Rights: The Supreme Court on April 13th directed all the state governments to keep it informed about the number of migrant children and their condition amid the surge in COVID-19 infections. The order was issued in response to a plea seeking directions from the apex court to ensure protection of the fundamental rights of children in migrant communities during the pandemic.
The plea, filed by the Child Rights Trust, and a Bengaluru resident, said that there was no information available on the relief measures extended by central and state governments to migrant women and children. “Children of migrants and migrating children remain invisible and are the most vulnerable. They are denied access to health and proper nutrition, quality education, skills, and knowledge that they need to thrive. They are forced to spend their lives in unfriendly, unhygienic, and testing conditions.”
The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Jayna Kothari, contended that the lockdown has resulted in tremendous hardship for children from this community and that there has been no assessment of the exact numbers of migrant children, infants, and pregnant or lactating women and their needs. The plea has also sought the mapping, enumeration, and registration of the number of infants and children of migrant families at various work sites with the help of local authorities at the panchayat and ward offices.
Read this article on how COVID-19 has increased the risk of child labour.