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The Hindu
12 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
A childhood snatched, a future denied
V. Haritha isn't sure how old she was when she got married. 'I was just 14, maybe,' she says, adjusting a child on her hip while two more play nearby. Now 18, she is a mother of three, living in Gangaraju Madugula, a remote village about 120 km from Visakhapatnam, nestled in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. The village is home to tribal communities such as the Kondhs and Porajas, listed among India's Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Access to education, healthcare and steady income remains limited in the region, and families often make difficult decisions in the face of poverty and isolation. For many girls like Haritha, that includes getting married — and becoming mothers — while still in their teens. Standing beside her is 16-year-old S. Rupa, eight months pregnant. She married a 24-year-old man a year ago. 'My father couldn't afford to feed all of us. I am the third girl. He had no choice,' she explains with practiced calm. Teenage girls like Haritha and Rupa, married young and already mothers, are not exceptions in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Their stories are part of a larger trend documented in the Round Seven of the Work and Family Lives: Young Lives Survey, released in Hyderabad on May 30 this year. The study began in 2002 in the then-undivided Andhra Pradesh, selected as one of four global sites alongside Ethiopia, Peru and Vietnam. 'The State was chosen because of its early push to economic reforms — initiatives such as Vision 2020 and privatisation made it an ideal setting to study how liberalisation impacted children over time,' says E. Revathi, director of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies and lead investigator of the study in India. Using a longitudinal, mixed-methods approach, the study tracked 2,000 one-year-olds and 1,000 eight-year-olds across 20 sentinel sites — urban and rural clusters selected based on development indicators. Over 23 years, researchers followed these children across Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana, documenting how they grew up, studied, worked, got married and had children. While some indicators improved, one pattern remained stubbornly visible: the prevalence of early marriage and teenage pregnancies. One of those tracked was Kamakshi, a girl from the Goya tribal community in Mahbubnagar, Telangana. She was just 11 when she was married off to a 16-year-old relative. Her parents, struggling with poverty and homelessness, saw marriage as a way to reduce their burden. 'She was eight when we first met her in 2002,' recalls P. Prudhvikar Reddy, one of the field researchers. 'By our second visit in 2006, she was already married. And by 2013, she was raising three children.' Now 29, Kamakshi is a grandmother. One of her daughters was married before she turned 18; another, who is out of school, lives with a relative in Jogulamba Gadwal. 'I could not leave her alone at home while I went to work,' says Kamakshi, who makes a living through daily wage work, by frequenting the labour addas of Chandrayangutta, Hyderabad — just 100 km from Mahbubnagar. In forest-fringed Chittoor of Andhra Pradesh, a Scheduled Tribe girl from Bangarupalem recounts her troubled marriage to a 28-year-old daily wage labourer, now working near Tamil Nadu border. In October 2023, local police and activists intervened to stop her child marriage. The families agreed to delay it until she turned 18. 'But just two days later, my father took me to a temple of our village goddess, near Kolar in Karnataka. The wedding was conducted in the presence of a few relatives. From there, I was taken to Bengaluru, where I worked as a housemaid in a posh locality while my husband took up a job as a truck driver,' she shares. Within a month, she got pregnant. After she gave birth to a girl, her husband vanished without a word. She waited three months before returning to her parents' home in Chittoor. 'He came back a few months ago, promising he will never abandon us again. But I know, he is not just a drunkard but also a liar,' she says, her laughter tinged with resignation. In the Bangarupalem-Palamaner belt, considered a hotspot for child marriage, the Rural Organisation for Poverty Eradication Services (ROPES), a 35-year-old NGO, has intervened in several cases. 