KASARGOD: Objecting the presence of a bar at the venue of a child rights seminar, representatives of four orphanages staged a walkout from the event at Kanhangad in Kasargod on Wednesday.
The seven representatives said the organisers should not have invited them to the Raj Residency, a four-star hotel. In a letter to the district child protection officer, A Hameed and S A Hameed Moulavi of the orphanages wrote, "It was not ethical on their part to attend the event at a hotel which had a bar. So we are boycotting the event."
The letter said they were open to attending the workshop on another day at another venue.
Around 100 people, including nuns representing orphanages, hostels, shelter homes, Nirbhaya Homes, and Childline had signed up for the one-day workshop on the Juvenile Justice Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
It was organised by the Department of Women and Child Development, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, and District Child Protection Unit.
However, before staging the walkout, the orphanages' representatives tried to disrupt the event and other participants intervened, making it clear that they had no problem with the venue, said P Biju district child protection officer.
Biju said, "Except for the seven representatives from four orphanages in Kanhangad, Manjeshwaram and Kasargod, none of the others had a problem with the venue."