (Times of India 3/2/13) SC pulls up Centre for not filing status report on missing children issue (14) New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday pulled up the Centre and several state governments for their failure to file a status report on the issue of missing children. Nobody seems to be concerned about the missing children. This is the irony, the bench headed by chief justice Altamas Kabir said after advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan informed the SC that hundreds of children go missing every day. The NGO, in its PIL, alleged that 1,17,480 children had gone missing in the country between January 2008 and January 2010. Many of these were kidnapped for trafficking in flesh trade and child labour. Of these, 41,546 were yet to be traced. The bench gave one last opportunity to the Centre and states which had not filed their affidavits on the issue. It posted the matter for further hearing on February 19. The SC also came down heavily on the chief secretaries of Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for their failure to comply with its order to be present before it on Tuesday. Of the five states whose chief secretaries were asked to appear, only those of Goa and Orissa were present. Why are the others not present? Shall we issue a non-bailable warrant? They are playing the fool with the court, the bench said. The SC said there were two counsels for the Centre, including the additional solicitor general, but there seemed to be no coordination. The left hand does not know what is there in the right hand, the SC said. You are the biggest defaulters. (DNA 6/2/13) Child sex victims 'mistreated, humiliated' in India: Report (14)

NEW DELHI: Child victims of sex assaults in India often find themselves humiliated by the police and mistreated by doctors when they pluck up the courage to report abuse, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. In a report released amid continuing anger at the handling of sex cases in the wake of a deadly gang-rape in Delhi, the rights watchdog said the authorities had to become more sensitive towards victims. "Children who bravely complain of sexual abuse are often dismissed or ignored by the police, medical staff and other authorities," said HRW's regional director Meenakashi Ganguly at the unveiling of the report. "Instead, they subject the victim to mistreatment and humiliation." The report details how children are sometimes forced to undergo a so-called 'finger test' to determine their sexual history, even though forensic experts say the examination has no scientific value. It also quotes the mother of a threeyear-old girl who was left in severe pain after being seen by doctors examining her alleged assault. "For six to eight hours after the examination my daughter did not urinate because it was hurting her so much," the mother, who cannot be named, was quoted as saying in the report. Ganguly said it was this sort of "mistreatment" that needed to be addressed and called for an urgent overhaul of the criminal justice system. Many of the criticisms contained in the report echo those voiced by protestors in the aftermath of the December 16 gang-rape that triggered demonstrations across the country and deep soul-searching about the handling of sex attacks. The number of reports of sexual assault in India, whether attacks on children or adults, are believed to represent only a fraction of the overall number, with victims often too scared to file complaints. "It is hard enough for a sexually abused child or their relatives to come forward and seek help, but instead of handling cases with sensitivity Indian authorities often demean and retraumatize them," Ganguly told reporters. "The failure to implement needed police reforms to be more sensitive and supportive to victims has made police stations places to be dreaded." The 82-page report entitled "Breaking the Silence", contains more than 100 interviews on the experience of dealing with government institutions. Child sexual abuse is common in homes, schools and residential care facilities across India and critics say the authorities have a poor record in bringing offenders to justice. The most high-profile verdict saw two British men jailed for six years in 2011 for abusing several boys at a shelter they ran in Mumbai -- 10 years after charges were first filed. Last year, the government enacted the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act which sets out punishments for all forms of sex abuse as well as guidelines for police and courts to deal with victims. "It is a very good initiative from the government," Ganguly said. "But government efforts to tackle the problem will fail unless protection mechanisms are properly implemented and the justice system is reformed to ensure abuse is reported and fully prosecuted." (Times of India 7/2/12) Supreme Court scanner on laws protecting children (14) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to take stock of implementation of child welfare legislations Right to Free and Compulsory Education, Protection of Children from Sexual Assault Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act - and asked all states to file status reports. The directive from a bench of Justices S S Nijjar and M Y Eqbal came in a case relating to a suo motu decision taken by the court to examine steps taken to stop exploitation of children. Additional solicitor general Indira Jaising informed the court that several states were lagging in implementing the central legislations aimed to ameliorate the plight of children. She said every state must focus on implementing the Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009, Protection of Children from Sexual Assault Act 2012 and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000. The court examined her suggestions and heard submissions made by the amicus curiae Aparna Bhatt to direct all states to submit within four weeks "steps taken under the RTE Act and measures undertaken to eradicate trafficking in children under the 2012 Act".The court asked the states to list the number of special courts set up to try cases of sexual assault against children. "In case the courts are set up, the states will indicate the number of such courts established. If not, they will indicate the time period by which such courts shall be established," it said. The court also sought information on the status and number of juvenile homes set up under the JJ Act. "The report (by states) will indicate the capacity of the rehabilitation homes set up for both boys and girls and also their hygiene conditions." The

amicus said in many cases, either the homes had not been set up or they lacked basic amenities. (Times of India 8/2/13)

Shocking figures of child labour discovered at Bhilwara brick kilns (14) JAIPUR: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has detected large-scale child labour at brick kilns in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan and expressed surprise over the district administrations indifference to the issue. Of the 300 brick kilns functioning in Bhilwara, only 45 are registered with the district administration. NCPCR member and Working Committee on Child Labour in Mines chairman Yogesh Dube visited Bhilwara this past Wednesday and Thursday for investigation ofchild labour following reports received from some non-government organisations. On returning here from Bhilwara he said he had found shocking figures of children working at brick kilns during the current period of production. Hundreds of children belonging to families of migrant labourers at the brick kilns were involved in the work along with the elders. Most of these labourers come to Bhilwara during the work season from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and a large number of them are tribals. Dr. Dube said several brick kilns were functioning on agricultural land and also causing air pollution. There is no arrangement for registration of labourers hired by contractors, nor is there any provision of social security for thousands of workers. There are no rules governing inter-State migration of the work force. Dr. Dube held a meeting with Prayas Centre for Labour Research & Action and other nongovernment organisations working for children in distress, and later met Bhilwara Collector Onkar Singh and other officers of departments such as Labour, Police, Women and Child Development, Health, Home, Education and Tribal Development to discuss the action for eradication of child labour. Preliminary estimates reveal that nearly 4,300 children are working as labourers in the brick kiln industry in Bhilwara. Dr. Dube has asked the district administration to submit a report on the issue to NCPCR within 14 days and instructed the Labour Department to take urgent action and conduct raids to rescue child labourers. In his meeting with the officers, Dr. Dube suggested construction of a hospital for migrants, cluster schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and hostels for children of pastoral communities to ensure rehabilitation of rescued child labourers. The Labour Department must carry out a fresh mapping of child labour and take stringent action to stop violation of laws, he said. Besides, action should be taken to strengthen primary health centres, Anganwadi centres, Child Welfare Committees and Integrated Child Development Scheme, while the closed schools under the National Child Labour Project must be reopened, said Dr. Dube. Children should also be provided with vaccination and pulse polio drug facilities. He noted that a child labour survey launched by the State, during which 188 inspections were carried out in a year, had found only 30 to 35 child labourers. This was eyewash. The survey only revealed the negligence of government authorities towards their responsibility, he said. NCPCR has given Rajasthan two months for framing a comprehensive training manual for a child labour-free State and asked it to organise workshops to generate awareness at the district level. It has also asked the State to formulate an action plan for complete abolition of child labour and implementation of the right to education for every child. Dr. Dube met State Additional Labour Commissioner Anjana Dikshit and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Deepak Kalra to discuss measures for improving the child labour scenario. NCPCR Working Committee on Child Labour in Mines member and Lok Samvad Sansthan secretary Kalyan Singh Kothari also met Dr. Dube. (The Hindu 10/2/13) Prosecution of child labour offenders must (14) VISAKHAPATNAM: Prosecution of those engaging child labour is a must for the officials conducting raids against child labour, Commissioner of Labour B.V. Ramanjaneyulu said while addressing officers and members of the District Level Coordination Committee here on Saturday. Later Collector V. Seshadri flagged off six vehicles containing squads of officials formed to detect and prosecute offenders of child labour. Officers must serve notice on the offenders imposing a fine of Rs. 20,000 and first take the child

away from the work spot , Mr. Ramanjaneyulu said. Joint Commissioner of Labour S. Lakshminarayana, Deputy Commissioners from north coastal Andhra districts T. Venkataratnam, M. Ramesh and M. Ananda Rao and others officials were present. Mr. Seshadri while describing the programme as a noble one, said it was the duty of every one to make sure that every child in the 5-14 years age group attended school, and consider this as a social responsibility. (The Hindu 17/2/13) Ensure childrens involvement in decision-making process (14) Bhubaneswar: With an aim to involve children in decision-making process and in child rights governance, the Save the Children along with its partner organisations hosted a State-level children interface with duty-bearers here on Saturday. Though the State Government has proactively developed some childfriendly mechanism to include children in various committees such as School Management Committee (SMC) and Village Child Protection Committee (VCPC) under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), the participation of children in the decision-making process affecting their lives is not fully ensured. So, sustained efforts are needed to explore all the possibilities to involve children in decisionmaking process and in child rights governance, said Save the Children State programme manager Sasanka Padhi. State Commissioner for Persons with Disability Kasturi Mohapatra urged all the stakeholders like NGOs, Government officials and common people to ensure a healthy atmosphere for children in general and the differently-abled children in particular. Nilagiri MLA Pratap Sarangi also laid emphasis on widespread awareness on child rights. Around 60 children from the district-level children alliances from 10 districts participated and interacted with different duty-bearers to understand the role and responsibility of the duty-bearers as well as to understand how children can be effective in the functioning of these institutions, thus ensuring child participation towards realisation of child rights. (Pioneer 17/2/13) Jharkhand 3rd among states in child development (14) Jharkhand: Jharkhand has ranked third among all states in implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and delivery of services and monitoring. Mridula Sinha, principal secretary, state social welfare department, said the most important part of the whole process was monitoring the 40,000 anganwadi centres. Progress was reviewed during frequent visits to the centres or sometimes on telephone. "Focus was given more on weaker centres," said Sinha. The ranking was done by the Central Monitoring Unit of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Development (NIPPCCD) under the ministry of women and child development for 2012. The evaluation was made on the basis of 30 indicators in six areas - infrastructure, training, staff profile, service delivery, monitoring and community mobilization. Infrastructure included percentage of anganwadis with pucca building, drinking water and toilet facilities and cooking space. Training included number of groomed anganwadi sevikas, supervisors and community development project officers (CDPOs). Profile of staff referred to average qualification of anganwadi workers and the number of posts filled. An important part of the evaluation was service delivery that referred to the percentage of anganwadi sevikas distributing supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, percentage of children having pre-school education, number of adolescent girls being given iron folic acid tablets and who received counselling, percentage of pregnant women immunized. and received anti natal heck up etc Monitoring indicators included CDPOs visiting anganwadi centres and percentage of ICDS projects involving panchayati raj institutions. Though the state ranked third in service delivery and monitoring, its performance was not impressive in infrastructure where it ranked 11th and community mobilization (22nd). "The emphasis now is on building infrastructure for which (the assistance of) 13th Finance Commission, the ministry of social welfare and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Fund (NREGA) will be taken to construct building for the anganwadi," said Sinha. Apart from these we tried training of many supervisors and the anganwadi workers for early childhood learning .

"The panchayati raj institution members need to be involved and in the next series we have decided to train them. We are also training anganwadi workers for early childhood learning. But more needs to be done," she said. Job Zachariah, Unicef's state head, said the achievement is praiseworthy but more remains to be achieved. "If we see the ranking of other states, they are lagging behind from us, like Bihar which was ranked 22nd and Uttar Pradesh (19th) and many other states in North India," If the total points compared between Kerela and Jharkhand there is not much difference as Kerela got 0.78 points and our state got 0.76 points,"he said. Unicef has provided technical support and helped in capacity building like training anganwadi workers, CDPOs and supervisors. (Times of India 18/2/13) 22 child labourers rescued (14) NUZVID (KRISHNA DIST.): The Child Labour Prevention Squads raided several places in the district on Tuesday and rescued 22 children. On a tip-off, officials of the Labour Department and the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) rescued the children. Of them, two were engaged for domestic work, which comes under hazardous category. As part of the ongoing special drive to check child labour, five squads were conducting raids on hotels, restaurants, shops, mechanic sheds, factories, industries, and houses in Krishna district. The team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Labour K. Vijay Bhaskar Reddy raided a house in Nuzvid town and rescued a 12-year-old girl, who was engaged as domestic servant, said Krishna District Deputy Commissioner of Labour (DCL) S.Y. Srinivas. The girl, a native of Eluru, was found working in Y. Nagendra Babus house and was paid Rs.12,000 per year. Her mother died and father was a rickshaw puller. In another case, the officials and NGOs rescued a 12-year-old boy engaged in a bar and restaurant at Gannavaram village. The victim was a native of Mudirajupalem village in Krishna district. The restaurant owner was paying Rs.2,000 per month to the boy, said the DCL. The two children engaged under hazardous conditions were produced before Child Welfare Committee, which referred them to homes for rehabilitation. Cases would be booked against the owners under Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986, in hazardous cases and under A.P. Shops and Establishment Act of 1988, and Minimum Wages Act, 1948, in other 20 cases, said Mr. Srinivas. (The Hindu 20/2/13)

27 child workers rescued from hotels, factories (14) Bangalore: As many as 27 child labourers, including six girls, working in various hotels and factories were rescued on Saturday, in a joint operation conducted by Bachpan Bachao, an NGO and the deputy commissioner of Bangalore Urban. The children aged between 15 and 20, were appointed by an agarbathi factory, rubber company and a hotel in Preethinagar slum near Laggere in the City. Based on a complaint by the NGO, the Urban DC raided an agarbathi factory and rescued about 15 children, four of whom were girls. They were brought from various parts of the country and also from neighbouring country of Nepal. Five of the rescued children were from Odisha, while ten were from Jharkhand. The children were brought to the office of the Urban DC before being produced before the child welfare committee (CWC). Some of them denied being forcibly made to work and said that they approached the employers on their own. We went to the owner of the Shakti Rubber Factory at Preethinagar, requested him for work and there was no harassment at the workplace, said a rescued boy from Mandya. A boy brought from Nepal said he was paid Rs 6,000 a month to make agarbathis. Another boy said he was brought from Odisha and was being paid Rs 5,000 per month. He said he had been working in the factory for the past one month. Both the boys claimed that they were aged 20. Two of the six girls said they were students and do not work. However, Vani of the Bachpan Bachao clarified that the two girls used to work as part time helpers at the factory. On the age claim of the boys, she said that the doctors who examined the boys had stated that only one boy among those rescued was above 18 years, and the rest were below 15 years of age. The boys were later sent to CWC for counselling. (Deccan Herald 24/2/13) UN urges elimination of child labour in livestock sector (14)

New York, Feb 26 : Governments, farmer organizations and rural families must all be involved to eliminate child labour in the livestock sector, which is a widespread and largely ignored practice, according to a United Nations report released Monday. The report, Children's work in the livestock sector: Herding and beyond, found that agriculture accounts for most of the reported child labour in the world, with livestock accounting for some 40 per cent of the agricultural economy. While there have been global efforts to tackle child labour in agriculture, the report, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), argues that the livestock sector has received much less attention. In some parts of the world, children start herding at a young age, ranging from five to seven years old. "Reducing child labour in agriculture is not only an issue of human rights, it is also part of the quest for truly sustainable rural development and food security," said the Assistant Director-General in charge of FAO's Economic and Social Development Department, Jomo Sundaram. "Child labour strikes at the heart of decent employment opportunities for young people, especially when it interferes with their formal schooling." The report notes that livestock is at least a partial source of income to 800 million rural poor who live on less than USD1 a day, and stresses the importance of being able to find alternatives to child labour without negatively affecting the livelihoods of these people. "The growing importance of livestock in agriculture means that efforts to reduce child labour will need to focus more on the factors that lead to harmful or hazardous work for children in that sector, while respecting and protecting the livelihoods of poor rural families," Sundaram said. The report also makes a series of recommendations for governments and their development partners to tackle the issue such as implementing national policies to improve people's livelihoods and increasing educational options for rural families; establishing a direct dialogue between employers and workers, and developing programmes to improve access to school and attendance in rural areas, and which monitor child labour. "In tackling child labour in pastoralist communities, you need to engage in a dialogue to find solutions that are suitable for their specific socio-cultural situations, and which are built on the support of pastoralist leaders, parents, employers and children," said Rob Vos, the Director of the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. "This would allow 'education with identity' and give children better employment prospects, within and beyond the livestock sector." The findings of the report are expected to inform the 3rd Global Conference on Child Labour, which will be held in Brazil in October. (New Kerala 26/2/13) No plan to reduce age of juveniles: Tirath (14) New Delhi: The government has no plan to reduce the age of juveniles under the Juvenile Justice Act, women and child development minister Krishna Tirath informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Replying to a question on suggestions for amending the Act, she said, "We are not yet ready to reduce the age of juveniles." She said in a meeting held by the ministry of home affairs with chief secretaries of state governments and directors general of police on January 4, a suggestion was made regarding lowering of age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 in the wake of the Delhi gang-rape case in which a juvenile is an accused. "However, the committee on amendments to criminal law under the chairmanship of Justice J S Verma (retd), in its recommendations submitted on 23.1.2013, has not supported the suggestion regarding reduction of the age of the child in conflict with law. "Accordingly, the ministry of women and child development is not considering any amendment to lower the age of children in conflict with law under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000," she said. To a supplementary by Jai Prakash Narayan Singh (BJP) on how much time will it take to include other suggestions on the issue, the minister said, "These suggestions are under consideration of the ministry." She said those juveniles who have committed serious crimes are put in different juvenile homes and are kept there for three years, where training is given to them to help make them good citizens. "We want to keep children close to our hearts and help them become good citizens," Tirath said. In reply to another supplementary by Avtar Singh Karimpuri (BSP), she said, "The smaller amendments proposed are being considered and if need be amendments will be made in the Act after consultations. It will take some more time." (Hindustan Times 27/2/13)

Rescued child workers produced before welfare panel (14) VIJAYAWADA: The Labour Department and the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) authorities produced 15 child labourers rescued by them before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) here on Tuesday. The children, including some rag-pickers, were rescued from garages, welding shops, shops, factories, and hotels, said NCLP in-charge Project Director D. Anjaneya Reddy. As part of the ongoing special drive to prevent child labour, the officials, along with some NGOs, conducted raids in Kankipadu, Gudivada, Gannavaram, Jaggaiahpet, and other areas in Krishna district and rescued the children. The CWC, the NCLP, the Labour Department, and the NGO representatives summoned the parents of the rescued children. They explained the parents and the guardians the need to educate children and the consequences if they engaged their wards in work. Later, the CWC members referred the victims to various homes for rehabilitation. (The Hindu 28/2/13) Food for thought: Every 2nd child in UP is undernourished (14) Lucknow: If you see two children playing near your house, then in all probability, one of them will be undernourished! Every sixth undernourished child in India lives in UP (around 10 million), every second child in UP is undernourished while only one in 14 newborns is breast fed within one hour of birth in the state, reveal statistics. Collectively, these facts are responsible for a high underfive mortality, which, in UP is 94/1,000 as per the Annual Health Survey (AHS). The state ranks 29th in terms of Vitamin A supplement dose being given to children in the age group of 12-23 months, states the infant survival and development report card prepared by the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India. You would find that UP also ranks 29th only when it comes to administration of ORS to children with diarrhoea, one of the leading causes of childhood deaths, said Dr Neelam Singh of Vatsalya. Experts say development of a child till the age of 5 years determines how he or she would perform in the rest of their lives. Undernutrition during the first two years impairs both intelligence and strength. Child malnutrition occurs entirely during the first two years and is virtually irreversible after that, added Dr Singh. Optimal feeding practices during the first year of life are critical to ensure optimal health among young children. According to the WHO, 60% of all deaths under the age of 5 are related to malnutrition. Inappropriate feeding practices are related to two-thirds of all under-five deaths, and majority kids in UP unfortunately do not get proper feeding. (Hindustan Times 1/3/2013) ILO joins hands with SRISTI to eliminate child labour (14) AHMEDABAD: SRISTI, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization ( ILO) are working towards the elimination of child labour in the country. The Ahmedabad-based NGO has floated a competition, inviting ideas for alternative technologies employing child labour in construction, textile, hand loom, manufacturing, sanitation, street vending and tea dhabas. The project, which will focus on generating technological alternatives, will blend technological, institutional and cultural changes, thus bringing more children to schools. The key goals of the initiative are to find technological innovations which reduce and then eliminate the demand for labour in manual, high drudgery involving labour in general and child labour in particular. The initiative will focus on finding innovations that reduce the 'repetitive manual labour', improve productivity and thus eliminate demand for child labour. "Child labour is ethically and legally wrong across sectors. We need improved technologies for manual labour to eliminate need for child labour. The ideas generated through this competition will be used to develop technology to reduce labour," said Ramesh Patel, secretary, SRISTI. To participate in the competition, each person can submit any number of ideas with or without sketches, photos, drawing and videos to provide specific technological means to eliminate child labour, improve productivity of the adult manual labour so that children are not required, eliminate those tasks where child labour supposedly has been found to have a technological advantage and develop technologies improving income of the manual labour so that they can afford to withdraw children from work and put them in school. "In those activities in

which child labour is found advantageous not on exploitative ground but also on the ground of their supple fingers, the need for urgent development of technological alternatives is even higher such as carpet, cotton seed development, and other similar handloom or other technologies," said Patel. Besides students and participants from all streams, SRISTI plans to involve engineering students to offer technical solutions to the problems. In the cases, where ideas are patentable, the patent may be filed in a defensive manner to prevent others from monopolizing the idea but to keep the ideas in public domain. (Times of India 2/3/13) For 4 days, 21 police teams couldnt trace kids (14) New Delhi: Twenty-one teams were constituted by police to trace the children who were kidnapped from outside their school on Tuesday afternoon. Despite searching for four days, during which the teams kept a close watch on the children's family shadowing them to the places where the kidnappers asked them to come with the ransom amount police were unable to rescue the children or apprehend the kidnappers. The kidnappers in turn seemed to have kept a close watch on police, tracking each and every movement. Police were quick to defend their action, saying the children's safety was their priority and, hence, they were being "cautious" while investigating the case. The calls from the kidnappers were traced to public call booths, all in a 1.5-km radius of the children's residence. On Wednesday, a day after the children were abducted, their father Manoj Kumar was asked to come to Sarai Kale Khan with the ransom. Police teams were shadowing Manoj in plainclothes. Police teams watched as two men walk past Manoj, briefly told him to go to Kalkaji with the money and walked ahead. Yet, they could not nab the culprits. At no point during investigations were police close to finding either the children or the culprits, police sources said. School authorities too are being questioned as to how they could let the children go with an unidentified man and not inform their parents. A week ago, an unidentified man had gone to fetch the children, posing as their guardian. (Indian Express 3/3/13) Tribal women seek action against child abuser teacher (14) Phulbani: Protesting the alleged abuse of children by a teacher, Pratap Kumar Sahu, of the TW Ashram Upper Primary School at Pasara under Chakapada block in Kandhamal district, tribal women bodies led by Ghumusar Mahila Sangh president Keshamati Pradhan on Wednesday demanded action against the abuser. Pradhan said girls in residential primary schools are exploited by teachers and employees. Citing example of the agitation of the Ghumusar Mahila Sangh against child abuse and protection of child rights, she said the State Government didnt take any exemplary steps to punish the child abuser of Gunjibadi School under Nuagaon block though the Sangh had lodged a case against the culprit. Women leaders Sumabati Pradhan, Hirabati Pradhan, Bimala Mallick and Suchitra Nayak demanded proper monitoring of food, health, protection of school children and other facilities in the Government and private schools in the district. If the district administration does not take proper and immediate action against the teacher (Sahu), people from all walks of life including women organisations of the district, panchayat organisation, Mission Shakti, Child Welfare Committee, lawyers and mediapersons would take the issue into the streets, said Keshamati Pradhan. (Pioneer 7/3/13) UNICEF praises Rajasthan Govt. efforts for child welfare (14) JAIPUR: UNICEF Country Representative in India Louis Georges Arsenault on Friday praised the announcement made in the 2013-14 Rajasthan Budget for establishment of a Child Directorate, saying this would improve the reach and quality of services for children, especially the girls, and help address the needs of children in a focused manner. Mr. Arsenault, who was on a two-day visit to Rajasthan, noted that it was the first State in the country to adopt a policy dedicated to the girl child taking care of her survival, growth, development and empowerment. With the Budget more focused on children, the State Government could maximise results through better quality of services and strong monitoring mechanisms. Mr. Arsenault met State Chief Secretary C. K. Mathew and senior Government officers here and

discussed with them the progress on Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojana, girl child policy and the age bar for child labour from 14 years to 18 years. He said these steps would improve the highly skewed child sex ratio - 883 girls per 1,000 males - in the State and ensure complete abolition of child labour. Capitalising on these gains, the State Government could adopt an equity focused approach in order to improve results and reduce disparities through optimisation of resources, he suggested. UNICEEF is encouraged by the Rajasthan Government's commitment to children, depicted in [its] efforts to improve quality of education, campaigns to eliminate child marriages and child labour and the drive for clean and hygienic environment, Mr. Arsenault said while interacting with journalists at the end of his visit. The UNICEF Country Representative noted that there were still several pockets, especially in southern and western parts of the State, where children continue to be deprived of their rights and entitlements. Twenty-eight per cent children in the State were still malnourished and the number of those suffering from severe acute malnourishment (SAM) was 6.70 lakh. Mr. Arsenault, who visited Duni village panchayat in Tonk district on Thursday, was impressed with the model of inclusive development operative in the village with the social development indicators depicting an encouraging trend, child sex ratio registering a marked improvement and the panchayat having mobilised resources worth Rs 6.74 lakh on its own last year. He said he had found a robust people's voice, transparency in governance and accountability of elected representatives at Duni, which had brought about a significant improvement in delivery and access to quality services. Decentralising governance and empowering panchayats is an effective tool for bringing about this change, he observed. Duni village panchayat has benefited immensely from the State Government's decision for decentralisation of power through the devolution of five key departments health, education, ICDS, social justice and agriculture - to panchayats on October 2, 2010. UNICEF has joined the Government's initiative and helped out the villagers in meeting new challenges of the process of devolution. Mr. Arsenault also praised the village's achievement of child sex ratio in favour of girls after meeting the Sarpanch, Ramkishan Fauji. Duni is stated to be the only village panchayat in Rajasthan having more number of girls than boys. . (The Hindu 9/3/13)

