The Observer Issue 29

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How womenfriendly is Bangalore?

Volume 15 Issue 29

THE

An IIJNM Publication

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016

Sholay town thrives on movie tales

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WEEKLY OBSERVER

Govt on ‘holiday’ as dead fish stink Sanskriti Talwar Public authorities chose to be on a holiday even as scenes of thousands of dead fish washed ashore in Ulsoor lake went viral yesterday. In the end, it was left to a local cooperative society to do the task today morning at the popular tourist attraction. This happened even as government authorities played blamegame on the topic. On Monday, the lake grabbed national attention as the dead fish showed the grim truth of rising pollution in the city’s lakes. Authorities also said that they do not take any measures to clean some other lakes because the fish there are already dead. Gopalaredda, the deputy director of fisheries department, said that “government holiday” was the reason for inaction. Monday was a holiday on account of Mahashivaratri, and the department did not send anyone to clean the

lake. The initiative to clean the lake was taken by District Fish Production Cooperative Society. Members of the society said they were concerned about the well-being of the residents in the area. “To clean it is our moral responsibility,” said Subbaiah, the advisor of the society. Gopalaredda said: “It is the result of draining water entering in. It is not only this lake, Bellandur and Vellur lakes are also receiving drainage water. At least the fish survive here, but in Vellu and Bellandur, the fish will not survive. They are biologically dead. “Because fish are not surviving there, we are not taking any measure for cleaning those lakes,” he said. “The water board should not allow sewage water to enter here, that is what is causing pollution,” he added. Municipal officials said that death of fish is normal with the rising temperature. Around 80 tanks are used by fisheries all over Bangalore Urban district for carry-

Dead fish being disposed by the volunteers at Ulsoor Lake on Tuesday ing out fishing activities for commercial purpose. Ananth, acting director of the fisheries department, said, “Livelihood of about 30-40 fishermen families depends on this lake.” “They might have added chemicals to increase the oxygen levels in the lake,” said the deputy director. “If the level of dissolved oxygen in water is 5.5mg per

litre, it is okay for the survival of fish. But it has already declined to 4 mg per litre for Bellandur and Vellur lake. The possibility of fish surviving in Ulsoor is more than in those lakes,” said Ananth. The untreated sewage flows into the lake from four points that includes MG Road, Indiranagar, Richmond Road and their surroundings. The fisheries

department is leasing the lake at a rate of Rs 150 per hectare. Water samples were sent to the Centre for Ecological Sciences in Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for testing. Results showed levels of dissolved oxygen to be zero near the inlet of the lake where the fish were found dead while it is 2.2 mg per litre on the other side.

CM launches aid for road accident victims Reema Mukherjee Oindrila Sarkar Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today launched the “Mukhyamantri Santwana Yojana” also called the ‘Harish Scheme’ in the state. It will be the first such scheme in the country which will offer free treatment to road accident victims. Victims will be given cashless treatment in the first 48 hours of the accident, up to Rs.25,000. The scheme has been named in honour of Harish Nanjappa, a victim who donated his eyes moments before he died in a fatal road accident in Nelamangala last month. Health minister UT Khader said at the launch today that the state government has already sanctioned Rs. 10 crore for the scheme and the Chief Minister had agreed to set apart an additional Rs. 75

crore in the budget for the purpose. The minister also added that all hospitals would be directed not to reject accident victims. Challenging one of the features of the scheme that says appropriate care at three levels of empanelled hospitals will be given, Dr Prashant B Katakol, co-ordinator of Karnataka Private Hospitals Assosciation said, “The very idea of empanelling hospitals is equal to creating a culture of networking for personal gains.” He added: “Our objection

under the BPL scheme is that the rates that they want us to provide services at are extremely low. It is only going to have just about the working cost or sometimes even less than that. “There will be lot of riders in the scheme. You, in order to empanel yourself to be a hospital should be empanelled for other government schemes.” Road traffic accidents are the eighth leading cause of death according to the WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety. They kill more than 1.24 million

people per year. It is a leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 29 years. In India, the number of accidents increased 4.4 times from 1970 to 2011. Bangalore ranked fourth amongst the worst ten cities having killed 729 people in road accidents in 2014. Karnataka is second among all states in India, in total number of road accident injuries 56,818 citizens in 2014 and third of all states in total number of road accidents reported in 2014. Interestingly, the statement showing the number of fatal and non-fatal cases reporting persons killed and injured from the year 2006-2016 has been reducing with every passing year. According to M.A. Salim, Additional Commissioner of police (traffic), “The number of cases against traffic violations have increased. Last year we had registered 76 lacs cases against people who violate the traffic rules in the city. Stringent punishments are being meted out to the traffic violators owing to which the fatal and non-fatal

cases have gone down with every year.” The scheme is being handled by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), a government body under the aegis of Health and Family Welfare Department. Speaking about the scheme, Bhuvana, assistant superintendent of SAST, said, “All government and taluk hospitals are selected under this scheme,” She also confirmed that they will provide aid up to Rs.25,000, beyond which the victims have to pay for themselves. Emergency helplines would also be set up in order to help the road accident victims. The current helplines are 104 and 108. The scheme includes the service of the 108 ambulance for carrying the victim to hospital with appropriate care at three levels of empanelled hospitals. A software covering hospital registration , patient registration , claims submission and packages would be installed for the paper implementation of the schemes. (additional reporting by PTI)


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