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High speed internet restored in parts of Kashmir

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
-

On Monday, the Indian government restored high-speed 4G internet services in 2 districts of Kashmir on a trial basis. This is to last till September 8 and is to be allowed only on postpaid mobile phones. Other districts will have 2G internet services functional.

“The high-speed mobile data services in the districts of Ganderbal and Udhampur shall be restored forthwith, on a trial basis,” a government statement said on Sunday, adding that internet speed would continue to be restricted in other districts.

This came after a committee headed by the Central Home Secretary recommended the calibrated easing of internet restrictions in comparatively less sensitive geographical areas.

The restoration of 4G Internet services for mobile devices came days after the Centre Government informed the Supreme Court that a special committee constituted for looking into the matter was considering allowing the facility on a trial basis in 2 of the 20 districts of the Union Territory.

Act East: Manipur to get 13 National Highway Projects Worth ₹3000 crores

By
Balaji Subramanian
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Giving another boost to Act East Policy, the Modi government has extensive plans to improve roads and highway connectivity in the State of Manipur.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari is set to launch ₹3,000 crore worth national highway projects in the State today (17 August), the DNA reported .

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has termed it ‘a big day’ and has also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Act East Policy where infrastructure development has long been neglected.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh tweeted, “Tomorrow is a big day for Manipur! Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone of 13 National Highway Projects worth Rs 3000 crores and inaugurate a road safety project via video conferencing at 11:30 AM. Thanks, Hon’ PM Narendra Modi Ji for the Act East policy,”.

 

Gadkari and CM Singh will together lay the foundation stone of the 13 projects at 11.30 am today via a virtual medium. Details.

 

The 13 national highway projects together entail the building of 316 kilometres of distance and will push to improved connectivity, infrastructure building and job creation in the State, unlocking the further potential for incremental growth and opportunities.

Women appointed in senior roles in Mosques in Saudi Arabia

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Saudi Arabia has appointed 10 women in high roles in several holy mosques across the country. Notably, two of them have been placed in the mosques of Mecca and Medina, the holy pilgrimage sites for Muslims all over the world. The others have been placed across various departments, including administrative and technical, according to a statement released by the general presidency for the affairs of the two holy mosques.

This ‘recruitment drive’ has been aimed at empowering Saudi women with high qualifications and capabilities. 41 women had been previously recruited in high leadership positions in 2018 as reported by Saudi media. This has been executed as a part of the vision 2030 plan by Prince Mohammed of the royal family of the Saudi. It was reported that he has been seeking to boost employment for women to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil.

The number of working women in Saudi Arabia reached 1.03 million in 2018, which is roughly 35% of the total workforce. Similar reforms in this accord include the driving rights for women, mixed-gender appearances at public events and permission to attend concerts.

It is to be noted that despite these measures, a large number of women have been detained for protesting to have the right to drive. Some of the activists allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators.

BCG vaccine proves effective against Wuhan virus

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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A recent study has established the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccine as a potential accelerator of immunity against the novel Wuhan virus. This was published by the members of the Emirates International Hospital in UAE, wherein they were administered with the vaccine in March. By the end of June, they were tested for COVID-19. The testing was done using the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, that are being used for testing Wuhan virus cases.

This is the fifth study that has shown the efficiency of the BCG vaccine to be a potential immunity booster to combat the effects caused by the novel Wuhan virus.

BCG is the vaccine that is usually administered to children at a very young age, especially in countries like India, to prevent childhood tuberculosis. A lot of researchers have also attributed the increased rate of recovery from coronavirus in India to the BCG.

Meanwhile, India has been conducting its research on this vaccine’s efficacy. About 1000 healthy volunteers above 60-years of age are being recruited in six states with high Covid-19 disease burden, and will be followed up for six months.“The process has begun at NIRT, which is identified as the nodal institute to spearhead the study. It is too early to comment on the results, but we will share information when there is an update,” said Dr Rajnikant Srivastava, spokesperson, ICMR.

The states where the study has been planned are Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Dear Mahi…

By
Rakshana Raghavan
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Dear Mahi,

Where do I begin this? I will not proclaim to be your biggest fan, for it will be an injustice to millions who hold you dear, revere you and worship you.

I’m not going to lie. I’m a huge football fan. I always have been. I saw you for the first time on the billboards and ads with a long hair and in a blue sleeveless blue jersey, holding ICC World Cup Twenty20 trophy.

My induction into your fandom was in 2008.

