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'Child of the State' Jyoti (Pseudo name), presently residing in the Child Care Home at Tutikandi, Shimla, was adopted by her new parents in the presence of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is also the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Child Welfare Council, here on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister lauded the couple for this initiative and congratulated them for the noble gesture. He appealed to the wealthier section of society to adopt the children residing in the childcare centres and provide them with a safe, happy and bright future. He added that the state government was arduously working for the welfare of the weaker sections of society. "The government understands the problems faced by the orphans and other weaker sections of society, and as a result, the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Ashray Yojana has been started in the state," said the Chief Minister. Himachal Pradesh is the first state to come up with a law for the welfare of orphan children and vulnerable sections. Around 4,000 orphan children are covered under the ambit of the scheme and the state has assumed complete responsibility for their studies and overall development. "In other words, the government has assumed the role of their mother and father. Benefits worth around 18 crores have also been disbursed under the scheme till date," said the Chief Minister. The government also came up with a unique initiative, 'Mukhy Mantri Sukh Ashray Kosh' in which generous contributions are pouring in from all over the state, including from ministers and MLAs. These funds are being utilised for providing various benefits, like paying for education, accommodation exposure visits or various other expenses of those covered under the scheme, remarked the Chief Minister. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi, Director of Women and Child Development, Rupali Thakur and General Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Child Welfare Council, Mohan Dutt Sharma, were also present on the occasion. (ANI)
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