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Drug-resistant TB cases in Mumbai rattle experts
Editor booked for commenting on Jaya’s eating habits
RLD general secy joins SP, dents Ajit Singh’s pro-farmer claim
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Kushwaha no longer in party, says BJP
Not just you, even BSF jawans face bad work conditions
After Mamata, Pawar spells trouble for Cong
Anna out of hospital, advised month’s rest
Bhanwari’s son identifies her watch, earring
‘Politics of crime’ continues to thrive
In Punjab, 99% flunk teacher eligibility test Theft at Home Ministry’s office Sharing name with Sidhu gets his wife the seat
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Drug-resistant TB cases in Mumbai rattle experts
Mumbai, January 8 Doctors at the Hinduja Hospital here have recorded 12 cases of Total Drug Resistant TB over the past three months. Ten of
them are from Mumbai while the others are from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The case came to light after Dr Zarir Udwadia, a chest physician at the hospital, published his findings in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. "The TB bacilli has mutated following improper drug prescription and
is no longer curable with available drugs," Dr Udwadia said. The doctor warned of a major health crisis as patients infected with the deadlier form of TB could spread the disease among the population. Data available from health authorities indicate that 4 lakh people died of TB in India every year. "The TB bacilli mutates because people do not complete their treatments which are spread over nine months. Patients stop taking drugs after a three or four months when they feel better because of which the germs become resistant to the drugs. “Then the disease strikes back in a more virulent form," says Dr Santosh Revankar, deputy executive health officer of the BMC. In his paper that Dr Udwadia co-authored with his colleagues Rohit Amale and Camilla Rodrigues, he also blames doctors prescribing drugs improperly. Providing analysis of prescriptions conducted as part of the study, the paper blames drugs prescribed in incorrect doses by physicians inadequately experienced in treating TB. Following the report, health officials in Mumbai, Pune and other cities of
the state have called for a meeting of doctors to decide on the next course of action. Some have suggested screening of suspected TB patients as a precautionary measure. A section of health officials say with options to cure TDR-TB running out, it may become necessary for authorities to set up sanatoriums to house tuberculosis patients as was done in the past.
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Editor booked for commenting on Jaya’s eating habits
Chennai, January 8 The FIR was filed against the editor, Gopal, under different IPC sections, including 505 (publishing a report with an intent to incite), the police said. Armed AIADMK workers had allegedly attacked the office of the Tamil bi-weekly, apparently incensed over a report in its latest issue, which claimed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ate beef. The party's organising secretary C Ponnaiyan had warned of legal action against the publication for carrying a "mischievous and malicious report aimed at maligning Jayalalithaa." Meanwhile, Gopal said a complaint has been lodged with police over the attack.
— PTI
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RLD general secy joins SP, dents Ajit Singh’s pro-farmer claim
Lucknow, January 8 Speaking to the media at the SP headquarters here today shortly after formally joining the party, she said, “Instead of forging an alliance with the Congress to get a ministerial berth, Ajit Singh should have upheld the rights of the farmers and fought for the passage of the land acquisition Bill. “His father always clashed with the Congress in order to uphold the interest of farmers.” Critical of the recent alliance, Chaudhary, once considered close to Ajit Singh, charged him of diluting the very ideology of the party for his personal gain of becoming the Minister of Civil Aviation in the UPA government. The switch ahead of the crucial Assembly poll has implications for both the RLD and SP. While Ajit Singh brushed aside the news describing it as a routine matter ahead of elections, he would surely find it difficult to counter Chadhury’s allegations of letting down the farmers in western UP by joining hands with the Congress which has been dragging its feet in passing a new and improved Land Acquisition Act. The other senior leader who returned to the SP fold today was journalist-politician Shahid Siddiqui. He had quit the SP after his Rajya Sabha term expired to join the BSP where he lost the Lok Sabha election from Nagina in 2009.
