Press Trust of India
Thursday, March 13, 2008 (Kolkata)
Lured with the promise of good jobs or marriage, thousands of children, especially girls, were being trafficked from seven districts of West Bengal, an NGO has claimed.
Most of the children were trafficked to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Jalandhar besides other northern cities in Haryana, UP and Bihar, the NGO Save the Children said quoting data from the National Crime Records Bureau.
It was found that these children were routinely subjected to many different forms of abuse from unsafe working conditions and lack of food to being beaten, deliberately burnt or sexually abused.
Releasing its study 'Missing Children in West Bengal' in Kolkata, done over a period of four years, it said that in Patharpratima in South 24 PArganas, 71 children were reported missing since 2005 of whom 28 were rescued.
Similarly, in Sandeshkhali in the same district 302 children went missing between 2004 and 2006 of whom 30 were traced.
''Sandeshkhali and Patharpratima are only symbolic of a growing tide of missing children in West Bengal,'' it said.
''It is these trafficked children who have been reported missing,'' the NGO said.
The districts from which they were trafficked were South and North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, East and West Midnapore, Nadia and Jalpaiguri.
Child abuse on the rise
''Most child domestic workers are young girls who come from poor families and are forced to work for up to 15 hours a day with no break or little to pay,'' the NGO said.
Of them 68 per cent had faced physical abuse and 46.6 per cent severe abuse that led to injuries, 32.2 per cent had their private parts touched by the abuser and 20 per cent forced to have sexual intercourse, it said.
''Fifty per cent of the children do not get any leave in a year, 37 per cent never see their families and 78 per cent receive less than Rs 500 per month.''
Stressing that child domestic work should be eradicated, the NGO said hazardous and exploitative forms of child work should be done away with and they should be assisted to develop socially and educationally.
Other findings were that of the missing children, 66.6 per cent were girls, 49.06 per cent children between 15-18 years of age and 29.96 per cent between 13 and 14 and 20.97 per cent below 12 years.
''It was found that 15.04 per cent children never attended school, while 76.69 per cent studied up to fifth standard, 2.92 per cent children left their homes for work and 11.67 per cent were taken out for marriage.''
Cases not reported
Only 16.18 per cent missing cases were reported to the police or panchayats, while in 83.82 per cent cases, the parents either tried to get information on the child either themselves or through other contacts.
It said about 49.54 per cent children were missing for over two years.
''Each of the villages has a significant number of children who have gone out to work. Of those who go out to work, there are a critical number of those who, however, do not return. This leads us to grapple with the fact that when do parents realise the fact that their children are missing.''
Referring to the Nithari killings in UP, the study quoted the Department of Women and Child Development to say ''it reflects the general apathy and malaise in the administrative system, especially the police in tackling the problems of children and ensuring their safety and protection.''
It also said that it and its partners were able to reform a group of traffickers through anti-trafficking measures in source districts.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080043914&ch=3/13/2008%2011:53:00%20AM#
Thursday, March 27, 2008
3,429 gone in two years, says survey
Posted online: Thursday , March 13, 2008 at 01:53:37
Kolkata, March 12 Nearly 300 children have gone missing from three small blocks in North and South 24 Parganas since 2005, says a pilot survey conducted by the state government.
The study, titled ‘Missing Children in West Bengal’, which was released on Tuesday, points out that the missing kids are a part of 3,429 children who are trafficked from their homes to work as domestic helps or are sold into brothels. The findings also reveal that nearly half the children are trafficked to Delhi through a nexus of agents.
The survey was conducted by the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare and a UK-based NGO, Save the Children. It concentrated on three blocks - Sandeshkhali I, Sandeshkhali II in North 24 Parganas and Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas.
The aim was to gauge the extent of child trafficking, its causes, trafficking rackets, their modus operandi, and the social factors surrounding the menace. A house-to-house survey was done with detailed profiling of the missing children.
“The findings are alarming. We intend to do such studies throughout the state. This was a pilot project which helped us understand the reality of child trafficking at the grassroots level,” said K P Sinha, state director of Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare.
The elaborate study covered eight gram panchayats of Sandeshkhali I and II, and 15 of the Patharpratima block. A total of 265 villages were covered.
It was found that 3,429 children were trafficked from their homes, of which 271 are missing since 2005 (199 from Sandeshkhali I, 54 from Sandeshkhali II and 18 from Patharpratima). The survey found that around 66.67 per cent of these are girls.
Of the missing children, 82.92 per cent had left their home for work and 11.67 per cent for marriage. “Most of the children are taken out of the village by a racket of contractors or agents. The modus operandi is simple. Local sub-agents lure the children away from their parents with a prospect of good work, income and a better life, while others with the prospect of marriage. The economically poor families are targeted. At a particular time an agent comes and takes the children away in groups after paying a paltry sum to the parents. A casual contract is drawn on paper,” said Shireen Vakil Miller, head, advocacy and policy, Save the Children.
“They are then taken to placement agencies, mostly in Delhi. Ultimately, these children are categorised and sent to do domestic chores or they are sold off to music bars or red light areas. Some of the girls are sold as brides to states with a lower sex ratio. It takes the parents a long time to realise that their children are missing. Yet, fear prevents them from lodging a complaint. So, a majority of the cases go unreported,” said project coordinator Manadendra Roy.
The study also profiled the education level of the missing children: 76 per cent of them studied till Class V and the rest never attended school. Among the girls, the figures are even more dismal: 79 per cent never attended school or studied only till Class III. About 47.52 per cent of the children are trafficked to Delhi. The rest to Mumbai, Bangalore, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Kashmir.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/3-429-gone-in-two-years-says-survey/283908/
Kolkata, March 12 Nearly 300 children have gone missing from three small blocks in North and South 24 Parganas since 2005, says a pilot survey conducted by the state government.
The study, titled ‘Missing Children in West Bengal’, which was released on Tuesday, points out that the missing kids are a part of 3,429 children who are trafficked from their homes to work as domestic helps or are sold into brothels. The findings also reveal that nearly half the children are trafficked to Delhi through a nexus of agents.