Nearly 50 kids rescued from illegal children's home (14) JAIPUR: Nearly 50 children, who were kept in two illegal children's home here for months with little food amid pathetic living conditions, have been rescued by a team of Rajasthan Commission for Protection of Child Rights, police said today. On a tip off from Delhi, the team led by the Commission Chairperson Deepak Kalra raided a home in Mansarover area last night where 27 girls and two boys, aged between 5 and 17, were found. They were lodged in an illegal children's home run by one Jacob John. The children are from various states like Punjab, Manipur, Nagaland, Jharkhand and were in the house for several months. Empty liquor bottles, stale food and fungus covered vegetables were found in the home, police said. "The children's home was running without permission.The children lived in a poor state and they were given stale food. They did not have proper food for the last few days and were hungry," the police said. Another such child home was also raided and 20 boys rescued in Jawahar Nagar locality, they said. The children were brought here on the pretext of providing them education were never sent to school and not allowed to go out of the home. Jacob has been arrested for illegal confinement of kids and he is being quizzed, they said. (Times of India 13/3/13) Special drive on to rescue child labourers (14) VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Commissioner of Labour Department S.Y. Srinivas on Wednesday said cases booked against people employing child labourers were being disposed of expeditiously through open court hearing of the cases. Pointing to child labourers rescued in raids conducted by the department personnel as part of a special anti-child labour drive in force from February 16, he said as many as 408 child labourers had been rescued and cases were booked against their employers. The rescued children and their employers were produced in an open court conducted at Swaraj Maidan. Mr. Srinivas said

under the drive, special teams constituted to identify and rescue young children languishing in factories, shops, commercial establishment and households, had fanned out into the city and intensified raids. In the current year, over 500 cases were booked against employers of child labour in the district. Besides, 408 cases were booked under this special drive alone. Open courts were being conducted on every Wednesday at Vijayawada, Machilipatnam and Gudivada and a total 128 cases had been registered so far. Of them, 98 cases had been solved and a penalty of Rs. 3,20,000 had been collected from employers and it was converted into fixed deposits in banks in the name of the respective child, he said. Mr. Srinivas said the rescued children were sent to rehabilitation centres run by the Government. He said the government had been making all-out efforts to raise awareness on the menace of child labour in order to achieve a child labour-free society. He said it was unfortunate that the wealthier section of society was indifferent to the problem. Taking undue advantage of the poor financial condition of the parents, these employers absorbed young children into work, flouting the rule book. D. Anjaneya Reddy, P. Srinivas and C.H.V. Suryanarayana, Assistant Labour Commissioners of Vijayawada, Machilipatnam and Gudivada respectively, National Child Labour Programme (NCLP) supervisors K. Prasunamba and A. Paul Raj and officials of the Labour Department G.V. Subbarao, B. Muniswamy, S.R. Kumar, and G. S. Naik were present. (The Hindu 14/3/13) Child bride flees in-laws to attend school (14) MALDA: Sima Roy's (name changed) determination to continue with her studies was rewarded with regular thrashings by her in-laws. However, she didn't give up and came over to her parents' house. But even they weren't encouraging. So the 14-year-old fled home on Monday and was lucky to be rescued by police. Police said the teen was married off in January with the groom decided for her elder sister after the latter fled home. Though the Class-VII student protested strongly, her parents convinced her saying that finances were giving them a hard time and marriage would bless her with a better life. Sima is the third among five sisters. But life at her in-laws' home in Bansihari was sheer torment. They openly expressed displeasure at her decision to study further but when she didn't yield, they allegedly took to beating her up almost regularly. When Sima informed her mother of the torture, the latter at once brought her back home. Police said that Sima was staying with her parents for over a fortnight, but it was on Tuesday she got to know that they were planning to send her back to her husband. She at once left home and reached Gazole by foot. It was there that she asked for some money from a trader so that she could travel to Malda. The trader grew suspicious and immediately informed police. "We did inform her family but nobody came to take her back," said police sources. The girl has been put under the care of the child welfare committee. CWC member Subhamoy Basu said, "We salute the courage of the girl. We took her into our custody and have kept her at a welfare home. Sima's wish to continue with her studies will be honoured and We have already talked with a Gazole school where she will be enrolled. Vice-chairperson of the state women's commission, Sehnaj Quadrey, too, lauded the girl's courage. (Times of India 14/3/13) 2,071 child rape cases registered in State in 3 yrs (14) BHUBANESWAR : At least 115 child rape cases have been registered in the 59 days of the months of January and February this year in the State, the Assembly was informed on Thursday. These child rape cases were reported in 30 of the 36 police districts in the State, Women and Child Development Minister Usha Devi said while replying to a written question in the Assembly. The highest number of 11 child rape cases were registered in Baleswar district followed by eight in Cuttack and Rourkela police districts each and seven in Nabarangpur district. Quoting information from Home Department on the child rape cases, the Minister said that as many as 2,071 girl children were allegedly raped in the State between 2010 and 2012. While the number of the cases was 580 in 2010, it increased to 638 in 2011 and further shot up to 853 in 2012, she said. Though Keonjhar district registered the maximum 126 child rape cases during that period, no such case has so far been registered there during the first two months of 2013. On the steps

taken to check the increasing child rape cases, the Minister said, "The State Government has been implementing provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The Government has directed the police to complete investigations of child rape cases as early as possible and submit chargesheets," she said. This apart, the Minister said the Government has made provisions of police patrolling in crowded places, fairs, festivals, parks, schools and colleges, markets, sea beaches and cinema halls. (Pioneer 16/3/13) 184 child workers rescued from Rajasthan, reach Patna (14) PATNA: As many as 184 child labourers rescued from Bharatpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan reached the city by a train on Sunday evening. They were received by labour resource minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal and other department officials. The children were rescued, thanks to the efforts of an NGO, and brought to Patna with the initiative of state labour resources department. Sigriwal said, "This is the first time that such a large number of children belonging to state were rescued and brought back to Bihar. After their rescue, we sent a team of GRP to bring them back. The department will ensure rehabilitation of all the 184 rescued children and their names will be included in the list of Indira Awas Yojana beneficiaries." These children used to work in various bangles and garment factories. They were made to work for 12 hours daily, without any break. One could easily find joy in the eyes of these children. Narrating their woes, Mohammed Shamsar, 7, and Mohammed Alam, 8, both from Gaya district, said they had gone to Jaipur three months back. Shamsar said, "Mamu Samsur took us along with him to Jaipur and gave us jobs. 'Subah dus baje se raat egara baje tak fool chipkate the churi per' (We used to decorate bangles from 10am to 11pm)." Alam said, "We did not have any holidays and the employer used to pay us Rs 1,500 per month. But instead of handing over the money to us, he used to send it to our parents." Raja, 17, a native of Nalanda, said, "I went to Jaipur with Rakesh, who earlier used to stay at our village. Now, he frequently visits our village in search of workers. I left working under Rakesh at a garment factory, where I used to do embroidery work on cotton saris, as he never sent my full salary to my parents. I started selling garments on footpath and used to earn Rs 3,000 per month." Most of the rescued children said the mediator, who took them to Rajasthan, never paid them their salary. Instead, they used to send lower than promised amount to their parents in Bihar. The children were given food thrice a day and most of them used to sleep at their workplace. According to labour resources department officials, 67 of these children had been trafficked from Gaya, one from Rohtas and five from Patna. (Times of India 18/3/13) 22,741 out-of-school children to be rehabilitated (14) Bangalore: The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has identified as many as 22,741 out-of-school children in the State and has planned to bring them to the mainstream by implementing several programmes. The out-of-school children are identified as those who have dropped out of school or as those who have never enrolled into schools. The SSA plans to rehabilitate 11,995 children under the three-month Chinnara Angala Summer Course programme in the year 2013-14. The remaining children will be rehabilitated under the National Child Labour Programme. The SSA will spend Rs. 1,500 on every child enrolled for non-residential courses, and Rs. 5,000 each on those enrolled for residential courses besides bearing expenses on the childrens food, stationery, uniforms, field trips and medical treatment. (The Hindu 22/3/13) NGO, labour officials rescue 10 child labourers (14) NASHIK: Ten child labourers were rescued from SarafBazar and surrounding areas on Monday. The children were employed by goldsmiths and a bakery and were working in hazardous conditions. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the owners and the children have been handed over to the government observation home. Out of the ten children rescued, one is from Nashik, one from Uttar Pradesh, and the remaining are from West Bengal, all between the age group of 14 years to 17 years. Acting on a tip off, the volunteers of Childline, a non-governmental organization, with the help of officials

of the deputy labour commissioner's office and the Sarkarwada police, raided the places and rescued the children. "The children working under individual goldsmiths made jewellery which required the use of a chemical that emitted yellow fumes, and the boys employed at the bakery worked dangerously close to the fire. They worked for long hours in congested areas and even longer hours during the peak season of business," said the volunteers of Childline. "We conducted the raid under the guidance of deputy commissioner of labour R S Jadhav and assistant labour commissioner B M Andhale, and have registered an FIR under the Juvenile Justice Act and section 374 of the Indian Penal Code," said government labour officer, D L Nandan. Nandan added that the FIR was registered with senior police inspector Suresh Sapkale against Shaikh Amjad Mansoor Ali (27), Shaikh Ashraf Ali Mansoor Ali (35), Shaikh Ansar Ali Mansoor Ali (35), Mussalim Shaikh (25), Habul Quddur Shaikh (27) and Pavan Shashikant Vohra (26). The volunteers of the NGO said that most of the employers were operating from small rooms and some of them did not even have a shop license. Shop inspector Vishal Jogi, however, said that they had not yet raided the illegal shops but will do so soon. "Some shop owners had the license, some did not. We will see what to do about it," he said. Three boys worked at the bakery while the others worked under individual goldsmiths. The boys said that they worked from 9 am or 10 am to 8 pm everyday. They had been asked to come to Nashik to earn a living by relatives or villagers who had already migrated here. All the boys are school dropouts. Besides the team of Childline, government labour officers Sharvari Pote, Sarika Raut, C N Birar, district coordinator of Childline Poornima Sandane, probation officer of district women and child development office S B Wagh, and police sub inspector A C Kamble and his staff conducted the operation. (Times of India 26/3/13) 279 children freed since February: DC (14) Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Mar 27 : As many as 279 children, who were found working as labourers, at various places in Guntur district, had been identified and freed since February and all steps had been taken to contain child labour, District Collector S Suresh Kumar said. Addressing a review meeting here today, he said steps had been taken to rehabilitate the freed children. He asked officials concerned to keep a strict vigil on child labour and take stern action against those who engage children in work. He asked the general public to bring to the notice of officials concerned, if they observed children working as labourers. District uperintendents of police A Ravi, J Satyanarayana M.P J D Seelam and a host of officials attended the meeting. (New Kerala 28/3/13) CCWD focuses on child rights (14) Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of a district-level interface on child rights focusing on exclusion programme, secretary of Centre for Child and Women Development (CCWD) Sadasiv Swain claimed that due to the BPL card problem the private schools are not allowing children from excluded families to take admission. Speaking at the programme organised by the CCWD with the help of Save the Children, an international child rights organisation, at the Red Cross Bhawan here on Tuesday, journalist Surendra Patra and corporator Madan Majhi stressed the role of media towards development of child rights and the need of Government flaghip programmes for children. Besides, different city based and city outskirts child clubs members demanded safe drinking water, child-friendly environment and separate toilet facilities for both boys and girls in schools. (Pioneer 31/3/13)

Child rights panel received only 51 abuse cases in 5 years (14) NEW DELHI: This flies in the face of the spate of growing abuses against children. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) mandated to monitor child rights' violations and armed with quasi-judicial powers has received only 51 complaints of sexual and physical abuse of children from across the country in the last five years. Even more shocking is that it has filed FIRs in only eight cases, according to data accessed by RTI. In most cases, the Commission just referred the matter

to the local administration for further investigation or the issue has been taken up by courts. The measly number of cases with NCPCR looks all the more startling considering that a government study in 2007 estimated that 42% children in India face some form of sexual abuse or other. Among these 48% of boys and 39% girls admitted to facing sexual abuse. The study also revealed that in most cases the child was abused by a person known to h/him. Activists said that the huge gap between the number of abuses and the low reportage to NCPCR could be because of lack of awareness, but refused to spare the Commission of its responsibility. NCPCR's mandate includes spreading awareness of children's rights and protection mechanism for them. Most of the cases with the NCPCR related to the abuse in homes, shelters and orphanages run by government or NGOs. The ministry's reply admitted that cases were closed when they did not get a reply, but was silent on why the Commission did not pursue the matter. For instance in 2009, NCPCR received a case of alleged discrimination of a HIV positive child from SOS Children's Village in Bhopal. Serious as it was the Commission did precious little. Government's action taken report says that the case was closed because it did not get ``exact information''. In another case in 2012 the Commission did not take action against a shelter based in Faridabad because the complaint was ``anonymous''. The data was provided by the ministry of women and child development (WCD) in response to an RTI filed by Yogesh Kumar from child rights NGO, Pratidhi. Speaking on the issue, Pratidhi's Raj Mangal Prasad faulted the body of inaction and apathy. ``The NCPCR's mandate was to initiate action against violations of child rights and take remedial action but the data shows otherwise,'' he said. FIRs were lodged in 2010 in cases related to torture of children in Anand Aashram home, Murshidabad in West Bengal, against Karnataka-based Karunaya community development trust for the alleged death of a 14-year-old boy and SOS Village Faridabad in Haryana for the alleged torture of children. In 2011, a FIR was lodged against AGAPE residential home in Hyderabad for abuse of children. Last year, the Commission has filed FIRs and taken action against three NGOs Gurgaon-based Drone Foundation and Suparna Ka Aangan and Karnal-based Bharath Vikas Sangh. There are other instances of neglect. In 2009, a case related to exploitation at a Delhi-based Balika Ashram was referred to the state commission and a report is still awaited nearly four years later. A report has also not been submitted by authorities to the child rights panel against complaint of torture on children by Odisha- based Orphanage Global Village. The complaint was filed in 2011. In 2011, an eight-year old died in a children's home in Jabalpur. NCPCR took up the matter with the area collector and medical treatment was given to the child. However, the child died in transit. Inexplicably, the Commission's records do not show any action on the issue. (Times of India 1/4/13) High Court initiates PIL on out-of-school children (14) Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered issue of notice to the State government while suo motu treating as a public interest litigation petition a report, The glitches that dog RTE implementation, in The Hindu on March 31 based on a State-level meet on the RTE Act held in the city recently. The report said that during the meet, organised by the Peoples Alliance for Right to Education (PAFRE), a facilitator of the organisation, quoting governments figures, had stated that 54,000 children are still out of school If the news item is correct, then it is a serious violation on a massive scale. About 54,000 children are not going to schools means that they may be engaged as child labourers and in other activities their future is dark, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagarathna orally observed during the hearing. It has been pointed out in the petition that a large number of students being out of school would mean that provisions of the RTE Act are not being properly implemented. The Bench directed the government to file its affidavit and also to ascertain details about the PAFRE so that it could be treated as intervener in the present proceedings to assist the court. The court has appointed advocate Aditya Sondhi as amicus curiae in the matter. (The Hindu 2/4/13)

No future for children of labourers (14)

NEW DELHI: There is no respite for children of construction workers who are deprived of an education as they have to frequently move from one part of the city to another. The proposal for chalta-firta (mobile) schools for children of construction workers is still in a limbo despite Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board releasing Rs 7.50 crore to the Universal Elementary Education Mission for the project. The board has not even mapped all the construction workers in Delhi. It had registered only 87,273 construction workers till March 31, 2012 as against the 2001 Census figure of 3.52 lakh. There are discrepancies in its utilization of funds, too. A 1% cess is levied on the cost of construction for the benefit of labourers. But the board doesn't have a mechanism in place to monitor the collection of cess from local bodies like MCD, DDA and others. In two cases MCD did not credit Rs 2.66 crore and Rs 1.46 crore to it. The board released Rs 13.20 crore in June 2009 to the Department of Education (DoE) for providing financial incentive to approximately 1 lakh children of construction workers. CAG says the grant was released without considering the modalities of payment to children and the mode of transfer. (Times of India 3/4/13) Eight rescued children return to Nagaland (14) JAIPUR: Eight children from Nagaland, who were among the 51 kids rescued from an unregistered care home in the city, returned to their state on Wednesday with along with a few government officials who came from Nagaland. These children were brought to Jaipur on the promise of giving them quality education. District child protection officer of Peren, Nagaland, Samuel Kapu said, "There are five girls and three boys from Nagaland. These children would be handed over to their parents in our state." He said that since the parents belonged to rural areas and most of them are underprivileged, they thought that it was a good opportunity as their children would study in a city like Jaipur. "After hearing the story of the children, we feel sorry for them. They were not sent to schools and also they were found confined in a house with poor ventilation in Jaipur and also they did not get proper nutritious food," he said. He said that though the Right to Education (RTE) has already been implemented in their state, the parents of these children failed to get them admitted to good schools. So they decided to send their children to Jaipur for formal education. Kapu said that the government is keen to take care of the children and will make sure that they go to school. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government has made proper arrangements for best possible conveyance to these children. "The government has provided transportation through Volvo bus from Jaipur to Delhi and then the air fare from Delhi to Nagaland," said Lata Singh, programme coordinator for an NGO, FXB Suraksha, who brought the issue to the limelight. On March 12, the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, FXB Suraksha, district administration and other NGOs rescued 51 children from two unregistered care homes in Jawahar Nagar and Mansarovar. Later on March 24, the police and the NGO officials found two more girls kept "illegally" at the residence of pastor Jacob John, who was running these centres in Malviya Nagar area. FIRs were registered in three police stations after these children were rescued. (Times of India 4/4/13) Child rights body to probe Kurla abuse case (14) Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has, suo motu, taken up the case of alleged sexual assault on a six-year-old boy at a Kurla school. It will hear the parents, school authorities and police on April 8. A team of five doctors examined the boy at Nair Hospital on Wednesday. Sources at the hospital said a psychiatric evaluation of the child is also being performed after a police request. A thorough examination is being carried out. We cannot divulge more, said a senior doctor. Police are yet to conclude if the boy was sexually assaulted. We are waiting for the detailed medical report and have not come to any conclusion yet, said Dhananjay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner of police, Zone V. The first medical examination of the child at Nagpada police hospital on April 1 concluded that the child had a two or three-day old bruise near his anus. This could mean that the injury was caused between March 23 and 24 - after the date on which the alleged incident of sexual abuse took place. The lone accused arrested in the case, the woman attendant of the school bus, has been remanded in police

custody up to April 16. Her interrogation so far has not yielded any clues on what actually happened. The school has maintained that the lack of evidence so far points to the possibility that the allegations by the parents are exaggerated or false. We are waiting for the medical reports and once they are out, we will take necessary action against the parents, the schools principal said. (Hindustan Times 5/4/13) Govt must regulate pre-schools: child rights (14) Mumbai: The Maharashtra state commission for protection of child rights (MSCPCR) said on Monday that it would suggest stricter laws to regulate the pre-school sector. The commission was hearing the alleged sexual assault case of the six-year-old boy from a Kurla school. While the commission has asked the school to submit an affidavit on the incident within a week, the police have been asked to submit a detailed report within four days. The parents have also been asked to submit a report of the incident. As pre-schools are not regulated, the government has no control over them. It is the duty of the government to come up with regulations under section 11 of the Right to Education Act, said AN Tripathi, secretary of the commission. He added that children travelling in school bus are the responsibility of the school. During the hearing, the maternal uncle of the Kurla student said the kindergarten class teacher, who was pursuing her SYBA through distance education, did not take his sisters complaints seriously. My sister had told the teacher last year that the child repeatedly complained about two classmates kissing and hugging him. But the teacher took no action, he said. The school principal said the parents complained only on March 19. If the parents knew about the incidents in December itself, why did they wait so long to complain? she told the commission. The principal said most of the citys preschools hire teachers who are educated only till Class 12. If people can pursue a diploma in education after Class 12 and teach up to Class 7, what is wrong in hiring a Class 12-passed woman as a pre-school teacher? She was also trained in early childhood and care education programme the principal said. (Hindustan Times 9/4/13) 40000 kids to be brought to school (14) BARIPADA: In a massive enrollment drive, the Mayurbhanj district administration has identified nearly 40,000 children for admission in schools this academic session. The children include those who attained six years of age, dropouts, child labourers and regular absentees. The campaign 'Mu bi padhibi' (I will also study) is aimed to ensure 100% success of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). "Every year parents bring their children to school. This year, we decided to reach out to the children by visiting almost all households in the district. Not a single child should be left out," said district project coordinator of SSA Diganta Routray. The week-long drive started on April 1 and covered households located around 4,300 primary schools in the district. Under this drive, the teachers, anganwadi workers, siksha sathis of basic and upper primary schools went for a door-to-door survey. They had to convince parents in villages and different localities to send their wards to schools. "During the campaign, special emphasis would be given to the children who have left studies midway and bring them to school. Every child in the age group of 6 to 14 should be given free and compulsory education. We have also urged dhaba, hotel and garageowners to enroll children below 14 years of age working under them in nearby schools by April 15 or a special squad will rescue such children," added Routray. The district administration has also announced award for teachers and school management committee in which all children between 6 and 14 years will be enrolled and attendance will be more than 90%.According to official sources, the retention rate of students in the district is 68.38% which is third lowest in the state. There are no primary schools in 309 habitations in the district while around 111 habitations do not have upper primary schools, SSA sources said. (Times of India 10/4/13) Focus on child rights in manifestoes (14) BANGALORE: Samajika Parivarthana Janandolana (SPJ), a collective of various organisations working for child rights, has urged political parties to ensure that issues pertaining to children are given due importance in their manifestoes. Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, M. Narayanswamy,

State convenor, SPJ said: There is an urgent need to address issues of children such as malnutrition, implementation of the Right of Children For Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. Mr. Narayanswamy said a large number of children in the State were malnourished. There are lots of gaps in the identification of the malnourished children, gaps in providing milk and egg due to delayed payments by the State to the anganwadi workers. The task force and the monitoring committee set up at the district and the state level are eyewash with no civil society representatives in the monitoring committee, he added. Y. Mariswamy, State organiser, SPJ, said, All policies are not supporting childrens welfare. There is a need to ensure that each child is given basic education. But ironically, government schools are being shut. (The Hindu 17/4/13) Odisha to come out with State Action Plan against child labour (14) BHUBANESWAR: The State government would soon come out with State Action Plan against child labour spelling out its strategies to fight the social menace. The draft action plan is ready and very shortly the plan will be discussed with different stakeholders at a State level workshop, said Hemant Sharma, Labour Commissioner, while addressing State level convergence meeting of different departments to end child labour menace held here recently. Mr. Sharma said the focused strategies of the action plan were enforcement, rescue and rehabilitation, education, skill development and awareness activities. A State level monitoring committee would in force for the purpose. At present children rescued from workplace are admitted into National Child Labour Project schools in the State. Although 1030 NCLP special schools were sanctioned, only 618 schools are functioning with enrolment of 28840 children. As of now, government sources claimed, 123899 children had been mainstreamed. For years now, the State government has not carried out any comprehensive survey to find out the population of child labourers in the State. As per the survey data of 1997, 215222 children were identified as child labourers. Of which, 23761 children were working in hazardous sector and 191461 children belonged non-hazardous sector. Presently, a pilot project is under implementation in Cuttack and Kalahandi districts where a convergence model has been used for eliminating child labour. Three pronged strategy, which has been adopted under the pilot project, include education action programme for children within 5 and 14 years of age, vocational training action for children between 14 and 17 and linking of 500 families of direct beneficiaries of education action programme. As per Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA), population of out of school students stands at 31000 in the State. Seasonal hostels have been opened in the districts of Bargarh, Kalahandi and Nuapada where more than 5000 children have already been admitted in the current season. (The Hindu 20/4/13) Rights groups stare at funds crunch in Karnataka (14) BANGALORE: Advocacy groups working in the fields of child and human rights are worried as international funding agencies have withdrawn financial support to many rights-based initiatives, forcing groups to resort to local fund raising. Two of the major international funding agencies in India United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the UK-based Every Child have reportedly asked their partner groups in the state to scale down their activities. The nature of intervention of UNICEF and Every Child has now shifted to BIMAROU states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh). Although malnutrition, child labour, trafficking and other forms of child rights violations continue to plague the state, UNICEF opines that Karnataka is progressive and has achieved most developmental goals concerning protection of child rights and related areas. Even the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) has been affected by withdrawal of funding. Agencies are pulling out of South India to focus on BIMAROU states. We arent opposed to this, but withdrawing completely from the South will reach us nowhere, said Matthews Philip, executive director, SICHREM. UNICEF has been supporting several projects and sub-projects in the state to look after child survival, protection and development. With the shift in strategic interventions, aid will be phased out. For instance, the Karnataka Child Rights Observatory (KCRO), a UNICEF supported initiative to monitor the situation of children in the

state, has decided to cut down on resources for their flagship activities, including the annual Childrens Parliament. Weve been told that only programme costs will be given, while we have to spend on the manpower required for KCRO activities. What this means is that there will be little networking and advocacy taking place with around 150 of our partner groups in various districts, said Vasudeva Sharma, executive director, Child Rights Trust (CRT), the convenor for KCRO. KCRO, which received lakhs of rupees every year since 2010, is uncertain about the extent of UNICEF support this year. We have decided to limit the scale of programmes and expenditure this year. Some of our volunteers have left us for better opportunities, he said. The Our Children, Our Progress project of CRT, which assesses rights awareness among children in Raibagh taluk in Belgaum will come to an end this year as Every Child has decided to pull out, said Nagasimha G Rao from CRT. Hema Prasanna, Deputy Director of Communication for Development and Learning (CDL), a developmental communication group, said that in July last year, UNICEF ended a six-year-project called the HIV-AIDS Journalism Initiative to orient journalists on how to write about the disease. UNICEF officials felt that we could now work on our own and the project came to an end, she said. (Indian Express 20/4/13) Rapes expose police failure: Human Rights Watch (14) New Delhi, Apr 21 : The brutal rape of a five-year-old girl here 'has again brought to the fore the failure of police training and reform in India', Human Rights Watch said today. ''Enacting strong laws are simply a first step but it needs the government to focus urgently on implementation if it is serious about protecting children and other victims of sexual abuse,'' it said. ''The inadequate response of the police has become obvious in these recent cases from Bulandshahar, Aligarh and Delhi,'' said Human Right Watch's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly. ''Police and other officials (who) fail to do their jobs and instead engage in abusive behaviour should know they will be punished.'' (New Kerala 21/4/13) Root out sexual violence against children (14) A five-year-old girl child is now battling for life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, having been subjected to abduction, rape and unimaginable sexual torture. Naturally enough, the people are greatly worried and have expressed their anger through protests and demonstrations. Instead of appreciating their sentiment, the police, which did precious little to trace the abducted girl, were ruthless in dealing with the protestors. Whats worse, the police even tried to broker peace by offering the girls parents `2,000 by invoking the fear in them that the news about rape would tarnish her image. This is certainly not how a socially conscious police should have handled the incident of child rape. Suspension of the policemen concerned alone will hardly solve the problem. Sexual violence against girl children has assumed epidemic proportions in the country. According to a report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights, there has been a 336 per cent increase in child rape cases from 2001 to 201a1, a period in which 48,338 rape cases were recorded. A startling aspect of the finding was that most of the child rape cases were reported from government-run juvenile homes. When the fence itself starts eating the crop to use a vernacular saying it is indeed difficult to control the situation. After all, for every single incident of child rape reported, several go unreported. However welcome the anti-rape law that was enacted following the public furore over the gang rape of a Delhi girl in 2012 last, it falls short of dealing with the present situation. Those in authority, who are expected to be the saviours of women but turn out to be their tormentors, should be given summary deterrent punishment. The anti-rape law should not end up like other enabling laws like the one against domestic violence, which are seldom implemented. All political, social and religious organisations should join hands to fight the menace of sexual violence against children. (New Indian Express 22/4/13) 5 lakh child labourers in Jharkhand, says study (14) RANCHI: Despite the state government's resolve to eradicate child labour, eliminating the menace remains a distant dream in Jharkhand. More than five lakh population of below 18 years are working as

mechanics, domestic help, daily-wage labourers, coal-pickers and rag-pickers in the state, according to a survey by the Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children. The official figures, however, put the number at 2.37 lakh. To ensure the welfare, rehabilitation and disposal of cases related to child labour, a child labour commission (CLC) was formed in 2002. But the statutory body remains nonfunctional till date and has neither a chairman nor any member. Sanjay Mishra, the state coordinator and member of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) said, "We have proposed the construction of seasonal hostels for rescued children involved in child labour. The hostels have been approved by the Centre and funds have also been sanctioned." The seasonal hostels will provide food, education and clothes to such children and thereby help combat this social evil. Lack of basic necessities compels the poor children to take up odd jobs early in life, said Mishra. "In most cases, they are forced to work to supplement the family income," he added. SCPCR chairman Ganesh Reddy alleged that there was no political will to rehabilitate such children. "The government should focus on rehabilitating children and assure jobs to their families under the MGNREGA and various other livelihood schemes so that they don't get involved in such activities again." According to data available with the SCPCR, 33,000 girls are trafficked every year to work as domestic helps, labourers and are even pushed into brothels. Job Zachariah, the state head of Unicef, believes that child labour is a socio-economic issue that has to be changed through creating awareness programmes. This calls for the joint efforts of several departments. "Child labour can be eradicated only when every department cooperates with each other. It is a big issue that needs the support of society. Unless there is a change in the mindset of people, the menace cannot be controlled," he added. Though the state labour department has announced several programmes, nothing has been done so far to implement them. Former labour commissioner Aradhana Patanaik had announced rewarding panchayats that would work towards making their districts free of child labour. At least 52 child labour project schools were also opened in Hazaribag and Ranchi in accordance with the Centre's guidelines. Although the labour commissioner claims that they are functional, sources said most of them were non-existent while others were on the verge of closure owing to shortage of teachers. Rescued children often go back to their native places to engage in the same work again owing to lack of options. Labour commissioner Sunil Kumar also knows the government cannot do it alone and the department needs stakeholders to do the job in cohesion. An action plan was made for 2012-2016 that focuses on elimination of the evil completely by 2016, he said. "An enforcement team to conduct raids on dhabas, garages and coal mines on regular basis and rehabilitate the children who are rescued." The department hands over the rescued children to the HRD or other departments for rehabilitation. However, he admitted that the CLC was non-functional. (Times of India 23/4/13) 9-yr-old alleges torture by tehsildar, daughter (14) LUDHIANA: A case of alleged child labour and violence against a woman tehsildar, Jaspal Kaur, posted in Patiala and her daughter Jyoti, of MIG flats, Dashmesh Nagar, came up on Thursday. A nine-year-old girl accused them of torturing her. Medical reports of the girl, who was rescued by neighbours and is currently undergoing treatment in the Civil Hospital, confirms marks of thrashing on her back, arms and legs. Neighbors came to the girl's help after hearing her screams and informed the police. Mukhtiar Singh, ACP, Atam Nagar, said the girl told the police that the accused, Jaspal Kaur took her from her father, Dulla Singh, a daily wager, on February 13. She promised that Komal would be treated as a member of the family and would also be sent to school. Later, the accused left her at the house of her daughter, Jyoti, where she lives with her husband and 11-year-old daughter. "I was not allowed to study. I was not even allowed to meet my parents. Whenever I asked to meet my parents, they used to beat me. Jaspal Kaur and her daughter used to beat me with kitchen appliances on petty issues. Jyoti's 11-year-old daughter also used to beat me," Komal alleged. She also said they did not pay her anything and she was locked in the house whenever the family had to go out. The police registered a case against tehsildar Jaspal Kaur and her daughter Jyoti under Section 11 of prevention of child labor regulation act, 1986 and

under sections 342, 506 and 323 of the IPC, on the statement of Komal's father Dulla Singh. (Times of India 26/5/13) Social policies like MGNREGS can tackle child labour: Report (14) New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) Social protection policies such as MGNREGS and the direct cash transfer scheme can play a key role in fighting child labour, a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said Monday. The report, "International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)", reviews relevant research on how different types of social protection measures - such as cash transfer schemes, social health protection and income security in old age - can help combat child labour. The report cites a study in Guatemala showing that children from households where at least one member is covered by health insurance, are about 4.5 per cent less likely to work. Similarly, Brazil's Bolsa Escola cash transfer programme, which pays families a certain amount per month provided their children go to school, led to a drop of nearly nine per cent in child labour in rural areas. In Cambodia, child labour was down by 10 percent following the introduction of the Education Sector Support Project scholarship programme, which also involves cash transfers. "This report contributes to a better understanding of the underlying economic and social vulnerabilities that generate child labour," said Constance Thomas, IPEC Director. "It clearly shows that investing in social protection through nationally-defined social protection floors is a crucial part of the response in the fight against child labour," he said. Tine Staermose, director of ILO's South Asia technical advisory team and country office in India, added: "The importance of appreciating the range of policy and programmatic dimensions that can lead to an effective social protection for adults, but also most critically for children, as reports on India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Rural Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) are indicating." In addition, the report says that extending social protection in line with the ILO Recommendation on social protection floors, adopted less than a year ago, should be a key part of national strategies to tackle child labour. National social protection floors should include at least a basic level of income security throughout the life cycle, as well as access to essential health care, it said. The authors of the report further recommend introducing child labour-specific measures in social security systems, strengthening national legal frameworks and capacity, as well as reaching out to vulnerable groups of children. (Business Standard 29/4/13)

