Move to privatise Bal Bhavan opposed

Move to privatise Bal Bhavan opposed

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

OPPOSITION: Children protesting against the move to privatise Bal Bhavan in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Scores of children wearing colourful head bands cried themselves hoarse on Tuesday morning at Cubbon Park. No, they were not enjoying their train ride or a magic show at the Bal Bhavan auditorium.

These were children from different non-government organisations demanding that one of the few government-owned public spaces and a forum for their entertainment — Bal Bhavan — not be given away for privatisation. Coming under the banner of the NGO Forum for Street and Working Children, they shouted slogans against the Government’s move to privatise Bal Bhavans in the State, demanding that the tenders issued for privatisation be recalled.

To join them in their protest was freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy, who as much as his age would allow, stood and raised his voice shouting slogans. He also signed the memorandum that was to be submitted to Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

The Government on October 8 issued tenders for privatising Bal Bhavans at Rajajinagar, Coles Park, Jeevan Bima Nagar, Jayanagar and Cubbon Park. The ostensible purpose is to turn the Bal Bhavans into a children’s amusement park based on the Singapore model.

In the memorandum, the forum has said that the maintenance of Bal Bhavan should continue under the Department of Horticulture and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. It said that the Government was violating child rights by ignoring the convention that the local government should ensure that the needs of the child with regard to their holistic development are met.