The survey was conducted by the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare and a UK-based NGO, Save the Children. It concentrated on three blocks - Sandeshkhali I, Sandeshkhali II in North 24 Parganas and Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas.
The aim was to gauge the extent of child trafficking, its causes, trafficking rackets, their modus operandi, and the social factors surrounding the menace. A house-to-house survey was done with detailed profiling of the missing children.
“The findings are alarming. We intend to do such studies throughout the state. This was a pilot project which helped us understand the reality of child trafficking at the grassroots level,” said K P Sinha, state director of Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare.
The elaborate study covered eight gram panchayats of Sandeshkhali I and II, and 15 of the Patharpratima block. A total of 265 villages were covered.
It was found that 3,429 children were trafficked from their homes, of which 271 are missing since 2005 (199 from Sandeshkhali I, 54 from Sandeshkhali II and 18 from Patharpratima). The survey found that around 66.67 per cent of these are girls.
Of the missing children, 82.92 per cent had left their home for work and 11.67 per cent for marriage. “Most of the children are taken out of the village by a racket of contractors or agents. The modus operandi is simple. Local sub-agents lure the children away from their parents with a prospect of good work, income and a better life, while others with the prospect of marriage. The economically poor families are targeted. At a particular time an agent comes and takes the children away in groups after paying a paltry sum to the parents. A casual contract is drawn on paper,” said Shireen Vakil Miller, head, advocacy and policy, Save the Children.
“They are then taken to placement agencies, mostly in Delhi. Ultimately, these children are categorised and sent to do domestic chores or they are sold off to music bars or red light areas. Some of the girls are sold as brides to states with a lower sex ratio. It takes the parents a long time to realise that their children are missing. Yet, fear prevents them from lodging a complaint. So, a majority of the cases go unreported,” said project coordinator Manadendra Roy.
The study also profiled the education level of the missing children: 76 per cent of them studied till Class V and the rest never attended school. Among the girls, the figures are even more dismal: 79 per cent never attended school or studied only till Class III. About 47.52 per cent of the children are trafficked to Delhi. The rest to Mumbai, Bangalore, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Kashmir.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/3-429-gone-in-two-years-says-survey/283908/
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Nude mentally challenged patients - Bengal’s public healthcare at a time of private bonanza
It has been argued that big capital investment in West Bengal “creates a wonderful opportunity to make much larger investments in public education, healthcare, public transport, environmental protection, and other public goods.” (Amartya Sen, The Telegraph). On the other hand, the argument has been made that a government with a neo-liberal mindset does not care about people who, because of their purchasing power, are outside the market. If the government has money, it will make malls and flyovers, at the cost of public health. The problem is not one of intention but definition.
Facts seem to bear this out - for example, here’s a Prtichi Trust report on the state of healthcare in West Bengal: On the day of the survey, 7 of 18 health sub-centers were not working. Of 3 Block level health centers, one did not have facilities for testing blood, urine, or stool. 29% of the patients spoke of being treated by quacks. In Birbhum district, only 45% infants had been completely vaccinated, and 53% births had taken place outside any healthcare institution. (Work for everyone and Amartya Sen).
The striking statatistics below demonstrate that the market, left to itself, is unable to generate adequate incentives to address the health needs of the majority of the world’s population:
“Malaria, tuberculosis, and the strains of HIV common in Africa kill 5 million people each year, almost all of them in low-income countries. Effective vaccines against these diseases are desperately needed. Yet there is a striking dearth of research and development (R&D) on vaccines and treatments for diseases primarily affecting poor countries. Of the 1233 drugs licensed worldwide between 1975 and 1997, only 13 were for tropical diseases, and only 4 of those were specifically developed by commercial pharmaceutical firms to treat tropical diseases in humans. Half of all global health R&D in 1992 was undertaken by private industry, but of that, less than 5 percent was spent on diseases specific to poor countries”. - Kremer, M. (2004),
“On How to Improve World Health”, Daedalus, 133/3: 120-3.
Amidst all the statistics, local and international, it is perhaps instructive to look at a particular human story - the state of government healthcare for people who come at the very bottom of the purchasing market - the mentally challenged. The story is typical, and demonstrates the inhumanly dysfunctional nature of state healthcare that is forcing even the poorest to seek private institutions way beyond their means.
Mentally challenged female patients kept in a state of undress at Pavlov hospital, Kolkata
By Soma Mukhopadhyay. Translated by Soumya Guhathakurta, Sanhati
Where are her clothes? A question like this should not to be asked at Pavlov Hospital, Kolkata, because that is the norm at this institution for the mentally challenged. If you dare to ask, you will immediately face the wrath of the hospital’s employees union and have to apologise. You could be the hospital’s Superintendent - it doesn’t matter.
Situated at a distance of roughly 6 km from Writers Building, the administrative headquarters of the Left Front Government, this picture of a government hospital for the mentally challenged exhibits the inhuman state of affairs that healthcare really is in this Left Front ruled state. It is a typical picture.
The hospital has been in a state of turmoil since last Saturday (8th March, 2008) when a doctor on duty protested against this inhuman practice and as a consequence was insulted and then went on leave.
The sequence of events began on the morning of 8 March which, incidentally, is the International Womens’ Day. An 80 year old female inmate called Jibonprobha Mukhopadhyay’s condition deteriorated and her relatives were informed. On rushing to the hospital, the daughter and another relative of her’s were taken to the ward by the attending doctor, Dr. Ashish Acharya. A shocking scenario met their arrival - the 80 year old inmate, in a state of undress, was crawling across the ward to meet her visitors. The nakedness in the ward was all-pervading amongst inmates of various age groups. Everybody was naked. There were class IV employees going around the ward as well as other men in the ward for minor repair work. Jibonprobha’s daughter immediately covered her mother with a saree that she was carrying with her.
The other inmates broke down into sobs of despair and indignity. Sources in the hospital said that many inmates in the ward were at a level of mental alacrity at which they could feel the shame and indignity of being kept forcibly in a state of undress. Dr. Acharya protested about this inhuman practice and a row erupted.
