BENGALURU: A survey report on devadasis conducted in 15 districts shows that 23,395 women have registered as former Devadasis, and recommends the announcement of a special package to rehabilitate them and their families.
Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar submitted the report, carried out by the Karnataka State Women Development Corporation, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday.
The survey was conducted in 15 districts, including Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Raichur, Koppal, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Shivamogga, Ballari and Vijayanagar.
It recommended that steps be taken to ensure that mentioning the father’s name is not made mandatory in schools, colleges and various application forms. As a large number of those affected belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, it has suggested introducing special scholarship schemes for educational financial assistance, access to residential school facilities, and special training programmes to help them appear for various competitive examinations.
The survey report has also recommended providing health facilities under various government schemes to support rehabilitation, issuing Ayushman Bharat cards, and offering skill development training and financial assistance for economic activities, to help them lead self-reliant lives. It has further suggested providing training in areas such as agriculture, animal husbandry and related fields.
The survey covered the status of Devadasi families from the first generation to the third generation, and made several recommendations for their rehabilitation. The main objective of the survey is to bring former Devadasis into the social mainstream and ensure their overall welfare. The survey was conducted using a web application developed by the Directorate of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS).
According to the report, the five districts with the highest number of former Devadasis are Bagalkote with 4,189, Vijayanagara with 3,876, Belagavi with 2,649, Koppal with 2,469 and Ballari with 2,333. During the survey, data related to three generations of former Devadasi families was collected, including information on their social status, education, employment, agricultural land, skills, income, pension and other details. “As per the report, the government will initiate action to help them,’’ minister Hebbalkar said.