Sanam band aims to raise awareness about child sexual abuse

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) Pop rock band Sanam wants to raise awareness about child sexual abuse, and has urged people to pledge with them to "rise up and curb this evil".

The band, known for songs like "Main hoon", "Dhat teri ki" and "Ishq bulava", is set to perform here on Saturday and in Ahmedabad on Sunday as part of the #PledgeTour, which follows the #NoWorldWithoutGirls motto.

Asked about associating with the initiative, the band's drummer Keshav Dhanraj told IANS: "Given the massive increase in child sexual abuse cases and lack of awareness and support of authorities thereof, led us to be an active part of this campaign, to put in the spotlight, the lack of safety of children at homes, schools and public places."

The band supports a Chennai-based NGO Justice & Hope that works towards the objectives of human rights for all, rescuing and restoring the trafficked and exploited minors in need of care and protection and connecting the community to keep hope alive for those who are in need.

Samar Puri, lead guitarist of Sanam, said: "While we will generate awareness, Justice & Hope team will handle the cases that come to the fore."

His band member Venky S added: "We aim to raise awareness on child sexual abuse and urge people to report cases they know of or seek support for victims on the helpline number 9500025000. We will encourage everybody to pledge along with us to rise up and curb this evil that is affecting our future - our children."

The #PledgeTour is a set of ticketed concerts and the promoters Neugramophone have made all the arrangements to give the audience an "awesome Sanam live in concert experience".

"I can't say that we are performing for free. But yes, with or without Pledge Tour, we keep doing different engagements through the year with children who have been victimised and support Justice & Hope in various programmes," Sanam Puri said.

"The objective of the Pledge Tour for us is to use our talent and popularity to reach out to our fans to educate them on the issue," he added.

Sanam official merchandise will be launched in January 2018 to fund some programmes of Justice & Hope. There will be more from the band in the coming months.

"We are working on a couple of new originals which are I must say very different from originals we have released so far. Even though the schedules are extremely tight, we have decided to give our fans a superlative audio and visual experience in the upcoming releases. We are hoping to release one original early next year," said the band's lead vocalist Sanam.