Jammu, Mar 26: Stating that he doesn’t have to contest any election in J&K nor does he indulge in politics, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Sunday said a law will soon be enacted to provide land and homes to poor lot of the UT.
“I am surprised to see that in J&K there has been no law for providing law and homes to the poor. J&K administration is working on it and very soon there will be a law enacted in this regard,” the LG said while speaking on the 450th Prakash Utsav of Goswami Shri Guru Nabha Dass Ji Maharaj in Jammu, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). He said that the poor lot will have better land and housing facilities soon.
He said that the poor will get land and homes too. “Everything will be done for them by the J&K administration,” the LG said. He said the way the administration led by him provided housing facilities to migrant Kashmiri Pandits, similar facilities will be provided to government employees who are non-J&K residents.
“We will ensure that safe and secure accommodation is provided to the employees who belong to other parts of the country and are presently posted in J&K. We know working in Kashmir is a bit challenging,” the LG said.
He said that the administration is committed to convert dreams of Prime Minister Narendera Modi about J&K into action on ground.
“I was surprised to see 270 trucks ferrying files of darbar move from Srinagar to Jammu. Today, we are the number one UT in the country to have E-services. We have 450 E-Services, 102 services under PGSA. There are some gaps that are being filled by May this year,” he said.
The LG said that there was a time when only 7 km of road was laid in J&K and today the figure is 20 km and 15 kms of road is being macadamised on a daily basis.
“A lot has changed in the past three years. Under the self-employment scheme and women self-help groups, hundreds of youth including young girls were trained to become good entrepreneurs. In every Panchayat, youth are being selected for entrepreneurship training and 20 youth are being trained under skill development program,” he said—(KNO)
Srinagar, Mar, 22: Dr Syed Darakhshan Andrabi, Chairperson J&K Waqf Board, today chaired second round of meetings with Imams, Khateebs, & Waqf Administrators to give final touches to the Ramadhan preparations. Status of engaging Haafiz-e-Quran Imams, other Imams, & Special Khateebs for convenience of devotees was also reviewed. Status of Sanitation, Cleanliness, minor & major repair works at Shrines, Khanqahs, & Mosques was also reviewed.
In a significant development, & for the first time, Tarawee Prayers are being telecasted live through some Pvt News Channels & Official Facebook Page “J&K WAQF BOARD” from Aasari Shareef Hazratbal Srinagar. Also, directions were issued by the Chairperson J&K Waqf Board for mobilisation of donations during the holy month of Ramadhan specially for the destitutes & poor. A separate account shall be created for it, & funds shall be distributed immediately towards the close of the holy month. The beneficiaries shall be recommended by the Imams, Muallims & the local respectable people among the general public.
Kochi: A physics graduate, an insurance agent-cum-law student and finally a full fledged lawyer, this is the journey of Kerala’s first transgender advocate who now aims to use her legal acumen to ensure justice for the poor and marginalised.
The journey was not easy and there were obstacles, but her positive attitude and disregard for negativity propelled her forward to achieve the goal of becoming a lawyer — a noble profession according to Padma Lakshmi, Kerala’s first transgender advocate.
“I ignore all forms of negativity, be it people or their comments. I focus on the positive. I believe that is one of my advantages. “If I focus on the negativity, I will have time only for that and will never move forward in life,” she told PTI.
She also worked as an insurance agent for a private insurance company and LIC to meet her medical and education costs, which included the voluminous legal textbooks.
However, she is also more than happy and eager to share these books and her knowledge with anyone who wants them. She slowly stopped working as an insurance agent after joining as a trainee with her senior — advocate K V Bhadrakumari — so that she could focus better on her legal career, Lakshmi said.
Lakshmi, who was interning with advocate Bhadrakumari since last November, said that her senior helped create a space for her among the big-wigs of the legal profession in the Kerala High Court.
“I am very grateful to her for that,” she said and added that her senior always tells her that the Constitution is our biggest weapon. Of the over 1,500 law graduates who got enrolled on Sunday, March 19, Lakshmi was the first one to get her enrollment certificate.
“It was made possible by the members of the Kerala Bar Council. I am happy to be enrolled here as many big-wigs of the legal profession are part of this council and now so am I,” she said.
On her plans for the future, she said that she neither intends to pursue masters in law nor try for the judicial service presently. “Taking up cases where there has been violation of fundamental rights and fighting to ensure justice for the marginalised, that is my plan and that is my desire right now,” she said.
There are many like Vishwanathan from Wayanad or Madhu from Palakkad and I would like to fight for them, she said. Vishwanathan (46), a tribal, allegedly hung himself outside the Kozhikode medical college hospital, on February 11, where his wife was admitted for delivery.
He took the extreme step after he was accused of theft and roughed up by some persons, his relatives alleged in their complaint to police.
