Iron Man wants to have animal park

The man better known for his collection of vintage and customised cars and cycles, K Sudhakar, is not satisfied with his over 150 creations. He plans to have a park where he wants to have life-sized mechanised walking animals!

"This animal park will have mechanised walking animals like a baby elephant, wild boar, dog etc. I hope to get this project ready by January next year," says the commerce graduate who runs the Sudha Cars museum at Bahadurpura.

His facination for cars and customisation, though, is still intact. He had recently designed the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation's open top buses in the city. And what more, he's working on a 40-seater double decker bicycle -- a sort of extension of his 2005 Guinness World Record creation, the largest tricycle in the world.

The tricycle that got him the laurels is 41 ft 7 inches high and weighs about 3 tons with the wheel diameter being 17 ft and the vehicle length extending up to 37 ft and 4 inches. It took him over 3 years to built this monster which is on display at his museum.

It all started for the auto enthusiast as a hobby after he created his first customized cycle at the age of 14. According to him, in 1991 when he was in New Jersey, he saw a promotional Volkswagen car and that ignited the idea of a skating shoe car in him. “I realized these wacky cars drew instant attention and brought a smile to peoples' faces,” he explains and recalls the encouragement he got from his father.

“I used to spend a lot of my father's money, but now I am earning name, fame and money,” Sudhakar muses sitting at his dream office which is designed by himself. The office itself resembles a museum with a table designed like the 1908 Ford's Model T, a teapoy like the1927 differentials and suspension, a 1922 Rolls Royce Radiator Clock, 1937 Willys gear box as a lamb, a 1932 USA Buffalo gasoline pump as a cupboard and to top it all, a 1929 Ford Wheels and Buke mudguard as a three-seater sofa.

It's amazing to know that all of these were collected from nearby junk yards and recreated. Heaps of scrap, in other words, made his dream come true. Sudhakar has given live demonstrations of his vehicles on various occasions at the Tank Bund and the Necklace Road. He plans to conduct free exhibitions in the city and across the country and is awaiting sponsors.

Perhaps from his own experience, he points out, “our road-side mechanics know more than any university professor. I learn from them. And for my convenience, there are about 50 junk yards around Bahadurpura.” As for his continuing inspiration, he says, “I started all this as a hobby but soon I had to shelf all these creations and that ended up as my museum. I plan for my creations but sometimes pick up themes from current affairs as well,” said a humble Sudhakar.

What's on display

At the Sudha cars, one finds a wide range of Sudhakar's creations including over 30 different designs of bicycles from single-seaters to multi-seaters like penny farthings, tandems, made for each other, velo cars, recumbents, micro cars, lightfoots, cycle trains, sociable etc. including the smallest bicycle in India which is about 6 inches high. Here, for the visitors, Sudhakar has some recreations of early 20th century models of cars & buses, both single & double deckers. Among the others on display at his museum are brinjal car, camera car, cigarette car, condom bike, cricket ball car, shiv ling car, cup & saucer car, helmet car, computer car, double-bed car, football car, beach buggy, kings carriage, cartoon car, fun cart, fountain pen bike etc.

K Sudhakar from the city has been invited to participate in the Fourteenth Annual East Coast Kinetic Sculpture Championship will be held on May 5, 2012. Kinetic sculpture races are organized contests of human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art. The original event, the Kinetic Grand Championship in California, is also called the "Triathlon of the Art World" because art and engineering are combined with physical endurance during a three day cross country race that covers 41 miles and include sand, mud, pavement, a bay crossing, a river crossing and major hills. The event, first conducted in the year 1969, has become a world championship with participants from across the world. On May 7, 2011, twenty-six teams had brought 33 sculptures to Baltimore for the 13th annual East Coast Championship

Elections are back at HCU

“These are upcoming movies and trailers are already out,” says Sharath, an MSc student at the University of Hyderabad (UOH), looking at a number of banners put up by students' organisations on the campus. He couldn't have explained it better. Well, the elections are back in UoH and it's festive time up here.

The intellectually vibrant campus is all set for students' union elections on October 18. There's no dearth of issues for the polls. Students' organisations affiliated to political parties have been campaigning on everything from gender sensitivity to social and university issues. But the one that takes the cake is of course the Telangana issue.

