Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 28 - gastroenteritis, food poisoning confirmed, cholera also detected

[Ronan Kelly]

Mystery shrouds beggars? death
Bangalore, Aug 18, DHNS:

Bringing to the fore the appalling conditions in which beggars and vagrants live, 12 alms seekers died under mysterious circumstances over the last 24 hours at the Beggars? Colony in Kamakshipalya on Magadi Road. Eleven others were hospitalised with various ailments on Wednesday.


Although the Social Welfare Department claimed that all of them died due to natural causes, the shocking deaths have raised questions about the functioning of the government-run organisation. Social Welfare Department minister D Sudhakar, who visited the colony, declared that an inquiry would be initiated to go into the circumstances that led to the deaths.

Colony residents said stale and sub-standard food served there caused the deaths. For them, the bodies of 30-year-old Jagadish, Raja Velu (65), Muniyappa (70), Giridhar (50), Rajendra (70), Mooga (60), Gopi (55), Balakrishna (65), Jayamma (65), Moogi (45), Ningamma (65) and Ramakrishna (65) were telling testimonies to the apathy. Stocks of several drugs and solutions past their expired dates were found in the medicine room.
The doctor in-charge at the colony, G Harimurthy, denied food poisoning as the cause for the deaths. ?The first death was reported around 8.30 pm soon after dinner. Eight of them died on Tuesday night and rest on Wednesday. Some of them died due to prolonged illness, diarrhoea, anorexia and epilepsy,? he told Deccan Herald.

According to Mehboob from Doddaballapur, who is now under treatment, it was the ?kesari bath? that was served for dinner on Tuesday that led to the deaths. ?How will 12 people living under one roof die within 24 hours? They served us contaminated kesari bath, which led to food poisoning. They simply bring us here and forget their responsibility. They don?t take care of us. We have been staying in horrible conditions,? he said. ?Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, Social Welfare Department, will inquire into the matter and submit a report within three days.

There is no dearth of funds to run the colony smoothly. The authorities here have been told to be cautious to avoid such tragedy in the future,? Sudhakar said.
At Beggars?Colony, 2,533 wretched men and women live in the twilight zone where life and death have lost all meaning.

However, Bangalore City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari, who visited the spot and held discussions with the authorities there, said the police have nothing to do with the incident.

?Several reasons have been ascertained as the cause of death. These are all natural deaths. In such cases there is no need to conduct a post- mortem,? Bidari said.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/89779/mystery-shrouds-beggars-death.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: 12 fatalities in 24 hours - possible food poisoning.

Death hangs in the air like the fetid stench
Chandan Nandy and Debi Prasad Sarangi, , Bangalore, August 18, DH News Service:

At Beggars? Colony, 2,533 wretched men and women live in that twilight zone where life and death have lost all meaning


Scrawny and unwashed, some sit on their haunches, a few lie curled up on thin mats on the floor and some other wasted forms wallow in their own faeces and urine. Their eyes look up but there is neither life nor light in them. They mumble and gesture, seeking freedom from the fetid environs of Bangalore's Beggars' Colony at Kamakshipalya.

Spread over a sprawling 150 acres, with verdant lawns and trees, the Beggars' Colony is a concentration camp for the City's unwanted. Here 2,533 wretched men and women lead subhuman lives: their skins are caked in dirt and filth, they get to eat practically nothing, relieve themselves in the open for the toilets are choked with their excreta and overflowing with their urine, the large halls are so full of stench that they prefer eating and sleeping in the courtyards.

The beggars and vagrants that the State Social Welfare department routinely rounds up on the City's streets are herded into eight dark, dingy, cold and malodorous living quarters which officials euphemistically describe as dormitories. The men occupy six and the women two. Deaths occur almost every day.

Most of the inmates are emaciated, several limp, a number of them use sticks as crutches while a few drag themselves with the help of their hands and haunches. "The vegetable dish is more like a thin soup, the rice smells," said Venugopal Rao who hails from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and has been living in the appalling conditions of Block 5 for the past two years.

As Venugopal describes how he landed up at the Beggars? Colony, another inmate, scratching his scabby legs, drags himself near the two correspondents, tugging at one's trousers and indicating with his fingers that he desperately needed a cigarette. Another wipes his running nose and mumbles some gibberish, his mouth emanating a sickly odor.
Outside, other men in dirt-laden khaki shirts and shorts hang around. They do not talk among themselves; their blank eyes are fixed on nothing particular and they are listlessly unmindful of the misery and wretchedness around them. Barely 20 metres away is the kitchen which, like the living quarters, emanates such a nauseating smell that can churn the innards and force anyone to throw up. Employees had liberally sprinkled phenyle at the entrance to the kitchen to camouflage the revolting smell of decomposing food.

