Bhubaneswar: A state-level consultation was organised by Humara Bachpan Trust (HBT) in partnership with Railway Children India (RCI) on February 4, 2023 at IMAGE Hall, Bhubaneswar with the participation of state and district-level stakeholders to discuss and develop an action plan for strengthening child protection mechanism in Odisha.

OSCPCR Chairperson Mandakinee Kar, State Labour Commissioner N Thirumala Naik and Twin City Police Commissioner Saumendra Kumar Priyadarshi graced the occasion as the guests.

Sixty-one state and district level stakeholders including CDPOs, CWC members, JJB members from Ganjam, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Khordha and Cuttack districts, Inspector (RPF, Bhubaneswar), Senior Traffic Manager (Safety) East Coast Railway, Civil Society Organizations and representatives of community vigilance committees from five communities of Bhubaneswar also took part in the event.

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HBT and RCI have been working at Bhubaneswar railway station since 2018 for rescuing the missing, runaway, trafficked and other at-risk children. There has been an increasing trend observed in the number of children found at risk since the onset of the pandemic.

The issue of concern here is the rise in this figure is mostly among girls. More numbers of girl children from Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Baleswar, Kendrapara, Sundargarh, Cuttack and Khordha districts are often being contacted at the Bhubaneswar railway station.

Reasons behind children running away from their homes are poor family background, post-pandemic livelihood loss, family disturbance, peer pressure and social media influence among others.

This consultation was organised to address the issue and to ensure every child is nurtured in a safe and enabling environment in a coordinated approach. The consultation’s aim was to strengthen the child protection mechanism in the state and to develop a coordinated action plan.

The event started with a welcome address and context set by the Founder Chairperson of HBT Dharitri Patnaik and the lighting of lamps by the guests. Senior Programme Manager of RCI John Bosk and HBT Project Manager Reenarani Behera opened the discussion by sharing the changing trend of child migration, especially girl children, and the risks associated with them.

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Moreover, the HBT Founder Chairperson appealed for collaboration from government stakeholders and civil society organisations for strengthening child protection mechanisms at the source districts.

Recognising the work done by the government, Police Commissioner Priyadarshi said “Some way or the other we are successful in enhancing child protection mechanism in the state due to which repeated child offender cases have been decreased. However, there is a surge in girl children migration cases post-Covid, one of the major reasons being eloping due to social media Influence.”

Priyadarshi emphasised identifying hot spots of migration and conducting sensitisation on responsible use of social media. He also recommended conducting public sensitisation programmes focusing on child marriage and child labour issues.

Acknowledging some of the gaps in child protection mechanism, the state Labour Commissioner Naik said, “Along with enhancing government mechanism, we also need social change for better protection of children.”

OSCPCR Chairperson Kar asked for collaboration between civil society organisations and different government child protection institutions for the protection of children at risk. She also asked to share district-wise data of the rescued children for tracking and rehabilitation at the source districts.

An open house session was conducted in the second half, where various inputs from civil society organisations, district stakeholders and child leaders were received for strengthening child protection mechanisms at transit points (railway stations and bus stations) and at the source points.

“These recommendations and action plans will be submitted to the state and district stakeholders for further actions at the ground level,” a spokesperson of the HBT said.