The Observer An IIJNM Publication
Protest by farmers demanding compensation for land acquired for PRR called off | P2 News Briefs National lFormer Karnataka CM SM Krishna on Monday said he believes that Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister again is “inevitable”. He added he will visit “as many constituencies as possible” and will ensure that “more BJP candidates” win from the state. He said the BJP can face this election with “much courage, excitement and aspiration”.
Local lThe Common Entrance Test (CET) 2019 in Karnataka will now be conducted on April 29 and 30. The test was earlier scheduled for April 23 and 24, but the state government decided to postpone it as the CET schedule clashed with the parliamentary elections. Business lThe Enforcement Directorate has filed a supplementary chargesheet in connection with the money laundering case against diamond trader Nirav Modi, accused in the 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud. The fresh chargesheet, submitted in court on February 28, focuses on the financial trail involving the bank accounts of several shell companies, located abroad, that were used to route funds.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Lack of storage systems leading to loss of livelihood of onion farmers | P3
In Karnataka, Nirbhaya fund is largely under-utilized Only 10% of its beneficiaries have got money Oisika Dev
International lBritain and the European Union emerged from last-minute talks late on Monday to announce they had finally removed the biggest roadblock to their Brexit divorce deal, only hours before the UK Parliament was due to decide the fate of Prime Minister Theresa May’s hardwon plan to leave the EU.
Vol 18 Issue 21
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he Nirbhaya fund is under-utilised in Karnataka. Although 667 crore has been allotted to the state under the fund, only 10% of the affected women have received compensation till now. “The Nirbhaya fund remains drastically under-utilised in the state. Compensation is not provided to rape, acid attack, sexual harassment victims for a long time. Whenever we complain to the department concerned, they say we have distributed the money . This has been happening for quite some time now,” Cynthia Stephen, a member of Christian Women’s Movement
which is working in collaboration with NorthEast Solidarity in helping rape survivors, said on Tuesday. “The fund is only allocated to Karnataka but not used properly . Most of the women are not able to use the fund. They are not able to access it. Around 50% to 60% funds are outsourced,” said Brinda Adige, a women and Compensation is not provided to the victims for a long time | Credit : Oisika Dev child rights activist. Women form over 50% of the population, yet they After the gang rape of a 23are treated as ‘minority’ in ev- year-old physiotherapy intern in ery sphere. Functionaries of the Delhi on December 16, 2012, the department of police allegedly fund was started, through a prodo not pay attention to women’s vision in the 2013 Union Budcases. The helpline for women is get, to implement initatives for not used and the app is not com- the safety of women across the patible with Android handsets. country. The systems and mechanisms “In 2017, a girl from Darjeelare neither sensitive nor wom- ing was gang-raped in Benen-friendly. galuru. After the incident, she
couldn’t walk or eat properly. She has not received any compensation yet. A year and a half since the incident, she had not received anything,” said Prof. Renne Rangti, who runs the North-East Solidarity, a NGO which provides shelter and rehabilitation to victims of sexual harassment. “Every month, I get almost 3 or 4 such patients who have not received compensation money .They have been going to the women and child development department every day in vain. After such incidents, even society abandons such victims. Their situation detoriates.They don’t get proper jobs because nobody is ready to give work to a rape or acid attacked victim. As a result, they go into depression. Although we provide them counselling, it is difficult to take them out of depression,” said Dr Isha Gupta, a psyschologist. oisika.d@iijnm.org
Citizen’s Voice Regular power cut in Kumbalgudu
Dr H.S. Shivaprakash, renowned poet and writer, inaugurates a National Conference on Literature at St Joseph College, Bengaluru, on Tuesday. Calling for AN emphasis on Kannada literature in schools, he suggested that books on Kannada literature be made available in libraries to inform students about Kannada heritage and art forms | Credit: Devansh Dixit
Recently, there have been regular and long power cuts in some areas of Kumbalgudu. The power supply is shut down for about 4 to 6 hours making the situation for the public unbearable. Mostly, youngsters have been affected by this power cut as they are not able to charge their phones, laptops, batteries
and other electric equipment. Most of these electronic devices are used to work from home, hence hindering the process and methods of our profession. Not only this, the power supply also a makes it difficult to handle the hot weather as fans do not work. Therefore, I request your publication to print this letter and make the responsible take required actions. Yohanjali.R