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Edu institutions told to be extra cautious

Edu institutions told to be extra cautious

Kevin.Mendonsa@timesgroup.com

03.09.2021

The health department has ordered educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada to step up safety measures, after it was found that some institutions were not strictly enforcing Covid-19 protocols on the campus. Recently, three institutions were served notices for not following SOP.

Officials are also wary after a spike in cases were reported on campuses across the state. There have been outbreaks at a nursing college in Kolar and Bengaluru over the past week.

Health department officials say blatant violations have led to a surge in positive cases among students. After educational institutions reopened, a total of 792 students in Dakshina Kannada tested positive in the span of a month. This includes 620 students from Kerala, 76 from Dakshina Kannada and a dozen from Maharashtra, said Dr Ashok H, nodal officer for Covid-19.

“During our spot inspections, we found students who were supposed to be in mandatory quarantine, were freely mingling with others in the canteen and hostel mess. I’s likely some of them passed on the virus to more students,” said Dr Ashok.

Of the three institutions that were served notices, two are in Mangaluru and the other in Sullia. “We have warned them that a case will be booked under the Karnataka Epidemic Act. Fresh infections have been declining after we tightened the noose. We will continue to monitor the situation.”

Meanwhile, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, while speaking to reporters in Hubballi, reiterated that students, especially nursing students, who come from Kerala and stay in hostels in Karnataka should mandatorily be quarantined for a week and they should be tested at the end of their quarantine period to ensure they are not carrying the virus.

Judge: Cow only animal that inhales, exhales O2

Judge: Cow only animal that inhales, exhales O2

Prayagraj:03.09.2021

The Allahabad HC judge who asked for the cow to be declared India’s “national animal” while denying bail to a man accused of cow slaughter has said in the same 12-page order that “scientists believe cow is the only animal that inhales and exhales oxygen”.

Written in Hindi, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav’s order claims it is a tradition in India to use ghee made of cow milk in each oblation during a yajna because “this gives special energy to sunrays, which ultimately causes rain”.

His observations about the cow’s supposedly unique respiratory process mirror former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat’s 2019 statement that the cow exhales oxygen, not carbon dioxide. TNN

Eating beef not fundamental right: Order

Panchgavya, which is made of cow milk, curd, ghee, urine and cow dung helps in treatment of several incurable diseases,” states the order denying bail to the cow slaughter accused from UP’s Sambhal.

Since a cow’s existence is integral to Indian culture, consuming beef cannot be considered a fundamental right of any citizen, the order says. “The right to life is above the right to kill and the right to eat cow-beef can ever be considered a fundamental right. Right to life can’t be snatched away merely for another’s pleasure of taste, and that the right to life is above the right to kill. The right to consume cow-beef can never be a Fundamental Right,” the order states.

› Artificial insemination is cruelty to animals: HC, P 6

Panchgavya, which is made of cow milk, curd, ghee, urine and cow dung, helps in treatment of several incurable diseases

— JUSTICE SHEKHAR KUMAR YADAV | ALLAHABAD HC

Andhra Pradesh high court sentences 5 IAS officers to jail for contempt

Andhra Pradesh high court sentences 5 IAS officers to jail for contempt

TNN | Sep 3, 2021, 05.43 AM IST

VIJAYAWADA: The AP high court on Thursday found five IAS officers guilty of contempt of court and sentenced them with jail term and punishment.

The court, after hearing a contempt petition moved by one Tallapaka Savitramma from Kanupur village of Venkatachalam mandal in Nellore district, found the officials guilty of wilful disobedience of the court’s orders.

While senior IAS officer Manmohan Singh, the then principal secretary for revenue, was sentenced to four weeks in jail and a fine of 1,000, principal secretary for finance SS Rawat was sentenced to one month in jail and 2,000 fine.

Failing to pay the fine will increase the jail term by another week, the court said.

District collector of Nellore Revu Mutyala Raju has been sentenced to two weeks in jail along with a fine of 1,000, while KNV Chakradhar and MV Seshagiri Babu, who previously worked as Nellore district collectors, were fined 2,000 fine each, with a clause to spend a week in jail if they fail to pay the fine.

Savitramma had moved a petition in 2017 after her assigned land was taken away by the state government for the setting up of National Institute for Mentally Handicapped. Considering her petition, the court had directed the government to pay compensation along with others as per the issued GO within three months.

