‘India
and Pakistan need to join up against terrorism’
December
14, 2004, Daily Times
Karachi
By
Shahid Husain
KARACHI:
Indian columnist Pradeep S Mehta said on Monday that India and Pakistan
needed to collaborate with each other to combat poverty and terrorism.
Delivering
a lecture under the auspices of the NGO Pakistan Institute of Labour
Education and Research (PILER), Mr Mehta, who is the founding secretary
general of the Jaipur-based Consumers Unity and Trust Society (CUTS),
said it was high time the two countries’ visa restrictions against
each other’s citizens were relaxed. “I have been to Islamabad thrice,
but this is the first time that I have been able to visit Karachi
and that too after the intervention of the Commerce Minister (Humaiyon
Akhtar Khan),” he remarked.
He
said India, the world’s largest democracy, was “very pluralistic,”
with the second-largest Muslim population in the world.
He
also said it was in the interest of India to be surrounded by countries
which were prospering economically. Former prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee even spoke of a single currency for the two countries,
he said.
He
said Nepalese and Bhutanese currencies were tied with the Indian
rupee because the two countries’ economies were very weak, but of
course Pakistan was a different case. He said today the trade between
Pakistan and India was worth $600 million, whereas informal trade
between the two countries was worth $1.5 billion.
He
said the vested interests in every country want conflicts to continue.
He said fundamentalists on either side of the divide were opposed
to progress. He said the sentiment in Pakistan was that there should
be trade between the two countries since Pakistani consumers pay
higher prices for certain commodities which could be imported at
cheaper rates from India.
Cultural
contacts between the two countries also need to be improved, and
there is hardly any cultural difference between India and Pakistan,
he said. Mr Mehta, who serves on several policy-making bodies of
the Indian government, said the disharmony between the two countries
in the last 58 years was not in the economic interest of either
of them, and there was no sense in consumers of the two countries
suffering because of the political disputes.
He
said there has been a water dispute between Bangladesh and India
over the Farruka Barrage but that did not hamper economic cooperation
between them. “If we take the example of ASEAN, Malaysia and Thailand
could have a border problem but that did not come in the way of
economic cooperation between them,” he said.
He
said the United States had a deficit with all the countries it trades
with, but its economy does not suffer. “When the consumer gains,
the economy gains,” he remarked.
He
said in the European Union, there were differences between France
and Spain but that did not affect their economic cooperation. “Regional
economic cooperation is better than global cooperation,” he remarked.
He
said it required progressive thinking to conclude that some disputes
will not be resolved soon.
He
said Pakistan would have an annual income of $500 million from Iran-Pakistan-India
gas pipeline. “We were harming ourselves by hesitating to boost
economic cooperation,” he said.
He
said three years ago the trade volume between India and China, with
which his country has a border dispute, was worth $3 billion; today,
it was worth $10 billion.
Similarly,
he added, the trade volume between Pakistan and India could also
reach $10 billion despite their disputes.
Develop
Strategy
December
2, 2004, Times of Zambia
Zambia
By
Business Reporter
THE Consumer Unity & Trust Society Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC)
has urged Zambia to develop a strategy if she has to benefit fully
from the numerous trade protocols.
Centre
director Sajeev Nair said in Lusaka yesterday that trade was a key
component of poverty reduction and economic development and hence
the need for Zambia to position herself ideally to benefit from
the signed protocols.
CUTS-ARC
is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose aim is to inform,
educate and provoke debate on issues of trade and sustainable development,
and economic equity.
Speaking
in an interview at the just ended Commission for Africa national
consultative forum at Mulungushi International Conference Centre,
Mr Nair said it was sad that Zambia had not harmonised trade into
the transitional national development plan.
Mr
Nair also said that even the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
and Transitional Development Plans (TNDP) did not clearly elaborate
adjustments Zambia would make to increase exports.
It
was vital for Zambia to come up with a plan to be used as a tool
for national development and as a pad on which all other initiatives
like those of the World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO)
based their support.
He
said if Zambia developed a strategy to improve its exports, this
would offset balance of payment (BoP) deficit which impacted negatively
on the economy.
