Issue 33

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theweeklyobserver.in

Activist flays ‘lawless’ govt for attacks on press

Volume 15 Issue 33

THE

An IIJNM Publication

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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

State’s infant hunger shame Page 3

DAILY OBSERVER

‘Crucified’ priest story a ‘rumour’ at present: Indian government Irien Joseph The alleged abduction and crucifixion of an Indian priest by ISIS-linked terrorists is yet to be verified, claims the government of India. Vikas Swarup, Joint Sec-

catholic priest who formerly worked in Bangalore, was reportedly crucified on Good Friday by ISIS terrorists after being abducted on March 4 from a care home in Yemen following the murder of nuns and others working there. His murder on Good Friday was then “confirmed: at

Father Tom (leftmost) and his family retary & Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said,” There is no confirmation about Fr. Tom’s crucifixion. There are only rumours at present.” Fr Tom Kuzhunnalil, a

an Easter Vigil Mass in Vienna, Austria, by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, but the Indian government has yet to give any confirmation and the Austrian cardinal has since clarified that he

had based his remarks on media reports. Fr. Tom was reportedly kidnapped on March 4 by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State has been in Yemen since March 2015. ISIS entered Yemen during the ongoing turmoil which saw the resignations of key government officials and the beginning of a civil war last year. Lijo George, a software engineer in Yemen and also a close friend of father Tom’s, said, “ISIS is not behind this, it is just rumours. If it was ISIS behind the attack, videos would have come out by now. “A nun who worked with him saw him being kidnapped, with his hands tied behind him and he was taken away in a van.” Lijo was working in Sana and Fr. Tom and other missionaries used to visit Sana every week for missionary work. Fr Tom and Lijo used to meet regularly and hailed from the same city in Kerala. Fr. Tom, 56, was allegedly taken by ISIS terrorists

Fund shortage crippling health plan Oindrila Sarkar Almost every government hospital in the state is severely understaffed, according to a report. Understaffing is so common that hi-tech equipment is lying unused as hospitals do not have trained medics. National Health Mission statistics show health infrastructure in the state violates Indian Public Health Standards. There is a shortage of 5,723 male workers in the sub-centres of Karnataka, 1,274 female and 1,487 male health assistants in Primary Health Centres (PHCs). There are far fewer doctors than required. Only 2,089 doctors are available in the

PHCs while there should be at least 2,310. Only 95 of 180 pediatricians are available and only 495 out of 720 specialists are available. Karnataka has 8,871 of the 9,063 mandatory sub-centres There is a shortage of 192 sub-centres, 181 CHCs, 73 pharmacists and 1,432 lab technicians in PHCs and CHCs. N.R Suresh, Senior Regional Director of the NHM said, “Around 75% of the hospitals are violating the IPHS guidelines in terms of staff, including specialists, nurses and lab technicians.” NHM was meant to make affordable and quality healthcare available to everyone. Suresh added: “Shortage of staff is the reason behind high end medical equipment lying unused in government

run hospitals. There are very few skilled technicians to handle them.” NHM Director for Bengaluru, Sowjanya, said, “We are aware of shortfalls in public health infrastructure. It is because of money allocated to the PHCs and percentage of GDP that India spends on health that conditions are so dismal.” India’s infant mortality rate is 43.19 deaths per 1,000 births, and life expectancy is 67.8 years. The HIV prevalence rate in India is 0.3 percent whereas the same figure for Sri lanka is 0.1 percent. Sex ratio in India is skewed at 1.08 males for every female while the island state fares better at 0.96 males per female.

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during the attack on an old age home in southern Yemen, which was run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in the main southern city of Aden. Fr. Tom hailed from Palai, Kerala and worked in Bangalore before leaving for Yemen. He belonged to the Salesians’ Bangalore province. He had served as the chaplain in the old people’s home since 2011. A handwritten account of the attack, purporting to quote the only nun at the home to survive the attack, has been published online and Pope Francis condemned the slaughter – in which ?? people died - in the strongest terms. Pope Francis said “I was shocked and profoundly saddened to learn of the killing of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve others at the home in the port city of Aden.” He also referred the incident as a ‘diabolical violence’. The women were all members of Kolkata based Missionaries of Charity. In the

letter, the nun wrote, “Five Ethiopian men came running to the sisters saying ISIS is here to kill them. They were tied up, shot them in the heads and smashed their heads. “A neighbour saw the attackers put Fr. Tom in their car. They did not find any trace of father anywhere. All the religious articles were smashed and destroyed- our Lady, crucifix, altar, tabernacle, prayer books and Bible.” Lijo added, “We don’t believe he is crucified. “The church has given us specific orders not to say anything. The archbishop of Abu Dhabi has made it clear that there has not been a crucifixion.” A spokesman at Don Bosco province, Bangalore said, “They have no confirmation and they believe that Fr.Tom is alright.” During the massacre, the attackers killed four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard, according to reports.


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