Delhiites Answerable..

Monday, 30th August, 2010.

"Baby was born on road battling for her life."

It was shameful reading this, that too after a month from when it took place. The people of Delhi have grown insensitive. They took no notice of Karishma, a baby girl, who was born to a poor woman, on a busy and dirty street in Connaught Place (CP)on July 26. After giving birth to the child the woman struggled to survive for four long days but eventually she succumbed to death as nobody came forward to help or take her to the hospital.

Now its Karishma's turn to struggle for her life. Even after a month she just weighs 700 grams and is suffering from severe blood infection. 
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/08/30/ArticleHtmls/ht-FOLLOW-UP-Baby-born-on-road-battling-30082010003003.shtml?Mode=1

Karishma, was born on the busy street in CP.

People could have acted responsibly to save her life. Karishma lost her mother and people were not bothered. It is a shame for all of us. Any person could have dialed 100( Police Control Room number) or 1091 ( Police helpline for women) to make sure she was taken to a government hospital. 
Unfortunately, people have turned heartless and oblivious to the suffering of others. It is shocking and and disgraceful.
How could Delhiites turn a blind eye to this? Did it not prick anybody's conscience? 
Yes it did, as Ritu Fredrick, a garment shop owner in CP, took the baby under her care and now she is trying to get the custody of the baby. 
This tragedy raises a finger at humanity but also shows that it has not been completely lost.
In my opinion, Ritu Fredrick, alone kept the spirit of humanity alive which other Delhiites failed to do.
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/08/29/ArticleHtmls/She-gave-birth-died-Delhi-walked-by-29082010001011.shtml?Mode=1 

Its Easy yet We FAIL..

Wednesday, 25th August, 2010.

"My Earth My Duty"
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/GalleryView.shtml?GId=25082010009011 
This is a good piece of news for all the people on this planet.
This caught my attention in today's newspaper and I so much want to share this with my readers.
My Earth My Duty, launched on 5th June, 2010, is an initiative by Zee News Ltd. to save our environment. The most interesting part is that they have over 1 crore youth volunteers from various colleges, schools and cities with an aim of planting approximately 60 lakh trees. It is unbelievable and true. Its also India's biggest plantation drive.

In the process of development and achieving progress, human beings have now threatened the sustainability of the Earth.
The Earth's temperature is rising speedily due to global warming. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, rise in sea level and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife and humans.
This campaign is aimed at creating awareness about our degrading environment and also encouraging people to take steps to halt or slowdown the environmental deterioration.
http://www.zeenews.com/myearth/

I really appreciate and like this initiative taken by Zee News and for telling us all that its high time now!
On the website, people can get simple tips on saving the environment and can also give their own ideas on saving our environment. They have a corner for poets and people who want to put in their articles. Its the right place for those interested in knowing new and detailed things about our environment.
http://www.zeenews.com/myearth/story.aspx?aid=631550 
http://www.zeenews.com/myearth/story.aspx?aid=631546 

After going through the tips to save the environment, I realized how much we can do at our personal level to save our EARTH. We usually never think on these lines and often miss these things in our busy lives.
It is amazing and I would like to congratulate Zee News on taking such a sincere and honest step towards protecting our planet.
I would appeal to my readers to please go through their website and learn easy ways to take up your responsibility:))
 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY..!

Tuesday, 24th August,2010
"250 roads have gone under water in the capital." 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-waterlogging-Civic-agencies-ignored-police-warning/articleshow/6424699.cms 

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about rain in Delhi?

Water logging comes to my mind instantly and I am sure that most of the Delhiites would agree with me on this. The whole fun of the monsoon season is lost. The waterlogged roads and surroundings put an end to all the excitement and fervour.
Due to the inefficiency of the civic agencies the people have to suffer. The traffic jams and vehicular breakdown caused due to  water logging make commuting a strenuous and unpleasant job.
http://sify.com/news/monsoon-again-throws-delhi-out-of-gear-news-national-kiwrucdbfga.html 

The agencies involved in the civic work are busy blaming each other for all the mismanagement and chaos, instead of taking effective measures to resolve and control the problem.
This does not stop here, the waterlogged places are becoming the breeding ground for mosquitoes. And till now 453 confirmed dengue cases have been reported in the Capital, where 34 cases were reported on Monday.
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/08/24/ArticleHtmls/Capitals-real-dengue-figures-buried-under-red-tape-24082010003002.shtml?Mode=1 


The civic agencies need to act immediately and promptly to avoid further disastrous consequences and problems for the people.
And to aggravate their problems I would like to remind them that Commonwealth Games are 40 days away ; )

 

Time to Battle..

Monday, 23rd August, 2010.

 "They are the people with no purchasing power and no influence."

This is absolutely true. The people being referred here are the 'underprivileged' and 'socially backward' individuals who face challenges everyday in their lives. Their problems are overlooked because they have no authority and power. They are the below poverty line families, who suffer gravely from hunger and malnutrition. They put themselves out to secure just one meal of the day and thinking about the next one seems back- breaking. In simple and clear words it is a struggle for 'SURVIVAL.'

