Vol 12 : Issue 18

Vol. 12 Issue 18

Indian Institute Of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore

February 01, 2013

Poverty & Politics

Special Edition PAGE 2 - The Circus PAGE 4 & 5 - Business as Usual

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The Weekly Observer

February 01, 2013

MLAs Quit: BJP shudders

MLAs bid adieu with smiles

Led by ministers CM Udasi and H Halappa, loyalists arrive at Vidhana Soudha to resign.

By Krishnaprasad S

The Karnataka government is now in state of confusion over the presentation of budget due to resignation of 12 Ministers of Legislative Assembly.

A high drama was staged by the Yedyurappa loyalists and Jagadish Shettar loyalists on the day of the resignation.

After hours of arguments and protests, the resignations of 12 MLAs were accepted by speaker K G Bopiah.

Agitations sparked over K G Bopiah’s behavior of not accepting resignations of the MLAs and seeking the opinion of Lok Sabha for the same.

Two ministers from BJP had also filed a petition to the speaker alleging the involvement of 12 MLAs in anti-party activities. Later another petition was filed against five Ministers of Legislative Council alleging the same. However, the Shettar government posed no threat with the resignation of12 MLAs.

“Some of the members of the BJP are involved in antiparty activities. We have a CD and list of documents revealing members involved in the anti-party activities.

We have submitted a petition to the speaker to expel them from the party”, said Belur Gopalakrishna, MLAs from the ruling party.

The 12 MLAs resigned are CM Udasi, Shobha Karandlaje, Sunil Valyapure, Chandranna M, Shivanna G,Thippeswamy, BP Harish, Nehru Olekar, Harataalu Halappa, Suresh Gowda Patil, Chikkanagoudar SI and Basavaraj Patil. Resignation of MLA Vittal Katakadhonda was rejected due to technical reasons and was asked to resubmit the resignation.

The political scenario became much more complicated when Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) founder Padmanabha Prasanna Kumar gave a statement alleging Yedyurappa’s children and former MP V Dhananjaya Kumar of threatening him for revoking

Yedyurappa as president of KJP. However, after a series of verification it was found that Prasanna kumar had officially submitted a letter to the Election Commission stating Yedyurappa as the party president.

“I received threatening calls from the Yedyurappa’s loyalists. I also asked for police protection because

Credits : KPN

Speaker, KG Bopiah, after a pleasant trip with his family, arrived at the Vidhana Soudha with a bright smile on his face.

The 12 MLA who then had met at CM Udasi’s home arrived at the Vidhana Soudha with their resignations and approached the speaker to handover their resignations.

The resignation of Vittal Katakadhonda was rejected due to a grammatical mistake he had made in the letter submitted to the Speaker KG Bopiah.

The Nagthan minister was made to re-submit his resignation letter. The word “SWA-ICHHA” which means by my own wish was wrongly spelt as “SAICHHA” which in Kannada made no sense.

Ministers though arrived to handover the resignations to the speaker, were in a jovial mood and posed smiling as soon as they saw the camera crew approaching them. Most of the ministers from the ruling party blamed the personalities from their own party and shared stories about the resignation.

Tension prevailed over non acceptance of resignation by the MLAs to the speaker.

The police force made sure that discipline and peace was maintained inside the government.

Some ministers shared sense of humor by taunting other ministers who were in power and giving examples of their ups and downs.

Credits : KPN

By Krishnaprasad S

of this. I did not expect this from Yedyurappa and his loyalists”, alleged Padmanabha Prasanna Kumar, spokesperson from KJP. The current status of the Shettar government after the resignation of 12 MLAs is Bharatiya Janta Party -105, Congress-71, Janta Dal Sangh-26 and Independent -7 along with the speaker.

There are 14 vacant seats out of 224 in the member house.

Elven IAS officers were also transferred in an immediate notification by the government. These officers were supposedly loyal to 13 MLA who resigned according to sources.

