NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUG 8
Government helpline for children in distress, ”CHILDLINE 1098” carried out over one lakh interventions from May 1 to July 31 on various issues pertaining to children, a statement issued by the helpline said on Saturday.
The 24×7 helpline operational across 579 districts for children in distress, shared a few case studies from among the 1,08,966 interventions that it made.
In the first case study, CHILDLINE 1098 said two children, aged 2 and 8 years, staying in Faridabad were under extreme distress due to their father’s neglect and struggling to get access to basic necessities like food and milk, especially during the lockdown period.
The distress was such that the older brother had to drop out of school. CHILDLINE 1098 in Faridabad received their information and contacted the Sadar Police station and shared the details of the case, the statement said.
“Then, the team met the mother along with the children and counselled them. After which CHILDLINE presented the mother and the children before the CWC (Child Welfare Committee). The CWC ordered an FIR against the father under the JJ Act,” the statement said.
The children were handed over to the mother and CHILDLINE 1098 is regularly following up about their well-being, it added.
In another case, Railway CHILDLINE Amritsar received a call from a concerned adult about a young boy from a poor family who was in need of medical help.
Since the child was in a critical condition, the team immediately called for an ambulance, admitted the child to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, and frequently visited the boy at the hospital to ensure he was getting proper treatment, the statement said.
After he was discharged, the team continued to visit the family to ensure that the boy was getting the required food and medicines for his recuperation, it added.
CHILDLINE 1098 has been identifying vulnerable children and adults like migrants, nomadic population, tribal, pavement dwellers and street children on the ground in the districts and linking them to other donors and district administration for the continuation of relief services.
Apart from working with the district administration, labour department, and panchayat level, teams have been supporting the Health Department in spreading awareness on COVID-19, distributing safety masks and sanitiser to “break the chain” of infection, it said.
