Opportunities for change

Opportunities for change

PREETU VENUGOPALAN

Economic rehabilitation is an important part of giving victims of trafficking a new life. An NGO in Goa shows the way...

New directions: The mechanised laundry set up by the women in Goa.

IT is 8.45 a.m. A confident Sudha waits outside her home in Goa, wearing a uniform designed by one of the country's top fashion designer, Savio Jon. She is waiting for a cab to take her to work. Sudha works for a laundry unit at Sancoale Industrial Estate, which she hopes will one day be the most successful rehabilitation programme.

Six months ago, 23-year-old Sudha had no aim or ambition and faced an uncertain future. Dedicated to Goddess Yellama at the age of 12, she was forced into prostitution as a Devadasi at the age of 14, and worked for a gharwali (brothel keeper) in Baina, Goa. The mass demolition of cubicles in Baina's unofficial red light area on June 14, 2004, didn't change her situation, rather worsened it. With no economic rehabilitation in sight, she was forced to travel to other parts of the State for "business".

Economic support

Incidentally, the Supreme Court in Gaurav Jain vs. Union of India, 1997, had pointed out that Welfare Departments should undertake economic rehabilitation programmes, as this would prevent the practice of the dedication of young girls to prostitution as Devadasis, Jogins or Venkatasins. "It would be meaningful if rehabilitation programmes are launched and implementation machinery is set up not only to eradicate the fertile source of prostitution, but also for successful rehabilitation of the fallen women who are victims of circumstances to regain their lost respect to the dignity of person to sustain equality of status, economic and social empowerment," the court observed.

In Goa, there is much talk about combating trafficking of persons, thanks to a report on "Trafficking of women and children in India 2002-2003", commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission along with UNIFEM and the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), which reveals that Goa has the highest level of trafficking of women and children in the country. Though economic rehabilitation is vital, little has been done by the government or NGOs to economically rehabilitate trafficked victims.

"We need economic rehabilitation programmes because if we don't provide rescued trafficked victims with jobs, they will go back to prostitution, if not in Baina, then in another part of the State or country," opines former DGP of Goa, Neeraj Kumar.

New journeys

After nine years of commercial sex work, Sudha has embarked on a new journey that is helping her see herself as part of the whole. "At first it was difficult, but I was determined," reveals Sudha, who is now a trained commercial driver. And she is not alone.

Fatima doesn't remember her village in Karnataka. She always believed Goa was home until the demolition drive happened. "I was denied compensation by the Goa Government because I am a non-Goan," she says. She was six-months-old when her poverty-stricken family came to Baina seeking a livelihood. Personal problems forced her into prostitution. Following the demolition, decreasing income, loneliness and insecurity only compounded her troubles.

But now, like Sudha, she has taken her first step to freedom from sexual and emotional exploitation. "I have got an opportunity to change my life, to live life with dignity and I have chosen it," she said.

The wheels of destiny are changing, slowly but surely, for 40 silent, helpless victims of commercial sexual exploitation, desperate to leave the trade, but left with little due to poverty.

ARZ, an NGO working with trafficked victims in Goa, as part of its economic rehabilitation programme, has set up a fully mechanised laundry unit, "Swift Wash", at Sancole Industrial estate. The first of its kind in Goa, it provides employment to 40 trafficked victims, mostly from Baina. "We want to ensure that women earn a dignified income, as it is the only tool that can pull them out and plug all entries into prostitution," revealed Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ.

Arun hopes the unit will develop into a full-fledged women's cooperative with trafficked women being the sole owners of the entire unit. And, Arun is not the only person dreaming of a better future. Laxmi, a trafficked victim, optimistically reveals, "Our hard work will be rewarded. Within a year or two, we want the unit to grow and expand so that we can help more children and women like us."

The effort has won accolades from former DGP Kumar, who says, "This is the first time that an NGO in Goa has walked the talk." And, for trafficking victims like Fatima and Sudha, the laundry unit has helped them leave prostitution, something even the Baina demolition couldn't achieve. Today, they are confident and empowered women, ready to fight their exploiters, including their mard.

T.S. Sawant, Director, Women and Child, Goa, admits that the idea is very good and the department would support the endeavour. "This is what Goa needs at the moment to combat trafficking. After all, poverty is the main reason why innocent girls and women are pushed into prostitution and economic rehabilitation is the need of the hour if one wants to seriously combat trafficking of persons." The State Government is planning to seek ARZ's help to provide economic rehabilitation to trafficked victims in the State Protective Home.

If human rights are about the rights of humans, about empowering the underprivileged and neglected in society by providing them equal opportunities, then this is just the beginning.

(A few names have been changed to protect identity.)

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/11/05/stories/2006110500210400.htm

Wrong Initiative to Contain AIDS?

Wrong Initiative to Contain AIDS?
by Venugopalan Nair

Sarita knew nothing about HIV/AIDS until her husband tested positive. A few months later, she and her elder daughter also tested positive. This was four years ago. Her husband died in 2002.

Life has taught her many bitter lessons: It has taught her that women cannot negotiate safe sex due to their disadvantaged position in society as well as due to lack of personal power. "Women in fact are more at risk of getting infected from their partner because of their vulnerability," she says.

Yet, she doesn't support the Goa government's decision to make HIV/AIDS testing mandatory before marriage. Sarita (name changed) believes that awareness and counseling - not mandatory pre-marital testing - are the need of the hour. The government needs to impart information, educate people and counsel women about HIV when they are adolescents, thereby helping them to protect themselves from getting infected.

Despite opposition from people living with HIV and activists working with HIV+ persons, the state government has decided to go ahead with its proposed plan to make HIV/AIDS testing mandatory before marriage. Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar maintains that the decision has been taken in the interest of the people. If passed in the state legislature, Goa will be the first state in the country to implement this law.

The National AIDS Control Organisation's (NACO) policy on testing is very clear. It encourages voluntary testing after counseling as the appropriate public health strategy in dealing with HIV/AIDS. Dr Denis Broun, Country Director, UNAIDS (United Nations AIDS programme) maintains, "You can curb the disease only by spreading information, counseling and convincing families to go for HIV testing before marriage. The government shouldn't interfere and introduce mandatory testing before marriage."

Even the Roman Catholic Church in Goa has opposed the move. Besides issuing a public statement opposing the proposed law, it has sent letters to members of the legislative assembly and ministers dissuading them from supporting a legislation that would affect human freedom and dignity. "Any legislation in this regard, apparently for the so-called well-being or for the utility of any single individual citizen or citizens in general, must be just, acceptable and respectable," said Fr Socorro Mendes, Director, Family Service Centre, Archdiocese of Goa.
However, the state health authorities argue that HIV affects people primarily when they are most productive and leads to premature death, thereby severely affecting the socio-economic structure of whole families and communities. "A majority of women infected with HIV/AIDS in Goa are in the age group of 15 to 35," said an official from the health department, on condition of anonymity.

