Transgender voters registration doubled in number
Bengaluru: The State government’s move to clear the State Policy for Transgenders (2017) and subsequent awareness drives by organisations, working for the welfare of the community, have helped mobilise many transgender voters this year.
According to data available with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), transgender voter registration has doubled from the previous Assembly elections and 4,552 have registered this year in the State.
Among the first-time voters is a senior citizen from the community, Jagadamba, 65. She was disowned by her family at the age of 14 and she went to Mumbai where she was forced to beg and engage in sex work to make her living.
While registration is one step, turning up on the day of the voting also takes courage, and many fear that they will face ridicule and discrimination.
To ensure that people are not discouraged by such incidents, they have requested officials from the Election Commission to lend them additional assistance at the venue.
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Karnataka Dalit entrepreneurs decry ‘poor’ fund allocation: Report
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Dalit Entrepreneurs’ Association has urged the government to increase the fund allocation in the Department of Industries and Commerce towards the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP).
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, C.G. Srinivasan, the association’s working president, highlighted that only Rs 400 crore — less than one percent of the Rs 42,018 crore earmarked under SCSP/TSP — has been allocated towards schemes such as site allocation, soft seed capital, investment promotion subsidy, and loan processing fees, reported Deccan Herald on Saturday.
Srinivasan noted that between 2017 and 2019, Dalit entrepreneurs received 50 percent capital assistance for setting up shops and businesses. In 2019, this was increased to 75 percent to encourage more participation, as interest remained low. He shared that this move helped 2,873 Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs gain access to nearly 2,613 acres of land for entrepreneurial purposes. He pointed out that, however, the overall budget allocation from the Department of Industries and Commerce remains insufficient at just one percent.
He further alleged that Rs 850 crore in grants are still pending under various schemes and flagged a backlog of 271.8 acres of land yet to be allotted to Dalits by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) since 2009.
“There has been severe discrimination in the allotment of old industrial area land where about 25 percent is reserved for entrepreneurs from SC/ST communities,” DH quoted him as saying. He added that many Dalits were given litigated, undulated and unusable lands.
Consequently, several entrepreneurs were penalised for failing to meet the stipulated timelines, as they were unable to start their businesses due to the condition of the allotted land.
The association also called on the government to address corruption within the KIADB, alleging that officials have been denying reservations to Dalit entrepreneurs.
