the weekly observer vol 14 issue 12
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One woman every hour assaulted on a Bangalore bus, admits BMTCTRANSCRIPT
ObserverVolume 14 | Issue 12 Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Weekly
One woman every hour assaulted on a
Bangalore bus, admits BMTC
Almost 500 women
a month are as-
saulted on public
buses, according to a new
helpline.
According to Bangalore
Municipal Transport Cor-
poration’s own statistics,
2,972 women were accosted
on their buses in the first
six months after the launch
of the helpline.
Shanta Das, BMTC
Complaint Officer, said,
“There has been a 28 % in-
crease in eve teasing of
women by conductors.”
She added that no driver
has been sacked but that
five have been suspended.
That means at least 25
women face harassment by
staff every single day while
using public transport.
In a survey conducted
last year by Bengaluru Bus
Prayaanikara Vedike , a pas-
senger forum, in 2012-13,
of 2,647 women questioned
in Bangalore, 1,803 cases
of harassment in buses were
reported. That means 69
per cent of the women re-
ported being sexually ha-
rassed on buses.
Vulgar language, staring
pointedly, physical attacks
such as touching, feeling,
grabbing, indecently expos-
ing, stalking, photography
or shooting videos without
consent were the major
forms of harassment, ac-
cording to the survey.
The launch of this
helpline in April may have
contributed to the spike, ac-
cording to the BMTC.
Most of the conductors
harass women by inappro-
priate behaviour while col-
lecting the fares, according
to complaints received.
Eve teasing is punishable
under Section 298 (A) and
(B) of Indian Penal Code
which prescribes up to three
months of imprisonment
for making obscene gestures
or remarks to a woman.
Section 354 (IPC) is for
those who use force or as-
sault a woman to outrage
her modesty.
Shanta added, “Most
women do not complain
thinking it is trivial but since
the Nirbhaya case, there has
been a change in approach.”
In a horrific incident on
December 16 last year, a
paramedic student Delhi was
raped repeatedly and mur-
dered by a group of men.
She added: “We have a
three-tier complaint response
system. The first step in-
volves warning the alleged
staff, followed by their sus-
pension and then their ter-
mination from service. So
far only one case that has
come up to me and there
has been no conviction. We
can’t take actions on our
own.”
Mrinali Ghosh, a regular
commuter, said, “Once I
asked for change and the
conductor passed lewd com-
ments.” Neha Shankar, a
CA student said, “Often
when the buses are crowded,
the conductors makes way
through the ladies section,
making us feel uncomfort-
able.”
Govind, a conductor,
said, “Not everybody is
same. Sometimes things hap-
pen because of the crowd.
I don’t do anything inten-
tionally.”
Jayaprakash L, Joint Chief
Security and Vigilance officer
at BMTC, said, “There have
been two incidents where
we have suspended five of
our staff this year so far.”
In March one driver and
two supervisors were sus-
pended and in May one driv-
er and conductor were sus-
pended for a minimum pe-
riod of six months.
Soumya Chatterjee
Underground workers remain hidden, afflicted by health issues
Only 10 per cent of the
people engaged in manual
scavenging across the city
are registered in govern-
ment records.
M. Venkatesh, State Pres-
ident of the Dalit Bahujan
Movement said: “In Ban-
galore, there are around
2,000 people engaged in
manual scavenging but only
202 have been registered by
the state government. Two
months ago, we submitted
a report with 100 additional
names of people to be reg-
istered as manual scavengers
but no action has been taken
yet.”
“Bodies like BBMP and
BWSSB hire manual scav-
engers through contractors
but they don’t take their re-
sponsibility. The reasons
why a majority of them are
not registered are because
they would have to rehabil-
itate them and enable
schemes for their welfare,”
added Venkatesh.
The workers suffer from
health issues like skin in-
fections, asthma, kidney and
liver problems, infertility,
respiratory problems, repro-
ductive tract infections, car-
diac issues and blindness.
Manimala, 33, who
worked as a manual scav-
enger for 10 years, said: “I
have wheezing and thyroid.
I faced liver damage, kidney
failure, eye problems, Tu-
berculosis and jaundice due
to the work I did.”