Staying in Mumbai when I came to know that there was something called an IPL and a team from my birthplace called the Chennai Super Kings made it to the finals. I was elated. I lit a candle and diya and tried to summon all the gods, hoping for a win. I ended up experiencing my very first heartbreak. We lost at 1 run to Rajasthan Royals.

The night of the 2011 World Cup finals and the euphoria you put the country is something that gives me goosbumps even if I think of it now. In 2015, when we lost to Australia and they zoomed in on your teared up face, there was a lump in the throat of this hardcore football fan. You didn’t deserve it.

One of the most endearing sights during every CSK match in our flats is when we would all gather around the open amphitheatre and brave the blood sucking mosquitoes and wait for you to work your magic.

The kids would say “Dei.. Dhoni varuvaaru da”. Uncles would be fiddling with their fingers.  Youngsters wouldn’t bat an eye-lid. Aunties would be praying for you like their son was playing. You captured the imagination of people across generations.

Sports always cheered and celebrated angry young men – Andre Agassi, Eric Cantona and our very own Virat Kohli. Their fiery attitude and antics during the game are TRP brownie points.

But, you came in with your calm gentle demeanour carrying the hopes of a billion that could have crushed anyone in seconds of not for your grounded attitude.

You were an UNO reverse card to the sports news which thrived upon outbursts, controversies and comparison.

I still can’t believe how it is humanely possible for someone to be a Zen on field and off-field. I have only heard of mythological characters that are an epitome of humility, but you are a living breathing example of the same. Hawk-eyes and a rock solid judgement that can make even the best refrees in the world take a step back. MSD not only you are a celebrated cricketer, but also an utopian, idealistic human being that we all can just dream of becoming. A dedicated father, an amicable leader, a fuss-free player and an inspiration to millions of youngsters. I could just stack a gazillion adjectives and it would fall short of describing what you are.

I remember after you tonsured your head after 2011 WC in Tirupati and stood with the trophy. Here is the person who pulled of a legendary moment in this country’s sporting history and goes silently like any of us and shaves off his hair as an offering at the God’s feet.

I can’t but hold back my tears while writing this.

All the best for your next innings Mahi, I’m sure you would ace this as well. Hoping to see you don the blues once again as Team India’s head coach and create a legion of not just great players but also incredible human beings like you.

Thank you Dhoni. Thank you for everything that you have given us.

Love,

Just another fangirl

Pak Army employs death squads to do dirty job, former Taliban commander reveals

By
The Commune
-

In a startling revelation, the prime accused of Peshawar’s Army Public School (APS) terror attack that took place on 16 December 2014, former Taliban commander, Ehsanullah Ehsan has claimed that the Pakistani Army is involved in running death squads, as reported in Sunday Guardian Live.

In yet another embarrassment for the Pakistani Army, an 11-minute audio clip was released by the former Taliban commander in which Ehsan makes public the names of the officers of the Pakistan Army, who had facilitated his “surrender” and were handling him.

If that was not enough, he further claimed that the Pakistani Military Intelligence (MI) to be part of a “death squad” that comprised surrendered terrorists from various groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ehsanullah’s former group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The purpose of recruiting such men is to carry out the dirty tasks of Pakistan Army which gives them selected targets to eliminate because these people are considered as “anti-state”, and hence chosen to be terminated.

During this interview with The Sunday Guardian, Eshan said he will be releasing the names of the individuals who were on this death list, public.

The Pakistani army has for a long time used these non-state actors to carry out their dirty work. Islamic terror groups have been used as a paramilitary to carry out acts of violence and murder.

When this list is released the long-held suspicion that Pakistan Army has been operating and managing death squads to eliminate “troublemakers” will see the light of the day.

However, this information could not have come at a worse time because Pakistan is up for another review by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) which meets is expected in September and review Pakistan’s case before it is placed in front of the FATF plenary, most likely to be held October.

Ehsan told The Sunday Guardian that the list had names of people mostly from Peshawar, Quetta and Mardan. “I was shown a list of those individuals the Pakistan Army wanted to eliminate, many of them were Pashtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a few of them were journalists,”

In his disclosed, Eshan also talked about the death squads operating in the restive region of Balochistan. He said death squads are working in Balochistan, and are carrying out killings on the orders of the Pakistan Army.

Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, spokesperson, Major General Babar said, “The comments made in the tape are absolutely baseless. He escaped while we were using him for an operation. He was in our custody and the information he gave helped us dismantle the terrorist organisations he was working for,”.

Two HR&CE employees who made merry by drinking alcohol and eating meat in temple premises sacked

By
The Commune
-

Two employees of Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department have been sacked for consuming alcohol and eating meat within the premises of the temple in Cuddalore district.

