The demographic dividend of India having the largest population below 18 years in the world has not been taken advantage of and even today, many children are deprived of quality education and health facilities and forced into the world of crime and drugs, said Isha Pant, principal of the Police Training College here on Wednesday.
Speaking at a two-day round table conference of organisations and NGOs, working for the protection of the child rights, Ms. Pant said that the lack of quality education and health facilities to youths which has to be tackled effectively.
She pointed out in Punjab, one of the richest States in the country, every third youth was reportedly a drug addict and the society and parents had to take the responsibility to lead them back to the right path. She also said that there were many distractions for youngsters these days and the parents had to responsibility to ensure that the their children did not fall in bad company.
Referring to complaints that juveniles were not being handled sensitively and that police were not helping organisations in times of emergency to protect the rights of children, Ms. Path said that in such conferences, local police officials should be invited and be sensitised on how to handle children and on the need to protect the rights of children.
The two-day round-table conference is being organised to frame a common agenda and create a platform for all organisations to function together to protect the rights of children in the region.
Member of the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Y. Mariswamy said that as per the data available the highest child rights abuse took place in Hyderabad Karnataka.
He said that child trafficking and child marriage was also very high in Hyderabad Karnataka and the condition of children in Banjara tandas was woeful.
“There is an urgent need for all the organisations working for the protection of the rights of the children to join hands to end the discrimination of children,” he said.
Gadag District Child Protection officer Bharati Shettar inaugurated the conference and said that by bringing the drop-out rates in schools to zero, majority of the problems faced by the children can be prevented.
