The Weekly Observer, Issue 29, Vol 13

Thursday, April 17, 2014

VOL. 13 ISSUE 29

Cash, rice and saris for votes TEAM OBSERVER

today from BTM first stage from a shop named Padmashri Textiles.

City police arrested three shopkeepers on charges of bribery as they were distributing saris packed inside boxes bearing the picture of BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The three were arrested under section 171 E of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (bribery during election).

police are mistaken; we were not doing anything wrong. We gave proper paper bills to people who took our saris.”

Jivanram, a bystander who was watching the en-

tire incident, said: “These guys were giving free saris to people. I heard that the sari boxes had pictures of Narendra Modi. They did this so that those people who get the saris vote for BJP.”

In a span of two hours, the three shopkeepers distributed 135 saris as free gifts. The boxes in which the saris were kept had a picture of Modi and were labeled free gifts.”

Chandra added: “This happened only today.

All three culprits will be produced in front of the court.”

The saris were packaged by a company called Pragati NX which is situated in Surat, Gujarat.

Sari boxes bearing Modi’s face KV Sharath Chandra, Joint Commissioner of Police East Division, said: “Three people, Kanaram, Bhimaram and Punaram were arrested

Ismail, a friend of the three shopkeepers, said: “I think they were giving saris that had Modi’s picture on it. But I refuse to believe that, because I came to know that they gave a bill for every sari.”

Jagdish, a shopkeeper in the same building where Padmashri Textiles is situated, said: “The

Cops on duty could not vote

PAGE 5

Harish Reddy, son of Byra Reddy, Sarpanch

Kanaram and Bhimaram arrested for distributing saris bearing the image of Narendra Modi

‘Expert’ claim contested

PAGE 7

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Thursday, April 17, 2014

Stem Cell Banking: A growing trend Nikita Narvekar Expectabt parents do everything possible to keep their baby away from all harm even before he or she steps in to the world. Right from covering electrical sockets to childproofing cabinets, parents do it all to keep their baby safe.

This safety process has gone a step ahead with the latest concept of umbilical cord blood banking. This banking refers to collecting umbilical cord blood after the child is born.

Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells which are capable of curing various ailments and diseases. These stem cells preserved at a required temperature can be stored up to 21 years according to various stem cell banks packages.

Stem Cell banking which began in 2004 in India has become a popular insurance option among expecting parents since it provides them the assurance about their baby’s safe and secure future.

Priyanka Korgaonkar, an expectant moth- Steps for preserving baby’s umbilical cord to store stem cells safely for the future er, said “When I heard from the doctor, I liked the concept immediately. I spoke to my husto multiply once brought out at room temperature. just three hospitals.” band and he was also interested. What could be bet- These cells are useful for the first family circle inHowever some parents are not aware of any such ter than knowing that your child’s future is safe even cluding the biological parents and siblings.” procedures. before he or she enters the world. We have already The cord blood can be saved upto 21 to 25 years Asba Khan who has a daughter said, “Earlier I registered with a private stem cell bank Reelabs.” depending on the bank and the contract can be re- had no clue about the procedure and hence did not Gautam, Priyanka’s husband, said: “When my newed further. Initially, the mother is the guardian opt for Umblical Cord Blood banking. I was very wife told me, I was more than happy to opt for um- of this resource but after renewal of the package the young then and did not take any counseling. But bilical cord blood banking. Which father would not child becomes the guardian as the blood belongs to now I think I should have gone for it as it would think of insuring his child’s life?” the child. secure my daughter’s life. If I have my second child I He added, “I heard about packages where Cryo-Save India offers two packages to expect- will definitely go for this method so that my daughthrough the preservation baby’s stem cells, amniotic ing parents. The first package called ad Cryocord of- ter has a safe future.” sac and placenta you can also treat grandparents fers saving only the umbilical cord blood and immediate uncle and aunt of the baby. If that is and costs upto Rs. 94,000. Meanwhile the case, my mother would have been cured of her the second option, Crycord+ offers to diabetes today. One step now will ensure the safety save both the umbilical cord blood and of my entire family.” the umbilical cord and costs up to Rs. The cost of preserving stem cells found in the 99,000. umsbilical cord ranges from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

Life Cell, another stem cell bank ofMost stem cell banks now offer customers the op- fers their package on the basis of storage tion of paying in installments. Also packages differ locations, either single location storage from bank to bank. at Chennai or dual location storage at Shuja Amin, Cord Life, said, “The umbilical both Chennai and Gurgaon cord is now considered as a medical resource which Mayur from Bangalore branch, Life can cure up to 80 to 90 different ailments including Cell, said, “We have nearly 90,000 samThalassemia, diabetes, etc. We collect the cord and ples stored with us all over the counsend it to the lab to process the stem cells.” try, out of which Bangalore is a major He added, “These cells are preserved at -196 de- contributor. We collect around 400 plus grees and hence there is no expiry date to it as the samples every month in Bangalore out Brochures of a stem-cell bank. Storing your cells are in a sleeping state and possess the ability of which around 200 are collected from child’s vital DNA cells can insure their future

Discounts to promote voting Nikita Narvekar & Soumya basu As Bangalore goes to the polls on April 17, various companies and restaurants have come up with offers and campaigns to encourage Bangaloreans to vote.

Purnabrahma, a Maharashtrian cuisine restaurant in Koramangala has decided to offer a discount of 10 percent to all those who have voted.

Jayanthi, the owner of the restaurant, said: “We came up with this idea so that people are encouraged to vote. We want people to not shun their responsibilities and participate in forming their government. For all those who cast their vote and come to our restaurant, we will offer them a 10 percent discount on their total bill, so that they are appreciated and would continue to vote in every election.”

Dominos, one of the largest pizza outlets in the city, has also been sending text messages to their customers offering a 20 percent discount if they have voted for the elections.

Their campaign comes with the tagline, “It’s Election Day, vote responsibly and make it count.”

Other companies which have started similar campaigns include Tata Global Beverages which has started a

campaign called ‘Power of 49’ to encourage voting among women.

Smart Vote, an online portal has initiated a campaign called ‘Show the Ink’ to attract voters. Their program includes a tie-up with various brands like Gusto Café, Chocodate and others, each of which are offering 5-50% discounts to all those who have voted.

Commenting on the reasons behind starting such campaigns, Manas Kumar Mahapatra, Campaign Manager, smartvote.in, said, “We have taken initiatives to register people in the voter lists. Despite the fact that so many people are eligible to vote, the turnouts are not always up to the mark. Hence, in order to encourage people to vote, we have initiated this campaign.”

According to Mahapatra, “Around 96 outlets in Bangalore have registered with us for the campaign and are offering various discounts. All people have to do is send us their voting details and show us their ink mark and they can avail of these discounts.”

Apart from popular restaurants and cafes, even the healthcare industry in the city has started offering similar discounts to voters.

Sankara Eye Hospital, Marathahalli, is offering 50% discounts on all consultations for two days for all vot-

ers. Voters will be provided with a free which will only help the restaurants Lasik evaluation to from April 17 till make profits. The situation is such that people will vote for getting some ofthe end of the month.

Amongst voters, however, there fers and discounts in the shop and not is a wide range of opinion regarding for the change in the government.”

Ramesh Ramachandran said, “It such schemes.

Matru P. Acharya said, “It is very is a good initiative, but how much of nice that the restaurants are offering it will actually encourage people one discounts on Election Day. This will cannot mention that. However, more only encourage people to go and vote. youngsters should be encouraged for The concept is very interesting as to voting as they are the future of our avail a discount all you have to do is go country.” out and cast a vote.”

