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RSS Culture Wing to reach out to artists hit by pandemic, urges Center and States to provide relief

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The Commune
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With lockdown affecting millions across India, the culture wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has urged both the Centre and state governments to help care for artists whose livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic, reports Economic Times.

The proposal from RSS if agreed upon will provide financial assistance to over a lakh artists who are facing financial difficulties due to lack of work created by the Wuhan virus pandemic.

Sanskar Bharti National General Secretary Amir Chand was quoted saying in ET, “We are already in talks with leading artists of various art disciplines. Covid-19 has affected the lives and livelihoods of artists like never before. Those who have dedicated their entire lives to arts are now struggling. This is the time they need help,”. 

The RSS has already started an online forum to provide assistance to artists under social responsibility from corporate houses and the Ministry of Culture has also been approached to enhance the efforts to help the artists.

A statement released by the RSS said, “Efforts will be made by Sanskar Bharati to meet the minimum needs of the artists. Along with this, in this difficult time of the pandemic, a memorandum will also be submitted to the central government and various state governments to make them aware of the problems of artists,”.

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Assam: 24 culprits who attacked Dr Senapati arrested

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The Commune
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A doctor in Assam who has been treating Wuhan virus patients in Hojai, a township around 140 kilometers from Guwahati, was on Tuesday (June 1) mercilessly beaten by the relatives of a Covid patient who had died, allegedly due to oxygen shortage.

The video of this attack has now gone viral and the doctor who was assaulted is now hospitalised but stable. In the video available on social media, 24 people, including the main accused could be seen punching, kicking, and using metal trash cans and bricks to viciously attack the doctor.

The incident that took place on Tuesday shocked the nation but thanks to the quick reaction of the police, the violent mob who had attacked Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati has now been arrested.

The patient who had died due to Covid-linked complications was Giyaz Uddin, a resident of Pipal Pukhuri village.

“The attendant of the patient came to me saying the patient is serious and has not passed urine since morning. I went to the room and found that the patient was dead. As I broke the news to the attendant, another relative started abusing me,” Dr Senapati told the media.

After the family was informed of the patient’s death a mob attacked the hospital wherein most of the medical officers managed to escape, however, Dr Senapati, who had locked himself in a room was severely assaulted and was immediately shifted to another hospital in Nagaon to treat his serious injuries.

“They ransacked the hospital, we (the staff) ran for safety. I entered a room and tried to hide but they found me and assaulted me. They snatched my gold chain, my ring and my mobile,” he added saying there were around 30 people.

In a tweet sent by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “24 culprits involved in this barbaric attack have been arrested and the chargesheet will be filed at the earliest. I am personally monitoring this investigation and I promise that justice will be served.”

 

 

The assault has drawn widespread condemnation and Dr JA Jayalal, president of the Indian Medical Association, has condemned the incident. 

Members of the Assam chapter of Assam Medical Services Association (AMSA) have demanded strict action against the culprits and have also boycotted the Outpatient department (OPD) services today in all government medical facilities that could potentially risk the lives of many people. 

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Madras HC directs Universities to terminate staffs who convert religion to secure job

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The Commune
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Madras HC increased security in court campus after country bombs were exchanged among suspects in the Armstrong murder case.

The Madras High Court has given a series of guidelines on university appointments in Tamil Nadu, including the possibility of termination of staffs who convert religion to secure job.

Justice R Mahadevan gave the directives while hearing a case involving many irregularities by Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, in the appointment of  M. Gowthaman as Assistant Technical Officer (Library) and later elevation to Technical Officer.

Justice Mahadevan also asked the university to prosecute the members of the selection committee who were responsible for M Gowthaman’s illegitimate appointment to the job in violation of the rules.

The judge disposed of the writ petition filed by Dr. K Ramesh and two others, challenging Gowthaman’s appointment. Unfortunately, the illegal appointment was not canceled and Gowthaman was allowed to retire. However, the court said that the accused cannot be permitted to enjoy the fruits of such illegal appointment in the form of future benefits any further.  The Judge ordered that the payment of pension should be computed to the post of Assistant Technical Officer (Library), for which he was actually eligible and the excess amount paid should be recovered from him.

The court further stated that culpability should be attributed not just to the person who gained the employment unlawfully, but also to the selection committee.

