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Archives for August 2018

Trap shooter Lakshay clinches silver medal

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 India’s shooter Lakshay Sheoran won the silver medal by finishing second, while compatriot Manavjit Singh Sandhu finished fifth in the men’s trap final at the 2018 Asian Games here on Monday.

The 20-year-old, who had finished fourth in the qualification round, got 43 points to finish second behind Chinese Taipei’s Kunpi Yang, who equalled the world record score of 48.

AHN Daemyeong of South Korea won the bronze medal with 30 points, four ahead of Indian veteran Manavjit who had topped the two-phased qualification.

Daemyeong went out of the competition after 40 shots, getting 30 points, while till then Lakshay and Kunpi headed into the final 10-pointer round with 34 and 38 respectively.

However, it was likely that Kunpi would go on to win the gold medal having a four-point gap over the Indian.

Kunpi, 20, didn’t miss any shot as he charged his way to the title with a joint world record score, while Lakshay missed a shot in the 49th spot.

The Indian missed the first stroke. But he made a strong comeback to hit 17 strokes in a row. But he fumbled in the 19th, 21st and 22nd shots to blow his chances.

He then got back his momentum and was spot on for nine consecutive strikes before flunking the 32nd and 33rd which proved to be costly.

Kunpi, who was sixth to make it to the six-man final, produced a stunning final performance during which he missed only two shots — 13th and 23rd.

Eum Jiwon of South Korea and Hagen Alexander Topacio finished fifth and sixth respectively in the six-man final.

Lakshay’s medal was India’s fourth medal at the Games. Of the other three, one has come from wrestling and two from shooting.

Case filed against Sidhu for hugging Pakistan Army Chief

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A case was filed against cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in a Bihar court on Monday for insulting Indian Army by hugging Pakistan Army Chief at the swearing-in of Imran Khan as Prime Minister of that country.

Lawyer Sudhur Ojha filed the case in Muzaffarpur’s Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court.

Ojha said he has filed the case under Indian Penal Case sections involving sedition. In his complaint, he said Sidhu’s gesture hurt the people of the country.

“The court has admitted the case and will hear it next week,” he said.

Sidhu, a minister in Congress-led government in Punjab, is under attack for hugging the Pakistan Army Chief, by the BJP and Akali Dal leaders.

Punjab CM unhappy with Sidhu

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Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa at Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad has not gone down well with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Shortly, after Sidhu returned from Pakistan, Singh said “It was wrong for him to have shown the affection towards the Pakistan Army Chief.” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh “Everyday our jawans are getting martyred. To hug their Chief General Bajwa…I am against this. The fact is that the man should understand that our soldiers are being killed everyday,” Singh said.

“My own regiment lost one Major and 2 jawans a few months ago and everyday somebody is being shot and whether the man who pulled the trigger is to blame or the man who gives the order which is the chief, and the chief is General Bajwa,” he added.

The Punjab Chief Minister said he was not against attending the swearing-in ceremony as Sidhu, being a former cricketer, did in his personal capacity. “About him being seated next to the PoK President, maybe he (Sidhu) didn’t know who he was…But as far as hugging the Pakistan Army Chief is concerned I am not in its favour.

It was wrong for him to have shown the affection towards the Pakistan Army Chief,” he said. Eye brows were also raised over Sidhu’s seating position at the Khan’s swearing in function. The Congress leader and Punjab minister was seated next to right next to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “president” Masood Khan at Imran Khan’s swearing-in on Saturday.  The Indian government doesn’t recognise Masood and holds that no elected Indian representative should share a platform with him.  [Sidhu returns from Pakistan, says it was not his decision to sit beside PoK President] The SAD had also targeted the ruling Congress, saying the party which had been criticising the Centre over the deaths of jawans at the border should now explain to the “controversial visit” of its own leader.

Kerala Fisherman rescue operation Can be a Case Study in Disaster Management

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The devastating deluge in Kerala witnessed the emergence of fishermen as saviours when hundreds decided to brave through flood-waters to venture into areas where even naval commandos could not reach. This can also be an important case study world-wide for people in disaster management.

