Page 380 - Social Issues
90 pc encroachments razed in Dehradun locality
An anti-encroachment demolition drive was continued in the Premnagar locality here for the second consecutive day Saturday with 90 per cent illegal constructions razed to the ground, officials said. Around 200 shops have been pulled down in Premnagar since Friday as part of the drive being carried out in compliance with an Uttarakhand High Court order. Most of the shops razed to the ground belong to Punjabi migrants who settled in the area after partition. BJP MLA from Cantt area Harbans Kapoor met Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to draw his attention to the demolition and suggested steps to be taken to rehabilitate the affected people like opening new industrial estates and providing them new self-employment opportunities. The chief minister assured him the government will not allow anyone to be harmed, an official release here said. "The city will be made fully free of encroachments. People who feel parts of their houses or business establishments have been wrongly earmarked ...
Some trying to 'derail' doorstep delivery services: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday alleged some people are trying to derail the AAP government's scheme for doorstep delivery of services launched earlier this week. The chief minister's allegation come after some reports about mischievous elements trying to disrupt the scheme by giving fake addresses. Kejriwal, however, did not take name of anyone. "I am very sad. Due to dirty politics, some people are trying to derail such a good scheme. They should not work against people. This is wrong. "All should support for public-welfare works regardless of any political party running the government," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. On Monday, the chief minister had launched the scheme under which Delhiites can avail 40 services, including driving licence, ration card, caste and marriage registration certificates, at their doorstep.
Failed asylum-seekers set fire to cell in Vienna
Six failed asylum-seekers set fire to their detention centre cell in Vienna overnight and had to be hospitalised, Austrian police said Saturday. Asylum claims filed by the five Afghans and one Iranian man had been rejected and they were awaiting deportation. Police initially spoke of a collective suicide attempt but later downplayed that premise. "We think the men wanted to highlight their unhappiness," police spokesman Harald Soros told AFP. The men had composed a letter which said they had no prospects for the future and mentioned dates two had been given for deportation. One of the men had previously staged a hunger strike, and Soros said the fire might have been an attempt to prevent the deportation process. Police said the migrants huddled in the cell's bathroom after starting the fire and put a rag against the door to keep smoke from entering. That did not seal the bathroom off however, and one of the men then dashed to the cell door to raise the alarm. All six were treated in .
Elderly man dead, wife critical after suicide bid
An elderly man lost his life and his wife is in critical condition after the couple allegedly tried to commit suicide in a state government-run lodge in the district, police said on Saturday. Parag Pal Chowdhury (70) and his wife Tapasi (61) were found in an unconscious state inside a room of the lodge in Gadiara village under Shyampur police station on Friday, they said. The staff of the lodge called the police after the couple missed their check-out time and did not open the door despite persistent knocking, an officer said. Chowdhury was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, while his wife's condition is stated to be critical, he said. "Initial investigation revealed that their only son, who lived in Australia, died of cancer in 2016. Since then, the couple went into depression. On Friday, they tried to commit suicide by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills," the police officer said. Chowdhury's body has been sent for post-mortem ...
2 awarded death sentence in 2014 NDFB mass killings
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Saturday awarded death penalty to two convicts while remaining two were given life imprisonment in connection with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) mass killings in 2014.Accused namely Bishnu Narzary and Ajoy Basumutary have been awarded death penalty while two other accused Sanju Bordoloi and Nitul Daimary have been awarded life imprisonment.Though the NIA court had convicted the said four accused in the case involving firing on villagers of Hatijuli Shantipur, the quantum of punishment for them was pronounced today.On December 23, 2014, cadres of NDFB, a proscribed terrorist organisation, had indiscriminately fired upon the inhabitants of Santipur village under Rakhakmari Police Out Post in district Sonitpur, Assam. As a result, six persons had died on the spot while two sustained injuries.In this regard, NIA registered a case under sections 120B/121/147/148/302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 25[1-A], 27
Maharashtra govt transfers 11 bureaucrats
The Maharashtra government Saturday transferred 11 senior bureaucrats. As per an order issued by the government, 1992 batch Indian Administrative Service officer Sanjay Sethi, currently CEO of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) will take charge as Additional Municipal Commissioner, Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation in place of Sanjay Mukherjee. The latter has been posted as Secretary, Medical Education and Drugs Department in Mumbai. Kavita Gupta, IAS (1985), has been posted as SICOM managing director in place of K H Govind Raj who was been made Commissioner, Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Navi Mumbai, it said. Anup Kumar Yadav, 2002 batch IAS, has been posted as Commissioner (Family Welfare) and Director, National Health Mission, Mumbai. Parimal Singh, IAS (2004), currently Project Director, Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society has been posted as Special Sales Tax Commissioner, Maharashtra. H Yashod, who was Commissioner, ...