Akhila Vasan, 44, an ac-
tivist with the People’s
Health Movement in Ban-
galore said: “Many of them
depend on liquor for work-
ing. No person in his senses
can work in such stink and
garbage.”
(Continued on page 3)
Shruti Suresh
Vinod, BMTC conductor
Shanta Das, BMTC Complaint Officer
A BBMP sweeper
The Weekly Observer Tuesday, October 14, 20142
Suicide rates fall as calls to helpline double
The number of people
calling a suicide helpline
in the city has almost
doubled in the past two
years.
Sahai, Bangalore’s first
suicide prevention helpline,
rescued several emotionally
distressed people from all
over India.
Lata M. Jacob, Clinical
Manager of Medico Pastoral
Association that runs Sahai,
said: “The distressed people
feel there is no other way
than killing themselves. The
feeling is so overwhelming
that it takes over their think-
ing process.”
She claimed that rela-
tionships, financial issues
and health issues are the
three most important causes
of suicides. The helpline re-
ceived 1,083 calls from sui-
cidal people until March this
year. The numbers saw a
rise from last year, when
984 calls were received and
also from 2012, when the
number was 590. Out of
the 1,083 calls, 49 were from
youths.
However, the suicide
rates have fallen. According
to reports by SCRB (State
Crime Records Bureau),
11,266 people committed
suicide in Karnataka in 2013
and 12,753 people in 2012.
‘Sahai’ which means ‘one
who helps’ was launched on
October 2, 2002 by
NIMHANS (National In-
stitute of Medical Health
and Mental Sciences), Rotary
East and MPA (Medico Pas-
toral Association).
In 2010, according to a
report, it was found that
Sahai lacked volunteers.
However, Jacob said that
the problem has been solved
since then.
She claimed that people
from all walks of life come
forward to volunteer. A the-
oretical training for six days
is started after they have en-
rolled followed by a practical
training where they are
taught how to talk to the
callers.
Captain Akku Pahlajani,
coordinator of Sahai, said:
“The volunteers don’t get
paid. They serve the society
with complete will and ded-
ication.”
Mahrook Lalkaka, who
has been working as a vol-
unteer in the helpline for
ten years, said, “It gives me
immense satisfaction to pro-
vide whatever little help I
could give to the distressed
people.”
Lalkaka claimed that they
have received a few hoax
calls as well.
She added: “They come
across the helpline in either
newspapers or on the in-
ternet and simply call for
the sake of it. Neither their
problems seem real nor do
they show any improve-
ments over time.”
Jacob said that many
callers had visited them after
coming out of their suicidal
phase.
She added, “We have 15
psychiatrists from
NIMHANS, St. Martha’s
and many other hospitals
who belong to the admission
panel of Sahai.”
She said if any caller is
in need of counselling, Sahai
refers them to these doctors.
Marking the World Suicide
Prevention Day on Septem-
ber 10, Sahai arranged a
campaign where several peo-
ple from various fields as-
sembled to raise awareness.
Lake needs lakhs after ex-mayor’s broken promise
A lake which a former
mayor pledged to clean
up almost a year ago is
still lying in a state of
neglect.
The Kempambudhi lake
has been in a bad condition
for several years. When the
ex-mayor, B. S. Satya-
narayana, inspected the lake
in December 2013, he had
made promises to clean and
restore it. However, the lake
is still contaminated.
M.G. Ramachandra, a lo-
cal, said: “All the water flow-
ing into the lake is sewage
water, without getting treat-
ed. There is only one treat-
ment plant which is used to
provide water for mainte-
nance of a park adjoining
the lake.”
Another local, Raju, con-
firmed that sewage water
was flowing untreated into
the lake.
Prakash, a local shop-
keeper in the area, talked
about the ex-mayor’s visit.
He said that the former
mayor had promised to al-
locate Rs. 50 lakhs for de-
velopment of the lake.
He said: “Nothing has
been done in this regard.
The sewage water directly
flows into the river. There
is only one treatment plant
here and that is used to treat
water for a deer park nearby.
Even water from a nearby
slum enters the lake untreat-
ed. ”
A dhobi ghat, which is a
place where laundry is done
in bulk, is situated right be-
side the lake. Siddaiah, a
launderer, recalled the ex-
mayor’s visit. He admitted
that discharge from the laun-
dry goes into the lake
unchecked. Another laun-
derer, Venkatachala, too ad-
mitted to the same.