A video of the two HR&CE employees of Kolanjiappar Temple in Manavalanallur village, sitting and having liquor and meat in the temple premises went viral on social media.

In the video, one of them can also be heard saying, “Here, have some deer curry”.

Due to the curfew put in place to contain the Wuhan virus pandemic, only the staffs of the HR&CE department and the temple priests are being allowed to perform regular worship and cleaning work in the temples. Thought the government has allowed smaller temples to open for public worship, footfalls have been low. Taking advantage of the situation, some of the temple staff have been making merry by drinking alcohol, eating meat and smoking inside the Kolanjiappar temple. It was even reported that these employees were urinating and defecating within the temple premises.

Senthilvelan, the Joint Commissioner of HR&CE has sacked the 2 employees – Sivarajan and Sivakumar.

It is to be noted that cows, deer and peacocks are being raised in this temple. There were more than 20 deer. However, it was reported that there are only 10 deer present now. The temple administration says that the others have died.

Now doubts have arisen if whether these deer really died or were they killed to be consumed as meat.

Recently, two officials of the HR&CE department working in the Dhandayuthapani Swami Temple in Palani were suspended for consuming alcohol in the temple premises.

The Kolanjiappar temple located near Vriddhachalam is a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Murugan. The temple is associated with Sage Sundarar, one of the 63 Nayanmars. It is said that Sage Sundarar had come to Vriddhachalam during his old age and sang in praise of Vriddhagireeswarar. Lord Shiva pleased with the rendition wanted to listen to the song again. He sent his son Lord Murugan in the form of a hunter to the Kolanji forests were Sundarar was residing. The hunter took away the belongings of Sundarar and asked him to come to Vriddhachalam. Knowing that it was a divine play, Sundarar came to the Vriddhagireeswarar temple to sing in praise of Lord Shiva again. Lord Murugan set his abode in the Kolanji forests as Kolanjiappar.

Communist China razes Mosque to erect public toilet in the volatile Xinjiang province

By
Balaji Subramanian
-

In yet another crackdown and insult to the Uyghur Muslims, the communist government in China has demolished a mosque in Atush (in Chinese, Atushi) city, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and turned it into a public toilet, reported by Radio Free Asia.

Many observers who keep an eye on the plight of the Uyghur are calling it a campaign aimed at breaking the spirit of Uighur Muslims.

Construction for a restroom will be built over the Tokul mosque in Atush’s Suntagh village. Authorities had razed two of three mosques under the directive to destroy Muslim places of worship, also known as “Mosque Rectification.”

The Mosque Rectification drive is the sinister hardline policies under Xi Jinping. As per reports, nearly 1.8 million Uyghurs are under incarceration in a vast network of internment camps in the XUAR that began in April 2017.

The Muslims in China suffered a lot under Chairman Mao Zedong during the dark period of China’s 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.

https://twitter.com/Bharatojha03/status/1294976219822219267

In the last few years, the Chinese government have been systematically destroying Muslim cemeteries and other religious structures in this region. They have also populated the Xinjiang province with the majority of Han Chinese to have demographic control.

In a report published last year by the Washington-based Uyghur, Human Rights Project (UHRP) titled “Demolishing Faith: The Destruction and Desecration of Uyghurs Mosques and Shrines,”. This report used geolocation and other techniques to show that anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 mosques, shrines, and other religious sites were destroyed between 2016 and 2019 by the communist regime.

The truth about recruitments to Grade 3 posts in Southern Railways

By
The Commune
-

Several ex and current apprentices along with local CPI (M) leaders picketed at the entrance of the Golden Rock Railway Workshop in Ponmalai in the first week of August, alleging that the railways showed bias by recruiting north Indians for Grade 3 posts like Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP), technicians (electrical/mechanical), fitter, and welder.

The protestors alleged that the railway officials discriminated against candidates from Tamil Nadu and were giving preference to north Indian candidates to fill Grade 3 posts while there were several from the state who had finished apprenticeships and have been waiting for jobs since 2008. They also raised questions about how the new recruits were allowed inside Tamil Nadu at this time when there are restrictions to travel between states. They asked whether the candidates carried e-pass and had swab tests done while subjecting themselves to mandatory quarantine period of 14 days. The protestors alleged that the new recruits from other states who had come to Tamil Nadu by flight for certificate verification did not quarantine themselves and that the whole recruitment process was fishy and lacked transparency.

