The district administration on Wednesday ordered closure of an unregistered children’s home at Tirumangalam and rescued 16 inmates.
Its officials, members of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and District Child Protection Unit conducted a preliminary enquiry and ordered closure of the home, which has been functioning for nearly four years.
CWC Chairperson M. Vijayasaravanan said the issue came to light when revenue officials went to the home to supply food and other essentials in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. “They found that the home was not a registered one under the Juvenile Justice Act. It had not even submitted any document for registration,” he said.
He said they had examined the children and concluded that none of them had faced any kind of harassment. The children were screened at the Tirumangalam Government Hospital to check if they had cold, cough or fever. “Out of the total inmates, six children, who had at least one guardian, were handed over to their guardians. The remaining children were allocated to different child care institutions (CCI) based on their needs,” he said.
An official from the district administration said that an FIR would be registered against the home owner for running an unregistered home.
Mr. Vijayasaravanan urged residents to inform the CWC about the functioning of any unregistered home in their locality.
Around 400 inmates are accommodated at 26 CCIs under the purview of CWC. “It is ensured that adequate essential commodities are available at all CCIs. So far, one child, who had fever, was diagnosed at Government Rajaji Hospital and tested negative for COVID-19,” he said.
