The Weekly Observer Volume 16 Issue 12
An IIJNM Publication
Thursday, 03 November 2016
Graveyards face space crunch in the city Prabhakar Thakur prabhakar.t@iijnm.org
Bengaluru: Major burial grounds in the city located at Banashankari, Wilson Garden, Shantinagar and Kalpalli are cramped with graves which have made it difficult for the people to find a place to bury their deceased relatives. The graveyards in the city were identified decades ago but in a booming city like Bengaluru, space is falling short for the dead. With tombstones erected over graves, redigging a grave after many years and reusing it is not possible. Praveen, who had come to make offerings at his father’s grave in Kalpalli Burial Ground, says, “It is very difficult to walk into the ground as all the graves there are tightly packed and stink badly. I come here every year and I find dogs, sheeps, hens and other stray animals roaming freely around the graves, often digging and destroying them. this, sometimes leaves few of the graves partially open.” However, space crunch is not the only issue with the burial grounds in the city. Filth and lack of civic amenities are adding to the pain of the grieving relatives who go to the burial grounds to perform last rites of their loved ones. The graveyards
ial grounds in Bengaluru w e r e marked m a n y decades ago which were sufficient for the then population. “There is huge pressure on the existing b u r i a l grounds and due to extensive urbanisation, finding space Finding space for the departed is getting difficult as burial grounds are on the verge of saturation. for new resemble dump yards as the garbage are brought here for burial. “We burial grounds is also not easy,” he crisis is mounting in the burial don’t stop stray animals from com- added. grounds. Also, the ones who come ing into our compound. They some“Developing new layouts in and to bury their deceased relatives or times harm the graves but we re-fill around the city is the responsibility on their death anniversary to make the graves whenever required,” he of Bangalore development. While offerings , leave the surrounding added. doing so, they have to make providirty. Dr. Shivasharanappa S. Khandre, sions for Civic Amenities (CA) sites Karthik, working at Kalpalli Public Relation Officer of Bruhat which include burial grounds. If graveyard said, he has been working Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike they make such provision and then here as a grave digger since child- (BBMP) agreed that a lot needs to hand over the layout to us, we can hood. On a daily basis 2-3 bodies be done in this regard. He said bur- take care of it and provide better fa-
cilities,” Mr. Khandre further said. The grounds also lack necessary civic amenities such as toilets,, safe drinking water, proper lighting and seating arrangements. It adds to the grief of the mourning relatives who have to take bath before performing the last rites. Arun, a grave digger in Banshankari burial ground says there is a toilet in the campus but it has been defunct since it was constructed. “We do not have bathroom but we have water connection and those who want to take bath can use the taps which are installed in open. However, people bring their own water for drinking purposes.” Cremation has been halted at the Banashankari cremetorium. The workers there told that on an average, 6-7 bodies are brought here every day but we send them back because of the repair going on. Prof. M. N. Sreehari, an urban planning expert said, “Burial grounds in the city were identified many years ago. They are poorly maintainedand are unhealthy as well. With the population of Bengaluru reaching around 1.2 crore, the government should look up for new areas, may be outside the city and new burial grounds should be alloted as per the demand in different areas.”
