SRINAGAR: Advisor to the Governor, Mr. Khurshid Ahmed Ganai Tuesday vouched for special focus on the welfare of poor children who live in bad pockets of the State.
He said the children belonging to far-flung areas and tribal communities are most vulnerable and need special care and attention of the Government.
The Advisor made these remarks while speaking during a two-day national conference on “Issues & Challenges in Ensuring Happy Childhood: A special focus on Jammu and Kashmir”. He was the chief guest at the Conference which was organised by Department of Social Work, University of Kashmir, in collaboration with Department of Social Welfare and Save the Children.
Ganai, who is Advisor-incharge Education and Social Welfare Departments, during his address, highlighted various articles of the Indian Constitution as well Chapter 12 of State Constitution which guarantee the welfare and protection of children. He said these provisions take care of the future needs of children and we should create a mechanism to implement them effectively on ground.
The Advisor also made pointed reference about various welfare schemes implemented by the Government for the welfare of children, including girls. He also called for creating ample awareness about these schemes so that the targeted population avails benefits envisaged under these initiatives. “There is a need for operational and actionable research to create a template for extending real benefits to the marginalized sections of the society,” he added.
The Advisor also urged people to rise collectively in contributing towards making poor children real beneficiaries of Government programmes and schemes,
He also espoused the cause of orphans by urging the civil society to adopt them as foster children and provide them the comfort of homely environment as also sponsoring their education and caring for their well-being.
Ganai said various measures has been taken by the Government recently like constitution of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and Child Protection Committees at every level for safeguarding the rights of the children. He said Women and Child Commission would also start functioning soon in our State.
The Advisor requested the organizers that a concluding paper be framed which is based on the deliberations made during the Conference. He assured them that the paper would be considered for making the system better.
Later, the Advisor released a book and guidelines on juvenile justice system during the function.
Prof. Neelofar Khan, Acting Vice-Chancellor, KU delivered the presidential address, Prof. VedKumari, Dean and Head Department of Law, Delhi University gave the keynote address, and Dr. Nisar Ahmad, Registrar KU presented the vote of thanks.
Others who spoke included Dr. Aadil Bashir, Head, Social Works Department, KU, G.A Sofi, Mission Director ICPS, and Sharif Bhat from Save the Children.
