Capacity building under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for both officers and inmates

Capacity building under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for both officers and inmates

Posted on June 9, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Over the last financial year (2017-18), the State Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department has done a lot of work in the area of capacity building regarding the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). The ICPS has played a key role in strengthening the child protection regime in Bengal.

Capacity building of child care officers:

217 Child Welfare Police Officers trained on TrackChild portal in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC)
Two sensitisation programmes organised for district judges and principal magistrates on Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act) in collaboration with West Bengal Judicial Academy
Training of ICPS functionaries on the implementation of JJ Act, covering all the districts
Workshop on rehabilitation of children with special need (CWSN) for district social welfare officers (DSWO), Home superintendents and district child protection officers (DCPO) from November 16 to 17
Outreach programmes on alternative care and child protection committees (CPC) in Sandeshkhali-1 and Sandeshkhali-2 blocks in the district of North 24 Parganas by officers of State Child Protection Society (SCPS), State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA) and District Child Protection Unit (DCPU)
Phase-wise training on minimum standards of care for superintendents, probation officers, child welfare officers, House mothers and House fathers of Child Care Institutions (CCI) across Bengal

Capacity building plan for FY 2018-19:

Operationalising block-level child protection committees (BLCPC), ward-level child protection committees (WLCPC) and village-level child protection committees (VLCPC) through sustained capacity building
Creating information, education and communication (IEC) material on trafficking, adoption, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), etc.
Developing advocacy strategy on child protection issues
Rehabilitating and mainstreaming children through capacity building
Developing State guidelines on POCSO Act
Implementing State Plan of Action to combat human trafficking
Capacity building of ICPS functionaries

The State Government is also providing vocational training of various types to the inmates of the various Homes

Vocational training for inmates of Juvenile Justice Homes (JJ Homes) in painting of car bodies in collaboration an industrial training institute (ITI) and Maruti Udyog
Training inmates of CCIs in retail management (leading to placement), hair cutting, tailoring, etc.
Training female inmates of SMM Home in Liluah in weaving and designing in collaboration with internationally renowned fashion designer, Bibi Russel
Training female inmates of SMM Home in the peeling, scaling and packaging of fish, and cutting of fish fillets, on stipend basis

Thus, through a comprehensive exercise of training child care officers as well as Home inmates, the State Government is bringing about all-round improvement in the child care scenario in Bengal.

Image is representative

Initiatives for prevention of trafficking and reintegration of trafficked children

Posted on June 9, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

As child protection is the core mandate of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), a number of child protection committees (CPC) – community-based child protection mechanisms – have been formed at the village level (VLCPC), ward level (WLCPC) and block level (BLCPC).

As on December 31, 2017, VLCPCs have been formed in 41,899 villages out of the total of 46,505 villages in the State, WLCPCs in 1,702 out of the 2,900 wards and BLCPCs in 340 out of the 341 blocks. Hence, the Government has covered almost the entire State and the rest would be covered soon.

The first phase of training of the master trainers at the district level on standardised child protection committee (CPC) modules has been completed in all the districts. These master trainers would then train officers at the block level.

The Directorate of Child Rights and Trafficking (DCRT) has undertaken several important initiatives to ensure inter-State and inter-departmental cooperation and coordination in combating trafficking of children.

One such initiative was the formulation of State Plan of Action to Combat and Prevent Human Trafficking (SPAHT) in December 2016. Currently it is being rolled out in the districts of South 24 Parganas and Jalpaiguri, where the incidence of trafficking is considerably high.

Various community awareness programmes have been undertaken at the grassroots level to spread awareness on the issue of trafficking including sensitisation of ICDS workers, school students, teachers, para-legal volunteers, police, etc. Local folk artistes are also trained to spread awareness on human trafficking.

Child-friendly police stations have been set up in Sonarpur and Kulti in South 24 Parganas. Adolescent groups and Kanyashree Clubs have been formed which are working as watchdogs in the communities to prevent human trafficking.