Next to the kitchen are the two blocks that house the women beggars. Most are draped in blue, standard issue sarees, while others are clothed in rags and tattered nighties. Shorn of shame and dignity in a place which has over the years built a notoriety for reducing men and women to subhuman, the women, like the men, prefer the courtyards to the halls. Some lie on mats, covered from head to toe in blankets that a few donors have provided, other recline against the walls that have not been whitewashed for years, and yet others wash themselves or defecate or urinate in the open.

Scratching her lice-infested hair, 30-year-old Bibi Fatima, who has been an inmate for four months, has lost most of her teeth. Her hair has patches of grey, the cheeks sunken and the eyes that are more like a trapped animal's. "I have a family in Chamarajpet when I was picked up and thrown here," says Fatima, as Nagina wants to be let out so she could observe the Ramzan fast at home.

Among the women is H Lakshmi, a deaf-and-dumb from Thiruvottiyur in Chennai, who was rounded up in a beggar removal raid, a month back. She was among 1,633 men and women who were picked up from the streets of Bangalore in the last three months, an indication of the government's overdrive to rid the City of those living on the margins.
There are no degrees of misery among the colony's miserable, though the office block wears a spic and span look with clean red carpets that adorn the floors and the corridors. The chairman's chamber has a faux teak table, the sofas are plush, the chair comfortable and a faint fragrance of a cheap room-freshener hangs in the air-conditioned air.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/89782/death-hangs-air-like-fetid.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: 12 fatalities in 24 hours - possible food poisoning.

At last, officials launch efforts to disinfect at Beggars? Colony even as more fall ill
Doctors struggle to cope with patients
Bangalore, August 19, DH News Service:

The stream of ambulances and anxious doctors and paramedics at the Beggars? Colony and the hospitals were tell-tale pictures of a medical emergency.


The mortality rate, 20 deaths in two days was too shocking for anyone concerned to let it go unnoticed.

The ambulance were constantly arriving to take the patients, whose condition appeared getting worse by the hour. By Thursday noon, at least 25 persons whose condition was critically were rushed to various hospitals. Some were even heard directing the drivers to take the patients to Victoria Hospital instead of the Isolation hospital, considering the distance.

Dr Hari Murthy, a doctor at the Colony said he was not sure how many have been affected, but confirmed that it was a gastroenteritis track infection. ?It appears to be gastrointestinal infection, which is due to consumption of contaminated food or water.
We have sent the food, water and the waste samples for tests,? he said.
Doctors and paramedics who were rushed to the place were found struggling hard to handle the increasing number of patients. Many were given medical care in their dormitories.

Disinfection drive

The doctors attending on the patients suggested those who were unaffected be shifted out. A large scale disinfection programme was taken up at the centre. Several sacks of DDT and bleaching powder were sprinkled on stagnant water pools and places around the dormitories.

Relatives

Many people had gathered in front of the rehabilitation centre looking for their ?lost and missing ones? who have been housed here.

Many of them complained that the authorities were not allowing them to check on their relatives. ?My father, a bar bender has been brought here, mistaken for a beggar. After we learnt about this incident through the media, we are worried. We had visited him last time. This time they are not allowing me. I want to take him with me,? said Muniyamma, a resident of Babasaab Colony at Indiranagar,? he said.

Komala, a resident of Mandi Mohalla, too had a similar complaint. ?My brother Narayan-achari, a carpenter was picked and brought here nine months ago,? she said.

Beatings too

Some inmates complained to the media about the hardship they faced. They said they were frequently beaten by the staff. One of them even displayed the marks on her body. She said she was beaten up when she denied she was a beggar and demanded that she be sent home.

However, Manjegowda, Chairman, Central Relief Committee, rubbished the charges and said any inmate who furnishes his home address and his willingness to go home, will be sent. The beggars? relief centre is now planning to have a medical data base and a regular heath camp.

Though Manjegowda said that it will begin at the earliest, Dr Hari Murthy said it will be done with the help of few NGOs. However both could not reveal much details in this connection.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90051/doctors-struggle-cope-patients.html

It was a concentration camp, no less
Unnatural tales of ?natural? deaths
Nandini Chandrashekar and Sandeep Moudgal, Bangalore, August 19, DHNS:

In February this year, the Social Welfare Department launched a Beggary Eradication Campaign and rounded up beggars presumably to provide them with a better life.


However, it turned out that the government was trying to eradicate beggars and not beggary.

