A life battle with Poliomyelitis

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By Neena Bhandari

It was a meek October morning in 1967, only a month away from my third birthday, I had worn my frilled frock and white laced shoes to go and receive the triple polio vaccine. As I sang and danced along the way, making it difficult for my maternal grandfather to keep pace, little did I know that it was the last time I would be walking by myself.

Later that night, I remember my grandmother cuddling my tiny body burning with high fever as I complained of acute pain in my legs. She had carried me to the bathroom, where my legs collapsed.

In the days that followed, many more children like me began pouring into the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur (Rajasthan).  It was two weeks before the outbreak was diagnosed as `Poliomyelitis’. The word didn’t mean much to me then and I certainly didn’t realise the implications it would have for a life just beginning.

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ऑस्ट्रेलिया में एशियाई मूल के छात्रों के साथ क्यों होता है यौन शोषण?

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नीना भंडारी सिडनी से, बीबीसी के लिए, 25 मार्च 2019

रिया सिंह (बदला हुआ नाम) रोज़ाना की तरह सिडनी सेंट्रल स्टेशन से अपनी यूनिवर्सिटी जा रहीं थीं. जैसे ही वो पहले से भरी हुई यूनिवर्सिटी बस में चढ़ीं एक पुरुष कर्मचारी ने उन्हें धक्का देना और सहलाना शुरू कर दिया.

“बीस मिनट की यात्रा के दौरान ये सब चलता रहा. मुझे बहुत बुरा लगा लेकिन मैं डरी हुई थी. मुझे पता नहीं था कि क्या करूं, किसके पास जाऊं. मैंने इस बारे में किसी को नहीं बताया क्योंकि मैं नहीं चाहती थी कि मेरे अभिभावकों को कुछ पता चले, वो शायद समझते भी नहीं.”

“ये ऐसी बात भी नहीं थी कि मैं अपने छोटे भाई से साझा कर सकूं. मैंने अपनी सबसे क़रीबी दोस्त से इस बारे में बात की, वो भी नहीं समझ पाई कि क्या किया जाए.”

2017 में ऑस्ट्रेलियन यूनिवर्सटी में यौन हमलों और यौन उत्पीड़न पर ऑस्ट्रेलियाई मानवाधिकार आयोग ने एक राष्ट्रीय रिपोर्ट प्रकाशित की थी. इस रिपोर्ट का नाम था- चेंज द कोर्स. ये घटना इस रिपोर्ट के आने से कुछ दिन पहले की ही है.
BBC Hindi – https://www.bbc.com/hindi/international-47685347

BBC Marathi – https://www.bbc.com/marathi/international-47689320

BBC Punjabi – https://www.bbc.com/punjabi/international-47686185

BBC Telugu – https://www.bbc.com/telugu/international-47686038

BBC Tamil – https://www.bbc.com/tamil/global-47686639

English Translation – Why is there sexual abuse against students of Asian descent in Australia

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Rural-urban divide in deaths from extreme weather

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.03.2019 (SciDev.Net): People in rural areas are at greater risk of dying from extreme hot and cold temperatures than those living in urban areas, says a new study conducted in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.

Published in March in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study relies on the province’s data on weather, air pollution, population density and mortality gathered from 2009 to 2015 to compare rural and urban mortality in Zhejiang.

Although Asian countries are recording steady urbanisation, a large percentage of population continues to live in villages and towns. The UN’s Population Division predicts that by 2025 about 45 per cent of Asia’s population will still be rural.

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.