Children’s train in Kadri Park is expected to chug again as the Department of Women and Child Welfare has sanctioned Rs. 37.54 lakh for a new train.
The fund would be released within a fortnight, Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare Umashree told a meeting here on Thursday. She reviewed the performance of the department at the meeting. The district office of the department here had sent a proposal seeking funds for the new train on December 30, 2013 as the existing train had become too old for use.
The Minister said the proposal to construct a ‘ranga mandira’ has not come to her. She would sanction it as soon as she received it.
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Ms. Umashree expressed concern over the declining sex ratio in Dakshina Kannada over the past 35 years. Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim told the meeting that the number of females per 1,000 males dropped from 1,060 in 1980s to 1,020 now. Referring to it, the Minister said that statistics revealed that “something is happening inside” and asked the District Health and Family Welfare Officer to be alert and conduct periodic inspection of laboratories and clinics.
Referring to a case of worms found in a consignment of nutritious food supplied to anganwadi children, she said that such cases should not happen in districts like Dakshina Kannada and Udupi where awareness levels of people was high. She said that officials acted only after the Deputy Commissioner received a complaint about it. Instead, officials should conduct periodic inspections and not give scope for such complaints. Stating that there should be zero tolerance to such issues, Ms. Umashree said the two districts should maintain their high standards.
The Minister also asked officials to take steps to expedite the trail of about 150 cases pending before juvenile justice board.
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Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare Umashree said here on Thursday that the government would devise a policy for transgenders. Addressing presspersons, she said that her department has asked the views of other departments for finalising the draft of the policy. The departments have been sent a reminder to send their views. If they did not send them, the department would finalise the policy on its own.