In the first 18 days of August, 86 deaths were reported from Beggars? Colony on Magadi Road. This is excluding the 12 deaths that occurred on Tuesday, followed by another eight on Wednesday. These figures alone bring to light the ghastly conditions under which the inmates lived.
How else does one explain the alarming statistics? From December last till today, the crematorium situated close to the Beggars? Colony has received 286 bodies to be burnt. It is common for the crematorium to receive upto two bodies a day from the Colony and in the last 20 days, the number has increased to almost four to five a day.

Squalor and ill health at the Beggars? Colony proves that there were no melting hearts at the inmates plight. That these deaths, all of them categorised as natural deaths or death due to old age in their death memo, invoked no alarm or even the mildest curiosity is an indication of sheer apathy of the Social Welfare Department.

Post mortem

Not even 12 deaths on a single day under mysterious circumstances could halt the Department in its tracks to conduct a post mortem. Even the Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari on Tuesday, summarily dismissed the post mortem of the bodies.

Apparently, twelve dead people in a single day was not enough to raise suspicion in the mind of our City Police Commissioner. The dead were bundled to the incinerator with a medical certificate pronouncing them dead owing to natural causes.

However, post mortem were ordered on the second day, when more beggars died due to ?natural causes?.

If this was the situation the inmates were reduced to in the name of rehabilitation, the beggars might have lived longer eking a living on the streets. However, many believe that inaction and apathy towards beggars is because they belong to the lowest strata in our society and are oblivious to what happens to them.

?They are treated worse than dirt. This incident should prick the conscience of every Bangalorean,? said an NGO activist.

(With inputs from Muthi-Ur- Rahman Siddiqui)

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90053/unnatural-tales-natural-deaths.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: 20 fatalities in 48 hours, more critical - possible food poisoning.

The Grim Reaper continues to take his toll
Bangalore, August 19, DHNS:

The Isolation Hospital in Indiranagar has become hyperactive over the last two days, with the steady stream of patients from the Beggars? Colony. At least 22 patients are now housed, and the number is mounting.



On Wednesday when the news of the deaths were reported, only two doctors were present at the hospital to attend to patients; however 10 medical officers were deputed from government hospitals to attend to the patients on Thursday. When Deccan Herald reached the hospital, seven inmates were brought to the hospital in one ambulance and four patients were shifted to Victoria Hospital for additional treatment as they were in very serious condition.
Samples of patients' stool was sent for examination to Public Health Institute to know the exact reason for infection, results of the test are expected on Friday. In order to know the exact cause of the death, people who succumbed were taken to Victoria Hospital to conduct post mortem.

Dr Shanthakumar, duty doctor at the hospital, said that the patients from the Beggars? Colony are severely malnourished and have low immunity. ?A simple food poisoning can cause gastroenteritis which can even cost their life. Moreover, they live in unhygienic conditions which does not allow them overcome their infection,? he said.

He said that many patients who were brought here, suffered from co-morbid conditions where they were suffering from tuberculosis and other infectious diseases which made them to succumb very easily. Ideally these patients need ICU treatment now, which the Isolation Hospital does not have, he added.

Complaining about lack of helping hands, Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Thimma Reddy said that they need more attendants (ward boys) to help with all patients. ?Although the Health Department has sent doctors to treat the patients, we need attendants to help us shift them inside the hospital. We need someone to clean these patients as they are constants passing stool or vomiting,? he said.

However, some of the inmates who recovered from their infection at the hospital told Deccan Herald that they had eaten bisi bele bath and paayasa on Independence Day. ?After we ate the meal on Independence Day, many fell sick and a few even died on the same day. It was only on Wednesday that more people died. We are always beaten and locked inside toilets and not given good food," said Ganesh, an inmate at the Isolation Hospital.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90057/grim-reaper-continues-take-his.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: 20 fatalities in 48 hours, more critical - possible food poisoning.

Fearing death, 'beggars' flee!


BANGALORE AUG 19: Sensing an opportunity amidst the large media presence, some 300 inmates fled the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre on Thursday even as officials were huddled in a meeting to discuss the deaths of its 20 poverty-stricken men and women in the last three days.

The mass deaths followed what the inmates said was an under-cooked, very spicy bisi bele bhath served on Independence Day, which triggered vomiting and diarrhoea.

‘Not allowed to call'

Seeing the media, the inmates, who were in a quadrangle outside the dormitories, raged against their appalling living conditions. "This is a hell. Is this the way the Government treats the poor? Will we ever get our freedom back?" said Yellamma, a Rayadurga native who has been here since a month. "They don't allow us to call any of our relatives. They literally disrobed me to take away my cash and address book," she lamented.

With anger building up, many inmates began voicing their intention to get out after overwhelming the guards. A few tried but were rebuffed at the exit.

