Page 120 - Social Issues
Girl sets herself ablaze upset over parents arranging marriage
A 16-year-old girl died after she allegedly set herself ablaze at home to protest against her parents arranging her marriage despite her objection, police said Saturday. The incident occurred at Nanguneri about 35 km from here. Police said the girl, a 12th standard student, told her parents that she did not want to get married. However the parents allegedly went ahead with the arrangements for the marriage to be held next month after the 12th standard examination.
People stage demo in Jammu to press for district status to Zanskar
A group of people from Zanskar in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday staged a demonstration here in support of their demand for district status to the sub-divsion. Zanskar falls in Kargil district of Ladakh region. Dozens of residents, mostly youth, assembled outside the Press Club and chanted slogans besides displaying placards in support of their demand. "We are holding this protest to invite the attention of Governor Satya Pal Malik towards our long pending genuine demand for a district status," president of Ladakh Buddhist Association, Zanskar, Tsewang Chotar told reporters. He lauded the governor's decision to create a separate division for Ladakh and said "Leh and Kargil were given the district status way back in 1979 but Zanskar despite being an important geographical region having a significant history and civilization was not given separate district so far despite assurances from the successive governments". Zanskar covers an area of some 7,000 square kilometres with a population of .
Youth arrested for sexual abuse, blackmail in TN
Even as the Pollachi sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case continues to be a burning issue, a taxi driver was arrested in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam on a similar charge, police said.
Pollachi traders plan rally, bandh on March 19
Traders in Pollachi are planning a protest shutdown on Tuesday and a rally to demand a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the serial sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case.
K'taka: Protests erupt against construction of elevated corridor
Resident Welfare Associations and several other organisations held a protest against the construction of an elevated corridor here on Saturday.However, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said that there is a difference in people's opinion."People from the north of the city want this steel bridge and people from south Bengaluru do not want the bridge," Parmeshwara told reporters here.Asserting that the state government will try to convince the protesters, he said, "We will try to convince the protestors. We will ask for the opinion of the people."Stating that the construction of the elevated corridor is part of development, the Deputy Chief Minister said that some positive steps are needed to ease out traffic."This is all required. When there is development, when the population is increasing, when traffic is increasing, we have to take some positive steps to ease out traffic," Parameshwara said.
Ayushman Bharat 'an invitation of fraud' for private firms, says former Union Minister Jairam
The Central government's flagship health insurance scheme--Ayushman Bharat--is acting as "an invitation of fraud" for private companies, said Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday.Ramesh, who was addressing media persons here, said: "It is an empty scheme as the claims made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi are false. It is a gold mine for the private companies.""The scheme acts as an invitation of fraud to them. It only works for the benefit of private companies, private hospitals, and the private insurance company," he said.Claiming that the scheme allows private companies to commit fraud, Ramesh said: "Prime Minister Modi has allowed private companies to do corruption twice and only after the second time any action will be taken. What kind of scheme is this?"Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat aims to provide healthcare facilities to over 10 crore families covering urban and rural poor. Under this scheme, poor people have cashless insurance cover up to Rs .
Bengaluru sees protest against elevated corridor
Hundreds of people took to the streets here on Saturday to protest against the Karnataka government's proposed elevated corridor project, citing environmental concerns.
Khaira to contest from Bathinda
Punjab legislator and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira will contest from Bathinda constituency, which is presently represented by Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Khaira, who formed the Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP) after quitting the AAP in January, challenged Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Badal for an open debate to discuss the burning issues of the state. Khaira's candidature was announced on Saturday by former AAP leader and MP Dharamvira Gandhi, who is a member of the Punjab Democratic Alliance. The PDA comprises of the PEP, Bahujan Samaj Party, Lok Insaaf Party, Gandhi-led Punjab Manch, Communist Party of India and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India. "Both the Badal and Amarinder families are responsible for the current pitiable situation of Punjab, which is under a colossal debt of Rs 2.5 lakh crore," Khaira told reporters. Harsimrat Badal is the wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. The Bholath MLA trashed the claims of Harsimrat ...
Australian senator faces censure for anti-immigration stance
An Australian senator had a raw egg cracked over his head and faces censure from his fellow lawmakers after sparking outrage by blaming Muslim immigration for the New Zealand mosque shootings. Sen Fraser Anning came under blistering criticism over tweets on Friday including one that said, "Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?" "The real cause of the bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place," he said in a statement. Television cameras caught a 17-year-old boy breaking an egg on Anning's head and briefly scuffling with the independent senator while he was holding a news conference Saturday in Melbourne. Police said the boy was arrested but was released without charge pending a further investigation. No motive was offered for the egging. The government and opposition party agreed to pass a censure motion against Anning over his stance on the ...
Pollachi traders plan protest, shutdown on March 19
The trading community here is planning a protest shutdown on Tuesday and a rally demanding a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Pollachi serial sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case, said a shopkeeper.
