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Archives for May 2018

Man beaten up for misbehaving with woman

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A 32-year-old man, who allegedly groped a woman in a park in Basaveshwaranagar on Sunday evening, was beaten black and blue by the public. Balaji, an unemployed man from JC Nagar, was later handed over to police.

Balaji allegedly harassed a 24-year-old woman, an employee of a private firm. The woman told police she was walking in Netaji Park in Basaveshwaranagar around 5.30pm when a stranger entered the premises.
He followed her when she walking in the park and told her he’d seen her somewhere else. When she ignored him, he allegedly held her T-shirt, pulled her towards him and tried to kiss her. Soon, people gathered and thrashed him.
Basaveshwaranagar police rushed to the spot and took him into custody. Balaji allegedly threatened the woman in front of the cops that he would deface her face once he’s out of jail.
He has been booked for sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint. He was produced before the court on Monday which remanded him in judicial custody.

Bravehearts in the line of fire: The forgotten story of India’s firefighters

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Five minutes. This thin, precious, slice of time is all the window one gets to escape a fire accident. For a firefighter, the countdown that begins with the distress call turns into agonizing moments of helplessness as his fire truck navigates traffic snarls and narrow roads to reach the accident spot.

Once there, his humble uniform and gear are no match for the fury of the flames – there is a scarcity of personal protective equipment that could shield his body, sometimes, there aren’t even enough masks. His fire truck does not have the sleek hydraulic ladders that can match the towering heights of a high rise or even a moderately tall building. His training may not have equipped him to deal with the challenges that come with the ever-changing profile of modern buildings – beautiful to look at, but death-traps in a fire.

With so many odds stacked against him, he still bravely steps in to tame the inferno. If he survives that, he has to summon the superhuman strength to pull in a double or triple shift until the fire dies down, eating and drinking donated food and water in the harsh pollution of the accident site. If he is injured or ill with suffocation, with no insurance cover, he prays that a government or corporation hospital is close by.

If this is the story of a fire-fighter in some of the richest municipalities in the country, one can only hazard a guess about the plight of the community elsewhere in India.

Despite a 200-year history, the fire services in India are grappling with massive shortages. The pilot study commissioned by the Standing Fire Advisory Council, Ministry of Home Affairs, in 2011 reveals a bleak picture – India is short of 78 per cent of fire stations, 82 per cent of firefighting and rescue vehicles, 93 per cent of specialised equipment and nearly 90 percent of firefighting personnel.

Fire being a state subject, it is the responsibility of the state governments and municipalities. However, even the combined funding of the centre and state for the sector is pitiably meagre, given the actual funds needed for strengthening and modernising fire services.

The poorly-paid, overworked firefighter bears the brunt of these deficiencies. The media occasionally brings their plight to notice, but the attention soon wanes with the end of the news cycle.

There was a recent heartbreaking story of the Gautam Budh Nagar fire department at Noida, where the team couldn’t attend to a fire emergency simply because there was no fuel in their vehicles. Petrol bunks, in the face of a year’s worth of dues from the state government, refused to release fuel. It required the intervention of the District Magistrate to convince the bunks to provide the necessary fuel to attend to the case.

Attracting talent to the field, therefore, is a distant dream – in an anxious attempt to fill the eight vacant ranks in India’s lone fire services college in Nagpur, even diploma holders were invited to apply. The students currently depend on the expertise of guest faculty.

The firefighter is bereft even of the support of civil society, whose low awareness about fire prevention and safety makes his job all the dangerous and difficult.

Like other men and women in uniform, firefighters too are unsung heroes who deserve recognition for their selfless service. The sad state of India’s firefighters is a call to our collective conscience. If fire is the most ancient risk known to man, how is it that we have ignored the needs of these bravehearts willing to lay down their lives without hesitation to save others?

(V. Jagdish, Senior Regulatory Head-South Asia, Codes & Advisory Services-Building and Life Safety Technologies, UL, a global safety consulting and certification company. The views expressed are those of the company)

Rajasthan temple priest attacked

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A man disguised as a devotee attacked a priest of a Brahma temple in Rajasthan’s Pushkar district for allegedly not allowing President Ram Nath Kovind to enter the sanctum sanctorum, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Ashok Meghwal, stood in a queue and attacked the priest Mahadevpuri as soon as his turn came to offer prayers

According to Pushkar station incharge Mahaveer Sharma, Meghwal who claims to be a doctor, was mentally unstable.