Just after lunch, the crowd swelled and started shouting slogans against the officials. They then rushed en masse to the gate, catching the staff by surprise. Some inmates leapt over the compound wall.
This happened even as Social Welfare Minister D. Sudhakar was having a meeting with senior department, including Principal Secretary E. Venkatiah and Commissioner Manjunath Prasad and doctors.

Media blamed

A few of the staff tried to stop the inmates who simply kept going. The stunned officials rushed out, and then turned their ire against the media, even accusing the reporters of goading the inmates to run away.

Mr. Sudhakar later told The Hindu it was the handiwork of some outsiders. "We know who did it. We have filed a complaint with the police. We don't know the exact number who got out," he said.

'I'd choose footpath over Beggars' Colony'

Nothing is certain in Meera's life. She never knows if her makeshift home will be there or would have been torn down by the police when she returns home at night. Or if her earning from begging would feed her three young children that day.

But despite the precariousness of her life on the streets, the 35-year-old migrant from drought-prone Rajasthan, is clear about one thing: "I would never live in the Beggars' Colony. I'd live here on this footpath if I have to." And if there is one thing she dreads, it is the police van that comes around every week and rounds up beggars to be put away, indefinitely, at the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre (known better as Beggars' Colony).

Hundreds of destitutes who come to the city — mainly from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Chattisgarh — who have experienced the rehabilitation centre, see it as the last place they would rather be. "The food is uncooked, the water is dirty and it's not safe in there," says Ms. Meera.

She should know. She has been taken there three times, each time getting out by bribing the officials between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,100, she alleges. Her story is almost identical to that of Shivaji who comes from Andhra Pradesh and begs for alms near Commercial Street. "I've been taken to the Beggars' Colony twice. Each time I gave them all the money I had so as to be let off," says Mr. Shivaji, who used to be a truck driver until leprosy ravaged his hands. "How will my family live if I am confined there? Would they let them stay with me?"

Lakshmi (60), who begs outside the St. Mary's Basilica in Shivajinagar, shows us the scars she says the police left on her leg the last time they came to get her. She managed to escape. Her husband Mahadeva, who is visually impaired, says he got two of his friends released from the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre. "I've been there many times: it's hellish."

‘Weak rehabilitation'

Fr. Gilbert of the Bangalore Children's Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), which works with street children, believes that the rehabilitation process attempted by the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre is "very weak". Begging is a symptom, not the problem itself, he says. "The assumption that shelter and food is all that constitutes rehabilitation is wrong. There is no attempt by the Social Welfare Department to give them employment and integrate them back into society," he says.

Nomita Chandy, a city-based social activist agrees. She believes that treating beggars as a single category is problematic. "Each person is a victim of individual circumstances and needs personalised intervention. But at the Beggars' Colony, tuberculosis patients, people with physical or mental disability, alcoholics, and elderly people are kept together and not given treatment specific to their needs."

You provide for beggary cess

Did you know that three per cent of the property tax you give to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is supposed to go towards rehabilitation of beggars?

A study conducted by the Rashtrotthan Sankalp Trust (RASTR) on the status of beggars in Karnataka found that the cess is not deposited annually with the Central Relief Committee (CRC), which runs the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centres in the State.

The two-year study, conducted by a team led by Srivathsa K. and Santosh P. Nargund, found there was wide fluctuation in the committee's income. While the amount deposited has not only failed to show a consistent increase, it has actually nosedived by as much as 50 to 90 per cent during short periods.

Major defaulter

Mr. Srivathsa said that the BBMP is the major defaulter among the urban local bodies in the State, as it has several crores in arrears which have to be deposited. According to information available, in 2008-09, the BBMP's tax collection was Rs. 748 crore, of which beggary cess was Rs. 22.44 crore. In 2009-10, the collection was Rs. 797 crore with Rs. 23.91 crore as beggary cess.

Official view

The BBMP was reluctant to part with any information. When questioned, an official said over the past three years, the civic authority had released a total of Rs. 21 crore. This year, the CRC got Rs. 5 crore.

"There is no dearth of funds. The BBMP releases funds whenever the committee asks us," the official said.

What is owed

When asked to confirm, CRC Secretary S. Krishne Gowda told The Hindu the BBMP owes the committee around Rs. 15 crore.

"The civic authority releases funds whenever we ask. We write to the BBMP five times a year requesting funds for maintenance," was how he put it. He said that the annual maintenance of the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre is Rs. 3 crore.

Deaths: Vatal wants Yeddyurappa to quit

Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader and former MLA Vatal Nagaraj on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in the wake of the deaths in the beggars' home in Bangalore.

