Bengaluru urban district most unsafe in state for children: Karnataka child rights index
Bengaluru: Bengaluru Urban has been ranked the most unsafe district for children in the state, according to a recent report by Child Rights Index of Karnataka.
The report, cited by Deccan Herald on Friday, was prepared by researchers S. Madheswaran and B. P. Vani from the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) in collaboration with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
The study is based on child labour, child marriage, teenage pregnancy and crimes against children. Bengaluru’s poor performance, the report notes, is largely linked to the vulnerabilities associated with its rapidly expanding urban environment.
Other districts that fared poorly on child protection include Kolar, Vijayapura, Gadag and Belagavi. In contrast, Kodagu and Udupi were identified as the safest districts for children.
The report was prepared considering six indicators: Right to life, right to enabling environment to live, right to nutrition, protection, education and participation.
Best performing districts without including the participation index (since it varies for urban and rural areas) are Udupi, Mandya, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Bengaluru Rural, the report added.
The study also highlights a sharp concentration of crimes against children in Bengaluru. The district recorded the highest crime rate in the state, followed by Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagar.
Alarmingly, the crime rate against children in Bengaluru is eight times higher than the average across other districts.
Meanwhile, nutrition indicators continue to raise concern, with over 70% of children in seven districts, particularly in the Kalyana Karnataka region, found to be anaemic. In Mysuru and parts of the Bengaluru divisions, the prevalence ranged between 50% and 60%.
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Karnataka Minister urges Centre to launch Bengaluru–Vijayapura express train
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil has urged the Centre to launch an express train service between Bengaluru and Vijayapura.
The demand comes following the completion of the 9.60-km double-line railway work between Alamatti and Wandal, which has been open for traffic since March 25, the Minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"He has written a letter regarding this on March 30 to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister V Somanna," it said.
In the letter, Patil stated that the Alamatti–Wandal section, part of the Gadag–Hotgi double-line project, has now been completed. During an earlier meeting, it was mentioned that once this work was finished, an express train between Bengaluru and Vijayapura could be introduced. He has now requested that this be given priority.
He highlighted that thousands of people from Vijayapura and Bagalkote districts travel daily to Bengaluru for education, healthcare, administrative work, and business, and this train service would greatly benefit them.
According to him, currently, the train journey between the two cities takes about 15 hours, which is inconvenient.
He stressed the need to reduce this travel time to around 10 hours.
The minister also requested that trains departing from Bengaluru be given a limited stops upto Hubballi, and that trains proceeding to Vijayapura should be routed via the Hubballi and Gadag bypass lines.
