Letters to the Editor: 17 November, 2019

By

-

November 17, 2019

Public hospitals should be privatised for efficiency and accountability

Public hospital lack accountability which is the reason for increasing cases of medical negligence at these establishments. A two month old child lost his arm when an EGG machine malfunction resulted in a fire at KEM hospital recently and the death of a patient who died in an MRI machine at Nair hospital is still fresh in our memories. Negligence mishaps due to carelessness cannot be excused. Stringent punishment for non performance of expected duties with heavy penalties and fines would bring in professionalism.

Administration of public hospitals should be handed to private corporates for efficiency and accountability. A healthy nation is a progressive nation and it is the government’s responsibility to provide top medical facilities to its citizens at affordable cost. Cheap medical services doesn’t mean substandard facilities and a public -private partnership is the need of the hour to provide efficient medical aid to people where costs for poor are subsidised by the government through insurance schemes without compromising on medical facilities which should be the best and comparable with global standards.

S.N. Kabra

A great discovery

A 3000-year-old city, believed to be the remains of Alexander the Great, has been discovered in a joint excavation by archaeological experts from Pakistan and Italy in northwest Pakistan. Experts say that it is the city of Bazeera that they have discovered and this is a region, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which already made into the headlines earlier for its rich connection and bounty of human history of a civilisation five thousand years old. The discovery at Bazeera has traces of Hindu Temples and Life of Alexander the great and life even before that pinpointing to the historic richness of the place which definitely, if properly and diligently researched can reveal unraveled facts of the great history of our Indian subcontinent and facts specially linked to Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam before Alexander’s invasion. The UNESCO should directly monitor the work done in the site and must cooperate with the Pakistan government to monitor and see that damages aren’t caused by extremists or vandalists. Indian archeologists also must join the excavation as studies related to the site can truly help students of history and will be beneficial to the coming generations to know about our rich past.

M Pradyu

Regulate pricing of printer-cartridges

Largest-selling foreign company Hewlett-Packard (HP) marketing computer-printers in Indian market has Maximum-Retail-Price printed on ink-cartridges exorbitantly high even though it’s original cartridges available in wholesale markets of Nehru place and Nai Sarak in Delhi at much-much less than printed MRP. Even wholesale price for its ink-cartridges remain much higher around Rs 3000 making some Indian manufacturers marketing re-filled cartridges at around Rs 700 or so. Even re-fill can be done at just Rs 200 or so. But using re-filled ink-cartridges result in termination of warranty.

Condition should be imposed to allow manufacture of ink-cartridges in India by desiring Indian companies. Indian companies should also be authorised refill ink-cartridges without affecting warranty of printers. Maximum trade margin between ex-factory or import price and printed MRP should be fixed also to check bribing due to abnormally high printed MRP. Any foreign company selling its products manufactured in country other than that of the company, should be asked to set up its manufacturing unit in India like was done by Samsung to set up biggest unit for mobile-phones in the world in Noida (UP-India).

Bureau of Indian Standards BIS should call meeting of printer-manufacturers including representatives of foreign companies to minimise types of ink-cartridges. Presently HP has too many types of ink-cartridges of similar shape and size for their vast range of inkjet and laser printers. It is not difficult to standardise so many ink-cartridges in a limited number to be used uniformly in different models of inkjet and laser printers. Such standardisation will heavily bring down cost of ink-cartridges.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Junior Doctor of KEM hospital committed suicide by injecting himself poison

By

Hema Singh

-

November 17, 2019

A trainee doctor of KEM Hospital in Parel in central Mumbai allegedly committed suicide by injecting himself with poison at his hostel terrace, police said on Saturday.

According to police the deceased Pranay Jaiswal, who was a resident of Amravati and was pursuing a course in the general surgery department at KEM hospital.

Police said from the past six months Jaiswal was under depression due to a family dispute.

As per police report, on Saturday around 11:30 am they have found Jaiswal’s body on the terrace hostel building with and a syringe used for intravenous injection was found lying near his body. No suicide note has been recovered so far, an officer said. According to the postmortem report, Jaiswal had committed suicide at least 12 hours before his body was found.

Officer further continued stating, “He was an inmate of the hostel for the past three years. On Friday night, he did not return to his room and his colleagues mounted a search. His body was found on the terrace of the hostel on Saturday morning.”

Katy Perry thanks KJo for B-Town warm welcome

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

American singer Katy Perry thanked Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar for the “warm welcome” and a grand party he hosted at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday evening.