Co-op banks face action while nationalised banks get govt
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday called for a "change of perception" towards co-operative banks, saying they face stern action when in distress while nationalised banks get a helping hand. He was speaking at a function organised by Saraswat Co-operative Bank, which completed 100 years on September 14, here. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was also present. The cooperative movement started in Maharashtra due to the vision of its leaders in the early years of Independence, Pawar said. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka account for over 70 per cent of co-operative banks in the country, he pointed out. "There is no doubt that nationalisedbanks should be helped. However, while nationalised banks have been given financial assistance worth Rs 86,000 crore in recent years, (boards of directors of) co-operative banks are being dissolved (when they face financial stress)," the former Union minister said. "The perception towards co-operative banks should change," Pawar ...
Spiritual practices in childhood may boost health, cut depression later
Are you keen to boost your children's health as well as keep them away from depressive symptoms, smoking, drugs in adulthood? If so, start training them to indulge in spiritual practices right from childhood, researchers suggest.
Striking PHE workers detained in Jammu
Scores of striking Public Health Engineering (PHE) workers were detained Saturday after they started "Jail Bharo" protest to press for their demands, including release of pending wages and regularisation of their services, officials said. Hundreds of PHE daily wagers including ITI trained and need based workers assembled at the exhibition ground in the heart of the city and staged a protest demonstration to highlight their demands, the officials said. Nearly 50 workers were detained by police shortly after they came out on the main road, they said. The workers are on strike in support of their demands since September 7 and have threatened to intensify their agitation after September 20. "We have been working in the department for the past nearly two decades but got only assurances. We will continue the 'Jail Bharo' agitation in different district headquarters till September 20," a spokesman of the workers said. He said the workers have decided to intensify the agitation after ...
Maha: Victims of man-made calamities to get compensation
The Maharashtra government Saturday said that persons suffering disabilities in man-made calamities like terror and naxals attacks, rioting and bomb blasts will be entitled to compensation ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. As per a state government order, those suffering 25-39 per cent disability would get Rs 50,000 as compensation while those becoming 40-60 per cent disabled would receive Rs 1 lakh. Those suffering a disability of over 60 per cent will be entitled to a compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh, the order added. The order also lays down compensatory amounts for hospitalisation. Victims of such man-made calamities will get Rs 3,000 if the hospitalisation is for three days, while for periods above three days, the amount would be Rs 1,000 per day. "For a maximum of 14 days, the compensation amount would be Rs 14,000," the order reads. It said that the competent authority should verify the cause of disability.
Jaitley hails Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as 'people's movement'
Lauding the central government's cleanliness drive, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday highlighted the achievements of the scheme, launched on October 2, 2014.In a blog post, Jaitley wrote about how the government scheme transformed into a "people's movement"."When the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced the Swachhata campaign in his Independence day speech of 2014, some believed that the scheme would be a photo-opportunity with very little progress. In the history of independent India, this is one scheme which the people of India snatched away from the Government and converted into a 'people's movement'," the post read."When the scheme was announced, the rural sanitation coverage of India was 39 percent. The Prime Minister announced a target that India be made 'open-defecation free' when we celebrate 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. The symbolism was appropriate since Gandhiji had given a lot of emphasis on ...
Started preparations for 2019, Manipur: Ram Madhav
Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday told ANI that the BJP has started preparation for Manipur elections, alongside preparations for general elections in 2019."We have started preparations for the 2019 elections in the entire country. In Manipur also we are preparing to contest on both the seats," he said.He also said that the Prime Minister would ensure that the interest of the people of Manipur is not compromised."Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly said that the interest of the people of Manipur should not be compromised. We are sure that no injustice will be done to the territory and the people of Manipur in any manner in any of the agreements of Government of India," he added.Inking of Framework Agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) is a big issue in the state. Last month many organisations held a sit in protest against any attempt to tweak the territorial integrity of the state.Praising the Prime Minister he added, ...
12 NSUI activists taken into custody for attack on Pro-VC
Twelve activists of Congress students wing National Student Union of India (NSUI) were taken into custody on the charge of attacking vehicle of Pro Vice-Chancellor Pawan Kumar Poddar of Nilambar-Pitambar University in Palamu distrct on Friday, police said Saturday. The incident occurred when Poddar was returning on his car following inspection of the Ganesh Lal Agrwal college, they said. A group of NSUI activists waiting at the entrance of the college started pelting bricks on Poddars car damaging the window panes of the vehicle, the police said. Superintendent of Police, Indrajeet Mahatha said Poddar has sustained minor injury in the incident. A police team rushed to the spot applied minor force to disperse the activists, he said adding 12 persons have been taken into custody. NSUI staged the protest in support of their various demands related to academic issues.