“In some cases, the candidate may have willfully provided false information in order to get employment, and in such circumstances, the appointment must be terminated as soon as possible,” the court observed. Terming the appointment illegal, the court said it considered it necessary to issue certain directions which are applicable to all universities.

The guidelines include: a.) immediate revocation of the appointment if it was found to be illegal, b.) recovery of the salary paid from members of the selection committee and appropriate legal action against them, c.) recovery of salary and other benefits if the candidate provided false information to secure employment, and d.) revoke the right to appointment, If a person who acquired a job under reservation converts to another faith before or after the appointment in order to get a job.

 

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Islamic cleric in Delhi arrested for allegedly raping a 12 year old minor girl inside Mosque

By
The Commune
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Another Illegal Bangladeshi Infiltrator Arrested From Kolkata Hotel

An Islamic cleric in northeast Delhi’s Harsh Vihar has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl inside a mosque, police said on Tuesday (Jun 1), reports Hindustan Times.

The alleged incident took place on Sunday evening (May 30) when the family had sent the 12-year-old girl to the mosque to fetch water, and on Sunday night the parents of the minor girl filed a complaint with the police.

As per a quote attributed to the Hindustan Times, a police officer associated with the case said that on the night of May 30, the family members of the minor girl had asked her to fetch water from the mosque as they did not have drinking water at home where she was allegedly lured by the cleric who then forced himself on her.

“The girl returned home and told everything to her family members when they asked her why she came late. The family, along with some neighbours, went to the mosque to confront the cleric. Seeing them, the suspect fled through the rear door,” the officer said.

A case was subsequently registered and the girl was counselled and taken for a medical examination, police said.

The name of the accused is Imam Ilyas (48) and he has been booked under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a senior police officer said.

After the alleged rape Ilyas who ran away from the scene of the crime was later arrested on Monday morning from Loni in Ghaziabad where he lived, a senior police officer said.

Tension ran high and Police had to be deployed outside the mosque as agitated locals along with the girls family members gathered there to protest, police said.

Imam Ilyas hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan has now been produced before a city court which sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

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Vatican criminalizes sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests on both adults and children

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The Commune
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After years of concealing the sexual crimes committed by ordained Catholic priests, Pope Francis has now issued an order to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse committed by priests on children and adults using their position and authority.

In a decision that has been long delayed, Pope Francis has unveiled extensive changes to Catholic Church’s criminal code on Tuesday (June 1) by adding details on punishing sexual abuse crimes of minors by priests, measures long demanded by activists against pedophilia.

These revisions were under discussion for more than a decade under Francis’s predecessor Benedict XVI who abhorred and was dismayed by the actions of Catholic priests. The new law aims to make the code’s penal sanctions more effective and applied evenly across the Church.

Under the new heading of “Offences against human life, dignity and liberty,” the code now specifies that a priest will be stripped of his office and punished “with other just penalties” if he commits offences against the sixth commandment (You shall not commit adultery) with a minor.

Under the revised laws, lay people, including founders of lay religious movements and parish employees, can also be sanctioned for sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse of minors was put under a new section titled “Offences Against Human Life, Dignity and Liberty,” compared to the previously vague “Crimes Against Special Obligations”.

Though one can call this progress, the new code falls short of explicitly spelling out sexual offences against minors yet refers to offences against the sixth commandment, which prohibits adultery which now has a broad meaning.

“In the past, much damage has been caused by the Church’s failure to perceive the intimate relationship between the exercise of charity and recourse — when circumstances and justice require it — to the discipline of punishment,” Pope Francis wrote in Pascite gregem Dei.

Through the revision, the Pope aims to reduce the number of penalties left to the discretion of judges, especially in the most serious cases.

The revisions involve all of section six of the Church’s Code of Canon Law, a seven-book code of about 1,750 articles. It will replace the code approved by Pope John Paul II in 1983 and will take effect on Dec. 8.

For decades the Catholic Church has been under criticism for rampant sexual abuse of minor children by paedophile priests and going out of its way to protect them. Over the years hundreds of millions of dollars have been given away as compensation to victims of sexual abuse by the clergy. 

