Childline rescues girl

5-Mar-013

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : “She looked happy and smiled when she was given a new dress,” said S.K.Ratheesh , a staff of Childline, a 24-hour emergency service for children in distress, about two-and-a-half-year-old Annu (name changed).

The rescue team at Childline found her on Monday on the streets at Ottur, near Kallambalam, in the company of seven stray dogs and a mentally challenged grandmother.

The team had received a call on 1098, the 24-hour emergency number for children in distress, on Sunday night. “The caller said he had seen the child in pathetic living conditions, abandoned by the mother during mornings when she goes for work. The only company was a mentally challenged old woman. We reached the spot on Monday morning. She wore no dress, street dogs were playing around her, and the whole place was in a very deplorable condition,” said Mr. Ratheesh.

The team informed the police and with the help of a few local people drove away the dogs and rescued the child.

“The elderly woman, presumed to be the child’s grandmother, did not say a word or react when we took the child. We informed the Child Welfare Committee and as per the order, the child was taken to the childcare centre at the Missionaries of Charity home at Kunnukuzhi,” said the staff.

The child’s mother, who the local people say is working at a pump station near Attingal, has been asked to present herself before the committee hearing on Tuesday. Further actions will be taken after a meeting with the child’s mother, said an official at Childline.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/childline-rescues-girl/article4477843.ece

 

 

 

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Thrust on a beautiful mind

Debut of memorial lecture at Ranchi University

Manas K Mandal at the lecture in Ranchi

RANCHI : Loads of talks on mind, health and social issues like the gender divide and some smart tips to survive against all odds marked the inaugural session of the Geeta Chakravarty Memorial Lecture at Ranchi University on Friday.

The students, who comprised majority of the audience at Central Library’s auditorium, got the opportunity of listening to learned persons like Manas K. Mandal, an outstanding scientist; S. Haque Nizamie, director of Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi; and Binay Chaudhary, former professor of Magadh University, Bodhgaya.

Geeta Chakravarty was the former head of the psychological department of Ranchi University. After her death in 2011, her husband Amal Chakravarty (also a retired chemistry professor) and sons, Ujjwal and Sajal, decided to institute a memorial lecture in her name and a gold medal for the topper of the department.

Ranchi University vice chancellor L.N. Bhagat inaugurated the lectures, the first of the series, on Friday.

Manas K. Mandal, who is the director of Defence Institute of Psychological Research, New Delhi, delivered the lecture on “Protecting beautiful minds”. “Conflict of morality and loyalty often torments young minds. Morality prompts one to argue and that may come in the way of success whereas loyalty helps build a career more easily. That is why one is required to take a decision and resolve the conflict. Again, failure is a common feature in life. One has to tackle failures,” he said.

S. Haque Nizamie delivered the next lecture on “Mental Health Issues in India”. The CIP director said mental health was often related to psychiatric disorders only while happiness was also a state of mental health.“Despite considerable rise in cases of mental diseases in recent times that even lead to suicides, people don’t prefer seeking medical help out of fear for stigma, prejudice and exclusion. The society lacks awareness,” Nizamie rued.

Speaking about latest advancements in neuro-sciences, he said pursuing a career in clinical psychology would be a good option.

The last lecture was reserved for Binay Chaudhary, who spoke on gender-based violence. “Ours is a country of contradictions. While the scriptures teach us to respect women, they are the most disrespected in reality. Often known persons or even near ones are offenders in gender-based violence,” he pointed out.

According to Chaudhary, economic independence helps a woman achieve self-respect. “Be independent economically, learn self-defence techniques and never compromise with self-respect,” he advised the girls.

The students felt enlightened.

“We read about many of the topics as passing references but did not know about them in details. The lectures were very helpful,” a student said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130112/jsp/jharkhand/story_16430267.jsp

 

 

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Careless cops hand over 'missing' girl to drug addict

8-Jan-2013

Saurabh Vaktania

Police trace 19-year-old mentally challenged girl who had been reported missing, but promptly hand her over to a    complete  stranger   who claimed to be her ‘husband’

Have you seen her?
In case if you come across any information on Aarti, please call
Thakarshi Bhanushali on 9979406659 or Vasant Bhanushali 9810067381

MUMBAI : With public sentiment choked with anger against police insensitivity in handling crimes against women, the men in khaki are in for some deep derision yet again for handing over the custody of a mentally-challenged young woman, reported missing, to a complete stranger without so much as verifying who he was. The woman’s photo was right in front of their eyes, but they did not take a blind bit of notice before packing her off with a druggie, as they later termed him.

Two days after kin of Aarti Bhanushali (19) filed a missing complaint with the NM Joshi Marg police, the cops located her. But they gave her away to a man who walked into the police station and claimed to be her spouse, the victim’s parents alleged. When Aarti’s relatives approached the police again, the officer on duty said he had sent the girl away with her “husband”. The relatives are yet to come to terms with what they claim is “mammoth negligence” on the part of the cops.

On January 4, Gujarati MiD DAY had published a report about how Aarti, who had come to the city from Gandhidham in Gujarat to meet her grandparents at Asalfa village in Ghatkopar, reportedly went missing the day she arrived here. Her grandparents said she disappeared from their Ghatkopar residence on December 25. After looking for her, the couple informed her relatives in Gujarat who rushed to Mumbai and joined the search. On December 26, a complaint was lodged with the Ghatkopar police.

“After waiting for a day, we registered a non-cognisable complaint at Ghatkopar police station, and placed an ad in the papers,” said Vasant Bhanushali, Aarti’s uncle. Over a week passed by with no news of Aarti. “But last Saturday morning, one of our friends called us and said he had seen Aarti on NM Joshi Marg with someone. Aarti’s mother and her relatives rushed to the area and began looking for her,” Vasant said.