Amol Virnodkar, a resident of Rajajinagar says: “It is quite clear that these companies are using the time of election for making more profits and also for popularizing brands.

A person who wants to vote will vote anyways with or without a tempting offer.”

Asba Khan, 21, BTM Layout, said, “This is just another chance for businesses to promote themselves. People Logo of SMART VOTE.IN, online portal will go to restaurants for availing discounts offering incentives for Bangalore votes

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Relatives of bus fire victims give blood samples to aid identification Karishma Ravindran Police investigating a bus fire which claimed the lives of six passengers have taken blood samples of relatives in a bid to formally identify the victims.

Sudarshan, Circle Inspector of Rural Police Hiriyur of Chitradurga district, who is the investigating officer in the case, said, “We have collected blood samples of the relatives who came to our police station yesterday. And we have sent the samples to Bangalore to determine identity of the deceased. “ According to Sudarshan, four people from Devangere and one person from Bangalore were among the six people who were charred to death when a private bus coming from Devangere to Bangalore caught fire yesterday near Chitradurga district.

Sudarshan added, “We have spoken to the families of only five people and are yet to trace the family members of one more deceased.”

One of the dead who belonged to Devangere has been identified as Mohammad Rafik, 38, who owned a footwear shop in Devangere.

Yusuf Khan, brother of Mohammad Rafik, said, “At around 12:30am on Wednesday, I left my elder brother Mohammad and nephew Mohammad Mustaf, 22, at the bus stop with the materials needed at the shop. Within two hours after they left, I received a call from Mustaf at 2:30am saying that the bus in which they were travelling had caught fire and that he was in an ambulance.”

Yusuf added, “Soon after he told me about the incident, I asked about my elder brother Rafik to which he replied that he was unable to see him in the smoke which spread inside the bus due to the fire. He had jumped down after breaking the window and was taken to Devangere Hightech Hospital in an ambulance.”

Yusuf said, “My nephew Mustaf suffered minor hand and leg injuries. He also suffered a minor burn injury on his hand due to the fire. He witnessed the bus going up in flames at the back and soon after jumped out of the window.”

Yusuf added, “We immediately rushed to the spot after receiving a call from Mustaf and witnessed many ambulances parked near the spot. We checked many hospitals and ambulances to know the fate of my elder brother Rafik, but all in vain.”

Yusuf added, “While trying to trace Rafik, we witnessed a couple of bodies charred beyond recognition at the hospitals we visited” Mohammad Rafik, 38, is survived by his wife and six young children, whereas Mohammad Mustaf, 22, is a college student.

Rural police Hiriyur have informed the RTO officer and the fire officer to investigate the case and the reason behind the fire is yet to be established.

According to Sudarshan, the driver swerved the bus to the left after hearing the cries of the passengers inside the bus and the bus finally fell into a nearby ditch.

The police have booked an FIR against SPR tours and travels to which the bus belonged and have arrested the bus driver, Feroz, 32.

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Cash, rice and saris for vote Continued from page 1 Ramlal, a worker at the Padmashri Textiles said: “This is wrong, the police are misunderstanding something. The packets came from a textile shop in Surat. We did not have any clue what was inside these packets. It is only when we opened it here did we came to know that it had Modi’s picture. We are just retailers; we are not involved in this.”

Prakash, a friend of Ramlal, said: “We did not do anything illegal, we gave proper bills to the people to whom we gave the saris.”

Shayamlal, owner of Pragati NX, said: “Nothing comes free in this world. We have to fill our own stomach. We printed the box only after the government gave us permission to do so. What is wrong in printing Modi’s picture on a sari box?

One will find Amitabh’s picture, Shahrukh’s picture, Katreena’s picture and Kareena’s pictures on boxes with clothes inside it and then there is no harm, only when it is Modi people start thinking otherwise.”

He added: “Those boxes have been distributed all over India, not only in Bangalore. We sent those boxes 90 days ago; it has nothing to do with elections.

During Diwali, crackers were sold in boxes which had Modi’s picture on it. There are saris on which Modi’s name is printed and these sell a lot. The Bangalore police have arrest three of my poor friends for no reason.

Let them do their work. I will do mine. I also have long hands.

I know this is a conspiracy and I even know who has done this.

I will deal with it in my own way.”

He said: “Our Gujarat Textile Association is angry and will not let go this matter that easily.”

An investigation carried out

by The Weekly Observer also found out that it was not only the BJP who carried out such unlawful activities to get votes.

The Congress was also re-

portedly carrying out its own illegal ventures.

Congress party workers were observed giving free food packets near a polling booth situated beside Buddha School in BTM first stage in order to make people vote for them.

Mary, a 68-year-old woman who received one such packet, said: “They are giving us free food. One packet filled with rice, the only thing is we had to vote for Congress.”

Kasturba, a 72-year-old woman, said: “The food is good.

Anyone can get it, all you need to do is listen to them and vote for Congress.”

The person who was giving away these food packets is named Anand and reporters observed that he was giving the packets to voters and telling them to “vote for Congress”.

Commenting on the issue, Anand said: “I was told to supply these food packets to the people by my superior.”

Anand refused to name the politician who gave him the order to give away food packets.

Speaking about the matter, Chandra said: “We will send our team to the spot and if required we will arrest them.”

In addition to such instances, reporters working for the “Weekly Observer” found that voters in the remote Kanchnargalli village had been offered sums of up to Rs 300 in order to cast their votes for specific political parties.

“Each person gets Rs. 300 for their vote. Not the family, its per person,” Hemanth, a class 12 student from the village said.

“There isno room for a clean election, money runs the show.”

The sarpanch of many villages was given the complete amount by a party, which is then distributed among the people, he said.

Harish Reddy, 26, son of Byra Reddy, the sarpanch of

The Sari box bearing Narendra Modi’s picture. Below: Name of the company printed on the box the village, said: “Campaigning is done in this region in several ways. There is door-to-door campaigning, pamphlets are circulated, and some money is distributed.”

Harish said that Kanchgarnahalli is a village with about 700 people in 400 houses. Each eligible voter is given cash A rough calculation shows that about Rs.70, 000 is spent on getting votes.

Anand Reddy, younger brother of sarpanch said, “The money comes from party’s funds and is we distribute it.”

He said: “If the party does not give all the money a few rich people fund it from their pocket. We can’t wait for the party to release funds always.”

He added: “We decide the money based on how poor the person is. If he is extremely poor, or is from the backward caste, we pay him about Rs.100.

If it’s middle class, we pay about Rs.200.”

The scheme of distribution

One of the owners who was caught distributing saris for free

of money was given in conflicting ways by the two leaders.

While Anand Reddy said that only about 350 homes, which were extremely poor were given money, Harish said that every single household was paid to vote.

The region, according to Harish and Anand, is dominated by JD(S) and Congress.

“Other parties are kids here.

They constitute just about 10 per cent of the votes,” said Harish.

“During assembly polls, there is a big competition among the parties on who will pay more.”

Commenting on instances where the model code of conduct had been violated (such as Siddaramaiah’s outburst against Modi), Jha maintained that the Election Commission had done its due and issued the Chief Minister with a warning, regardless of his position.

Speaking about illegal means employed by politicians to influence the outcome of the

elections, Jha said, “More than 30 crore of illegal cash, kind and liquor have been seized in the last three weeks alone.”

With a turnout of 10 percent by the afternoon, Jha seemed hopeful that more than seventy per cent of the electorate would cast their votes and that everything would turn out smoothly.

According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, the city witnessed a 47 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm and elections ‘were running smoothly.’