The Telangana Students' Association (TSA) allied with the Bahujan Students' Front (BSF) is all geared up to take the challenge to the powerful outgoing students' union alliance of the Students Federation of India-Ambedkar Students' Association (SFI-ASA) and the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Chandraiah, a PhD political science scholar and convenor of the TSA-BSF, wants change. “We are ready to challenge the opportunistic and hegemonic politics in HCU for a genuine cause,” he thunders and claims that TSA has a vote-bank of 1,500-odd students. Last year, the SFI-ASA alliance had swept the elections with an average majority of a thousand votes per post.

Another important factor in this year's election is the rise in the number of women candidates. This year, five women are in the fray as against only one last year. One of the women, Sahiti Reddy, a Master of Performing Arts student, is contesting for the post of the president -- in what many say is unprecedented in the university.

Chief election commissiner of the varsity Suresh Naik, also a student, explained that precautionary measures had been taking to avoid a repeat of the infamous 2009 elections, which were declared void following allegations of massive rigging.

“We have adopted a booklet format for the ballot sheets and also a spiral bound voters' list, which makes it technically impossible for somebody to indulge in malpractice," Naik explained.

In the campus that has students from different sections of the society, social groups as well as regional groups like Tribal Students' Forum (TSF), North-East Students' Forum (NESF), Dalit Students' Union (DSU), Malayali and Bengali community etc have a strong say in the elections.

“Students' organizations normally highlight past issues and spread rumours during campaigning and it would be enough to convince freshers,” said Rahul, an MA student. The organisations also bring out posters countering rumours and arguments of their opponents.

The outgoing and acting President of the students' union Mukesh Kumar was an extremely satisfied man as he said that his was the first union in the history of the university to return money to the administration after deducting the expenditure on the students' welfare activities. “We returned `40,000 and our expenditures was only `15 lakh,” he said. Shinod NK, a PhD scholar, when asked about the performance of the current union, said, “Mukesh was accessible to all and that has made his union successful.”

The UoH students' union 2010-11 was dissolved on October 3 following a University General Body Meeting. The new Election Commission (EC), an independent students' apex body that conducts elections, was elected by the students subsequently. The 42-member EC is headed by Suresh Naik, a PhD Economics scholar, according to whom the total number of voters on the campus is around 4,700.

Filing of nominations for various posts started on October 5 and ended on October 12. Campaigning for the polls which started on Oct 12 will continue till Oct 16. The campaign will finish on Oct 17 in style with the candidates in the fray taking part in a debate a la the US presidential poll at an event called the "Open Dias." The voting will take place on Oct 18 and the results will be out the next day. UoH elections are set on a par with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) elections by the Lyngdoh Commission, as a major election and the results are talked about even at the Centre in New Delhi. Unfortunately, JNU has not witnessed elections since 2007.

Where is it going!!

When South Sudan separated itself from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011 after a
four decade long struggle, South Sudan born 25 year old Mahmoud felt that a revolution which lasted so long does not bring any development to the region. “It was a struggle
for our rights including education and employment, and now we have to
start from scratch as we lost everything in the civil war”.

Zhang and Entzu, who are Media Communication students and hail from
China said they were closely following the Telangana struggle in
Hyderabad. Their only complaint is that their classes are disrupted
and their daily life has been vastly affected. Zhang says, “We do not
know if it was safe to go out at nights with so many outbreaks of
strikes. The cause may be genuine but ends need not always justify the
means,” indicating that common people should not be made scape goats
for political benefits of a few. When reminded about China's affairs
with Tibet, where china had taken control of the region through a
military act, Entzu confronted saying Telangana and Tibet were two
different issues altogether.

32 year old Berhanu who was doing PhD English in Osmania University
said he was unaware of justice being with which side. He added that he
was a kid when he witnessed a civil rights movement in his country and
the memories were still afresh. “As international students, we are
confronting lots of problems especially when epicenter of such a
struggle being OU. Our studies are affected and we are answerable to
our governments as we are here on scholarships,” he added

Ali from Iraq, who pursues PhD in EFLU when reminded of indigenous
peoples' struggle, reminisced his days spent under the authoritarian
Saddam Hussain. “We wanted a political turnaround and hoped for a
change till America came and destroyed everything we had. Our country
is poor now. We could have achieved better status had we planned
everything properly,” he said.

