
Delhi minister Indraj orders 24x7 monitoring at Asha Homes to shield differently-abled from heat
NEW DELHI: Delhi Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj on Tuesday directed officials for the continuous monitoring of intellectually challenged individuals and provide all arrangements to prevent them from intense heat. The directions came during a review meeting of the summer action plan at ASHA Homes the Minister held with officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) and Social Welfare Department.
According to officials, the discussion was held around the Summer Action Plan for heat protection, food arrangements, healthcare facilities, and basic amenities at all Asha Homes in Delhi meant for differently-abled individuals.
'Ravinder Indraj inspected the availability of air conditioners, desert coolers, room coolers, fans and facilities for cool and purified drinking water such as water coolers and RO systems at homes located in Rohini, Narela, Hari Nagar, and Timarpur. He also issued necessary directions regarding toilets and health facilities,' a statement issued from Indraj's office read. 'Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has given clear instructions that there should be no negligence regarding facilities at Asha Homes. Officials must continuously monitor the arrangements for heat protection, food services, basic amenities, and healthcare,' it added, quoting the minister.
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Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Indian Express
Rs 5,000 as aid to those caring for differently abled likely soon in Delhi
A financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to caretakers and attendants of people suffering from over 80% or above disability is likely to be provided soon by the Delhi government in a first-of-its-kind initiative, officials have said. 'This is going to be the first such scheme in the Capital where the caretakers will also receive financial assistance from the government…,' Delhi Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh said. 'A proposal has been prepared in this regard, and it was already discussed in the Cabinet meeting once… Some changes are being made. Once it is ready, the proposal will be presented before the Cabinet again for approval and further implementation,' he added. The Capital, the Minister said, has 1,000 such families with people having 80% or above disability, and who are completely dependent on their family members and others. For an accurate figure, however, the department is also planning to conduct a survey so that only those eligible can avail the benefits under the proposed scheme. 'This is a first-of-its-kind proposal not only in Delhi but across the country,' a senior official said. The Social Welfare Department's existing pension scheme provides persons with over 40% disability a monthly aid of Rs 2,500. As per official data, about 1.5 lakh specially-abled people are availing this pension scheme. However, no assistance is provided to their caregivers. 'The aim behind this scheme is to ensure that there is no negligence in the care of such persons with disabilities, especially those from economically weaker sections. Also, the attendants receive some financial support… because well-to-do families have separate nurses or caretakers to take care of such persons…But the case is different in poor families, so this scheme will help them financially,' the senior official added. Officials said the caretakers can be parents, siblings, or anyone who is taking care of the differently abled. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Social Welfare Minister also inspected the under-construction building for mentally challenged individuals in Narela on Friday. Once completed, individuals currently residing in overcrowded shelter homes like Asha Kiran Home in Rohini will be relocated here. The building, located within the Nursing College Hostel premises and the Primary Urban Health Centre campus in Narela, will accommodate 220 differently abled residents. This facility is expected to be operational within three months. The Minister directed the officials to ensure the building is wheelchair-friendly and there is no encroachment around the premises, so that ambulance movement does not face any obstruction. Indraj also said that multiple facilities are being developed across the city for differently abled people. Once the facilities in Mamurpur and Dallupura are completed, they will significantly improve access to services, safety, and healthcare for the differently abled, he added.


The Wire
4 days ago
- The Wire
Following Backlash, Delhi PWD Removes Photos of People Cleaning Drains Without Safety Gear
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Government Following Backlash, Delhi PWD Removes Photos of People Cleaning Drains Without Safety Gear Alishan Jafri 9 minutes ago Workers, activists and court rulings indicate that rainwater drains can receive sewage, making them dangerous to clean without safety gear. Representative image of an open manhole. Photo: Sharada Prasad CS/Flickr, CC BY 2.0 Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: For much of April and May, the Public Works Department (PWD) in New Delhi was on a social media overdrive, especially on X, where it posted a series of photographs of workers manually cleaning drains. On Tuesday (June 3), however, it removed these photographs and cleaned its social media timelines after one of these posts went viral and caused public backlash. In these now-deleted posts, workers could be seen cleaning drains without gloves, boots, goggles, masks or any other kind of protective gear. In some photographs, cleaners were seen even without shirts and shoes on, raising questions about the consequences of such work for their health as well as about whether the cleaners' work could fall under the purview of manual scavenging law. Dr Akshay Dongardive, national president of the Federation of All India Medical Associations, said: 'This can cause skin ailments [and] amplify lung infections, and long-term exposure without care or precautions may be fatal.' Earlier this year, the Delhi government had vowed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to desilt 23 major drains in the state by May 31. Chief minister Rekha Gupta and PWD minister Parvesh Verma had reportedly met PWD officials last month to ensure that these deadlines were met. This is why workers all over Delhi are clearing its rainstorm drains. In November 2024, the NGT had sought a report from the Delhi government on the action it would take to stop the flow of untreated sewage into rainwater drains. It said that both the Delhi Jal Board and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) 'are responsible for causing water pollution by permitting sewage of sanitary drains to be discharged in stormwater drains which ultimately pollute River Yamuna… causing health hazards.' After the death of a five-year-old girl who drowned in a stormwater drain in Palla last year, the NGT had also observed that untreated sewage was flowing in a rainwater drain near north Delhi since no sewage system had been laid out. The Wire visited a drain near Arjun Nagar and Hauz Khas and found that desilting work had been paused for the day on a visibly polluted drain with a punctured water supply pipe. Three different sources at the spot said that the workers had left the site. Locals said that the drain is desilted both manually and with machines. This reporter met four workers at two different spots in the area who said that they did not have protective equipment to carry out cleaning work with. Incidentally, in at least twelve photographs posted and subsequently deleted by the PWD, workers are seen without safety gear. Three workers from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh told The Wire that while sewage does not get mixed with rainwater drains where they work – a posh colony in south Delhi – this is not the case in other areas in the city. Forty-five-year-old Jeet Kumar, a homeless cleaning worker who now only works private cleaning assignments, said that he quit cleaning public drains because of the dangers associated with it and the low pay – workers are paid Rs 500 for a day's work with no job security, he said. 