SAMBALPUR: In an effort to enhance child protection, the Northern Range headquarters of Odisha Police has released comprehensive guidelines for the establishment of ‘Ama Police Samiti’ across five districts in western Odisha.
Issued by IG (Northern Range) Himanshu Lal, the guidelines aim to tackle rising concerns related to child marriage, labor, trafficking, abuse, and neglect. Lal recently sent a letter to the SPs of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Jharsuguda, and Sonepur, directing them to ensure the implementation of these guidelines by all police stations within their jurisdictions.
The letter highlighted that children in western Odisha are particularly at risk due to factors such as migration, mining activities, and socio-economic challenges. Citing NFHS-5 data, it noted that 20.5 percent of girls in Odisha are married before reaching adulthood, with a higher prevalence observed in tribal-dominated and western districts.
Designed as a community-police partnership platform, the Ama Police Samiti will also improve local security and safeguard vulnerable groups, including women and senior citizens. The committees will assist police through awareness campaigns, community engagement, monitoring of suspicious activities, and efforts to combat social evils.
The guidelines call for the creation of databases of vulnerable children, monitoring marriages through village registers, and identifying five villages under each police station for development as child-friendly villages. Police personnel will conduct regular visits to these villages to oversee the implementation of planned activities.
