The State government would be asked to provide all eligible facilities to Devadasis with immediate effect, Karnataka High Court Judge N.K. Patil has said.
Speaking after inaugurating a legal awareness programme for Devadasis, organised by the district administration, District Legal Services Authority, zilla panchayat and District Bar Association here on Sunday, he said that Devadasis cannot improve their living conditions only by getting pension from the government.
Instead they should be extended to all government facilities to improve their condition. So the government would be instructed to provide all facilities as early as possible, he reiterated. Since poverty, unemployment and illiteracy were major reasons for people getting attracted towards such practices , the government should take utmost care in creating awareness among , he added. Another High Court Judge L. Narayanswamy said that every individual in society should cooperate to avoid superstitious beliefs and practices to build a good society.
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The conditions will not improve merely by rehabilitating persons involved in such practices, instead sustained effort should be made to stop people from indulging in such practices, he said. Deputy Commissioner S.T. Anjankumar said that there are a total of 47,000 Devadasis in the State and it’s the responsibility of every official of concerned departments to help them live a dignified life.The State government has made arrangements to provide Rs. 1,000 as pension every month to Devadasis and the process of providing loans and sites for construction is under progress.
SP Borlingaiah and ZP CEO R. Girish were present.
Process of providing loans to Devadasis is under progress