The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) received a complaint from two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in which the complainant mentioned how some people in the waste recycling businessforce children in Uttarakhand to pick sellable items from garbage and encourage them to indulge in drug abuse too. According to the letter, many of the men in this business force poor children four years old to 14 years old to be ragpickers and almost all such children are getting addicted to drugs as per the information gathered by the said NGOs. They said that some of these children also pick garbage from the vehicles of some of the municipal corporations but still, no action has been taken by the officials so far. Such children who include both girls and boys also sell drugs to school and college students for money, said the complainant in the letter. The said organisations also rescued five children from a ragman’s shop on November 7 and sent them to a drug rehabilitation centre with the help of authorities, as mentioned in the letter. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the chairperson of SCPCR, Usha Negi directed the Director General (Law and Order) to investigate the matter. She also instructed him to run campaigns like operation Satya in other districts of the State too while especially focussing on the shops of Kabadiwalas that include children in their business. Negi has asked DG to submit the report of the actions to be taken by police on this issue within 15 days.
Thursday, 19 November 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