ILO's convergence project supports 4,000 child labourers (14) RANCHI: The convergence project, which was launched in Jharkhand by International Labour Organization in collaboration with the state government, has successfully rehabilitated around 4,000 child labourers in Ranchi and Sahebganj. According to Rajesh Prasad, assistant labour commissioner, the programme was launched in two districts which have been able to rehabilitate. In Ranchi and Sahebganj, 1,980 and 2,100 children, respectively, have been rescued and rehabilitated. "Under the convergence project, we focus on strengthening socio-economic situation of the child's family and other support programmes are also taken up. As per the plan, families of children are linked with social safety nets; livelihood assistance and encouragement that help them keep their children in school and out of work," said Prasad. The programme, which started in the state in November 2010 with an aim to eradicate child labour, trafficking and migration, ended on March 31, 2013. However, it is being extended by the department in other districts too. "Along with the convergence of different departments like education, social welfare department and welfare department we manage to rehabilitate children identified as labourers and admit them in National Child Labour Project School (NCLP)," said labour commissioner Sunil Kumar. Prasad said through this convergence programmes children had been mainstreamed through the NCLP to formal schools. "The State government was focusing on three-pronged strategy for the sector that include economic development such as raising family incomes and living standards, accessible, affordable and relevant education to the child," he added. Besides imparting education the main aim of the project is also to aid the families of the children with livelihood so that they do not indulge

their children earning money. Prasad added, "Presently, we are linking the families and are giving them employment under Jharkhand Building and Construction Works. Also we have distributed cycles and sewing machines to their mothers after training them in stitching and embroidery to make them self dependent." There are nearly 30 schools in the city under the National Child labour project and 43 in Sahebganj district where these children are admitted after the rescue operations. (Times of India 1/5/13) Human chain against child labour in Bhubaneswar (14) BHUBANESWAR: Several social organizations on Tuesday formed a human chain in the capital and staged street plays to mark the Anti-child Labour Day. They also demanded a white paper on child labour and its problems in the state and imposition of stricter anti-child labour measures. The child rights' bodies said more than 15 lakh children, 30,000 alone in Bhubaneswar, are employed in various sectors. It is seven times more than the government's latest figure of 180,869 in 18 districts. "Anyone who employs a child can be jailed for three years and fined up to Rs 50,000. But these laws need to be followed strictly," said state convenor of Campaign Against Child Labour Sudhir Sabat. Labour commissioner H K Sharma said the government has prepared an action plan, which includes enforcement, rescue and rehabilitation, skill development, education and creating more awareness to curb the menace in the state. (Times of India 2/5/13)

These slum children speak fluent English (14) KOLKATA: Speaking in English is a distant dream for children dwelling in slums. 110 students realized the dream on Monday, completing a two-year English Access micro-scholarship programme funded by the US government. Aged 14-18, the students strutted around confidently and spoke in fluent English. "If I have the audacity to speak in English, it is because of this programme. It has already led to a huge change in my life. I don't fear interviews anymore. At least, I will not be rejected for not being able to communicate in English," said Akash Prasad, a Hindi-medium student. All the 110 students from 15 Hindi, Urdu and Bengali medium schools-Lajpat Hindi High School, Lajpat Hindi Balika Vidyalaya, Khidderpore Academy, Sarat Paul Girls School, Bamkin Ghosh Memorial Girls School, Khidderpore Muslim Girls School, Badshah Khan Centenary Girls High School, Adarsh Hindi High School, Balika Vidyayatan, Jawaharlal Nehru Vidyapith, Jahan Bhaskar Hindi High School for Boys, Jahan Bhaskar Hindi High School for Girls, Maulana Md Ali High Madrasah for Boys, Maulana Md Ali High Madrasah for Girls and Haji Mohsin Balika Vidyalaya-hail from economically weak families. Though they had all taken English lessons at school, none had the confidence to speak till they joined the Access programme. "Usually students get to know about the American culture through English films and pop music. But we wanted to give them cross-cultural skills and give them the confidence to speak with dignity. The teachers have also been trained by American trainers. There has been a lot of debate on difference between British English and American English. But it's not that important how you spell or pronounce. How you understand it is much more important," said Diane Millar, regional English language officer at the US Embassy in New Delhi. Lack of fluency in the language is a major handicap for privileged children. Rejection at various jobs leads to unemployment. Self-confidence takes a nose-dive. "Speaking in your own language is easy. But speaking in English, that too in front of other people, is a challenge. Now that I can, it has been a confidence booster," said Mukesh Singh who studies in a Hindi-medium school in Kidderpore. (Times of India 6/5/13) Reforms sought to prevent crime against children (14) BANGALORE: A majority of child labourers rescued in the state are children of migrant workers, commissioner for Public Instruction S R Umashankar said. Speaking at a workshop organised by child rights NGOs on Consultation of the Proposed Amendments to Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 and Child Labour Amendment Bill, here recently, he said, This is a national policy. Other

states also need to look in to the socio-economic conditions of families and bring in reforms to prevent migration and crime against children. Vasudev Sharma, an activist of Child Rights Trust, said, We want the government to change Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act to Child Labour, Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation Act. We want victims and the accused in child rights cases to be dealt only in childrens court, to ensure speedy disposal of cases. Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) state coordinator Vani Kantli said the Act should be amended and the standing committee has to take a stand. No child aged between 6 and 14 should be employed and if any one is found flouting the law, they will be punished severely, the BBA state coordinator said. Additional commissioner J T Jinkalappa, chairman of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) H R Umesh Aradhya and coordinator of BBA Dhananjay Tingle were present at the workshop. (New Indian Express 7/5/13) Parliamentary panel seeks lowering of juvenile age at 16 years (14) NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has recommended reduction in the age of male juvenile from 18 to 16 years observing that there had been a 10.5% increase in crimes against women committed by juveniles in a year alone. It has also asked the government to draw up a unified strategy on the creating a national database for offenders and strengthening the criminal justice system including establishment of fast track courts, augmenting helplines, improving rehabilitation processes for women of sexual violence, abandoned and vulnerable women. Describing the increasing number of juveniles involved in various crimes against women as a dangerous trend'' the Committee on the empowerment of women on the issue of victims of sexual abuse and trafficking and their rehabilitation'' said that the Juvenile Justice act was amended in 2000 to bring the age of men and women at par to 18 years but that had not produced the desired result.''The number of crimes in violation of the Indian Penal Code committed by juveniles in 2010 was 22,740 that had registered a 10.5% increase with the total crimes registered in 2011 going up to 25,125. The crimes against women committed by juveniles have also increased the, panel found. For instance in 2010, juveniles were involved in 858 cases of rape, 391 cases of kidnapping and abduction of women and 536 cases of molestation which rose to 1149 cases of rape, 600 of kidnapping and abduction and 573 cases of molestation in 2011. Most of these crimes had been committed by male juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years. The reasons for juveniles getting in to various forms of crime vary from impulsive disorder, peer pressure, disturbed environment to broken families, aggression, lavish lifestyle and uncontrolled freedom from parents. The Committee would like to caution on the dangerous trend of increased involvement of juveniles in various crimes against women,'' the report said. Citing the recent cases of the December 16 gang rape and the rape of 5 year old minor, the panel said that the government must take stringent measures. The panel acknowledged vociferous demand from various social organizations, women's groups, academicians and large body of experts seeking lowering of age for male juvenile to 16 years. (Times of India 8/5/13) Child labour: S Delhi reveals its ugly side (14) New Delhi: It may house some of the most affluent people in the city and lay claims of being the most socially-progressive district but two out of 10 people in south Delhi think that anyone over the age of 10 is not a child. This and many other surprising figures were thrown up by a survey of 1,575 employers conducted by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) on the attitudes and beliefs about child labour. According to the report, a number of respondents believed that only an individual under the age of 10 years is considered a child. This number was 12.8% in south west Delhi and 6.3% in New Delhi. "These figures suggest that all these people would possibly have no hesitation in hiring a child as young as 10 years. Not only this, many people consider that a child should not only study, but work as well," the study read. Around 18% respondents in New Delhi and 14% respondents in central Delhi responded that children should study as well as work simultaneously. 56% of the respondents said they know of children in their locality who do not go to school, while more than 70% said that those children who do not go to school

are working to earn a living. About half of the city's population believes that children can work as much as adults. Their salaries, however, are much lower than their counterparts. (Hindustan Times 10/5/13) Stop child marriage,NCW urges state government (14) BHUBANESWAR: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has shot off a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requesting him to stop child marriages in the State by sensitising the district administration. Most of the marriages take place during Akshay Tritiya and the Government must mount vigil on the occasion, NCW Chairperson Mamta Sharmas letter to Naveen said. A recent health survey showed that at least 6 per cent of rural women in the State got married below the age of 18, the legal age for marriage. Expressing concern, Sharma said it is unfortunate that child marriages are on the rise. Invariably, the day of Akshaya Tritiya, which is falling on May 13, is normally considered auspicious by those advocating the pernicious practice and many such incidents take place in large number only on this occasion, she said. The Government should mount vigil and take appropriate punitive action against those involved in the incidents of child marriage, the commission said. Last years survey, conducted in 1,798 rural and 566 urban units, had revealed that child marriages are rampant in rural pockets of the State. The percentage varied from 0.5 to 24.7. During 2007-2009, about 6.5 per cent girls in rural areas and 3.2 per cent girls in urban areas were married off when they were below 18 years. (New Indian Express 11/5/13) Police reduce probe period for missing children, child rights panel objects (14) New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has sought a reply from Delhi Police on an internal order which the panel says intends to bring down pendency of cases of missing children feared kidnapped. The order directs all DCPs (Deputy Commissioners of Police) to reduce the time period of filing a 'final report' in the cases to one year. Until now, this probe period was three years. Calling the move "irregular", the DCPCR has asked police to respond to its notice by May 20. In an April 9 standing order issued by the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), DCPs have been directed to file the report within a period of one year, whether or not the missing child is found. The order, however, states that the case can be opened any time in case fresh information is received. "It has been noticed that the number of kidnapping cases of missing children pending investigation is increasing steadily because there is doubt in the mind of the IOs (investigating officers) and the supervisory officers about the time period after which such cases can be closed," the order states. "In this connection, reference may be made to para 11 of circular No. 25/2012 issued by Commissioner of Police, Delhi on 25.04.2012 wherein it is mentioned if a criminal case is registered into the missing of a child, it will be kept open till the investigation into all known aspects of that case is completed and the case will be treated as a Special Report Case." "It's clarified that if the Additional Commissioners of Police/DCPs of the district or unit is satisfied, after the expiry of a period of one year, that investigation into all aspects related to the case has been completed, then he may authorise preparation of the final report in the said case," the order states. (Indian Express 12/5/13) One lakh children in India die of diarrhoea annually: Lancet (14) Over 1,00,000 children, below the age of 11 months, die of diarrhoea annually in India which is the second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. India accounts for the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths, a latest study has suggested. A new international study published in the latest edition of the British medical journal The Lancet provides the clearest picture yet of the impact and most common causes of diarrhoeal diseases. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries, enrolling more than 20,000 children from seven sites across Asia (including India) and Africa. With approximately 4,57,000 to 8,84,000 hospitalisations and two million outpatient clinic visits each year in Indian children, this study pinpoints the key causes of childhood diarrhoea and suggests a roadmap to save hundreds of thousands of lives.

GEMS, coordinated by the University of Marylands School of Medicines Center for Vaccine Development, confirmed rotavirus as the leading cause of diarrhoeal diseases among infants under 11 months across all sites and identified other top causes for which additional research is urgently needed. GEMS evaluated nearly 40 pathogens to map each ones relative contribution to diarrhoeal disease. Combining data from all seven study countries, GEMS found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) each year, which increased childrens risk of death 8.5 fold and lead to stunted growth over a two-month follow-up period. In India, the study was conducted in Kolkata at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases and overseen by Principal Investigator Dipika Sur. Similar to other GEMS sites, just four pathogens rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, Shigella, and ST-ETEC caused the majority of MSD cases in Kolkata. The overall incidence of MSD was higher in Kolkata than at any other study site. Infants under 11 months at Kolkata showed the highest burden, with roughly 90 episodes of MSD per 100 children each year, nearly double the next highestburden site Kenya. Without a full picture of which pathogens cause the most harm, it has been difficult to make evidence-based decisions around diarrhoeal disease control, said Dr. Sur. GEMS will fill in those critical gaps in knowledge and will help in governments to prioritise resources for research and action to reduce the burden of disease, she added. Expanding access to vaccines for rotavirus could save thousands of lives and help avoid numerous hospitalisations, thereby improving the lives of children and families while simultaneously reducing significant burden on the healthcare costs, the report suggested. GEMS data suggested that accelerating research on vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for the three other leading pathogens Shigella, Cryptosporidium and ST-ETEC, a type of E. coli could have a similar impact. Prior to GEMS, Cryptosporidium was not considered a major cause of diarrhoeal disease and consequently, there is currently little research on this pathogen underway. Across most sites, children with MSD grew significantly less in height in the two months following the diarrhoeal episode. Significantly, 61 per cent of deaths occurred more than one week after the children were diagnosed with MSD, when children may no longer be receiving care and 56 per cent of deaths among cases occurred at home, suggesting that earlier studies focusing only on death occurred in health centres may underestimate the real burden of MSD. (The Hindu 15/5/13) Political parties will not be able to use children for poll activities (14) BHOPAL: Election Commission of India has issued strict directives to political parties against use of children in election-related activities. Working on these directives, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Office has directed all collectors and district electoral officers to apprise political parties about this. Taking strong objection to use of children various election-related activities, the Election Commission has described it as highly objectionable. The commission wishes that such insensitivity should not be shown to children by any political party. The commission has also directed to ensure that children are never used in any process of election. Such works include election campaign, transportation of poll material etc. In the commission's view, it is the responsibility of every political party to ensure that these directives are not violated in any way. Political parties found guilty on this count may face action from the Election Commission apart from proceedings under concerning laws. The Election Commission has drawn attention towards Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act-1986. Under the act, employment of children below 14 years of age is prohibited in the businesses including general transport, which are considered injurious and unsafe for children. Besides, there are other acts also, which prohibit child labour. These acts are applicable to all establishments and workshops, where industrial activities are carried out. (Times of India 19/5/13) Activist seeks complete ban on child labour in India (14) An Indian activist, who recently won a top American fellowship as an emerging leader, said she wants a complete ban on child labour in India. "I plan to urge them (Indian Government), to pass the amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act at the earliest to completely ban child labour, to

ensure that children are able to lead a nutritious life free from hunger, to ensure that no birth in the country takes place without a skilled birth attendant, and that we successfully implement these recommendations at the earliest,"Shailey Hingorani said. Hingorani, who currently works as National Coordinator for Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children based in New Delhi, early this month was felicitated by Tara Sonenshine, the US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. As we honour Hingorani's achievements, we recognise that while individuals can make great contributions, we have to work in partnership to meet the great challenges that face each of us and each of our countries, Soneshine had said. "I'm deeply honoured to have received the distinguished professional alumni award especially because it has been given to me in recognition of the work that I have done around the rights of marginalised children in India," she told PTI. Hingorani said this award gave her an opportunity to share the progress that India is making in the field of child rights especially in universalising the Integrated Child Development Scheme, in providing the right to education to children between the ages of 6-14 years, and in setting up district and state level child protection systems. "Having said which, I hope this award will also serve to be a reminder of the long journey ahead of us to ensure that child rights in India must be underwritten by quality equitable access to public services to all children and early investments in children to enable them to fully enjoy their rights," she said. As a legislative fellow, Hingorani worked with an Ohio Senator, during which she said she was able to hone her advocacy skills to better communicate policy proposals that has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of marginalised children in the country. "As a result of this fellowship, I was able to utilise the connections that I had made in the US, and promote cross-country learning on how to address new-born deaths and maternal mortality," she said. (Business Standard 20/5/13) Passive smoking can make kids aggressive and anti-social: study (14) Toronto: Kids who are exposed to secondhand smoke in early childhood are more likely to grow up to be physically aggressive and antisocial, a new study has warned. Researchers from University of Montreal in Canada found that aggressive behaviour in kids was linked specifically to secondhand smoke exposure in childhood regardless of whether they were exposed during pregnancy or their parents have a history of being antisocial. "Second-hand smoke is in fact more dangerous that inhaled smoke, and 40 per cent of children worldwide are exposed to it. Moreover, exposure to this smoke at early childhood is particularly dangerous, as the child's brain is still developing," said researcher Linda Pagani. "I looked at data that was collected about 2,055 kids from their birth until ten years of age, including parent reports about secondhand smoke exposure and from teachers and children themselves about classroom behaviour. "Those having been exposed to secondhand smoke, even temporarily, were much more likely to report themselves as being more aggressive by the time they finished fourth grade," Pagani said. Pagani relied on longitudinal data collected by Quebec health authorities from birth onward on an annual basis. Although no direct causal link can be determined, the statistical correlation suggests that secondhand smoke exposure does forecast deviant behaviour in later childhood, the study found. The very detailed information collated for the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development enabled Pagani to do something no other researcher has done to date: distinguish the unique contribution of secondhand smoke exposure on children's later deviant behaviour. "Previous studies looking at groups of children have generally asked mothers whether they smoked or not, and how much at each follow-up, rather than asking whether someone smoked in the home where young children live and play," Pagani said. "Furthermore, few studies have looked at antisocial behaviour in the parents and even fewer have investigated the subsequent influence of prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke over the long term. "None have taken into account the fact that disadvantaged families are less likely to participate in a long study like this one, which of course skews the statistics," Pagani said. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. (Indian Express 22/5/13) Notice to Dispur on child rights (14)

Guwahati, May 22: Gauhati High Court today issued a notice to the Assam government seeking its reply regarding alleged violation of fundamental rights of children in the state. The notice was issued on the basis of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO working for child rights across the country. A division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked the state social welfare department, labour and employment department and others to reply to the complaints raised in the PIL by its next hearing on June 21. Bachpan Bachao Andolan is a New Delhibased NGO and is working for a child-friendly environment and ensure that all children get free and compulsory education. The NGO last week filed the PIL complaining violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 21, 21 A, 23, 24 of the Constitution, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, among others. Senior lawyer of the court, G.N. Sahewalla, who appeared on behalf of the NGO, said the PIL was filed after the NGO received several complaints about child labour, trafficking and sexual offences against children in Assam. The PIL raised the issue of children being trafficked from Assam by organisations with the promise of good education and food. We also raised the issue of non-appointment of a chairperson in the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for a long time, Sahewalla said. The PIL also sought the high courts intervention to direct the government and the departments concerned for prosecution and punishment of offenders of child labour and trafficking. It also sought measures for framing stringent policies and procedures to counter the menace of trafficking and forced labour of women and children, their rescue, recovery and care. (The Telegraph 23/5/13) Three child workers rescued in raid by labour department (14) HYDERABAD: Labour department officials raided a mechanical workshop and a tiffin centre near Sriya Yashoda Nivas in the 6th phase of KPHB colony on Saturday and found three children working in miserable conditions. They inspected the premises on the information provided by the Society for Integrated Development for Urban and Rural Areas ( SIDUR) that child labourers were being employed at the centre. It was found that the above establishments fall under hazardous activities in which about three child labourers -D.Manoj, B.Srikanth and D.Durgesh _ were found working in miserable conditions. A demand notice for payment of Rs 20,000 as penalty for each child as per the directions of the Supreme Court was served on the employers of the workshop and tiffin centre. Prosecution under Section 3 of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation ) Act is being initiated against the employer. A claim for minimum wages is being filed before the competent authority. The child workers were admitted to the Government Home for Boys at Saidabad for rehabilitation and production before the Child Welfare Committee. (New Indian Express 27/5/13)

Film creates awareness on need to protect children (14) PANAJI: The children's rights in Goa (CRG) has produced a Konkani film "Nigaras" which means innocent, for creating awareness on the need to protect children against sexual abuse. The 45-minute film will be screened in various schools in the state to create awareness. The premier screening of the film will be held on Monday at 6.30pm at Maquinez palace. Ashish Nagvekar, director of the film, said that though the film is on "child abuse," it also focuses on other important aspects of the child's life. "It involves parents, neighbours, teachers, village child right committees and police," said Nagvekar refusing to divulge the film's story. The film also focuses on issues faced by children and ambitions of the parents for their kids. This is the first film that has been produced by CRG to create awareness, though a few years ago it had screened a Sri Lankan film on similar lines but with Konkani subtitles. Nagvekar denied that the film is based on the Vasco rape case."Our film talks about child abuse in general. It is not based on any particular incident of child rape," he added. He said there has been a general rise in the incidence of sexual abuse of children in the state and the film aims at curtailing such incidents. (Times of India 3/6/13)

National Child Labour Project rescues 4,638 children in three years (14) Bangalore: The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) has rescued 4,638 children in the 9 to 14 age group from various hazardous occupations in the last three years. The NCLP scheme is being implemented in districts with high concentration of labour. The districts covered under the scheme in the State are Bijapur, Raichur, Dharwad, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Belgaum, Koppal, Devangere, Mysore, Bagalkot, Chitradurga, Gulbarga, Bellary, Kolar and Mandya. These children are admitted to special schools run by the NCLP schools which help them to be part of the formal school system. They are provided with bridge education, vocational training, nutrition, stipend and health care for three years. The Centre set aside Rs. 15.08 crore in the last five years for implementing the project in Karnataka. A sum of Rs. 4.04 crore was sanctioned in 2008-09, Rs. 4.47 crore in 2009-10, Rs. 64.47 lakh in 2010-11, Rs. 2.2 crore in 2011-12 and Rs. 3.71 crore in 2012-13. The scheme is being regularly monitored at the Central, State and district level for its effective implementation. At the national level, a central monitoring committee has been set up under the chairmanship of the Union Labour and Employment Secretary for overall supervision, monitoring and evaluation. At the district level, the Deputy Commissioner reviews it. (The Hindu 3/6/13) Rights group official blames state for ineffective RTE (14) JAMSHEDPUR: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is getting calls from parents for even trivial issues thanks to ineffective grievance redressal cells in the state. Ganesh Reddy, advisor in the RTE Act monitoring wing of NCPCR, said the inactive grievance redressal cells in the district levels, coupled with lack of awareness, is stagnating the process of redressing RTE admission issues in the state. "NCPCR holds the state government squarely responsible for the poor status of the redressal mechanism. It is for the government agencies to inform respective parents where to approach for issues relating to compulsory admission under RTE Act," said Reddy, who was in Jamshedpur on Monday. Reddy slammed the state government for its lackadaisical approach towards effective implementation of the Right To education Act in schools. "Sometimes I feel the schools and concerned government agencies are hand-in-glove in negating the effects of the RTE Act," said the NCPCR functionary. With reports of government agencies failing to act on RTE Act coming to light, Reddy said NCPCR is contemplating issuing summons to erring officials and school representatives. Of the 35 units, including states and Union Territory, Jharkhand ranks 34 in overall status of the RTE Act implementation is concerned. "Government agencies are often found napping when it comes to sincere implementation of compulsory education rights of children in the state," said Reddy, who was earlier state representative of NCPCR. (Times of India 4/6/13) 80 percent migrant kids have little or no education: Survey (14) Mumbai: As many as 80 percent children of migrant labourers in the state either drop out of schools or have no education at all as they get sucked into the labour workforce, a study released here Sunday reveals. According to the study by a noted NGO, while Maharashtra government's Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, rules stipulate a tracking system to monitor drop-out rate and absentee children, till date there is no system to ensure enrolment of children into schools or a mechanism to monitor that they do not end up as labourers. The study was conducted by Child Rights and You (CRY) in collaboration with Vanchit Vikas Sansthan of Ahmednagar district to monitor the health, academic and nutrition status of children working in 10 brick kilns in four sub-districts. The study report has been released to mark the World Day Against Child Labour next Tuesday, June 12. "Most of the children in and around the brick kiln areas get drawn into labour as they tend to help their parents by arranging the bricks for drying and collecting the broken and improperly moulded bricks," said CRY western regional director Kreeanne Rabadi. Since they have been helping their peers and parents on a daily basis from a tender age, as they grow older, they are automatically sucked into the trade. The childhood 'training' includes small errands

like sweeping the work places, rolling mud into balls that will eventually be moulded and shaped into bricks by their parents and, at home, helping with household chores like cleaning, and fetching water to free-up time for the adults to devote their time into making bricks. Though the government invokes the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, to prohibit children under age of 14 from working in brick kilns which is a hazardous process, the CRY study found the ground reality starkly different. Moreover, the proposed amendment to the bill, intending to align it with the RTE Act, 2009, to prohibit all forms of child labour, ironically, it seeks to dispense with the provision making brick kilns a hazardous process for children above the age of 14 to 18, Rabade pointed out. "The National Policy of Children, 2013 declares that all children from 0-18 years need to be protected and provided... Yet, 14 to 18-yearold children in this country find themselves unprotected by the very laws designed to ensure their rights," Rabade said "The RTE Act, 2009, apart from absolving itself of responsibility once they turn 14, even welcomes them into the labour force with open arms," she added. CRY's work of over three decades among the deprived sections has found a strong link between child labour and absence of schools. For instance, 48 percent of the schools are at least two km away from the brick kilns and poor transport facilities hamper the children from attending the distant schools. Besides, 34 percent of all ICDS centres are located at least three km away from the brick kilns, and 53 percent of primary health centres and subcentres are at least five km away from the brick kilns. Accordingly, the CRY claimed that there is a large incidence of malnutrition and stunted growth among the children who are exposed to toxic fumes as kilns use waste, rubber tyres and coal as fuel to churn out bricks. (Deccan Herald 9/6/13) 193 child labourers rescued in Mysore so far, says officer (14) Mysore: As June 12, declared by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as World Day against Child Labour, approaches, the issue of child labour comes to the fore. The sight of scraggy children working in hotels, restaurants, hazardous industries, garages, as domestic help, in plantations, or as rag-pickers is a common one in India, even though child labour is considered a serious violation of human rights and negation of social justice. In Mysore, a total of 193 child labourers were rescued and rehabilitated in five schools across the district: three in Mysore and one each in Hunsur, and H.D. Kote. These rehabilitation schools are managed by non-government organisations (NGOs) with assistance from national and State assistance. Three run with assistance from the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), and the other two from the State Child Labour Project (SCLP), according to Mohammad Zaheer Basha, District Labour Officer, who spoke to The Hindu. Of the 193 children rescued, 111 are in NCLP-run schools while the rest are in the SCLP-run schools. The children remain in the schools for one year, after which they are admitted to classes in government schools. Most of the children were rescued by NGOs, says Mr. Basha. After going through various social and family problems, the children find themselves forced to work. We carry out hundreds of raids every month, but we end up with very few cases for want of proof, he said. According to Mr. Basha, 10 children were rescued in 201011 and eight in 201112. As for the current year, only four have been found so far. Fines to the tune of Rs. 55,000 were imposed in five cases in 201011; Rs. 95,000 in 201112; and Rs. 40,000 in the four cases this year. Mr. Basha felt that the drive against child labour would be more effective if the officers involved worked in close coordination. The authorities often collaborate with the NGOs, who have been asked to provide details of the children rescued by them (such as school drop-outs and rag-pickers) to verify their ages or address of the parent which is often unavailable, Mr. Basha said. Officials who have acted as Child Protection Officers under the Child Labour Act will be involved in a sensitisation workshop after the function on June 12, he added. However, the bigger question is: will the ILOs aim to eradicate child labour in the world by 2016 become a reality? (The Hindu 9/6/13) World Anti-Child Labour Day to be observed on June 12 (14) SALEM: Child labour is a major deterrent to the nations growth and there should be greater awareness about child rights. This is the message that would be spread across the district during the World Anti-

Child Labour Day to be observed on June 12. The district is one of the child labour prone areas in the State where children below the age of 14 are employed in silver anklet industry, coir manufacturing units, brick units and unorganised sector. More than 1,500 rescued children are pursuing their studies in National Child Labour Project (NCLP) schools in the district with 253 students completing their degrees and diplomas. Currently, 3,138 students are pursuing their regular school education after being rescued from various industries. As part of observing the day, awareness programmes through rallies, distribution of pamphlets would be held in all the schools, public places besides industries. A pledge would also be undertaken on the particular day at 11 a.m. (The Hindu 10/6/13) Call for ban on all forms of child labour (14) NEW DELHI: As the world celebrated International Day Against Child Labour on June 12, leading child rights organisations, including Child Rights and You (CRY) and Save the Children, reiterated that the persistence of child labour in India was primarily due to lack of political will. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has marked 2013 as the year to combat child domestic labour, a growing menace in India. The ban on child labour in homes and eateries has been there since 2010, but still thousands of children are working as domestic workers or in dhabas and even in factories in the national Capital, said Save the Children CEO Thomas Chandy. Unfortunately, there are no special laws to control these placement agencies. The good thing is that police takes action against the employers in case of a report, but the law needs to be strengthened in order for it to act as a deterrent against child labour, Mr. Chandy added, asking the government to pass the amended law banning all forms of child labour. Child labour in India is governed by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which is considered primarily a work-centric legislation rather than a child-centric one, argued CRY CEO Puja Marwaha. The legislation addresses children engaged in hazardous occupations and processes in a limited way, as the purview of the Act covers only 18 occupations and 65 processes. It has a few glaring gaps as it still allows children to work in home-based work. This allows uncontrolled employment of children in bidi -rolling, embroidery work and making fire crackers as these are sub-contracted jobs that children do at home, she added. (The Hindu 14/6/13) Officials fail to acknowledge exploitation in brick kilns (14) CHENNAI: Brick kilns along the Vennaru river, traversing through Pudukottai and Thanjavur districts, continue to thrive by engaging child labour on a large scale. Barely 10 days ago, eight children - four boys and four girls - were rescued from brick kilns at Vishnampettai village, located on a riverbank in Thanjavur district. All the children except a boy from the neighbouring village, were working along with their family. The rescue operation, which followed a petition to the chief ministers cell, also saw the closure of more than 20 brick kilns operating on public land. Three brick kiln owners were arrested during the raid, under the Child Labour (Prohibition and regulation) Act. Though section 374 of IPC (Unlawful compulsory labour) was invoked in the case, revenue authorities deny prevalence of bonded labour in the units that have been closed. However, a supervisor employed in one of the brick kilns confided that the families from far away villages were recruited by paying an advance ranging from `20,000 to `40,000. Rather than wages, these families are paid a meager `700 per week to meet their domestic expenses. The families live under temporary shelters near the kiln, for over five months, from the Tamil month of Maasi and leave on the 18th of Aadi (mid-February to August first week), he disclosed. Since wages are deducted from the advance they got while they were hired, in the end they are offered the balance amount, assuming the value of their work is over and above the advance sum.According to Thanjavur based advocate V Jeevakumar, brick klin owners monitor every movement of families of employees - even if it is a visit to a hospital. (New Indian Express 17/6/13) Funds crunch leaves child rights panel toothless (14)

