From John K Kaping
Manipur, UKHRUL, August 9: Employees of the Ukhrul Child Welfare Committee, CWC have tendered their mass resignation application to the Manipur State Governor in connection with the case of rescuing and repatriation of 26 Manipuri Children from Chennai.
The decision was announced this evening during a press conference held at the Ukhrul Ikror conference hall jointly convened by the Ukhrul CWC and the Ukhrul District Alliance for Child Rights.
The Official executive members of CWC including Project Director Gajendra P Mohanty, Social Activist and member Secretary Ringyuichon vashum, member and president of Tangkhul Shanao Long, TSL Silla J. Konghay and former Principal Pakshimi High School Janeth Hungyo, have officially submitted their resignations to the Governor of the State however the committee members pledged to continue working for protection and promotion of the rights of the children.
A press statement of the committee has further expressed disappointment and condemned the alleged deliberate and incessant acts of dishonor and utter humiliation meted out to the CSC Ukhrul by Director, Social Welfare Department G Satyabati Devi.
It continued that the most discouraging experience of the CEC, Ukhrul is the unnecessary delay in the rescue and restoration of 26 Manipuri children who are still kept at certain homes in Kerala.
All the children between the ages of 6-13 hailed from Ukhrul District Manipur, the statement said.
The CWC and Ukhrul administration so far have made their best efforts to bring back the children by timely intimating the information to the Director.
But surprisingly the officer did not respond but rather tried to discriminate and single-out the involvement of CWC in the restoration process of 26 children, out of the total, 3 children were brought back and rescued from Kerala to Ukhrul, the statement also added.
The statement further accused the Director who reportedly sent two persons to Kerala overriding the role and responsibility of CWC, Ukhrul. And when the CWC Ernakulam, Kerala called the CWC, Ukhrul to identify the two persons deputed by the Director, the CWC Ukhrul had replied, “We don`t have any knowledge about the two persons” as the XCWC Ukhrul was not informed at all at the time when the Director sent the two person down to Kerela and as a rule, CWC Ernakulam (Kerela) refused to hand-over the children to the two persons, the statement added.
In-spite of accepting the procedural lapses she made, the Director blamed without any basis the CWC, Ukhrul allegedly for foiling the restoration mission plan.
Meanwhile, the CWC, Ukhrul had been fighting for the rights of the children over the ‘rescuing issue` since May, 2011 and after a series of mammoth meetings and approaches at various concern levels in and outside the State have reached in procedural levels with concern authorities in legal, administration, security in and outside the state had approached keeping the documentations, research authentic information files in piles with a great hope and expectation that the children must and will be rescued and brought back home safely as the Directive of the Supreme Court guaranteed that “the States of Manipur and Assam are directed to ensure that no children below the age of 12 years or those at primary school level are sent outside for pursuing education to other states until further orders”, the juvenile justice Act, guardians and Wards Act emphasizing the need for parents to take care of their children.
