The Concerned for Working Children

Petition for Corona pandemic response required from the Government of Karnataka: The way ahead  

Posted on April 02, 2020

For the Favour of Publication:

PROTECTING AND UPHOLDING THE RIGHTS OF THE MOST VULNERABLE

From the Concerned for Working Children

Ten days into the lockdown in Karnataka has brought to the fore agony, anguish, uncertainty and vulnerability of the most marginalised communities in our country, the brunt of which they began to bear a fortnight before March 23rd. They have had to face extreme humiliation to the extent of having disinfectants sprayed on them and the scale of the horror they are collectively experiencing is unprecedented. The medical crisis created by COVID-19 has taken on gigantic proportions due to the unpardonable degree of lack of foresight, empathy, planning, coordination and commitment to the wellbeing of the most vulnerable of the citizens. The overall systemic cracks are showing up as ravines and large sections of our society in the country and in our State have been irretrievably hit. In some places, the violence meted out in the name of ‘protection’ is alarming and has to be put an end to. Irrespective of what we do now, it is already too late, and millions are teetering on the edge of survival.

However, the situation is undoubtedly going to further worsen if the government does not step up speedily, with appropriate immediate, intermediate and long-term measures. It is clear that holistic robust responses with attention to minute details at every level are urgently required and there is not a minute to waste. In the midst of all the chaos it is important to sincerely appreciate the support of the medical and other essential service providers and to acknowledge the progressive steps taken by Karnataka. Commendable work of several officials who are firefighting and facing the brunt of the delayed actions of the Central Government are appreciated. Civil society groups are rising to the challenge, but there is still an enormous level of disconnect in their response at this point in time.

The primary onus to address the challenges lies with the government.

The way ahead:

We are writing to you on behalf of the Concerned for Working Children renowned for our work in Children’s rights and political decentralisation. We have been thrice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and you can find more details about our work here: www.concernedforworkingchildren.org. We are also the Secretariat of the Grama Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana (GPHA) which is a movement of Grama Panchayat and Grama Sabha members, with members in all 29 rural districts of Karnataka.  More details are available here: http://gpha.weebly.com/

Taking into account our ground-level experiences of the past four decades and taking into account our specific observations during the past week, in urban and rural Karnataka, we have drafted our recommendations focussed on specific constituencies which are among the most vulnerable and also belong to the economically deprived communities. They are:

• Children below the poverty line not enrolled in Anganwadi’s or government schools
• Children of migrant communities in transit
• Children enrolled in Anganwadi’s
• Children enrolled in government schools
• Working children and working adolescents
• Children in Child Care Institutions
• Migrant workers in their place of work & Urban poor
• Migrant workers in transit to their places of origin
• Workers taking part in MGNREGA
• Rural Communities
• Grama Panchayats

Recommendations:

We recommend the following in relation to each constituency. The elected grama panchayats/local governments have to be the fulcrum of local level responses – planning, implementation and monitoring as mandated by the Constitution of India and the Karnataka Grama Swaraj Act.

For each of the recommendations, there is need for the State Government to specify grievance redressal mechanisms in relation to every line department for non-compliance or failure of the duty bearer to perform their designated role.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the detailed press note in Kannada here: PressNote_RecommendationsforStateResponsetoCOVID-19(Kannada)_CWC_01042020