Patients at Gandhi Nagar Hospital cry for healing touch

PS BALI

JAMMU, Oct 4: Despite the claim of the government that every possible efforts are on to standardize the health sector of the region, here the Gandhi Nagar hospital is facing apathy of the administration and patients left high and dry.

“The mismanagement of the hospital is apparent, as being in immense pain in the morning, they only provided me with pain killer and glucose drip,” said a patient, adding that the shift of the doctors in the night time is mere a formality, as what ENT specialist knows about surgical problems.

Various patients and attendants of the patients alleged that hospital starts functioning after 10 am, whereas only one doctor looks after all the patients before 10 am in the emergency ward of the hospital.

According to officials, senior doctors only perform their duty after 10 am, “normal functioning of the hospital starts after 10 am, the newly OPD section of the hospital also opens after 10am ,” he said wishing anonymity.

When this reporter visited Gandhi Nagar Hospital in the morning hours and found that the allegations chucked by the patients were true, as there was only one ENT specialist with three four ward boys attending patients with casual attitude.

The lethargic attitude of the administration was noticeable, as the emergency ward of the hospital was filled with pile of waste littered on the floor, with patients striving for doctoral care.

When this reporter tried to enter newly constructed OPD ward, the ward was locked from outside with no one to guide patients. It is the same ward where patients are treated and after 10 am.

Moving towards the ticket counter, where patients get the entry tickets for OPD, same was the scene there also, as long queues of attendants and patients waiting for hospital employee to issue entry slips.

A ward boy (name withheld) admitted that the office bearers start their duty after 10 am so that to impress their bosses that the hospital is functioning properly. On asking what if patients were brought at the time other than their schedule, he said “ward boys and some nurses take care of them with pain killers and glucose drip. And if the problem is major, the on duty doctor refers them to GMC, Jammu or SMGS for treatment.”

When contacted superintendent, Hospital, Dr Subash Baghat, he said that he don’t have any knowledge of this issue and no body ever complained about it. “If such is the matter in the hospital premises, I will check the matter and punish the defaulters,” said Dr Bhagat.

He also added that for the convenience of patients, hospital have two doctors for night shift from 8 pm to 8 am, one male and one female for the convenience of patients.

It is pertinent to mention here that it was the same hospital that desisted entry of poor some days back. Some fortnight back, one beggar was dodged out of the hospital reason best known to them. The beggar was wailing all the day outside hospital with pain but they didn’t allow him to enter hospital.

Street beggars on prowl need to make them productive

PS BALI

Jammu October 5

Begging in public places from street corners, outside schools and colleges, shopping malls, public transport and even though religious places has become a common view these days. This common urban problem, has taken alarming dimensions in even the smaller city like Jammu.

Begging, the profession or menace is increasing, day after day, in the city of temples, perhaps because of its being a large pilgrim destination of North India.

The holy places are enormously becoming the begging hubs, elsewhere in the country as well, where a large number of beggars scattered throughout the premises could be found, some begging alms and others trying to revoke sympathy by making emotional appeals. We often see children mutilated and disfigured being subjected to begging. Most of them are from outside the state. Beggars are an omnipresent sight in the city.

Being the city of temples, Jammu is fast becoming the most lovable place of the beggars who mostly come from other states like Orrisa, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Gujarat along with their families, with the hope of getting good alms here. Empty spaces under the fly overs, footpaths are the sweet homes of these people and even some have developed colonies in the areas close to the city.

Then whether it is some public place, some school or college, near the bus stand, some office or any other place where the public influx is more, beggars can be seen every where. In buses also mostly the small girls, carrying small temples with photographs of deities usually come and visit every passenger begging for alms.

Women and men keep a close watch on the children and prevent them from escaping. Beggars earn more than casual labourers. In Hindu philosophy, there are different days which are meant for specific God or Goddess, they catch up with myth also, like carrying a photograph of Mata Durga on Tuesday, carrying idol of the lord Shiva on Monday and there are so many who can be seen coming door to door especially on Saturday carrying an idol of 'Shani Dev' to beg alms, making hefty bucks.

In the last few years, begging is fast becoming a trade. Children seeking alms is not uncommon in the temple city. Many children can be seen begging around the temples, bus stands and commercial streets. Their target is usually the affluent class and foreigners. They sometime keep following the person until he/ she pays something. Mostly children between the age group of three to seven and that too mostly girls, their number is fast increasing.