The DCRT gives special emphasis on trafficked victims and matters related to their restoration and repatriation. It also organises continual capacity building of State and district stakeholders on child rights, missing children and trafficked persons.

All these work are overseen by the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department.

World’s 2nd largest coal mine allocated to Bengal, CM elated

Posted on June 8, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced through a Facebook post that Deocha-Pachami and Harinsingha-Dewanganj coal blocks in Birbhum district have been allocated to Bengal.

This is a major gain for the State as the two coal blocks combined form the world’s second largest, and India’s largest coal mine, having an estimated reserve of 2,102 million tonnes.

Mamata Banerjee shared her happiness with all regarding the allocation of these major coal mines to the State. She said, “I am very happy to share with all of you that after a long wait of 3 years, West Bengal has got the allocation of the Deocha Pachami Harinsingha Dewanganj Coal Mines in Birbhum district”.

In her post, she further said that the mining project has huge potential for generating nearly a lakh of direct and indirect employment opportunities in Birbhum and neighbouring districts. The project will also involve investments worth Rs 12,000 crore.

All these aspects of the project, the Chief Minister said, will enable “huge socio-economic development of Birbhum, the neighbouring districts and the entire State”.

Necessary administrative infrastructure has already been set up to start the project immediately.

To read the Facebook post, click here

Three-day Bengal Mango Utsav starts today

Posted on June 8, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Government is organising a mango festival in Kolkata called Bengal Mango Utsav. It will start today at New Town Mela Ground, and will continue till June 10.

The Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Department is organising this festival, in collaboration with Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The entry to the festival is free. Another important fact is that this is a plastic-free event, in line with the Bengal Government’s initiatives on creating awareness about the environment.

The festival will host an exhibition on exotic varieties of mango and mango products from the various districts of Bengal. Of course, one can buy the articles on display as well.

The exhibition will be held from 4 PM to 8 PM today (June 8) and from 11 AM to 8 PM on June 9 and 10.

Another attraction at the festival will be a cooking competition, revolving around mangoes, which will be held on June 9 from 3 PM.

After UN, Sudip Bandyopadhyay to visit European countries

Posted on June 8, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

With the blessings from Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Leader of All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay will be embarking on a tour to European countries this summer.

The countries that Sudip Bandyopadhyay will be visiting include Belarus, Germany, and Austria. He will be accompanying the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Nayana Bandyopadhyay will also be accompanying him.

It may be mentioned that in 2017, Sudip Bandyopadhyay had addressed the United Nations General Assembly, with 193 nations attending the session. He has spoken about how the international community needs to step up its efforts to promote an environment free from sanctions and embargoes.

In the past, Trinamool MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have visited the United Nations on various occasions.

Bengal Govt to open 50 tourist information centres across Bengal

Posted on June 7, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

To make information to tourists easily available, the Bengal Government has decided to open as many as 50 tourist information centres across the State.

Though aimed primarily at tourists from other parts of the country as well as from across the world, the information centres would cater to tourists from the State as well. All information related to a particular area would be available at each centre. These would be run by the Tourism Department.

These tourist centres would play a major role in making Bengal more tourist-friendly. As it is, it is one of the top States in terms of tourist arrivals, both nationally and internationally. This project would take Bengal significantly higher in the rankings.

Where to stay, what to do, what to eat, what to buy, what are the specialities of a particular place or area – information of every kind would be available at these centres. Guide books would be available in English, Hindi and Bengali. They would contain detailed information about the history, geography and culture of a place.

These centres are already running at the airports in Kolkata and Bagdogra. Soon they would come up in four other places in Kolkata (Kolkata and Sealdah railway stations, Rabindra Sadan and Madhusadan Mancha), Howrah and Santragachi railway stations, Kakdwip and Diamond Harbour railway stations (South 24 Parganas district), Murshidabad, Malda, Bankura, Birbhum district, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and other places to cover all the districts.

