New Delhi, Mar 30: A Muslim woman from Jammu and Kashmir has donated her savings of Rs 5 lakh, meant for the Hajj pilgrimage, to the RSS-affiliated 'Sewa Bharati' after apparently being "impressed with the welfare work" done by the outfit amid the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Khalida Begum, 87, who saved Rs 5 lakh for Hajj, was forced to defer her plans for the pilgrimage due to the lockdown.
Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city of Muslims.
"Khalida Begum ji was impressed with the welfare work done by the Sewa Bharati in Jammu and Kashmir during the tough time the country is passing through due to sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and decided to donate Rs 5 lakh to the organisation," Arun Anand, head of RSS media wing Indraprastha Vishwa Samvad Kendra (IVSK), said.
The woman wants that this money should be used by the community service organisation Sewa Bharati for the poor and the needy in Jammu and Kashmir. She had saved this amount for performing Hajj, plans for which she deferred due to the present situation, Anand said.
"Khalida Begum ji was among the first few women in Jammu and Kashmir who got educated in a convent. She is the daughter-in-law of Colonel Peer Mohd Khan, who was president of the Jana Sangh," he said.
Jana Sangh was also an associate of RSS and later became the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Anand said despite her age, she had been very active in welfare works for the women and the downtrodden in Jammu and Kashmir. Her son, Farooq Khan, a retired IPS officer, is presently serving as an adviser to the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor.
Meanwhile, since the lockdown was announced, Sewa Bharati volunteers across the country have been providing food and other essential items to the needy. The Sangh-affiliate's volunteers were seen on Saturday managing crowd and providing food to them at the Anand Vihar bus terminal in Delhi.
Mangaluru, May 9: A team of doctors at Mangaluru's Mangala Hospital has developed a 'bubble helmet' that will provide an alternative to patients who need an oxygen mask.
The team was led by Dr Ganapathi, medical director of Mangala Hospital and Mangala Kidney Foundation in the city.
The bubble helmet, which has a special collar attached to it, helps the patients with breathing issues, and to avoid using ventilator facility.
Dr Ganapathi said, "When a patient needs intubation we will be providing them oxygen bubble helmets and we will first give it a trial before we intubate a patient."
"I have converted an ordinary snorkelling mask into a ventilator assist device, this mask can be used as a personal protection device by connecting it to a bacterial viral filter," he added.
Dr Ganapathi said that the connector has been made available in India and a snorkelling mask can be easily converted into a ventilator assist device. And it will make the management of coronavirus patients easy.
Bengaluru, May 25: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday greeted the Muslim brethren on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is being celebrated in a subdued manner due to coronavirus related restrictions.
"Warm greetings of Eid-ul-Fitr. May this festival of peace and harmony bring happiness in life," Yediyurappa said in his message.
He congratulated the Muslim fraternity for cooperating with the authorities by offering prayers at home during the holy month of Ramadan and supporting the government to contain COVID-19.
"I hope the same trend will continue during the festivities of Eid-ul-Fitr too. I thank you all for your support in the fight against COVID-19," he said.
The Eid festivities were a low-key affair as Muslim brethren celebrated the festival indoors in view of lockdown to contain coronavirus on Monday.
People offered the special prayers inside their houses instead of performing it in mosques and Eidgah, the open field to perform prayers, and refrained from going out to greet each other.
As the Karnataka government has ordered Sunday Curfew throughout the lockdown-4 till May 31, the otherwise bustling markets in the urban areas of Karnataka remained shut.
People could not venture out to make necessary purchases on Sunday.
The Jama Masjid of Bengaluru at the City Market had asked the Muslims to offer prayers inside their houses and not go to the burial grounds to express their sentiments for the departed souls.
"Mass prayers are not allowed anywhere in Karnataka. Just five important persons managing the mosques offered the prayers. Similarly, people go to the graveyard to pray for the dead ones but this time we asked people to express their sentiments from inside their homes instead of going to the burial grounds," Maulana Maqsood Imran, the Khateeb-O-Imam, Jama Masjid, Bengaluru, told news agency.
He said, "coronavirus is spreading very rapidly in our country. If we don't follow the guidelines, it will not only cause trouble to us but also to the doctors and the government. It will be the biggest celebration if we abide by the norms."
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We are already facing lot of problems here without food and money.
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