'Just in the last couple of years, we have stopped over 200 child marriages in these two mandals. The numbers are slowly falling compared to previous decades, but the threat still looms in silence,' says K. Dhanasekharan, chairman of the NGO. Data doesn't lie While the National Family Health Survey (2019-20) noted a modest drop in teenage pregnancies — from 8% to 7% — the Young Lives study painted a starker picture. In Telangana alone, 20% of women were married before the age of 18, and 28% had a child before they turned 19. Early marriage and motherhood continue to limit educational and economic prospects, though the overall trend is declining, note researchers. Among the younger cohort tracked by the study, 13% were married before 18 whereas 18% had become mothers by 19. The figures were higher among the older cohort (25% and 27%, respectively), suggesting gradual improvement over time. Some of that change is reflected in the trajectory of K. Mona, 31, who lives in a packed slum in northwest Hyderabad. A participant in the Young Lives study since 2002, Mona was just eight when her father died. With no government school nearby and her mother unable to afford private fees, her education ended in Class V. While her mother worked long hours as a domestic worker — leaving at 10 a.m. and returning after a 12-hour shift — Mona stayed home, read the Bible and dabbled in stitching. Her elder sisters, sent to relatives in Machilipatnam, managed to study further: one became a lecturer after completing her MBA, the other a teacher after earning a degree in engineering. Mona remained behind to help her mother and took up odd jobs, including at a local medical store, where she met her future husband, a driver. She got married at 20 and her husband, she says, remains her biggest support. With his encouragement, Mona completed her Class 10 through open schooling. 'I can read now. I understand English even if I can't speak or write. I help my children with their homework,' she says with quiet pride. Her seven-year-old son studies in a private school and wants to join the Army; her five-year-old daughter, who goes to the neighbourhood Anganwadi school, dreams of becoming a doctor. Sometimes, Mona wonders what her life might have been. 'If my father had lived, if there had been a school nearby... things would have been different,' she says, tears welling up. 'My sisters got chances that I didn't. It was not anyone's fault — just the place, the time, the options we had.' A different trajectory Just a few lanes away from her resides 22-year-old Jiya, another participant in the Young Lives study, enrolled when she was just a year old. Raised in the same slum as Mona, Jiya's journey has taken a different course, shaped by steady parental support, access to education and self-assured ambition. Her father, a local pastor, made it clear from the start: her education came first. Petite and poised, dressed in lavender trousers and a crisp white top, Jiya is a BSc (Mathematics) graduate from a private college in Hyderabad. Over the past few years, she has held two jobs — first at the help desk of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, then at a customer service firm in the city. As a child, she had wanted to be a teacher. By her teens, she was training to become an air hostess. She cleared two rounds of interviews with a Middle Eastern airline, only to be rejected in the final round for something as trivial as a pimple. 'It upset me, of course, but not enough to make me give up,' she says. She took up the help desk job in Hyderabad anyway, travelling four km by bus every day, dressed in a blazer and formals. 'I liked the work, but the pay — ₹17,000 a month — and the atmosphere weren't great. The men passed uncomfortable comments,' she says. With her parents' support, she chose to walk away and pursue higher studies instead. She continued her open degree alongside a year of air hostess training and later joined a call centre, earning over ₹20,000. But the night shifts triggered persistent migraines, forcing her to quit last month. Now, Jiya is preparing to join an IT firm. Marriage isn't on her mind just yet. 'Maybe in a few years,' she shrugs. 'If I find someone I want to share my life with, I will think about it. But for now, I am focused on work and stability.' Growth on paper, gaps on ground One of the key factors contributing to the shift in social practices, particularly the delay in early marriages, has been the growing presence of social welfare residential schools across both States. Andhra Pradesh currently has over 590 such schools under the Tribal Welfare Department; Telangana has 158. These fully residential institutions offer free meals, three times a day, along with education, which has encouraged parents from tribal and low-income communities to send their children, especially girls, to school. 'By the time a student completes school here, they are around 17 years old. That alone has significantly reduced the likelihood of marriage before 18,' says an official from the Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare Department. Economic indicators in both States show impressive growth. Andhra Pradesh recorded a Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth of 12.94% in 2024, with balanced gains across agriculture, industry and services. Telangana followed with a GSDP growth of 10.1%, driven largely by industry and IT services. Yet, this economic momentum hasn't resulted in proportionate investment in social sectors. And until social development keeps pace with economic growth, the burden of inequality will continue to fall on the most vulnerable — young girls at the margins.
