To provide shelter to destitute children with multiple disabilities, the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority (UPSLSA) has recommended a conversion of the vacant state protection homes to homes for the differently-abled children.

The recommendation has been made to the state’s Department of Disabled Welfare.

“We have acted upon the observations made by the Allahabad High Court on a PIL filed by a social activist on the living conditions of the destitute and missing children of the state,” said Sudhir Kumar Saxena, secretary of UPSLSA.

Hearing the PIL, the court has observed that even mentally challenged or children with multiple disabilities go missing and since most of them are destitutes with no medical support, it becomes difficult to trace them. The court suggested that some steps should be taken for the protection of differently-abled children, which would include residential facilities.

According to the UPSLSA, of the 17 protection homes for women, which are run by the Department of Women and Child Development, three homes, situated in Moradabad, Gorakhpur and Azamgarh, have no inmates and the state is bearing the expenses.

“They have buildings and staff, but no inmates. Hence, it is easy to convert them into homes for differently-abled children,” said Saxena.

“We have also asked Childline, a child helpline service, to conduct a survey across the state to identify the number of differently-abled children,” added Saxena.  

The service has already started conducting a survey across eight districts of the state, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Chandauli, Varanasi and Bhadohi.

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