In the ongoing monsoon session, the Union Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha via a written answer that State Governments and Union Territories did not specifically report any deaths due to lack of oxygen and lack of hospital facilities during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Questions were asked by Rajya Sabha member M.V Shreyams Kumar on whether a large number of Covid-19 patients died on roads and hospitals due to acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave. The Health and Family Welfare Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Although Health is a state subject, Government of India has supported the states and undertook a series of action including further strengthening of existing health infrastructure to ensure provisioning of sufficient hospital beds, drugs, medical oxygen and other consumables to aid proper clinical care of Covid-19 patients.”

On the question of whether the Central Government has maintained data about the number of patients who died due to shortage of oxygen and lack of hospital facilities, the minister’s answer read, “Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states/UTs. Accordingly, all states/UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, states have at times reported backlog deaths in case of late reporting from hospitals and districts but, no such reports of patients dying due to shortage of oxygen and lack of hospital facilities in the country have been received by the Ministry from any State/UT.”

As per a report in The Wire, around 223 Covid-19 patients died due to a shortage of oxygen in May alone. The compiled database also listed another 70 deaths where families of patients alleged that the lack of oxygen was the factor, but was not confirmed by authorities. Apart from oxygen shortages, people died outside hospitals and clinics awaiting medical attention.

The second wave saw state courts taking suo motu cognisance of the situation and pulling up various governments for faltering in their Covid-19 management. According to a SabrangIndia report, Bihar was reeling under the Covid-19 crisis from dearth of oxygen supply, cylinders, long queues outside hospitals, hoarding, black marketing to police harassment. A local reporter told the publication that a man known to him died outside a hospital waiting for a ventilator.

Bhaisa Kund (Uttar Pradesh) cremation ground’s priest, KK Pandey, while speaking to SabrangIndia in April, had said that his sister-in-law might not survive due to oxygen shortage. He had said, “The primary issue in Lucknow is oxygen. There is an acute shortage. Her levels are dropping, we cannot do anything. We have kept her in the house, where will we take her. There is a big black market, one cylinder is worth thirty thousand, forty thousand, I cannot afford it.”

The second wave that hit India in April and May saw record breaking 4,00,000 cases per day and thousands of deaths. Many hospitals even sent SOS messages on social media about oxygen shortage in their Covid-19 wards. On April 23, Max Healthcare, a large hospital chain, reached out to authorities on social media, saying it was running out of oxygen supply. “Less than an hour’s oxygen supplies at Max Smart Hospital & Max Hospital Saket. Awaiting promised fresh supplies from INOX since 1 am. Over 700 patients admitted, need immediate assistance,” the hospital tweeted.

SOS – Less than an hour’s Oxygen supplies at Max Smart Hospital & Max Hospital Saket. Awaiting promised fresh supplies from INOX since 1 am. @drharshvardhan @msisodia @PMOIndia @ArvindKejriwal @PiyushGoyal @SatyendarJain over 700 patients admitted, need immediate assistance ??

— Max Healthcare (@MaxHealthcare) April 23, 2021

Some deaths due to shortage were also recorded from Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi. Hospitals like Maharaja Agrasen, Batra, Max had even moved the Delhi High Court citing lack of oxygen supply. Eight Covid patients including the gastroenterology department’s head died in Batra Hospital due to oxygen shortage today on May 1.

The answer may be read here: 

Related:

We have ensured nobody was left without oxygen in the country: Centre to Delhi HC
Bihar’s odious and short-sighted response to Covid-19
EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds die of Covid and data goes missing, UP gov’t remorseless
Covid patients die in Jaipur hospital, family moves Delhi HC for SIT probe
Enough is enough: Delhi HC after 8 Covid patients dead due to oxygen shortage in Batra Hospital  

The post No Covid-19 deaths due to oxygen shortage reported by States/UTs: Centre in RS appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As many as 650 doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) died due to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus, said Secretary General Jayesh Lele on June 10, 2021.

In a state-wise break-up of deaths country-wide over the last two months or so, the IMA stated that as many as 109 deaths were recorded in national capital Delhi. Bihar and then Uttar Pradesh follow close behind, indicating no change in state rank in IMA data.

However, a comparison with the June 2 state-wise break-up shows that Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have shown the highest increase in doctors’ death from 67 recognised deaths on June 2, to 79 deaths in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, and from 21 recognised deaths on June 2, to 32 deaths in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Overall, the two data sets show that at least 56 doctors died in India within eight days of which one death remains unknown. As per the IMA website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives in 2020 while working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, within the first half of 2021, the second wave is inching closer to last year’s toll. During an online workshop earlier, Lele has voiced his concern about the physical assault on doctors that is highlighted in the current health crisis. As per The Hindu, he said the medical fraternity was vulnerable to such attacks in the absence of adequate mechanisms to ensure their safety.