When they could not find her anywhere by the end of the day, her kin approached the NM Joshi Marg police station and registered another missing complaint. “The police officer on duty asked for Aarti’s photograph. We gave it to him and he duly slid it under the glass plate covering his wooden table. The photo was displayed prominently,” said a relative.

Another two days passed by and Aarti’s family did not hear from the NM Joshi Marg police. When they approached the police station, they were aghast to hear the cops explain how Aarti had been found, and then lost again. “The cop whom we had given Aarti’s photo had handed her custody to an absolute stranger, who they later said appeared to be a chronic substance abuser, without verifying his identity. They should have been more cautious. The least they could have done was run a background check before handing over her custody,” the relative said.

After the family complained to the cops that Aarti’s custody had been given to the wrong person, the cops reportedly swung into action. Police teams were sent out to find the woman. The officer responsible for the mix-up could not be reached for comment. DCP Kishore Jadhav said, “I have not been informed about the incident. I will look into the matter.”

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/jan/080113-careless-cops-hand-over-missing-girl-to-drug-addict.htm

 

 

 

 

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Schoolkids make the grade with mental health

18-June-2012

ARTI S. SAHULIYAR

With stigma waning, counselling of children with learning disability is on the rise, says Rinpas expert

JHARKHAND : A hyperactive eight-year-old is smart enough to operate all the functions of his parents’ high-end mobile phone, but fumbles when asked to rattle off math tables. A sensitive teenager is a bookworm, but exams stump her.

 

These are not mentally challenged children with below-average IQ. On the contrary, they are intelligent in every way, but parental and social pressure to excel has robbed them of their focus — and sometimes, confidence to cope.

 

Earlier, these children did not get a second chance. But now, counsellors, parents and teachers in Ranchi have teamed up to give these children with “learning disabilities” a shot at being well-adjusted students.

 

Currently, the capital’s premier mental health institute Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (Rinpas) registers 12 to 15 cases of such children in a month.

 

Experts say parental or peer pressure results in developmental disorder or disturbances. Social and biological conflicts also adversely impact a child’s overall mental development.

 

Unlike earlier, the capital is not brushing these cases under the carpet. More and more parents approach psychologists.

 

“Earlier, stigma held parents back from bringing their wards for professional guidance. Now, with extensive counselling, we have convinced parents and teachers that instead of keeping quiet, they should come to us,” said Rinpas director Amool Ranjan Singh.

 

M.K. Sinha, the principal of a well-known cradle DAV Kapil Dev, admitted that learning disabilities were on the rise, but said increased parental pressure had a large part to play in making a child more vulnerable or anxious.

 

“Every child can’t come first in class. But unrealistic expectations harm both the child and the parent. We invite counsellors on regular basis to overcome such situations so that the children’s academics do not suffer,” Sinha said.

 

The Rinpas director added learning disorder had always been prevalent, but not classified as such earlier.

 

In the past, neither were people aware of psychological stumbling blocks and nor was doing superlatively in academics the overwhelming priority in all homes, he said.

 

“It is indeed a good sign that even parents are sensitive to this issue now and bring youngsters to us. But though taboos related to counselling have loosened, the problem has also grown. Children confide that their parents put pressure on them to perform well in academics. The definition of ‘doing well’ confuses them and makes them feel they are not good enough even if they are otherwise okay,” the Rinpas director said.

 

Children and parents are counselled extensively. In extreme cases, schoolchildren aged 10-14 years are admitted at the 22-bed child ward.

 

“Normally, we don’t admit children. If needed, they are admitted between 10 days and a month for behavioural therapy,” the director added.

 

 

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120618/jsp/jharkhand/story_15623377.jsp#.T98XGxdo3xo

 

A law that enables

18-JUNE-2012

The National Advisory Council’s suggestions for strengthening the draft law on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) is a potentially far-reaching intervention. The step is in sync with the recent notification of a separate Department for Disabilities in the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which was announced in the President’s 2012 address to Parliament. Ever since India ratified the United Nations Convention on the rights of PWDs in 2007, the formulation of a comprehensive law became imperative and these two developments suggest things are finally moving ahead. Currently, there are four separate pieces of legislation pertaining to India’s disabled population. The earliest, the 1987 Mental Health Act, predates the discourse on affirmative action for the disabled in India and, to that extent, the status of mental illness as a disability remains ambiguous. Then, there is a separate law that deals with the creation of qualified and trained personnel for the provision of rehabilitation and education services for this segment of the population. The third, the PWD Act of 1995, is underpinned by an emphasis on anti-discrimination and guarantees of equal opportunities. Although the latter was envisaged as a comprehensive law, it did not address fully the conditions of persons with other equally severe disabling conditions. Hence the 1999 Act for people with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities.

It is hardly surprising that these four laws in themselves have not mitigated the sense of apathy and bureaucratic red tape that hamper the creation of an enabling environment. The mechanisms and procedures involved are riddled with duplication and inconsistencies, as evidenced by the evolving case law over questions of jurisdiction and interpretation of different laws. More than a billion people around the world experience one or another form of disability, according to the World Health Organisation and World Bank 2011 report. On other estimates, about 10 per cent of the population in developing countries is disabled. By any reckoning, India’s numbers would be much larger than what governments are prepared to acknowledge, given the detrimental influences of poverty, illiteracy and poor health on disability. It follows that stepping up investments in health and education is one of the important ways of preventing disabilities and mitigating their impact over the long term. Requiring service providers to furnish a declaration of conformity with the relevant laws is the other means to ensure accountability and effective enforcement. An umbrella legislation will go a long way in altering the present state of affairs.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article3540036.ece