Archives for December 2021

Pramesh S Jain

Highlights:

• Karnataka is a model for all the states in eye donation, which is possible due to health care entrepreneurs.Health care industry in Karnataka is accessible to all.

• Ayushman Bharat scheme is very helpful. Karnataka Govt is ensuring more and more health Care Facilities helping every person,be it in government or private.

• Especially Private hospitals in state must work towards creating awareness on eye donation, more so in rural areas.

• Dr.MC Modi built eye hospitals and dreamt of vision for all. He performed lakhs of surgeries during his 40 years of service and cured eye problems of millions of people. Dr Modi’s service is a model for all.

Private hospitals should create more awareness towards eye donation says Minister Dr K Sudhakar.

After we die,if our eyes can give vision to another person,there is no big fulfillment than that said Dr.K Sudhakar,Minister of Health and Medical Education.

He was speaking at the inauguration of Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital in Indiranagar in Bengaluru.

Dr.Sudhakar said that blindness is a very painful thing.No matter who we are, it is with our eyes that we can see the nature created by almighty.

It is estimated that more than 4 crore people in the world have blindness.India needs 1 lakh eye donations every year.

But,in fact the donors we get is only 5% of the requirement.The lack of eye donors is haunting us, 10.8 lakh children in the country are blind, Sudhakar said.

Eye donation has further reduced due to covid.

Superstitions surrounding eye donation is still widespread, though donating is a noble cause. There is a misconception that if eye is removed from the corpse, the face will be disfigured.

This isn’t true.Great people like Kannada icon Dr. Rajkumar and recently Power star Puneet Raj Kumar, who met with an untimely death have donated their eyes.

Millions of people have seen their mortal remains,which was as it was when they were alive.Urge everyone to donate eyes, said Dr K.Sudhakar.

Jerusalem: Actor-model Harnaaz Sandhu made history on Monday as she was crowned Miss Universe 2021 — beating contestants from 80 countries — 21 years after India last brought home the title.

Only two Indians before Sandhu have won the title of Miss Universe – actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

The 70th edition of the event was held in Eilat, Israel, where the 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant.

The Chandigarh-based model, who is pursuing her master’s degree in public administration, was crowned by her predecessor Andrea Meza of Mexico, who won the pageant in 2020.

While Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira, 22, finished second, South Africa’s Lalela Mswane, 24, came third.

I am immensely grateful to the Almighty, my parents, and the Miss India Organization for guiding and supporting me throughout. Loads of love to everyone who prayed and wished the crown for me,” Sandhu said.

“Bringing the glorious crown back after 21 years to India is a moment of greatest pride,” she said.

During the final question and answer round, Sandhu was asked what advice would she give to young women on how to deal with the pressure they face today.

“The biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves, to know that you are unique and that’s what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let’s talk about more important things that’s happening worldwide.

“This is what you need to understand. Come out, speak for yourselves because you are the leader of your life, you are the voice of your own. I believed in myself and that’s why I am standing here today,” she said to a thundering applause.

Sandhu started her journey in pageantry when she won Times Fresh Face in 2017, representing Chandigarh at the age of 17. She later won the LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2021 title.

Sandhu has also worked in a few Punjabi films, including “Yaara Diyan Poo Baran” and “Bai Ji Kuttange”.

The ceremony was hosted by Steve Harvey and saw performances from American singer JoJo.

The selection committee included actor and Miss Universe India 2015 Urvashi Rautela, Adamari L pez, Adriana Lima, Cheslie Kryst, Iris Mittenaere, Lori Harvey, Marian Rivera and Rena Sofer.

New Delhi: Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has been booked in Delhi after a BJP leader alleged that he used abusive language against BJP members in a TV interview and threatened them, officials said Sunday.

They said the FIR was registered based on a complaint submitted by BJP National General Secretary Deepti Rawat Bhardwaj on December 9 at Mandawali police station.

In her complaint, she has alleged that in an interview telecast on a Marathi news channel on December 9, Raut made “shocking comments” against BJP workers.

She further alleged that he issued threats against “the life and limb of BJP political workers” and also used abusive language.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Raut under section 500 (punishment for defamation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), a senior Delhi police officer said.