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X-Ray Setu: A new AI-driven platform to facilitate early-COVID interventions over Whatsapp

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The Commune
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A new AI-driven platform will now help early intervention through rapid screening of COVID 19 with the help of Chest X-ray interpretation over WhatsApp for doctors who have access to X-ray machines. The solution called XraySetu can work with low-resolution images sent via mobiles, is quick and easy to use, and can facilitate detection in rural areas.

As COVID 19 continues to wreak havoc across the rural heartlands of India, it has become critical to drive rapid testing, contact tracing, and create dedicated containment zones. At a time when such tests are taking more than a week across some cities, the challenge is even more for rural areas. Easy alternative tests are necessary as RT-PCR tests also give a ‘false negative’ for some variants.

ARTPARK (AI & Robotics Technology Park), a not-for-profit foundation established by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, with support from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, in collaboration with Bangalore based HealthTech startup Niramai and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has developed XraySetu specifically designed to identify COVID positive patients even from low-resolution Chest X-Ray images sent over Whatsapp.

It also has semantic annotations of affected areas for review and localized heatmap by doctors to help them verify it easily with other modalities and has already served close to 1200+ reports so far from the interior parts of India.

To conduct the health check, any doctor simply needs to visit www.xraysetu.com and click on the ‘Try the Free XraySetu Beta’ button. The platform will then redirect the person to another page, wherein he or she can choose to engage with the WhatsApp-based chatbot via web or smartphone application. Or the doctor can simply send a WhatsApp message to the phone number +91 8046163838 to start the XraySetu service. Then they just need to click the picture of the patient’s X-ray and obtain the 2-page automated diagnostics with annotated images in a few minutes. While extending the probability of the COVID-19 contraction, the report also highlights a localized heatmap for a quick perusal of the doctor.

Tested and validated with over 1,25 000 X-ray images from National Institute of Health, UK, as well as over 1000+ Indian COVID patients from, XraySetu, has shown excellent performance with Sensitivity: 98.86%, and Specificity: 74.74%

Mr. Umakant Soni, Founder, and CEO, ARTPARK, said, “We need to scale technology for addressing the needs of 1.36 billion people, especially considering we have 1 radiologist for over 1 million people here. Built with the collaboration of industry and academia, XraySetu paves the way for exponential technologies like AI to leapfrog and provide cutting-edge healthcare technology to rural India in an extremely cost-effective manner.

“NIRAMAI has partnered with ARTPARK and IISc to provide a rapid COVID screening method for rural doctors who have access to X-ray machines. XraySetu provides an automated interpretation of Chest X-Rays to predict if a patient has any lung abnormality that indicates COVID-19 infection,” said Dr. Geetha Manjunath, Founder, and CEO, Niramai.

“In the absence of COVID positive X-Ray images, we developed a unique Transfer Learning framework that leverages easily available X-ray images of lungs, not necessarily COVID positive, to learn useful features which have high predictive power. We also developed a confidence score which is guided by the areas of lungs that are infected. The system outputs a prediction, localizes the infected parts, and creates a report which gives a confidence score, all within a few minutes”, said Prof. Chiranjib Bhattacharyya, IISc.

Besides COVID-19, the platform can also detect 14 additional lung-related ailments, including tuberculosis and pneumonia, alongside others. It can further be used for both analog and digital X-rays and has been successfully piloted by more than 300 doctors in rural areas over the last 10 months.

Technologies like XraySetu can enable cutting-edge AI-driven systems powering mobile PHCs, which can make healthcare more accessible even across rural India at a fraction of the cost.

Dr. Padmanabh Kamath, Prof & HOD Cardiology, KMC, Mangalore, who has been an early advisor and user of XraySetu, stressed that technologies like these could take healthcare and technology to the underprivileged and rural areas. Another early user of the service, Dr. Anil Kumar A D, Medical Officer of Health, Shimoga in Karnataka, was happy that the technology is helping to get the quick diagnosis of patients.

“Several Hubs of Cyber-physical Systems established by DST are working on leveraging of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Data Analytics, Robotics, Sensors and other tools to address the challenges of the health sector from diagnostics, and drug design to biomedical devices to telemedicine,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

ARTPARK, initiated under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), is further collaborating with infrastructure partners like C-DAC (for leveraging AI supercomputer ParamSiddi), Nvidia& AWS to scale this free service to all the doctors in rural India.