TN: Transgenders requests EC to reconsider election dates
Bharathi Kannama Trust has written to the District Collector requesting the Election commission (EC) to change the Lok Sabha poll dates in the state in the wake of Koovagam Koothandavar, a 3-day long festival of transgenders.Speaking to ANI, Bharathi Kannama, a transgender activist, said the transgender community would not be able to vote in the forthcoming parliamentary election due to the Koovagam Koothandavar festival.The representatives of the transgender community in Madurai pleaded to the District Collector S Natarajan in a letter, demanding the rescheduling of the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held on April 18 in a single phase."We cannot accept the dates for two reasons. First, a huge number of people throng Madurai to witness the Chithirai festival. So, pilgrims attending it will not be able to cast votes. Secondly, transgenders from across the country will attend a 3-day long transgender festival in Viluppuram district from April 15-17. This will surely affect voter ...
Uniting colours with love, Blued launched #RangDeBluedSe Campaign
With the festival of colours, Holi, approaching in India, Blued, largest gay social networking app launched #RangDeBluedSe campaign. Unveiled on YouTube and the Blued app, the aim of the campaign is to showcase the wave of the joy of the gay community with diverse colours.Recent verdict of Supreme Court of India by decriminalizing homosexuality spread happiness among the LGBT community. Embarked with the rainbow flag, it is represented as a symbol of peace showing diversity and love.The 2 min 21 Sec video represents the essence of the love spread by the festival of colours. Beautifully decorated and filled with colours, Blued is organizing a Holi party wherein men are celebrating Holi in the pool area with their loved ones. A guy who is looking for love, ends up using the Blued app as it allows him to find his match in a nearby location, His mobile pops up with a new match and he is excited to find him, he glances everyone in the party. The video ends showing two men finding a perfect
Sam Smith identifies himself as non-binary
Singer Sam Smith reportedly divulged that he considers himself to be "non-binary" and explained how he came to this realisation.
Psychologist gives helping hand to prevent farmers' suicides
Not satisfied with her cozy job at a corporate hospital here, a psychologist joined a team that is helping to prevent farmers' suicides in parts of Telangana.
Christchurch carnage suspect charged with murder
An Australian man, who is the main suspect in the massacre of 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch, on Saturday appeared in a court here where he was been charged with murder.
Trump says white nationalism not a widespread threat
US President Donald Trump said he does not think the massacre of at least 49 people in New Zealand mosques shows that white nationalism is a growing problem in the world. "I don't really. I think it's a small group of people," he told reporters in the Oval Office Friday. The attacks on the two Christchurch mosques left at least 49 people dead. The gunman identified as an Australian white nationalist apparently livestreamed the assault and published a manifesto online. The alleged killer appeared to have posted a lengthy manifesto earlier in which he claimed that white people were being overwhelmed and displaced by foreign cultures. In the document, filled with racist conspiracy theories, he referred to Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose." Asked if he'd seen the manifesto, Trump said: "I did not see it." Earlier, he announced that he'd spoken with New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about the "horrific" massacre of Muslim worshippers.
Misleading calls to voters: AAP claims EC agrees to keep Delhi Police out of probe
The AAP Friday claimed the Election Commission agreed to its demand of keeping the Delhi Police out of a probe into BJP allegations that the ruling party hired call centres for making "misleading" calls to voters. A joint meeting between an AAP delegation, Delhi Police and EC was held after a party workers' protest outside the poll panel office here. AAP members, led by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, alleged that "politically motivated and illegal" raids were being conducted on call centres hired by the party to make people aware that their names had been deleted from voters' lists. After over three hours of protest, Sisodia and AAP's Lok Sabha poll candidates Atishi and Raghav Chadha were called by the EC for the joint meeting. Emerging from the EC premises after three rounds of meeting, Sisodia told reporters the commission "seriously" listened to AAP's complaints on the raids. "The raids were conducted to harass call centre employees, including women who were made to stand,"
Sushant Digvikar to star in pride anthem
Sushant Divgikar, who won Mr Gay India 2014, features in a single "Love is love", a pride anthem by Swedish artiste Petter Wallenberg.
Rajasthan government delaying quota for poor: BJP
The BJP on Friday alleged that the Rajasthan government had not issued a single Economically Backward Caste (EBC) certificate in the state, and said it reflected its prejudice in implementing the 10 per cent EBC quota in the general category announced by the Central government in January.
Infra development, clearing backlog of defence purchases to be priorities for future: FM
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Friday the government's priority for the future would be infrastructure development and clearing backlog of defence procurement, among others. Development of rural India and improvement of healthcare and education would be the other priority areas, he said at the Hindu Business Line award function here. "In future may be four priorities-- rural India, backlog of defence procurement, healthcare and education and of course infrastructure," he said. "I foresee a better quality of life in urban slums, rural India and the policies must be aimed at allowing these people to aspire and get into at least neo middle class. Two areas where we seriously need to concentrate is healthcare and education," he said. There are some areas which are growing and some require support from the government for improving capacity like rural sector, he said, adding higher resources would help the government to spend more on infrastructure development. The effort of the ...