The District Collector had called for a report and a detailed report was given. The Thiruverumbur MLA had met the Chief Workshop Manager (CWM) and gave a petition which was forwarded to the Principal Chief Personnel Officer (PCPO).

Background

On 3rd February 2018, the Railway Recruitment Board issued the notification calling for applications to the post of ALPs and technicians to fill the vacancies in different Zonal Railways and Production units. There were a total of 945 vacancies (ALPs and technicians) put together for Integral Coach Factory and Southern Railways.

The minimum qualification for the post of ALP is an ITI/Diploma or an Engineering degree. However, for the post of technicians, only those with ITI degrees in relevant fields are eligible.

A total of 541 candidates were selected from different states and were asked to report on March 23, 2020. That is when nationwide lockdown was imposed due to COVID19 and the process had to be postponed.

Claims

The New Indian Express reported that of the 581 vacancies only 12 were selected from Tamil Nadu and that the highest numbers of vacancies were filled by those from Bihar (163) and Rajasthan (115). It also mentioned that hundreds of new recruits from outside Tamil Nadu had attended the document verification process at the Railway Wedding Hall flouting lockdown and social distancing norms.

Truth

Were TN candidates discriminated?

The RRB has confirmed that of the total candidates who had applied, 51% were from Tamil Nadu. A total of 3218 candidates have been selected for the post of ALP and technicians of which 17% are from Tamil Nadu. Of the candidates selected for ALP, 53% of the candidates are from Tamil Nadu, the CPRO of Southern Railways said.

Yes, it is true that of the 541 vacancies for technicians only 12 from Tamil Nadu have been selected. However, the reason for this anomaly is that most of the candidates from Tamil Nadu are overqualified for the post of technicians as the qualification for the post demands only an ITI/Diploma. It is for a fact that southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has a large proportion of engineering graduates than diploma holders. That is the reason why a significant number of ALP vacancies have been filled by candidates from Tamil Nadu as engineering degree holders are eligible to apply for this post.

Did those who came from other states flout lockdown norms?

As the nationwide lockdown was relaxed, the new recruits were notified to report for document verification from August 3 onwards. They were given clear instructions about the mandatory quarantine period before the document verification. Most of them had come by flights and some by special trains. They were subjected to swab tests and their results tested negative. After the mandatory 14 days quarantine period, they were issued Tamil Nadu e-pass to report to the workshop. The candidates who appeared for Certificate Verification were permitted only if they produced relevant documents in connection with Quarantine, SWAB test results and adherence to all Protocols laid down by Ministry of Home Affairs.

The new recruits were asked to report at 10:00AM but a few of them reached the Railway Kalyana Mandapam at 08:00 AM.  The verification officials had reached the premises around 09:30 AM. Also, of the 114 people called on August 4, only 63 persons reported for the day and not in hu

Why aren’t ex-apprentices given these jobs?

As per the Apprentices Act, 1961, Indian Railways engages apprentices in workshops and production units to impart technical training and develop skilled manpower. Under the Act, there is no guarantee of permanent employment upon completion of apprenticeship. However, the Railway Board allocates 20% posts in RRC (Level-1) recruitments for which the apprentices who have completed their training can apply and qualify.

Candidates stare at uncertain future with no clue about SSC CGL 2018 results

By
The Commune
-

There seems to be no end in sight for the candidates who had given the Combined Graduate Level Examination 2018 (SSC CGL 2018), as the Staff Selection Commission is yet to declare the results of the Tier-3 examinations conducted in December 2019. With the coming of the Wuhan virus pandemic, the results of the Tier3 examination which was expected in May 2020 has been put on hold.

It has been more than 7 months since the candidates gave the examination and the entire process has stretched for close to 3 years.

This has put the candidates under immense mental and social pressure as their future remains at stake. Many of them are unable to chart out the next course as they anxiously wait for an update about the results every day.

The application process for the SSC CGL 2018 started on 5th May 2018. Tier-I examinations were conducted in the month of June 2019 while the Tier-II examinations were conducted in the month of September 2019. Both Tier-I and Tier-II are online examinations. The Tier-III is the third and last but one stage of the four tier examination which is in the descriptive format. After this stage, successful candidates have to finish the Tier-IV examination which comprises of computer proficiency test, skill test and document verification.

While it makes sense to not conduct examinations at the time of a pandemic, candidates are flummoxed about the delay in declaring results.

In light of this, Twitter saw the hashtag #SSC_Descriptive_Result trending. Many had expressed anguish over the Staff Selection Commission for keeping the candidates lingering for months.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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