Sources within the hospital said that, as a practice, inmates are kept in a state of undress till their clothes come back washed and dried. This inhuman method is often justified from the inmate’s safety and security point of view.
When the doctor lodged a protest, nurses and class IV employees demanded an explanation as to the reason for allowing the relatives of an inmate inside the ward. During the course of the argument the doctor asked a female employee how she would feel if she was treated in a similar manner. This offended the female employee and a group of employees brought a complaint against the doctor to the hospital Superintendent.
An official in the hospital said that the Super summoned the doctor as class IV employees declared that they would not work till the matter was settled. The doctor was threatened in front of the Super. Finally the Super, Arunendu Biswas, stood up and apologised on behalf of the doctor to the employees.
Dr. Ashish Acharya later said that he was in no way apologetic of his act and he did his duty as a doctor. He was not willing to make any other comment.
Is the practice of keeping inmates in a state of undress human? The nurses and class IV employees of the hospital were not willing to reply to this question.
Why are the inmates not clothed in another set when one set is sent for a wash? A nurse said that they in fact usually are, and perhaps there was a lapse on March 8. However, she also said that the matter was of minor consequence. Super Arunendu Biswas said that a complaint has indeed been received by him against Dr. Acharya but this was an internal matter of the hospital and he would not make any further comments on the issue. Are inmates of the hospital normally kept in a state of undress? The Super avoided answering the question.
There have been allegations in the past of inmates of Pavlov hospital being used to perform chores that ought to be normally done by class IV employees of the hospital. Unwillingness on the part of the inmates to do the chores invited physical beatings and other forms of intimidation.
In the recent past, a resident doctor was found dead in his quarters. The police recorded the case as one of suicide. A section of the doctors say that the deceased doctor was in a state of mental depression for sometime over the working environment in the hospital.
What do the West Bengal state government health authorities have to say after the March 8 incident at Pavlov hospital? Health offical Sanchita Bakshi commented that various incidents do occur at an institute for mental health. However, she was not aware about the incidents of March 8, and she would comment only after she makes an enquiry into the matter.
This article originally appeared in The Anandabazar Patrika
Facts seem to bear this out - for example, here’s a Prtichi Trust report on the state of healthcare in West Bengal: On the day of the survey, 7 of 18 health sub-centers were not working. Of 3 Block level health centers, one did not have facilities for testing blood, urine, or stool. 29% of the patients spoke of being treated by quacks. In Birbhum district, only 45% infants had been completely vaccinated, and 53% births had taken place outside any healthcare institution. (Work for everyone and Amartya Sen).
The striking statatistics below demonstrate that the market, left to itself, is unable to generate adequate incentives to address the health needs of the majority of the world’s population:
“Malaria, tuberculosis, and the strains of HIV common in Africa kill 5 million people each year, almost all of them in low-income countries. Effective vaccines against these diseases are desperately needed. Yet there is a striking dearth of research and development (R&D) on vaccines and treatments for diseases primarily affecting poor countries. Of the 1233 drugs licensed worldwide between 1975 and 1997, only 13 were for tropical diseases, and only 4 of those were specifically developed by commercial pharmaceutical firms to treat tropical diseases in humans. Half of all global health R&D in 1992 was undertaken by private industry, but of that, less than 5 percent was spent on diseases specific to poor countries”. - Kremer, M. (2004),
“On How to Improve World Health”, Daedalus, 133/3: 120-3.
Amidst all the statistics, local and international, it is perhaps instructive to look at a particular human story - the state of government healthcare for people who come at the very bottom of the purchasing market - the mentally challenged. The story is typical, and demonstrates the inhumanly dysfunctional nature of state healthcare that is forcing even the poorest to seek private institutions way beyond their means.
Mentally challenged female patients kept in a state of undress at Pavlov hospital, Kolkata
By Soma Mukhopadhyay. Translated by Soumya Guhathakurta, Sanhati
Where are her clothes? A question like this should not to be asked at Pavlov Hospital, Kolkata, because that is the norm at this institution for the mentally challenged. If you dare to ask, you will immediately face the wrath of the hospital’s employees union and have to apologise. You could be the hospital’s Superintendent - it doesn’t matter.
Situated at a distance of roughly 6 km from Writers Building, the administrative headquarters of the Left Front Government, this picture of a government hospital for the mentally challenged exhibits the inhuman state of affairs that healthcare really is in this Left Front ruled state. It is a typical picture.
The hospital has been in a state of turmoil since last Saturday (8th March, 2008) when a doctor on duty protested against this inhuman practice and as a consequence was insulted and then went on leave.
The sequence of events began on the morning of 8 March which, incidentally, is the International Womens’ Day. An 80 year old female inmate called Jibonprobha Mukhopadhyay’s condition deteriorated and her relatives were informed. On rushing to the hospital, the daughter and another relative of her’s were taken to the ward by the attending doctor, Dr. Ashish Acharya. A shocking scenario met their arrival - the 80 year old inmate, in a state of undress, was crawling across the ward to meet her visitors. The nakedness in the ward was all-pervading amongst inmates of various age groups. Everybody was naked. There were class IV employees going around the ward as well as other men in the ward for minor repair work. Jibonprobha’s daughter immediately covered her mother with a saree that she was carrying with her.
The other inmates broke down into sobs of despair and indignity. Sources in the hospital said that many inmates in the ward were at a level of mental alacrity at which they could feel the shame and indignity of being kept forcibly in a state of undress. Dr. Acharya protested about this inhuman practice and a row erupted.
Sources within the hospital said that, as a practice, inmates are kept in a state of undress till their clothes come back washed and dried. This inhuman method is often justified from the inmate’s safety and security point of view.
When the doctor lodged a protest, nurses and class IV employees demanded an explanation as to the reason for allowing the relatives of an inmate inside the ward. During the course of the argument the doctor asked a female employee how she would feel if she was treated in a similar manner. This offended the female employee and a group of employees brought a complaint against the doctor to the hospital Superintendent.
