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Vanitha Bhandari Appointed as New Convener for District Children’s Rights Month Committee

By Editor

Posted on October 22, 2026

Vanitha Bhandari Appointed as New Convener for District Children's Rights Month Committee

Mangaluru : Vanitha Bhandari has been unanimously elected as the new convener of the District Children’s Rights Month Committee for the upcoming year 2026. The official inauguration of the Children’s Rights Month is scheduled to take place on October 31, 2026.

A preparatory district-level consultation meeting regarding the Children’s Rights Month was held on October 22, 2026, at the premises of the Padi organization. Representatives from various civil society organizations gathered to discuss the framework, action plan, and implementation strategies for the month-long programs.

During the meeting, attendees finalized several key initiatives to be conducted across the district, including awareness programs in residential hostels and madrasas on child rights, child labor, the POCSO Act, the JJ Act, and the prevention of child marriage. Additional plans include implementing programs in selected village panchayats under the “Safe Village” concept, providing training for members of village panchayat child and women protection watch committees, and organizing workshops to make all religious centers child-friendly.

Further decisions involve installing boards prohibiting child marriage across religious sites and gram panchayat limits, launching a hundred-day anti-child marriage campaign starting November 27, organizing the District Level Children’s Rights Parliament-2026 on October 31, and reintegrating out-of-school children into formal education systems.

Renni D’Souza, Director of the Padi organization and Just Right for Children (JRC), detailed the blueprint and outline of the month-long events during the gathering. The meeting saw the presence of District Child Protection Unit Protection Officer Kumar Shettygar, Padi Director Renni D’Souza, outgoing committee convener Mohammed Rafiq, newly appointed convener Vanitha Bhandari, resource persons Kamala Gouda, Premi Fernandes, A.K. Haris, Nanda Pai, Anantharama Herale, along with social work students and Padi staff members.