Jail inmates make masks for fellow prisoners
Kolkata: Amid the shortage of masks in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, inmates of the correctional homes in West Bengal have taken up the task of making masks for more than 25,000 fellow prisoners in state prisons, an official said. Eight correctional homes across the state have been earmarked where a section of prisoners are working to make masks for more than 25,000 inmates spread across 60 prisons across the state, the official of the state Correctional Services Department said. Presidency, Dum Dum, Midnapore, Jalpaiguri, Burdwan and three other correctional homes have been earmarked for making masks, the official said. “The number of masks that have been manufactured would be distributed across all the prisons within this week, so that all the inmates can have a mask. We have a regular supply of raw material for making masks. After delivery of mask to the prisoners is over, we will take orders from outside for common people,” he said. There are around 60 correctional homes in West Bengal, housing nearly 25,000 inmates. Of them 7,000 are convicts. Earlier this week, the Correctional Services department has prepared a list of 3,000 inmates who were eligible for parole and bail, in keeping with a Calcutta High Court order that sought to decongest jails amid the growing COVID-19 threat. According to officials of the Correctional Services department, of the 3,000 inmates listed for relief, 2,000 are undertrial prisoners and 1,000 convicts. (PTI)
Donkey parade for violators
Mumbai: In a move aimed at discouraging people from venturing out to curb the spread of coronavirus, a village in Maharashtra has come up with an unsual punishment- a donkey parade for those found repeatedly stepping out of their homes. The grampanchayat of Takali village in Kej tehsil of Beed district announced this decision on Wednesday. “The idea is to discourage people from venturing out on streets, which is against the state advisory. The first time offender will be fined Rs 500, but if the same offence is repeated thrice, that person will be made to sit on a donkey and a procession will be taken out,” the official announcement made by the grampanchayat said. “People should stay at home and cooperate,” it further said. (PTI)
Coronavirus rangoli goes viral
Coimbatore: A ‘rangoli’ by a woman asking people to keep distance from one another and stay at home to combat the coronavirus has been receiving appreciation from the public. Kumudam has drawn the rangoli in front of her house near here, with words ‘Keep Distance Stay at Home’ in Tamil. The photographs and video of this rangoli have gone viral in social media. Meanwhile, Isha Yoga Centre here claimed there were no positive case of coronavirus reported at the centre. Isha has been following mandatory screening and physical distancing protocols. Foreign nationals who visited the centre have been asked to observe a mandatory 28-day quarantine period. State health officials who have been visiting the Yoga Centre to conduct screenings and checks since February have found no COVID-19 positive cases, an Isha press release said. The centre which receives several international visitors put directives in place even before the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic and much before the central and state governments announced lockdown and travel ban. (PTI)
Doctor gets bail for medical duty
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court granted temporary bail to a doctor, accused of causing death of a woman after performing an illegal abortion on her, and directed him to serve at a government hospital in Aurangabad amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Aurangabad bench of Justice T V Nalawade on Monday was hearing an application filed by Dr Suraj Rana, seeking temporary bail on the grounds that he would serve the needy. Rana was arrested in August 2019 for allegedly performing an illegal abortion despite complications, causing the death of the woman. The doctor was booked under sections 314 (death caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage), 201 (destruction of evidence), 203 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. “In view of the circumstances, this court is granting temporary bail to the applicant. The applicant shall approach the Dean of the Aurangabad Government Medical College and Hospital and submit an undertaking that he is ready to discharge services as per the directives of the Dean,” the court said. The court granted Rana bail on a bond of Rs 15,000 and directed him to not tamper with the prosecution witnesses in the case. (PTI)