However, according to Anil Kumar Jha, Chief Electoral Officer, 36 voting machines had to be replaced in the districts of Bidar, Bijapur, Koppal and Kolar; a process which caused some disruptions in the voting process.

Two women in Bangalore who exercised their right to vote today

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ID card delays leave many without a vote now. She has made an attempt to apply for a voter I Card a couple of times but the lengthy process and the slow server of the Election commission’s website has been a real turn off.

Tulika Nayak and Sweta Pattnaik, Software Engineers, said that they found the form really long and as they were in a hurry they did not bother to fill the entire form.

Karthik, a student at Bangalore University said, “The entire process of applying is boring. The documents that are required to fill in the form are too many and collecting all of that becomes irritating for me.”

“I have tried getting a voter card several times but I was never able to complete the entire process,” he added.

AUROSMITA ACHARYA & Tulana Nayak Despite repeated attempts to get a voter ID card, many Bangaloreans have not succeeded due to the ignorance of electoral officers.

With all the formalities of registering as a voter in place they have not yet received their electoral photo cards, the documents are missing and electoral officers don’t have a clue about it.

The migrant population of Bangalore remains ignorant of their voting rights or do not want to get into the tedious process to register themselves as voters.

Also, with a leave of of only one day they cannot go to their hometown to vote.

Electoral photo ID cards are a necessity to exercise voting rights of a citizen yet thousands of Bangalore’s migrants are unable to exercise one of their fundamental rights. Anyone moving to Bangalore is eligible to vote after six months residency.

Ignorance is bliss

Files go missing Gaurav Mazumdar, has stayed in Bangalore for more than six years now, yet does not have a voter ID Card. He said that he has made an effort to apply for one here in Bangalore but has been unsuccessful in getting one.

Gaurav said, “I tried applying through the BBMP office, it seems they have messed up my file. I feel dejected.”

He applied for the voter card through a drive conducted in BTM Layout for voter registration, conducted over weekends. He provided the authorities with all the necessary documents they sought for the registration process.

“I provided with an application number and ward ID,” said Gaurav.

Instruction to new users

But now when he calls up the BBMP office to enquire about his card they seem to have not got his application. In addition to that what’s more surprising is that they don’t have any clue of the people who organized the drive for voter registration.

“The voter registration drive in BTM Layout began in January 2014 and spanned across three months,” said Gaurav. He has making an effort to call the BBMP enquiry numbers but all efforts have been in vain.

Phani Kumar, a resident of Electronics City has not received a voter ID card,

though he had applied for one in November 2013. He said, “I applied for Voter ID card online and posted them all necessary documents in November itself. I received an acknowledgement receipt for the same in December. But I am yet to receive my card.”

“How do I exercise my voting right when the electoral officer remains careless,” said Phani Kumar.

Lengthy forms are a turn off Anima Mishra, 26, a Speech Pathologist, has almost completed four years of stay in Bangalore. She has not been able to vote in the elections till

Sanjay Barik, residing in Bangalore for more than four years said, “How can I apply for a voter ID in Karnataka.

I am not a resident of this state.” He has hardly bothered to even think of having a voter ID. Prasanna K. Dube, residing in Bangalore for almost 4 years said, “I have applied for voter I card but that was quite recently. It seems I am not eligible to have one.” The criterion that a person has to reside in a particular location for a minimum period of six months has made him ineligible to be a voter.

He added, “It was my ignorance that I don’t have a voter card. I was late in realizing the fact that I can even have a voter I card in Karnataka.”

Suman Saurav Samal, an MBA professional said, “I didn’t know that I can have another voter ID. I already have one at my native.” He has been working in Bangalore for around three years.

Beggars barred from the election process prutha bhosle Close to 10,000 beggars in the city are barred from voting during the elections as their names are not included in the voter’s list.

R.K. Kumar, Superintendent of Beggars Rehabilitation Centre, Magadi Road, said: “Supreme Court has ordered to prohibit beggars from voting during elections as they are either under trial or convicted of a crime.”

A recent survey conducted in the capital city, Delhi, by the social welfare department reveals that many beggars are educated and able-bodied but they resort to begging only to augment their professional incomes.

Yet, beggars are not qualified to make it to the voter’s list as SC thinks they only give rise to Beggars housed in the Central Relief Centre, located at Magadi Road in the city nuisance in the society. the government.”

M.C. Vishwanath, an officer at the electors voting in person at any There are about 551 beggars housed The Superintendent said that all the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail, said: polling station. in the Beggars Colony which is run beggars housed in the rehabilitation “All the convicts and undertrials have As beggars struggle to get their by state’s Central Relief Centre. Out centre hold Voter ID and Aadhaar no voting rights. That is the law.” names included in the voter’s list of these, 142 are women and the rest cards.

Vikram Simha, RTI activist said that this election, Smart Vote has come are men. R.K. Kumar said, “All the Ramu, an official from the this issue could be addressed through up with a campaign called ‘Show the beggars living in the rehabilitation rehabilitation centre said, “These postal ballot as an individual’s ink, See prices sink’, where voters can centre are not eligible to vote as they beggars are been given Voter ID’s fundamental right is at risk. If a legal prove that they have voted and get have a criminal record in the past. and Aadhaar cards to help them lead representation is provided to beggars discounts at certain retail outlets.

Moreover, many are sentenced to jail an independent life once they are who have not committed any serious The campaign has been initiated for one or two years for the crime released from the centre. But, unless crime, they should be allowed to vote first in Bangalore and spread across they commit.” their term at the centre ends, they are during elections using the postal 34 other cities in the country. The He added, “We only follow the not allowed to vote.” voting system, he said. discount offered under this campaign norms set by the Supreme Court.

Most of the beggars housed in the Postal voting is a method of voting to voters varies from 5% to 50%.

It is not in our hands to include the centre are aged between 30 and 50 wherein ballot papers are distributed Around 96 brands in the city names of these beggars in the voter’s years. by post to electors in contrast to have actively participated in this list. It is a decision made clearly by

campaign to provide benefits to the voters. Brand names include Baskin & Robbins, Sakra, Summitt Hotel & Resorts, Sankara, The Fern, Humfit, Sangeetha, Mast Kalandar and Travel Smart.

Manas, Campaign Manager for Smart Vote, said: “Voter turnout is very less in the city. Therefore, we came up with this idea. Many young citizens have supported us in the mission.”

He added, “We hope the campaign helps in getting a decent voter turnout this year.”

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Cops on election duty could not vote Lingaraju, a traffic policeman posted at Shivajiman who was called in from Shimoga, said that nagar said: “How can I vote? I am on duty from he faces civic issues back home but was unable 7a.m to 10p.m. I have been working for three to vote. days straight.” Lingaraju’s designated polling Despite repeated attempts, the Chief Electoral booth is in Vijaynagar and he has an eight hour Officer remained unavailable for comment. shift every day. With the on-going elections he has been working overtime shifts.

How can I vote? I am on duty Basavaraj, Lingaraju’s partner in election duty, from 7a.m to 10p.m. I have said: “My duty starts at 6am so I can’t go for voting. Policemen want to vote but they don’t have been working for three days the time.” straight Policemen stationed at various places in the city also raised similar concerns about their inability to vote.

- Lingaraju, a traffic policeman Srinivasan, a policeman stationed in Shivajinagar posted at Shivajinagar said: “The policemen hailing from Bangalore got their postal ballot documents early and were therefore able to vote. I am from Kolar. Despite having applied for the service ten days in advance, my documents have still not arrived. I haven’t been able to cast my vote today.

