the weekly observer
DESCRIPTION
Abuse claims at beggars' colony.TRANSCRIPT
Migrant workers making
Ganesha dolls claim they
have not been paid. The
proprietor, Mr. Srinivas,
who has three more facto-
ries across Bangalore and
employs 100 workers, is
“yet to decide” when to pay
their salaries, they said.
According to Nimai,
from Kolkata, said “We
came in June but our
salaries are still due. The
boss is yet to decide when
to pay us but I guess it’ll
only be after the Ganesh
Chaturti..” Suman Barman,
18, said, “I don’t know my
salary, my boss knows.”
Mr Srinivas, owner of
the Kumbalgodu factory,
said he pays workers daily..
ObserverVolume 14 | Issue 1 Thursday, August 28, 2014
The Weekly
BRIEFS
Health fears
over pollution
causing
factoriesThree ready mix
concrete factories
in Donnanekundi
are working with-
out license.
Page 2
Scavenging
prevails
despite court
order27 deaths were
registered in Kar-
nataka state in the
last eight months
due to manual
scavenging.
Page 3
Admin report
pending for
last two yearsThe BBMP
Admin report has
been pending for
the last two years.
Page 4
Inmates of Beggar s‘
Rehabilitation Centre in
Summanahalli claim they
are tortured by the
guards.
Beena Das, a widow, is a
native of Mothra, a small
village in Uttar Pradesh,
who came to Bangalore to
collect her husband’s pen-
sion. She was apprehended
by the police as they mis-
took her for a vagabond
and was incarcerated in the
beggar’s colony. She has
three children back home
whom she hasn’t seen for
eight months.
She is one of ten beg-
gars who claim they are reg-
ularly assaulted by guards.
said: “They beat us
every day with lathi and
iron rod if we don’t listen
to them. My whole body
has marks of their beatings.
“I don’t want to die
here because they don’t
even give us a proper fu-
neral or inform our fami-
lies. Please release me.”
Most inmates were in-
carcerated on the basis of
their appearance without
running a proper back-
ground check.
Even the elderly are not
spared from doing hard
labor. They complain of se-
vere brutality by the guards
even over trivial errors;
there is negligence on hy-
giene as well., they claim.
Subramani, 64, another
inmate of beggars colony,
said, “We have to work ei-
ther in kitchen or garden,
I’m old and it’s difficult for
me to work, hence I started
begging. If we don’t get up
early in the morning or use
too much soap for washing
clothes or taking shower
we are punished”. He
added that soap is pro-
vided only once every three
days.
Rame Gowda, Superin-
tendent of Beggars Colony,
said, “Inmates have to work
for three shifts and earn Rs
10 a day.” He added, “An
inmate is allowed to stay
one to three years after
which we find their families
and send them back home.”
The inmates claim they
are kept against their will
and are forced to do man-
ual labor at low wages. If
they attempt to escape, do
not cooperate or misbe-
have, they are severely
abused, physically and ver-
bally.
Chinnapappa, a former
inmate of beggar’s colony,
said, “When I was in beg-
gars colony the police on
duty used to beat us if we
didn’t do the assigned work.
At the beginning when they
arrested me I did not co-
operate and they broke my
right hand and I ran away.”
She is now destitute and
lives in a graveyard at Ba-
nashankari.
Rame Gowda said, “We
are not torturing the in-
mates. They are happy
here..”
Abuse claims at beggars’ colonyElizabeth Mani
Beenadas claims she was physically tortured by the
guards and eventually fled the colony.
Ganesha idol makers claim they have not been paid
Elizabeth Mani
Ganesha idol makers denied salaries
Tuberculosis caused by
the use of tobacco has in-
creased by 8% in the past
year.
Under the National Tu-
berculosis Program, 1400
cases of TB were registered
last year between April and
June in Bangalore, out of
which approximately 500
were tobacco induced. In
2014 around 1500 cases
were diagnosed out of
which more than 650 cases
were due to smoking.
Dr. Anil S, Joint Director
of Lady Wellington TB cen-
tre, said, "Tuberculosis is a
highly contagious airborne
disease. It is usually found
in people who have less im-
munity like smokers and
HIV positive.”
Rajeev Gandhi Chest
Hospital treats 50 patients
of TB per day out of which
10 to 12 are tobacco in-
duced.
Ajit Kumar, a patient ,
said, "I have been suffering
from TB since three
months. I was a chain
smoker before and that led
to my disease."
Dr. Akshata, Head of
Pulmonary Medicine, in the
hospital said, “TB cases due
to smoking have increased
from 10 to 20% this year.”
