Poverty creation - Maharashtra ishtyle

Indian moms on the road

`` when Maharashtra used to be one of the best-governed states in India. ``

It used to true until the mid-1980s

`` This year, Maharashtra is up for grabs as the worst-governed state. Vilasrao and gang seem to be well on the home stretch, without trying too hard. His vice-captain, R.R. Patil, is making sure of that. ``

It is hard to beat Bihar

`` In December last year, the Govt. took action to transform Mumbai into Shanghai. About three lakh people had their meagre homes destroyed, and were told to ‘go back where you came from.’ As bulldozers demolished around 70,000 slum dwellings, the city Corporation requested that the names of the newly homeless be struck off the electoral rolls. ``

We can argue about the pros and cons of the govt measure. Don`t you think the government enforced property rights ?

`` Then came the Bar Girls’ saga. Reacting to the case of a young man who had murdered his grandmother for money to lavish on a bar dancer, R.R. Patil announced that all the dance bars in the state would be shut down, throwing 75,000 bar dancers and innumerable other people – waiters, cooks, cleaners, etc., out of work. The Govt. did make some noises about rehabilitating the girls and providing them with alternate employment, but when educated people don’t have jobs, what can the Govt. do for these semi-literate girls? One of the bar dancers declared unequivocally on TV that they would have no option but to turn to prostitution if the bars were closed down. So much for moral policing! ``

I want to know what happens to the money spent on bar girls. It is going to be spent somewhere. What happens to the bar girls when they get old ? Does the author care for their plight ?

`` 1) Massive hikes in water charges. The new rates will reflect ‘full recovery of cost of irrigation management, administration, operation and maintenance,’ and ‘partial recovery of capital investment.’ ``

Clean Water is not free resource. Unless people pay the market value for the water it will not be utilized properly.

`` 3) Farmers with more than two children will have to pay one and half times the new rates.``
Somebody has to enforce population control.


`` 5) Breaking these laws will invite six months imprisonment and a fine of ten times the annual water charges. ``

Any bias against enforcement of laws !!!

`` Seen against the backdrop of last year’s drought and the consequent suicides by farmers in some regions of Maharashtra, this Bill is truly monstrous. For farmers who are already deep in debt, unable to pay even the old charges, the provisions of this Bill are a death-knell. Agriculture, the poor farmer’s only source of survival, will become totally unviable. Small holdings will be gobbled up by rich landowners, and thousands, maybe lakhs of people, will be rendered landless. And no prizes for guessing where many of them will end up in their quest to earn a living. ``

What makes you think small farms are viable long term in WTO era ?

`` I refuse to believe that these possibilities would not have struck Vilasrao and gang. And if The question is, will the burgeoning numbers of the poor, continue to agree to remain invisible, as all good poor people should? Maybe Vilasrao will enlighten us in due course. ``

One one hand you complain about the increasing number of poor people. On the other hand the software and call center industries complain about the lack of cheap labor. Are we missing something ?

cayenne #37

`` Unchecked migration to Mumbai must end.I admire the people of Chennai, who through their language restrictions have checked the population growth and migration, or kept it within limits.There is equitable power distribution and rarely any power cuts in chennai metro.The world`s largest nuclear power reactor is nearing completion in TN.I was there a couple of weeks back for three days and not a single power cut anywhere in the city.Saves us mahrashtrians right for accepting hindi as our national language.Our interests should lie with the people of the konkan and deccan regions.We are one of them. ``

The TNEB is relatively well run compared to most other electricity boards.

I do not think Chennai has any restrictions on migration. There is a large Telugu minority.

Rich/middle class North Indians would prefer to live eleswhere because people in Chennai do not speak Hindi and Chennai is socially conservative compared to Mumbai/Delhi. For poor North Indians Chennai is farther than Delhi/Mumbai and it is hard to survive without knowledge of English/Tamil.

