MONTH THAT WAS

Domicile: no criteria for social security benefits

New Delhi: In a major relief to 40 crore people always on the move, migrating from state to state for work and employment, a working group set up by the government in 2015 has recommended that the criteria of the domicile or residence provisions be scrapped for availing the social security benefits of the states.

In a report submitted to the government, the Working Group on Migration has also recommended that the migrants should be allowed to have the benefits of the PDS (public distribution system) and the caste-based reservations that they enjoy in their home states.

It has laid stress on extension of all government facilities and benefits to the migrants in deference to their constitutional right of freedom of movement and residence in any part of the territory of the country that every Indian citizen enjoys. It wanted the state governments to provide them better protection against the locals agitating from time to time to drive out the migrants eating away into their job market.

The report provides legal and policy framework necessary to help out the migrants who constitute about 30% of India’s population. It deals with facilitation of access, food security, health benefit, education and housing, skill and financial benefits and protection of the interests of the migrants.

It notes that the migrant workers fail to avail benefits if they migrate from one place to another, losing access to social benefits because of the change of location across the city. It wants the states to proactively eliminate the requirement of domicile status to prevent any discrimination to the migrants in work and employment. “States are also to be asked to include migrant children in the annual work plans under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to uphold their Right to Education and an integrated legislative approach on basic guarantee of wage and work conditions,” the report said.

SC asks Centre for Permanent Solution to suicides by farmers

New Delhi: The Supreme Court expressed concern over the rising number of suicides by farmers due to indebtedness and crop failure and said it felt the government was going in a “wrong direction” in tackling the real problem.

Asking the Centre to apprise it of the policy roadmap to address the burning issue, a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said the issue of farmers’ suicide was of “extreme importance” and paying compensation to the families of such victims “post-facto” was not the real solution.

Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul were other judges on the Bench. It fixed another hearing on March 27 as it was not satisfied with the government’s assertion that the government has come out with schemes to tackle this issue like giving crop insurance and other schemes to increase the farmers’ revenue.

The government counsel sought two weeks’ time to discuss the matter with the concerned departments and come out with a solution. He said: “We are ensuring that farmers are not distraught and they have a place to approach to overcome distress.”

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Citizens Resource for Action and Initiative for overhauling the agriculture policy with provisions for adequate compensation to farmers during drought and other natural calamities. The NGO also sought a compensation of `5 lakh each to families of 692 farmers who reportedly committed suicide in Gujarat between January 2003 and October 2012.

The petitioner, however, said the government has been giving promises but nothing has materialised. Its case is that the farmers commit suicide because they do not get even the minimum support price fixed for the crops. It said the prices drop whenever there is surplus production and the farmers have to suffer as they are not even able to recover their cost of production.

Request to suggest new words: Oxford Dictionary

London: Parents take note! You can suggest "brand new" parenting terms for the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The dictionary's publisher, Oxford University Press, has appealed for ideas from users of the parenting website Mumsnet.

It said it would like to hear about "brand new words and new senses of familiar words". Suggestions from parents on Mumsnet include "hangry", "defleated", and "whinese".

Fi Mooring, senior editor of the OED, said: "Every parent knows that when you have a child you also begin to speak another language.

"Many of these terms - which quickly become the stuff of everyday communication for millions of parents - are relatively recent coinages, so werent included in earlier editions of the Oxford English Dictionary," Mooring was quoted as saying by the BBC.

OED said suggestions from Mumsnet users would be reviewed to assess "how long, how frequently, and how widely a word has been used".

The first new words for the theme of pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, and childcare will be published online in December 2017.

One Mumsnet user suggested "hangry" be added, and defined it as when a child was short-tempered and irrational because they were hungry.

"Defleated" was put forward by another user, who described it as "the feeling of being utterly deflated by your babys lack of enthusiasm or interest for something you have invested vast amounts of time, money and emotional energy to".

"Whinese" was defined as the "whiny tedious noise (language) used by small children; often several bouts throughout the day for a prolonged period", the report said.

ISRO engineer’s precast toilet going international. But no takers in India

Bengalooru: Taking a leaf out of India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, West African nation Senegal has decided to launch 'Swachh Senegal', by installing precast toilets developed by Bengaluru-based retired ISRO chief engineer H Raja Simha. 

Seydon Sane, Mayor of Ziguinchor, the second largest city of Senegal, watched the live demonstration of the construction of precast toilets in the city. 

Sane said: “We saw Raja Simha’s invention on social media and got in touch with him as we found it cost effective, long lasting and easy to build. The precast toilet can be built within a few hours. We will install 100 units at Ziguinchor under a pilot phase and later across the town, depending on the requirements.” Sane said he will launch the “Swachh Senegal” programme by installing toilets in rural pockets of the town and at required households within 3-4 months. 

