Dahi handi celebrations to be held after a gap of two years, CM Shinde said the premium will be paid by the government and this is being done to ensure all govindas are safe and can get compensation in case of mishap.
“We have ensured that all it will follow the rules related to safety. Since there was a demand from mandals for an insurance scheme to provide a safety net, the government has taken this decision,” he said.
The Bombay HC has already mandated RS 10 lakh insurance for each Govinda.
Mandals too buy insurance for their govindas. While the Shinde government has announced insurance for govindas with Gokulashtami coming up on August 19 (Friday), dahi handi teams are purchasing insurance for their players who will head out to break the pot.
The HC had mandated that each govinda be insured for a sum of Rs 10 lakh Contrary to perception; it is not boys who tumble from the top of the pyramid that are the worst sufferers.
It is the youth on lower layers who cushion their fall that are more vulnerable to breaking bones.
Public sector firm Oriental Insurance is the major insurer for dahi handi mandals.
Through these 45 days, the govinda receives full personal accident cover, not only during practice or performance but also road accident, electric shock and terror attack.
Maharashtra’s newly appointed Health Minister Tanaji Sawant on Thursday failed to reply to questions raised in the Maharashtra Assembly over issues like elephantiasis and illegal abortions, which led to an uproar in the House.
The House proceedings during the Question Hour were disrupted after Sawant failed to give satisfactory answers.
Some members asked questions about Palghar district reporting a rise in the number of cases of elephantiasis and illegal abortions in Beed district.
Sawant said, “I have no information on any of the questions. I have taken charge of the ministry a couple of days back.” Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar asked Speaker Rahul Narvekar to intervene as Sawant could not give a satisfactory reply to the questions. Sawant had served as the state water conservation minister in 2019 under the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
He had stoked a controversy by attributing a breach in Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district, which led to the death of 18 people, to the weakening of wall by crabs.
Sawant had called the dam breach incident a “natural calamity”.
The security in the Raigad district of Maharashtra and nearby areas was tightened after a “suspicious” looking boat was found boat was found with arms and explosives near the Harihareshwar beach, officials said.
The investigation into the matter is underway, they said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday that the political shift in Bihar is a “positive sign” and hoped a strong alternative to the BJP is formed in the 2024 Parliamentary polls.
He also claimed that the BJP’s allies in Uttar Pradesh are not happy with it and will also break free from the saffron party in the future.
JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar recently dumped the BJP and joined hands with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other parties to form a new government in Bihar.
Snapping the recent rallies, the Indian stock market’s benchmark Sensex was trading 300 points down at around noon on Thursday dragged by selling pressure in pharma, IT and energy stocks.
The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 59,960.19 points at 12.03 pm, which is 299.94 points or 0.50 per cent lower from its previous day’s close at 60,260.13 points. The Sensex started the day sharply lower at 60,080.19 points and hit a low of 59,946.44 points. The Sensex briefly turned positive in the morning session hitting a high of 60,287.13 points.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 76.45 points or 0.43 per cent down at 17,867.80 points against its previous day’s close at 17,944.25 points.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 76.45 points or 0.43 per cent down at 17,867.80 points against its previous day’s close at 17,944.25 points.
IT stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure. Wipro slipped 1.85 per cent to Rs 434.90. Infosys fell 1.46 per cent to Rs 1583.35. Tata Consultancy Services was trading 0.78 per cent down at Rs 3374. Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank were among the major Sensex losers. Bharti Airtel surged 1.82 per cent to Rs 734.90 after it received the allocation of 5G spectrum. Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal praised the government for a quick 5G spectrum allocation. “No fuss, no follow up, no running around the corridors and no tall claims. This is ease of doing business at work in its full glory. In my over 30 years of first-hand experience with the DoT (Department of Telecommunications), this is a first! Business as it should be,” Mittal said in a statement. Kotak Bank, UltraTech Cement, L&T, ITC and State Bank of India were among the major Sensex gainers.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra Priyanka Chaturvedi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to bring back the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to India in view of the leader’s death anniversary on August 18.
In a letter to Prime Minister, Chaturvedi said, “As we celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and pledge to take pride in our heritage as a part of the ‘Panchpran’, I am writing this letter to you in support of the request of Ms. Anita Bose Pfaff, daughter of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, to bring his last remains back to India.”
“It shall be our greatest honour to commemorate Netaji’s sacrifice and dedication towards independence of India by fulfilling his last wish of returning to the Indian soil” Chaturvedi said in the letter also marked to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“I request you to make a note of the request of Ms. Anita Bose Pfaff and expeditiously take all such diplomatic and other measures to bring Netaji home and duly acknowledge his insurmountable contributions in India’s freedom struggle. This shall indeed be a true tribute to our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom.’’
“On the solemn occasion of Subhash Chandra Boseji’s death anniversary, I urge the Prime Minister of India & MEA to bring Netaji’s ashes back home. Even his daughter has appealed that it should be done, as that was what the great freedom fighter desired,” she wrote. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had died in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945.