Officials at the Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS) are tight-lipped about the issue as they find themselves sandwiched between the state government policy and that of NACO on HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with people living with HIV believe that such a proposal will have a harmful impact on the state's efforts to contain HIV/AIDS as it is based neither on sound public health policy nor on human rights principles. "It is going to be a disaster in the end. In Goa, there is no clinching evidence to suggest that a woman is infected during marriage. In fact, the 2005 Sentinel Survey for Goa shows that none were infected in the antenatal setting, a marker for mainstream women," said Anand Grover, Director, Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit.

Activists say that they are opposed to the state government's decision because it may create an alarm and drive the disease underground and give the state a false sense of security that the infection is being effectively prevented from spreading. They also fear that this would also lead to the issuance of false certificates prior to marriage, thereby having a negative impact on the entire public health system. Besides, the strategy also does not take into account a large number of young people having sex at the pre-marital stage or post-marriage stages, which can lead to the infection, they added.

Dr Eugene D'Silva, a gynecologist, said that pre-marital testing does not prevent persons from getting infected after marriage. "What about people who are tested during the window period? During the window period even if a person is infected, they would be tested negative, as the antibodies are not developed", he noted.
"The plan to introduce mandatory pre-marital HIV testing is not based on any scientific study. Any programme for prevention or intervention has to be based on concrete scientific studies so that it helps contain the disease. HIV mandatory testing has only proved to be counter-productive," said Beethoven Fonseca, who works with Positive People, an NGO.

Interestingly, pre-marital testing is not something new. It has been tried at other places and failed. The American Civil Liberties Union Report of March 1998 reported that mandatory pre-marital HIV testing was a failure. It stated that more than 30 states in the USA considered pre-marital HIV testing. However, all the states except for Illinois and Louisiana rejected the idea. Illinois and Louisiana enacted and enforced mandatory pre-marital testing, but subsequently repealed them.

Can the Goa government hope to succeed where others have failed?

February 3, 2007

By arrangement with Women's Feature Service

GRAB IT, BUILD IT, FORGET IT - violation of CRZ rules

GRAB IT, BUILD IT, FORGET IT

By Peter de Souza and Preetu Nair

If you want a piece of Goa's coastline, follow three simple steps. Just grab the land, build on it (after making pretences that your structures are temporary) and then forget it. With a little help from a lawyer who can twist facts and a politician who is either a fellow grabber or can keep the law away., This week GT-Weekender looks at some of the prominent cases and the even more prominent violators

VIP's control coastal loot- Carryon Regardless Zone (CRZ)

ANJUNA/CALANGUTE/GOA/ INDIA: A Moon Dance restaurant springs up in Anjuna, a shack turns into a concrete disco on the beach, Zilla Parishad members and panchayat heads themselves are accused in several violation cases and their illegal buildings are there for all to see and lo and behold, cottages supposedly owned by a priest are in complete violation of CRZ rules. The party goes on.

This despite the fact that in a vital judgement, a division bench comprising Hon. Justice Ferdin Rebello and V C Daga of Bombay High Court, Panjim Bench in 2000 made it mandatory for Talatis and Mamlatdars to file weekly reports, based on patrolling and fortnightly inspection by deputy collectors, before the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) for necessary action through the district collectors.

"The Talati and Mamlatdar submitted their reports to the deputy collector and before CZMA. Based on that demolition notices were sent to various authorities. The trouble is that almost everyone has political connections. Often, the politicians interfere and stop the demolition", said Norma Alvares, environmentalist.

Though the entire belt within 200 mts of the High Tide Line (HTL) in CRZ-III areas, such as Candolim- Calangute is the No Development Zone (NDZ), where no new 'construction/development' is permissible, human settlements and starred resorts have sprung up.

Environmentalists allege that the stipulation that no human activity should be allowed within 500 meters of the seashore is being violated with impunity by both the locals and people in power. Check this:

• Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes has allegedly constructed a restaurant, Sheetal within 200 mts of HTL in Candolim. NPS Varde, member secretary, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has send a show cause notice to him on December 6, 2001. "This was a planned by the BJP government to malign my name, but I came out of it unaffected," said Agnelo. Further, within 200 to 500 mt of the HTL there are staff quarters, seven cottages, a restaurant and his other resort Silver Sands.
• While complainant Betty Alvares says that the cases against Agnelo are with the Director of Panchayats and the Deputy Director of Panchayats, Agnelo claims that the cases have already been dismissed. "Some person with vested interest had filed a PIL against Silver Sands in the High Court, but has decided to withdraw it once I showed the relevant documents. I am not aware of the status of the case at the moment," added Agnelo. It is reliably learnt that while Tony Fernandes and Jerry Coutinho applied for withdrawal of the case, one Augustino Proenca had intervened in the matter and asked to be made party to the case, which is scheduled for hearing next week.
• If an MLA has allegedly violated, how can the ex- Zilla Parishad member be left behind. Anthony Menezes has constructed a massive discotheque Club Utopia right on the Calangute beach. Infact, he had given an affidavit to the Calangute panchayat on October 10, 2003, saying, "I will erect my temporary shack made of wooden poles and palm which will be purely temporary". He had requested for a shack license in his private property bearing no. 139/3 Gaura vaddo, Calangute. But today, the palm leaves and the wooden poles have given way to cement and concrete. The panchayat on January 4, 2006 wrote to Menezes that CZMA has initiated action against illegal construction of the discotheque (139/3), which is within CRZ and rejected his application for renewal of license.
• Club Tito's is every tourist's must visit destination in Goa. But very few know that Tito's outhouse in Calangute has violated the CRZ norms. David, the owner of the outhouse is embroiled in a controversy for extending the outhouse to the CRZ. The panchayat has charged that Tito's outhouse was not shown in the survey plan and asked him to show if he had any evidence to prove that the house existed prior to 1991. However, as David failed to produce any evidence, the Panchayat in March 26, 1999 ordered the house to be demolished. Failing which they said that the case would be referred to the Goa State Demolition Squad. But the outhouse still stands intact.
• Among the others allegedly involved in violating the CRZ is Fr Pres, Sauntavada, Calangute. He has allegedly constructed a guesthouse Sea View Cottages within 200 mts of the High Tide Line under survey no. 242 (1) P.
• On July 27, 2000, the Calangute panchayat named 300 people who own houses as well as bars and restaurants that violate CRZ norms, to the GCZMA. A list of illegal hotels, cold drink houses, jewellery stores etc have also been submitted.
• In Anjuna among the major violators of the legal CRZ are Sarpanch Savio Almeida and ex-ZP member Milton Marquis, British nationals Paul Vincent Smith and Angela Luis Smith, present ZP member Krishna Moraskar, who's constructed a two floor guest house, ex-Panch Vasu Govekar, who's constructed Moon Dance Hotel in the CRZ area and rented it to one Dailo. Besides, Gurudas Moraskar, has constructed a hotel Sea Queen, which is he conveniently converted from a building for residential use to commercial use despite a High Court order directing him not to do so. Meanwhile, despite CRZ demolition notices to Savio and Milton, they survive without any hindrance.
  

