Warrant against Haryana official for not replying to RTI query

03/12/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,GURUGRAM

Taking a serious view of the District Town Planner (Enforcement), Gurugram, not replying to an application under the Right To Information (RTI) Act on unauthorised colonies, the State Information Commission (SIC) has issued bailable warrants against the official.

The panel also ordered the Director General of Department of Town and Country Planning to ensure that state public information officers (SPIO) attend the commission’s hearings so that appellants are not harassed.

The order came in connection with a RTI application filed by Ramesh Yadav more than a year ago seeking information on the No-Objection Certificates issued by the official concerned for registration of land and the action taken against mushrooming of illegal colonies.

In its November 15 order, the SIC said it had on August 2 directed the SPIO-cum-DTP (Enforcement) Ved Prakash Sehrawat, to facilitate inspection of relevant records on August 13 at 11.15 a.m. at his office, but the appellant, Mr. Yadav, in his email on November 14 informed that he was not provided any information.

In its four-page order, the SIC noted that Mr. Sehrawat “neither furnished any information to the appellant nor replied to the showcause notice”. “This shows the lacklustre attitude of SPIO,” it read. The SIC further noted that the SPIO did not attend commission hearings, “which shows he has no regards for effective implementation of the RTI Act”.

The commission has directed Mr. Sehrawat to furnish a reply to the RTI application within two weeks and be present at the next hearing on March 11, 2020, with the relevant record.

Mr. Yadav alleged that Mr. Sehrawat, had issued around 250 NOCs, mostly in violation of law, to facilitate unauthorised colonies.

He said that around 700 unauthorised colonies had come up in Gurugram, but no action was taken.

Mr. Sehrawat, however, denied all allegations saying that they were motivated by vested interests. He claimed that he had duly replied to the commission’s showcause notice and furnished the information to the appellant and it appeared to be a case of miscommunication.

House passes university Bill

03/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER ,NEW DELHI

The Delhi Assembly on Monday passed a Bill to set up a Delhi Sports University (DSU), which will offer graduation, post-graduation and doctorate degrees in cricket, football, and hockey among other sports.

“DSU will establish world-class sporting infrastructure and produce finest sportspersons and coaches. It will be made one of the most sought after place for sports in the world. One day India will win more Olympic medals than China,” said Chief Minister said.

Some shortcomings

Mr. Kejriwal added that there were shortcomings in the system and sportspersons do not get the required support from the government. Ninety acres of land have been identified ist construction in Mundka.

Madurai hospital performs liver transplantation on two children

03/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

Liver transplantation was the only option available for those with end-stage liver disease, said Rajesh Prabhu, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Apollo Speciality Hospitals.

Speaking to media persons here on Friday, he said they operated on two seven-year-old children with chronic liver diseases - autoimmune liver disease and Wilson’s disease - earlier this year. While the first disease abnormally identifies its own body tissues as foreign, the second disease sees excessive deposit of copper in the liver.

One parent of each child donated their livers for the surgery. While the first surgery took place in August, the second was performed in October. Both the surgeries took between eight and 10 hours as the surgery between the donor and the recipient had to take place simultaneously, said Dr. Prabhu.

“As children need only a small size of liver, donors need to donate only a very small portion of their liver. This carries virtually no risk,” he said.

The doctor added that both chronic liver diseases will certainly be fatal if not treated on time. In case of children, the progression was generally rapid and hence need to be dealt with swiftly, he said.

J. Madhusudhanan, Consultant Liver Transplant Surgeon, said “In paediatric transplants, the blood vessels that need to be sutured are very small adding to the complexity of the operation and demands a high degree of skill and specialised equipment,” he said.

The two children who were in critical care units have recovered well. “They must only come back for consultations and check-ups regularly,” he said.

Liver disease in children was one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated illnesses in the paediatric population in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu as there is a dearth of specialists and specialised centre dedicated for this purpose, said Murugan Jeyaraman, Senior Consultant Pediatrician & Neonatologist.

Rohini Sridhar, COO, said speedy recovery of patients was a testament to the quality of work of doctors. The hospital had received approval for living donor liver transplantation under Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, she said.

A strange catch for Puducherry fishermen

Casing of a strap-on motor of PSLV gets caught in fishing nets, creates a sensation on shore

03/12/2019, T.K. ROHIT, RAJESH B.

