GTU degree dropouts can resume studies midway

REJOIN ANY TIME

GTU degree dropouts can resume studies midway

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:25.03.2021 

Gujarat Technology University, the state’s largest varsity, on Wednesday announced that it will allow students, who quit their diploma or degree engineering programs midway from its affiliated colleges, to resume their academic studies.

“Earlier only students with backlog were allowed to rejoin studies, but now any student who had left their degree or diploma studies midway through the academic year, can now rejoin college,” said an official at GTU.

The board of governors at GTU took this decision at a meeting held recently. GTU has 550 affiliated colleges. The varsity released a circular in this  connection on Wednesday.

In the case of diploma studies, students were required to complete the programme within six years while it was eight years in the case of degree studies.

“The new education policy has provisions for candidates to re-enter a programme at any point of time after they quit. Even if a student quit the programme many years ago and wished to rejoin, s/he can do so at any time,” said GTU sources. Such candidates can resume studies after payment of fees of Rs 5,000, according to sources.

The decision is likely to give a new lease of life to several hundred students who left their studies incomplete in the past due to varied reasons, sources added.

Covid -ve certificate required to attend Kumbh Mela: U’khand HC

Covid -ve certificate required to attend Kumbh Mela: U’khand HC

Prashant.Jha@timesgroup.com

Nainital:25.03.2021 

Days after chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat made the statement that no RT-PCR test report is required to attend Kumbh Mela, the Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the state to strictly adhere to the the SOPs issued by both the central and state governments and “implement the guidelines in both letter and spirit.” The order effectively makes the Covid-19 RT-PCR test report mandatory, thereby clearing up the confusion that was prevailing in this regard especially after the CM’s statement made soon after he took over earlier this month.

The bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma which delivered the order said that “the government must insist that no pilgrim is allowed to enter Kumbh Mela areas or to enter the state, until and unless the person carries a medical certificate clearly indicating that he/she is not a Covid-19-positive patient.”

The bench noted that Covid cases are rising in several parts of the country which has forced several states to go into partial lockdown as a result of which, the pandemic remains a cause of concern. “This is a clear indication that we are again entering the phase where the country will face the Covid-19 pandemic.Therefore, the state government is expected to be vigilant and to ensure that the Maha Kumbh mela does not turn into a breeding ground for the spread of Covid-19. Therefore, this court directs the state government to ensure that the SOPs issued by the central and state government are implemented in the strictest sense, both in letter and spirit,” read the court order.

PREVENTIVE MEASURE

FIR against Haryana flyer for travelling despite positive result

Udaipur:  25.03.2021 

In a first in Rajasthan, Udaipur district administration has filed an FIR against a Haryana resident for violating Covid protocol and travelling despite testing positive.

The incharge deployed at Dabok airport to ensure adherence of pandemic protocol has submitted a written complaint at Dabok police station against Roshan Singh, resident of Gurugram, for travelling by air and putting other's life at risk even after he knew he had contracted the infection.

Udaipur collector Chetan Ram Deora had issued strict orders to airport authorities and airline companies not to permit any traveller to fly to Udaipur without an RT-PCR negative report.

Roshan Singh arrived in Udaipur without the report and tested positive after landing. He was made to stay at a hotel in Pratapnagar here and quarantined for 2 weeks. However, Roshan Singh did not abide by the order and flew back home on March 20. A complaint has been lodged against him under Section 270 of the IPC and sections 51, 52 of the Disaster Management Act. TNN

No risk of thrombosis or blood clotting due to Covishield: Paul

No risk of thrombosis or blood clotting due to Covishield: Paul

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:25.03.2021 

There is no risk of thrombosis or blood clotting due to use of Covishield, Niti Aayog member-health Dr V K Paul said on Wednesday and urged people to get vaccinated without any fear.

This comes in the wake of concerns about possible adverse events in people vaccinated with Covishield, a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

“The Indian product Covishield has not been associated with any incidents of thrombosis,” Paul said. “There is no signal whatsoever for this concern. Covishield is safe, please proceed with its scale-up and uptake. We want to assure that there is no risk of blood clotting-related complications that were suspected in some nations with Covishield,” he added. Paul emphasised that both vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — currently in use in India were effective against the Brazil and UK strains.

3 airlines to bar 15 flyers from flying for not wearing masks

3 airlines to bar 15 flyers from flying for not wearing masks

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.03.2021

Three Indian carrier have initiated the process of putting 15 domestic travellers on their no fly list for refusing to follow Covid norms on the aircraft. These passengers are likely to be barred from flying for three months, as per DGCA's unruly flyers norms. Of these 15 passengers, three were offloaded before take off for refusing to wear PPE gown as required on their middle seats or masks and the rest were handed over to police on arrival.

The action has been initiated by IndiGo against 9 of its passengers; Alliance Air against four passengers and AirAsia India against two passengers. These violations were reported between March 15 and 23.

