Maharashtra: Yavatmal village bans mobile phones for children below 18 years

A village in Yavatmal in Maharashtra has banned the use of mobile phones by children below the age of 18, with a grampanchayat official claiming the decision may be the first of its kind in the state.

The no mobile phones for those below 18 decision in Bansi in the district's Pusad taluka was taken on November 11, village sarpanch Gajanan Tele said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, children started using mobile phones for online education. They soon got addicted to it, spending lots of time watching various sites and playing online games, he said.

Therefore, we decided to ban the use of mobile phones for all those below the age of 18 in Bansi grampanchayat. We have become the first grampanchayat in Maharashtra to take such a decision, he claimed.

Even after counselling, we see children using mobile phones, then we will impose penalty. The purpose is to get children to go back to studies and not be distracted by mobile phones, sarpanch Tale said.

Incidentally, Mohityanche Vadgaon village in Maharashtra's Sangli district had opted for a ''evening detox'' to tackle mobile phone addiction among residents.