During earlier talks with SabrangIndia, IMA officials said that the family of these health workers could avail compensation via insurance. However, few urban families in Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been able to avail the compensation so far.

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594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA
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Great Number Game of Vaccine Funding: Zero Allotment = Rs. 35000 Crores !!!
Indian Medical Association seeks FIR against Ramdev

The post 650 doctors dead due to Covid-19 in around 2 months appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Three young men have lost their lives, in what may be a case of targeted violence with communal undertones in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. However the deaths have been reported as an accident, by Amar Ujala, Jagran, and the Hindustan, leading Hindi newspapers of the state. According to those news reports, the victims were identified as Lalla (19) from Berhampur, Ishtiaq (24) and Salluddin (26), both reportedly from Salempura. 

According to Amar Ujala, the young men were returning from a wedding function on Saturday night on a scooty, when they were killed around dawn on Sunday in a “road accident”. The accident reportedly happened on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway but there is no detail on what vehicle allegedly hit the three men. However, it adds that the three were killed on the spot and the local police of Chiraigaon had sent the bodies for post mortem examination. The police has also reportedly said it is not known which vehicle had allegedly hit the scooty, and have registered an FIR against an “unknown vehicle driver” in the Chaubepur police station. This report also fails to mention details of who alerted the police? Were there eyewitnesses? Did anyone see or make note of the second vehicle involved?

The Jagran report, in fact, details that the three were returning from a wedding at Dulhipur village, and Istiyaq and Salluddin were going to drop Lalla home on the scooty. It added that the three were hit by a speeding vehicle which then “vanished”. Then the locals alerted the police who found identification papers in the victims’ pockets and alerted their families. This report also added that the three youths were also speeding, but then fails to question that if there were eyewitnesses to the “accident” why is there no information about the other vehicle? However, it does mention that there may be CCTV footage that the police will use to search for the second vehicle that “disappeared” so fast that none of the locals spotted or heard it.

Meanwhile an online portal Janavarta added that as soon as the families were told about the deaths there has been a pall of gloom at the residences of the victims. However, this is where the deaths need to be investigated deeper and perhaps the suggestions of some locals that this may be more than a routine road accident investigated.

According to a local resident, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, the youth may have been killed because they allegedly traded in selling Nilgai meat. Two of the deceased are from the Quraishi community, who are traditionally meat traders. According to locals, the third man may have been perceived as an accomplice. The villagers are now too scared to talk about the incident at all.   

However, the Nilgai (blue bull) is a large antelope and not a cow, even though its name suggests otherwise. But, in Uttar Pradesh, it is prohibited to hunt Nilgai, a protected species, under Schedule 3 of the Wildlife Protection Act. In fact, two people were arrested in November 2020, and accused of the act. 

Varanasi police officials were unavailable for comment at the time of publishing this report. This is a developing story and will be updated as and when more information, and an official police statement becomes available.

Meanwhile, in November 2020, Uttarakhand government had declared Nilgai a ‘vermin’ stated news reports from that time. The Uttarakhand government had got a nod from the Centre and declared the Nilgai a vermin that can be killed after seeking permission from the forest department. The intention was to save farmers from losing their crops, which this antelope is known to destroy. The wild boar was also declared a “vermin” under the same rule. However the culling of both these animals was allowed only as prescribed in the rule book. According to news reports from then, the many rules and instructions include: “Vermins can be killed only with a firearm and one cannot chase an injured animal right inside forests. Carcasses have to be discarded in the presence of forest personnel.” 

However, none of that seems to matter for now in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the village of these three young men, whose families and communities are now too scared to talk to the media, and fear for their own safety. 

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The curious case of four men accused of theft, but slapped with attempt to murder!

The post Uttar Pradesh: Three deaths, multiple theories, murder or accident? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The report, prepared by the top human rights organization, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), titled, “Chronic ‘Accidents’: Deaths of Sewer/Septic Tank Workers, Delhi, 2017-2019”, says that the Act has “come to be better known through the frequency and impunity with which it is violated.”

The report examines the circumstances of the death of Swarn Singh, Deepak, Anil, Balwinder in on July 15, 2017; of Joginder, Annu and an unknown person on August 6, 2017 in Lajpat Nagar; of Mohd Jahangir and Mohd Ejaz on August 12, 2017 in Aggarwal Fun City Mall, Anand Vihar; of Amarjeet and Makhan Lal in Mundka on September 18, 2017; of Umesh Tiwari, Mrityunjay Kumar Singh, Mohd Sarfaraz, Vishal and Pankaj Kumar Yadav in DLF Capital Greens, Moti Nagar on September 9, 2018; and of Ganesh Saha and Deepak in Bhagya Vihar on May 7, 2019.