The information available at the centres would also help tourists to decide how and where to go next. All in all, the tourist information centres would act as one-stop centres for all tourists visiting Bengal.

Source: Sangbad Pratidin

Get ready to buy delicious turkey kebab from Haringhata Meat

Posted on June 7, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Soon, Haringhata Meat, a unit of the State Government’s West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation (WBLSDC), would be selling ready-to-eat turkey kebab. A 250 gram pack would cost Rs 180.

Turkey meat is very healthy as well as tasty, but is not widely available. Hence, the decision to sell packaged kebabs was taken.

For the last few months, WBLSDC, through its Kaviar chain of takeaway meat shops, has been selling dressed turkey meat, priced at Rs 510 per kilogram.

The kebab packs would be sold at the 10 outlets of Haringhata Meat as well as in 240 other outlets across the State. They would also be available online at Big Basket and Delybazar, with whom Haringhata Meat has agreements.

In Bengal, turkey is raised mostly in the districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Hooghly.

Source: Bartaman

Bengal Govt to prepare database of steps taken to end bonded labour

Posted on June 7, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Labour Department has taken up an initiative to prepare a database containing detailed information about the steps taken to abolish bonded labour in the state. It will also contain information related to the initiatives taken to extend total support to such labourers who were rescued at different times.

According to a departmental official, data from all the districts will be compiled at the department’s headquarters. A day-long workshop will also be held, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on elimination of bonded labour. It will be attended by senior representatives of NHRC and all concerned officials of the State Government, including those involved in the work of abolishing bonded labour in districts.

There is one vigilance committee in every district headed by district magistrate to carry out the work of abolishing bonded labour and maintain strict vigil. Initiatives including helping them to get proper rehabilitation and at the same time, getting them enrolled with employment schemes and opening of bank accounts are taken.

Source: Millennium Post

BJP will be shown the Red Card in 2019: Abhishek Banerjee

Posted on June 6, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Like every year, National President of Trinamool Youth Congress, and Diamond Harbour MP, Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday released a booklet containing details of all the work done by him his constituency for the last four years. The book-release ceremony was held at Sarisha school grounds in South 24 Parganas.

Speaking on the occasion, Abhishek Banerjee said that the people of the country showed the yellow card to BJP in bypolls. They will show the red card in 2019. He claimed that Trinamool will win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal.

He also said, “BJP is trying to blame Trinamool for the death of its workers. Five doctors said that the death was due to suicide. But BJP is still blaming us. They want to blame Trinamool and Mamata Banerjee for everything under the sun. But in reality, they have blood on their hands. The BJP practices communalism.”

He also advised the BJP to look after their party’s condition in Uttar Pradesh first, before turning their attention to Bengal.

NEET question paper row: Mamata Banerjee slams Centre

Posted on June 5, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today chaired a meeting to take stock of the health situation in the State. At the end of the meeting, she expressed her satisfaction with the services provided by doctors, nurses and health workers.

The Chief Minister slammed the Centre for rising prices of life-saving medicines. She said since the Centre has increased the prices, the medicines are unavailable at many places, due to which, common people are suffering.

She also slammed the Centre for the question paper fiasco in NEET. She said, “In this year’s NEET exam, students from our State could not perform well because of problems in translation. English and Bengali papers were different. They are not giving priority to regional needs. Students who speak the local language are thus getting disadvantaged. We have already written to the Centre on this issue.”

Treatment at hospitals in Bengal is given free of cost. There has been a sea-change in the infrastructure of hospitals. Fair price medicine shops and diagnostic centres have been set up. Procedures like dialysis are performed at lower costs. Pacemakers and stents are given for free.

As a result, patients from neighbouring States and countries are coming to Bengal in large numbers, thus increasing the pressure on State hospitals. 27,000 new beds have been added.

The CM urged doctors to provide service with a smile. She also instructed the administration to prevent untoward incidents of vandalism and violence at hospitals in the State.