The Weekly Observer Issue 10 by IIJNM Bangalore

Observer The weekly

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

VOL 13 ISSUE 10

Foot & Mouth still threatening wildlife at Bannerghatta Biological Park

Child marriage on the rise in the state

PAGE 2

Temporary school - a ray of hope for the slum children

PAGE 4

Govt hires manual scavengers Sureshkumar K

busy now, I will call you later” be-

fore disconnecting the call.

ore than a hundred

contract workers are

Mosas Y, 52, State coordinator of

engaged in illegal

Safai Karmachari Andoaln, a Delhi

manual scavenging at a railway

based organization which aims to-

station in the city.

eradicate manual scavenging, said:

e workers - mainly women -

“We created enormous pressure on

clean tracks at Bangalore City Junc-

government

tion, operated by South Western

protests and ﬁling public interest

Railways on behalf of the Indian

litigations to make the government

government.

bring railways under the purview of

A hundred and ﬁy workers have

violating the law.”

railways through Global Agency, a company,

rallies,

the Act. Despite that railway is still

been contracted by South Western private

through

“e railways ensured us years

remove

back that all the toilets in the trains

garbage and clean excrement from

will be converted to bio-degradable

the railway tracks. e Prohibition of Employment

toilets and some funds are allocated

Dalit women cleaning human excrement from the tracks at Bangalore City Junction Railway Station

for this purpose, but it has done

as Manual Scavengers and their Re-

agencies

habilitation Act, 2013, clearly states

lethargic approach towards such is-

scavenging with protective gear will

“It is very diﬃcult to do the job

A higher percentage of women

employment of manual scavengers

sues.”

shows

government’s

Act, 2013

distinctly states that

fuse”

nothing so far.”

not constitute manual scavenging.

but we do not have a choice as the

are employed in manual scaveng-

as illegal. e women work in three

Arun, 30, a Supervisor at Global

While answering why the railway-

pay is better than other jobs. It is

ing. Deepa said, “A clear gender di-

shis and clean even human defe-

Agency, to which the job is con-

outsources such jobs he said, “Pre-

embarrassing when people frown

vision can be witnessed in manual

cation on the tracks which consti-

tracted, said: “e cleaning work is

viously railways had permanent

upon us when we are working, so

scavenging, majority of these work-

tutes manual scavenging under

carried out 24 hours 7 days a week

housekeepers, but when issues like

we avoid doing it when the plat-

ers are women particularly Dailt.

form is crowded.”

Organizations prefer women work-

Section 2 (1) (g) of the Act. e law prescribes imprisonment up to one year with ﬁne amounting to Rs.50, 000 for violation of the provisions of this Act.

in three shis. We clean all places

cleaning the defecations on tracks

in the station including defecations

and toilets came up they assigned

When asked about the wages,

on the tracks.”

them to other departments and

Manoj, a member of Forum

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

started engaging contract workers

Against Manual Scavengign said,

called manual scavenging as, “One

for these works”

“e stipulated wages for these

of the darkest blots on India’s development process.”

When asked about protective equipment used by the cleaners

Deepa, 32, a core committee

while working, Arun said: “We are

Devi, 45, a contract worker who

contract workers is Rs.320 per day,

member of the Forum Against

provided with some kits like gloves

engages in manual scavenging, said,

but the contractor pays them

Manual Scavenging (FAMS) said:

and shoes. But we do not prefer

“We didn’t know that we will have

around Rs.180 to Rs.200”, he said .

“It took almost 46 years for our law

them and use them only during in-

to clean s*** on tracks when they

Suvankar Bishwas, Public Rela-

makers to create a law to ban the in-

spection.”

hired us. Initially they asked us to

tion Oﬃcer, Bangalore City Junc-

human practice of manual scaveng-

Section 2 (1) (g) (b) of the Prohi-

clean oﬃce rooms and platforms

tion said, “I cannot comment on

ing. e gross violation of such a

bition of Employment as Manual

but eventually directed us to clean

this, the medical department of

socially sensitive law by its own

Scavengers and their Rehabilitation

the tracks which we could not re-

railways is responsible for this. I am

ers for their cheap labor.”