Even as providing details of the deaths of these 18 persons, the report laments that “questions of lack of safety gear and absence of proper training of workers sent to clean sewers/septic tanks seems to dominate public discussion on the issue”, underlining, “Fundamental questions around whether manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks should be permitted or not, mostly evade the debates both in the law and outside.”

Excerpts:

Sewers in Delhi seem to be remembered when they get blocked and people die while cleaning them. This is certainly true of a large number of inhabitants of the national capital, including municipal planners and policy makers. For those who routinely enter sewers and septic tanks to manually clean them, they are very real, sources of a living – and of death.

Delhi has a population of about 19 million at present. Plans for waste disposal and sewerage have had to take the population and its density, and land use pattern into account. Water supply availability is essential for setting up a modern sanitation system and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is the body responsible for both drinking water supply and the collection, treatment and disposal of waste water/sewage system in the National Capital Territory (NCT).

According to the Sewerage Master Plan of NCT, only about 50% of the population is covered by sewerage network and the sewage generated by the rest of the population goes through a number of surface drains into Yamuna River [Sewerage Master Plan for Delhi–2031, DJB, June 2014, Final Report (henceforth Sewerage Master Plan), Vol. 1, p. 19]. The majority of the population living in unauthorized colonies, JJ clusters, and rural villages does not have sewerage facilities.

The city generates large quantities of sewage – amounting to at least about 3,800 million litres per day (mld) according to the official estimates made 6 years ago by the report of the Central Pollution Control Board, 2013. Out of this it has an official design capacity in its 34 Waste Water Treatment Plants to treat 2700 mld of sewage and actually treats about 1543 mld, a utilization of about 57% (Sewerage Master Plan, Vol. II, p. 20-21). The rest of the sewage/waste water from unsewered areas and untreated sewage remains or flows into the river.

The existing sewerage network of Delhi comprises 7,000 km of sewerage lines including trunk sewers and branch lines (peripheral/internal sewers) many of which, according to the official report itself, suffer from disrepair, siltation and settling or collapse. In sewered areas toilet and other waste water from domestic units flows into sewers, while unsewered areas tend to rely more on septic tanks. Waste water and fecal sludge accumulates in these tanks and regular cleaning is needed.

Large cities like Delhi are supposed to have proportionately fewer septic tanks and greater sewerage reach than smaller urban centres, but since many of Delhi’s urban areas are also ‘unauthorized’ the precise numbers of such septic tanks are also difficult to establish. While at least officially, maintenance of state sanctioned sewerage is supposed to be a public and municipal matter, septic tank maintenance is private responsibility, making their monitoring more difficult.

In almost all the incidents discussed in this report (with the exception of Lajpat Nagar) took place while workers were cleaning septic tanks/water tanks into which waste had leaked in. An incident like the one at Bhagya Vihar were at a small house where the owner of the property was also not well off, the one at Ghitorni concerned a tank at a powerful farmhouse owner’s property, and the one at DLF Capital Greens took place when workers were called in to clean the septic tanks of the sewage treatment plant at an elite building complex.

Several incidents in Delhi NCR including the Lajpat Nagar incident (discussed in this report) or the recent incident at Ghaziabad (August 23, 2019) involved the death of workers in sewer lines, while cleaning or setting up sewer connections. Most unsewered areas as well as some sewered areas in the city do not have proper and adequate water supply.

According to the 2011 Census, 81.3% of the households in Delhi apparently had piped water supply, much higher than the national average of 32% but the seasonal shortage is acute, owing to the degraded condition of the river water with the city’s domestic and industrial waste in it, the depletion of ground water etc., compelling the inhabitants of many areas to buy water at exorbitant rates.

Given that many areas where such crisis exists are underprivileged and unregulated this is a significant burden. Those who designed the government’s ambitious policies on sanitation seem to have lost sight of the basic precondition of water supply.

The fact that there are, for instance, a total of 1,725 unauthorised colonies in Delhi, and 1,230 of these got water pipelines by 2018 but the DJB which had set a target of laying water pipelines in another 291 unauthorised colonies in 2018-19 could only complete the work in 144 such localities is essential to understanding the status of these colonies as far as sewerage linkage and toilet construction projects are concerned. It is also essential to know the nature of the delivery of water and if the supply is adequate.

The policies are interlinked and their success and failure are closely interconnected. In actual design urban policy making seems to have lost sight of the need to coordinate these different but interrelated aspects of sanitation and water supply while planning for the city.

Another aspect that policy makers and planners seem to have lost sight of in the much advertised policy push towards sanitation in the present regime is the need for continuous maintenance of sanitation systems and for safe working conditions for those involved in it.
 

