Illegally run child care homes are being located and closed down by the administration in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.
Two of them were shut in Brahmanigaon and Gadapur on August 2, while another was raided and locked near Phulbani on August 3. One hundred and eight children aged between 5 and 15 were rescued from these homes that did not have basic amenities and their owners could not show any legal documents or permission to run such institutions.
According to Kandhamal District Child Protection Officer, Rashmita Karan, a special team has been formed to locate illegally run child care homes functioning in the district.
Fifty boys and three girls were rescued from Brahamanigaon child care home. The children rescued from Gadapur child care home included 11 boys and seven girls while the figure was 19 boys and seven girls in Phulbani.
Among the rescued children, around 30 were from Rayagada and Gajapati districts, while the rest were from different parts of Kandhamal district. Owners of these child care homes had brought these children from very poor families through a promise of good life, but the reality was completely different, alleged Ms. Karan.
‘No power, no toilets’
The unauthorised child care home at Gadapur in Daringbadi block had no power, no toilets and lacked drinking water facility. Children had to get water from the campus of a high school located about one kilometre away to cook their food, said Ms. Karan.