“Even in Bangalore, many policemen haven’t received their documents yet. Many people who live in northern Karnataka were not able to vote today as they are on duty.”

Srinivasan said that he will be working till 9pm as his duty doesn’t stop when voting ends. He is responsible for returning electronic voting machines safely. He added that the police station is understaffed at the moment as 90 per cent of the policemen in Bangalore are on election duty.

He added: “This is the power of democracy after all. We don’t get this chance every day. Even I have my right to choose the government.”

A. Rameshan, another police-Police officer on duty unable to cast their votes

‘

City police on duty during elections to ensure security of voters Saikat Ghosh City police officers were unable to vote because they were not issued necessary documents before the Lok Sabha elections.

Traffic police officer Mahesh Poojari said: “I am not able to cast my vote as I don’t have the service of postal ballot at my disposal. My village is in Belgaum and my voting booth is there, how can I go there? I am on election duty.”

Police officers bound by poll duty can use a

postal ballot service which enables them to cast their vote through postal ballot paper. To vote through this method they have to submit their voter and police identity card.

Half of the officers who were on election duty said they were unable to use the service. They said that they were yet to receive documents for availing postal ballot services and therefore could not vote.

“From morning to evening my job is to stay here,” he added.

‘I did my duty as a citizen’ Mayuri J Ravi Having registered to vote for the second time in Indian elections, I arrived at my polling booth at noon.

A week before the elections I was doubtful of casting my vote.

My parents had discussed with me that all of us should vote for Congress like we always do.

But I did not feel right about it.

The polling started at 7am in the city. I went to my polling booth along with my Voters ID and a small piece of

Reporter: Mayuri J Ravi

paper in which the address of my polling booth and room number was mentioned.

The polling booth was a government school. Outside the school the supporters of each party were sitting. There were seven police officials and security personnel at the school gate.

Since it was noon, there were not many people who had come to vote. This way I could avoid the crowd and pain of waiting in the queue under the sun.

A police official said that the majority of the voters come in the morning and later in the evening to vote.

I entered the premises of the school, still confused about casting my vote.

As I entered I saw two women sitting with sheets in their hand. Jasantha, one of the women, is a school teacher. She said, “I have come here for election duty.”

I showed them my voter’s id and the slip. They gave me directions to the room that I had to go to.

I started walking and I noticed that there was one police official outside each

room. They looked exhausted as they were on duty since morning.

As I entered the room, there were five people sitting. The first person collected the slip and ticked my name in the sheet that had the names and details of all the voters in the area. The second person wrote down my serial number and name where I had to sign. The third person drew a line on my thumb with the ink, and gave me another slip which had to be given to a woman before I cast my vote.

As I headed toward the voting booth, the question was still haunting me. I could not concentrate on the lists of names and parties that were given.

But I still voted. I chose what I felt was right at that moment.

I walked out of the room not regretting my decision.

There were a lot of people walking out of their rooms with smiles on their faces.

Most of the people I spoke to voted for BJP because they felt Narendra Modi could bring a change that Congress could not, because Modi helped make Gujarat a better city. Out of 20 people only five of them voted for Congress because they always voted for Congress and also because BJP is bringing out an anti-conversion bill which the Christians are not in favor of.

There were some people

Election process going on in a booth in Bangalore central constituency who refused to either tell their name or disclose the party that they voted for.

A voter who did not want to be named said: “I voted for BJP because the MLA in my locality is from BJP. So if he gets elected the MP and MLA would be from the same party and there would not be any fight within the area and also because P C Mohan is currently holding the position.”

No matter what the results turn out to be, I am glad that I cast my vote. I did my duty as a citizen.

Overwhelmed voters after casting their votes

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Fair price shop owners ignore government scheme Tulana nayak & aurosmita acharya Ration shops have allegedly flouted a recent scheme launched by the government which ensures timely distribution of food supplies to the BPL card holders.

Sohini, 31, a resident of Veerbhadranagar, a BPL (Below Poverty Line card) holder hasn’t received rice and oil for five months. She suspects the local ration supplier of hoarding the grains.

Last month she had to visit the shop five times to get edible oil before being denied completely. Sohini also complained that the ration shop is most of the times closed.

The Paditara Khatri scheme was launched state wide on February 1, 2014. It guarantees release of ration to consumers between the first and the 10th of every month.

According to the scheme, all fair price shops should be kept open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to distribute food grains on these days.

Ration will be distributed on the remaining days of the month as well. Shops will function from 8 a.m. to noon and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. from 11th onwards.

Mangala, 32, a resident of Thagachkuppe and a BPL card holder said that the locality’s ration shop supplies commodities in the first week and sometimes as late as the 24th of the month. Also, the shop remains open only till 5.30 p.m. whereas the scheme assures of 8.00 p.m.

She said that they get only three litres of kerosene a month because of which she has to buy an extra 13 litres from a supplier in Gonipura.

Lakshmi, a B.Com second year student, said that the Veerbhadranagar ration supplier gave them inferior quality of rice. She added that sometimes he even denies giving them their allotted ration.

Even after taking the card along, he refused to give them the ration.

“He gives us ration only when we pay him more. He transfers the rice and oil to his son’s shop which is right opposite to his. It is then sold at a higher price there,” she said. The ration shop owner isn’t present there half of the time and so wasn’t available for comment.

According to the Anna Bhagya Yojana, a family of three or more members is entitled to 30 kg food grains per month but Mangala’s family, which is also a family of three gets only 13 kgs. “What we get from the ration shop is not enough for the family so we buy 25 kgs of rice and two kgs of sugar extra every month from the ration shop at Gonipura.”

Bhujendra, who runs the shop with his brother Madhu, said: “I am aware of the scheme but we have 300 card holders in the locality

and I finish supplying within three hours. Why should I keep the shop open till 8.00 p.m. then?” He also defended himself and said that he supplies 27 kgs of rice to a family of three. News reports recently stated that beneficiaries can contact gram panchayat, taluk panchayat-level officers or the tahsildar or call 0821-2422107, if they face problems in getting ration. The number is that of the

Deputy Commissioner’s office and till date there have been no complaints registered. Another toll-free number stated in the report (1800-425-9339) that is provided by Food and Civil Supplies Department, isn’t answered half of the time and when answered, the caller isn’t assisted enough to lodge a complaint.

L-R: Bhujendra and Madhu who shut their shop early ignoring the Paditara Khatri scheme

“What Congress has done to him cannot be tolerated”- Ratan Singh Bhaskar dutta

One day after veteran leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief publicly acknowledged his decision to quit the Congress, prominent leaders within the JD(S) confirmed that he would extend support for their party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

According to reports, Sharief has been quoted as saying that he had quit the Congress and ended his sixty year association with the party because of the actions of party President Sonia Gandhi.

Sharief, who held the position of Union Railway Minister in the early nineties, is one of the senior most leaders within the party and has been an elected representative since 1977.

He was also considered to be one of the most prominent leaders among the Muslim minority community in the state and the country.

In recent weeks, he had reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Congress after he was denied a ticket from the Bangalore Central constituency in favor of Youth Congress leader Rizwan Arshad.

Commenting on the issue, Ratan Singh, City President, JD (S), said, “ What the Congress has done to Jaffer Sharief is not right. His service to the party has been far more sincere than most people.

The Congress has gained much fame because of his actions over the years. He has been one of the most successful leaders amongst the minority community and has worked for their benefit.

The party gives tickets to people who can barely talk, let alone represent the people and not to a senior leader like him. What the Congress has done cannot be tolerated.”

Speaking about Sharief ’s new role as a JD(S) supporter, Singh, added, “He has extended support to our leader Deve Gowda, Presently, he is not well so he has not been able to come out and campaign extensively for us but he has pledged his support to us. We can only benefit from this.”