Speaking to presspersons here, he sought a probe by a High Court judge into the deaths, and demanded that officers responsible for the tragedy be dismissed from service. Mr. Nagaraj alleged that illegal and unethical activities were going on in the beggars' colony under the very nose of the officers, and urged the Government not to shield them. He charged that Social Welfare Minister D. Sudhakar had no control over his officials.

He alleged that 60 persons had died in the beggars' home in the last two months.

Mr. Nagaraj alleged that Mr. Yeddyurappa had failed to get the Hogenakkal drinking water project issue resolved amicably with Tamil Nadu despite the cordial relations he maintained with DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, after the unveiling of the statue of Tiruvalluvar in the city some time ago.

Charging Union Water Resources Minister P.K. Bansal with being ignorant of the Hogenakkal issue, Mr. Nagaraj demanded that the work be stopped forthwith and a joint survey taken up, as Tamil Nadu had taken up the project on the land that belonged to Karnataka.

Referring to the assertion by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin that his Government would not stop the project, Mr. Nagaraj wondered whether Mr. Yeddyurappa and Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai had become deaf.

Mr. Nagaraj alleged that the original plan was to provide water to Krishnagiri only, and gradually other towns were brought under the project and the Karnataka Government was maintaining a silence over it.

He demanded that MPs from the State raise the issue in Parliament and also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The former MLA wanted that a legislature session be convened to discuss burning issues, including the Hogenakkal project.

The Hindu

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=193280

[Shiloh]

Re: Karnataka: 20 fatalities in 48 hours, more critical - possible food poisoning.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report...dition_1426043

Bangalore beggar deaths: 20 deaths in 48 hours, 13 in critical condition
Published: Friday, Aug 20, 2010, 12:19 IST
By Hemanth Kumar | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

Eight more inmates of Beggars? Colony at Sumanahalli on Magadi Road died on Thursday, taking the death toll to 20 in the last 48 hours, since Tuesday night. The continuing deaths have enhanced the shame of Bangalore, which appears to have neglected the inhuman conditions in which 2,500 of its citizens live right under its nose.

The preliminary findings of the inquiry committee instituted by social welfare minister D Sudhakar, and headed by social welfare department commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, indicate an epidemic outbreak within the colony due to lack of immunity among the inmates and unhygienic conditions in the colony, which falls in the jurisdiction of the social welfare department.

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: 20 fatalities in 48 hours, more critical - possible food poisoning.

BANGALORE: Three more inmates of the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre died on Friday, taking the toll to 23 over the last four days following the sickness after eating the Independence Day lunch.

While two died at the Epidemic Diseases (Isolation) Hospital, a woman was found dead in a dormitory at the centre on Magadi Road.

The dead woman's body was chanced upon by a team of Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers in dormitory number 2, which houses the mentally ill.

The activists entered the home after staging a protest against the shocking state of affairs there.

?The body was worm-ridden and nobody has bothered to remove it even after hours,? said Tejaswini, a CPI (M) activist.

G. Harimurthy, Medical Officer, said the woman had died six hours ago.

?I needed a requisition to remove it,? he said.

The incensed activists then shouted slogans against the officials. Nearly an hour after the demonstration, the police brought the requisition and took away the body.

VIP visits

Earlier in the day, Ministers V.S. Acharya, Suresh Kumar and Basavaraj Bommai dropped in and inspected the conditions in the eight dormitories.

Then came Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, Karnataka State Human Rights Commission chairman S.R. Nayak, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officers, led by the Commissioner Siddaiah, and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders H.D. Revanna and P.G.R. Sindhia.

More escape

Just as they did on Thursday, a large number of inmates fled the premises on Friday too.

After interacting with the inmates, Mr. Siddaramaiah asked the personnel to release the healthy ones.

There was some commotion as his followers allegedly beat up a staff member holding him responsible for locking up two ill inmates in a police van the day before, who later died. As Mr. Siddaramaiah was winding up his visit, a group of men prompted the inmates to go out of the campus. ?Since yesterday evening the centre's personnel have been asking us to leave. I could not as it was dark. I'm going away today,? said 70-year-old Francis, who was walking towards Magadi Road.

Job offer

Around 12.30 p.m., some 500 inmates emerged from their dormitories and headed towards the exit. As they were moving out, at least one of them got a job offer: a man who claimed to own a security agency asked a grizzled veteran to join his agency. Pressing his card into the old man's hand, he said he could join him and bring along his compatriots too.

No stomach for it

Some of the inmates who tasted freedom appeared to not have a fancy to it. Around 5 p.m. a few of them lurched back. While one was found carrying packets of biscuits, another had a cover filled with buns. As for the others, they were spotted wandering around in several areas on Magadi Road.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082165060300.htm

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 23 - possible food poisoning.

