Activity II

Name : Savita Das
Age : 27
Work : part time domestic help in 5 homes, 7 days a week.
Work Routine : Morning round - 6am to 12pm
Evening round - 6pm - 8 pm
Education : class 5 pass.
Common ailments suffered from : Stomach upset/infection
Treatment : at home. Diagnosis and medication decided by self.
Children : Daughter - 14
Son - 8
Common ailments suffered from : Cold, cough, fever.
Treatment : Private consultant. No trust in govt. medication.
Cost of private treatment : Rs. 300-400 each time. Rs. 200 for consultation + cost of medicine
Education of children : Daughter - class 5 pass. Now works in homes as domestic help
Son - in class 3.
School: Naya Disha, Sector 29, Noida
Provision of mid day meal at school : None
Cost of education : Does not know

She wants her son educated so that he can grow up and get a good job and earn money for the family. Thinks her daughter can survive without education as she will pick up work elsewhere.

STATE OF THE ART GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS IN THE WORKS

(from article ''District hospital infused with new life'' - Vandana Keelor , August 22, Noida Plus)

Acting on UP Chief Minister's instructions, the Noida Authorities have left no stone unturned in the renovation and up-gradation of the district hospital in Sector 30 of Noida. The directions are to construct two state of the art multi-speciality Dr Ambedkar Hospitals in Noida and Greater Noida and have them functioning by March 2009. As per sources, an expenditure of Rs. 150 crore will be made for establishing the hospital at Greater Noida and an amount of Rs. 378 crore has been invested into turning the Noida 100-bed hospital into a 300-bed multi-specialty hospital.

Besides improved infrastructure and routine health care it would have advanced facilities for plastic surgery ans surgeries in fields of gynecology,urology,neurology and much more.

A telemedicine dept. has also been planned. The up-gradation plan also includes procurement of machines for MRI, CT-scan, digital X-Ray, Color Doppler as well as facilities for normal and cardiac ICU. It also entails setting up of a Blood Bank so that patrons don't have to run to private blood banks or to Ghaziabad to procure blood.


This step taken by the UP government and Noida authorities has been a blessing for the people of Noida and Greater Noida. The conditions of the district hospital in Sector 30, Noida, were quite bleak. Not many wanted to utilize the facility but were pressed to due to lack of resources for private health care. Greater Noida lacks a district hospital, so to speak. There is a severe lack of competent professionals working at these institutions. Looking at the planning for the residential blocks and 'international-class food court facility', one can now hope that more nurses, doctors and hospital staff will encouraged to seek employment in this government facility.

AGROWON - India's first Agro daily

A Pune-based Sakal group of newspapers has launched a Marathi daily, Agrowon, dedicated to all aspects of agriculture.

The daily which is priced at one rupee covers wide variety of subjects relating to sugarcane production, relations between sugarcane producers and sugar co-operative factories, production techniques to increase quantum of sugarcane and other crops, pesticides to be used for seasonal pests, credit facilities to agriculture, horticulture, milk dairies and other activities are some of the subjects covered by way of news, features and articles.

The editorial presents critical analysis about agricultural policies and also the performance of government machinery which is expected to respond to the periodical needs of farmers, and problems of crop failures particularly in drought-affected areas.
Readers have appreciated the exclusive coverage of matters relating to agriculture. A special page for readers' views is named as 'Apale Pan' (Your page).
Another important aspect of the daily is a provision of a few pages out of the total sixteen to films, television and also subjects relating to health and fitness.

Such an endeavor is bound to have immense impact on the lives of the rural population. It is a cost effective method to bring to the attention of the public various aspects of agriculture, modern trends in agriculture, contract farming, power shortage, legal aspects of farm activities.

Plant a tree

When in school, I had the opportunity to plant a number of trees. We were supposed to take care of them over the years. I planted my first tree in grade 7. It was an exciting experience.

Today when asked again to plant a sapling, I am excited. There is this rush of affection towards something you've helped to nurture. I have planted a neem tree sapling in the community garden of our apartments. Because neem trees grow very slowly during their first year and require regular watering I will have to make a conscious effort in taking care of it.
I look forward to doing so.

Independent India

200 years of foreign rule.

August 15
1947
An independent India.