Sources within the Congress, however, maintain that Sharief ’s exit will not have any impact upon the electoral fortunes of the party in the ongoing elections.

V. Shankar, a senior member of the Kar-

‘

I don’t want to comment on what has transpired between my grandfather and all the big leaders in the high command.

-C.K. Abdul,

Member of the Congress, Hebbal. nataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) from the Kolar Gold Fields Asembly said, “The fact that Sharief has left will have no impact upon the political performance of the Congress. Many people have left the party.

The Congress is a strong organization and it will become even stronger.

This will have no effect upon the voters of the state.”

When asked about the reasons behind Sharief ’s exit, Shankar added, “He had a disagreement with the Party high command regarding his candidature.

After having been a part of the Congress for so long, he should not have taken such a step just because of differences regarding a ticket.

The party has given him everything over the years.”

According to Roshan Baig, Minister of State, Infrastructure, Information and Haj, and VicePresident, KPCC, Sharief ’s departure will “not have any impact” upon the performance of the party.

Baig, had earlier criticized Sharief for “praying for the success of the JD(S)”, during his recently-concluded pilmigrage (or “Haj”) to Mecca.

Commenting on the episode, C.K. Abdul Rahman Sharief, a member of the Congress from

the Hebbal constituency, and Sharief ’s grandson, said, “I don’t want to comment on what has transpired between my grandfather and all the big leaders in the high command. He has been travelling a lot of late and has not been keeping well. He was admitted to the hospital due to his illhealth. I don’t want to comment any further on the incident.” Veteran leader Jaffer Sharief quit the Congress

‘

Sharief ’s departure will not have any impact upon the performance of the party.

-Roshan Baig,

Minister of State Infrastructure.

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, April 17, 2014

7

‘Expert’ claim contested

Screenshot of Bangalore based Handwriting Institute India Shweta Nair A man claiming to be an “official consultant” to police in handwriting analysis has no official accreditation and is now being investigated over his claims.

The handwriting and memory expert, who operates a handwriting institute in Bangalore, claims on his website to be “an official consultant to the state police department on forgeries on threatening letters.”

According to his website, Raifullah Baig is the founder of the Handwriting Institute India and is an authorized expert from the Handwriting University International in USA. The Handwriting Institute India website states that it is the only authorized campus of Handwriting University International USA which was established in the year 1999.

B.N Phaneendar, a handwriting analyst and expert, started investigating the university after the graduation certificate he was given was refused by several potential employers.

Phaneendar said: “I enrolled for a handwriting analysis course in 2009 because of personal reasons.

I paid Rs. 40,000 for a two year course that would

‘

In India there is no such system but in US and Europe, there are communities which offer such courses. You don’t need a certificate to analyse handwriting. The certificate is just an acknowledgment that you have attended the program.

- Imran Baig, director of Handwriting

make me an authorized handwriting analyst. On completing the course I was given a certificate that was not valid or accepted by any institute. After conducting an investigation on my own I realized that I was duped by the institute.”

In a reply to an RTI request filed by Phaneendar, the public information officer of Forensic Science Laboratories said, “I am directed to inform that no person called Rafiulla Baig is authorized by this office as consultant on threat letters and forgeries.”

The certificate issued to Phaneendar by the institute had spelling mistakes in the logo and the signatures on the original certificate were not handwritten. Phaneendar added, “Any authentic certificate must always carry a handwritten signature and registration number - only then it becomes a valid document.”

The Director General and Inspector General of Police, Lalrokhuma Pachuau said, “Once the case is registered, the police sends the document to the Forensic Science Laboratory for verification if need be. We do not consult any private handwriting experts with regards to any case. If we need forensic evidence then we send it to the FSL.” According to Pachuau, the police department either consults the Central Forensic Science unit in Hyderabad or any organization affiliated to the government if they feel that their expertise is inadequate.

The court accepts documents related to the examination of evidence authenticity only if it is attested by FSL. The Forensic Science Laboratory, located in Madiwala, examines evidences with regards to ballistics, graphology, body fluids, biological evidence, handwriting analysis, finger prints and forgeries. They are consulted by the state police department for examination of evidence obtained in the investigation.

In an investigation carried out by The Weekly Observer, Baig claims it was found that the institute

is secretive about its curriculum, study material and method of teaching. The institute denied permission for attending trial classes prior to joining the course. When asked for samples of study material to have a look at, they denied having any at the moment.

Imran Baig, director of Handwriting Institute India said, “No university in India offers this kind of course. It is not a degree or an academic course. It can be considered as a diploma or add-on course. This curriculum is not ours, it is formed in US. “In India there is no such system but in US and Europe, there are communities which offer such courses. You don’t need a certificate to analyse handwriting. The certificate is just an acknowledgment that you have attended the program.”

According to the director this course makes a person eligible for consultation on handwriting or a counselor.

Phaneendar said, “I could not make use of the course I did or pursue it as a career because the certificate had no value. I had to do another course in Delhi to be eligible for handwriting analysis.”

According to Phaneendar, Bart Baggett the founder of the institute in USA sent him mails accepting his mistake of not providing authentic kit for the course in India. Also he promised Phaneendar that he would look into the matter and resolve it at the earliest.

He was asked to sign a document claiming that he won’t consider himself a handwriting analyst. He said: “What is the use of doing a two year certification course which doesn’t even make me eligible for calling myself an analyst. The whole course is pointless and a waste of money.”

When there was no response from the institute, Phaneendar filed a complaint in Basavangudi Police Station and the case was taken up by for investigation. Due to incompetency of the city police, the case was transferred to crime branch for further investigation. The case was closed after the police file a B-report, claiming that the complaint was faulty.

He sent several letters to the commissioner’s office but received no reply to any of them. Phaneendar also consulted the cyber crime police to trace Baggett’s email address but the department sent a report claiming that there is a “40 per cent probability” of the location.

A batch mate of Phaneendar, Snehal Latur filed a complaint against Rafiullal Baig in the consumer court which is still pending. There has been no progress in the case so far according to Phaneendar.

Phaneendar said, “I have wasted enough time and money on this case and I have given up hopes of getting justice.”

Despite repeated attempts to contact Rafiullah Baig, he was unavailable for comment.

‘

I could not make use of the course I did or pursue it as a career because the certificate had no value. I had to do another course in Delhi to be eligible for handwriting analysis.

- Phaneendar, Handwriting Analyst and Expert

to be a handwriting consultant for state police

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, April 17, 2014

8

City market traders selling protected species

Pet shops selling rare species of birds and animals near the Shivajinagar bus stop in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Priyam Mukhopadhyay & Bhaskar dutta Traders in one of the city’s largest markets are selling exotic and rare protected animals and keeping them in filthy conditions.

Pet sellers in Shivajinagar, which is one of the city’s most populated areas, regularly carry out a lucrative and illegal trade in wildlife species like barn owls and turtles.

By doing so, these shop-keepers are guilty of violating the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 that prohibits the selling of protected species.

According to the provisions of the Act, wildlife species are divided into six schedules. Animals which are categorized under these six schedules are considered as protected wildlife species.

Selling or possessing these animals is illegal. However, the Russell Market, which is located near the Shivajinagar Bus Station, is the location of a flourishing and extremely profitable trade in animals which are illegally housed by the dozens in small, airless cages and later sold as pets at exorbitant prices.

In recent times, apart from being the focus of much media attention and scrutiny following the outbreak of a fire that engulfed many shops in the area, the market has also been under the scanner for its conspicuous and illegal activities regarding the animal trade.

