Aligarh: A panchayat in an Aligarh village has announced a complete ban on the use of mobile phones by girls younger than 18, blaming the devices for "corrupting" them. The families of violators will be punished by having to sweep village roads. The decision was announced by the panchayat of Basauli village in the district.
Ramvir Singh, a village elder, said that they have formed three different types of committees for this, who would see that no one breaks the law and the order is followed.
Apart from the ban on use of phone by girls, the Basauli panchayat also ordered a complete ban on liquor sale and consumption. If anyone was found selling or drinking liquor, he too would have to clean village roads.
"Any person found selling or drinking liquor would be given corporal punishments. Any girl under the age of 18, if found with a mobile phone, would be given corporal punishments for eight days and not any economic sanction. As part of corporal punishments, a person would be sweep half-a-kilometer of road," Ramvir told media.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Chouhan Additional District Magistrate of the city said that no one has the right to take law in his hands and whichever organisation is prohibiting constitutional rights of an individual, would be severely dealt.
"We have got information about the Panchayat order from media reports only. Panchayats are founded to solve small issues through talks and discussions. But this doesn't mean that they can infringe the rights of an individual which are provided by the Constitution," Sanjay Chouhan told ANI.
He also said that he has asked for an official report from the SDM and would take appropriate actions once he submits his report.
A female resident of the village said that the order given by the panchayat is right and the girls should follow orders as it was only for their betterment.