Planners are evidently not required to take any responsibility for the lives and working conditions of those cleaning up sewer lines and septic tanks

The post Delhi’s Sewerage Master Plan 2031 ‘accepts’: Some sewers can be cleaned manually appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Monsoon fury has gripped central and southern Indian States. The floods have crippled life in vast areas, affecting millions. The death toll from floods in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu rose to at least 150 on Sunday, as rescue teams raced to evacuate people and waters submerged parts of a world heritage site.

Exactly a year ago, devastating floods left 400 dead in the southern state of Kerala.

Media reports from India said:

The monsoon rains triggered floods have claimed 72 lives in Kerala so far.

According to government data, 58 people are missing and more than 250,000 people have been shifted to 1,639 relief camps.

At least 2,966 houses have been damaged completely in Kerala.

Hundreds of people are still stranded at Attapadi in Palakkad District.

On Sunday, Vadakara in Kozhikode district recorded 21 cm of rainfall, the highest in the state as of 8.30 AM Sunday, followed by Kodungallur in Thrissur (19.9) and Perinthalmanna in Malappuram (13.8),

The state government has said that water level in major dams was not a cause of worry as of now. Idukki Dam, one of the biggest in the state, now had only 36.61% capacity.

Incessant rainfall causes landslide at Kavalappara

Incessant rainfall in Malappuram caused landslide at Kavalappara. National Disaster Response Force, Fire and Rescue Department and Forest Department officials engaged in search and rescue operation in the area.

In one of the major flood-related calamities to hit Kerala this year, as many as 30 families are feared trapped underneath a landslide in Kavalappara at Bhoothanam, Malappuram and 10 people have reportedly died.

According to locals, as many as 50 people are missing, who have not been located either in the relatives’ houses or in relief camps.

Incessant rainfall in Malappuram causes landslide at Kavalappara

“Puthumala village is no more”

Nearly 100 acres of tea estate land, along with a temple, mosque, post office and the plantation company’s canteen, were washed away on Thursday evening in Puthumala, 11 km from the scenic hill town of Meppadi in Wayanad. “Puthumala village is no more,” said a villager, who survived the landslide. While six bodies were recovered from the debris on Friday, villagers fear another 15-20 people may be buried underneath.

Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway remains closed

In the wake of series of landslides, the national highway connecting Bengaluru and Mangaluru remains closed at least until Monday.
Officials said that there was slight reduction in the water level in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district.

The water level near Bantwal has also reduced from 11 meters above the danger level to 9.1 meters above the danger level.

Flight operations resume at Kochi international airport

Flight operations from the international airport at Kochi resumed on Sunday afternoon, two days after it was shut due to inundation of the runway area following heavy rains. The Abu Dhabi-Kochi Indigo flight touched down at around 12.15 pm, marking resumption of the operations.
Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has expressed anguish at the manner in which some sections are spreading rumors about contributions to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. He said that the fund would be used only for the needs of the affected and not for anything else. He said that it was unfortunate that some negative campaigns are currently on.

Vijayan said that the state government has not yet asked for funds from the Centre. He added that the Centre was providing all support for the ongoing relief and rescue work.

Vijayan on Sunday held multiple review meetings with senior officials and later told reporters that though the rains had subsided in the state, people should remain vigilant.

More rains in Kerala, predicts Met department
In a big relief to those engaged in rescue efforts, the rains on Sunday appear to have come down. However, the Met department has predicted more rains are predicted in the coming days across Kerala. The government has asked everyone to remain alert and be receptive to warnings.

Karnataka floods: 26 dead so far
The Indian state of Karnataka saw no let-up in rains, with 26 people losing their lives so far in rain related incidents.

As many as 235,000 people have been moved to safety.

Most rivers are in spate and Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has termed the natural calamity the biggest in 45 years.

Rescue and relief works are on in full swing in flood-ravaged districts of Karnataka, with a let up in the rains and water receding in most of the affected areas.

A PTI report said that situation was improving and search is on for those who have gone missing and efforts are being made to reach out to those who need to be evacuated. Eighty taluks, a local government tier, of 17 districts in Karnataka have been affected due to floods and rains. The number of affected villages in the state is 2028.

In Karnataka, nearly 600,000 people have been evacuated. At present, 1,168 relief camps operational across the state. More than 300,000 people are living in the relief camps.

Maharashtra floods: Sangli boat capsize toll rises to 17
With the recovery of five more bodies, the death toll in the boat capsize tragedy in Sangli in the Indian state of Maharashtra district has gone up to 17.

Over 30 people have been killed in rain-related incidents in five districts of western Maharashtra in the last one week, including 17 who drowned when a boat capsized near Brahmanal village in Sangli on Thursday.

More than 400,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-affected parts of Maharashtra.

The Met department has predicted heavy rains on Monday at isolated places in Pune, Kolhapur and Satara districts of Maharashtra, which are affected by severe floods.