RANCHI: A year after its formation, the Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), has been languishing as a toothless body without any funds. Since its formation in June last year, the SCPCR has been working towards protection of child rights in forms of various programmes like rescuing child labourers and organizing "kishori mahapanchayats". Around 30 to 40 cases are dealt by the panel every month but maintaining a record of these cases has become difficult for the members. The SCPCR office does not have a single computer to register data. "We have registers and pens which the members buy paying from their pockets. We do not have enough funds to help the children in distress and there is no shelter home where we can keep the rescued children or the children in need," said Mishra. Lack of manpower is a major reason because of which many cases are still pending. Mishra said, "We are five members in the commission. In the past one year, people have got to know that the SCPCR solves many problems related to child rights but we are facing many difficulties in disposing of cases because of lack of manpower and funds." Sunil Kumar, another SCPCR member, who at present is on an official tour to a village said, "After one year of formation, all we got is an office. We still don't have things of basic office necessity. At present, I am travelling on my own expenses for an official work. I hope that we will soon get more facilities and funds for the proper functioning of the commission." Another handicap faced by the SCPCR members is that they do not have the power to summon secretary- level officials. Mishra said, "Usually, the chairperson and the members of various commissions in the country have been given the post equivalent to that of a minister of state but in SCPCR we are on a post lower than a secretary." The major demands of the SCPCR are to strengthen the commission, to ensure availability of funds, human resources and infrastructure for proper functioning, proper guidelines for funds allocation and review the existing rules. "If these demands are fulfilled, the SCPCR will be able to perform much better," said Mishra. (Times of India 19/6/13) Involve differently abled children in decision making, says UNICEF report (14) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Involve children with disabilities in making decisions as they are not just beneficiaries, but agents of change, says the State of the Worlds Children 2013: Children with Disabilities report of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). Panchayat and Social Justice Minister M.K. Muneer released the report here on Tuesday, which speaks about the importance of the inclusion of children with disabilities in nation building and why it is important to hear and heed their voices in policymaking and programmes. The report, focussing on the marginalised community of disabled people, points out that given the opportunities to flourish as others might, children with disabilities have the potential to lead fulfilling lives and to contribute to the social, cultural and economic vitality of their communities. The Minister said that every child should be respected irrespective of disabilities and provided the same opportunities and rights as the rest of the children. The infant deaths in Attappady have been a wake-up call for the government regarding the nutrition policy, and it has come with a comprehensive plan to address the problem. The government has planned to set up a special school in each panchayat. Going one step ahead, plans are on the anvil to start rehabilitation centres along with the school, he said. The report says that children with disabilities are often regarded as inferior, exposing them to increased vulnerability. Speaking at the function, Satish Kumar, Chief of UNICEF State Office for Tamil Nadu and Kerala, said that discrimination on the grounds of disability was prevalent among the public, decisionmakers and providers of essential services, which led to the invisibility of this group. The report, in fact, points out that survival for such groups of children is a great challenge as they have to face neglect and discrimination from society. There should an approach where the children are provided an inclusive and equitable environment to have an equally fulfilling life, he said. Speaking on the need to create awareness of the need to include children in all activities of society, N. Ahmed Pillai, Commissioner of State Commissionerate for Persons with Disabilities, said the country had a low infant mortality rate, but the number of disabled people was the rise. There was not sufficient awareness of high-risk pregnancy cases and preventive facilities. Even when there were provisions for early detection of disabilities, the State lacks streamlined activities to provide proper support and treatment to such identified cases, he

said. Leela Gangadharan, Chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Childs Rights, said the State should focus on adopting more preventive measures in such cases. Focus on the working women community, who are now rarely supported by society. The nutrition policy should be given the main focus, she said. (The Hindu 20/6/13) '6.28 lakh children are out of school in Karnataka' (14) Bangalore: Contrary to Education Departments claim that only 51,994 students aged between 6 and 14 are out of school in the State at present, an analysis submitted to the Karnataka High Court on Thursday points out that 6,28,047 students in this age group are out of school. Analysis done by social activist Kathyayini Chamaraj, who has been permitted by the court to intervene in a public interest litigation petition suo motu initiated by it on the issue of the out-of-school children, has demonstrated this aspect by analysing the figures of students enrolled and continuing in various classes as provided by the Education Department. Ms. Kathyayini has said that 78,76,110 students have been admitted to first standard from 2005-06 to 2011-12. In 2012-13, all these children should be in second to eighth standard. As per the governments figures, there were only 72,48,063 children studying from second to eighth standard in 2012-13. Hence, there are 6,28,047 children who have either dropped out, or are missing, after enrolment in the last seven years, the analysis pointed out. This works out to about 8 per cent of the children who are out of school at any given time. However, the official dropout rates are far lower due to the unscientific manner in which it is calculated by the Education Department. Thus, the figure stated by the Education Department does not match at all with the actual number of children who have dropped out of school as per the statistics maintained by the department, claimed Ms. Chamaraj. After going through the analysis of figures, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagarathna asked the State government to study the analysis while pointing out that it will be a serious issue if what has been pointed out in the analysis is true. What has been pointed out in the analysis may or may not be correct. You [government] study this aspect and file your response, the Bench observed while adjourning hearing till July 4. Aditya Sondhi, court-appointed amicus curiae, said a panel should be formed comprising officials of the Education Department, local authority representatives, social activist and educationist to oversee the implementation of certain provisions of the RTE Act. The committee should monitor admissions to schools under the RTE Act, incentives given to private schools, and prevent discrimination of children admitted under the Act. (The Hindu 22/6/13) CRY hopes for tough law to bring an end to child labour (14) PUDUCHERRY: Addressing food security issue among urban poor and strengthening pre-school facilities were among the recommendations made in the report on Child Survey, which indicated that more than 50 per cent of children do not have access to three square meals a day. A report on the survey, conducted by Hope Foundation and CRY (Child Right and You), was presented to Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Monday. One other recommendation by the committee was that all legislation related to children should define the age of children as below 18 years, since the Union Cabinet has cleared the new National Policy for Children on 18 April 2013, which lays down a universal definition of the child as less than 18 years. A comprehensive legislation to prohibit the engagement of children up to 18 years of age in any form of employment in any place of work during any time of the day should be enacted, suggested P Joseph Victor Raj of HOPE. The survey revealed that more than 45 per cent of children in slums are out of schools. Some of them have dropped out as early as 8, 10, 12 and 14 years of age. Nearly 30 per cent of the children have become child labourers. Although child rights activists have been stressing that the Child Labour Prohibition & Regulation) Act (CLPRA) enacted in the country in the year 1986 is a toothless Act, government has been dormant in this issue. Further recommendations include that the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) should be formed immediately in Puducherry. The chairperson and members need to be persons of eminence, who have done outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children and should be selected in a transparent manner by a selection

committee of eminent persons. Rules for Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) should be notified and enforced immediately. Formation of Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cells (CPMCs) by schools. Besides hearing grievances related to corporal punishment, child sexual abuse and mental harassment, CPMCs will forward recommendations to district level authorities within 48 hours of the occurrence. These recommendations were based on the findings, which revealed that more than 10% children in Puducherry and Karaikal and more than 30% in slums have experienced physical violence and corporal punishment in schools. Employment Guarantee Scheme for Urban Areas should be planned and executed immediately. Territorial Administration can also plan its own urban employment guarantee scheme as done by West Bengal. The Territorial Administration should release a white paper on the utilisation of the Central funds of 6.66 lakh, 50 lakh and 150 lakh for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively under Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY). While enforcing the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, the children should also be included in the school management committee, so that the childrens voice is also heard while deciding on the matters concerning them. Awareness on child line number should be created in the interior villages and slums areas. (New Indian Express 25/6/13) State not alive to woes of migrant labour: child rights panel member (14) HYDERABAD: Is the State Government alive to the sheer magnitude of problems of migrant labourers, particularly those working in brick kilns and other areas in the construction industry? No, if one were to go by what Nina Nayak, member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has to say. Ms. Nayak, who was on a two-day visit to the State, visited brick kilns at Raviryala village in Maheswaram mandal in Ranga Reddy district. Describing the conditions of the children of migrant labourers a majority of whom hailing from Odisha as pathetic and painful, she said it left her shellshocked. The sight of a half-a-dozen little children, all red-haired and visibly malnourished can be unnerving. Makes us think as if we were not living in the 21 century, Ms. Nayak exclaimed. Stating that the State was not alive to the magnitude of the problem, she added that programmes like the Rajiv Vidya Mission and those of the departments of education and labour have been able to mitigate the awful conditions of the workers and their children to an extent. However, the absolute lack of any statistics was adding to the apparent inability of government agencies to do anything concrete to help improve the lot of the poor migrants, especially in ensuring access to education and health, she said. After her visit to Ravirala, Ms. Nayak held extensive meetings with senior officials of the A.P. Government. Asked about the outcome of the discussions, she said that hopefully things would move in a proactive manner, adding that the first concrete step would be to compile statistics. We have funds to the tune of Rs. 500 crore collected as cess from those in the construction industry. All we need is a bit more of human outlook and pull up our socks to ensure that all concerned work in tandem to implement existing welfare schemes in a more effective manner, she said. (The Hindu 26/6/13) UN calls for protection of children working in fishing industry (14) New York, June 28 : Governments must take measures to protect children from harmful work in smallscale fisheries and aquaculture, two United Nations agencies stressed Thursday, noting that many are exposed to hazardous working conditions even when their countries have signed treaties to protect them. In a guidance document, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) said many children working in the fishing industry remain exposed to unacceptable working conditions, requiring them to dive to unsafe depths - often at night - work long hours in unsanitary processing plants, and handle toxic chemicals and dangerous equipment or gear. Girls working in fish processing depots are also at risk of sexual abuse. "Work of this kind is intolerable," said the FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries and Aquaculture, rni M. Mathiesen. "It affects children's health and learning abilities, and often prevents them from attending school." Constance Thomas, Director of ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, stressed the importance of ensuring

that agreements designed to protect children from child labour are implemented, as many times countries have signed treaties but failed to translate them into national legislation. FAO and ILO estimate that around 130 million children work in agriculture, livestock and fisheries - accounting for 60 per cent of child labour worldwide. There is no aggregate data showing how many children work in fisheries and aquaculture, but case study evidence suggests child labour is a problem especially in informal small and medium-sized fishing and aquaculture enterprises and in family operations. "Children are more at risk than adults from safety and health hazards because their bodies are not yet fully developed," said the Director of the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division of FAO, Rob Vos. "Programmes to reduce poverty and improve fishing technologies and practices will take away the need for child labour." A major challenge is addressing the root causes of child labour - poverty and food insecurity. Promoting decent work opportunities for adults, social protection and, free education with school feeding programmes can lead to sustainable solutions, the agencies said. FAO and ILO are urging compliance with international rules to protect children working in the industry. These include the ILO's Minimum Age Convention, and its Worst Forms of Child Labour and Work in Fishing conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and FAO's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Working with fishing communities is also essential to ensure that children receive adequate care and education, and are not involved in hazardous activities, the agencies added. (New Kerala 29/6/13) Lack of counsellors hits rehab of child workers (14) Bangalore: The increase in forced migration of children to the City from other parts of the country and the neighbouring nations has posed a unique problem to child welfare organisations here: There are just not enough number of counsellors and interpreters to facilitate the rehabilitation of rescued children. Counsellors and interpreters play a crucial role in rehabilitating children in need of care and protection as well as those in conflict of law. Their services are absolutely essential to understand the circumstances in which children arrive in the City. Besides, providing immediate and sustained emotional support to the children who would have run away from home in conflict-ridden conditions is not easy without their help. But finding counsellors and interpreters who can speak the native language of the child has become a challenge for child rights activists, especially since more and more children are being found trapped in vulnerable situations. Nagasimha G Rao of Child Rights Trust narrates how the NGO struggled to find a person who could converse in Tibetan with a rescued Tibetan child recently. We finally found a watchman who could converse in the language and requested him to help us understand the childs background, Rao said. But the problem didnt end there. If we request daily wage workers to help us, then the person risks losing the days income. They should also be paid for conveyance. Such an arrangement is difficult to sustain, he added. Similarly, people who can speak Bhojpuri and those who can understand the local dialects of Nepal, Bangladesh, Bihar and Rajasthan are hard to find. A number of child labourers in the City are these places.Support to children by people who can speak their native language becomes important at various levels of rehabilitation. For them to open up about their conflicts, it is important to connect to them in their language. Seeing someone who can speak the regional dialect also makes children feel at ease at the shelter home and ensures that they do not get isolated leading to psychological trauma. But finding people who can talk to children in their native language is just one problem. There also is an acute shortage of counsellors who can provide immediate and long-term psychological and emotional support to the rescued children. Due to lack of professional counsellors and funds, many organisations rehabilitating children end up designating their own staff for the purpose. Some organisations also appoint interns for the job without supervision, which could work adversely for the cause. It was only recently that the state government began hiring counsellors under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). Only one counsellor was hired per institution last year. Shashikala Shetty, Director of ICPS, said there were no current plans to hire more counsellors. We will recruit more only if needed, she said, adding that the State would require more funds from the Centre under the ICPS to remunerate the counsellors well. Activists strongly believe that the government has not realised the

importance of professional counsellors for childrens welfare. Counsellors are in short supply because there are not enough posts in government recruitment, pointed out Dr N Janardhana, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Nimhans. Not all counsellors are capable of counselling children, though. Hence, there is a need for specific training in this regard. Unfortunately counselling is often mistaken for giving advice. It is about searching for solutions with the person in concern, he added. The staff of child welfare organisations should also be trained efficiently intervene during crises and district-level programmes for existing counsellors should be conducted, Dr Janardhana added. (Deccan Herald 2/7/13) Students raise voice against cruelty in Vijayawada (14) VIJAYAWADA: Students of various schools and homes appealed to the Government to take measures to protect Child Rights. Many children are subjected to cruelty in industries and in residential areas and are suffering the torture in silence, they said. Victims rescued by the officials and NGOs, students and inmates of homes celebrated Child Rights Day organised by the Krishna District National Child Labour Project (NCLP), in association with Women Development and Child Welfare and some NGOs in the city on Sunday. A domestic help, P. Varalakshmi (name changed), said even as the Government framed several Acts to protect child rights, violence against children was continuing. In some places, employers are engaging girls, aged below 12-years as servant maids, and are behaving inhumanly with them without providing proper food and clothes. In some cases, the owners and their children are sexually exploiting girls and are suppressing their voice. Even educated people are resorting to crime on children, said a rescued child labour, Ramu (name changed). The participants raised slogans urging the Government to take measures to prevent corporal punishment in schools and cruelty against children. They demanded severe punishment to those booked under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act and on those involved in sexual assault cases on young girls. The students asked the Government to constitute a Commission to protect child rights and implement the Right to Education Act in all educational institutions strictly. Later, they performed cultural programmes to enlighten the public on child rights. (The Hindu 1/7/13) Over 4.37 lakh kids suffer from anaemia, malnutrition (14) Ahmedabad: Over 4.37 lakh schoolchildren in Gujarat are suffering from anaemia and malnutrition, reveals a latest report on a health project conducted across schools in the state where several "nutrition intervention" programmes are being run to boost nutrition levels among children. The unpublished figures sourced by The Indian Express from School Health Programme (SHP) that covered 1.5 crore students in 99,036 anganwadi centres, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools during the year 2012-13 show high prevalence of both anemia and malnutrition among schoolchildren in the age group of 0-18 years. These figures come at a time when the state government is running at least seven different programmes to combat malnutrition among children and mothers: Anaemia Control Programme among women and children, Adolescent Girls Anaemia Control Programme, Mission Balam Sukham, Mamta Abhiyan, Micro-nutrients programme, National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme, and Vitamin A Supplementation Bi-annual Round for children. That's not all. The state also has created a special Gujarat State Nutrition Mission to tackle malnutrition. The SHP carried out from November 2012 till January 2013 covers a total of 15 diseases. It has been found that over 2.41 lakh students were categorised in the bracket of "other diseases". In this segment or other diseases, (in which health experts did not rule out the possibility of malnutrition as one of the reasons), there were 1,729 cases of neurological disorders and 2,416 cases of stress among students. All these as per health experts, are caused by malnutrition. Talking about the high prevalence of anaemia, Dr Kinnari Mehta from the health department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said, "As one leads to another (anaemia and malnutrition), what we have come across during diagnosis and examination of students is that there are

two possible reasons. One is poverty that is also attributed for a larger number of students in rural areas. Other is lack of ignorance among parents." Dr Mehta is also associated with SHP. (Indian Express 7/7/13) 408 child labourers rescued in Punjab (14) Chandigarh: Labour department in Punjab has successfully rescued over 408 children engaged as child labour in the state. The children were rescued during a special drive from 17 to 23 June this year, when the state was observing child labour eradication week. State labour minister Surjit Kumar Jayani on Monday said, during the course of the drive, special teams were constituted under Deputy Commissioners concerned and raids were conducted at 8,964 different centres. During raids, 408 cases of child labour were detected and 337 offenders were issued challans for the offence, he said. Among these cases, 203 children were found to be working in dangerous occupations. Maximum 99 cases of child labour were found in Ludhiana district, 59 in Sangrur, 47 in Amritsar and 31 in Jalandhar district, Jayani said. Besides these raids, special seminars were organised for sensitising people so that children belonging to poor families could also enjoy their childhood, the minister said. (Zee news 8/7/13) NGO helps children with education and shelter (14) MYSORE: A century ago, two friends found children wandering the streets for food and thought of providing them shelter and education. Thus formed an orphanage for eight children under the stewardship of HaqemSyed Mustafa Sahib and BhadruZama Khan Mekhri. Cut to the present, Pulwari, Muslim girls' orphanage, and Apna Ghar, Muslim boys' orphanage, are taking care of 228 girls and 118 boys. The number of inmates is increasing by the year. Both the orphanages, built by a Bangalore-based builder, are being maintained by NGO Maajlis-E-Rifa-Hul-Muslimeen. Claiming anonymity, a philanthropist told TOI: "My association with the orphanages dates back to six decades. I have donated funds as these orphanages have given life to many people." Besides members from the community, professors, scientists and teachers also often engage free maths and science classes for the inmates. Apart from the basic needs, the organization is also training the inmates in tailoring and needle works. The members of the management committee, along with teachers and doctors, decide the course based on their skills and intelligence. Rafiq Mekhri, a leader attached to the NGO, said that they get support from the community members and the government. Apart from contributions from philanthropists, the state government's Wakf Board helps the organization in its community services, he explained. The government provides grants of Rs 500 to each child up to Class X. MPs have also donated to the NGO. The contribution of funds will be high during Ramzan, he added. Both the orphanages have emergency wards with two doctors serving free of cost. There are 28 staffs appointed to take care of the inmates. The NGO has constructed commercial buildings for revenue. (Times of India 10/7/13) NCPCR pulls up West Bengal government for failing to curb child labour (14) NEW DELHI: The NCPCR has pulled up the West Bengal government for allegedly failing to curb child labour in the state and asked it to set up an anti-human trafficking unit and ensure right to education to children. An National Commission for Protection of Child Rights team led by member Yogesh Dube, which recently visited the state, expressed unhappiness over the state labour department's failure to implement the directives to ensure that minors are not employed in hazardous working conditions as per the law. "The performance of the labour department is pathetic as it has failed to rescue children working in industries, factories and brick kilns," Dube said. A large number of children work in brick kilns across the state and the state government does not have proper figures of the children and workers working in those places, he said. "They do not have a proper action plan to bring child labourers into the mainstream and the labour department has failed to rescue and rehabilitate the children," he said. "Hence, we have asked the state to draw up a proper action plan to monitor and ensure that the rights of the children are protected and establish an anti-human trafficking unit with the support of the police," he said. "We have also asked the state to prepare proper mechanism to ensure the right of education to children." He said

the Commission felt the need for holding public hearings in this regard in all the districts. According to the data provided by the state to the Commission, it has rescued only 23 children since 2011 till date. As per a survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2009-10, the number of working children in India was reported to be 29.84 lakh and in West Bengal the number was estimated at 5,51,584. (Times of India 14/7/13) Thirty child labourers rescued (14) New Delhi: Delhi Police, in association with the labour department and NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, rescued 30 child labourers, aged between seven and 16 years, and arrested four of their employers on Monday. The children were employed in inhuman conditions at an embroidery unit at the Garhi in Lajpat Nagar. Mostly from Madhubani, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districts of Bihar and Barbanki district of Uttar Pradesh, the children were allegedly made to work for 12 to 14 hours a day, with as little as half-an-hour break in between. Their employers had restricted their movements and they were forced to work in closed rooms, thus compelled to eat, sleep and work in the same room. In fact, 16 children were found working in 10x4 rooms. Mannu (name changed), a 12-year-old boy from Bihar who was rescued, had been brought to the Capital for sightseeing by a man from his village. A few days after arrival, the man asked him to shuffle between work and education. However, though he was working at the embroidery unit, he was not enrolled in any school. Moreover, the man left him in the city never to come back. The boy had allegedly been working at the unit for two months and without receiving any remuneration for his work. The kid was elated on being rescued and said, I am very happy that I am going back home to see my parents. I will go back to school. Kailash Satyarthi, founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, under whose complaint the raid was conducted, accused the labour department of negligence due to which child labour was thriving in the area. This is the sixth raid in Garhi since 2009 and children are still found to be working here. This shows that there is lack of fear among the factory owners. Hence, more stringent steps should be taken to punish the culprits, he said. (Deccan Herald 15/7/13) Child rights panel acts on TOI report (14) NEW DELHI: Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo moto cognizance of a TOI report on July 10 in which a two-year-old girl was sexually abused by a cab driver in west Delhi. In a letter addressed to the additional commissioner of west district and SHO of the police station concerned, Shashank Shekhar-a DCPCR member-asked them on Tuesday to produce an action-taken report by August 8. West district police acted swiftly and arrested the accused after registering a case under POCSO and relevant sections of IPC. DCPCR also asked police to explain what sections have been slapped on the accused. "We have been mandated to look after proper implementation of Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act. It is this particular aspect that we are investigating here. The incident is of prime importance as it involves a child who has just started visiting school,'' said a commission member. He said that the commission will be asking the investigating officer of a round-up of the entire investigation. On July 8, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl became the latest victim of sexual abuse when a cab driver who picked and dropped her at a prep school assaulted her. The accused- identified as a 23year-old who has been driving an Eeco -has been arrested. He had been appointed just two months ago by her parents. "A couple of days ago, the girl complained of pain and refused to go to school. Her mother did not know what was troubling her daughter. After much coaxing, the girl finally managed to communicate her trauma. A medical test conducted by doctors found that the child was carrying internal injuries. We arrested the accused," said a senior police officer. (Times of India 17/7/13) 20 children die after eating mid-day meal in Bihar school (14) Patna: 20 young children have died in Bihar and more than 30 are in hospital, allegedly due to foodpoisoning from the free mid-day meal at a government-run primary school near Chhapra in the central part of the state. Most of the children who died were younger than 10. 20 dead children were buried near

the school, as many are still battling for life in hospital. The woman who cooked the meal and her children have also died. The children fell ill soon after eating the meal of rice, pulse and soyabean on Tuesday afternoon. As Bihar tried to come to terms with the horrific tragedy, state Education Minister PK Shahi said preliminary inquiries revealed the food had traces of an organophosphate used as an insecticide on rice and wheat crops. "The food may not have been washed before it was served at the school," he said. According to some reports, only children who ate the soyabean had been affected. Locals said the dish had been cooked in bad, poisonous oil. "This is an example that we should exercise more caution when it comes to mid-day meals provided to children," said Union Education Minister Pallam Raju. The Centre has sent an official to investigate the deaths. A case has been registered against the school's headmistress Meena Devi and other teachers. Angry protests have broken out in Chhapra, where hundreds of people surrounded the local police station on Tuesday demanding action against the school. "The children came back crying from school and complained of a stomach ache after having dal, rice and vegetables. We went to the school to find out and saw many children lying sick," said a distraught parent whose child is being treated in hospital. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry and announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh to the families of the children. The opposition BJP, which was dumped recently by the chief minister after a 17-year partnership, was quick to blame the Nitish Kumar government. "This is criminal negligence and the state government is responsible for this." Chhapra is the Lok Sabha constituency of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who said, "This is happening everywhere in Bihar. I will see who is responsible for this." In Bihar, widespread corruption has been reported in the mid-day meal scheme, the world's largest school-feeding programme that reaches out to some 12 crore children in schools across the country. Bihar Food Minister Shyam Rajak said as per procedure, the school administration was given a cheque and they were responsible for buying the rations. (NDTV 17/7/13) State human rights commission orders probe into child suicide (14) HYDERABAD: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Wednesday directed the authorities in Karimnagar to probe the circumstances leading to the suicide of a class IV student and submit a report by September 10. Sai Prasad of Nandi Convent School had jumped to his death in the early hours of Wednesday. According to a petition filed at the SHRC, the boy was at the receiving end of corporal punishment for a long time. It was alleged that the headmaster of the school and hostel warden had physically tortured the boy. "Since the beginning of this academic year, many such cases of corporal punishment have come to the fore. But this is a very serious one," said petitioner Achyuta Rao. "We came to know that the boy had tried to flee from the school unable to bear the torture of the teaching staff. We hold the headmaster and warden responsible for the incident." The petitioner also demanded that a criminal case be registered against the headmaster and the school be derecognized. (Times of India 19/7/13) 86,000 children working in Madagascar mines: ILO (14) Antananarivo, Madagascar: As many as 86,000 children are working in mines in Madagascar, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) official has revealed, adding that some of them work to help parents in sapphires or gold careers. The latest data published by the ILO bureau shows that 28 per cent of the children in Madagascar, aged between five and 17, are engaged in household work, mining, carriage, prostitution, farming and restaurant service, reported Xinhua. The findings prompted the ILO to launch a project to tackle child labour by encouraging education between September 2012 and May 2013 in the Southwestern region of the island country, said Ntsay Christian, the ILO representative to Madagascar. Today, the ILOs educational project has enabled 830 children, aged six to 15, to attend school, 500 children to resume school learning and 80 to have vocational training, he added. According to the law in Madagascar, anyone employing children can be slapped a fine of 1 million to 3 million Ariary (about $500 to $1,500) and with up to three years of imprisonment. Madagascar, lying off the