"Number of beggars has increased to a large extent in the recent past. This menace is growing in the city. When the public refuse to give alms, some beggars become aggressive and many even follow the people. In the evening mostly, in crowed areas large number of beggars are there and sometime if you don’t give them some alms they will snatch your belongings. Authorities should take some measures to curb the menace," says a student Meenakshi.

“Beggars have become a headache for us. In a single day we confront more than 20 to 30 beggars and if we don’t pay or object, they react in a revengeful manner. You never know what they will say. Increasing number of beggars has become a problem. Wherever you will go, you will find the beggars there. Some faces of the beggars now have become so common that almost they are known every where in the city as they keep on changing their place every second day. They scare the kids, snatch things especially eatables from them and even scare the women. That is how crime starts, so handing over beggars, after rounding them up, to social and legal authorities cannot check the problem of beggary, it needs some strict measures," said Prof Sunil Tickoo, adding that government should adopt some strict measures to stop such activities and utilize beggars in productive approach by providing them with weight machines and other such small trading employments.

How street beggars can be utilized?

Beggars are very common in almost in the street on every traffic point in a street, religious places, market...etc. Often they are neglected and burden of the society. But they too have an expertise and advantage over other people.

They are keen observer, pretty quick and adapted to live in very harsh climatic condition such as hot, cold and even in rainy season throughout the day. In addition they learnt applied human psychology and apply much efficiently than many professionals.

By seeing their skills, they are well suited for informer who could track all suspicious events happening or going to happen in traffic point/mall/market.

Jammu is running severe short of labours and that deficit can be flied by beggars above minor age.

Beggars have also adapted to new trend for bringing their broods aging between 4-6 years on streets to gain more sympathy, but even sometimes they are the cause of fatal accidents.

According to experts, Indian Government has initiated a scheme of Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan for poor and deprived class, so beggars instead of launching their kids on streets, admit them in the schools, where they impart good education with timely meal.

Child labour on rise in Varsity, authorities oblivious

PS BALI

Jammu, September 30: Contradicting the tall claims of center government and state government for the prevention of child labour, Jammu University is explicitly executing child labour in the University campus. On entering the main gate of the Higher Institute of Education, JU, one can witness the children’s busy dealing with customers. From serving to dishwashing, every thing is done by children’s under the nose of University administration.

It was obvious that children working in factories with little bare hands have no one to listen but when the temple of knowledge starts such activities what will happen to rights of child.

The spot is so popular that even teaching faculty often visits there. Just adjacent to the Vice Chancellors chamber, the kids of hardly 13-14 years provide service to the students and teachers of the University, besides, visitors. Situated at the eyespot of the University, there is no one to concern over the injustice met to little kids. Even no body ever pitched voice against the breaching of laws.

Though the officials of the University alleged that the Varsity has its own department for the adhoc course of child labour, despite of it they are allowing owners to make use of children’s in their business. Where on one side government has issued right to education to everyone, University is reciprocating the same by sheltering child labour.

“They are economical and do what ever we want from them. They need money and we provide them, what is bad in it,” said owner of the Rehri, wishing anonymity. The owners also perceive that this practice will alleviate poverty.

He said that these kids are enthusiastic and they have good pace of work, they are from poor families. He added that to meet the both ends many Rehri owners put their own children’s on job.

Student fraternity also displeased this casual attitude of the University authorities. They alleged that the job of the administration is to fetch money from these owners, they are not concerned with what they do.

“This is pathetic, that on one side University is claiming tall promises to eradicate child labour from the state, whereas on the other side they are running such activities under their own nose. We have been taught in the classes that child labour is the biggest crime against the integrity and prosperity of nation, whereas they themselves breach that integrity,” said a student Sunaina.

Various Unions of the Jammu University also expressed their resentment over the issue and said that they have never noticed such thing but it is for sure that if any such thing would be brewing in the university campus they will go for protest against university authorities.

When contacted Jammu University, Dean Student Welfare, Prof. NK Triphati, he said that he was unaware with the fact, but at earliest he will take action against the same.

“We have a committee, who check all such practices and dealt with violators, I will personally visit the place and stop such malpractice immediately,” said Tripathi, adding that we have laid down a strict guidelines for the Rehris and Cafeteria’s working in University campus. The violators of those guidelines will be punished.