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The Observer An IIJNM publication
Goshalas wait for visitors but fear of Covid keeps away most. Lack of funds troubles owners | P 2
Vol. 21, Issue 5
By Arshreet Singh
U
70 percent of the prison population in Karnataka consists of prisoners facing trial I Courtesy: Jagriti Parakh to the marginalized and poor communities of the country.” She explained: “It’s not that the bail is set too high, it’s up to the defence to inform the judge about the defendant’s economic status and convince him to bring down the bail. However, the poor can-
not afford good counsel because it costs money that they don’t have.” The rich are able to afford justice, but due to lack of economic resources, the poor languish in jails for years. On top of that, their economic condition can be attributed to “systemic casteism” where they have to resort to petty crimes in order to survive. According to the report by NCRB more than a quarter of the people undertrial were confined to jail for more than a year without ever being convicted. Another issue with the justice system is that there is no mechanism to inform the family members of the accused once they are in judicial custody. Narrating an incident, Davies said: “A woman was accused of abetment to suicide and sent to the Bangalore Central Jail for six months. Her family didn’t meet her the entire time because they received absolutely no information.” Continued on page 3
Colleges prepare to avert a third wave SOPs in place, students and parents relieved By Chhavi Vohra
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olleges in Karnataka are following all precautionary measures to prevent a probable third wave of the pandemic. They are working towards ensuring that no Covid-19 clusters develop on their premises. Dr H. Prakash, principal of the government-run Maharani’s Arts, Commerce and Management College, Bengaluru, informed The Observer: “We are taking all the precautions to help avoid a third wave of the pandemic. Measures like wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and sanitizing students have been made compulsory. Students are not allowed to form groups. Each individual can help avert a probable third wave of the pandemic, and we are. playing our part. Education has
A Vaccination drive being held on the premises of Mount Carmel College, Bangalore I Credit: Chhavi Vohra to carry on. All of us need to be prudent in our ways.” The Observer noted that students at Maharani College were maintaining social distancing. Each classroom had an unoccupied seat between two students. Mr Madhusudana, professor of
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More women in Karnataka are choosing to avail of prenatal care due to increased awareness | P 3
Most are from poor families; spend yrs. in jail
ers are currently facing trial. Cecilia Davies, executive director of the Justice Initiative Foundation, which works towards rehabilitation of convicts after their release, informed The Observer: “A large portion of the undertrial prison population belongs
Epaper: https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Number of undertrials in prison rises during Covid pandemic ndertrial prisoners in Karnataka outnumber convicts 2-1.The number of undertrials has gone up in the recent years. Most of them are migrant workers from backward classes coming from poor and downtrodden families. According to the latest Prison Statistics Report, 2019, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), nearly 70 percent of the prison population in Karnataka consists of prisoners facing trial.This percentage corresponds with the allIndia percentage of prisoners. Out of the 14,497 prisoners in all jails in Karnataka, 10,500 prison-
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English Literature at the college said: “We are getting the floors mopped regularly. Personal hygiene is recommended among students. A standard operating procedure is followed by all. All the government guidelines are being taken care of.”
At Mount Carmel College, a private college in Vasanth Nagar, The Observer found a vaccination drive being conducted. The students were being injected with the second dose of the Covid vaccine. Social distancing was being followed properly. There were 10 rows with four chairs each. Each student occupied a single chair. Some students had come to seek admission. They stood at an arm's distance from each other. Dr Helen Roselin professor of environmental sciences at the college, shared: “At the science lab, students have to do titrations, which need pipettes. Each student has one pipette sterilized at 105 degrees Celsius. They are kept in the oven and then placed in a container filled with alcohol. They are cleaned before reusing. We don’t let the students do soil analysis. We do the analysis and avoid crowding by the students. As for the entire institute, we don’t want clusters and hold regular vaccination drives. Getting vaccinated is mandatory for all.” Continued on page 3
News briefs Low-intensity tremor hits Kalaburagi Kalaburagi experienced an earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on the Richter scale around 8 am on Tuesday, the National Centre for Seismology said. The impact of the low-intensity temblor was felt upto 12 km. On Sunday, an earthquake of 3.0 magnitude was felt in the city.
Security forces hunt for militants in Shopian An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Soon after the encounter, security forces launched a search to find the militants.
Three Maoists killed in Odisha’s Malkangiri Three Maoists, including two women, were killed in an exchange of fire which took place in the Tulasi forest area in Malkangiri district in Odisha. The encounter took place after a combing operation launched to identify the extremists.
US fuelling tensions, alleges N. Korea’s Kim North Korean leader Kim Jongun has accused the US of fuelling tensions between North and South Korea. He has also stated that his country’s weapon development is forself-defence, and not to be at war with any country.
Thailand eases Covid quarantine requirement Travellers from at least 10 lowrisk countries, including the UK and China, will have to take a Covid test on arrival in Thailand. If they test negative, they can travel freely like Thais from November 1, and not go into quarantine, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha has said.
Heavy rain causes flooding in Philippines More than 9 people were killed, and 11 others went missing after a tropical storm hit the landlocked region of Benguet in the coastal province of Cagayan. Eleven municipalities were flooded and the storm subsided this morning.