13 former BJP MLAs who resigned on 29th January 2013 decided to join BS Yedyurappa’s (BSY) KJP today. Loyalists of BSY also attended the KJP convention at Belgaum. Jagadish Shettar after meeting BJP president Rajnath Singh in Delhi said that there was no threat to his government and also said he would present the budget on February 8, 2013.

However, BSY during the convention at Belgaum said that his intention was not to put the government in trouble.

CM Udasi addresses the press along with Shobha Karandlaje.

February 01, 2013

The Weekly Observer

|03

Dowry death cases unaffected BWSSB overbills furious homeowners by police clampdown A stunned homeowner is demanding against this.

By Krishnaprasad .S

By Satyajith GD

DESPITE a slew of measures taken by the government and police department, 218 dowry death cases were registered in Karnataka last year.

In police records, dowry deaths come under three specific categories which invoke different sections of the Indian Penal Code – dowry murder, suicides and accidents.

Most of the deaths were in the age group of 20-27 years and police recorded them as accidents as there were no eyewitnesses who were

be a very minimal decrease in the number of dowry death cases.

Durai Raju, the State Public Prosecutor, said; “The government is going with the strict enforcement of law in dowry cases and we can see its effectiveness.

“But it had a few pitfalls as this strict law is used to harass the inlaws by the daughter-in-law, and special courts have been set up to clear the backlog of cases.”

B. Dayanand, Commissioner of Police, Bangalore said: “We had set up a strong counseling wing called

answers from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) after he was sent a bill of Rs. 2,500 despite his home being empty for almost two months.

The BWSSB has been billing charges for usage of water supplied without proper meter readings.

The residents of Yesvanthpur, Jalahalli and Dasarahalli have now lost their cool over BWSSB’s pattern of billing the usage of water supplied to them.

The residents also alleged that though repeated complaints have been lodged in the BWSSB office, their water usage bill continues to remain in the same state.

Murali, a resident at Jalahalli, was shocked to see the bill provided to him by the BWSSB officials. The officials billed Rs. 2,500 towards usage of water supplied to his home.

“I wonder how the bill amounts Rs. 2,500. My home was locked for over one and a half months, and now the officials issued a monthly bill of Rs. 2,500,” said Murali.

The residents also alleged that a few of the water supply meters were tampered by some miscreants and in spite of repeated complaints to the BWSSB, no action has been taken

Some of the residents alleged that the officials who do the meter reading at the time of billing did not note the previous reading or the present reading, but randomly made the entry in the bill.

An official from the BWSSB said: “We will sort this out soon and people need not worry about the issue.

“If a particular connection that belongs to him/ her has been billed excess, we will sort it out by cross checking. Action against people’s complaints has been taken. If the same problem continues, people can raise the issue in water adalats that are conducted often.”

Metro chief takes to twitter

willing to testify.

When deaths occurred due to hanging, burning or poisoning, they were classified as suicides or accidents.

B.A.Umesh, a criminal lawyer in the Bangalore High Court, said, “The strict rules have done much to curb the number of dowry cases.

“Nowadays, the accused will not be able to get any bail if the case is charged with section 304(B) of the IPC, which entails a punishment of anywhere between seven years to life in prison.”

A non-governmental organization says that as the people have lost faith in the judicial system, they are not filing any cases.

They claim that the system has long procedures like eyewitness identification and evidence.

It is found lacking in most cases as the deaths take place within the house. Most of the people settle the cases outside court.

According to the State Crime Bureau Department statistics for the past six years, there seems to

Vanitha Sahaya Vani.

“Many of the families, who are in this type of trouble, do come to the police and a lot of dowry issues have been settled through it.

Other effective measures like continuous surveillance of the complainants by the Karnataka police force will also add to its effectiveness.”

In 2009, there was a spike in dowry death cases but the police clamped it down.

Madhubhushan Vimochana, from an NGO based in Bangalore, said: “Most of the cases are happening in villages as the feudal systems are very relevant and cruelty among women is very common.”