Free Malaysia Today
06-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Vision 2020 plaque removed for safety reasons, says KL Tower
Visitors queuing up to enter the Kuala Lumpur Tower after its reopening. The Vision 2020 time capsule was opened on April 13. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A plaque marking where the Vision 2020 time capsule was planted at the Kuala Lumpur Tower was removed for safety reasons, according to the skyscraper's operator. LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd said the plaque originally functioned as a cover for the special chamber where the time capsule was located, but could no longer be securely closed after the capsule was opened on April 13. 'This posed a risk of injury to visitors passing by the area. Therefore, it was removed for safety reasons, in line with the management's priority to ensure the well-being of all visitors,' said the company's CEO Khairil Faizal Othman in a statement. Khairil added that there were no longer any historical elements or artifacts stored in the chamber after the time capsule was opened by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He also said the plaque had not been discarded but has been 'properly stored' by the company, though he did not elaborate on its whereabouts. Khairil also denied that the company intended to erase or alter history by removing the plaque, in response to a claim by Bersatu MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan. He said: 'All actions taken were based on safety considerations, corporate compliance, and a commitment to preserving the legacy of KL Tower.' Khairil added that the plaque featured the tower's old corporate logo and that it cannot be used for official display in line with the skyscraper's rebranding. Earlier today, Wan Saiful reportedly urged communications minister Fahmi Fadzil to explain why the plaque had been removed, saying it should have stayed put since it was meant to commemorate the time capsule planted in 1996. The Tasek Gelugor MP questioned if the government was attempting to erase history, particularly Mahathir's role in planting the time capsule.
Malaysiakini
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Bersatu MP questions alleged removal of Vision 2020 plaque
Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan questioned the government's intentions after a plaque marking the location of the Vision 2020 time capsule at KL Tower was allegedly removed. The Bersatu supreme council member urged Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil to clarify why the plaque, which commemorates an event officiated by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was taken down. 'The plaque and its location...
Hans India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
MSMEs in all 175 constituencies: Min Bharath
Kurnool: Minister for Industries, Commerce and Food Processing, TG Bharath, announced that the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh is committed to fulfilling its promise of creating 2 million jobs for the youth by setting up industries across the State. On Monday, the minister inaugurated the MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Park at Guttapadu village, Orvakal mandal, Kurnool district. Speaking at the event, Minister Bharath emphasized that the visionary idea of establishing industrial parks in all 175 assembly constituencies is unparalleled in India and credited Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for conceptualizing and implementing it. He recalled that when Naidu spoke about Vision 2020 during the undivided Andhra Pradesh era, many dismissed it. 'Development stems from a clear vision,' Bharath remarked, highlighting the importance of education and skill training for securing jobs in today's competitive landscape. He elaborated on the government's initiative to set up a pilot training center in Orvakal despite high costs, underscoring the lucrative career opportunities in aviation and urging youth to consider pilot training. Approvals for a railway siding between Dupadu and Betamcherla, crucial for the park's logistics, are underway. The minister also noted the establishment of the Anantapur-Kurnool Industrial Zone. He further informed that 90% of the water infrastructure required for the industrial hub has been completed. The coalition government, he said, is action-oriented and has approved investments of ₹9 lakh crore for industrial development. He assured that, as promised, the government would attract industries to create 2 million jobs. Minister Bharath highlighted that major companies such as TCS, ArcelorMittal, and a Rs. 14,000 crore semiconductor project—previously hesitant—are now setting up operations in Andhra Pradesh, thanks to the efforts of Chief Minister and Minister Nara Lokesh. He also mentioned that a company employing 10,000 women in Telangana, facilitated by Naidu's earlier industrial policies, is now entering Andhra Pradesh as well. District Collector P Ranjith Basha stated that the government's objective is to establish an MSME park