An official in the hospital said that the Super summoned the doctor as class IV employees declared that they would not work till the matter was settled. The doctor was threatened in front of the Super. Finally the Super, Arunendu Biswas, stood up and apologised on behalf of the doctor to the employees.
Dr. Ashish Acharya later said that he was in no way apologetic of his act and he did his duty as a doctor. He was not willing to make any other comment.
Is the practice of keeping inmates in a state of undress human? The nurses and class IV employees of the hospital were not willing to reply to this question.
Why are the inmates not clothed in another set when one set is sent for a wash? A nurse said that they in fact usually are, and perhaps there was a lapse on March 8. However, she also said that the matter was of minor consequence. Super Arunendu Biswas said that a complaint has indeed been received by him against Dr. Acharya but this was an internal matter of the hospital and he would not make any further comments on the issue. Are inmates of the hospital normally kept in a state of undress? The Super avoided answering the question.
There have been allegations in the past of inmates of Pavlov hospital being used to perform chores that ought to be normally done by class IV employees of the hospital. Unwillingness on the part of the inmates to do the chores invited physical beatings and other forms of intimidation.
In the recent past, a resident doctor was found dead in his quarters. The police recorded the case as one of suicide. A section of the doctors say that the deceased doctor was in a state of mental depression for sometime over the working environment in the hospital.
What do the West Bengal state government health authorities have to say after the March 8 incident at Pavlov hospital? Health offical Sanchita Bakshi commented that various incidents do occur at an institute for mental health. However, she was not aware about the incidents of March 8, and she would comment only after she makes an enquiry into the matter.
This article originally appeared in The Anandabazar Patrika
Besu protests spread to Kolkata streets
KOLKATA, March 25: The Students of Bengal Engineering and Science University protested against police atrocities and step-motherly attitude of university authorities in front of Metro channel this afternoon.
“Although FIRs have been lodged against more than 50 students, the main culprits have been purposely protected by the university authorities. Police refused to lodge our complaints against those culprits. No FIR has been lodged against the SFI supporters”, said Mr Shyamasis Das, spokesperson, Independent Consolidate (IC).
Despite knowing the students who were involved in the scuffle, university authorities have taken no action against them. Again, no enquiry has been made to find out whether outsiders were involved in the incident that took place last Thursday. “Some outsiders had beaten up around 20 students at first gate but authorities made no enquiry into it”, said another student.
Students alleged that instead of handling the situation, authorities asked them to vacate hostels at night. Even, the physically handicapped students and those who were injured were not spared and had to leave the hostel. “We carried neither books nor any money and had to spend the night in Howrah station”, said a student. Concerned about the prevailing tension, a student said “We are afraid that we might be attacked by SFI supporters anytime.”
Around 11 students of Besu surrendered at Howrah court today and were released on bail. n SNS
“Although FIRs have been lodged against more than 50 students, the main culprits have been purposely protected by the university authorities. Police refused to lodge our complaints against those culprits. No FIR has been lodged against the SFI supporters”, said Mr Shyamasis Das, spokesperson, Independent Consolidate (IC).
Despite knowing the students who were involved in the scuffle, university authorities have taken no action against them. Again, no enquiry has been made to find out whether outsiders were involved in the incident that took place last Thursday. “Some outsiders had beaten up around 20 students at first gate but authorities made no enquiry into it”, said another student.
Students alleged that instead of handling the situation, authorities asked them to vacate hostels at night. Even, the physically handicapped students and those who were injured were not spared and had to leave the hostel. “We carried neither books nor any money and had to spend the night in Howrah station”, said a student. Concerned about the prevailing tension, a student said “We are afraid that we might be attacked by SFI supporters anytime.”
Around 11 students of Besu surrendered at Howrah court today and were released on bail. n SNS
Audit exposes panchayat lapses
Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, March 24:
Hundreds of panchayats, mostly controlled by the CPI-M, have been steeped in corruption and financial irregularities to the tune of crore of rupees during the past few years. The audit report on the state panchayati raj institutions, tabled in the Assembly today, has laid bare this tangled web of malpractices.
In many cases not only money provided by different Central schemes was diverted, but people living below the poverty line for whom the schemes were meant, were deprived.
In 1,573 gram panchayats Rs 37.67 crore was spent during 2004-05 towards assistance under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) for construction and upgradation of huts, but none of the beneficiaries were from the BPL list. The scheme was specifically meant for this segment of the population. It “shows lack of internal control in selection of beneficiaries as per the guidelines of the scheme”, the report stated. In another instance of corruption of colossal proportions, Rs 259.54 crore was given to the beneficiaries for constructing 68,245 sanitary latrines in 1,328 gram panchayats and 78,766 smokeless chullahs in 1,592 panchayats during 2004-05, but not a single such unit has come up.
During 2002-2005 11 panchayat samitis spent Rs 84.85 lakh for Central schemes under Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) by engaging contractors. The guidelines stipulate that no contractor can be engaged for such schemes devised for the benefit of the rural poor. Thus, the erring panchayat samitis gave undue favours to contractors with funds that could have “ensured employment generation of 82,113 mandays”, the report stated.
In another bizarre instance of irregularities, the guidelines of SGRY were twisted in such a manner that funds were spent for religious purposes though the scheme “prohibits” such use.
Two panchayat samitis of South 24-Parganas incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 37.43 lakh for wages, materials and foodgrain valued at Rs 4.56 lakh toward wages, for constructing sheds, fencing, bus stands, road, ramps, towers and hogla sheds for the Ganga Sagar mela in 2004.
KOLKATA, March 24:
Hundreds of panchayats, mostly controlled by the CPI-M, have been steeped in corruption and financial irregularities to the tune of crore of rupees during the past few years. The audit report on the state panchayati raj institutions, tabled in the Assembly today, has laid bare this tangled web of malpractices.
In many cases not only money provided by different Central schemes was diverted, but people living below the poverty line for whom the schemes were meant, were deprived.
