Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday appealed to the wealthy section of the society to adopt children living in child care centers and provide them a safe and bright future.

He visited a child care home at Tutikandi here, where Jyoti (original name withheld), living at the centre, was adopted by her new parents under the ‘Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashray Yojana’ in the presence of the Chief Minister. Sukhu praised the couple for their noble work and encouraging the option of adoption to the wealthy section of the society.

“The government understands the problems of orphans and other vulnerable sections of the society, hence the Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashray Yojana has been launched in the state,” he was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Sukhu said that the state government is working diligently for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society. “Himachal Pradesh is the first state to bring a law for the welfare of orphan children and weaker sections,” he said.

“About 4,000 orphan children are covered under the ambit of the scheme and the state has taken full responsibility for their education and overall development,” he said. The Chief Minister said that the State Government has also come up with a unique initiative ‘Chief Minister Sukh Ashray Kosh’, under which generous contributions are being received from the entire State including Ministers and MLAs.

“These funds are being used to provide various benefits like educational, accommodation, exposure visits or various other expenses of the people covered under the scheme,” Sukhu said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)