Mysuru: In the green-rimmed hills of Kodagu, where poachers and smugglers once had a field day running down wildlife, an exploitation of a different kind is now happening-that of women and children. This hardly does any good to the image of a district, known for its martial traditions and its long line of war heros.
What's more alarming is the fact that the conviction rate in cases of sexual violence against women and children in Kodagu is only three percent, proving that the accused have been successful in exploiting loopholes in the legal system to get away! Congress MLC V.S. Ugrappa who heads the Expert committee to prevent crimes against women and children, and social activists in Kodagu blame the district administration for their abject failure in preventing crimes of this nature.
Mr Ugrappa who addressed a district-level officers' meeting on the subject recently, said, "Though Kodagu is a small district with just three taluks, sexual violence against women and children in these parts is increasing alarmingly. In 2005, as many 75 cases of violence against women and children were reported which rose to 159 in 2014 and 172 in 2015. In the first three months of 2016, we have already registered 40 cases of this kind. There is no co-ordination between different departments responsible for curbing violence, and the district administraton, which has miserably failed in creating awareness about the need to prevent these crimes," he pointed out.
What has raised the hackles of social activists like Murugesh is the jump in the number of middle aged women, orphans and mentally challenged on the streets, who have been left to fend for themselves after being exploited.
"Kodagu is a small district but I have found at least 10 such women in this district in the past three months alone. Most of them are from North India especially from the North-East, and migrate to Kodagu to work in plantations here. They face most of the abuse as they are easy targets for preying planters, who make the best of their hapless situation, with no homes and no one to come to their defence. What shocks us is the attitude of the district administration, which has ignored these incidents leading to a spurt in crimes against women and children," he alleged.
Activists say that unless officials get their act right, Kodagu may soon earn the tag of a crime hub-something the coffee rich land which is a huge draw for tourists, can well do without.
