How can A’bad civic body decide what we should eat outside: HC

How can A’bad civic body decide what we should eat outside: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 10.12.2021

The Gujarat high court took the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to task on Thursday for its recent drive against street carts selling non-vegetarian food, questioning how citizens could be stopped from “eating what they want” just because “somebody in power thinks this is what they want you to do”.

“You don’t like non-vegetarian food? That is your outlook. How can you (AMC) decide what we should eat outside?” Justice Biren Vaishnav asked the municipal counsel. “Tomorrow, you will decide what I should eat outside?”

The judge said the AMC must not act on the whims of elected representatives. “Around the Vastrapur lake, hawkers are selling eggs and omelettes. Overnight, you will pick them up and send them away because the party in power says that they don’t want people to eat eggs? Ask your commissioner to remain present (in court) and answer (the question). How dare you indiscriminately pick up people like this and seize their assets?” he said.

“Don’t undertake a drive to satisfy the ego of some people...Tomorrow they will tell me not to take sugarcane juice because it causes diabetes, or that coffee is bad for health.”

Justice Vaishnav was responding to a petition filed by a group of street vendors against the civic body’s campaign last month to stop them from selling non-vegetarian food. Terming the drive tantamount to “bigotry”, the vendors demanded that their carts and stalls be returned to allow them to resume business. They said the municipal authorities had declared the carts wouldn’t be returned before 45 days.

DRIVE AGAINST NON-VEG: The AMC claimed there was no discrimination and their action was an anti-encroachment drive

Initials in Tamil mandatory for students, public

Initials in Tamil mandatory for students, public

10/12/2021

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order making it mandatory for students to write the initials of their names in Tamil while applying for certificates in schools and colleges. Likewise, the mandate would apply to members of the public when they submit applications for government records.

The order issued by Mahesh Kasirajan, Secretary, Tamil Development Department, directed all departments, schools and colleges to display the Government Order to create awareness among the people. The first letter of the parent’s name as written in Tamil would be the initial of the applicant.

The order follows an announcement made by Tamil Development Minister Thangam Thennarasu in the Assembly while presenting the demand for grants for the department.

The State government already made it compulsory for its employees to sign their name and initials in Tamil.

International flights to resume only after Jan. 31

International flights to resume only after Jan. 31

Singapore taken off ‘at-risk’ nations’ list

10/12/2021

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Full resumption of international flights stands postponed at least till January 31, 2022, according to an announcement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday.

Last week, days after announcing resumption of international flights from December 15, the Government postponed its decision indefinitely due to fresh concerns over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. An order from the DGCA on December 1 said that a new date would be announced in “due course of time”.

On Thursday, the DGCA said, “the competent authority has decided to extend suspension of scheduled commercial international passenger services to/ from India till 2359 hours IST of 31st January, 2022”. It added that international flights under the air-bubble agreement with 32 countries would continue as before.

In a relief for travellers from Singapore, they will no longer be subjected to mandatory on-arrival RT-PCR test and seven-day quarantine, after the government removed the island city-state from its list of “at-risk” countries.

Singapore had announced that it was restarting flight connectivity with India from November 29, after a gap of 20 months, and fully vaccinated Indian passengers could avail quarantine-free entry under its “Vaccinated Travel Lane” scheme. But later that month, India put Singapore on the list of at-risk countries requiring passengers arriving into the country to undergo additional health safety protocols.

Submit life certificate’

Submit life certificate’

10/12/2021

Staff Reporter  BENGALURU

Bangalore University has urged pensioners/family of pensioners to submit life certificates to the Finance Officer, duly attested by the managers of respective bank branches or by officers of the university, by post. The certificate can also be submitted in person to the pension section of the university by December 31, a release stated.

‘322 people from abroad untraceable in Bihar’

‘322 people from abroad untraceable in Bihar’

10/12/2021

Even as Bihar is on high alert for the Omicron variant, it turns out that 322 of the 1,720 people who arrived in the State from abroad have switched off their phones. Samples of only 305 have been collected. “We managed to speak to only 429 people,” a senior Health Department official told The Hindu. “Of the 305 samples, 255 tested negative. Reports of the others are still awaited.” He said the remaining people could not be traced. Officials appealed to people coming from abroad to get tested.

Serum Institute let us down, says Africa CDC

Serum Institute let us down, says Africa CDC

‘Vaccine maker ended talks abruptly’

10/12/2021

John Nkengasong

ReutersNAIROBI

The Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, let Africa down by pulling out of talks to supply COVID-19 vaccines, creating distrust that has affected demand, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control said on Thursday.

John Nkengasong denounced recent comments from Serum that uptake of its COVID-19 shots had slowed because of low demand from Africa and vaccine hesitancy, saying the real problem was that Serum had acted unprofessionally.

Serum did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Mr. Nkengasong said Serum had engaged in discussions last year with the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), and that at one point he had believed a deal was very close, but then Serum abruptly ended the talks.

TN to have highest no. of med colleges

TN to have highest no. of med colleges

69 Campuses To Offer More Than 10K Seats

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.12.2021

With 17 new medical colleges – government, private and deemed universities – Tamil Nadu will add 2,350 MBBS seats to the seat matrix during the admission in 2021. With this, the state will have 69 medical colleges offering 10,375 MBBS seats – the highest in the country, according to the National Medical Council website.