612 deaths in 2016 due to unscientific dividers, says city Traffic Police
Unscientific dividers cause injuries, problems while driving Konica Kamra konica.k@iijnm.org Bengaluru: According to Bangalore Traffic Police statistics, 4117 road accidents took place this year till September, claiming 612 lives and injuring 3153. Traffic police, as well as traffic experts, agree that badly made dividers are responsible for many of these causalities. One of the most common sights on roads and highways is vehicles crashing on the road dividers. Dividers which are meant to regulate the traffic are not serving the purpose. The width Kanakpura road, Shivajinagar, Kengeri, Central park in many parts of the city is barely few inches. Janardhan Rao K, executive engineer at Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) said, “There is no particular rule for the height of the divider but the ideal size is 1 feet to 1.5 feet to avoid jaywalking and vehicle crashing on the other side of the road. It has to be painted and fixed with cateye reflector. But due to new experiments in improving the road and
not re-building it from ground zero, the roads are eating up the height of the divider. Janardhan said, “Brigade road dividers and road near the Airport are very uneven. A shopkeeper on Brigade road said that people easily shift bricks to make way for themselves which makes the matter even worse. The solid concrete of the divider is difficult to pull back and again put to increase the height.” A resident of Mysore road complained that the divider on the road is barely seen. “One day I was driving to 7th Block Jayanagar around 8.30 p.m. the street lights weren’t powerful and bright enough to provide visibility. I almost hit the divider as I was overtaking a vehicle from the right side because the divider was almost invisible.” Narendra, another resident of Mysore roadsaid, “In the last 3 months, I have seen or heard more than 10 accidents happening on this road because of the ‘almost invisible divider’ which is meant to regulate the traffic and not pose threat to commuters.”
Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 are out of school.
Schools in Bangalore not meeting mandatory 5 percent disability quotas Ilona Dam ilona.d@iijnm.org Bengaluru: Eleven-year-old, Ujjwal is a victim of polio, in addition to having speaking troubles. His father, Mr. Sanjay’s biggest concern now is his son’s education. Few schools in Bangalore are ready to admit him and hence, unlike his sister Kajal, he will not lead a life without mockery, as Sanjay fears. Ujjwal’s story isn’t unique in an education system which pushes children with disabilities to the margins of the society. A survey conducted by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled Peoples (NCPEDP) in 2015 reveals that amongst the 15 lakh students in educational institutions, only 0.56 percent were differently-able. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights
and Full Participation) Act, 1995, Section 39 state that all educational institutions are required to reserve 3 percent seats for children with disabilities. Suman Yadav, Balwantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan School’s Disability wing member (ASMNA), said most schools don’t meet the 3 per cent quota meant for disabled children. “Schools lack in infrastructure and skilled-teachers for such children.” Speaking on the importance of these quotas, Yadav said, “These quotas will help the children to enter the mainstream education system and end the myth that disabled children are only meant to be in special schools.” Mrs. Kalachurchill, headmistress of YMCA school, a non-govern-
ment institution, said parents who belong to the lower economic stratum are unaware of such quotas. She quotes the example of Dhanu Kumar, a 9-year-old boy whose parents were unaware of the disability quotas. “He is crippled and has learning disability. His parents had given up hope on educating him,” Mrs. Kalachurchill further said. A report by United Nations (UN) said, “While India has made significant improvement in primary education enrolment, the figures for children with disabilities are staggering. Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 children aged 6 to 14 years (34 per cent) are out of school.”
BENGALURU
THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, 03 NOVEMBER, 2016
METRO
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BMRCL to resubmit dying lake project report Pallabi Sutar pallabi.s@iijnm.org
Ban on Chinese firecrackers fails to boost domestic sale: ASSOCHAM Bhakti Tambe bhakti.t@iijnm.org