Where as two African youths from Zambia turned hostile when asked what
they felt about the movement here in Telangana. They said, “we have
come here through international scholarships and we do not care about the
things happening around even though it is a disturbance.” Insisting on
a comment from him, he laughs and says, “Probably our country would be
smaller than Telangana”.

Tolotra from Madagascar had a different yet similar story to tell.
“The struggle back home is not a very popular one. The islands
surrounding the mainland have been revolting for autonomous status and
I think it is basically driven by corrupt, power thirsty politicians,”
he recollected.

We have got a lot to learn from history. Yet we are stubborn to make

mistakes and learn, is what my dear friend Anil comments when asked about his responses.

Progressive writer to Revolutionary!

“But because I tried to extend your liberties,

Mine was curtailed.

Because I tried to rear the temple of freedom for you all,

I was thrown into the cell of a felon’s jail.

Because I tried to give you voice of truth,

I was condemned to silence.

You may say this is not a public question,

But it is!”

-Remembering Dr. Ramanadham

It was a late evening. Walking up and down talking over the phone, inside the small flat at Lakshmi Apartments near Malakpet, Prof. Varavara Rao was giving his response on the ‘Million march’ by Telangana activists on March 10. The old disorganized flat with loads of books, magazines and newspapers confirmed the fact that I was at the right place.

Varavara Rao is a communist, activist, naxalite sympathizer, renowned poet, journalist, literary critic, and a well known public speaker from Andhra Pradesh. He has been writing poetry for the last four decades. He is considered as one of the best Marxist critics in Telugu literature and has taught Telugu literature to undergraduate and graduate students for about 40 years. He is commonly known as an orator and had addressed hundreds of public gatherings. He had founded Srujana (creation), a forum for modern literature in Telugu, in 1966 as quarterly and later turned it into a monthly and successfully brought it out till 1992. He was associated with many a progressive and revolutionary journal in Telugu.

Varavara Rao was born on 3 November 1940 into a middle-class Telugu Brahmin family in a village called Chinna Pendyala in Warangal district. He did his Bachelors in Telugu, Political science and Science. And later he completed his Masters in Telugu literature from Osmania University. He has been publishing his poetry since 1958. After MA, he registered himself for Ph.D. to pursue research on poetry, but later left research to join a private college at Siddipet, Medak district as a lecturer. From there he switched over to Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, New Delhi to work as a Publication Assistant. Soon he left the job to join as a lecturer in another private college at Jadcherla, Mahabubnagar district. He joined the government C.K.M. College in Warangal in 1968 and taught Telugu literature till 1998, when he took his retirement. He completed his post-doctoral research in ‘Oral traditions’ in Naxal movement literature based on Jananatya mandali songs, from University of Hyderabad in 1994.

He is well known for his poetries, literary criticisms and social commentaries. He has been writing for news dailies apart from fighting cases against him in courts, and openly supporting the Naxal movement in the country. He has published 11 anthologies so far, which are Chali Negallu (Camp Fires, 1968), Jeevanaadi (Pulse, 1970), Ooregimpu (Procession, 1973), Swechcha (Freedom, 1978), Samudram (Ocean, 1983), Bhavishyathu Chitrapatam (Portrait of the Future, 1986) was banned immediately, Muktakantam (Free Throat, 1990), Aa Rojulu (Those Days, 1998), and Unnadedo Unnattu (As it is, 2000),Baghdad Chantravanta and Mounam Yudhaneram (during Iraq war,2003), Anthasuthram(2006). He published his prison dairies named ‘Sahacharulu’ or ‘Captive Imagination’ with the help of The Indian Express daily in 1990. ‘Sahas Gadha’ is another collection of anthologies by Prof. Rao. His 50-years collection of anthologies is also available.