According to IMD, intensity of showers will reduce further on Tuesday, which will help in carrying out rescue operations. Similar forecast is also issued for coastal Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, which have been receiving excess showers for the last seven days.
 
Tamil Nadu to seek relief from Centre
The Tamil Nadu government will seek flood relief fund from the Centre after total assessment of the loss due to the rains in Nilgiris district, state Animal Husbandry Minister Udumalai K Radhakrishnan said Sunday.

Amit Shah surveyed flood-hit area
Union Home Minister Amit Shah conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit areas of Belagavi district in Karnataka. The state’s Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa was also present.

Heart breaking, says Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday termed as heart breaking, the suffering of people due to floods and landslides in his constituency Wayanad and urged the state and Central governments to provide immediate aid to those hit by the natural calamity in Kerala.

“It is heart-breaking to see what all the people of Wayanad have lost. We will do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet,” he tweeted.

Rahul promised to do everything possible to get them back on their feet.

Andhra Pradesh: 2 major reservoirs almost full
The two major reservoirs on river Krishna, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have almost been filled to capacity after virtually being dry for several months in Andhra Pradesh. Rains are still continuing in the upper riparian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, bountiful water is flowing in the river, filling up all major reservoirs along its course. Heavy discharges from rivers Tungabhadra and Bhima are also adding to the flood surge in Krishna.

Courtesy: Counter Current

The post Floods hit Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu: Toll at least 150 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

At least 71 children have died in the last 45 days at a government-operated district hospital in Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, ANI reported. D. K. Singh, the hospital’s medical superintendent, confirmed the deaths, and told ANI, “A large number of children were admitted to the hospital and 71 died in the past 45 days. Children have died due to various diseases.” Singh also said that the hospital has 200 beds “but currently, 450 patients are admitted here. The workload is very high. We are trying our best to save as many lives as we can”. 

According to an ANI video, Singh said that 2,158 children were admitted to the hospital in August until September 16, and that 71 children died, due to various ailments, including hepatitis, meningitis, anaemia, and septicaemia.

“The incident comes a year after 60 infants died in Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply,” ANI reported, adding, “The hospital authorities, however, denied this claim and said that the infants died due to encephalitis.” In July 2018, The Wire (Hindi) reported that 1,049 children had died in six months at the BRD Medical College. 

Meanwhile, NDTV reported that UP Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath’s government has sounded a high alert after 84 people died due to a “mystery fever” in the past six weeks. The state government issued a press release confirming the outbreak, naming the affected districts as Bareilly, Budaun, Hardoi, Sitapur, Bahraich and Shahjahanpur. 
 

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दरअसल नोटबंदी के चलते इलाज के अभाव में एक रिक्शा चालक की मौत हो गई। मृतक की पत्नी ने पति की मौत के लिए मोदी सरकार, आरबीआई गवर्नर और स्थानीय बैंक प्रबंधक को जिम्मेदार ठहराया। उसका का आरोप है कि उसका पति बीमार था। पुराने नोट होने के कारण उसका इलाज नहीं हो सका। जिससे उसकी मौत हो गई। मृतक के पत्नी ने पीएम मोदी, आरबीआई गवर्नर उर्जित पटेल और स्थानीय एसबीआई बैंक प्रबंधक के खिलाफ थाने में तहरीर दी है। 

 
जानकारी के मुताबिक, गंजडुंडवारा थाना क्षेत्र के गांव सुजवालपुर नई बस्ती में मुज्जमिल किराये के मकान में अपनी पत्नी खुशनुमा और अपने चार बच्चों के साथ रहता था। मुज्जमिल रिक्शा चलाकर अपने परिवार का भरण पोषण करता था। बीते दिनों मुज्जमिल की तबीयत बिगड़ गई। नोटबंदी के कारण पत्नी खुशनुमा अपने पति का उचित इलाज नहीं करा सकी। दो दिनों तक वो बैंक के चक्कर काटती रही, लेकिन पुराने नोट नहीं बदले गए। 
 
जब बैंक में रुपए नहीं बदले गए तो मोहल्ले के लोगों ने चंदा कर रुपए इकट्ठा किए और मुज्जमिल को हाथरस के एक अस्पताल में भर्ती कराया। लेकिन यहां उसकी तबीयत ज्यादा बिगड़ गई। जिसके बाद डॉक्टरों ने उसे अलीगढ़ रेफर कर दिया, लेकिन अस्पताल पहुंचने से पहले उसकी मौत हो गई। मुज्जमिल की मौत के बाद खुशनुमा और उसके बच्चों का रो रोकर बुरा हाल है। 

Courtesy: National Dastak 

The post नोटबंदी से गई रिक्शा चालक की जान, पत्नी ने मोदी, जेटली और उर्जित पटेल के खिलाफ दी तहरीर appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 UPDATE: Former MLA, Yogendra Sao of the Congress and husband of present MLA, Nirmaladevi Sao has been arrested this afternoon

Hazaribagh/Ranchi: Union minister and Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha who came to assess the situation today at NTPC's Pankri Barwadih coal mine, Barkagaon, in the wake of the October 1 police firing on a land acquisition protest that killed five people, could not visit the site due to Section 144 of CrPC clamped in the troubled spot, but despite this, was quick to give a clean chit to the police after seeing video footage of that day. Admitting innocents became victims – three teenage students and a young tailor, whose relatives said they had no involvement in the protests, had fallen to the bullets – Jayant urged villagers not to be curious onlookers at times of trouble.

