A grand success!

Krishna Byre Gowda’s volunteer team conducted a free health and pension camp in Agrahara Layout in North Bangalore. More than 40 doctors from M. S. Ramaiah Medical and Dental College and M. S. Ramaiah Teaching Hospital provided services at the camp. Specialists included OB/GYN, Orthopedicians, Ophthalmologists, General Physicians, Paediatricians, ENT Specialists, Dentists, and Community Medicine specialists.

In addition, the Red Cross screened candidates who could receive free cataract operations and also conducted eye tests in order to provide free eye glasses.

The camp also had a homeopathic unit provided by Soukhya who offered free consultation along with 1000 vials of free swine flu preventive medication to all the camp attendees.

Some prescribed medicines were distributed at no cost to all participants.

The pension camp conducted on site utilised technology to it’s fullest in order to submit forms over the internet directly to the Tahsildhar’s office in charge of verifying and dispensing pensions to widows, seniors and the handicapped.

Some of the handicapped persons who didn’t have a disability certificate were provided one after being vetted by a council of 14 doctors who were also present at the camp. This certification process was greatly appreciated by the participants as they didn’t have to make multiple visits to multiple doctors across various locations in the city.

In all, more than 1400 residents benefited from the health camp and more than 300 pensions were filed for widows, seniors and handicapped residents. The pensions were filed in partnership with COMAT.

Attendees to the camp and the general public were provided a free lunch. More than 2000 people were fed that day!

The inauguration ceremony was chaired by Mr. Krishna Byre Gowda, MLA Byatarayanapura and Mr. Narendra Babu, MLA, Mahalakshmi Layout. In his speech Krishna underlined the need for health camps and cited the incredible attendance as a testament to the need for more primary health care initiatives in these poorer areas. He also announced that Rs. 3 crores had been allocated towards the rebuilding of the sanitary drains in Agrahara Layout which should go a long way in improving the health of the residents.

In addition Krishna, has promised to construct a new toilet block for the students of Agrahara Layout Govt. School. The foundation for the new toilet block was also completed on the day of the camp.

Krishna has always highlighted the need for young persons to participate in shaping Bangalore’s future. His ability to inspire even the most cynical of us into action was attested to by the participation of an army of volunteers. More than 60 students and young professionals from all areas across Bangalore worked shoulder-to-shoulder with local participants to make this camp a grand success!

Agrahara layout health and pension camps

After having cancelled this camp in August due to the scare caused by the swine flu pandemic, we are now back bigger and stronger! In the second debut of this camp, we are delivering more than we have ever before. The following services are being offered:

In the health camp, we will have specialists from M. S. Ramaiah, including General Physicians, General Surgeons, Obstetricians, Gynaecologists, Orthopaedicians, Ophthalmologists, ENT Specialists, Paediatricians, Diabetologists and Community Medicine specialists.In addition, the Red Cross, is providing free cataract operations, free eyeglasses and free hearing aids. Medicines will also be distributed at no cost at this camp.

And in Krishna’s spirit of creating lasting change, we are also conducting a pension camp for seniors, widows and the handicapped. They will have their applications filled, get their age/disability certified, receive necessary photographs and have their applications filed with the right department in the government. This will be a one-stop-solution to the huge problem involved in the filing of these applications. Our volunteers will also follow up on these applications and see that they will be delivered.

To sign up as a volunteer, please click here, or to learn about the work done so far by our volunteers, click here.

We need a pro-choice voice
The Supreme Court has ruled in the positive by stating that parents should be given the choice to select the medium of instruction for their children in primary schools. Most parents in our country today work hard only to ensure a secure future for their children. They dream of their children moving ahead and away from the lack of opportunity that beckoned them in their time. They dream of a life where their children surge ahead in today’s globalised world. This surge ahead might mean being an integral component in today’s globalised environment where language skills become extremely important to stay competitive. Taking away this one competitive edge will turn very counter productive.
Using English as a medium of instruction in primary schools does not in any way undermine or dilute the impact, effect and strength of local languages or one’s own mother tongue. Instead of interfering with the medium of instruction in primary schools, the emphasis should be on some out of the box solutions to upkeep and promote our heritage, culture and sanctity of local languages. The thought should be toward instilling the confidence and pride back into being who we are and where we are from. How we might manage to do that by teaching Science and Math in Kannada still remains a big mystery. The other point that has been raised is that the grasping power in children is best in their mother tongue. While that is true, it cannot be undermined that the ages in question are probably the best years where children have the ability to absorb multiple languages. While one of the options should be to mandate the mother tongue or the local language as a subject in schools, the medium of instruction should be left alone and to the choice of the parents.
This should not be a debate of the choice of languages or that of the state v/s court but a well thought out and pragmatic voice that would ensure the future of our children in today’s highly competitive world.