No wonder, the Panchayat has not issued a single notice to CRZ violators.

VOX POP

NORMA ALVARES, ENVIORNMENTALIST

"It is total apathy on the part of the government which turns a blind eye to such violations and encourages these illegalities, which definitely amounts to contempt of court".

DAYANAND MANDREKAR (Siolim MLA)

"I have taken down a detailed report from the Talati and attached copies of Gomantak Times (our earlier reports on CRZ violations) and submitted them to the Chief Secretary, Vigilance department and Director of Panchayats".

DR WILFRED de SOUZA (Deputy Chief Minister, Environment Minister)

"I don't answer any questions on Saturday as we work very hard during the week and I need my rest. Please don't trouble me on Saturday and Sunday. Will your questions die by Monday? (Bang…)."

AGNELO FERNANDES, CALANGUTE MLA

"There is a case pending on CRZ norms in the High Court yet people are still going ahead with the constructions but they can't be blamed for it because how long are they going to wait for the Court order. How can you expect the poor people to wait for so long?"

ANTANASIO MONSERRATE, MINISTER TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING

"All these constructions have come up with the blessings of the local Panchayats. Town and Country Planning is not the monitoring authority. We are helpless in the matter. If someone complains about the illegal constructions we revert the matter back to the panchayat and we have no locus standee to act on it. So the ball is in the Panchayat's court".

ANTHONY J D'SOUZA, OSD/ENVIORNMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

"The Talatis submits reports to the deputy collector regarding illegal constructions in the CRZ. The deputy collector then sends the report to the Science, Technology and Environment department where the orders are issued. Additional collector requisitions nodal officers to issue orders. Implementation powers should be given to the collector to demolish them directly. Lost of time is wasted in moving the files from one office to another. This needs to be streamlined".

"The house that David built:…

Additional collector of North Goa has ordered for demolition of the residence of David, a British national, who has indulged in the most outrageous infringement of the High Tide Line (HTL) and constructed a house on the slope of a hill that hugs the sands at the South Anjuna beach. The demolition will happen at 10 am on January 24, 2006.

It must be recalled that GT in its report on January 11(New definition of CRZ: Carryon Regardless Zone) reported that in order to make room for the illegitimate dwelling on the steep gradient, a part of the hillock has been scooped out and two structures are already topped with concrete slabs.

Though David came under the GCZMA scanner and Chief Secretary ordered for demolition, it was stopped by a Personal Assistant of a prominent minister from the area, who arrived at the spot and ensured that the demolition squad returned from the site without doing its job. After GT published the story, the file which was actually in the possession of the minister was "released" from his clutches and sent to the North Goa collector for necessary action.

(Article published in GT Weekender, Panjim Edition)

FROM BANGLADESH TO GOA: A HELPLESS SEX VICTIM’S SAGA

FROM BANGLADESH TO GOA: A HELPLESS SEX VICTIM’S SAGA

by Preetu Nair


What happens in the terribly painful life of a child-trafficking victim? What are the horrors she has to go through beginning with a late night border crossing to regular rape by clients? PETER D’SOUZA and PREETU NAIR investigate further and piece together a 16-year-old girl’s nightmare that ended with her returning home last week. This is a true story.

PANAJI: It is a story of extraordinary pain! A poverty-stricken Bangladeshi family is approached by an apparently well-meaning woman, who offers their daughter a lucrative job with the promise of a fortune. That was the innocuous beginning to an eight-month nightmare that had all the elements of deceit, hatred, lucre and lust.

When Parvin (one of the three women) first visited their home in a village in Coomilla district, which is almost eight hours drive from Dhaka, the 16-year-old Mumtaz (name changed) saw a ray of hope for the family because Parvin came with a promise of a job in a steel factory in Gulf. But there was a hitch! Parvin wanted to take her elder sister. But standard VIII student, Mumtaz convinced her parents and Parvin that she was the perfect choice for the job.

After initial resentment, her father, a retired textile worker and her mother, a housewife agreed, not knowing that their little daughter’s life would soon become a living hell. In fact, they even shelled out Rs 60,000 (Bangladeshi Taka) to Parvin, out of which Rs 50,000 was taken as a loan and the rest was kept aside to carry out work in the field.

On November 23, 2004 Mumtaz was brought in from Bangladesh to India via Kolkatta along with two other girls. In Kolkatta, they were given a different name and identity and taken to Mumbai, where she met Rekha and Arti, the two other accused, and to Ahmedabad, where she was first forced into prostitution. Says a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) source, “When Mumtaz refused to please a man, the women held Mumtaz’s limbs, while the drunken man raped her.”

Within two days, she was brought back to Mumbai in a battered state. She refused to talk or eat and demanded to talk to her father. Back again she was sent with Arti to Ahmedabad, where she managed to stealthily inform her father on phone about her plight. But she was soon caught and punished.

“You will have to earn money for me now”, said Arti beating her. She was soon sent to Gandhidham, in Gujarat, where the broker’s wife rescued her and gave her protection.

Meanwhile, Mumtaz’s father along with few other people lodged a complaint against Parvin.

Soon she left Gandhidham to go to Bangladesh, but was caught at Borivali station by Rekha. They threatened her with dire consequences, but when she continued with her plea to return to Bangladesh, Rekha said, “You go to Goa and work as waitress in ladies night bar and you will be paid Rs 15,000. With the money you can return home.”

Left with no option, she agreed and arrived in Goa in April this year along with Rekha, where she met Prabha, the sex racket’s Queen Bee. At first, she refused to work, but soon she was warned, “If you don’t work, you won’t be able to go home.” And the first day, she was sent to “work” she was caught by the Pernem police, who took her to Apna Ghar saying that they had found her at the Pernem railway station, and that she had run away from home with her boyfriend.

Ironically, Vishram Borkar, SP, Crime Branch in a press conference soon after they nabbed the three women – Parvin, Arti and Rekha -- had stated that the matter first came to light in mid-April when three boys and a girl checked into a hotel in North Goa. The staff at the hotel suspected something amiss and informed the police. The three boys however managed to escape from the hotel leaving behind the teenager who was taken into custody by the police and then sent to Apna Ghar. From here, she was admitted at Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, Goa as she was under immense stress.

At Apna Ghar, Parvin came to visit her on the pretext that she is her sister and wanted to take her home. One day, she came with a letter from the Pernem police dated 13 June, 2005 asking the CWC to hand over the girl to Parvin, revealed a CWC member.