Similar was the case of Madhu, another tribal man, who was beaten to death in 2018 by some persons for allegedly stealing food articles.
Moreover, as a budding lawyer there is a lot for her to learn about court proceedings and she intends to imbibe all that knowledge, work hard and thereafter, fight to ensure justice for those who are poor and voiceless, she said.
“I have a lot to learn about managing clients and about the law. I have a lot of responsibilities. Also, I need to prove myself through my actions. For that hardwork and honesty are the tools that I need to hone.”
Her family — a mother who is an advocate’s clerk and a father who used to work at Cochin Shipyard Ltd — has been a great source of support in her journey.
“They always encouraged me to pursue my dreams with courage. So why should I fear anything?” she asked. Meanwhile, state Law Minister P Rajeev and Higher Education Minister R Bindu congratulated Lakshmi on social media for her achievement.
“Congratulations to Padma Lakshmi who overcame all the difficulties in her life and enrolled as the first transgender lawyer in Kerala. May advocate Padma Lakshmi’s life inspire more people from the transgender community to enter the legal profession,” Rajeev said in a Facebook post.
Bindu took to Twitter to convey her best wishes to the budding lawyer. “It is a matter of immense pride that Padma Lakshmi’s name will now be etched into the history of Kerala, as the state’s first transgender lawyer.
“No doubt she has faced obstacles galore in this journey. But she persevered, never letting any naysayer deter or weigh her down,” she tweeted.
She too expressed hope that Padma Lakshmi’s success would inspire many more trans persons in the state to enter the legal profession.
While Padma Lakshmi is the first transgender lawyer from Kerala, the first trans advocate in the country was Satyashri Sharmila from Tamil Nadu who got enrolled in 2018.
Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party Scheduled Castes (SC) Morcha National President Lal Singh Arya on Sunday hit out at the K Chandrashekhar Rao government and said they have taken away the money of the poor people.
“There is a liquor scandal here and the government has siphoned off the money of poor people,” Arya added.
“SC certificate is made at the district level and not at any other level. The SC commission has not been formed here yet. The Safai Karamchari Commission has not been formed here,” Arya said to ANI.
Speaking to ANI, Lal Singh Arya said, “A resolution was taken to protect the Dalits who are being attacked by KCR’s government.”
“He (KCR) talks about changing the constitution, on the one hand, he is also installing the statue of Ambedkar,” he said.
Speaking to ANI, Arya said, “KCR says that if they come to power in the centre, then they will change the constitution of India. KCR is anti-Dalit, anti-Ambedkar and anti-constitution.”
On April 14, on the occasion of Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti, we will organise big programs at all assembly levels. We will also conduct medical camps for poor people which will end on May 5, he added.
“For SC people we will also organize to watch the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat on April 30,” he said.
Under the leadership of KCR, Dalit people here are not receiving the benefits they should receive under the schemes brought by PM Narendra Modi, Arya said.
He joins hands with Mamata Banerjee under whose government Dalits are being killed and their houses burned, he added.
KCR joins hands with the AAP party, whose Deputy CM is involved in the liquor scam and here his (KCR) family is involved in the liquor scam, he added.
“This is the government that eats the money of the poor. We are determined to remove this government that talks about changing the Constitution,” sc-morcha”>BJP SC Morcha National President said.
Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party SC Morcha State Executive held a meeting which was attended by many prominent leaders including BJP Scheduled Castes (SC) Morcha National President Lal Singh Arya. (ANI)
Kochi: Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), the apex body of the Catholic Church in the state, has urged the state government to ban the staging of a Malayalam drama alleging that it portrayed Christianity along with its congregations and convents in a bad light.
A recent meeting of bishops and heads of various congregations, chaired by KCBC president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis here, condemned the play ‘Kakkukali’ and opined that its staging was a blot on the culture of Kerala.
A play based on the story of Malayalam writer Francis Noronha, ‘Kakkukali’ revolves around a young nun and her struggles and challenges which she comes across in a convent.
Alappuzha-based Neythal Nataka Sangham gave the story a stage adaptation under the direction of Job Madathil.
In the meeting, the KCBC representatives said drama and literary works have the history of paving the way for reforms, transformations and social upliftment.
But glorifying works with highly derogatory content and distortion of history is unacceptable, the apex body said in a statement.
It was “highly condemnable” that ‘Kakkukali’, which hurt the self-confidence and self-esteem of thousands of nuns and congregations who offer unique services to the society, has been included in the international drama festival of the state government and given huge publicity by the Left outfits, the statement further said.
The Catholic body also urged the cultural society to denounce the play and demanded the government to take immediate steps to ban its staging.
However, Job Madathil, the play’s director, has rejected the criticisms and said the troupe would go ahead with its staging. “The drama was already staged in 15 venues and I did not understand why a protest suddenly broke out now,” he said.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari
Nagpur: Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday that the bad quality of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) leads to a host of problems including cost escalation in road projects, and he was in the “mood to take a decision to allow international firms to make them.”
