In a first, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has decided to do away with NGOs collaborating to run the successful Childline emergency counselling and distress helpline for children, established in 1995. According to Ministry officials, the merger is a part of the broader ‘One Nation One Helpline’ initiative.
In the first phase, the Ministry plans to merge the Childline 1098 service with the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) number 112 by the end of June in nine States and Union Territories — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Goa, Mizoram, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Other States and Union Territories will follow in a phased manner, a Ministry official said.
Earlier, the WCD Ministry, under the erstwhile Child Protection Services scheme, was supporting the 24x7 helpline through the Childline India Foundation (CIF) and its partner NGOs. Till now, the CIF has been rendering Childline services in 568 districts, 135 railway stations and 11 bus stands through its network of over 1,000 units.