On a day Opposition parties held a meeting together to decide on a statewide bandh on October 24 and leader of Opposition Hemant Soren dubbed the police firing as"cold-blooded murders", Jayant reached Hazaribagh after flying in from Delhi to Ranchi to meet hospitalised officials injured in the mob attack.

The Union minister said he was "deeply pained" over the incident but had seen video footage available with the administration and added that he was convicnced that the police followed protocol during the protest. "I saw the clips in which CO (circle officer) Shailesh Kumar Singh requested with folded hands to the crowd to give them passage to Dadikala village (where the firing took place). I saw the police requesting villagers to allow them to do their duty," he said.

Barkagaon Congress MLA Nirmala Devi's arrest for leading the anti-land acquisition agitation, which had triggered the mob into forcibly releasing her and beating up two officials that fateful day, had also been done following protocol, the Union minister said."She (Nirmala) was arrested at 6.30am in the presence of women constables," Jayant, who met Hazaribagh DC Ravi Shankar Shukla and SP Bhimsen Tuti, said. Charging Barkagaon MLA Nirmala, now traceless, and her husband, former state agriculture minister Yogendra Sao, to be the minds behind the villagers' agitation against NTPC's land acquisition, with misleading poor people, Jayant said: "It's very unfortunate that villagers were diverted from vikas (progress) to vinash (destruction). I would say that pati-patni (Sao and Nirmala) played their game again."

"But I will also say a high-level committee formed by chief minister Raghubar Das is probing into this case and so we should wait for its final outcome," he added. The police had enough evidence to prove they acted as per law, first firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets to control the mob, he said. "When situation didn't come under control they fired in air and then took the final decision to fire on trouble-makers," he added.

He also reiterated the NTPC compensation package for land acquired for coal mining was better than those offered by the CCL in other places. Money is not the answer, however. This is rich arable land which earns the farmers, the region and the country precious income in agriculture.

But, this is something people of Barkagaon are not buying, at least now. For many land-losers in Barkagaon, MLA Nirmala and her husband Sao, a discredited politician accused of running extortion gangs in the recent past, are heroes fighting their cause for "fair compensation", much higher than Rs 20 lakh per acre agreed by NTPC. The problem is "grave", B.B. Mohapatra, a human resource official at NTPC, told Thomson Reuters.

Late on the evening of Monday, October 3, the Hazaribagh police lodged FIR against CPI(ML) legislator from Rajdhanwar (Giridih) Rajkumar Yadav, former parliamentarian Bhuvaneshvar Prasad Mehta, MCC leader Mithilesh Singh and four others for going to Barkagaon villages yesterday to meet families of those killed in firing, in violation of Section 144 clamped since Saturday. They also filed an FIR against three para-teachers taking part in MLA Nirmala's agitation.
In a larger context, the disturbing image of the police firing at farmers over land acquired or to-be acquired for an industrial purpose has given enough fodder to Opposition parties JMM, JVM and Left to target the BJP government as anti-people and pro-capitalist. Even BJP ally Ajsu is distinctly uncomfortable, its spokesman Deosharan Bhagat doing a balancing act by saying they were "with the farmers" but waiting for results of the chief minister's inquiry report.
 
These acts of state repression have been widely protested for the past four days in Jharkand. The 'national' electronic media is however silent on the issue.
 

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Breaking his 32-day long silence on Kashmir, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a statement which is full of empty political rhetoric, lacking substance to address the real issue concerning political aspiration of Kashmiris.

“It is said that boys who should be holding laptops, cricket bats have been handed stones in their hands,” Modi said while addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district. This irresponsible and juvenile statement stereotyped Kashmiris as gullible and naïve who are ready to pick up a stone at someone’s behest.

“Every Indian loves Kashmir. The freedom that every Indian has also belongs to every Kashmiri. We want the same bright future for every youth in Kashmir,” he said. Bright future after blinding them forever with pellets! In which place other than Kashmir have the government forces killed 60 civilians, injured 6,000 and made over 300 blind in a span of 30 days, he wouldn’t bother to explain.

