Pakistan serves beef to Nepal earthquake survivors

April 30, 2015

Kathmandu, Apr 30: After experiencing major devastation and loss of lives in the April 25 earthquake, Nepal is left with an unsavoury taste in the mouth when it received packets of 'beef masala' as part of the relief package from Pakistan.

Since the majority-Hindu country treats cows as sacred and there is a blanket ban on slaughtering the animal, the development has the potential of triggering diplomatic acrimony between the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries.

pak

Indian doctors at Kathmandu's Bir Hospital told Mail Today that packets of 'beef masala' were sent by Pakistan on Tuesday as part of relief aid to the temblor survivors. These doctors - drawn from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) - are members of a 34-member medical team sent to Nepal for treating the survivors.

"When we reached the airport to collect the food items from Pakistan, we found packets of ready-to-eat meals, including packets of 'beef masala'. There were other food items too," Dr Balwinder Singh told Mail Today.

Perplexed, the doctors chose to have food from a hotel instead. "We did not touch the Pakistani aid," Dr Singh said.

"Most of the local people are not aware of the contents. When they understand, they avoid it," said another doctor on the condition of anonymity. He added: "Pakistan has hurt Nepal's religious sentiments by supplying the masala. Shockingly, it did not care about the sensitivity of the matter."

Exclusive photographs of the 'beef masala' packets supplied to Nepal are with Mail Today.

These pictures clearly show that the place of origin of these packets was Nowshera Cantt in Pakistan. These packets also prominently mention that these are not for sale and the contents include 'potato bhujia' and 'beef masala' (see photograph, right).

A top Nepal government official said: "The matter has been conveyed to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the intelligence chief. We are also starting an internal inquiry to verify the facts. If the report is correct, we will raise the matter at the diplomatic level with Pakistan. India, being our key partner, will also be informed of the developments."

Tasneem Aslam, spokesperson for Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs, told Mail Today: "I am not aware of the issue... I am not responsible for the dispatch. The relief aid is sent by the National Disaster Management Authority."

A press note uploaded on the website of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Pakistan (http://www.ndma.gov.pk/new/), states: "(The) National Disaster Management Authority has dispatched the second of two sorties of C-130 aircrafts on April 28 in collaboration with Pakistan Army, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan Air Force. The relief goods include 250 tents, 200 food packs (2.6 tonne), 1,000 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), 1,000 blankets and 33 cartons of medicines. These relief goods have been provided from NDMA stocks...."

The food items have been manufactured by PANA Force Foods. The consignment was supplied after receiving orders from Pakistan's NDMA.

"PANA Force food processing centre aims at providing quality goods at affordable prices. Currently, the company is supplying two brands of products to Pakistan Army commonly known as Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) and Emergency Pack Ration (EP Ration or high-energy biscuits) whereas a plant for the production of dehydrated vegetables and fruits is under construction," the official website of PANA Force Foods mentions.

The website also states that the processing centre provides food to civil population during natural calamities, like earthquakes and floods.

According to Hindu belief, eating beef is a religious offence since cow is a sacred animal and treated on a par with one's mother.

In Nepal - for long the world's only Hindu state - the first royal order officially prohibiting cow slaughter stated that the punishments for the crime were death and confiscation of all property of the offender.

The first Civil Code of Nepal, the Muluki Ain of 1854, stated: "This kingdom is the only kingdom in the world where cows, women, and Brahmins may not be killed." It trumpeted Nepal as the 'purest Hindu kingdom' and simultaneously signaled to Nepalese citizens that Hindu religious creeds would be the law of the land.

But an amendment in 1990 to the Civil Code made cow slaughter punishable by 12 years in prison.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 5: An elderly couple from Bengaluru

with a travel history to Dubai joined the list of coronavirus patients in the state, taking the total number of cases to 146, the health department said on Sunday.

The list includes four deaths and 11 discharges.

The 68-year old man and his 62-year old wife, hailing from Madiwala in the city, had returned from Dubai on March 22.

They were quarantined at a private hospital and have been asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, the government appealed to people who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat Congregation in New Delhi to contact 080-29711171 Arogya Sahayavani, the medical helpline number.

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News Network
February 23,2020

Udupi, Feb 23: Tanushree Pithrody, a 10-year-old girl from Udyavar and class 6 student of St Cecily’s School, here and a Guinness World Record holder, erased the old record by covering the 100 metres 'Chakrasana race' in one minute 14 seconds to write her name in the Golden Book of World Records.

