Adoption agency on Murugha mutt premises to be shifted

With the arrest of Murugha mutt seer in a case of sexual abuse of minor children, the department of women and child development has decided to shift a special child adoption agency set up on the mutt premises.

The adoption agency is run under Madilu scheme and it may be shifted to any other district since the one on mutt premises was not “safe for children any longer.”

The district-level officer has already written to higher officials of the department about the need to shift the agency. However, local people have urged the government to take control of all adoption centres to ensure accountability and safety of children and not to permit any private organisation to run such centres.

Novelist B L Venu told DH that the government must not escape from the responsibility of running such agencies. When private organisations take control of such centres, there is no accountability at all and nobody will monitor them. “Maintaining the agency is not a burden for the government which provides crores of rupees to religious institutions. Henceforth, it must take control of all centres run by private organisatitons or the mutts and safeguard interests of children,” he said.

Women and child development department deputy director Bharathi Banakar said the mutt had obtained permission from the government to run the child adoption agency.

Presently, nine children aged below six years are staying at the agency and they will be shifted soon. The government had granted permission to the mutt to run the agency only because it managed a medical college and children would get healthcare on time.

The process of shifting the children to an other district has begun. If any private organisation that is based in Chitradurga, other than the mutt, submits proposal to run the centre, the department may think of granting permission to it, Bharathi said.