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Start-a-hungama/Article1-590317.aspx 

According to the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS), approximately 180 million children are chronically malnourished worldwide, more than one-third is in India. Of this, over 8 million children suffer from acute malnutrition.

http://motherchildnutrition.org/india/resources.html#nfhs3

http://motherchildnutrition.org/india/pdf/nfhs3/mcn-NFHS-3-Chapter-10-Nutrition-and-Anaemia.pdf

The World Bank blames poverty and low status of women in our country as the predominant reason for malnutrition. It reveals that half of the children under four are malnourished and majority of the women suffer from aneamia. In order to get rid of this epidemic we need to eradicate poverty and improve the health conditions for women to enhance the quality of life for them and their families.We have to act now to help these people as we belong to the better part of the world.

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/6/1/1


It may appear to be a less sexy story but it needs immediate attention because a 'healthy nation' can only be  a strong and prosperous nation. 
Through this blog, I not only want to highlight this serious problem but I also want to appeal to all the people who do not belong to the above category to be grateful for being gifted with perfect health.
 

ARE WE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS...???

Wednesday,18th August, 2010.
 "I have the Right to Education, now nobody can stop me from going to school."

I saw this advertisement of Right to Education in the Hindustan Times today. It talks about Right to Education Act (RTE)2009, which provides every child in the age group of 6-14 years with free and compulsory education.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/GalleryView.shtml?GId=18082010002001

Education is a way of stepping towards progress and development. It is the basic right and privilege of every child. Education not only gives us the tool of knowledge but also the ability to make fair decisions and enhances our overall personality.

The photograph( right) in another newspaper ,The Hindu, caught my attention as it was a complete contrast to the one in the Hindustan Times.
This picture is a recent one. It speaks volumes about those young children in our country who are deprived of education as they are made to work at this tender age. This is just one photograph which was captured whereas the condition of several children who work as labourers go unnoticed.
Despite the constitutional recognition provided to free and compulsory education, in reality, the mandate of the Constitution has still remained empty, as a number of children are denied basic human right to education.

http://www.thehindu.com/education/article557919.ece

This is another issue which gains sympathy from many people but nothing is actually done to wipe it out from our society. We fail to see the poor implementation of this Act.

I do agree that such issues cannot be handled overnight but atleast there should be some strong focus on them. 

'Just as we set deadlines for important events why cannot we set deadlines to get over with these issues?'

Literacy rate is an important social indicator of the country's development. It is indicative of the quality of the life of its people. In order to get into the race of developed nations the social indicators will play a significant role.
I feel it is not only lack of implementation of the Right to Education but also the failure to protect the rights of the child labour.
I am not criticizing or commenting on the efforts being made by the government, I am just emphasizing on the fact that education for and among children of all classes should be given utmost importance, ensuring free and compulsory education according to the RTE Act.

Working for Commonwealth but Ignoring the COMMON...

Tuesday, 17th August,2010.
 "What will we do? We will starve to death."

These are the words of Usha Gangadia, a hawker who sells Gujarati handicraft items on the streets of Connaught Place, New Delhi. She talks about how her income has been badly affected by the construction work going on in Connaught Place for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), 2010. Apart from not being able to meet her family's basic needs, she also had to withdraw her son from his regular school because of the sudden and huge drop in her income from Rs 1,500 to Rs 500 per day. Usha represents the plight of the common people in Delhi whose interests are being ignored just because Delhi has to meet international standards for the CWG. 

In order to create a fantastic first impression on the other countries, the basic rights of the country's very own people are not being taken care of. According to me the country's well being is indicated by its socio-economic factors and not by the pomp and show.
People like Usha, are an integral part of our society but the hardships they face are not even given a thought.
'Is it a good idea to host an International Event with a fake or artificial picture of your country?'
And what beyond that dazzling first impression?
Well, its difficult to accept the reality but deep inside we can realize what the truth is and what are we aiming at. Our country can be ready for the Commonwealth but it is not ready to address its own issues.
In my opinion, if the very foundation of our society, the people ,are not happy then no matter how hard we try our efforts will remain futile.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/08/17/ArticleHtmls/For-this-woman-its-a-matter-of-survival-17082010002006.shtml?Mode=1

Welcome Me to the Blog World...

Monday, August 16, 2010

Hi Everyone,
                   I am Radhika. This is my first blog. I like reading, travelling and writing. I have never tried my hand at blogs so I need all of you to support me with your comments, ideas and opinions which will make my blogs better with every new idea.
I have taken up social issues as my theme because I believe that these are issues which are otherwise neglected and nothing has been done to strongly curb or suppress them. I will be focusing on all kinds of problems and issues which demand attention.
Through my blogs I would  like to create awareness about the  issues, change people's outlook so that our society becomes a better place to live in and it marches on the path to prosperity.