The brutal rape of a minor in Kathua has sent shockwaves across the nation and protests have erupted in several places. People are demanding the death penalty for rapists. Likewise, incidents of rape in Balasore have jolted the state and its conscience. Orissa POST interacts with members of a few clubs in the twin cities about what steps they are taking to ensure the protection of girl children and women in their locality
Sahid Sporting Club: It might sound implausible but CCTVs should be installed across the city and vehicles should be thoroughly checked at different junctions to prevent crimes. As a club we are organising awareness camps for young girls on how to stay away from crime.
Unique Club, Nayapalli: Our club near the passport office is 13 years old. Group patrolling is our main task. For the past six months at least 20 members of our club are keeping a vigilant eye on miscreants as well as strangers in our locality. Along with the local PS, the club is involved in imparting self-defence training to young girls and raising awareness on safety measures.
Gopabandhu Smruti Sansad, Unit VIII: Our club is 30 years old and well-known for its safety patrol at night as we are a close-knit community. Everyone knows everybody and we know every girl child by name. Therefore, we have created a special evening force that keeps a watch on roadside Romeos and miscreants who create trouble.
Mahavir Club:The 20-year-old club is associated with girl child safety measures. We teach children not to accept edibles from strangers and we advise parents not to leave their girl child with any of their relatives. Above all, we are working closely with Old Nayapalli PS to keep a vigilant eye on miscreants.
Ramji Youth Association, Niladri Vihar: The club came up in 2010 to engage in social work. The association consists of around 50 members. We are engaged in various cultural and social activities. The club is planning to organise self-defence training camps for women in Niladri Vihar. Keeping in view the increasing incidences of crimes against girls, our association is planning to organise karate classes and other self-defence programmes for school and college-going girls of the area, said Biswajit Sahoo, a member.
Kalinga Youth Club: One of the oldest youth clubs in Chandrasekhapur area, we are involved in several activities related to the upliftment of the weaker sections of society. It holds protest rallies against atrocities on women. It is also eager to join likeminded associations in order to spread awareness about crimes against women. We are eager to join hands with any organisation to start awareness movements for women’s safety . We will educate the girls of our locality as to how to identify people who are seized with evil intention, said Akuli Nayak, president of the club.
Bajrang Youth Club:We are a club of young students in Dhenkanal town. The club came up in 1996 with 200 students as members. The club held candlelight rallies after the Nirbhaya tragedy . We are going to organise a candlelight march against the recent spurt in crimes against women across the country April 19. We will try to organise self-defence programmes for girl students in various colleges and schools of Dhenkanal town, said Subhendu Kumar Sadangi, secretary of the club.
Union Sporting Club, Cuttack: We will carry out campaigns in our locality to raise awareness about protecting minors from falling prey to sexual abuse. We will make students aware about the need to keep strict vigil on children and their activities. Besides, we will also impart some self-defence training to minor girls, said Basu Sekhar, a member of the club.
BRC Yuva Parishad, Jobra:In order to protect minors, we will keep a watch on habitual offenders who regularly eve-tease girls. If necessary we will hand them over to the police, said Tanmay Kumar Sahu, secretary of the club.
Odisha Dalit Yuva Sangh, Cuttack: Instead of just raising awareness, every household should make their girl child aware of the issue and we will conduct door-to-door campaigns. If necessary, we will also carry out awareness camps in schools, colleges and markets in the area to make individuals aware about protecting minors and women, said Abhimanyu Mallick, president of the club.
Desire Foundation: The foundation has engineering students and professionals as members. At present it is working on Right to Education (RTE) and other activities for school kids. The foundation is planning to organise awareness activities for the safety of school students especially girls. We are seriously
concerned about rise in rapes in the country. Being alert citizens we have some responsibility towards society. We are planning to organise awareness camps for schoolgirls, their parents and teachers on how to ensure safety and security of kids, said Susmita Bhoshal, co-founder of Desire Foundation
Livefit Club, Cuttack: Cases of violence against girl children and women will be taken seriously by our club and we will conduct awareness drives to make people aware of the issue. If any act of violence comes to our notice we will take action against the offenders, said Himansu Bhusan Rout, a member of the club. People for Seva:With the recent incidents of rape triggering nationwide outrage, a group of youths in the capital city under the banner
‘People for Seva’ (PFS) has resolved to work towards ensuring women’s safety. Founded in October 2016, People for Seva, a voluntary organization, is working towards motivating people to help and serve others. In the wake of a series of rape cases, around 70 youths of PFS carried out a candlelight march in the city Monday. “As the motto of our organisation is to serve others, during our rally we resolved to work for the betterment of society. Instead of engaging in blame game we made a commitment to act responsibly and work closely with people in our locality to fight anti-social activities and motivate others to help people in need,” said PFS founder Aditya Kumar Dash.