In 1,573 gram panchayats Rs 37.67 crore was spent during 2004-05 towards assistance under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) for construction and upgradation of huts, but none of the beneficiaries were from the BPL list. The scheme was specifically meant for this segment of the population. It “shows lack of internal control in selection of beneficiaries as per the guidelines of the scheme”, the report stated. In another instance of corruption of colossal proportions, Rs 259.54 crore was given to the beneficiaries for constructing 68,245 sanitary latrines in 1,328 gram panchayats and 78,766 smokeless chullahs in 1,592 panchayats during 2004-05, but not a single such unit has come up.
During 2002-2005 11 panchayat samitis spent Rs 84.85 lakh for Central schemes under Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) by engaging contractors. The guidelines stipulate that no contractor can be engaged for such schemes devised for the benefit of the rural poor. Thus, the erring panchayat samitis gave undue favours to contractors with funds that could have “ensured employment generation of 82,113 mandays”, the report stated.
In another bizarre instance of irregularities, the guidelines of SGRY were twisted in such a manner that funds were spent for religious purposes though the scheme “prohibits” such use.
Two panchayat samitis of South 24-Parganas incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 37.43 lakh for wages, materials and foodgrain valued at Rs 4.56 lakh toward wages, for constructing sheds, fencing, bus stands, road, ramps, towers and hogla sheds for the Ganga Sagar mela in 2004.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bengal’s lackluster approach towards its daughters: A perspective on the eve of International Women’s Day!
===========================================
By Somanjana C. Bhattacharya 03/19/08
Women and Child Development minister Renuka Chowdhury announced a “daring pilot project” named Dhanlaxmi(goddess of wealth) to combat female foeticide and gender discrimination in various parts of India to commemorate International Women’s Day. This insurance scheme is a conditional cash transfer for a girl child with insurance cover (CCT) and will start in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab this year.
'This is to encourage parents to educate the girl child and to help in changing their mindsets towards the girl. This will force them to look upon girls as an asset rather than a liability,' said Chowdhury.
West Bengal with its illustrious penchant for misrepresentation of data to manipulate public image in reference to vital societal problems is not amongst the initial beneficiaries of this scheme. Perhaps, the veteran partisans of the Leftist government still daydreams to elude the gentry and commoners en masse of the garish face of female foeticide, wide-spread women trafficking, juvenile prostitution, violence and exploitation of female counterparts in this state.
According to Dr. Prasenjit Maiti, writer of Women and War, “There is a general civil societal perception in the state and elsewhere that the Bengali Hindu middle class bhadralokian ethos acts as a deterrent to gender violence”. However, he elaborates, “Eve teasing is on the rise in Calcutta and Salt Lake City, witch hunting continues unabated in tribal belts of Midnapore and Purulia, incidents of gang rape are reported from South 24 Parganas, dowry deaths happen in Bengal’s cities and villages, instigation to suicide and actual bride burning are not entirely unknown, underprivileged girl children are either smuggled out across the international border to Bangladesh from bordering districts like Malda and Murshidabad, domestic violence in Muslim families is a reality while rape in police custody takes place along with infamous incidents like Bantala and Birati”.
A survey conducted across several districts in West Bengal has indicated that a rising awareness against dowry is fuelling the incidence of child marriage and trafficking. The data quoted in the report (sourced from the 2001Census and the National Family Health Survey) shows a high incidence of child marriage in the State — 39.16% compared to the national average of 32.10%. As quoted by Ishita Mukhopadhyay, Director, WSRC, Calcutta University, “We found that the traffickers approach the villagers in the guise of grooms without any dowry demand and lure them into marrying off even minor girls,”. “The girls are then sold and sent to other places like Mumbai, Dubai or Kashmir,” she added.
Every year thousands of minor villagers in Bengal are enticed into “fake marriages” or fall prey to “agencies” promising lucrative jobs. While part of the crowd is engaged as domestic helps, a considerable number of young women are coerced into prostitution.
The alarming rise in trafficking is triggered by its well-connectivity to the bordering countries and failing socio-economic structure. West Bengal lies on the vulnerable international trafficking route, a fact acknowledged by the United Nations, with Kolkata itself becoming a significant source and destination for traffickers.
On Jan 1, 2008, In Kolkata ,The statesman reported about the statistics of the woman trafficking:
” Despite sustained campaign against woman trafficking and state government’s claim of success in dealing with such cases, West Bengal continues to top the list of states selling girls for prostitution. The latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed that nearly 93 per cent of girls, sold for prostitution in brothels across the states in 2006, were from West Bengal. The report comes at a time when the state government is claiming success in dealing with issues related to human trafficking.
The report also mentioned that 123 cases of “selling of girls for prostitution” were reported from various police stations in the country. West Bengal alone registered a total of 114 cases of girls being sold for prostitution in the same year, says the report. As part of its initiatives to nab persons involved in human trafficking racket, the state police have already set up Anti-Human Trafficking Cell in the Criminal Investigation Department.
According to the NCRB report for the year 2006, the number of girls being sold for prostitution has gone up rapidly in the country over the past three years. When contacted, Mr DP Tarania, inspector-general of police, Criminal Investigating Department, said: “I’m not aware of the latest NCRB report. If it is mentioned in the report that West Bengal accounted for 92 percent of the total cases of girls being sold for prostitution, then there is something wrong in the report.”In 2004, the NCRB had received only 19 cases of girls being sold in brothels for prostitution. The figure rose to 50 in the year 2005 registering a growth of 163 percent. The recent NCRB report set alarm bell ringing by revealing that girls being sold for prostitution in the country has gone up by 146 percent during 2005-06. “
In the slums surrounding the Kalighat temple, one of the holiest sites for the Hindus in Kolkata, lies the birth place of the city's sex industry. Years ago, widows and other socially outcast women would seek refuge here from temple priests. While they were provided with food and lodging, resident priests and upper caste men who visited the temple often demanded sex as a form of payment. Recognizing that desire for sex far exceeded the returns they received, these women began a community alongside the temple and started charging for their services, and organized prostitution was born.
