B M Zaffer Thonse Chairman Thonse Health Centre (Nature cure and Ayurveda hospital) has been selected for the prestigious Indian Achievers Award-2021 by the Indian Achievers’ Forum for his outstanding professional achievements and contributions in national building.
Zaffer is a known businessman from UAE and the award is given for recognizing his excellence in business, health sector and social activities.
Zaffer is the founder secretary of Qidmath Committee, Hoode and founder sports secretary of Young Men’s Association Kemmanu.
Zaffer is also the founder president of Thonse Cultural Association in UAE and president of Alumni Association of Government Urdu School Hoode.
He also established Nirmal Thonse, a NGO to protect nature and rendered service as honourary president in the same.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release / November 03rd, 2021
Munna Khalid, a Ph.D. student enrolled at the Hindi Department, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) won two bronze medals in 4th National Para Badminton Championship organised by Para Sports Association of Odisha from 24th26th December,2021 at Bhubaneswar .
Khalid secured one bronze medal in single event and the other bronze in the double event partnering with Suresh Kadki.
He has become the first player from the State of NCT of Delhi to have won a medal in any National Level Para Badminton Championship. “I am very happy and it is my dream to win a medal for India in the Paralympics at international level” said Khalid.
JMI Vice Chancellor Prof. Najma Akhtar congratulated Kahlid for the achievement and wished him success in his future endeavors.
Before enrolling for his Ph.D., Khalid also did BA (Hons.) Hindi, Master of Social Work (MSW) and MA (Hindi) programmes from JMI.
source: http://www.jmi.ac.in / Jama Millia Islamia / Home / by Public Relations Office, JMI / December 30th, 2021
Thirty-two-year old Zeeshan Majeed from Kolkata, West Bengal has not only distributed food during the Covid-19 lockdown but also distributed masks, medicine and oxygen cylinders at times of crisis. For his noble work, he was featured as a Covid Warrior in IPL 2020. He is included among the Covid Warriors in the Limca Book of Records – 2020-22 as well.
Kolkata :
He has been feeding hungry people since he saw a child at a government hospital picking up food from a drain and eating it. Thirty-two-year old Zeeshan Majeed, a footwear manufacturer in Kolkata, started feeding 40 people with meals cooked by his mother once a week, but today more than 1500 people receive food daily from his Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation.
Zeeshan became a social activist after witnessing an accident on the street. It all began when he was on his way to work. He saw a young boy who had met with an accident and lay unconscious on the street near Sealdah railway station on April 15, 2018.
Something strange caught his attention, so he stopped to help. In the chaos, he spotted rag-pickers attempting to grab his mobile and laptop bag, which were lying scattered along with the motorcycle. He was a bit scared to help, but he recovered his courage and rushed the unconscious boy to the nearby Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital.
At the hospital, he was shocked to notice the child. He later learned that many rural residents from deprived backgrounds in West Bengal travel to the capital city of Kolkata for treatment at the government hospitals. They arrive with their families and relatives. Some of these people can’t even afford to buy food, medication or accommodation. Most of them live on the streets for days and months.
Zeeshan went home with a heavy heart and recounted the story to his mother. He insisted on offering meals for the needy while he knew that her mother couldn’t possibly cook for this many people. “I asked if she could prepare meals for at least 40 people and I would take care of the rest. Her answer was yes. We decided that every Sunday my mother would prepare food and I would deliver it to people temporarily living on hospital premises or pavements,” Majeed told TwoCircles.net.
Starting a charity On May 20, 2018, he established the Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation, a charitable organisation. It started as a weekly event called ‘Dawat E Aam’ at NRS Hospital. Every week, the menu had a variety of dishes, such as simple hotchpotch, rice with vegetables, vegetable pulao, or rice with soya chunks curry. The menu consisted only of vegetarian meals since the recipients belong to diverse communities, which were served during the lunch hour.
This vehicle carries Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation’s relief materials.
This weekly event has become a part of a daily routine since April 28, 2019, when he started receiving phone calls from different places. Helped by funds from friends, family and through social media, he launched the dinner service. He does not accept cash donations directly from his donors rather engages restaurant kitchens to prepare meals for donors, which he collects and distributes. It gets difficult for him to prepare lunch and dinner on his own, despite having a kitchen.
Covid warrior Among the people he has fed are women, children and the elderly. Whether they are beggars, slum dwellers, destitute or prostitutes, all have benefited from his food distribution services. The underprivileged received food standing in a row during the Covid-19 lockdown while the middle-class people felt shy and refused to queue. They suffered the most during the lockdown.