With about 600 country vessels, they ventured into the most remote corners of the affected areas. On Saturday, out of the 54,000 persons rescued in Ernakulam district, 18,000 were saved by fishermen who deployed 240 boats there.

Most of the fishermen came from the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Malappuram, Kannur, Trissur and Ernakulam.

Operating in their mechanised country boats in furious waters in places like Chengannur, Kuttanad, Chalakudy, Mala, Kodungallur, Aluva, North Paravur among others, they rescued thousands from houses and buildings where helicopters couldn’t reach.

When the single-engine country boats were finding it difficult to cut through the strong current, fishermen decided to deploy double-engine boats to wade through. Kerala Swanthantra Matsyathozhilali Federation has also set up regional centres to co-ordinate the mission. Each team on the field has been assigned a leader who has been directed to work with revenue authorities, police and disaster management team.

The fishermen also arranged their fuel and food expenses themselves before the state stepped in.

National Fish Workers Co-ordination forum secretary T Peter said the fishermen ventured into the rescue mission spontaneously. “When we put out the suggestion in social media groups, many fishermen expressed their willingness to join the rescue work. The fishermen took it up as their responsibility. When our social media groups got distress calls and messages about people stranded in submerged houses, we passed on the location details to the fishermen,” he said.

A control room has been opened at Chengannur by the fisheries department as per orders from the fisheries minister. The control room will co-ordinate rescue efforts undertaken by fishermen and their vessels. Staff of the department will be appointed as nodal officers at a ratio of one officer per 10 country boats. Sufficient boats have also been arranged for the boats by state-run agencies.

Acknowledging the fishermen’s service, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday announced that all the fishermen who took part in the rescue mission would be felicitated. “The fishermen had intervened in a great way. Many of their vessels got damaged. The government would compensate them for the loss suffered. Apart from that, a boat would be given Rs 3,000 a day and the state would meet the fuel expenses,’’ he said.

Midwifing change: How maternity deaths were reduced to zero in remote tribal hamlets

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The scenic beauty of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh is in stark contrast to the lives of indigenous tribespeople inhabiting the region. Living in virtual destitution, these tribals — like their counterparts scattered in remote locations across the rest of India — lack access to basic amenities like safe drinking water, healthcare and education. Till a few years ago, some of these habitations were not even covered in the national census and nobody knew they even existed.

But efforts of a leading NGO over the last seven years have yielded results in 181 habitations around Araku. This is testified by the fact that no maternal deaths have been reported here over the last two years — a giant step forward for a place where maternal mortality was double the national average.

Before emerging as a tourist destination about a decade ago, Araku, 100 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam, was an area that was the redoubt of Maoist extremists. Politicians and officials used to stay away from this forested area in the Eastern Ghats.

The population in scattered and inaccessible hamlets was suffering from malnutrition, leading to high maternal mortality and neonatal mortality rates. Some traditional practices of the tribals and deliveries at home were also contributing to this situation.

When the NGO Piramal Swasthya, the health vertical of Piramal Foundation, launched the Asara Tribal Health Programme in 2011, maternal mortality in this tribal area was over 400 per 100,000 live births as against the then national average of around 200.

No maternal deaths have been reported over the last two years while the percentage of institutional deliveries has risen from 18 per cent to 68 per cent. The neonatal mortality rate too has come down from 37 to 10 per 100,000 live births, say the officials of Piramal Swasthya.

The agents behind this change are Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) like P. Padma who toil selflessly to help the pregnant women in these remote hamlets. The 27-year-old has been working with the NGO for six years and has attended about 3,000 women. She has seen the transformation.

“The situation in the tribal hamlets was pathetic as women were reluctant to come to hospitals for delivery. A major reason for this was the superstition among tribals. Piramal Swasthya has removed the superstitions and motivated the women,” Padma.

Padma travels 12-13 km in a four-wheeler and, when the road ends, she goes on a bike driven by a “pilot”, covering another 11 km. When this narrow path also ends, she hikes across mountains and valleys for another 12-13 km to the last habitation of Araku.

This is what she does every day, explains Vishal Phanse, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Swasthya.