(Published from PIB)

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Hong Kong VHP donates oxygen concentrators to Tamil Nadu

By
The Commune
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Two oxygen concentrators have been donated by the Hong Kong Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for the use of people in Srivilliputtur and Rajapalayam.

The oxygen concentrators were donated in the presence of Sadagopa Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami at the Srivilliputtur Manavalamamuni Sannidhi.

It was received by Saravana Karthik, an office bearer of the State Monastic Council. Virudhunagar BJP District Secretary Saravanadurai Raja, VHP Disrict Treasurer Anand, VHP Rajapalayam District Secretary Isakkiraj were also present.

People in Srivilliputtur and surrounding region who are taking treatment at home can make use of this oxygen concentrator for free.

(With inputs from Dinamalar)

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“If India is a ‘Union’, is Tamil Nadu a ‘Panchayat Union’?” Dr. Krishnasamy hits out at Palanivel Thiagarajan

By
The Commune
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Palaniel Thiagarajan has been in the news cycle ever since he became Tamil Nadu Finance Minister. He has been making headlines for matters unrelated to the portfolio he has been allotted. He has made a number of contentious statements against different public personalities and later issuing statements to clarify his position.

The DMK government has been calling the Government of India as ‘Ondriya Arasu’ (‘Union’ government). PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan is no exception. In the 43rd GST Council meeting, he had said that without states there would be no ‘Union’. Also, he has been repeatedly referring and underlining in various pressmeets that the Government of India as ‘Union’ government.

In light of this, Dr. Krishnasamy, the chief of Puthiya Tamilagam has issued a strong statement against Palanivel Thiagarajan saying that his references carry secessionist undertones.

In his statement he said that Palanivel Thiagarajan should speak responsibly as he is holding an important position. He said in his Facebook post “It is not his new invention that the indirect tax should not be higher than the income tax; it is widely held among economists, but he brags about it as if it is his own invention. Tamil Nadu finance minister should concentrate on constructive work rather than opposing central government for no reason.”

“Palanivel Thiagarajan who had no previous experience as a minister or holding any key position in the party and had never engaged in any protest for people, was awarded the Finance Ministry. He is entrusted with improving the livelihoods of approximately 8 crore Tamil Nadu people. Usually, Central and State Finance Ministers avoid being in the limelight. Some Finance Ministers have avoided interacting with media entirely. It’s not that they don’t want to meet the press; it’s just that they don’t want people guessing their next move based on their press meet. There have been instances in the past where people made crores of rupees by knowing the ‘budget secret’.” Dr. Krishnasamy said.

He also said that Jaggi Vasudev has the democratic right to request the government to release temples from its control and added that launching a rant against Jaggi Vasudev for expressing this is contrary to democratic tradition.

“Another instance is the GST Council meeting convened by Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, in which PTR Thiagarajan engaged in a verbal altercation with the Goa Transport Minister. PTR Thiagarajan belittled Goa for being a small state. Palanivel Thiagarajan has to apologize for belittling the people of Goa in the GST Council meeting.” he said.

“Rather than fighting over trivial issues, Tamil Nadu’s Finance Minister should work with the central government tactfully to bring petrol and diesel under GST and to reduce the tax rate on products used in manufacturing, such as cement, steel, and others, to a 12 percent slab from a 28 percent slab, which is the only way for the economy to recover.” he said.

Dr. Krishnasamy accused the DMK of failing to raise issues in the GST Council that they had previously highlighted while in opposition, and of turning the GST Council into a political conversation forum.

“You are easily belittling the sovereign Indian state as the ‘Union Government’. If India is a ‘Union’, then is Tamil Nadu a ‘Panchayat Union’? You repeatedly boast that you have your roots in Justice party. The Justice Party has never supported Indian independence and has always been a British stooge. You aren’t an exception. How can we rely on your love and affection for the country if you have such a opinion. Your disdain for a certain political party should not be reflected get reflected as hatred for your country. India was ruled by various people. Modi is now in power for seven years. He will continue to rule for a few more years. India existed prior to Modi, and it will continue to exist after Modi.” Dr. Krishnasamy said.

He added that Palanivel Thiagarajan’s persistent use of the term “Union” to refer India on public and social media is ridiculous and arrogant. “How does Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, respond to all of this? Any citizen would want to identify more with his nation than with his family, religion, language, or race of origin. Palanivel Thiagarajan, with his feudal-class mindset and four generations of family pride, is not likely to have that feeling.” he said.