Bengaluru: An appealing drive to ban Chinese firecrackers and import has had little or no effect on domestically made crackers says the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s (ASSOCHAM) survey-cum-analysis. The poor domestic firecrackers business is the outcome of campaigns run by schools, residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), and others, noted the ASSOCHAM’s survey. ASSOCHAM interacted with firecracker wholesalers, retailers, and traders in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai to gauge the demand for firecrackers alongwith the impact of ban on Chinese firecrackers across India. Most of the traders who participated in the survey said that they have seen a sharp decline of about 20 percent every year since past five years and have also almost halved the amount of crackers they used to bring in wake of poor sales. It is not just campaign against Chinese firecrackers but multiple
factors like growing environmental awareness, rising cost of living, growing tendency among people to save their hard earned money rather that spoiling it on burning crackers, paucity of timeand traffic congestion during festive period have together dented the business over the years, said majority of 250 firecrackers traders in the cities that ASSOCHAM representatives interacted with during the course of past 25 days. Most of the traders participated in the survey said that they have seen a sharp decline of about 20 percent year-on-year from past five years and have also almost halved the amount of crackers they used to get in wake of poor sales. Mr. Damodara Kannan, owner of Priyadharshini Pyrotechnics, Sivakasi said, “Last year, I manufactured almost 2500 firecrackers cases but this year I manufactured only 2000. The overall sale has decreased by 20 per cent as people are being overprotective about environment and the craze of crackers has declined.” “Last 15 days were better for the sale but manufactures doesn’t get benefited from it. May be the retailers are doing well but the business has declined so far,”
Mr. Kannan added. “Banning Chinese firecrackers was a welcome move that was aimed at strengthening the domestic industry, however growing criticism of bursting firecrackers and all the negative publicity together with rising air and noise pollution have eventually faded the growth of firecrackers industry across India,” said Mr. D. S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s survey-cum-analysis. “About hundreds of units in Sivakasi have shut their shop owing to intense campaigns and growing sales of China-made crackers over the years, it is estimated that about 30,000 workers have lost their livelihood,” added Mr. Rawat. “There are about 800 licensed firecrackers making unit in Sivakasi where this industry accounts for a market size of about Rs. 2,500 crore which has been facing heat from China’s,” he added. Rise in cost of raw materials, overall inflation have also discouraged people from buying firecrackers and this trend has been going for past few years now, noted the ASSOCHAM survey.
Bengaluru: BMRCL has hit a roadblock in the process of rejuvenation of the Kengeri Lake, which the former adopted in 2012 along with Veerasandra Lake to be turned into model lakes. Lake development Authority’s official Mr Velumani said that since the proposed plan by BMRCL was not satisfactory in the area of sewage disposal plans, they have asked the latter to submit the project plan again this time with the necessary arrangements for safe disposal of sewage away from the lake. Mr Velumani explained that there are two inlets through which rainwater can pass through and to the lake but due to lack of maintenance, sewage water has also started passing through the inlets. He also explained that the underground drainage system which is laid along the walking path of the lake has been blocked by sewage from the residential areas. “The rejuvenation of the lake is not possible if the inlets and the sewage disposal system is not repaired and maintained,” he
added. In 2012 BMRCL had pledged to adopt two lakes -Kengeri and Veerasandra- in order to revive them as they were drying out and covered under layer of water hyacinth. Mr Vasanth Rao, the BMRCL spokesperson was unavailable for comments this time around. Dr M.D Subhash Chandra, a professor from Indian Institute of Science, says that 98 percent of Bengaluru’s lakes, once a great source of irrigation and drinking water are in bad condition. He also says that untreated industrial and sewage wastes are polluted with thousands of inorganic agents that degrade and dry up the lakes. The residents have complaints regarding the lake, which used to be a pristine water body. The lake is covered with water hyacinths now and has sewage disposed into it through the inlets. Moreover, the walking path along the lake border is in ruins and frequented by vagabonds “We do not feel safe and neither is the lake a source of pleasure to us now,” says Savitha, a resident of a flat in the proximity of the lake.
Kengeri lake adopted by the BMRCL in 2012 is in a polluted condition.
