Page 379 - Social Issues
Must appreciate that no bomb blasts occurred in country for 4
Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Sunday said Indians must appreciate that no bomb blasts have occurred in the country in the last four years, barring border areas and thanked security forces for making a determined effort to tackle terror. "We must know and acknowledge and appreciate and enjoy one thing... that in the last four years there have been no bomb blasts in the country.. Whatever is happening is only in the border area and unfortunately in Kashmir," Sadhguru told reporters here. "Thanks to the security forces, a determined effort is being made in that direction (to tackle terror)," he said. Sadhguru is scheduled to take part in the seventh session of "Youth and Truth" series at NALSAR University of Law here on September 18. To a query on rape incidents, he said that society must be willing to debate how to handle human sexuality. "This has to be addressed," he said. On drug abuse by the younger generation, he said this was the time to really to ...
TN villagers suspect 'treasure hunt' at temple, lodge plaint
Suspecting a hunt for hidden treasure by a group of men allegedly in the garb of renovating an ancient temple in ruins, villagers near here Sunday lodged a police complaint. The villagers at Pullaloor found some men carrying out civil work by putting up scaffolding inside the centuries old dilapidated temple premises and questioned them. Unconvinced by their replies that they were carrying out repair work, they lodged a police complaint, seeking a probe. "The villagers in their complaint said they were not told beforehand about the repair work...they suspect the motives of the men behind the task, which is said to be for renovation," a local police official told PTI. Two men connected with the renovation are being questioned and the villagers suspect that the 'repair' may be an excuse to search for hidden treasure, believed to be inside the ancient temple, he said.
Govt must formulate law to curb population: Giriraj Singh
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday said that the government must formulate a law to curb the population if it has to save "India's democracy from the growing divisive forces"."The population of the country in 1947 was only 33 crores. However, it has gone up to 135 crores in 2018. The Hindu population is witnessing a sharp decline. Neither the social equitability nor any kind of development is possible if the population is not brought under control. The debate should be raised from the road to the Parliament," Singh told ANI."Most countries apart from a few have a law regarding population control. In India, it had not been possible because of the vote bank politics. In order to save the democracy, there has to be a law," he added.Singh's comment comes hours after he triggered a controversy by tweeting that the country might witness another partition in 2047 akin to that of 1947, on grounds of religion."The country was divided in 1947 on the ..
NHA launches website, helpline number for Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries
The National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body implementing the Ayushman Bharat-- National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), has launched a website and a helpline number to help prospective beneficiaries check if their name is there in final list. The ambitious insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) which aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually and benefit more than 10 crore poor families will be rolled out from Jharkhand on September 23 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One can visit the website mera.pmjay.gov.in or call up the helpline (14555) to check their enrolment. The official website is also an attempt to help beneficiaries in the wake of several fake websites promising PMJAY enrolment. One can check if their name is in the eligible beneficiary list through his or her mobile number, which is verified through an OTP and then complete the KYC (know your customer) online without any need for human interface with other documents. They can .
Lifer on parole commits suicide in Assam: Police
A lifer who was out on parole allegedly committed suicide after seriously injuring his wife in Sonitpur district of Assam, a police officer said. The lifer, Jiten Nath, attacked his wife with a sharp knife following an altercation with her and escaped from the house Saturday, police said. The family members launched a search for him and found him hanging from a tree in the backyard of his house Sunday. His wife was shifted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital in a critical condition. Nath was on parole for 20 days and was scheduled to return to Tezpur Central Jail Tuesday. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his friend Bidul Das.
1st ever tribal health report flags dismal condition of STs
Tribals account for 30 per cent cases of malaria in India and non-communicable and lifestyle diseases are now major health problems facing them, according to a government study. The comprehensive analysis of tribal health, by an expert committee constituted by the ministries of health and tribal affairs in 2013, also revealed that an "unacceptably high" number of tribals suffer from malnutrition. The health status of Scheduled Tribes has significantly improved over the last 25 years, and "yet, it is the worst when compared to other social groups", it said. The committee, which submitted the report to the government recently, was tasked to review the existing health situation in tribal areas, formulate strategic guidelines for states and make recommendations on the requirement of additional resources. It said there is a near complete absence of data on the health situation of different tribal communities. In the absence of a comprehensive health picture of tribal health in the ...
Odisha move to strike off Bangladeshis from voters' list
With the Election Commission carrying out revision of voters list, the district administration in Odisha's Kendrapara has started disenfranchising suspected Bangladeshis whose names figured in the list of electorates, officials said Sunday. The coastal district has 1,649 Bangladeshi settlers. Mahakalpada tehsil alone houses 1,551 of them. So far, 137 Bangladeshis have been detected in the voters list in Mahakalpada tehsil. After thorough verification of their nativity antecedents, these foreign nationals have been removed from voters list, said Kendrapara district Collector, Dasarathi Satpathy. The voters list revision process will continue till September 27. The officials engaged in the exercise have been asked to ensure that none of these foreign nationals find place in the final voters list, Satpathy said. As many as 3,987 Bangladeshis have been staying in Odisha illegally. Of them, 1,649 have been staying in coastal Kendrapara district followed by 1,112 in Paradip ...
