Bengaluru: Panic prevailed among the residents of a village in Karnataka State after four goats died days after goatherd has tested positive for coronavirus.
In order to allay villagers’ fear that livestock might have contracted the virus, Department of Animal husbandry and Veterinary Services, Karnataka isolated 50 goats.
Test report
The villagers alleged that the livestock is facing respiratory problems.
Later, the test report of the goats confirmed that they are suffering from seasonal diseases and not coronavirus. Seasonal diseases are common among the livestock.
H. Basavarajendra, Commissioner, Animal Husbandry said that till now, in India, no animal has contracted coronavirus.
Coronavirus cases in India
Meanwhile, India’s COVID-19 tally breached the 6 lakh cases mark. The total cases now stand at 6,04,641 of which there are 2,26,947 active cases while 3,59,860 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, has a total of 1,80,298 cases including 8,053 fatalities. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has 94,049 cases inclusive of 1,264 deaths. Delhi has 89,802 coronavirus cases including 2,803 deaths.
New Delhi: Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan on Thursday slammed a troll after she wrote, “@IrfanPathan is not hiding his ambitions to become the next Hafiz Saeed at all”.
Pathan has been outspoken on topics on religious harmony in the country in recent months and this has led to a few trolls on social media attacking him for his views.
“This is the mentality of certain people. Where have we reached? #shame #disgusted,” Pathan tweeted. A number of users, including actor Richa Chadha, said in the replies section that the handle that abused the former Indian cricketer is a bot and not a real user.
Richa Chadha’s tweet
“It’s fake account. Bot. Not a real person,” she tweeted and Pathan replied: “But someone is managing that?”
The insult was however not in reply to any political comment made by Pathan but to an unrelated topic of him speaking about how he was converted from a pure fast bowler to an all-rounder.
Irfan Pathan talks about Greg Chappell
“I had said this after I had announced my retirement as well. Those who talk about Greg Chappell spoiling my career, by sending me as an all-rounder at No. 3 and all these things…Actually, it was Sachin paaji’s idea,” Pathan said on Beyond the Field hosted by presenter Raunak Kapoor on his Instagram page.
“He advised Rahul Dravid to send me at No. 3. He said ‘he (Irfan) has the power to hit sixes, can take on the new ball and can play the fast bowlers well too.
“It was tried for the first time in the series against Sri Lanka when Muralitharan was at his peak, and the idea was to attack him as well. (Dilhara) Fernando back then had started the concept of the split-finger slower ball.
“Batsmen didn’t understand that too well, so the belief was if I could pull it off, it could work in our favour, especially since it was the first match of the series. It’s not true that Greg Chappell spoiled my career. Since he was not from India, it is easier to make him a punching bag.”
The left-arm pacer played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for India, scalping a total of 301 international wickets.
Hyderabad: Telangana continued to witness a spike in COVID-19 cases with 1,213 people testing positive while eight deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the tally to 18,570 and the toll to 275.
COVID cases in GHMC areas
As many as 998 of the new cases were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) areas, followed by neighbouring Medchal district with 54 cases.
Chennai: Tableeghi Jamaat has been accused of spreading Coronavirus after their congregration at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz. According to sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs 3,500 foreigners from 35 different countries have been stranded in different parts of India. Among them are pregnant women and several elderly persons in need of urgent medical care.
But the condition of 129 foreigners in Tamil Nadu, among them at least 12 women, some young mothers, has been the worst.
In April, the Tamil Nadu government first registered 15 different FIRs across the state, then carried out multiple joint inter-district operations and imprisoned the foreigners. Most of them were picked up from different mosques and private residential centres where they had quarantined themselves. 10 Malaysians were detained just minutes before they were to board a special flight arranged by their government.
The arrested foreign nationals have tried every legal remedy available to get themselves out of jail and secure their journey back home but the state have been blocking their ways.
Governor refutes Madras HC order
Over a month after their arrest, when the Madras high court first granted bail to six Thai nationals on May 6, the Tamil Nadu government, instead of making arrangements for their release, issued a government order (GO) and further kept them under detention.
The GO, issued on May 8 by state governor Banwarilal Purohit, devoid of any grounds for further detention, states: “In exercise of the powers conferred under section 3 (2)(e) of the Foreigners Act, 1946…. the governor of Tamil Nadu hereby orders that they shall reside in the special camp at Puzhal, Chennai district, in the event of their release.”
With this order, the Tamil Nadu government became the only state to set up a detention centre under the Foreigners Act in the middle of the ongoing pandemic.
Even states which have existing detention centres have not made use of those establishments, but the Tamil Nadu government decided to convert a Borstal School – meant for young adults in conflict with the law – into a detention centre. The state government has been categorising this set up as a ‘temporary camp’ and not a detention centre, but lawyers and activists call this a “false distinction”.
