Latest news with #SKUP
The Star
05-08-2025
- Health
- The Star
Sarawak needs its own poverty index for better assessment, targeted interventions, says institute
KUCHING: A multidimensional poverty index (MPI) tailored to Sarawak's context is vital for accurate poverty assessment and targeted interventions, says the Sarawak Development Institute (SDI). As a first step towards developing the MPI, SDI conducted a pilot study in partnership with the Society for Kuching Urban Poor (SKUP) to identify Sarawak-specific poverty indicators and provide granular data on urban poverty. The study, which was completed in April, surveyed 137 SKUP food aid recipients across five areas in Kuching. SDI research lead for social inclusivity Dr Yuen Kok Leong said the study looked beyond income to include education, health and living standards as indicators. "Income is an indicator, but it doesn't provide us with a full picture of understanding the difficulties that people face," he said when presenting the study findings on Tuesday (Aug 5). Based on the Statistics Department's poverty line income of RM2,860 for Sarawak, he said all the respondents were below the threshold, with 88.3% categorised as destitute. The study also found that the respondents spent nearly half of their money on food despite receiving food aid from SKUP. "They still need food, even though they are beneficiaries of SKUP, and that leaves them very little to spend on non-essentials," he said. In terms of education, nearly all the households surveyed had attended school but 37.2% of the adults had less than 11 years of schooling, limiting their economic mobility. Under the health indicator, the majority of respondents were able to afford subsidised government healthcare services but faced qualitative gaps such as transport costs for treatment. As for living standards, 33.6% of respondents faced overcrowded home conditions and 27.7% lived in poor housing, especially in squatter settlements. The study recommended further research to develop separate MPI frameworks for urban and rural Sarawak to address their specific poverty challenges and needs. It also recommended including rural wealth indicators like land ownership and qualitative factors like mental health to capture Sarawak-specific dimensions of wellbeing and deprivation. Yuen said the study also identified emerging trends such as naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs), where elderly people increasingly lived alone or in small households; and the high costs of urban poverty, such as expensive private transport and informal utilities in squatter areas. He said the study recommended supporting NORCs with caregiving services and mobility assistance to reduce elderly isolation and dependency, as well as improving public transportation and regulating informal utility expenses for low-income households.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
What's allowed & What's not in Bengaluru's Cubbon Park
Bengaluru: Get ready to pay a fine of Rs 500 if you violate rules inside Cubbon Park. A govt order dated April 23 specifies activities permitted and not allowed on the premises of the park, towards its conservation. The director of horticulture may impose a fine of up to Rs 500 on each person, violating the rules, and in case of repeated violations, legal action may be taken. The fine amount will be deposited in the Suvarna Karnataka Udyanavanagala Pratishtana (SKUP) account. Where & how to hold get-togethers? Activities such as reading, yoga, meditation, get-togethers, and painting can be held on the 15 acres from the BSNL entrance of Cubbon Park to the gazebo, and the bridge adjacent to the drain to the parking lot of the high court. In case of more than 20 people participating, permission from the deputy director of horticulture, Cubbon Park, is mandatory. Permissible activities Walkathons and marathons, awareness programmes by govt departments, yoga/meditation with a maximum of 10 persons (no commercial activities) Environmentally friendly painting is allowed with permission from the department (excluding commercial painting/sale). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like [Click Here] - 2025 Top Trending Search - Local network access Esseps Learn More Undo Prohibited activities Commercial activities Heavy vehicles and autos, vendors and hawkers, smoking, alcohol, intoxicants, plastic items including puja items, and parcelled food. Skating on days when traffic is prohibited from the NGO gate to the road before the Children's Library from 6 am to 6 pm. Playing on the lawns, climbing trees, plucking flowers, breaking branches and twigs, honking on park roads, balloons and other toys, getting into the lake and Kalyani, touching wooden artefacts, indecent behaviour, climbing ornamental structures or pergolas, Banners or posts Urinating and spitting in public Fireworks and other dangerous items Activities that cause air, water, and noise pollution, begging, fortune-telling, money lending, press meets, solidarity meets, birthday and other celebrations, except programmes related to Cubbon Park Exercising using park infrastructure such as benches and poles are also prohibited. Other instructions Do not standing under trees in case of rain and wind Keep away from electric poles, panel boards, and electric junction boxes Be aware of snakes, ensuring parental supervision for children, and being cautious of bees Parking Vehicles should be parked in designated parking areas only.