'You never know when you can lose a limb, inhale poisonous gases, get a cut or go blind if the waste splashes in your eyes while you're working with a shovel … There can be glass pieces and metal debris,' he said. The workers from Kasganj confirmed Jeet's claim that they are paid Rs 500 for a day's work. 'Gloves, boots and clean water are the bare necessities,' Jeet said. 'You need clean water to immediately wash the eyes if something goes in.' Asked if they are given protective gear, a group of workers The Wire spoke with initially said yes but confirmed on the condition of anonymity that they do not receive this equipment. 'The only security equipment we have are MCD green jackets through which we can be identified by the public and police.' Much of the cleaning is carried out by machines but is done manually in places where machines cannot go, a government source said. 'If there's sewage, why would anyone agree to do it?' he asked. Gupta, Delhi's chief minister, has taken a similar stance. The Indian Express on Tuesday quoted her as saying: 'Look, every drain has its own situation. Machines don't work everywhere and people don't work everywhere either. There may be places where machines can't reach. Right now, the government's target is to ensure that all drains are completely cleaned, and the work is being carried out with full attention to the court's guidelines.' While the drains in the photographs are indeed stormwater drains and, according to officials in the PWD not under the remit of manual scavenging law, worker testimonies, activists and the NGT's remarks paint a more complex picture. Manual scavenging is officially defined as manually handling human excreta in 'insanitary latrines', in open drains or pits where such latrines discharge human excreta into, on railway tracks, or other spaces that the Union or state governments notify. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 makes it illegal for someone to hire a person to do manual scavenging without providing them with devices and protective gear as mandated by the Union government. It also separately defines the 'hazardous cleaning' of sewers and septic tanks as its manual cleaning without protective gear and cleaning devices as notified by the government. It makes it illegal for someone to employ a person to perform hazardous cleaning. Bezwada Wilson, activist and national convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan that advocates for ending manual scavenging, rubbished claims that these are 'just stormwater drains'. He said that while officials may claim that the drains contain just silt, if one 'take[s] a look at its colour, it's not just silt but also sewage. It's black in colour. Everybody knows what it is…' Wilson asked, 'Why are people dying?', alleging that deaths from manual scavenging occur in many places within Delhi. The PWD's photos have also invited sharp criticism from opposition figures. 'These horrifying images,' wrote Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, 'fail to prick the conscience of the people basking in the glory of 'double/triple engine' government.' Former Aam Aadmi Party MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the 'BJP government' of having a history of exploiting Dalit and poor people. 'Legal action should be taken against them,' he wrote on X. PTI reported that the PWD sacked a junior engineer because the workers in its photos had worked without safety equipment. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News BJP Spent 40% More on 2025 Delhi Elections Compared to 2020 2020 Delhi Riots: Court Says WhatsApp Chats Cannot be Substantive Evidence in Murder Cases Delhi University Students Protest Last Minute Change in Evaluation Process As Delhi Courses Through Another Punishing Summer, Residents Are Once Again Pushed to the Brink Will Resist Suppression of Press Freedom, Says Himal as Delhi HC Quashes Vantara's Case After Delhi HC's Rebuke, Abhijit Iyer Mitra to Take Down X Posts Against Newslaundry Journalists 'Thrown Into the Sea': How India Allegedly Deported 38 Rohingya Refugees Without Due Process Founders of Ashoka Should Know that a University Can't be Equated With Hierarchies of a Corporate Office How Contract Labour and Caste Inequality Undermine India's Sanitation Drive About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.


Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Min orders regular hospital inspections
Jaipur: Medical education department on Monday informed health minister Gajendra Khimsar that the public works department (PWD) indicated a requirement of Rs 84 crore for repair works in the state's govt-run hospitals, against which approval for about Rs 44 crore had been issued. Of the 81 hospitals attached to medical colleges in the state, nod was given for establishing PWD posts in 29 hospitals. Khimsar told officials that public health was a very sensitive issue and negligence at any level would not be tolerated. He said all officials should regularly inspect hospitals within their jurisdiction and immediately address any deficiencies found during inspections. On May 1, two patients undergoing treatment in the surgery ward of SMS Hospital were injured when plaster from the ceiling fell on them. Khimsar said the state's medical colleges and their affiliated hospitals will now undergo regular inspections. If deficiencies found during inspections are not resolved within a specified period, disciplinary action will be taken against the responsible officer. Additionally, efforts will be made to strengthen cleanliness, repairs, testing, medication, and treatment facilities to make hospitals more patient-friendly. In the meeting, medical education secretary Ambrish Kumar said around 150 officials in 33 teams conducted intensive inspections in medical colleges and their affiliated hospitals on Friday. A report of the inspections was prepared, and based on this, improvements will be made soon. Medical education commissioner Iqbal Khan said the inspections evaluated cleanliness in hospital premises, necessary repairs of buildings, availability of medical resources, patient convenience, security arrangements, and service quality. Proper disposal of biomedical waste, availability of electricity and water, and functionality of fire safety equipment were also examined.