He was speaking at the International Conference on Asian Scenario on Infrastructural Development here.
There is a need to reduce the cost of production in road projects, he said.
Expressing disappointment over the quality of DPRs in road construction, the minister said he has “never seen a perfect DPR” in his life.
The construction industry should work on improving the DPR quality, he said.
“I am in the mood to take a decision to allow international companies to make DPRs and giving them priority, though I am not of that opinion, but because of not so good DPRs, lot of problems are being faced. Everywhere there is cost escalation,” Gadkari said.
He also said that agriculture by-products and biomass should be utilised in construction work.
Hyderabad: Air pollution in Hyderabad continues to be a major concern as the city’s air quality fails to improve despite efforts to combat it.
Vehicular movement and business activities have led to a rise in pollution levels, with the air quality fluctuating between moderate and poor over the past month.
Zoo Park area records worst air quality in Hyderabad
The Zoo Park area in particular has been found to have the worst air quality in the city, with its AQI never improving from ‘poor’ over the last 30 days.
The heavy traffic congestion surrounding the Zoo Park area is one of the major contributors to the decline in air quality. The hot and dry climate of the city exacerbates pollution woes, resulting in high levels of PM2.5 and PM10, which are responsible for poor air quality.
Currently, the AQI level at the Zoo Park area is 162, with PM2.5 and PM10 levels of 79 and 99 respectively.
On the other hand, the Banjara Hill area records the best air quality in Hyderabad with an AQI of 28 and a status of ‘Good’.
Locations
AQI level
Zoo Park
162
Central University
99
Kokapet
89
New Malakpet
81
Saidabad
71
Manikonda
63
Madhapur Village
61
KPHB Phase III
58
Vittal Rao Nagar
57
Puppalguda
56
Koti
48
Shirdi Sai Nagar
47
Banjara Hill
28
What is AQI?
The AQI (Air Quality Index) is a measure of air quality in a particular area. It categorizes air quality into six categories based on AQI value, ranging from ‘Good’ (0-50) to ‘Hazardous’ (401-500).
Air quality is a vital aspect of human life as an individual inhales approximately 14,000 liters of air daily. The presence of contaminants in the air can have negative effects on health.
It is essential to take steps to improve air quality in Hyderabad, such as reducing vehicular emissions and promoting cleaner business practices.
Seoul: Inventory of South Korean chipmakers has increased to a nearly 26-year high in January, data showed Sunday, reflecting the sluggish global demand amid the economic uncertainties.
The inventory-to-sales ratio of chips came to 265.7 per cent in January, the highest since 288.7 per cent posted in March 1997, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
A higher ratio generally indicates that companies are facing more hurdles in selling their products, although the figure may rise when manufacturers stock up for large shipments, reports Yonhap news agency.
A rise in the ratio may also induce chipmakers to reduce production or lower prices further to maintain sales.
Exports of semiconductors, the country’s key export item, dived 42.5 per cent to $5.96 billion in February from a year earlier amid the downcycle of the semiconductor industry.
With Asia’s No. 4 economy depending highly on the chip industry, South Korea’s exports fell for the fifth consecutive month in February, sinking 7.5 per cent on-year to $50.1 billion.
The country’s overall outbound shipments, meanwhile, edged up 0.8 per cent over the period, when excluding chips, separate data from the trade ministry showed earlier.
Last week, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho called for the National Assembly to promptly pass a bill on providing more tax incentives to chipmakers amid the prolonged downturn in exports.
Under the proposed tax code revision, the government will apply a higher tax credit rate of 15 per cent on facility investment in the chip industry for conglomerates, which is above the revision of 8 per cent passed at Parliament in December.
Cabinet sub-committee on houses headed by KTR meets at BRBK Bhavan.
Hyderabad: Telangana cabinet sub-committee on housing lands met under the chairmanship of minister for Municipal Administration, KT Rama Rao (KTR) at BRKR Bhavan on Monday.
The allotment of house plots to all the eligible beneficiaries of the state, implementation of government Orders 58 and 59, notarial documents, endowment/waqf lands were discussed in the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, KTR said, “The government is committed to provide houses or house plots to all the deserving poor in the state, which will benefit about one crore families.”
“In the year 2014, 1.25 lakh beneficiaries have received land documentation. Verification process has been completed for 20,685 houses under Government Order no. 58,” he said.
The sub-committee directed the officials to speed up the process of issuing houses and land plots. KTR directed the officials to take steps to issue plots to those below the poverty line.
Referring to the notarized documents, the cabinet sub-committee directed the officials to finalise a timely action plan for the processing of cases in urban areas.
The committee requested the authorities to adopt a “pro-poor” approach and complete all eligible cases.