Southeastern coast of Africa, is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. It is known around the world for its rich biodiversity and tropical rainforests. The country, having a legal system based on French civil law and traditional Malagasy laws, is home to five per cent of the worlds species, many of which are native only to Madagascar. (The Hindu 20/7/13) 36 child labourers rescued from sweatshops in Seelampur, Usmanpur (14) New Delhi: Thirty-six child labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were rescued on Sunday from six garment factories in Seelampur and Usmanpur areas of north-east Delhi. "These child labourers were rescued in a joint raid by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Labour department, Delhi police, National Legal Services Authority and Delhi Legal Services Authority," police said. Twenty-eight child labourers from Bihar, seven from UP and one from West Bengal were rescued, they said. The children were allegedly forced to work in poorly lit and ill-ventilated rooms and had to stay there itself, according to police. One of the rescued children said he had been working for past six months in a unit and was forced to work for 16-17 hours a day without any remuneration. "Every month over 2,000 children are trafficked from different parts of the country to Delhi and over 500 child labourers rescued each month," Kailash Satyarthi, founder of the NGO said. All the rescued children have been sent to an NGO under the orders of Child Welfare Committee and their repatriation formalities are underway, he said. (Zee News 21/7/13) Child rights panels warnings ignored: chairperson (14) Bhopal: The daring escape of 11 minors from a juvenile home in Jehangirabad was very much in the offing. The State Commission for Protection of Childrens Rights (SCPCR) has during the course of last two years inspected the home twice and finding several lacunae, made detailed recommendations for improvement. So much so that the former chairperson of the commission Sheela Khanna following an inspection in 2011 had pointed out that there were slum settlements adjacent to the boundary wall of the home and the height of the wall was too low to prevent escape bid by the inmates. However, the recommendations fell on deaf ears and the home is still plagued with several problems including improper housing of the inmates, inadequate number of security guards, no teacher and few ways to divert the childrens attention to creative things. The team of SCPCR, led by chairperson Usha Chaturvedi, visited the home again on Tuesday to find out the situation in which the 11 minors escaped. Later, speaking to HT, the chairperson said it was found that the authorities had failed to take any steps to correct the lacunae that were pointed out by the commission following its earlier inspections. The superintendent is not a full-time employee but is just holding charge temporarily, there are only only two watchmen on duty instead of the required three, the home also does not have a teacher or gardener as is required, she said. There is a lot of space available on the premises and gardening could be a good creative activity for the inmates, the SCPCR had recommended following an inspection in 2012, the chairperson said. She also said in a violation of rules, children of different age groups are made to stay together in a single halllike accomodation. Chaturvedi said the commission would continue with its investigations (Hindustan Times 24/7/13) Just 0.34 percent of GDP spent on protection of kids: Experts (14) New Delhi, July 25 : The total expenditure of the government on child protection remains a mere 0.34 percent of India's Gross Domestic Product, and approximately 170 million children continue to live in precarious circumstances, experts said Thursday. In the last 20 years, India has made impressive strides towards improving legal, policy, and administrative frameworks aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of children and adolescents, experts gathered at a seminar on child rights organised by the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights of Harvard University, in conjunction with the Public Health Foundation of India, said. In her keynote address, Shantha Sinha, professor of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad who had served as the first chief of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and is also renowned for her activism to prevent child labour, expressed deep concern

about child security and listed the barriers to adolescent empowerment in India, especially for abused and neglected children abandoned by parents and families. "There are 42 million children in the 14-18 age group who are out of school, who live in exploitative environments lacking financial and personal security, and who are vulnerable to early marriage, gender discrimination and so on. They need the full support of the state and its services to exercise their own agency and negotiate a path towards dignity and freedom," she said. K. Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India said: "Children live, learn and grow, not in isolation, but as part of families, communities and society. Hence community-based solutions that foster health and nutrition, psychosocial well-being, education, self-respect, dignity and the social reintegration of children and adolescents are the best way to ensure physical and psychological recovery." (New Kerala 26/7/13) No commission in Himachal yet for safeguarding children's rights (14) SHIMLA: In the recent years, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed rise in sexual assault cases against children, especially exploitation by teachers in schools. While seven years back a central Act had obligated the states to formulate Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR), Himachal has failed to do so. Not happy with the unwanted delay in setting up the body, now the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has threatened to drag the state to court if it is not formed at the earliest. Three months back, the state government had announced to set up state commission for protection of child rights with immediate effect, but till date the chairperson and other members have not been appointed. In a notification issued on April 27 this year, the state government had announced to constitute the commission with its headquarters in Shimla. The commission was proposed to have a chairperson, member secretary - a secretary level official of state government - and six members, including two women. As per the notification, tenure of chairperson and others members would be of three years. While the government appointed women and child development director Madhubala Sharma as the member secretary the same day, it formed three-member selection committee comprising social justice and empowerment minister Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandil, chief secretary Sudripta Roy and principal secretary (social justice and empowerment) to choose the rest. However, till date the government has not issued any notification about the appointment of chairperson and other members. NCPCR has acted on child rights issue following the death of two class VI students of Convent of Jesus and Mary, Shimla, who had died under suspicious circumstances after falling from Kala Dhank near the school in September 2012. When social justice and empowerment minister Col Dhani Ram, chairman of the selection committee, was contacted over phone for his comments on delay in appointing members in the commission, his PA Trilok said, "Saheb is travelling in another vehicle and I cannot ask him to speak." C S Sudripta when asked about delay in selecting chairperson and members of the commission, too said that he would inform only after collecting relevant information. "I will get back to you after collecting the information," he said. NCPCR member Vinod Kumar Tikoo said there were many gaps in the system adopted by HP. "We had taken up many issues related to child rights with the state government but still gaps are there," he added. He said despite issuing a notification, the government is yet to set up the state commission. Tikoo said child care institutions in the state have not been mapped or registered under Section 34(3) of the Juvenile Justice Act. He said child welfare committees, mandatory for each district, too have been set up in an improper manner as deputy commissioners have been made the chairpersons of these committees, which is against the rules. "In Himachal we need to have a robust mechanism for inspection of child care institutions whether in government or private sector. At present there is no check on their functioning," he added. Tikoo said if the state government would not comply with the guidelines under the Act then it would be dragged to court for not implementing the provisions. "We had earlier taken Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to court on child right issues," he added. NCPCR team on Monday met Himachal governor Urmila Singh while on Tuesday they would hold a meeting with the state government officials. 571 children sexually abused in 10 years In April, two instances of sexual abuse of girl student at the hands of their teachers were reported from Shimla and Sirmaur districts. In May, a 48-year-old school

teacher was arrested in Bilaspur district of Himachal on the charges of sexually abusing a minor female student of class VIII. A study conducted by Asian Centre for Human Rights, Delhi, had showed that in Himachal, 571 children were subjected to sexual exploitation between 2001 and 2011. (Times of India 30/7/13) Six children being taken to Gujarat as labourers rescued (14) Jaipur: Child Fund India staff have rescued six minors from a Rajasthan State Transport bus in Udaipur. They were being trafficked to Gujarat to work as child labourers, an official said on Tuesday. A man who was taking the children along was arrested and is being interrogated. The children, in the age group of 12 to 16 years, were sent to a shelter on Monday night after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairperson (Udaipur district), Manju Verma, visited them and requested the police to take appropriate action. Joseph Mathew, coordinator of Child Fund Indias special anti-trafficking project in Udaipur, said he and his colleague Hemlata Verma saw a middle-aged man with six children boarding a bus at Gogunda in Udaipur district. Mathew and Verma were in the same bus and returning home after work. We could sense there was something wrong about the man and his activities. I asked my colleague to start a conversation with the kids, seated next to her, Mathew said. The idea was to know about the children and where they were being taken, Mathew added. From whatever discussion we had, we learnt that the kids were being trafficked to Gujarat to work as child labourers. We immediately tried to contact every possible official who could help us rescue them, he added. Thankfully, we managed to contact additional superintendent of police, Udaipur district, Sudhir Joshi who guided us till the children were finally rescued, he added. Child Fund India has been working in the region for over five years with a focus on eliminating child trafficking, rampant in the area. Children from the state are trafficked to Gujarat to work in BT cotton fields. Though the situation has improved over the years, cases of trafficking still surface. Child Fund India, part of Child Fund International and one of the oldest and largest international child development organisations in the world has been working in India since 1951 with child-centred programme expertise and unique interventions with changing needs. (Deccan Herald 31/7/13)

Number of child labour in Nepal drops to 1.6 million: UNICEF (14) Kathmandu: Abolition of bonded labour is still a distant dream in Nepal, even as statistics show the number of child labour has dropped to 1.6 million. Commissioner of National Human Rights Commission Gauri Pradhan on Wednesday said though statistics have shown decrease in child labour, abolition of bonded labour is still a distant dream and UNICEF has been in the fore front in the drive. He was speaking at a function where UNICEF launched a campaign to end violence against women and children coinciding with the initiation of global campaign to eliminate violence against children today. He said it is a matter of pride that movement for child rights in Nepal for the last 20 years has given fruit to various movements which have been recognised internationally such as Shakti Samuha - an organisation founded by trafficked women which has recently bagged prestigious Magsaysay award. According to UNICEF Nepal's representative Hanaa Singer, there are about 1,600,000 children in the age group to 517 working in various factories, while more than 600,000 are engaged in hazardous works. The number of girls and women working in the night entertainment industry in Kathmandu is estimated between 11,000 and 13,000. She said there is a need to ask children to report on violence against them and make the invisible visible as large number itself is not reported because it happens in homes. According to the data, 34 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced emotional, physical or sexual violence at least once since the age of 15. Nearly 40 percent of survivors of child sexual violence are aged below 18, the study reveals. Annually 12,000 children are trafficked to India, mainly for the purpose of sexual exploitation. (Zee news 1/8/13) Majority of juvenile offenders are aged between 16 and 18 (14)

Mumbai: Even as the apex court recently rejected the plea to lower the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years in heinous crimes, most juvenile criminals in the state were in the age group of 16 to 18 years last year with 4,037 out of 5,931 juvenile delinquents falling in this age group, according to figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Experts said that it is time to start a debate on the age of juvenile criminals. Leading criminal lawyer Majid Memon said that in the recent Delhi gang rape case, which created waves nationwide, the youngest offender was below 18 years of age, and his was found to be most grievous crime. Naturally, he said, there has been outcry for the highest punishment to him. But since the boy was less than 18 years of age on the date of the crime, he is protected by the law under the Juvenile Justice Act. This probably is the main reason to start a debate on reconsidering the age limit in cases of juvenile offenders. Only a few years ago, after anxious considerations, it was found that the age from 16 should be enhanced to 18 for juvenile criminals and accordingly, the amendment in law was affected. Now again, it is felt that the age be brought down from 18 to 16, said Memon. YP Singh, former IPS officer said, For certain heinous crimes, like the recent Delh gang rape, the juvenile age should be reduced. Unlike earlier days, the social environment now has changed and maturity comes faster. Hence youngsters now are more prone to committing crimes. Taking this into consideration, it is imperative that the age limit be reduced, at least for serious offences. The Supreme Courts July 17 judgment in the Salil Bali case had noted that there was no data to support public perception formed after the gruesome gang rape case of a paramedic in Delhi in December last year on the spurt in heinous crimes involving juveniles. It had said reformation was more important for juveniles than attaching a permanent criminal tag to them. It was only on August 1 that the Supreme Court agreed to hear a PIL arguing that a juveniles culpability should be determined on his mental maturity rather than physical age. (Hindustan Times 5/8/13) Steps to Address Child Abuse in the Country (14) The Government of India has taken several legal and administrative steps to address child abuse. The key steps taken are as under: i) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, as the principal legislation for the protection of children. The Act was amended in 2006 to ensure better care and protection for children and aims to enhance the protective environment for vulnerable, neglected and abused children by providing them care and protection. ii) A special law The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 to protect all children under the age of 18 years from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography came into force on 14th November, 2012. iii) National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was established in 2007, under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. This is a major step towards the protection of rights of children in the country. iv) The Child Labour (Regulation and Prohibition) Act, 1986, prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in notified hazardous occupations and processes. v) Adoption of the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The Act provides for free and compulsory education to all children between 6-14 years of age. vi) Implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for children in difficult circumstances and for vulnerable children since 2009. vii) The 24 hour child help line 1098 run by Childline as a toll-free phone number with outreach services linking children in need of care and protection in 278 locations. viii) A comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation, re-integration and repatriation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation- Ujjawala. ix) A web-based Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) to make the process of adoption more transparent; and guidelines for incountry and inter-country adoption to regulate and monitor all adoption programmes. This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today. (Govt. of India PIB 7/8/13) Child marriages still prevalent in Himachal, admits govt (14)

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh has failed to root out the social problem of child marriage, with 15 reported from five panchayats alone in Sirmaur, one of state's backward districts, from December 2007 to November 2011, the government has admitted. In an affidavit dated June 18, 2013, in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the state government admitted that 15 child marriages were solemnized in the Khud Drabil and Jarag panchayats in Sangrah block and the Chandni, Kathwar and Kodga panchayats in Paonta Sahib block. It also said four infant deaths, three child deaths and four dropout cases were reported in these panchayats during this period. There was however no case of child labour. Taking suo motu cognisance of an NGO survey, a division bench consisting of Chief Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Kuldip Singh had asked the deputy commissioner of Sirmaur April 9 to file a status report on child marriages, infant and child deaths, child labour and school dropouts. The court's direction came after treating a baseline survey conducted by NGO People's Action for People in Need as a public suit. The government affidavit says the five panchayats covered by the NGO in its survey have a population of 7,942 as per the December 2011 records. "Peculiar practices with regard to institution of marriage exist in Sangrah and Shillai areas of Sirmaur. However, with the passage of time, there is a declining trend but not fully extinct," the affidavit said. Customary provisions, including polyandry and polygamy, are still widely prevalent in the community as a whole in the areas across the Giri river, adjoining Uttarakhand, it said. The customary practice of "Har chali gayi" or "girl went to her in-law's house" is quite prevalent there. Under this practice, during fairs and festivals, commonly in January, relatives and near and dear ones visit each other's houses and stay as guests. It so happens that when a girl visits a house and a boy in that family becomes her choice, both of them share their liking and start residing together irrespective of their age. Sometimes the girl delivers a child with the acquiescence of the parents and the community. The marriages are later solemnized and registered with the local authorities when the couple attains majority, the affidavit says. It says seven out of 15 child marriages in the surveyed panchayats were performed by following the "Har chali gayi" practice. NGO director Kuldeep Verma said the government conducted the survey only in those panchayats where its study was focussed. "All these five panchayats are connected with roads. There are numerous panchayats in Sirmaur that are not accessible and where the customary provisions are more prevalent. We need to draw up action plans to crack down on child marriages," Verma said. Besides Sirmaur, he said, the tradition of child marriage is also prevalent in other districts like Kupvi in Shimla, Tissa in Chamba and Chhota and Bara Bangal in Kangra. "It's hard to know the exact number of child marriages as many go unregistered." The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, in its latest report, said 14 percent of girls in Himachal Pradesh get married before they turn 18. The high court, while disposing of the NGO's petition, observed July 23: "Since the issue is of great public importance and the department is committed to take measures to eradicate the social backwardness and social evil practices, as is assured in the reply-affidavit, we dispose of this petition." The bench however gave liberty to the petitioner to take recourse to appropriate remedies, including a fresh suit, to bring to the court's notice the continuation of such medieval practices. (Zee News 8/8/13) Children can't assert rights, so fight for them: NCPCR chairperson (14) New Delhi, Aug 9 : Children cannot fight for their own rights, so having laws protecting such rights is not enough, people need to be aware of them and fight for them, Kushal Singh, chairperson, NCPCR, said Friday. Speaking at the 24th edition of the Tara Ali Baig Memorial Lecture organised by SOS Children's Village here, Singh, who heads the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said: "Sensitisation of the law on child rights among common people is necessary, still many are not aware of the laws pertaining to child rights. Knowledge of child rights should be widespread as the kids are vulnerable and cannot fight alone for their rights." Singh said the NCPCR was working to strengthen laws on child rights. "We also have asked the government to expand the course of the child labour act to cover children up to the age of 18. Right now, it covers only children up to 14 years old. Children from 14 to 18 years old are also very vulnerable," she said. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (CLPRA) should be brought in line with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, she said. Singh said the right to

education too should extend to children up to the age of 18. At present, the act covers children up to 14 years old. Recalling the contribution of Tara Ali Baig, who headed the SOS Children's Villages for 22 years from 1967 to her death in 1989, S. Sandilya, president of SOS Children's Village said: "NGOs like us who are working for child rights are always looking forward for funds from European countries. Nearly 65 percent of our funds are from abroad and 35 percent is from India. If we have more funds from our country it will be more helpful." SOS Children's Village is an international organisation which provides family-based care to children without parents all over world. In India, there are 33 children's villages, which provide shelter and family care to nearly 6,500 children. (New Kerala 9/8/13) Tied to bamboo pole, girl screams on mean street (14) CHENNAI: Circuses are all about putting smiles onto the faces of the audience. But this one made the performer - a girl of barely five years - cry. TOI found this man on Ponniyamman Koil Street in Madipakkam, tying the girl's legs and chest to a 12-foot bamboo pole and lifting it, the child crying in pain, all through what the man called a "training session for her evening performance." The man had kept a steel plate on a plastic stool nearby, on which some passersby threw coins. When a few, including the photographer, questioned the man, he disappeared with the child. But not too far away he continued the torture. K R Selvamani, a retired project officer with the social welfare board who has rescued several children from such performers, said such acts are punishable under several rules, including the Protection of Child Rights Act and Child Labour Act. "Such performances are cruelty to children and a crime. But they keep happening and often we are insensitive to such acts happening in front of our eyes," she said. Selvamani said whenever the government authorities have acted, some local politician or officer would come to the rescue of the perpetrators. "There were instances in Chennai when social workers trying to rescue such children were attacked," said Selvamani, who rescued a Chennai-born child from a group of child traffickers in Mumbai four years ago. Protection of Child Rights Act - 2005, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act - 1986, Right to Education Act, Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 and a number of laws against child trafficking remain in the books while such brazen acts continue on the streets, she added. Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Board acts on specific complaints, but often there is no complaint as even police patrols pass by such 'performers' without giving a second look. "It's mostly ignorance of policemen," said a police officer. Experts suggest sensitising police officers about child rights rules and acts. Citizens can call 1098 ( Childline), a service run by the government of India, to report cases of children in distress. (Times of India 11/8/13) Child rights panel hears case involving autistic child's manhandling by therapist (14) MUMBAI: The state child rights panel on Tuesday heard a case filed by parents of an 11-year-old autistic child who have alleged that their son was manhandled by an occupational therapist at a centre. The doctor concerned, Reena Singh, was also present at the commission and said "she did what she did to control the child" as he was trying to hurt himself. She accepted that it was her fault to use "force ... to control the child". The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, headed by Ujjwal Uke and A N Tripathi, advised the doctor not to deal with autistic children as they thought she was not "fit" to handle such cases. Parents are demanding that the therapy centre in Andheri be shut down. "We will take this matter to the higher authorities and seek justice for my son," said the mother. The case first came up for hearing in July nearly four months after the incident took place.Parents of an 11-yr-old autistic child have alleged that their son was physically manhandled by an occupational therapist at a centre where this child regularly went for therapy. This case came up for hearing at the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) on Tuesday. "My son has been going to the same therapy centre for five years. On the day of the incident, my son was supposed to meet the speech therapist. The occupational therapist was not even involved and when she couldn't control my son, she manhandled him to the extent that my son could not walk and is traumatized till now," said the mother of the child. Parents and activists from Childline a volunteer said CCTV footage from the day of the incident

shows that Singh "forcefully" shoved the child into a room and pulled his ears. "The footage clearly shows that at one point, the doctor had overpowered the child by sitting on him, which is when his legs were hurt," said the mother (Times of India 14/8/13) Survey to help tackle kids' malnutrition, trafficking in India: UN official (14) India and Unicef are conducting a survey across the country to create a baseline for addressing these issues, a UN official said With inadequate data on the numbers of children trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation, India and Unicef are conducting a survey across the country to create a baseline for addressing these issues, a UN official said on Friday. Unicef India Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault, addressing a press briefing here, said the government was in the process of surveying children across the country in a comprehensive manner. In the first quarter of the year, 100,000 households were surveyed across several parameters. "The data will form an important baseline for addressing issues of children nationwide," he said. The survey is slated to be completed in around six months. Arsenault was speaking at the launch of the partnership between Unicef India and the Honorary Consular Corps Diplomatique (HCCD) India, a body formed out of the Vienna Convention. The HCCD presented a token amount of Rs.500,000 on the occasion to Unicef India. The partnership aims to work towards tackling problems of child malnutrition, child trafficking and labour and HIV-AIDS among children in India. Arsenault said Unicef planned to work in four critical areas in India -- sanitation and malnutrition, child marriage and child labour, empowerment of adolescent girls and quality-based education. "Forty-seven percent of children in India are chronically malnourished, which leads to stunted cognitive growth. Malnutrition and sanitation are linked, as in India over 600 million people have no access to toilets," Arsenault said. Unicef is working with the government to tackle child trafficking and child labour. Arsenault said in Jharkhand, around 100,000 children, mostly girls, are trafficked as child labour and also for sexual exploitation. "The children are lured into employment as their families are poor. We are working with the government to stop child trafficking, identifying the children trafficked and rehabilitating them back into their communities," he added. Unicef is also working with the Uttarakhand government in the aftermath of the flood disaster of June to help in the relocation of those found orphaned or lost. The UN body is also helping to rebuild the social infrastructure in the state, where hundreds were killed in the flash floods and thousands are still missing, he said. The official said Unicef is also helping create awareness about the government's various welfare programmes for the poor. "Most poor people are unaware about the welfare programmes meant for them. Once they know, they will not want to send their children to work in the fields as labour," he said. The HCCD, comprising 67 members across eight cities in India, has, for the first time, come together to support a cause. The efforts to engage with Unicef to support its programmes will also be made at state levels, said Janice Darbari, honorary consul general of Montenegro. (DNA 16/8/13) Less than 10% beds used for poor kids, child rights' protection panel says (14) NEW DELHI: In an indication of the low priority given to children in the healthcare system, a study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) found that while public hospitals are overburdened by 150%-200% patients than capacity, private hospitals are using less than 10% of their EWS (economically weaker sections) beds for children. The study shows that very few children are utilizing the availability of EWS-category beds in private hospitals as compared to the vast numbers utilizing public health facilities. Not only are the numbers of children being admitted small, child bed occupancy rates (CBORs) are very low even with respect to the number of beds available for EWS most hospitals showing CBORs of less than 10% of the total potential bed occupancy for EWS patients. The number of children admitted in government hospitals like Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital was 27,123 and 8,231, respectively. In comparison, the numbers admitted in 24 private hospitals surveyed was a paltry 1,218. The study by NCPCR member Vandana Prasad and others was conducted between September 2012 and November 2012 and was a rapid appraisal of the "utilization of free medical services by children belonging to the economically weaker sections in private

hospitals.''The report submitted to the Union health ministry and the Delhi government said that of the 16 hospitals who responded, 14 said that their child bed occupancy ratio was below 10%. Compared to this government hospitals had a 100% CBOR going up to 150% in certain periods. According to the report, the bulk of the referrals and admissions seem to be going to eight hospitals in addition to Apollo Hospital are going to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Saroj Hospital and Heart Institute, Dr B L Kapur Memorial Hospital and Max Patparganj. Among the 16 hospitals that responded, there were a total of 493 referrals and 1,116 admissions to these medical facilities. The study also found no collection or analysis of morbidity and mortality data and the implementation of user charges in public hospitals. It has recommended tracking of referrals to ensure continuity of care and seamless transitions and giving greater priority to the public healthcare system. (Times of India 17/8/13) Crimes against children on the rise (14) PUNE: Maharashtra is no longer a safe place for children, data from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) report for 2012 has revealed. Crimes against children has gone up 28% from 2008 to 2012, while, in the same period, there has been a 33% rise in child rape cases. Pune was in the second spot in terms of the number of child rape cases, while Mumbai registered the highest number of such cases. According to the report, there has also been an 83% rise in feticide cases in the state from 2011 till 2012, Pune is one of the cities that has registered such cases. Meanwhile, crimes committed against children rose from 2,709 cases in 2008 to 3,362 in 2011 and reached 3,456 in 2012. As per the data, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, rural parts of Pune and Solapur reported a large number of minor girl rape cases. Of these, Mumbai, at 141, reported the highest number of such cases in 2012, followed by Pune which registered 51 cases. In 2012, these five locations together accounted for 35.01% of rape cases of girls under the age of 10 years. Cases of kidnapping and abduction of children increased by 4.08% in 2012. Mumbai city reported 142 cases, Thane 85 and Pune city registered 74 such cases. Ingrid Mendonca, member of action for the rights of the child (ARC), told TOI that there has been an increase in the migrant population in Pune city. This is a vulnerable group as it has no roots here. "There has been rapid growth in Pune's population as compared to other cities, due to an increase in the migrant/unskilled workforce coming in from drought-prone areas within the state and from others states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Assam. This section is easily taken advantage of in terms of rape and general crimes against children." She said that the number of street children and child labourers have also increased in Pune, many of whom are the children of these migrant workers. Mendonca further said that urban youth within the city are exposed to increasing consumerism, due to which they fall prey to easy money. "This has often led to crime against women, children, kidnapping and abduction. Cases of missing minor girls in rural areas have also gone up in the state," she said. On of the reasons, she said, is girls eloping from villages. "Some of the runaway girls are tricked and sold in the red-light areas of Pune and Mumbai," Mendonca said. Dnyana Devi Childline Pune director Anuradha Sahasrabudhe said that many rape and sexual abuse cases occur among children brought from other states to work in Pune, where they are abused by their employers. "Trafficking of minor boys and girls has also increased -these children are trafficked for labour, begging as well as sexual abuse. All these crimes are on the rise in Pune as well as other parts of the state," she said. (Times of India 21/8/13) Civil society organisations welcome amendments to Food Bill to protect child rights (14) NEW DELHI: Members of the civil society organisations and academia on Wednesday welcomed the amendments proposed for the removal of the clause in Schedule II of the Food Security Bill, which insists that 50 per cent of food fortified with micro-nutrients should be provided in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Midday Meals (MDM) scheme However, they demanded the introduction of a clause in the proposed Act that the centralised industrial production of food in ICDS and MDM through the entry of private contractors or any entrepreneur, commercial enterprise or company not

owned or funded or aided by Government shall not be allowed. A statement issued by 10 nongovernmental organisations working on child rights and 14 academic after a joint meeting here said food distributed in ICDS and MDM should be locally cooked, produced and processed on a decentralised level in a block or below that level, through community participation. Examples of Kerala, Orissa and Chhattisgarh have shown that it is possible to provide nutritious Take Home Rations in a decentralised, viable and sustainable manner by Self Help Groups (SHG)/ federations of SHGs with a variety of menus and models, the statement said. "Ensure that safety and hygiene norms for storage, cooking, and distribution are overseen by the Urban Local Bodies and the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). Necessary infrastructure in this regard should be envisaged and provided for, the statement said, adding the food required for the implementation of the Food Security Bill should be produced domestically using nonGenetically Modified (GM) crops. Necessary incentives should be provided to the farmers for increasing domestic production including decentralised procurement at remunerative prices. The signatories to the statement include Mira Shiva, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society and Diverse Women for Diversity; Rajib Dasgupta, Associate Professor, Jawaharal Nehru University; Alex George, Knowledge Hub Leader, Child Rights, ActionAid; Radha Holla Bhar, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India; Deepa Sinha, Right to Food Campaign; PK Jai Somanathan, Member, National Executive Council, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi; Parul Gupta, Right to Education Forum; Oommen C Kurian, ActionAid; and Sameet Kumar Panda, ActionAid. The individuals who have associated themselves with the statement include Veena Shatrughna, former Deputy Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad: V.R Muraleedharan, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai; K. K Krishna Kumar, National President, BGVS, Thiruvanthapuram; Ravi Duggal, Independent Researcher, Anusandhan Trust, Mumbai; Sehjo Singh, Director, Programme & Policy, ActionAid, New Delhi; Dhruv Mankad, Vachan, Nasik; Ambarish Rai, Convenor, Right to Education Forum; Annie Namala, Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion; Asha Mishra, General Secretary, BGVS; Arun Gupta, International Breastfeeding Promotion Network; J. P Dadhich, Breastfeeding Promotion Network India (BPNI); Mridula Bajaj, Mobile Creches; J John, Centre for Education & Communication; and Sudatta Khuntia, Knowledge Hub, Child Rights, Bhubaneshwar. (The Hindu 22/8/13) Victims of child abuse urged to speak out (14) Bangalore: With cases of child abuse rising in India, the International Services Association (INSA) gave children the opportunity to express themselves. Expressions 2013, an encourage children to speak about their experience of child abuse, was held at Bal Bhavan here on Friday. Children from six schools and five care homes turned up for the event. The event was organised to spread the word on child rights, and child abuse and urging them to voice the abuses they face in their lives. Speaking to the children during the event, H.R. Umesh Aradhya, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), said problems faced by children can be solved only when children share such experiences so that we can empower them by taking action. Ali Khwaja, founder of Banjara Academy, a counselling centre, emphasised the need for expressing the injustices done to children. Student representatives who participated in the programme reiterated the importance of speaking out. I did not realise that I was a victim of child labour until I attended the workshop organised by the International Services Association, said Karuna Sridhar, a 10-year-old who was forced to work in the fields to support her familys income. (The Hindu 24/8/13) Police, CWC thwart child marriage bid (14) PUDUCHERRY: Timely intervention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and police officials saved a 16-year-old girl student from wedding ties on Sunday. However, sources said that police had not registered any First Information Report (FIR) regarding the matter and the girl was being shifted to a home. According to sources, the marriage of the minor girl, studying in a government school in Villianur, was to take place on Sunday. The marriage, which was arranged against her wishes, was fixed by some

of her relatives and her mother, who works as a sweeper. The girl revealed about her marriage to a teacher in the school, who informed the Villianur police station., who immediately swung into action.As per the procedure, the station police officer informed the Child Welfare Committee chairperson, Dr Vidyaa Ramkumar about the child marriage bid, which was schedule to take place on Sunday. The minors mother, the bridegroom and his relatives were summoned to the police station. The officials convinced the mother and the youth to refrain from such an act. Meanwhile, as per instructions of the CWC chairperson, a child protection officer and probation officer visited the police station and held a round of counselling with the minor girl, who told them that she wanted to continue with her studies. The CWC was in the process of shifting the girl to a welfare home. Meanwhile, the Bahour police were also informed as the minor was resident of that area. No FIR has been filed and the families of the girl and the youth were being kept under the observation of the police. (New Indian Express 26/8/13) SHRC orders probe into child marriage, divorce (14) Kozhikode: The mother of the young woman who made allegations of child marriage has complained to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against a citizen of the UAE who married and later divorced the young woman and the authorities of a local orphanage whom she accused of proposing the marriage. The SHRC has asked the State Police Chief and the Social Justice Department to investigate the matter. In the complaint, she says that the marriage was forced upon them by the orphanage authorities. I sent her to the orphanage because our financial situation was not good. She has been staying there for the past 12 years. When they proposed the idea of marriage, we refused. They kept on forcing us and I was made to sign several papers. I am uneducated and did not know what the content was. We relented under pressure and after the marriage on June 13 she was taken to several places and sexually harassed. He divorced her through phone on August 6, the mother says in her complaint. The issue has brought back the debates surrounding Arabi kalyanam, a practice prevalent till about a decade back in Malabar in which Arab citizens married women from economically poor families only to abandon them in a short period in most cases. K.E. Gangadharan, State Human Rights Commission member, says that it is a clear case of exploitation of poverty. Such short-term marriages which are executed by a contract are common among economically backward sections. Their families are lured into the marriage with small payments or gold by foreign nationals. They are left in the lurch when the man goes back to his country after a few days. Practices like Mutah marriages need to be curbed by religious and cultural leaders. Also, the social situation that leads these families into such traps need to be probed and alleviating measures should be taken, say Mr. Gangadharan. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has directed the Malappuram District Probation Officer under the Social Justice Department to submit within 24 hours a care plan for the woman. (The Hindu 27/8/13) Govt invites suggestions for child rights draft (14) AURANGABAD: As the government gets ready to prepare the second child development policy draft 2013, it has urged people to send suggestions on protection of rights of children. The secretary of Maharashtra state Child Right Protection Commission, A N Tripathi, made this appeal at a meeting held at the MCED hall on Tuesday. He said the national child policy was declared in 1974 and was adopted by the Maharashtra government in 2002 to protect the rights of children. Taking care of children, ensuring the rights of all children irrespective of their gender, religion, caste, inquiring into cases of violations of child rights and recommending action against violators of child rights to examine factors that inhibit enjoyment of child rights and recommending appropriate remedial measures, undertaking research and studies in the field of child rights and their protection and filing of FIR in case of missing children and other issues were discussed in the meeting. "The draft of the policy has been chalked out. However, government expected more suggestions in written form from the people. Those who have any suggestions could send them to the Maharashtra State Commission for protection of child rights," said the district information office. (Times of India 28/8/13)

Rescued kids seek ban on child labour (14) New Delhi, Aug 29 : Hundreds of rescued child labourers and their parents as well as activists protested here Thursday demanding a complete ban on child labour. Organised by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and Global March, the protest at Jantar Mantar was aimed at demanding the passage of the child and adolescent labour bill immediately. The bill aims to restrict employment of children below 18 years of age in hazardous work and employment of those below 14 years as per the right to education law. "It is shocking that while the food security bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha, there is yet another pressing issue of child labour that is being ignored," said Global March chairperson Kailash Satyarthi. According to R.S. Chaurasia, chairperson of BBA, the children were protesting against denial of rights. The agitators tried to march toward Parliament House but were stopped by police. (New Kerala 29/8/13)