But when GT contacted Pernem police, PI Sagar Ekosker informed that he must have sent a letter since Tara Kerkar had come to them claiming that the girl’s parents have come to collect her and hence she wanted a release letter from them. PI Ekosker said, “Since I knew Tara well and the girl’s parents had come to collect her, I had no objections whatsoever of the girl going with her parents. At that time, we didn’t know about the sex racket”.

Once the counsellors at Apna Ghar won the victim’s trust, she revealed everything. Meanwhile, CWC got in touch with the High Commission of Bangladesh, New Delhi, a Delhi based NGO STOP (Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Child and Women) as well as a Bangladeshi NGO, Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyers Association. At that time, the CWC informed Vishram Borkar, SP, Crime Branch that they were in touch with the High Commission of Bangladesh to repatriate the girl. “But he laughed it off saying that High Commission of Bangladesh doesn’t have money to take back the girl,” informed CWC chairperson, Dr Damodar Kunkoliekar.

But Borkar reiterated that no one has contacted him nor there was any document to prove it.

The girl was sent along with Roma Debabrata, President, STOP to Delhi on 24 July and from there she was taken to Bangladesh on 25 July. Confirming this, Debabrata told GT over the phone, “I was contacted by the High Commission of Bangladesh and when I came to know that the child is in a bad shape, as she was abused physically and mentally, I thought that it was in the best interest of the child to send her home to her parents in Bangladesh”. She was permitted to do so by the CWC members and so the minor girl was sent home.
When GT contacted Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyers Association, they said that the girl was safe at home in Bangladesh.

Goa Police: A story of contradictions

As the picture of the girl’s repatriation with a “person” from the Bangladeshi embassy became clearer, the Goa police’s role in the whole episode is getting murkier. Worse still, contradictions galore pour forth from the senior police officials!

ON DJ AGNELO
DYSP CRIME BRANCH Bossuet D’Silva
“DJ Agnelo was getting a hefty sum from Prabha and asked them to leave when something fishy was going on”.

DIG Ujjwal Mishra
“He had sub-let the house to someone who in turn let it out to Prabha. So DJ Agnelo is nowhere in the sex racket.”

SP Vishram Borkar, Crime Branch
“DJ Agnelo’s house is a guest house. And therefore the need to register Prabha and others for staying at the guesthouse didn’t arise. Agnelo is nowhere involved in the case.”


Flesh trader Parvin is wanted in Bangladesh. A case has been filed under the 5 (1) provision of Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 (amended in 2003) for which the proceedings have started in Bangladesh.

CURBING IGNORANCE- TUBERCULOSIS IN GOA

Incidentally Goa, has a high prevalence of tuberculosis as compared to other smaller states in India. “The annual risk of TB infection is 1.5 per cent in rest of , while in the Western region, especially , the risk of TB infection is 1. 9 per cent,” revealed Dr VR Muralidharan, District TB Officer . Yet, reliable sources in the Health Services department inform that not much attention has been paid by the health authorities to eradicate the disease.

It is estimated that 20 lakh people in are at present suffering from pulmonary TB, of which nearly 5000 are infectious. An average 2,100 new TB cases are detected every year, of which 50 per cent are sputum positive.

“In terms of numbers, the number of sputum cases that are investigated has increased. We are now getting cases from the remote areas even without holding medical camps or door-to-door medical check-ups. This shows that people are becoming more and more aware of the possibility of them having TB,” said Dr Muralidharan. He however added, “The stigma about TB has now come down considerably. It now exists only amongst the migrant or illiterate people.”

Better late than never?

Blame it on administrative failure or lack of political will, but RNTCP was started in on September 13, 2004, nearly 11 years after the programme was launched nationwide. But now, the state government is trying to make up for the delay and has pledged to detect 70 per cent of all infectious TB cases and cure 85 per cent of them by the end of 2007. However, few government doctors are not so optimistic. “Once you start later, its always a question of catching up because its an on-going process and the number of cases keep coming up,” said a doctor, on condition of anonymity. Still worse, the District TB Hospitals are terribly short staffed.

But officials at the Goa State Tuberculosis Control Society (GSTCS) insist that efforts are being made to catch up with lost time and ensure that each and every TB patient gets the required treatment, on time. They are working hard to connect with the villages and communities to sensitise people that TB is no more a dreaded disease and is curable.

Women matter

Though 30-year- old Sunita from Valpoi was literate, her ignorance about TB was immense. She didn’t know that TB is curable and the treatment for TB is absolutely free. Worse still, for her, TB meant a disease in which a person ended up in some sanatorium, rejected and isolated by the family.

To get across the message that TB is curable and treatment is free of cost for women, the “hidden section” of the society, GSTCS has now approached the mahila mandals and women’s self-help groups with the aim to ensure that women have access to adequate and important information.

“Women in rural areas don’t have a dominant voice in the family and due to this, they fear that if detected with TB, they may be isolated or rejected by family members,” explained DrMuralidharan. Interestingly, now GSTCS has also started sensitising school kids about TB, because they believe that children are the best disseminators of information.

Partnerships

Coming to the nearest health centre for his DOTS treatment everyday, meant that Ramesh from Torda, near Porvorim, would lose his daily wage of Rs 150. To make certain that Ramesh had his daily dose of medicines, GSTCS entered into a tie-up with the private JMJ hospital, to become a Directly Observed Treatment, short course (DOTS) provider. A DOTS provider has to ensure that the patients swallow the medicines under their direct supervision. DOTS prevents the spread of TB bacilli, thus reducing the incidence and prevalence of TB and providing credence to TB control efforts. End result: he is now cured.

With the increasing realisation that a sub-health centre may not be able to reach people at the micro-level and to ensure that the patient doesn’t default, the focus has now shifted to anganwadi workers all the talukas of . Moreover, they have easy access to women and children. Already, 700-800 anganwadi workers have been sensitised in a majority of the talukas.

Panch power!

Imagine, an ambitious panch member as a DOTS provider. Sounds impossible? Well, it is possible in . When 20-year-old Sneha in Cumbarjua was tested sputum positive, she was to be put on DOTS. But Sneha was not interested in going to the nearest health centre for her dose of medicine because she had to work from 7 am to 7 pm to ensure that her elderly parents get a decent meal.

Enter a panch member who became a DOTS provider. He would visit her with the medicines after she returned from work and ensured that she had her treatment. Subhash Gawde, a former panch member at Madkai, agrees that the panch members should involve themselves in such community services as it reduces stigma and ensures that TB patients get timely treatment. “TB is curable and the treatment is absolutely free of cost. So one no more needs to be scared of the disease,” added Gawde, whose come forward to become a DOTS provider from Madkai. Inspired by his response, GSTCS now aims to sensitise and train the panchayat members.