The President, who was on a recent trip to Pushkar, offered prayers on the temple’s doorstep since his wife had a knee problem.

However, a few miscreants circulated messages on WhatsApp that Kovind was not being permitted to enter the temple premises.

The attack was caught on camera and the footage went viral where the accused is seen waving his sharp-edged weapon for a few minutes scaring other devotees.

This attack has raised several questions on the security arrangements of the temple where each and every devotee needs to go through a metal detector test to enter the premises.

Petrol, diesel prices continue to flowing touch new highs

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Despite nation-wide outrage and criticism, petrol and diesel prices were again hiked on Tuesday for the 16th consecutive day. Petrol price in Delhi today is Rs 78.43 a litre while it is being sold at the rate of Rs 86.24 a litre in Mumbai. In Delhi-NCR petrol is being sold at Rs 79.19/litre, Rs 78.95/litre, Rs 78.87/litre and Rs 78.75/litre in Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad respectively.

The price of petrol in Kolkata is Rs 81.06/litre and Rs 81.43/litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil Corporation. In Bengaluru, one litre of petrol costs Rs 79.71. The revised prices came into effect at 6 am today.

Diesel, which is what most transport vehicles use, also touched a new high. While the price of diesel in Delhi is Rs 69.31/litre and it is Rs 73.79/litre in Mumbai. Diesel in Kolkata and Chennai is being sold at Rs 71.86/litre and Rs 73.18/litre respectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Central Government has come under fire over fuel price hike. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier assured the public that the government will soon take out a solution to tackle the situation.

In April, Pradhan had said the Centre and the state governments have been considering bringing the petroleum products under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax.

Last week, BJP President Amit Shah had said that a plan is being worked upon to check petrol prices in the country. Addressing the furore over fuel price hike, Shah had said that the government officials were taking the issue of fuel price hike seriously.

States can cut petrol price by Rs 2.65/litre by giving up additional gains: SBI

Meanwhile, a State Bank of India (SBI) report on Monday said that states can cut petrol price by Rs 2.65 per litre and diesel by Rs 2 a litre if they decide to forego potential additional gains out of high crude oil rates.

“Given that these revenue if foregone will not impact states fiscal position, we estimate that on an average, states can cut petrol prices by Rs 2.65/litre and diesel by Rs 2/litre, if the entire revenue gain was to be neutralised. This is the most plausible scenario under the current circumstances,” the SBI report said.

It also said that one suggestion to further rationalize the petrol and diesel prices is to consider a pricing mechanism where VAT is imposed on base price only by states and not on prices inclusive of the Centre’s tax.

If this was the case, diesel prices could further reduce by Rs 3.75 a litre and petrol prices by Rs 5.75 per litre, it said.

“However, if this was to happen, the state will have to forego Rs 34,627 crore of tax revenue / 0.2% of consolidated fiscal deficit of states,” said Ecowrap.

On the other hand, if the Centre cuts the excise by Re 1, the loss of revenue will be to the tune of Rs 10,725 crore for every Re 1 cut in central excise and the amount will become twice if it cuts the excise duty by Rs 2.

This will push up the deficit of Centre, unlike states, it added.

Petrol price has been hiked by Rs 3.80 a litre and diesel by Rs 3.38 in Delhi; and Rs 3.76 a litre on petrol and Rs 3.59 on diesel in Mumbai since state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to resume daily price revision on May 14. The prices are at an all-time high.

Bank Staff Gear Up for 2-day Nationwide Strike from Tomorrow.

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Citizens could face a harrowing in the next two days as over a million bank employees in various state-run banks across the country are set to go on a strike from Wednesday to protest a nominal two percent wage hike offered by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). Workers at State Bank of India’ branch main branch in Mumbai’s Fort area will hold a demonstration on Tuesday as well.

In the wage negotiation meeting held on May 5, IBA made a proposition to offer two percent hike in the wage bill cost as on March 31, 2017. It also maintained that the negotiations on officers demands would be restricted up to scale III officers only.

D T Franco, general secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation said about one million bank officers are expected to participate in the strike on May 30 and May 31.

“It is only because of provisions towards NPA that banks have booked losses, and for this, bank employees are not responsible,” United Forum of Bank Unions’ convener Devidas Tuljapurkar told reporters.

