Centre not providing funds that are due to WB: Mamata

News Network
November 15, 2019

Kolkata, Nov 15: Alleging that the central government was not providing the funds which were due to the state, West Bengal Chief Minister on Thursday said the sum would have helped in carrying out relief work in areas hit by cyclone 'Bulbul'.

Reiterating that no one should play politics over such issues, Banerjee expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would keep his promise of assisting the state in the relief and rehabilitation efforts.

"Around Rs 17,000 crore is due to us from the Centre. If they had given us that due amount, we could have used that to carry out relief work," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat here.

The CM said she would write to the central government in connection with the dues.

The Trinamool Congress supremo said the Centre was urged to send a team to take stock of the situation in the three affected districts - North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore.

"I would also request the Centre to help us in this situation. We will send them our report after the central team completes their survey. The PM had earlier said he will help us. Let's hope (that he will keep his promise)," she said.

Banerjee claimed that the state government has incurred a loss of Rs 640 crore after the government failed to provide its due share of the central revenue.

Apparently referring to Union minister Babul Supriyo's visit to the cyclone-ravaged areas in South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday that led to protests there, Banerjee asked people to refrain from playing politics in relief distribution.

"Instead of standing by the affected people, some are playing politics and indulging in vandalism. I would urge them to refrain from it. This is not the time for politics," the chief minister said.

Without naming Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who earlier in the day shared the views of Banerjee that there should not be politics over the distribution of relief materials, she said some individuals were acting as the "BJP mouthpiece" and playing "a dirty game".

"I generally do not comment on constitutional posts, but a few people (governors) are acting just like BJP mouthpieces. In my state, too, you have seen what is going on - they want to run a parallel administration," Banerjee said.

She also stressed that the central and the state governments have specific roles to play and the two should work together when the situation demands so.

"The Centre and the state should work in a federal spirit to tackle the situation caused by the severe cyclone in the state. And no individual politician, or some people, who are BJP supporters, should play a dirty game," she said in an apparent reference to Supriyo's visit on Wednesday.

Reacting to her remarks, Supriyo said it is the TMC which has been playing politics over distribution of relief materials.

"We have extended every kind of support. Both the prime minister and the home minister had called the CM and assured of all possible help. She should keep aside her ego and seek more central aid if needed.

"But, TMC is engaged in dirty politics over my visit, as they are trying to hide the real ground situation. Several locals have complained about lack of relief material and food for the last four days," he alleged.

Six lakh people have been affected and over five lakh houses damaged due to the cyclone, which made landfall late on Saturday between Sagar Islands in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh. Altogether 14 people, including fishermen of a capsized trawler, died in the calamity.

The chief minister said the administration is able to provide lanterns and kerosene to only 40,000 families, and asked the Centre for more lanterns.

Banerjee had on Wednesday announced one lantern and 5 litres of kerosene for each affected family in the state.

Relief kits are also being prepared and would soon be delivered to them, she added.

In the three affected districts, school examinations would be held in early December instead of late November.

"Several schools are still submerged. How will the students go and appear for examinations? That is why the dates need to be rescheduled," she said.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Kollam, Feb 29: Seven-year-old Devananda, whose body was found in a lake, was laid to rest at Kudavattoor in the Kollam district of Kerala on Friday evening.

She was laid to rest near her father Pradeep Kumar's house in Kudavattoor. Earlier, the body was kept at her mother Dhanya's house in Ilavoor and Vakkanadu school, where she studied in Class 1, for the public to pay respect.

Hundreds of people visited to pay their last respects to the child.

An intense social media campaign was launched to trace the child after she was reported missing on Thursday morning.

According to police, an autopsy conducted in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College led to a preliminary conclusion that the cause of death was drowning. Residues of mud and silt have been found in her respiratory tract.

Signs of any kind of violence inflicted on the child have been ruled out. The body was released to the family after the autopsy.

Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, BJP state president K Surendran were among many politicians who offered the condolences.

Many celebrities including Mammootty, Dulqar Salman, Kunchako Boban took to Facebook to pay their tribute to Devananda.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: A disturbing video of a Covid-19 patient, speaking his last words, after his oxygen supply was allegedly cut off, has surfaced on social media. The patient reportedly died after indicating that the oxygen supply to him was cut off despite his requests.

The video has a 35-year-old Covid-19 patient bidding good-bye to his family, from a government hospital bed in Hyderabad. The patient Ravi Kumar can be seen speaking out against the negligence of of the medical staff in providing ventilator support to him when he needed it the most.

The video has led to social media outrage as it attracted public attention towards plight of patients in government hospitals

"I am not able to breathe, I pleaded but they did not continue oxygen for the last three hours. I am not able to breathe anymore daddy, it's like my heart has stopped, Bye daddy. Bye to all, daddy," these were apparently the final words of the man, who spoke in his local dialect, and shared on social media.

Several reports have claimed that the man had been admitted to government Chest hospital, after several private hospitals refused to admit him. His ventilator support was allegedly taken off in the hospital, after which he recorded the video message.

The victim’s family shared the video message for the public to know of the negligence.

Reports have it that Ravi’s covid-19 report, which testes positive, was given to family a day after his death, when 30 of his family members performed the final rites, thus making all of them vulnerable to the virus. Ravi’s father has alleged that the test was done on June 24 and Ravi died on June 26, while the report was given to them on June 27.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Kottayam, Aug 7: A trial court in Kottayam on Friday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala, with stringent conditions and directed him to be present on the dates of hearing of the case.

The Additional Sessions Court had cancelled the bail granted to the Bishop on July 13 for failing to appear for the trial and issued a Non Bailable Warrant against him.

Mulakkal was present in the Court on Friday when it considered the matter.

Granting bail, the court directed him not to leave the state till the chargesheet is read out to him on August 13 and to be present in court on the dates of hearing of the case.

The Court also directed him to offer fresh sureties and bail bonds.

On July 13, Mulakkal’s counsel had informed the court that his client could not appear as he had been in self quarantine due to his primary contact with a COVID-19 infected person.

The next day, the former Jalandhar Bishop had tested positive for coronavirus.

The prosecution informed the Court that Mulakkal had not produced the COVID negative certificate, to which the Court observed that the state Health Department can take necessary action on this issue.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday had directed Mulakkal to face trial as it dismissed his plea seeking discharge in the rape case lodged against him by the nun belonging to a congregation under Jalandhar diocese, saying there was no merit in his petition.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian had told the counsel for Bishop that the court is not saying anything on merit, but is dismissing the plea on the issue of discharge from the case.

Mulakkal, in his plea had challenged the July 7 Kerala High Court order, dismissing his discharge plea in the rape case filed by the nun.

The High Court had asked the deposed Bishop of Jalandhar diocese to stand for trial in the rape case, which was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the nun.

The senior priest of the Roman Catholic Church had filed the revision petition following the dismissal of his discharge plea by a trial court in March this year.

The rape case against the Bishop was registered by police in Kottayam district.

In her complaint to the police in June, 2018, the nun had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the bishop during the period between 2014 and 2016.

The bishop, who was arrested by the Special Investigation team, which probed the case, charged him with wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation.

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