Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation announced Friday that the Bharat Yatra Satyarthi, aimed at fighting child sexual abuse and trafficking, will flag off from Bhubaneswar September 26. The march will reach Bhopal October 5 via Bilaspur. The Bharat Yatra will flag off from Kanyakumari September 11and culminate in New Delhi October 16. Informing about the yatra, Rosalin Patasani Mishra, founder of Parichay Foundation and Madhusudan Das, state convener, National Youth Project, talked about the rampant child sexual abuse and trafficking in the state. According to National Crimes Records Bureau and National Family Health Survey-3, child marriage is a cause of concern in Orissa with 1,21,669 girls and 1,37,464 boys being married off before their legal age. According to the State Police data, 206 children (below 18 years) were trafficked in 2016 – a rise of an alarming 44 per cent.
Nobel laureate Kaliash Satyarthi has often expressed concern about the fear that exists in society to stop victims or their families from speaking up. This fear emboldens the criminals to roam freely and commit more heinous crimes, thereby ruining many lives, said Rosalin Patasani Mishra. “Orissa has grappled with issues of child labour for many years. It also faces the twin issues of increasing trafficking and rape. The time has come we work towards education and empowerment of girl children. The Bharat
Yatra is a movement of collective action for our young girls and children across the country, to make a change,” she said. “We must work together to help eradicate child sexual abuse and trafficking which would help the country to make both economical and social progress. I appeal to the youths of Orissa to step forward and take charge in the social revolution. The time is right to harness the power of the youths to drive this change and keep pushing for a brighter future for themselves and the generations to come”, added Madhusudan Das.
City to flag off Bharat Yatra Sept 26