The state has 37 government colleges offering 5,125 seats, which are attached to government hospitals. “We have got permission for all the 11 new colleges we had applied for with this we will be able to add 1,450 MBBS seats this year. This is the biggest addition to the seat matrix we have made in one year. We also have permission to add 50 more seats to the existing government Coimbatore medical college,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu.

In 2021, nearly 12% of government medical seats in India are from the state. This also means the state will offer the highest number of seats under the 15% all India quota, he said. Every year 15% of undergraduate seats from the government medical colleges across the country are given to the medical counselling committee under the directorate general of health services for online admissions. Admission to the remaining 85% of the seats are done by the state based on merit in NEET and rules of reservation.

Four new self-financing medical colleges – Arunai Medical College And Hospital in Tiruvannamalai, Swamy Vivekanandha Medical College Hospital And Research Institute in Namakkal, Faculty of Medicine, Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital in Chennai and St Peters Medical College Hospital and Research Institute in Krishnagiri -- attached to the state TN Dr MGR Medical University will bring in a total of 600 MBBS seats to the seat matrix in 2021 admissions. VELS Medical college and hospital (deemed university) and Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital (private university) will bring in 150 seats each.

The state has a policy to have at least one government medical College in every district, health minister Ma Subramanian said. The state also plans to increase seats in all existing medical colleges to  250.

 “Besides offering medical care at a reasonable subsidised cost to meritorious students, these medical college hospitals will also help us take tertiary healthcare to the rural parts of the state,” Subramanian said. All these undergraduate medical college hospitals will start postgraduate courses and specialty departments within five years.

TN has sought funds from the centre to start secondary care hospitals in districts with new medical colleges. “The district headquarters hospitals were converted into teaching hospitals and attached to medical colleges. To avoid overcrowding at medical colleges, we will need secondary care hospitals in oldies districts immediately,” he said.

Dharmapuri medical college caught in a row over hushing up ragging incident

Dharmapuri medical college caught in a row over hushing up ragging incident

P.V.Srividya

DHARMAPURI, DECEMBER 07, 2021 00:03 IST

Four pre-final year students placed under suspension, two wardens resign

Four pre-final year medical college students of the Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital were suspended and two wardens, including the chief warden of the hostel, resigned after a second-year student attempted to end his life on Sunday, a week after he sustained injuries allegedly caused by ragging at the medical college hostel.

The student, Saravanan of second year MBBS was found unconscious in his room by fellow students, who were checking in on him after they were alerted by his WhatsApp status. While his condition was stable, medical college administration has been accused of hushing up the victim’s abuse last week, leading to the victim taking the extreme step.

On December 23, Saravanan, a native of Namakkal and hostel resident was admitted to the hospital with injuries. Saravanan was allegedly stripped and beaten up by four senior students Rajkumar, Charan, Gokul and Dhanajayan inside the hostel. Saravanan was discharged a day later on December 24. However, no police complaint was lodged by the hospital authorities. A week later, Saravanan had attempted to end his life in his room.

Speaking to The Hindu, Dean of Medical college hospital K. Amuthavalli said the hospital inquiry was under way after the incident and a committee was inquiring the students. “The committee submitted its report only on Saturday and over 100 students of Saravanan’s batch were questioned and they said the four students were known to commit such an offence. We had to verify before taking action,” said Ms. Amuthavalli, refuting allegations of delay. “We asked his mother to take him home till the inquiry was completed, but the family refused saying, why should he leave the hostel, while the offenders continued to stay there.” said the Dean. All the four accused students were natives of Dharmapuri.

But asked about the absence of police complaint given that ragging was a serious offence, the Dean said, an AR entry (accident register) was made at the time of admission, and it was for the police to check the entry. The hospital need not alert them, said the Dean. However, in medico-legal cases, the doctor is required to intimate the police.

Superintendent of Police Kalaichelvan denied ‘inaction’ by the police. “ I don’t want to indulge in a blame game. The first time (last week), no direct intimation was given by the hospital to the police. It’s standard procedure that upon admission of any person with injuries [in suspicious circumstances], the police should be intimated.”

After rumours of a possible ragging incident surfaced, but no formal complaint was lodged, the police inspector concerned sent out a communication to the hospital authorities underlining that the police should be informed of these incidents, said Mr. Kalaichelvan.

It was projected as a scuffle between students in a hostel and that medical careers were at stake and that the hospital wanted it to be handled as an internal matter to safeguard the reputation of the institution, says the Superintendent of Police.

Saravanan had in the interim sent out a mail to the Medical Commission, feeling let down by the perceived delay in the inquiry by the medical college. He felt isolated and targeted, according to his accounts to the inquiry officer, prior to registering the CSR on Sunday, said a police source. The deputy warden, and the chief warden of the hostel, both associate professors at the hospital resigned from their wardenship on Monday.

Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.

Resident docs call off strike, to resume duty at 9am today

Resident docs call off strike, to resume duty at 9am today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:  09.12.2021

Resident doctors called off their strike on Wednesday evening after the medical education department and representatives of agitating resident doctors’ meeting ended with an agreement.

