Naked patients at mental hospital: Rights panel sends notice to WB govt

Transcription

1 Naked patients at mental hospital: Rights panel sends notice to WB govt Aug 19, 2016 New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the West Bengal government over reports of an NGO finding some mentallychallenged men and women patients lying naked on dirty floor at a government hospital on Independence Day. "They had not bathed or shaved for months, had visible signs of various diseases. The toilets were so filthy that nobody could use them. The bed sheets were full of bugs," the NHRC on thursday said. In a statement, the Commission said it has taken a suo motu cognisance of a media report that "a team of NGO Anjali visited Berhampore Mental Hospital on Independence Day and found naked men and women, all mentally-ill patients, lying on dirty floors in a very bad condition." The NHRC has issued the notice to the Chief Secretary of the West Bengal government and sought for a detailed report on the state of affairs in that hospital along with the status of other mental hospitals run by the state government. It has also asked its Special Rapporteur, East Zone, Domodar Sarangi, to assess the situation on the ground and submit a report to the Commission. The state government as well as the Special Rapporteur have been given eight weeks to respond, it said. Reportedly, the Hospital Superintendent of Berhampore Mental Hospital refused to make any comments on it when approached by the NGO team. The Chief Medical Officer also denied the calls made by the NGO, the NHRC statement said. The Commission, reiterating its commitment towards the promotion and protection of rights of mentally ill persons, has observed that the contents of the news report are "distressing".

2 According to the media report, carried on August 17, there are about 430 patients, including men and women, staying at the Berhampore Mental Hospital at present. "There is no facility of laundry, no barber and bathrooms are in such a bad condition that the patients often fall on the ground and hurt themselves," it said.

3 Naked patients at mental hospital: Rights panel sends notice to WB govt 19 August, 2016 New Delhi : The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the West Bengal government over reports of an NGO finding some mentallychallenged men and women patients lying naked on dirty floor at a government hospital on Independence Day. "They had not bathed or shaved for months, had visible signs of various diseases. The toilets were so filthy that nobody could use them. The bed sheets were full of bugs," the NHRC on thursday said. In a statement, the Commission said it has taken a suo motu cognisance of a media report that "a team of NGO Anjali visited Berhampore Mental Hospital on Independence Day and found naked men and women, all mentally-ill patients, lying on dirty floors in a very bad condition." The NHRC has issued the notice to the Chief Secretary of the West Bengal government and sought for a detailed report on the state of affairs in that hospital along with the status of other mental hospitals run by the state government.

4 NHRC committed to good governance: HL Dattu Aug 19, 2016 NEW DELHI: The chairperson of National Human Rights Commission and former Chief Justice of India - Justice H L Dattu said on Friday that the growing population and deep-seated organised political or systematic corruption are the two main hindrances in the good governance affecting the development of the country. Citing examples of Right to Information Act and the digital India campaign, he said that there has been some progress in bringing transparency in governance and fighting the simpler forms of corruption but deep-seated organized political or systematic corruption can paralyze a nation. "A country cannot be considered having good governance, if the people of that country are corrupt and the population grows rapidly. Corruption destroys economic foundations, impedes the ability of developing countries to attract foreign investment. It also hinders the growth of democratic institutions affecting human rights," Justice Dattu said. Justice Dattu was inaugurating a two day national seminar on "Good governance, development and human rights", organized by NHRC in collaboration with the National Law University at its New Delhi campus. At the same event, professor Ranbir Singh (Vice Chancellor, NLU) said that with more and more people with criminal background getting elected to parliament, how could anyone expect that human rights will be protected. "The best way to combat corruption is that the governments must strive to rid

5 themselves of corruption and bribery. They should become accountable and transparent in order to preserve the integrity of democracy," Justice Dattu said. He further added that "corruption typically diverts funding from state budgets which should be dedicated to the full realization of all human rights. We need to promote more researches for finding tenable solutions to end the menace of corruption." "Without achieving certain optimum standards of efficiency, it would be difficult for the country to reach the 17 new sustainable developments goals set by United Nations for overall improvements of society," he added. Former CJI said that NHRC is committed to good governance towards the protection and promotion of human rights of all. Dr Ranjit Singh, Joint Secretary, NHRC said that the good governance is a feel good factor. The country can reap the benefits of its demographic dividend only by ensuring good governance leading to realization of human rights for all," Singh said.

6 Growing population & corruption main hindrances to good governance: HL Dattu Progress has been made in bringing transparency in governance, but deep-seated organized political corruption can still paralyse a nation, said NHRC chairperson HL Dattu August 19, 2016 Growing population and corruption are the two main hindrances in the way of good governance and development of the country, NHRC Chairperson Justice HL Dattu said in New Delhi, on Friday. There has been some progress in bringing transparency in governance and fighting the simpler forms of corruption but deep-seated organized political or systematic corruption can paralyse a nation, he said. Dattu was addressing the inaugural session of a two-day seminar on Good governance, development and human rights, organized by NHRC in collaboration with the National Law University at its campus in New Delhi. The best way to combat corruption is that the governments must strive to rid themselves of corruption and bribery. They should become accountable and transparent in order to preserve the integrity of democracy, he added. The NHRC Chairperson said that corruption typically diverts funding from state budgets which should be dedicated to the full realisation of all human rights. We need to promote more researches for finding tenable solutions to end the menace of corruption. Without achieving certain optimum standards of efficiency, it would be difficult for the country to reach the 17 new sustainable developments goals set by United Nations for overall improvements of society, he said. A country cannot be considered having good governance, if the people of that country are corrupt and the population grows rapidly. Corruption destroys

7 economic foundations, impedes the ability of developing countries to attract foreign investment, he added. The seminar divided into various academic and thematic sessions will be addressed by several prominent speakers to identify the areas of concerns impeding good governance and realisation of human rights for all.