No compulsion of saying Om during Yoga Day: Ayush Minister

May 25, 2016

New Delhi, May 25: Seeking to dispel the controversy over chanting of 'Om' during the World Yoga Day programme, Ayush Minister Shripad Naik today said there was "no compulsion" to say it.sripad-naik

The ministry said there is no change even in "a full stop or a comma" in the protocol of exercises performed last year and that Surya Namaskar will also not be a part of the yoga day programme. However, this year the programme will be extended by 10 minutes.

"Om is a universal word. There is no religious connotation to it. It will be a part of the yoga day programme just like last year, but it has not been made compulsory. Those who want to chant 'Om' can do it. Others can say something else they wish. It's up to them," Naik told reporters.

Chanting of Om during yoga day programme is being opposed by some sections of minorities.
"There will be no change in the protocol of exercise even by a comma or a full stop. 'Om' was a part of the protocol last year and it will also be a part this year. Like last year, even this year it has not been made compulsory," Anil Ganeriwala, Joint Secretary with the Ayush said.

Referring to media reports Naik said even Vice-President Hamid Ansari's wife's Salma has said there is nothing wrong in chanting 'Om' while performing yoga and, if one chants it, the oxygen intake in the body increases.

"Any good thing is opposed. Last year also we did it. I appeal people to be a part of the programme for their own personal good," Naik said, adding that 77 Muslim countries had participated in the programme last year.

The minister also launched a revamped website of the Ministry and a dedicated portal for the World Yoga Day. The World Yoga Day will be observed on June 21 across the globe, marking its second year of celebration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the event in Chandigarh.

Naik said the yoga programme does not have surya namaskar, but it will have a new set of exercise. "Surya namaskar is a difficult exercise as it has 12 asans. The protocol, designed by a committee of yoga experts, has been made to suit people from all age groups. After the programme if anyone wants to learn surya namaskar, we have the facility where they can learn the exercise.

"Also, this year we are extending the yoga time by 10 minutes as we had jumped few asans last year. Since June 21 is going to be in the hottest time period, we have introduced Sheetali Pranayama this time," Naik added.

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Mohammed
 - 
Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Y not say bismillaha

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Agencies
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announed extension of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown till May 3, a large number of migrant workers who earn daily wages came out on road in Mumbai on Tuesday demanding transport arrangements to go back to their native places.

Bandra in Mumbai right now. Police probing what caused such a large crowd to gather. pic.twitter.com/04H1Mnggd2

— Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) April 14, 2020

Daily wage workers have been rendered jobless ever since the lockdown was announced late last month to stem the spread of COVID-19, making their life a constant struggle.

Though authorities and NGOs have made arrangemnets for their food, most of them want to go back to their native places to escape the hardship brought by the sweeping curbs.

Wow. Thousands of ambassadors of peace doing this at #Bandra right now. Well done @OfficeofUT, well done. The world should see this.#Covid_19 #COVIDIOTSpic.twitter.com/SdinaZXm39

— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) April 14, 2020

According to a police official, daily wage earners, numbering around 1,000, assembled at suburban Bandra (West) bus depot near the railway station and squatted on road at around 3 pm.

The daily wage earners, who reside on rent in slums in in the nearby Patel Nagri locality, were demanding arrangement of transport facilities so that they can go back to their native towns and villages.

They originally hail from states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

Thousands of migrants gather at Mumbai's #Bandra railway station and protested. All are migrant workers, specially from Bihar-Bangal and they wanted to go home. They had hoped trains will start today. The police is investigating the matter and says crowd has been dispersed now. pic.twitter.com/NMHfv0CEpj

— Shivangi Thakur (@thakur_shivangi) April 14, 2020

One of the labourers, who did not reveal his name, said, NGOs and local residents are providing food to migrant workers, but they want to go back to their native states during the lockdown which has badly affected their source of livelihood.

"Now, we dont want food, we want to go back to our native place, we are not happy with the announcement (extending the lockdown)," he said, looking dejected.

Asadullah Sheikh, who hails from from Malda in West Bengal, said, We have already spent our savings during the first phase of the lockdown. We have nothing to eat now, we just want to go back at our native place, the government should made arrangements for us.

This happened in bandra just minutes back ! This can be potentially dangerous. Mumbai anyways is a hotspot ! What is the @MumbaiPolice and @OfficeofUT doing ???? Did @uddhavthackeray not provide food and shelter to such migrants ? #mumbai #UddhavThackeray #Lockdown2 pic.twitter.com/AeSuqbwhyN

— Megha Prasad (@MeghaSPrasad) April 14, 2020

Another labourer, Abdul Kayyun, said I am in Mumbai for last many years but have never seen such a situation. The government should start trains to shift us from here to our native place."

Heavy police deployment was made at the protest site to tackle any untoward incident.

Personnel from other police stations were called at the spot to maintain order, the official addd.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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News Network
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be visiting India next week and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to sources.

The top executive will also attend SMBhav – an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India - that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city.

When contacted, Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices.

Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance.

Bezos is likely to discuss regulatory issues in his meeting with the government officials.

He is also slated to engage with SMBs during the SMBhav event. The event - which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable SMBs in India - is slated to see participation from industry experts, policymakers, solution providers and Amazon leadership.

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