Asylum Fire in India Provokes Call for Government Intervention
By Kay Schriner
A fire at a private asylum in Erwadi, India has killed 26 mentally ill individuals, some of whom had been chained to walls, floors, or beds to keep them from running away. Four people have been arrested for negligence in connection with the fire.
Human rights groups have since called on the Indian government to regulate these privately-owned asylums - some of which are mere "sheds without electricity or toilets" according to the Associated Press. Because India has few publicly-funded mental hospitals, many families pay private asylums to care for their relatives. These are often associated with religious shrines. Erwady alone has 15 private asylums.
The tragedy at Erwadi comes at a time when India's policies toward treating persons labeled mentally ill are being increasingly challenged. The National Human Rights Commission has repeatedly called for improvements in conditions for mentally ill individuals living in both private and public facilities, includng improvements in treatment and strengthened protections of basic human rights. The Commission's findings, which have included reports of numerous instances of abuse, have been challenged by a government-convened expert panel, which characterized the findings as exaggerated.
Media coverage of the tragedy has been scathing, with one editorial calling the asylums "sanctuaries of exploitation." According to this editorial, brokers take a commission for each patient they refer to a private asylum, and asylum owners take as profit much of the money given to them by families rather than spend it on humane care and treatment.
Information for this story was taken from:
"TN asylums sanctuaries of exploitation", appearing at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1692548637&prtPage=1
"Four held for negligence in mental asylum fire incident", appearing at http://www.thenewspapertoday.com/states/inside.phtml?NEWS_ID=23374
"25 mentally retarded persons charred to death in asylum fire", appearing at http://www.thenewspapertoday.com/states/inside.phyml?NEWS_ID=23278
"Deadly fire prompts censure of asylums", by K.N. Arun of the Associated Press
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