Varavara rao was born into a financially dying family. He was one among the ten children. He recollects that the eldest of the two brothers were full time activists of Pre-independence Congress party and fought against the Nizam of Hyderabad. So, reforms like anti untouchability and anti caste system existed in the family though they were part of the forward castes. He was highly influenced by the writings of Srirangam Srinivasarao, popularly known as Sri Sri. His writings were mostly contemporary and issues affecting the day to day life of common man. Rao was greatly carried away by his book Maha Prasthanam (The Great Journey)

Transformation towards revolutionary ideas started in Varavara Rao's mind during his tenure in Mahabubnagar district. He thought of publishing a journal to be a forum of modern Telugu literature. He founded a group, by name ‘Saahithee Mithrulu’ (friends of literature) in Warangal and started bringing out the journal from November 1966. Srujana initially was totally devoted to modern literature, scientific thinking, progressive outlook and experimenting, without any outspoken commitment towards any particular philosophical outlook. But it was the time the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution on the international arena and Naxalbari on the national scene was happening. Warangal was one of the earliest centers in Andhra Pradesh to have responded to the call of Naxalbari. By that time Varavara Rao returned to Warangal to join CKM College as a lecturer in 1968. In 1969 Warangal witnessed the sprouting of a literary group, ‘Thirugabadu Kavulu’ (Rebel Poets), who associated them with the armed struggle going on in Srikakulam then. Naturally Varavara Rao was the moving force behind this group and openly called for an armed struggle against the state through his poetries and public speeches.

A number of young writers and artists openly came out with their solidarity to the fighting masses.Some illustrious figures like Sri Sri and Kutumba Rao from older generation joined hands with the young blood in the cause of the people. Under the influence of the three-year old people’s armed struggle in Srikakulam, a yearlong effort in the literary field brought Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writer’s Association) into existence. Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Vi-ra-sam) declared that the martyred revolutionary poet Subba Rao Panigrahi as its source of inspiration. Varavara Rao was one of the founder members of Virasam. Since its inception he has been on its executive committee.

As a spokesperson of Virasam, Varavara Rao toured whole of Andhra Pradesh and addressed several meetings. He had to convert Srujana into a monthly to enable it to carry the revolutionary message far and wide. He never relinquished writing poetry throughout this hectic period of teaching in a college, speaking at public meetings and editing a highly respected literary monthly.

Varavara Rao’s literary and political activism prompted the Government of AP to book him under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in 1973. The High Court judgment asked the government not to resort to such actions against writers unless their writings have an immediate and direct bearing in a physical action. Soon the government booked all the revolutionary poets under a conspiracy case called the Secunderabad Conspiracy Case in 1974, and the trial went on for a long 15 years. Rao was released on bail in April 1975. He was again arrested on 26 June 1975, on the eve of proclamation of Indian Emergency. Though all the prisoners were released on the day when Emergency was lifted, Varavara Rao was arrested and was kept behind the bars for a week more on a fresh MISA warrant. He was released only when the new Janata Party government repealed the Act itself.

In July 1985, he undertook an all India tour visiting Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, New Delhi and Tamil Nadu to make the people aware of the repression that was going on in Andhra Pradesh. His close associate Dr. Ramanatham was killed by Warangal police and He was not able to move freely in Andhra Pradesh. Warangal has become a forbidden place for him. Armed and unarmed anti social elements and police in civil clothes attacked his house on several occasions. Harassment against his friends in the movement was also mounted. Taking into consideration all these developments, Varavara Rao chose to cancel his bail in Secunderabad Conspiracy Case. On his request, his bail was cancelled and he was sent to jail on 26 December 1985. While he was in jail, he was booked under another case called Ramnagar Conspiracy case in 1986 and the trial went on for 17 years. In 2003 he was acquitted.

In 2001, the TDP Government accepted a proposal to have peace negotiations with the Naxalites and the then Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Peoples War announced the names of Varavara Rao and Gaddar as its emissaries to work out modalities for the proposed talks. The Naxalite party was under ban at that time. The talks were a failure. The Congress came to power in May 2004 and initiated the talks’ process in June. This time around the then Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Peoples War named Varavara Rao, Gaddar and novelist G Kalyana Rao as its emissaries. But after the encounter killings of some naxalites in January 2005, the Naxalite parties withdrew from the process on 16 January. The peace process ended with the imposition of ban on CPI (Maoist), Virasam and some other people’s organizations on 18 August 2005.

He had to face a lot of mental harassment and physical assaults throughout his life. He survived several attempts on his life by mercenaries of landlords, the state as well as anti-social elements. He has been living in Hyderabad since 1990. He was in an exile from AP due to severe life threats during 2001-04. He is married to Hemalatha who has been a strong support and a true partner throughout his life. They have three girl children and all of them have been on the same path as their parents.

