Kerala: Children's rallies violate rules

KOZHIKODE: The  Sri Krishna Janmashtami  is supposed to be a time for celebration by the children. But in practice, they are tortured like the elephants that are taken out for parades during  festivals. The children are made to tread kilometres for over four hours, be it on Sri Krishna Jayanti, Milad-Sharif or for church processions  carrying the cross, according to  a district child protection officer. “Increasing numbers of children are being used by religious, political and  cultural organizers for their processions.  Unhygienic  water and food are served to the  children. Besides, the processions  hamper the free flow of traffic,”  noted Mr Moosakutty, a lawyer.

This happens though  a government order  prevents  taking out  children under 14 in processions for more than three hours.  The government order issued  last year also stipulates that children should not be brought in procession curbing their educational activities or by force.  During school days, children should not be rallied between 9.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. and on  holidays,  between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. by means of force. The  children participating in processions should take permission from the district collector and superintendent of police, as per the  order issued  in the wake of the recommendation of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) which had   received a complaint forwarded by Malappuram Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

Mr  Moosakutty  had  filed the petition with CWC after witnessing the plight of children during three processions  held in Tirur in 2014.   “The organizers of every programme would tell that the children were rallied for less than three hours. But that is not the case,” he said. Earlier, the Malappuram district child protection unit had  reported to the KeSCPCR that   children had been taken out in processions  by  major religious organizations during auspicious days.