Prakash, a resident near
the lake, blamed a nearby
slum for many of the prob-
lems. He said: “The slum is
dirty and unclean, and peo-
ple defecate openly.”
He spoke about the for-
mer mayor’s visit, and said
that there hadn’t been any
improvement since his vis-
it.
Laxmigowda Nityananda
Anand, Deputy Chief En-
gineer of the water board
for Bangalore, explained
about the main problems
that the lake faces.
He said: “Firstly, there is
too much silt in the lake.
Secondly, untreated sewage
flows into it. Thirdly, natural
water channels which flow
into the lake get encroached
upon, and fourthly, lake area
also gets encroached upon.”
Anand said that this en-
croachment might not be
recognized on looking at
the lake, since they will be a
little far from the water body.
He also suggested a
measure that could be taken
to restore the lake. He said:
“After de-silting the lake,
the silt itself could be used
to create an island at the
centre. This has been suc-
cessfully implemented in
other lakes too. “
Satyanarayana said, "I had
commissioned Rs. 1 crore
at the time. I can only allo-
cate funds and direct people
to do what is required. If
local corporators are not
implementing it then what
can I do? I can't keep going
to the lake."
He said he hasn’t visited
the lake since December
2013, but the encroachments
have been cleared.
Sharangee Dutta
Lata M. Jacob, Clinical Manager of MPA, Bangalore
Tushar Kaushik
B.S.Satyanarayana
The Weekly Observer Tuesday, October 14, 2014 3
Thefts and rowdies plague old age home
An old age home is in cri-
sis after three workers
were accused of theft
and rowdies turned the
home's garden into a
drinking den.
Three committee mem-
bers meant to look after
Christu Seva Samaj Anatha
Ashramam were accused of
pocketing funds sent for the
home.
The inmates at Christu
Old Age home on Old Ce-
ment Road were being lured
into drinking and smoking
by rowdies who reside in
the same premises.
Dr.. Abraham Natesan,
the manager, said: “The in-
mates have the tendency to
drink after work. I have
strongly warned the inmates.
If they indulge in such ac-
tivities, I will call the doctor
and check if they are intox-
icated. If found guilty, they
will have to move out of
the home."
“This organization is
surviving on donor funds
received only from Banga-
lore. There was a committee
of 11 members set up to
run the place. Three mem-
bers were pocketing around
Rs.10,000 each from the
funds received from the
donors for eight months.
They even took some sugar
and coffee given by the
donors,” Natesan said.
He added: “Those mem-
bers would often entice the
donors against Christu saying
that he is dishonest. The
committee has been dis-
solved and there is an on-
going case against those
members. The court hearing
is on the 20th of October.
The members will be asked
to explain what they did
with the funds. Based on
their explanation, punish-
ment will be given.”
Brother Christu Raj has
been managing the home
for the last 18 years with
the help of Bishop Francis
Jackson and Dr. Abraham
Natesan.
The Ashram currently
has 27 women and 25 men
above 60 years of age.
Christu Raj said, “In the
last 18 years, I have seen 86
people from this old age
home die because of old
age or illness.”
Bangalore police contacts
the organization when old
people are found on the
streets, railway stations or
bus stops from where they
are brought here.
MICO, a Bosch initiative,
sponsors the inmates with
free lunch every day. Christu
Raj, also a social worker has
shelled out money from his
own pocket many times to
meet the medical expenses
because of the lack of funds.
Some doctors conduct
monthly free health check-
ups and provide them with
tablets and injections if re-
quired.
Abraham added: “The
doctors of Bowring hospital
show no respect when in-
mates are taken to them
during emergencies.”
Anthony, an inmate said:
“I have been here for the
past 8 years. We take turns
to wash clothes and clean
the mess. We help each other
and get our work done. I
also monitor all the activi-
ties of the inmates. I am
happy here and so are the
inmates.”
Ridhi Agrawal
(Continued from page 1)
“Their work is carried
on by the next generation.
Depending on alcohol to
carry out their jobs just adds
to these issues.” she added.