“I never say that a state government should not have disagreements with the central government. The state can fight for the welfare of the people; it has to fight. However, it should not be politically motivated. During his term, MGR fought hard for the rights of the state government. But, he never expressed it in statement or word. But, he worked tactfuly in that matter. During his second term, from 1980 to 1984, he clashed with the central government, refusing to contribute food grains to the national pool when the state was not self-sufficient.” Dr. Krishnasamy said.

He further said that with Tamil Nadu being the worst affected by COVID and suffering a lack of oxygen, medications, and vaccination, it is the DMK government’s responsibility to cooperate closely with the central government rather than engaging in petty politics by calling India a “Union.”

He said that India is not a country like the United States of America, which is a federation of 50 states with only a 300-year history but a glorious multi-ethnic nation that gave birth to the civilizations .

He concluded his post saying, “Before 1947, there was no state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, or Karnataka. linguistic states were formed only after the formation of the Central Government of India. Do not attempt to demonstrate your brilliance without first learning about the history of the India. Stop referring to the ancient Indian country as “Union.” To honour your promises, you’ll have to go a long way. Don’t let your tenure be limited by foolishness.” Dr. Krishnasamy said.

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Srirangam temple property gets restored back to the temple after 40 years

By
The Commune
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The shops occupying the temple property near the Rajagopuram of the Ranganathar Swamy Temple in Srirangam were removed by court order after 40 years of encroachment. Various commercial vendors and hawkers had occupied the four-foot halls in front of the Rajagopuram of the Ranganathaswamy Temple and ran shops.

In the year 2018, a fire broke out in the shops operating in the Vasantha Raayar Hall at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. Following this, the Department of HR&CE decided not to allow the use of temple property for commercial purposes. On this basis, all the barriers that had been in place in the halls inside and outside the temples were removed.

In that regard, the HR&CE Department issued a notice to the shop owners to vacate the shops which were functioning in the property of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple. But those who have been running their shops in the temple property for years had appealed to the court against this.

The case, which came up for hearing in the Madurai branch of the Madras High Court, ruled that the shops were operating in the temple property which was several hundred years old, was damaging the architectural significance of the property and that it was right to order the shops to be vacated as it was the duty of the authorities to protect them. The court dismissed the petition of the traders, pointing out that these pillars on the property, which were built several hundred years ago, were not built for commercial purpose.

It also ordered the shops to be vacated by May 30. The HR&CE Department was in the process of removing the structures that occupied the halls and erected the last day on Monday, as the merchants did not vacate the shops.

Officers removed 3 shops operating in two halls located on Amma Mandapam Road and erected a fence around the halls.

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Madurai corporation feeds stray dogs during lockdown

By
The Commune
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Animal welfare activists are taking to the streets and distributing 40 litres of milk and 600 kg of bread to the street dogs, which are provided daily by the Madurai Corporation during the Coronavirus lockdown.

There are more than 50,000 stray dogs in 100 wards of Madurai Corporation. These dogs survive by eating leftovers from people’s homes, food waste from storefronts and hotels, and various wastes dumped in landfills and bins. Animal activists living in urban areas are preparing and serving exclusive meals to these street dogs.

A lot of stray dogs were found to be dying without water and food. In this situation, the executives of the Maravel Street Dogs Conservation Federation urged the Madurai Corporation Commissioner to help feed the stray dogs during the COVID pandemic.

Based on this, the corporation administration is currently providing 40 litres of milk and 600 kg of bread pieces daily to the stray dogs in the Coronavirus lockdown. It also promises to provide cooked meals to be given as food to the dogs.

KP Marikkumar, Chief Coordinator, Maravel Street Dogs Conservation Federation, said, “The food items provided by the corporation daily to more than 15 community activists who have been feeding the stray dogs are being distributed to more than 300 stray dogs with their support. The service will continue till the end of the curfew. The Corporation Commissioner has promised to look into our activities and assist us in collecting food and other necessities for this hunger strike. We would like to thank all those who are concerned about the protection of community dogs and animal welfare activists for their commitment and assistance to the Madurai Corporation during this horrific epidemic.”

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