Once in the habitation, the ANM identifies every pregnant woman, conducts basic tests, provides counselling on healthy practices and fixes an appointment for consultation with a specialist at the telemedicine centre. The next day, a four-wheeler is sent to pick up all pregnant women registered and get them to the telemedicine centre, where an expert gynaecologist sitting in Hyderabad provides the consultation through teleconferencing. Free medication, along with nutrition supplements, is also provided to the expectant mother and she is then dropped back to her habitation.

“If a woman can’t walk we arrange ‘palki’ (a kind of palanquin) to bring her till the four-wheeler to take her to the telemedicine centre,” Padma said. Last month, a woman delivered a baby on the palki in Colliguda village. She helped the woman and later safely transported her and the newborn to the hospital.

ANMs support the women and children through their pregnancy, child birth and neonatal period while keeping the government machinery in the loop.

Piramal Swasthya overcame all odds to achieve its goal of ending preventable deaths in 181 habitations, serving 49,000 pregnant women.

Adding some more interventions like training traditional birth attendants and health education of adolescent girls, it is now expanding the programme across 11 “mandals” or blocks comprising 1,179 habitations in the tribal belt of Visakhapatnam district to reach 2.5 lakh population.

It is currently running six telemedicine centres and plans to add five more. The NGO will also be opening two more community nutrition hubs in addition to existing one, where women are educated about a healthy and nutritious diet and trained in the use of traditional and locally available food items.

Based on the learning in Visakhapatnam, the NGO wants to create something which can be replicated in the entire tribal belt of India. More than 10 percent of India’s population is tribal and among them maternal mortality is two-and-a-half times the national average.

“If what works in Araku, works in Visakhapatnam, then we can replicate it in the entire tribal belt of the country,” said Phanse.

Niti Aayog, India’s policy think-tank, is looking at this model with key interest as to how they can scale it up.

“In fact, a lot of people including the United Nations, governments in states and at the Centre are looking at it. We had a lot of visitors trying to understand how we managed to do this. We ourselves are learning every day. Technology is a great enabler if you have to scale it up at the national level.”

Phanse believes that 80 percent of what worked in Araku can be replicated in tribal areas across the country and 20 percent could be local customisation that they have to work on.

What worked for Piramal Swasthya in Araku? “We have doctors, public health professionals and experts with the youngest aged 26 and the oldest 78. That’s the kind of expertise we have with actual feet on the ground. Our actuality to work with them, for them, staying with them and understanding them is what I think has worked best for us,” said Phanse.

“If you want make anything sustainable in healthcare you have to create health seeking behaviour in the community. We were successful because we changed the community,” he added.

Phanse feels that the community engagement and participation in the programme is key to its success.

For Piramal, winning the trust of the local community was the key challenge. As Araku was an extremist stronghold, gaining the trust of locals took time.

Most of the 38 people that work for the organisation are from the local community who are wedded to the cause. Forging the local partnership by using the services of dedicated individuals who can speak the language of the community ensured smooth implementation.

With 4,000 employees in just its health vertical, Piramal Swasthya is prehaps the largest NGO in India, implementing 29 healthcare projects in 16 states.

India ranks 131 among 188 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2016 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India was placed behind countries like Gabon (109), Egypt (111), Indonesia (113), South Africa (119) and Iraq (121), among others. The government is working towards improving this rating by creating competition between states to perform better on key social indicators like infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and life expectancy.

Asiad 2018: Wrestlers Vinesh, Pooja, Sakshi enter semis

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India’s Vinesh Phogat, Pooja Dhanda and Sakshi Malik ensured a medal each after registering comprehensive wins to advance to the semi-finals of their respective weight categories in women’s freestyle wrestling at the 2018 Asian Games here on Monday.

Vinesh registered a comfortable 11-0 victory over South Korea’s Kim Hyungjoo in the 50 kilogram event in the quarter-finals, before Pooja booked her berth in the semi-finals after thrashing Esenbaeva Nabira of Uzbekistan 12-1 in the 57kg category.

Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi then entered the last four after thrashing Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kassymova by technical superiority (10-0).