Prabhu, 30, worked as
manual scavenger for 14
years. He said: “There is no
way we could work without
alcohol. We were paid for 8
hours work but made to
work for 10 hours.”
Venkatesh said: “These
people consume alcohol be-
fore and after doing their
job. Major chunk of their
earnings is spent on buying
alcohol.”
Ramachandran, 37, an
activist working with Janasa-
hodaya, said: “They are sup-
posed to receive over Rs.
7,000 a month, but they end
up getting a little more than
Rs. 5,000. They aren’t pro-
vided homes by the state’s
slum department and don’t
have permanent jobs.”
“Manual scavenging ac-
tivities leads to many health
problems which reduce their
life span to an average of
45 years,” Ramachandran
added.
In September, Sridhar
Nagarajappa, 20, and Bandri
Marappa, 22, died due to
suffocation in a manhole
they had gone to clean in.
Both of them were hired
by Bangalore Water Supply
and Sewerage Board
(BWSSB).
Ramachadran said: “The
Supreme Court in March
passed a rule according to
which the family of the de-
ceased has to be paid Rs.
10 lakhs. The primary em-
ployer has to be punished
in such a case as entering a
sewer without safety gear is
prohibited by law.”
“No care is taken before
employing these people to
clean sewers and manholes.
The contractor paid Rs. 5
lakhs to each of the families
of the deceased, but they
are yet to receive the com-
pensation from the govern-
ment,” he added.
A sweeper with the City
Municipality Corporation
(CMC), Pushpalatha, said
that she has not been paid
for the last three months.
Her daughters had to drop
out from school due to un-
paid fees.
According to Ramachan-
dran, these people have no
work or life security. In the
deaths that happened in Sep-
tember, the government is
yet to arrest anyone.
He added: “Their health
problems leave a life-long
impact. Also, the caste based
discrimination leaves their
children in the same place
as them. They have BPL
cards, but the benefits such
as ration do not reach them.
They should receive a salary
equal to that of class IV
employees in the nation.”
According to him, there
has been no change in the
ir living conditions despite
Prohibition of Employment
as Manual Scavengers and
their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
being passed. Sweepers and
cleaners are engaged in man-
ual scavenging without any
safety gear or precautions.
“The police employ a lot
of them to do the menial
jobs. The real threat lies
there, when they’re forced
to do such things by the
protectors of the law,” he
adds.
Dr. Abraham Natesan and Brother Christu Raj
Shruti Suresh
BBMP sweeper, Pushpalata with her daughters.
The Weekly Observer Tuesday, October 14, 20144
OBSERVER Team: Editor - Ridhi Agrawal, Chief Sub Editor - C.L. Ramakrishnan, News Editor - Sharangee Dutta , Sub Editors - Soumya Chat-
terjee, Vignesh S.G, News Desk- Sameer Deshpande, Design Head - Samreen Tungekar, Design Desk - Saheli Sen Gupta, Shalini Raja, R.
Suharika, Picture Editor - Sreemoyee Chatterjee, Reporter- Tushar Kaushik, Proofreaders - Shruti Suresh, Subhash Arvind.
There has been a
steady increase in the
number of bodies remain-
ing unclaimed at Victoria
Hospital, according to
staff.
The number of un-
claimed dead bodies autop-
sied this year from January
to June is 294 while in 2013,
it was 517.
A forensic expert from
Victoria Hospital, who didn’t
want to be named, said, “We
receive around 40-45 un-
claimed dead bodies every
month.”
She added, “Usually these
cases come under the
Medico Legal cases which
are medical cases with legal
implications for the attending
doctor, where the doctor
examining the patient finds
some investigation by law
enforcement agencies to be
essential.”
She said: “When the po-
lice find an unknown body
in a locality, they approach
the media and provide details
of the unidentified body. If
no one comes to claim them
even after three days, the
police provide us with req-
uisition form 146(1) and
146(2) from the police man-
ual and we conduct the au-
topsy. Once the autopsy is
done we handover the report
and the unclaimed body to
police.”
Another Forensic Expert
from Victoria Hospital said:
“Many unclaimed bodies are
of homeless people and of
the ones living on railway
platforms.
