Women, child rights Commission teams visit injured

Ahmedabad, Jul 30 (UNI) National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Girija Vyas has expressed grave concern over the large number of women and child victims in the Ahmedabad blasts and demanded that a time-bound proper rehabilitation programme be initiated by the Gujarat government.

Ms Vyas was talking to reporters here today after a team of officials from NCW and National Commission for protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) visited the three hospitals, where the injured were admitted.

She said women and children had been under ''trauma'' and a counselling and psychological treatment to them was also needed to heal their injuries.

Ms Vyas asserted that the state government should initiate a total rehabilitation package for the women and children injured in the blast.

''A rehabilitation committee should be formed to look into the problems of blast victims, which include time bound rehabilitation so that all those affected should be rehabilitated without any hassles,'' she said.

The government should assure follow up medical treatment for those who were badly burnt, which included a plastic surgery for the cases recommended by the doctors in top private hospitals, she added.

''Merely a meagre compensation would not work, as many of the injured would face permanent disability, and expenditure on their children's education should also be borne by the state government,'' she said.

Strongly condemning the terrorist strike, she said it is ''unthinkable'' that the terrorists went ahead to strike at institutions like hospitals, which clearly shows their inhumanity.

The NCW chairperson said 18 women and 16 children are still undergoing treatment in the three different hospitals.

Besides Ms Vyas, Sandhya Bajaj, member of NCPCR led a team that visited the hospitals yesterday also to get a first hand report of the affected women and children and would submit their report to women and child development ministry.

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