Jammu, Oct 14: The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district have issued a public notice announcing a special verification and identification drive to safeguard vulnerable children residing in private households.
According to the notice issued by the social welfare department through the office of the district child protection officer, Mission Vatsalya, a joint committee has been constituted comprising officials from the education department, labour department and child protection authorities to ensure the education, safety, dignity and overall welfare of children, particularly those belonging to poor and disadvantaged families.
The committee will conduct field visits to identify and verify children from vulnerable backgrounds residing in private households across Kishtwar town, the notice said, adding that the exercise will focus on assessing whether their basic needs, including education, healthcare, food, accommodation and overall well-being, are being adequately met.
The verification drive will also examine whether the children are enrolled in schools and attending classes regularly.
Special attention will be given to preventing child labour, with officials checking that no child below the legally permissible age is engaged in employment or hazardous work, the notice issued on Tuesday said.
The committee members may interact with parents and guardians wherever necessary to ensure that children have been entrusted to private households for education and care and that the trust placed in such arrangements is not being misused.
The district administration has appealed to residents, particularly those accommodating children from disadvantaged families, to cooperate fully with the visiting officials and facilitate the verification process.
It has also warned that appropriate action will be taken wherever violations of child protection laws, child labour provisions or other applicable legal requirements are detected.
Members of the public who have information about any child being deprived of education, subjected to exploitation or engaged in child labour have been urged to report the matter immediately to the office of the district child protection officer so that necessary intervention can be made in accordance with the law.
