APSRTC to ply 2,555 spl. buses for Sivaratri

21/02/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,VIJAYAWADA

To cater to the transport needs of devotees visiting Shaivite temples on the occasion of Sivaratri, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will operate 2,555 special buses across the State on Friday and Saturday (February 21 and 22).

Corporation’s Executive Director (Operations) Brahmananda Reddy said 792 special buses would be plied to the famous Shaivite temple Kotappa Konda and 850 personnel (officials, supervisors and security staff) had been posted to monitor their movement.

Srisailam being a major destination for Shiva devotees, 466 buses from different districts in the State would ply on this route, and 75 buses from Krishna and Guntur districts towards Amaravathi.

Measure mental illness through IQ levels, says CBSE

Disability activists say many students with mental illness may have high IQ scores

21/02/2020, , PRISCILLA JEBARAJ,NEW DELHI

A circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education on the eve of the Class 10 and 12 board examinations has asked for students with mental illnesses to provide medical certificates using their IQ scores to measure their disability level, in order to avail concessions in the examinations.

Disability activists and psychologists have pointed out that this is an inaccurate way to evaluate mental illness and also does not comply with the guidelines of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

“Clinical depression, personality disorders, specific learning disorders, autism — many of these will not show low IQ score, but children may still require examination support of various kinds,” said Seema Lal, a Kochi-based psychologist. She also noted that emotional and social skills and adaptive behaviour also needed to be taken into account.

When contacted, CBSE Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj told The Hindu that the circular had been issued the day before examinations began because the Board had received a number of last minute requests from parents and students claiming learning disabilities, and demanding concessions.

“To avoid misuse of the concessions, we wanted to ensure that they give us certificates with the specific levels of disabilities, as stipulated by the Gazette notification issued by the Social Justice Ministry. Otherwise, there is a rush of people coming last minute with incomplete certificates claiming their child has dyslexia and demanding extra time,” said Dr. Bhardwaj.

Kamal Haasan, Lyca Productions announce compensation
Actor stresses on need for safe working conditions, protection for technicians

21/02/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

Film actor Kamal Haasan at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai on Thursday. B. Velankanniraj

Actor Kamal Haasan announced ₹1 crore compensation for families of the technicians who died, as well as for those injured in the accident on the sets of Indian 2 on Wednesday night.

Speaking to mediapersons at KMC Hospital on Thursday, Mr. Haasan said that he was not there as a representative of a film production but as a concerned family member. “I have been in this profession since I was a child. This is yet another incident which proves that this industry does not have the level of safety which is expected of it,” he said.

Stating that the compensation he offered should be viewed only as a first-aid, Mr. Haasan said that the industry should come together and take steps to ensure protection and insurance for technicians. “We boast about big budget films but it is shameful that we are not able to protect our technicians,” he said. He stressed on the responsibility of any profession including the cinema industry to ensure that technicians are protected and insured. “This is not an appeal I am making to the film industry. It is our responsibility and duty, and I am merely reiterating it,” he said.

Mr. Haasan said that it had been a narrow escape for him as well, as he was under the same canopy with the actress of the film, sometime before the crane collapsed. “The director and the cameraman had a narrow escape as they moved from there just about four seconds before the accident,” he added. Speaking about Mr. Krishna, the assistant director who was killed in the mishap, the actor said that the youngster used to work with him as an assistant. “It was only day before yesterday that he came and told me that he had joined the sets of Indian 2,” he said. Mr. Krishna is the son-in-law of cartoonist and film critic Madhan.

Director Shankar and Lyca Productions founder Subaskaran Allirajah also met the families of the deceased at KMC. Tamil Kumaran, CEO of Lyca Productions, said that they were giving ₹2 crore to the families of the deceased and those who were injured. “We will take care of all the medical expenses,” he added. Reacting to questions about safety on set, Mr. Kumaran said that they had taken adequate precautions and that the accident had been “sudden and unfortunate”.