“We will resume our duties from 9am on Thursday. In the meeting (with medical education department officials), an agreement has been signed, following which we have decided to call off our strike,” said Dr Amit Yadav, president, Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors.

The resident doctors were not working at OPD and IPD for the past 10 days and stopped work in the labour rooms and ICUs for the past five days. From December 6, they went on a complete strike. In the agreement, it has been mentioned that NEET PG counselling decision was being taken care of by the Centre. On the demand for extension of deadline for paper and poster presentations, it has been decided that principals of medical colleges will send letters to the National Medical Commission. The date of thesis submission will be extended to February 28. For Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojna, a TPA cell will be formed to do the work, which the resident doctors have been doing. Nodal officers will be appointed for in-service doctors for making procedure easy for admissions in PG courses by establishing coordination between medical education department, health directorate and medical colleges. Seats for senior residents will be increased as per the requirement. It is agreed that resident doctors will get three increment extra from the current two.

2 girls born on RTC buses get lifetime pass

2 girls born on RTC buses get lifetime pass

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  09.12.2021

When two ‘little passengers’ were born unexpectedly on state-run buses, TSRTC management has decided to onboard them for life, designating them as ‘frequent travellers’. The two baby girls have been given free bus travel in TSRTC for life as a birthday gift from the corporation.

The first girl was born on November 30 near Peddakothapally village in a bus belonging to Nagarkurnool depot, while another woman gave birth to her daughter aboard an RTC bus of Asifabad depot near Siddipet of December 7 afternoon. TSRTC crew coordinated with officials of the health department and rushed the mothers and newborns to nearby government hospitals in 108 ambulances for further treatment and the two are doing well.

“These two women unexpectedly went into labour onboard to their respective destinations and the TSRTC crew members and fellow passengers helped the women to deliver their babies. It is a proud moment to bring two lives onboard,” TSRTC vice-chairman and MD VC Sajjanar said.

Masks key to stop & break infection chain: Virologists

Masks key to stop & break infection chain: Virologists

Amrita.Didyala@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  09.12.2021

With the threat of the highly mutated Omicron variant of Covid-19 looming, virologists say that wearing a mask when around others, even at home, will be the main preventive weapon. This will be especially required for people having family members in the ‘vulnerable’ category — immunocompromised patients having kidney or lung disease, cancer, have undergone an organ transplantation, uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension among others.

As the pandemic is unlikely to disappear immediately, wearing masks around people is recommended up to April-May next year.

“As Omicron has undergone a high number of mutations, it means that every time the virus mutates it has an adverse environment condition for it prevailing. With large number of people being vaccinated, it has become less damaging to be able to survive. But it appears to be highly infectious, something that it has retained from the mother strain. Therefore, everybody has to wear masks and follow all Covid protocols even if they are double vaccinated as there is every chance of breakthrough infections,” said Dr P Sangram, former director, Institute of Preventive Medicine and state public health laboratory.

The expert also suggested that immune-compromised people, elderly and people with poor nutritional status should go for booster doses whenever available.

State health authorities, meanwhile, have been advocating the use of masks at home for a while now.

“While people have started masking up again since the threat of the new variant, many still do not understand the virus can spread within a family in minutes if a mask is not worn. A mask is the best protection and easiest way to cut out chain of infection,” said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, director public health, Telangana.

But wearing a mask right holds the key. “Wearing the mask properly is more important, which should cover nose and mouth fully. Not just the chin or neck as most people do,” said Dr Ehsan Ahmad Khan, superintendent, Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS).

‘Stampedes, long queues, fighting and no social distancing whatsoever’:

‘Stampedes, long queues, fighting and no social distancing whatsoever’:

Passengers recount ‘worst travel experience ever’ at Delhi airport

Travel agents are advising people to hold off trips, as holiday rush and Omicron panic has resulted in a chaotic scenario at the airport

Niharika Lal

09.12.2021

The chaotic scenario and never-ending queues at Delhi airports have become a hot topic on social media recently, with netizens posting both concerned and tongue-incheek tweets, comparing the airport to a ‘train station’.

Mocking the Inception-like queue-within-a-queue-within-a-queue (you get the picture!) saga one has to face at the airport, comic Amit Tandon tweeted recently, “Lounge at Mumbai International Airport has a longer queue than the check in counter (sic)”. To this, someone replied – “can’t be longer than the line at Delhi airport to enter the airport”. At the same time, sharing a picture of the overcrowded Delhi airport, entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted, “...Not A Train Station, This Is Delhi Airport Under Omicron Rules...it’s obvious that the airport testing upon arrival will cause pandemonium n a transmission hot spot - but who’s listening? (sic)”

DOMESTIC AIR TRAFFIC UP BY 0.5% DESPITE OMICRON: STUDY

India’s domestic air traffic went up by 0.5% recently, according to UK aviation data company OAG. In India, domestic airlines offered a total of 3.34 million seats last week, while this week the number was a tad higher at 3.36 million. In comparison, pre-Covid, in the first week of December 2019, domestic airlines offered a total of 3.5 million seats.