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Reduced Pak Rangers’ presence along border concerns BSF ranks
Jalandhar, January 8 The Border Security Force (BSF) has stepped up vigil along the international border with Pakistan in view of the forthcoming Assembly polls in Punjab. Pakistan Rangers has seven battalions deployed across the Punjab Frontier. With heavy commitment of Pakistani forces in its volatile North-Western region, the Pakistan force deployment along the international border with India has thinned out. While the number of battalions remains the same, some elements from these battalions have been redeployed elsewhere, thereby reducing their strength by about 25 per cent, BSF officials said. “This is a matter of concern for us as reduced presence of Rangers results in lawless elements across the border becoming active and creating problems,” Aditya Mishra, Inspector General, Punjab Frontier, said. “Keeping in view the elections in the state, we have stepped up our surveillance operations and have devised appropriate counter measures to meet the situation at hand,” he added. The BSF is apprehensive that low surveillance and limited checks on the other side could result in an increase in attempts to smuggle in weapons, narcotics and unaccounted or fake currency. Besides boosting manpower at border outposts and increasing border patrols, the BSF has brought in more hi-tech surveillance equipment to combat hostile climatic conditions like dense fog and low visibility that is widely prevalent in winter months. About 200 hand-held thermal imagers have been made available while battlefield surveillance radars to provide early warning about human movement have been deployed at strategic locations. Some other “old but time-tested” measures are also being adopted to track movements and check any infiltration. Mishra said the higher level of alert stems from two major apprehensions, the first relating to recent reports cautioning the establishment about the possible attempts at revival of terrorist activities in Punjab and the other about political disturbances in Pakistan that could spur terrorists there to carry out random or unorganised attacks. According to BSF officials, firing of a few rockets from across at Indian posts in Punjab about two years ago, was the handiwork of such terrorists. The BSF will be deploying 62 companies for polling and internal security duties in Punjab. It is also planning to hold border meetings with the Rangers as the state goes through the near-month-long poll phase to take up various issues. The BSF is also apprehensive of an increase in instances of smuggling of fake currency and weapons from across the fence. This morning, a small cache of arms, including six handguns, a pump-action shotgun and ammunition, was recovered by one of its battalions from a field close to the fence near Ferozepur. About three days back, there was reportedly an infiltration attempt wherein the BSF had to open fire. Though deployment of Rangers may have generally thinned out across the frontier, there are a few pockets in sensitive sectors like Ferozepur, Amritsar and Gurdaspur where, according to some BSF officers, the presence and activity of the Rangers has gone up. The BSF is paying close attention to riverine areas along the Sutlej and the Ravi in these sectors that are difficult to guard.
Cross-border inequation
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Kushwaha no longer in party, says BJP
New Delhi, January 8 Reports have emerged that the country’s premier probe agency for money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate, has been looking into the alleged multi-crore Uttar Pradesh rural health scam and may register cases against the accused including Kushwaha. A BJP spokesperson told reporters here that Kushwaha himself had sought that his party membership be suspended till he was proven innocent in the rural health scam. His request was accepted by party president Nitin Gadkari, Shahnawaz Hussain said, while adding, “Kushwaha ji wrote to the party president, asking him to suspend his membership until he is proven innocent. The president has accepted the request.” Kushwaha, an OBC leader and former minister from Uttar Pradesh, was inducted in BJP on Tuesday with an eye on the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. He was sacked from the state’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in November last year. The induction drew protests from both within and outside the party. As the other political parties sought to take advantage of the situation, many in the party raised their eyebrows over his alleged involvement in the National Rural Health Mission fund scam in the state.
