JOIN USJustice Shivaraj Patil lists five tools to fight child marriage
He was addressing media after holding a meeting of Mysore region-comprising Mysore, Mandya and Chamarajangar districts, at Zilla Panchayat hall in the city on Thursday.
Incidentally it’s also the last meeting of the committee, that has already conducted similar exercises at Dharwad, Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Yadgir to name a few.
If these organs function in tandem, it could check any social malady like that of child marriage, the legal luminary said. He was happy to note that, when compared to North Karnataka districts where such illegal practices are rampant, it’s minimal in old Mysore region. He attributed it to the erstwhile rulers who ensured education for all, when compared to the northern parts of the State that is still deprived of many basic amenities.
Listing out the reasons for such marriages, the chairman said-illiteracy, poverty and
sentiment- are the causes. He cited out an example, where an eight year old was forced to marry to fulfil the wishes of her grandmother to retain ancestral property, and also there was an instance where young girl was forced into wedlock for betterment of family ties.
Giving a call to the interested people to air their suggestions if any, the chairman fixed deadline for the opinions to be received to May. They can either write to the office or file the same in person.
Earlier in an interactive session at the meeting, representatives of various NGOs, organisations and officers presented their views on the issue.
IGP (Southern range) Amar Kumar Pandey, Deputy Commissioners Dr P C Jaffer (Mandya) and K Amarnarayan (Chamarajanagar), special invitee of the committee and deputy director general of Doordarshan Mahesh Joshi, Mandya District and Sessions Court Judge Bellakki, ZP President Suneetha Veerappagowda were present.
Failing acoustic mar meeting
Once again, acoustic at Zilla Panchayat hall posed a challenge to smooth going of the meeting, with the failing microphones muting the voice of speakers at times. Justice Shivaraj V Patil jocularly said- in the fight against child marriage, there are many hurdles and the recurring snag in the sound system is a proof. Needless to say, there was a huge applause from the gathering. Visibly irked, ZP CEO G Satyavathi who was also attending the meeting, summoned the technician in-charge. The person who walked up seemed to have given her a lame excuse, which obvoisuly cut no ice with her. But, the trouble didn’t stop there, as mike continued to go off frequently. Earlier when Secretary to the Department of Woman and Child Welfare C N Seetharam was addressing the gathering, he had to stop mid-way owing to the same complaint. When it recurred while the chairman began to address, the technician fixed another mike and retreated towards his place. In that hurry, he pulled off the microphone.