Mangalore, August 13: Mosques in the city are brimming with activity in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan.
Arrangements for Ei'tikaaf have been made in mosques for the benefit of people willing to sit through in prayer in the final days of the month.
Prayers have intensified in mosques with greater intensity among the devotees with regard to the search for Lailatul Qadr (night of power) too.
Iftar arrangements for people are being held as normal in various mosques of the city.
Bhuj, Feb 14: In a horrifying incident, as many as 68 undergraduate girls were paraded through their college into the restroom and forced to individually remove their undergarments to prove that they were not menstruating.
This shameful exercise was conducted at Shri Sahjanand Girls’ Institute (SSGI) in Gujarat’s Bhuj under the supervision of principal and other teachers.
It all began after the hostel rector complained to the principal that some of the inmates had been violating the Hindu religious norms specifically for menstruating females.
According to the sect’s norms, menstruating females are barred from entering the temple and kitchen. They are even forbidden from touching other students. However, the hostel administration reportedly complained to principal Rita Raninga that some girls who were having their periods not just mingled with other hostel inmates, but also entered the kitchen and ventured near the temple on the premises.
“It was sheer mental torture and we don’t have words to describe it,” a student who underwent the traumatic experience said, adding that there were total 68 girls who were forced to pass through the test.
“The hostel administration levelled this allegation and insulted us on Wednesday. On Thursday, when we were attending lectures, rector Anjaliben called the principal and complained about this. We were forced to leave our classrooms and queue up outside in the passage. The principal abused and insulted us, asking which of us were having our periods. Two of us who were menstruating stepped aside,” said another victim.
“Despite this, we were all taken to the washroom. There, female teachers asked us to individually remove our undergarments so they could check if we were menstruating,” she added.
Another teenage undergraduate said, “We come from farflung villages. The college campus houses a school that runs classes from Class 1to 12. They provide hostel facilities to the school students. The college does not have its own hostel. We live with the school-kids in their hostel.”
She added, “The principal, hostel rector and the trustees harass us regularly over the issue of menstruation. We are punished for having periods. This happens even if we follow their religious rules. They made us remove our undergarments because they thought some of us were lying about not having periods, and mingling with the others against rules. But the humiliation meted out to us on Thursday was the last straw. When we protested against this, trustee Pravin Pindoria told us that we could take legal action if we wanted but we would have to first leave the hostel. He also forced the students to sign a letter saying nothing happened in college. But enough is enough.”
Kutch University authorities have, meanwhile, swung into action and a five-member team including in-charge vice-chancellor, Darshna Dholakia, and two other senior female professors visited the college on Thursday. “We will speak to the students and the college authority and later initiate appropriate action based on the findings,” Dholakia said.
Run by followers of Swaminarayan Mandir, the college was set up in 2012 but moved into a new building on the premises of Shree Swaminarayan Kanya Mandir in 2014. The college which offers BCom, BA and BSc courses has about 1,500 students of which 68, who come from remote villages, stay in the hostel on campus. The college is known for its pro-Hindutva stance.
Bengaluru, May 20: 63 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Karnataka, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 1,458 on Wednesday, said the state Health Department.
The total number of cases includes, 864 active cases and 41 deaths (one due to non-COVID cause), it added.
Total 10 people have been discharged today while 553 persons have been discharged so far.
Udupi, Jul 16: With two deaths in a single day, and receiving coronavirus positive report of a person who died two days ago, Udupi district’s covid-19 death toll today mounted to eight.
A-49-year-old resident of Udupi, was admitted to Ajjarkad government hospital for other ailments. He was suffering from multiple health issues like diabetes and respiratory problems.
Last night he was tested positive for coronavirus and hence he was shifted to Dr TMA Pai COVID hospital in Udupi where he breathed his last today.
A 54-year-old man from Maravanthe in Byndoor taluk, who was suffering from asthma, today died while being taken from one hospital to the other.
He was admitted to a private hospital in Kundapur on the evening of Wednesday. Today he was being shifted to Manipal hospital. However he breathed his last half way through.
His body was taken back to Kundapur and throat swab of the deceased was sent for testing. As the sample of the deceased person was taken using rapid test kit, his report was available within half an hour and it showed positive for covid-19.
Meanwhile, throat swabs of a man from Ankola in Uttar Kannada district, who passed away in Manipal Hospital on July 14, were tested positive today. His funeral was held at the Beedinagudde crematorium as per the COVID norms.
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