Childline to be transferred to states to ensure quick help to kids in distress: Union minister Irani

PTI, Jul 9, 2023, 6:25 PM IST

Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday said the Childline will be handed over to states so that the distress call gets connected to local police stations and the issue is resolved quickly.

Childline 1098 is a 24-hour-a-day emergency phone service for children in need of aid and assistance. The nearly 26-year-old Childline is partnered with civil society and the government.

Childline India Foundation (CIF) is the nodal agency of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development for setting up, managing and monitoring the Childline 1098 service all over the country.

“The child in distress has the right to get first connected to the police when he or she dials for help,” the Women and Child Development Minister said at the regional symposium on child protection, child safety and child welfare held under Vatsal Bharat in Bhopal.

Representatives of Child Welfare Committees, members of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Village Child Protection Committee and Anganwadi workers from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan took part in the symposium.

“Be it the JJB or the Child Welfare Committee, many of you have suggested that if the call goes to a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in such a crucial situation, it is hard to make a call where a First Information Report should be lodged,” said Irani.

“Looking at this concern of yours, Childline across the country would be handed over to states so that the phone call made by a child in distress reaches local police stations and authorities for the immediate redressal of the problem,” she said.

Union MoS for Women and Child Development Mahendra Munjapara and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Priyank Kanungo and others were also present.