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'Porno' depiction of Kali in game leads to protest

July 20, 2012

New Delhi, July 20: Hindu groups are protesting against Hi-Rez Studios, a US-based company, which has launched an online game, SMITE, with a slutty, femme-fatale portrayal of Hindu Goddess Kali. SMITE is an online battleground of mythical gods and features a number of other Hindu gods and goddesses such as Vamana and Agni.

Catholics, Jews and Buddhists have come out in the support of those Hindus who are upset with this. Well-known Roman Catholic leader in Nevada, USA, Father Charles T Durante, prominent Jewish leader in western USA Rabbi ElizaBeth W Beyer and distinguished Buddhist leader from Nevada, USA, Reverend Jikai' Phil Bryan have issued separate statements criticising Hi-Rez's game. Reverend Bryan has reportedly said: "Shame on the game-makers for denigrating these Supreme Beings".

The Hindu Jagruti Manch on its website says: "This game has portrayed Hindu Goddess Kali Mata in very bad manner, with appearance as a combat porn-star. Kali Mata is highly revered Hindu Goddess and more than one billion Hindus worship her. Also it is grave of insult of Hindu Deities as Deities are not objects to be used for online games."

While IBNLive checked out the game videos where the characters are pretty tiny, it has found no evidence of the Goddess being portrayed as a pornstar. Yes, she is barely clad like Hollywood femme fatales which is possibly not a reverential portrayal of a goddess worshipped by a billion people.

Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris's words have been pretty high-strung. "In fact, given Hinduism's concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations, one could validly interpret ALL the gods within Smite to be Hindu. And all gods outside of Smite as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward Smite will include even more deities, not fewer," he has been quoted as saying.

Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said he's urging Hi-Rez to reconsider their portrayal of these gods and that they should have them removed from the game, especially Kali. He has called the portrayal "pornographic style".

"Video game makers should be more sensitive while handling faith-related subjects and no faith, larger or smaller, should be trampled. As these games left lasting impact on the minds of highly impressionable children, teens and other young people; such inappropriate depictions would create more misunderstandings about Hinduism, which was already a highly misunderstood religion in the West," Zed's official press statement reads.

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Agencies
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: The COVID-19 pandemic has left the Indian private healthcare sector in acute financial distress, a new survey said on Friday adding that the healthcare facilities in the country have witnessed at least 80 per cent fall in average revenue.

Post the lockdown from March 24, Indian hospitals have seen a large impact, especially among small and medium-sized hospitals, which are now facing existential challenges.

The survey by healthcare industry body NATHEALTH was conducted in 251 healthcare facilities across nine states and 69 cities to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic healthcare industry.

The findings showed that 90 per cent of the surveyed healthcare facilities are facing financial challenges with 21 per cent facilities facing an existential threat.

"There is a need for a stimulus package to revive the Indian healthcare industry which will be crucial to provide much-needed relief to the healthcare sector which is the frontline defence in this fight against COVID-19," said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, President NATHEALTH.

According to the survey, hospitals in tier 1 and tier 2 cities are experiencing a 78 per cent reduction in OPD footfalls, and a drop of 79 per cent in in-patient admissions.

The study found that 90 per cent of organisations require some form of financial assistance.

The findings indicated that even after the lockdown lift, the situation will remain difficult for the hospitals and nursing homes as patients will hesitate from visiting hospitals.

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News Network
June 30,2020

New Delhi, Jun 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a free ration scheme, for 80 crore people across the country till end of November.

In a televised address to the nation, Modi also said the government was working on a "one nation, one ration card" initiative.

On the extension of the PMGKAY, he said it will cost the government Rs 90,000 crore more.

Under the scheme, five kgs of wheat or rice and one kg of pulses per month will be given free of cost to the poor. The scheme was initially rolled out for three months.

The prime minister also said timely lockdown to contain coronavirus and other decisions saved many lives, but added that since "Unlock 1" has begun, people have shown negligence.

He said in comparison to other countries across the globe, India has done well in dealing with the pandemic.

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Agencies
February 27,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the situation is moving towards normalcy in Delhi after recent incidents of violence.

"Situation is moving towards normalcy," Rajnath told media here.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Narendra Singh Bundela on Thursday said that the law and order and traffic situation in violence-affected parts of Delhi is normal.

"The situation is quite normal and peaceful as far as security and traffic are concerned. We have held talks and conducted patrols with people of all communities. Services such as road cleaning have resumed and traffic flow is normal," Bundela told ANI here.

"People can go out to get their daily needs from the market but we are advising them not to come out in groups," he added.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the incidents of violence in North-East Delhi has risen to 34.

Delhi Police has registered 18 FIRs and 106 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.

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