75 free bone marrow transplants in six years in Odisha hospital
Major milestone for SCB Medical College and Hospital
21/02/2020, SATYASUNDAR BARIK,BHUBANESWAR

Dr. R.K. Jena, the man behind the unique endeavour.Special arrangement

The SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Thursday achieved a major milestone by performing its 75th bone marrow transplant – the highest in any State government-run hospital in the country.

The Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit of the hospital extends the treatment free of cost – a pioneering effort in the country. Of the 75 cancer patients who have undergone the complex transplant procedure, 70 have been found to be healthy while five have passed away.

“The bone marrow transplant, which a poor patient cannot dream of availing, is extended free of cost in our facility. The Health and Family Welfare Department of Odisha bears the cost of the treatment. Probably no government-run hospital in eastern India has performed so many BMTs,” said R.K. Jena, head of Clinical Haematology Department in S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital and the man behind this unique endeavour.

A BMT unit started functioning in the hospital on February 26, 2014. In the last six years, Dr. Jena and his team have been conscientiously trying make life better for cancer patients.

Expensive procedure

BMT is a procedure to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. In private sector hospitals, a patient has to cough up about ₹10 lakh for a BMT. In the SCB facility, the cost incurred on each BMT ranges between ₹70,000 and ₹1 lakh. Of the 75 patients, 65 belong to below poverty line. Now, around 30 patients are waiting to avail of BMT at SCB.

Dr. Jena, who was also former president of Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, said only private hospital Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, had done higher number of BMTs than SCB Medical College.

All BMTs have been carried out through Stem Cell Apheresis procedure. “In all cases we have successfully mobilised and collected adequate stem cells by a single procedure, unlike other centres needing one to three procedures. Restricting to one procedure reduces cost,” he observed.

Of the 75 cancer patients, five were above 65 years and conducting BMT on them was no mean achievement. As per Indian Journal of Cancer, very few hospitals in the country have attempted BMT involving elderly persons. Dr. Jena said, “We conducted BMT on one patient who was 74 years old.”

Swiggy workers stage protest in city, demand restoration of old wages

Rate per delivery has been reduced from ₹40 to ₹35

21/02/2020, STAFF REPORTER ,NEW DELHI

Workers of online food delivery platform, Swiggy, have been staging a protest in south Delhi’s Madangir area demanding that their old wages be restored.

A worker who did not wish to be identified said that hundreds of them have been gathering outside the Pushp Vihar office for the last two days. Explaining the problem, they said, earlier, they used to get ₹40 per delivery which was subsequently reduced to ₹35.

“However, the company is hiring new people who are paid ₹15 per order. Most of the orders now directly go to them and not us. They have also reduced our extra night charges from ₹20 to ₹10,” he said.

Another worker complained that they have no grievance redressal mechanism in the company. “Who should we speak to in case if there is a problem? If we meet with an accident or we are robbed, there is no one we can contact because everything is online,” he said.

The protesters demanded that the older rates (₹35) be restored for every worker.

When contacted, Swiggy did not comment on the matter.

Government’s think tank gets new V-C

21/02/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,NEW DELHI

Jasmine Shah has been re-appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Dialogue and Development Commission, a think-tank of the Delhi government.

After his appointment, Mr. Shah met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here. “Honoured to be appointed by the Cabinet as the Vice Chairperson of @DDC_Delhi for the next term of AAP govt. Met CM @ArvindKejriwal and discussed with him various ways in which DDC can assist in his vision to transform Delhi into a 21st century city [sic],” he tweeted.

NEET applies to UG courses too, says SC

21/02/2020, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validity of applying the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to under-graduate courses under the Union Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).

The Court agreed with the government that admissions to BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS would require candidates to score minimum qualifying marks for NEET.

The court declared this in a judgment challenging notifications issued by the Central Council of Indian Medicine and Central Council of Homoeopathy prescribing an-all India NEET for admission to the under-graduate courses (BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS) and minimum qualifying marks in the examination from the academic year 2019-2020.

However, as one-time measure and in view of the admission of a large number of students to the AYUSH, the court has permitted them to continue provided they were admitted prior to the last date of admission, i.e., October 15, 2019. The same direction is applicable to students admitted to the post-graduate courses before October 31, 2019.