American singer Katy Perry got a warm welcome from Bollywood on Thursday. She was hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar at his residence. He organised a special party for the singer, and the do saw Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandez, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kajol, Malaika Arora, Ananya Panday, Kunal Kemmu and many others in attendance.

Turning the best host in the town, the filmmaker threw a bash welcoming several B-towners along with the American singer who became the centre of attraction!

On Sunday, she put out a picture of her hugging close to the host Karan on the Instagram story and wrote, “Thanks for the warm welcomes.”

While several stars had already posted pictures with her on the same night, Perry too shared a glamorous still from the party with the “Bollywood babes.”

Katy’s recent trip to India came after a long gap of seven years . Apart from the party, the singer roamed around on the streets of Mumbai and shared the same on social media.

Perry along with British singer Dua Lipa delivered a power-packed “sweaty” performance at the D Y Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday night.

Joaquin’s ‘Joker’ wins Golden Frog Award Camerimage Festival

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

Joaquin Phoenix starrer ‘Joker’ doesn’t seem to stop even after hitting a number of milestones! Now, the film has bagged the Golden Frog Award for its cinematography at the Energa Camerimage Festival in Torun, Poland, on Saturday.

“Joker” cinematographer Lawrence Sher took the top prize and spoke out about the original plan for “Joker,” which was to shoot on 70mm.

Additionally, the feature also won the Audience Award at the event, according to the media reports.

After breaking so many records at the box office and winning a Golden Lion award at this year’s Venice Film Festival, the Todd Phillips-directorial has added yet another feather to its cap!

Following ‘Joker’ in the list was the Netflix film ‘The Two Popes’ lensed by Uruguayan DP Cesar Charlone, that took home this year’s Silver Frog Award.

This year’s main competition lineup included Martin Scorsese’s recent release ‘The Irishman’, racing drama ‘Ford v. Ferrari’; Edward Norton’s noir thriller ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ and indie drama ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’.

‘Joker’s big win came a day after it was reported that the film is all set to enter the billion-dollar club as it’s total collection stood at USD 999.1 million.

Now, Joker is the fourth DC comic title to cross 1 billion USD, after Aquaman (USD 1.15 billion), The Dark Knight Rises (USD 1.084 billion) and The Dark Knight (USD 1.005 billion).

Ariana is ‘very sick’, might cancel upcoming ‘Sweetener’ tour

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

Ariana Grande who is currently on her Sweetener World Tour, shared that she might have to cancel some upcoming shows owing to her ill health.

In a post shared on her Instagram story on Sunday, Grande wrote, “Hi my loves so I’m still very sick. I’ve been sick since the last London show. I don’t know how it’s possible but my throat and head are still in so much pain. I sound okay I’m just in a lot of pain and it’s difficult to breathe during the show.”

Adding that she herself is unaware of things happening to her body, the ‘7 rings’ crooner added,” I am seeing my doctor and trying very best to get better for tomorrow’s show.”

Grande is scheduled to perform in Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday and shared that cancelling her show would be the last thing that she would want to do.

“Please take this as a gentle heads up… I don’t want anyone to feel blindsided tomorrow if god forbid I can’t make the show happen,” she added.

Disclosing that she is on meds and taking drips. The 26-year-old described it as a “scary feeling”, and added,

“love you with all my heart and will keep you posted.”

The singer even shared multiple videos of herself explaining the current condition.

“Hi everyone so I have a quick health update, I just finished my show in Charlottesville and I’ve been sick since the last show in London,” she began.

“I’ve been coughing and had this like crazy sinus infection thing that has not gone away for a really long time. I haven’t been able to really get better and tonight during the show tonight my head was really splitting and heavy and my glands really hurt and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on,” Grande continued.

The singer kick-started her world tour in March this year in New York and has previously cancelled several public appearances owing to different reasons.

‘Marjaavaan’ actress Tara says, ‘being trolled is part and parcel of my job’

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

Budding Bollywood actress Tara Sutaria has often been trolled by the fashion police for her wardrobe, be it her sizzling Diwali saree or the tube top-skirt combo she wore at a recent event. The “Marjaavaan” heroine has finally reacted to all the negative comments coming her way.

In a chat with a leading daily, she said that criticism of this sort was a “part and parcel” of the life she has opted for, as a celebrity. According to a report in a leading website, she added that her parents often ended up reading comments about her on social media, and have a hearty laugh.

“People can be hurtful with their remarks. I have chosen to be in the public eye, so it is a part and parcel of my job. My parents read all these comments and have a hearty laugh about it,” said Tara.

