With over a lakh been rescued from the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the bigger challenge now lies in reconstructing the lives which were shattered during the flashfloods in the state. People in Uttarakhand might have begun to restore their lives, but what about the children?
Several child rights groups have put the spotlight on the possibility of the trafficking of the large number of children left ‘vulnerable’ by the devastation caused by the floods. They claim that this is the time when child traffickers enter the relief and rehabilitation camps posing as relief workers.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is planning to send a team that will prepare a report on these vulnerable children. Chairperson of the group Kushal Singh said that they plan to help the government in its efforts to rehabilitate them. It has sent an advisory to the state government asking it to take steps to safeguard unclaimed, unattended and vulnerable children. It has asked the state to question people not related to the kids they’re accompanying.
Relief camps have been the source points of trafficking in the past – whether it is the tsunami in 2004, the Kosi floods in 2008 or the cyclone that hit the Sunderbans a year later. An NGA founder said that the children at relief camps end up in vicious networks of prostitution, begging and organ transplant.
It is being reported that three small children’s homes and eight observation homes will not be able to cop up with the large population of the vulnerable children. Although there is no official data on the number of affected children, activists claim that besides kids of locals and pilgrims, there is a large number of minors who worked at local eateries but weren’t registered.
In a case reported from the flood-hit state, a three-year-old girl, who has suffered fractures in both her legs, was found abandoned at Gaurikund. The hunt is on for the missing parents as the minor is unable to communicate anything to the doctors. Reportedly, the pilgrims left the child at a Rishikesh hospital where she was treated for two days and now the Dehdraun Child Helpline has taken charge of the girl. She is being treating in Dehradun district hospital since eight days now.
Meanwhile, with the majority of pilgrims evacuated from Badrinath, disposal of bodies lying in affected areas and transportation of relief material to locals in flooded villages today posed a fresh challenge to authorities in Uttarakhand.
Disposal of bodies in worst-hit Kedarnath Valley is going on but the process is slow due to frequently changing weather. There was no clarity over the number of people killed in the disaster with Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna saying it may be beyond 1,000 and state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal claiming the figure may cross the 10,000 mark.
200 more pilgrims were evacuated from Badrinath to Joshimath on Sunday in five choppers amid government claims of only 500 remaining there with enough food material, medicines and doctors to take care of them.
Sunday 30 June 2013
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/CHD-uttarakhand-post-disaster-challenge-unclaimed-children-vulnerable-to-trafficking-4306599-NOR.html
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