Amendment in juvenile act will be counter-productive: experts (14) New Delhi: Eminent child rights activists termed demands for reducing the age of juvenility from 18 to 16 and to remove minors involved in heinous crimes from the ambit of juvenile justice act purely on the basis of the Delhi gang-rape case a knee-jerk reaction. They said it would be counter-productive and not a deterrent. Bharti Ali of HAQ centre for child rights said, Such amendments under public pressure based on one incident will have long-term dangerous consequences on the plight of lakhs of other juveniles. Lawyer and juvenile justice expert Anant Asthana said the best way to ensure that juveniles do not get involved in horrific crimes like the Delhi gang rape and murder case was by effective enforcement of various provisions of the act and creating an effective system to deal with children in need of care and protection. Ved Kumari, eminent expert on juvenile justice law and ex-chairperson of the Delhi judicial academy, said: While condemning the ghastly gang rape, I want to focus on the child involved in the offence. This boy was all of 13 years when he left home. Why did he leave? What was his home like? What happened to him in the last five years? What all has been responsible for turning him into this beast? Why did the juvenile justice system in place in our country not reach out to him and prevented him from being what he has become today? Asthana added, A child does not turn into a monster on his own in a day. It takes years of apathy and abandonment to make a child go astray in life. One incident cannot be a reason to disturb the well thought-out purpose of the lawit will not only disturb the momentum of efforts to improve protection of children but also open a Pandoras box wherein similar demands will be made for several other offences committed by a juveniles considered serious in nature, said Amod Kanth, former chairperson of Delhi Commission for protection of child rights and general secretary of the NGO Prayas. The experts had written to former CJI JS Verma, who had headed a panel which suggested changes in the anti-rape law, against making any changes in the approach towards juveniles. (Hindustan Times 1/9/13) 'Lack of coordination among agencies for child welfare' (14) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pointing out lack of coordination among the various agencies involved in the field of child welfare in the state, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Kushal Singh has called for institutional convergence among such agencies and has asked the newly-constituted Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) to play a lead role in achieving this objective. Singh was delivering the keynote address at the State-level Consultation on Child Rights organised by the KSCPCR here on Saturday. Children should not be called as citizens of the future. By doing so, we are turning a blind eye towards their present day needs, Singh said. There is a misconception that destitute children under government care needs resources only for their survival. They have the same rights as other children. The government should ensure that the budgetary allocation for child protection and welfare are used for their overall development, Singh said. Satish Kumar, chief of field office, Office for Tamil Nadu & Kerala, UNICEF, said that even though Kerala ranks high in terms of

child development indices, around 40 per cent of the children face abuse in some form or the other while 25 per cent fall prey to sexual exploitation. The tribal population in the state faces problems in accessing social and health institutions. Those who manage such institutions also keep tribals away from accessing public institutions. In such a scenario, the government should ensure that such sections do not face social exclusion, he said. UNICEF will co-ordinate with various NGOs to set up an Independent Child Rights Observatory to monitor the progress of various child welfare programmes. This will be done in consultation with the KSCPCR, Kumar said. Delivering the presidential address, KSCPCR chairperson Neela Gangadharan stressed the need to develop a Child Rights Index to monitor the progress in implementation of various laws governing the protection and welfare of children. Along with a Child Rights Index, a comprehensive database on child rights should also be prepared, she said. The two-day state-level consultation is being organised by the KSCPCR to seek opinion from various stakeholders with a view to identifying priority areas and chart an action plan for the Commission. Child Welfare Committee chairpersons, legal experts, NGOs and Juvenile Justice Board members participated in the consultations. (New Indian Express 2/9/13) Session on child rights (14) Nearly 150 orphans, street destitutes, child labourers and disabled boys and girls from Sahebganj, Giridih, Godda, Bokaro, Dumka and Ranchi are learning about their rights and government schemes in the state capital. The three-day meet on the topic Our Voice Assembly of Vulnerable Children, Jharkhand kicked off at a hotel on Tuesday. It has been organised by World Vision India in association with Save the Children, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Leads Trust, Plan India and Deepshikha. The NGOs have brought the children the most vulnerable section of the society under one roof so that they can share their problems and help prepare a charter of demands to be handed over to the state government. Today, the participants were made aware of various government schemes. Tomorrow (Monday), they will be asked to explain the reasons as to why they are not being able to avail of these benefits, said Rekha Purnima Xalxo, programme manager of World Vision India (Ranchi Urban). The children were told about RTE act, child labour act, schemes for disabled et al. On September 5, the concluding day, government officials will be invited in front of whom the children will speak about their grievances. (The Telegraph 4/9/13)

Five child labourers rescued in Mandya district (14) Mandya: The Labour Department officials and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) volunteers rescued five child labourers from different eateries in K.M. Doddi in Maddur taluk in the district on Wednesday evening. The officials and volunteers, based on credible information, conducted simultaneous raids on hotels, tea stalls and bakeries in K.M. Doddi and rescued five child labourers. The officials rescued a 13year-old of Arechakana Halli from a bakery, a 13-year-old of Aralahalli from a tea stall, a 14-year-old of Kagepura from an eatery, a 15-year-old of K.M. Doddi from another bakery and a 13-year-old of K.M. Doddi from yet another bakery. During the preliminary inquiry, the rescued boys told the officials that they had been working with their employers for the past several months. We will provide necessary help to the rescued boys to continue their education, S. Diwakar, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) officer, told The Hindu here on Thursday. All the rescued children were sent to the Child Labourers School at Kyathungere in the taluk. Meanwhile, according to the District Child Protection Unit officer, Ramesh of Kebbare in Maddur taluk is still at large. Mr. Ramesh is accused of having kept a 11-year-old boy as a bonded labourer for the past six years. The DCPU officials rescued the boy from Mr. Rameshs residence on Wednesday morning. Mr. Rameshs wife, Sakamma, is also absconding, the officer said. (The Hindu 6/9/13) Naxalites recruit 10,000 minors for non-combat operations (14)

NEW DELHI: Nearly 10,000 children, including girls, have been "recruited" by Maoists across Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand to serve as intelligence gatherers or perform chores as cooks and couriers. Though these minor recruits mostly aged between 10 to 15 don't carry arms, they are given the basic training to handle weapons. While around 3,000-4,000 children alone stand enrolled into "bal sangham" in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, the young hands working for Maoists in Jharkhand and Bihar are organized under 'bal dasta'. The modus operandi of recruiting these minors involves prevailing upon the local tribal families to "give up" one of their children to the CPI (Maoist), by highlighting displacement issues and "police atrocities on their brethren". Usually, the villagers have little choice but to oblige. Not only this, if the children stage an escape back to their homes, their families face a violent reprisal from the Naxalites. Intelligence sources told TOI that the main job of the child recruits is to gather information for the Naxalites. Not only can they spy on security forces' movements without arousing suspicion, it is easier for the CPI (Maoist) to inculcate these young, impressionable minds with Naxalite ideology. Almost all minor recruits are known to transform into regular Maoists upon attaining adulthood. Bal sangham in the Dandkarenya region has been operational since 1995. In Odisha, the recruitments are mainly undertaken in Koraput and Malkangiri districts. The Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh, another left-wing extremist outfit, had recently recruited and inducted several children in Narayanpatna police station area of Koraput. In Bihar, the erstwhile MCC, now merged into CPI (Maoist), had been recruiting children between eight-14 for its "bal dasta". The CPI (Maoist) continues to draft children mainly from districts like Aurangabad, Rohtas, Kaimur and East Champaran. In Jharkhand, the recruitment of children has been reported from Palamu, Chatra, Lohardagga and Latehar districts. (Times of India 7/9/13) Children get a raw deal in country's budget: study (14) Thiruvananthapuram: The population of children in India accounts for 43 per cent of the total populace but budgetary allocation for this segment is a mere 4.6 per cent for 2013-14, research and advocacy body Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) has found. According to the report, total allocation for children in the 2013-14 union budget has marginally come down to 4.6 per cent from previous year's 4.8 per cent and the sector wise distribution of resources is "skewed" with key areas like child health getting a meagre three per cent of the funds. "Within the total allocation for child-specific schemes in 2013-14, which stands at Rs 77,235.95 crore, the share for child education is 72 per cent, child development 24 per cent, child health three per cent and child protection one percent," it said. Allocation for child health decreased from 3.77 per cent and outlay for child protection services reduced by Rs 100 crore. The "child budget" largely ignored even recommendations of Working Group on Child Rights for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) which wanted it to represent a new "child rights paradigm" to ensure children's rights to survival, development and protection and participation are met, the report claimed. It said child labour in 'hazardous occupations' in India continues to be as high as 1,219,470 (514 years of age). Sector-wise prioritising in the current budget, when compared to the previous budget, showed a mere re-distribution of resources without any focused and committed intervention. Though allocation for Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS) showed a 11.67 per cent increase over the last year, this is far short of the target average amount of Rs 36,000 crore recommended by the 12th plan Working Group. Despite over 40 per cent of children being underweight, there is still no commitment towards universalising of ICDS, the report added. (Indian Express 8/9/13) Child protection issues being ignored in UP: NCPCR (14) LUCKNOW: Member of the national commission for protection of child rights (NCPCR), Yogesh Dube, has said that UP was ignoring issues related to child protection. He was addressing at a day long consultation to examine the status of child welfare committees and bring about a positive change in it organised on Tuesday. The event was organised by CRY (Child Rights and You) and its state alliance Quality Institutional Care and Alternative for Children. Department of child Welfare and NCPCR endorsed the programme. "Child protection issues are being ignored in UP. Stringent actions should be taken on

authorities and people responsible for neglecting protection issues," Dube said. He also stressed on the need for co nvergence between related departments and institutions like CWC, Police, Officials of Care and Protection homes, DCPU's etc is paramount. It is necessary to bring changes in the operational procedures to ensure protection of child rights in the state. The objective of this consultation was to put forward the difficulties Child Welfare Committees face, reasons for it and lack of coordination between state government and CWC's. The consultation also focused on selection of CWC members and the training imparted to them to understand the issue of child protection. CWC members shared the cooperation and non-cooperation from state government in terms of working for schemes related to Children in Need of Care and Protection to panelists. There is a severe shortage of basic infrastructure, absence of computer operator, non- cooperation from State Probation Officer and other issues such as travel allowance, salaries and other perks. The members also requested for quick actions to address these issues. QICAC, in its presentation highlighted the overall status of CWC's. The presentation indicated the shortcomings on the selection procedures and the training given to CWC members by the state government. It was found in the report that most of the members have no experience of child rights and by profession they are businessmen, teachers or are in some other profession. QICAC also presented some suggestions in terms of selecting members for forthcoming committees, primary suggestion was that the elected members should have a minimum 7 years experience in working for child rights and they should be interviewed for the post. In terms of training, the members should be aware about day to day issues pertaining to child rights. Other NGO's working in the same field should be in tandem with state government. Planning with Child Protection Committee in each district needs to be done and it should be reviewed after every 6 months. (Times of India 11/9/13) Sexual abuse of children in school rising (14) HYDERABAD: Children are increasingly becoming victims of sexual harassment in educational institutions across the state owing to poor enforcement of laws and absence of child protection cells in schools, police and activists said. Police stations in the state registered over 500 cases of sexual abuse of minors in educational institutions, including 121 cases in Hyderabad alone since June this year. Last year, the city police recorded 205 cases of sexual offences against children. In the recent past, the state has witnessed many cases of abuse in educational institutions, including one in which a school owner was arrested in July for molesting a student in Jeedimetla. Activists said after the rape and murder of Nirbhaya in New Delhi, authorities toughened their stance and amended the anti-rape laws. However, when it comes to dealing with cases of sexual harassment and molestation involving minors, the measures taken leave a lot to be desired. The AP Balala Hakkula Sangham (APBHS), an NGO dealing with child rights, said they received 870 petitions on sexual abuse of children from the state, of which around 155 came from the Hyderabad and Cyberabad regions. The accused in all the cases were teachers, principals and management staff of schools and coaching centres. "It's shocking to see the rising number of sex crimes against minors. Poor conviction rate makes matters worse," said Achyuta Rao, president, APBHS. Activists have demanded prompt police action in such cases, in addition to setting up of functional child protection cells in all schools. "Child protection cells must be active and they should take necessary steps to address cases of child abuse. The child welfare committee should do more than just sending survivors to shelter homes. They should facilitate the conviction process as well," said Sirish Akula, a child rights' activist. Adding to the woes are lack of proper access to state-run child helplines."The helpline is not publicized by the school education department. Where will the children go if they are in trouble?" asked child rights activist N T Patnaik. "Rehabilitation of survivors should also be a priority for the state government," he added. About 120 NGOs work with the government for rehabilitation of survivors, out of which at least 60 deal with cases of molestation of minors. However, funds and support for these NGOs have dwindled in the last two decades, activists said. (Times of India 16/9/13) In Delhi, 14 children go missing every day: Report (14)

New Delhi: It has been more than three years that Rajkumar has been looking for his seven-year-old daughter Kajal. From the time she mysteriously disappeared from outside their home in April 2010, he has knocked all official doors and chased every possible lead to find his daughter, to no avail. According to a report compiled by CRY in association with the Alliance for People' Rights (APR) on the status of missing children, 14 children go missing from Delhi every day. In 2012 alone, 4,086 children went missing. Of the 2,887 children 'reported' missing, only 832 have been found. The statistics were collected through questions filed under the RTI (Right to Information Act) from Delhi's 12 districts and cites "lack of coordination between various state departments" as a reason for the state of affairs. It particularly identifies the northeast and outer districts as having the highest number of missing children, with "children of migrants, poor and marginalised in a vulnerable state always".At a public hearing, parents like Rajkumar presented their case before the panel consisting of National Commission for Protection of Child rights, State Commission for Protection of Child rights, lawyers, retired police officials and members of civil society. Cases of missing children under 14 to be treated as kidnapping The panel not only offered parents advice on individual cases, but also reflected on the trends responsible for the alarmingly large number of missing children in the Capital, and the reasons, challenges and difficulties encountered in search for such children. (Indian Express 17/9/13) Punish employers for ill-treating domestic helps: MHA to police (14) New Delhi: Ill-treating a domestic help will amount to trafficking, the home ministry's latest directions to the police say. If the employer doesn't give food or not allow the help to venture outside home, the action will be treat on a par with trafficking even if the employee is an adult. "In a fresh circular, the ministry of home affairs has issued standard operating procedures to be followed by various agencies, including police, citing a Supreme Court order. So, if a person employs a child then he may not only face prosecution for provisions against child labour but also be punished for ill-treating the kid. Ill-treatment also includes denying minimum wages. This will tighten the strings on placement agencies, who gobble up at least half of the salary paid to domestic helps," said Rishi Kant, executive director of Shakti Vahini, an NGO. According to MHA's guidelines, it is police's duty to rescue a trafficked child and book the employer for not paying minimum wages, among other offences. The ministry has also asked the police to treat trafficking as an organised crime. In 2012, 3,734 children employed as labourers were rescued from Delhi of which 2,357 were of below 14 years of age. "It is a growing problem and the police must try to curb trafficking by targeting the economics of crime syndicates. For instance, police must initiate the process of cancelling the licence of factory from where the child is rescued. Such steps can help prevent trafficking," Rishi Kant added. The police have also been asked to keep the rescued child away from the employers. (Hindustan Times 17/9/13) Focus on preventing migrant child labourers in cotton fields (14) Salem: With cross pollination in BT-cotton plants activity to commence from October for which child workers are mostly employed, officials are geared up to prevent farmers from employing children below 14 years. Child workers are mostly employed in the labour-intensive sector where seeds are produced through hand emasculation and cross pollination. Children, especially girls, who have nimble fingers and can work from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. everyday, are employed in the cotton fields that are cultivated mainly in Gangavalli, Attur, Pethanaickenpalayam and Thalaivasal blocks in the district. As many as 8 to 12 child labourers are required per acre everyday as work is continuously carried for about 80 to 100 days from October to December. A study by UNICEF revealed that migrant children mainly from Javadu Hills in Tiruvannamalai, Vellimalai in Villupuram, and Kalvarayan Hills in Salem district and from Kolli Hills in Namakkal were employed every year. As many as 330 migrant children were employed in 2011 while it was 419 in 2012. The migrant labour, which is 55 per cent in 2011 was reduced to 24 per cent in 2012. We have taken measures to reduce it to zero in the current year, P. Balamurugan, Child Protection Consultant, UNICEF, told The Hindu. S. Govindaraj of Indira Nagar in Thalaivasal said that children can

work continuously for even 14 hours a day and they are paid Rs. 200 per day apart from food and lodging. The work has to be continuously carried out without even a single days break. Hence, we employ them, he added. Though farmers are well aware of the existing laws that prevent them from employing child labourers, farmers in the area said that due to mounting pressure from officials they have reduced the cultivation area, thus, employing less child workers. P.V. Viswanathan, Project Officer, ICPP, and Project Director for Society for Monitoring and Implementation of Child Labour Elimination (SMILE) said that the area from where children were coming was identified and officials in the districts concerned were informed. Seasonal migration is also reduced by enrolling them in special schools run under National Child Labour Project, he added. (The Hindu 20/9/13) Child labourers from far and wide flock to Kochi in search of jobs (14) Kochi: The police rescued 20 teenagers from Assam, all believed to be below 18 years of age, at Varapuzha on Thursday. The minors were rescued from a private godown here where they were employed to carry heavy loads. Police said the minors had come from Assam along with other workers from their village. The minors, who did not carry proof of age, were living in a cramped, unhygienic labour camp located close to the godown where they worked, said the police. The police on Friday presented the minors before the Child Welfare Committee, which will now look into their welfare. Increasingly, minors are coming into the district from other States in search of job. While Keralas children are believed to be largely free of the burden of child labour, the State has not been able to protect children of other States coming here. Majority of the child labour cases here are of children from other States, said K.K. Shaju, member, district Child Welfare Committee. Most of these minors are in the 14 to 18 age group and are driven out of their homes due to extreme poverty. Most of these migrant children do not have identity or age proofs and it becomes very difficult for the law to prove that they are minors and in need of protection, said Mr. Shaju. New child labour laws in the country allow children between 14 and 18 years of age to be employed in non-hazardous work. This provision is often exploited by employers who argue that their minor employees are made to do only non-hazardous labour. So, few cases of employment of minors from other States are reported and even fewer end in convictions. If you just go to a railway station and check, you will find that many of the migrant labourers coming in are in the 16 to 18 age group. But they will not have proof of age and these cases are hardly ever reported to the authorities, said M.P. Antony, convenor of ChildLine, Kochi. Mr. Anotny said many private baking houses, factories, and plywood industries in the district continued to employ minors despite regulations. The laws and the system of checking need to be improved to protect all these children, he said. (The Hindu 22/9/13) Child rights violations rampant in bidi industry, says survey (14) KOLKATA: Painting a grim picture of the implementation of the Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 in the State, a recent survey conducted by two non-governmental organisations, Marfat, and Child Rights and You (CRY) reveals that 75.22 per cent of children in Murshidabads Dhulian municipality area are engaged in bidi rolling. Dhulian is one of the major hubs of the bidi industry in the State. The report shows that it is the main source of income for 48.63 per cent of the sampled households. The survey brings to the fore the fact that 67.5 percent of the children surveyed have to work to support their families as financial conditions of their househols were not sufficient to send them to school. It also reveals gross violations of child labour laws 74.49 per cent of females above 6 years are engaged as bidi labourers and 32.80 per cent of girls working in the industry are below 14 years. 82.44 per cent of adolescent girls among the target population is employed in the industry. Bidi labourers in Dhulian are paid Rs. 75 per 1000-1500 bidis rolled, which is much lower than the Rs. 162 amount mentioned in the West Bengal Minimum Wages Act. The survey which covered 1750 households in the area also reveals the poor implementation of the Right to Education Act, 2009. According to data, 64.49 per cent ofchildren have never gone to school because their parents lacked the wherewithal to educate them Moreover, 17.16 per cent of the children surveyed have never attended school as they have to work

and 88.48 per cent of all dropouts have studied up to class VIII. Revealing another instance of gross violation of the Right to Education Act, 2009, the report also discloses that 88.48 per cent of all dropouts have studied up to class VIII. (The Hindu 25/9/13) Rescued tribal children get an education (14) BELGAUM: It's a far cry from the fields and cattle and tents which are home to them. Thirteen children of the Dombari community, lodged in the Prajwal Child Labour Rehabilitation Centre at Shahapur for the past five months, are learning the alphabet. The children, who had been sent to Kolhapur district of Maharashtra around eight months ago as daily wage workers, were rescued by the police and labour department during a raid, as all of them are in the 6-14 age group. They were handed over to the women and child welfare department, from where they were sent for rehabilitation. The children belong to two families living in Savaragali village, located in the dense forests of Khanapur taluk. They would live in small tents and hunt animals for food. Their parents would send them on odd jobs, to tend to cattle and farm work in the surrounding villages for daily wages. For them, the rehabilitation centre presents a new world of good roads, pure drinking water, shelter and other basic amenities, and also a school education. "In season, I would cut paddy for Rs 20 a day. At other times, I'd work as a shepherd. They would give me food and Rs 25 as wages per day," said Murali Pawar, 9. Murali claimed he was an expert in extracting honey from bee hives. Gopal Powar, another rescued child, said he was happy with the food and other facilities at the centre, and loved the stories told by the teachers. Rajendra Naik, president of Prajwal Association, told TOI, "Initially, when the children were brought to the rehabilitation centre, they were confused with the new atmosphere and were afraid to talk to the others. But they've adjusted well now. They're getting a basic education in English, Kannada and Marathi." According to Naik, these children come from such a backward area that they don't have any proof that they are citizens of this country. (Times of India 26/9/13) Child rights panel to visit Attappady (14) PALAKKAD: The Child Rights Commission headed by Neela Gangadharan, former Chief Secretary, will visit the Attappady Hills where 58 tribal infants died of malnutrition, underweight and premature birth in the last 20 months. The commission was set up by the State government to look into the problems faced by children and to protect their rights. Representatives of `Thumpu, a voluntary organisation working among the tribal people, met the commission chairperson in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday and apprised her of the abuse of child rights, particularly of tribal children in Attappady. Rajendra Prasad, president of Thampu, and K.A. Ramu, convener, in a memorandum submitted to the commission chairperson, had pointed out that 58 tribal infants had died of malnutrition and there were 120 stillborn cases in Attappady in the last 20 months. Even after six months of these deaths, no action had been taken to provide compensation to the families of the infants. The memorandum appealed to the government to run anganwadis, especially in the primitive Kurumba hamlets of Anavai, Thuduky, Galazi, etc, in Pudur grama panchayat. It said undernourished tribal infants should be given nutritious food and proper medical care. (The Hindu 27/9/13)

63% rescued kids aged less than 14: Govt (14) NEW DELHI: Of the 3,734 children rescued from different districts of Delhi between July 2009 and June 2013, a total of 2,357 (63%) were less than 14 years old, the state government's records show, pointing to the severe exploitation of younger children as cheap labour. Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights shared the data at a meeting called to discuss the experience of implementing Delhi Plan of Action for Abolition of Child Labour with other state commissions last month. The city's district task forces have carried out 1,450 rescues since the judgment of the Delhi High Court in 2009. Rajendra Dhar from the Labour Department said that Rs 1.18 crore has been recovered from employers for rehabilitation of the

rescued children and more than Rs 35 lakh has been recovered as arrears of minimum wages. The state also recovered Rs 20,000 per child as rehabilitation amount in keeping with Supreme Court orders. A sum of Rs 1.9 crore has been released to other states. In all these cases, premises of 232 employers were sealed to facilitate recovery and 1,450 FIRs were filed. SBK Singh, joint commissioner of police, reported that prosecution has been initiated in 1,450 cases. (Times of India 2/10/13) Child labour project: focus on domestic and brick kiln sectors (14) COIMBATORE: The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) is focusing on brick kilns and domestic sectors here for abolition of child labour in the district. An official of the project said that meetings of the State monitoring committee and the district-level enforcement committee were held recently. It is expected that employment of child labour is high in these two sectors. The NCLP is organising raids regularly against child labour, rescuing the children employed in industries, commercial establishments and houses and taking action against the employers. However, it needs to focus more on the domestic sector, the official said. A survey conducted by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has estimated that the district has over 3,000 school dropouts. The NCLP will start a survey this week to verify this. After identifying the dropouts it will start enrolling them in the special centres established in the district under the project for rehabilitation of child workers. Earlier this year, the NCLP came out with plans to make five blocks - Sulur, Karamadai, Sultanpet, Anamalai and Annur - in the district as child labour-free by the end of March next year through a series of programmes to create awareness, apart from enforcement. The NCLP officials joined hands with other departments of the Government and conducted 53 raids in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts in 2012-2013 and rescued 92 children. (The Hindu 3/10/13) Dharwad girl to speak on child rights at UN meet (14) Bangalore: A pre-university student in Ramapur, a village near Dharwad, has been selected to represent India at a United Nations child rights conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Manjula Munavalli, who speaks only Kannada, will be accompanied by Afsana, a Gujarat representative, and a translator. At a press conference in Bangalore Thursday, the student of RLS PU College said she was delighted to be invited to speak at the 66th conference of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be held on October 10. Her speech will focus on the state of orphans in the country and the increase in sexual assaults on children. Munavalli was honoured by the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Thursday. She will be the first from her village to travel to foreign shores. "The villagers are excited, they felicitated me," Munavalli said. The daughter of farmers Mahantesh and Mahadevi started to participate in child rights activities through KIDS, an NGO that establishes children associations at the village level. She is now vice-president of Gubbachchi Makkala Maha Sangha, a union of more than 100 such associations. (Indian Express 4/10/13) Educating girls could prevent two-thirds of child marriages: Unesco (14) NEW DELHI: On the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child on Friday 11, Unesco's Education for All Global Monitoring Report releases figures showing that if all girls went to primary school, one-sixth of child marriages could be prevented among girls aged under 15 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. If all girls got the chance to go to secondary school, child marriages could be reduced by two-thirds in these regions, saving almost two million girls from becoming child brides. Mariam Khalique, Malala's teacher from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, and spokesperson for the EFA Global Monitoring Report said: "Every hour counts- we must educate girls to help bring about changes quickly in our society. Education gives girls dignity. How can you change your life if you don't know how? If girls and women are empowered they can take control of their own lives and their bodies. That is why education is priceless and important for girls and women not only in Pakistan but all around the world." The new EFA GMR analysis, 'Education Transforms', shows that one in eight girls is married by the age of 15 years in subSaharan Africa and South and West Asia. It shows how education can empower girls to find greater

confidence and freedom to make decisions that affect their own lives. In Ethiopia, for example, 32% of girls with less than primary education were married before the age of 15 years, compared with less than 9% of those with a secondary education. "Educating girls is one of the best investments we can make," said Pauline Rose, director of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, "and yet 31 million girls of primary school age out of school, and 17 million are expected never to enter school at all. This situation desperately needs addressing." In addition to preventing child marriages, the EFA GMR's new analysis shows that educating girls can also prevent them from becoming mothers themselves when just children, risking their own, and their babies' health in early childbirth. 'Education transforms' shows that one in seven girls has given birth by the age of 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. Yet 10% fewer girls would become pregnant at an age when they should be in school if they had a primary education. There would be 59% fewer pregnancies among girls under 17 years if all girls had a secondary education. (Times of India 10/10/13) Seven children rescued from cotton fields in Thalavasal (14) SALEM: Officials raided cotton fields engaging child workers on Thursday, and rescued seven children, including four girls, who were less than 14 years of age, in Thalavasal block of Salem district. A team comprising P.V. Viswanathan, Project Officer, Integrated Child Protection Programme, P. Balamurugan, Child Protection Consultant, UNICEF and officials from Department of Labour, Education, Revenue, AntiHuman Trafficking Unit of the rural police and representatives from child protection organisations inspected cotton fields in Navakurichi, Navalur, Vengalur, Varagur and Siruvachur in Thalavasal block. Four girls and three boys, all hailing from Karumandurai in Salem district and from Vellimalai in Villupuram district respectively were found engaged in cross-pollination works for the past 10 days. Enquiries revealed that most of them were Class V dropouts and a few had completed only Class II. They were engaged in some work or the other for the past two to four years in various districts across the State. The children also said their parents were paid an advance amount from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000 and they were employed for a daily wage between Rs. 160 and Rs. 200. A doctor from the Primary Health Centre in Siruvachur conducted age tests on the seven and confirmed that they were less than 14-years of age. They were lodged at Government and NGO run homes and their parents were informed. Meanwhile, N. Karunanidhi, Revenue Inspector lodged a complaint with Thalavasal police that farmers A. Rajendran, M. Sakthivel and P. Manickam were involved in child trafficking for the purpose of child labour for farm works. Police registered a case under Section 365 (abduction for wrongful confinement) and 367 (slavery) of the Indian Penal Code. This is possibly the first time in the country that a case was registered against farmers for employing child labourers. Police arrested the three farmers and produced them before the magistrate. On remand in judicial custody, later in the evening they were lodged at the Aatur sub-jail in Attur. ICPP officials said the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 had amended the Indian Penal Code on the specific offence of trafficking. Section 370 which defined trafficking in detail says that the consent of victim is immaterial in determination of the offence of trafficking. Also, as per the Standard Operating Procedure to handle trafficking of Children for Child Labour, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on August 12, 2013, trafficking of children for economic exploitation and bonded labour is a heinous crime. (The Hindu 11/10/13) Improve education of girl child, abolish child labour (14) COIMBATORE: Unlettered Mala is tortured by her in-laws for dowry. The birth of a girl child only adds to her misery as her husband and mother-in-law blame her for that. She is harassed and sent home because she refuses to kill her girl baby. This play was staged here on Friday by a few girls from 26 slums across Coimbatore, beneficiaries of the Coimbatore Urban Development Programme (CUDP) of World Vision India. It was to stress the need for girls to be educated to lead a dignified life and also ensure the safety of ones children. The organisation had organised a programme to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, which was being observed with the theme Innovating for Girls

