16 April,2014 09:18 AM IST | | Chetna Sadadekar
Officials at the Children's Home in Mankhurd are allegedly forcing kids staying there to cook, clean and carry bags of attendants; management says it is a common practise
The Children's Home at Anushakti Nagar in Mankhurd has become a labour house, claims a visitor who had admitted three girls a few days back. The children are forced to clean utensils, wash clothes, sweep floors and carry heavy bags of office attendants till the gate.
According to the visitor who had admitted three girls, they were not happy and wanted to leave the home as they were forced to work
The Good Samaritan had taken the girls to this children's home, who were previously staying under a flyover, near a public toilet at Navi Mumbai. However, when she recently went to check up on the girls, she found out that they were not happy and wanted to leave the home as they were forced to work.
"The girls have already gone through a lot. Their father had HIV and mother was an alcoholic. After losing their parents, they had nowhere to go and I had admitted them to the children's home.
I did not know that they would be asked to work so much here. I now regret bringing them to this place. The management is rude and doesn't allow me to meet them. When I asked why the kids are being made to work, they said it was a common practise here," she said.
When mid-day checked with other kids staying in the campus, they agreed that they were made to do a lot of work. Some children who looked about 12-13 years of age were also seen cooking, but when confronted, they shut the door.
'You can't meet kids'
When mid-day contacted the orphanage, Prabha, an attendant of the additional observation home in the children's home, said, "There is no such problem here." When we requested to meet the kids she replied, "You can complain to the children welfare committee if you want, I will not allow you to meet the children.
Or you can get a written permission from the authorities and then come to me." Despite sending several calls and messages to Varsha Gaikwad, the state minister for women and children development, she claimed to be busy at Hingoli for a party campaign and was unavailable.
