Udaipur : Even the strongest of hearts melted to see the pathetic condition of three children living in a dilapidated hut , struggling for survival for the past 5 years in Udaipur. The eldest of them is a 13 year old girl who has been doing odd jobs to look after her young siblings 12, 10 and 8 years old respectively. Even heartrending was to know that the second boy worked as a labour in Ahmedabad and sends 500-1000 rupees each month, he manages to earn after hard work.
Member of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) Dr Shailendra Pandya received the information on Wednesday night that four kids are living all by themselves for many years in a dilapidated hut situated on a hillock in Kauja village of Nathara gram panchayat under Sarada block of the district. Pandya informed the district authorities and went to visit the children on Thursday.
Taking the narrow path from Nathara to Kauja, the team walked 2 kilometers to reach the children’s home. Lali (13), Suresh (10) and Radha (8) (all names changed) were found alone in the hut. Lali told the team that their father Banshilal Meena (48) died 6 years ago and after a year, their mother left them to marry someone else under the Nata system. The relatives too left the kids to live on their own and since then Lali has been doing odd jobs, looking after her siblings.
The second of them Ramesh (12) went to Ahmedabad and has been working there for some time now. Pandya asked the kids if they would like to be sent to a shelter. The children agreed on the condition that someone would look after their hut and ensure that no one encroached it as it was the only asset they had. The team members were moved seeing the children’s situation.
The officials directed the sarpanch to arrange for Ramesh’s return from Ahmedabad while the three children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee which sent them to Asra Vikas Sansthan, the state aided shelter home. Bhojraj Singh of the home said that the children would be admitted in a school and taken care of until they are able to look after themselves. Pandya also asked the administration to take immediate action on receiving information of orphaned/ vulnerable kids in need of special protection and care.