He
said Zambia should emulate developed countries which prioritised
local producers as opposed to outside ones.
CUTS'
insists on celebating "Safe Diwali"
November
11, 2004, Dainik Vishwamitra
Kolkata
WHO
directs drug test for State hospitals
November
10, 2004, Hindustan Times
Kolkata
Subhendu
Maiti
THE
WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) is not convinced the standard drugs
administered and sold to patients in Bengal’s government hospitals
are safe and always correctly priced.
In
the first such instance in India, WHO’s New Delhi-based Southeast
Asia regional office has told the state health directorate to check
the quality and pricing of drugs available in government medical
colleges and hospitals as also in retail stores in their neighborhood.
It was told the state to send its report to Delhi by the year-end.
The
move has been prompted by allegations that some state hospitals
are administering substandard drugs to patients.
In
a parallel move, the world health body has engaged two NGOs – Community
Development Medicinal Unit (CDMU) and Consumer Unity & Trust
Society (CUTS) – to collect data relating to availability and prices
of drugs sold in government hospitals and retail shops near such
hospitals.
Health
directorate officials confirmed that samples of common drugs of
about 30 different groups, including antibiotics, paracetamol and
anti-retroviral, cardiovascular, anti-malaria and anti-asthma drugs
would be tested in a state-run laboratory.
Samples
would be collected from about 15 hospitals, including SSKM, R. G.
Kar, Sambhunath Pandit and the state general hospitals in West Midnapore,
South 24-Parganas, Jalpaiguri and Murshidabad. In fact, collection
of drugs has already begun at SSKM and several district hospitals,
they said.
SSKM
super Santanu Tripathi, a coordinator of the WHO project in Bengal,
told HT, “We have already started work in various hospitals, including
SSKM.”
Dr
Abhijit Hazra of CDMU, one of the two NGOs engaged by WHO, said,
“There are allegations that low-cost drugs available in government
health Centres are substandard. In view of such complaints, we are
conducting surveys to check the quality of drugs and their price.
We have collected data from hospitals in six districts.”
Reckless
rides that can spoil your festival
October 21, 04, Hindustan Times
Kolkata
Jaideep
Mazumdar
Taking your child to a fair? Don't let your child ride the Ferris
wheel or roller coaster if you want him or her to be safe.
Joyrides, especially those at makeshift fairs and puja pandals,
are virtual death rides, says a rights organisation working on consumer
safety issues. The Ferris wheel is prone to collapse, as one did
in New Delhi in May last year, killing 12 people and injuring 20.
The roller-coaster isn't safe either - a man also fell off one at
Appu Ghar in August last year. The merry-go-round can spin out of
control - such an incident injured a few children in Konnagore recently.
A month later, three children, aged eight to 10, were injured when
a rotating gondola broke from its moorings and crashed to the ground
at Baruipur.
Most rides don't have permission to operate and those that do violate
all safety norms. In fact, there weren't any safety norms till the
Bureau of Indian Standards came up with a code of recommended practice
for amusement safety rides and safety in water parks earlier this
month. The police, who give permission to these fairs, are not even
aware of the new norms.
"Accidents have occurred, though most go unreported. We've
launched a campaign to force the authorities to act on the safety
aspect of such amusement fairs," said Soumi Home Roy, researcher
for CUTS- International Safety Watch Group.
An estimated 300 amusement fairs are organised in and around Kolkata
during the festive season and over 1.5 lakh people, mostly children,
take joyrides on the various contraptions such as the giant wheel
and merry-go-rounds every day, generating a daily revenue of around
30 lakh for the organisers.
JOYRIDES
GONE WRONG
February
2004: A couple in their 20s suffered serious head
and limb injuries when the safety rod of capsule on a Ferris
Wheel fell off.
January
2004: A 14-year old boy was maimed when a steel bar
of a Ferris wheel at an amusement fair at Ranaghat broke loose
and fell on him.
November
2003: Three children were injured during a ride on
a routine gondola.
October
2003: Two children sustained serious injuries when
a merry-go-round spun out of at Konnagore.
