Four more cases at secretariat, tally 97

Four more cases at secretariat, tally 97

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  09.12.2020

The number of corona positive cases in the secretariat rose to 97 on Tuesday. Employees of 30 departments in the secretariat have contracted the infection so far. Senior bureaucrats are also among the 97 who have tested positive so far.

The latest cases pertain to two home department employees and two people of other departments, including a woman employee. Before this week, a woman employee of the panchayat department and an employee attached to the energy department were found corona positive.

At least 22 employees in the secretariat have been found corona positive in November. The month-wise trend of employees being detected positive in the secretariat shows that the rate of employees getting corona positive had slightly gone down in October, but shot up again in November.

July and November witnessed the highest corona positive cases in the secretariat with 22 cases in the months.

September witnessed the second highest number of corona positives with 20 people testing positive. The first corona positive case was reported in May in the secretariat. Only one positive case was found in May. In June, the number of corona positive cases rose to 8 while it shot to 22 in July. Eight employees were found corona positive in August and 20 in September. Over 12 employees tested positive in October and 22 in November. Three employees have been found corona positive this month.

Almost all the big departments have witnessed corona positive cases. Departments in which corona positives have been found in all three Vallabh Bhavan buildings are the commercial taxes department, urban administration department, energy department, CM secretariat, health department, finance department, law department, medical education and home department.

Of the total found corona positives in three buildings of Vallabh Bhavan, two employees have lost lives due to corona so far. Sudhir Nayak, president of the Mantralayin Karmachari Sangh said, earlier the corona test of all employees who came in contact with a corona positive employee was conducted, but now, employees are told that test would be conducted only if they get corona symptoms.

NO RESPITE

IMA stir on Friday against surgery nod for Ayurveda docs

IMA stir on Friday against surgery nod for Ayurveda docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  09.12.2020

Indian Medical Association (IMA) Greater Bhopal Chapter held press conference opposing the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) decision to allow Ayurveda practitioners to perform surgeries, here on Tuesday. IMA has called for withdrawal of all non-essential non-Covid services between 6 am to 6 pm on Friday, December 11 to protest the move.

“We demand the withdrawal of a recently issued notification allowing incoming Ayurveda practitioners do general surgeries (like ophthalmology and dental procedures),” said IMA Greater Bhopal Chapter secretary and RKDF medical college associate professor, Dr Dr Sudeep Pathak.

IMA has earlier opposed gazette notification by union government that allows Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries. As per decisions of 224 emergency CWC Meeting of IMA held on November 29, the doctors association has deemed the order as ‘predatory poaching on modern medicine’.

Some doctors at the press conference linked the measure to quackery, allowing other traditional medicines (Ayurveda) to practice allopathy. IMA greater Bhopal is opposed to the gazette notification in which Ayurveda doctors are being prepared and authorised to perform 58 different kind of surgeries including general surgery orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ENT and dental procedures and surgeries.

During the one day stir, emergency services including casualty, labour rooms, emergency surgeries will not be affected, IMA clarified. Inpatient services including ICUs, critical care and others will function as normal.

No exam till class 8? Not binding on our online tests, say CBSE schools

No exam till class 8? Not binding on our online tests, say CBSE schools

‘Following Central Board’s Guidelines, Going Ahead With Internal Exams’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  09.12.2020 

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced on December 4 that there won’t be any examination up to class 8. Is it binding on all schools, or just those affilitated to the state board?

Private schools affiliated to CBSE are preparing for online exams for all the classes. “CBSE schools are not bound by the state government’s decision, but follow CBSE guidelines. The state government may decide that they will take only tuition fees during the lockdown period. They may also decide to keep the schools closed, but they can’t stop us from taking online exams. They may decide this for government schools, but not unaided private schools affiliated to CBSE,” said Vini Raj Modi, vice-president of Association of Unaided Private Schools of MP.

Pointing out that there were online half-yearly exams in both private and government schools, he questioned why final exams cannot be held in the same mode if schools remain closed during the remainder of this academic session.

Modi said that there is a big difference between the class 5 and class 8 exams organised in the CBSE schools and those affiliated to MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE). The CBSE exams of the two classes are internal exams while MPBSE exams of class 5 and 8 are board exams.

Shantanu Sharma, who runs a private school, Sanskar Bharti Vidya Peeth, at Katara Hills, said: “The chief minister has announced that students of up to class 8 would be evaluated on the basis of project work, but I don’t think the state government has any objection if schools organise online exams for their students, much in the same way as they have been doing throughout the year.”

The proprietor of another private school blamed the “adhocism” of the state government for the confusion prevalent among schools, students and parents.”The state government didn’t allow the schools to open, creating an impression among the students that there would either be general promotion this year or they will be promoted to the next class based on their performance in internal tests or their past performance in the previous classes. Now, they are saying there would be exams, from class 9 to class 12. They allowed schools to charge tuition fees and asked for online teaching. Now, the schools logically want to see how well the students have adapted to online teaching. What is wrong in it?”

