Polythene

“It is the beginning of the end of the plastic menace,” environment minister Harsh Vardhan said at a conference on Monday while announcing that India would host the World Environment Day 2018 with a focus on plastic pollution.

“For our animals too, especially cows and other animals, so much plastic is found in their stomachs it is so hard for them,” he had said in September

Cows swallow food and bring it back to the mouth to chew it before sending it to the stomach, which has four chambers. Plastic getting deposited in the stomach causes slow absorption of nutrients and other complications that can lead to the animal’s death.

“The animal is recuperating and has been discharged. But in such condition, the next 10 days are very critical as the rumen microflora becomes inactive, creating loss of appetite. Prognosis in this type of cases is grave if they are reported very late,” said Dr Singh, who was assisted in the surgery by Dr Ravi Ranjan Kumar, five interns and compounder Madhu Kumar.

Dr Singh discouraged owners from allowing their animals graze in urban areas. “People should also avoid throwing eatables in polythene bags and serious efforts should be made to spread awareness about its bad impact on the environment,” Singh said.

Deepak Kumar, the owner of the cow, said the animal was not eating properly.

“So it was left free to graze in the open. We brought the cow to the hospital when it stopped eating completely,” said Kumar, who owns a cowshed in the Hanuman Nagar locality of south Patna.

In most large cities, owners typically allow their cattle to graze freely -- most can be seen around garbage bins -- only rounding them up at milking time. Industrial Estate and a farmhouse in Bithoor.

The five-member team that raided Kothari’s house reportedly seized passports and mobile phones of family members. A team of experts was going through the computers of Kotharis.

“The team is questioning the Kotharis since early morning. House staff have not been allowed to move out. The police have been called in to take over the security of the house,” a guard said, requesting not to be named.

Kothari was yet to be arrested by Monday evening, according to another officer in the CBI, who asked not to be named. This officer added that Kothari’s associates in his real-estate business may also be questioned.

Rotomac was declared a wilful defaulter last year and banks had begun the process of attaching Kothari’s assets. Some banks have auctioned a few properties while others are preparing to take over a nearly 21,000 sq metre piece of land in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

According to bank officials, Kothari was given loans by IOB (₹1,000 crore), Bank of India (₹1,365 crore), Union Bank of India (₹485 crore), Bank of Baroda (₹600 crore), and Allahabad Bank (₹352 crore).

They said he defaulted on interest and principal payments.

On April 13, 2017, a court asked Rotomac to produce the details of properties and instalments it had paid to Bank of Baroda. The company responded by saying that despite the bank being offered properties worth ₹300 crore for settlement, it marked the company as defaulter.

Counsel Archana Singh, who represented Bank of Baroda in that case, claimed that Kothari had to clear dues to the tune of ₹550 crore and that he was diverting funds to other companies to escape repayment. ing up judges’ vacancies should begin six months before the vacancy arises but the timelines prescribed are not being adhered to.”

There are 24 high courts in the country, with some of them catering to more than one state. “The posts of chief justices should not be vacant even for a day. It is a very important office in that system but unfortunately it is not being seen that way,” Justice Lodha added.

A ministry official said that former law minister Veerappa Moily had written to the CJI in June 2010 during the United Progressive Alliance regime at the Centre, asking for only those judges to be appointed as chief justices who had more than six months of service left, but the suggestion was not followed.

Moily said: “In the normal course, it should not be done (that someone with less than six months’ service is appointed as chief justice). We tried to ensure equity by clearing appointments at the earliest.”

A former SC collegium member, who did not wish to be identified, said: “The government’s suggestion would have denied those who were due for elevation their legitimate right.”

Judicial reforms expert Sumathi Chandrashekharan said both the government and the judiciary “have shown a degree of stubbornness and not adhered to the direction (of the SC) that appointments should be a consultative and collaborative process.” dent. “We are looking at CCTV cameras and analysing it for clues,” he added.

Sources in police said Sandeep was also associated with gangsters Sandeep Mental and Tillu of Alipur. DCP Randhawa, however, said they do not have evidence to prove Sandeep’s association with Bawana, Mental or Tillu.

Dependra Pathak, chief spokesman of Delhi Police, said a parallel inquiry has been initiated to ascertain why a high-risk prisoner was being escorted in a private van and not in a jail van or ambulance.