AIRPORT WAS CROWDED FOR TWO DAYS DUE TO NEW GUIDELINES, OPERATIONS ARE NOW SMOOTH, SAYS DELHI AIRPORT OFFICIAL

A Delhi airport official says, “While the airport was crowded for the initial two days after the guidelines were issued, operations are now smooth. People are also opting for RTPCR tests for which they can get results within 90 minutes and not miss their flight.” While talking about complaints regarding passengers’ temperatures not being checked, the officials said, “Body temperature is not checked at the airport because there is a mass thermal screening system installed to screen all passengers.” He adds, “We have also made provisions for separate parking for flights coming from high risk countries, so that they do not come in contact with other passengers.” Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEODIAL, said in a statement that apart from installing extra rapid RT-PCR machines and test counters, “We are also working closely with the immigration authorities to facilitate swift movement of passengers. Seating arrangements have been vastly expanded and food counters have been made available in the waiting area.”

A railway station is less crowded than the Delhi airport: Travellers

As per UK aviation data company OAG – domestic air traffic in India is up by 0.5% despite reports of rising Omicron cases. If anything, the newly detected COVID-19 variant has led to people preponing international travel plans, as those abroad scramble to find tickets to return home.

‘THERE WAS OVERCROWDING OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT, AT CHECK-IN, FOOD COUNTERS AND THE WAITING AREA’

A traveller who flew to London this week, described her airport experience as “quite chaotic”. “First, we had to wait in a queue for around 15-20 minutes to get inside. Once I entered the airport, it felt like the pandemic never happened! There was overcrowding at check-in queues, food counters and the waiting area. No one was following any social distancing, whatsoever,” she says.

The passenger adds, “I wouldn’t say it felt like a railway station, because I recently travelled by train and the station was definitely less crowded than the airport!” Another person, whose family flew to India, says they encountered a stampede-like situation at the airport and called it the “worst experience of their lives”.

On Monday, after pictures of long queues, chaos and crowd at the Delhi airport surfaced online, it was reported that aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia directed Delhi airport operator DIAL to implement better crowd management strategies.

‘PEOPLE WERE FIGHTING IN QUEUES TO GET THEIR COVID TEST RESULTS AT DELHI AIRPORT’

As revised travel guidelines were implemented in the wake of the new COVID variant, many flyers had to wait for hours to get their tests done and then wait for the results, which led to more crowding and chaos, say passengers. Aryaman Raj Sokhal, student of Cambridge University, who reached Delhi, last week, shares, “Before boarding my flight from Heathrow airport, I had to book an RT-PCR test on arrival, and had to choose a time slot. I was landing at 1.15am in Delhi, so I chose the 2-3am slot. On landing, I had to go to one desk to get a QR code, and then another for my COVID test. I was lucky to not find any queue at both places. However, after the test one has to wait for a PDF that is mailed to them, which can take up to 4-5 hours. After taking the print of the PDF, one has to get it stamped before they can proceed to immigration. The queue for the print out was long, and people were jumping it and fighting among themselves. It took me five hours to reach the luggage belt and finally leave the airport.”

‘IT WASN’T POSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING, PEOPLE WEREN’T EVEN WEARING MASKS’

Akshat, who works for a film production company and flew to Delhi this week from Mumbai, says, “It was one of my worst travel experiences. Flyers are panicking that we’ll go into lockdown any second, and so are desperate to reach their destination. At the same time, despite Omicron fears, flights are still serving food and operating at 100% occupancy. If you are lucky, then your flight’s air hostess may remind fellow passengers to wear a mask, but more often than not, people are being too careless about rules.”

Vidhur Dixit, who returned from London on December 6, adds, “I was scared after seeing the crowd at the Delhi airport. It just wasn’t possible to maintain social distancing and most people were not even wearing their masks properly.”

— with inputs from Divya Kaushik

MUMBAI, HYDERABAD AIRPORTS OFFER MOST EXPENSIVE RAPID TESTS

Under the new norms, passengers arriving from ‘at-risk’ nations have to undergo an RT-PCR test and wait for their results before they can leave the airport or take a connecting flight. They can choose between the regular and rapid versions of the test. At the Delhi airport, a rapid test costs a passenger ₹3,500, while results come in 60-90 minutes. A regular RT-PCR costs a passenger ₹500 and the results come in around six hours. Following are the prices of rapid tests in different cities:

Mumbai: ₹3,900

Hyderabad: ₹3900

Delhi: ₹3,500

Bengaluru: ₹3,000

Kolkata: ₹2,900

Chennai: ₹2,900

Cochin: ₹2,490

(Source: TOI)

BUDGET TRAVELLERS SHOULD AVOID AIRPORTS TRIPS RIGHT NOW, SAY TRAVEL AGENTS

Travel agents point out that they have been getting a lot of complaints from both, passengers flying out of the country and those flying in. Prachi, a travel agent says, “People are complaining about having to fill multiple forms on the flight and once they land at the airport, despite no one checking those forms. Some even told us that their temperature wasn’t checked at the airport. This includes not just Delhi, but all other major airports in the country. Families are facing more trouble than solo flyers, because test prices for them average at over ₹15,000. Passengers with connecting flights are facing a lot of trouble, too, because if they miss their next flight, who will compensate them?”