The average number of cases of dowry deaths every year hovers at around 250 cases. However, the marginal decline by around 13 percent this year has been attributed to a number of factors. Critics of the police argue that the figures do not indicate an increased efficacy in police protection, but the victims losing hope of getting justice.

By Sneha Bannerjee

BANGALORE’s metro chief has taken to Twitter to defend the controversial project.

Mr N. Sivasailam, Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), set up a new Twitter account last month and has a total of 151 followers.

He has been regularly updating tweets with Namma Metro’s development with pictures .

People’s queries regarding metro connectivity, re-habilitation of people, traffic concerns and other queries have been put forward by his followers.

When he was asked about the garbage being disposed at metro construction sites, he said that: We pray that people develop better civic sense if they want a good neighborhood.

Policing is no answer.

Some of the Twitter exchanges with citizens: Yogesh Ranade asked: why there is no metro station planned for commuters at Peenya Depot like Byapanhalli?

KSRTC satellite bus is also nearby?

Mr.Sivasailam: KSRTC/BMTC station in Peenya is a creation of the metro project.

Feeder services & alighting facilities are set up at Jalahalli Station.

Ashwin Hegde asked: Sir, will Victoria Hospital building to be built by BMRCL be compatible with heritage building or an ugly modernist structure?

Mr. Sivasailam: I do not want to comment on your personal view about heritage and modernist structures.He said that the forthcoming state elections will not affect metro work in the city.

“Metro is promoted by governments and not political parties,”he added.

Credits: Shruti Tiwari

More livelihoods sacrificed for “development”

The Subramanyapura Lake bisects Bhuvaneshwari Nagar into two halves, each with a differing opinion as to the legality of the settlement.

By Rohan D. Premkumar

THE 12 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), including cabinet Minister Shobha Karandlaje, who have submitted their resignations to the Speaker, typify the attitude of the ruling elite.

While they fight for control over the state, it is business as usual for Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

A slum cluster near the Subramanyapura Lake, home to more than 380 poor families, is the next piece of prime land earmarked by the government for demolition and development.

In a tale eerily similar to the one at Ejipura, the local Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) is

supposedly pushing for the development of the layout being constructed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

The development authority, under the instructions of the BBMP Commissioner, Siddaiah, had earlier promised to rehabilitate the people whose houses were being demolished.

But residents near the lake in Uttarahalli Lake say that they have been issued eviction notices which claim that their houses will be demolished without any rehabilitation or compensation being provided to them.

The eviction of the residents, which was initially supposed to take place on Jan. 27, has now been postponed by a few days after requests by the local residents to the corporation.

The residents who are being evicted from their homes, which are mostly houses with thatched roofing and no water connection, claim that they have been living near the lake for the last 25 years.

Krishna Singh, a driver working for the Bangalore International Public School in Uttarahalli, says he believes that the BDA is demolishing the homes of the poor so that they can build apartment blocks and develop the area.

“The BDA has built 16 homes (as part of the rehabilitation project) for more than 300 families.

How are they going to accommodate all of us?” he asked.

“The people of this area have every right to be here.

The government cannot take our land without issuing compensation,” he added.

“We don’t know what to do or where to go. If they demolish our homes, we will have to live on the streets,” said Radhika, a daily wage worker who lives near the lake in a house made of cinderblock and tin-sheet roofing.

Many residents who live near the lake claim to possess Aadhar cards, voter identification and land documents proving their ownership.

However, these residents also fear for their homes being brought down by the BDA authorities.

Subraiappah, a wagelaborer, said that he had no land documents proving his residency, though the government had provided him with a voter’s ID. The lake rejuvenation campaign has split the entire colony, comprising over 2000 people, into

two warring camps, each blaming the other of illegally settling in the area.

Venkatesh, a BBMP subcontractor who lives in the area, said that the houses which were being torn down were illegally built over the last few years. This claim is refuted by Subraiappah, who claims that he has been living near the lake for more than 15 years.

Meanwhile, residents claim that they have not been informed about the legality of the settlement, neither by the BDA, nor by the local politicians, who they say are profiteering from land deals signed with developers and builders.