A class-less society with social equality and justice for all is a dream that he carries in his heart. Prof. Rao says his sympathy and support for naxalites who are the real patriotic citizens will continue until death, and that is a right provided by the constitution. “I am a citizen of this land even if I don’t enjoy being one, and I have all the rights that a normal citizen of the country could enjoy,” concludes Prof. Rao.

Generics over the brands

Over the years, prejudices about health care have been instilled in the minds of common man and one such overwhelming conception is that ‘quality is synonymous with high prices’. Need not be always. It is the common Indian mentality to set down ‘economical’ as ‘cheap’.

India has made huge advancements in the field of medical sciences and has proved its ability in producing quality branded generic medicines in most of the therapeutic categories. Although these medicines are placed in the market at reasonable prices as compared to the prices of their equivalents in most other countries, a large section of poor people in the country find it difficult to afford the more expensive category of branded medicines. This was the driving force behind launching the Jeevan Dhara- Generic Drug Campaign.

Visakhapatnam district collector J. Syamala Rao says that the key objective of the campaign is to ensure availability of quality medicines at affordable prices to all.

World Health Organization (WHO) defines a generic drug as “a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovator product that is manufactured without license from the innovator company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights.” Generic drugs are basically copies of off-patent brand name drugs that come in the same dosage, safety, strength, and quality and for the same intended use. They are also referred to as ‘Unbranded Formulations’.

A branded medicine is one which is produced by the innovator; and a generic medicine is one which is an equivalent and which is produced by companies other than the innovator company. “When seen from this angle, almost all medicines produced in our country are generic equivalents,” says the collector.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, an Act regulating and enforcing the Standard of Drugs in this country made no distinction between the brand and generic drugs, and as such have to comply with all the parameters prescribed under the Act, which only concludes that the drugs of the same composition and indication whether available in brand or generic names are of Standard Quality as long as they comply with the specifications or standards prescribed under the Act.

The companies in India give their own names to these generic drugs and become the ‘brand names’ or ‘branded generics’. Corporate companies spend huge money to promote and move their brands in the market by offering their own schemes to the doctors. When asked some of the outpatients at King George Hospital (KGH), they say doctors themselves prefer prescribing branded medicines over the government promoted generic medicines.

According to the collector, the coverage of quality generic medicines would reduce the unit cost of treatment per person. For example, Satheesh Kumar, store boy at KGH, Vizag, says that branded MetoprolXL 25 tablets are available at the average market rate of Rs. 42 for a pack of 10 tablets. Its generic is sold at Rs. 25 in Sanjeevani stores.

The cost of generic drugs averages 40 to 60% below the cost of the innovator or brand name drug. Experts state that a generic drug is pharmaceutically and therapeutically equivalent to the branded drug. “The reason for generic drugs not getting popular is due to the lack of awareness among people, and doctors not prescribing them. Hence doctors should prescribe generic drugs to the poor patients as a humanitarian gesture,” says Syamala Rao.

According to the Jeevan Dhara scheme, there are eight Sanjeevani outlets established and are being run with the help of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). “The wide positive response from the people was obvious and we wish to have more such pharmaceutical stores at their disposal in the district,” DRDA project manager, Dasari Ratnakar, observed. The existing eight stores in the city have made a whopping Rs 85 lakh, and the public demand for more such units in the rural areas as well, he added.

The days when high cost of drugs deprived patients of treatment should be part of history. And this is only a new beginning to a new history.

UoH Dispatch diaries- 'Student Concerns', Yet None Concerned!

Food courts on the UoH campus are charging more than the prescribed rates from the students. On top of it, these food joints are poorly maintained much to the chagrin of the students.

The Campus Amenities Committee (CAC), which fixes the rates for the food items in the campus, recommended that the rate for a plate of curd rice should be Rs. 13. But they charge Rs.25 at GOPS. While CAC’s rate for chicken curry is Rs.25, some shops in the campus are collecting Rs.50. Similarly, the CAC fixed Rs.18 as the price for a plate of dal rice but they collect Rs.20 for it.

In an investigation carried out by the UoH Dispatch, it was found that almost all the food joints are collecting their own rates on certain food items throwing the CAC recommendations to the winds. When enquired, some shop owners as well as students, said that they are not aware of a body called CAC and their recommended prices.

“It is unfair to collect more money from students,” says Abhilash, MA History. In fact, the CAC had come up with its latest revised rates of food items to be sold in all canteens or food joints inside the campus in the month of August, considering the increasing prices of food commodities. It is shocking to know that some of the major dishes served do not follow the rates mentioned in the list.

