KOCHI: Suneetha Raju, 28, was afraid to speak out on the violence she was being subjected to since her wedding a year ago.But she need not be afraid anymore.For victims like Suneetha a mobile Lok Adalat is on its way to reach out personally to villagers.In a major initiative, the Kerala State Legal Services Authority is aiming to provide legal aid to people, who have no access to it or fail to receive aid at the right time, directly on the villagers’ doorstep.A retired judge and an advocate or a social worker will be appointed for the purpose.Member Secretary of the Kerala State Legal Services P Mohandas said, ‘’It’s like having your own home judge and lawyer who are available to listen to both sides and reach an amicable solution within a day.’’ The complaints can vary from petty civic cases, such as a tiff with a KSEB official for charging `10,000 for electricity you never used, to cases of severe domestic violence that threaten to break the thread of peaceful family existence.“There are still thousands of villagers who hesitate to come out in the open and voice the brutal phase they are passing through in their homes.Our arrival in their neighbourhood could give them more courage to come out and tell us their problems,” he said.The initiative also comes in the wake of complaints that cases in the regular Lok Adalats, which were constituted to solve civil issues, are mostly going unresolved.The initial step will be a trial run, beginning at a village in Puthruka panchayat in Ernakulam by the third week of February.The first phase of the project will incorporate a few districts under one region.If the project is successful, more buses will be introduced later.Awareness campaigns are also part of the programme.The bus, equipped with a projector and a library, will enable the officials to enlighten people on their rights as citizens of the nation.
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