Health awareness among tribals powers Reddy’s life mission

Vijay Deo Jha

There is nothing special about the caller tune of the mobile phone of Ganesh Reddy.

But, the words of the caller tune “Ham me hai ujala andhiyara mitane ka, hum me hai hausla nai umang jagane ka…,” has been the signature tune of his life and the purpose for which he has been working for the last many years.

Ganesh Reddy, the founder of an NGO, Citizen Foundation (CF), is one who has painstakingly undertaken the task of health awareness and special training among the tribal populace.

“From the days of my childhood I wished to serve society. I along with my friends founded ‘Gandhi Sports Club’ and participated in several programme like Polio eradication,” Reddy said.
He proudly displays the mobile medical van which he got under ‘National Rural Health Mission’ is ready to roll down to the deep interior of the villages of Jharkhand to provide free medical service to the poor people. This van is equipped with doctors, nurses and other state-of-art facilities to provide free treatment to the tribal people of the districts like Simdega, Pakur, Jamtara, Godda and Dumka.

The rugged terrains of Jharkhand are quite familiar to Reddy and he can recount you the name and the topography of the villages of the state where health services do not exist even as token. This time he will try to reach the people with this sophisticated medical van to provide health service at their door step.
“We will chart out the route of the van and medical camp alongside. Everything is free of cost including medicine, x ray,” Reddy says. People die due to malnutrition; anemia and other diseases like malaria etc. and these problems are very acute among the people and many a precious life could have been saved if they could have been provided with medical care on right time, Reddy shared his experience. Working among the hapless tribal populace in the remote villages Poyarijoh, Suderpahari of district Godda Reddy has seen death and hunger from a close quarter.
It is a lesser known fact if Reddy won the heart of masses his effort was duly appreciated by international organizations like UNICEF. The foundation has been working in collaboration with ‘Jharkhand AIDS Control Society’ in Chaibasa for Aids awareness programme. Initially people were hesitant much because of the taboo involved to it but later on the programme turned into a campaign mode.
But initially it was a story of different contrast when he opted for social service. “I am a school drop out. Even my father MBN Reddy had termed me a basket case when I chose social service instead of resuming study,” Reddy revealed this.
Last year his father took his last breath. “But he died as a proud father, once he patted my back for what I am doing today,” Reddy also said.

CF that he established in 1997 along with his friends gave him a wide canvass to reach to the people who really need help. Apart from Jharkhand the foundation has the branches in six other states of Indian including Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttarakhand, New Delhi including NCR and West Bengal. He plans to open the branches of the foundation in Assam. Out of 24 districts of Jharkhand the foundation has its base in 20 districts.

The caller tune ends with high positive note: “Hum me hai jazba nai zindagi banane ka” (we have the spirit to make a new life). For Reddy is it a beginning.

RU foundation day ends on positive note

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Monday, July 13, 2009

Ovation at ‘Maulana Azad Senate Hall’ and demonstration near ‘Governor’s House’, and both had the field day on Sunday.

It was the occasion of the 49th foundation year of Ranchi University (RU) which ended with a high positive note. Among the speakers including the Chancellor of the university Syed Sibtey Razi and the Vice Chancellor AA Khan in their pithy address to a large gathering at senate hall believed that RU would emerge as the centre of excellence.

Near the Governor’s House the teachers of the university—both retired and working—under the banner of Federation of University Teachers’ Association, Jharkhand had a quite demonstration to fulfill their long pending demands: payment of arrears, gratuity, payment of the backlog of salary under the head of 5th Commission and implementation of 6th Pay Commission.

Razi did not deliver ceremonial sort of address. “In the coming days RU will emerge as the hub of academic excellence,” he said. But he soon reminded them the challenges the era of globalisation and market have placed upon the current education system.

“We need to bring a change in the education system. It must be connected with employment. What happens when a graduate of humanity subject passes out he has no clear picture of his future,” Razi said the audience which nodded with acceptance.

“The quality education,” Razi remarked, “is missing…and it can not be achieved until we provide world class infrastructure to make a change,” Razi said. He narrated the effort of China in this context which has erected State-of-art infrastructure for universities in the country. “Similar initiatives should be taken in our country and if RU has been erecting buildings it is the future of India in making,” Razi said, adding “the State Government will provide every support to the universities of the State to match the standard.

Razi told this in response to what Khan said about the initiative that RU has taken to improve infrastructure and academic performance.

