Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 20: It being Saturday morning, several legislators made use of the Assembly recess and visited the Gopabandhu Academy auditorium to take part in a sensitisation session on child rights which was being conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
The programme was a big-ticket event, considering the Chief Minister himself took time off from his schedule to attend it. Over 30 MLAs were in attendance at the beginning of the event.
That count however dropped to five by the time the session had ended, indicating just how much importance legislators attach to children’s affairs.
According to the Annual Health Survey, the state has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the country – 230 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births against the national average of 212. Furthermore, the state has the second highest infant mortality rate: 80 deaths per 1,000.
Only 22 per cent households in the state have their own toilets, according to Census 2011 figures.
Organisers refused to comment when Orissa Post raised the issue of MLAs leaving the session midway. When asked if the MLAs who were present could share their experience regarding the session, the organiser declined saying it was not a forum.
However, there were some MLAs who didn’t just sit through the entire session but also raised some pertinent issues and sought the assistance of Unicef in implementing schemes. When an MLA asked if Unicef could help in collecting data on the status of child development at the district level, Unicef Orissa chief Yumi Bae said they would be too happy to help.
Another MLA told his counterparts how he had formed a committee for construction workers in his constituency and elaborated on the steps he has been taking for these workers.
PP Giri, a teacher, suggested that a grievance redressal mechanism for children can be instituted in Assembly constituencies headed by the legislators. The Unicef chief recorded Giri’s suggestion and said she would discuss it with the legislators.
The programme was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, which was also chaired by Mayor Anant Narayan Jena and minorities and backward classes minister Lal Bihari Himirika.
“Though we have a Child Rights Welfare Committee and a Juvenile Justice Board, the law is not enough to promote the overall development of a child. Such sessions would help sensitizing our lawmakers to realize the meaning of child rights,” the Chief Minister said in his address.
That message was probably lost on several of the MLAs who were in a hurry to get through the session. As soon as the CM’s speech ended and a tea-break was called, the number of MLAs still in attendance came down to 10.
Even while the session was on, MLAs kept leaving one after the other. By the end of the interaction session at 2:50 pm, less than five MLAs remained.
Defending the MLAs leaving the session, moderator Bhagbanprakash, former senior adviser of the Election Commission of India, told Orissa Post, “It’s not the only interaction programme we are having. It’s just the beginning.”
Yumi Bae said there was nothing to read too much into it. “They might have left to attend their duties. Their presence in itself was significant.”