ED may book him
The Enforcement Directorate may register a money laundering case against Babu Singh Kushwaha after the CBI recently registered a case against him for alleged irregularities in funds allocated to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The ED, according to sources, will go through the facts of the First Information Report (FIR) filed against Kushwaha and others by the CBI and register a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and also under the Foreign Exchange Management Act if the agency finds instances to indicate violations of either of the two laws.— PTI
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Not just you, even BSF jawans face bad work conditions
The study chronicles many damning revelations on the state and fitness of BSF troopers, who guard two of the most crucial Indian frontiers along Pakistan and Bangladesh. The first-of-its-kind study on 'Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Stress' of BSF jawans and officers also narrates various reasons for the "high" stress the troopers, deployed along inhospitable and risky locations, face. "The study shows that the overall levels of stress are quite high in the force. This study itself is just a beginning, touching the tip of the iceberg. “It did not have the required time and very accurate tools to measure the stress levels in the force. Still, it is indicative of the problem being faced (by the BSF)," the report, recently submitted to the Home Ministry, said. “More than 70 per cent report not getting adequate rest and sleep and the number is larger for the Other Ranks (jawans and constables). Many mentioned getting as little as four hours sleep on a regular basis. Such physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation leads to chronic stress and affects performance badly,” the report said. The 136-page study also found that an average BSF jawan has to face bad behaviour, abusive language and that he fears a syndrome - not to commit a single error. A total of 161 jawans and officers out of the 1.7 lakh personnel from both western and eastern frontiers took part in the study which was done to suggest measures to tackle fratricide and suicide cases in the forces. Senior IPS officer and Inspector General in the BPRD, Manoj Chhabra conducted the study. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) is the apex body under the Home Ministry for undertaking development projects in subjects plaguing the Indian police forces. The study, released recently by Home Secretary RK Singh, found that the present number of psychiatric cases were not a true reflection of the ground realities. "These cases only reflect the persons who have broken down, but there are a large number of persons who are suffering badly and may be heading towards a breakdown immediately. There is an urgent requirement of providing trained counsellors and psychologist/psychiatrists who can handle the issue in a professional manner," the report said.
Boss isn’t always right
“Many Other Ranks have responded that the seniors are often unduly harsh, abusive and sometimes even sadistic. While they do not expect all their grievances to be addressed by the superiors, they are often hurt by the approach of the seniors who treat their grievances as complaining, whining and attempts to avoid work," it said. Almost half of the respondents mentioned that they were stressed out due to the constant fear that even a genuine error will be treated as negligence and they would be punished. There is no job where mistakes are not made and human beings will sometimes make mistakes but living in constant fear of this does not bring out the best. Rather it brings a no-risk-no-initiative approach. "Everyone is constantly covering his backside," it said. "Many mentioned that the seniors are always ready to suspect them and there is no trust. They will believe outsiders and rumours rather than the jawans. Constant suspicion and fear does not augur well for the organisation. A more calibrated 'trust, but verify' approach is required to get the best out of the force," the report said.
Leave and let live
The study also found that leave were the biggest reason after sleep for stress in 67 per cent of jawans and 50 per cent of subordinate and senior officers. "There are many issues mixed here. It is not just the amount of leave but the fact that it is not granted when required. It is obviously not possible to satisfy all, but the dissatisfaction levels are very high. Further, there is a widely held perception that the system is not implemented fairly, favouritism is rife and some get it as and when they want it and others don't, even when the need is urgent," it said. — PTI
Stressed on the front
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After Mamata, Pawar spells trouble for Cong
Mumbai, January 8 At the heart of the matter is the question of sharing seats ahead of the elections to the BMC next month. Led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the NCP is demanding
65 of the 227 seats in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. On the other hand, Congress thinks NCP does not deserve more than 45 to 50 seats as the latter does not have a strong presence in Mumbai. Senior leaders in Congress fear that Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan is being bullied by the Pawars into conceding more to the regional ally. “The NCP won just 14 seats in the last BMC elections. Moreover, it came second in 20 others, so its demand for 65 seats is not justified,” former Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Gurudas Kamat said. An angry Kamat, who shot off a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, has now called for a meeting of the party’s Executive Committee in Mumbai before finalising seat-sharing arrangements with the NCP. He told reporters that MPs, MLAs and senior party leaders from Mumbai should be consulted before the deal. “The NCP is demanding that seats which rightfully belong to the Congress be given to it. The Congress won in 72 seats and came a close second in 100 seats. The NCP now wants to field candidates where we are strong. This is unacceptable,” Kamat said in his letter to Gandhi. The Congress leaders in Maharashtra are also miffed that the NCP did not want an alliance in cities like Pimpri-Chinchwad where it enjoys a strong presence. According to sources, a number of leaders in the Congress are backing Kamat who warned Gandhi of large-scale rebellion if the alliance with the NCP went through.