He said in the last two-three years, bank employees have worked tirelessly for implementation of government initiatives such as Jan-Dhan, demonetization, Mudra and Atal Pension Yojana, among others. “This has resulted into huge increase in their workloads,” he said.

In the last wage settlement, which was for the period November 1, 2012 to October 31, 2017, IBA had give a wage hike of 15 percent.

The two-day nationwide strike, commencing on Wednesday, has been called by UFBU which is an umbrella body of nine unions, including All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW).

“The volume of business and the volume of work of the employees and officers have gone up enormously in the recent years… In addition, bank employees and officers are compelled to undertake so much of non-banking business and all the burden of doing various government schemes have fallen on the shoulders of the bank staff,” the strike notice issued by UFBU said.

Small Screen Raund Up

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Honouring Commitment Is More Important For Rajesh Puri

Rajesh Puri who shot to fame as Lallu a.k.a Lalit Prasad in a drama series titled as Hum Log on Doordarshan in 1984 has featured in other television serials like Yeh Duniya Gazab Ki, Amrapali, Buniyaad, Parvarish et al He has also acted in feature films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet, Dil et al and has therein equally earned laurels too.

These days Rajesh Puri is seen in a new serial titled Kasam aired on Colors. He is playing the father of the heroine in it. A graduate from National School of Drama, Puri is passionate about theatre and is his first love for this medium. Meanwhile, he is playing memorable roles in Wrong Number and Vindu Dara Singh’s up-coming comedy drama Golmaal – The Play.

There is this humble saying that “old is gold” and Rajesh Puri has truly lived this phrase in true spirits. He lived up to his commitment endangering his life. It thus happened that he is playing the role of Sheeba’s father in Vindu Dara Singh’s play Golmaal – The Play. All the actors were rehearsing for the play. 10-days prior to the premiere show of the play, Wrong Number, Rajesh Puri fell critically ill. On diagnosis it was found that 100% blockage was found in one of his arteries and 95% in the other which flows blood into the brain & heart. The doctors advised him to get admitted in the hospital and to be operated immediately or it may cost his life. In its midst the play was to be staged in Kanpur & Delhi respectively. The tickets for the show were sold and it was publicized heavily too. Rajesh Puri took the requisite medications from his doctor and went to perform at the shows in both the places. After concluding the show in Delhi, he went for a check-up at Gangaram Hospital where even the doctors advised him to get operated as early as possible. He called up his family members who administered all facilities for the operations at Kokilaben Hospital and was brought directly there from the airport. After being operated upon, Puri on the 3rd day who was sent home began rehearsing for the play Golmaal – The Play with his co-actors Vindu Dara Singh, Sheeba, Payal Goga Kapoor, Lakhbir Lahiri, Surleen Kaur & Akashdeep at his residence. The next day the show was staged at Rang Sharda, which turned out to be super hit.

Rajesh Puri says, “For me nothing is bigger than commitment not even life. My absence would have hampered the play & the organisers & producers would have to bear heavy losses. It would have also tarnished my name & fame. As you say, the show must go on…. Like how we think about our profits & losses; likewise, we have to have the same opinion for the others. We actors are here because of the producers & vice versa. Thus you have to think of others. By the grace of God all is well.”

Iftaar Party In Serial Ishq Subhan Allah.

Adnan Khan & Eisha Singh along with other cast shoot for Iftaar sequence in Zee tv “Ishq Subhan Allah”, telecast at 10 pm -Mon to Fri. It’s a story of Zara, she belongs to the present generation…Who does not have the typical mentality…She is a Muslim…Knows Quran and she follows all rituals but she is not lakeer ki fakeer…Always has her valid reasoning … knows what is right and what is wrong so she never follows anything blindly as “aankhe band karke nahin balki aankhe khol ke Dil se maante huye follow karna chahiye”. Creative Eye Limited show on Zee TV is produced by Dheeraj Kumar, Zuby Kochhar & Sunil Gupta.