Re: # 81

Last week most of the cows in old Delhi metro areas were shipped out.The first pic. is a street scene in old Delhi.We`re a democracy and sometimes the people carry things too far.Yet, the local govt. has to weigh citizen`s rights against social responsibility.So, the courts gave permission to cart the cows out and it was done.There was no opposition form the metro dwellers.They knew they were doing something illegal by keeping the cows in metro areas , till they could get away with it.Same with the Mumbai slum saga.The matter is now in the court.Once the courts give the ok, no social activist nor squatter can stop it.The last one is a rural pic.Ever been to Switzerland.Herds of cows will cross the street in their rural areas.Everyone waits patiently and then moves on.

This is the Mumbai i know........link

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=159501

#82 by bbabu on May 12, 2005 6:35pm PT
1) Massive hikes in water charges. The new rates will reflect ‘full recovery of cost of irrigation management, administration, operation and maintenance,’ and ‘partial recovery of capital investment.’ ``

Clean Water is not free resource. Unless people pay the market value for the water it will not be utilized properly.

---

I agree wholeheartedly.People in the West have uninterrupted water supply, `cause they pay through their a**eholes for it.I want to see this author`s face when she sees an American monthly water bill for a single family house.And, they pay for sewage, for heating(gas or oil), for yard maintenance AND taxes.Or, monthly maintenance if the dwelling is a co-op apartment.It`s a wonder India is where it is , despite freeloaders and those who live off them, like activists and do-goodniks.

Haideri...Indian roads are way better than puki roads. See this.The Pune-Mumbai express highway >>



< img src = ``http://www.amitkulkarni.info/pics/expressway/expressway-photographs/expressway_malavi_bridge_2.JPG``>

HP aka Hijra Paki .....concentration of poverty in India is lot lower than in Pakistan. India has the higher per capita , higher literacy and better human development indices than Pakistan.

those expressway pics are amazing.. no hyundai-santros (or any other cars, except for the lonely TRAX milk-wagon) that indian roads are claimed to be full of. whats wrong with this picture?

Re: # 86

Avenger, you can dream on. It is not a fenced highway and your Gao matas can cross it left and right. Pay attention to the pics I posted the highway is fenced.

Re# 87

Take a look at the ``civilized and rich`` country`s laundry (It is located in Bombay)

Haideri,

I can just see the jealousy brimming over in your posts.

Are there no laundry facilities in Pakistan? Civilized and Rich country like India can afford to have many.

Rep # 91
Over one billion living on a small piece of land, you call this living? Go all the way down in the posts and see who started the pissing match.

#92 by haideri on May 13, 2005 10:25am PT
HP..I`ve seen dhobi ghats in pakistan.They`re smaller and dirtier.What`s so wrong about this picture?.These people are plying a trade they have been doing for centuries.P**s off.Some people swear by the dhobi, but there are large sections of the population that use washing machines.So??.And, India is the seventh largest nation in the world.Again, p**s off.

Rep # 93

There are no dhobi ghats in any ``Rich and Civilized`` nation in the world. I got to preach on.

Re: # 94

There are `dhobi ghats` in rich and old civilized nations.Such as mine.Old habits do die hard.P**s off.

Re: # 95

Are you on some kinda drugs ``civilized nation`` dweller. Read this article below.


CHILD PROSTITUTION IN INDIA

Child prostitution is the ultimate denial of the rights of the child.``
(Dr Jon E Rhode, UNICEF representative in India).