"Hundreds of years later the life of a widow or rape victim hasn't really changed," explains Urmi Basu, who founded an organization called New Light to provide support for sex workers and their families in the Kalighat community. "Usually you're here because you've been abused or thrown out, or you were sold as a child when someone came to your poor village and said 'come with me I'll find you work in the city' and then you end up locked up in a brothel getting beaten and not seeing a cent."
As per The Hindu Business Line, Sonagachi, the biggest brothel in Kolkata is home to 9000 prostitutes. It is estimated that one third of the 9,000 prostitutes there are under the age of 18. The forum of Indomitable Women’s Solidarity Committee consist 60, 000 sex workers in West Bengal alone!
Besides, West Bengal is the state with the highest number of HIV infected patients:150,000.
Rajeev Shukla, Project Director, West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society substantiated that Bengal's open borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan are the biggest challenge for HIV infection. Migrants from these countries carry the virus and further spread the disease.
In reference to child labor, according to ‘The State Plan of Action for Children 2003’, a report jointly compiled by West Bengal’s state social welfare department and Unicef, there has been “a decline in the incidence of children (5-14 years) in work for male children, but a very sharp increase in the case of female children between the two rounds of the National Sample Survey Organisation.
The first round, in 1993-1994, registered 2.91 lakh girls within the age-group 5-14 engaged in work, and 4.83 lakh boys. The 1999-2000 survey showed a sharp increase to 4.38 lakh for girls with the figure for boys down to 3.48 lakh.
The various statistical projections of female trafficking and exploitation are shocking indeed but more alarming is the fact that the projected data is often a fraction of the actual magnitude of offense. Thanks to the corrupt law enforcement officers and the totalitarian government. Besides the voluntary work of handful of NGOs sponsored by foreign organizations, little has been done by the state government in terms of Prevention, Advocacy and Aftercare.
Last but not the least, in regards to land reforms in the state, Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the Centre of Economic Studies and Planning, JNU writes, “Until recently, the allocation of pattas (small land holdings) reinforced existing gender inequalities. Joint pattas for husbands and wives started only from the mid-1990s. Before that, when most of the land was redistributed, pattas were granted only to the head of household, who was typically male. Joint pattas account for less than 10 per cent of the total, while pattas in the name of women as single holders account for less than 6 per cent of the total”.
So much for women’s liberation in Bengal!
By Somanjana C. Bhattacharya 03/19/08
Women and Child Development minister Renuka Chowdhury announced a “daring pilot project” named Dhanlaxmi(goddess of wealth) to combat female foeticide and gender discrimination in various parts of India to commemorate International Women’s Day. This insurance scheme is a conditional cash transfer for a girl child with insurance cover (CCT) and will start in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab this year.
'This is to encourage parents to educate the girl child and to help in changing their mindsets towards the girl. This will force them to look upon girls as an asset rather than a liability,' said Chowdhury.
West Bengal with its illustrious penchant for misrepresentation of data to manipulate public image in reference to vital societal problems is not amongst the initial beneficiaries of this scheme. Perhaps, the veteran partisans of the Leftist government still daydreams to elude the gentry and commoners en masse of the garish face of female foeticide, wide-spread women trafficking, juvenile prostitution, violence and exploitation of female counterparts in this state.
According to Dr. Prasenjit Maiti, writer of Women and War, “There is a general civil societal perception in the state and elsewhere that the Bengali Hindu middle class bhadralokian ethos acts as a deterrent to gender violence”. However, he elaborates, “Eve teasing is on the rise in Calcutta and Salt Lake City, witch hunting continues unabated in tribal belts of Midnapore and Purulia, incidents of gang rape are reported from South 24 Parganas, dowry deaths happen in Bengal’s cities and villages, instigation to suicide and actual bride burning are not entirely unknown, underprivileged girl children are either smuggled out across the international border to Bangladesh from bordering districts like Malda and Murshidabad, domestic violence in Muslim families is a reality while rape in police custody takes place along with infamous incidents like Bantala and Birati”.
A survey conducted across several districts in West Bengal has indicated that a rising awareness against dowry is fuelling the incidence of child marriage and trafficking. The data quoted in the report (sourced from the 2001Census and the National Family Health Survey) shows a high incidence of child marriage in the State — 39.16% compared to the national average of 32.10%. As quoted by Ishita Mukhopadhyay, Director, WSRC, Calcutta University, “We found that the traffickers approach the villagers in the guise of grooms without any dowry demand and lure them into marrying off even minor girls,”. “The girls are then sold and sent to other places like Mumbai, Dubai or Kashmir,” she added.
Every year thousands of minor villagers in Bengal are enticed into “fake marriages” or fall prey to “agencies” promising lucrative jobs. While part of the crowd is engaged as domestic helps, a considerable number of young women are coerced into prostitution.
The alarming rise in trafficking is triggered by its well-connectivity to the bordering countries and failing socio-economic structure. West Bengal lies on the vulnerable international trafficking route, a fact acknowledged by the United Nations, with Kolkata itself becoming a significant source and destination for traffickers.
On Jan 1, 2008, In Kolkata ,The statesman reported about the statistics of the woman trafficking:
” Despite sustained campaign against woman trafficking and state government’s claim of success in dealing with such cases, West Bengal continues to top the list of states selling girls for prostitution. The latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed that nearly 93 per cent of girls, sold for prostitution in brothels across the states in 2006, were from West Bengal. The report comes at a time when the state government is claiming success in dealing with issues related to human trafficking.
The report also mentioned that 123 cases of “selling of girls for prostitution” were reported from various police stations in the country. West Bengal alone registered a total of 114 cases of girls being sold for prostitution in the same year, says the report. As part of its initiatives to nab persons involved in human trafficking racket, the state police have already set up Anti-Human Trafficking Cell in the Criminal Investigation Department.
