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‘Shelter homes for children in Lucknow overcrowded’
Shelter homes in Lucknow are refusing to admit specially-abled children citing overcrowding, alleged child rights authorities.
Shelter homes in Lucknow are refusing to admit specially-abled children citing overcrowding, alleged child rights authorities.
Child Welfare Committee, Lucknow, has written to the government in this regard.
Recently, a specially-abled child rescued from the Charbagh railway station could not be lodged in a shelter home as it was packed to capacity. He had to be kept in the police station for a night, in violation of juvenile justice rules, said activists.
CWC member Sangeeta Sharma said the child was specially-abled and could not be lodged as shelter homes were full. “The government was requested to intervene as the situation was tough to deal with,” she added.
An official said there was a private shelter home for specially-abled children, but the government was not giving it approval for the last two-three months. However, a state government official said: “Some formalities were required, which delayed the process to grant approval to the shelter home.”
“Had the government been a bit more sensitive, children would not have faced overcrowding,” said Ashish Gupta, a child rights activist.
Not only homes for specially-abled, shelters for normal children are also overcrowded. According to CWC member Sangeeta Sharma, 500 children are lodged in five government-run shelter homes in Lucknow against the overall sanctioned capacity of around 350.
“Lucknow has almost 30 shelter homes for children, including five operated by the government. The government-run shelter homes bear the maximum pressure due to the care facilities and infrastructure available there. Several private shelter homes here are either ill-equipped or have very low capacity,” she added.
According to data available with the CWC, Lucknow, three to four children are lodged in shelter homes of Lucknow every day.
“The number is high during drives against child labour and child begging,” said Sharma.
Manoj Kumar Rai, director, women and child Development, said: “I will look into the matter. We are trying to arrange accommodation. Action will be taken against those refusing to lodge children despite having the capacity to accommodate them.”