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge... At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." Jawaharlal Nehru, 1947

For most of us Independence day is another holiday. As we grow older the significance of India's independence weakens. The excuse being there are many more 'priorities' in life than celebrating a victory that occured 61 years ago.

For me , Independence day means more than a 'chhuti'. And I have my family to thank for that. Coming from a background where my grandparents had to leave everything they had ever known and start from the bottom, like millions of others, Independence day means more than a 'chhuti' to me.

I appreciate their struggle and their unnerving faith in the Indian Govt. at a time when all was chaos and it was for each his own.
I am grateful to our forefathers for the fight of their and the future generations' lives.
I am thankful of all those Indians who might not have been Gandhis or Nehrus but were Indians, ready and willing to give it all up for the freedom of a country they could loved and cherished.
I am an Indian.

If I were the Prime Minister, I would

want to commemorate our Independence Day with gusto and involve the entire nation in celebration.

In the Prime Minister's address to the nation on the morning of the 15th, I would like to remind India of how rich her itihaas is and how beautiful and diverse a culture she has.
I would ensure that all public broadcasting media speaks of India's independence and her journey from then till now.

What I realize is that the government does all of the above. What is required is for every Indian to become conscious of the significance of our independence and to appreciate it and celebrate it with gusto. We wouldn't be who and where we are today if it weren't for our independence and all those who fought till death for it.

Kite flying is a tradition I associate with this today. We spend hours with family and friends watching our kites soar across the free skies.

Airwaves Of Hope

Article by Chandana Banerjee

From a decrease in dowry deaths to an increase in girls’ education, ‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ is helping the villagers help themselves

The Ranchi office of Alternatives for India Development receives scores of postcards every month in response to the six programmes that are part of its community radio initiative.Villagers send in postcards with messages about the impact that the programmes have had on their lives and societies. While some of them talk about the change in their attitude on issues like child marriage and education for girls, others send in issues that they want featured on the programmes.

The community radio programme was started by AID in 2001. It had already been working on various issues concerning the villagers and tribals of the area which include lack of proper information and access to mainstream media, ignorance about basic rights and other problems such as those of rural migration, starvation deaths etc.

The AID realized that all these problems were stemmed from the fact that the people of the region were unable to express themselves and speak freely about the problems that they were facing. So, setting up a radio programme seemed like a good way to give a voice to the voiceless. A programme for the villagers and by the villagers that would not only address their issues and make them more aware, but would also reach out to other people who could make a difference to their lives.

Quite a few of the reporters are women who have been working in self-help groups created by the NGO and it’s generally the ones who are bright, helpful and active in community activities, who come forward.

The community radio programme draws them out from their shy selves and gives them a mission in life – a mission to educate their fellow villagers, an aim to help their own cause and work for the betterment of their community.

PRIVATIZATION OF MANY GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Article in Time Of India - August 4th,2008.(TNN)

The government is preparing to promote private competition in public services that interface with the public and the customers. It has accepted a recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission on opening up these ''monopolistic'' services bogged down by ''departmental hegemony''

Most of us are trained from the start to assume that getting work done in a 'Sakari' office is a stressful and  long drawn out process. Being pushed from one counter to the next, sent from one official to another for the payment of bills, procuring or renewing a license and a range of other odd jobs.

The government's move to promote private competition in these services is expected to bring down levels of corruption. The increased participation of private companies will bring about a change in the pace of work. Practices like red tapism and bribery as expected to be curbed as the administration process will have better infrastructure and more man power to officiate.

A recent meeting of the Core Group on Administrative Reforms chaired by the cabinet secretary took the crucial decision and the department of administrative reforms and public grievances has already issued directives to central ministries and state governments to formulate policies. 

In its report, ''Ethics in Governance'', the ARC has recommended: ''Every ministry/department may undertake immediate exercise to identify areas where the existing 'monopoly of functions' can be tempered with competition. A similar exercise may be done at the level of state governments and local bodies.

The areas where such openings up will be allowed are yet to be ascertained , public services related to transport offices,the electricity department and the utility bill collection system will be included.  

The government wants the ''opening up'' to progress in a  time bound manner, with quarterly reports to the department on the status of work. It has directed that the first report for the July - September period be sent to the department by October 10.