Relooking the overlooked plights of children in Ukhrul

By Keisam Pradipkumar Being dismayed by the acute shortage of institutional services and medical treatment… more »

By Keisam Pradipkumar
Being dismayed by the acute shortage of institutional services and medical treatment facilities, Children Living with HIV/AIDS,  rape victims, orphans, children of broken family and  psychologically traumatized children  in   Ukhrul district are still  living in a  pitiable condition,   despite the state has launched the  mega child welfare scheme such as  “Integrated Child Protection  Scheme” (ICPS),  subsequent upon  the    enactment  of  Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)2000 Act amended in 2006. Besides, children in this district still pay fees for sports meet, while parents bear honorarium for privately engaged teachers by sacrificing their wages of MGNREGA. Adding to the large scale subletting of government/ ADC appointed teachers, the issue of MGNREA  supported teachers in hill districts  has become another sarcastic paradigm  to  the much talked about   “ The Right of Children  to Free and Compulsory  Education Act, 2009” in Manipur. The question is where has the state government utilized those numerous teachers recently appointed under SSA and RAMSA projects?

In recent times, a minor girl from Ukhrul was raped on 24th June,  while  another girl  was murdered after having rape  on  10th  September  respectively  this year.  Since there was no shelter home in Ukhrul, the rape victim of 24th June incident, baby Angamla (name changed) 11 years old, belonging to an abject poverty stricken family,  is presently taking shelter in one of her  relatives place. She was first kept in a girls’ shelter home in Imphal. Her case was taken up by Manipur State Commission for Women, though the poor victim hasn’t got any compensation till date. The girl deserves institutional care considering her mental status and deprived socio-economic.

Such victim  like baby  Angamla  from Ukhrul, are usually referred  to a girls shelter home  in Imphal  by the Child Welfare Committee, Ukhrul.  Minor girls from Tangkhul  community  felt quite  unsuitable  in Imphal as they were yet to conversant with  Manipuri language.  The diverse  social and cultural background posed as the huge  barriers making interpersonal  counseling  and formal education to the victim children  a hard hitting job to the service providers.

Another, Tangkhul  girl  baby Khangamla  13 years  from  Ukhrul,  ran two times from an Imphal based  girls shelter home “ Punya Nawa Yaiphakol”.  For the last 3 years , she ran away more than 5 times from different places. Her drunkard father and poor mother  failed to look after her, and even they are reluctant to take her back. The disobliging  ambiance  in her family  became  rather  detrimental to her psychological well being, which made her  now virtually a  psychologically  distressed  child needing immediate  medical treatment and institutional care. 

It is worth to mention that,  dubious human trafficking net in India is  targeting the north east women for sex trade, spa massage service and of late  for forced marriage as  common wife.  Ukhrul, having the highest rate of migration of young girls to other states  in search of lucrative jobs, there are several trafficked survivors in the district. However, restoration and rehabilitative process for the  trafficked survivors is almost nil. The district does not have either a women shelter home or  girls children home, whereas  ever getting bigger number of  victims  are  intolerantly  searching the  compassionate helping hand of   such temporary institutional care   from pillar to post. 

Child Welfare Committee, Ukhrul’s  Chairperson  Gajendra Prasad Mohanty said, “We are totally helpless here, as such facilities  are not in Ukhrul at all,  many children, such as baby Khangamla   remained untreated. Opening of  girls shelter  home, providing  counseling and rehabilitative support for such marginalized  girls and children  are the desperate needs of Ukhrul district ”.

The  status of the  Juveniles  in conflict with law (JCL) is quite disheartening ,  as such children who are allegedly committed offences, are not getting  appropriate treatment supposed to be given under  the vindicated juvenile  criminal justice system. 

People hardly know who are the appointed social worker  members and  Principal Magistrate of the board and where is its office, though the concerned department has already set up the statutory body years back.  As a result, many delinquent children’s cases ended up only in the hands of un child-friendly  police and  mob trials,   before  reaching   to the juvenile justice procedures. The dignified role of Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) is yet to be seen.   Overriding the legal procedures, recently a rape victim child from Ukhrul was kept in a private hotel in Imphal by Ukhrul police  in lieu of admitting her to the hospital, thereby delaying the medical treatment and foreignsic  test process. 

The plight  of Children Living with HIV/AIDS in the district is really pathetic, when it came to learn that  they are taking  unmeasured random ART doses, since the CD4 machine in Ukhrul remained non-operational since January this year, even though  the  district is one of the highest HIV prevalent districts in Manipur ranking at “A” category.  There are around    85 boys 94 girls ( Pre ART) while   32 girls and 32 boys are On ART, out of cumulative Pre ART 1099 and  On ART 682 of the district. The Ukhrul town is having around 20,000 children population out of 50,000 total population.

Mr. C. Leisan, member, Ukhrul District NGO Alliance for Health (UTNAH)   said “Most regrettably   Ukhrul district hasn’t got its own Community Care Centre till now, though NACO had reportedly sanctioned it in 2007 ”.  He said “ No program from Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS is ever held in Ukhrul.   There is no blood bank, though in 2000 MACS reported that it was already sanctioned. Since CD4 machine lying defunct lots of people are referred either to RIMS or JNIMS expending lot of money and  resources”.

Mrs Chonjon and Mamlaphi (name changed) both PLHAs shared that stigma and discrimination is still highly  persistent in the community. PLHA widows remained almost aloof and could not even form SHGs. They were yearning for certain economic support to feed their ailing children and themselves.            

The recent public hearing of NCPCR held at Kangla,  Imphal in August, 2011, loudly exposed the proxy teacher or sub letting of teachers in hill districts of Manipur with special reference to Chandel and Ukhrul. More cases of proxy teachers are found   in ADC run schools. Lacking of Hindi, Manipuri, Math, Science  teachers  and poor infrastructures including absence of separate toilets for girls being  the common scenario visible at  all the schools in hill districts. Till now, many AIDS inflicted orphans  are not getting free education under RTE in recognized private schools.

Head master of Shirui Jr High School admitted  that  Glory day’s expenses  is being born by students reading in elementary classes.  A student has to contribute Rs.150 every year for such observation comprising of sports and cultural events.  School authority, meticulously did not issue receipts for such money paid by the students. They termed it as  “ contribution”  not “fee”, thereby trying to run off from the purview of RTE strictures. According to the RTE Act  free education means  no financial constraints can “prevent” a  child from enrolling, attending and completing elementary education. Hence, if glory day is a part of extra curricular activities it should be organized with state’s expenses, and students and their parents must not be liable to pay for it. 

The  ZEO, Ukhrul   Mr Adverest Luikham, who is looking after 137 schools in the district  said “All the fees charged have been refunded as per NCPCR directive, and Glory day is like a community supported event which we cannot stop. Since there is no provision to bear the expense we are helpless but organizing it with contributions of the parents”.  

Contrary to RTE’s high sounding provisions, Ms Shila J Konghay,  president Tangkhul  Shanaolong a popular civil body  said “Recently  I visited certain villages  such as  Chalong Chingthak, Chalong Phalang of Kamjong sub-division, some 90 Km away from Ukhrul town, where not a single school has been  established till today. You could  find neither children nor school in these villages, as  all the children left their native  villages  either for  Ukhrul town or Imphal for study”.

I am still pondering, how long the true accessibility to  RTE Act and welfare schemes for children will  remain  as a far cry from the  towering blue hills of Ukhrul.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/relooking-the-overlooked-plights-of-children-in-ukhrul/