 NAIR,PUDUCHERRY/CHENNAI

Net surprise: The part of a satellite launch vehicle which got caught in the nets of fishermen in Puducherry. T. SingaravelouThe Hindu

Some fishermen of Puducherry were delighted to feel the weight in their nets as they towed their catch home, figuring it might be a whale.

However, after they hauled it ashore, they discovered to their shock that their nets had been shredded, not by any fish, but by a long, rocket-like object with some markings on it.

As news spread of a rocket, battered by the waves, and a little rusty, being brought ashore, crowds, especially from nearby hamlets, began thronging the place. Children played with the object and people came to take pictures, videos and selfies.

Launch workhorse

The equipment, it turned out, was the casing of one of the strap-on motors of the PSLV, India’s trusted workhorse satellite vehicle. ‘PSOM XL 1’ was marked on top of the casing, while the bottom part on the strap-on motors was dated “22/03/19”. “This is just the casing of the strap-on motors…inside that will be the solid motor portion which would be completely burnt out,” former ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar told The Hindu.

Mr. Kumar said the date marked on the casing was the date of the final assembly.

The strap-on motors provide additional thrust to the rocket at launch and are the first to be separated after the rocket lifts off from the launch pad, following which the first and second stages separate in sequence. “These stages fall into the ocean after separation. It is very rare for them to wash ashore,” Mr. Kumar said.

The ISRO is sending a team from Sriharikota to retrieve the casing.

(With inputs from

T. Singaravelou)

CBI registers case against officials for ₹100 bribe

03/12/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

The CBI, which usually takes up high-profile cases of corruption and financial frauds, has registered an FIR against two postal officials at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly demanding a ₹100 bribe from a commission agent.

The agency’s Lucknow unit has registered the case on a complaint from the agent’s husband who alleged that superintendent Santosh Kumar Saroj and postal assistant Suraj Mishra had demanded ₹100 as “processing fee” on every ₹20,000 deposit collected as postal savings from villagers.

It was alleged that when the agent’s husband went to deposit ₹99,400 and ₹59,920 on November 25 and 26, the postal official collected from him excess amounts of ₹500 and ₹300.

Govt. hospital gets its first transgender nurse

03/12/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

It was a day that took 25-year-old Anbu Ruby a step closer to her dream to do her bit for the transgender community: she became Tamil Nadu’s first transgender staff nurse to be appointed to a government hospital.

On Monday, Ms. Ruby received the appointment order from Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami along with several other staff nurses, village health nurses and laboratory technicians recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board.

A resident of Thoothukudi, Ms. Ruby wanted to pursue nursing to contribute to the transgender community and society at large.

After completing B.Sc. Nursing from a private college in Tirunelveli in 2016, Ms. Ruby pursued MBA in Hospital Management through distance education and completed the course this year.

“I want to be an example for my community. Many of them should come out and achieve in their lives. I also want to serve society in whatever way I can. That is why I chose nursing,” she said.

Her father lost his eyesight when she was two years old and it was her mother who worked to provide education to her. “My mother accepted me as I am, and all this was possible only with her encouragement,” she said.

The level of awareness about the transgender community and their psychological needs is still less among people and the medical fraternity, she said, adding: “I want to create as much awareness as I can.”

Ailing elephant kills mahout at Salem zoo

03/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER , SALEM

A file picture of elephant Andal with mahout Kaliyappan, first from left, who was killed by the animal.

An elephant at Kurumbapatti zoological park killed its mahout on Monday evening. A team of veterinarians offered mild sedation to the animal and recovered the mahout’s body.

Around 5.20 p.m. on Monday, wildlife veterinarian Prakasham was conducting a regular check on the elephant, Andal. It turned unruly and attacked him when he tried to control it, forest officials said. The mahout was identified as M. Kaliyappan from Pollachi.

According officials, the elephant was ailing and efforts were being made to transfer it to Tiruchi for rehabilitation. District Forest Officer A.Periasamy and other senior forest officials reached the zoo.

The 65-year-old elephant was brought from the Alagar temple in Madurai in 2009 to the zoo following a High Court direction to treat it for different ailments.

In 2013, the elephant killed a daily wager in the zoo and three devotees in the Madurai temple, Mr.Periasamy said.

He added that the carcass would be sent to Salem government hospital for autopsy.