BREADS Bangalore held a fruitful discussion with Smt. Uma Mahadevan IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government (Panchayat Raj), Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department (RDPR), on 21 January 2021. The objective of the meeting was to seek permission to facilitate and collaborate with the local governments to effectively conduct Makkala Grama Sabhas (Children’s Grama Sabhas) in twenty districts of Karnataka namely, Mysuru, Chamrajanagar, Ramanagara, Mandya, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Davangere, Shivamogga, Haveri, Ballari, Koppala, Gadag, Raichur, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bidar, Bangalore Urban and Rural.
Fr. Joy Nedumparambil SDB, Executive Director, BREADS briefly explained the activities of the Child Rights Education and Action Movement (CREAM) programme in its working areas. In extension of its support, the RDPR department will communicate to the District Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to cooperate with the CREAM programme to facilitate the Grama Sabhas. The Principal Secretary also offered to endorse and disseminate in Karnataka, a handbook being prepared by BREADS on the effective facilitation of Makkala Grama Sabhas. Ms. Kavita Ratna, Director-Advocacy, The Concerned for Working Children, also participated in the discussion.