Not food poisoning: DHO

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Aggravation of pre-morbid conditions, not food poisoning, was the cause of death of the inmates of the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre, according to M. Thimmappa, Bangalore Urban District Health Officer (DHO).

Speaking to The Hindu, the DHO said if it was food poisoning, all the inmates should have been affected.

?If it was the food, why didn't all the inmates fall ill? Existing conditions such as anaemia and gastroenteritis, coupled with low immunity and lack of hygiene, complicated the cases leading to death,? he said.

Thimma Reddy S.R., Medical Superintendent, Epidemic Diseases (Isolation) Hospital confirmed this, saying most patients were being treated for gastroenteritis.

Asked why no autopsy was done, the DHO said when the cause of death was known, there was no point in conducting a post-mortem.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082165130300.htm

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 23 - possible food poisoning.

Heads roll after beggar deaths
Bangalore, Aug 20, DHNS

Vagrants who continue to live in inhuman conditions at the Beggars? Colony here and dead beggars came to haunt the State government on Friday, forcing it to divest Minister D Sudhakar of the Social Welfare portfolio and sack two other officials.


As the toll mounted to 23 with three more deaths on Friday and at least 250 inmates let out, Opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the shocking state of affairs.
Sudhakar, an independent MLA who supported the BJP government, has been given the Muzrai portfolio. Minor Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol has been given the additional charge of Social Welfare.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who was in Bellary, made these changes after reaching Bangalore on Friday evening. The chief minister also ordered an inquiry by senior IAS officer S Selvakumar and sought a report within one week.

After a meeting with Cabinet colleagues, Yeddyurappa also sacked Central Relief Committee Chairman C N Manjegowda and suspended Central Relief Centre Secretary Krishne Gowda pending inquiry. Ramaiah, joint director of the Backward Classes Department, has been appointed in Gowda?s place. Yeddyurappa is said to have been upset at the attitude of Sudhakar.

The minister had washed his hands off the entire incident, stating that he was not responsible for the state of affairs at Beggars? Colony. Sudhakar?s reported statement, ?what can I do if beggars die,? is said to have been the last nail in the coffin that sealed his fate.

Soon after the chief minister?s decision, a sulking Sudhakar remained closeted with some of his close aides. Sources close to Sudhakar said he would announce his next step of action soon, but ruled out resignation.

Sudhakar has been in the dock earlier, too. Last September, he was on his way out of the Cabinet following the CBI chargesheeting him in a bank loan fraud case.
Yeddyurappa then had agreed to the request of Sudhakar to provide one week to tender his resignation. However, the Karnataka High Court stayed the CBI proceedings against him and Sudhakar continued in the Cabinet.

Muzrai has been a somewhat jinxed ministry for the ministers. In the current government, former Muzrai minister Krishnaiah Shetty had to give up the ministry to accommodate V Somanna. It was not lucky for Somanna either, as he later lost miserably in the bypoll. The Muzrai portfolio was with Home Minister V S Acharya.

Opposition parties also went on the offensive, with Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Revanna demanding a judicial inquiry into the number of deaths in the past. He also feared that a racket may be at work which either sells human bodies to private medical colleges or indulges in organ trading.

With the Beggar?s Colony virtually headless and the media attention intense, a number of inmates fled the place on Friday. An official admitted that a large number of inmates made use of the opportunity provided when the centre?s officials were busy seeing off ministers, who visited the camp on Friday. ?They fled from the camp,? the official said. At least 250 inmates might have fled, he said.

Meanwhile, at Epidemic (Isolation) Hospital, the number of sick inmates kept growing through the day. Many patients were admitted to Victoria Hospital and Lady Curzon and Bowring Hospital. Seventeen of them at Victoria Hospital showed symptoms of gastroenteritis?vomiting, dehydration, hypertension, and diarrhoea. They were kept in two exclusive wards. A separate team comprising four doctors has also been formed. In Bowring Hospital, 31 people from the colony have been admitted. All are in stable condition.
According to Dr G T Subhash, director and dean, Bangalore Medical College, two doctors were posted at Beggars? Colony on Thursday. However, another team?two specialists and four post-graduate doctors?from the preventive and social medicine department were sent on Friday to assist the authorities.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90258/heads-roll-beggar-deaths.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 23 - possible food poisoning.

Dumped alive at crematorium
Nandini Chandrashekar and Sandeep Moudgal, DH News Service,August 20,Bangalore:

The Sumanahalli crematorium is a familiar sight for the beggars at the Colony. For, it is they who come with the bodies each time to cremate one of their fellowmen...

Accompanied by the driver and a ward boy are five pallbearers - beggars themselves - who shift the body from their home in the Beggars Colony to the furnace.