India`s 944 580 000 inhabitants live in an area of 3 287 590 km², with an expectation that the
population will reach 1 billion in May. Almost a quarter of this total are under 18 years of age.
25% of the population live in urban areas and this is estimated to be growing annually at just
over 1%. Over population and lack of education in nutrition and health contribute to the deaths
of around 11 000 children each day. In 1951, 164 million Indians were living in poverty
compared to 312 million in 1993-94.
There are estimated to be over 900 000 sex workers in India. 30% are believed to be children.
Recent reports estimate that the number of children involved in prostitution is increasing at 8
to10% per annum.
About 15% of the prostitutes in Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi, Madras, Calcutta, Hyderabad and
Bangalore are children. It is estimated that 30%of the prostitutes in these six cities are under 20
years of age. Nearly half of them became commercial sex workers when they were minors.
Conservative estimates state that around 300 000 children in India are suffering commercial
sexual abuse, which includes working in pornography.
In one study of 456 sex workers in Mumbai who had been `rescued` by police in February 1996, a
fifth were under 18 years and two-thirds were under 20. The main obstacle in the cracking down
on child prostitution for the police is the issue of rehabilitation and where to place and reintegrate
all the children that they rescue.
ROOTS:
The problem of child prostitution in India is more complicated than in other Third World
countries where it is directly related to sex tourism. In India, sexual exploitation of children has
its roots in traditional practices, beliefs and gender discrimination.
According to some research, child prostitution is socially acceptable in some sections of Indian
society through the practice of Devdasi. Young girls are given to the `gods` and they become a
religious prostitute. There are believed to be around 3 300 devdasis in Belguam area alone.
Devdasi is banned by the Prohibition of Dedication Act of 1982. Parents or guardians dedicating
their girls are liable to five years in jail and a Rs5 000 (approximately £71) fine.
AGE:
According to a madam in Kamatipura, the average age of girls supplied to the brothels in the last
two years has decreased from 14 and 16 years to 10 and 14 years. A girl between 10 and 12 years
fetches the highest price.
AIDS:
The fear of HIV/AIDS has increased the demand for virgins and children. Clients mistakenly
believe that children have fewer chances of contracting the disease. Similarly there is the myth
that a man can rid himself of sexually transmitted diseases if he sleeps with a virgin.
Recent Indian Government statistics put the number of people infected with HIV at 3.5million,
indicating approximately three out of every 100 Indians are now infected with the virus which
leads to AIDS. Almost 9 out of 10 of those people are below 45 years old.
TRAFFICKING:
About 7,000 sex workers cross over from Nepal into India every year. 66% of the girls are from
families where the annual income is about Rs5 000. They may be sold by their parents, deceived
with promises of marriage or a lucrative job or kidnapped and sold to brothel owners. Between
40 - 50% are believed to be under 18, the age of consent in India, some are as young as 9 or 10
years old.
RURAL ISSUE:
Child sex workers are not confined to big cities. A survey in Bihar revealed that roadside
brothels for truck drivers in the Aurangabad and Sasaram districts offered sex workers aged
between 6 and 18 years.
CASE EXAMPLES
• Meena was married off at 12. Soon after she was taken to Delhi by her husband, where
she found out that he was a pimp. In the last three years, she has serviced up to six clients
a night. The major part of her earnings goes to pay rent on the little room, the rest goes to
her husband.
• Rita was sold at 9 years old. She washed and cooked for a madam in Delhi for a few
months until a client wanted a virgin. Two years later, she barely talks to anyone and
spends most of her spare time painting flowers.
• Maya, 10, was taken to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by her aunt who was paid Rs 3 000.
When she refused to have sex with a client, she was locked in a room for two days,
scared with snakes and beaten unconscious. When she came around she was raped by the
client. Four years on, Maya lives in the red-light area of Mumbai. Her two year old
spends the night in a crèche run by a social service organisation. When he was only a few
months old, she used to drug him and put him under her working cot.
JUBILEE ACTION RESPONSE
Jubilee Action is supporting two houses on the outskirts of Mumbai which are providing
permanent homes for orphaned and abandoned children of prostitutes working in its red light
district. The staff has rescued some of the 50 girls, others have been brought by their parents in
order to protect their children from the streets` influence.
Having received little education on the streets, the girls are integrated into the local school
system and extra tuition is available at the home if required.
Case Study
Asha was left to fend for herself on the streets of Bombay after her mother, a prostitute in the red
light district, died. Her father wanted to sell her to a brothel owner but Jubilee House staff
rescued her. Asha is now studying hard, has passed her typing exam and is happy and safe from
the dangers of the streets.
If you would like further information on Jubilee Action please e-mail
info@jubileeaction.demon.co.uk
Jubilee Action is a registered charity no 1013587