Activist Rehana Fathima’s house ransacked for trying to entre Sabarimala temple

Agencies
October 19, 2018

Pathanamthitta, Oct 19: Unidentified miscreants on Friday allegedly vandalised the house of woman activist Rehana Fatima who had unsuccessfully attempted to enter Sabarimala Temple in the state.

Fatima had gone up to the Lord Ayyappa shrine, along with journalist Kavitha Jakkal, this morning under police protection. Both retreated midway after a meeting with KeralaInspector General of Police (IGP) S. Sreejith.

Fatima, who had to return without going to the shrine, claimed that people who want to disrupt peace, not devotees, had stopped them from visiting the shrine. 
She told reporters here after her return, "People, not the devotees, who want to disrupt peace didn't allow us to enter. I want to know what was the reason (to stop us)? Tell me, in which way one needs to be a devotee? You tell me that first and then I will tell you if I am a devotee or not."

"I don't know what happened to my children. My life is also in danger. But they (police) have said that they will provide protection. That is why I am going back," she added.

Jakkal, who was stopped 500 metres from the holy 18 steps leading to the sanctum sanctorum of the famous shrine, on her return said, "Thank you so much for supporting us. We are feeling proud to come here. You have seen what kind of dangerous situation we have faced." Both Fatima and Jakkal were escorted back to Pamba by the police.

The two women who were en route to the Sabarimala Temple agreed to return after the temple head priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru threatened to shut down the temple if they attempted to force their way in.

Meanwhile, Mary Sweety, a 46-year-old woman, returned midway after she was stopped by the protesters at Pamba. She has currently been taken to a police control room.

Two days after the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala opened its doors for the first time for females of all age group, as per the Supreme Court verdict pronounced on September 28, no woman of menstrual age has yet been able to visit the shrine because of continuous protests.

Earlier in the day, a number of devotees had gathered to block the entry of women trekking up to the hill shrine.

Places around the temple such as Pamba, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam and Elavungal have witnessed the majority of the violent protests since the doors of the shrine reopened on Wednesday. Protesters had allegedly vandalised a bus carrying journalists and other passengers at Laka near the Nilakkal base camp. The police were forced to lathi-charge the protesters as they resorted to stone pelting.

Elderly women were seen entering the temple on Wednesday evening, but women between 10 to 50 years of age refrained from visiting the shrine for the sake of their own safety.

Owing to the protests and violence, Section 144 (prohibiting assembly of more than four people) has been imposed in Pamba, Nilakkal and Elavungal.

The temple opened on Wednesday at 5 pm, and it will close on October 22.

Comments

Khasai Khane
 - 
Friday, 19 Oct 2018

Not approving of what the goons did to her, but she kind of deserved it. Why interfere in religious beliefs of others? Why provoke them ? 

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Karnataka Library Department’s mobile application, which is said to be the first of its kind initiative in the country has seen an exponential growth in downloads during the COVID-19 lockdown, a senior Minister said on Friday. The main reason that the application is growing is due to the heavy students demand as schools and colleges are closed during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Students are relying on online material for their studies as they can’t step out of the house and risk being infected.

The Library Department's efforts to keep readers active through the lockdown time, by prompting them to utilise its e-initiatives is paying off, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said.

"The app is seeing exponential increase in downloads since its launch. As many as 16,500 people have taken it; while ten thousand people have downloaded it during this brief lock down time itself," he said.

E-library mobile app was released by the library department on February 26.

There are over one lakh e-books available on department's digital platform ranging from arts, humanity, school curriculum, competitive exams and self help to classic novels - all for free for the readers.

"Its needless to say, the variety of attractive content that is available in the app is creating all the buzz among the public. Not just the books, the app contains over 600 educational videos too," the Minister said in a statement.

Considering that over 16,500 readers have downloaded the app since its launch a couple of months back, its high time, we see this domain as an opportunity for growth, he said, and stressed on the need for better adaptability approaches to the changing times.

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News Network
May 29,2020

Bengaluru, May 29: A cost-effective state of the art glove box testing booth for swab collection was inaugurated by Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar at Victoria hospital.

Inaugurating the specially designed booth for safer, easier and quicker testing, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar said that the portable booths can be used at border check posts and hot spots.

"The testing method involves the collection of samples from inside a box of aluminium and glass. The suspected corona virus-infected individual, whose samples are being taken, has to walk up to the booth and stand in front of the glass exterior. The healthcare worker inside the kiosk collects the sample and then, follows the sanitisation process before proceeding to take the next sample. The collection process, fully contactless, gets over in five minutes," the Minister said.

Dr Sudhakar also said: "This booth significantly reduces manpower requirement and the need for PPE kits. The main advantages of this procedure are that it needs fewer healthcare workers and strictly adheres to the norms of social distancing. 

The booth is low-cost. Each model costs about Rs 15,000-20,000."
It is also portable and can be mounted on a vehicle and transported to any location.

It can be particularly useful for collecting samples in hot spots and border checkpoints, he added. 

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News Network
August 7,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 7: The Karnataka government would provide Rs 10,000 immediate relief to families affected by heavy rains and flooding in districts across coastal, central and southern areas of the state, an official said on Thursday.

"Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has directed all the Deputy Commissioners in the rain-cum-flood-hit districts to provide Rs 10,000 interim relief to the affected families and Rs 5 lakh to those whose houses were completely damaged in the natural disaster," a Revenue Department official told media persons here.

As the south-west monsoon advanced and intensified, heavy and widespread rains with gusty winds have been lashing 12 of the 30 districts across the state, wreaking havoc and disrupting normal life due to flooding, landslides, lakes and ponds overflowing, and rivers and their tributaries in the spate.

"The Chief Minister also instructed the officials to make use schools, colleges and public places as relief centres to shelter the rain-cum-flood-hit families, as hostels and community halls have been converted into Covid care centres in the affected districts," said the official.

The affected districts have also been advised to conduct a survey of crop loss suffered by farmers for compensation under the centrally-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Weather Based Crop Insurance Schemes.

Deputy Commissioners have been told to take preventive measures to protect and provide relief to the people from heavy rains, floods and landslides in the affected districts.

"Yediyurappa also directed ministers in-charge of the districts to remain in their constituency and visit the affected areas to assess damage caused by the rains and flash floods for compensation and relief aid," noted the official.

The Chief Minister on Wednesday announced Rs 50 crore for rescue and relief operations in the affected districts across the state.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological department has issued a red alert on heavy rains in the affected districts of Kodagu, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttar Kannada in the coastal region and in Shivamoga, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Haveri in the Malnad region.

"Bagamandala in Kodagu district where Cauvery river springs near Talakaveri received a whopping 486 mm rain during the last 24 hours, causing flash floods and disrupting normal life as offices, shops and eateries remained shut and public transport was affected," added the official.

The water-level in Cauvery and Lakshmanatheertha is flowing at high level while the Sayi layout and Kuvempu layout Kushalnagar is inundated and the affected residents were shifted to safer location.

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