Aadhaar: Gas chamber that kills the hungry
The death of poor tribal Kaleshwara Soren has proved the fact to the nation that Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar can never help the impoverished. Aadhaar is controlling the life of the poor of this country. Forget the other facilities, even to avail a kilo of rice, if it is mandatory to have Aadhaar, it is the heights of cruelty that prevails in a democratic nation. In some ways, this is the beginning of adivasi mass carnage.
45-year old Kaleshwara Soren of a village near Dumka ji in Jharkhand, died of hunger and malnutrition recently. This is the 17th hunger related death in that state since Santosh Kumari's death last year for similar reasons.
Kaleshwara wasn't ailing from any serious illness. According to his son, his father hadn't eaten two days prior to his death.
He had stopped working at the brick kiln where he was earning a living, owing to injury. Hunger and poverty has kept him away from education. His children migrated in search of work. They hadn't got even cold meal in Anganwadi, forget hot mid day meal as offered by the government. Job guarantee scheme such as MGNREGA didn't exist in his village. His family didn't have a job card. They didn't have any job opportunity to earn a living and remain alive. In this case, his only hope was public distribution of ration through Antyodaya scheme. That was his last resort. But even that came to a close in 2016 when he could not attach his Aadhaar number to ration card. Two more such hunger deaths has happened in Jharkhand owing to Aadhaar card. State government implemented paperless public distribution system. The objective behind this was to avoid fake and duplicate cases availing resources. Around this time many ration provisions got cancelled under Aadhaar based savings. This was the last shock for poor people like Kaleshwara Soren who lived in rural India, very distant from being beneficiaries of welfare measures launched for poor people.
The official process of 'seeding’ of connecting Aadhaar with ration cards was the reason for this. This process removes duplicates soon as the Aadhaar is linked to public distribution records of people. There are a lot of unresolved issues with this. Every information provided for Aadhar has to tally with the other records. If any one aspect among the provided details -- such as name, spouse's name, address, date of birth, parents name - has inaccuracies, the details are erased from digital format.
How many poor illiterate people of this country would remember such details that they do not use in daily life? This is exactly happened with Kaleshwara. The clever fakes live and the genuine poor are pushed to death.
As per the records of Jharkhand government, details of only 1.7 crore have been seeded among a total of 2.3 crore. What happened to the rest? This case can repeat itself anywhere in the country. Because our media is yet to understand that death can happen due to hunger. Duplicate ration data can be created from duplicate Aadhaar card. But it is impossible for a deserving and genuine poor man to get food without Aadhaar.
The black marketeers are usurping the food of genuine poor people. This is the uncomfortable truth. The government had recognized the fact that Kaleshwara was a poor man.
And if is the duty of government officials to ensure he gets an Aadhaar card if the process turns difficult. But the officers are destructively pleased to remove the names of those without Aadhaar than to ensure he or she gets an Aadhaar. This Aadhaar has turned into a gas chamber for Modi government to eradicate the poor and impoverished. Modi is trying hard to improve the country's image through announcements such as bullet trains, tallest statue, biggest park etc. Naturally so, the Adivasis are a major road block for his dream run. Hence it looks like the government has planned to eradicate them by making random documents and Id cards mandatory so that the poor can be wiped out totally.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