“We have built new buildings and in the coming days we plan to build some more,” Khan said. One of the newly constructed MCA buildings was inaugurated by the Governor on Sunday. “The building of Applied Science could be inaugurated on November 11, which is celebrated as world information day,” Khan said. Three of the colleges of RU have been granted autonomous status, Khan proudly mentioned it.

Khan also informed about the new courses and schemes of RU and appealed the teachers and students to prepare for a switch over to semester and grading system. Khan ended his speech advising the gathering to make a difference between noise and signal of the current education system to extract the best result.

Over to Governor’s House where these teachers had surely not heard what Khan said. They blamed the university officials and babudom for their plight. They had high praise for Razi as the head of the State one who really took initiatives for the redressal of their grievances. “We are thankful to the Governor who has respect for teachers of the State and he has done a lot of for us,” Baban Chaubey of the association said.

Blame on the State bureaucracy as anti-teacher that often stymie the movement of their file with illogical file notes. There was only one bureaucrat Sukhdeo Singh whom they claimed the only bureaucrat who supported the just demand of the teachers.

Most notably they requested RU officials to clear the backlog of the retired university teachers. Some of them retired some 20 years back but their pension has not been fixed while some of them have the daily tour to the office of RU to get their outstanding backlogs cleared, they claimed.

Both the assemblage presented theirs’ side of story; over the megaphone, in this way or that.

JD(U) MLA Kishore resigns from Assembly to join Cong

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Saturday, July 11, 2009

JD(U) MLA Radha Krishna Kishore resigned from the State Assembly on Friday. “I will join my old party, the Congress, as per my announcement,” Kishore said. Krishna, who is the brother-in-law of DGP VD Ram, submitted his resignation to the office of Assembly Speaker Alamgir Alam.

“After I announced my intention to join the Congress I thought not delay in tendering my resignation from the Assembly. I opted to resign and the moment my resignation is accepted I will resign from the party also,” Kishore told this correspondent.”

From the last one month Kishore was quite vocal about his intention to join the Congress. “I had left the Congress after I was persuaded by the former JD (U) MLA and now MP Chatra Indersingh Namdhari. Namdhari also left JD (U) and I realised that I should return to my old house,” Kishore explained.

Kishore earlier had announced his intention to quit the party after he met the State in-charge of party of the Congress K Keshav Rao a fortnight back. Two days back Kishore during his visit to New Delhi held another round of meeting with the Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, Rao and State Congress president Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu, who agreed to his come back in the party. During the by-election of two Rajya Sabha, Kishore has cast his vote to the Congress candidate Dhiraj Kumar Sahu.

“Right now I cannot tell you about the date when I will join the Congress; but it is a fait-accompli,” Kishore said. It should be learnt that from the past one year the State Congress had been trying for his come back. Kishore was top on the priority list of the Congress. The Congress even offered to field him as party candidate from Palamu.

Kishore rather opted to remain with the JD(U) to contest the election. He faced a humbling defeat in Palamu and openly blamed the BJP for insuring his defeat.

Interestingly Kishore squarely blamed the BJP for the change of his mind. “No doubt the JD(U) is a secular party and I have no grudge against the JD(U). But in the manner the BJP ditched the JD(U) in the general elections in Palamu and Chatra I find no future of the party,” said Kishore, for whom the Congress is a party of big political canvass.

Balmuchu bashers on prowl for his removal

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Thursday, July 9, 2009

Day breaks with new challenges for the State Congress president Pradeep Balmuchu who is locked in battles with his adversaries in the party. Successive political developments in the past couple of days in New Delhi and Jharkhand have made his position shakier and a fresh threat lurked over his continuation as the PCC president.

Only on Tuesday night in New Delhi he was cautioned by Ahmed Patel; the political advisor of the AICC president Sonia Gandhi; for unsatisfactory discharge of duty as state PCC chief, the well-placed sources in the Congress confided.

He was reprimanded for his advocacy to form ‘a popular government’ in Jharkhand with the help of the JMM and odd number of independent MLAs who were also the ministers in the UPA led government. A good number of them have been facing corruption charges in the vigilance court in Jharkhand.

On the same day the former Congress MP Rameswar Oraon dropped a missive to Sonia Gandhi questioning the move of the some of the leaders of the state Congress to form government in Jharkhand. He termed it, “would further damage the image of the party.”

Oraon did not mention Balmuchu, as such, but a source close to him said that the line actually referred Balmuchu and Oraon as the claimant of PCC president is leading one of the factions of the state Congress which is keen for the removal of Balmuchu.