‘e stipulated wages for these contract workers is Rs.320 per day, but the contractor pays them around Rs.180 to Rs.200 which is much below the ﬁxed wage’ -Manoj, member of FAMS.

e Weekly Observer

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Price hike in rice leaves poor hungry

Park oﬃcials still battling disease Rahul Sadhu

Soumya Basu & Tulana Nayak

ers have been suspended so far.”

. Last month she had to visit the

Bannerghatta Biological Park is

shop ﬁve times to get edible oil be-

planning a ra of measures to com-

fore being denied completely.

bat the foot and mouth crisis there.

People living on the poverty line are

He added: “Too much food is

being held to ransom over basic

being wasted. In the previous

food supplies and state inspectors

scheme subsidized food grains were

“He gives us ration only when we

A bison died at the park two days

say they don’t have the staﬀ to con-

provided according to number of

pay him more. He transfers the rice

ago, bringing the total number of

trol it.

members in a family. But now the

and oil to his son’s shop which is

animals dead to six.

e Joint Deputy Commissioner

government is giving out much

right opposite to his. It is sold then

of the state’s food and supplies body

more than needed leading people to

at a higher price there,” she said.

has admitted they know rogue ven-

sell the additional amount to earn

dors are selling basic foodstuﬀs at a

an extra proﬁt.”

higher price but added that they have only 800 inspectors to monitor almost 100 lakh beneﬁciaries. e state government hands out

Commenting on the Foot and Mouth disease, Dr. B.C. Chitiappa,

Lakshmi, a B.Com second year

40, the doctor in charge of the park

student, said that the same supplier

said, “e disease mainly aﬀects the

Haﬁz Aziz, Deputy Director of

gave them inferior quality rice and

herbivores. ere are more than

Food, Civil supplies and Consumer

sometimes denies giving them their

1000 species of animals in the park

is not possible for us keep an eye on

Aﬀairs said, “Last time we con-

allotted ration at all. Even aer tak-

out of which six already died of the

97 lakhs beneﬁciaries.”

ducted 56 raids and 31 cases of

ing the card along, he refused to

disease and 20 more have been di-

seizure were found .

give them the ration.

agnosed with the disease. We are

Publicity poster for program

foodstuﬀs like rice and oil at subsi-

Speaking of the Congress Party’s

dized prices to those most in need.

push to provide rice to the poor, he

Basavaraju, Head constable of

Aparna Iyer*, 50, a BPL card

trying all types of preventive meas-

But unscrupulous traders who are

added: “More rice is being pumped

Girinagar police station said : “We

holder, said: “e local ration seller

ures including injecting medicines

given the stocks hike up prices.

in which results in the automatic

havent received any complaint

doesn’t give us the grains but sells

with darts, spraying disinfectants,

Gangadhar, Joint Deputy Com-

reduction in price in the market.

about the area.We cannot do any-

rice illegally. Every resident in the

and routine burning of leover

missioner of the Karnataka Food

We cannot stop that and we are not

thing about it until and unless we

area has the same complaint.”

food. Necessary nutritious supple-

and the Civil Supplies Corporation,

concerned with what happens aer

get a complaint from the people.”

said: “Such activities have been re-

the rice is bought from the shop.

ported but right now we are not

Haﬁz Aziz added: “e food sup-

ments are also provided and as of

In Veerbhadranagar, Sohini*, 31,

plies department helpline receives

now the situation is under control.”

“But we have had reports of rice

hasn’t received rice and edible oil

300 calls every day. ere are only

He added that culling and a quar-

being sold at higher prices by the

for ﬁve months. She suspects the

300 employees monitoring 20,000

antine programs had also been dis-

He added, “We only have 800

dealers and we have suspended the

local ration supplier of hoarding

shops which makes it diﬃcult.”

cussed amonog park managers.

food inspectors all over state and it

defaulters. Around 800 ration deal-

the grains.

going to act upon it.”

*names changed

e quarries around the Bannerghatta Biological Park are also

Child bride numbers on the increase Vaishnavi J Desai Child marriage cases are on the rise

wild animals in the park. V. Karikalan, 55, Deputy Conservator of Forest, said, “Yes we try our

supposed to get married to her

Commission for Protection of

from Lakundi village, Gadag dis-

best, but problems do occur. One of

uncle on 27th of April this year.