The British Medical
Journal states that Professor
Stanton Glantz, the director
of the University ofCalifor-
nia, said, “Tobacco in-
creases the probability of
Tuberculosis by seven per-
cent. Death rate due to TB
will increase by 26% in
2050.”
Only 35% of beds at
Nutrition Rehabilitation
Centers in two government
hospitals are full, even after
the recent BBMP camp to
detect malnutrition in chil-
dren.
Bruhat Bengaluru Ma-
hanagara Palike (BBMP)
conducted eight screening
camps to identify malnour-
ished children between
2012 and 2014. According
to news reports, 3,837 chil-
dren were classified as mal-
nourished.
Of these, 466 children
are undergoing treatment at
NRCs set up by govern-
ment hospitals across Ban-
galore. But, only five out of
14 beds were full at Victoria
and Bowring Hospital’s
NRCs.
Seema, a nurse at Victo-
ria Hospital’s pediatric
ward, said: “Many parents
have their own reasons for
not getting their children
admitted to NRC. We are
ready to treat the children,
but very few get admitted.”
The children are mostly
from slum areas of D. J
Halli, S.K Garden and Pan-
tarapalya. They were sent to
NRCs established by
Bowring Hospital, Victoria
Hospital and Indira Gandhi
Institute of Child Health
for treatment.
Many parents who get
their children admitted in
these wards are daily wage
earners. Shobha, a resident
of Pantarapalya whose 6
year-old son Nitin is mal-
nourished said: “I can get
my child admitted when I
have holidays. Also the hos-
pital is located far away
from my home.”
Mr. Y. Mariswamy, a
state organizer at Samajika
Parivarthana Janandolana
says the government should
conduct public awareness
drives regarding Nutrition
Rehabilitation Centers.
“People in general, espe-
cially parents do not know
the importance of NRCs.
The government must allot
proper financial aid to em-
power NRCs. Anganwadi
workers in the slums must
refer the malnourished chil-
dren to NRCs,” he said.
The Weekly Observer Thursday, August 28, 20142
Health fears over pollution causing factories
Three ready mix con-
crete (RMC) factories in
Donnanekundi working
without license are causing
problems to residents.
Doddanekundi in Ban-
galore is a zoned industrial
area but many plots have
been converted for residen-
tial use. At least 200 families
live there.
“Every 15 days my
daughter falls sick and it’s a
regular cycle,” said Bharat,
of Athiya Elixir apartment.
“Because of the cement
dust we don’t usually open
our windows, if it is kept
open for a day then we
would have to clean the en-
tire apartment all over
again,” she added.
“We have not renewed
the BBMP health trade li-
cense of Concrete India,
Bharat Cements and ACC
because of complaints
from people about pollu-
tion,” said Mrs. Kalpana,
Deputy Health Officer of
Bruhat Bangalore Mahana-
gara Palike, Mahadevapura.
But the Karnataka Pollu-
tion Control Board has re-
newed the No Objection
Certificate for the compa-
nies. “I also know that there
are several problems in that
area but we haven’t received
any complaint, so what am
I supposed to do?” said Mr.
Shanmugappa, Environ-
mental Officer of Mahade-
vapura pollution control
office.
The cement dust is
raised by trucks that ply in
front of the apartments.
“Kids get allergic many
times and we have closed
ventilations to isolate our
building from the road,”
said Mrs. Sindhu, who runs
Hello Kids, a preschool
next to Bharat Cements.
Dr. Purushotham Reddy,
pediatric of RXDX Hospi-
tal, Whitefield said,” In the
long run air with cement
content can cause Asthma
and even Pneumoconiosis.”
Concrete India and
Bharat Cements claimed
that they have license. ACC
declined to comment.
BBMP has cancelled the
health trade license whereas
KSPCB has renewed the
pollution NOC and the fac-
tories continue to operate,
leaving the people in dust.
Empty beds at rehab centers for children
Kimaya Varude
Apoorva Choubey
Nikhil Babu
Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre at Bowring Hospital
Whirl of dust as a result of construction work
Tobacco
consumption
increases TB
cases: docs
The Weekly Observer Thursday, August 28, 2014 3
At least 27 manual scav-
engers have died in the past
eight months despite an act
banning the practice.
Among the deaths
recorded, two were in Ban-
galore and one in Mysore.
Mr. R. Venkatesh, Kar-
nataka State Commission
for Safai Karamcharis, said,
“Chunchaiah, 50, died while
working in a manhole in
Agrahara, Bangalore on
14th January this year.”
“State Municipal Cor-
poration department gave
his family a compensation
of three lakh rupees and
free housing and education
for his children. The other
died person is unidentified,”
he added.