TV Trade Round Up

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Sony Entertainment Television to premiere ‘Zindagi Ke Crossroads’

Sony Entertainment Television is all set to launch its latest offering Zindagi Ke Crossroads with actor Ram Kapoor that premieres on 6th Jun, 2018 and will air every Wed, Thurs & Fri @ 8:30 pm on the channel. Prime time television in India will see a first-of-its kind format, which will show relatable life-altering narratives inspired from the drama of life and before a Crossroad decision is taken, it’ll be put forth to the studio audience, which will be a representation of our country in some measure, for deliberation and see what most of us would’ve done. For the viewers, it’ll be a “mirror-of-introspection” and for some an enabler of life in the days to come. Zindagi Ke Crossroads will present a new narrative every episode and the Crossroads faced by the protagonists will be open for discussion to a unique set of studio audiences. Popular television actor Ram Kapoor will be seen as the host of the show who will not just encourage the audience to share their views but will also delve into the “Whys” of their decision making so as to bring alive the melting pot of opinions in the audience for the narratives showcased. The question thrown open to the audience will be “What would you have done if you were at this Crossroad?” Produced by Shabinaa Khan, who has been closely associated with the Indian Film Industry, the concept, story & screenplay has been developed by Mahadev, who has been an integral part of Vijendra Prasad’s & SS Rajamouli’s team. Zindagi Ke Crossroads, with its clutter breaking format will encourage viewers to assess themselves, through other’s issues & dilemmas.

Southwest Monsoon hits Kerala three days ahead of schedule, says IMD

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The India Meteorological Department has forecasted squally weather in parts of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The sweltering weather is likely to persist in parts of West Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi.
Over 30 people were killed on Tuesday after thunderstorms struck parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Heavy rain will also lash parts of Kerala as the Southwest Monsoon further advances in the state. Fishermen have been advised not to venture out to sea along coasts of Kerala and Karnataka today and tomorrow.

The India Meteorological Department (Met Dept) said that the Monsoon hit the Kerala coast on May 29, three days ahead of its normal date. Skymet, a private weather agency, meanwhile, marked the arrival of Monsoon in the state on Monday.

The Met Dept has forecasted squally weather in parts of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Monsoon has also further advanced into parts of Southeast Arabian Sea, Maldives, Comorin areas and southwest Bay of Bengal, parts of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Meanwhile, heatwave conditions are expected to continue across North India. The sweltering weather is likely to persist in parts of West Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi.

BJP’s Attack on JD(S) that Kumaraswamy is Chief Manager (CM) of Congress ATM

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The saffron party’s attack on the JD(S) leader came after the latter’s comments in Bengaluru on Sunday that he was at the mercy of the Congress and not the people of Karnataka as his government had not received the full mandate, which his party had sought in the recently held Assembly election in the state.

The BJP attack on JDs Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday, saying he was the “chief manager (CM)” of the Congress’s ATM in the state and that he was lying prostrate at the feet of the Gandhi family.

“Nothing can be sadder than this. This is absolutely demeaning to the democratic fabric of the country and akin to an abuse of India’s democracy,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

He described the current situation as a fallout of the Congress-JD(S) alliance’s mockery of the popular mandate in the southern state for petty political interests.

The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the Karnataka Assembly election by bagging 104 of the 222 seats that went to the polls, but fell short of a majority, allowing the Congress and the JD(S) to join hands and form the government in the state.

Patra alleged that for the Congress, Karnataka was its ATM and it had found a chief manager in Kumaraswamy, while the government in the southern state would be run from Janpath — a reference to the residential address of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

“The Congress has found a new manager for its ATM in Karnataka. We can say this after his (Kumaraswamy’s) statement. People are asking who is their chief minister,” the BJP spokesperson said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words, he said for the BJP, the country was family, while for the Congress, the “first family” of the party was the country.

“Kumaraswamy is lying prostrate at the feet of a family,” Patra said.

He added that former prime minister Manmohan Singh used to blame the compulsions of coalition politics in the face of allegations of corruption in his government and said there was a feeling of deja vu in Karnataka.

Patra also claimed that various opposition parties were not accepting Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the leader of an anti-BJP coalition.

To a question, the BJP leader claimed that the saffron party would form the next government in Odisha, where Assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election in 2019.

Sterlite Copper to be permanently closed, says Tamil Nadu government

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Sterlite Copper, the Vedanta Group’s copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi, was sealed on Monday evening, shortly after the Tamil Nadu Environment and Forests Department issued a two-page Government Order for its “permanent” closure. Vedanta termed the decision “unfortunate.”

The decision to close down the factory that directly employed around 3,500 workers, including 2,500 on contract (since put on notice), comes against the backdrop of the killing of 13 persons in police firing at an anti-Sterlite rally a week ago.

The order said, “Under Sections 18(1)(b) of the Water Act 1974, in the larger public interest, the government endorse the closure direction of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and also direct the TNPCB to seal the unit and close the plant permanently.”

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