Government Order to set up a detention centre for 129 foreign nationals.
With Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Nation Register of Citizens (NRC) enacted in 2019, several state governments, including Karnataka and the then BJP- led government of Maharashtra, decided to set up detention centres for “illegal immigrants” entering India, the Tamil Nadu government did not make any such move. The state already has an “intermediate camp”, another name for detention centres, in Trichy, which mostly houses Sri Lankan nationals.
But with the new GO, lawyers say, Tamil Nadu has joined states that are willing to persecute religious minorities. They have also alleged that the recent GO virtually nullifies their long-drawn efforts in Madurai and Chennai courts to secure bail for the detained foreigners.
“As soon as we secured bail, we visited the Puzhal Central prison to get them (six Thai nationals) released. We were informed that they will be moved out to another Saidapet sub-jail. On May 8, a GO was issued,” says K.M. Aasim Shehzad, one of the lawyers working towards getting the foreign nationals released in the state.
Between their bail order and the GO, the Tamil Nadu police had detained the six persons unlawfully, Shehzad alleges. The defence lawyers have moved a habeas corpus application before the Madras high court as a protection against their illegal imprisonment.`
Shehzad says no other state has made such extreme moves. There are over 3,500 foreign nationals who are facing charges under the Foreigners Act for allegedly flouting visa norms. Even if the foreigners were arrested initially, on securing bail, they could make their own arrangements. Several mosques and local groups came forward to help the stranded tourists. “Only Tamil Nadu government decided to act in such a violative manner,” he says.
Inmates hungry most days
129 Jamatees are lodged in The Borstal School attached to the Puzhal Central prison which has a capacity to accommodate 38 people. Lawyers who have been visiting them at the Borstal School told The Wire that the living conditions inside the centre are abysmal. “Each time we visit them, they only ask us about their return. Most of them aren’t acquainted with Indian food and go hungry on most days. They haven’t talked to their families in months,” says a young lawyer, who has been coordinating their legal documents and occasionally arranging for their native cuisine.
Former MLA and leader of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi party M.H. Jawahirullah is at the forefront coordinating the legal team and helping those detained. He is also the only point of contact for most families who have failed to connect with their relatives despite diplomatic interventions, The Wire said.
Most families that The Wire spoke to say they have not heard from their relatives since their arrest in April. Hussain Bin Hassan has been frantically contacting the Malaysian embassy and his contacts in India to know about his 26-year-old son, Mohamed Amirul Hafiz.
“I lost touch with him on April 11. Before that, he would make video calls almost every day,” Hassan told The Wire. This was Amirul’s fourth visit to India and Hassan also says the worst ever. “We have been visiting India and attending the Tablighi since my grandfather’s time. India has always been welcoming of us, we never expected things to get this bad,” Hassan, a resident of Seremban in Negeri Sembilan state, says.
Barring a case or two from the Nizamuddin Markaz, every other person detained had tested negative for the virus. But since their arrests, they have been thrown in and out of Puzhal Prison, which has at least 40 positive cases detected.
The charges
While the Indian attendees have been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases Act, those from foreign countries have been booked under similar sections along with additional sections of the Foreigners Act for allegedly flouting visa norms.
The prosecution has relied on Clause 15 of the visa rule, which restricts “foreign nationals from engaging themselves in Tabligh work”. The clause, however, has no restriction on visiting religious places and attending religious discourses.
Besides the general policy guidelines drafted for Indian visas, the term ‘Tabligh’ is neither defined nor does it appear in any other government documents or statutes. Advocate Shehzad says the government has made no efforts to clarify the meaning of the term either.
On Monday, June 29, while hearing the petition filed by several foreign nationals who are stranded in India and are being blacklisted and barred from entering India for a period of 10 years, the Supreme Court’s bench comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjay Khanna asked, “If visas of these foreigners are cancelled, why are they still in India?” The bench further added: “You deport them. Also, tell us if there was just a general direction or individual orders sent to each one of them informing about blacklisting and cancellation of visa.”
Are these detentions legal?
All 129 have already been released on bail. Under the Foreigners Act, states have the power to place an accused foreign national under restrictions until she is either acquitted or deported back to their home countries.
On June 12, taking a humane approach, however, Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madurai bench of the Madras high court said that the detainees had already suffered enough. The judge also observed that Article 21 (right to life) of the constitution applies to the applicants, even if they are of foreign nationality.
Justice Swaminathan observed:
“To quote (Professor Upendra) Baxi, at the heart of every constitution there pulsates a distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them’, the constitutional self and the constitutional others. But there are provisions transcending this distinction, being applicable to “all persons”. Article 21 of the Constitution surely applies to the petitioners also. Failure to respond to the petitioners’ existential horror would amount to judicial abdication. If I come to the conclusion that the petitioners have already suffered enough and that they are being put to “surplus or unnecessary suffering”, I am obliged to intervene.”