According to the NCRB report for the year 2006, the number of girls being sold for prostitution has gone up rapidly in the country over the past three years. When contacted, Mr DP Tarania, inspector-general of police, Criminal Investigating Department, said: “I’m not aware of the latest NCRB report. If it is mentioned in the report that West Bengal accounted for 92 percent of the total cases of girls being sold for prostitution, then there is something wrong in the report.”In 2004, the NCRB had received only 19 cases of girls being sold in brothels for prostitution. The figure rose to 50 in the year 2005 registering a growth of 163 percent. The recent NCRB report set alarm bell ringing by revealing that girls being sold for prostitution in the country has gone up by 146 percent during 2005-06. “
In the slums surrounding the Kalighat temple, one of the holiest sites for the Hindus in Kolkata, lies the birth place of the city's sex industry. Years ago, widows and other socially outcast women would seek refuge here from temple priests. While they were provided with food and lodging, resident priests and upper caste men who visited the temple often demanded sex as a form of payment. Recognizing that desire for sex far exceeded the returns they received, these women began a community alongside the temple and started charging for their services, and organized prostitution was born.
"Hundreds of years later the life of a widow or rape victim hasn't really changed," explains Urmi Basu, who founded an organization called New Light to provide support for sex workers and their families in the Kalighat community. "Usually you're here because you've been abused or thrown out, or you were sold as a child when someone came to your poor village and said 'come with me I'll find you work in the city' and then you end up locked up in a brothel getting beaten and not seeing a cent."
As per The Hindu Business Line, Sonagachi, the biggest brothel in Kolkata is home to 9000 prostitutes. It is estimated that one third of the 9,000 prostitutes there are under the age of 18. The forum of Indomitable Women’s Solidarity Committee consist 60, 000 sex workers in West Bengal alone!
Besides, West Bengal is the state with the highest number of HIV infected patients:150,000.
Rajeev Shukla, Project Director, West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society substantiated that Bengal's open borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan are the biggest challenge for HIV infection. Migrants from these countries carry the virus and further spread the disease.
In reference to child labor, according to ‘The State Plan of Action for Children 2003’, a report jointly compiled by West Bengal’s state social welfare department and Unicef, there has been “a decline in the incidence of children (5-14 years) in work for male children, but a very sharp increase in the case of female children between the two rounds of the National Sample Survey Organisation.
The first round, in 1993-1994, registered 2.91 lakh girls within the age-group 5-14 engaged in work, and 4.83 lakh boys. The 1999-2000 survey showed a sharp increase to 4.38 lakh for girls with the figure for boys down to 3.48 lakh.
The various statistical projections of female trafficking and exploitation are shocking indeed but more alarming is the fact that the projected data is often a fraction of the actual magnitude of offense. Thanks to the corrupt law enforcement officers and the totalitarian government. Besides the voluntary work of handful of NGOs sponsored by foreign organizations, little has been done by the state government in terms of Prevention, Advocacy and Aftercare.
Last but not the least, in regards to land reforms in the state, Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the Centre of Economic Studies and Planning, JNU writes, “Until recently, the allocation of pattas (small land holdings) reinforced existing gender inequalities. Joint pattas for husbands and wives started only from the mid-1990s. Before that, when most of the land was redistributed, pattas were granted only to the head of household, who was typically male. Joint pattas account for less than 10 per cent of the total, while pattas in the name of women as single holders account for less than 6 per cent of the total”.
So much for women’s liberation in Bengal!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Leftist government forged 100-days-work scheme data
Bartaman-Editorial 03/03/08
A month back, Suryakanta Misra, the district panchayat minister of West Bengal announced the glorified details of the rural-employment scheme. According to him, West Bengal tops the chart, provisioning jobs to maximum number of families as compared to all other states of India. However, merely a month later, Controller and the Auditor General reports that there has been severe alteration in data by the state government.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, popularly known as the 100-days-employment scheme amongst the downtrodden, started in 2006 and completed two years on 2nd February. The false claims of Suryakanta, as propagated by Leftist pet-newspaper Ganashakti proclaimed that under this scheme some 31 lakhs and 61 thousands families got jobs in the period of 2006-2007. Later this number was further exaggerated to 39.5 lakhs for the CAG report.
It was later disclosed that the panchayat intentionally repeated the same family names in order to project higher statistics. They have given job to same family multiple times rather than separate families. Hence the increased count is misleading. CAG auditors reviewed the proceedings in the villages of Purulia, South Dinajpur and West Midnapur disclosing the shocking reality.
As per the pre-budget economic analysis, West Bengal consist the maximum number of impoverished families, struggling below the poverty line. National percentage of such populace is 1.9% where as in West Bengal it’s a shocking 9%. Instead of catering to the needy, the so-called government for the underprivileged has squandered national funds, exploiting the poverty-stricken people of the state in the process. Is someone from the government answerable to such heinous crime?
translated from the Bengali newspaper Bartaman
A month back, Suryakanta Misra, the district panchayat minister of West Bengal announced the glorified details of the rural-employment scheme. According to him, West Bengal tops the chart, provisioning jobs to maximum number of families as compared to all other states of India. However, merely a month later, Controller and the Auditor General reports that there has been severe alteration in data by the state government.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, popularly known as the 100-days-employment scheme amongst the downtrodden, started in 2006 and completed two years on 2nd February. The false claims of Suryakanta, as propagated by Leftist pet-newspaper Ganashakti proclaimed that under this scheme some 31 lakhs and 61 thousands families got jobs in the period of 2006-2007. Later this number was further exaggerated to 39.5 lakhs for the CAG report.
It was later disclosed that the panchayat intentionally repeated the same family names in order to project higher statistics. They have given job to same family multiple times rather than separate families. Hence the increased count is misleading. CAG auditors reviewed the proceedings in the villages of Purulia, South Dinajpur and West Midnapur disclosing the shocking reality.