WHAT
MAKES THEM UNSAFE
- Irregular
checking of equipment and machinery
-
No maintenance of machinery
-
Machinery operated by persons without technical qualifications
- Absence
of emergency medical team or equipment in case of an accident
-
Absence of first-aid kits
-
Lack of adequate safety measures
-
No insurance cover
-
Fair organisers don't abide by of mandatory safety measures.
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"No
attention is paid to even basic safety measures, especially in the
case of these makeshift amusement fairs. They're supposed to get
permission from the police, but the police are ill-equipped to check
the operational safety of the equipment and machinery. None have
emergency rescue measures, not even proper first-aid kits,"
said the researcher of CUTS, 20-year old body with eight centres
around the world.
CUTS is accredited with the UN Conference on Trade & Development
and United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and is
materially supported by the DFID, WHO, UNFPA, European Commission,
Ford Foundation and many countries around the world.
CUTS- Safety Watch researchers have conducted spot checks at amusement
fairs and the findings are shocking. No one checks the equipment
and even routine maintenance work is not carried out, none have
safety instructions or even an emergency manual, none have emergency
medical equipment or trained emergency medical teams, none have
fire-fighting equipment and many of the rides they offer are downright
dangerous, especially for the kids.
"Laws should be framed for issuing certificates separately
to amusement parks and amusement fairs with strict provisions for
periodic inspection of all equipment. It should be 30 days in the
case of amusement fairs and each time such a fair moves to a new
location and the equipment for joyrides is assembled, technically
qualified teams should carry out inspections before a fresh certificate
is issued. There should be provisions for emergency medical teams
and insurance cover for these parks and fairs must be made mandatory,"
said Roy.
Safety
leash for pandal rides, drivers
October
18, 04, The Telegraph
Kolkata
BAPPA
MAJUMDAR AND PRONAB MONDAL
Nine-year-old
Arindam Ghosh insisted on taking a joyride on a merry-go-round at
a pandal last year.
Minutes
into the ride, the bolt of his seat came off and the boy fell in
a heap, breaking several of his teeth and sustaining injuries in
the head and neck. The joyride turned out to be a tragedy.
Such
horrifying experiences, hopefully, will be a thing of the past,
thanks to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which has come up
with a set of guidelines for ride operators.
Every
year, close to five million people visit pandals in the city and
enjoy rides. At least 1,000 get injured, sparking protests by consumer
rights groups, which have been clamouring for more stringent safety
norms.
With
the BIS taking the lead, the city police announced on Saturday that
cops will be posted in every ride zone to ensure that the safety
norms are adhered to.
According
to the BIS Code of Recommended Practice for Amusement Ride Safety
(IS 15475), all rides will have to go through “rigorous quality-control
checks” before they are installed in fair grounds.
Wear
and tear from constant use, speed control of rides such as a Ferris
Wheel (nagordola) and regular verification of gadgets are part of
the six-point BIS recommendations.
The
BIS has also stressed on proper training of ride operators. “The
safety requirements and training of operators comprise a large part
of the code of practice. In big fairs, our men will be on constant
vigil,” said a senior BIS official.
The
police, too, will be at hand to prevent pleasure from turning into
sorrow.
“We
will take all possible precautions to ensure that the rides do not
turn fatal. Extra policemen will be deployed in the pandals to ensure
that the operators do not violate the safety norms,” said
Sanjay Mukherjee, deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).
Apart
from the city police, the Consumer of Unity Trust Society (CUTS)
of India will play the role of watchdog.
“A
very common phenomenon in the city is to act after an accident.
Every year, the government suggests a thorough check of the rides
to see whether the gadgets are in good condition,” said Soumi
Home Roy of CUTS.
“But
the checks are never carried out. So, this move by the BIS is very
welcome,” she added.
This
year, CUTS representatives will be out in strength to enforce the
safety norms.
“Despite
the safety bureau pitching in, if we come across a repeat of previous
years’ experience, we will take up the matter with the government,”
asserted Home Roy.