Media reports dating back to 2011 have focused attention on the manner in which authorities turn a blind eye to this blatant disregard of animal welfare laws.

Kiran Sikander Rudra, General Manager, People for Animals, Bangalore says, “These dealers in Russell Market are breaking every single rule in the book. The manner in which these animals are being kept and treated is absolutely shameful. “ “Even the crow is a protected species. Trafficking any protected species is punishable by the Wildlife Act,” says Vinod, a People for Animals (PFA) worker.

One of the major attractions and sources of income in the area are the ‘Wet Shops’- which sell many varieties of fish, many of which are kept in shoddily constructed aquariums within the confines of the market.

According to Rudra, these Wet Shops are the planned endpoints for a major fish smuggling ring which begins tracing its operations through Singapore, Chennai and Bangalore.

The fish which are smuggled in this manner and sold for high prices are referred to as ‘parrot fish’.

Rudra adds that the reason why these fish attract so much attention and such high prices is because of the fact that their natural coats are chemically stripped off and then replaced with artificial colours.

“In order to increase their popularity and saleability in Indian markets, these fish are often tattooed with Om signs. This is a total contravention of the law.”

Syed, the owner of a shop and aquarium called ‘Zooland’ confirms that these fish are indeed sold in the city by his establishment as well as others in the Russell Market.

“I used to sell the tattooed parrot fish. The process of tattooing these fish is carried out in Singapore. From there they are brought to Chennai and then they finally come to us. At present I don’t have any of them. The main problem with these fish is that the artificial colours soon wear off. However, when they are brought to the city I will be the first to know. Mine is the largest in the wet shop business here”, says Syed.

Each of these fish are sold for Rs 1,200, he adds.

Masood, the owner of another wet shop in Russell Market said

that the fish were easily available and that he would be receiving his next consignment by the end of the month.

“I sell the tattooed parrot fish. I know they are in demand because this is the only place where you get it. I don’t have it now, but it will soon arrive”, he adds.

The revised ‘Pet Shop Rules’, 2010, adopted by the Animal Welfare Board of India, defines the boundaries of the legal framework as far as making physical alterations are concerned.

According to the rules, “Mutilating means subjecting an animal to a surgery or procedure such as ear cropping, tail docking or branding, or performing a surgery or procedure to camouflage or hide any defect or infirmity.”

The rules also clearly state that fish will be recognized as animals.

Apart from the sale of fish, the area also consists of many breeds and varieties of dogs, cats and birds.

Breeds of dogs include Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Pomeranians and Labradors.

Each of these puppies, which are stuffed half-a-dozen into cages, earn their owners a minimum of Rs 4000.

The Revised ‘Pet Shop Rules’ provide certain specifications as far accommodation for animals is concerned.

These state that,” The cages, enclosures, rooms, aquariums in which the animals for sale are displayed or housed shall be of adequate size and space, suitable for each animal.”

One of the dog-dealers, who refused to be named, said, “We have good breeds here. Each one of these dogs is worth the money.”

Commenting on the indifference of the police as far as this issue is concerned, Rudra says, “This is where the role of an NGO comes in. The people running these shops are unscrupulous and powerful and have powerful contacts. We have been trying to shut down this racket for a long time and intend to do so soon.”

In 1990-91, a blanket ban was imposed on all bird trade in the country according to the Hindu.

Additionally, vendors in the area discreetly act as middlemen in the sale of rare wildlife species.

Jamil works in a meat shop in Shivajinagar market. He gives his phone number to customers who wish to but wildlife species, promising to arrange such deliveries within a day or two.

“Give me call tomorrow. I’ll arrange the turtle for you. And if you want a barn owl; it can also be arranged after that,” says Jamil when any customer searches for such wildlife species in the Shivajinagar Market.

However, pet sellers in Shivajinagar seem to be aware of wildlife protection laws and take great care to exploit loopholes within them.

Sharath.R. Babu, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Honorary Wildlife Warden considers it very difficult to catch the illegal pet sellers.

Commenting on the situation, he says, “They seem to know the law more than us.”

Traffickers often use artificial colors to make Indian species (such as Parakeets) look like rare foreign species. This makes it difficult for rescuers to identify such species and catch the traffickers.

Subsequently, hundreds of such species are sold to pet sellers in different areas like Shivajinagar.

Apart from the trafficking and illegal sale of these species, there are other reasons why these animals are in so much demand in the city.

Many street astrologers use parakeets as business props by using them to select fortune-telling cards.

Usually, these birds are not given proper food and water as owners believe that by depriving the birds in this way, it is possible to train them better.

Parakeets are protected as wildlife species and in accordance to the Wildlife protection Act, possessing these birds is against the law.

“Anyone caught possessing or trafficking any Indian wildlife species is guilty, according to the act,” says Naveen, a PFA worker.

In the past, officials from PFA have also rescued rare species of monkeys from various corners of the city.

These animals, which include different species such as the Rhesus Macaque and the Bonnet Macaque are mostly trafficked to Bangalore from North India.

Monkey men in the city then buy such species and train them for street shows.

“It’s very common that we rescue Macaque monkeys from these street players and bring them to the PFA rehabilitation centre,” adds Naveen.

Commenting on the shortcomings within the legal infrastructure with regard to the protection of animals, Ajay Mishra, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, says, “The Wildlife Protection Act doesn’t include any laws relating to foreign species,” Pet sellers can legally sell foreign wildlife species like the “red eared slider”, a breed of turtle or love birds. Additionally, traffickers in Shivajinagar often buy and sell Indian breeds like the “India Pond Terappin” (also known as the Indian black turtle) and barn owls.

These businessmen buy trafficked barn owls and keep them in the dump yard behind the market.

When a customer comes to an illegal pet seller and asks for a barn owl, the sellers goes and brings the owl from the dump yard.

In this way they get away with wildlife charges if rescuers raid the area.

NGO’s which work for the rescue, treatment and rehabilitation of wildlife species, like People For Animals (PFA) and Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) believe that Shivajinagar is the hub of wildlife trafficking.

According to Babu, however, the situation is not what it is made out to be by the NGO’s.

“There used to be wildlife trafficking in Shivajinagar nine or ten years back. But now there are no such special cases of trafficking in Shivajinagar. Rescuers are very strictly working in Bangalore so now it’s a safe place for wildlife species,” he says.

In recent times, however, Babu’s appointment as the Honorary BBMP Wildlife Warden was the subject of much controversy.

In 2010, questions were raised regarding his appointment as wildlife charges had been issued against him in the past.

In 2007, the former Deputy Conservator of Forests, A.M. Annaiah had booked Babu and two other PFA members on charges of illegal possession, transportation and release of wild animals.

The trio was also booked for illegally cutting sandalwood trees and occupying forest land.

At the time, Babu was the manager of PFA. According to section four of the Wildlife Protection Act, anyone appointed as the Honorary Wildlife Warden cannot have any wildlife charges against him.

Babu still continues to be the Honorary Wildlife Warden.

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, April 17, 2014

9

Conquering Hemophilia: A long way to go

Raju Peethala

Rs 80,000 though they had not kept any record. They borrowed some of it and she was

When he was four years old, Manoj fell from a chair and his mouth hit the brim of

forced to sell her jewels. Their relatives do not provide any financial help.

a vessel on the floor. There was heavy bleeding and the flow wouldn’t stop however much they tried at home. He was taken to St John’s Medical College Hospital in Bangalore.

