Kalladka communal clashes result of Cong-BJP ‘match fixing’, claims HDK

Kochi, Jan 22: Rail passengers from Kerala are a happy lot as the state’s traditional food items such as appam and eggcurry, puttu and kadala curry have found their way back to the revised menu of the Railways in the wake of protests over reports that they were replaced by north indian delicacies.

The popular Kerala dishes were reinstated to the list following social media backlash over the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s reported decision to replace the favorite cuisine of Malayalis from its menu with north Indian dishes such as Kachori and Chole Bhature.

Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, who had shot off a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal raising the issue of alleged discrimination against Keralites, got an assurance from the IRCTC officials that popular items, including snacks such as unniyappam and sukhiyan will be served through its outlets in the state.

Eden said the IRCTC officials who visited him at his home on Wednesday morning have presented him with the list of delicacies to be served by its local vendors in Kerala. In his letter to the minister, the MP had stated that dishes which are very important to Malayalis for breakfast such as appam, egg curry, porotta, dosa, steam cake (puttu) were excluded along with snacks such as banana fry (pazham pori), kozhukkatta, unniyappam, neyyappam and sukhiyan.  He had also raised the issue of hike in price of food items.

According to him, price of meals has been increased from RS 35 to 70 and that ofsnacks such as vada from Rs 8 to 15.  While the price of vada has not been reduced, the fare of snack meal like parotta, chappathi, idiyappam, appam and puttu with kadala curry or egg curry will be served at Rs 50.  According to IRCTC, a passenger will have to shell out Rs 20 for unniyappam/sukhiyan/neyyappam, 2 numbers each.  Informing Goyal of the changes in menu, he said Malayalis are discriminated in trains and railway refreshment rooms by the food which is the right of every passenger.

He had sought urgent intervention of the Minister and speedy action in the matter.

New Delhi, Apr 16: Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday directed state waqf boards to ensure strict implementation of lockdown and social distancing guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan starting next week amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At a meeting via video conferencing, Naqvi asked the state waqf boards' officials to create awareness among people to offer prayers and perform other religious rituals like "iftar (breaking of fast)" during Ramzan, which begins on April 24 or 25, staying inside their homes.

More than seven lakh registered mosques, eidgahs, imambadas, dargahs and other religious and social institutions come under state waqf boards across the country. The Central Waqf Council is the regulatory body of state waqf boards in India.

"We should cooperate with health workers, security forces, administrative officers, sanitation workers. They are working for our safety and well-being even putting their own lives at risk in this coronavirus pandemic," Naqvi said.

"We should also demolish rumours and misinformation being spread about quarantine and isolation centres by creating awareness among people that such centres are only meant to protect people, their families and the society from the pandemic," the minister said.

Naqvi told all the state waqf boards and religious and social organisations that everyone should remain cautious of any type of fake news and conspiracies aimed at creating misinformation. 

"Authorities have been working for safety and well-being of all citizens of the country without any discrimination. Such type of rumours and conspiracies are a nefarious design to weaken the fight against coronavirus," he said.

"We should work united to win this fight against corona by defeating any type of rumour, misinformation and conspiracy," the minister said.

Naqvi asked officials of all the state waqf boards to play an active and effective role in ensuring that people follow the guidelines of the Union Home Ministry, state governments and the Central Waqf Council while fulfilling religious responsibilities during Ramzan.

In view of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, all religious and social activities and mass gatherings in all the temples, gurdwaras, churches and other religious and social places of the country have been stopped, he said. 

Similarly, any mass gatherings in mosques and other Muslim religious places of the country has also been stopped, Naqvi said.

He said that due to the COVID-19 threat, religious leaders as well as religious and social organisations from all regions of the country, have appealed to people to offer prayers and perform all other religious rituals staying inside their homes during Ramzan. 

Most of the Muslim nations of the world have also banned mass gatherings at mosques and other religious places during the holy month, he pointed out.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in cooperation with all the state governments, has been working effectively for the safety and well-being of the people, he said.

The cooperation of the people has brought great relief to India in the war against COVID-19 Naqvi said, adding that several challenges are still there before the country. 

"We can defeat these challenges of the coronavirus pandemic by following all the guidelines of the central and state governments strictly," he asserted.

Chairman and senior officials from state waqf boards such as Uttar Pradesh (Shia & Sunni), Andhra Pradesh, Bihar (Shia & Sunni), Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Manipur, among others participated in the meeting.

State waqf boards from Rajasthan, Telangana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttarakhand also participated.

Apr 12: The board and management of troubled NMC Healthcare should be held accountable for the financial irregularities, said Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the UAE Banks Federation.

"Banks have dealt with the exposure professionally and they lent to a company which was listed on FTSE-100 index with world-class regulator and the world's largest audit firm doing their audit. Even if they present their balance sheet today, people will still lend to them. This is a world-class fraud and the management and board members should be held accountable. We should have a different track to handle this company. It is not a normal track that we can go," Al Ghurair said during a virtual press conference on Sunday.

It is estimated that the more than 80 local, regional and international banks have exposure to healthcare firm. The UAE bourses had asked all the listed companies in the UAE to announce their exposure. The UAE banks last week announced nearly Dh10 billion exposure to NMC Healthcare, which is owned by the billionaire BR Shetty.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has the highest exposure to NMC at Dh3 billion. Dubai Islamic Bank and its subsidiary Noor Bank announced Dh2 billion exposure while Emirates NBD and its Shariah-compliant unit Emirates Islamic Bank revealed Dh747.34 million exposure. Ajman Bank has Dh151.8 million while Al Salam Bank pegged its exposure at Dh161.5 million. All these lenders revealed their exposure for the first time on Sunday.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said it had extended Dh1.07 billion in financing to NMC Healthcare, and an additional Dh113.67 million exposure to Islamic bonds issued by NMC.National Bank of Fujairah pegged its exposure to NMC at Dh289.1 million, while Sharjah-based United Arab Bank said its exposure was Dh135.3 million.

NMC recently revised its debt position to $6.6 billion, well above earlier estimates.

London's High Court last week placed hospital operator NMC Health into administration, on the application of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

"I know leading bank in UAE have already legal guardian of the company so now management cannot hide anything. The new team will manage and discover what happened," said Al Ghurair.