A day to celebrate White Coat Warriors

NATIONAL DOCTOR’S DAY

A day to celebrate White Coat Warriors

MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DOCTORS IN THE CITY RETURNED TO WORK AFTER BEATING COVID

Paul John@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: 01.07.2020

The city became a hotspot for Covid-19 by mid-April with daily cases going above 150 regularly. By the beginning of June, the number had touched 300. The death toll also kept rising. But amid the pandemic, doctors gave the virus a tough fight.

As India celebrates National Doctors’ Day on July 1 to mark the birth and death anniversary of former West Bengal chief minister Dr BC Roy, the focus is on White Coat Warriors. Dr Roy also contributed to the foundation of Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Medical Council of India (MCI).

Various doctor organizations claim the figure of 100-plus doctors who have got infected in both public and private hospitals. The city IMA quotes the names of two members and one non-member who succumbed to the infection in the city.

Dr M M Prabhakar, OSD at Medicity, said that it was not easy for doctors to don PPE kits and work for hours at a stretch when cases are spiking. “But the staff at Civil Hospital, led by superintendent Dr J P Modi, work round the clock, ensuring the implementation of the latest treatment protocols,” he said.

The 100-plus days of Covid-19 also brought in radical changes in healthcare delivery, said Dr Jaswantsinh Darbar, vice-president, Ahmedabad zone of IMA. “Many doctors preferred to stay away from families to ensure their safety from infection,” he said. “You see plastic curtains, doctors in protective gear from head to toe, and the use of disinfectants as a routine. All that took a lot of time for doctors to get used to.”

No official communication to block 59 Chinese apps, say Apple, Google

No official communication to block 59 Chinese apps, say Apple, Google

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi  01.07.2020

: A day after the government ordered the “blocking” of 59 Chinese apps, some of them, such as TikTok and Club Factory, decided to approach the Centre seeking to clarify their position, while maintaining that they were compliant with Indian regulations.

The statements came as Apple and Google said they were yet to receive official communication to remove all the 59 Chinese apps from their platforms.

As a result, some of the apps such as CamScanner could be downloaded on devices even on Tuesday — 24 hours after the ministry of electronics and IT announced the government decision to “block” apps since they were seen to be accessing devices and sharing data.

Apple has received an order under Section 69A of the IT Act to remove the popular Chinese video sharing app TikTok from its App store, sources told TOI.

Orders for the removal of the remaining 58 apps, including UC Browser, Club Factory and Shein was yet to be received till late Tuesday evening. Google, which runs the ubiquitous Play Store in Android, had received official orders to remove around 20 apps so far, sources said.

“We don’t implement orders based on mere press releases. We need clearly-defined instructions based on existing rules governing the content and app eco-system,” said an executive. Official sources said the IT ministry has asked the department of telecom to instruct the internet service providers and telecom operators to take down the apps, while also blocking the content on those already downloaded.

An Apple executive said that removing an app “randomly, without any government order” will make the company liable for action. Entities representing TikTok and Club Factory said they have not violated any Indian law. TikTok, the first one to pull out its app from the Apple and Google Play stores, said that it will approach the government.

NO TO CHINA: Working Journalist of India members urge citizens to stop using Chinese apps in New Delhi on Tuesday

‘Not wearing sindoor is disregard to marriage’

RULES GAUHATI HC

‘Not wearing sindoor is disregard to marriage’

Guwahati:01.07.2020

The Gauhati high court has granted divorce to a man whose wife refused to abide by Hindu culture prevalent in eastern part of the country, that of smearing vermilion on her head and wearing conch shell bangle.

In an observation of a kind, the top court in Assam said that the reluctance to wear ‘shankha’ (conch shell bangle) and ‘sindoor’ (vermillion) as have been the tradition and custom among the Hindu married woman, the petitioner wife’s action amounted to a kind of rejection to accept the marriage.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajai Lamba and Justice Soumitra Saikia observed “under the custom of Hindu marriage, a lady who has entered into marriage according to Hindu rituals and customs, and which has not been denied by the respondent (woman) in her evidence, her refusal to wear shankha and sindoor’ would project her to be unmarried and/or signify her refusal to accept the marriage with the appellant (man). “Such categorical stand of the respondent points to the clear intention of the respondent that she is unwilling to continue her conjugal life with the appellant. PTI

‘Cruelty to wife over her complexion punishable’

‘Cruelty to wife over her complexion punishable’

Saibal.Sen@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:01.07.2020

Cruelty to wife for her dark complexion is a penal offence, punishable under Section 498A of the IPC, Calcutta High Court said in a recent judgment.

The judgment was in a case of alleged marital torture and death of a woman in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district in 1998.

“Causing cruelty to the deceased victim for her black complexion (sic) even after her marriage by the in-laws would definitely attract Section 498A/34 IPC against the in-laws, including the accused husband,” a division bench of justices Sahidullah Munshi and Subhasis Dasgupta remarked in a 31-page order on June 25.

Recounting the woman’s ordeal, additional public prosecutor Arun Kumar Maity said: “Three days into her arranged marriage in October 1997, the woman was made to stay in a cowshed. The high court has made it clear that mental harassment by the husband and in-laws because of her dark complexion is an offence under Section 498A IPC.”

