K. Naganna Gowda, Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said that as many as 64 cases pertaining to child marriages were reported in Mandya during the current year, of which 52 were prevented.
He was presiding over a district-level review meeting of various departments on the implementation of child-related laws and schemes — including RTE 2009, POCSO 2012, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, child trafficking prevention, PCPNDT, and the Juvenile Justice Act-2015, on Thursday.
Mr. Naganna Gowda said that FIRs had been registered with respect to 12 other cases. The officials were instructed to continue with the awareness campaigns against child marriages and make the district free of its scourge. “Instead of intervening during a marriage ceremony, officials should proactively counsel parents as soon as information about a possible child marriage surfaces and help prevent it,” he added.
On the issue of child labour, Mr. Naganna Gowda said that since April this year, 20 child labourers had been rescued and are being rehabilitated through education. Officials had been directed to continue raids against establishments employing children, and ensure that those rescued are enrolled in schools so that they get access to education, he said. Even migrant children from other States should have access to education, he added.
Referring to a major foeticide racket that had been unearthed in the district sometime ago, Mr. Naganna Gowda pointed out that strict implementation of the law had helped curb the practice.
He instructed all schools to educate students about child protection, ensure health and vision check-ups for school bus drivers, install CCTVs in school vehicles, and display child helpline numbers and complaint boxes in schools. No school — private or government — should pressurise students to pay fees; any institution causing mental distress over fee payment would face legal action, he added.
Mr. Naganna Gowda said that if minors under 18 were to be found driving vehicles, action should be taken not only against them, but also against their parents and the owners of the vehicles concerned. He also called for a crackdown on illegal sale of liquor near schools and slum areas, and pointed out that it was leading adolescents into addiction.
“Officials should identify and take stringent action against those involved in illicit liquor sales and submit a report within a week on the number of such cases detected,” he added. The police were also cautioned against delay in registering POSCO cases. Commission member Venkatesh, Additional Deputy Commissioner B.C. Shivanandamurthy, and others were present.
Published – October 17, 2025 08:14 pm IST