Education. It was also a day to celebrate the 10{+t}{+h}anniversary of the CUDP. According to K. Vetriselvan John, Programme Manager of World Vision India, the CUDP had covered 12,000 families in 26 slums in Coimbatore. Those pursuing college education are provided with monetary assistance, while some select children are fully sponsored from the age of three to 12 years. Daughter of a construction worker from Haripuram slum, B. Gayathri, third year engineering student, did not have the means to study engineering. In spite of availing herself of a bank loan and first generation graduate concession, she could not make ends meet. The additional assistance of Rs. 12,000 provided by World Vision spared my father the difficulty of paying that amount. Presiding over the event, D.V. Vijayakumar, Project Director of National Child Labour Project (NCLP), said that education had to be extended to all girls in all strata to ensure that they were saved from domestic / child labour. There are many Government schemes and NGOs are doing a lot of work in promoting girl education. But the awareness is not good. The schemes are not reaching the target group in some urban and most of the rural areas. Even economically weaker girls who take up education do not go beyond standard VIII or X, he said. He called for creating awareness among people of rural areas and urban slums to motivate them to send their girl children to school and ensure they completed it. (The Hindu 12/10/13) Complaint filed against farmer for employing child workers (14) SALEM: The Village Administrative Officer of Veppampoondi, K. Kaliyamoorthi, has lodged a complaint against a farmer in Thalaivasal block here for employing six child workers in his field for agricultural work. In his complaint to the Veeraganur police, Kaliyamoorthi said that Subramaniam had owned a piece of land in Veppampoondi and he had given it on lease to P. Thangaraj (50). Thangaraj had employed six girls, who were less than 14 years of age, from Javadu Hills in Tiruvannamalai district by paying advance to the girls families. Last week, they were found waiting for bus and rescued. Inquiry revealed that they were engaged in removing weeds from fields and since they disliked the work, they planned to return home. They were rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee and are currently in the Reception Home for Girls in Salem. The police are yet to register a case. (The Hindu 13/10/13) On world stage, India lets down its child brides (14) LONDON: India, the world's child marriage capital, has once again failed its under-age brides. The country has refused to sign the first-ever global resolution on early and forced marriage of children led by the UN. The resolution was supported by a cross-regional group of over 107 countries, including almost all countries with high rates of child marriageEthiopia, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Chad, Guatemala, Honduras and Yemen. The resolution floated by the UN Human Rights Council stressed the need to include child, early and forced marriage in post-2015 international development agenda and acknowledged the multi-faceted impact of early marriage on the "economic, legal, health and social status of women and girls" as well as "the development of the community as a whole".India has the record of having the highest absolute number of child brides: about 24 million. This represents 40% of the 60 million world's child marriages. The percentage of women between the ages of 20 and 24 who were married before 18 years of age has decreased from 54% in 1992-93 to 43% in 2007-08, thus showing a reduction of 11% in 15 years. This improvement however is far too little, experts say. Lakshmi Sundaram, the global coordinator of Girls Not Brides who was at the UN general assembly last week told TOI: "India refusing to sign the resolution is highly disappointing. Though India is putting in place a national plan to combat child marriages, it was strange why it did not stand up against the social ill in the international stage. India would have given out a positive signal that it is willing to find a solution by signing the resolution".Sundaram added: "Child marriage is a social ill across south Asian countries. However, Nepal probably is the only country that signed the resolution. Both India and Bangladesh which have high rates of child marriages didn't sign in. It a setback globally to the cause that India didn't speak out".The Centre for Reproductive Rights says governments in the South Asia region have failed to enact and enforce adequate laws that prohibit child marriage. "The practice persists with impunity. In South Asia, 46% of

women between ages 20-24 report having been married before age 18 in 2010. This translated to 24.4 million women in the region. Estimates project that from 2010 to 2030, 130 million more girls in the region will be married." "Child marriage does not constitute a single rights violation - rather, every instance of child marriage triggers a continuum of violations that continues throughout a girl's life. Child marriage endangers the survival and well-being of women and girls by exposing them to forced initiation into sex and sexual violence as well as to early, unplanned and frequent pregnancies. Further, women and girls married as children are often denied educational opportunities, are isolated from society and face a lifetime of economic dependence," the Centre said. India introduced laws against child marriage in 1929, and set 12 years as the legal age for marriage. Later, it was increased to 18 years in 1978. (Times of India 15/10/13) Child labour: UP tops the list of states (14) VARANASI: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 every year since 1993 after the United Nations General Assembly chose this day to promote awareness about the need to eradicate poverty in all countries. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is also one of the development goals of the UN. Though reduction in the number of people living below poverty line has been witnessed in last couple of years, poverty still exists one of the worst forms of it can be seen as child labour, bonded labour and people living in urban slums. "Uttar Pradesh, which tops the list of child labour, has the highest number, 20% of India's child labourers," said Rajni Kant, the state convener of Campaign against Child Labour (CACL) and president of Human Welfare Association (HWA). According to CACL report, out of 1,26,66,377 child labourers in the country, UP alone has 19,27,997 child labourers. As per the records of assistant labour commissioner office over 1,750 child labourers had been identified by the department since December 1996. Slums and the condition of people living there is also one of the indicators of poverty. According to records, Varanasi has 227 slums, including 210 in the municipal limit of Varanasi Municipal Corporation and total population of these slums is about 4,53,222, which constitutes about 37.69% of the total population of the city. The report prepared under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) suggests that the average income of a slum household is Rs 100-150 per day with average household size of eight members. A report of the working group (of Planning Commission) on urban poverty and slums suggests that urban poverty in India was large and widespread. In 2004-05, 80.8 million people, out of an estimated urban population of 309.5 million persons, were below the poverty line as their consumption per month was found to be less than Rs 538.60. These numbers constitute a significant proportion of the world's total urban poor estimated at 291.4 million. Over the past three decades (1973-2004), the number of the urban poor has raised by 34.4% and the share of the urban poor in the total from 18.7% in 1973 to 26.8% in 2004-05. In comparison the numbers of the rural poor have registered a 15.5% decline over this period. Moreover, about 40-45 million people are on the verge of poverty which indicates an increase in number of urban poor. At national level, according to Planning Commission's report, 'Poverty Estimates for 2011-12', the percentage of persons below the poverty line in 2011-12 was found to be 25.7% in rural areas, 13.7% in urban areas and 21.9% for the country. The respective ratios for the rural and urban areas were 41.8% and 25.7% and 37.2% for the country as a whole in 2004-05. It was 50.1% in rural areas, 31.8% in urban areas and 45.3% for the country as a whole in 1993-94. In 2011-12, India had 270 million persons below the Tendulkar Poverty Line as compared to 407 million in 2004-05, that is a reduction of 137 million persons over a period of 7 years. The Planning Commission has periodically estimated poverty lines and poverty ratios for which large sample surveys on household consumer expenditure have been conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. These surveys are normally conducted on quinquennial basis. The last quinquennial survey in this series was conducted in 2009-10 (NSS 66th round). However, since 2009-10 was not a normal year because of a severe drought, the NSSO repeated the large scale survey in 2011-12 (NSS 68th round). (Times of India 18/10./13)

It's time to end human bondage in the country (14) India seems to have acquired the dubious distinction of being the leader of many demeaning trends, be it child labour, underage marriages and now we learn slavery. Although the practice had been abolished long ago, a new study shows that an estimated 29.8 million people live in slavery around the world. And nearly half this number is in India. Fourteen million Indians, the highest number in the world, live in conditions of slavery. This includes those trapped in debt, in forced marriages and those who have been trafficked, according to the Global Slavery Index 2013 compiled by the Walk Free Foundation, a human rights organisation based in Australia. However, India can take cold comfort in the fact that it ranks fourth in terms of the prevalence of slavery as a proportion of the population. Mauritania, Haiti and Pakistan are ranked above India in the 162-nation survey. From inter-generational bonded labour to the worst forms of child labour, from commercial sexual exploitation to forced marriage, almost all forms of slavery are prevalent in India. While many remain trapped in debt bondage in their own villages, others are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, begging and domestic servitude. The recent assault of a 15-year-old maid in the upscale Vasant Kunj area in Delhi was just the tip of the modern-day domestic slavery iceberg. Every year, thousands of women and children are trafficked from states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal primarily for sexual exploitation and also for domestic work. Despite a 2006 ban on child labour, children can still be found working in brick kilns, cracker factories and coal mines which are among the many hazardous industries with appalling working conditions. Bride-buying, though a non-labour form of slavery, is practised in Haryana and Punjab where the sex ratio is highly skewed. There should be strict implementation of existing laws that will ensure that people who perpetuate modern-day slavery are severely punished. If India aspires to be a global power, its claims to such a status cannot be taken seriously if many of its own people continue to live in conditions of medieval drudgery. (Hindustan Times 22/10/13) More children go missing in Darjeeling every year: Report (14) Kolkata: A State Crime Records Bureau-backed report has termed West Bengal the source point for child trafficking within the country, with Darjeeling topping the list of eight districts in state with most number of missing children. The report for the last three years, published by Child In Need Institute, says Darjeeling has shown the steepest rise in number of children missing in the state, with 924 cases recorded in 2012, a staggering jump from 430 reported in 2010. Even the National Crime Records Bureau has revealed that more than 19,000 children were missing in West Bengal during 2012. More than half of the missing children were girls, says the CINI report which sourced its data from the District Crime Records Bureau. "These figures are just tip of the iceberg as countless number of cases go unreported," the CINI report read. Rajib K Haldar, additional director of CINI, said due to the geographical location of Darjeeling, children are more vulnerable to cross-border trafficking via Nepal. "Cross-border districts are used as transit points by the traffickers with children, mostly from remote villages, becoming the target," he said. With majority coming from poor background, the missing children were trafficked for various reasons - to work as labourers in factories, farms or homes; for commercial sexual exploitation; or for marriage or forced beggary. As West Bengal shares porous borders with Nepal and Bangladesh, it serves as a transit point for maximum cross-border trafficking. The study finds poverty and lack of education as among the key factors. Early marriage is another reason. "Marriage is used as a significant ploy in trafficking children. Often, young girls are duped into romantic associations," it said. Shockingly, FIRs were lodged only in 4 per cent of such cases in Darjeeling, the report says, even though the Supreme Court, earlier this year, has made it mandatory for police stations across the country to compulsorily register missing complaints of any minor and appoint a special police officer to handle complaints of juveniles. (Indian Express 23/10/13) National Commission for Protection of Child Rights bats for safe playgrounds for kids (14)

NEW DELHI: Child rights commission has gone to an unusual extent to fulfill its mandate in protecting child rights. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked states to ensure that future housing projects are planned keeping in mind the need for safe playing spaces for children. At a time when most urban growth is unplanned and cheek-by-jowl, the NCPCR has made a set of 10-point guidelines for playgrounds including the presence of pediatrician and first-aid facilities, boundary walls and security guards besides being at a location that is unlikely to disturb other residents. The Commission has also suggested that if the housing colony does not have a playground, a neighbouring park or green space should be designated for children. There should be free ingress and egress of children without any discrimination and the play ground should be open on all reasonable times, the guidelines say while adding that play areas should accommodate different types of play including gross motor through physical activities such as sliding, climbing, reaching, and crossing and quiet play. States have also been asked to ensure that there is provision for barrier free playing for children with special needs. (Times of India 24/10/13) 11 children rescued from commercial premises (14) New Delhi: Eleven children including four girls working as bonded labourers in various commercial premises in Nangloi area of West Delhi have been rescued, police said on Saturday. Police have also arrested three persons Rambir, Sonu and Naveen Goyal in this connection yesterday. Six children were working as labourer in shoes factory, while four girls were rescued from a paper plate factory. One child was rescued from a sweet shop, police said. "A child labour rescue operation was conducted yesterday in Nangloi area under the supervision of SDM, Punjabi Bagh with collaboration of Labour Department and Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (NGO). "During the rescue operation 11 children from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar working as labourers were rescued from various premises," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ranvir Singh. The children were forced to work on a nominal salary of Rs 1,500 per month, police said. The rescued children were produced before Child Welfare Committee, which sent them in the state protection. A case against the accused under Child and Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act has been registered. (Zee News 26/10/13) CRY opposes closure of government schools (14) BANGALORE: Child Right and You (CRY), a non-governmental organisation, has urged the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSPCR) to reject the recommendations of the R. Govinda Committee report which suggested closure of 12,740 government schools in the State. This was one of the main recommendations in a study titled Learning Blocks carried out by CRY. The study covered 71 districts in 13 States to understand the status of implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. A dossier containing the study was submitted to the KSPCR recently. It also suggests that eggs should be introduced in school midday meals for children. Suma Ravi, Regional Director (South), CRY, said the closure of such a large number of schools might lead to child labour and child marriage. Apart from ensuring access, the study also recommends maintenance/upgrade of school infrastructure by providing financial commitment by allocating Rs. 1,238.12 crore for upgrading 22,718 classrooms and recruitment of 14,908 teachers in the State. Parents across sections look for a safe school environment before sending their children. The RTE Act says schools should have all weather buildings. But our study showed that 13 per cent schools in the south were unsafe; 18 per cent primary schools did not have pakka buildings, Ms. Ravi said. The study also quotes secondary data and points to the less number of high schools. While there are 23,370 lower primary government schools, and 22,278 higher primary government schools, there are only 4,168 government high schools. The dropout rate increases at the high school level. While it is 8.7 per cent at the Class 5 level, it increases to 33.9 per cent at the Class 8 level and to 49.4 per cent at the Class 10 level. (The Hindu 27/10/13) Public hearing on child rights (14)

State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) will lend an ear to peoples woes at an open forum next month. A two-day public hearing will be held at RIMS auditorium on November 11 and 12, where the commission will take up complaints being currently registered at its office via helplines and also grievances voiced on the spot. Two day ago, SCPCR went on a massive publicity drive about the public hearing via hoardings, pamphlets and announcements in various districts of the state and also its two tollfree numbers 18003456531 and 0651-2511200 for people to register complaints. The move garnered spontaneous response with as many as 20 complaints registered in the past two days. According to SCPCR members, many parents from Gumla, Simdega, Khunti, Chaibasa and state capital Ranchi had called up. The nature of gripes ranged from death of a child in mysterious circumstances to ragging at the reputable Sainik School in Tilaya, child labour and eve-teasing. The number is expected to cross 200 in the next few days. We are getting a number of complaints, all of which will be addressed at the public hearing. It will be a platform for the public, especially parents, to come forward and notify us about any violation of child rights, said chairperson of SCPCR Rooplakshmi. It will try to settle at least 200 cases in two days. The rest will be addressed district-wise on a monthly basis. (The Telegraph 29/10/13) Locked in for 2 days, 13-year-old maid seeks help (14) NEW DELHI: Less than a month after the horrific tale of physical abuse of a minor domestic help became public, police on Monday rescued a 13-year-old girl from another south Delhi locality after she claimed to have been locked inside the house by her airhostess employer, who is currently away to Australia. Police said the victim managed to reach the terrace of the Sarojini Nagar apartment by slipping out from a ventilator and sought help from neighbours. Cops roped in an NGO for the rescue. The girl later told the Child Welfare Committee that she was beaten up several times with a belt, starved and locked inside the house. Neither she nor her family had been paid for the work. The girl and her employer, who works for Air India, are from Manipur, police said. The accused has been booked under sections relating to causing hurt, wrongful confinement, child labour and bonded labour. She would be arrested upon her return, said a senior cop. The victim, who said she was working for the past two years, alleged that she was forced to give her employer a massage for four hours everyday, from 11pm to 3am everyday. "I slept only for 5 hours and woke up at 8am to finish the household chores. She would be drunk at times and beat me up if I did not follow her instructions. I was too scared to complain," the victim told the CWC. The girl, who has a slight deformity in one eye, has been sent to a shelter home in southeast Delhi and her parents are being informed. Her family lives in Senapati district of Manipur. Police found that the victim's mother used to work for the airhostess' family in Manipur. The girl was brought to Delhi by the airhostess's sister, who will also be arrested for trafficking, police said. Cops said the girl's parents were told she would be given a job, money and education. None of it was fulfilled. The victim is not literate, an officer said, adding that they had not received any proof of her age but estimate it to be 12 or 13. Police were told about the girl around 3.30pm on Monday. Her employer had left on Sunday and was supposed to return on Tuesday. The girl told police that she used a stool to get to the ventilator and escaped to the terrace. She then went to the adjacent terrace and raised an alarm. The neighbours then asked her to call the police from their telephone. Police arrived and asked an NGO, Butterflies, to counsel the girl and record her statement. "Based on the statement, we have registered a case under IPC sections 323 (causing hurt), 340 (wrongful confinement), 370 (slavery), 16 (bonded labour) and 14 (child labour) at Sarojini Nagar police station. She has also been booked under the juvenile justice Act ," said B S Jaiswal, DCP south. "The girl was taken for a medical examination where no fresh injuries were found on her body. There were bruises on her face, arms and hands but they were old scars," he said. On Tuesday, the girl was produced before the Child Welfare Committee, where her statement was recorded before the magistrate. "She did not give me or my family any salary. She would not let me talk to my mother even if I cried in front of her. She came home late and I had to massage her for hours. She would beat me if I said I was tired," the girl said in her statement (Times of India 30/10/13)

Recognise Right to Child's Participation: Expert (14) Mysore: The Right to Childs Participation in civic issues is recognised at par with a childs Right to Survive and Right to Education, according to the UNconvention on Child Rights. It is important to listen to the viewpoints of children, as they are unbiased observers of the things around them, said Prasoon Sen, representative from UNICEF, in Mysore, on Thursday. Speaking at the inaugural function of a mock parliament for children, organised by Karnataka Child Rights Observatory (KCRO) in association with UNICEF, at Rangayana, he said, While adults can be influenced by luring them with money or other incentives, children do not get influenced easily. They can describe a situation in an unbiased way. So, childrens views on schools and hospitals in their villages accurately depict how such facilities and government schemes are affecting people. Vasudev Sharma, convenor of KCRO, said, elected representatives have failed to address issues pertaining to the welfare of children in the State. Earlier, political parties did not raise any issue on children in their election manifestos. However, owing to some pressure, they have started including them from 2003, he said. He said, children may have more amicable and simple solutions for everyday problems. Moreover, children should be encouraged to understand problems, discuss them and come up with solutions. Meera Nayak, president of Samatha Vedike, said, girl children are facing subjugation both at homes and schools especially in rural areas. More or less, it is a form of slavery, she said. Different kinds of schools are being run for the rich and the poor which increases discrimination among children. We can provide them equal opportunities only by giving them uniform education, she said. Pa Mallesh, Kannada activist, said encouraging private schools against government schools creates two classes and cultures of children.Contrasts of the society are being imposed on them, he said. A total of 51 children from different parts of the district participated. (Deccan Herald 1/11/13) 200 child labourers freed last month: Govt to high court (14) NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Thursday informed the Delhi high court that in the past one month it has rescued nearly 200 children employed as labourers in the past month in various places. Appearing for the Delhi government, standing counsel Pawan Sharma filed a progress report on steps taken to abolish child labour before a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Manmohan, and said the chief secretary recently held a meeting with different departments to prevent employment of children. Seeking exemption from personal appearance of the chief secretary and the labour commissioner, the government lawyer said the labour department has informed that in past one month, 198 children have been rescued in the past month. On the government's report, senior advocate H S Phoolka, counsel for petitioner NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said the problem of child labour will be solved to a great extent if the most senior officer of the government holds a meeting at least once a month. The bench asked Phoolka to place on record his suggestions, saying "the bench can direct the departments concerned to put in place these suggestions which can work without the court's interference". It also expressed its satisfaction over the progress report and discharged the officers from their appearance during the next hearing of the plea. Earlier, refusing to withdraw its previous order summoning the officers over alleged in-action to rescue child labourers, the bench had asked the government to furnish the progress report by today. The court was hearing the NGO's plea alleging government inaction on eradication of child labour. (Times of India 1/11/13) Child marriage not void, but voidable: Court (14) NEW DELHI: Stating that a sexual act between a man and his wife who is more than 15 years old does not amount to rape, a trial court has acquitted a youth of raping and kidnapping a minor. The court also termed their marriage valid saying, "child marriage contracted with a female of less than 18 years or a male of less than 21 years would not be a void marriage but a voidable one".The court order is significant in the light of demands to amend the law related to child marriage. Human rights activists have time and

again criticized the authorities for not doing enough to ban child marriage in India. The country's law defines a child as someone younger than 18 years and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act prescribes jail for anyone-including parents-for allowing child marriage. A survey found that every second bride in the country is a child but only around 400 people were arrested under this law in 2012. Additional sessions judge Savita Rao let off Prashant Kumar Sahani after noting that the minor had eloped and married him by choice. The court pointed out that the consent of the girl would be immaterial since she was less than 16 years old, but since she had married the accused "willingly" and was aged more than 15 years at the time of the incident, the general law would not apply in this case. Relying upon a high court judgment, the judge said, "The consent of prosecutrix (alleged victim) below the age of 16 years is immaterial, except when rape is committed by a male who is married to the girl. Section 376 IPC (rape) does not treat the rape committed by a husband on his wife above the age of 15 years as an offence".The court also held that their marriage cannot be declared null. (Times of India 2/11/13) Child rights panel wants RWAs to prevent abuse (14) NEW DELHI: With cases of torture of domestic workers, particularly minors in urban middle and upper middle class families on the rise, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has written to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, seeking intervention of Bhagidari cell to make the resident welfare associations - 3500 of them are registered under the programme - aware of laws related to child labour and trafficking. Interestingly, the Bhagidari cell has cited the model code of conduct to explain its inability to take any measures now to involve RWAs in preventing abuse of minors. Such awareness building will have to wait till the elections are over and a new government is formed. The RWAs registered with the cell are estimated to be covering a population of about 60 lakh in colonies and resettlement colonies.. DCPCR chief Arun Mathur said RWAs need to be made aware of the provisions of the anti-child labour law and Juvenile Justice Act. "Most people believe that child labour laws apply only till age 14 and domestic workers older than that can be engaged for work. But the provisions regarding child labour are clear that domestic work comes under the hazardous category and children up to 18 cannot be engaged for the same," he said. "Also, the 2009 Delhi high court order states that if a domestic worker in the 14-18 age-group is identified, he or she must be freed from the clutches of an employer." He added that Juvenile Justice Act is clear on the definition of a child applying up to 18 years. There are about one lakh full-time domestic workers and many more part-time helps. While domestic work has grown into a fullfledged profession, the lack of laws make these workers - mostly women and minor girls - unaccounted migrant labourers. R S Chaurasia, chairperson of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, says even if 10% of Delhi's urban middle and upper middle class households employ full-time maids, the number will be nothing short of a lakh. Rishikant from NGO Shakti Vahini, that was involved in the rescue of an 18-yearold tribal domestic help from Vasant Kunj on September 30, said, "Many children and women are being trafficked for forced labour, child labour, forced marriage, sexual exploitation and bonded labour. The employers are specifically looking for children as they are cheaper, complain less and remain silent when exploited."' Rita Panicker, director of NGO Butterflies, said: "The tribal girls are most vulnerable. For them, city life is traumatic. To be placed in a middle-class home where life is so different from their village is a big change for them. We need to shame employers who abuse domestic helps." The NGO was involved in the rescue of a minor from house of an air hostess in south Delhi recently. (Times of India 5/11/13) Guidelines on foster care will help protect children (14) BANGALORE: Inability to adjust with the foster family, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and child labour are some of the reasons children break away from their foster families, according to a study on foster care. The study by BOSCO, a non-governmental organisation, was released on Thursday during a national consultation on the childs right to family. It collated responses from 33 governmental and nongovernmental organisations that work to provide foster care for children in India. Various child rights

activists called for government guidelines on foster care, so that the practice gets a boost. Sony Kutty George, communication specialist, UNICEF, said there was a need for foster care policy that allows child labour or sexual harassment to be tackled. Earlier this year, the Department of Women and Child Development, in consultation with child rights groups, had developed foster care guidelines; however, these are yet to be finalised. Gurneet Tej, director of the department, said the government was trying to push for adoption and sponsorship to secure the future of vulnerable children. She pointed out that there was a need to move away from institutionalised set up as it provides little leverage to express their feeling and express freedom of thought and action. She added that there was limited support for the child after the age of 18. The child is used to a particular lifestyle, access to food, shelter and education and after he/she turns 18, they have to go out and fend for themselves. This is difficult as a child cannot be left alone at such a difficult juncture, she said. (The Hindu 8/11/13) Fate of rescued child labourers hangs in balance (14) Fate of four child labourers who were rescued by the railway police earlier this week hangs in limbo as decision on their custody is yet to be taken. Parents of children have come from Bihar are waiting for their custody which will only be given to them after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)'s hearing. In its usual practice, the CWC after hearing the case hands over the custody of children to their parents immediately. But in this case the labour department has decided to determine the age of the rescued children before any decision is made over their custody. "The children are still with us as their age determination test is yet to be done without which the case cannot be taken to the CWC," said ChidlLine member Manisha Payak. "This has not been a usual practice of the labour department to carry out the age determination process for rescued child labourers," she added. However, department officials claimed that it is on account of the ambiguity in their age that the test will be carried out. "There age is not clear from appearance so we have to carry out the test," said labour official. Payak said that the parents of two rescued children have arrived. On the other hand, another four children who were rescued from a bag factory at Motitabela towards the end of October have been sent back to their parents in Bihar soon after the CWC's decision. The Indore CWC has contacted the Bihar CWC seeking rehabilitation of these rescued children. (DNA 10/11/13) Party promising to work for children will get votes: Badhte Kadam NGO (14) New Delhi: Around 2,000 youngsters, associated with an NGO working for child rights, on Tuesday vowed to vote for a political party which promises to work for the welfare of homeless children. The firsttime voters, all former street children, have written an open letter to all the political parties in Delhi ahead of the December 4 assembly elections in the capital. They demanded five things, which include carrying out a census of homeless children, ensuring regular meetings between government and their representatives, and strict action against those engaging in child labour. "In Delhi, there are around five lakh street and working children, who are ignored because they can't vote. But this time, we have around 2,000 first-time voters. This number will only grow in the future," said Chandni, national secretary of the Badhte Kadam NGO. "We are united and should not be taken lightly. There are times when people are defeated by even one vote," she added. (DNA 12/11/13) Slapped left and right on child rights abuse (14) Ranchi, Nov. 11: Jharkhand cut a sorry figure at a public hearing held by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), its inability to reply cogently to citizens complaints forcing the watchdog body to criticise the state and issue a series of time-bound directives. In Jharkhand, there is a gross systemic failure. Irony is that children are being deprived of rights and the government is putting up blank faces before the commission, said NCPCR chairperson Kushal Singh, who along with two other members, was holding the public hearing in Ranchi. Today, which was the first day of the two-day exercise, saw as many as 18 cases being taken up. These included complaints of poor children admitted

to private English-medium schools under Right to Education Act (RTE), corporal punishment and pending teachers appointments. But the absence of key state government officials during the first half of the hearing angered the commission, represented by chairperson Singh and members Yogesh Dube (child labour) and Vinod Kumar Tikoo, (child psychology/sociology). State government officials did make an appearance later in the post lunch session, although most of the cases taken up could not elicit a proper explanation from them. This prompted the commission to issue a number of guidelines. Among them were: Prepare guidelines for enrolment process of children under economically weaker section (EWS) within three weeksRelease a notice/order immediately, directing all schools (private/public) to put up a complaint box on their premises and check it regularly for childrens grievances including complaints of corporal punishment Popularise midday meal toll free helpline number 1800 3456 542/544 and submit a report on calls received and action taken within a monthEarlier, inaugurating the hearing, Singh stressed on the importance of child rights, saying every child born in India was a citizen of India and not a future citizen of India. Hence, every child had similar rights as that of an adult. We often discriminate between rights of a child and of an adult, but we should not forget that ensuring their rights is our first responsibility, she said. State HRD secretary K. Vidyasagar, who joined the hearing during the second session, promised to fill all teacher vacancies by January 2014 and adopt mechanisms to address issues related to child rights. Most of the cases taken up for hearing during the day revealed glaring administrative loopholes. HRD deputy director K. M. Mallick was clearly inept at answering most of the queries. (The Telegraph 12/11/13) Delhi polls: Street children want parties to earn their vote (14) New Delhi: Looking forward to the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections is an enthusiastic bunch of firsttime voters comprising teenagers who have lived and grown up on the Capitals streets. They have now opted to speak their mind and demand that political parties earn their vote. The youth, who are part of non-government organisation Badthe Kadam (Federation of Street and Working Children) and refuse to continue living as ghosts who are never heard and noticed, have now written an open letter to political parties demanding their rights. Delhi has around five lakh street and working children. This time around, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 children with the federation, will get the opportunity to vote for the first time. The upcoming elections have raised hopes of first-time voters. We feel that this is our opportunity to highlight our demands and insist that we be counted. Previously, we were just children who lived on the streets. Today we have the power to vote and can influence political parties, said 18-year-old Vijay, the former national secretary and present advisory of Badthe Kadam. He claims to be very excited about being a first-time voter. My vote goes to the party that will accept my demands. Meanwhile, the demands of first-time voters who have grown up on the streets include official acknowledgment of the presence of street and working children and their proper count, working towards ensuring that all schemes for street and working children reach them in time, that street children be made part of future government meetings if their issues are discussed and that timely action be taken against persons engaging child labour. Federation director Sanjay Gupta said: We are happy to see that street children have become empowered enough to know and demand their rights. They clearly have come a long way. Fifteen-year-old Chandini, a former rag picker who is now with Badthe Kadam, said: We know we have been ignored by all political parties, but we believe that our time has come and that we will stand united and become educated and empowered future voters. We will not be taken lightly. We know that politicians and big parties can be defeated even with one vote. We have understood that we count and this time we have come with over 1,500 votes from Badthe Kadam alone. (The Hindu 14/11/13) CRY kicks off Vote for Child Rights campaign (14) BANGALORE: The maternal mortality rate across India as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2011 stands at a high of 212 per 1 lakh live births, 22% of babies born with low birth weight as per National Family and Health Survey-III, 47 of every 1,000 babies don't even live for one year as per SRS

