Weekly Round-up by Anisa Fathima
Daijiworld.com - Mangalore
Mangalore, Dec 10: The war of words in Malavoor gram panchayat (GP) here turned bitter when the GP president Sadananda Rai resigned from his post following the issue of the reappointment of Bharati, a clerk who was sacked for dereliction and was allegedly involved in corruption.
The entire issue is in a muddle and blame games have been flying fast and furious between gram panchayat and zilla panchayat, and between supporters of Bharati and her detractors. The point to ponder is why has Bharati been silent on the issue? Being the centre of controversy, she should make herself clear as to the purpose of taking unauthorized leave. Supporters say that she took maternity leave on the advice of her doctor, while detractors allege that she misused her position. A probe should be ordered in to the issue, as there are allegations against secretaries too of having altered Bharati’s attendance record. If Bharati is really guilty, she deserves dismissal, but if she is innocent, then the suspension order would be unfair. Hence, a thorough probe is necessary to bring the reality to light.
MANGALORE: TUSSLE OVER CLERK'S RE-APPOINTMENT - MALAVOOR GP PRESIDENT RESIGNS
Former Union minister and NDA convenor George Fernandes was in the city as a part of his tour to the district. While inaugurating the new office of Jayashreekrishna Parisara Premi Samiti, he cited the closure of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) as the main reason for rise in Naxalism.
It is true that the closure of KIOCL resulted in several people losing their main source of livelihood. Most of these people are no doubt from poor families, who struggle to sleep with a filled stomach. The compensation, if at all paid to them, would be meagre and insufficient to cater to their day-to-day needs. In such a context, it is no surprise that they joined Naxals to fight for their rights. Unemployment is a factor that makes many a slave to actions that they otherwise may not partake in. Naxal forces have been fighting for the rights of the villagers for a long time now, though their methods do not justify their demands. With increase in number of unemployed people, the Naxal forces will only strengthen, and unless the administration does something about this, the problem will not alleviate.
MANGALORE: CLOSURE OF KIOCL REASON FOR INCREASE IN NAXALISM - GEORGE FERNANDES
It was a week with Mangalore City Corporation (MCC0 swung to action to demolish a couple of illegal constructions, one at Lalbagh and the other at Maryhill. Both were constructed without permission from MCC.
It is good that the MCC has woken up to the problem of illegal constructions and is taking steps to demolish them. There are several building laws that people need to abide by when constructing a building, and illegally built structures not only pose a danger to inhabitants in terms of safety, but also steal valuable tax money from the administration. But just demolishing is not enough - one of the constructions was a group huts built by daily-wage earners. The MCC, while demolishing these, should also do something to compensate for the loss and provide them with alternate place for living or get their employers to make adequate arrangements for them.
MANGALORE: ILLEGAL RESIDENCES VACATED AT LALBAGH - PICS
MANGALORE: MCC OFFICIALS EVICT ILLEGAL ERECTIONS AT MARYHILL - PICS
Well, talk about making mountains out of molehills. This was what happened in Farangipet where a small explosion in an empty hall ended up paralysing the entire region. The episode wreaked havoc in the minds of the locals and almost everyone observed a volunteer bandh while police beefed up security.
The incidents of violence in the region in October and in Mulki last week seems to have got to the people’s nerves. Every small incident is looked at with suspicion and caution. The culprits in this case may perhaps be doing nothing but playing pranks to create unnecessary confusion. But the positive thing that came out of the incident was the readiness of the police to deal with the solution. No untoward incident took place, and what was even more heartening was that people did not give heed to rumours aimed at creating communal tension and went about their work in a peaceful manner. Farangipet saw a lot of tension and violence in October, and the residents would definitely do all they can to avoid such a situation from arising again.
BANTWAL: FARANGIPET OBSERVES VOLUNTARY BUNDH - SITUATION PEACEFUL
Meanwhile, a girl in one of the hostels in the city died of malaria. The incident evoked a lot of criticism from all quarters and many blamed the hostel authorities for not giving proper attention to the girl. A probe has been ordered in to the incident and the president state Malayalee Christian Association has even demanded the warden’s resignation.
The incident is proof of the condition in some of the city’s hostels which do not provide proper care for their inmates. The food in many of the hostels is inedible; while cleanliness and sanitation in some of them leaves a lot to be desired. There should be certain norms introduced for hostels which would make sure that they look after the inmates well and provide healthy food too. The administration should also make regular health check-ups for the students a must and the hostels should make arrangements such as provision of first-aid kits, common medicines and availability of doctors in times of sudden sicknesses. After all, the hostels authorities cannot deny that the well-being of their inmates is their responsibility.
MANGALORE: HOSTEL INMATE’S DEATH – SUSPENSION OF WARDEN DEMANDED
The week ended with the news of the arrest of three people in connection with the murder of BJP leader Sukhanand Shetty which sparked off much violence in Mulki last week. Despite the arrests, it seems that no real progress seems to have been made, and it very much looks like the murderers are still at large.
It has been a week, but so far it has not been established whether the motive behind the murder was political or whether it was purely an outcome of intense business rivalry. The police have their task cut out and need to probe deeply in to the matter. Though the culprits must be brought to book at the earliest, the police should also be careful that no innocent person is arrested. That the police took stock of the situation and prevented violence from spreading to other areas is indeed commendable. But before revealing the names of the murderers, the police must make it clear that was no communal motive so as to prevent any retribution from communal outfits. The last thing we need is another outbreak of violence.
MANGALORE: SUKHANAND SHETTY MURDER - THREE PERSONS TAKEN TO CUSTODY
That’s the news this week. See you next week with some more exciting happenings.
Anisa Fathima
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