A senior staff member at a travel portal says, “We are advising people to hold off leisure travel plans for at least a week or ten days, as the current airport scenario is too chaotic. Budget travellers should avoid travelling at present.” Akash Rastogi, director of a travel company, adds that the current situation is more panic-induced.

‘Every able-bodied man’s moral duty to maintain wife’

‘Every able-bodied man’s moral duty to maintain wife’

New Delhi:  09.12.2021

A Delhi court has dismissed a plea challenging the payment of maintenance to his estranged wife, saying every able-bodied man is bound to maintain his wife and cannot run away from this responsibility by giving excuses.

District Judge Ramesh Kumar said that being the husband, he cannot escape from his moral duty of providing maintenance to his wife.

“The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is aimed at strengthening the economic independence of a woman,” the court said in the order.

It further said the magistrate court rightly observed that the aspect of financial deprivation of women is included in the category of economic abuse. “It is pertinent to mention that an aggrieved woman needs economic support in view of the domestic violence perpetrated upon her by a person, who is in domestic relation with her.”

A magistrate court had earlier directed the man to pay an interim maintenance of Rs 6,500 per month to his wife. The man had challenged the order before the sessions court. TNN

Flyer from UK flees quarantine, taken back by Delhi policemen

Flyer from UK flees quarantine, taken back by Delhi policemen

Ipsita.Pati@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon:  09.12.2021

A passenger from the UK tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday, left two isolation centres in Delhi to get himself admitted to Gurgaon’s Medanta hospital in the early hours of Tuesday and was finally tracked down by Delhi Police and taken back to an isolation facility in the capital.

It is not yet clear whether the patient is infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, but district administration officials said that they could not afford to take any risk.

The 30-year-old man is a resident of DLF-1. Upon his return from the UK, his swab sample was positive, following which he was taken to Lok Nayak Hospital and advised institutional isolation. The patient insisted that he would bear the cost of treatment on his own and was taken in an ambulance to a private hospital in Saket. However, within hours, the man left that facility too and came to Medanta with the help of his relatives.

“The patient informed us that he had tested positive for Covid, showed the documents and got admitted to the hospital. Later, Delhi Police took him back to the isolation centre in the capital,” said Dr Sushila Kataria, an intensive care expert at Medanta.

The patient is currently admitted to Max Saket, which has been designated an isolation centre.

Asked why the patient was taken back to Delhi, she said, “There are eight isolation centres where international travellers who test positive for Covid are being isolated till their genome sequencing reveals the variant they are infected with. None of the Gurgaon hospitals is in the list. Therefore, the patient had to be taken to one of those centres.”

As per the Union health ministry’s directives, officials are supposed to mandatorily take swab samples of every flyer and isolate them in a separate unit of an institutional facility if they are found positive. Their contacts also need to be traced immediately, according to the guidelines.

75 years ago, a queen jumped to her death from Qutub Minar

TOI+ EXCLUSIVE

75 years ago, a queen jumped to her death from Qutub Minar

Rani Tara Devi Of Kapurthala Was A Czech Beauty Who Had Been A Rising Star At Vienna’s Burgtheater Before She Met Maharaja Jagatjit Singh And Accompanied Him To India. She Jumped Off The Qutub On December 9, 1946

Abhilash.Gaur@timesgroup.com

09.12.2021

By December 1946, the tall woman with wide-set eyes was a familiar sight at New Delhi’s Maidens Hotel. She had been staying there for about a month. Every day, she took her dogs out walking. But on the morning of the second Monday – December 9 – she came out of her suite alone, hailed a taxi and sped towards the Qutub Minar.

The 13th-century tower lay outside the capital, about 20km away. On arriving at the Minar, the woman left her handbag with the driver and started up the stairs. The Minar is taller than a 20-storey apartment building and not an easy climb even for someone in fine fettle. Had the driver glanced up, he couldn’t have read the look on her face when she appeared at the top. But he would have frozen in shock as she jumped to death.

A woman so beautiful that she had wowed Vienna’s elite on her first major stage appearance 11 years earlier, now lay smashed beyond recognition. Who was she? The contents of her handbag revealed she was Rani Tara Devi, 33-year-old estranged wife of Kapurthala’s ageing Maharaja, Jagatjit Singh.

After a post-mortem next morning, Tara Devi was buried at the Nicholson Cemetery near Kashmere Gate in Delhi, and forgotten.

A charmer on stage

But Tara Devi wasn’t her real name. A Kapurthala state declaration submitted to the British in 1940 mentions her name as ‘Engenie’ Marie Grosupova, which might have been a typist’s mistake. Eugenie is the more likely name.

The Rani was a Czech national, born on January 22, 1914. Dr Leon Pistol, who had been her guardian in Vienna from the age of 4 to 20 years, told the Canadian newspaper Photo Journal that she was the daughter of “a very wealthy member of the Hungarian nobility”. Before she accompanied the Maharaja to India, shortly before WW-II started, she had been a promising new dancer on Vienna’s most famous stage, the Burgtheater.