In the detailed order, the court also directed the state to move those detained at the Borstal School out to a place which is not within the prison structure. The court was referring to the Model Detention Centre/Holding Centre/Camp Manual that the Ministry of Home Affairs had been communicated to every state on January 9, 2019.
Of the 39 amenities mandated in chapter 4 of the manual, setting up camps outside the jail premises is the first criteria. Jawahirullah says the state government failed to make such distinctions. “Since the beginning, those detained were kept in facilities inside the prison. And this did not change even with the high court’s direction,” he points out.
Similarly, among other provisions include regular communication with family members, separate cooking space and access to running water. “Not one requirement is met. In fact, they are treated much worse than other prisoners,” he says.
Meanwhile, Jamiah Qasmiyah Arabic college in Chennai has offered to provide accommodation to the detained foreigners, but the state government has ignored its offer.
The defence lawyers’ team has been awaiting the high court’s intervention in their habeas corpus petition that is being regularly adjourned to a later date. At the same time, the lawyers are also preparing to challenge the government order.
Meanwhile, across countries and oceans, families await the return of their relatives and urge the Indian government to give up playing “communal politics” at the cost of their relatives.
“We have always loved India. Please allow us to remember your country for its beauty and hospitable people. Please put an end to this inhuman treatment of our children,” Hasan appealed emotionally.
Hyderabad: The coronavirus pandemic has brought stories of frontline workers who are working on the ground level despite all the risks to the fore. From doctors and nurses to civic workers and police, these stories are full of dedication and selfless service.
After the news went viral over social media that 200 bodies have been buried in Chanchalguda graveyard in the past eight days. Siasat.com spoke to this grave digger there to verify the truth during this COVID-19 outbreak.
Mohammed Khan, 28 the cemetery supervisor at Sultan Dai-e-ra Graveyard near Chanchalguda Jail is a fourth-generation cemetery worker.
Khan and fifteen members of his family are taking care of this place. He along with his brothers have buried more than 15 COVID-19 victims in Chanchalguda cemetery till now.
In conversation with siasat.com, Khan claimed that no none in his family has ever seen this kind of situation before. Though he was not provided with protection gear (PPE kit) all the time. He buried 10 bodies without wearing PPE. In some cases, the family members of the deceased gave some to them. However, mostly Khan and his family members were just covering their faces.
Khan said, “The first corona victim was buried in the month of March during the observance of the first phase of the strict lockdown. The body was buried by the GHMC workers. We were scared to touch the body. Now that the cases and deaths have increased, we got use to it. The only fear in our heart is of our family members getting affected. Even we have small children at home. Therefore, if the Telangana Waqf Board or the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) provide us proper protection gear it would be helpful for us and to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” Khan told siasat.com.
When asked about the viral news that over 200 bodies were buried in eight days, Khan confirmed it. In the previous month, 200 bodies were buried by us but not all of them were COVID-19 victims. Around 10 to 12 were COVID-19 victims.
Khan also revealed that nine to 12 bodies are being buried daily due deaths via with various health problems like multiple organs failure, heart attack and etc.
Siasat.com reporter Mohammed Hussain speaking with Khan
Whenever a janaza (funeral procession) arrives in the graveyard or whenever people come to ask for burial space, we ask them how the person died. After inquiring about the reason of death we start preparing for the burial.
With immense fear around even touching COVID victims’ bodies, Khan mentioned how family members of the dead or the hospital staff are not ready to unload the body.
“What is sad is that the ambulance people bring the body while family members are standing afar. Both the family members ambulance personnel tell each other to take the body out but nobody gets around to doing it soon enough.”
Khan also stated that some part of the Chanchalguda Graveyard has been separately allocated for coronavirus victims’ bodies. One month later, that land was also filled with COVID-19 victims later on the instructions of area corporator. Another part of that land in the same graveyard which is rapidly filling up with bodies was given for coronavirus victims.
AIMIM Corporator Mohammed Murtuza Ali, said, “Over 200 bodies have been buried in the Chanchalguda graveyard including COVID-19. But now the corona victims’ bodies will be asked to go to Faqeer Mullah in Balapur which is earmarked for COVID-19 burials only as there is no place left in the Chanchalguda graveyard. Those who already have their members in this graveyard are only allowed to have the grave in the Chanchalguda Qabristan (graveyard).”
Hyderabad: Tremors causing due to an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 were felt near Hyderabad on Thursday evening.
India’s National Center for Seismology reported that the epicentre of the earthquake was 107 km southwest (SW) of Hyderabad.
The earthquake which struck at 6:20:27 PM IST occurred at a depth of 10 km from the surface.