City has 5 operational night shelters out of 13 constructed by BBMP Azmia Riaz azmia.r@iijnm.org
Bengaluru: Bangalore city has a striking number of undocumented homeless people. In 2010, the Supreme Court mandated that “all major cities in all states and union territories” with population exceeding five lakhs provide night shelters at a ratio of one shelter per lakh of a population”. According to this directive, the city should have more approximately 115 homes in place. In the same year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) constructed 13 shelters. However, only five remain operational today. According to the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), the management and operation of the shelters were to be the undertaken by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) or agencies identified by them. By 2015, eight shelters were functioning in partnership Non-Governmental Organisations identified by the ULB. They were in the BBMP’s zonal areas of East, West, South, Bommanahalli, Mahadevpura, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli and RR Nagar. But a year later, the number has dropped to just five shelters with the pulling out of many NGOs. The remaining shelters may also be in danger of closing down. The night shelter in Bommana-
halli is one among the few remaining shelters. In 2011, the government approached Surabhi Foundation Trust, an NGO that primarily dealt with children, to run the shelter in a partnership. The deal was that the government would provide the money and the trust would supply the manpower. Under this agreement, two urban homelessness centres were handed to them. By 2013, the funds stopped coming. One centre was closed citing a lack of land for the project. There has been no funding for the past two years. According Niranjan Raju, the head of volunteer engagement and fundraising for the trust, “We rely on fundraising and sometimes money from our own pockets to keep the centres running. We take in the really poor and hungry and manage to provide them with basic security, food and counselling.” “The directors of our organisation do not want to give up on the cause for such small reasons, there are some wonderful people involved in the project. But this cannot go on for long,” explains Niranjan earnestly. In Mahadevpura, the Vidyaranya Educational Trust has been funding the night shelter for more than two years, according to its General Secretary, Ramesh. “After establishing it, the government does not seem to
have much interest in managing the shelter; they only went through with it because of the Court’s orders.” The trust pays the staff, but is no longer able to provide food for the inmates. “We keep it up for the 35 regulars who come there to sleep. That’s all it is,” explains Ramesh. The story is not very different in Yelahanka, the government provided the land and the building for the construction of a night shelter. Today, the building is closed for renovation. “The building is the government’s and they never fail to maintain it, the inmates are a different question,” explains Sampath, deputy director of the Gilgal Charitable Trust. They haven’t received any help for three years. “We have 22 people in need of basic facilities and are thinking of finding some other source of funding, otherwise the shelter will close.” The night shelter in Halasuru had received funding until early 2015, according to Communications Officer of Sparsha Trust, Manjunath. “It has been about 20 months; maintaining a home of this sort is a huge responsibility,” he explains. The Sparsha Trust does not plan to abandon the shelter anytime soon, but Manjunath admits that “We are a charitable organisation and it is dif-
ficult to utilise our money for a single project that needs so much more resources.” According to Janardhanan, community organiser for the welfare office of the BBMP, one reason for the shelter closings is that “zonal officers neglect their duties,” In particular, he said, conducting surveys of the number of homeless before October 1. The last survey was taken in 2013 which found a total number 1,218 homeless people. “A survey of the homeless must be taken every 15 days in order to identify the numbers. Without it, the beneficiaries are unaware of the shelter homes and they continue to live on the streets,” said Janardhanan. “This circular was ignored by the officers, citing various excuses. Now another one has been sent making it compulsory to account for the number of homeless people in the various zones before November 15.” The NULM further states that each shelter must have one full time manager and three caregivers. The night shelter in Goods Shed has no manager at all. The list of inmates and their attendance is maintained by Satish, who is an inmate himself. 26 people currently reside in the shelter. “Sometimes people come and they go, there is no exact count.” When asked about how the homeless receive information about
the shelters, “Those of us who are found sleeping near the railway station are taken in, I don’t know about any other areas.” Most of the Night Shelters don’t have the capacity to take in more than 40-50 inmates. The shelter in Rajaji Nagar only opens at 6:30. Officers of a BBMP information centre explain that 14 people currently reside in the shelter. One of the inmates waiting around the block comments, “This place is a blessing. We have a place to rest our head and food to eat.” He does not believe that they would close the place down. No more than a kilometer from the shelter, a man named Harish sits near a bus stop. He is not aware of the shelter. “I sleep here on most days, there are no people here at night,” On being asked about the shelters he says, “No one I know lives in a home. Who will take care of all these people? It will be too much of a hassle…” According to the Central office of the BBMP, the NGOs are supporting the shelters even though it is clearly the duty of the allotted BBMP zone to do so. Four out of six NGOs are currently involved in the project admits are strained over funds and agrees to the questionable future of night shelters.