As no compensation was paid, she moved a contempt petition in 2018. The court issued notices to the respondents and after perusal of the counter affidavits filed by them, impleaded the officials who worked as Nellore district collectors during the period of litigation and also the principal secretaries of finance. After impleading the officials, the compensation amount was finally paid on March 30, 2021 — a delay of about three years.

After perusal of the affidavits filed by the officers, the court found Manmohan Singh (then principal secretary for revenue), SS Rawat (principal secretary for finance), Mutylaraju, Chakradhar and Seshagiri Babu, who worked as Nellore district collectors, responsible for delay in payment of compensation to the 62-year-old widow.

Justice Battu Devanand observed that because of the negligence and disobedience of the officials, the old woman suffered a lot. Noting that it was a fit case for contempt of court, he rejected the unconditional apology tendered by the officers. The court also directed the state government to pay `1 lakh to the petitioner towards costs. However, Justice Devanand suspended the operation of the sentence by four weeks after request by the officials.

M’luru man gets 2 doses of Covishield in minutes

M’luru man gets 2 doses of Covishield in minutes

Vinobha.KT@timesgroup.com

Mangaluru:03.09.2021

A 19-year-old daily-wage worker was administered two doses of Covishield within minutes of each other at a crowded vaccination centre in Sullia taluk of Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday. He has been under observation though no adverse effect has been reported in the past 24 hours.

The incident took place at a school in the taluk’s Duggaladka village when the centre was chock-ablock with vaccine-seekers due to a mega drive conducted by the government on Wednesday. Sullia taluk health officer Dr B Nandakumar told TOI that the man, despite jabbed back to back, will still have to take another dose after the stipulated gap of 84 days.

The officer said the faux pas occurred when the man didn’t leave the room after taking the first dose, and the nurse on the job didn’t realize she was administering a second dose to the same person. “Soon after realising the mistake, he was made to remain under observation for two-three hours before he was sent home,” he said.

A team of health officers has been checking his vital parameters at his home since Wednesday evening.

Dr Nandakumar said the man was under the impression that two doses of vaccine were necessary to travel. He seemed to have believed rumours that he would be denied ration from the public distribution system if he weren’t fully jabbed. “Hence, he did not leave the room after the first round of vaccination. The nurse, too, could not recognise him due to the facemask and the confusion caused by the milling crowd,” he added.

Dakshina Kannada district administered 49,364 doses of vaccine on Wednesday, and Sullia taluk accounted for 4,321 doses.

Tamil Nadu to close down 32 toll plazas: Highways minister

Tamil Nadu to close down 32 toll plazas: Highways minister

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.09.2021

The Tamil Nadu government would close down 32 toll plazas on the national highways, said state PWD and highways minister E V Velu in the assembly on Thursday. The number of toll plazas on NHs would come down from 48 to 16, he said.

In neighbouring Kerala, the number of toll plazas has been reduced to three as per the provisions of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules 2008. In Tamil Nadu, there should be only 16 toll plazas as per the rule. (The rule says there should be a minimum distance of 60 km between two plazas. However, there are 48 toll plazas in Tamil Nadu at present and 27 of them violate this rule). He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by M H Jawahirullah of MMK on the hike in toll fee.

The sub-section of the rule also says there should not be any toll plaza within 10 km radius of corporations and municipalities. There are five toll plazas – Nemili near Sriperumbudur, Chennasamudram, Vanagaram, Paranur near Chengelpet and Surapattu - that violate this sub-section, he said and added that as per CM M K Stalin’s instruction, action was being taken to close them down.

“We have already communicated this to the Union ministry for road transport and highways. After the assembly session, I will go in person and meet Union minister Nitin Gadkari and insist on closing down the five toll plazas,” said Velu.

FCRA violations: MHA suspends NGO’s foreign funding licence

FCRA violations: MHA suspends NGO’s foreign funding licence

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.09.2021

The home ministry has suspended the foreign funding licence of a prominent Kerala-based NGO linked to influential Sunni leader from the state, Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed, over violation of provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 and its rules.

The prime violations cited by MHA in its order suspending FCRA registration of Kozhikodebased Markazul Ighasathil Kairiyathil Hindiyya — which received nearly ₹147 crore from foreign sources between 2018-19 and 2020-21, with a huge chunk coming from charities in the Gulf — include misutilisation and diversion. These relate to purposes other than those declared, misrepresentation of facts and failure to submit annual FCRA returns for the year 2019-20.

Full report on www.toi-.in