50-yr-old dentist ends life over poor financial health -

50-yr-old dentist ends life over poor financial health -

The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Surat:

A 50-year-old dentist allegedly committed suicide by slitting his throat with a surgical blade in his clinic in Kaskiwad locality on Tuesday night.

Preliminary investigation suggested that Dr Azim Patrawala took the drastic step due to financial crisis that had worsened during the lockdown.

He ran the clinic wit his wife Sarah who is also a dentist.

At around 10pm on Tuesday, his elder daughter went to check at his clinic as Dr Patrawala did not return home at his usual time of 7pm.

She found him lying in a pool of blood.

“The cut on the throat was two inches deep and roughly three inches long. Postmortem and forensic experts confirmed that he committed suicide,” said a police officer at Lalgate police station.

“The family members told us that Dr Patrawala was upset due to worsening financial condition. Police are also trying to find out if he was under debt,” said a police official.

Dr Patrwala have two daughters, one aged 17 years and other 12.

Dr Patrwala was also a sailing enthusiast and actively promoted this sport, which is rare in this region. He used to guide and support in organizing sailing competition organised at Magdalla every year.

He also started Surat Sailing Club and visited multiple locations abroad to participate in sailing expeditions.

“He was a sportsman and sailing enthusiast. I cannot believe that he could commit suicide. It is a shocker for many of his friends,” said a businessman who used to exercise with Dr Patrawala at a city club in the past.

Asymptomatic student writes exam in ambulance -

Asymptomatic student writes exam in ambulance -

The Times Of India

AnanthaNarayanan.K@timesgroup.com

Kochi:24.09.2020

A college girl of Vadakkekara panchayat wrote her semester exam in an ambulance at the exam centre after she had tested Covid-19 positive. The health department and college authorities made the arrangements upon the request of her parents.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a student of Higher Diploma in Co-Operation and Business Management (HDC & BM) course at Cooperative Training College, Thrissur. She tested positive a few days before Wednesday's exams. However, as she was asymptomatic, the parents approached the health department through her college to give her permission to write the exam in isolation at a centre near her house.

The authorities made the arrangements at the Cooperative Training College at Mattupuram in North Paravur where the exam for the same course are conducted. “As she is asymptomatic, there was no difficulty in making the arrangements. Once all the other students were inside the classroom, the vehicle entered the premises and parked outside the building. The ambulance driver collected the question paper from us and the student wrote the exam. After completion of the exam, her answer sheet was sealed in a separate cover and the ambulance returned with her before other students were allowed to go,” said Shantha Kumari, principal, CTC, North Paravur.

The student is expected to write the remaining exams in the same manner. “Other students were scared. But the authorities helped her to write the exam without causing any trouble to others,” said the girl’s father.

Arrangements were made for the college student to write her semester exam on the premises of the centre at North

HC notice to state over pay cut -

HC notice to state over pay cut - 

The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jodhpur:24.09.2020

The high court on Wednesday issued notice to the state government while hearing a petition challenging the order to deduct two days’ salary of the employees.

Challenging this order of the government dated September 8, petitioner Gopal Sandu argued that it was illegal and the government was not authorised to issue such order either under Disaster Management Act or any other act or ordinance. Terming the order an arbitrary one, Sandu argued that the state government could not deduct the salary of its employees in such a manner.

It may be noted that state government, through a circular dated September 8, 2020, had ordered all the departmental heads and district magistrates to deduct two days’ salary of all the employees from the gross salary of September payable in October citing economic condition of the state arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This deducted amount was to be deposited in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for relief to the coronavirus infected persons of the state.

This order was applicable on all the corporations, boards, commissions, autonomous bodies, cooperative committees and government undertakings etc., except the employees from judicial and medical & health departments along with the constables of police department and class 4 employees.

Only 60 districts in 7 states are a cause of worry: PM Modi at Covid-19 review meet

Only 60 districts in 7 states are a cause of worry: PM Modi at Covid-19 review meet

ANI | Sep 23, 2020, 09.12 PM IST

Only 60 districts in 7 states are a cause of worry: PM Modi at Covid-19 review meet

NEW DELHI: Only 60 districts in seven states of the country are a cause of worry, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday while chairing a Covid-19 review meeting.

The Prime Minister chaired a high-level virtual meeting with chief ministers and health ministers of seven high burden Covid-19 States/Union Territory to review Covid-19 response and management.

The seven states/UTs are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister said, "There are more than 700 districts in the country but only 60 districts in seven states are a cause of worry. I suggest that chief ministers hold a virtual conference with people at district/block level for seven days. We have to learn the best practices from across the states."

As a step to contain the spread of coronavirus cases in these states, PM Modi suggested increasing the focus on effective testing, tracing, treatment, surveillance and clear messaging.

"We need to increase our focus on effective testing, tracing, treatment, surveillance and clear messaging," said Modi.