Zeeshan wanted to help them, so he created a ‘Secret Santa’ project for them with a helpline. On his social media platforms, he advertised that those in need of the ration kit could send him a text. Their ration kits would be delivered to their homes without revealing their identities.
Zeeshan Majeed serving food to hungry people.
During the first lockdown, more than 1000 ration kits were distributed in Sonagachi, Kolkata’s sex-workers area. Ten kilograms of rice and five kilograms of pulses were included in the kits. Furthermore, the Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation distributed over 1200 kits each day under the Secret Santa project. Over 5000 people were helped.
This Samaritan from Kolkata has not only distributed food but also masks, medicine and oxygen cylinders at times of crisis. For his noble work, he was featured as a Covid Warrior in IPL 2020. He is included among the Covid Warriors in the Limca Book of Records – 2020-22 as well.
Former Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Gangulay presenting a gift hamper to Zeeshan Majeed.
“I always had two police guards with me during the Janata curfew or lockdown periods,” he said, acknowledging the maximum support he received from the Kolkata Police. “Their presence allowed me to distribute food properly while maintaining social distance with chalk marking, increasing sanitization awareness. Sometimes on the footpaths, beggars or physically challenged people would form a queue while some forlorn person would hand out disposable plates,” recalls Zeeshan, the owner of Golden Plastic, a footwear manufacturing company in Topsia.
His charitable foundation provided relief materials during natural disasters, such as floods or cyclones. He distributed food during the Amphan cyclone in May 2020 at Chandipur, Gosaba, Patharpratima, Basanti in Sundarban, as well as Harapur, Nalmuri, Bantala, Bhojerhat, Ghatakpukur in South 24-Parganas and other locations. When cyclone Yaas hit in May 2021, the food kits were also distributed to people in Mandarmuni, Purshottomnagar in East Midnapore and other Sundarban islands.
Zeeshan was born and brought up in Kolkata. He is the only son of Tarique Majeed and Nazli Tarique, who have four children. He finished his tenth standard in 2005 at Saifee Golden Jubilee English Public School and completed his 12th standard in 2007 from the same school. He graduated with a degree in commerce from Maulana Azad College in 2012, as well as an MBA degree in marketing from Sikkim Manipal University in 2015.
Zeeshan told TwoCircles.net, “Two days in my life are valuable—the day I was born and the day I discovered why I was born. Despite trying many things in life, including a job and a business, I never achieved satisfaction. That changed when I started distributing food.”
A Ballygunge resident, Zeeshan got married in October 2019. He plans to expand his charitable mission to the global level with this tagline – ‘Aao Ek Nayi Soch Banayay Kisi Bhukay Ko Khana Khilayay’ (Let’s think differently and help feed the hungry).
“I wish to serve people of the world. There are many people around the world who rarely get a square meal. If I have an opportunity, I will ensure that no one sleeps hungry,” he added.
Partho Burman is an award-winning independent journalist based in Kolkata. He writes inspirational, motivational and environmental stories. He tweets at @ParthoBurman.
source: http://www.twocirlces.net / TwoCircles.net / Home>Lead Story / by Partho Burman, TwoCircles.net / December 30th, 2021
He not only aims to bring medals for his country but also to help his community.
Now an established paraplegic swimmer with several accolades in his lap, Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh was born in a small village of Bihar.
This is the story of this champion who conquered the challenges thrown at him and went on to win four gold medals at the Indian Open Para Swimming Championship in 2018.
The village was surrounded by three rivers and thus, it was prone to floods. Naturally, Shams learned to swim when he was a kid. His grandfather was a wrestler, as told by his mother. As he grew up hearing the story of his grandfather, Shams always wanted to become a sportsperson. He was fond of martial arts and went on to get a black belt in Karate as he participated in Karate competitions nationally and internationally. Things were fairly well for him, he even completed his mechanical engineering and was all set for the corporate world.
However, in 2010, his life changed when he was diagnosed with a spinal tumour. Even after his surgery, there was not much improvement. As Shams got another checkup, he found out that the surgery was a failure and the tumour was still there. “Back then in 2010, I was going to represent my country in Asian games 2010 in Karate. But all my dreams shattered as the lower half of my body became ineffective. I became paraplegic,” recalled Shams. He lost sensations below his chest.
Shams got his disability certificate in 2012, which stated that he is 100 per cent disabled and it’s an eternal disability. “I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life crying about what has happened and now I want to move on. It took almost one and a half years for things to get back to normal,” said Shams.
