Tag Archives: Bengaluru

The voices behind Radio Active

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , ,

Nayandahalli (Bengaluru), KARNATAKA :

Akshay, the youngest jockey, with his aunt Manjula | Photo Credit: G.P. Sampath Kumar
Akshay, the youngest jockey, with his aunt Manjula | Photo Credit: G.P. Sampath Kumar

From waste pickers to transgender rights activists and slum children, know the RJs of Bengaluru’s first community radio station

Sunday morning saw an eclectic gathering of radio jockeys — transgenders, people living with HIV, auto drivers, the differently-abled, domestic help, waste pickers, and animal welfare activists — come together to celebrate a decade of Radio Active CR 90.4 Mhz, Bengaluru’s first community radio station.

For this diverse group of citizens, who are often marginalised, the community radio has given them a platform to air their views. Most significantly, it has given them the confidence to live with dignity and demand for equal rights.

Salma and Siddique Pasha, waste pickers from Nayandahalli, host two shows – the daily show, Kasa Shramika Parisara Rakshaka, and a weekly Dastaan-e-Nayandahalli, documenting the stories of recyclers in the area. “The shows have given us a platform to connect with others in the community. To reach out to listeners in various slums we do shows in multiple languages — Kannada, Urdu, Tamil, and Bengali,” said Mr. Pasha.

Senior solid waste management expert N.S. Ramakanth has begun a new show called Trash Talk in English and Kannada.

Shiv Kumar, an auto driver, was first interviewed by the radio station for being awarded by the city police for his honesty in 2010. But soon he became an RJ and has since hosted multiple shows for auto drivers. He also has a show where he interviews unknown achievers and unsung heroes.

Akshay, 11, the youngest jockey, also sees a big draw with his show Chinnara Chilipili where he has been documenting traditional games along with storytelling sessions by other children. When asked how he greets his listeners, Akshay went into the RJ mode and said, “Welcome to the city’s first community radio Radio Active 90.4. We will now play games that our grandparents and parents used to play.” He produces the show with the help of his aunt Manjula along with 40 other children in the slums of Dasarahalli.

The channel has a strong programming on transgender rights with five shows, all hosted by members of the community. One popular show is Jeeva Diary, hosted by Uma which is presented as a diary of her life and its travails. “We get a good response and have got several calls from listeners who are shocked to listen to the discrimination and humiliation we face as young people in schools and at work,” she said.

Radio Active has also turned out to be a platform for the northeast community in the city to organise and voice themselves. Urmila Chanam, from Mizoram, who now hosts the show North East ki Awaz, said that the 2012 exodus of northeast community from the city set them into legal aid activism in the community.

“But the attacks on the community members never came down. So we have now started the radio show to have our voice heard. While we started featuring northeast food, fashion shows, and festivals, the show has also helped us intervene on behalf of a few victims of sexual abuse from the community,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / June 26th, 2017

IT employees to have a body to press for their demands

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Science & Technology, , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

ITemployeesMPOs27jun2016

The AIITEA will hold its first meeting on June 30 on the ITC Infotech campus

Amid the opportunities and growth prospects, the problems faced by employees of the information technology sector are among the least addressed. The struggles within these workplaces often get sidelined or swept under the carpet by the ‘terms and conditions’ of the company. Consequently, employees often have little say in such matters.

Now these unhealthy workplace practices have forced IT employees to join hands to make a forum where they can address their issues.

The All India Information Technology Employee Association (AIITEA), a registered body meant to take up and resolve problems faced by people in the IT sector, is going to have its first meeting on June 30, on the ITC Infotech campus to announce in the open its arrival in the IT city.

Syed Muqeem, head of AIITEA and one of the founder members of the association, said: “There is a general perception that unions and associations are for blue-collar people, but there are many instances where the IT employees, the so-called white-collar staff, face workplace-related problems, but there is no group to support them.”

“Most associations that have been formed earlier either play in the hands of the big multinational companies or have failed to take up the issues faced by the employees in the sector, and take it to a logical conclusion. This void that the industry has created over a period is what we are trying to fill up. Our main aim is to ensure equal employee representation in resolving employee grievances,” said Muqeem.

Bengaluru, deemed India’s IT capital, is home to 35 per cent of the 8 million IT employees and in the last financial year, it clocked around 1 lakh crore in software exports. But beneath this glitter is a dark cloud looming and that is the ever-deteriorating state of the IT employees.

A global study done by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) says 50 per cent of employees in India Inc are under stress and around 30 per cent software engineers in the city show signs of psychiatric disorder. One in every 20 employees has contemplated suicide.

The fast pace at which the IT industry is progressing has its own side-effects and employees are at the receiving end. Muqeem said that till date “we have helped resolve around 15 cases where the employee was being harassed by the employer, but on an average we receive 15-20 complaints per week, but the fear of losing one’s job, coupled with the feeling that engaging with an association might hamper future growth prospects is what is keeping many from coming out in the open”.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / June 27th, 2016

Helping hands from across the seas reach out to crippled man who directs traffic

Community Involvement / Social Issues, , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

SalmanMujeebMPOs11may2016

Inspired by a crippled Indian’s attitude, a donor sent him money all the way from New Zealand.

Chris Harris was moved to help after his daughter told him about one of the characters she met while travelling India. She had met Salman Mujeeb as he was directing traffic close to her house. Salman safely sorts out the chaos of vehicles at a blind one-way corner in Fraser Town with no arms, one leg and a giant grin. Chris donated Rs 50,000 to go towards Salman and his family to pay for the lease on their apartment.

Chris says that Salman, 31, is a great example of human perseverance that everyone should be inspired by.

“His story of surmounting such incredible odds, including the genius of finding a means of making a living and to still keep smiling, has to capture your interest. It is a very profound and moving story,” he says.

“He shows the miracle of life. Think about it, he has inspired me from 10,000 km away. Incredible!”

Chris owns a supermarket in New Zealand that donates Rs 25,000 every month to a worthy organisation or cause. He gave Salman two months’ worth of donations.

Salman has been working at the corner for 18 years. He started doing so only a year after he was electrocuted. As an 11-year-old Salman got tangled in live wires on the construction site his parents were working at. He was in a coma for 23 days. The doctors tried to save his limbs but gangrene set in and his arms and leg had to be amputated.

Now, he works at the corner 6 days a week from 11 am to 8 pm, rain or shine.

As people drive safely through, they stuff a tip into his shirt pocket. Salman earns a small living, people can get around the corner safely, everyone’s happy. He says he earns about Rs 1,500 a week, which enables him to make ends meet. He doesn’t have any other way of earning money.

Winning attitude

Salman conquers any obstacle life throws his way. He can use a touchscreen phone, get around the city independently, climbs stairs faster than an able-bodied person and has even won a dance competition. He taught himself how to ride a bike a year after the accident. He fell off over and over again but eventually learnt to make it work.

Mohammed Khan has known Salman for many years. He says he is a very deserving, honest man who is always in a good mood. Salman is always teasing those around him and making wisecracks.

It wasn’t just the electrocution that Salman has had to weather. His father died 5 years ago from a heart attack and his wife died 1 year ago from an epileptic fit leaving him to care for his 5-year-old son.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / by Sarah Harris / DHNS – Bengaluru, May 06th, 2016