According to ndtv.com, tremors were felt in areas of Viqarabad, Sedam, Wadi, Yadgir, Narayanpet, Jadcherla, Mahbubnagar, Deosugur, Raichur, Sholapur, Manvi, Mantralayam, Kurnool and Kolhapur.
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded the Security Council of the multi-faceted implications of COVID-19 on international peace and security.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to profoundly affect peace and security across the globe,” he told the Security Council on Thursday. “The risks are diverse.”
The consequences can be seen even in a number of countries traditionally seen as stable. But the impacts are particularly apparent in countries already experiencing conflict or emerging from it — and may soon engulf others, he said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Tensions are rising
Tensions are rising as a result of the severe socio-economic fallout of the crisis. Trust in public institutions is being eroded further in places where people perceive that authorities have not addressed the pandemic effectively or have not been transparent about its impact, said Guterres.
As pre-existing grievances and vulnerabilities become more accentuated and entrenched, the potential for instability and violence only grows, he warned.
The pandemic is exacerbating gender inequalities, as women make up the vast majority of the sectors most affected. There has been an alarming spike in gender-based and domestic violence, and it is increasingly difficult for victims to report abuse, seek shelter and access justice, he said.
Peace processes could be derailed
In some countries, fragile peace processes could be derailed by the crisis, especially if the international community is distracted. In other places, conflict actors, including terrorist and violent extremist groups, see the uncertainty created by the pandemic as a tactical advantage, he said.
Many countries have had to consider how to move ahead with elections slated for 2020 while trying to manage the health crisis. In the Central African Republic, there are tensions due to attempts to use the pandemic as a pretext to postpone the holding of elections planned for the end of the year, he noted.
Decisions on postponing or indeed proceeding with elections raise complex legal, political and public health challenges. Difficult as they are, such decisions are best made on the basis of broad consultations with all stakeholders, to avoid fueling political tensions or undermining legitimacy, said Guterres.
COVID-19 has also made diplomacy more challenging. Mediation can be a very personal endeavor, an almost-tactile reading of a person or a room. With movement restrictions limiting such contacts, and with online discussions often the only alternative, it can be harder to establish the trust and nurture the willingness to compromise that are at the heart of preventive diplomacy, he said.
The pandemic also highlights the risks of bioterrorist attacks, and has already shown some of the ways in which preparedness might fall short if a disease were to be deliberately manipulated to be more virulent, or intentionally released in multiple places at once, he said. “So, as we consider how to improve our response to future disease threats, we should also devote serious attention to preventing the deliberate use of diseases as weapons.”
He called for the universality and strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention, which lacks an oversight institution and contains no verification provisions.
“Given the speed at which pathogens spread in an interconnected world, we must ensure that all countries have resilient and appropriate capacities to respond quickly and robustly to any potential global and deliberate biological event,” he said.
Stigma, hate speech on rise
Meanwhile, stigma and hate speech are on the rise. And an epidemic of misinformation online has run rampant, said Guterres.
Another risk for the long term is the shifting of resources away from gender equality initiatives, education and other economic sectors. Indeed, this could have intergenerational impacts, including on women’s rights and participation in political and peace processes, he said.
Humanitarian needs have surged. More than 1 billion children are out of school. More than 135 million people could be on the brink of starvation by the end of this year. Routine immunization services are being disrupted on an unprecedented scale, raising the likelihood of major outbreaks of diseases like measles and polio. The already acute vulnerability of refugees and internally displaced persons has grown more pronounced, particularly those living in confined and congested camps and detention facilities. And health care workers and humanitarian personnel have themselves been targeted for unconscionable attacks.
“The health pandemic has fast become a protection crisis,” said Guterres.
These wide-ranging risks require an urgent and united response, including from the Security Council, he said. “Collective security and our shared well-being are under assault on many fronts, led by a relentless disease and abetted by global fragilities. Our challenge is to save lives today while buttressing the pillars of security for tomorrow.”
The Security Council was holding a high-level debate on the implications of COVID-19 on international peace and security.
Mumbai: Renowned Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan died early on Friday morning due to cardiac arrest. She was 71.
The three-time National Award winner, who had choreographed some of the most memorable songs in Hindi cinema, was not keeping well for some time.
She was admitted to Guru Nanak Hospital in Bandra last Saturday after she complained of breathing issues. The mandatory Covid-19 test done at the hospital showed a negative result.
“She passed away due to cardiac arrest at around 2.30 am at the hospital,” Khan’s nephew Manish Jagwani told PTI.
In a career spanning over four decades, Khan is credited with choreographing more than 2,000 songs, including “Dola Re Dola” from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas”, “Ek Do Teen” from Madhuri Dixit-starrer “Tezaab” and “Ye Ishq Haaye” from “Jab We Met” in 2007.
She last choreographed for “Tabaah Hogaye”, featuring Madhuri from filmmaker Karan Johar’s production “Kalank” in 2019.
