With the State Government facing criticism following the alleged rape and abortion of a physically challenged inmate of Nari Niketan, recent death of two of its inmates and admission of 15 inmates in Doon Hospital ailing from malnutrition and other problems, Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister Surendra Singh Negi acknowledged that these were the result of wrongdoings. Departmental officials found guilty will face action while all possible steps will be taken to improve the amenities and functioning of the Nari Niketan, he claimed.
Addressing the media here on Monday evening, Negi focused mainly on steps taken by the State Government following the deaths and other alleged crimes in the Nari Niketan.
Avoiding a clear reply when asked who is to blame for the incidents in Nari Niketan, the minister talked of positive thinking in the new year. He said, “leave the wrongs committed in the past. We should all work for making the shelter home a better place for the women inmates.” The minister also sought suggestions from the public for bringing about the desirable improvements in the shelter home. On being asked whether he had visited the Nari Niketan in Dehradun after the recent incidents, the minister said that this was not the proper time for visiting the shelter home. However, steps are being taken to improve the provision of basic amenities here, he claimed.
Negi said that as many as 132 inmates including 102 mentally affected women were staying in Dehradun Nari Niketan. He said, “Since 2007, as many as 19 inmates of this shelter home had died from various causes though most of them had died due to exposure to cold. Thirty nine posts have been created and only female employees will be deputed in the the State’s women shelter homes. In Dehradun, CCTV cameras have been installed at various places within the Nari Niketan with air conditioner and exhaust fans being provided in rooms for the inmates. Specialist doctor will be appointed for the hearing and speech impaired inmates. Vocational training has been started for inmates of Nari Niketan with products made by them slated to be sold in the market through an NGO. Money received from the sale of these products will be deposited in the bank accounts of the inmates,” he said.
The minister further informed that two inmates had been handed over to their families on December 30, 2015. The family of one more inmate has been identified and she will be handed over to her family staying in Ranikhet, Almora.
The state government has released adequate fund for all the State’s shelter homes with a nurse and a care taker also being appointed in the Dehradun Nari Niketan. Medical check up of inmates will be conducted in the shelter home. Negi further informed that four RO water purifiers had been provided for the shelter home in Dehradun. The food allowance for each inmate has also been increased from Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,050 per month. He said that the State Government was weighing the options of handing over the mentally affected inmates to a Haridwar based NGO or constructing one more building in Dehradun to house inmates of all the State’s shelter homes.