200 mobile tablets for workers to control mosquitoborne diseases

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is banking big on technology to launch an attack on vector-borne disease before the onset of monsoon.

In its first formal meeting after civic elections on Tuesday, South Corporation mayor said that 200 tablets will be given to domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) so that the senior officials can track the visits made by them in different areas.

South MCD mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat said, “The tablets will have an application in which DBCs have to mark the details of their visits that will be supervised by seniors.”

In the first phase, DBCs are working in most vulnerable areas such as Jamia Nagar, Abul Fazal Enclave, Ayur Vigyan Nagar, Gautam Nagar, Masjid Moth among other areas. The proposal was floated in the house meeting and is likely to be implemented in next 10 days.

Apart from this, the DBC workers will be given a uniform and a hat so that people allow them to enter their households, especially gated colonies.

An official of South MCD said, “Earlier, there had been several incidents when DBC workers were allowed to enter these colonies as people suspected they could be thieves. Uniforms will help in identifying them.”

The incident can also impact assembly elections in neighbouring Gujarat, Modi’s home state, as four of the five killed farmers were Patidars, an influential community that has backed the BJP for decades but has in recent years shifted support.

“The BJP came to power with the promise of welfare of farmers and poor...All that the farmers were demanding was help from the government and in return they received bullets,” said Hardik Patel, a Patidar leader who led a weeks-long agitation seeking reservation in Gujarat last year.

Hundreds of farmers had gathered at Pipalia town in Mandsaur, 350 kilometres from state capital, Bhopal, as part of a 10-day-long demonstration for higher crop prices that cover their input costs, a loan waiver and a farm package to tide over losses incurred by drought.

Sources said many farmers were angry at the lack of government response and torched several vehicles forcing security personnel to fire at the crowd. Bullet injuries killed one on the spot and the wounded were taken to a local hospital. The rest died on way to hospital.

The state Patidar Samaj president Mahendra Patidar said the bodies will not be cremated till the chief minister Chouhan visits Mandsaur.

“The Mandsaur incident is sad and unfortunate and has distressed me. The administration was always given instructions to hold discussions with farmers and talk to the farmers participating in the agitation with understanding and in good faith. But anti-social elements entered the scene,” Chouhan said.

Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident, saying it took place on the watch of a chief minister who “boasts of being a farmer’s son”.

Several farmers organisations called a stateside shutdown on Wednesday. Congress said it will support the strike.

Madhya Pradesh is considered a BJP bastion where the saffron party is in power for 14 years. But the government is facing snowballing protests by farmers, who say they cannot afford to sell produce at below-par prices for a third straight season and want the administration to create a safety net.

While government officials said the power demand this season could touch 6,750 MW, Sisodia maintained that the Delhi gov- ernment has made arrangements to meet a demand of up to 7,500 MW. He attributed the outages to local faults such as tripping of transformers and distribution cables due to overheating, and damages done by other agencies while carrying out development projects.

In his directions to chief secretary MM Kutty, Kejriwal has also sought that the capacity of discom call centres be increased to handle public complaints. “The chief minister has asked the power department to record, transcribe and analyse each complaint call for public satisfaction. He has sought a report on outages every day at 11 am,” Sisodia said.

Experts, however, believe the government should prioritise ways to curb power consumption by Delhiites. “A hike in power demand is expected from a city with an increasing population. However, spreading awareness on power conservation – including the use of energy-saving gadgets – is the need of the hour,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.

The UP government directive came days after the Centre issued a controversial rule that outlawed sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets and triggered a political storm in India. The Madras high court later ordered a four-week stay on the notification.

Millions of Hindus consider the cow to be holy and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the idelogical mentor of the ruling BJP – has been pushing for a countrywide ban on bovine slaughter.

Opposition parties say the Centres rule violates individual rights and will hurt millions of cattle and meat traders.

Under the NSA, the district magistrate has powers to keep a person under detention for up to a year. Under the Gangster Act, a person can be imprisoned between 2 to ten years and slapped with a fine of up to ₹ 5,000 or more.

In his order, the DGP asked district police chiefs to take “strict action” to check cattle smuggling and also to activate local intelligence units for information gathering.

“Regular patrolling should be organised on highways and the police should check trucks. Genuine traders should not be harassed but smugglers should not be spared,” he said. The DGP also asked police not to extort money from transporters.

Cattle traders, however, said the state government’s decision could led to harassment.

“The new order has given immense power to the police and they may misuse it for money. The state government should constitute a committee, which should include cattle traders and farmers, to check misuse of the directives. The order may leave an adverse impact on cattle trade as well,” he said.

A government body said on Tuesday, India’s buffalo meat exports dropped by 35% in April over the March figures, mainly attributed to the crackdown in UP, the country’s largest meat producing state.

Data released by the directorate general of commercial intelligence and statistics (principal commodities) of the ministry of commerce and industry show a drop of more than 51,000 tonnes in April exports, compared to March.

JNU has schools of social sciences, international relations, arts and aesthetics, environment science among others.

Academics apart, the university has been in the limelight since last February when three of its students were charged with sedition and arrested after a campus event in which anti-national slogans were allegedly heard.

The family closely follows the Jain principle of Jivdaya, or compassion for all living beings.

The use of electricity is restricted in the Shah household. The family believes many aquatic animals are killed in the process of power generation, which is also against the Jain vow of ahmisa, or non-violence.

The Shahs don’t keep a television or a refrigerator at home. Electricity is used only when it is necessary, during the night especially when the children are studying.

His scores didn’t surprise Varshil but unlike other toppers of the school-leaving exam, his mantra for success is different.

A peaceful mind ranks way above hard work for Shah. Before the school year began in 2016, he met a group of Jain monks who helped him concentrate and score high.

But he was set on the spiritual path three years ago.

“He came in contact with Surat-based Munni Shri Kalyan Ratna Vijayji three years ago. He was only waiting to complete his school (before taking Diksha),” Suthari said on Tuesday.