After big launch, just 15 complaints in 10 months on child rights portal

October 23, 2017 12:31 am | Updated 12:31 am IST - Bengaluru

Siddaiah H. (name changed) was unhappy about people standing outside his child’s school smoking cigarettes, as it led to several teenagers picking up the habit and developing an addiction to nicotine. He approached a non-governmental organisation that advised him to lodge a complaint on the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights website, Kare, as it is illegal for tobacco to be sold within hundred yards of an educational institution.

But when Mr. Siddaiah logged on to the Kare page, he was unable to comprehend the form that was written entirely in English. Unable to navigate the site, he dropped the issue. “I did not want to lodge a police complaint and decided that this was the easier route. But later, I just let it be as I was unable to lodge a complaint,” he said.

Ten months ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched Kare, which was touted as a gateway to help parents file complaints of all child rights violations, and promised quick action. Since its launch, however, there have been just 15 registered complaints on the website. This is in stark contrast to the 40-50 manually filed complaints — either handwritten or via email — the commission receives every month.

Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman S.G. Siddaramaiah said the authority has issued oral orders to the commission to ensure there is a Kannada option on the website. “Who is the website for? It is for the people and for the welfare of children in the State. If they do not comply with this, we plan to initiate action against them,” he said.

Kripa Alva, chairperson of the commission, said they would revamp the website and ensure all the content is available in Kannada within a fortnight. Y. Mariswamy, a member, said they were facing a shortage of manpower but would rectify the matter at the earliest.

Lack of awareness

The language barrier isn’t the only problem the initiative faces. Officials of many departments are still unaware of Kare’s existence.

The service was launched so that parents could file complaints at the click of a button, and based on the nature of the complaint, it would be diverted to the departments concerned. “We have not been told about the launch of this service. How do we can act on complaints in such a situation?” asked an official from the Department of Public Instruction.

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