Assam: Hailakandi district level joint task force focuses on empowering adolescents

The District Level Joint Task Force (DLJTF) on women and children has decided to take up a host of measures to empower the adolescents and to prevent child marriage, trafficking and child labour in the district in Assam. 

A meeting of DLJTF on women and children chaired by Deputy Commissioner cum Chairperson Megh Nidhi Dahal here on Monday decided to enforce measures to empower the adolescent girls and boys, school dropouts through the skill training programme. It underscored the need for creating awareness through various platforms to empower adolescents. Dahal urged upon all the stakeholders, including the law enforcing agencies to initiate stringent action against those involved in child marriage, child trafficking and engaging children as a labourer. 

Tracking of children put up in Ujjawala, P&R Homes and Sadargriha in the light of the COVID-19 situation also figured in the meeting. Training has been already given to child protection officials during the lockdown period for this purpose. District Social Welfare Officer cum Member-Secretary DLJTF, Jyotirmoy Daimary said adolescents and individuals have been reached out with targeted messages with the help of 188 personnel comprising MSK volunteers and ASHA Supervisors. Daimary informed that updating data on child marriage, trafficking and sexual abuse has been carried out on a monthly basis coupled with documenting the best practices. 

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District Child Protection Officer, Jitul Borah informed that two child marriages were prevented during the COVID-19 lockdown period while legal action is being initiated against the offenders for conducting a child marriage. Borah also emphasised on the need to formulate an SoP on child marriage already solemnised and defining clear-cut role for all stakeholders. Discussion also veered on setting up village level child protection committee with support from the District Child Protection unit. 

The meeting discussed threadbare about providing life skill training programme and implementation of SABLA scheme at grassroot level to empower the adolescents. Dahal asked all the stakeholders to work in tandem and to identify the challenges and the bottlenecks faced by them in improving skills, services and programmes pertaining to empowerment of adolescents. District Development Commissioner, Vikram Dev Sharma, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kulendra Nath Deka, DEEO, IK Barbhuiya, District Coordinator, MSK, Pinak Kanti Paul, Women Welfare Officer, MSK, Pomi Patikar, Labour Inspector, AU Barbhuiya and other officials were present in the meeting in Assam. 

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