“We identified 90 man-
ual-scavengers but only 60
came forward for the reha-
bilitation,” said a senior of-
ficial, Social Welfare
department, Bruhat Ben-
galuru Mahanagara Palike,
BBMP.
Manual-scavenging is
being practiced in railway
department, where workers
are appointed through con-
tractors.
“I am working here as a
scavenger on railway tracks.
We are not provided with
any machine for cleaning,”
said a worker at Bangalore
city railway station.
But according to the
railway officials, their de-
partment is not responsible
for it.
“We don’t hire them;
they are not our employees,
so we can’t say anything,”
said Mr. T.P. Anthony,
Deputy Senior Manager of
Bangalore city station.
The Manual Scavenging
Act, 1993, prescribes strin-
gent punishment for the of-
fenders which include five
years of imprisonment.
“There was also a recent
case of manual-scavenging
around August 7 in Anekal
Taluk, Bangalore but when
the officials of KSCSK
reached there the pit was
sealed by the offender,” said
Mr. K.R. Mohan, State Sec-
retary, KSCSK. He added,
“The offender was not
identified.”
The head of a promi-
nent NGO in Bangalore
blamed a “mental block” in
the functioning of traffic
police for delays in fighting
child begging in the city.
Dr. George P.S, Execu-
tive Director of BOSCO
Yuvodaya, Childline, said
“In February 2014, we or-
ganized a workshop where
43 sub traffic police inspec-
tors were given a threefold
advice i.e. to discourage
children from begging and
contact Childline to report
such cases and also keep a
watch on the child till the
rescue operation.”
However, the idea of the
workshop reached only
20% of the desired number.
Explaining the failure of
the purpose of the confer-
ence, George said, “Unfor-
tunately, the inflexibility in-
stalled in the system did not
allow fetching the results.I
can assure that combined
effort could solve the prob-
lem in one month period.”
Childline received 142
child begging cases from
April 2013 to March 2014.
Nagamani C.N, Bangalore
Convener for Childline said,
“Even after the workshop
in February, we did not get
an enthusiastic response
from Bangalore traffic po-
lice.”
Traffic Police officer,
Rajaji Nagar police station
said, “There is a lack of
clarity in the instructions to
deal with the child beggars.
We recommend them to
NGOs but to investigate
every child beggary cases is
practically impossible.”
Maruti, a child beggar in
Yashwantpura, does not
consider traffic police as a
“threat” to his “profes-
sion”. “My parents send me
to work as beggar at the
traffic signal; I earn about
Rs. 200-250 daily.”
Maruti narrated an inci-
dent, “I was beaten up by a
traffic police official at
Yashwantpura Traffic sig-
nal. This is a regular exer-
cise. To avoid it, we just
change our positions when
we smell trouble.”
shutosh Pratap Singh of
Deshpande Foundation be-
lieves directly links to
human trafficking. “Gov-
ernment should get in-
volved and pilot child
beggar rehabilitation in the
beggar homes and then aim
to make a policy for their
inclusive development.” he
said.
Police fail to curb child beggingPunita Maheshwari
Nikunj Ohri
Divya Kishore
Scavenging prevails despite court order
Chunchaiah, 50, died while working in a manhole.
Courtesy - KSCSK
Child beggars in Yeshwantpura
Five parents have com-
plained that Greenwood In-
ternational School
demanded a hefty amount
for admissions of their chil-
dren under the RTE Act.
Mr. Rajesh Kumar, one
of the 27 parents who have
filed a Public Interest Liti-
gation (PIL) against few
schools, said, “I want my
child to study in a good
school so that he doesn’t
have to do things that I do
for a living.” However, the
parents haven’t filed PIL
against Greenwood School
because they are scared as
the school is owned by an
influential person.
There is no admission
fee for students applying
under the RTE. But, ac-
cording to Dharmendra
Sen, the school demanded a
sum of Rs. 225,000 as fees
from him. The school fees
otherwise, is Rs. 500,000 for
a year.
He was told that chil-
dren of VIP’s study here
and they have to pay for the
admission. Mr. Girish SV,
another parent who was
also asked to pay the
amount said, “I was told by
the Principal that the school
is backed by an ex-minis-
ter.”
When the parents visited
the school, they weren’t al-
lowed to carry their bags
and mobile phones inside
the school premises.
Mrs.Suman Hegde, Pub-
lic Prosecutor said, “It is
their child’s fundamental
right, and the parents
should be bold enough to
complain.”
School
demands
cash from
RTE students
Fifteen deaths due to
drunken driving have been
recorded in the last six
months according to the re-
port provided by Traffic
Management Centre.