Pankaj Sharma, whose two daughters study in Delhi Public School in class 4 and 7, said: “There would be online exams of not only students of class 5 and 8, but all the classes.”

‘Exam or no exam, nobody will fail’

When asked whether there would be exams of classes of up to 8th in private schools, district education officer, Nitin Saxena, said, “You call it exams or project work or anything, but students will not be let go without exams — whether in private schools or government schools. The prospect of facing exams keeps students engaged in studies. They will be evaluated based on the project work if that’s the decision if a school takes exams in the name of project work. Let there be exams or no exams, nobody will fail in his class, that’s the crux of the matter.”

AIIMS says virus or pesticide may’ve landed over 500 in hospital in Andhra

AIIMS says virus or pesticide may’ve landed over 500 in hospital in Andhra

Samdani.MN@timesgroup.com

Amaravati   09.12.2020

The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said on Tuesday that water contaminated by a virus or pesticide might have triggered the “mystery” disease in Eluru town, even as a leading private lab in Vijayawada found high levels of pesticides, including DDT, in the drinking water.

A separate report by AIIMS Mangalagiri showed high levels of lead and nickel in the blood samples collected from patients.

A team comprising experts from AIIMS Delhi, National Institute of Virology, Pune, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, is zeroing in on the causative agent — a pesticide or virus, or a combination of both — that led to the hospitalisation of about 500 people in the last three days.

The mysterious sicknesses began on December 6 when a number of people were hospitalised with symptoms that resembled those of epilepsy. More cases were reported from other parts of Eluru and nearby areas.

Eluru is served by two irrigation canals that are interlinked. While one canal originates in Rajahmundry, another takes birth in Vijayawada. Pesticides and fertilisers used by farmers en route are dumped into these canals, which serve as drinking water sources for thousands of villages as well as Eluru city.

The expert team will collect samples from patients and send them to NIV Pune and other laboratories to find out why people were suffering sudden seizures.

Earlier, AIIMS (Mangalagiri) medical superintendent Rakesh Kakkar visited Eluru on Sunday and studied the case sheets of the patients and analysed possible reasons for the sudden illness. Patients exhibited seizures, convulsions, vomiting, foaming and tremors.

The AIIMS team found that a majority of the cases were reported from areas which have common sources of drinking water supply from Pumpula Cheruvu supplied by Eluru municipal corporation.

“Most of the 20 patients interviewed said there was a change in the colour and taste of the water. Some reported that there was a greenish/muddy discolouration of the household water supply,” AIIMS said in its preliminary report to the state government.

“Water/food contamination with virus or heavy metals or organo-compounds could be a suspected cause of the outbreak,” the AIIMS report concluded.

The mysterious sickness in Eluru town began on December 6 when a number of people were hospitalised with symptoms that resembled those of epilepsy

Waiving interest for all during moratorium not viable: Centre

Waiving interest for all during moratorium not viable: Centre

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  09.12.2020

The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that waiver of interest during the moratorium period for all borrowers would not be in the larger national economic interest as it would be not viable and may trigger collapse of the entire banking system.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah that waiver of interest on all loans for the moratorium period would cause loss of more than Rs 6 lakh crore to banks and financial institutions.

“If the banks were to bear this burden, it would necessarily wipe out a substantial and a major part of their net worth, rendering most of the banks unviable and raising a very serious question mark over their survival. This was one of the main reasons why waiver of interest was not even contemplated and only payment of instalments was deferred,” the Centre said.

Explaining the adverse impact on the financial health of the banks, the government contended that waiver of six months’ interest would completely wipe out over half of the net worth of SBI, the country’s largest bank.

The Centre said it was even impossible for banks to bear the burden resulting from waiver of compound interest without passing this on to the depositors or thus affecting their net worth adversely.

“The only solution, under the circumstances, was that the government bear the burden resulting from waiver of compound interest to the defined category of borrowers. This Hon‘ble court would be satisfied that the government bearing this burden would naturally have an impact on several other pressing commitments being faced by the nation,” the Centre said.

School bags can weigh up to 10% of body weight, suggests new policy

School bags can weigh up to 10% of body weight, suggests new policy

Says No Homework Till Class II

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  09.12.2020

School bags should not be more than 10% of the body weight across classes I to X and there should be no homework till Class II. The new ‘Policy on School Bag 2020’ of the Union ministry of education also recommends that the weight of the bag needs to be monitored on a regular basis in schools. They should be light-weight with two padded and adjustable straps that can squarely fit on both shoulders and no wheeled carriers should be allowed as these may hurt children. The policy even recommends that the weight of each textbook may come printed on them by the publishers.

