Saturday, 01 May 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
After the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) received a complaint regarding the increasing substance abuse among children during the Covid curfew in Dehradun, the commission directed the Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to investigate the matter. Recently, Jahangir Aalam from a non-profit organisation that works for child welfare in the district wrote a complaint letter to the commission stating that his organisation with two other organisations recently rescued three children who were indulging in substance abuse.
As per the complainant’s letter, the three children who are aged between 12 years and 14 years old were rescued from the areas near Parade Ground and Survey Chowk in the city. After conducting the children’s test for the Covid-19 disease, they were sent to a rehabilitation centre, stated Aalam in the letter.
According to the chairperson of the commission, Usha Negi, the complainant said that there are various locations in Dehradun like the isolated spots near the old Tehsil, ISBT, Rispana bridge, Brahmapuri, Kargi Chowk and the cemetery near Sahastradhara crossing where several children indulge in substance abuse on a daily basis. Most of these children include rag pickers and beggars who regularly indulge in substance abuse but the complainant said that due to lack of resources, the voluntary organisations fail to rescue them, informed Negi. She said that these children might also contribute to the surge in Covid-19 contagion in the city as nobody seems to be paying attention to them during the Covid curfew. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the SCPCR chief has directed the Dehradun SSP to investigate the matter and submit a report to the commission within one week.