BENGALURU
METRO 90 percent rapes in Karnataka against women from SC and ST categories THE OBSERVER
3
THURDAY, 3 NOVEMBER, 2016
By Cathline Chen cathline.c@iijnm.org
Photo courtesy: idiva.com
The Violence Against Women (VAW) cases documented by the paralegals of the Sisters for Change Program has found that Dalit women are targets of verbal and physical violence at home, at work and in their local communities on a daily basis. It also mentioned that in Koppal district, a 17-year-old Dalit girl was raped. She used to take her family’s goats to graze in a nearby field. A 20 year-old man took her to a secluded place and raped her. There are many other cases like this
By Ashima Chowdhary ashima.c@iijnm.org Bengaluru: The usage of psychedelic drugs in the country’s IT Hub is on the rise among students and IT professionals alike, according to the Anti-Narcotics Bureau.
Bengaluru: A report by the Sisters for Change partnered with Karnataka Dalit MahilaVedike (KDMV) infers that 1 out of 6 women in the world who are raped, live in India, revealing that 25 % of females belong to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) or Scheduled Tribes (STs). The numbers are staggering, with Karnataka having 90% of women and girls from Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes raped in Karnataka. The report highlights the increase in levels of sexual and domestic violence experienced by Dalit women. 68% of women were surveyed stating they had been physically forced to commit a sexual act and 72% of them had been raped. The suspects of physical and sexual violence against Dalit women are often either not registered or charged with minor offences.
Usage of psychedelic drugs on rise amongst students
in the state of Karnataka, where Dalit women have been assaulted, beaten and raped. According to the National Coalition for Strengthening SCs & SCs (Prevention of Atrocity) Act report, in 2010, out of the total of 32712 atrocities, only 10513 (32%) cases were registered under PoA Act. The average rate of pendency in court was 82.9%. “Karnataka only has 8 special courts under the PoA Act in Kolar, Mysore, Belgaum, Vijaypur, Raipur, Gulbarga, Tumkur and Ramnagara. Though, there are none in Bengaluru till date” said Mr. Soundhar Raj, Additional Director, Social Welfare Department, Bengaluru. “We confer benefits to the victim after the district administration sends the complaint filed to the Social welfare department, he added.
Mr. Loklaksha, a Dalit Leader in Mangalore said, “All atrocities irrespective of castes happens because of the mindset of women being ‘helpless’. The perpetrators believe Dalit women are vulnerable and consider them of having ‘no voice’. There have been 164 cases of atrocities this year and almost 30-40 percent of such cases have been against Dalit women.” He also added “The Indian mindset that teaches us that women are inferior and have no opinion in the society formulates all in-human acts.” Stree Shakti, the Integrated Programme Head at the Department of Women and Child Development said “The victim of atrocities of any category are given a sum of Rs. 25000 as a temporary relief and we provide legal counselling, police help and special treatments in all district hospitals.”
Whether through “trusted dealers,” physical dealers or deep web portals, there has been a steady rise in the availability and consumption of hard-core drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) blots, methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) and Ecstasy, said officials at the Bureau.
“Bitcoins are the most used currency these days to buy drugs in a non traceable manner,” said Sanjay D, who said he uses bitcoins to procure drugs on a regular basis. A Bitcoin is a mode of payment, created by an unidentified programmer or a group of programmers. “Usually due to the absence of a middle man, the stuff we get is of better quality. It is purer,” adds Sanjay.
In the latest arrest case, the ladies and narcotics unit of the Central Crime Branch arrested two Nigerians who were allegedly carrying 300 grams of cocaine in the city late “LSD is on Saturday tasteless, innight. They visible and were alodourless and legedly supthus LSD p l y i n g paper blots or cocaine proeven sugar cured in cubes are h u g e hard to deamounts tect. While from Goa LSD is for and Mumbai the high, anPhoto courtesy: discoveryplace.info into the city. other substance, MDMA provides stamina to “In the last few years, there has party late into the night,” said the Narcotics Control Bureau, Ben- been a steady rise in the number of patients seeking help, suffering galuru. Raghunath S, who works in a pri- from substance use. They usually vate company in Bengaluru, said, fall in the ages between 18-25. It “In spite of stringent checks on begins from experimentation and these drugs, the availability has ends at addiction,” said Dr. Murlidgone up nonetheless. In the event har, of the Department of Social that you know whom to contact, Psychiatry at the National Institute anything from weed to LSD can be of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences made accessible.”