(Some names have been changed to protect identities)
The article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim Edition dated April 6, 2007

No DOT(ted) lines for them…HIV vs TB

No DOT(ted) lines for them…HIV vs TB
by Preetu Nair

Not just homes, but hopes were razed on June 14, 2004. Further pushed into a life of poverty, added with their high risk behaviour, have made commercial sex workers fall easy prey to TB and HIV. PREETU NAIR walks through the narrow lanes of Baina to understand the extent of the problem.When earthmovers and bulldozers tore through, brutally and indiscriminately obliterating Shenaz's home in Baina in the western state of Goa, India on June 14, 2004, she didn't breakdown. She didn't cry even when she had to push her minor daughter into commercial sex work to pay the house rent. After all, she had learnt to tackle poverty and live with the little opportunities and choices that life bestowed on her.

Now, Shenaz is in total despair. She finds herself in a vicious circle of stigma, economic hardship and discrimination, aggravated by the fact that she was detected with TB in February. "Life has changed for me. I have lost weight, feel weak and easily tired," said Shenaz. Being detected with TB and put on DOTS was just the beginning of her woes.

Recalling the happenings of the past few months, Shenaz said that she was asked to take medicines for six months from the local STD clinic at Baina. "I got medicines for a week. Later, when I went to the clinic, I was insulted and denied medicines because there was no doctor or nurse on duty. This went on for more than a week and my condition deteriorated and I had to be hospitalised," she revealed.Shehnaz's first time to the STD clinic was a bitter experience. She says, "I am going to the STD clinic because I get medicines free of cost."

Policy makers claim that the DOTS strategy is based on the availability of free, quality anti-TB drugs for all actively infected patients through the public health network, the reality is quite different. People like Shehnaz are denied easy access to treatment because they belong to a stigmatised group in Baina.

However, officials at the Goa State Tuberculosis Control Society (GSTCS) blame the failing primary health system and shortage of doctors in the health centres for such goof-ups. "At present, there is no doctor at the Baina STD clinic. We are trying to cover up for it with the help of auxiliary workers and they are doing good work, but there is an obvious lack of doctor, which shows," explained Dr VR Muralidharan, District TB Officer, North Goa.

However, Shenaz doesn't understand these arguments. All she knows is that her health deteriorated because she, a single breadwinner, didn't get medicines on time. "It is really difficult times for us. Each time I have fought to rebuild my life. Now I am tired," she added.

OUT OF REACH

Dr Maryam Shahmanesh, Clinical Research Fellow and Clinical epidemiologist for EFA, University College London, reveals that their studies have shown that the forced eviction of Baina has made the women much more mobile than before. "If they had TB it would have been very difficult for them to access DOT services and even more difficult for services and NGOs to find them. An additional factor is that the demolition led to a further erosion of the women's trust towards both public health services as well as NGOs for the Baina women felt let down by these services/agencies," she said.

Although there are no accurate estimates of TB in Baina, Dr Maryam believes that given the high prevalence of HIV amongst the Baina "sex workers" and the higher vulnerability to TB and HIV, it is very likely that the prevalence of TB in the women of Baina would have been much higher than the general population.

Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ, an NGO working with trafficked victims in Baina admits that many women in Baina didn't get the benefits of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme because it started in Goa in September 2004, a few months after the Baina demolition. "Now it is also difficult for NGO's to have access to TB patients, as the trafficked victims have spread around. Their behavioural pattern, fear of discrimination and stigma make it difficult for them to come for treatment," said Arun.

NO DATE WITH DOTS

When a physically weak Rupa was taken for a sputum test at the Cottage hospital at Chicalim, she was sent to the TB hospital at Margao. At the TB hospital, she was tested sputum positive. The doctor advised her to be admitted for monitoring. However, the condition placed on her was: She should arrange for someone to stay with her at the hospital.
"Often patients are dumped at the TB hospital for months together because no one is ready to take them back home due to stigma. We wanted to fix responsibility and therefore we insist that someone should accompany the patient to the TB hospital and stay with them. This ensures family support and takes care of patient's needs besides the nursing part," added Dr Muralidharan.
"As no one was ready to stay with me, I made an excuse that my little child was alone at home and as there is no one to look after him, I would prefer to stay at home," she said. The doctors agreed and put her on DOTS. A month later, she went on a date (that's outstation trips for a period of 10 or 15 days for commercial sex work) during which she stopped the treatment. Now back in Goa, she is admitted in the TB hospital, struggling hard to survive.

"When you have the strong medicines to cure TB you need to have nutritious food and vitamin supplements. For this, they have to prostitute and to prostitute they drink alcohol. Alcoholism added with the kind of job they indulge in, ensures that they have no discipline in life. Further they are stressed out, depressed and have suicidal tendencies as they have no expectation from life, so it is difficult to convince them to continue with the medicines", observed Pandey.

Officials at GSTCS admit that dropouts are high amongst these vulnerable sections. "Sometimes they don't reveal their proper address. Neither do they inform us when they go out of station. This is the case with many here. Stopping the medicines abruptly and re-starting has resulted in many cases of drug resistance in Baina," admitted Dr Bidan Das, State TB Officer, GSTCS.

HIV V/S TB

In a late night raid at Baina on July 24, 2006, Laxmi was rescued and produced by the police before the Mormugao Deputy Collector and SDM, who remanded her to protective custody. The next day, the SDM ordered the police to take her to GMC for medical examination, which was delayed.
On July 27, the SDM learned from an NGO that Laxmi was receiving DOTS treatment and she had missed the medicines because she was sent to the State Protective Home at Merces, and immediately passed an order stating that Laxmi be allowed to take any medical treatment. Few days later, the in-charge of Protective Home wrote to the SDM stating that Laxmi has revealed that she has TB and HIV and is bleeding, which is risky for others and there is no medical staff to give her medicines nor any vehicle to transport her to the hospital in case of an emergency.

"With this case I was put in a peculiar situation. Immediate medical check-up is essential under section 15 (5)(A) of ITPA and I had asked for her to be sent for medical check-up. Had we got the reports on time, there wouldn't have been any problem. Further, I was in a fix once the State Protective Home in-charge expressed their inability to keep her and so I had to seek the help of an NGO ASRO," stated SDM Levinson Martins.

Despite the HIV pandemic presenting a massive challenge to the control of TB at all levels, there is no joint effort between various agencies to decrease the burden of TB and HIV especially amongst the vulnerable section and ensure timely treatment. At the moment, the only joint effort in Goa is between Goa State AIDS Control Society and GSTCS, but their role is also very limited.

(Few names have been changed to protect the identities of the individuals)
The article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim Edition dated April 13, 2007This article is written with the support of PANOS STOP Media Fellowship

A deadly stigma!

A deadly stigma!
by Preetu Nair

A youth in Sattari in the Western State of Goa, India believes that TB kills and is not curable. In a remote village in Sanguem, an Anganwadi worker has no access to patients, due to the fear that she may spread the news that they have TB in the village. Anil Sawant stopped the magic pills because he had to travel 25 kms to the health centre for his medicines. These are some of the scary cases that plague the inner areas of the state. PREETU NAIR walks into the heart of Goa, into a different world. For the people living there, TB is not just a public health problem, but a social stigma .

