Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Adopt a humanitarian attitude, officials told

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Officials should adopt a humanitarian attitude while dealing with the problems of the common man, the Assembly committee on women, children and the physically challenged that met here on Monday observed.

If officials had adopted such an attitude, many of the complaints that the committee heard today could have been solved much faster; a press note issued here quoted committee chairperson K.K. Shailaja, MLA, as saying.

During its sitting at the district collectorate on Monday the committee heard 80 complaints. These complaints would be referred to various departments for further action.

Ms. Shailaja told the meeting that the Government has passed orders setting up a three-member committee to probe instances of abuse of children at observation homes and child care centres. The Assembly committee had earlier asked the Department of Social Welfare to look into such incidents.

Reporting of vacancies

Many physically challenged persons who had waited for years for a job after registering their names at the employment exchanges appeared before the committee today. Committee members pointed out that the non-reporting of vacancies in a time-bound manner was one of the reasons why the physically challenged do not get jobs that they are entitled to. The committee directed the Additional District Magistrate to call a meeting of district-level officials to ensure that vacancies are reported in a timely manner.

The committee directed the deputy director of Panchayats to find out ways to help physically challenged persons who do not own any land or house.

Laxity flayed

The committee also pointed out that some officials had shown laxity in submitting reports that the committee asked for during its previous sitting, the press note said.

The committee directed police officials not to help offenders in sex related crimes to escape punishment, using loopholes in the existing laws. The committee has called for a report on why it took three months to register an FIR on the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old.

The committee concluded that crimes against women and children were on the rise in society today, the press note added.

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