Contaminated water spreads illnesses in Ambedkar Colony; local clinic runs out of medical kits By Abhishek Mitra abhishek.m@iijnm.org Bengaluru: Residents of Ambedkar Colony in Nayandahalli are forced to buy drinking water from a newly installed water ATM as the government-supplied water is non-potable. “The quality of the water supplied is terrible,” Mansinath, a local resident said. He added that the supply of water is irregular as well. “We get water only on alternate days from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon,” he said. Ambedkar Colony is a registered slum and entitled to potable water supply by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB), however, due to high contamination levels in the water, residents use the Reverse Osmosis (RO) water plant (Water ATM) to buy 20 litres of water at Rs 5. Apart from the ATM, the only other source of potable water for the 700 odd families of Ambedkar Colony is four taps that supply Kaveri water every alternate day for
a span of about 2 hours. “There will always be a long queue. We have to wait over 45 minutes to fill a small vessel. And Then we get shooed away,” said Usha, who has been living in the colony for five years. “This slum is already riddled with garbage and sewage. We have to
night with two compounders supporting me; there’s an outreach program every Tuesday, we get medicines from KLDP (National Urban Health). We do not have enough kits. I have requested the Health department to provide equipments.” “Diseases like dengue, malaria, tuberculosis and chikungunya is sweeping through our neighbourhood. At least one child falls ill everyday here.” says Sampatha, a mother of three. Naveen, 23, Dengue patient said, “I got dengue a month ago, Photo Courtesy: Abhishek Mitra right when the water supply take our children to the hospital for started reducing. I had to go to Popdysentery and dengue every now ular Hospitals, Nayandhahalli, for and then due to the bad water.” treatment. I spent nearly (Rs)ten Sukriti Krishna, a resident said. thousand for my treatment,” adding, A clinic just beside the colony “My mother had to run between the serve people before they visit any colony and the hospital as I was sick private or government hospitals. Dr. and she needed to fill water from the Sobha is in-charge of the clinic and taps, or stay thirsty. This is our situshe is serving the place all alone ation.” without any support from the Government. She said, “I work day and
Happy Birthday, Amartya Sen, one of India’s greatest pioneers of social theories. See page 4.
BENGALURU
THE OBSERVER THURSDAY, 3 NOVEMBER, 2016
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UNWIND
#EndImpunity: Crimes against Journalists By Mrigakshi Dixit mrigakshi.d@iijnm.org Bengaluru: Journalism is an occupation that stands for bringing out the truth to the masses. Journalists work to tell every inside detail of the happenings around the world be it a criminal case or the world’s biggest scams. They put their lives in danger so that the people get to know the reality of the world. The journalist stands out with the world to fight injustice, but who stands with journalists when they become the victim of injustice? 2nd November is recognised by United Nations as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, In a report produced by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO), sin the course of ten years 827 journalists killing incidents have been witnessed out of which none of the criminals are prosecuted. India ranks 14 in the impunity index according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with Somalia, Iraq and Syria being the top three countries where the killers walk free in the country. In India, media is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy but the freedom of speech is being limited with such fatal killings. In 2015,
more than 100 journalists were killed according to a Reporters Without Borders report (RSF), for bringing out the truth. 98 per cent male and 3 per cent female killings were reported. According to CPJ, in India, the killings are reported mostly of the journalists who cover beats like politics (50%), corruption (40%), crime (25%), culture (23%), business (23%), human rights (20%) and war (5%). Since 1992 to 2015, over the years, 69 journalist have being killed In case of 40 journalists, motives have been confirmed, three reporters killed and only terminology explained, and in 26 killings, motive being unconfirmed. As per the CPJ, in 90 per cent of the murder cases, the murderer walks free and no punishment is awarded to the criminals. In the impunity index, the countries that failed to conduct any further investigation about the journalist killings are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, India, South Sudan, Somalia and Syria. On 2nd November 2016, Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media observed the 2nd International Day to End Impunity and to fight for the rights of the journalists. The time is changing; the world
has already lost lots of innocent journalist through these fatal killings. As it is said, “Justice delayed is justice denied”, media has stood up for the world to bring out the truth, now it’s time for the world to stand up for the slain journalists. #EndImpunity, Enough of Injustice, lets stand against it.
