BENGALURU/BELAGAVI:THE delay by the local authorities in handing over a building to an NGO working with HIV-positive children in Belagavi has increased local stigma against these children. With local pressure piling up to shift the orphanage, Women and Child Development Minister Jayamala, has urged the locals to refrain from pressurising the NGO in the interests of the children.
Jayamala said that that though the site for the NGO Mahesh Foundation was sanctioned by Belagavi Urban Development Authority (BUDA), there has been opposition to the orphanage due to myths associated with people with HIV infection. “People should realise that the disease is not contagious and the kids are being treated. They can survive like any other children and I request the local public not to stigmatise the children,” she said.
The NGO has been subject of repeated opposition from locals, who have been demanding the authorities to shift the premises of the NGO away from the residential neighbourhood of Rukmini Nagar in Belagavi.
Asha Kiran
The Asha Kiran of Mahesh Foundation was earlier based in the residence of its founder Mahesh Jadhav at Kanbargi village of Belagavi taluk, and was later shifted to Ramtirth Nagar of Belagavi in the 2012. Dearth of space at his house forced him to take a building on rent for lodging the 45 children and 6 staff members of Asha Kiran at Rukmini Nagar.
Speaking to TNIE, Jadhav said that when the orphanage was shifted to Rukmini Nagar, people residing in the area wanted the hostel to shift. Due to the same, Jadhav had approached the district administration in 2014 and after a long follow-up; finally in December 2016 Belagavi Urban Development Board (BUDA) approved the proposal to lease a land for the orphanage at a committee meeting. The meeting decided to hand over a fully-constructed hostel within three months, Jadhav said.
The construction work of the hostel commenced in the year January 2017 and was completed in December of the same year. The orphanage authorities are waiting to shift as its construction was completed six months ago. But due to the alleged negligence of the concerned authorities, the building has still not been handed over to the MF, sources said.