4 attempt suicide over jobs on compassionate grounds

4 attempt suicide over jobs on compassionate grounds

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Patiala:22.09.2021

Seeking jobs from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on compassionate grounds, three protesters from the families of late employees on Tuesday poured petrol over themselves, while another consumed poison in four attempted suicides here.

Protesters Gagandeep Singh of Bathinda, Nishan Singh of Tarn Taran, and Veerpal Singh of Muktsar doused themselves with petrol, Mritak Aashrit Sangharsh Committee (PSPCL) union leader Charanjit Singh said: "Fellow protesters overpowered them before they could burn themselves. Enraged protesters tried to storm the PSPCL office and get to its seventh floor to join the 11 protesting there for the past five days."

When police didn’t let them in, one of the protesters, Dharminder Singh of Tarn Taran, consumed poison and was moved to Government Rajindra hospital in Patiala. About two years ago, six protesters, including an old woman, had climbed a water tank in Patiala after waiting two decades for job. The union’s Tuesday meeting with the PSPCL management was futile, and they will now meet the chairman and managing director on Wednesday in Chandigarh.

Charanjit said: "Our parents and loved ones died serving the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) that was, later, dissolved and transformed into PSPCL and PSTCL in 2010. These employees died between 2000 and 2010, when the government had stopped giving jobs on compassionate grounds. In 2010, when the board was dissolved, the government restored the job benefit to the kin of late employees but left us out. The department has a record of 6,141 job seekers but the actual figure is only 1,000, since the others have moved abroad, died, or found other jobs."

The death of an earning member and lack of timely compensation, accompanied by the pandemic-induced lockdown, have left many families in a desperate financial situation. Many linemen have been electrocuted because of somebody's negligence or lack of safety gear and equipment.

Many of their dependents were in school or college at the time of these accidents and they had to abandon their education for want of money..

No change in DoB at fag end of service: SC

No change in DoB at fag end of service: SC

New Delhi:22.09.2021

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that a person cannot claim as a matter of right to get his or her date of birth changed if the application is made after inordinate delay and more particularly when it is made at the fag end of service or when the employee is about to retire on attaining age of superannuation.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna said the plea for change in date of birth by an employee can be rejected in such cases even if there is “cogent evidence” as allowing such plea could result in a chain reaction and others below him, waiting for years for their promotion, would get affected. TNN

Students to be given degree after they plant sapling, says higher edu minister

TOI INTERVIEW

Students to be given degree after they plant sapling, says higher edu minister

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:22.09.2021

In an initiative for environmental cause, the higher education department has decided to give degree and marksheet to students after they plant a sapling. Higher education minister Mohan Yadav told TOI during an exclusive talk.

Higher education department has taken several new initiatives. What are they?

Students will be given a degree and marksheet after they plant a sapling. This will inculcate a habit of respecting and conserving the environment. Institutes should compulsorily get their entry on the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) portal. Its monitoring will be ensured at the directorate level. With this, changes can be brought in the GER of the state. Universities have been asked to adopt a village.

Colleges have been opened. What instructions have been given to colleges to follow Covid guidelines?

We have instructed the colleges to follow Covid guidelines in toto. We have started college with 50% attendance strength. As the students are of above 18 years of age they have been asked to submit certificate of at least first dose of vaccination.

Is it true that the state govt is planning to change the name of vice-chancellors?

It is completely true. Vice-chancellors will be known as Kul Guru. We will put it in the cabinet soon. We have got informal approval also. Kul Guru is a term which has been in use for the past several years in our tradition. We just want our students to continue that tradition. I think this will also help in generating higher respect for prestigious positions like VC.

Controversy erupted over adding topics like Ramcharitmanas or engineering of Ram Setu in academics?

I do not understand the logic of creating any controversy on these topics. First of all, this is not mandatory for students to study. It is optional and available for any student of any stream to study. Besides, even if it is added I do not think there is any harm for students to study such a great legacy of Indian culture.

There is a dearth of teachers in colleges. What steps has the department taken in this regard?

We have decided to recruit more teachers through PSC. We are working on it and the vacancies will be issued soon in the near future. We will be able to fill the majority of the posts in the colleges in the near future.

Change Of Date Of Birth In Service Records Cannot Be Claimed As Of Right; Can Be Rejected For Delay & Latches : Supreme Court

Change Of Date Of Birth In Service Records Cannot Be Claimed As Of Right; Can Be Rejected For Delay & Latches : Supreme Court

Ashok KM

21 Sep 2021 7:14 PM

The Supreme Court observed that change of date of birth in the service record cannot be claimed as of right, even if there is cogent evidence.

Such applications, the court said, can only be processed as per the relevant provisions/regulations applicable. They can be rejected on the ground of delay and latches also more particularly when it is made at the fag end of service and/or when the employee is about to retire on attaining the age of superannuation, the bench of Justices MR Shah and AS Bopanna observed.

In this case, an employee of the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited requested for change of date of birth. Thereafter, he filed a suit for declaration that his date of birth is 24.01.1961. The said suit was dismissed by the Trial Court. The High Court allowed appeal and decreed the suit.