C. Manjappa, a BDA engineer, said that the authority functions as a “real estate company” involved with the public “to form layouts and protect the lakebed,” from encroachers.

Top slum development official says he is unaware of Ejipura demolition THE tin shanties at Ejipura, one of the biggest slums in Bangalore spreading across 15 acres in Koramangala, were bulldozed last weekend on the orders of the High Court.

The Sunday morning eviction left more than a thousand people homeless and on the streets.

The Karnataka Slum Development Board, which was established in 1973 to improve the lives of the state’s poor, remained silent on the demolishment of Ejipura.

Nikita Malusare, reporter of ‘The Weekly Observer’, tried breaking this silence in an interview with Maheshdu I.P., the Joint Director of Karnataka Slum Development Board.

His answers, or the lack of them, speak volumes about the way Karnataka treats its most vulnerable.

What are the objectives of Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB)?

We have received sanctions by the government to build 18,180 houses in Bangalore and 6,328 houses in Mysore. A total of 16,640 houses were constructed under the Basic Service Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme. Under Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme, we have selected 34 towns to build houses. These are our main objectives. We only construct houses for slum dwellers under these schemes.

What are the basic services promised under Basic Services Urban Poor scheme?

Under BSUP scheme, we supply drinking water,

well-constructed roads, street lights and basic infrastructure.

Does development mean demolishing slums and building skyscrapers?

I don’t know exactly. This question can be answered

assured the people that the houses will be constructed at Selukunte village at Sarajpur. If it was not ready, then why were these slums demolished without any proper rehabilitation plan?

No. In most of the cases we

constructed buildings complained of lack of water, electricity and leaky walls. What are the reasons for these issues?

All these questions can be answered by the technical director. I don’t have an

Credits: Nikita Malusare

By Nikita Malusare

Maheshdu I.P., is responsible for overseeing over 386 slums in Bangalore.

by the technical director. I am not the right person to make any comment.

On Friday and Saturday, slums at Ejipura were demolished for the construction of a building and a mall. They were served notices to vacate the houses, but these dwellers have poor economical background.

How do you think they can afford to rent other houses? How justified do you think it is? On Tuesday, the government

provide a place for the slum dwellers to reside in and then carry out the demolishment of their houses.

In Ejipura’s case, it was the court’s order, so we had to respect it.

So you mean to say that if the court passes an order to demolish any slum, you have to immediately put it in to action?

Hmmm…, as per the court order, the demolishment will be carried out.

The slum dwellers that reside in the newly

answer to that. He is the concerned authority.

Is the Karnataka Slum Board under the BBMP? Does it have the right to support slum dwellers?

No it is a separate, independent government office. We support slum dwellers. It is only meant for them.

So you mean you take care of the needs of the slum dwellers?

Yes. We take care of any area that has been declared a slum. If it is undeclared,

then we don’t do anything in that particular area.

So, is Ejiupura one of the declared slums?

Yes, it is.

Why are slums always demolished during school days, especially during exam time? What measures are taken about this particular issue?

I don’t know anything about Ejipura.

Sir, it’s not just Ejipura.

You can consider other slums as well. After demolition, the poor have to hunt for a new place far away from schools and their jobs.

We do not demolish a slum without issuing prior notices.

Only after issuing notices, does any demolishment activity begin.

How is this displacement justified without providing any other house?

I cannot answer that question; it is a court matter.

I don’t want to interfere. You better contact the technical director.

What do you think about Maverick Holdings and Investments Private Ltd.?

For Maverick also, you contact Technical Director or Joint Commissioner.

Maverick has had a bad reputation because of the Garuda Mall controversy.

What is your opinion about Maverick?

No madam, you started asking questions about board activities and all, and now you are asking me other controversial questions.

I don’t have answers for that. You please contact the commissioner or technical director.

Yes, the Board’s functions are related to Ejipura and other slums in the state. That is why, I am asking you.

No, you please contact the higher authorities.