In 2012, Shams went to a rehabilitation centre named Paraplegic Centre situated in Mumbai. At the centre, a doctor told him that swimming is good for the rejuvenation of the nervous system. Shams, who was already a Karate champion, also knew swimming very well. Unfortunately, he was told that he can’t swim, also if he does, the authorities will not take accountability if anything goes downhill.
It happened at the centre only that Shams met Raja Ram, also a differently-abled swimmer, who motivated Shams to pursue swimming. He started swimming, worked on his form and went on to win gold medals at state and national championships. While talking about the same, Shams said, “I never knew swimming would become my career. I won four gold medals in swimming and it gives me immense joy,” said Shams.
He further added, “After my disability, a lot has changed in my life. My perspective for people who have a disability has changed. I started the Parasport Association, Mumbai, which is now a registered body. It is a platform for people with disabilities to showcase their talent in sports.”
Credit: Supplied
He not only aims to bring medals for his country but also to help his community. He said, “Being featured in 300 most influential people in Asia 2020 by The New York Press News Agency is what makes me feel proud of myself. We are also working on making people with spinal cord injuries nationally registered with proper data. This will help our government and our society to recognise our problems and might even make things a little better.”
“We don’t have any qualified para swimmer coach in India, however, Raja Ram, who became my coach and mentor and is an International para swimmer, helped me to tackle technical issues and my physiotherapist helped me in gaining physical strength. Now, my father helps me in doing workouts,” said Shams.
Credit: Supplied
When we asked him about his opinion on Michael Phelps and him consuming 12,000 calories a day, he said, “Yes he consumes around 12,000 calories a day but it is not possible for me and I cannot compare myself with him since it is quite difficult for me and I have never counted how many calories I consume in a day.”
Credit: Supplied
According to Shams, in terms of techniques in swimming, there is no difference between a normal swimmer or para-swimmer. People like Shams who have severe disabilities do some things differently but there are not any major differences.
“I sometimes miss old Shams Aalam. But it is only sometimes, who I am today is a better version of myself,” said Shams.
In 2017, Shams broke his own record by completing 8 km of open-sea swimming in 4 hours and 4 minutes. He came to be the world record holder for completing the longest distance of open-sea swimming by a paraplegic. “I am going through the worst time now since swimming pools are closed due to covid and I am not able to do swimming. I could not qualify this time for the Paralympics 2020 which I wanted to qualify for,” said Shams.
When Shams was 13 years old, he loved watching Bruce Lee on his television and often imitated him. In 2002, he started playing Karate and participated in Karate competitions without thinking about the outcomes. However, the older Shams never had the greater visions of what he would become. He is grateful and continuously pushes him to achieve much more.
source: http://www.cityspidey.com / City Spidey / Home> News / by Anjali Singh / August 13th, 2021
Maqsud S. Alam has set an example of community harmony in his region. | Photo by Partho Burman
Forty-seven-year old Sheikh Maqsud Alam is a caretaker of a Christian cemetery. He looks after the Barrackpore Cemetery, which is one of the oldest burial grounds of the Christian community in West Bengal. He took charge at the age of 23 after his mother passed away in 1997. To this day, he continues to look after the cemetery with dedication.
Kolkata :
His responsibility doesn’t allow him to take a day off from his duty. Whether it rains or shines, he performs the last rites by laying coffins at the century-old Christian cemetery in Barrackpore, Kolkata. He sets the perfect example of communal harmony, yet his dawn-to-dusk relentless service towards society has gone unnoticed for the last 24 years.
Meet Sheikh Maqsud Alam, a 47-year-old caretaker of a Christian cemetery. He looks after the Barrackpore Cemetery, which is one of the oldest burial grounds of the Christian community in West Bengal. He took charge at the age of 23 after his mother Thurran Bibi passed away in 1997. He resides in a small room within the graveyard compound along with a few pet dogs.
The entrance to Barrackpore cemetery in Kolkata. | Photo by Partho Burman
The Diocese of Barrackpore notifies him before the coffin arrives. “I have to document the details of the departed soul in my register once the funeral group attends here. The burying process takes place only between sunrise and sunset. The excavation work is done based on the size of the coffin,” Sheikh Maqsud Alam told TwoCircles.net.
Born and brought up at the cemetery in a thatched house, Alam is one among nine siblings. He could not continue his studies after primary level due to poverty. Father Hanif Mali has also worked here as a gardener. Till he was alive, he was assigned to maintain the burials of World War I and World War II.
Established in circa 1820 AD, the Barrackpore Cemetery is also known as the Commonwealth War Grave. Situated at Barrackpore in Kolkata, it is one of the oldest Cantonments in India. It has 21 burials of the soldiers from the First World War and 113 graves of the combatants from the Second World War.
