Four shelter homes shut in Odisha, had no registration
Four shelter homes in Odisha have been shut down after an inquiry found that they were running without registration. The state government had ordered the district collectors across Odisha to inspect shelter homes following allegations of sexual harassment at an NGO-run facility at Beltikiri in Dhenkanal. The incident had sparked state-wide outcry and three were arrested in connection with the case.
Three of the shelter homes closed were run by GNI
Three of the shelter homes closed were run by Good News India (GNI), the same NGO whose branch at Beltikiri was embroiled in the sexual abuse scandal. The other closed shelter home was operated by an NGO with the financial assistance of GNI. Ganjam district administration shut down a shelter home for children at Saheb Jenapalli near Chhatrapur, run by Good News India.
Jenapalli shelter home had 134 inmates, including 78 girls
The Jenapalli shelter home was closed as it wasn't registered under Juvenile Justice Act since 2016, said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Subodh Sarangi. There were 134 inmates, including 78 girls and 56 boys, in the home and most belong to Kandhamal and Gajapati districts. The children would be handed over to their parents after producing them before Child Welfare Committee.
Jenapalli shelter home inmates lodged in government-run Utkal Balashram
At present they are lodged in Utkal Balashram, a child care institute run by the government. In Gajapati district, the administration closed a shelter home at B Sitapur in Goshani block after shifting its inmates to different hostels. There were 159 children -- 69 boys and 90 girls -- in the home, also run by Good News India, said Arun Tripathy, DCPO Gajapati.
All inmates of G Udayagiri shelter home shifted to childcare-institutions
Similarly, the process to shift inmates from a shelter home at Chandragiri, also in Gajapati, was started. While around 50 out of 109 inmates (75 girls and 34 boys) have been shifted to nearby hostels, the rest would be shifted soon, officials said. The other shelter home is in Kandhamal's G Udayagiri, where the administration has shifted all 142 inmates to child care institutions.