Child Rights, Bangalore on March

trict was found to be 11 years old.

the main problems is that of quar-

in Bangalore division, with eight

e marriage was to take place at

cases already being reported in the

Talakadu, Mudukuture. She was

e number of child marriage

ﬁrst nine months of the year.

studying in 11th grade. e case

cases reported in Bangalore divi-

was reported to the Karnataka State

sion has almost doubled in the last

Pallavi (name changed), 17, was

causing severe a threat to the life of

1, 2013.

four years. From 2009 to 2013, in Bangalore

from doctors, respective school principals.

rying and it should be stopped.” He added, “We face this problem for more than a decade now and

In the inspection that followed, it

there is no proper control on this

was found out that 25 doctors had

activity. ey dig the ground 50 to

provided fake age certiﬁcates.

100 feet creating natural depres-

city child marriages have increased

e doctors had conducted asiph-

sions. is in turn aﬀects the natu-

from four to eight. Gulbarga divi-

ication test, bone X-ray test and

ral movement of animals especially

sion on the other hand, being less

dental test to determine the age of

the elephants.

developed than the other divisions

the girls.

has shown decrease in the trend from ﬁve to zero.

“ey are forced to deviate from

Umesh Aradhya, Chairperson,

their natural path that they always

Karnataka state commission for

follow and they tend to enter the

A mass marriage ceremony was

protection of child rights said: “e

places where humans stay.

held in Gadag in 2010 which had

northern districts of state are less

970 pairs attending it from 16 dis-

developed than Bangalore division.

tricts of Karnataka. e inspection on site by the committee member Mamatha. M., a

Chairperson, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights

e age certiﬁcates were collected

Northern districts of the state are still developing. ese cases are evident there.”

dentist and other team members,

He added: “Child marriages have

found 31 girls below the age of 18.

health implications. Early preg-

Out of 31, 11 girls were of 16

nancy causes death among young

years, the rest aged 14-16. One girl

girls.”

Dep. conservatorV. Karikalan

e Weekly Observer

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

NGO breaking law over foreign funding Shweta Nair

NEWS BRIEF

He added: “For the renewal of the

A non-governmental organiza-

registration, every year the NGO

tion in Bangalore has been violating

must submit details of the duration

laws and receiving foreign funding

of the annual general meeting, an

illegally for the past ten years.

executive committee list with pho-

Minority rights group Sangama

tographs, an original audit report,

Harassed for dowry, woman commits suicide

and a list of those members attend-

ree years aer marriage a

ing the annual general meeting

woman ended her life due to

within 14 days of it being held. In

dowry demands by her in-laws.

cases of delay we charge them a

Yashaswini, 26, was married to

penalty of Rs.50 when they come

Siddesh on 10th June, 2010, com-

for registration.” Were Sangama

mitted suicide on 4th September,

ﬁned?

2013 morning due to physical ha-

Sangama, an NGO working for

e website for e Funds for

sexual minorities in Bangalore, has

Global Human Rights, an organiza-

been violating the Foreign Contri-

tion based in the United States of

butions Regulation Act 2010 and

America

rassment by her husband and in-

Manohar Elavarthi, founder of Sangama, an NGO in Bangalore

laws.

essary to renew the registration for

contacted by the Weekly Observer.

manded for Rs. 3 lakhs ,but it was

receiving international grants from

human rights NGOs, states that

receiving any kind of foreign fund-

He said, “I am currently involved

hard for Yashaswini’s father to

various funding agencies abroad.

Sangama received $20,000 in 2013

ing. Even for receiving state or cen-

with a political party and have no

meet the demand.

e Act states that if a non-gov-

to conduct programs including cri-

tral funding an NGO has to register

ties with Sangama.”

ernmental organization wishes to

sis intervention, HIV/AIDS educa-

with the registrar of societies.”