The accused husband, Maziul Miah, and his family had been paid ₹11,000, three silver ornaments and a bicycle, among other things. But the woman was illtreated and even assaulted with acycle chain. She was constantly threatened that her husband would annul their marriage and re-marry.

A trial court had indicated Maziul and his parents for murder and mental torture and sentenced them to life.

Tuticorin airport gets go-ahead to operate night flights

Tuticorin airport gets go-ahead to operate night flights

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Tuticorin:01.07.2020

Tuticorin airport has got licence to operate flights at night from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). Various developmental works carried out at an estimated cost of Rs2.3 crore have helped the airport get the licence that makes them eligible to operate flights round-theclock, said Tuticorin airport director N Subramanian. “Till date we could operate flights only from 6am to 6pm due to visibility limitation of 5km. After lockdown we will be able to operate round-the-clock, irrespective of the weather,” said Subramanian.

Tuticorin MP Kanimozhi had written to the civil aviation ministry on multiple occasions following representations from various bodies, including the Tuticorin chapters of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the All India Chamber of Commerce and Industries to facilitate night operations at the airport and to elevate it as an international airport. Night flight operation at Tuticorin was a long-pending demand of the business community as it could cut on expenses such as stay and save a lot of time if those from other cities could fly to Tuticorin in the morning and return the same night. Trade and industry see night operations as the first step that would benefit the region.

Subramanian told TOI that the airport was handling 12 flights, including 10 to Chennai and two to Bengaluru, and around 700 passengers a day. Due to the lockdown it was reduced to four flights in the Chennai-Tuticorin sector.

“Now the airport is capable of handling all-weather dayand-night operations at low visibility for ATR 72, Q 400 and Dornier AN32 type of aircrafts, based on Airline Operator Minima for Runway 28,” he said. Additional safety measures include installing a non-directional beacon and increasing levelled and graded runway strip from the centre line from 75 meters to 140 metres.

NEET quota for govt students: Guv to consult experts

NEET quota for govt students: Guv to consult experts

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 01.07.2020

A fortnight ago the Tamil Nadu cabinet cleared a proposal to provide horizontal reservation for government school students from this academic year. It is now learnt that governor Banwarilal Purohit has been consulting legal experts on the constitutional validity of the scheme. The ordinance is pending before the governor.

The cabinet passed the ordinance after Justice P Kalaiyarasan committee in its report submitted recently pointed to the huge disparities in the socio-economic status of the students of government and private schools. Only four students from government schools got admitted under government quota during 2018-19 and five during 2019-20, while there was nil in 2017-18 when the NEET was first introduced. Only five students were admitted under management quota in the last three years. While 40% government school students passed every year, only 0.1% of the total seats in medical institutions were available to them.

Purohit will ascertain the constitutional propriety of the ordinance before giving his assent. “The state government has passed the ordinance based on sound logic and the governor is critically examining it. The state has requested for an early decision so that students of the current year get the benefit,” government sources told TOI. The new academic year will begin soon.

The government also presented to the governor the committee’s report favouring quota for the students. While 10% horizontal quota was planned initially, the government settled for 7.5% before reaching out to the governor for clearance. The quota is being considered in the private medical colleges too. The horizontal reservations cut across the vertical reservation granted for SC/ST/OBC and general category students.

The EPS government is facing flak for not getting clearance for two bills passed unanimously in the state assembly – the Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS Courses Bill, 2017 and the Tamil Nadu Admission to Post Graduate Courses in Medicine and Dentistry, seeking exemption from the national competitive examinations for medical admission.

Have sought more rescue flights from Centre, TN tells HC

FOR TAMILS STUCK ABROAD

Have sought more rescue flights from Centre, TN tells HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 01.07.2020

A day after the Centre accused the Tamil Nadu government of refusing clearance to international rescue flights bringing back Indians stranded in various countries, the state government informed the Madras high court that it has requested the ministry of external affairs to arrange for more flights to land in the state.

Citing a communication dated June 27 issued by the P Senthil Kumar, principal secretary to Tamil Nadu government (FAC), government pleader V Jayaprakash Narayan submitted on Tuesday that the state has addressed the Union ministry of external affairs to arrange adequate Vande Bharath Mission flights to the state.

“.. only four flights have been arranged to evacuate stranded Tamils from UAE, Bahrain and Oman during June 27 to 29. More members of non-resident Tamils are still stranded in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman. Hence, I am directed to request you to kindly arrange adequate number of flights under the VBM/ ships from the above five countries to evacuate stranded Tamil people,” the communication said.

Recording the submissions, a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy directed the state to file a status request as to the number of flights that are likely to be permitted and adjourned the hearing to July 2.

On Monday, the Centre informed the court that since TN government refused clearance for Vande Bharath flights, residents of the state are compelled to land in neighbouring states and then proceed to Tamil Nadu.

“The state government has requested that the number of flights to Chennai be restricted to two per day and not more than one to Trichy, Coimbatore and Madurai , to facilitate smooth reception and observance of Covid-19 protocol,” the ministry of external affairs said through a memo filed in the court.