The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government plans to make it easy for women, aged to utilise facilities

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Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government plans to make it easy for women, aged to utilise facilities

Special Correspondent

Minister to take up State-wide tour to know people’s problems

BANGALORE: The Department of Women and Child Development is launching a programme to collect information on women, children, the aged and the physically challenged persons to make it easy to provide government facilities to them.

Speaking to presspersons here on Monday, Women and Child Development Minister P.M. Narendra Swamy said a pilot project “Comprehensive information response” would be started in Malavalli, his home constituency, in Mandya district, soon. The information collected would be available on the website.

Separate files would be opened for each village, which would also be used as a manual for its development.

Around 100 volunteers would visit each home in villages and towns of the constituency in July first or second week to collect details such as address and names of residents and their telephone numbers. A master plan would thereafter be prepared to develop infrastructure.

Mr. Swamy said the exercise would be funded by the department, and NGOs would be asked to furnish details of expenditure towards it.

The regular programme would be launched in Mandya district after a detailed report on the project was received, and later extended to other constituencies.

The Minister said he would undertake a State-wide tour to know the problems of women, children and physically challenged people. The rehabilitation of Devadasis would be speeded up and steps taken to curb domestic violence against women.

Asked about preventing people, especially children, from begging near busy intersections in the city, the Minister said they were being taken into custody and kept in rehabilitation centres. Under the law, the Central Relief Committee could keep them at the centres for only six months. They went back to begging soon after their release.

To find a permanent solution to the problem, he said, a meeting of officials from the departments of Police, Labour and Social Welfare would be convened.

Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, said that 600 people, including 197 children, had been taken into custody for begging and 97 had been sent to Children’s Home.

Asked about criticism that independent MLAs had taken money for extending support to the Government, Mr. Swamy said he was a man of self-respect and there was no question of succumbing to pressures. People, he said, had voted him to pursue politics respectfully and he would not compromise on that count.

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