Simha, who has been a technical advisor to BBMP, Bescom and various government departments, said the patented ‘twin pit, pour flush, prestressed and precast rural toilet kit’ comes with concrete walls, nuts and bolts, two soak pits, door, junction box and other features and costs Rs 12,000 as against the normal construction cost of 

Rs 35,000. Anyone can install the toilet by just following instructions that come with the kit.” Sane and another African delegate Ndeye Fatou honoured Simha with the “Outstanding Engineer” award and signed an MoU with him for the pilot project that would be executed through the World Bank and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

State shows no interest

Karnataka, which has just three open defecation free cities, however, has not shown interest in adopting the affordable toilet kit developed by Simha. Simha said Gujarat and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu have replicated his design. 

“It has a life span of 50 years and is compact. I chalked out the idea a year ago and so far, these models have been replicated at Daman and in Gujarat with the installation of more than 1,000 precast toilets. The Karnataka government has not shown interest in the project so far,” he said.

According to the Swachch Bharat Mission, only three cities in the state – Mysuru, Udupi and Mangaluru – are open defecation-free while the rest of the state, including Benglauru, still practices open defecation.

Health advisory to pilgrims

New Delhi: Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks, practice yoga and start taking long walks a month before undertaking Amarnath Yatra in high-altitude of Kashmir, says an advisory of the Shrine Board. The 40-day-long Amarnath Yatra will commence from June 29.

According to the health advisory issued by the Amarnath Shrine Board, the pilgrimage to the holy cave involves trekking at altitudes as high as 14,000 feet and the pilgrims may develop high-altitude sickness.

To avoid high altitude sickness, the Board advised the pilgrims to prepare for physical fitness by starting a preparatory morning/evening walk, about 4-5 km per day, at least a month prior to the pilgrimage.

It asked pilgrims to start deep breathing exercise and yoga, particularly pranayam, for improving oxygen efficiency of the body besides consulting doctors prior to travelling to such heights. “Don’t drink alcohol, caffeinated drink, or smoke. Don’t ascend any further if you have altitude illness. Instead, descend immediately to an elevation where you can acclimatise,” it said.

Among other dos and don’ts issued by the shrine board include taking small steps while ascending to ensure that the body takes the time to acclimatise and relax for a short while on steep inclines. “Don’t ignore the symptoms of high altitude illness with symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, lightheadedness and difficulty in sleeping, visual impairment, bladder dysfunction.

The Board said if high altitude sickness is not treated timely, it may be lethal in a matter of hours. It also advised the pilgrims to drink lots of water to combat dehydration and headaches and suggested an intake of about five liters of fluid per day. “Do follow the prescribed food menu — available at Shrine Board’s website shriamarnathjishrine.com — when having food in the Yatra area,” the advisory, circulated by the Home Ministry, said. The pilgrimage will end on August 7.

Doctor dies in Judicial Custody

Nashik: A doctor, who was in judicial custody, for allegedly conducting abortions and sex determination of foetus, died of a massive heart attack in Nashik road Central Prison. Nashik Road police station sources said that Dr Baliram Shinde’s death occurred at 1.40 am. A case has been registered and further investigations are on.

Dr Baliram Shinde was arrested on 20 February after complaints that he was conducting sex determination of foetuses in his hospitals in Ojhar town of Niphad tehsil and at Nashik city. It may be recalled that, medical officers had sealed the sonography clinic in Ojhar town on 20 February.

Abortion cases had been registered at Mumbai Naka police station in Nashik City and the hospital in Nashik too was sealed by Nashik Municipal Corporation health officer Dr Vijay Dekate. Earlier, the NMC had received a tip that Dr Shinde was performing abortions in his hospital in Nashik city. On investigation, NMC doctors found him treating a pregnant woman and sealed the hospital on 25 February.

Medical superintendent of Niphad Dr M R Rathod had conducted an inquiry in the Ojhar case. He later sealed the clinic and said that a case would be filed. Dr Shinde was in police custody till 25 February which was extended by three days. After the police custody was over, he was sent to Nashik Road Central Prison under judicial custody where he died.

Chinese Poverty reduction drive

Beijing: China plans to relocate 3.4 million people from poverty-stricken communities to more developed areas this year as part of its poverty reduction drive.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s economic planner, said 2.49 million people living in poverty had been relocated in 2016, meeting the target for that year. By the end of 2016, there were relocation projects in 22 provinces, which include housing, infrastructure and public services, Yang Qian, an official with the NDRC, said. Local authorities are also exploring supportive industries, employment and social security for the relocated people.