PANJIM: In a bid to ensure complete safety and security of the juveniles housed in Apna Ghar at Merces, the department of Women and Child Development has proposed three-tier security for the facility.
As on date, four boys and three girls are lodged in the Juvenile Justice Board while six boys and 13 girls are under the Child Welfare Committee.
Minister for Women and Child Development Vishwajit Rane, who held his maiden meeting with the department officials and stakeholders on Tuesday, has directed immediate implementation of the recommendations of the Levinson Martins report.
Speaking to Herald after the meeting, Director Women and Child Development, Deepak Desai said that the minister has directed the department to take up all the necessary steps for complete safety of the juveniles and ensure that there are not single escapes.
“We have proposed a three-tier security for the protection home, which will be under complete CCTV surveillance,” Desai said and informed that specially trained security guards, either from Goa Human Resource Development Society or from a private agency, would be deployed outside the home.
He said that the minister has warned that if any escape is reported, then, the staff on duty and the deputy director of Apna Ghar would be held accountable and the action would be taken against them.
The renovated complex of Apna Ghar was inaugurated on Monday. Built at a cost of around Rs 5 crore, the renovated complex has walls clad with vitrified tiles, colourful interiors, CCTV surveillance, dormitories with attached toilets, separate kitchen and dining facilities for girls, etc.
Meanwhile, Rane issued directions to the department for the implementation of the recommendation of Levinson Martins report, which was submitted in 2012. The report had pointed out lapses in security. “We would be implementing the recommendations one by one,” Desai said.
The inquiry report contained a set of recommendations that included checking and frisking of staff and visitors; ban on the use of mobile phones, strengthening security around Apna Ghar premise, illumination around the campus and dormitories, clearing of wild vegetation, separate infrastructure for boys and girls and etc.