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The Weekly Observer

February 01, 2013

Lack of medical compounders drives patients away from state PHCs

By Nikita Malusare

Credits: Priyanka Roy

By Priyanka Roy

BANGALORE drug stores lack trained staff for providing primary health care services.

While in other cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, there are drug stores which have compounders to provide first aid and administer basic injections, Bangaloreans have to get even a simple injection either from the hospital or by an appointment with a private doctor.

Ahamal Hussain, a salesman at an Apollo Pharmacy in JP Nagar, said: “Many people come and ask if we can give them injections or tetanus shots, but as we don’t have trained compounders, we have to refuse them.”

Mr Hussain added: “Three months ago a nursing agency proposed a deal through which they wanted to administer injections to patients at their homes by collaborating with our company, but the company didn’t agree to the deal.”

Prabhakar Rao, who wanted a tetanus shot at a drug store on MG Road for a minor hand injury, said: “I am new to this city and I was really surprised to see that there are no compounders at any drug store nearby to administer injections.

“For all minor injuries and wounds that can be attended to by any trained compounder, we have to run and wait for appointments at hospitals.”

Dr. Vivek Shanai, Director in Charge at Rajshekhar Hospital, said: “Karnataka never had any compounders at drug stores. It’s not legal here.

“Maybe other cities have this facility but we never brought this up as we don’t have any degree or training program to train compounders.”

Even neighbouring cities

Taxi drivers fail to heed ID directive

One of the drug stores in MG Road where compounders are not present.

like Chennai and Hyderabad have this facility. Dr. Naryana R. of Karnataka Medical Council said: “The demand for this facility is very high as it provides immediate relief to a patient who doesn’t need to wait for appointments in hospitals or a visit to a private doctor. They can be treated by providing primary health care.”

Drug Controller Officer,

Venkatesh Reddy, said: “We don’t have any trained compounders and also there are no training programs or degrees provided exclusively for this post. Thus we couldn’t come up with this facility.”

There are around 500 drug stores in Bangalore, 30 percent of which are retail outlets, but none of them have this facility.

Rajnish Kumara, an IT

professional from Bangalore, said: “There are many hospitals in the city but it’s not always possible to wait for an appointment.

“Often we cannot take out the time.

“If we have this facility of trained compounders in drug stores, we don’t have to visit hospitals and we can get some quick treatment from the drug store itself.”

ONLY a quarter of Bangalore’s taxi drivers have collected a mandatory license display card, forcing city police to extend the deadline.

To ensure women’s safety in the city, Bangalore Traffic Department made it mandatory for all drivers of private taxi s, including airport taxis and cabs that carry IT and call center employees, to display license cards on the back of the driver’s seat.

First deadline for collecting the display card was on 31st January, 2013, which is now extended to 15th February, 2013. M.A. Saleem, Additional Traffic Commissioner, said: “We started the distribution from 15th January, but received a cold response. The queue has increased outside the office during the last two days since the deadline was nearing.”

There are 14,000 cab drivers in the city, out of which only 3,400 cards are distributed. Saleem said, “Initially we distributed only 100 cards every day, but now we have started distributing 600 cards.”

If the cab drivers are caught without the display cards after 15th February, they will be booked for breaching the rules.

To ensure smooth distribution of the display cards, Bangalore Traffic Department has set up five booths for distribution three at Shivajinagar office, and two at Yashwantpur.

The same rule was imposed on auto rickshaws last year, during which around 5,690 cases were booked against auto drivers in the city. Saleem added that 251 auto rickshaws were booked for violating the rule during the first 20 days of January this year.

February 01, 2013

The Weekly Observer

|07

Credits: Franklin Joseph

Dropout rates increase in self defense classes

Enrolment rates have decreased in self defence classes in Bangalore

By Hansa V

A self-defense class in Bangalore saw a 75 percent drop in attendance after the Delhi gang rape and murder case.

Contrary to the news reports stating that demand for self-defense classes has increased after the Delhirape case, demand and need for self-defense classes, especially by women, has gone down in Bangalore.

