MONTH THAT WAS

In Gadchiroli Maoists are anti-development

The death of Patru Durge, pro-development Dalit leader and deputy sarpanch of Damrancha Grampanchayat in a remote area of the Gadchiroli district, has asked his son Prithviraj Durge to step into his father’s shoes. Durge had been working relentlessly for the implementation of a lift irrigation project in the area and was allegedly killed by Maoists on April 19 this year.

Since Durge’s death hopes for the lift irrigation project seemed to have dimmed. However, his son has now taken up the battle for development. A few other activists are also backing the said project, which is expected to bring development to the area and inspire others to promote development in Naxal-affected regions.

According to locals, Durge had travelled to the state capital — Mumbai —and submitted a memorandum to authorities at the chief minister’s office, finance and water resource minister’s office for the implementation of the lift irrigation project in his village on March 16 this year. This project was expected to increase the crop productivity.

Nearly a month later, on April 19, he was allegedly killed by Maoists. They claimed that Durge was working for the police force, but senior police officials denied the claim.

Durge’s village Damrancha in Aheri taluka is situated on the banks of the Indravati and Bandiya rivers that cut the place from rest of the district and he was trying to bring people together as he believed it was essential for development.

For many reasons, the region also lacks basic amenities like healthcare centres, schools, transportation, etc. Therefore, he also undertook a study to understand the geography and basic requirements of some development projects.

Durge first demanded the irrigation project at the district level, but officials reportedly told him that the implementation of a lift irrigation project would need to benefit minimum 1,000 hectares land. Following that, he tried hard to convince the farmers and in a Gram Sabha in December last year, a resolution was passed to press for the lift irrigation scheme for 942.02 hectares of land in the area.

In his proposal submitted to the CM’s office, he gave reference and relevant documents of his study for the need of a lift irrigation project in the area. 

He also said in his proposal that the area was close to rivers and had fertile land, but crop or farm productivity was not enough. He said it was this reason that irrigation facilities could improve harvesting and crop productivity and ultimately benefit the people.

Durge’s murder has forced his son Prithviraj and the rest of his family to leave their hometown in Aheri taluka as they face threat to their lives.

Speaking to the press, Prithviraj said, “We have moved to another place, but I still believe the lift irrigation project will be implemented soon. I have taken up some work to fulfill the basic needs of my family. I am going to meet CM Devendra Fadanvis for the development of the region and also for employment.”

Nagpur-based activist Arvind Sovani of Bhumkal Sanghatan, who was aware of Durge’s development activities said, “Patru told me how and why the lift irrigation project is the need of the area. Unfortunately, before he could follow up the issue, Maoists warned him not to contest Grampanchayat elections again as he could gather the farmers together for development. 

They murdered him in April. Therefore, the implementation of such a project will certainly encourage the people for development in the area.”

Ravindra Kadam, IPS officer and in-charge of anti-Naxal operations at Nagpur range said, “It is absolutely true that Patru Durge was working hard to develop his area and was visiting government offices to meet the authorities for the same. He was attacked by Maoists for his pro-development work in the area. 

It has been revealed that Maoist violence has taken the lives of around 20-23 pro-development activists like Patru in the last 10 to 15 years. After such killings they always claim that the deceased was working for the police, but that’s not true.”

Another person from the region, who is connected with the issue said, former home minister late R.R. Patil had travelled around the Indravati river during his tenure and had asked for better management of the water flow that is being wasted due to ignorance. He had said it could prove to be helpful for the local farmers. However, still no development has taken place.

Maharashtra to form common welfare board for all unskilled workers

Mumbai: All the unskilled and unorganised labourers will soon be under one roof with the state government set to form a common welfare board to protect their rights.

“The state government’s labour department is planning to suggest reforms in labour law. The government will form a three-member committee by the end of this month,” said Prakash Mehta, labour minister.

“The committee will study disputes between industries and labourers and will also recommend minimum wages. All the reforms and recommendation will be in force once the report is submitted. Cab drivers and auto drivers will also be under the definition of labour and can avail welfare facilities from the board,” Mehta said. Based on the recommendations suggested by the committee, the new board will be formed. In many cases, industries have very few permanent employees and they hire contractual labourers even for skilled work, which is against the labour law. The committee will help the state government correct such irregularities.

All labourers in the state working with industrial or service sector will be registered under the board, which will handle their wages. Every employer including small contractors will have to deposit the wages of labourers with the board, which will distribute the wages to individual labourers at the board office in their district. The board will deduct some amount from the wages deposited by the contractor or employer as levy for the welfare of the labourers.

According to sources from the labour department, about Rs 240 crore is pending with the recently established Construction Labour Board, and around 3 lakh construction labors have been registered. The government could not spend the money for the welfare of any other worker except construction labourers.

India's record in infant care poor

New Delhi: India’s latest health indicators paint a very poor picture indeed of the state of infant and young child feeding (IYCF), with India scoring just 78 out of a score of 150. This score is given according to global standards World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) that seeks to monitor infant care across countries. India’s score comes from the 2015 assessment, the fourth such assessment, which shows that the country has made bare minimum improvement from a score of 74/150 from the 2012 assessment.

India’s indicators are lower than its more impoverished neighbours, Afghanistan with a score of 99, Bangladesh 107.5 and Sri Lanka 129. While Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have long left India eating dust when it comes to public health care, Afghanistan scoring higher should serve as an alarm bell to look into potential gaps the country’s programmes and policies.

Dr Vandana Prasad, of the Public Health Resource Network, while releasing the WBTi report, said that these countries had cultural practices and traditions similar to those in India, however, their high score reflected stronger political will. “We need an overall full time national body to coordinate efforts by the Women and Child Development Ministry, the health ministry, the labour and rural ministries,” she said. India’s score is low largely due to poor performance in national policy, programme and coordination, baby friendly hospital initiatives, maternity protection that entails paid maternity leave, as of yet only available to central government employees, and national legislation encouraging work site accommodation for breastfeeding and/or childcare. Another dismal score was on enabling breastfeeding or young child feeding during emergencies, for which there are no provisions. Where India performed relatively better was on providing skilled counseling services to all women concerning IYCF, in providing counselling and creative outreach on child feeding in the context of HIV.