At the hospital, Manoj was diagnosed as a hemophiliac. His parents were briefed about the nature of the disorder. The boy was to avoid falling and injuring himself. He has been having bleeding episodes twice a year ever since. He has also suffered from haematuria (passing blood with urine) on a few occasions. The usual bleeding site is his gums. There has been no serious heavy bleeding so far, because he, and his parents, are very careful.

When asked about the emotional support, she said: “The less said about it, the better. They say that the boy has hemophilia because my heart is bad. Our participation in social functions is minimized,” she added.

They want to know why they have to shoulder expenses towards treatment, education and employment of persons with hemophilia and feel it should be taken care of by government.

The boy has one brother and two sisters and none of them have been tested for hemophilia.

Prem Rupalva, General Secretary of the Hemophilia Society, Bangalore Chap-

Paul added: “According to the Indian population, there must be at least one

ter, said: “It is a life threatening disease which leads to progressive disability. Proper

lakh cases of Hemophilia. But till now only 20,000 cases have been detected in India

timely treatment and regular exercise can make a hemophilic patient live longer.”

which clearly shows the need of awareness to be spread.”

He added: “We are lacking government support. Most of the doctors don’t have

“We have proposed a bill last year to consider hemophiliacs as physically

proper knowledge on hemophilia which is also one of our main concerns. The rate of

handicapped people in society. However, the bill is stuck in the parliament as political

hemophilia is high in rural areas and most of the people in rural areas cannot afford

parties are busy with election strategies,” he said.

the medical expenses. Only three to four hospitals in Bangalore treat hemophilia. This is an indication of how many other hospitals and doctors are not completely aware of this disease. Hospitals like St. John’s, Mahaveer Jain Hospital, B.G.S. Global Hospitals in Bangalore have a proper space for treating hemophilic patients.”

disorder that affects approximately 1 in 10,000 people. Those with hemophilia do not

go to the school on a regular basis as he has to attend medical checkups. Sometimes

have enough clotting factor VIII (Hemophilia A) or, less commonly, clotting factor

he feels a lot of pain in his left leg, which prevents him playing with the children in

IX (Hemophilia B), in their blood. A person born with hemophilia will usually have

his locality.

it for life and the severity depends on the amount of factor VIII or factor IX in the

he feels very low at times as he cannot play and enjoy like other children. Medical expenses are very high for the treatment and I’m not sure how long can we afford the treatment. ” Manjunath, 25, a hemophilic patient, met with an accident two years ago and had to spend more than two crore rupees, as he had to undergo three surgeries.

The injection cost for a hemophilic patient is Rs. 13,000, and it is available only in major cities. The injection acts for eight hours and continuous dosage must be taken

Dr. Siju Paul at Mahaveer Jain Hospital said: “Hemophilia is a rare bleeding

Prajwal, who has been suffering with hemophilia since his birth, finds it hard to

Vijaya, Prajwal’s mother, said: “We try hard to make our child happy. However,

Speaking about the challenges, Dr. Paul said: “Most of them are not aware of the disease and that is the reason why only 20,000 cases have been detected till now.

blood. Without treatment, a person with severe hemophilia is not expected to survive

as hemophilia is a disease which cannot be cured, only treated.”

He added that he found it quite unbelievable that most doctors operate on hemophilic patients without proper knowledge of the disease which leads to the severity of bleeding in the patient.

The Hemophilia Society, Bangalore Chapter sells injections for Rs 6,000 for the patients who can’t afford to buy it from the private medical shops.

to adulthood.”

When asked about the treatment techniques in Karnataka, he said: “Karnataka

Speaking about the significance of the day, he said: “There is a severe need

is the first state to provide medicines for Hemophilia to B.P.L card holders. But the sad

to spread awareness among people as most of them are unaware of the ill effects of

part is that the government has stopped supply from the past one year. The supply was

hemophilia.”

started in the year 2007 and the supply was irregular throughout. ”

Every year, April 17 is observed as World Hemophilia day, so as to increase awareness about this condition and other inherited bleeding disorders. According to

Mr. Ramchander started Hemophila society Bangalore

the World Federation of Hemophilia, an estimated 1 in 10000 people have a bleeding

chapter who was himself a hemophilic. He faced death in

disorder. 6.9 million people in the world have a bleeding disorder and 75 percent of

1999 after which the NGO was managed by his wife Mrs.

them don’t know about it.

Ranjana Ramchander.

Mrs. Ranjana Ramachander, Senior Advisor at the Hemophilia Society, Bangalore Chapter, said: “My late husband, Ramchander, a victim of hemophilia, was one of

Once the boy’s condition was known, the school management asked his parents

the reasons which inspired me to form a Hemophilia society in Bangalore.”

to put Manoj in some other school, as they could not take special care of him. Now

She said: “We have about a thousand registered patients in Bangalore district

he is studying in a school where his mother works as a teacher. He lost one year of

and there are about 3000 in Karnataka. The major challenge we face is that with a

academic study. At the school, boys tease him for being weak and avoiding sports and

growing number of patients and very expensive medicine it is next to impossible for

games. At times he is seen weeping silently. His mother does a lot to lift his spirits with

us to give best care to so many patients. We always seem to be firefighting.”

encouraging words. She talks to his class teachers if necessary.

The boy’s academic performance is extremely good. He is also very good at drawing and painting. He wants to become an engineer.

His father is a tailor. “This is a disease fit for rich people” he says. “We poor folks cannot spend so much money”. The boy’s mother said that they had spent so far about

“From 2005 the Karnataka Government brought hemophilia under its govern-

What is Hemophilia?

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder caused by the deficiency of clotting factors in the blood. People suffering from hemophilia tend to bleed for a longer time. Sometimes, this bleeding does not stop without treatment. This rare bleeding disorder affects more males than females.

Scenario in India: Due to lack of proper treatment and delay in timely medication hemophiliacs are led to disability.

PWH (Persons with Hemophilia) discontinue their studies and forfeit their career because of frequent bleeding episodes and the cost of treatment. But timely-treated PWH can be as normal as anyone else in society.

ment policy and under the prevention of disability act we were given medicine in designated government hospitals. But unfortunately the supply has been very erratic and almost non-existent and the poor patients (80% are BPL) have to go through pain and trauma for every bleed,” she added.

Eighteen states in India are giving free medicines to people suffering from hemophilia and Karnataka, despite being the first to have started giving the medicines, has lagged behind in this regard.

Mrs. Ramchander, said: “Our main Goal now is to have a Care Center in Bangalore and uninterrupted supply of factor medicine for all the patients. Karnataka State Health Minister, Mr. U.T. Khader, has promised us a care center and medicines. We look forward to that day.”

She added: “Certain personal challenges and a pressing need made me dive into an unexplored field when I started working for the cause of Hemophilia in the state of Karnataka. During the years that I spent setting up the organization, I came in contact with so many people who I never would have met in my cocooned world. I started visiting their homes on the outskirts of the city of Bangalore, in small villages, listening, observing, and understanding their challenges and trying to give them a voice.

“I was not looking at them from an ivory tower but was imbibing their very ethos and admiring their courage to overcome simple day-to-day chores. The little boy with Hemophilia had to walk three kilometers to catch a bus to the nearby school in the village. His threshold of pain and his will to overcome his challenges amazed me. I felt humbled. The ego dissipated and I celebrated the human spirit. I started responding to ‘this’ world around me. During the many years I spent setting up the organization, I kept painting commissioned works that included portraits and murals.

Life was exciting. My subjects were around me, within me,” said Mrs. Ramchander, speaking about her journey.

When asked about the undiagnosed cases, she says that people don’t bother to go for a check-up.

Treatment: • Infusion of clotting factor, derived from human blood or artificially produced, which remains active for a short period of time.