“Whatever Kashmiris want for betterment of their livelihood, the Centre will help. We want development for Jammu and Kashmir. Be it the J&K government under Mehbooba Mufti or the central government, we are finding solution to all problems through development,” he added. The development of pellet guns and bullets, perhaps!

For rhetorical purpose alone, Modi again invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous words to end up saying nothing concrete how to address the Kashmir dispute politically: “There are ways, including dialogue, to resolve issues in a democracy. My government believes in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mantra of "insaniyat, jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat (humanity, democracy and Kashmiriyat)."

Modi’s silence over killings of 60 unarmed Kashmiris, grave pellet-and-bullet injuries to over 6,000 civilians and blinding of over 300 youths in the Kashmir Valley since July 9 is least surprising to most Kashmiris.

Modi’s silence over killings of 60 unarmed Kashmiris, grave pellet-and-bullet injuries to over 6,000 civilians and blinding of over 300 youths in the Kashmir Valley since July 9 is least surprising to most Kashmiris.

After all, it has been India’s ‘standard operating procedure’ (SOP) to speak to Kashmiris in a language of power since 1947 with a sole aim of criminalising their political struggle. In this endeavour of delegitimising Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to self-determination, understanding the language of India’s corporate-owned media and the armed forces operating in Kashmir becomes very critical.

For instance if 50,000 common Kashmiris, including women and children, will gather at a place to demonstrate peacefully for their political rights, the Indian media will use the word “miscreants” for such a huge assembly of people. Mind you, this is being done deliberately to mislead the common Indians that people in such colossal numbers have assembled at the behest of Pakistan, and, therefore, any amount of force used by government forces against them stands ‘justified’.

If everything in Kashmir is happening at Pakistan’s behest it is a telling remark on India’s own standing in Kashmir.

For the sake of an argument, if everything in Kashmir is happening at Pakistan’s behest it is a telling remark on India’s own standing in Kashmir. That is, however, another story.

Not only this, when the trigger-happy Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and accountable-to-none armed forces open direct fire on peaceful and unarmed protesters, the injured are described as “stone pelters”, “miscreants”, “agitational terrorists” and “terrorist sympathisers”. This colonial language is employed by vast sections of the Indian media, especially television channels, and government forces to justify India’s colonial practices in Kashmir.

Here is an example. A statement issued by the J&K police media centre on August 8 reads: “….It is clarified that a mob of more than 2,000 miscreants assembled at main chowk Langate (north Kashmir) and started heavy stone pelting on deployment and police post Langate, due to which 38 police/security personnel were injured. While dispersing the mob, 11 miscreants were injured, most of them due to stampede out of which three of them were referred to Srinagar. The condition of all of them is stable…”

Now look at this statement carefully and focus on the choice of words. First, the police use the term “mob” for common people. Secondly, they are described as “miscreants”. Thirdly, they are then accused of “stone pelting” on deployment and police post, Langate in north Kashmir.

These are all blatant lies. The number of people participating in a demonstration is reduced by design. The people are shown as “perpetrators” and police as “victim”. Then derogatory terms are used to describe people and their actions or lack thereof. Police never comes up with solid evidence to prove that their men are indeed injured. If they are injured, they should be in the hospitals undergoing treatment. But that is not the case.

The question that arises is this: from where do the government forces gather such courage to peddle lies after lies in public domain? State’s shameless backing to violence against common people and a draconian law, which acts as a shield against persecution, are the two major factors behind this audaciousness.

When Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and working president of the pro-autonomy National Conference (NC), was running a coalition government with the Congress from 2009 to 2014, more than 117 persons, mostly boys in their teens, were mercilessly killed by government forces during the summer mass agitation. Not a single guilty armed forces person was punished till date.

This became possible because the armed forces enjoy impunity and a license to kill in Kashmir under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, AFSPA, which is in force in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. The fact that hardly any perpetrator is punished only emboldens the armed forces to go berserk and enjoy a free run.

Even in 2008, when Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress were running a coalition government, more than 60 Kashmiri civilians, most of them in their teens, were killed when they were protesting against sanctioning of 99 acres of land to Amarnath Shrine Board.

Having said that, it may well be very convenient and politically very smart for the junior Abdullah to ask New Delhi whether “it has declared a war on the people in Kashmir*” at a juncture when the PDP is heading a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, but the fact remains that he too could not prevent civilians killings when he was at the helm of affairs in 2010.

"To blame Pakistan for the unrest or to delude ourselves into thinking this is a law and order situation is criminal. There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest.” (Omar Abdullah)

On August 6, Omar Abdullah told this to India Today: “Has New Delhi declared a war on the people in Kashmir? Hundreds of young boys and girls have potentially life-changing injuries, most of them caused by pellet guns. Thousands of youngsters have sustained injuries in this unrest. To blame Pakistan for the unrest or to delude ourselves into thinking this is a law and order situation is criminal. There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest.”