In 1935, Eugenie had landed a meaty role as Anitra in Henrik Ibsen’s drama Peer Gynt. The press admired her for her beauty, femininity and dancing. Austrian papers such as Die Stunde mentioned her as Nina Grosup-Karatsonyi. After her suicide, papers in America, Europe and Australia also used the name Nina Grosup, so did Pistol. So, Nina is what we’ll call her for the rest of this story.

A royal whim

After making a splash on the stage in 1935, why did Nina disappear from it? In April 1947, four months after her suicide, Pistol told Photo Journal that the Maharaja had been present at the Burgtheater during one of her performances. “Immediately after the performance, Nina’s mother called me to tell me that the Maharaja wanted to bring them all back (to India) with him,” the article written in French says.

Another article published in the Sydney edition of The World’s News on August 23, 1947, also says, “On the opening night she received an ovation from the crowd, and a huge bouquet of roses from the Maharaja of Kapurthala, who had been admiring the dancer from his box.”

Pistol said he opposed the Maharaja’s offer because Nina had signed a three-year contract with the Burgtheater, but “the suitor-royal simply shrugged his shoulders and offered to buy out the contract in question for $20,000.”

Soon after this, Nina, her then 46-year-old mother Marie Grosupova, and a 64-year-old maid/governess named Antonia Kaura, “followed the Maharaja to Paris, London, and finally, to India”.

It’s difficult to verify Pistol’s claims in detail but the International Herald Tribune of June 28, 1938, describes a luncheon hosted by the Maharaja at the George V hotel in Paris at which ‘Mme Grosup’ (Marie), ‘Mlle Grosup’ (Nina) and ‘Dr Pistol’ were among the guests. Clearly, Pistol’s story had a kernel of truth.

By the time WW-II started in 1939, the Grosups were installed at Jagatjit Palace in Kapurthala, although Nina and the Maharaja weren’t married until then.

Unhappy marriage

The Maharaja was well-known in Europe and America and his engagements were regularly covered, so strangely his marriage to Nina didn’t draw the press’s attention, maybe because it was absorbed by the war. But it is a fact that Nina and he were married, and she was given the Indian name Tara Devi, because the question of “the grant of a British passport to Rani Tara Devi (formally Miss Grosup, a Czechoslovak citizen), wife of His Highness the Maharaja of Kapurthala” did arise in 1942.

It wasn’t a happy marriage. Reports after Nina’s suicide said they had separated in 1945 and she had been living alone. Pistol said she had intended to visit America in December 1946 to settle there. The World’s News article said she had asked Pistol to buy her a house near New York City.

Was it suicide?

From the first, Pistol said he suspected foul play in Nina’s death. He alleged that a month before she died, she had written to him saying, “Every day when I go out with my dogs somebody is asking me questions and follows me. I don’t know what he wants.

He pursued the case for some years. The National Archives of India has a 1948 record of an “Enquiry by Mr Leon Pistol, guardian of late Rani Tara Devi of Kapurthala, regarding her death in 1946.” In 1952, Pistol also sent a request to the PM “for assistance and advice regarding investigation into the mysterious death in 1946 of Eugenie Grosup, popularly known as Rani Tara Devi of Kapurthala.” But by then, the Maharaja had died and the Rani, whom few knew while she lived in India, had been completely forgotten.

Tragedy in Nilgiris leaves political leadership in shock

Tragedy in Nilgiris leaves political leadership in shock

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  09.12.2021

Top leaders of the country, including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed anguish over the sudden demise of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other defence personnel in the helicopter crash on Wednesday.

“I am shocked and anguished,” the President tweeted. “The nation has lost one of its bravest sons. His four decades of selfless service to the motherland was marked by exceptional gallantry and heroism. My condolences to his family,” Kovind added. “It’s deeply painful for me to learn of the loss of lives in the chopper crash. I join the fellow citizens in paying tributes to each of those who died while performing their duty. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said that Rawat was known for his remarkable leadership and strategic vision and added great strength to the defence capabilities and made a stellar contribution to strengthening the national security. “His outstanding service to our nation will always be remembered,” Naidu added.

Expressing anguish over the deaths in the crash, PM Modi said, “They served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families.”

Recalling Gen Rawat as an outstanding soldier and a true patriot, Modi said, “He greatly contributed to modernising our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply.”

He further said that as India’s first CDS, Gen Rawat worked on diverse aspects, including defence reforms. “He brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army. India will never forget his exceptional service.”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said the untimely death of Gen Rawat was an irreparable loss to the armed forces and the country. “Gen Rawat served the country with exceptional courage and diligence,” he said.

“Praying for the speedy recovery of Group Capt Varun Singh, who is currently under treatment at the Military Hospital, Wellington,” Singh added.

Home minister Amit Shah said that it was a sad day for the nation. “His exemplary contributions and commitment cannot be put into words. I am deeply pained,” he said.

PM Modi tweeted this picture of CDS Rawat on Wednesday

Spike in Raj as 40 test +ve; Omicron cases at 9

Spike in Raj as 40 test +ve; Omicron cases at 9

Intishab.Ali@timesgroup.com

Jaipur:  09.12.2021

In a clear spike in Covid-19 cases, Rajasthan on Wednesday reported 40 coronavirus positive patients, 25 of whom are from Jaipur only. The state so far has nine confirmed cases of Omicron, all in the city. Eight relatives of a person from the city’s Vaishali Nagar, who had arrived from Germany on November 27 and tested positive two days ago, were found infected on Wednesday.