Hyderabad: Home Minister Mr Mohammed Mahmood Ali said that people should not unnecessarily panic due the coronavirus claiming that COVID-19 is also a virus like any other viruses and can be easily cured if certain things are taken care of and treated soon after early symptoms are developed.
Mr Mahmood Ali, who is undergoing treatment in Apollo hospital, told that he was completely fit and would be ready to serve people shortly. He said being an asthma patient he was scared of coronavrius but when his report came positive, he felt that the disease can be treated by taking good diet and taking precautions.
Home minister’s son Azam Ali Khurram and his grandson Furqan Ahmed are also undergoing treatment in the same hospital after they tested positive. All three of them are stable and doctors have advised them to take rest. Mr Mahmood Ali noted that there is no treatment for coronavirus but it can be treated only by taking precautions and balanced diet.
Mr Mahmood Ali advised people to prevent themselves from contracting virus by maintaining social distancing, using mask and sanitizing or washing their hands frequently instead of getting panic of corona. He informed that he is not being given any particular medicine for coronavirus but is being given common medicines that are prescribed for fever, cough and cold. Mr Mahmood Ali is not suffering from any respiratory problems despite testing positive for COVID-19. He suggested use of ginger, garlic, turmeric, Tulsi and jaggery can prevent from cold. He advised to take milk, eggs, fruits and dry fruits to boost immunity. He advised to avoid cold water and cold drinks.
Home minister urged people in general and Muslims in particular not to develop unnecessary fears about the coronavirus as it can be defeated by prevention and confidence. He said he preferred to serve the people during lockdown instead of locking himself up in the house.
Mr Mahmood Ali asserted that the entire humanity is worried due to corona pandemic and said at this juncture we should turn ourselves towards Allah Almighty and start prayers and supplications. Hailing the measures taken by chief minister k Chandrasekhar Rao, the Home Minister pointed out that fatality rate is low in Telangana and the number of people getting recovered is rising day by day.
He said he will soon be available to serve the people again. He thanked all those who prayed for his recovery.
Hyderabad: A woman’s alleged friendship with two men took a tragic turn on Thursday with one of them killing her five-year-old daughter and injuring her and the other friend, police said.
The attacker, who slit the girl’s throat, also inflicted injuries on himself. The incident occurred at Pocharam in Medchal district on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Friendship on Facebook
According to police, the married woman developed friendship with Karunakar on Facebook a few months ago. Another man, Rajasekhar was also friendly with her.
When Karunakar came to her house on Thursday, Rajasekhar was already present in the house. On Seeing Karunakar, the woman pushed Rajasekhar into a room.
Karunakar was enraged over the presence of Rajasekhar in the house. He asked the man hiding in the room to come out, failing which he would kill the woman’s daughter. As there was no response from Rajasekhar, Karunakar picked up a blade and slit the girl’s throat.
As Rajasekhar emerged from the room, the accused attacked him and the woman and self-inflicted injury on his neck.
Girl succumbed in hospital
The grievously injured girl was shifted to hospital, where she succumbed. The accused, woman and another injured were also admitted to hospital.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rakshita Murthy visited the spot and told reporters that they were investigating Karunakar’s motive behind the crime. She said the woman’s husband, a government employee, was in his office and he did not know his wife’s friendship with the two men.
The DCP said they were questioning all the three to solve the case.
Hyderabad: Corona crisis has affected almost every field of life, it has also affected blood relations. People have become devoid of all human feelings in this hour of crisis.
There are nearly 30 patients in Gandhi Hospital who have defeated coronavirus but are facing the neglect of their family members who are not ready to take them home. As soon as the doctors informed the patients that they have tested negative for corona and can go home, their happiness knew no bounds. But there joy turned into distress when their own family members refused to take them home. They are looked after by the hospital staff.
Even as the Hyderabad city has become a hotbed for coronavirus, all the government and private hospitals are crowded with Covid-19 patients. Among the many who are being recovered, there are 30 patients who have been abandoned by their family members. These include some elderly persons who are suffering from various ailments, there are some mentally unsound patients also.
Superintendent of Gandhi hospital Raja Rao said that 30 patients have been left by their family members at the mercy of hospital staff. He said the hospital is already facing staff crunch to look after Covid patients. In this situation leaving recovered patients in the hospital is uncalled for. He said these patients are fighting with other ailments as well, so they are at risk of contracting coronavirus again.
It is better to take home but the family members are giving several excuses. Some say that their house has single bedroom and there are small children in the house. They can be affected from the virus. Some claim that they are confronting with the problem of unemployment due to lockdown hence they are not in a position to pay the rent of another house. If the patient is brought home other family members can also get affected. They are already facing financial crisis if others also get affected with the virus they won’t afford treatment. There are few patients whose family members have not bothered to visit them at least once.