Office of Protector of Emigrants shifted
The Office of the Protector of Emigrants, under the Ministry of External Affairs will function from its new premises on Anna Salai here effective Monday. The office for Emigrants will function from Rayala Towers, an official release said Sunday. The new contact number for the office is 044-24891337 and email is 'poechennai2@mea.gov.in' the release added.
Baby cradle centres to go hi-tech in Kerala
The baby cradle centres in Kerala, aimed at providing shelter for children abandoned by their parents, are set to be upgraded by using latest technologies to make them more secure and accountable. The state government has also planned to more than double the number of "Ammathottil', as the centres are known in local parlance, from existing 14 to at least 30. An initiative under the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), the cradle centres provides care and services for abandoned children. It has been planned to make the centres hi-tech by upgrading the existing alarm, which is sounded when a baby is placed in the cradle, and taking a photo of the child and recording its weight and sending the details to officials through mobile phone, a senior KSCCW official said. Launched on November 14, 2002, 'Ammathottil' seeks to provide better life conditions for the destitute, abandoned and relinquished children rather than being abandoned on way sides or other places. As .
Speakers for more people-to-people Indo-Bangla contact
Speakers from Bangladesh and India at a seminar Sunday advocated more people-to-people contact between the two countries and called for safeguarding the rights of minorities in the neighbouring country. They were speaking at a seminar on 'Indo-Bangla Dialogue - Security to Minorities and Democracy' here. Advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court and BNP's Khandakar Ahsan Habib said the ground level contacts between the people of Bangladesh and India were more important than solely keeping contacts between the ruling establishments. Habib said the rights of the minority community needed to be safeguarded in Bangladesh and everyone should be allowed to exercise his/her right to vote in elections. The vice-chancellor of Northern University in Bangladesh, Prof Yusuf Abdullah, said there should be more people-to-people exchanges between the two nations which share a common love and admiration for Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. On the minority issue, Abdullah said when ..
Finance Commission to visit Maharashtra to discuss urbanisation, intra-state disparity
The Fifteenth Finance Commission is slated to visit Maharashtra from September 17 to 19, during which they will focus on issues related to urbanisation and intra-state disparity.Ahead of the visit, the Commission reviewed various aspects of finances and issues related to socio-economic spheres from the Accountant General of Maharashtra. It had also held a consultation meeting with economists in Pune in the month of August to understand the issues in the region.Even though the state contributes around 15 per cent to India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), problems like faltering trend growth in revenue receipts and tax revenue, lack of implementation of the 4th and 5th State Finance Commission (SFC) recommendations, sharp socio-economical disparities across districts and farmer suicides mar the state.The Commission which is led by Chairman N.K.Singh, comprises Shaktikanta Das, Anoop Singh, Ashok Lahiri, Ramesh Chand and Secretary Arvind Mehta, along with other officials. The Commission ..
Facebook announces hiring of human rights director
Facing human rights violation allegations over the misuse of its platform by the Myanmar government to fuel atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority, social networking giant Facebook has announced the hiring of a human rights policy director.
Put knowledge capital to help poor, needy: CJI to fresh law
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra Sunday advised the graduating law students to put their knowledge capital and skills to help the poor and needy. Delivering his presidential address at the 26th annual convocation of National Law School of India University here, he also asked them not to be cowed down by the trials and tribulations of time. "It must be borne in mind that the knowledge capital, skills and ability which cannot be used to help the poor and the needy will not bring contentment and peace within," Justice Misra said. The need of the hour was a constructive approach and positive mindset to contribute to the legal system, the CJI said. The fresh law graduates should beprepared to have sustained faith in the mobility of the profession and aristocracy of the intellectto make a difference, he said. Justice Misra also urged the graduating students to concentrate on facts, law and reasoning while maintaining proper ethics rather than engaging in aggressive ...
Child separated from jailed mother must be made to visit her regularly: Maneka
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has proposed that a child separated from jailed mother must be made to visit her in prison at least thrice a week, amid incidents of such children getting trafficked. The Women and Child Development Ministry has written to the Home Ministry to include a clause in the prison manual under which children are made to visit the mother thrice a week so that she does not lose touch with them, a senior ministry official has said. "When a child is born in prison, the mother raises his/her there till five years of age and suddenly after five years of age, the child is separated from the mother. We found that half of the mothers whose children have been separated don't know whereabouts of their children. Many of them get trafficked," Gandhi said. "We are planning to add a clause under prison manual if a child is taken away then she/he has to be presented to see his/her mother thrice a week and the child should not be allowed to leave the ...