Balmuchu is still camping in New Delhi to convince the top Congress brasses for a government under his leadership after independent MLAs secretly pledged their support to him. Oraon has put Balmuchu in lather after he demanded a CBI inquiry against these tainted MLAs.

“Also Madam, Congress should take a stand to ask for CBI inquiry against these corrupt ex-ministers…these ministers have reportedly acquired huge asset even outside of the country,” Oraon said in his letter.

Oraon concluded his letter with a demand to dissolve the state assembly and seek a fresh mandate in the larger interest of the state and the party. Oraon who till yesterday could only be reported for his backroom maneuvering suddenly emerged on the political arena which is already crowded with claimants for the post of the party president.

The former party MP, Bagun Sumbrai who has been nourishing grudge against Balmuchu has added his voice in the favour of Oraon. On Monday Balmuchu bashers reassembled in New Delhi to ensure his ouster. Belonging to different camps of aspirants these party leaders have a common cause to espouse.

KN Jha reportedly met Sonia Gandhi and requested that a non tribal should be preferred for the post of state party president. Other leaders like Anadi Brahma, Chanchal Chatterjee, Iswarchand Pandey are also trying to impress central bosses the need for a new state PCC chief after Balmuchu over stayed to his tenure.

There are so many claimants: Subodhkant Sahai, Sushila Kerketta, KN Jha, Furkan Ansari, Rameswar Oraon etc. And one can not rule out that a political rookie of the party might startle everybody by emerging as a dark horse in this race.

Sources in the state Congress said that a fresh appointment of state party president could be made very soon. “The party high command might not like to face elections of the state assembly under the leadership Balmuchu after the party performed badly in the state in the general elections,” a senior Congress leader said.

While negotiations are still going on in New Delhi; the state Congress headquarter appeared to be a baffled house. “From the last one month ‘our president’ is busy defending himself and the central leadership is enjoying the cock-fight in Jharkhand.

Will somebody remind them the party really needed a facelift before the assembly election to fight against the NDA?”

Cong’s message to Bandhu, Bhanu: Mind your language

Ranchi, Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Vijay Deo Jha

The Congress sent an advice to the independent MLAs, Bandhu Tirkey and Bhanu Pratap Sahi, to mind their language against the party and Union Minister of Food and Processing, Subodhkant Sahai after the Government formation exercise in Jharkhand was aborted.

The Congress took the step a day after the two MLAs, pilloried Sahai for scuttling Government formation of the UPA in Jharkhand। Blaming Sahai for this, both of them said that the extension of the President’s Rule in Jharkhand was a cruel joke on Jharkhand.

“For a month, the Congress fooled us in the name of Government formation exercise. This party and its leaders had no intention to allow the installation of a popular Government,” Tirkey said.

The State Congress secretary Anadi Brahma on the other hand advised Tirkey and Sahi to refrain from such baseless allegations। “Such decisions regarding Government formation are taken by the central high command of the party after assessing the ground reality and Sahai has no role in it,” Brahma said.

The party reminded them that they remained Ministers in two successive UPA Governments and “they should not weaken the UPA combine in Jharkhand by leveling such allegations,” he said.

With this the honeymoon period of Jharkhand UPA is over but the acrimonious war of words has just begun। It is after the central leadership of the Congress put cold water over the wishes of the State UPA leaders to form Government।

The JMM has now understood the futility of such exercises after a long time। The party chief Shibu Soren wisely opted to revamp the party organization de novo; to face the electorates in the Assembly elections rather than bending further before the Congress.

But the party leaders did not hide their grudge against the Congress for creating political confusion। “Majority is on our side. But there is no hope of the Government formation, and, I admit it on record. But in the coming days the Congress will be the biggest loser. If they had no intention to form government they should have told it,” the JMM leader and former Agriculture Minister Nalin said.

The sources in the Congress said that government formation was fraught with the latent risk of further BJP backlash। “You are going to provide your enemy (BJP) a stick to beat you in the coming days। If the electorates messed the UPA in the elections in Jharkhand it means that the combine failed to deliver good governance in Jharkhand,” a senior party leader said.

The central leadership found no merit behind the logic of the State MLA that there was yet a scope left for the Congress to gain the confidence of the electorate।

Only once Sahai had told them “aise log jo Sarkar banana chahte hai unko mera door se pranam,” (Those who want to form Government, I salute them from a distance)। His words sardonically ring true today.