A woman in Delhi High Court on Thursday withdrew her plea which sought direction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) not to grant emigration clearance to a friend, who is supposed to travel to abroad for Euthanasia (Physician-assisted suicide).
The Lawyer Subhash Chandran KR appeared for the Petitioner woman and apprised the Bench of Justice Yashwant Varma that he had instructions to withdraw the petition after the woman got to know that her friend was deeply traumatised by the filing of the case.
The Petitioner earlier alleged that her friend has made false claims before Indian as well as foreign authorities for getting travel permissions. Petitioner submitted that her friend is diagnosed with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which is a complex, debilitating, long-term neuroinflammatory disease.
It is a poorly understood condition and it is in the early stages of research, stated plea. Petitioner Sindhu MK, through Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, sought direction from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to constitute a medical board to examine the medical condition of Gaurav Kashyap and also provide necessary medical assistance by considering his peculiar health condition.
According to the petitioner, her friend was going through a treatment called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) in AIIMS which was promising and gave significant improvement.
FMT is considered to be a safe, promising and effective treatment method for CFS-related problems as the results show a high success rate. However, he could not continue it during the pandemic situation due to donor availability issues and this affects his confidence and hope.
The plea further stated that there are no financial constraints for providing her friend with better treatments within India or abroad. But he is now adamant about his decision to go for Euthanasia, which also affects the life of age-old parents miserably.
The plea also stated that the patient friend managed to get a Schengen visa which provides free and unrestricted journey within the 26 European countries including Belgium and Switzerland by providing false information to Indian as well as foreign agencies.
It is pertinent to mention that he obtained a Schengen visa under the pretext of a namesake treatment in a clinic in Belgium.
He travelled to Zurich, Switzerland (June 15/16, 2022) via Belgium (June 13/14, 2022) for the first round of psychological evaluation from June 11 to 18, 2022.
According to the information received by the Petitioner, his application was accepted by Dignitas, the first evaluation was approved and now awaiting the final decision by end of August 2022, read the plea.
The plea further stated that the most common symptom is extreme tiredness. ME/CFS can affect anyone, including children. Studies say it is more common in women and tends to develop in the mid-40s.
It’s also common for people who have chronic fatigue syndrome to also have other health problems at the same time, such as sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression or anxiety. These being the nature of the disease, treatment focus on symptom relief.
In the Monsoon session of Maharashtra Assembly, The Maharashtra government has announced restriction free Dahi Handi festival and has also announced to provide insurance of Rs. 10 lakhs to participant of the govinda.
On this decision opposition said, ‘’We welcome this move but the Government seem unprepared as authorities like Medical Department, District Collector and Tehsildars are yet to receive any GR or notification on this order.’’
The festival is on 19th August, Friday and Maharashtra Government took a decision of making it restriction free and insurance before a day.
The procedure of the Insurance is quite long, it’s Impossible to implement the decision in just before a day of the dahi handi festival.
Opposition said further, “The health department has to collect all names of Govinda pathaks and their members who will participate to register for the insurance, how is the government going to implement it within 2 days?”
On this Maharashtra Dy CM Devendra Fadanavis said, ‘’I would like to inform that the decision taken by CM is for a group insurance and not a personal insurance. But unfortunately, if any govinda dies his family will get Rs. 10 lakhs and if any govinda got serious injury he will get 5 lakh Rs. Of insurance.’’
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered to maintain the status quo on the order of the Delhi High Court till Monday on a petition moved by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) challenging an order which appointed the Committee of Administrator (CoA) for IOA for the preparation of Constitution and conducting fresh elections.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice CV Ramanna on Thursday ordered to maintain the status quo on the order of the Delhi High Court till Monday and listed the matter before the appropriate bench on Monday for a detailed hearing. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appeared for the Centre while supporting the IOA plea said the IOA has its own rules and Delhi High Court’s order to constitute a three-member committee of Administrators in this matter cannot be considered appropriate.
At the international level, the appointment of a CoA is seen as outside interference which can lead to the suspension of IOA. The Delhi High Court on August 16, 2022, appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
The CoA will prepare and adopt the constitution of IOA within 16 weeks, said the order. The order further stated that the 3 Member CoA will function under Justice Anil R. Dave and will have former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi and Vikas Swarup, former Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
The CoA will have Olympic medallists Abhinav Bindra, Anju Bobby George and Bombayla Devi as Consultant Sportspersons. The Delhi High Court had passed this order including others while allowing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Senior advocate Rahul Mehra in 2010.
The Division Bench of Justice Najmi Waziri and Justice Manmohan directed that CoA shall assist in the preparation and adoption of the Constitution of IOA as per the sports Code and Court rulings.
The bench directed that the CoA shall prepare the Electoral Roll/Electoral College for the purpose of conducting the elections to the Executive Committee (EC) in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as may be proposed. It shall carry out the day-to-day governance of IOA.
