Activist, motivator, actor Abdul Jabbar Ponnodi loses decade long battle with cancer

coastaldigest.com news network
May 3, 2018

Mangaluru, May 3: The untimely death of this young cancer patient, who was known as a “motivator”, has come as a shock and source of great sadness for his friends and well wishers across Dakshina Kannada and other parts of Karnataka.

Abdul Jabbar aka Abdul Jabbar Ponnodi, who was suffering from a cancer for past 11 years, breathed his last at a private hospital in the city at around 12 a.m. on Thursday. He is survived by his parents, a brother and three sisters.

Hailing from a poor family in Ponnodi village near BC Road in Batnwal taluk of the coastal district, Abdul Jabbar in spite of his illness and unbearable pain in his body, had become an inspiration for many.

Abdul Khader Kukkila, editor of Sanmaarga Kannada weekly, who also happens to be one of the co-brothers of Abdul Jabbar, says that though the Big C didn’t allow the latter even to breathe properly, he used to console other cancer patients and instil courage and confidence in them.

“He married my sister-in-law nearly one and a half years ago. Though the cancer had almost destroyed him, he tried his best to lead a normal life in spite of all his pains. He was talkative and friendly with all. One of his sisters recently completed MBBS thanks to his encouragement,” says Mr Kukkila.

“Cancer is mere a bodily disease. It should be restricted to the body and not the mind...” This was the reply given by the brave Abdul Jabbar to his well wishers when they questioned his decision to act in a movie to create awareness about caner a few months ago after his doctors dropped sufficient hints that he may not live beyond six months.

Abdul Jabbar had recently launched a free YouTube channel, ‘Kannada gadgets’ to share his knowledge with Kannadigas about the features modern gadgets, problems faced by people while operating them and simple solutions.

Kannada writer and director Yogesh Master had hastened to launch the shooting of his new flick Hamasageete which talks about the story of cancer survivors, after realising that Abdul Jababr’s days were numbered.

“I wanted to cast Abdul Jabbar because he’s the real hero,” says Yogesh Master, who had come to know about the “rare fighter” through Facebook. “He was hardworking and never tried to gain sympathy,” the director was quoted as saying by a news paper.

Comments

Kumar
 - 
Thursday, 3 May 2018

Ponnodi sir didnt fail in front of death. Death failed in front of his willpower and positive mind

Ganesh
 - 
Thursday, 3 May 2018

Deep condolences.. No death for the real warrior

Shahir
 - 
Thursday, 3 May 2018

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. 

Danish
 - 
Thursday, 3 May 2018

Great personality. It's hard to concentrate for other people while having the unbearable pain of cancer

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News Network
May 18,2020

Bengaluru, May 18: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge on Monday slammed the State Government’s decision to appoint administrative committees to Panchayats, which completes their five-year term, shortly.

Speaking to media persons, the Congress leader described the State Government’s decision on appointing committees as a ‘death knell ‘ to the basic characters of the Panchayat bodies, which were elected on a non-party basis.

Strongly recommending the BJP-led government to desist from its decision, Kharge urged Chief minister B S Yediyurappa to extend the term of the elected bodies of the Panchayats by six months.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: The Kerala government announced the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in two zones, allowing among other private vehicles movement in an odd-even basis and dine-in services at hotels from Monday.

State police chief Loknath Behera said the relaxations of restrictions imposed would come into effect in the Green and Orange-B zones in the state from Monday,an official release said.

Earlier, the Left government had colour-coded 14 districts of the state into four zones-- Red, Green, Orange-A and Orange-B, for containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Red zone comprises Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. In this zone, a complete lockdown will be in place until May 3 while two entry and exit points are allowed for carrying essential commodities to coronavirus hotspots. Orange-A zone comprises Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kollam while orange-B zone comprises Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad.

The lockdown will be in effect until April 24 in this zone and then partial relaxation will be allowed. Kottayam and Idukki come under the Green zone, in which lockdown will be in effect until April 20 and then regulations will be eased. However, large gatherings, the functioning of educational institutions, religious functions, celebrations and travel outside the district will not be allowed in this zone.

Not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in weddings and funerals, according to government instructions. On the functioning of courts, the release said, "Courts in the Green and Orange-B zones will re-open on April 21 while that in Orange-A zone will start functioning from April 25. The courts will function with 33 per cent of staff. The cases will be heard via video conferencing."

Meanwhile, the Bankers' Council has announced that banks will function as per the usual timings from Monday in the state except four districts falling under the Red zone. The Transport Ministry has clarifiedthat public transport won't be allowed to ply in the state during the lockdown period. "Inter-district travel will not be allowed despite relaxations in the state, but essential services such as medical services, food supplies will not be stopped. However, in case of emergency, inter-district travel will be allowed with an affidavit prepared by the traveller," Behra said in a release.

On the implementation of the odd-even scheme for private vehicles, the police said, "Vehicles with odd numbers will be permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even numbers will be allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Woman drivers travelling solo or with dependants are also exempted from it, police said. On Sundays, only those working for essential services are allowed to use their vehicles.

All education institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, public parks, bars, places of worship will remain closed in all zones of the state. The health department and local administration, which carry out sanitation work before the monsoon, are allowed to operate. Four-wheelers are permitted to carry two passengers besides the driver and in case of a two-wheeler, only the driver will be allowed while the pillion rider is allowed in case the person is a family member.

On Dine-in services, a government order said it is allowed at hotels and restaurants until 7 PM in Green and Orange-B zone from Monday and in Orange-A zone from April 24. However, take-away counters can function until 8 PM, it said. Kerala on Sunday reported two positive cases of Covid-19 in the state taking the total number of affected to 401 while the health department announced that 13 people were cured.

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coastaldiget.com web desk
June 18,2020

Amidst heightened border tensions between Indian and China, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's two year old tweet comparing his party with Communist Party of China started going viral. 

The tweet, dated 26 June, 2016 reads: "Communist Party of China & BJP have done numerous works in social field. This way, there is tremendous similarities between the two parties." (sic)

Twitterati dug up this tweet after over 20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this week.

Soon after Chouhan's tweet went viral, netizens took to the micro-blogging site and slammed BJP. One user said, "Interesting comment by Hindutva ITSELF to recognise how similar they are with China. No doubt. Both believe in Dragon Throne .... and brutal absolute control." Another user said, "No wonder the BJP & China both agree that PLA never crossed into Indian territory."

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