TB kills. We don't even drink water from a house if there is a TB patient living there. What if I get TB after drinking the water?" asked Shidhu Varak, an 18-year-old literate youth from Dhangarwada, Poriem in Sattari. His friend, Dilip Gaonkar from Gholwada, Poriem added, "We don't even get married into a family if we know that anyone in the family had TB. It is a contagious disease and no medicine can ever cure it."

On the other hand, Nago Bhavdan from Corla Moti in Quepem has never heard of TB. His son, a student of standard IX has read about infectious TB and strongly believes that it is incurable. Believe it or not, TB still continues to be a dreaded, incurable disease caused due to a curse or sin in rural Goa. "

TB is not just a public health problem. It is a social problem and the patient is stigmatised and isolated in society. The failure of the health authorities to create awareness about the advances in treatment of TB has added to the woes," said Rajendra Kerkar, a school teacher and grassroots worker in Sattari taluka.

Despite social mobilisation, the TB control programme has not been able to break the myth that TB is contagious nor has been able to spread the message that there are other forms of TB besides pulmonary TB. They have yet to work to improve access to DOTS services in remote areas and overcome stigma of TB and discrimination against TB patients.

"TB is a dirty secret everyone wants to hide. In my village, three men died of TB in the last two years. They didn't take regular medicines and drank alcohol. Whenever I used to go to advise them, they would insult me and ask me who it was that told me that they have TB," revealed an anganwadi worker from a remote village in Sanguem taluka. Under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), modes of observation in villages are often Anganwadi workers who have no access to TB patients, due to the fear that she may spread the news that they have TB in the village and they will be stigmatised.

Further, talking on the condition that she is not quoted, she said, "Most of the people in and around the mining areas have symptoms of pulmonary TB. But they don't go for treatment as they believe that TB is not curable."

"The effort to stop the spread of TB and to ensure a TB free world is curbed by social stigma attached to the disease," admits Dr Bidan Das, State TB Officer, GSTCS. Even Dr Arvind Salelkar, Director of Health Services admits that the effort of changing the mindset of all persons concerned with TB has been a daunting task but yet intensive IEC efforts, training and retraining of staff we have taken a giant leap forward in tackling TB as its very roots.

But official facts are different from field reality. Even as officials at the Goa State Tuberculosis Control Society (GSTCS) demonstrate that DOTS is having its impact and excellent progress has been made with DOTS with case detection and treatment success rates, people in the remote villages in Goa live without easy access to the magic pills.

Anil Sawant was put on DOTS in 2005. Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) is an effective strategy for curing TB, which involves monitoring a patient for six months. The monitoring is crucial because failure to complete the drug treatment can lead to multi-drug resistant TB, which is extremely difficult to cure.

But within three months he stopped the treatment. Reason? "I was feeling better and I couldn't leave my shop and travel every alternate day to go to Hospicio Hospital, Margao, which is 25 kms away from my village for medicines," said Anil Sawant, who runs a tea stall in Dadolem, Sanguem taluka. Recollecting the days of ordeal he says, "I would leave at 6.45 am by bus and return at around 1 pm. This affected my business."

Even his 60-plus mother is suffering from infectious pulmonary TB, but she refuses to go to Margao every alternate day for medicines, which is given free of cost. "She is week but she feels weaker after the travel and therefore has stopped the medicines midway," he added.

Despite World Health Organisation's clear regional strategic plan (2000-2015) to sustain and enhance DOTS to reach all TB patients, improve case detection and ensure treatment success, the patients continue to drop-out of DOTS and nobody no filed visitor visits them to facilitate defaulter retrieval. If the so-called "success" of (RNTCP) is due to its directly observed treatment, then in rural Goa, the directly observed treatment has led to incidents of drop-outs as patients find it difficult to travel miles for treatment.

Worse still is the fact that with the primary health centres and sub-health centres failing to meet the need the health care needs of individuals and families in the community, people are forced to travel long distances to go to the district hospital. ""Earlier we used to go to the Community Health Centre at Savordem, which is 26 kms away from our village. But it doesn't have doctors and adequate equipments. We are made to wait for long hours, only to be sent back without treatment. Due to this we prefer to go to a private doctor," revealed Satyavan Dessai from Sulcorna in Quepem taluka.

Dr Debabar Banerji, Professor Emeritus, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU believes that the problem with RNTCP is that it is not being implemented not being fully implemented. "RNTCP is responsible to create a condition wherein the patients take the pills regularly.

Unless RNTCP ensures that person as a whole is dealt with, it has no meaning," he said. Dr Banerji further added, "There is a group of TB patients who are harassed by poverty and alcoholism. For them TB is a minor problem. The solution lies in solving the major problems of life along with treating TB".

No wonder despite claims of intensification of supervision and monitoring, rigorous record keeping and thorough follow-ups, people like the Sawant's continue to drop-out of the treatment midway.

Free pills, but no food

She doesn't have food to eat but gets the magic pill free of cost. Jani Singadi's was put on DOTS when she was tested sputum positive in January 2006. But the moment, 65-year-old Jani started treatment she felt weaker and had severe stomach ache. Added to that were the multi-layered crisis within the family: three orthopaedically disabled sons, surplus of hunger, no money, an illegal house gifted by a few philanthropists, rising debt, etc.

Unable to deal with the increasing health problems and with no one to take her to the sub-health centre, which is 2 km away at Nanoda, Bicholim, she stopped taking pills for a month. "I couldn't go because I was feeling weak. No field officer ever came to visit me. I started medicines again after sometime when I became seriously ill," she accepts candidly. Now after a year, she is again tested sputum positive at Goa Medical College.

This despite Dr VR Muralidharan, District TB Officer, North Goa claims that we have default retrieval action to retrieve the patient back on track to take medicines. "Our success rate in retrieving patients is very high," he added.

NO TIME FOR HEALTH

For the last three months, Shanti Shetikar has been feeling week. She has had consistent cough since last two months and has lost lot of weight-all symptoms of pulmonary TB. She went to the nearest sub-health centre at Kevona were the doctor gave her iron tablets. But all this has not helped. She has not bothered to go back to the sub-health centre.

"The doctor only comes once a week and that too for an hour. So it's really difficult to meet him. Moreover, we are very poor and no one looks at us in the government hospital. We are made to wait for long hours and then sometimes send back without check-up due to lack of facility. Because of this we prefer to go to a private doctor," she reveals.

So she went to a quack in the village who gave her six vitamin injections stating that she was feeling weak because she was vitamin deficient. However, it has not helped. For long she has been planning to go to for a proper medical check-up at the government hospital in Margao, which is nearly 30 kms away from her mining village in Quinamol, Sanguem, but she has not got time.