in every constituency. Land has already been identified in seven constituencies, and the Guttapadu MSME Park in Panyam constituency is the first to be inaugurated. The park will initially offer 69 plots, and over the next five years, the region is expected to witness rapid development. He appreciated Minister Bharat's efforts to bring pilot training centers to Orvakal Airport. Additionally, the Collector revealed that a Rs 2,000 crore Industrial Node, spread over 15 acres, is being developed with support from the Government of India. He praised the local self-help groups (SHGs), especially women's groups, for producing export-quality jute bags and mats and expressed plans to allocate small plots to women entrepreneurs to set up industrial shops. Panyam MLA Gowru Charitha recalled that during the 2014–2019 tenure of the TDP government, Orvakal was developed into an industrial hub under Chief Minister Naidu, bringing in ventures like the airport, DRDO facility, Jayaraj Ispat Steel Plant, and a solar park. She noted that after the coalition government returned to power, 300 acres were allocated for a drone hub, and the highly coveted semiconductor project was also sanctioned for Orvakal. The event was attended by TTD Board Member Mallela Rajasekhar, KUDA Chairman Somisetti Venkateshwarlu, Kurnool RDO Sandeep Kumar, APIIC Zonal Manager Srinivas Reddy, GM of Industries Department Aruna Kumari, and various corporation directors.
Hans India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Naidu's Amaravati obsession takes positive shape
There is no denying that Nara Chandrababu Naidu is a very stubborn person, whose penchant for going about achieving his dreams borders on a compulsive obsession. He has demonstrated this trait on umpteen occasions. As the workaholic Chief minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, while he desired to go one up on Jyoti Basu to emerge as the longest serving chief minister (he missed it though), his administration rode on his Vision 2020 roadmap. His dreams of transforming the landscape of Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam became inspirational success stories, though, in hindsight, he paid a heavy price for concentrating too much on these three cities while ignoring the ground-realities in districts and the interiors, a faux pas that was successfully seized by Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, whose subsequent walkathon unseated Naidu from the gaddi. Not one to sit quietly, and stay away from power for too long, Naidu grabbed an opportunity that came knocking on the doors following the creation of Telangana State. He began his second innings as the Chief Minister of the residual Andhra Pradesh. Establishment of Amaravati as the capital city of Andhra Pradesh has been his dream project. He began the process with firmness, although the opposition derided him and levelled various 'partisan' and anti-farmers' charges against him. He was biding his time, which came in the Assembly elections in which he ousted his bête noire Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. And the Amaravati issue took centre stage, all over again. On that count, May 2 of this year will go down as a red-letter day in the annals of Andhra Pradesh. Quick to bring the capital city issue back to the limelight, Naidu invited his 'friend' and alliance partner Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch projects worth Rs 58,000 crore, including relaunching the construction of the greenfield capital Amaravati, after a six-year pause. Naidu wants to ensure that the capital city would emerge as the hub for Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, green energy, clean industry, education and healthcare. Exhorting Naidu and his team to transform Amaravati and Andhra Pradesh thereby, into a growth engine for a developed India, Modi lent a sentimental touch while stating that the Telugu Desam founder NT Rama Rao accorded priority to the all-round development of the state. There is no doubt that revival of the Amaravati capital city works will herald better days for the state across segments, including growth of economy, providing more jobs and a prosperous future for farmers, who responded overwhelmingly in support when Naidu first sought their lands as part of the acquisition process to create a vibrant Amravati. And he has set a three-year deadline to complete the transformation of Amaravati. As Modi pointed out, 'This is the beginning of building Swarna Andhra. These are not just concrete structures but strong foundations for the aspirations of Andhra Pradesh and the vision for a developed India.' Meanwhile, real estate developers are the happiest lot as it will be boom time for players of every magnitude once the revival process is accomplished. People who have seen Naidu's performances over the decades will not be surprised if he indeed makes Amravati the nation's pride. After all, he has proven this while developing Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam into global cities that boast of the best of international standards.