Some people refused to collect the dead body of COVID patients. GHMC staff performed the last rites of such deceased.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning reached Leh, Ladakh, to review the on-ground security situation amid the border standoff with China.
In order to boost morale, the Prime Minister will also interact with the soldiers. Modi is accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane for the sudden visit.
The Prime Minister’s visit, is the first visit by a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security ever since the June 15 clash in Ladakh where 20 soldiers were killed.
Dubai: An expatriate sexually abused a woman inside a fitting room of a mall. This incident took place in Dubai, UAE.
As per the details of the case, the man who is identified as a 40-year-old Pakistani forced the victim to touch him inappropriately. He also misbehaved with her. Although he tried to pull her towards him, she managed to escape.
After the incident, a complaint was lodged with Dubai Police. Later, the accused was taken into custody.
On Wednesday, Dubai Court of First Instance started hearing the case. The next hearing of the case is scheduled to the held on 15th July.
Till the next hearing the accused will continue to remain in custody.
New Delhi: Amid growing calls for ‘Made in India’ digital tools, Reliance Jio has launched a free video-conferencing application called JioMeet, taking on US-based Zoom platform.
100 participants allowed
According to the JioMeet description on Google Play Store, the application can be used for 1:1 video calls and hosting meetings with up to 100 participants with enterprise-grade host controls.
Other highlights include easy sign up with either mobile number or email ID, meeting in HD audio and video quality.
The application can be used for creating instant meetings to chat with friends and also to schedule a meeting in advance and share meeting details with invitees.
Unlimited meetings per day
JioMeet offers unlimited meetings per day and each meeting can go uninterrupted up to 24 hours.
The application can be used on Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, SIP/H.323 systems.
JioMeet has already been downloaded for over 10,000 times from Google Play Store.
Password protected
Each meeting is password protected and the host can enable a “Waiting Room” to ensure no participant joins without permission, JioMeet said.
Hyderabad: The water from this historic well was once used to quench the thirst of the Nizams, the rulers of then Hyderabad State. Centuries later, it is still believed to have the same medicinal properties.
Located at Molangur Fort near Karimnagar town, about 170 km from Hyderabad, Doodh Bowli or milky well is always thronged by people from Molangur and surrounding villages.
Doodh Bowli (not to confuse with Doodh Bowli in the old city of Hyderabad) still serves many people, who believe that its water, which is as white as milk, can cure many ailments.
It is said that water from Doodh Bowli used to be transported in horse-drawn carriages every day to Hyderabad for personal consumption of the Nizams, as the Asaf Jahi rulers of the princely state of Hyderabad were known.
People from Molangur and more than a dozen surrounding villages can be seen thronging the well and carrying cans of water to their homes.
Though Molangur, like other villages, is getting tap water under the Mission Bhagiratha programme of the state government, majority of the villagers prefer water from Doodh Bowli for drinking purposes.
Narahari Buchi Reddy, a former sarpanch of the village, claims that hardly anyone in the village has had any health issues.
Many villagers believe that people who use water from Doodh Bowli don’t take ill. Some believe that it even has a cure for kidney ailments.
It’s not just the people in the surrounding villages, but visitors to the fort and the officials in Karimnagar town also prefer water from Doodh Bowli.
The 24-feet-deep well almost dries up during the peak summer, but in the remaining part of the year, it has enough water. During monsoon, water oozes from it. Since monsoon also brings with seasonal diseases, people from various villages fetch water from the well. They believe the well has miraculous power.
The fort is believed to have been constructed by Voragiri Moggaraju, one of the chief officers of Prathapa Rudra of Kakatiya dynasty in the 13th century. It used to serve as a transit halt for Kakatiyas travelling from Warangal Fort to Elgandal Fort in Karimnagar.
Locals, however, lament the neglect of both Doodh Bowli and the fort. They have been demanding the public representatives and officials to develop the fort and the well to tap their tourism potential.
“We believe the fort and the historic well with lush green surroundings can attract many tourists. They can be developed into sites of tourist attraction,” said former sarpanch Marati Venkateshwarlu
The local people have also been demanding a halt to granite quarrying around the fort as they believe the activity is damaging the fort and polluting water in the historic well.
Dubai: Emirates resumed on-ground services including signature Chauffeur Drive service and lounge at Dubai Airport.
As per the information provided on the airlines media center, it has opened one lounge at Terminal 3 of the airport. It will serve first, business class and eligible Emirates Skywards members.
Physical distancing at Dubai Airport lounge
In order to ensure physical distancing, the number of seats has been reduced at the lounge at Dubai Airport.
The airlines company is leaving no stone unturned to ensure safety of the customers. It is sanitizing the lounge with regular intervals. Wearing masks have been made mandatory.
Chauffeur Drive service
Apart from lounge, Emirates started the Chauffeur Drive service for First and Business class customers.