The High Court also directed that in discharging its task CoA would be at liberty to take the assistance of the erstwhile EC of IOA which has continued thus far, in order to facilitate decisions being taken apropos the holding of tournaments, selection of players and all other matters necessary for the proper administration and management of IOA.
The Court said that the EC of IOA shall hand over the charge to the CoA. The bench clarified that CoA would be at liberty to make all appropriate arrangements for the governance of IOA until the fresh election is held in terms of a constitution conforming to the Sports Code.
The Court also said CoA shall facilitate the holding of elections and handing over the affairs to a democratically elected body in terms of its constitution which will be adopted, preferably within a period of 16 weeks from the date the CoA members give their assent.
The bench observed in the order, ” The history of persistent recalcitrance of the IOA for almost half a century to comply with the Sports Code, despite its consistent assurance to the Government, the societal concerns and the larger public good, make it imperative that the IOA’s affairs be put in the hands of a Committee of Administrators (CoA), similar to what has been directed by the Supreme Court on May 18, 2022, in the case of another NSF in All India Football Federation Vs. Rahul Mehra and others.”
The bench said that all NSFs complying with the Sports Code and representing Olympic sports will automatically qualify for IOA membership subject to completion of formalities.
Accordingly, the application of the Indian Golf Union shall be so considered by the IOA within 4 weeks, for full voting rights and it shall be a part of the electoral college.
At last Justice Najmi Waziri said,” The logical corollary to the proceeding discussion would be that IOA would disqualify itself from retention of its recognition as a sports federation because of non-compliance with the Sports Code and the law of the land.
However, for the duration that the CoA assists in bringing IOA’s affairs in order, IOA’s recognition will not be disturbed. If the compliance is not done by IOA, within the time specified hereinabove its recognition by the Government shall stand suspended.
The urgency for cooperation with the CoA and the onus for compliance with the sports code is upon the IOA. Justice Manmohan observed, “It is high time that structural reforms are implemented to remove the mismanagement in the sports bodies and to democratize these institutions. The Central and state government may well consider passing comprehensive legislation with regard to recognising and management of sports bodies incorporating the best practice and the IOC Charter without which no facility (monetary or otherwise) should be granted by any Stated and Union of India.
” This court clarifies that the intent of the judgement is to improve the ‘eco system’ and bring about the structural reforms and is not directed against a particular individual or sports federation. The bench has also directed that there would be 25 per cent participation of eminent sportspersons in the Annual General Assembly and Executive Committee. The Court also fixed the age and tenure criteria which would be all post office bearers in the sports body. Besides, it is for recognition and financial and other support every sports body shall comply with the sports code. Only those sports which are represented at the Olympics shall have the voting right in the electoral college. The Court also said that the person will criminal background will not be in the sports body. Besides, the state sports body will not have the voting right in the election of IOA. Justice Waziri said, ” The legal regime that proposes sports administration in India has to be implemented fully and effectively.
Compliance with the Sports Code is non-negotiable. If a sports federation does not comply with the law of the land, it will receive no recognition from the government.
All benefits and facilities to it will stop promptly. It is better that a legitimate body represents the cause of sportspersons than one simply masquerading as the real champion of Indian sports.
Fairness and legitimacy need to imbue all public affairs. Recalcitrant entities which defy adherence to the rules of the game, while continuing to unjustly enjoy the government’s largesses and patronage, must be called out.” Justice Manmohan noted, ” What the present writ petition highlights are that electoral colleges of most of the sports bodies are controlled by a few individuals where genuine sportsmen find it difficult to get elected and play an important role in the management.
Most sports bodies are split down the middle.
Even the Electoral College/list of authorised representatives to attend and vote at the General Body meeting of the IOA is seriously disputed.
This Court is surprised that the IOA Constitution in vogue stipulates that the President of IOA can be for life.
Seeing the present Constitution, one is reminded of the mausoleum of the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang, where terracotta soldiers were buried with the purpose of protecting the Emperor in his afterlife, Justice Manmohan observed. Earlier, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The CoA will prepare and adopt the constitution of IOA within 16 weeks.
Jailed Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday appeared before a magistrate in Mumbai through video conference in a defamation case filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife Medha Somaiya and pleaded not guilty.
Raut is lodged at the Arthur Road jail here following arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Earlier in the day, the Sewri metropolitan magistrate, hearing the defamation case filed by the BJP leader’s wife, asked the jail authorities to produce the Sena leader before the court through video conference at 12 noon.
Accordingly, Raut appeared before the magistrate and pleaded not guilty in the case, Medha Somaiya’s lawyer Vivekanand Gupta said.
The lawyer said the matter has been adjourned till September 19.
Medha Somaiya in her complaint alleged that Raut had made baseless and completely defamatory allegations against her and her husband, accusing them of being involved in a scam worth Rs 100 crore over the construction and maintenance of some public toilets under the jurisdiction of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation in neighbouring Thane district.
She has urged the court to begin proceedings against Raut on the charges of defamation as defined under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.
The ED had arrested the Rajya Sabha member in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai ‘chawl’.