Twitter This Week @Narendra Modi : Gave the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards. Congratulations to the award winners @UNESCO: Where journalists can be attacked with impunity, #humanrights are deeply damaged. #ENDImpunity #journosafe @NSUI: We wish Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen, a very happy birthday. We are proud to have an Economist like you, sir.
photo courtesy: www.un.org
Nobel winner Amartya Sen turns 83 By Azmia Riaz azmia.r@iijnm.org Bengaluru: Amartya Sen, a pioneer of Indian economics is turning 83. Throughout his inspirational career, he has been able to change the face of economic policies in the country by adding a sense of human value to it. Born in British-ruled Bengal in the year 1933, he graduated in Mathematics from the University of Calcutta and Pure Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge. He spent his formative years in various economic institutions in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Sen’s theories primarily involved theories of Welfare Economics. In his earliest publications such as Collective Choice and Social Welfare in 1970, he helped develop theories such as ‘social choice’ which debated whether “reasonable social choice (is) at all possible given the differences between one person's preferences and another's.” It was his work on famine and deprivation that grew to define Amartya Sen as a force to be reckoned within the socio-economic world. His interest in the subject stemmed from personal memory of the Bengal famine in 1943. According to him, “No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a
relatively free press.” In his book, Poverty and Famines: an Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, he was one of the first to draw a relation between famine and the functioning of democracy by pointing out that it was not a decline in food supply but a decline in social and economic factors that lead to famine. In 1998, Sen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics. A year later, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna for the same. He has also been the recipient of various other recognitions from the international community. His work is centred around the protection of individual freedom. In his book, Development as Freedom, he states that freedom is the primary end and principle means of development. He insists that freedom is the only legitimate evaluation of human progress. Amartya Sen’s career is a testament to basic human values. He has proved that economic theories can be more than mere numbers, but a means to changing the lives of people. His theories carry a weight that has the ability to change not only public opinion but also government policies. He is undoubtedly one of the most iconic figures to emerge in India and the world at large.
@BARKHA DUTT: Grateful to all on duty tonight- our Jawans, our paramilitary forces, our police, also firefightersyour vigil make our candles possible @Barack Obama : If you're willing to work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to get ahead. @United Nations :Prevention Protection Prosecution @UNESCO info on work to #ENDImpunity for Violence Against Journalists
THE WEEKLY OBSERVER TEAM EDITOR- IN - CHIEF Ilona Dam DEPUTY EDITOR Bhakti Tambe COPY EDITORS Aishwarya Iyer, Prabhakar Thakur LAYOUT EDITORS Mrigakshi Dixit, Abhishek Mitra PHOTO EDITOR Chhavi Nagapal SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Shannon Ridge Court, Azmia Riaz
While the festival of lights may have been celebrated with a lot of pomp and show, the rising levels of pollution have dampened spirits in every state.And if the rising pollution levels were not enough reason to worry, back-to-back reports of animal abuse have been flooding the net. Cracker sales have also given encouragement to the Chinese market in India.The Air Quality Index stood at PM 2.5 going up to three times more than the safelimit. Amartya Sen
Photo courtesy: livemint.com
STAFF Ashima Chowdhury, Pallabi Sutar, Cathline Chen, Konica Kamra, Romita Majumdar