Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi pledge to donate organs
New Delhi: Cricketers Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi have pledged to donate their organs at USICON 2014, an event organised at the Airport Authority of India officers club here on Friday. The event was organised by the Delhi Urological Society to create awareness about organ donation. Their slogan “Har jan ko amar banana hai” (every life should be made immortal) conveys the message of eternal life for all. “We have more than the required number of suitable donors but a lack of awareness and resources continues to maintain the void. The present scenario of organ donation and transplantation in India is dismal and lakhs of patients, in need of organs for survival, are left waiting and ultimately succumb to the disease,” Rajeev Sood, organising secretary and head, Urology, RML Hospital, said in a statement. (IANS)
Woman set ablaze for resisting rape attempt dies
Hyderabad: A woman, who was set ablaze by four men after she resisted rape attempt here three days ago, died at a hospital, police said. The 25-year-old, who had suffered 90 percent burns, died early Saturday at the government-run Gandhi Hospital. The incident had taken place at railway quarters at Chilkalguda in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad. The woman, who was staying with her mother and grandmother in the house, was called out by four men known to her. She was later found engulfed in flames by the local residents, who doused the fire and shifted her to hospital. The victim told police in her statement the same day that four men tried to sexually assault her and when she resisted they doused her with kerosene and set ablaze. A police officer said the victim, in her statement, named the accused and the police were on the lookout for them. A case of murder and attempt to rape was registered. BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya visited the hospital and consoled the family members of the victim. He demanded stringent punishment for the guilty. (IANS)
Suburban train derails in Kolkata
Kolkata: A Sealdah-bound suburban train derailed near Dum Dum station in the city Saturday. There were no casualties, an official said. “We are yet to determine the reasons which caused six coaches of the train to derail. Fortunately, no casualty or injuries has been reported,” an Eastern Railway spokesperson said. “The derailment has affected suburban rail services from Sealdah to Dum Dum but it will not affect any long distance trains,” he added. (IANS)
Sealdah-bound local train derails
Kolkata: A Sealdah-bound Ranaghat EMU local train derailed here early on Saturday morning disrupting sub-urban train services on the busy Dum Dum-Sealdah route for some time. Six coaches of the train derailed immediately after the train pulled out of platform number 2 of Dum Dum station at 6.05 AM, Eastern Railway spokesman said. However, none was injured in the incident, the sources said, adding train services on the main line from Sealdah was normal. Platform number two of the station had been blocked and trains were running on the other platforms. Five of the six derailed coaches have been put back on the tracks and efforts were on to restore the last one, he said. Following the incident, inquiry was been ordered into by Eastern Railway General Manager Rajesh Kumar Singh, the spokesman told. (PTI)
Sex workers’ body to set up RTI centres in four metros
Kolkata: The All India Network of Sex Workers will set up RTI centres in the four metros – Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – to enable community members get information from government officers in their fight to get their rightful place in society. “The AINSW will have one RTI centre each in four metropolises – Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. It will use RTI as a tool to get information from all government officers across the states,” the organisation’s principal advisor Smarajit Jana said addressing a session at the Sex Workers’ Festival here. The pilot project will start functioning in Kolkata from March 3, the eve of International Sex Workers Day, and those at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai will follow, said Jana. Right to Information activist Venkatesh Nayak said enhancing skills for using RTI should be an integral component of efforts to make marginal and vulnerable communities like sex workers, gays and transgenders seek their proper position in society. “Marginalised groups like sex workers, MSMs (men who have sex with men) and transgenders are often at the receiving end of the law, primarily because they are information poor. “Lack of awareness about their rights and the government’s apathy prevent them from actively participating in the democratic process,” said Nyak, who is associated with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives and the co-convener of National Campaign for People’s Right to Information. (IANS)
