The Manipur Social Welfare department has resolved to keep a group of children at a children home after a video of them being fed by unknown persons went viral on social media
After the video surfaced on social media, a team of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) visited their family located in Imphal East district under directive of the Social Welfare department director on Thursday.
In the viral video, it was shown that the children had not eaten, and some unknown persons provided milk powder and rice to feed them.
The CWC team found that the father of children worked at a farm and their mother had eloped with another man. Due to alcoholism, their father could not look after them.
Ng Uttam, director of the Social Welfare department told the Imphal Free Press children who are living in an exploitative situation can be kept at a children's home.
He elaborated that as per Section 27 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, children rescued from a hazardous occupation, brothel, abusive family or other exploitative situations must be produced before the CWC, which will conduct an inquiry to ensure optimum rehabilitation with minimal damage to the child.
About the father, he said that often in rural areas alcoholic men do not receive treatment or rehabilitation in time and it affects the entire family. Sometimes, due to lack of treatment and rehabilitation, such alcoholic people become sick and it results in suffering from liver cirrhosis, he said.
The children will be kept at a children's home while the father will be kept at a rehab, he added.
Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPR) chairperson, Keisham Pradipkumar appealed to the general public to not to post any photo or video of the children who are under need of care and protection.
