Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the drought as a ‘national emergency’, saying that it has affected several children in rural areas of the country.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the children activist said over 16.3 crore children were affected by the current ‘severe drought situation’ in the country and added that owing to this condition and moreover water crisis being faced, children were becoming increasingly vulnerable to any situation.
Emphasizing on how drought across 10 States had led to rampant child marriage, child labour and kidnapping of children, Satyarthi further said there would be an increased risk of lakhs of children becoming victims of these circumstances in the coming months if the situation is not addressed on a priority basis. “Reports of children being forced into child labour, trafficking, child marriage and the Devadasi system are coming to light,” he added.