Indian media is at liberty to dub Omar Abdullah as “Pakistan sympathiser” for making a statement that he has made as an Opposition leader.

Look at another statement made the same day by yet another pro-India legislator Hakim Yasin, Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF) chief and MLA Khansahib Budgam, who said that the Indian forces were repeating Jallianwala Bagh massacre* in Kashmir on a daily basis.

“The way British used brute force on unarmed protesters at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, forces in Kashmir are repeating the same in Kashmir every day. Why are unarmed protesters targeted by the forces in every nook and corner of Kashmir,” Hakim Yasin told the local media.

The Kashmir story that the corporate-owned Indian media won’t tell the ordinary Indian audiences is precisely this: Since July 9, 2016, at least 60 unarmed Kashmiris have been killed in cold blood by Indian armed forces; inflicting pellet and bullet injuries on 6,000 unarmed Kashmiris. Besides, more than 1,500 Kashmiri youth have been arrested, some in nocturnal raids for participating in demonstrations. At least 1,030 FIRs have been registered by the police for further persecution and harassment of the youth. And, the fact that Kashmiris are suffering under strict curfew and unprecedented restrictions enforced by the PDP-BJP government since July 9 along with a ban on mobile and data internet on all cellular services except the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and with no outgoing call facility available to pre-paid mobile phone customers!

Last Friday, August 5, was Kashmir’s Bloody Friday. More than 400 Kashmiris received serious pellet-and-bullet injuries after government forces acted violently to stop people from demonstrating against the state violence across the length and breadth of Kashmir. Doctors at Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital told me that at least 324 youth, hit with the pellet guns, are on the verge of losing their eyesight permanently. Doctors said that most boys have been hit in the eye which has damaged their retina beyond repair. “We have performed as many as 65 surgeries until Monday morning,” Dr Raashid Maqbool said.

Dr Ruveda Salam, a lady IAS officer from north Kashmir working as assistant commissioner at ministry of finance, government of India, could not stop herself from speaking against the state violence.

On August 3, Dr Salam took a dig at chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her PDP by writing this on her Facebook timeline: “From wooing voters while wearing colour #green to painting #red the same valley streets, and then they question the credentials of the same religion whose symbols they used to mask their evil deeds” #hypocrisy couldn't get worse than this !”

In response to her post, she was harassed by a senior police officer who also made a misogynist remark by dubbing Dr Salam as “ignorant lady”. Police officer Harmeet Singh Mehta threatened Dr Salam of government action as if he was the PDP’s spokesperson. “Government (PDP-BJP coalition government) must take action against you (Dr Ruveda Salam) as a civil servant spreading so much venum (venom) against state. Better resign and join some separatist group.”

Following the assassination of popular tech-savvy Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8 under mysterious circumstances in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, the massive Azadi rallies are being organised on a daily basis across the Kashmir Valley since. According to moderate estimates, at least 3,00,000 people had gathered in south Kashmir’s Tral, hometown of Burhan, to participate in his funeral. Such a huge assembly had already made a statement that India was losing a battle for narratives in Kashmir.

There are many in Kashmir feeling scared of India as a Hindutva project, this time led by a right-wing prime minister. Kashmiris feel under severe attack as they are victims of politics of invasion aimed at crushing their identity as Kashmiris and Kashmiri Muslims under a PDP-BJP coalition government.

There are many in Kashmir feeling scared of India as a Hindutva project, this time led by a right-wing prime minister. Kashmiris feel under severe attack as they are victims of politics of invasion aimed at crushing their identity as Kashmiris and Kashmiri Muslims under a PDP-BJP coalition government.

Even after 60 civilian killings and injuries to 6,000 Kashmiris in last 30 days, the state unit of the Hindu nationalist BJP has asked the government to deal with the current situation in the Kashmir Valley decisively and with an “iron hand”. State BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta said that there was no option for the government other than meeting the challenge posed by the “separatists and terrorists supported by Pakistan decisively and with an iron hand otherwise the situation will deteriorate further and it may not be possible to bring back normalcy in the Valley.”

At present the morale of the state police, CRPF and other security forces have gone down because of the recent happenings where lot of restrictions have been imposed on them,” Gupta told a news agency.

This is Kashmir’s story. And this Karbala is Kashmir’s ‘normalcy’ for which the Indian media obviously has no time. It will relentlessly debate cows, cow protection and cow vigilantism and how Modi beats the drums in Kenya, but will not gather moral courage to narrate Kashmir’s story with a human heart and an unbiased journalistic approach, shedding jingoistic spectacles and hyper-nationalistic binoculars. After all, India is a democracy and its image can’t be tarnished for the sake of 7.5 million Kashmiris!
 

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