The staff at the crematorium say the beggars make a beeline at the crematorium where others have performed the last rites and left some food behind. ?They collect food and ask us for beedis and tea. We try to provide what we can,? a staffer said.

In the last six months, 286 people from the Colony have been cremated here. Not surprisingly, the bodies are often brought in an advanced state of decomposition and most of them are covered with blood soaked cloth. Ever since the crematorium opened last December, the stream of bodies from the Colony has steadily increased. ?The numbers began increasing from February which made us suspicious, but they were accompanied by the death memo, signed by the Resident Medical Officer, listing them as natural deaths. So we could not really say anything,? another staffer said.

In fact, the staff noticed a discrepancy two days ago when a body was brought in with the name of Gopi aged 55, as mentioned in the death memo.

The death was listed as natural. ?But the body did not look a day older than 25 years. Who is to ask about these people?? the staffer questioned.

Of the 286 people who were cremated at Sumanahalli, only 4 or 5 people ever had people claiming the bodies. For the others, there was only a name and a approximate age attached.

But the staff at the Beggars Colony are not done playing their dirty games. On Friday morning, they bought the body of Kuppa, aged 70, for cremation. Along with beggar?s body came two beggars, who were dumped at the crematorium as the driver refused to take them back. One of the beggars left, while the other one, Kuliyappa, spoke only Telugu and was too weak to even move from the spot where he was left. Like most of the others, he had numerous open wounds sustained when he fell often at the dormitory.

Some beggars made most of the opportunity and left the place. They were found walking on Magadi road, with no place or money to hide.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90320/dumped-alive-crematorium.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 23 - possible food poisoning.

Deaths were due to food poisoningAugust 21st, 2010
DC Correspondent
Bengaluru, Aug. 20: Food poisoning is the cause behind the series of deaths at the government-run Nirashrithara Parihara Kendra (NPK), autopsies on two of the dead revealed on Friday, even as three more died, taking the toll to 23, and over 50 more were sent to hospitals for treatment.
After repeatedly pronouncing the deaths to be due to ?natural causes?, authorities finally relented to public outcry and allowed post-mortems to be conducted on the bodies of two 70-year-olds, Kuppa and Akkiamma.

Kamakshipalya police have registered cases under Section 174 of the CrPC, treating the deaths as ?unnatural?, although Home minister V.S. Acharya, who visited NPK, or Beggars? Colony, continued to maintain that these were deaths due to gastro-enteritis and therefore ?natural deaths?.

The autopsies showed ?total congestion? or redness in the gastro-intestinal tracts of the victims, confirming food poisoning, and dehydration that was not treated in time, a doctor said. Other examinations are being conducted to find out what caused the poisoning.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/bengaluru/deaths-were-due-food-poisoning-965

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 23 - food poisoning confirmed

Four more beggars die, toll reaches 26

STAFF WRITER 15:31 HRS IST
Bangalore, Aug 21 (PTI) Four more inmates of the government-run Beggars Relief Centre here died since last night, taking the toll to 26 during the last four days.

"The death toll has risen to 26. The government has decided to take action against staff for their acts of negligence," Minister for Social Welfare Govind Karjol told reporters after visiting the centre along with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Yeddyurappa had allocated Social Welfare portfolio to Karjol yesterday after stripping D Sudhakara of the department in the wake of serial death of beggars.

Concerned over the deaths at the City Beggars camp, the government today ordered Deputy Commissioners to undertake visits to 13 such centres located in parts of the state and ensure that such tragedies did not recur.

Karjol directed the authorities here to ensure that those who fled the Relief Camp yesterday were brought back at the earliest.

http://ptinews.com/news/890432_Four-more-beggars-die--toll-reaches-26

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 26 - food poisoning confirmed

Shift the sick to top hospitals: Lokayukta
Prashanth G N, TNN, Aug 23, 2010, 02.05am IST

BANGALORE: The deaths at the Beggars' Rehabilitation Centre, reportedly due to gastroenteritis, have led Lokayukta N Justice Hegde to question the government on its lack of concern. ?It is evident that many inmates are being treated as half-dead. A humanitarian approach is necessary," he said.

Meanwhile, the toll went up to 27 with the death of a healthy woman, aged between 65 and 70. Jogeshwari reportedly died of a heart attack. Dr G Harimurthy told TOI: ?It was a shock. She was a perfectly healthy person. Her personal hygiene was fine. She drank a cup of coffee and was walking towards the dormitory when she suddenly collapsed. She died of cardiac arrest." He said he had lodged a complaint with the police and sought a post-mortem. ?An inquiry is required. The post-mortem results are expected."

