Odisha govt asks shelter homes to install CCTVs

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of two recent cases of sexual abuse in the shelter homes of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the Odisha government has asked all organisations running such facilities to install CCTVs on the premises to ensure safety and security of girls.

The government plans to conduct meetings with the heads of all child care institutions in the state to discuss the security measures adopted by them, Odisha Women and Child Development Minister Prafulla Samal said today on the sidelines of a three-day sensitization workshop here.

"All women and child care institutes have been asked to ensure complete security of their inmates by installing CCTVs at the entrance and disallowing entry of unknown people.

Emergency numbers like 181 and 1098 should be pasted or painted on the walls of shelter homes," Samal told reporters.

The owners and heads of almost all child care institutes across 30 districts of the state took part in the three-day workshop here to discuss standards of care, license application and recruitment process among other issues.

Earlier this month, the state government had asked collectors to carry out physical inspection of child care institutions across the state.

The state government had also directed the collectors to gather intelligence about the ongoing activities in the shelter homes.