Tara’s second release Marjaavaan, co-starring Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh, opened this weekend. She had made her Bollywood debut in the Karan Johar-produced Student Of The Year 2 earlier this year. The film also starred Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday.

The actress will next be seen in Milan Luthria’s Tadap, a remake of the Telugu film “RX 100”. The film marks the Bollywood debut of Suniel Shetty’s son, Ahan Shetty.

Nagraj Manjule film ‘Jhund’ starring Big B gets legal notice of copyright violation

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

Hyderabad-based filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar has sent legal notices to makers of upcoming Hindi movie ”Jhund” and actor Amitabh Bachchan, who is playing the lead role in the film, for copyright infringement.

Kumar, an independent filmmaker, sent the notices to ”Jhund” director and producer, Nagraj Manjule, producer Krishan Kumar, T-Series Chairman and Managing Director Bhushan Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Slum Soccer founder Vijay Barse, on whose life the film is said to be based on.

The filmmaker told an news agency that he got the reply to the notice only from T-Series but it is ”very vague”.

Alleging that he was cheated and criminally intimidated by makers of the film, Kumar plans to move the court to stop screening of the movie in theatres, television and all digital platforms.

The short filmmaker claims that he bought exclusive rights in 2017 to make a movie on the life of Akhilesh Paul, a slum soccer player who was the Indian captain at the Homeless World Cup.

Kumar had planned to write and direct the multilingual movie tentatively titled ”Slum Soccer” on the life of Akhilesh, who was born in slums of Nagpur and was addicted to drugs. However, his passion for football changed his life and he went on to lead India in Homeless World Cup.

The filmmaker claims to have registered the story and script with Telangana Cinema Writers Association on June 11, 2018.

“Though Nagraj Manjule, director of Marathi blockbuster ”Sairat”, bought rights to make a movie on the life of Vijay Barse, who is the coach of Akhilesh Paul, his film ‘Jhund’ also showcases Akhilesh’s story in a major role, thus allegedly violating the copyrights.

According to him, Nagraj Manjule claimed to have bought rights from Akhilesh Paul for Rs 4 lakh but was reluctant to show the documents. “Even Akhilesh denied selling him the rights. Nagraj humiliated me and forced to come for settlement without showing papers,” Kumar said.

The Hyderabad-based filmmaker also alleged that Savita Raj, one of the producers of ‘Jhund’, threatened his producer in September 2019 claiming Akhilesh Paul’s copyrights are with them.

Kumar said he has sent an email to Amitabh Bachchan and to Nagraj and ‘Jhund’ producers exposing copyright infringement and criminal intimidation but there was no reply.

He has also written to India Movie Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) and Telangana Cinema Writers Association and urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) not to issue censor certificate to the movie Jhund.

Winter session of Parliament will start from Monday

By

Web Team

-

November 17, 2019

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir, economic slowdown, unemployment and the government’s plan to bring the Citizenship Bill are some of the issues which are likely to emerge as flashpoints between the opposition and treasury benches in the Winter session of Parliament beginning from Monday. The Winter session will conclude on December 13.

Besides the passage of the Citizenship (amendment) bill, the government also plans to convert two crucial ordinances into law during the session.

One ordinance reducing corporate tax rate for new and domestic manufacturing companies to arrest slowdown in the economy and boost growth was issued in September to give effect to amendments in the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Finance Act, 2019.

The second ordinance, also issued in September, banned sale, manufacture and storage of e-cigarettes and similar products.

This is the second Parliament session of the BJP-led NDA government which returned to power with a greater mandate in the Lok Sabha elections.

The first session of the government was very productive which saw both houses passing key legislations such as the one to penalise the practice of instant triple talaq and the other giving more powers to the National Investigation Agency.

The two Houses also passed a resolution scrapping special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In the session beginning Monday, the government is set to push for the passage of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, a key BJP plank which is aimed at granting nationality to non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries.

The government has listed the bill in its items of business for the session, official sources said.

The government had introduced the bill in its previous tenure as well but could not push it through due to vehement protests by opposition parties, which criticised the bill as discriminatory on religious grounds.

The bill had lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.

The legislation seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan if they have fled their respective country due to religious persecution.

There has been opposition to the bill in Assam and other Northeastern states

Student organisations, political parties and socio-cultural bodies have been protesting on the grounds that it seeks to grant nationality to non-Muslims, mostly Hindus, who have come into India up to December 31, 2014, thereby increasing the deadline from 1971 as per the Assam Accord.

