If Hemraj's head not returned, bring 10 heads from Pak: Sushma Swaraj

January 15, 2013

New Delhi, Jan 15: If Pakistan does not return the head of martyred soldier Hemraj, India should get at least ten heads from the other side, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said and asked the Centre to take tough action against that country.

"If his (Hemraj's) head could not be brought back (from Pakistan), we should get at least 10 heads from their side," Swaraj told reporters here after visiting Hemraj's family along with party president Nitin Gadkari and leader Rajnath Singh.

"The question is: will we sit without any reaction and engage in a dialogue? This should not happen. At least the government should react in some way. That is why we have said that government should take some tough measures," she said.sushma

Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Hemraj were killed on January 8 by the Pakistan Army regulars after infiltrating into Indian territory in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Today, the nation is demanding don't prove a weak government. They (Pak Army) came on the LoC, killed our soldier and took away his head with them and there should be no reaction...this should not be tolerated at any cost," she said.

Swaraj alleged the government showed lack of respect to the martyr and demanded an apology.

"The government should apologise for the apathy. They should apologise to the family of the soldier and the country. But they should at the same time take revenge for the incident which took place," she said.

Swaraj said Hemraj's wife Dharamvati was disturbed "about the lack of respect" shown by the government towards him.

"She is disturbed about two things, one is about the honour of her husband. She said I couldn't even see his face. As you know that his body arrived without the head, she is shocked at this but nobody from the government came for his final rites. The other is about the honour and dignity. Both her feelings are legitimate," Swaraj said.

"I feel it is a great neglect from the government's side. When the entire country is feeling outraged, the government didn't even inform when and how the last rites will be performed.

"It was informed that the cremation took place after the sunset, nobody from us got to know about it. But all the top officials from the government knew about it," Swaraj said.

She said there should have been sincere efforts by the government to be present at Hemraj's last rites.

"As per rules, the Defence Minister should have himself come here. If he couldn't come, the State Minister should have definitely come. The Home Minister should have come, somebody from the PMO or some State Minister should have come.

"There is army in Mathura... somebody from the Central Command in Delhi should have come. But the kind of apathy that has been shown, their grievance is genuine," she said.

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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 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: Seasoned diplomat and former spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Raveesh Kumar has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to Finland, the government announced on Wednesday.

Raveesh Kumar, a 1995-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, served as the spokesperson of the MEA from July 2017 to April 2020 during which he deftly articulated India's position on a number of sensitive issues including last year's Balakot strike, reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and the controversy surrounding the National Register of Citizens.

"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said.

Before becoming the MEA spokesperson, Kumar was serving as Consul General of India in Frankfurt.

Kumar started his career at the Indian Mission in Jakarta and it was followed by his postings in Thimpu and London.

In his nearly 25-year career, Kumar also looked after the East Asia desk in the headquarters of the MEA in Delhi and served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Jakarta followed by his posting as Consul General in Frankfurt from August 2013 to July 2017.

In Finland, he succeeds Vani Rao.

Finland is an important country for India in Europe, and bilateral trade has been on an upswing in the last few years.

Around 35 Indian companies have invested in Finland in IT, healthcare, hospitality and automotive sectors while over 100 Finnish companies have operations in India in energy, textiles, power plants and electronics sectors.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday paid tribute to the senior doctor of city government-run LNJP Hospital who died battling COVID-19, saying the society has "lost a very valuable fighter".

The 52-year-old doctor served in the front line of the war against the pandemic at the government facility, and died of novel coronavirus infection in an ICU of a private hospital on Sunday.

"Dr Aseem Gupta, a senior doctor of LNJP Hospital succumbed to Covid yday. He was known for going out of his way to serve his patients. We have lost a very valuable fighter. Delhi salutes his spirit and sacrifice...," Kejriwal tweeted.

The chief minister also said in his tweet that he has spoken to Dr Gupta''s wife and "offered my condolences and support".

LNJP Hospital is a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government. It recently completed 100 days of being declared a coronavirus facility.

"LNJP Hospital has displayed great fortitude in the face of acute challenges. It''s recovery rate is going up, death rate is reducing, ICU capacity is being ramped up - the hospital is saving so many lives," the chief minister said.

A condolence meeting to pay respect to Dr Gupta has been scheduled at 1 pm in the office of the Medical Director of the hospital, a senior official said.

The doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist died at the Max hospital, Saket in south Delhi, a private dedicated COVID-19 facility.

"He was a front line anaesthesia specialist who contracted COVID-19 infection while on duty. He tested positive on June 6, when he had mild symptoms and was shifted to a quarantine facility. His symptoms aggravated on June 7 and he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the LNJP Hospital," the LNJP Hospital said in a statement on Sunday.

He was shifted to Max Hospital, Saket on June 8 on his request, it said.

The doctor was battling the disease for the last two weeks at Max Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Sunday, the statement said.

He was Specialist, Grade I, in the Department of Anaesthesia at the LNJP Hospital, the statement said.

Several hundreds of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 till date in Delhi.

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