Child Rights panel to initiate action

CUTTACK: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken note of the death of a four-year-old girl due to absence of proper physical environment and infrastructure facilities at a pre-school centre in the City in September. It has registered a complaint filed by the Committee for Legal Aid to Poor (CLAP) and is set to initiate action in this connection. The organisation, represented by its president Bikash Das, had submitted the petition citing gross shortcomings in terms of infrastructure, environment and amenities at anganwadi and pre-school centres run by both government and private bodies which have endangered the lives of the children. In September, the four-year-old-girl Ankita Nayak, daughter of Munna Nayak of Sutahat area under Cantonment Police limits, had slipped into an open water channel and lost her life. She had reportedly gone there to relieve herself as the privately-run Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) centre did not have a urinal.“The incident reflects the non-existence of basic minimum facilities in the anganwadi and pre-school centres due to which children are exposed to serious risks. Protection of children in school environment is one of the fundamental obligations of the State. But little attention is paid by public authorities to develop physical environment in pre-schools, especially in the ECCE and anganwadi centres,” Das said in his complaint. The Committee has called upon the NCPCR to seek a report from the State Government and the Cuttack district administration on the circumstances that led to the child’s death. The Commission  should direct the Government to make adequate physical environment in pre-schools to protect the lives of children. Besides, compensation should also be awarded to the family of the girl as an exemplary measure.