05.11.09
Posted in Human Rights Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:47 am by YUDHISTRA
Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/30/stories/2009043050360100.htm
KURNOOL: Chenchus of Nallamala forest are close to starvation. Serious malnutrition has induced malaria and dreaded tuberculosis in the community.
According to statistics, around 41.23 per cent of Chenchu population has been struck by malaria and over 2,000 TB cases detected. Infant morality rate was 215 per thousand as against 80 in the rest of the population. Maternal mortality was seven per thousand as against average of four elsewhere.
Their poor health status is attributed to lack of nutritious diet. While there is no incidence of malaria and TB among other forest dwellers, the diseases were dogging the Chenchu population.
Starvation deaths were detected among Chenchus way back in 1994. On the direction of Centre, the State government constituted a high level committee headed by the Chief Secretary to tackle the problem. But the committee appears to have met last only in 1997. When this correspondent was driving on the ghat roads of Nallamala forest recently, emaciated Chenchu children were seen running after the vehicles carrying pilgrims to Srisailam temple for food or money.
The plight of the Chenchus can be attributed to the poor or half-hearted implementation of the government’s guidelines framed in 1994 to help them. For instance, the Antyodaya cards for tribals are expected to ensure that every family gets 35 kg rice at Rs. 3 a kg and 10 kg extra for senior citizens, but only half the families are covered so far.
The 40,000-strong Chenchu tribals, who are spread across six districts, are considered among the poorest of the poor.
It is a losing a battle for them ever since the first law came into force in 1891 reserving the Nallamala forest and seeking to resettle them elsewhere. Since then, the noose around Chenchu necks is tightening year after year.
Income earned from pilgrims in the form of ‘metta’ (resting place) fee is lost after the motorable road was laid to Srisailam. Chenchus also used to collect a small fee for escorting pilgrims to safety as wild animals and dacoits roamed the forests. In the days of yore, Chenchus were taken care of by the temple.
The confrontation with the forest department intensified after declaration of a tiger reserve on 6,197 sq km covering the entire habitat of Chenchus in the nineties. Rampant alcoholism among the Chechus is partly to blame.
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02.04.09
Posted in Human Rights Council, Media Council at 4:19 pm by admin
PTI | London
An unemployed Indian youth from Punjab is battling for his life in a hospital in Rome after three youngsters beat him up with a bottle and set him on fire in an apparent “racist attack”.
35-year-old Navtej Singh Sidhu, a construction worker from Moga who has been in Italy for the last five years, but jobless for the last 4 months was sleeping in the Nettuno railway station, 65-km south of Rome when he was brutally attacked on Sunday morning.
Sushmit Biswas, First Secretary in the Indian Embassy in Rome who was the first to visit Sidhu, told PTI over phone the victim had sustained 40 per cent third degree burns, besides a skull fracture.
According to Dr Verardi, the therapist attending him at Saint Eugenio Hospital, Rome, Sidhu’s condition is still critical.
“He will be under observation for the next 72 hours,” the doctor said.
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11.18.08
Posted in Human Rights Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:31 am by YUDHISTRA
Reproduced from Mumbai Mirror November 18, 2008 page 4
NGOs march to minister’s office, start singing national anthem, force him to stand up
DANISH KHAN
A group of NGOs marched into a minister’s office at Mantralaya and sang the national anthem, forcing him to stand up. The incident happened on Monday when activists from various NGOs met Patangrao Kadam, minister for co-operation, rehabilitation and relief works.
As the group reached the office at the appointed hour, they were ushered into the conference room of the minister’s cabin. “Kadam was kind enough to grant us an audience, which is rare thing among ministers,” said Vijay Chauhan, a member of a social organisation, Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT).
The minister joined them and before discussions, the ministers’ aide instructed the group to keep the meet short as Kadam had a busy day ahead. But suddenly, without warning, members of the group and particularly Chauhan, insisted they sing the national anthem.
“I told him we never start any meeting without singing the national anthem. Kadam said there was no need for it and that discussions could start straightaway,” said Chauhan. But to everyone’s surprise, Chauhan started singing the anthem anyway.
“The minister had no option but to stand and sing along with us. We started putting forth our points after the anthem was over,” said I K Chhugani, member of social organisation PLEAD, who was part of the group. The meeting lasted 30 minutes with Kadam giving them a patient ear.
The group, who met to discuss state co-operatives issues, asked the minister to ensure administrators appointed by registrars were not incompetent or corrupt and that registrars act on complaints registered by members of co-operative societies. “We also asked him to ensure that corrupt registrars were transferred to non-executive postings, transparency be brought into the department and pending cases be expedited,” said Chauhan.
“He instructed principal secretary Dr Sudhir Kumar Goel, to look into the issues raised by us. We will meet him again after 15 days,” said Mukund Parekh, another member.
At the end of the meet, sixtyone-year old Chhugani even asked the minister his age. “Kadam told me he was 72, to which I mentioned we were all getting older and that we should do positive things so that our future generations have a better life,” said Chhugani.
When contacted Patangrao Kadam said: “I have asked my officer to look into their issues and if anybody is found guilty, necessary action will be taken.”
It is now to be seen if the NGO members sing the national anthem again, at the next meet
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