Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR Nov 10: The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Srinagar today discovered a distressing scenario at the Al-Miskeen Yateem Trust orphanage in Nundreshi Colony of Bemina area when they arrived to find it padlocked and devoid of any information regarding the whereabouts of the 18 children under its care during an inspection.
Khair-ul Nisa, the CWC Chairperson, said that the trust had been previously advised to register under the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA). Despite a one-month extension provided, the trust failed to fulfil the registration requirements. Consequently, the unregistered facility was closed by Sub District Magistrate (SDM) Srinagar.
“We received numerous complaints and had made repeated visits, issuing a two-month notice for the orphanage to register under the Juvenile Justice Act and upgrade its standards,” she said.
He said that after summoning them to appear before us, they failed to comply. “Upon our visit today, the orphanage was found padlocked. Neither the trustees nor the children were present,” she said. She added that an orphanage cannot operate without proper registration.
She said the children’s whereabouts and conditions remain unknown. “Our team, alongside the SDM, is dedicated to locating and ensuring the safety of these missing children, she said.
She emphasized deep concern over the situation, “there is an urgent need to locate and secure the welfare of the missing children,”
The Chairman of the Trust, Abid Ali Sheikh, however, said that they shifted to Sector 5, Hamdaniya Colony Bemina on the directions of CWC.
“All 18 children are safe. Ten of them have gone home, seven are with us and one is a local who goes to his home on a daily basis. There is no question of any child being missing. The only thing is that we shifted to Hamdaniya Colony from Nundreshi Colony,” he said, adding that there was a miscommunication due to shifting.
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