Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) of Mysore district has directed Zilla Panchayat to construct a bridge with immediate effect on the Varuna canal for the protection of school going children at Belagola on KRS road.
The order follows a complaint by Priya Louis, coordinator of ECHO Spandana, a NGO running the rehabilitation centre for children, in the need of care and protection near the canal.
Currently there are 34 children in the centre. The children has to tread along the narrow side of the canal which sometimes flows full.
There are instances of children suffering injuries after falling into the water, the complaint said. Fearing danger, a few children have refused to go to school. A bridge of half a kilometer over the canal is already constructed. If a small bridge on the canal near the rehabilitation centre is constructed, it would save children’s lives and ensure both safety and education, the complaint said.
Perusing the complaint, JJB assessed that protection was every child’s right and therefore a bridge near their rehabilitation home would be their legal right. JJB, comprising chief judicial magistrate and principal magistrate B Nandakumar and member P P Baburaj issued the order to the Engineering Division of ZP to take action immediately, said a release from
Superintendent, Observation Home, M K Kumaraswamy.