ABITA Organizes Exposure to Tea Estates for Adolescent Girls’ Club Members

Dibrugarh: The Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA) Zone 1 in support with UNICEF, Assam and in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority, Dibrugarh, organized two exposure visits for adolescent girls’ club members of different tea estates to the District Legal Aid Cell, Dibrugarh on December 13 and December 15.

A total of 120 adolescent girls from 12 tea estates - Basmatia, Romai, Singlijan, Rajgarh, Tingkhong, Desam, Khowang, Thowra, Attabarrie, Dirial, Zaloni and Deohall Tea Estates- participated in the visits.

The purpose of the visits was to make the adolescent girls aware about the functioning and importance of the Legal Aid Cell and how to get free and competent legal services to ensure opportunity for securing justice by the people from Legal Aid Cell.

The first visit was carried out on December 13 where 60 adolescent girls participated in two groups. First group comprised 30 girls from Basmatia, Romai and Singlijan Tea Estates and second group comprised another 30 girls from Rajgarh, Tingkhong and Desam Tea Estates.

Similarly, the second visit conducted on December 15. The first group comprised 30 girls from Dirial, Zaloni and Deohall Tea Estates and second group comprised another 30 girls from Khowang, Thowra and Attabarrie Tea Estates.

Secretary ABITA zone 1, Madhurjya Barooah, informed that an interactive session was carried out in both days at the conference hall, District and Session Judge Office, here which was facilitated by Md Imdad Ahmed (AJS), secretary, District Legal Services. Ahmed briefed about the District Legal Aid Cell and its objectives. The topics on child marriage, child trafficking, child labour and other child related issues were discussed and various Acts relates to those issues and the services available under Integrated Child Protection Scheme(ICPS) for ‘Children in need of care and protection’ and ‘Children in conflict with law’ were briefed by Ahmed in the session.

In continuation of the sessions, a film on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), Komal, was shown to understand how sexual abuse happen with children and briefed the various clauses of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 to the participants.

Before the sessions, the group members observed the court proceedings of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Civil Judge-cum-Assistant Sessions Judge Court and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court which s gave them an idea about how a court was executed.

Natasha Suna, a 17-year old adolescent girl of Romai Tea Estate, said, “I never knew that there is a cell called Legal Aid Cell which is instituted to help the poor and needy people secure justice with free services and without any expenses.”

Madhurjya Barooah, while talking with The Sentinel, said that ABITA Zone 1 has been organizing different exposure visits for the adolescent girl group members to various places like police station, health institute, bank and educational institute to increase the knowledge, attitude and practices among the adolescent girls.

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