Besides, three more people from a family of 14 living in the city’s Adarsh Nagar locality were found positive on Wednesday. This family has already reported five confirmed cases of Omicron. Four relatives of the Adarsh Nagar family, who had arrived in the city from South Africa on November 25, had first tested positive for Omicron. Among these 11 new cases, five are children below 18 years — three from the Vaishali Nagar family and two from the Adarsh Nagar family. Suspecting the 11 cases reported from Vaishali Nagar and Adarsh Nagar to be Omicron infection, the health department has decided to send their samples for genome sequencing and isolate them at the dedicated Covid-19 RUHS Hospital.“All those who come in contact with Omicron-positive cases and test positive for Covid-19 are termed ‘suspected cases of Omicron’. Also, those who are coming in from ‘at risk’ countries and testing positive, and their contacts who test positive, too are suspected cases of the new variant,” said Dr Ajit Singh, superintendent, RUHS Hospital.

4 foreign returnees test +ve in Odisha

Four foreign returnees from “at-risk” countries have tested positive for coronavirus, Odisha health authorities confirmed on Wednesday, reports Riyan Ramanath. The samples of those infected have been sent to Insascog laboratory at the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) to ascertain whether they are carrying the Omicron variant of the virus. “They have mild symptoms,” Niranjan Mishra, director of public health, said.

Saudi exempts Indian pilgrims from quarantine

Saudi exempts Indian pilgrims from quarantine

Mumbai:  09.12.2021

With Saudi Arabia exempting Umrah pilgrims from India from the requirement of five-day quarantine on reaching there, pilgrims and tour operators are ecstatic, reports Mohammed Wajihuddin.

While Haj is performed annually, Umrah or minor pilgrimage can be performed throughout the year. Though Saudi permitted visits of Umrah pilgrims to Haram Sharief in Mecca with some restrictions weeks ago, the 15-day quarantine requirement in a third country — UAE, Russia and Kazakhstan among others — or the five-day quarantine in Saudi Arabia discouraged them. “It is a relief to both the tour operators and pilgrims. We would get a number of enquiries daily about Umrah visas, but were helpless because of the quarantine requirement. Now, the number of Indian pilgrims Umrah will rise,” said Yusuf Ahmed Khereda of Al Khalid Tours and Travels.“I am so excited that I have got a Umrah visa and will soon travel to Saudi Arabia to pray at the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina and be at the mausoleum of the holy Prophet,” said Imtiyaz Vilatra, country head of corporate house Posterscope OOH.

Raj principal, 14 staffers booked over ‘gang rape’

Raj principal, 14 staffers booked over ‘gang rape’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Alwar/Jaipur:  09.12.2021

The principal of a government school at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan’s Alwar and his entire staff of 14 has been named in three FIRs alleging gangrape and molestation of schoolgirls on campus.

Bhiwadi SP Ram Murti Joshi said the FIRs were registered on Tuesday under the Pocso Act, based on complaints of sexual assault lodged by the families of five schoolgirls against the staff. The alleged incidents allegedly took place before offline classes were suspended last year. “We are also probing the role of an exteacher of the same school who was jailed in 2020 for sexually assaulting a minor. All staff members mentioned in FIRs were witnesses in that case,” the SP said. “We need to confirm if the FIRs were filed at the behest of the former teacher.”

UP school owner accused of sedating and molesting 17 minors arrested

The owner of the school, where 17 girls of class 10 were allegedly sedated and molested, was arrested on Tuesday. While assistant SP (Sadar) Krishna Kumar claimed that the special operations group arrested the accused, sources said that he surrendered at Purkazi police station in Uttar Pradesh. He was produced in court on Wednesday and has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days till December 21. TNN

Night temp drops to 12.5°, Bhopal may get colder

Night temp drops to 12.5°, Bhopal may get colder

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  09.12.2021

The night temperature dipped by three degrees to settle at 12.5 degrees Celsius in Bhopal on Wednesday. The previous night was a bit warmer at 15.6 degrees. Officials of the meteorological department, Bhopal circle said, the temperatures are set to dip further across the state in the days to come.

There is no system or moisture incursion over the state and as such, dry weather would prevail. This may intensify the winter in the state, the officials said. They also issued a warning of fog for a few places in the state.

The day temperature in Bhopal on Wednesday was recorded at 25.2 degree Celsius, two degrees less than normal mark, while night temperature (12.5 degrees), was still a degree above the normal mark. Wind direction was north-easterly with an average speed of 14 kmph. A day earlier, maximum and minimum temperature in Bhopal was respectively at 24.7 degrees Celsius and 15.6 degrees Celsius.

The places in the state that recorded fog in the morning were Chhatarpur, Niwari and Tikamgarh. In the forecast for Bhopal on Thursday, the meteorological officials said, there would be clear sky and dry weather. Day and night temperature would be 25 and 12 degrees respectively with an average wind speed of 14 kmph.

