Mangalore, Feb 17: The much-needed Missing Child Bureau (MCB), Karnataka was formally launched in Dakshina Kannada, which will be part of a vast network that will help in tracking down missing children in the country.
The Dakshina Kannada district cell of MCB was inaugurated at Deputy Commissioner's office here on Monday.
The bureau will be run by a local NGO called Karnataka Integrated Development Society (KIDS), Puttur, which will co-ordinate with the local police to monitor unaccompanied children and track missing ones in the district.
Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO) has been appointed as the state nodal agency of the Missing Child Bureau of Karnataka, and one of its major goals is to establish district cells of MCB in each district in the state.
In turn, the nodal agency BOSCO appointed Puttur-based organisation KIDS as the MCB district cell for Dakshina Kannada.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Binu Varghese, state co-ordinator of MCB, said that the bureau was a web-based application exclusively to help trace missing children by lodging a complaint on the website. Concerned citizens can also provide information on unaccompanied and missing children found on streets, as well as children in difficult situations, he said.
Speaking after inaugurating the bureau, president of Juvenile Justice Board Patil Nagalingana Gowda said that the current situation showed children committing crimes increasingly. “When children go missing, they may have landed on the streets for having committed crimes, or for no fault of theirs. Children are our wealth; they are the future of this country. Try and have a humane approach while responding any complaint of a missing child – so as to not making the helpline mechanical,” he told the administrators of the bureau.
Chairperson of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Asha Nayak said that the establishment of a missing child bureau was a long-awaited dream coming true.
There may be several reasons that children run away from homes including poverty. Some cases of missing children show how they are drawn towards television reality shows and run away. With changing modus operandi of children going missing, the real concern is where they are going. These children being used for begging, hawking, sexual exploitation and pornography, will lead to the destruction of the country, she said.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner A B said that the mechanism set in place by the MCB should provide consolation and support to the children rescued by them. The system should work towards upliftment of the society, he said.
Bishop of Puttur Diocese Dr Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, executive director of the MCB district cell Fr John Kunnatheth, deputy director of women and child welfare department Gertrude Veigas, Shubhajit Podar and others participated in the programme.
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