CUTS
call for the strict watch over the safety of joyrides during Pujas
October
14, 04, Dainik vishwamitra
Kolkata
Campaign
Against Medical Institutions Denying Emergency Cases
CUTS
plans to nip consumer ignorance
October
08, 04, Asian age
By
Soumitra Nandy
Kolkata, Oct 7: Concerned over the fact that only a few can avail
of prompt medical attention in accidents, Consumer Unity and Trust
Society (CUTS) has initiated a nation-wide campaign to sensitise
people that medical institutions by law cannot deny any emergency
case.
Soumi Home Roy, researcher at CUTS stated “In 1989, the Supreme
Court ruled in favour of immediate medical attention for any accident
victim, failure of which violates “Right to Life,” as
guaranteed under Article 21. The judgement also noted that in such
cases, the police must not harass the doctor for investigation."
Subsequently, in 1994, Section 134 was added to the Motor Vehicle’s
Act (1988) to cover this exigency of providing immediate medical
treatment and succour to accident victims. Under this section, a
driver involved in any accident is required to secure medical aid
for the injured person, by taking him to the nearest hospital/doctor
and it shall be the duty of the hospital/doctor to render medical
aid to the victim without waiting for completion of legal formalities.
Failure in this regard is punishable under Section 187 of MV Act,
1988.
Ms
Roy lamented the ignorance of these rules. She stated "medical
handling of crash victims in India is far from satisfactory. The
time taken between the accident and reaching the hospital is critical,
but the procedural wrangles and public fear of getting involved
in a police case delay crucial help.
Additionally, the police and the medical institutions often give
priority to completion of medico-legal formalities over treatment,
which results in death or permanent disability of many victims.
Many medical institutions also deny emergency cases by giving lame
excuses, such as non-availability of beds." In India, a road
accident casualty takes place every 12 minutes and 10 times the
number get injured, she briefed.
To
strengthen the awareness drive, CUTS has written to the Ministry
of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), and DG police of all the
states.
Discoms
put Rs 1000-cr burden on Govt: CUTS
October
04,2004, Hindustan Times,
HT Correspondent, Jaipur
The
Three power distribution companies of Rajasthan – Jaipur, Jodhpur
and Ajmer, are imposing an additional burden of Rs.1000 crore
on the state government by not checking their transmission and
distribution losses, according to an assessment done by the Consumer
Unity and Trust Society (CUTS).
These
companies are planning to impose this extra burden on the consumers
by increase the power tariff.
CUTS
has submitted a memorandum to the RERC and demanded cancellation
of the petition of all three Discoms about tariff increase.
They
also demanded that the distribution companies should present their
records in public and conduct a field survey of the T&D losses.
According
to Vinayak Pandey of CUTS, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission
had in 2001 directed these companiues to reduce their T&D
losses to 20 per cent from 37 per cent in five years but these
companaies actually increased their losses to 41 per cent.
One
per cent reduction in T&D loss is equal to Rs.29 crore saving
to these companies.
If
these companies had followed RERC’s directions, they could have
saved rs.360 crore each by now. Together they could have saved
more than Rs.1000 crore, calculated Pandey.
He
said these companies are planning to increase the tariff and impose
burden on the consumers to overcome the T&D losses incurred
by them. If one reads the petition filed by the three Discoms
to RETC for increasing the power tariff, it becomes evident that
these companies have been ignoring the directions of RERC.
RERC
in April this year instructed the companies to mention the last
date of submitting suggestions on all consumer bills so that they
cana lodge their complaints / suggerstions / demands in time.
However, these companies are not following RRC’s directions.
CUTS
after studying the petition filed by the three companies, is preparing
a draft with the reactions of consumers of all categories and
would submit it to the RERC.
Book
Rack
September 18, 04, Deccan Herald
Is
It Really Safe: Soumi Home Roy (Jaipur: CUTS, 2004, pp
162) This book is a compilation of articles on consumer safety issues
written from time to time, with the aim of increasing consumers'
awareness onsafety aspects of various products and services. The
book also provides a synopsis on Indian rules and regulations on
safety issues.
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