At the end of the every shift, the vehicles are being cleaned as a part of precautionary measures.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, aviation industry has suffered a huge losses due to the lockdown imposed by many countries across the world.
Still many countries have not resumed international flights as the number of coronavirus cases is still rising. Countries that allowed the international travels are taking extra precautionary measure.
Emirates passenger flights
Meanwhile, Emirates Airline declared that in the month of June, it has resumed passenger flights to over 20 cities and expressed hope that in July, it will serve over 50 destinations.
Nizamabad: In a tragic incident, a woman committed suicide by touching live wires. She took this extreme step after heated arguments with her husband.
As per the details of the case, the woman who is identified as Arsapalli Lakshmi, aged 45 years was the resident of the Nizamabad District.
On Thursday morning, after quarrelling with husband, the woman decided to end her life. She rushed to the transformer located on the outskirt of Jakora village of Varni mandal, Nizamabad.
After reaching the spot, she committed suicide by touching the live wires.
Hyder]bad: A Health Centre established in Masjid Ishaq in N.S. Kunta in 2018 by Helping Hand Foundation & SEED, USA, which has been working as a primary health care centre in the Urban slums for weaker sections has now reopened post lock down. That too, with the first of its kind corona compliant protocol and TRIAGE at a primary care level worth emulating.
Given the rise in COVID-19 cases in Old City, it is very important to have a clinic which is safe for the patients, doctors and staff. Additionally, fever surveillance is being carried out and counseling will be given for home isolation care by the doctors from the Masjid Health Centre to isolate and make a quick referral for any suspected case.
All patients coming to the clinic are being assessed in a TRIAGE, which have trained counsellors, who are doing thermal screening and checking oxygen saturation levels. They later entered the details in an ICMR developed risk assessment form which gives scores on a scale of one to ten.
A nurse checking vitals
Any patient with a score of greater than four will be triaged for home isolation care. After getting free medicines, the counsellors will monitor and track their health status regularly.
At any given time only eight patients will be allowed inside after they get clearance from the TRIAGE after being sanitised and given face mask, the rest will be moved to the waiting area in the adjacent block.
All patients walking into the clinic will be provided face mask and wall mounted hand sanitiser are placed for sanitising the hands before and after consultation. All the doctors and staff are provided N-95 mask and gloves for their safety.
Personnel at the triage
Provision is also has been made for daily fumigation of the clinic area along with all the equipment and instruments used in the clinic by a dedicated team of sanitation workers.
The doctors in the clinic will see one patient each while six others will wait for their turn at any given time. The vitals and complaints of the six patients will be checked by the nurses in the second triage station inside the masjid and an OP slip will be handed over to them for consultation.
Fever Surveillance
A Fever Surveillance protocol has been prepared by the doctors that will track the fever cases reported at the centre by a team of counsellors from the TRIAGE. Daily tracking and monitoring will help identify the symptomatic cases that need to be tested for COVID and clinically managed in hospitals.
A nurse interacting with a visitor at the centre
Suspected cases who present with symptoms of SOB, desaturation and tightness in the chest, will be referred to COVID centre.
Large exhaust fans have been placed on in the dental OPD and a mounted table fan is placed adjacent to the dental chair, that will continuously blow the air away when the dental surgeon is performing the procedure with the PPE as a safety and protection measure.
All patients walking into the clinic will be provided face mask and a wall mounted hand sanitiser are placed for sanitising the hands before and after consultation. All the doctors and staff are provided N-95 masks and gloves for their safety. A provision has also been made for daily fumigation of the clinic area along with all the equipment and instruments used in the clinic by a dedicated team of sanitation workers.
“Given the rise of the pandemic. the safety and protection of our doctors, staff and patients is very important and hence we have come up with this COVID compliant model that will give the doctors and patients the required confidence in providing and seeking quality health care services which are presently overwhelmed,” says Mr. Mujtaba Hasan Askari of Helping Hand Foundation.
New Delhi: Amid ongoing tension at borders with China in Eastern Ladakh, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Leh and forward locations on Friday morning to review the ground security situation, barely 18 days after a violent stand-off.
Leh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with personnel of the security forces during his visit, in Leh, Friday, July 3, 2020. Days after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in East Ladakh, PM Modi reached Leh with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat. (PIB/PTI Photo)
Sources said that Modi reached Ladakh early morning and briefied by the Army, Air Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at one of the forward locations in Nimu. Located at 11,000 feet above sea level, Nimu is among the tough terrains, surrounded by the Zanskar range and on the banks of the Indus.
Speaking in Nimu. India is proud of the courage of our armed forces. https://t.co/juUjqkAp6v
The Prime Minister, accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, will also interact with injured soldiers at the military hospital in Leh, in what will be a morale booster for the forces.
