Government’s apparent apathy towards procuring textbooks, halting of free distribution of sanitary napkins for girls, lack of compound walls around hostels were some of the key issues brought to the notice of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR).
These grievances were aired by children on Friday during an interaction organised by the KSCPCR, district legal services authority, women and child development department and child protection unit.
One of the participating students complained that it had been two years since the free distribution of sanitary napkins to adolescent girls was stopped. “We want the scheme to be reintroduced,” she said. KSCPCR members present assured that the commission will recommend to the government the need of reintroducing it.
Another student, a boy, said there was no need for the government to ban games. However, commission members disagreed and said that the children were addicted to electronic gadgets after the pandemic. “Children should engage themselves in playing outdoor games, so that the addiction is checked,” said one of the members.
Participating children also said while, in the past, doctors used to visit child-care institutions every month for health checkups, they have stopped now. DHO Dr Kishore Kumar said that the Deputy Commissioner has directed the health department to engage doctors from private medical colleges to do the monthly checkups. The jurisdictional doctors will also be asked to visit, he said.
Students also brought up the shortage of iron supplements in tablet form. The DHO told them that there was shortage of supply last month and assured them, “Now the tablets have been supplied which will be distributed to the schools shortly.”
DDPI Sudhakar explaining the delay in supplying textbooks, said that only 74 per cent of the textbooks had been supplied within the district. The schools have been asked to conduct classes with the help of books collected through book banks.
An inmate of a child-care institute urged the police to increase the patrolling near Jeppu at night, and senior police personnel present answered positively.
'De-addiction centre for children needed'
While there is a rise in substance addiction—alcohol, drugs, smoking—among children, there is no centre in the district to treat them, said a child-helpline representative.
CWC Chairperson Renny D’Souza said that a proposal has been sent to the government to set up a de-addiction centre for children in the district. However, there had been no concrete steps taken about it so far. Commission member D Shankarappa then directed D’Souza to re-submit the proposal, this time adding the statistics on addiction.
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