BHUBANESWAR: The State Government announced that it will take steps to ensure that children attend schools in Dhinkia area after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) strongly objected to police occupying educational institutions. The Government is reported to have made this commitment at a meeting with the three-member NCPCR team, led by Yogesh Dube, here on Tuesday. Stating that police were not occupying all schools in villages near Posco’s proposed plant site, Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik told mediapersons that the Government will take steps to heed the commission’s views. The Government will send a team comprising members of civil society, child rights activists and others to motivate parents in Dhinkia area that children need to be in classrooms instead of being part of the agitation. Participation of children in the anti-Posco agitation has been declared illegal by the Government. It has asked anti-Posco activists to vacate the area. However, there has been no headway as police and administrative officials are unable to enter the site. The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), spearheading the anti-Posco agitation, said children have participated in the movement for the first time in six years. Participation of children in the agitation has also found support from civil rights activists, non-government organisations (NGOs) and Opposition parties. But the Government has taken strong exception to it from the beginning. Women and Child Development Minister Anjali Behera had ordered a probe on the use of children for the anti-Posco agitation. District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) Kumudini Sahu, in her report, had stated that children were influenced by their parents and anti-Posco activists to join the agitation. She had said that steps should be taken not to allow participation of children in the agitation as they are being used to prevent the government officials and police from entering the area.
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