Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 27
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Special Rapporteur Shomita Biswas on Tuesday reviewed human rights protections and welfare safeguards in Jammu and Kashmir, with a focus on the Social Welfare, Health, and Prisons departments.
The meeting at the civil secretariat in Srinagar was attended by senior administrative and police officials, who presented information on legal protections, institutional mechanisms and welfare programmes for vulnerable groups.
Mission Poshan Director Sajad Hussain Ganai outlined initiatives to improve children’s health, immunisation and nutrition, as well as scholarship support for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Rubina Kousar, mission director for Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, described support systems for destitute, abandoned and distressed women, along with child-protection measures under the juvenile justice framework.
Inspector General of Police Personnel (Headquarters) Uttam Chand briefed the meeting on human rights standards in prisons and protections for people awaiting trial and convicted prisoners. He also outlined legal and operational steps taken by law enforcement agencies in response to reported abuses.
Dr Arshad Hussain, Head of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences at Government Medical College Srinagar, discussed mental health services, gaps in delivery and infrastructure projects under way in the region.
Biswas expressed satisfaction with the safeguards and welfare initiatives presented, and urged departments and police officials to reach out more proactively to rural and marginalised communities.
She also called for grievance mechanisms that process public complaints, particularly those involving vulnerable groups, professionally and promptly.