For asymptomatic Covid-19 cases, he said, "Effective messaging is also necessary because most Covid-19 infections are without symptoms. In such a situation, rumours may arise. It might raise doubts in the minds of the people that testing is bad. Some people also make the mistake of underestimating the severity of the infection."

He said, "India has ensured the supply of life-saving medicines all over the world even in difficult times. We have to work together to see that the medicines easily reach from one state to another."

Modi also urged the state governments to focus on micro-containment.

He also suggested implementation of local lockdowns of a day or two and accordingly review the situation suitable in the respective state/Union Territory.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said that on September 25, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) will be completing two years.

"Within two years, the scheme has benefited over 1.25 crore poor people/patients in the country. I appreciate all the medical staff who has made this a success," he said.

He said a major decision has been taken on the usage of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). He said the decision has been taken to increase the usage of funds from 35 per cent to 50 per cent."

The Prime Minister also emphasised on the wearing of facial masks to contain the spread of virus in public places.

"Mask is important to contain the spread of Covid-19 virus," he added.

India's Covid-19 count surged to 56,46,011 on Wednesday, after reporting a spike of 83,347 new cases and 1,085 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry.

FCRA bill to curb role of foreign funds in politics, says Centre

FCRA bill to curb role of foreign funds in politics, says Centre

- The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.09.2020

With the opposition continuing its boycott proceedings over suspension of eight MPs, Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, that was earlier passed by Lok Sabha with the government saying the legislation was intended to curb the role of foreign funds in Indian politics.

The bill, which will now be sent to the President for assent, makes furnishing of Aadhaar by office-bearers of NGOs mandatory for registration. In case of a foreigner, a copy of the passport or an Overseas Citizen of India card will be sought. It provides for closer scrutiny of contributions and more stringent conditions for the use of such funds.

Rejecting the view that the law was against NGOs, junior home minister Nityanand Rai said the amendments were essential for national and internal security. “Its main motive is to ensure that foreign funds don’t dominate the political and social discourse of India,” he added. While emphasising that these amendments would ensure transparency, Rai said there were earlier instances where NGOs did not disclose foreign funding and did not furnish proper audit of expenditure.

He quoted former finance minister P Chidambaram, who had told Parliament that “about Rs 20,000 crore funding was received by NGOs but nobody knew where Rs 10,000 crore out of it went”.

The minister said the amendments provided for reduction in administrative expenses of NGOs receiving foreign funding, from 50% to 20% of annual funds to ensure spending on their main objectives.

Students of foreign varsities cope with sleep disruptions

Students of foreign varsities cope with sleep disruptions

- The Times Of India

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:24.09.2020

Sadhika Rao, an alumnus of Greenwood High, enrolled as a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, for an economics course. However, with the pandemic forcing universities to go online, Sadhika now takes her classes from her home in Bengaluru. But she has an extra challenge to overcome— the time difference. Her college runs 12.5 hours behind Indian Standard Time.

“My classes are from 8am to 2pm, which is around 8.30pm-2.30am IST,” Sadhika said. “After classes, we have webinars, interviews, clubs and other activities that I don’t want to miss. So, I end up sleeping only after breakfast at 8am. My body clock has changed. Even on weekends, I follow the same schedule so as not to throw my body clock out of gear. I catch up on school work and assignments on weekend nights.”

Like Sadhika, many students from Bengaluru who are enrolled in universities abroad, especially in the US, Canada and Australia, are trying to cope up with their new schedule as their universities run on different time zones. Almost a month into classes now, most have acclimatised to the new normal.

“I have turned completely nocturnal,” said Anuj Pahuja, a pre-medical student at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio. “Although there are no distractions, it’s extremely hard to focus at that time of the night. My exams last week were at 2am and I struggled to be at my best.”

Students say even their eating habits have changed. “I have my breakfast at 2pm, lunch at 10pm and dinner at 4am. My mom puts my food in the fridge. One advantage is that we save $8,000-$9,000 on food and accommodation,” Anuj added.

Ananya Chaudhary, a graduate of Inventure Academy and a computer science student at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, said, “I literally do not see the sun these days. My mother worries that I’m not getting enough sunlight and exercise. I also do not meet my family as much. But it’s also nice to study at night: it’s quiet and there are no distractions. I tried learning through recorded videos, but I was not satisfied. I prefer synchronous classes.”

Assignment deadlines and project collaboration work also need to be adjusted keeping in mind the time difference. “Deadlines are usually US time midnight. We have to make sure our assignments are completed the night before,” said Apurva, a neuroscience student at Ohio State University from Bengaluru.

Some students have picked courses that suit their timings and do not go much into the night. “I do not have live lectures. But the interaction with professors happens at night. Even while lectures are going on well, I feel we miss the personal connect with the professors,” said Siddarth Chakravarthy, a student at Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana.

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