Maharashtra Government is planning to revamp the ‘Jeevan Amrut Yojana’ (blood-on-call) scheme which is aimed at facilitating blood supply to patients scheduled to undergo surgeries and medical procedures in remote areas.

The Yojana was launched last year, under which the patients have to pay Rs. 450 towards the cost of blood and Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 as transportation cost depending on the distance, and request (for blood) is placed by the hospital concerned.

Upon receiving the call, the required blood and blood components will be transported on motorcycle to hospitals and nursing homes, in the specially fitted cold storage boxes.

The ambitious plan was said to be first-of-its-kind in the country.

State Health Minister Deepak Sawant said the response for the scheme has not been on lines of government’s expectations and now they intend to strengthen the network of blood storage units in rural areas.

“Instead of transporting blood through motorcycles, we intend to strengthen network of blood storage units in rural areas. Accordingly, there should be one unit in the periphery of four primary health care centres. This would be more feasible,” he added.

The minister said the 108 ambulance service scheme, launched by the previous government is also being reviewed.

The ambulance service was to facilitate transport of a patient to the nearest hospital within the first ‘golden’ hour of an emergency or a road accident, by dialing 108.

Sawant said there are 937 ambulances under the Scheme, which has worked well.

“However, we plan to ensure its utilisation in areas where it is needed,” he said.

Sawant said his department has taken up the initiative of tracking pregnant women in tribal areas to ensure institutional deliveries in order to arrest maternal mortality deaths.

“Women will be counselled for safe deliveries. Last year in Amravati region, 300 pregnant women died,” he said.

The BJP-led Maharashtra government has decided to scrap the previous government’s decision on commercial usage of land owned by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

Transport Minister Diwakar Raote said the buses operated by MSRTC are the lifeline of rural Maharashtra. The MSRTC has bus stands and depots in each taluka and district, he said.

The previous Congress-NCP government had decided to implement a commercial complex project with an objective of commercialising usage of land which is under MSRTC’s custody, modernisation of ST bus depots, better food and beverage facilities for commuters and raising earnings from buses.

The project was being developed on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis to facilitate commuters to shop and eat near the bus stops.

The developer, which was to be given land on rental basis for 30 years, was to ensure complete makeover of the present bus stands. Raote, however, said that not an inch of the MSRTC land would be sold.

The MSRTC canteens would be given to women’s self help groups to operate them, he said.

The minister also said he has sought an expert opinion on fixing “shock absorbers” to the last seats of the ST buses.

“I have received many complaints about the hardships faced due to the seats. So I have sought views from technical experts in this regard,” he informed.

“The tyres (for the buses) are purchased in wholesale which needs to be stopped. Purchases should be done as per need. Microchips would be fitted in the tyres so that the number of kilometres travelled can be known. Similarly, the posts of mechanics will be filled urgently,” he said on the issue of accidents and breakdown of buses.

The village gram panchayats seeking bus services which require a night halt should provide a shade for the bus and also arrange for food for the MSRTC staff, he said.

“The gram panchayat would be reimbursed accordingly,” Raote added.

Late cartoonist R.K. Laxman, nicknamed ‘common man’ for his illustrations of issues faced by common men, wanted to be part of the Indian Army, reveals a visitor’s diary of an army school.

The legendry cartoonist had visited the artillery school in Maharashtra’s Deolali, evident by its visitor’s diary, where he drew a cartoon. The cartoon depicting his signature Common Man with checked jacket, dhoti, Gandhi glasses and a number of hairs on almost bald head expressed his desire to join the army.

The words on the cartoon read, “I wish I had joined the Army. It is so nice here.” The visitor’s diary marks the date of his visit as June 10, 1998.

He defied politicians, leaving them read faced with his cartoons, exposing the hypocrisy and corruption rooted in politics.

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman was a son of the school teacher and younger brother of eminent novelist R.K. Narayan.

The artist who presented the problems of the common men in a most peculiar way drew his last breath on January 26 this year. He was aged 93 at the time of his death.

Senior Congress leader from Maharashtra Narayan Rane has called for introspection in the party along with organisational reforms, and urged the party vice president Rahul Gandhi to give “due preference and respect” to leaders and workers who have mass base.

In a letter to Gandhi, Rane also stressed the need to use the social media aggressively to expose the NDA government.

“An action plan should be prepared to revive the party and bring drastic changes in the organisation. Credibility, loyalty and mass base should be the criteria to make organisational as well as government appointments,” Rane said, adding that he was writing in view of the present political situation in the state where Congress was routed in both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

“Leaders and party workers with mass base should be given due preference in appointments and treated with due respect,” Rane said.

“If an appointed person is not delivering the public good that person must be replaced immediately. Leaders and workers trying to achieve personal goals must not be appointed to important posts,” said the former Maharashtra minister, who had made no secret of his Chief Ministerial ambition when Congress and NCP were in power.

“We must regain confidence of the people in urban and rural areas. We must concentrate on farmers, working classes and youth and work hard for them. We must highlight the failures of Modi government in implementing pre-poll assurances and awaken people,” Rane added.

The failure of the present government will be the basis for Congress victory in the next polls, the letter said. “We should strive hard to highlight the failures of the Modi government through media, social media, public meetings and appoint appropriate party workers and leaders for this purpose,” Rane said.

He suggested that party spokespersons must have in-depth knowledge of policies of the party, working of the government and must be well versed with important issues. “They must have respect in the society,” he added.

He also demanded that “the system of quota for central observers in elections on state level” must be abolished. “There should not be any discrimination against party workers in appointments. Party workers become displeased and image of the party gets maligned due to such discrimination. The party will get a boost if the party president, vice president and general secretaries tour all the states on a regular basis,” Rane suggested.

“There is a class of persons in the party who can be described as complaint-mongers. These persons always resort to complaints and by virtue of their nuisance value get themselves important posts….hardworking and honest party workers are sidetracked due to these complaint mongers and they become disillusioned. The complaint mongers must be kept at distance by the party leadership,” Rane said.

Two youths, accused of abducting and gangraping a girl in 2009, have been acquitted by a local court as the charges against them could not be proved.

However, the case of another minor boy, also allegedly involved in the offence, has been referred to juvenile court.

The accused and the girl’s family are residents of Naupada area in Thane city.

According to prosecution, Ramzan alias Baba Rukhmuddin Shaikh (22 years old in 2009) wanted to marry the 18-year-old daughter of a tempo driver, but her family was against it.

He then allegedly started harassing the girl and her family members.

On August 15, 2009, when her family members were on way to railway station to go to their native place in Uttar Pradesh to get the girl married there, Ramzan, Firoz Siddique Ansari and the minor boy waylaid them near Nitin Company area in Thane city.

They allegedly attacked the girl’s family members with a chopper and other weapons, injuring them.

The three accused then took the girl with them to a lonely place and allegedly raped her repeatedly.

Among the girl’s family members injured in the attack were her father and her 80-year-old grandfather, the prosecution told the court.

Ramzan and Firoz were tried under sections 376 (rape), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her for marriage), 323, 324 read with 34 of the IPC, sections 7 and 25 of the Arms Act and sections 37(1) and 135 of the Bombay Police Act.

Appearing for the accused, advocate C D Deshpande argued in the court that they had no connection with the incident and had been falsely accused of the crime. Hence, the court needs to set them free, the counsel said.

After hearing both the sides, Thane Additional Sessions Judge V V Virkar concluded that the prosecution had miserably failed to prove the charges against the accused.

Hence, the court gave the two men benefit of doubt and acquitted them last week.