The Weekly Observer Volume 16 Issue 12
An IIJNM Publication
Thursday, 03 November 2016
Graveyards face space crunch in the city Prabhakar Thakur prabhakar.t@iijnm.org
Bengaluru: Major burial grounds in the city located at Banashankari, Wilson Garden, Shantinagar and Kalpalli are cramped with graves which have made it difficult for the people to find a place to bury their deceased relatives. The graveyards in the city were identified decades ago but in a booming city like Bengaluru, space is falling short for the dead. With tombstones erected over graves, redigging a grave after many years and reusing it is not possible. Praveen, who had come to make offerings at his father’s grave in Kalpalli Burial Ground, says, “It is very difficult to walk into the ground as all the graves there are tightly packed and stink badly. I come here every year and I find dogs, sheeps, hens and other stray animals roaming freely around the graves, often digging and destroying them. this, sometimes leaves few of the graves partially open.” However, space crunch is not the only issue with the burial grounds in the city. Filth and lack of civic amenities are adding to the pain of the grieving relatives who go to the burial grounds to perform last rites of their loved ones. The graveyards
ial grounds in Bengaluru w e r e marked m a n y decades ago which were sufficient for the then population. “There is huge pressure on the existing b u r i a l grounds and due to extensive urbanisation, finding space Finding space for the departed is getting difficult as burial grounds are on the verge of saturation. for new resemble dump yards as the garbage are brought here for burial. “We burial grounds is also not easy,” he crisis is mounting in the burial don’t stop stray animals from com- added. grounds. Also, the ones who come ing into our compound. They some“Developing new layouts in and to bury their deceased relatives or times harm the graves but we re-fill around the city is the responsibility on their death anniversary to make the graves whenever required,” he of Bangalore development. While offerings , leave the surrounding added. doing so, they have to make providirty. Dr. Shivasharanappa S. Khandre, sions for Civic Amenities (CA) sites Karthik, working at Kalpalli Public Relation Officer of Bruhat which include burial grounds. If graveyard said, he has been working Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike they make such provision and then here as a grave digger since child- (BBMP) agreed that a lot needs to hand over the layout to us, we can hood. On a daily basis 2-3 bodies be done in this regard. He said bur- take care of it and provide better fa-
cilities,” Mr. Khandre further said. The grounds also lack necessary civic amenities such as toilets,, safe drinking water, proper lighting and seating arrangements. It adds to the grief of the mourning relatives who have to take bath before performing the last rites. Arun, a grave digger in Banshankari burial ground says there is a toilet in the campus but it has been defunct since it was constructed. “We do not have bathroom but we have water connection and those who want to take bath can use the taps which are installed in open. However, people bring their own water for drinking purposes.” Cremation has been halted at the Banashankari cremetorium. The workers there told that on an average, 6-7 bodies are brought here every day but we send them back because of the repair going on. Prof. M. N. Sreehari, an urban planning expert said, “Burial grounds in the city were identified many years ago. They are poorly maintainedand are unhealthy as well. With the population of Bengaluru reaching around 1.2 crore, the government should look up for new areas, may be outside the city and new burial grounds should be alloted as per the demand in different areas.”
612 deaths in 2016 due to unscientific dividers, says city Traffic Police
Unscientific dividers cause injuries, problems while driving Konica Kamra konica.k@iijnm.org Bengaluru: According to Bangalore Traffic Police statistics, 4117 road accidents took place this year till September, claiming 612 lives and injuring 3153. Traffic police, as well as traffic experts, agree that badly made dividers are responsible for many of these causalities. One of the most common sights on roads and highways is vehicles crashing on the road dividers. Dividers which are meant to regulate the traffic are not serving the purpose. The width Kanakpura road, Shivajinagar, Kengeri, Central park in many parts of the city is barely few inches. Janardhan Rao K, executive engineer at Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) said, “There is no particular rule for the height of the divider but the ideal size is 1 feet to 1.5 feet to avoid jaywalking and vehicle crashing on the other side of the road. It has to be painted and fixed with cateye reflector. But due to new experiments in improving the road and
not re-building it from ground zero, the roads are eating up the height of the divider. Janardhan said, “Brigade road dividers and road near the Airport are very uneven. A shopkeeper on Brigade road said that people easily shift bricks to make way for themselves which makes the matter even worse. The solid concrete of the divider is difficult to pull back and again put to increase the height.” A resident of Mysore road complained that the divider on the road is barely seen. “One day I was driving to 7th Block Jayanagar around 8.30 p.m. the street lights weren’t powerful and bright enough to provide visibility. I almost hit the divider as I was overtaking a vehicle from the right side because the divider was almost invisible.” Narendra, another resident of Mysore roadsaid, “In the last 3 months, I have seen or heard more than 10 accidents happening on this road because of the ‘almost invisible divider’ which is meant to regulate the traffic and not pose threat to commuters.”
Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 are out of school.
Schools in Bangalore not meeting mandatory 5 percent disability quotas Ilona Dam ilona.d@iijnm.org Bengaluru: Eleven-year-old, Ujjwal is a victim of polio, in addition to having speaking troubles. His father, Mr. Sanjay’s biggest concern now is his son’s education. Few schools in Bangalore are ready to admit him and hence, unlike his sister Kajal, he will not lead a life without mockery, as Sanjay fears. Ujjwal’s story isn’t unique in an education system which pushes children with disabilities to the margins of the society. A survey conducted by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled Peoples (NCPEDP) in 2015 reveals that amongst the 15 lakh students in educational institutions, only 0.56 percent were differently-able. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights
and Full Participation) Act, 1995, Section 39 state that all educational institutions are required to reserve 3 percent seats for children with disabilities. Suman Yadav, Balwantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan School’s Disability wing member (ASMNA), said most schools don’t meet the 3 per cent quota meant for disabled children. “Schools lack in infrastructure and skilled-teachers for such children.” Speaking on the importance of these quotas, Yadav said, “These quotas will help the children to enter the mainstream education system and end the myth that disabled children are only meant to be in special schools.” Mrs. Kalachurchill, headmistress of YMCA school, a non-govern-
ment institution, said parents who belong to the lower economic stratum are unaware of such quotas. She quotes the example of Dhanu Kumar, a 9-year-old boy whose parents were unaware of the disability quotas. “He is crippled and has learning disability. His parents had given up hope on educating him,” Mrs. Kalachurchill further said. A report by United Nations (UN) said, “While India has made significant improvement in primary education enrolment, the figures for children with disabilities are staggering. Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 children aged 6 to 14 years (34 per cent) are out of school.”