Rayagada: Members of Operation Smile-II, a special initiative by Union home ministry involving the state women and child welfare and police departments to trace missing kids, rescued eight children of this district from various places of Andhra Pradesh.
The kids were Wednesday produced before the district child protection committee. Soon after, they were handed over to their guardians. Of the rescued children, one is from Rayagada town, two each from Bissamkatak, Kolnara and Rayagada blocks and another from Muniguda block. The children were traced to various orphanages of the neighbouring state, a report said.
Though the parents admitted that they had left the kids at the orphanages, the juvenile Act of the government has been violated by the authorities in these cases, it was learnt. Orphanages are for orphans and minor children having parents cannot be put up in such homes under the law.
Mohanty Garadia of Khajari village under Bissamkatak block, who came to pick his two sons, said he had left them at a shelter of Ratharam since he couldn’t finance their studies. However, the names of his sons – Lingaraj Garadia (13) and Debraj Garadia (11) were found to have changed to Jana Garadia and Debiti Garadia for reasons best known to them. He left them at the orphanage as he couldn’t feed them properly. He also got free hostel accommodation for the children, Mohanty explained.
The other children were – Rajesh Purohit (13) of Rayagada town, Rupali Bathia (7), Santoshi Bathia (10) of Badaguda village under Kolnara block, Narendra Himirika (13) of Bhimsahi and Chanti Pidika (12) of Pujaribambu villages under Rayagada block and Sarala Takri (16) of Karadanga village under Muniguda block.
Suni Pidika, father of Chanti Pidika, said he couldn’t get a seat for his son in any of the government hostels meant for SC/ST children and had to send his ward to Andhra Pradesh.
According to district child protection officer Ramesh Chandra Nayak, the children of families belonging to financially weaker section would be given cash assistance of Rs1,000 each for three years so that they can continue their studies in the village schools without getting separated from their parents.
PNN