As per the pre-budget economic analysis, West Bengal consist the maximum number of impoverished families, struggling below the poverty line. National percentage of such populace is 1.9% where as in West Bengal it’s a shocking 9%. Instead of catering to the needy, the so-called government for the underprivileged has squandered national funds, exploiting the poverty-stricken people of the state in the process. Is someone from the government answerable to such heinous crime?
translated from the Bengali newspaper Bartaman
Bengal’s locus in Indian diaspora
Bengal—the name echoes of many milestones. This was the place where the seeds of freedom movement were sowed. This land procreated the fearless crusaders, passionate patriots to cast away the British mercenaries. The tender, fertile expanse of greenery once vibrated of collective resolution:
“Eka shutre badhiaychhi shahasra jeeban
Eka karje shopiachhi shahasrati mon
Bande Mataram” –Tagore
Alongside, the then extraordinary reformists initiated various societal alterations in Bengal to exemplify a new, independent era: a modernistic, progressive era devoid of casteism, Sati, child marriages, ignorance and illiteracy. Bengal pioneered women’s liberation—emancipation from the antahpur(insiders’ domestic quarters) to the mainstream gentry. With the development of Bethune College in Kolkata as the first women’s college in the country in 1871 along with the foundation of Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya in 1873 began the much coveted transmutation of gender equalization and appreciation.
In the field of religiosity, Swami Vivekananda was the first known Hindu scholar who perpetrated Hindu philosophy to the West, besides inspiring thousands of Indian youth to actualize Vedantic and Yogic principles.
The anti-establishment, anti-British imperialism sentiments catalyzed the birth and growth of yet another socio-political movement in Bengal: The Marxist/Leninist/Communist drive. Consequently, the socialist partisans, the national bourgeoisie and the massive peasantry corroborated Indian politic since 1920s. Further, in the Naxalite movement, the rustic, agrarian section of Bengal joined hands with the elite students to launch a predominantly radical insurgency against the individual “class enemies" chiefly landlords, politicians, law enforcement officers, university teachers et al.
Bengal isn’t the hub of an exclusive ethnic group but it nurtured and continues to do so, myriad of communities from various culture, creed and bearings. Subsequently, Sir William Jones, Ronald Ross, William Carey, Abu Taleb, C.V.Raman, Chandrasekhar, Sashi Hesh, Ravi Verma, Mother Teresa and many more have contributed in Bengal’s edifying omnipresence in various capacities.
Then, what triggered Bengal’s abhorrent semblance of today?
According to the latest survey in 2007 by International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, out of all the 28 states of India, West Bengal ranks:
16th in terms of literacy rate
10th in terms of fertility rate
24th in terms of households having electricity
20th in terms of media exposure
The pseudo-socialist governance monopoly along with the mass exodus of sons and daughters of the soil has perhaps taken its toll on the growth trajectory of this state. Bengal’s battered present sticks out like a sore thumb amidst India’s rapid progress testimony. When, India as a nation is bubbling with optimism, Bengal, as a neglected offspring is succumbing to economic stagnation and bureaucratic corruption.
The once exalted cultural disposition is buried under the bouts of hunger and insecurity, the pillars of the glorified past are ravaged by the challenging times, the elite mercilessly suppressed under the Leftist propaganda, the poor oppressed to extinction.
The famous saying of the statesman Gopalakrishna Gokhale, “what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow” is reduced to a comical rhetoric.
Is this the Bengal our forefathers died for?
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_states_rankings
“Eka shutre badhiaychhi shahasra jeeban
Eka karje shopiachhi shahasrati mon
Bande Mataram” –Tagore
Alongside, the then extraordinary reformists initiated various societal alterations in Bengal to exemplify a new, independent era: a modernistic, progressive era devoid of casteism, Sati, child marriages, ignorance and illiteracy. Bengal pioneered women’s liberation—emancipation from the antahpur(insiders’ domestic quarters) to the mainstream gentry. With the development of Bethune College in Kolkata as the first women’s college in the country in 1871 along with the foundation of Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya in 1873 began the much coveted transmutation of gender equalization and appreciation.
In the field of religiosity, Swami Vivekananda was the first known Hindu scholar who perpetrated Hindu philosophy to the West, besides inspiring thousands of Indian youth to actualize Vedantic and Yogic principles.
The anti-establishment, anti-British imperialism sentiments catalyzed the birth and growth of yet another socio-political movement in Bengal: The Marxist/Leninist/Communist drive. Consequently, the socialist partisans, the national bourgeoisie and the massive peasantry corroborated Indian politic since 1920s. Further, in the Naxalite movement, the rustic, agrarian section of Bengal joined hands with the elite students to launch a predominantly radical insurgency against the individual “class enemies" chiefly landlords, politicians, law enforcement officers, university teachers et al.
Bengal isn’t the hub of an exclusive ethnic group but it nurtured and continues to do so, myriad of communities from various culture, creed and bearings. Subsequently, Sir William Jones, Ronald Ross, William Carey, Abu Taleb, C.V.Raman, Chandrasekhar, Sashi Hesh, Ravi Verma, Mother Teresa and many more have contributed in Bengal’s edifying omnipresence in various capacities.
Then, what triggered Bengal’s abhorrent semblance of today?
According to the latest survey in 2007 by International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, out of all the 28 states of India, West Bengal ranks:
16th in terms of literacy rate
10th in terms of fertility rate
24th in terms of households having electricity
20th in terms of media exposure
The pseudo-socialist governance monopoly along with the mass exodus of sons and daughters of the soil has perhaps taken its toll on the growth trajectory of this state. Bengal’s battered present sticks out like a sore thumb amidst India’s rapid progress testimony. When, India as a nation is bubbling with optimism, Bengal, as a neglected offspring is succumbing to economic stagnation and bureaucratic corruption.
The once exalted cultural disposition is buried under the bouts of hunger and insecurity, the pillars of the glorified past are ravaged by the challenging times, the elite mercilessly suppressed under the Leftist propaganda, the poor oppressed to extinction.
The famous saying of the statesman Gopalakrishna Gokhale, “what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow” is reduced to a comical rhetoric.
Is this the Bengal our forefathers died for?
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_states_rankings
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