Form teams to monitor child care centres: Maneka
New Delhi, July 30 : In the wake of the recent rape incident at the government-run shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Monday ordered constitution of teams at the state and district level for regular monitoring of the Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAA) and Child-Care Institutions (CCIs).
"Deeply anguished over the incident of sexual assault on minor girls at a Muzaffarpur Shelter Home, I have directed WCD ministry officers to put in place a mechanism so that the women and children at all such institutions are able to reach out to us for help", the minister tweeted.
Gandhi further added that Child Welfare Committees (CWC) need to be constituted in each district with immediate effect. She also insisted on registration of the CCIs under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and linking it to the Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA).
"To facilitate an expeditious and smooth adoption process, Child-Care Institutions must feed in the details of children on the Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System (CARINGS), the web-based platform," she said.
The minister said the District Magistrates and District Collectors should take the responsibility of monitoring the adoption programmes which are implemented at the district level and also directed the officials to streamline the adoption process and ensure its completion within the stipulated time.
According to Muzzafarpur police, the shelter home was sealed after the sexual abuse of girl inmates came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The report was submitted to the state Social Welfare Department, which directed officials to lodge a complaint.
A medical examination of 44 girls of the home revealed that 21 of them were raped. The district police has arrested some officials of the home.
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Food adulteration: UP restaurants asked to install CCTVs, eateries to display names of proprietors
Lucknow, Sep 24: Taking cognisance of incidents of spitting and mixing of urine in eatables in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed that the name and address of operators, proprietors and managers should be mandatorily displayed at all food centres.
He also directed that chefs and waiters should wear masks and gloves besides making installation of CCTVs in hotels and restaurants mandatory.
Addressing a high-level meeting here, Adityanath said the presence of human waste in food items was disgusting and ordered strict action against those who adulterate food items with human waste or dirty things, an official statement said.
On September 12, a purported video showing a teenager spitting on rotis while preparing them at an eatery in Saharanpur district went viral on social media, leading to the arrest of the facility's owner.
Last week, a juice vendor in Ghaziabad district was arrested for allegedly serving fruit juices mixed with urine to customers. In June, two men were arrested by police in Noida for allegedly selling juice contaminated with their spits.
In view of such incidents, the chief minister has also given instructions for thorough investigation, verification of all hotels, dhabas, restaurants, and related establishments in the state.
Instructions were also given to amend the rules as per the need while ensuring the health safety of the general public.
Adiyanath said, "Dhabas, restaurants and food establishments should be thoroughly investigated and police verification of every employee should be done and necessary amendments should also be made in the Food Safety and Standards Act to ensure the purity and sanctity of food items."
According to the statement, now it will be mandatory to display the name and address of the operator, proprietor, manager etc. at the food centres.
"Now whether it is a chef or a waiter, they will have to wear masks and gloves and it will be mandatory to install CCTV in hotels/restaurants," the chief minister said.
In the meeting, Adityanath said in recent times, incidents of adulteration of food items like juice, pulses and roti with human waste, and dirty things have been seen in various parts of the country.
"Such incidents are gruesome and have an adverse effect on the health of the common man. Such efforts cannot be accepted at all," he said.
Concrete arrangements are necessary to prevent such incidents in Uttar Pradesh, he said, adding that by running a state-wide intensive campaign, verification of all the employees working there including the operators of these food establishments should be done.
The chief minister said this action should be completed quickly by a joint team of Food Safety and Drug Administration, police and local administration.
Earlier this year, the Uttar Pradesh government had mandated it for food stalls and fruit vendors along Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of shop owners. The government argued the directive, which was criticised by a section of people, was aimed at promoting transparency and informed choice of Kanwariya regarding the food they eat.