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Anna out of hospital, advised month’s rest
Pune, January 8 "I am all right now, but still feeling weak. I have to take a break as the doctors have advised rest for some days. I will think about it (agitation) after I am fully recovered," 74-year-old Hazare told reporters, who asked him about his next move on the Lokpal Bill issue. About charges of corruption being levelled against members of his team, Hazare said, "I was not in touch with the outside world for ten days." He refused to answer queries in this regard. On his proposed tour of the five poll-bound states, he said, he would not be able to undertake travel for the time being as per the doctors' advice. "It is a long drawn out battle (against corruption), which I am fighting for the last 25 years. I have to take some rest as per the doctors' advice. After I have fully recovered, I will go out," he added. Hazare was admitted to Sancheti hospital here on December 31, after he developed acute bronchitis, soon after the fast he undertook in Mumbai on December 27 in support of a strong Lokpal Bill. He cut short his three-day fast midway following poor public response both in Mumbai and Delhi. According to Dr KH Sancheti, Hazare has recovered well, but needed one month's rest to avoid relapse. The Gandhian drove straight to Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district after his discharge from hospital. Earlier this week, Kiran Bedi, Hazare's aide who visited him in the hospital, had made it clear that he would not be undertaking any campaign during the upcoming Assembly polls to five states as announced earlier or fast in view of the medical advice.
— PTI
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Bhanwari’s son identifies her watch, earring Jodhpur, January 8 The CBI had yesterday found key evidence including watch, jewellery parts and body remains allegedly belonging to Bhanwari from Rajiv Gandhi canal near here. Sources in the agency had claimed that the items could prove crucial in cracking the mysterious death of the 36-year-old woman. Her son Sahil was called by the CBI to identify these objects. "He has identified the wrist watch and earring," said a source. — PTI
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‘Politics of crime’ continues to thrive
New Delhi, January 7 And even as a debate rages on about dubious antecedents of Babu Singh Kushwaha, the ousted BSP leader recently inducted into BJP, a number of candidates contesting the UP polls, cutting across all parties, have had criminal pasts. According to NEW national coordinator Anil Bairwal, a cursory analysis of financial and criminal backgrounds of recontesting candidates in UP reveals BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have fielded candidates with criminal records. Lists released so far have such 26 BJP, 26 Congress, 24 SP and 1 RLD candidates. Of 617 candidates announced by BJP, Congress, SP and RLD for UP, NEW, on the basis of affidavits submitted by 248 candidates during 2007 Assembly and 2009 LS polls, has found 38 candidates with serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, robbery, theft and kidnapping registered against them. Among the five CMs under the study’s purview, UP CM Mayawati, who happens to be the only woman among the five CMs, is the richest, with assets of Rs 87.27 crore, while Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal is the only one among them facing criminal cases. The Punjab CM faces charges of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property under Section 420, forgery of valuable security and will under sections 467 and 468. UP has the maximum percentage of MLAs (35%) with pending criminal cases, with 143 out of 403 facing criminal cases. Among 143 MLAs, 76 (19%) have serious criminal cases, with BSP’s Dhirendra Pratap Singh leading the pack, with 29 cases, followed by Sushil Kumar, also of the BSP, with 14 cases— all related to murder and attempt to murder.