Leh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat arrives in Leh, Friday, July 3, 2020. (PIB/PTI Photo)
General Rawat will review the tri-services preparedness against the aggressive People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as well as understand the proposed de-escalation and disengagement process at the four stand-off points.
Modi’s visit comes just a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called off his own visit to Ladakh. Singh was to visit Eastern Ladakh region to interact with soldiers deployed at the hostile border on Friday. He had plans to interact with the soldiers injured during the barbaric attack carried out by Chinese People’s Liberation Army on June 15. In the attack, India lost 20 soldiers and Chinese Army too had casualties, figures still unknown.
On June 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that the sacrifice made by 20 soldiers who went down fighting against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Galwan Valley on June 15 night “will not go in vain”.
He also said that while India wants peace, it will give a “befitting reply” if provoked. “India’s integrity and sovereignty is supreme for us, and no one can stop us from defending it. Nobody should have any iota of doubt about this,” said Modi. “Indian troops went down fighting (maarte, maarte mare hain),” he had said.
Modi also said that the whole country is with the families of those who sacrificed their lives for the country. “India will defend every stone every inch of its territory. India is a peace-loving country which has always tried to maintain cooperative and friendly relations with neighbours.”
Kolkata: Ever since pandemic lockdown started patients of diseases like cancer and kidney ailments have had a hard time accessing regular treatment. But a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader in West Bengal is earning praise for conducting dialysis on patients at Rs. 50 per procedure.
Fuad Halim, a 49-year-old medical doctor runs a small dialysis unit near Park Street, south Kolkata, under the aegis of Kolkata Swasthya Sankalpa, an NGO which he runs with 60 of his friends and relatives.
Kolkata: Dr Fuad Halim, practising doctor & CPIM member is doing dialysis procedure at Rs50 amid COVID19 pandemic. He says, "Patients said commuting expense along with treatment fee, which was earlier Rs 350, was very expensive amid lockdown. So we reduced dialysis fee to Rs 50." pic.twitter.com/BPNeHLrD2y
So far, Halim’s team of three doctors and four technicians has performed 2,190 procedures since the lockdown began. And what’s more, at a time when hospitals are allegedly turning away patients fearing Covid infections, Halim’s unit is taking in all patients, Covid-positive or negative, with just one condition i.e a symptomatic patient, after dialysis, has to be admitted to a government fever clinic for tests, The Print said.
Who is Fuad Halim ?
Fuad Halim is the son of Hashim Abdul Halim, who had served as speaker of the West Bengal assembly for 29 years from 1982 to 2011, when the 34-year Left Front rule came to an end at the hands of Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress.
Fuad Halim junior contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a CPI(M) ticket, finishing a distant third with less than one lakh votes, while the winner, chief minister’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, got nearly eight lakh votes.
Halim is also general secretary of the CPI(M)’s People’s Relief Committee, but Swasthya Sankalpa, founded in 2008, is not affiliated to the party.
“We wanted to offer affordable and scientific dialysis facilities to people. Patients who are suffering from kidney ailments go through a huge financial strain. Apart from the physical pain they bear, most of them generally cannot cope with the expenses,” Halim told ThePrint. “So, some of my school friends and cousins and I decided to do something about it. We started a five bed unit in 2008; I started it here in my residence.”
“Initially, we used to charge Rs 350 per procedure, and we never increased rates. In government hospitals, dialysis may cost around Rs 900 to 1,200. For Swastha Sathi (government medical scheme) beneficiaries, dialysis is done free of cost,” he continued.
“But waiting time is very high in government hospitals, and maintenance is also not up to the mark most of the time. Here, we perform the procedures in a scientific and hygienic way.”
Since the lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the Covid-19 in India, Fuad Halim and his team decided to bring down the cost of dialysis to Rs 50 per procedure, and to treat Covid-positive and -negative patients.
“We never discriminated. There are patients whom we treated here and then sent to fever clinics, after seeing symptoms. They later tested positive. There are also patients who came to us after testing negative and we performed the procedures,” he said. “Our technicians and doctors comply with all Covid-19 protocols and guidelines while doing the procedures. Until now, none of our staff have got infected.”
Social responsibility
Asked how his unit can get by charging just Rs 50 per procedure, Halim said the cost is borne by him and friends. Halim’s family is financially well-off — in his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission in 2019, he mentioned total assets worth Rs 3.60 crore.
“Three doctors work here voluntarily, while we pay the technicians. Our group has almost 60 members, mainly friends and family. We bear the financial burden together. We look at this initiative as part of our social responsibility,” he said.
Halim’s unit conducts 35 to 40 dialysis procedures per day, with nine sets of apparatus. The unit does not have air-conditioning, or a waiting area for patients and family members, or an elevator. “We have tried to minimise the cost of these fancy accessories. These do not have any connection with the treatment or the procedures,” he said.
