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UP: Thousands of mentally ill people chained in sheds

Agencies
January 3, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 3: People with psychological disorders shackled like cattle, their feet tied with iron chains and padlocked for days, months and years- this is the sight at a dirty shed in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun where men and women, young and old, suffering from mental illnesses are kept and abused.

The heart-wrenching incident came to light after a lawyer, a resident of South Delhi filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the enforcement and protection of civil, political and fundamental rights of an underprivileged and deprived section of society.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal believes that "chaining and restraining, confining of persons with mental illness in Faith-Based Mental Asylum shows that there is a huge gap in providing mental health and treatment to the needy in our country."

"Persons with mental illness are subjected to high level of discrimination because of States and Union Territories have failed to break the stigma, whether religious, social, political, associated with persons with mental illness," adds Bansal.

Taking cognisance of the issue, the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice A K Sikri directed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led BJP government to take requisite actions in order to provide mental healthcare and treatment at the earliest.

"It is a matter of serious concern and is against the provision of rights of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution. The dignity of such persons can't be compromised," said the bench.

According to Article 21, every person with mental illness shall not only have a right to live with dignity but shall be protected from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

In India, the World Health Organisation estimates 2,443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 population are lost a year, while the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population is 21.1. The economic loss due to mental health conditions in India has been pegged at 1.03 trillion of 2019 US dollars for the period 2012-2030.

Mental health workforce in India (per 100,000 population) include psychiatrists (0.3), nurses (0.12), psychologists (0.07) and social workers (0.07). On a closer look, along with India, another country-Indonesia too is struggling to end human shackling.

In 2016, Human Rights Watch exposed shackling of as many as 18,000 psychosocially disable people. The administration has taken a vow to curb such menace by raising awareness and providing medical health services to the needy. However, at present, more than 12,800 people are still shackled-to beds, cement blocks, or in animal pens.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Ahmedabad, Aug 6: In a major incident, a fire broke out in a Covid-designated hospital in Ahmedabad killing eight coronavirus patients. The mishap occurred in the wee hours of Thursday.

All the victims were in the ICU ward, where the fire is said to have started. Officials said that they all died on the spot while 41 other patients were shifted to other hospitals following a rescue operation. One paramedic staff of the hospital who tried to douse the fire sustained burn injuries.  

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said that primary information has revealed that fire was caused by the short circuit in the ICU ward where eight patients were under treatment. 

He said that 41 other patients were shifted to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hospital. The incident happened at Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura which is one of the Covid-19 designated hospitals. Over 300 patients have recovered at the hospital in the last two months.

Among the victims were five men and three women. They have been identified as Arif Mansuri, Narendra Shah, Manu Rami, Leelvati Shah, Navneet Shah, Jyoti Sindhi, Manu Rami and Ayesha Tirmizi  

Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Saddened by the tragic hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to CM @vijayrupanibjp Ji and Mayor
@ibijalpatel Ji regarding the situation. Administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected."

Soon after the tweet, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a probe into the matter to be conducted by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, Sangeeta Singh and ACS (Urban Development) Mukesh Puri. 

They have been asked to submit a report in three days. Meanwhile, the hospital building has been sealed for further investigation. 

The chief minister has ordered a report within three days.

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News Network
June 22,2020

New Delhi, June 22: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “mindful of the implication of his words” as a controversy raged over his “no intrusion” remark about the violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley.

“The Prime Minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our Nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” Singh said in a statement here as Chinese media welcomed Modi’s ‘no intrusion’  remarks contending that it may lead to a de-escalation of tensions between China and India.

Congress has been maintaining that Modi’s assertions at Friday’s all-party meeting that neither was there any intrusion nor was any Indian post captured ran counter to the statements made by the Indian Army and the External Affairs Ministry.

Singh said the prime minister cannot allow his words to be used by China as a vindication of its position and all organs of the government should work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further.

“We remind the Government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements,” the former prime minister said.

Singh said the prime minister and the government should rise to the occasion to ensure justice for Colonel B Santosh and the army jawans who made the supreme sacrifice and resolutely defended the nation’s territorial integrity.

“To do any less would be a historic betrayal of the people’s faith,” the former prime minister said.

“At this moment, we stand at historic crossroads. Our Government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us,” Singh said.

Singh said China was brazenly and illegally seeking to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake by committing multiple incursions between April 2020 till date.  

“We cannot and will not be cowed down by threats and intimidation nor permit a compromise with our territorial integrity,” said Singh. 

The former prime minister said this was a moment where “we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat.”

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News Network
January 1,2020

New Delhi, Jan 1: Newly-appointed Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said the armed forces stay away from politics and work as per the directives of the government of the day, remarks that come amid allegations that the forces were being politicised.

Gen Rawat also said that his focus as CDS will be to integrate the efforts of the three services and to work as a team.

"We keep ourselves away from politics. We act according to the directives of the government of the day," he said.

Gen Rawat said his focus will be to ensure best and optimal use of resources allocated to the three services.

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