Bhopal(PTI): Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday invited stand-up comedians Kunal Kamra and Munawar Faruqui to hold a programme at Bhopal in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh after they were recently denied permission for shows in Bengaluru.

Faruqui was last month denied nod to hold a show at Bengaluru in Karnataka amid the protest by the Hindu right wing outfits. A few days later, Kamra, a vocal critic of the government, said his stand-up shows scheduled to be held in Bengaluru were cancelled after the organisers received threats.

On Monday, Digvijaya Singh in a Twitter post said, “I will organise a show for you Kunal and Munawar in Bhopal. All responsibility will be mine. Only condition is that the subject of comedy will be Digvijaya Singh. Sanghis (RSS cadre) should not object to this!! Don’t be afraid!! Give the date and time as per your convenience. All your conditions are accepted.”

In his post, the Rajya Sabha member also tagged a news article related to Kamra.

Earlier this year, Faruqui had spent a month in jail at Indore in MP following a complaint by a BJP MLA’s son in January for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. 

New Delhi: India’s coronavirus tally rose to 3,46,97,860 with 7,350 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the number of active cases declined to 91,456, the lowest in 561 days, the Union Health Ministry data showed on Monday.

The death toll from the pandemic has climbed to 4,75,636 with 202 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 46 days now.

The number of active cases has declined to 91,456, comprising 0.26 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.37 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said.

A decline of 825 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.86 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for the last 70 days.

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.69 per cent. It has been below 1 per cent for the last 29 days, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,41,30,768, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.37 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 133.17 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore coronavirus cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

New Delhi: A comprehension passage in the CBSE class 10 English question paper has sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting “gender stereotyping” and supporting “regressive notions” prompting the board to refer the matter to subject experts on Sunday.

In the class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences like “emancipation of women destroyed the parent’s authority over the children” and “it was only by accepting her husband’s way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones”, among others.

Various excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media with users calling out the board for supporting “misogynistic” and “regressive opinions” and hashtag “CBSE insults women” trending on the microblogging site Twitter.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to Twitter objecting to the question paper.

“Unbelievable! Are we really teaching children this drivel? Clearly the BJP Government endorses these retrograde views on women, why else would they feature in the CBSE curriculum?” she said.

Lakshmi Ramachandran, spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, said, “This outrageously nonsensical reading passage appeared in the 10th CBSE board exam paper today. What are we teaching our children? CBSE has to give an explanation and tender an apology for inflicting our children with this”.

“Class 10 CBSE English paper today says children and servants must be taught their place and women gaining some independence destroyed parents authority over children. Entire passage is so stupid. Who are these idiots setting question paper in CBSE,” another Twitter user said.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a statement saying,” The passage in one set of the English paper of CBSE class 10 first term examination held yesterday has received mixed reactions from a few parents and students stating that ‘it seems to support regressive notions on family and allegedly promotes gender stereotyping'”.

“The matter will be referred to subject experts for considered views as per the pre set procedures of the board. As regards the correct answer option and the answer key released by the board, it is clarified that if the experts opine that the passage elicits multiple interpretations, appropriate action will be taken to protect the interest of the students,” the board said.

The CBSE class 12 sociology paper held earlier this month asked students to name the party under which the anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 took place, a question the board later said was inappropriate and against its guidelines.

Abu Dhabi: Max Verstappen ripped a record eighth title away from Lewis Hamilton with a pass on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP to close one of the most thrilling Formula One seasons in years as the first Dutch world champion.

Hamilton was cruising past Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles Sunday in a race he controlled until Nicholas Latifi crashed with five laps remaining. F1 sent out the safety car for a cleanup and resumed the race with one lap remaining.

Hamilton and Verstappen started side-by-side for one final trip around Yas Marina Circuit and the British driver surged to the lead. Verstappen stalked him through the first four turns then made his pass in turn five and pulled away in his Red Bull.

It was a fitting end to a season that saw the two contenders go wheel-to-wheel over 22 races spanning four continents and arrive in Abu Dhabi tied in the championship standings. It marked the first time the contenders were equal at the season finale since 1974.

But Hamilton had the race well under control until the Latifi crash.

Oh my God! Verstappen screamed over his radio.

You are the world champion! The world champion! screamed back Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Let’s do this for another 10 or 15 years! Verstappen replied.