This is an increase con-
sidering the 13 deaths re-
ported annually for the year
2013. “Drunken driving
has become a greater con-
cern nowadays due to the
party life the city is seeing”
said Mr. Victor Simon, In-
spector of Traffic Police
Rajajinagar.
According to the offi-
cials, the majority of people
who commit this crime fall
under the age group of 18-
30.
When asked about the
increase in death cases, B.C
Kanaka Kumar, Assistant
Commissioner of Traffic
Police, Bangalore said, “We
are not able to have com-
plete control on drunken
drivers due to the shortage
of policemen in the city as
there are 800 vacancies.”
Gk Mohandas, 36, an
auto driver, said that “An in-
cident happened with me
when a two wheeler came
and rammed into my auto
as the person driving it was
completely drunk.” He said,
”Despite police patrolling,
people know where the ac-
cidents are happening on a
larger scale and they avoid
that route and take other.”
Professor Sreehari,
¬Traffic Engineering Ex-
pert and Advisor to the
Government of Karnataka
said “Drunken Driving has
become a serious
offence.The effective way
to bring the situation under
control is to perform ran-
dom checks at random
places.”
The Weekly Observer Thursday, August 28, 20144
Annual
admin report
missing for
past two
years
Bruhat Bangaluru Ma-
hanagar Palike’s Adminis-
trative Report has not been
published for the last two
years.
“The report is pending
because we don’t have the
necessary details from the
East and the South Zones.”
Said Mr. Prashant, Assistant
Statistical Officer of BBMP.
The administrative re-
port was last compiled in
the year 2010-11.
“We have tabled the re-
port before the committee
and are awaiting their ap-
proval. The 2012-13 report
should be ready in a
month’s time.
“The Administrative
Report doesn’t fall under
the Public Disclosure
Scheme. Hence it is not
mandatory for us to follow
a strict deadline and any
stipulation as such.” added
Mr. Shankarappa.
Mr. Srinivasan, an ex-
Assistant Statistical Officer
of BBMP, said: “Adminis-
trative Report reflects the
BBMP as a whole. It gives
an overall picture of the
BBMP. It can be discussed
in the public domain and
uploaded for the public use
as well. So yes, it definitely
falls under the PDS.”
Mr. Srinivisan added,
“According to the Kar-
nataka Municipal Corpora-
tions Act the Commissioner
is to be held liable for it.”
Bruhat Bengaluru Ma-
hanagar Palike owned Bis-
millah park in S.G Palya is
illegally used by authorized
contractors to house mi-
grant workers.
About a 100 people re-
side in the park. They live
inside tarpaulin tents with-
out any basic amenities
such as water, electricity and
sanitation.
"The workers come
from small villages in Kar-
nataka and Andhra Pradesh
and are hired by the BBMP
authorized contractors at
menial wages for construc-
tion in the park. They be-
come park inhabitants for a
little over 3 months and
wander away in search of
work and a new wave of
settlers replace them." said
Sai Dhobi, head watchmen
of the park for the past 8
years.
"The women earn
around Rs. 120 and men
Rs.240 per day and they are
asked to encroach into the
park by the contractors so
as to save up on accommo-
dation expenses. They live
in separate settlements
within the park depending
on their language and place
of origin", he added.
G. Manjunath, BBMP
counselor in charge of the
park said, "I know it’s not
legal but they are migrant
workers and will be sent
away as soon as the con-
struction work is com-
plete."
B.S Manjunath Police in-
spector of MICO layout
station said, "This is the
first time I am hearing of
such a thing, The BBMP
has not informed the local
police station of such a sce-
nario, as soon as a formal
complaint is registered they
will be removed from the
vicinity."
"There are women and
children among us, we cut
park trees for fire wood and
bring the water from the
municipal taps and since
there are no toilets we defe-
cate in the open or use the
public toilets. No one
knows the exact number of
people living inside the park
as each settlement is hired
by a different sub contrac-
tor." a settler said.
Migrants forced to stay in public park
Pulaha Roy
Agnivesh Harshan
ACP Kanak Kumar, Traffic Departmant
Encroachment of Bismillah Park in S.G Palya
Drink drive deaths on the riseAadhira Anandh
OBSERVER Team: Editor - Aadhira Anandh, Chief Sub Editor - Punita Maheshwari, News Editor - Pulaha Roy, News Desk - Elizabeth Mani,
Sub Editors - Aparna Singh, Apoorva Choubey & Darshan Rane, Design Head - Kimaya Varude, Design Desk - Divya Kishore & Nikunj Ohri,
Picture Editor - Devdatta Sukhdev, Pictures Desk - Natasha Singh, Reporter - Nikhil Babu, Proof Readers - Agnivesh Harshan & Asmita Kunda