Giving shelter to the boys being rescued from bonded labour is proving a big problem as there is no Government-run home for such boys of the age group of 11 to 18 years. According to a social activist, long engaged in working for such boys, most of the children thus rescued being boys, it is important for the state government to open up a shelter home for them. When contacted, an official said that it would take a year for them to open such a home.
As per the guidelines of the Juvenile Act, there should be different shelter homes for children rescued according to their age group. However, the city has just two such government-run homes. According to the data, Dehradun has a government children home for girls which lodge the rescued girls of the age group of 11 to 18 years. While the capacity of the place is 50 girls 19 are currently living there. The second state-run home is meant for the children of the age group of 0 to 10 years. The capacity of the place is 50 while 19 boys and 13 girls are living there. Haridwar is the only district where there is a government-run home for the boys of the age group of 11 to 18 years. The capacity of the house is 100 while 45 rescued children are presently living there.
Speaking about the matter, Sandeep Pant, an activist, said that lodging such boys is a big problem here for the want of a suitable shelter home. “We are engaged in rescuing boys from forced labour. However, the problem is where to keep them. A place is required where they can grow up in the right environment. Most of the children we rescue are boys of the age group of 11 to 18 years. As there is no rehabilitation centre for them we are forced to send them to different available places,” he said.
He further said that the practice of child labour is rampant in the city which is why having a government child home to shelter them is important. “Besides, the present condition of the government-run shelter homes is not very good. It is important that the city has its own government- run home for the boys of the age group of 11 to 18 years,” he said.
According to an official, the work of building government home for boys in Dehradun is under process. The project will take approximately one year to complete, the officer said.