Over 60 percent of the students from most of the self-defense institutes in Bangalore have been leaving

the institutes on the grounds that the classes do not teach them how to defend themselves quickly enough.

Antoinette Mazumdar, a drop-out from Abhimanyu Academy - Martial Arts & Fitness, said: “After that horrendous rape in Delhi I signed up for a self defense class in my locality, to make me feel secure again.

However, the classes were started by the instructor teaching us how to be mentally prepared.

“It was too slow for me. I was in a hurry to learn self defense- physical not the

mental defense.

“So I dropped out in the second week and am looking at other alternatives and am unable to find any, as all the academies are into teaching mental awareness as opposed to physical preparedness that I am looking for.”

Instructors believe selfdefense classes cannot concentrate only on the physical vigilance. To them, mental preparedness is more important..

Franklin Joseph, chief instructor for self-defense, Krav Maga Women Self

Defense Academy, said: “As all this, which happens in the streets, is not exactly replicated in such studios, people become vulnerable even though they might know a few tricks.

“So taking the psychological factor into consideration, my organization aims at preparing the student first mentally, then physically.

“Since we are based on reality-scenario based training, psychological factor is the mental block.

“A lot of people are looking for fantasy Jackie Chan kicks

or Bruce Lee kicks, they assume that just kicking and punching will solve all their problems on the roads.

“Due to this, we have a high drop-out rate. Earlier, we were a batch of almost 100 students but now, after the Delhi-rape case, our student number has gone down to an average of 25.”

Instructors say they are happy that there are at least 20 to 25 students who are sensible and willing to learn the process thoroughly, instead of abandoning classes. The instructors are happier with fewer students.

Govt. reimbursement scheme aims at tackling HIV/AIDS

By Deepu Aby Varghese

ANTIRETROVIRAL therapy for HIV/AIDS is gaining momentum in the state, as the government has begun a travel reimbursement scheme for patients.

The reimbursement scheme has been effectively implemented in South Karnataka since 3rd January, 2013.

The Karnataka Health

Promotion Trust hopes to provide medication more effectively to patients after the reimbursement scheme is implemented.

Economically backward people find it unaffordable to bear the travel expenses to the concerned medication centers.

“In a country like India, HIV patients will find it difficult to commute to the ART centers.

“So this reimbursement scheme is extremely essential and is a very proactive move from the side of the government.

“I welcome the travel reimbursement scheme as it will be a relief to those who find it hard to make ends meet,” said Dr. Srinath Maddur, Director, Capacity building, Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT).

Antiretroviral Therapy

(ART) helped in decreasing the risk of transmitting maternal infection to the new born.

ART has effectively reduced the number of HIV infections in the state.

In 2012, out of 37,284 people tested, only 814 people (323 women and 491 men) were found to be HIV positive.

Dr. Srinath said that “The efforts taken by the

government to control the number of HIV infections in terms of prevention have worked.

“HIV infected people have been empowered and they are also responding to such efforts,” continued Dr. Srinath.

The KHPT also provides technical assistance in empowering the transgender community and sex workers across the state.

08

The Weekly Observer

February 01, 2013

Dementia patients lack social security programmes DEMENTIA patients in the ‘Pensioner’s Paradise’ of Bangalore get no support from the state due to lack of care services for this mental health condition.

City doctors expressed concern for this disease which is increasing by 10% every year.

Dr. C.R. Chandrashekhar, a psychiatrist at NIMHANS (National Health of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences), said: “The cases are increasing every year, but it still remains a largely hidden problem.

Lack of awareness and scarcity of health care services for people with dementia and their families have increased the problem.”Another psychiatrist at Nightingales Medical Trust, Dr. Sowmya Hegde, said: “Due to lack of database we can’t track down the number of patients from all over the state, including the rural areas.

It’s the responsibility of the government to take some initiative but it hasn’t done anything yet.”Proposals for formulating a National Dementia Strategy, National Health Care Program for the Elderly and building a National Alzheimer’s Centre in

the capital besides setting up memory clinics at district level have been put before the government. But the government is yet to act upon them.