Mel B comes back clean in drug test
Singer-actress Mel B agreed to submit to random drug testing to prove she is a fit parent, and she has come back clean.
Hindu Mahasabha protests over SC/ST Act amendment, signs letter to PM 'in blood'
In a letter signed in blood, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing vote bank politics by bringing the recent amendment to the SC/ST Act, an office bearer said. Hindu Mahasabha secretary Puja Shakun Pandey has also threatened to kill herself, seeking the prime minister's permission to commit euthanasia if the amendments are not withdrawn. The letter was signed in blood by her and 14 other Mahasabha members, she claimed. Parliament recently passed amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, nullifying a Supreme Court order earlier this year that had spelled out safeguards against immediate arrests under the Act. The amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament after Dalit organisations protested against the SC court order, saying it had diluted the law to protect the community.. The Hindu Mahasabha had recently appointed Pandey as the judge' of a Hindu court set up on the pattern of Shariat ...
No fault: UK proposes major easing of divorce procedures
The British government is proposing to introduce "no-fault" divorces and make other changes to make it much easier for married couples to divorce. Justice Secretary David Gauke Saturday began a consultation process to revise laws he said were "out of touch with modern life." If adopted after a 12-week consultation period, spouses would no longer be able to challenge a divorce application made by their partner. The changes would apply to heterosexual marriages, same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. The proposed new laws would mean it would no longer be necessary to prove misconduct or to live apart for a certain number of years before a couple could divorce. New legislation would be needed to make these proposals law.
MP: Varsity plans course to build 'cohesive families'
Bhopal's Barkatullah University (BU) is mulling a three-month certificate course based on "social and moral values" to "develop cohesive families". BU Vice Chancellor D C Gupta said the course, expected to begin from the next academic session, would help girls more as they have to adjust with "another family after marriage". "The object of the course is to develop cohesive families. Girls would benefit more as they have to adjust with another family after marriage," Gupta told PTI. "It is wrong to say that this course is meant only for bahus (daughters-in-law). But, it will benefit them (girls) more as they have to adjust to a new environment after marriage," he said. He added that the course will be open for all, including boys. "The boys also need the same. This will be open for all," the vice chancellor said. He informed that the Psychology, Sociology and Women's Studies departments of the varsity would design the course, adding that its modalities were still being worked out. "We .
NCW initiates inspection of 12 Swadhar Grehs
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has initiated inspection of 12 government-run Swadhar Grehs, shelter homes for women, to ascertain the living conditions of their inmates. The move comes after a slew of cases of ill-treatment of inmates at shelter homes came to light. All Swadhar Grehs in the country will be surveyed within a period of one year and reports presented to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said. Academicians, activists and women and child development officials have been asked to work out a plan of action for a comprehensive and in-depth survey of all Swadhar Grehs in the country, she said. There are a total of 559 Swadhar homes across the country, Sharma added. "There is a need to carry out assessment of the implementation of the scheme (Swadhar Greh Scheme) at the ground level so that the functioning of these homes can be improved and the objectives of the scheme are optimally realised," she said. Sharma said the Swadhar ...
UN agrees global plan to battle TB ahead of first-ever summit
UN member-states on Friday agreed on a global plan to step up the fight against tuberculosis, the world's number one killer among infectious diseases, settling a row with the United States over access to cheap drugs. Following weeks of tough negotiations, the text of a final declaration won approval and will be formally adopted at the first-ever TB summit on September 26, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. In July, South Africa clashed with the United States over proposals to water down language recognising the right of poorer countries to access cheaper medicines. The contested language referred to the so-called TRIPS trade arrangements dealing with intellectual property rights. A compromise was reached that strengthened references to TRIPS. Medical charity MSF had backed South Africa's stance and urged countries to resist what it described as an "aggressive push" by the US pharmaceutical lobby to restrict access to low-cost drugs. At the summit world ...
India raises concern over CPEC project at UN
India on Friday raised concern over China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at the 39th Session of the Human Rights Council here and underlined that the 'China-Pakistan Economic Corridor' (CPEC) project ignores New Delhi's core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.India's Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Virander Paul in his statement on the Report of the Working Group on the Right to Development, stressed that India understands that Right to Development, remains extremely important for an overwhelming majority of the global population, it is regrettable that, even after three decades of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, and after 19 sessions of the Working Group on this subject, this Right still remains a distant reality.Paul further said that progress in the Working Group is possible only if participating Member States demonstrate the necessary political will for seeking common ground with a result oriented approach."We agree that