Vinesh had earlier defeated China’s Sun Yanan by technical superiority 8-2 in the 50kg 1/8 finals while Sakshi needed less than two minutes to emerge victorious over Thailand’s Salinee Srisombat 10-0 in the 62kg 1/8 finals.

Pooja came to the semi-finals on the back of a dominant 10-0 thrashing of Thailand’s Orasa Sookdongyor in the 57kg 1/8 finals.

Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for the other Indian wrestlers — Pinki and Sumit Malik — who lost their respective 1/8 finals.

In women’s 53kg, Pinki was thrashed by technical superiority (0-10) by Mongolian Sumiya Erdenechimeg while in the men’s 125kg 1/8 finals, Sumit suffered a similar fate (0-10) against Parviz Hadibasmanj of Iran.

Nawaz Sharif appears before accountability court

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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday appeared before an accountability court here for the hearings of the two remaining corruption references against him.

Mehboob Alam, the investigation officer in the Al Azizia Steel Mills reference, was supposed to continue his statement in the case but Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris pleaded with the court to allow him to cross-examine the star witness in the case, Wajid Zia, first, reports Dawn news.

The court accepted the plea and summoned Zia at the next hearing.

After Haris’ cross-examination, Zia will record his statement in the second Flagship Investment reference.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned to August 27.

Pakistan’s anti-corruption body NAB had filed three cases — Avenfield, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, and offshore companies, including Flagship Investment Limited — against the Sharifs on the Supreme Court’s directives in the July 2017 Panamagate verdict.

The trial commenced in September that year.

The three-time Premier and his sons Hasan and Hussain were accused in all the three graft references whereas his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.

Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Safdar are already serving prison sentences of 10 years, seven years and one year, respectively after being convicted in the Avenfield case involving the family’s ownership of four luxury flats in London.

Alwar lynching: SC seeks Rajasthan’s response

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The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Rajasthan government to apprise it of the action the state has taken in a lynching case in Alwar district in July.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Principal Secretary of the state’s Home Department to file an affidavit on a plea seeking contempt of court proceedings against the state government.

It sought the affidavit on the action taken to prevent future incidents of lynching. Asking for the affidavit to be filed in one week, the court posted the matter for the next hearing on August 30.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for petitioner Tehseen Poonawala, had sought the initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the state government, contending just a few days after the apex court’s directions on the lynching incident in Alwar.

The bench asked the Rajasthan government whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the police officers who allegedly took three hours to reach a hospital with a badly injured man accused of smuggling cows.

The counsel appearing for Rajasthan told the bench that action has been taken. The central and state governments have come under sharp criticism from the top court over frequent lynching incidents across the country.

The court had condemned the mob lynching incidents and suggested enactment of a law in Parliament to deal with the crime that threatens the rule of law and the country’s social fabric.

Rakbar Khan, 28, was beaten to death by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar district on July 24.

Alwar had earlier also witnessed similar attacks in the name of cow protectionism. The latest killing comes more than a year after Pehlu Khan was murdered allegedly by some cow vigilantes in April 2017.

State to appeal on Mahadayi verdict: DK Shivkumar

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“Injustice is done to Karnataka in the Mahadayi river issue. The state has not got its fair share of the water. So we will seek advice from the legal experts to appeal on the verdict,” said minister D K Shivakumar (DKS).

Mr. Shivkumar expressed his views on the verdict and said, “The people of Karnataka have been betrayed. We had asked for a total of 34 TMC of water including 15 TMC of pure drinking water. However, we have got only 3.9 TMC for drinking purpose and 1.5 TMC for other purposes. In order to correct this injustice, we have to appeal to the Supreme Court or the tribunal. So we will have a discussion with the legal experts before taking further action.”

“There is no politics with respect to the issue of Mahadayi. We have to fight in order to retain our rights over the Mahadayi water. It is not important to know how much water others have got in the verdict. Our priority is to set right the injustice meted out to us. It has come to my knowledge about Goa expressing dissatisfaction over the verdict. But I will not respond on that issue,” he added.