This was announced by Manish Bishnoi, Head, Golden Book of World Records, who handed over the Certificate to Ms Tanushree, who was accompanied by her father Uday Kumar and mother Sandhya here on Saturday.

The previous record-holder in this category was Samiksha Dogra [11 years and 1 month] from Rampur Bhushar, Himachal Pradesh, who had set a time of 6 minutes and 2 seconds on June14,2018.

Later speaking to scribes here, Ms Tanushree said that she was delighted that she was able to break the record. “When I was practicing, I used to finish it in around 2 minutes. This is my fifth record. I dedicate my success to my parents and my Yoga guru,”she added.

Ms Tanushree has also created a record for the ‘most forward rolls with Dhanurasana Yoga pose in 1 minute’ by performing 62 rolls and she also created the ‘fastest 100 forward rolls with Dhanurasana Yoga pose’ in 1 minute and 40 seconds on February 23, 2019 and entered the Golden Book of World Records.

In 2018, she set the Guinness World Record for ‘most full-body revolutions maintaining a chest stand position’ with 42 full-body revolutions in one minute, and on 21 March, 2019 she broke that record with 44.

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January 13,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 13: Days after indicating that he may not travel to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum later this month, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said he will be attending the global meet, and that the expansion of his ministry will take place before his foreign tour.

Reiterating that he will keep the promise of making disqualified legislators who have won bypolls on BJP ticket as ministers, he said ministry expansion will happen soon after his meeting with party national president Amit Shah on the matter. "There is no truth in speculations that are going on regarding the cabinet expansion, in fact, Amit Shah had given me time for meeting today in Delhi, but I had to attend important programmes here.

Tomorrow if possible I will cancel all my programmes and will go to Delhi, and get cabinet cleared, there is no problem in that," Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the legislators who have won in the bypolls need not worry about the speculations.

"I will fulfil the promise that I have made. If Amit Shah is available I will try to go to Delhi tomorrow. If not he is coming here (Karnataka) on January 17 and 18, will get things cleared and expand the ministry," he said. Yediyurappa had earlier said he will be going to New Delhi probably on January 11 or 12 to discuss cabinet expansion with the BJP high command. However, on Saturday, he said he has decided to discuss the exercise with Shah during the latter's visit to the state next week.

Shah will be here to address a huge rally at Hubballi on January 18 as part of the BJP's nationwide outreach programme to create awareness among the people about the Citizenship Amendment Act.

To a question about his visit to Davos, Yediyurappa said "everyone is persuading me to go, so I have decided to go. As I'm being sent by the central government, so I will have to go, and I will go and come." Yediyurappa along with Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya as well as chief ministers - Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) are among those expected join over 100 Indian CEOs in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos later this month for the WEF's 50th annual meeting.

The Chief Minister, however, had last week, indicated that he may not travel to Davos.

Rubbishing reports about the Ministry expansion after Delhi assembly polls, he said there is no connection between the two.

"I will talk to Amit Shah in a couple of days and immediately take up ministry expansion after that, there is no need for anyone to worry, and there is no truth in certain media reports," he said, adding that expansion exercise will be completed before his Davos visit.

The Chief Minister is likely to travel to Davos on January 20, according to sources.

According to reports, disqualified legislators who got re-elected during the December 5 bypolls on BJP ticket and are all set to become Ministers too had put pressure on Yediyurappa to expand the cabinet before the Davos visit.

As the Chief Minister has already made it clear that 11 of the disqualified JDS-Congress MLAs who got re-elected in the bypolls on BJP tickets will be made ministers, lobbying has been on within the party for the remaining ministerial berths.

Currently, there are 18 Ministers, including the Chief Minister in the cabinet that has a sanctioned strength of 34.

However, with reports that the high command may not be keen on making all the 11 re-elected legislators, whom Yediyurappa has given assurance, as Ministers, it remains to be seen how things turn out.

Cabinet expansion will not be an easy task for the Chief Minister as he will have to strike a balance by accommodating the victorious disqualified legislators as promised and also make place for old guards, upset at being "neglected" in the first round of the induction exercise.

He also has to give adequate representation to various castes and regions in his cabinet and also deal with allocation of key portfolios.

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