"The buck starts here", an article about Krishna in JADE magazine

In the August issue of Jade Magazine, an article aimed to take a closer look at Krishna and his life. In addition to examining Krishna's political motivation, this feature touches on the kind of music Krishna listens to, the books he reads and the myriad reasons why he is actually known as an approachable and down-to-earth person. Read the full article on Jade's website by clicking here.

Thank you for voting

Dear South Bangalorean,

The things we enjoy -- our growing economy, a thriving democracy, and a people that look optimistically to the future -- come at a price. If it’s the duty of a country to bestow the best of opportunities to every one of it’s people, it’s the duty of a citizenry to choose leaders that can make these dreams real. We owe it to ourselves and our future generations to vote.

Thank you for taking your civic duty seriously. Thank you for voting.

Sincerely,

Krishna Byre Gowda

Jairam Ramesh debunks claims

Dear Friend,



I have had the chance to assess in detail some of the claims being
made by the BJP on the work done by the Congress-led UPA government on
the economy, and I think it is safe to say that there is at least one
party that adheres strongly to the belief that if you repeat a lie
often enough, people will come to start believing it.

In response to 5 big myths that the BJP is attempting to propagate, we 
have prepared a short document that lays out the facts. The full
document is available here.

The following is a brief summary:

Myth 1

The Congress has "mismanaged the economy and it is in recession"
Fact: The BJP's claim of the economy being in recession is both
technically and substantively untrue. India's average economic growth
rate during the five years of the UPA government was 8.5%, compared to
5.8% under the NDA. Even in the last year of the UPA government, when
the world economy went into recession, India's growth remains
resilient (and was higher than it was during the NDA regime).



Myth 2

The Congress led government has "hobbled both the organised
and unorganised sectors of the Indian economy"
Fact: The growth rate of the industry and services sectors increased
from 5.0% and 7.7.% under the NDA to 7.8% and 10.5% under the UPA
respectively. In addition, the UPA instituted landmark programmes for
the unorganised sector (such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for
workers) which did not exist under the NDA.



Myth 3

The Congress' "fiscal indiscipline has resulted in frittering
away the tremendous gains of the NDA years"
Fact: The UPA has actually reduced the fiscal deficit from 6.0% under
the NDA to 4.5% under the UPA. The UPA has done this even as it as
substantially increased funds for social programmes such as the SSA,
NHRM, NREGA, Bharat Nirman, etc. and has given much higher sums of
money to all State governments (Rs 544,000 crore more than the NDA).



Myth 4

The agriculture sector (is) "suffering on account of the
Congress' gross negligence"
Fact: Agriculture growth rate has actually increased significantly
under the UPA government to 3.1 % as opposed to 2.3% under the NDA.
for wheat and paddy, for example, the MSP was increased by 71% and 68%
respectively. The UPA also implemented the historic farm loan waiver
programme benefitting 3.68 crore farmer families.



Myth 5

The UPA Government has given a "step motherly treatment to
BJP ruled states" during its rule
Fact: The Congress led UPA Government has given more funds to the BJP
ruled states than the NDA government even conceived of giving. The
Congress-led UPA government increased Central Funding to the four
BJP-ruled States . Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Rajasthan
. by 63% (increase of Rs 73,824 crore) in its tenure, compared to the
NDA government.

As always, please feel free to share this document with others, in
order to generate informed discussion and decision-making.



Best Regards,


Jairam Ramesh

Coordinator,
Election Related Affairs,

Lok Sabha Elections 2009,
Indian National Congress

jairam@congress.org.in

"Everybody wants a young representative. It is time for a change..."

This article was written by Ms. Supriya Khandekar of the "Citizen Matters" website. It is a simple interview where Supriya has asked several important questions that most concern voters. Krishna answers characteristically in a direct, unvarnished and unadulterated manner. Read more to learn more about Krishna by clicking here.

Krishna shares a cup of coffee with the other candidates

Krishna living up to his characteristic approachale self and talking to people of the audience

Reporters ask Krishna more about his methods of bringing more transparency in the government