2011, 79% of children below 35 months of age are anaemic and only 54% children receive full immunization. And it gets worse. Studies and surveys show that 11.8% children are engaged in some form of labour while over 25% increase in child murders since 2000 and only 58.3% children are enrolled in upper primary elementary schools. Child Rights and You (CRY) highlighted these details from its Status and Trends in Child Rights in India report here on Wednesday. It report covers aspirations of children across 18 states and views of development thinkers and practitioners. CRY kicked off a nationwide campaign, Vote for Child Rights, and chalked out a 10-point manifesto for any political party which forms the government at the Centre in 2014. The campaign will also events like signing of pledges from the aam aadmi and getting the support of prominent citizens. The campaign is our way of ensuring there's political will behind our justified demand to protect child rights. It's imperative the best interest of the child be put at the centre of all policies, legislations and practice. It calls for action to express zero tolerance towards violation o (Times of India 14/11/13) Most Indian kids up for overseas adoption find homes in US (14) MUMBAI: Indian children put up for adoption overseas in the past three years have mostly landed up in the United States, followed by Italy and Spain, shows data from the ministry of women and child development. India handed over 308 babies to couples abroad last year, according to statistics presented by the ministry before the Lok Sabha in August. This trail of overseas adoption has come into the spotlight after the Bombay high court ruled that Indian parents should be given preference in child adoption over non-resident Indians, overseas citizens of India and foreign nationals. The case pertained to a petition filed by a Pune couple who objected to a girl child being given up for adoption to a US-based couple. Inter-country adoptions have been a contentious issue worldwide, owing to fears of trafficking or exploitation of poor children by developed countries. Many of the grey areas have, however, been ironed out in recent years. Indian babies being given up for overseas adoption are protected by guidelines governing the Adoption of Children 2011, based on the Hague Convention, and clearly prioritize desi couples for adoption of Indian babies. While the law allows one out of five babies to be given up for adoption abroad, ministry records show that only one in 15 on an average are sent overseas. In 2012 for instance, 4,694 children were adopted by Indian couples as against 308 sent overseas. Sunil Arora, vicepresident of the Federation of Adoption Agencies, Maharashtra, explains many of these are children with special needs who they aren't able to place in Indian families, for instance, those with burn marks, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, physical deformity, or those older then five years. "Adoption is increasingly being looked at only in terms of rules and procedures. But we need to keep in mind that every child has a right to a family," points out Nilima Mehta who formerly headed the state's child welfare council. Contrary to popular belief, babies put up for adoption overseas don't come from poorer states such as Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. The relatively developed states of Maharashtra and Delhi have consistently sent out more children overseas than any other region. India isn't the only country with concerns over sending children abroad. Russia recently banned its children from being given for adoption to foreign couples. Romania in 2004 clamped down on inter-country adoptions as well. But such draconian measures may only result in children living in institutions which isn't a favourable option, point out child experts. (Times of India 17/11/13) 700 students pitch & paint for child rights (14) The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) launched a two-day programme Humara Bachpan Humara Adhikar in Ranchi from Tuesday to mark International Child Rights Day on November 20. Day One saw a footfall of 700 children. The commission gave participants a chance to express their opinions through painting, debate and quiz on Aryabhatt Auditorium premises. In association with NGOs, it also put up 16 reading and visual-aid stalls on child rights. State HRD minister Geetashree Oraon, who inaugurated the programme, said: Children are our future. When we give them their rights, our future is secured. The theme of the painting competition was child marriage, child labour

or adarsh vidyalaya (model school). I chose child labour because I believe all children must go to school, said Rani, a Class VI student of Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya, Kantatoli. Classmate Neha launched a canvas protest against child marriage. Girls should be allowed to complete education first, she said. The debate, also on child marriage, saw 40 firebrand speakers who were divided into five groups. Later, NGO Save The Children organised a consultation on how to include issues of child rights in the election manifesto of political parties. Around 30 children participated in the discussion. (The Telegraph 20/11/13) Move to prevent sexual abuse of domestic help (14) VIJAYAWADA: They come to cities from the countryside with a dream of a job, and with the hope of not going to bed on an empty stomach. Instead, they come across an ugly reality back-breaking work with no pay, little to eat, sexual abuse and physical assault. Women and child rights activists claim that a large number of domestic help rescued in the city complain of sexual abuse, mostly by the employer. To counter the issue, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Krishna district proposes to push forward a proposal seeking registration of girls aged between 14 and 18 employed as domestic help with the CWC. This is a very critical area of girl children. The rule should actually apply to all the minor children but since this particular section (girls as domestic help) are the vulnerable class, we want to insist on it, says CWC Chairman Thomas Koshy. Eighteen is considered a child age but child labour limitation is only 14 years. It is therefore logical that the welfare of these children be referred to the authorities concerned. The aspect of salary payment comes under Labour law but the protection aspect is the responsibility of the CWC, says Mr. Koshy. The CWC chiefs statement followed a proposal to this effect tossed by N. Radha, Research and Documentation coordinator for CRAF (Child Rights Advocacy Foundation), a Child Rights Resource Support Centre active in 12 districts of Andhra Pradesh to promote and protect child rights. Citing examples of bigger cities like Delhi where girls above 14 years employed as domestic help are registered with the nearest police stations, she says it will be much easier for the police to register a case in the event of a sexual assault or other atrocities and also for the local NGOs to build up a case against the perpetrators of the crime. Details of children employed as domestic help are registered with the local police stations in Delhi. It not only helps in keeping tab on the status of these children but will also serve as a deterrent to those with evil intentions. A similar pattern can be followed here to address the issue effectively, she opines. (The Hindu 22/11/13) Education guidance programme for rehabilitated child workers (14) DHARMAPURI: Over 10,000 child labourers were rescued in the past 10 years in Dharmapuri district, said Collector K. Vivekanandan here on Sunday. After inaugurating the skill development programme and education guidance programme for former child labourers in Sri Vijay Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Dharmapuri, Mr. Vivekanandan said that many students, identified by the field team of the National Child Labour Project, were given good education and their performance was monitored continuously to help them achieve their goals. Mr. Vivekanandan asked the teachers of the 24 NCLP schools to motivate the students to become entrepreneurs. The District Industries Centre would train the teachers for the purpose. The district administration was taking all efforts to eradicate child labour in the district by the end of 2014, the Collector said. M. Murthy, who was rescued by the NCLP team from Kailayapuram in Harur, is now pursuing his second year MBBS course in Salem Government Medical College. Murthy told The Hindu that he dropped out of the school in Class V and had gone to Bangalore to do construction work. After two years, the NCLP team rescued him and admitted him in a school. Later, he joined the Government Boys Higher Secondary School and scored 460 out of 500 in SSLC. The then District Collector P. Amutha helped him get a seat in Sri Vijay Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Dharmapuri. He scored 1123 out of 1200 in Plus Two and got an MBBS seat through regular counselling. His education is being sponsored by a couple in the medical profession in Omalur in Salem district. After finishing my course, I would strive hard for the rehabilitation of child labourers, Murthy said. Like Murthy, many children explained how they were rehabilitated by the NCLP. T. Jayaseelan of

Palayam, who was rescued from a brick kiln, completed his BA in English and diploma in teacher training. Now, he works as a social worker in the District Child Protection Union on a temporary basis. Jayalaseelan said he had rehabilitated over 20 child labourers. R. Manjula of Erikkadi is pursuing M.Sc. Chemistry in a private college. Earlier, the Collector released a guideline book for the benefit of the participants. (The Hindu 25/11/13) Child labourer tortured by employer (14) Mysore: An eight year old girl from Ghousianagar in the city suffered burns after her landlord allegedly tortured her for eating sweets. The girl's agony came to light after a local organisation informed the child helpline. The victim told Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Tuesday, that she had been working as a housemaid at the house of Sumayya Banu at Hanumanthnagar, near Bannimantap for the past two months. The victim's poverty stricken parents had agreed to let the girl work for Rs 8,000 per annum. Explaining the torment she had undergone, the girl alleged that recently she tasted a sweet made by Sumayya. Enraged Sumayya thrust the right palm of the girl on a hot dosa pan. The girl who couldn't bear the pain ran away as Sumayya tried to burn her left palm. The girl went home and informed her parents, who in turn took Sumayya to task. However they were pacified by Sumayya who allegedly promised them to not to ask the amount back. The incident came to light after an activist of secular Muslim association noticed the girl with burns. He informed the child helpline. The CWC that counselled the girl has directed NR Police to book the accused couple for bonded labour and attempt to murder the girl. The girl is currently lodged at government girls home on Lalitha Mahal Road. The girl has a 12 year old sister who is also said to be working as maid at an advocate's house. N R Police have been instructed by CWC to register a case. (Deccan Herald 27/11/13) No special courts to try child abuse cases (14) BANGALORE: Childrens Day marked one year since the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) came into force, but the Karnataka government is yet to designate special courts under the Act for speedy trial and conviction of cases of child sexual abuse (CSA). While Section 32 of the Act mandates the appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor, the state still has not appointed one and regular public prosecutors (PP) are doubling up as special PPs. Director of Prosecution and Government Litigation, Chandrashekhar G Hiremath, told Express that the departments request to designate a special court met with no response from the government. The POCSO Act, 2012 was brought into force to accord speedy justice to victims of CSA. Section 28 of the Act states: The State government shall in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification in the Official Gazette, designate for each district a court of session to be a Special Court to try the offences under the Act. Special courts designated to try POCSO cases must maintain a child-friendly atmosphere, but the existing system is overburdened with cases pertaining to other legislations. This hinders all communication between the judge and the victim, said Swagatha Raha, senior legal researcher, Centre for Child and Law-National Law School of India University. Judges and Special Public Prosecutors must adapt to the needs of the child and ensure that the child does not feel intimidated. CSA cases and cases under Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 are being tried in the same court. So, the system is not sensitive enough towards children, she said. With a sudden increase in the number of CSA cases reported and registered by the police, the High Court should set up special courts immediately, said Sheila Devaraj, director, Association for Promotion of Social Action (APSA). We have filed several cases under POCSO. In addition to this, there are CSA cases pending for over eight or nine years. The already slow and insensitive process is worsened with the lack of special courts, she said. Devaraj said with no special courts, police also lose track of where the cases are being tried unless an NGO intervenes in the process. Police file an FIR but do not follow up. So, cases land up in various sessions courts where other cases are already in progress. Delays are so long that at the time of trial, children cannot recall and relate how the abuse actually occurred, she said. Lethargy and lack of concern for the welfare

of women and children is responsible for the delay in setting up these courts, alleged advocate Pramila Nesargi. (New Indian Express 28/11/13) School still a dream for 30,000 kids (14) PUNE: More than 30,000 children from the state, between five and nine years of age, have never been to school, a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by System Correcting Movement (Syscom), a city-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), stated. The RTI reply also showed that in urban areas, over 5,000 children, including child labourers, street children, beggars, wastepickers and children of sex workers have never been to school. The figures were from 2011 to 2012. The NGO said the information given by the state government did not reflect the reality as the numbers would be much higher. Rajendra Dharankar, president of Syscom, said, "We filed an RTI application to know about the children who should have been in standard I to IV. From what we received, it can be said that the records are either not up-to-date or there are some discrepancies." The RTI reply revealed that 30,844 children in this age group had never been to school. In the remote areas of the state like Gondia (18), Bhandara (17) and Washim (35) very few children had not been to school where in Pune, the figure stood at 1,705. At 9,339, Thane district had the largest number of students who never went to school. "The 2001 census showed that there were seven lakh children involved in child labour whereas the government's reply put the figure at 1,490 children in 2011 and 2012," said Dharankar. A recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) revealed that more than one lakh children are living on the streets of Maharashtra. Dharankar said the government's reply to the RTI query stated that only 1,400 children are living on the streets. "A little difference in the figures provided by Unicef and those by the state government can be understood, but there is a wide gap in the data of the two organizations," he added. Sunil Kurhade, education officer of the Pune Zilla Parishad, explained the difference as, "There is a possibility that some children may not have been registered during the survey as many of them are migrants. The survey is conducted at regular intervals and the numbers keep changing due to migration of the families." Activist Matin Mujawar said, "The numbers stated by the state is far from the actual figures. A mechanism should be developed so that the monitoring is transparent and without any discrepancy." (Times of India 2/12/13) 5 children rescued from forced labour (14) HYDERABAD: Five children employed as child labourers were rescued by the Labour Department officials in raids conducted at L.B.Nagar and R.K.Puram areas here on Monday. The children were identified as Mahesh and Munna, both 13 years old, working at Ganesh Bike Point at Telephone Colony, K.Ramana (12) working at Nagalakshmi Swagruha Foods at R.K.Puram, K.Raju working at Jayaram Reddy Sweet Shop at L.B.Nagar and Andesh, employed at Bangalore Aiyengar Bakers at L.B.Nagar. The rescued children were sent to the State home for children in Saidabad, for production before the Child Welfare Committee, informed Deputy Commissioner of Labour S. Naresh Kumar, who led the raids in association with Andhra Pradesh Balala Hakkula Sangham. Prosecution will be launched against the employers under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, and claims for difference between minimum wages and actual wages would be filed, he said. Keywords: child labourers, Labour Department, raid, L.B.Nagar, R.K.Puram, State Home in Hyderabad, Saidabad, Child Welfare Committee, Andhra Pradesh Balala Hakkula Sangham, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (The Hindu 3/12/13) Why was cake in midday meal, child rights commission asks (14) MUMBAI: The child rights commission on Tuesday heard the midday meal food-poisoning case where more than 400 students of an Andheri school fell ill after eating cupcakes last week. The commission emphasized on the school's role in making midday meals available for students. The students of Anjuman Noor-ul-Islam High School in Saki Naka had to be admitted to neighbouring hospitals after they

complained of uneasiness and nausea. "Cake has never been part of the midday meal scheme, then why did the school allow such an item to be provided to children?" asked A N Tripathi, secretary of MSCPCR. The commission took suo motu cognizance of the matter. "The midday meal scheme clearly states that it is the principal's responsibility to not just provide midday meals to students, but also ensure the quality of food," said Tripathi. He added that each school should put in place a team led by the school principal, a teacher and a parent to check the quality of food everyday and taste it themselves before giving it to children. The commission said the principal cannot wash his hands of this case. For the next hearing, summons have been sent to police officials as well as officials at various hospitals where the students were admitted. (Times of India 4/12/13) Orphanage owner gets life for sexual abuse of mentally challenged kids (14) Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday sentenced an orphanage owner to life imprisonment for sexually exploiting 18 mentally challenged minor boys and girls at the institution in Shahpur, Thane district. The court also convicted his wife for abetting the crime, and four others for rape, sodomy, assault and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Observing that Pundalik Gole, the owner of Kavdas, had indulged in a 'barbaric act', sessions judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi convicted him under several sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape, unnatural offences, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and others. Gole's wife Sakshi, a teacher at the orphanage, was sentenced to seven years. Salim Sayyed was sentenced to five-year rigorous imprisonment (RI). Sikandar Pinjri was awarded 10 years in jail and Jitendra Chavan was sentenced to seven years. Ramkrishna Bhagwan, who was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, was also sentenced to five-year RI. The judge observed that there was no question of showing any leniency towards Gole, who was the "guardian and a parent figure to the children"."Gole has broken the trust and faith... It was not a single incident, but continued for years. The children were mentally challenged and trusted him (Gole)," the court said. The case came to light in 2010 after a Child Welfare Committee made a surprise visit to Kavdas. A case was registered following the Bombay High Court's direction in August 2010. The trial commenced in January 2012. Mid-way through the trial, after three of the four victims who deposed before the court spoke of five children dying after they were assaulted, the court introduced murder charges in the case. However, the charge was not proved. Special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade examined 36 witnesses, and another eight were called by the defence lawyers. "The accused would force the victims to have alcohol, beat them up brutally, and sexually assault them. There were strangulation marks on the children's necks. The witnesses narrated the incident before the court," Bagade said. (Indian Express 6/12/13) Ray of hope for school dropouts at Chilabandha (14) JAMUGURIHAT, Dec 7 Bipul Bhakta (15) of Bhuyanpaar in North Naduar, Bijit Tosa (14) of Uttar Itakhola, Dikorai, Gautam Basumatary (14) of Bhalukpong, Nabla Basumatary (16) of Chengelia, Dhananjoy Daimari (15) of Bhalukpong, Chalan Basumatary (16) of Dakshin Bogijuli, Gormora, were school dropouts and were engaged in various households as child labourers. These six boys were brought to the Residential Special Training Centre (RSTC) at Chilabandha in Jamugurihat in between 2008 and 2010. This centre was started in 2008 by Sarba Siksha Abhijan under Naduar Elementary Education Block for boys. Having imparted them formal education, these boys will now appear in the ensuing HSLC examination from Bhalukpong, Chen-gelimar, Nagsankar and Dikarai high schools as regular candidates. Along with imparting formal education, this centre provides physical as well as sports training also. Dhananjoy Basumatary from this centre had participated in the all-India maithai competition at Bengaluru in 2010 and won prizes. This year also, another 11 boys are preparing for the ensuing HSLC examination. Such achievements of the centre have been lauded by the conscious section of local citizens. (The Assam Tribune 8/12/13) Child rights activists slam SC judgment as retrograde (14)

NEW DELHI: Child rights activists on Friday expressed solidarity with the LGBT community and described the Supreme Court order upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as a "retrograde and regressive judgment''. Their stand was in sharp contrast to former chairperson of Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) Amod Kanth who has welcomed the judgment calling it a protection from bestiality against children. Distancing themselves from Kanth's statement, organizations including CRY, Haq: Centre for Child Rights, AfD Pratidhi, Save the Children India, Aangan, Ankur, Campaign against Child Labour (CACL) Delhi unit, Leher, ChildFund India, Butterflies and Campaign against Child Trafficking (CACT) issued a statement saying they respected people of alternate sexuality. The DCPCR was the only government organization which challenged the Delhi High Court 2009 order. Its former chief Kanth had said banning homosexuality was the key to ensuring children's normal development and protecting their rights to family, and that Section 377 was the only protection for sexual offences against a male or a male child. The statement by the child rights organizations said, "We believe that the rights of one section of society cannot prevail at the cost of another. Sexual relations between consenting adults is a private matter and poses no threat to children's safety or development. Any attempt to conflate the issues is disingenuous, dangerous and has no basis in fact. We now have a gender neutral law that deals specifically with the abuse of minors (POCSO Act, 2012) and it is incorrect to state that the draconian and archaic Section 377 of IPC is the only protection against sexual abuse of minors.''"We believe that our stand on this issue must be clarified and it is imperative that the voice of that individual in the media not be taken or be confused for the voice of the child-rights sector at large,'' the activists said. (Times of India 14/12/13) Girls come out in force against child marriage at conference (14) RAICHUR: As many as 1,000 girls between the age of 11 and 18, who had come from different villages and towns across the district, said a firm no to child marriage in a girls conference against child marriage organised at Pandit Siddarama Jambaladinni Auditorium here on Tuesday. The conference was jointly organised by district administration, zilla panchayat, Departments of Public Instruction, Women and Child Welfare, Labour, Police, National Child Labour Project, Janachetana, Jana Shikshana and UNICEF child protection programme. The event, right from the welcome speech to the vote of thanks, was conducted by the girls themselves. Except the Deputy Commissioner S.N. Nagaraju, all the resource persons and speakers were women and girls. Delivering her introductory speech, Anuradha, an activist associated with the Sindhu Girls Organisation, formed by the district administration in association with Unicef child protection programme, explained the role played by different organisations across the district in stopping child marriages. With the mission statement of organisation for development, 212 girls organisations in 46 gram panchayats of Devadurga taluk and 35 wards of Raichur city are functioning. There are around 6,000 members. These girls serve as informers to law enforcement agencies and have so far prevented 42 child marriages by bringing them to the notice of authorities, she said. They also play active role in the governments community awareness programmes, she added. The activists have been successful in bringing back 630 children, who had dropped out of school for various reasons, to classrooms. As many as 68 drop-outs associated with these organisations have taken SSLC exams as private candidates, she said. Anuradha explained that the organisationsalso held periodical meetings to chalk out awareness programmes in their respective areas. These girls spread awareness among other girls about child rights, child labour, child marriage, human trafficking, health, education and other issues, she said. The organisations also provide skill development programmes for girls, she added. As many as 382 girls, who have gotten tailoring training, have started earning after purchasing machines and 208 girls have completed basic computer training, she said. Mr. Nagaraju advised the girls not to deviate from their path and objectives. The long lasting solution to atrocities against women is getting women educated and empowered. These organisations will play a major role in overcoming the culture of downgrading women and infusing self respect, he said. He stressed the need for creating an atmosphere where women get equal opportunities and lead a life with dignity and equality. The girls took an oath of commitment for

eradicating child marriage. Mr. Nagaraju released a brochure about child marriages. Veena Pallaki, president of District Child Welfare committee distributed certificates to the girls. (The Hindu 18/12/13) States apathy on child laws irks Supreme Court (14) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has slammed states and Union territories for adopting an "utterly callous attitude" in enforcing path-breaking laws enacted by Parliament to protect children from sexual exploitation and to ensure them their rights including right to education. The court had on January 3 issued a series of directions asking states and UTs to implement three laws: Protection of Rights of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009; and the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. It had also asked them to set up necessary implementing agencies prescribed under the laws. A bench of Justices S S Nijjar and F M I Kalifulla on Monday said these orders were to be implemented in three months, but most of the states had failed to do so. It directed the chief secretaries of the defaulting states to give details in eight weeks about the steps taken to implement the three laws. "In many states, chairman of the commission has not been appointed and in some other states, even members have not been appointed. This apart, necessary rules and regulations have also not been framed. This, in our opinion, would be sufficient justification for this court to take a serious view and initiate appropriate proceedings for contempt of court against the defaulting states and Union territories," it said. "We have been pained to notice the utterly callous attitude adopted by the states and UTs. We, therefore, have no option at this stage but to issue some further mandatory directions to ensure that the exploitation of the children in all spheres of life is brought to an end with utmost expedition," the bench said. The court directed the chief secretaries of the defaulting states to give details in eight weeks about the steps taken to implement the three laws. (Times of India 19/12/13) Monitor residential schools for child rights violation: Activists (14) MADURAI: Residential schools are known for high disciplinary standards and stringent academic norms. The efforts taken for excellent academic results may bring them under the radar of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) as there are allegations that such private schools harass children to boost pass percentage or raise their academic performance. Participants at a state-level meet here on Saturday have urged CWCs across the state to closely monitor such schools. During the round-table discussion on child participation in juvenile justice system, D Geetha, a child and human rights activist, urged the chairpersons of the CWC to take action residential schools if they are found violating child rights. As mark-producing factories residential schools kill students' childhood, she said. While CWC has the right to intervene in a family to uphold child rights, it should bring erring residential schools to the light, Geetha said during her address to the members and chairpersons of CWCs and representatives of various nongovernmental organisations working for child rights in the state. Continuing her speech on legal rights and issues pertaining to CWCs, the activist suggested CWC should create voluntary groups comprising students from social work and law streams to keep an eye on residential schools. "Schools force children to study between 5am to 8pm, thereby spoiling their childhood. Socialisation of children's is affected as they are not even allowed to play. CWC can at least expose violation of child rights and warn schools," said Geetha, who is also a lawyer at the Madras high court. The voluntary groups can also be utilised for follow-up action such as providing medical help, counselling and protection to child victims, Geetha proposed. While speaking on adolescent offenders, the activist-lawyer said children are forced to commit crime. Vindicating her statement, S Selvaraj, who is the chairman of CWC in Theni district, said a large number of children are forced into crime in Theni and other southern districts. Describing a specific incident in Vadakkupatti near Cumbam, he said a 17-year-old was forced to peddle marijuana by his parents. They used the boy since no one would suspect any wrongdoing, Selvaraj said. Though, the teen was forced into the sale of contraband, he was arrested and sent to juvenile home when he was caught

red-handed, belying the hope of his parents that he will go scot-free being a minor, he said. (Times of India 22/12/13) 3,027 out-of-school children identified in Nalgonda (14) NALGONDA: The district administration has identified as many as 3,207 out-of-school children including the dropouts from 52 mandals and eight municipalities in the district. The survey to identify the children those are out of school in seven mandals is underway. The identification of the out-of-school children was taken up by the district administration as part of the Mana Kosam Manam programme to improve eight social indicators including literacy rate and child labour. Speaking to The Hindu, Collector T. Chiranjeevulu said that they had hired some local NGOs to conduct the survey. Stating that the survey in the remaining seven mandals would be completed in next couple of days, he said that they would admit the children in local residential schools. The children will be mainstreamed as per their age and performance from the next academic year, he said. Interestingly, of the 3,207 identified children, 22 per cent were identified in eight municipalities (urban) while the remaining were from rural area. Thipparthy, Shaligouraram and Nalgonda rural mandals have no out-of-school children according to the survey, while Chandampet mandal, with a major tribal population, has the highest out-of-school children. Observing that the district was lagging behind in literacy rate when compared to the national and State's average, the Collector also set mandal-wise targets of making 2 lakh people literate . The literacy rate of district stands at 65 per cent against the State and nation's 67.77 per cent and 74.04 per cent respectively. Under the Saksharatha Bharath programme, about 1 lakh people were enrolled at adult education centres across the district. The Collector averred that they would meet the target of enrolling 2 lakh illiterate adults in adult education centres in a month. (The Hindu 24/12/13) 12 Child Labourers Rescued in Delhi (14) New Delhi: Twelve children working as labourer in shoe and bag manufacturing factories were rescued from Nangloi area in West Delhi and five persons arrested, police said today. The children were rescued yesterday by a team of city police, SDM Punjabi Bagh, Child Labour Department and NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan. Police arrested Avdesh Yadav, Pramod, Mujib Alip, Shahnoor Khan and Abdul Majid and registered a case under relevant sections of Child Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act. "During investigation, it came out that nine children were from Uttar Pradesh and three children from Bihar. All of them were engaged as labourer on wages ranging from Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per head," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ranvir Singh. The rescued children were produced before the Delhi Child Welfare Committee which sent them to Aradhya Shelter Home in Rohini for their rehabilitation, said police. (Outlook 26/12/13) Police trace missing children who went out to explore city (14) New Delhi: A case of alleged kidnapping of six minor children, which sent police into a tizzy, ended in relief for the parents after all of them were found following what was an outing by them to "explore" the city on their own. Police on Wednesday said they had rescued six minors in a span of 12 hours, after the children had gone missing from their homes in Uttam Nagar, West Delhi. Police said on Tuesday six cases of kidnapping had been registered at the Uttam Nagar police station on Tuesday, when they were informed about the children going missing. DCP(West) Ranvir Singh said police had followed the standard operating procedure and uploaded the photographs of the missing children on ZipNet police's online database. Police said teams had been sent to bus depots and railway stations with photographs and asked to look for the missing children. "Our teams looked for the children in marketplaces, temples and schools. One of our team members found a missing child in the Tilak Nagar market. The child helped us trace other missing children, who were in the same area. They had stepped out of their house to visit malls and got late. So, they were afraid to go home. They spent the night in a local park and had food from a gurdwara," Singh said. All the children belong to families staying in Uttam Nagar. They used to

play together and had left their homes on Monday night to see malls, cinema halls and other places of interest in the New Delhi area. Earlier, five teams from Uttam Nagar police station were constituted to find the children with the search operation closely monitored by senior law enforcement officials. "Details of the children were shared with the Missing Persons Squad, National Crime Record Bureau, State Crime Record Bureau, District Missing Persons Unit and everybody was requested to help in the search," Singh said. (Indian Express 27/12/13) Realty boom brings no cheer to daily wage workers in Bhubaneswar (14) BHUBANESWAR: Daily wage workers of the construction sector living in slums of Bhubaneswar do not get employment regularly despite boom in the real estate sector around the Capital city. A survey covering 800 households in 12 slums reveals that 40 per cent of the total households covered do not get regular employment. City-based voluntary organisation Centre for Child and Women Development (CCWD) conducted the survey. It has shown that despite availability of huge deposit in Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Fund, the condition of wage labourers has remained pathetic. The average family income per month is Rs.3,000 to Rs.5,000 in case of one family member working and in case both husband and wife are working, the average family income is around Rs.7,000 to Rs.10000, the survey says. Majority of the workers migrated from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, and Puri. The Odisha government has so far collected a whopping Rs.466.30 crore as cess from organisations undertaking constructions. The deposit is available with the Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Fund. However, as of now, only Rs.1.54 crore has been spent on disbursing benefits among workers, which constitutes less than 1 per cent of total fund collected from construction industries. As of now, 2,08,445 workers have been registered with the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. During the past five years, of over 2 lakh workers, only 3,379 beneficiaries have been provided with assistance of Rs.1.54 crore. (The Hindu 29/12/13) Child labour: departments told to conduct survey (14) MYSORE: The district administration is cracking down on child labour and the departments concerned have been asked to conduct an assessment of various sectors employing children, and rescue and rehabilitate them. At a review meeting conducted on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha directed Panchayat Development Officers, officials of the Labour Department and anganwadi staff to identify children hired as help and take steps to rehabilitate and bring them into the mainstream. Ms. Shikha said there was no dearth of resources to rehabilitate such children. The government had many programmes for their welfare that should be harnessed. There were two State-run schools with 71 children and three schools run under the national scheme in which 101 children were pursuing their education. The authorities were also directed to visit these schools and conduct periodical inspection to ensure that the children were receiving the facilities due to them from the government. It was also essential for the officials to assess and document the changes in children (those who were rescued and admitted to institutions) after the completion of their education. It was decided that nearly Rs. 20,000 accrued to the government by way of fine levied on those employing children, would be kept in a corpus fund and from the interest generated, children would be provided with school bags and other equipment. Those violating the provisions of the law and employing children were not only liable to pay a fine ranging from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000, but they could also be prosecuted and jailed for a period ranging from three months to one year. Additional Deputy Commissioner Archana, Deputy Director of Public Instruction H.R. Basappa and other officials were present. (The Hindu 30/12/13) Child labour biggest hindrance to RTE Act enforcement (14) Ludhiana: The management at Satya Bharti Schools, being run by Bharti Enterprises as a CSR activity to provide free education to poor children, feel that students often drop out with a plea that they have to

work to earn a living. The teachers at times even go to the houses of these students to convince their parents. It was observed that a number of children were working as child labourers in the fields or at other jobs in village Rauni. The teachers sensitised the students to create awareness among the parents, and also took out a rally in the village, carrying posters to encourage parents to send their wards to school. There was a significant increase in the number of students at the school after this, a press release by Satya Bharti Schools said. The teachers had to personally visit houses of many students who had dropped from the school and had started working in brick kilns and fields in Sangrur, Amritsar and other areas. The Right to Education Act entitles free and compulsory education to all children between the agegroup of 6-14 years. But in India, many children, especially from the weaker sections of the society, do not go to schools, and more often than not, extreme poverty drives them to work for a living. Such incidents not only add up to the child workforce, it also deprives innocent kids of their childhood, closes all avenues for a better future and eventually builds a nation of uneducated youths. Satya Bharti is running 90 schools in rural areas of Punjab to provide free education to students apart from skill development courses. (Indian Express 31/12/13)