The lack of knowledge has an impact on patients. According to the CDC, a fatal overdose from marijuana is highly unlikely — though people have died from doing something dangerous while under the influence of cannabis. But patients have had negative reactions after trying cannabis to treat symptoms of a disease they anecdotally heard it may help.
Anne Hassel was initially a believer in the healing properties of marijuana. She pushed for legalization in her home state of Massachusetts, and even did jail time on marijuana-related charges. After weed was legalized for medical use in 2014, Hassel — now 55 — quit her job as a physical therapist and went to work in a dispensary.
She used marijuana because she “thought it helped … physically and mentally,” but stopped after being diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning and developing suicidal ideation. She blames both on poorly tested, high-potency concentrates that became more available after legalization.
“That’s what burns me up; that the most susceptible people, who might have lung issues and other problems, are using this substance,” Hassel said.
Arnsten says she screens for family or personal histories of mental health problems or heart disease before recommending cannabis — and recommends patients don’t choose smoking or vaping as their method of consumption. However, other doctors simply hand out a recommendation without a long discussion — and many patients try medical marijuana without ever consulting a doctor like Arnsten.
Some states, cities and even hospitals have come up with creative ways to fill in the gaps left by the lack of regulation or a formal connection to the medical system. A bill in New York would require that state insurance agencies cover medical cannabis expenses for patients. Patients and a medical marijuana company in New Mexico, meanwhile, have filed a class-action lawsuit against some of the state’s largest health insurers with the intention of forcing them to cover medical marijuana.
Universities have popped up with training programs for the medical cannabis industry, like the graduate program in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics now available from the University of Maryland’s pharmacy school. The program intends to make sure people working in the cannabis industry, including dispensary workers giving recommendations from behind the counter, know how to read and contextualize scientific research and how to guide new consumers in a healthy way. Other states, like Utah and Pennsylvania, require a pharmacist to be on hand in a dispensary. But most states still do not require any type of credentials or training for medical dispensary workers.
“The states are like a patchwork of regulation, and they’re doing a really crappy job, honestly,” Hassel said. “You’re having cracks and people are taking advantage and [others are] being harmed.”
Patients who get their medical marijuana card through Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, meanwhile, don’t pay for the visit — which saves them about $200.
“The way that we’re doing it is safer. We have access to the person’s entire medical record, we get results, we talk to a psychiatrist or other treating providers,” Arnsten said.
Even this solution, however, is only triage. Of the thousands of people that Montefiore has certified for medical cannabis use, only one-quarter purchase medical cannabis more than once.
“Most people said, ‘I couldn’t afford it,’” Arnsten said. “We’ve removed that [cost] barrier, but we haven’t been able to change that barrier of how much the products cost at dispensaries.”
Most Mondays, Amie Carter frequents a little bar in Flint with a giant red chili pepper mounted over the door. She meets friends to sip beers and play pool.
“My therapy [is] shooting pool and shooting darts,” Amie explained, describing her escape from the daily stress of being a full-time caregiver. “I get to listen to loud music. I don’t need to think about anything going on. And all I need to focus on is making that shot.”
Between shots, she chats with friends — a pool stick in one hand and a Budweiser in another. Chilly’s bar is another extension of the medical marijuana world that Amie has built up around herself and other patients in Michigan. The bartender, none other than fellow medical marijuana caregiver mom Ashley Morolla, walks over to see whether anyone needs another round.
Each parent or grandparent Amie knows has a different expertise — cannabis for pain management, or reducing seizures, or treating autism. If you are part of this community, you’re likely to find someone who has done hundreds of hours of research on the uses of cannabis for a specific ailment, and has extensive advice on how to trial different strains, doses and products until you find the right product.
Amie has pamphlets she leaves at the doctors’ office, offering consulting services to help patients get the right marijuana products. She’s taught other parents how to make cannabis oil capsules at home, and how to administer cannabis in liquid form for kids who can’t swallow pills.
Amie and her community have created their own solution to the country’s Swiss cheese medical marijuana laws, and worry that a major federal revamping of the state medical programs could put that in jeopardy.
“Leave the patient caregiver system alone. We can get our clubs, and we can really help the people that really need it,” she argued.
The network Amie has created, though, has one big catch: it is completely separate from the traditional medical system, which the majority of Americans still engage with — and no number of pamphlets, Facebook groups, or local events will find every potential patient or parent and ensure they all get accurate medical information and guidance.
“I don’t blame anybody for not wanting to get into this arena who’s in traditional medicine, because there’s so much that feels uncertain,” Arnsten said. “On the other hand, I do feel that our patients — particularly chronic pain patients — are using these products, or they want to consider using these products. … And we need to be able to answer those questions for them.”
Erin Smith contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
#Dodgy #science #poor #access #high #prices #parallel #medical #world #medicinal #marijuana #America
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