In the forecast for other parts of the state, the officials said the weather would be dry over remaining places in the state, the officials added.

‘Poor visibility, not technical fault, likely crash cause’

‘Poor visibility, not technical fault, likely crash cause’

U Tejonmayam & V Ayappan TNN

Chennai:  09.12.2021

Foggy conditions and poor visibility could be factors that caused the Mi-17 V5 carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and several others to crash in Coonoor, aviation experts said, though official word on the reason for Wednesday’s fatal accident is awaited.

They said chances of technical faults are remote because it was a planned flight with VIP passengers. “The chopper is capable of flying in bad weather, but the terrain was hilly and it appears to have fallen from a low altitude,” an expert said.

Visibility may have dropped considerably because of foggy conditions or low clouds over Coonoor around 11.30am on Wednesday. According to the IMD, Coonoor reported 4mm rainfall till 8.30am on Wednesday and the maximum temperature during the day was 19o C.

“We had forecast light to moderate rainfall in hill stations. Only for the plains we had forecast mist or fog. It is difficult to forecast fog for valleys and hilly terrain because both satellite and radar cannot capture that. Fog conditions can be reported only by seeing it. Even then it is difficult to differentiate between fog and low clouds,” said N Puviarasan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, IMD Chennai.

Experts said fog appears as a cloud near ground level, reducing visibility. Fog usually forms at a relative humidity of about 100% that may occur when there is increased moisture in the air or when the temperature is decreasing.

IMD officials said they were not asked for local weather conditions during VIP movement to Wellington and the IAF has its own facility to track it. “They don’t share weather conditions or forecasts from their area either,” an official said.

Skymet Weather chief meteorologist Mahesh Palawat said Coonoor had shallow fog and cloudy weather on Wednesday morning (8.30am) and dense fog with nearly no visibility at 5.30pm. “There could be shallow fog or low clouds during the day,” he said.

No May Day call before crash, says Coimbatore ATC

In contact with destination control.” That was the last message from the pilot of the Mi-17V5 to Coimbatore ATC before the aircraft changed over to the defence ATC around five minutes from landing at the Wellington base on Wednesday. The changeover happened at around 4,000 ft, before it crashed, reports V Ayappan.

Coimbatore ATC sources said there was no May Day call, which is usually transmitted on open VHF frequency for all to hear. Only rarely do they transmit such calls for help on an exclusive emergency frequency, said an official. “The helicopter was supposed to return within 10 minutes of dropping off the passengers,” the official said. The chopper’s movement was not tracked on radar because Coimbatore does not have one that can map low-altitude flights.

AI cameras at KSR station will see through your mask

AI cameras at KSR station will see through your mask

Full-Fledged Launch From Next Month

Christin.MathewPhilip@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 09.12.2021

Last month, a 41-year-old mentally disturbed woman went missing from east Bengaluru. The Railway Protection Force (RPF)’s control room in Bengaluru division received an alert and photograph of the woman at 11.35pm from a group of citizens. At 11.47pm, RPF personnel managed to trace the woman who was wearing a fullmask at KSR Bengaluru City railway station. The swift tracking happened with the help of AI-enabled face-recognition cameras.

“We could trace her in just 12 minutes. In fact, relatives of the woman were also surprised that we could find her in such a short time,” said a RPF official.

For the past nine months, a trial run of recognition cameras was on at the station. South Western Railway (SWR) officials said a fullfledged launch of the Rs 2.4-crore project will be held from next month.

“We have installed 120 of the 150 AI-enabled cameras. We could identify 43 criminals in the last nine months through this system. We’ll install them at 18 more stations in Bengaluru division,” said a senior SWR official.

A TOI report, ‘KSR, Yeshwantpur railway stations to get face-recognition cameras’ (May 6, 2019), had highlighted the plan. While facemasks are mandatory in public places after Covid-19, SWR officials said these cameras will detect people with masks too. Face-recognition cameras will recognise the face of a repeat offender/wanted persons involved in human trafficking, child kidnapping, smuggling, terrorist activities and other cases, then alert in cases of overcrowding stations, unclaimed baggage/ objects, keep track of those who frequent ticket counters, including touts. “We never anticipated that all will have to wear face-masks. But we had thought of people entering the station covering their faces, using sunglasses or hats and other scenarios, so it has come handy now,” said an official.

Asked about privacy concerns, another official said: “We’re not storing any data. We’re just matching faces in the database to records. In fact, most airports also have face-recognition cameras. Only criminals need to worry about this.”

UNDER SCANNER: RPF Bengaluru division’s command control centre where inputs from the cameras are monitored

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK

These hi-tech cameras capture facial images at the railway station. The system has a database of criminal offenders from Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) and state police. If a blacklisted repeat offender match is found in CCTV feed, alerts will be given to the command-and-control room which is being monitored by a team of RPF staff round-theclock as well as 25 mobile phones of senior officials.

Live CCTV feeds are also displayed on multiple screens at the 16X10 feet video-wall at the control room.

These cameras will help us trace wanted persons, especially those involved in child trafficking. It will also ensure safety of women passengers. We’ll be able to track people with criminal backgrounds without delay

Shyam Singh | BENGALURU DIVISIONAL RAILWAY MANAGER