Nearly two dozen persons detained
Srinagar: Nearly two dozen contractual employees were taken into preventive custody after they tried to take out a rally in support of their demands, including the demand for regularisation of their services and proper pay scale. Carrying banners and placards, dozens of National Rural Health Mission employees, including women, assembled at Partap Park in the heart of Srinagar this afternoon and later marched to nearby Press Enclave to highlight their demands. As the slogan-shouting protestors tried to march towards Civil Secretariat – the seat of the government, police swung into action and detained nearly two dozen employees in order to maintain law and order, officials said. “We have been protesting for a long time and want the government to fulfill our various demands, including brining the NRHM employees under the ambit of new employment policy,” Yasmeena, one of the protestors, said. She said the NRHM employees are doing their best and need to be brought under proper pay scale. “We want equal pay for equal work,” Yasmeena said, adding, they are being discriminated by the government as they are not being paid even if some one goes for maternity leave. (PTI)\
15 minor girls rescued, four arrested for trafficking
Berhampur (Odisha): Four persons, including three women, were arrested by Government Railway Police for allegedly trafficking 15 minor girls to Andhra Pradesh with promise of jobs. Madhusmita Kanhar and Sushama Pradhan of G Udayagiri in Kandhamal district, Bhanu Moharana of Bramhagiri in Puri district and Balaram Barik of Kendrapara were arrested on Friday for allegedly trafficking the minor girls, said GRP inspector in-charge, Nilakantha Mohapatra. Childline activists along with railway police rescued 15 minor girls from Puri-Tirupati Express train here on Wednesday.While six of the minor girls belonged to Dhenkanal district, four were from Cuttack and five from Kandhamal, said Sudhir Sabat, director Childline, Berhampur. A Childline activist lodged an FIR against the accused persons before the GRP on Thursday after which the arrest was made yesterday. The accused persons were taking the girls to Samalkot and Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh promising to engage in private firms with decent salaries, said Prabhu Prasad Patra of Childline. “We suspect the main trafficker had escaped from the spot,” Patra said. The rescued girls were put in the shelter house of the Childline here as per the direction of the Child Welfare Committee Ganjam. (PTI)
Doctors sweep Patna roads
Patna: Hundreds of doctors on Saturday took brooms in their hands and swept roads as part of a cleanniess drive in the city. The campaign was part of nationwide cleanness drive by medical fraternity in 135 cities across the country in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. The campaign has been organised by Pharmaceutical company Alkem Laboratories with the Indian Medical Association. Some citizens also joined the doctors and cleaned the premises of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS). Two doctors — B P Singh and Om Kumar — of IGIMS told reporters, “We have observed that due to increasing air pollution in Patna, there has been a rise in the number of patients suffering from cardiac and respiratory ailments. Cleanliness is closely linked with good health.” A statement issued by Alkem Laboratories said, “We believe that clean India will deliver a healthy India and this is why we are spreading the message through the campaign among people to clean their surrounding.” (PTI)
50 kg of cannabis seized in Bengal
Kolkata: Fifty kilograms of ganja (cannabis) was seized from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district while it was being smuggled to Bangladesh, a Border Security Force (BSF) officer said on Saturday.The seizure was made on Friday during a special operation by the 43rd battalion of the BSF of the Narsharipara border outpost in the district.”The special team challenged a gang of three who were trying to smuggle ganja to Bangladesh. While the miscreants managed to escape, we have seized 50 kg of ganja,” said a BSF officer.The BSF has seized nearly 370 kg of cannabis from across the South Bengal Frontier and apprehended five smugglers so far in the year. (IANS)
Five of family killed in road mishap
Bikaner: Five members of a family were killed when a jeep they were travelling in fell into a canal in Sriganganagar district, police said. Rajendra (32), who was driving the jeep, was on his way to a temple along with his family on Friday night when the vehicle fell into the canal, they said. “It appears that it was not an accident and he deliberately drove the vehicle off the road and jumped it into the canal running along with the road,” Investigating Officer Ramesh Sarvta said today. Rajendra, his mother-in-law Guddi Devi (56), daughters Tannu (7), Supriya (5) and Sandhya (1) were killed in the accident while his wife Manju (29) was rescued and hospitalised, he said. “The matter is being investigated,” he added. (PTI)