Same old story
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In Punjab, 99% flunk teacher eligibility test New Delhi, January 8 In Punjab, 99 per cent aspirants who took the first ever TET to qualify as primary teachers (to teach classes I to V) failed the test, revealing poor standards of instruction at institutes these people attended to get teacher training certificates. The exam was conducted for unemployed Elementary Teacher Training (ETT) certificate and B Ed holders to fill vacancies under the Right to Education Act being implemented through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Of 1, 25,000 aspirants, who took Paper 1 of TET to qualify as primary teachers (to teach classes I to V), only 1400 (1.12 pc) passed the exam. Likewise, out of 1, 30,000 aspirants who took the second paper of TET to qualify as upper primary teachers for classes VI to VIII, only 7,400 (5.69 pc) passed scoring 60 pc qualifying marks. In Punjab, against 14,090 posts sanctioned under the SSA for 2011-2012, only 9,694 teachers have been appointed. Across India, only 12,24,981 posts have been filled this year as against the 19,14,249 posts sanctioned. Punjab Education Secretary Hussan Lal, who was in New Delhi to attend the education secretaries’ conference to review the RTE implementation progress, said Punjab State Council for Educational Research and Training will again hold TET this year. Under the guidelines, a candidate can take five shots at TET. HRD Ministry sources said Punjab was facing a unique problem of quality as a lot of its teaching aspirants were taking Diplomas in Education and B Eds from institutes in Jammu and Kashmir where the writ of the National Council of Teacher Education, the teacher quality control body, does not apply. “We have taken up this issue with the Punjab Government which needs to check the trend. Since NCTE rules don’t apply to J&K which enjoys special status, the monitoring of teacher training institutes in J&K is difficult,” sources said. TET: Testing the teachers
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Theft at Home Ministry’s office New Delhi, January 8
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Capt’s personal life not an election issue
Ramesh sees a rural champ in Mani Shankar Aiyar
Cash crunch behind party-less farewell? The External Affairs Ministry's XP Division appears to be on an austerity drive or it is genuinely cash-strapped. The Ministry's official spokesperson and joint-secretary (XP division) Vishnu Prakash moved out recently after he was named India's new envoy to South Korea. Normally, the XP division would have hosted a party to bid farewell to the outgoing spokesperson and to welcome the new one. This time, however, the change of guard turned out to be a low-key affair. Vishnu Prakash resorted to Twitter to announce his departure. "I have formally handed over charge as official spokesperson and JS (XP) to my good friend Syed Akaruddin today. Akbar, all the best," he tweeted last week, much to everybody's surprise.
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Chennai, January 8
Lucknow, January 8
After slamming the Congress for promoting “dynastic rule” and doling out tickets to family members of party leaders, the BJP had a tough time explaining its decision to field cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife from Amritsar East in the coming Punjab Assembly poll. BJP leaders sheepishly admitted in private that they had ignored the rightful claims of a loyal party worker Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna to accommodate Sidhu’s wife after he threw a tantrum.
New Delhi, January 8
Notified by Centre last year, the Teacher Eligibility Test is the qualifying exam for primary, upper primary teachers seeking jobs in elementary schools
After slamming the Congress for promoting “dynastic rule” and doling out tickets to family members of party leaders, the BJP had a tough time explaining its decision to field cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife from Amritsar East in the coming Punjab Assembly poll. BJP leaders sheepishly admitted in private that they had ignored the rightful claims of a loyal party worker Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna to accommodate Sidhu’s wife after he threw a tantrum. The last time when Chinna was given a position by the party, a miffed Sidhu had threatened to walk out of the BJP. He was subsequently placated. Now that the cricketer has again prevailed upon the party, BJP leaders have been busy giving a spin to this decision. One story is that the BJP conducted an internal poll and Sidhu’s wife was found to be best suited for the Amritsar East seat. The reason: Since the name of the former cricketer’s wife is Navjot Kaur Sidhu, those who participated in the poll rated her best under the impression they were rooting for Sidhu himself.
Although it has been several months that Capt Amarinder Singh was brought back to head the Punjab Congress unit and is said to be its chief ministerial candidate in the coming Assembly poll, Congress President Sonia Gandhi apparently harboured doubts on this front till recently. She is learnt to have made discreet enquires from several party leaders from Punjab about the possible impact of Amarinder’s friendship with Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam in the elections. Sonia Gandhi was assured by them that this would not become an issue in the poll campaign as Amarinder’s grandfather - the Maharaja of Patiala - had countless number of wives. The people of Punjab, she was told, tend to overlook and forgive the royalty when it comes to such personal matters. Needless to say that Sonia Gandhi was quite relieved on getting this feedback.
Talking about his lengthy interaction with members of Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill over lunch at Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy's residence last week, Law Minister Salman Khurshid expressed surprise at its public suggestion that Parliament should only pass laws after they have been discussed and okayed by the people right down to the gram sabhas and village panchayats. Gesturing to his Cabinet colleague Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, he laughingly remarked, "I am sure even Jairam is not in agreement with such a proposal." As always, Jairam was ready with a quick reply, "But I am sure Mani Shankar Aiyar will be."
This was obviously a reference to Aiyar's well-known passion for the empowerment of Panchayati Raj institutions.