“Airlines have informed us that all of the 15 have been deemed unruly and face bar on flying for upto three months. Those who have been handed over to police will additionally face action for intimidating or misbehaving with crew, apart from the flying ban,” said a senior official of the DGCA, which has adopted a strict “zero tolerance” policy for non-compliance of Covid protocol at airports and during flying.

Under unruly flyer norms, the airline on whose flight disruptive behaviour took place can put a person on no fly list for certain time as per the gravity of his or her safety violation after following a due process. Though the offender cannot fly that airline, other carriers are free to bar that unruly person from flying on them too for the same period.

So far whenever Indian airlines have taken such action against someone deemed unruly, they all have collectively barred the person for flying for some time.

The DGCA had directed airlines, airport managements and security agencies to have zero tolerance for Covid norm violations after Delhi High Court Justice C Hari Shankar observed an “alarming situation” while flying from Kolkata to Delhi on March 5. Taking suo motu cognisance, the court passed a landmark order on March 8 to agencies for ensuring strict compliance of Covid norms by flyers. Last October, IndiGo had barred nine electronic media personnel from flying for a fortnight after they violated Covid norms.

Parliament nod for Allied & Healthcare Professions Bill

Parliament nod for Allied & Healthcare Professions Bill

Can Bring Paradigm Shift In Health Professionals’ Situation: Min

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:25.03.2021 

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021, even as Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the proposed legislation has the potential to bring a paradigm shift in health professionals' situation.

“Paramedics and allied healthcare workers are a critical part of the medical profession and their contribution is similar to doctors, if not more. The group of allied professionals is large and the bill is trying to regulate this field, by providing dignity to their roles,” Vardhan said.

The bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha, was moved for passage in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Recalling the role played by paramedics and allied health care workers, lab technicians, radiographers, and dieticians during the Coronavirus pandemic, Vardhan said they were as much part of the people's recovery as doctors are. He said the bill aims to establish a statutory body or commission that frames policies and standards, regulate professional conduct and qualifications for allied healthcare professionals besides providing uniformity of service standards across institutions. He also said all standards have been coded by international yardsticks and there will be representations from all States and Union Territories on this commission with each state having statelevel commissions.

“A common regulator has been prepared for all allied professions. This will enable a team-based approach to patient care,” he said.

The bill provides for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by allied and healthcare professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of a central and a state register and creation of a system to improve research and development and adoption of latest scientific advancement.

Bill amending juvenile justice law passed

New Delhi:

Lok Sabha on Wednesday approved crucial changes to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 to better protect children against crimes and speed up the process of adopting them.

Union women and child minister Smriti Irani congratulated Lok Sabha for arriving at a political consensus, a rarity in recent years, to pass an amendment that will have far-reaching impact on protecting children. She also said the proposed law seeks to make the district magistrate a “synergising officer” for issues related to protection of children. TNN

Paramedics and allied healthcare workers are a critical part of the medical profession and their contribution is similar to doctors. The group of allied professionals is large and the bill is trying to regulate this field, by providing dignity to their roles

10kg plastic bag retrieved from fish

10kg plastic bag retrieved from fish

Deepthi.Sanjiv@timesgroup.com

Mangaluru:  25.03.2021 

A plastic bag with material resembling paper wrapped inside and weighing about 10kg was retrieved from a reef cod fish at a shop in Attavar here early this week.

An employee cleaning the fish stumbled upon the plastic deposit on Monday. Shocked, the storeowner decided to make a video and shared it on online platforms to spread awareness on the hazards of unchecked dumping of garbage into the sea.

“We are noticing this for the first time. If people continue to dump plastic into the sea at this rate, then fish breeding will be severely affected,” said the shop owner who did not want to be identified.

Dr A Senthil Vel, professor and dean (fisheries), College of Fisheries, said fish do not eat plastic.

“Fish are selective in what they eat. But the challenge is that the bottom of the coast is flooded with plastic and fishermen say 40%-50% of what trawlers pick is plastic. In this case, the fish caught by a trawler may have eaten plastic on the sea floor. Fish normally consume microplastic that toxifies their body. Most plastic waste flows into the sea through rivers and drains, and the administration should build a cost-effective grid that prevents the flow of waste from joining the sea,” he said.

Nagaraj Raghav Anchan, coordinator, ocean plastic recycling, Hasiru Dala, said, “We can’t ask fish not to eat plastic, but we can stop dumping waste.”

Hasiru Dala and Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation, with support from other organisations with similar ecological concern, have lifted 32 tonnes of waste dumped by the public near Netravati bridge in the past three Sundays. Of this, at least 15-20 tonnes are dry waste and, mostly, plastic.

“Up to 50-75 tonnes of waste is still needed to be lifted. Despite conducting the drive, it is unfortunate poultry waste was dumped recently. The administration assured us that CCTV cameras will be installed at the spot,” he added.

CAUGHT UNAWARES: A Mangaluru shop employee cleaning the reef cod fish stumbled upon the plastic