"What can I do? Everyday I have to go to the market to sell vegetables. The day I don't go, there is no money at home to feed to two hungry kids," she reveals. Shanti cultivates vegetables and sells them in the market to earn a living.

No tea in TB!

Vithal Parwadkar, who runs a tea stall in at Assnora, Bardez taluka, dilemma is strange. Few villagers have raised objections to him serving tea to "known" TB patients. "People tell me, 'He has TB and you are serving him tea in your stall. We don't want to have tea in the same glass, get us a new set of glasses'," he added.

Strange enough, people are so scared of TB that they have isolated one family in the village because the head of the family died of TB and the rest of the family members are frail and constantly coughing. Vithal reveals that the elder daughter had to be married off to a widower, as no one was ready to marry into the family. GT tried to meet the family, but in vain.



TB kills 1 person every minute in India

-- In Goa, more than 1 person die of TB every month.

- Goa has a high prevalence of tuberculosis as compared to other states

- Annual risk of TB infection is 1.5 % in rest of India, while in the Western region, especially Goa, the risk of TB infection is 1. 9 %

- 20 lakh people in Goa are at present suffering from pulmonary TB, of which nearly 5000 are infectious.

- An average 2,100 new TB cases are detected every year, of which 50 per cent are sputum positive.


The article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim Edition dated April 20, 2007This article is written with the support of PANOS STOP Media Fellowship

Right to Information Act - Blame Game in Goa

PANJIM: When faced with an adversity, blame the juniors! The superiors in Goa police had so far triumphed over the problems by either passing the buck on their inefficient juniors or the system.


Again the same trick was adopted when the South Goa police failed to provide information under Right to Information Act to one Samiro Pereira for more than five months. South Goa SP Shekhar Prabhudesai who is also the Public Information Officer (PIO) blamed his juniors, SDPO Margao Tony Fernandes and SDPO Vasco Dinraj Govekar for the delay. In turn, Fernandes
contended that Colva PI, his own subordinate had delayed the submission of information, while Govekar contended that there was no delay from his side.

However, State Chief Information Commissioner A Venkataratnam and State Information Commissioner G G Kambli were not impressed by the blame game and made it clear that they can't accept the pleas of the of the police officials that their subordinates and not they themselves are directly responsible for the delay in furnishing the information as the Police department is a uniformed department based on hierarchy.

Criticizing the manner in which they pleaded helplessness in the matter, the Information Commissioners said, "If we accept this situation as beyond the control of the PIO, we will be setting a wrong precedent in the matter of implementation of the RTI Act" and imposed a penalty of Rs 5000 each on the PIO and Fernandes, while Govekar was exempted.

"We hold both the SP South (also PIO) and SDPO Fernandes responsible together and jointly for the delay caused in providing the information," they stated in their order.

The Information Commissioners observed that the PIO has to make efforts to get the information from his colleagues/subordinates in the department however big the department is. "It is the personal responsibility of the PIO to get information requested for by the
citizen and to supply to him. Nowhere have been found such inordinate delay as in a present case and such casual approach of entering into correspondence as in the present case of the Police department," they added.

Pereira had submitted a request on August 17, 2006 and as he didn't get any information, he finally approached the Commission in second appeal to get the information also take penal action against the SP.

Interestingly, once notice was issued to the SP (South) and SDPOs, the appellant Pereira submitted that he is not interested in pursuing the matter. However, it was not entertained as he had moved the appeal after the Commission after the order. "In all probability there might be some pressure on him to say so. There is no way of finding out one way or the other," the Information Commissioners added.

(Article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panaji. 22 June 2007)
BY PREETU NAIR
preetu_nair@gomantaktimes.com

DELAYED JUSTICE - Goa's Chidren's Court yet to dispose 56 cases

DELAYED JUSTICE - Chidren's Court yet to dispose 56 cases
by Preetu Nair

PANJIM: First the figures: Of the 83 cases in the Children's Court, only 27 have been disposed off, while 56 cases are still pending. Of the 27 cases which were disposed off, 11 persons were acquitted, 5 convicted, 7 discharged due to lack of evidence and 4 transferred as it had happened much before the Goa Children's Act 2003 came into force.

Now the fact: More than two years after the Children's Court started functioning for the speedy trial and disposal of cases where children are victims, paedophiles, rapists, child killers and kidnappers still roam scot-free.

Though the state government under pressure from media and NGOs had started the Children's Court in December 10, 2004 to ensure that every child has his/her childhood, it has not ensured that everything is in place in the Children's Court.

"The problem of delayed justice continues even now. The whole aim of fast justice in the Children's Court is far from achieved. The whole process is time consuming and it is a torture for the child, who is expected to come after two years before the Court and recollect everything and depose," observed Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ, an NGO working with trafficked victims.

Arun is not talking without reason. He has three cases wherein minors have been abused pending in the Children's Court since last 3 years. Two cases are of rape and one is of child labour. "Till now the victim have not been called for deposition nor have the witnesses statement taken by the Court. Witnesses are going to the Court, only to get a new date for deposition," said Pandey.

Everyone agrees that so far there had been delay in delivering judgment as the cases were heard just once a week. But now with the Court sitting for three days a week instead of just one week, one just hopes that the Children's Court becomes a decisive tool to protect the life and dignity of our children.

Even Advocate and Child activist Albertina Almeida said that it is better to have the Children's Court thrice a week rather than just once a week. "But what I am more concerned about is the Court ambience, which is yet not sensitive enough or child friendly", she said.

"Attention also needs to be given to the provisions in the Goa Children's Act requiring a capacity development strategy for the training of judiciary so that they can be abreast with the developments in the Child rights law nationally and internationally," added Albertina.


Total cases in the Children's Court: 83
Cases disposed off: 27
Cases pending: 56
Persons acquitted: 11
Persons convicted: 5
Cases discharged: 7
Cases transferred: 4

(Article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panaji, 23 June 2007)

Oppurtunities for Change

Asmi's marriage to Raja is an indication of a new liberation that's sweeping the women who had so far led a life of prolonged violence and self-destructive behaviour as commercial sex workers. Economically rehabilitated, she is the third woman who has changed the rules and her life, reports PREETU NAIR.


VASCO: Asmi married Raja in a low profile ceremony in a temple in Vasco on Friday. The wedding ceremony was performed, Raja applied sindoor on Asmi's forehead and they took seven pheras, legitimizing their relationship of last 4 years.

Their marriage may have been planned in heaven, but it needed courage and self-belief for the couple to break the shackles of tradition and say "I do" on the big day in their life. With this ceremony, Asmi has broken the age-old cultural taboo that prohibits a "Devdasi" from entering the wedlock.

