With about one lakh children becoming orphans in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two decades because of militancy,Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has suggested a community care mechanism for their welfare. "The focus should be on community based care for improving the lot of orphans,destitute and other under privileged children. The institutional care system needs wide ranging improvement," he said at a function here on Tuesday. He also favoured setting up of a task force headed by Minister of Social Welfare with prominent NGOs and other humanitarian organisations as its members to give suggestions for improving the community care mechanism for such children. The Chief Minister said it was a moment of joy that Jammu and Kashmir is the premier state in the country where these quality standards for care of orphanages has been launched. Referring to a survey by UNICEF,he said,about one lakh children are estimated to have been rendered orphans in the state in the past two decades. "Those who lose their parents at a young age experience sufferings and all of us should put efforts to bring back their smiles. Like parents we should provide them the opportunities to excel in all fields," he said. He also distributed cheques totalling Rs 5.50 lakh among the beneficiaries of National Family Benefit Scheme and for rehabilitation of militancy affected families.