The recommendations have been arrived based on various surveys and studies conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The policy stated that data collected from 3,624 students and 2,992 parents from 352 schools, which include Kendriya Vidyalayas and state government schools were analysed. The surveys found that children upto class IV are carrying bags of weight 2 to 3 kg more than the universally accepted practice of weight which is 10% of the body weight. And the burden of bags increases as children move to higher classes.

The survey findings highlighted that items like textbooks (500 gms to 3.5 kg), notebooks (200 gms to 2.5 kg, lunch box (200 gms to 1 kg), and water bottles (200 gms to 1 kg) are found contributing to excessive load. The weight of the empty bag was also found to be varying from 150 gms to 1 kg. Based on these and other findings, the ‘Policy on School Bag 2020’ made 11 recommendations on the weight of the bags. Apart from restricting the overall weight of the bags to 10% of the body weight of the student, the policy recommended adequate good quality mid-day meal and potable water to all the students.

The policy also recommended that children with special needs (CWSN) be provided a double set of textbooks, through book banks in schools and lockers in classes installed for students with disabilities for storing and retrieving books and other items. Recommending a class-wise school bag weight, the policy stated that there should be no bags in pre-primary. For classes I and II the bag weight range should be between 1.6 kg to 2.2 kg. Likewise it should be 1.7 kg to 2.5 kg, 2 kg to 3 kg, 2.5 to 4 kg, 2.5 kg to 4.5 kg and 3.5 kg to 5 kg for classes III to V, classes VI and VII, class VIII, classes IX and X and classes XI and XII respectively.

The surveys also found that homework too varies class wise from 0 to 2 hours daily for classes I-II, to 2 to 5 hours from classes III onwards. Recommending that total study time should be accounted for while planning the syllabus or course of study for students, especially in higher grades, the policy stated that while there should be no homework upto class II and a maximum of two hours per week for classes III to V, the homework duration for classes VI to VIII should not exceed one hour a day and two hours a day for classes IX and above.

While sharing the report, the MoE in November last week had also requested state governments to adopt relevant suggestions of the School Bag Policy and National Education Policy (NEP 2020).

The policy suggests that school bags should be light-weight with two padded and adjustable straps that can squarely fit on both shoulders

65 overstaying Bangladeshis, 16 Nigerians extradited from K’taka

65 overstaying Bangladeshis, 16 Nigerians extradited from K’taka

Home Min: Govt Acting Tough To Curb Drug Menace

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  09.12.2020

Sixteen Nigerians and 65 Bangladeshis, who were residing in Karnataka illegally, have been extradited to their respective countries in the last few months.

Replying to a question by Congress member Eshwara Khandre on steps taken by the government to curb drug menace, home minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said the government is waging a war against drug peddlers and users, and has taken several stringent measures.

According to him, Nigerians involved in drug business were happy to be arrested as they would get a chance to continue their stay in the state despite the expiry of their visas. “The government, therefore, has decided to send them back to Nigeria. This is the first time so many Nigerians and Bangladeshis have been sent back to their countries,” he added.

Bommai claimed that a record number of cases against drug peddlers and consumers were booked ever since the BJP came to power last year. “In 2019, there were 1,660 cases. This year till now, 3,852 cases have been registered; chargesheets have been filed in 2,085 cases. The number of cases in 2017 and 2018 stood at 1,126 and 1,031, respectively,” he added.

Since the handling capacity of the forensic lab in Bengaluru was very low, there used to be an inordinate delay in narcotic tests. “We have upgraded the facility now and 51 samples can be tested at a time,” he said. Plans are afoot to upgrade forensic science laboratories in Kalaburagi, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Hubballi-Dharwad too.

'Drug seizure gone up'

The seizure of drugs, LSD strips and other narcotic substances has also gone up as police have stepped up vigil. “ This year alone, police have seized 5,049 strips of LSD, which is a record. Police have also been successful in tracking 21 darkwebs and arresting suppliers and buyers,” he said.

The minister claimed that as police have been building watertight cases, the accused are not getting bail easily. “A hacker, who was arrested recently, managed to get bail in two days when he was nabbed last time,” he added.

“The government is working on strengthening the rules under the NDPS Act. We’ve asked the national law school to prepare draft rules,” he added.

Khandre and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge alleged the home department is giving licences to recreational clubs in Kalaburagi and Bidar districts, which have been turned into gambling and betting dens.

BJP MLA Nagendra urged the government to curb hookah bars. Congress MLA Prasad Abbayya said in Hubballi-Dharwad, youngsters are using whitener available at stationary shops as drugs. “Not just whitener, French polish is also being used. The government is committed to curbing all sorts of drug menace,” Bommai said.