Founded in 1999. Sangama was

ﬁled F.I.R against Siddesh and his

apply for or receive foreign funding,

tion and services, human rights

A chartered accountant based in

registered as a society (Reg. No.

family on 4th September, 2013.

it must be properly registered

campaigns and mentoring emerg-

Bangalore, who declined to be

242/2001-02, under Karnataka So-

“Siddesh and his family continu-

within the state. at means sub-

ing rights groups in southern India.

named, said: “It is mandatory for an

cieties Registration Act. 1960) on

ously demanded for dowry which

mitting all accounts, directors and

“is is a clear violation of FCRA

NGO to ﬁle income tax returns

June 22nd, 2001 in Bangalore with

forced Yashaswini to kill herself ”

appropriate registration certiﬁcates

rules because without renewing the

even if it is exempted from taxation

11 governing body members.

said Bhaskar, Sub-Inspector of

to the appropriate state body, the

registration of the NGO, foreign

and submit the statutory report, au-

On its website, Mr Elavarthi is still

Registrar of Societies.

providing

grants

Few months back, Siddesh de-

funding cannot be granted to any

dited by a certiﬁed chartered ac-

listed as someone who “presently

Aravindan. K, an oﬃcial at the

society,” said Vijay Kumar, former

countant, to the registrar to avail

acts as the program co-ordinator of

Registrar of Societies’ oﬃce, Jayana-

director of Sangama, who was dis-

foreign funding. If the NGO is re-

Sangama.”

gar, said: “According to our records,

missed from Sangama aer a row

ceiving foreign funds without re-

e website states: “Sangama

Sangama has not ﬁled any accounts

on improper functioning of the

newing its registration then the

started in this context in August

since 2003. Even this year the NGO

NGO.

chartered accountant is also break-

1999 to work for sexuality minori-

ing the law.”

ties' rights with information and

Yashaswini’s father, K.V. Jagdish,

Kumbalgodu police station. “e accused are under arrest right now” he added.

Schoolgirl , 14, raped by her cousin

has not ﬁled any accounts. Without

Professor K.R Venkatesha, a

the renewal of the registration

member of the Karntaka Parents

Manohar Elavarthi, the founder of

education. Its initial funding was

every year, it is illegal to receive for-

Association for Mentally Retarded

Sangama, said he severed all ties

through a two-year individual fel-

A 14-year-old girl was raped by

eign funding.”

Children, said: “It is absolutely nec-

with the NGO over a year ago when

lowship from MacArthur Founda-

her uncle’s son in Kondapura vil-

tion to Elavarthi Manohar who

lage of Karnataka.

presently acts as the Program Co-

On September 21, 2013, while re-

ordinator of Sangama.”

turning home from her relatives’

Name & Address

Purpose

"Fund For Global Human Rights Advocacy ProRights,1 Farragut Square South gramme for SM, SW & 1634 I st street,North West SuitePLHIV 1001 Washington D.C. 2006 -TEL 202-3477488Sangama" "HIVOS- Raamweg 16-PO.Box 85565,2508 CG,The Hague(The Netherlands)Tel +31(0)703765500Sangama"

Rights Advocacy Programme for SM, SW & PLHIV

"The Swedish Association for SexRights Advocacy Prouality Education, RFSUP. O. Box gramme for SM, SW & 4331, SE - 10267Tel: +46-8-692 PLHIV 0795Sangama" "The Norwegian Organisation for SAHRCMSG 2nd NaLesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transtional Meeting gender Rights (LLH)"

FY 2010-11

930,000

FY 2009-10

930,000

Gurukiran Kamath, the current

place, Soma, a student of Grade

director of Sangama, said: “e re-

8, was kidnapped by her cousin

newal of the registration is yet to be

Raghu, 22. He then took her to a

done for this year.

nearby waste house and raped

“Sangama ﬁles its accounts with

7,100,000

1,050,000

1,393,875

Foreign funding, in rupees, received by Sangama in 2009 & 2010

9,000,000

940,000

her. Aer raping her he ﬂed from

the registrar oﬃce located some-

the site.

hwere in Sadashivnagar.”

Ravish, Sub-Inspector Police,

e oﬃcial at the Registrar of So-

Chitradurga Police Station, said,

cieties in Jayanagar conﬁrmed that

“We arrested the accused. He

there are ﬁve registrar oﬃces in

confessed the crime. According

Bangalore situated at Jayanagar,

to the verdict he has to stay in 15

Basvanagudi, Shivajinagar, Gandhi-

day custody. Aer that, he will be

nagar and Rajajinagar.

sent to Central Jail.”

He added: “Sangama have to sub-

e victim’s mother, Rath-

mit their annual audit reports and

namma, a laborer, said, “I just