With a view to ensuring a better future for children living below poverty line, the Yogi Adityanath government has started identifying kids engaged in child labour and begging and their rehabilitation has been made a part of the Mission Shakti campaign. Besides, NGOs have been asked to adopt crossings where the number of child beggars is more.
“The theme of January 2021 has been designed with special focus on children under the Mission Shakti campaign, and it is based on kids engaged in labour, begging and elimination of child trafficking. To improve the childhood of these poor kids and ensure protection and respect to them, the department of Women and Child Development has started working extensively in all the UP districts, including Lucknow,” a senior official said.
These underprivileged children are being admitted to primary schools and they are also being empowered financially. Officials are also preparing a list of ration card holders at district level.
“Teams of Labour department, Police, Women & Child Development and Health departments are identifying such children at the ground level”, said Sarvesh Kumar Pandey, who is the chief probation officer of Lucknow division. After identification, these children are being admitted to primary schools and provided primary kits along with hygiene kits besides food items, he added.
“In view of January’s theme of Mission Shakti, an action plan has been prepared and for providing benefits of the government schemes to these children, government-run and non-government institutions are being encouraged to adopt city crossings and blocks,” Pandey said.
Fifty NGOs, including Childline and Bal Kalyan Samiti, have adopted 31 crossings in Lucknow. With the commencement of the adoption process, the children identified by the institutions are directly benefiting from the schemes, Pandey said.
The campaign against kids forced into into labour and begging is being carried out at a large scale in the state. Due to this campaign, cases of child labour and child crime are declining and the number of families migrating to other states for employment is also coming down, Pandey said.