“We receive more un-
claimed bodies during sum-
mer because of extreme
heat,” he said.
Mr. Radhakrishnan (48),
a sanitary worker, said: “I
have been working here for
six years. Every year we re-
ceive more unclaimed bodies
than the previous year. At
times we receive 4 to 5 of
them a day. Most of them
are of men.”
He added, “As autopsy
is done after 3 or 4 days,
these bodies turn hard in
the cadaver cabinets. We
sprinkle hot water and keep
them under the fan so that
these preserved bodies lose
their hardness. The autopsy
is then conducted by the
doctors. The body is cleaned,
packed and handed over to
the police after clearing all
formalities.”
Police from Victoria Hos-
pital Police Station said: “As
no one is aware of the med-
ical history and medical com-
plications of these uniden-
tified bodies, they come un-
der the Medico legal Cases.
We reach out to the ad-
dresses in case one is found.
If the body remains un-
claimed after three days, we
go on with the autopsy, after
which the body is handed
over to Mr. Trivikrama Ma-
hadeva, the undertaker who
buries the body in the Burial
Ground on Mysore Road.”
“Government of Kar-
nataka allots Rs. 200 as burial
charge for every unclaimed
dead body that we pay to
the undertaker. The law al-
lows only burial of un-
claimed bodies and not their
cremation”, added the po-
lice.
Trivikrama Mahadeva, an
undertaker, said, “Out of
the Rs. 200 I get for burying
the bodies in the burial
grounds, I am left only with
Rs. 30 after the burial after
spending Rs. 170 for the
burial charges.”
BPL patients denied benefits in funding gap
There is a huge gulf
between state funds being
allocated and the money
required by government
hospitals to function in
Bangalore.
Victoria Hospital, whichreceives around Rs. 31 lakhsper month, needs a sum ofat least Rs. 40 lakhs per dayfor medicines alone, accord-ing to hospital staff.
Rahamathulla, Medicinesin-charge at the BangaloreMedical College, responsiblefor allocation of funds, said:“The government dividesthe funds received by varioushospitals through us.”
“The funds allocated toVictoria Hospital are aroundRs. 3.75 crore per annumfor medicines and Rs. 1 crorefor medical equipment.Bowring Hospital receives3.7 crore for medicines andRs. 5.5 crore for medicalequipments.”
The lack of medicinesand equipment in govern-ment hospitals is forcingBelow Poverty Line (BPL)patients to turn to privatehospitals. They then losethe 50 per cent discountthey are entitled to.
Rahamathulla added,“Protocol says doctors work-ing in government hospitalsshould not suggest patientsto go to private centres fordiagnosis.”
Hospitals also lack med-icines in their stores. Abhi,son of patient Bhagyammain Victoria hospital, said:“Only one or two out of10 medicines were providedin this hospital. The restwere bought from othermedical shops and were cost-ly.”
He added, “I paid Rs.
2,500 for a biopsy gun formy mother as it was notprovided by the hospital.”
Raghu, a pharmacist atVictoria hospital, said: “Costof all medicines required bythe patients would be Rs.40 lakhs per day which thegovernment does not pro-vide us.”
Dr. Sharmista, a cardiol-ogist at Victoria Hospitalsaid, “We provide Comput-erized Tomography (CT)scan but we suggest our pa-tients to go out for MRIscans.”
Abhi said: “My motherwas taken for a blood scanto private centres as thishospital did not have scanfacilities.” The treatmentcost him Rs. 5000.
Mr Rahamathulla added:“Scanning centres in hospi-tals also work according totimings. During emergencies,patients have had to go toprivate diagnostic centres.”
Prakash, in charge of thescanning department at Vic-toria Hospital, claimed thatthere is no problem there.He added that patients whohave BPL cards are beinggiven 50 per cent discount.
Afshan, duty officer atAsian Diagnosis Centre, said:“About 40 to 50 patientscome here each day fromVictoria and Vanivilas Hos-pital of which three patientscome for MRI scans, whichcost Rs. 10,000.”
Dept of Forensic Medicine at Victoria Hospital
Suharika Rachavelpula
Abhi with a biopsy gun
C.L.Ramakrishnan
Unclaimed and forgotten: burying the dead at Rs. 30 a corpse