Thursday, August 16, 2012

The nightingales of Kerala..

They are still on the rooftop, threatening to jump to their deaths.

As the country celebrated Independence Day, three nurses on strike Wednesday threatened to commit suicide by jumping off their hospital's terrace.
The three nurses readied to make the suicidal jump as the strike by a section of the nurses in Kothamangalam Mar Baselious Hospital, numbering around 100, entered its 114th day

The three nurses are deep in debt and this action has been taken out of mere desperation since one of the nurses have not been able to pay back the dues for the educational loan taken for her studies. With a meagre salary and trying to make ends meet, the bank was getting ready to seize one of the nurses' house as part of recovery proceedings.

Among the main demands made by the nurses include the implementation of established working hour norms, shift system and cessation of dismissal of nurses by management under the pretext of some contract conditions.

How did this come about in a state like Kerala where the daily wages of a labourer runs from 400 to 600 IRS per day? Even a household help if hired from an agency has to be paid between 5,000 to 7,000 IRS per month.

 It is not that these hospitals are not making profit. Every in patient hospital bill has this funny entry on it "Nurses service charge".  Is it because most of them are from the fairer gender that they are ignored thus? Here in Kuwait the story is very different since the nurses are being paid well. In fact they are the lucky ones who get increments frequently. I guess it must be because their service is valued out here. It is the case in US and Europe too.

It is also amusing to find that this hospital is run by the Church. This injustice can be resolved by the members of the Church itself. Or is the Church only to be visited on Sundays and to be forgotten on the rest of the days?

Kerala CM silent on Kothamangalam nurses' suicide threat
16 Aug 2012, 1310 hrs IST
Kerala News: THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy refused to react to the strike staged by nurses of the Mar Baselios Hospital in Kothamangalam. Chandy kept silent when reporters asked his opinion on the issue.





One wonders when the CM shall break his silence. Or is he allowed to take only the confession cubicle?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Let us have some fun too..

It is jail time for a few politicians in Kerala. The vengeance drama started with Ex-Minister Balakrisha Pillai I guess. Not that he stayed in jail for a long time but it got the stone rolling.

Now we have two major leaders/ MLA in jail for murder.

Kerala high court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of CPM Kannur district secretary P. Jayarajan and T.V. Rajesh, MLA, the 39th and 38th accused in the Shukoor murder case.

Subsequently, Rajesh surrendered before the Kannur judicial first class magistrate court.

Justice S.S. Satheesachandran, dismissing the applications, observed that the violence that followed the arrest of Jayarajan was indicative of the need for protection of the interests of the society, and hence the petitioner, at a stage when the investigation was in progress, was not entitled to get bail.

Not sure how long they shall stay inside the jail though. And if and ever the next party comes to power I am sure we shall see a few from the Congress too inside the jail. There are enough corruption, looting and murder cases to be unearthed. All these years it used to be, "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" policy by both the parties and the voters just stood by like donkeys. But I think for corruption cases the judiciary should make sure that at least a part of the money is recovered from the concerned fraudsters and if they are convicted, their MLA/MP rights should be scrapped. This will ensure that the tax payers shall not pay a paisa more to these looters in the way of pension etc.

It is indeed fun time for the voters.

Why should the politicians have all the fun; let the voters too have a bit of it!

Edited to add:

 A vigilance enquiry has been ordered against Minister KM Mani and Chief Whip PC George. 
http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=596030&lang=malayalam


Source:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/kozhikode/rajesh-held-no-bail-jayarajan-120

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