• Regular physiotherapy, which strengthens muscles and stability of joints reducing the frequency of repeated bleeding.

Cascading effects of Hemophilia: • Because of regular bleeding in the joints, many PWH end up with permanent disability.

• Parents of PWH show signs of stigma and are anxious about whether their children can lead a normal life.

• Many PWH discontinue their education because of regular bleeding.

• PWH are also seen being discriminated against in educational institutions, especially schools.

• Hemophiliacs also end up spending a lot on rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Affected by HIV but not defeated

Tulana nayak

status in order to get married and we cannot allow this to happen,” said Jadav.

lowed to play with the others nor allowed to take part in sports,” said Jadav.

They are no different from us yet discriminated. Many of us aren’t even aware about their condition before we start maintaining a distance from them. Their only fault is that they are affected with HIV positive.

He came across a case where the girl had acquired the HIV virus because of her husband who had not told her that he was HIV positive before marriage. The same girl was about to be married to another man without informing him. “Sometimes this also happens because

“We spoke to P. G. Udikeri, headmistress of the school, and she told us that the parents had a problem and the school had no fault in it. So we asked him to call the parents so that we could make them aware about HIV. But later on we found that the parents had no problem, it was the principal who was at fault.”

The stigma attached to HIV is immense and even children aren’t spared from the torture. Mahesh Jadhav, Founder and President of Mahesh Foundation said that he has seen cases where children from the foundation were discriminated against. Mahesh Foundation works for HIV positive people and children ensuring them education and encouraging them to fight against HIV/ AIDS.

Jadav said that they didn’t want to raise a hue and cry about the issue so they compromised for a long time because they knew it would affect the children mentally. They conducted an HIV awareness program in the school explaining everything. The matter was taken to the Deputy Commissioner and eventually the headmaster and four teachers got suspended.

Currently they have 65 HIV positive children. In Belgaum there are 24000 registered HIV positive in which 2300 are children and 460 are orphans. There are 2600 HIV positive children in the foundation and others who are affected because their parents are HIV positive.

But then the school authorities retaliated by lodging an FIR that Mahesh said that the problem persists with Jadav was harassing the school the educated class as well. “Even after being authorities and spoiling the repeducated, the social stigma remains. Governutation of the school. “We held ment programmes don’t reach many of them. a meeting with all the teachers Even today people think that the only way to and parents to sort out the situget affected by HIV is by having unprotected ation and then everything was sex.” fine for some time. But today HIV affected children from Mahesh Foundation According to Jadav, the government is not things continue to be the same doing a lot to bring an end to such discriminaand these children are still not tion. The government says that we should accept HIV they have a feeling that why should I think about any- treated equally,” he added. positive children but even in their orphanages they are body else when I was myself betrayed,” he added.

Another organization, Arunodaya Network of Posinot kept for long. “Many children of our foundation are tive people works for HIV positive patients. Puttana, He recollects a bitter experience two years back when from the government orphanages. The authorities don’t member from the foundation said that they had faced pay much heed to them so in the end we have to take they had tried their best to create awareness but it had two similar situations three years back when the chilnot lasted long. He said that the foundation had enthem in.” dren from the network had been discriminated against. rolled the children into Kanbargi Government School Awareness programs are sufficient but they are not after revealing that the children were HIV positive but “Though the situation is better now, it is not completely explained in detail, lack of proper material procedure that time no authority from the school objected. But under control.” needs to be looked at. a few days later, the harassment started and they were Mahesh remembers asking the headmaster that if it Jadhav has also helped in stopping eighteen mar- continuously tortured for eight months. would have been her daughter or son then how she riages when he was informed that either the groom or “They were asked to sit separately and told the oth- would have reacted. He answered that he wouldn’t have the bride was HIV positive and had hidden their status er students not to sit with them as they were ill. Our accepted a child who was trouble for others. from the other. “I have seen people hiding their HIV children came to us and told that they were neither al-

Bangalorean receives National Academy Award 2012. Reddy says that his family is financially unstable and it was very difficult for him to take up a career in painting.

Sushmita sen A young artist from Bangalore is the first person from the city to have won the National Academy Award for his work on postcards.

Today he has a studio in his village, where he works and practices. He tries to create an insight about his life through his art.

N Srinivasa Reddy, 27, won the National Academy Award on 19th March, 2014 at the National Exhibition of Art at Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi. Every year the academy nominates great artists and awards them for their work. Reddy was among the top ten contestants shortlisted from a list of 170, for his original work on postcards.

He works on postcards from British times and tries to create a link between the British era and the present. “I put my work on British postcards. I mainly draw on political, social and traditional issues,” said Reddy.

He was surprised when he got the

‘

I have struggled a lot and I try to portrait my life experiences on my postcards.

-N Srinivasa Reddy, National Academy Award winner

Lalit Kala Akademi research scholarship gave him a push to work on a new medium like British postcards and Indian currencies.

Srinivasa with his artwork award because mostly senior artists get the award. “I am very happy and still can’t believe that I got the National Academy Award.”

He sent an application a few months back as a candidate for the award and his new medium of art caught the judge’s eyes. The images of his work are primarily derived from the world around and juggles between political graffiti and popular religion.

never very interested in studies. After 10th standard, he joined a drawing academy for five years and that was the beginning of his art career. “I have struggled a lot and I try to portrait my life experiences on my postcards,” said Reddy.

Reddy has done his post graduate diploma in Painting from Bangalore University. He got a scholarship for a year from National Lalit Kala Akademi Research (Painting), where the academy provided residential facilities as well as a place to practice.

10

EVENTS THEATRE

Kaveri of Kittale Villa Kriyative Theatre, a highly bilingual thepopular

atre group in Bangalore, presents an English play ``Kaveri of Kittale Villa`` Where:Ranga Shankara When: Saturday, 26th April 2014

ART

Gallery collection 3 A time to celebration as they enter the third year of bringing to you artists they love.

When: April 19 to May 16, 2014 Where: HAL 2nd stage

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“I want that” is the work that he submitted for National Academy award where he created an image on postcard related to Kashmir. Mostly the messages on his postcards are in Tamil.

Reddy also got a scholarship from Arnawaz Vasudev Charities Scholarship, 2008-10.

According to him, his mentor, DTS Verma, helped him a lot to build his career by supporting him financially. “I am a full-time artist and don’t know anything else to do in my life. Verma uncle and few known artists helped me build my foundation as an artist,” said Srinivas Reddy.

Reddy was born and brought up in a village Gowribidanur which is around 60 kms from Bangalore. He did his Among other achievements, he reschooling from an ashram but he was ceived the Camlin award in 2009 and Observer Team: Editor– Sneha Mejari Chief Sub Editor-Apurva Venkat News Editors - Gaurav Kumar, Shweta Nair, Tanisha Das, Rahul Sadhu Sub Editors– Neha Singh, Anagha Sawant, Sushmita Sen, Nikita Narvekar, Prutha Bhosle and Soumya Basu Picture Editor & Design Desk – Sreelakshmy Sivaram, Chittarth Mathivanan Reporters– Mayuri Ravi, Anand Jain, Anannya Sarkar, Suresh kumar, Ishan Bhattacharya, Pranay Lakshminarasimhan, Raju Peethala, Saikat Ghosh Emergency calls- Karishma Ravindram Proof-reader - Bhaskar Dutta Email- editor@iijnm.org An IIJNM Publication (For Private Circulation)

Happy Hours

Enjoy Happy Hours Buy One Get One Free at at Jade.

When: Wednesday, 30 April 2014.

Where: Jade, Whitefield