“Central minister Nitin Gadkari has called a meeting of irrigation ministers of all the states on August 20 to discuss the issue of interstate interlinking of rivers. During this meeting, the flood situation in the state, destruction due to rain and the water scarcity faced by people in the areas where there is no sufficient rain in the state will be brought to the attention of the central minister,” said DKS.

Huge disaster’: Deadly Kerala floods displace over 800,000

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Death toll since end of May reaches 370, as fishermen aid rescue operations for the southern state’s ‘worst floods’.

More than 800,000 people have been displaced in Kerala, as the death toll from the worst flooding to hit the southern Indian state jumped to at least 370, with losses to infrastructure pegged at almost $3bn.

As the rains subsided on Sunday, relief efforts focused on rescuing those marooned in isolated places for days and airdropping supplies to others, police and officials said.

Kerala has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains since the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages. Incessant downpours since August 8 have killed more than 190 people and left thousands more stranded.

“In a matter of three to four days, we have been able to move nearly 850,000 people to shelters,” TM Thomas Isaac, Kerala’s finance minister, says finance minister.

“I think the total number of displaced persons, including those who have been moved to relatives’ or friends’ houses, would be well over 1.5 million,” he added in a phone interview from Alappuzha, Kerala.

On Sunday alone, 22,000 people were evacuated from their homes, but a large number of people continue to voluntarily live in flooded houses.

“We saw many people whose ground floors of their homes were knee and waist-deep in the water,” said Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas, reporting from Andoor.

“They are living upstairs because they want to stay where they are,” he said,

“So, the overall figure of people whose homes have been flooded and have been affected by this disaster is in the millions,” Thomas added. “It really is a huge disaster in this part of India.”

Thousands of army, air force and navy troops, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are undertaking the search and rescue operations.

Fishermen from across Kerala have also come together to aid the relief efforts.

“The fisherfolk have played a very remarkable role,” said Isaac, Kerala’s finance minister. “About 500 fisheries boats have been at the forefront of the rescue and shifting operations.

“The fisherfolk have been able to move to interior lakes systems and rivers to help the people.”

On Saturday, fisherman Jaisal KP, a 32-year-old resident of Tanur, rescued three stranded women – one with an infant – in the Malappuram area.

Putting his back into it. Quiet literally. Jaisal KP a fisherman in Vengara puts himself in water so women and children can use his back as a step into the boat. 600 fisherman helping out in #KeralaFloods the unsung heroes. #Salute

“NDRF personnel who were leading the rescue operations informed us they won’t be able to reach the place where these women were stranded,” Jaisal.

“I, along with my co-workers [fishermen], helped them. We have no safety guards or any equipment. We are risking our lives to rescue these people.”

Anunand, 22, who was trapped for four days in Paravoor, was also saved by the fishermen.

“If it wasn’t for them [fishermen], I would’ve died inside the flat,” the graduate student told Al Jazeera in a phone interview.

On Monday, the military will continue to fly helicopters in order to drop aid materials in the more remote communities,

People wait for aid next to a make-shift raft at a flooded area in Kerala state [Sivaram V/Reuters]
Rebuilding
As of Sunday, two districts out of the state’s 14 were still under red alert.

The Indian government has pledged $71m for flood victims, but Isaac said the state will have to re-negotiate to get a “better deal”.

“One-third of the roads have been completely damaged and the cost of rebuilding them would come over $1bn rupees ($14.3m), so this is a very serious matter.”

Around 100,000 houses will also have to be rebuilt and large amounts of plastic rubbish – comprising mostly water bottles provided in aid packages and washed away by the floodwaters – will have to be cleared out, he added.

The state government will reach out to multinational agencies to rebuild the water systems, Isaac said.

“This calamity also points to some serious imbalance in development and the environmental consideration,” the finance minister added.

“Hope this disaster will prompt us to pick a more sustainable development path.”

The amount of rain that has fallen is unexpectedly high this year, according to Al Jazeera’s senior meteorologist Steff Gaulter.

“Normally, by this point in the monsoon season, we expect to see about 1,649mm of rain. But this year it was 2,344mm. This is well over what we’d expect in the entire monsoon season, and we still have another month to go,” she said.

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