In appeal before the Apex Court, the Corporation contended that no such alteration to the date of birth to the advantage of a State servant be made unless the employee has made an application for the purpose within three years from the date on which his age and date of birth is accepted and recorded in the service register or book or any other record of service or within one year from the date of commencement of the Karnataka State Servants (Determination of Age) Act, 1974 whichever is later. In this case, the corporation submitted, the employee made the application for the first time vide notice dated 23.06.2007 i.e. after the lapse of 24 years since he joined the service and nearly after the lapse of 16 years from the date of adoption of enactment (Act, 1974).

Referring to earlier judgments in this regard, the court observed:

(i) application for change of date of birth can only be as per the relevant provisions/regulations applicable;

(ii) even if there is cogent evidence, the same cannot be claimed as a matter of right;

(iii) application can be rejected on the ground of delay and latches also more particularly when it is made at the fag end of service and/or when the employee is about to retire on attaining the age of superannuation. (Para 10)

Thus, in this case, the court observed that the employee was not entitled to the decree of declaration. The court noted that the High Court judgment was implemented in this case and the employee had retired. So it clarified that this judgment will not affect him.

Citation: LL 2021 SC 485

Case name: Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited Vs. T.P. Natarajan

Case no.| Date: CA 5720 OF 2021 | 21 September 2021

Coram: Justices MR Shah and AS Bopanna

Maradu native wins Onam bumper lottery

Maradu native wins Onam bumper lottery

Sivadas Verma TNN

Tripunithura:21.09.2021

After a daylong suspense and rumours over the winner of the Onam bumper Kerala lottery worth Rs 12 crore, the real winner was found at Maradu in Kochi on Monday evening. Jayapalan P R, who resides at Pooppanaparambil House, Maradu, was the winner.

Jayapalan, who is fondly called Kannan, stays near Kottaaram Bhagavathy temple and is an auto-driver at the Ambedkar Junction auto stand at Maradu.

Jayapalan, a self-made man, hails from a poor family. He has been looking after his family, which includes his 95-year-old mother Lakshmi Bhai, wife Mani and two sons, Vyshakh, who is an electrician and Vishnu, a homeo doctor. His wife Mani is working as a sweeper in Chottanikkara homeo hospital.

“I bought the prize-winning ticket from Meenakshi lotteries near Statue Junction on September 10 as I felt that it was a fancy number,” Jayapalan said.

He said that he sat silent even as rumours spread about the ‘winner’ as he had the real ticket with him. Perhaps because of his grounded experiences as a hard-working auto driver, Jayapalan was found so cool and peaceful even after this great fortune and said the lottery has come as a great blessing to him.

“I have vehicle and housing loans to be repaid and I will utilize the rest of the amount productively after discussing with my family,” he said.

Speculations were rife since Sunday afternoon, when the draw was done, about the winner of the Onam bumper. Initially, the rumour was that the ticket was jointly taken by three youths from Panackal. Then on Monday TV channels started to air a story that Saithalavi from Panamaram in Wayanad has claimed the ownership of the ticket from Dubai as his friend had bought the ticket for him from Kozhikode. All these rumours were put to rest by evening as Jayapalan revealed that he was the real winner.

Emirates told to pay ₹55k to flyer for missing bag

Emirates told to pay ₹55k to flyer for missing bag

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:21.09.2021

A district consumer forum directed Emirates airlines to pay ₹55,000 to a flyer from city for a missing bag at her destination Copenhagen.

The flyer, Sagarika M, had taken Emirates flight from Hyderabad-Dubai-Copenhagen on May 18, 2018. In her complaint, she said that one of her bags containing clothes and valuables went missing when she arrived in Copenhagen. She said that she stayed in Copenhagen until May 29 on which date she returned to Hyderabad, but the bag was never found.The complainant filed a complaint with the consumer body after the airlines refused to compensate her.

The airlines submitted that the complainant’s bag was handed over to it as check-in luggage on the flight. But they claimed the bag might have been taken by some other passenger or the complainant herself and was now claiming compensation on false pretences. “The contention of the opposite parties that the bag might have been taken by other passengers or by the complainant does not sustain. The bag is missing and it was not traced and handed over to the complainant,” the bench said.

Post-grad sweeper gets job upgrade in GHMC wing

Post-grad sweeper gets job upgrade in GHMC wing

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:21.09.2021 

A post-graduate in organic chemistry and a PhD aspirant, Ambi Rajani, who was forced to work as a contract sweeper in GHMC, as she had neither the power nor resources to obtain a better job, was offered a job in GHMC’s entomology wing on Monday.

Her ordeal came to an end after her story caught the attention of minister for Municipal administration and urban development KT Rama Rao, whom she met in his office, along with principal secretary Arvind Kumar. She was handed over appointment orders as assistant entomologist on an outsourcing basis. “Though my parents paid the fee, I had to earn for books and my commute to college. I am extremely happy, and am forever indebted to KTR sir,” said Rajani, who was the sole breadwinner for a family of five.

Hailing from the socially disadvantaged Yerukala community of Ramakrishnapuram village in Warangal district, Rajani had taken taken up the job of a sweeper on a contract basis in GHMC for a salary of ₹10,000.