Asmi was dedicated to Goddess Yellama at the age of 12 and forced into prostitution as a Devadasi in Goa. Devadasi is a religious practice, whereby parents marry a daughter to a deity or a temple. The marriage usually occurs before the girl reaches puberty and requires the girl to become a prostitute. A Devadasi is forbidden to enter into a real marriage.

The mass demolition of cubicles in Baina's unofficial red light area on June 14, 2004, didn't change her situation, but in fact worsened it. With no economic rehabilitation in sight, she was forced to travel to other parts of the state for "business".

The real opportunity to transform her life came when she was economically rehabilitated by ARZ, an NGO working with trafficked victims in Goa, as part of its economic rehabilitation programme. She started working in a fully mechanized laundry unit, "Swift Wash", at Sancoale Industrial estate, which provides employment to 40 trafficked victims like her, mostly from Baina.

While the employment programme made women financially self-sufficient, marriage has given them social acceptance. Asmi is the third woman working at Swift Wash to tie the nuptial knot.

"I am very happy. I feel liberated and hope to inspire other women like me. Its nice to marry the man you love," reveals Asmi. Her act reflects a growing confidence among the women, who were once trafficked into the flesh trade and exploited everyday. Besides being a moment of great emotional and personal satisfaction, it is also a moment of realization for other girls like her: the onus of changing their lives is on them.

However, it wasn't easy for Asmi. Among the many tests she went through was refusal by her "parents" to except the relationship and Raja's initial resistance to commit. Asmi's "parents" were aghast that their daughter had dared to break the social tradition. "We have realized that our love for each other is more important than anything else. Initially, I was reluctant to marry, but now I am happy that I married Asmi," said Raja.

Seeing women resettled and doing well is the most rewarding part for Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ. "Economic rehabilitation has empowered trafficked victims who no more want to be in a relationship that is exploitative. They are increasingly emphasizing on marriage, which not only has legal sanctity but also social acceptance, which helps them in joining the mainstream," says Pandey.

This newfound confidence and inspiration would definitely help the survivors of the country's worst social tradition to pick up the threads of their lives by breaking the socio-economic compulsions.

Article written by Preetu Nair appeared in Gomantak Times
(Name of the couple changed on request)
(An earlier version of the article appeared in GT Weekender, Panaji edition, 24 June 2007)

Justice Delayed : National Human Rights Commission intervenes

PANJIM: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to DIG Ujjwal Mishra asking him to submit the report about the alleged rape of a girl in Colva and the subsequent delay in registering an FIR within four weeks.

In case of a delay or default to submitthe requisite information /report within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of this notice, then the Commission has warned that they may proceed to take such action as it deems proper.

An intimation/ complaint was send to Chairperson, NHRC on July 6, 2007 by advocate Norma Alvares after reading the story in GT, wherein she stated that the enquiry and investigations appear to have come to a standstill because the accused has high political connections.



It must be recollected that on May 2, victim girl Ritika was allegedly picked up by Agnel and Anthony (both known to her) around 7.30 pm and taken to a flat in Chinchinim in a green coloured Zen, where she was allegedly raped and accused for four days.

DIG Ujjwal Mishra had admitted that they would conduct an inquiry against the Colva police for delay in registering a complaint of rape made by the 21-year-old girl. "It was very wrong on the part of the PI and he should have registered the complaint," Mishra had said.

The victim girl Ritika (name changed) had informed the Colva police about the incident on May 5, but the complaint was registered eight days later after most of the evidence was destroyed. The SP (South) was then instructed to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. "We will take departmental action. There was definitely a delay in registering the complaint," Mishra had added.

Ritika alleged that the police refused to register her complaint and on the contrary tried to broker a compromise between her and the main accused with the help of local MLA Miccky Pacheco.

Norma in her letter to the NHRC expressed fear that the police enquiry into this matter is dormant since, as already demonstrated, the accused is able to bring pressure on the local police and influence the course of justice. Or the investigation, if it is ever conducted, may just be eyewash leaving the girl doubly penalized: first by the abduction and rape and then by the fact that the culprits have gone scot-free, she stated, asking NHRC to order an impartial and independent inquiry into the incident.

The matter was then placed before the Commission on July 2, 2007 and on perusing the complaint the Commission passed an order to issue notice to the concerned authorities calling for a report within four weeks.



(Name of victim girl changed to protect identity)
Article by Preetu Nair for The Gomantak Times.
An earlier version of the story appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim edition dated August 8th 2007)

RTI helps in revealing illegality in Goa

PANJIM: The stone crushers, which destroyed the lives of Saleli residents forcing them to raise their head in revolt against their khase, were operating illegally in orchard and agricultural zone.

The fact that several metal industries were operating illegally is not new. The villagers were always alleging the same. But now its official: of the 13 stone crushers (metal industries), four were operating in orchard and cultivable zone as per Regional Plan 2001and there are no records available about 5 stone crushers.

Information received from the office of the Senior Town Planner, North Goa District level office of TCP, Mapusa, under the Right to Information Act reveal this. Dr Claude Alvares, Director, The Goa Foundation, had asked information regarding nine stone crushers operating in the village. Dr Alvares is helping Saleli villagers in their fight against stone crushers and quarrying.

While M/s Souparnika Metal Industries (survey no 73/1), M/s Madhav Rameshwar Industries (survey no 62/1 (p)) and M/s Rehamaniya Metal Industries (survey no 75/1(P)) were operating in orchard zone, M/s Shani Metal Industries (survey no 55/0) was existing in the cultivable land as well as on survey no 62/1, which is party orchard and partly cultivable land.

Shockingly, there are no records about the other four metal industries—M/s Kane Metal Industries, M/s Rudrashwar Metal Industries, M/s Parvati Enterprises, M/s Laxmi Metal Industries and M/s Foures Metal Industries, which have been operating in the village. "The details of other industries are not furnished as the same are not available in the Taluka office of Bicholim," said James Mathew, STP and PIO, North Goa District level office of TCP, Mapusa in his reply to Dr Alvares.

Infact, in January 2006, Dr Alvares had brought to the notice of the Deputy Collector and SDM Bicholim that the stone crushers were operating illegally without providing wind-breaking walls and the quarrying operations that feed the stone crushers were operating in the forest area, a zone that doesn't permit such activities. He had also pointed out that the constant dynamiting operations for quarrying was illegal as it is not permitted near settlements and irrigation canals.

However, the metal industries lobby's stand: we are right and operating in the industrial area. Even in their reply in the court of SDM Bicholim they stated that all allegations are baseless and unwarranted. "The quarries are being operated since long by obtaining necessary leases from Mines department," they argued. Some from the metal industries lobby also submitted that the area occupied by the stone crushing units have been converted into "industrial" by the competent authorities.

Now with hard facts glaring at the face of the sanctioning authorities, one just hopes that Saleli residents struggle may finally end with the closure of illegally operating stone crushers.

Article by Preetu Nair
(An earlier version of the article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim,11 August 2007)