Lesbian, gay youth at high risk of substance abuse: Study
Young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are at an increased risk of using substances such as alcohol, nicotine and marijuana, a study warns. They are also at higher risk of polysubstance use, meaning they are more likely to use more than one substance than their heterosexual peers, according to a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. "This data shows definitively that polysubstance use is an issue among many youth who identify as sexual minorities, meaning they are facing added health risks," said Sarah Dermody, an assistant professor at Oregon State University in the US. "But there are also differences among the subgroups of youth who identify as sexual minorities, suggesting we need to look beyond the averages to understand what factors may be influencing substance use in this population," said Dermody. Sexual minority is an umbrella term for those who identify with any sexual identity other than heterosexual or who report same-sex attraction or ..
Without a right blend of nature and buildings, Delhi will be a disaster: Environmentalist
With cities growing at a rapid pace, a renowned environmentalist has said it would be a "disaster" if balance is not maintained between nature and construction activities as the builders were "selling" a high standard of life instead of quality. "What the government's smart city initiative is, and what other builders and architects are actually practising in Gurgaon or Delhi, is that they are not selling you quality of life. They are selling you standard of living. "Standard of living means more consumption, more luxury, that's all it means. Forget about the rest, forget about nature, about the city, forget about the people living at the bottom," Vikram Soni, an environmentalist-physicist said. Speaking at a panel discussion titled "100 years of re-imagining Delhi", organised by Delhi-based NGO Greha here, Soni said the young generation considers quality of life as an "elitist thing". "Your health is not an elitist thing, you are dying! If you don't have the right mix, the right blend
Transgenders to stage play to help flood-victims in Kerala
A group of transgenders have joined hands to mobilise money for the victims of the recent Kerala floods in a unique way -- staging a play. Putting aside their own sufferings, as many as 14 transgenders, most of whom are jobless and struggling to earn their daily bread, are getting ready to stage the play here under the aegis of the state-based Dhwayah Transgenders Arts and Charitable Society. The ticket amount, charged from the audience, would be used to support flood-hit students and rebuild selected schools ravaged in the devastating floods, that had left a trail of destruction across the state last month. They have also plans to use the money to help their own fellow members in the community, who had suffered loss in the floods. Titled "Parayan Maranna Kathakal", the two-hour-long play is helmed by Tamil Nadu-based queer activist and director Sreejith Sundaram, trans woman Surya, one of the artists, said. "People may not respond positively if we seek donation. So, we
Education, counselling support for street kids of Kolkata
Fifty street children will receive education and counselling support at a state-run school in the city as part of an initiative aimed at providing "safe spaces" to them, an NGO official said. The idea is to provide underprivileged children an opportunity to play, learn and interact with each other, the official of Child In Need Institute (CINI) said Saturday. The premises of Shyambazar A V School, next to a metro station in north Kolkata, will be thrown open for these 50 children - ones living on footpaths and frequenting traffic signals to eke out a living - from 5 pm to 7:30 pm, after school hours, the official said. "The school shelter, made available with support of Women Development and Social Welfare Minister Shashi Panja, will provide educational, nutritional and counselling support to the children and seek to ensure their holistic development," he said. CINI, in collaboration with NGO 'Save the Children', aims to help and support the underprivileged and abandoned
India gets first ever gender-neutral hostel in Mumbai's TISS
After the historic verdict by the Supreme Court to scrap Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalised homosexuality, India has become the first-ever country to have a gender-neutral hostel.Yes! You read it right. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai's Deonar has become the first campus in India to have a gender-neutral hostel.This comes after the efforts by Queer Collective, an informal student body advocating a safe space for LGBTQ+ students.Speaking to ANI, Akunth, Cultural Secretary on TISS student Union and a resident of gender-neutral hostel space expressed his happiness for having a gender-neutral hostel and voiced his hope that other hostels would follow the move too and become the gender-neutral space. He also hoped that the move can bring about a great social change.Akunth, a first-year student of TISS said, "It's just like any other hostel. It is a place for everyone but without the dysphoria of being segregated along the lines of gender. ..
Nadda, senior officials to visit hospitals to participate in Swachhata campaigns
Health Minister J P Nadda and senior officials of the ministry will visit various hospitals and institutions across the country starting Saturday to October 2 to take part in Swachhata campaigns. Nadda, who offered 'shramdaan' along with senior officers at the ministry, said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sanitation had become a "mass movement" where widespread awareness was created among the people towards keeping their surroundings clean. The health minister along with officers and staff watched Modi launch the 'Swachchta Hi Sewa' campaign Saturday through video conferencing with various stakeholders, Swachchta champions and volunteers across the country. Noting that sanitation is a key determinant of health, he said a clean and hygienic environment will contribute towards preventing diseases and reiterated the importance of preventive and promotive health. Nadda said the central government hospitals were launching fortnightly activities and senior officers ...