At an all-party meeting convened by Speaker Om Birla on Saturday, the opposition said it will seek answers from the government on issues such as slowdown in economy, farmer distress,unemployment and situation in Jammu and Kashmir after its special status was scrapped in August.

After the all-party meet on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, saying “We look forward to a productive Parliament session, where people-centric and development oriented issues would be discussed.”
During the session, a special joint sitting of the both the Houses has been planned to mark Constitution Day on November 26.

Tolerance is an act of humanity

By

Vinod Dixit

-

November 16, 2019

November 16 is observed as World Tolerance Day to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to help them understand the negative effects of intolerance. It is said that “Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human.” Tolerance can be defined as the possession of a fair and objective perspective and attitude towards those people who are of different races, religion, nations or have a set of opinions, beliefs and ideas the differ from our own. Tolerance is the virtue of a civilised age. It is the virtue that helps us to put up with those, who have different ways and opinions, and outlook on life. It enables us to see always the other side of things, to suffer fools with patience, fanatics without losing temper. Tolerance is not meant to encourage a week-kneed attitude to life. It has a limit, and beyond that, it may become even a social crime. It is a virtue only in the little things of life. Tolerance is one of man’s sterling virtues; and civilization itself has its indebtedness to it. Arthur Helps has made a relevant comment in this context – ‘Tolerance is the only real test of civilisation’.

Tolerance is a struggle for peace. This calls for new policies that respect diversity and pluralism on the basis of human rights. Most of all, this calls on each of us, women and men across the world, to act for tolerance in our own lives, in seeking to understand others, in rejecting all racism and hatred, including anti-Semitism.

The importance of tolerance lies in its ability to make a human being broad enough in mind to be receptive to all kinds of ideas. This, in turn, enables one to widen one’s knowledge and exercise more freedom of choice and judgement for oneself. At the same time it creates a deeper understanding of other’s views and beliefs. Human rights activists also use this day as an opportunity to speak out on human rights laws, especially with regard to banning and punishing hate crimes and discrimination against minorities. In the workplace, special training programs, talks, or messages from workplace leaders about the importance of tolerance are utilised on this day. Racial tension has grown due to intolerance. So long as human beings give in to envy, malice, jealousy and greed, tolerance will suffer. In recent times several longstanding and accepted social institution have shown signs of crumbling. Family values, social values are all being eroded. An increasing materialistic and consumer culture has not helped to nurture essential values.

We all are aware that tolerance is not only an abstract virtue; it is of considerable influence in the current affairs of life. Man is a social being and has to live in a spirit of harmony and co-operation with others. In this process some amount of give-and-take is necessary, a capacity for compromise. It is impossible for one to be tolerant if one is hide-bound and rigid in views or full of prejudices.

We must remember that tolerance is an act of humanity, which we must nurture and enact in our own lives every day, to rejoice in the diversity that makes us strong and the values that bring us together.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Pak to amend its Army Act – Kulbhushan to appeal against his death sentence

By

Afternoon Voice

-

November 15, 2019

Good news for Indians those who are waiting for the release of Kulbhushan Jadhav, he was tried and sentenced by a Pakistani military court and current laws do not allow to appeal. Kulbhushan Jadhav, was sentenced to death in 2017 on charges of espionage and terrorism. Pakistan’s move comes after the International Court of Justice ordered Islamabad in July to give India consular access to him and also review his death sentence. Pakistan will amend its Army Act to enable Indian convict Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his death sentence in a civilian court.

Indian news agency ANI quoted Pakistani media as saying, “Pakistan, in compliance with the International Court of Justice’s condition to allow Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to file an appeal in a civilian court, is amending its Army Act accordingly. The case is being tried under military courts and the Army Act law forbade such individuals or groups from filing an appeal and seeking justice from the civilian court but a special amendment is being made for Kulbhushan Jadhav,”.

In September, Jadhav was allowed a meeting with an Indian official for the first time. Pakistan claims Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan by its security forces on March 3, 2016, and he was plotting an attack. India says Pakistani security forces abducted him from Iran, where he was running a business, and falsely accused of spying and terror. India appealed to the International Court a month after Jadhav was sentenced. In a verdict 15 to one in favour of India, the UN court said the death sentence should remain suspended until Pakistan effectively reviewed and reconsidered the conviction.

The World Court had also agreed with India’s allegation that Pakistan had not informed Jadhav about his rights and that “Pakistan deprived India of the right to communicate with and have access to Jadhav, to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation