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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Home for children scheme: 1253 Homes including Children Homes and 193 open shelters are supported

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As per Section 24 (1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 [JJ Act], whoever, employs or uses any juvenile or the child for the purpose or causes any juvenile to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. Further, Section 24 (2) of the JJ Act provides whoever, having the actual charge of, or control over, a juvenile or the child abets the commission of the offence punishable under sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to fine. Moreover, Section 25 of the JJ Act provides whoever gives, or causes to be given, to any juvenile or the child any intoxicating liquor in a public place or any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance accept upon the order of duly qualified medical practitioner or in case of sickness shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. The responsibility of implementation of the JJ Act lies with the State Government/UT Administrations.

In order to support States/UTs for implementation of the provisions of the JJ Act and for rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstance including child beggars, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is implementing a centrally sponsored Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). Under ICPS, financial assistance is provided to the States /UTs for, inter-alia, undertaking a situational analysis of children in difficult circumstances at district level, based on which the State prepare their Action Plans for Child Protection. Financial assistance under ICPS is also provided to States/UTs for setting up and maintenance of various types of Homes, including Children Homes and Open Shelters being set up within the community in urban and semi urban areas for such children. These Homes/Shelters provide facilities and services such as food, shelter, age appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care and counselling with a focus on their long term rehabilitation. The Scheme also provides for family based non-institutional care through adoption, sponsorship and foster-care.

Under the scheme, 1253 Homes including Children Homes and 193 Open shelters are supported covering 66,153 and 7,530 children respectively as on 31st January, 2014. The State/UT-wise, details of number of Homes and Open Shelters, including Delhi, supported under ICPS is as mentioned below.

Sl. No.
Name of the State/UT
No. of Homes
Beneficiaries covered
No. of Open Shelters
Beneficiaries covered
1
Andhra Pradesh
105
6687
10
250
2
Arunachal Pradesh
1
50
-
-
3
Assam
7
221
3
75
4
Bihar
14
815
11
275
5
Chhattisgarh
29
1243
6
150
6
Goa
-
-
-
-
7
Gujarat
54
2001
-
-
8
Haryana
22
1276
21
525
9
Himachal Pradesh
22
1673
2
50
10
Jammu & Kashmir
-
-
-
-
11
Jharkhand
15
527
1
25
12
Karnataka
76
2197
23
575
13
Kerala
28
1035
3
55
14
Madhya Pradesh
44
1565
4
100
15
Maharashtra
86
4432
2
50
16
Manipur
12
507
2
50
17
Meghalaya
18
732
1
34
18
Mizoram
25
153
-
-
19
Nagaland
19
704
2
50
20
Orissa
134
9611
9
225
21
Punjab
15
396
-
-
22
Rajasthan
80
2339
20
500
23
Sikkim
5
228
-
-
24
Tamil Nadu
243
18452
14
531
25
Tripura
13
436
3
75
26
Uttar Pradesh
64
2079
18
450
27
Uttarakhand
15
250
-
-
28
West Bengal
53
3060
22
3085
29
Andaman & Nicobar Island
-
-
-
-
30
Chandigarh
2
223
-
-
31
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
-
-
-
-
32
Daman & Diu
-
-
-
-
33
Delhi
25
1995
14
350
34
Lakshadweep
-
-
-
-
35
Puducherry
27
1266
2
50
Total
1253
66153
193
7530
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