When asked about these differences in the rates suggested by CAC and the rates charged by the shop owners, Prof. G. Uma Maheswara Rao, Head, CAC, said: “We are unaware of such issues”. “If such things (discrepancies) are brought to the notice of administration, severe action would be taken,” he added.

A canteen owner made it clear that he was charging more because he was serving more. But Prof. Rao is not ready to buy this argument. “Why do they have to serve more for a plate and charge more? They are supposed to charge only for what they are asked to serve,” he said.

Maintenance and hygiene:

The eating joint at shopping complex remains testimony to the sorry state of affairs. Water deposited on the ceiling leaks even when it does not rain and the doors are eaten up by termites. The kitchen walls are full of soot, thanks to the poor maintenance.

The rents for these shops were hiked last year and also maintenance charge of Rs. 500 is collected every month. One of the eatery owners said that he was not allowed to modify or renovate his shop. “I have filed so many applications for the modification of the shop, but have not received any response from the administration so far,” he maintained.

“It is extremely difficult to hang out at GOPS when it rains, the water totally pours in. Why did not anyone raise this issue and ask for a tarpaulin cover?” Sharath of MSc Physics observed.

Contracts:

The shops at shopping complex, food court at GOPS and the various canteens around the campus are let out on lease for a year and could be extended for another year by the University administration. But it is seen that these shops and canteens have been running by the same individuals over the past few decades. Every year fresh tenders are called but the shops are let out on lease to the same individuals. The call for tenders is also a mode of revenue as the applications are sold for a certain sum of money.

Some shops are even let out for rent by the people who actually have taken it on lease from the university. There have been instances where shops have been transferred to a new owner which is against the rules. The shop/canteen owner has no rights over the property, which belongs to the university. “Sub-letting of these shops without university’s notice is actually very dangerous,” says a senior student who was a previous student union member. He adds that in the case of an accident, say food poisoning, it will become highly troublesome and complicated for the administration.

Responding to this, Prasanna Kumar, Deputy Registrar of Estates Section, says: “We are seriously looking into the sub-letting issues related to shops and canteens. We cannot allow this to happen.”

building on dreams...

When we declare ourselves the number one university in the country and be proud about our achievements, it is depressing that there is a small section which is not even considered a part of us and yet very much a part of us.

Universities like ours create a base to build the future of the nation. Ironically, it is the very same educational hub, where childhood gets lost in the debacles of daily livelihood.

We are talking about the 400 odd labourers who are part of the construction activities on our campus. The contracted workers are denied basic requirements of a decent living, and are forced to live in conditions which are not better than slums. Their settlements in deserted regions of our campus, and lives in asbestos and tarpaulin sheds with no proper water and sanitation is a major concern.

A student of social sciences shares his views and expresses that gross violation of child rights is one example which is visible through our naked eyes. Child labour is only a by-product of a larger domain of problems faced by these people back home and here on campus. Other issues such as wage differentials, working condition, social security, malnutrition, health and education etc need to found out.

These migratory workers, who have left their homes behind and have been a part of the campus over the past few years, engaging themselves in various developmental activities, have been highly neglected. Since they are migratory and obviously not well educated, they are unaware of the benefits they could claim through governmental policies and schemes. It should be understood that they are also human beings. They deserve a better living. Their children are also the future of our nation, just like we consider ourselves to be are.

Any normal human being can understand by looking at their living that they are not being provided with basic health, nutrition, and sanitation or living conditions. Their children need education and not engage in the work their parents do. There could be serious questions about human rights raised in this matter.

It is not a rare sight to see small children loitering around at popular places of our campus pleading for food and money. Some of them used to go to school and most of them don’t. It has been noticed that most of these workers come from states like Orissa, AP, Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal.

It is still unclear about the actual situation of these workers, and hence a strong student movement is mandatory for the education of these kids. Problems unnoticed shall never come into discussion and it is the responsibility of the university students as messengers, well wishers and socially responsible citizens to create vibrant waves demanding Change, at least in our own backyard. The times have passed when slaves could be made use of by masters for their own profits’ sake. The intention must be to do an in-depth study to create a platform which is vocal about the existing situation and it should be brought to the attention of the authorities so that their conditions could be bettered.