Mysuru: As many as 20 minor children were rescued by the teams formed by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) in Mysuru city. The special teams rescued children from different parts of the state and the country. These teams were formed to make Dasara child-friendly.According to authorities, these rescues include child labourers and those who were found selling various items on the road and begging. They also pointed out that compared to previous years, this time, due to the increased level of awareness, incidents of child sellers and beggars have come down.According to Mahadeva Kote, a CWC member, those rescued include three child labourers who were working in different places, including a hotel, and children who were found begging and selling various items on various roads of the city during the ongoing Dasara. “A minor student from Haveri was rescued while he was selling groundnuts. He came here with his brother in the pretext of watching Dasara,” said Kote.Officials said that children from northern Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are involved in these kinds of activities.Authorities said, fearing action, a street vendor’s family from Haveri gave three of their girl children into the custody of a girls’ home till the conclusion of Dasara. “These children will be safe in our care. Our awareness initiatives resulted in a steep drop in the number of children involved in beggary, roadside selling, and begging. Till the conclusion of the Dasara, we will continue to hold the awareness initiatives,” said Kote.Meanwhile, residents are complaining that Dasara authorities must look into the plight of young migrant women who stay by the roadside during the Dasara. “Scores of young women sellers can be found staying in unsecured tents, buildings at night. While spending huge sum on the celebrations, the govt must take note and provide temporary shelters to them,” said Suma Hegade, an activist from the city.