Dementia has already been recognized as a national health priority, and presently over 3.7 million people are affected by dementia in India.

The number is expected to double by 2030, as observed in the survey of ‘Dementia India Report.’Alzheimer’s

grams to address this growing health problem in India.

The branch of ARDSI in Bangalore, the Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT), which has been functioning for last 17 years in the city, provided the statistics which states that over 700 patients from the urban area only have been admitted so far in just two years.

But Dr. Sowmya Hegde from NMT said that they are regularly running Mo-

problem. The larger responsibility lies with the government.

They have to take action faster as the problem is growing rapidly and needs serious attention.”Dr. Chandrashekhar said: “Another chief reason behind this mental health problem is also the lack of care from the family members and misbehavior faced at old age homes.

The old age homes are overcrowded and lack trained

Credits: Nightingale Medical Trust

By Priyanka Roy

A Dementia patient with the caregiver

and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) are the two main organizations which initiated awareness pro-

bile Memory Screening Van, which provides free check up and medicine in rural areas and conducts various awareness programs.She added: “We can do very little for this

staff.”Apart from NMT, which currently takes care of 66 patients, Vishranti, another old age home in the city, have 36 dementia patients.

Mrs. Sarasa Vasudeva,

One-fifth of forest official posts vacant at state tiger hotspots

By Rohan D Premkumar

MORE than a fifth of the positions of forest officials at the Nagarhole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves are vacant.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests had sanctioned 455 positions for range forest officers, deputy range forest officers, forest guards and forest watchers, but so far, only 357 of these positions have been filled at the bio-hotspots in the state.

The shortfall in the number of officers is especially

telling in the number of forest guards, who are responsible for protecting the reserves from poachers.

Here, the numbers of unfilled positions shoot up to 26% of the number of sanctioned positions at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, while at the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, up to 46% of the positions remain unfilled.

Dipak Sarmah, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka, said that the problem of vacant positions of wildlife officers was prevalent across India, and that

the government was working towards filling the vacancies. “The forest guards require extensive training.

So it will take a while before these positions are filled,” he added.

According to a Right to Information (RTI) response from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka, there appears to be a shortfall in the number of range forest officers and forest guards at the two key tiger reserves in the state.

The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Rajkumar

Srivastava, said that the vacancies were a result of a generational transition of old forest officers retiring.

Srivastava also said that there was an ongoing recruitment drive, which is currently training 440 officers.

He also added that more than 900 officers will be recruited in the coming year, including 559 forest watchers.

“We are one of the largest forest departments in the country, and the situation in Karnataka is much better than in most other states,” Srivastava added.

the head of Vishranti, said: “Most of the patients who come to our home are utterly neglected and isolated by their family members and many of them are forcibly admitted as dementia patients by their families.

Depression and isolation is a huge part of this mental condition. We also need contribution from families but we hardly get that.”

Esthar, 65, a patient at NMT, who is a gold medalist in Economics and was a banker in the United Kingdom, is suffering from Vascular Dementia. Sharalamma, another patient at Tara Old Age Home, said: “I have three sons but none of them have the time to take up my responsibility.”

Dr. Shruti Shivkumar, a psychologist at NMT, said: “There is no absolute cure for this disease. We can only slow down the intensity of their trauma through medication.”

She added: “People have started taking the matter seriously and that is our achievement.

Now we need contribution from the government.

They need to regulate the strategies fast so that a large number of patients who are being ignored and neglected in the rural areas could be brought into account.”

Observer Team An IIJNM Publicaton For Private circulation

Editor Deepu Abby Verghese Sub-editor Satyajith GD Page Editors Rohan D Premkumar Nikita Malusare Hansa V Krishnaprasad S Urmi Sengupta Sneha Banerjee Proof Readers Kakoli Mukherjee Priyanka Roy Shreya Mukherjee E-mail editor@iijnm.org