NCPA cautions hotel owners:

Underaged children debarred from entering guest houses

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has called upon owners of hotels, lodges, guest houses and seaside tourist resorts to debar underaged males and females entering their premises unless they are accompanied by their parents or guardians.

This is a sequel to many unlawful activities including child abuse being reported from these places.

The NCPA has also focused attention on school children, boys and girls going to cinemas for matinee shows and visiting other places of entertainment in school uniform.

The NCPA has called upon managers to abide by this rule strictly. NCPA chairperson Anoma Dissanayake told the Sunday Observer that it is illegal to provide accommodation to underaged girls or boys in hotels, lodges or at seaside tourist guest houses unless they are accompanied by their parents or guardians.

“The managers of such places could check the National Identity Cards if there is any doubt,” she said.

Mrs. Dissanayake said the public could lodge complaints on the NCPA hotline 1929 regarding child abuse, so that the Authority could take prompt action to send officials to track down such offenders or inform the nearest police station.

It has been observed that despite the law, certain lodge and seaside resort owenrs still provide accommodation to underaged children to earn a fast buck.

A senior NCPA official said that steps would also be taken to nab trishaw drivers who permit child abuse in their vehicles.

The NCPA chairperson has also called upon parents to send children only in school vans accompanied by elderly women for children’s protection.

She recalled a recent incident where a ten-year old schoolgirl was molested by a school van driver at a lonely spot near Kollupitiya.