Second World War graves at the cemetery | Photo by Partho Burman
Officer on Special Duty at the West Bengal Heritage Commission, Basudev Malik told TwoCircles.net, “The Barrackpore Cemetery is declared as ‘Heritage’ property in 2019. The importance of heritage declaration is to create awareness among the local citizens. The declaration doesn’t mean that the State government would restore or renovate it, since the graveyard is under the Church authority, they will have to preserve it. However, they can move to the Chief Minister or ministers or local public representatives for it.”
A grave dating back to 1862 is found here. Some entombments of yesteryears might have been even older but those are either buried or veiled behind the cluttered dense woodland. Some British tombstones reflect colonial architecture while some contain loads of love, respect and care shown by their daughters, wives, fathers or sons – all of them have their feelings inscribed on the marbled tombstone in fond memories of their beloved.
Various stones such as sandstone, marble and granite were used. Some have canopies while some are quite simple. The garden of remembrance serves all the Christian communities in the area, including Catholic, Protestant and Pentecost. They show up when the mortal remains of their relatives or friends to be rested in peace here. Some Christian tribal communities also utilize the last resting place for their kith and kin.
The burial place has over 1100 memorials spread across 20 Bigha of land. It is also covered with plenty of trees, including palm, coconuts, guava, jackfruit, Indian blackberry, Indian plum, mango, neem and unwanted weeds. It also houses a number of bird species, venomous snakes, mongooses, jackals, civets, etc.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, secretary of Barrackpore Cemetery Committee, Father Achal Kumar Naru said that 3-4 are reported on average every month. There are certain norms required before burying the dead. “We issue a slip to the bereaved family and that needs to be produced before the caretaker to carry out the necessary work. We charge a nominal fee of Rs.600 for that,” informs Father Naru.
The ground is dug up to 5-feet for laying the coffin. In order to prevent the casket from surfacing, 10 bags of sand, 5 kg stone chips and 50 bricks are required to hold the box back in the soil. Two labourers assist the caretaker, who takes Rs 1500 for it.
Digging is not his only responsibility, but also to supervise the century-old mausoleum. Alam only draws Rs 1000 as salary per month from the Barrackpore Cemetery Committee for these uphill struggles. However, the short-figured man always wears a smile on his face and has no qualms about it. He couldn’t exactly remember the numbers of corpses he buried but it was around 400 bodies in the past 24 years. “Death is unpredictable. Sometimes 2-3 dead bodies come up in a day and sometimes you find none in the entire month,” claims Alam.
Married to Saina Sabina in 1992, the couple have two daughters. His family stays at a rented house in Naya Basti about 10-minute walking distance from the cemetery. Despite poverty, Alam sent his daughters to school with great struggle and both his girls are educated. The elder daughter has completed her 12th standard while the younger has finished her graduation in Arts.
Alam with his younger daughter Nilu Khatun at the cemetery. | Photo by Partho Burman
“I tried my best to educate my daughters under these hardships. I don’t want my daughters to follow the legacy of what our generations have been doing. Both are schooled and I wish to see them opting for some other profession,” concludes Alam.
Partho Burman is an award-winning independent journalist based in Kolkata. He writes inspirational, motivational and environmental stories. He tweets at @ParthoBurman.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Partho Burman, TwoCircles.net / December 20th, 2021
This is India’s first win at Centurion and the India skipper, recalling his team’s fantastic victory at Wanderers in the final Test in 2018, said that result instilled plenty of self-belief.
Mohammed Shami (Photo | AP)
Centurion :
Victorious Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday attributed the Test team’s fine results overseas in recent years to his pace attack and rated Mohammed Shami among the best three seamers in the world currently.
The formidable India pace unit destroyed a listless South Africa to fashion an emphatic 113-run win in the first Test here, setting the team on course for a maiden series victory in the country.
Kohli lavished rich praise on his colleagues after the team’s big win.
“Just the way these guys bowl together, it’s just a hallmark of our team getting a result from that position, not just in this game but also in the last two-three years,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
India were handed the advantage on the first day itself when centurion KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal set it up with a big opening partnership, and Kohli said that partnership made a huge difference to the outcome of the match.
“The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320. We have a lot of belief in our bowling unit and knew the bowlers will get the job done,” Kohli pointed out.
This is India’s first win at Centurion and the India skipper, recalling his team’s fantastic victory at Wanderers in the final Test of the 2018 Test series, said that result from the past instilled plenty of self-belief.
