SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 8: Senior journalist and social activist of the coal belt, Uttam Mukherji, has been appointed the chairman of the Dhanbad district Child Welfare Committee.
Additional secretary of state government Vikrama Ram issued a notification of the appointment of Mukherji as the chairman of the committee and four other members.
Mukherji said that the alleged use of minor children in illegal mining as well as coal theft in the mines of district-based coal companies and overloading of students in private school vans are the burning issues in Dhanbad. His committee would work on a priority basis to check it immediately.
“Since CWC also has judicial power for monitoring welfare of children, we would try to study what comes under its jurisdiction and would have to identify the area where work requires to be done on a priority basis for dealing with the issues,” said chairman Mukherji who made social activities his main mission after serving for more than 35 years of journalism in the coal belt.
The use of children in illegal mining and coal theft has emerged as major issues in Dhanbad. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) New Delhi took serious cognizance of this when a minor girl child was killed in illegal mining in February 2022.
Overloading of students in private school vans is another serious issue here. Despite repeated complaints of guardians to the district administration and other concerned officials, no steps have been initiated in this regard. The new body of CWC has been taken up on a priority basis to protect the students.
Congress district president Brajendra Prasad Singh, while thanking the state government for appointing Uttam Mukherji, said that there are lots of works on Child Welfare schemes pending in Dhanbad.
“I hope under Mukherji, the CWC would complete the pending schemes and take child welfare to new heights,” said Singh.