Red Bull won its first F1 title since 2013; Mercedes had won every championship since.

Multiple rival drivers headed to the grid to congratulate Verstappen as Hamilton sat motionless inside his Mercedes. The defeat ended his reign of four consecutive titles and denied Hamilton a chance to pass Schumacher as best all-time in F1.

Congratulations to Max and to his team, I think he did an amazing job this year, Hamilton said to close what had become a bitter rivalry this season between Mercedes and Red Bull.

Hamilton received a long hug in the garage from his father, who then went to the garage and hugged both Verstappen and Verstappen’s father. Jos Verstappen was himself a former F1 driver and raised his 24-year-old son to become a world champion.

Mission accomplished.

Srinagar: Authorities on Sunday barred the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding a youth convention at its chief Mehbooba Mufti’s residence on the high-profile Gupkar road here citing COVID-19 restrictions and larger security implications , including a threat of car bombs, drawing a strong reaction from her.

Police sealed all roads leading to the PDP president’s ‘Fairview’ residence and journalists were also barred from moving towards the venue in the morning.

Noting that it was a high-security zone and a gathering of at least 1000 people was expected, the police said that it was not advisable to allow such a large flow of people and unchecked vehicles as there are credible inputs of vehicle bound IEDs” being used to target civilians and sensitive installations.

The local administration had advised the PDP to apply for holding this convention in a more open area in view of the COVID-19 and security reasons, a police spokesman said.

The PDP chief, however, said the police’s argument was ridiculous and termed it as an excuse to “sabotage” the event.

The former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K charged that the government was looking for new ways to deny rights to the youth of Kashmir and to pull them away from democracy and push them on the path to violence .

In a video message posted on her party’s Twitter handle after the event was barred, the PDP chief said her party will continue the struggle, peacefully and democratically, for J-K’s prosperity, unity, dignity and to resolve the Kashmir issue .

We all have to come together, especially the youth. We have to show them that we are not afraid of them. If we were afraid, then we would also make compromises like other parties,” she said.

She claimed that all other leaders and parties were holding rallies but only PDP was denied permission.

In an order, the Executive Magistrate, First Class, South Srinagar said in view of the report received from the Senior Superintendent of Police and the COVID-19 restrictions in place, it is hereby ordered that the scheduled youth conference that is to be held by PDP at Gupkar is not allowed.”

The magistrate directed the station house officer concerned to “ensure” that no such event takes place “without the permission of the competent authority.”

In a statement, the police spokesman said a gathering of at least 1000 people was expected at the venue and given the prevalent COVID situation and larger security implications resulting from allowing such a large number of people and accompanying cars and vehicles into a high-security zone, it was not advisable to allow such a large flow of people and unchecked vehicles.

The spokesman said there are credible inputs of vehicle-bound IEDs being used to target civilians and high-security installations.

The Gupkar Road houses high-security buildings of various organisations and security-sensitive establishments and intelligence agencies. Allowing a large number of vehicles to be parked in this high-security zone would have jeopardised the security in the area, he said.

He said no such gatherings and amassing of vehicles were allowed on the road earlier as well.

Moreover, no official residence has been known to have hosted large political rallies on Gupkar Road in the recent past.

“Legal orders for necessary restrictions on the convention were passed by the Executive Magistrate, South Srinagar keeping in mind the COVID protocol and security sensitiveness of Gupkar zone, the police spokesman said.

However, addressing a press conference at her residence later, Mufti said the administration was confused and did not know what excuses to make for stopping the party’s convention.

First they gave the excuse of COVID. But, since conventions of other parties were on at various places, they thought this excuse will not work. Also, if this (Gupkar area) is not secure — where Badamibagh Cantonment, VVIP residences, Governor House are located then which place is secure? That is ridiculous, she said.

The PDP president claimed the party had earlier sought permission for the convention at some other place, but there was no response from the administration.

Then we thought that since the other parties were organising it, we will also have it here in an open space… Since this is our residence, there was no need for permission, she said.

She alleged her party workers were roughed up and some of them detained while on their way to the venue.

However, she said, her party “will not surrender”.

How can the LG’s administration be brazen? You make COVID excuses but allow other parties. I cannot understand this. How can they justify this? she said.