Justice Hegde also wants an audit into the working of the centre. He said the government should act post-haste and shift the seriously ill and diseased patients to hospitals where a higher level of care can be provided. ?I sense the government hasn't taken steps so far to segregate the seriously suffering from the normal. That's a crucial mistake now showing up in deaths. Why were the huddled together in the first place? Who decided that? The government has to move fast, segregate and shift out the seriously ill to top government hospitals. Article 21 of the Constitution obliges the government to ensure free medical aid to all people below the poverty line. They cannot cite costs as a reason to deny treatment at specialty hospitals."

Dr Thimma Reddy, superintendent, Isolation Hospital, said there were no new admissions from Beggars' Colony on Sunday. The result of stool samples sent for test to the Public Health Institute on Monday confirmed gastroenteritis.


Read more: Shift the sick to top hospitals: Lokayukta - Bangalore - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz0xOVxaSwb

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 26 - gastroenteritis, food poisoning confirmed

Rules were major causality here
Sandeep Moudgal and Nandini Chandrashekar, Bangalore, Aug 23, DHNS:

As the dust over deaths in Beggars? Colony settles down, the authorities are now faced with rigorous punishment unlike a case under Section 302 IPC (murder).


The authorities may be found guilty of illegal detention resulting in death, if the Central Relief Committee personnel had not produced the beggars before a judicial magistrate within 24 hours of taking them into custody.

With investigations into the deaths by State Human Rights Commission gathering steam, it is learnt that there is every likelihood of authorities? failure to produce the detained beggars before a judicial magistrate. ?Even if they were legally detained, the deaths mandate a compulsory inquest into the cause of the demise under Section 176 (1)(a) IPC,? said a SHRC personnel. Also, the officials are required by law to inform the judicial magistrate and the police if a death has occurred.

Further, the death memo in a government house ought to mention a proper cause and reason, which, however is not found in the case of 28 deaths over the past four days. ?The cause of death in all these cases has been shown as vomiting and diarrhoea amounting to ?natural death?. How is that possible?,? a SHRC official questioned.

Moreover, it is also said that the records at the Central Relief Committee are not clear on the name, age and reason for the deaths. ?We have found nearly eight people by the name of Muga, both dead and alive, in the records.? an official said. No proper database of the inmates have been maintained, he said. Meanwhile, a new borewell was sunk overnight on Monday at the colony. The overhead tanks which supply water to the kitchen were as also cleaned.

PIL seeks fact finding panel

The High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) on Monday filed a public interest litigation seeking directions to initiate action against officials responsible for the death of beggars at the Karnataka State Rehabilitation Centre in the City.

The Committee, in its petition has charged the State Government with failure to ensure Right to Life guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. It makes a reference to a similar tragedy at remand home in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. It has compared the deaths to custodial deaths as the inmates were sheltered by the State.

The committee has sought direction to the government to maintain hygiene at all rehabilitation centres in the State to prevent a recurrence and to constitute a fact-finding committee to look into the incident. The petition is said to have been filed at the instance of the Chief Justice.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90994/rules-were-major-causality-here.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Karnataka: Beggars' Colony death toll reaches 28 - gastroenteritis, food poisoning confirmed

?Cause of deaths will be known in 10 days?
Poornima Natraj, Bangalore, Aug 23, DHNS:

The exact cause of beggars? death has still remained elusive and it may take a month?s time too. The samples will now be tested for toxic materials.


"The microbiology and pathology tests have not helped much in pinpointing the cause of death. The samples will be sent to the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in Madiwala for Toxicology tests to know the exact cause,? Dr P K Devadass, Head of Forensic Science Department at Victoria Hospital said. The post mortems were conducted on Friday and Saturday.

The samples are yet to reach Forensic Science Lab as they have to be routed through the Police department. Police Inspector Ramachandraiah said Victoria Hospital is yet to provide them with the samples. It may take a month to get the reports, he said.

However, Dr T S Kenchappa, in charge director of FSL said the tests are conducted on priority basis for medico-legal cases. ?In this case, if the tests are conducted on priority, it may take 7-10 days for results,? he said.

One more victim

One more person from the Beggar's Colony who was admitted to Bowring and Lady Curzon hospital succumbed on Monday noon.

In charge resident medical officer Dr Shankare Gowda said Ahmed (70) was too old and weak to sustain the infections.

Epidemic Hospital (Isolation) received another patient, a 40-year-old deaf and dumb woman, on Monday. There are three patients at the hospital while. the K C General Hospital has 20. Dr Vishwaradhya, medical superintendent of the hospital said that most of the patients were suffering from insomnia and depression.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90995/cause-deaths-known-10-days.html