“It’s a top start for us. We have to understand one day was washed out — shows how well we played. It’s always a difficult place to play against South Africa. We got so much confidence out of Johannesburg last time. It’s a ground we love playing at.”
The next match is scheduled to be played at Johannesburg from January 3-7.
Speaking about Shami, he said, “He is absolutely world class talent. For me he’s in the best three seamers in the world at the moment. His strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. Very, very happy for him to get 200 wickets and have an impactful performances.”
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah could not bowl a lot in the first innings and Kohli felt his team could have got a bigger lead in the first innings if that wasn’t the case.
“Spoke about it in the change room — the fact he didn’t bowl much in the first innings, it allowed South Africa to get around 40 more runs.”
South African skipper Dean Elgar, who top-scored for his side with a fighting 77, said there were few positives for his team but expressed his disappointment with the batters.
This is only the third instance when South Africa had been dismissed under 200 in each innings of a Test match at home since their re-admission in 1991.
“Obviously not a nice thing knowing we lost a Test here. Did a few things wrong. Lot of positives coming out that we can use in the next two. Always the nature here. Always going to be tough because the wicket’s playing slower (first morning),” Elgar said.
Kohli lavished rich praise on his colleagues after the team’s big win.
“Just the way these guys bowl together, it’s just a hallmark of our team getting a result from that position, not just in this game but also in the last two-three years,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
India were handed the advantage on the first day itself when centurion KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal set it up with a big opening partnership, and Kohli said that partnership made a huge difference to the outcome of the match.
“The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320. We have a lot of belief in our bowling unit and knew the bowlers will get the job done,” Kohli pointed out.
This is India’s first win at Centurion and the India skipper, recalling his team’s fantastic victory at Wanderers in the final Test of the 2018 Test series, said that result from the past instilled plenty of self-belief.
“It’s a top start for us. We have to understand one day was washed out — shows how well we played. It’s always a difficult place to play against South Africa. We got so much confidence out of Johannesburg last time. It’s a ground we love playing at.”
The next match is scheduled to be played at Johannesburg from January 3-7.
Speaking about Shami, he said, “He is absolutely world class talent. For me he’s in the best three seamers in the world at the moment. His strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. Very, very happy for him to get 200 wickets and have an impactful performances.”
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah could not bowl a lot in the first innings and Kohli felt his team could have got a bigger lead in the first innings if that wasn’t the case.
“Spoke about it in the change room — the fact he didn’t bowl much in the first innings, it allowed South Africa to get around 40 more runs.”
South African skipper Dean Elgar, who top-scored for his side with a fighting 77, said there were few positives for his team but expressed his disappointment with the batters.
This is only the third instance when South Africa had been dismissed under 200 in each innings of a Test match at home since their re-admission in 1991.
“Obviously not a nice thing knowing we lost a Test here. Did a few things wrong. Lot of positives coming out that we can use in the next two. Always the nature here. Always going to be tough because the wicket’s playing slower (first morning),” Elgar said.
He added, “Indian openers did the fundamentals right. We didn’t quite execute the lengths well. After some good chats our bowlers executed the lengths and restricted India to what we thought was a par score. New ball is something you have to get through playing here. Can’t emphasise enough on the hard work our bowlers put in to get 20 wickets. Our batters let us down. I’d say the batting was the difference between the two sides. We’ll have a little sit-down with myself and the management to strategise. Didn’t do a lot of wrong things. Not all doom and gloom for us. We thrive under the pressure which is a positive for us.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport> Cricket / by PTI / December 30th, 2021
Bagged State Biodiversity Board’s Custodian of Traditional Knowledge Award
Kerala State Biodiversity Board has conferred their award for the year 2019-20 for“custodian of traditional knowledge/ citizen scientist” to Sri. Salim Pichan, an employee of MSSRF.
The award is given to persons who have an excellent track record in biodiversity conservation, environment protection and traditional knowledge.
As a zealous para taxonomist, Mr Salim Pichan accrued the knowledge pertaining to the plants, uses and modalities of its applications through his association with traditional healers and tribal communities over a period of two decades. Mr Salim Pichan, a person with intermediate qualification has first become a lover of nature then a para taxonomist and eventually a custodian of traditional knowledge!
This is what his life’s journey is all about.
He has contributed to the discovery of eight new species of plants to science, seven new plant records to Kerala and has also published several books and articles.
As a dedicated conservationist, his 30 cents of land is protecting 300 plant species, of which 100 of them belong to the Rare Endemic and Threatened (RET) category.
A collection of Ceropegia, a unique climber is what makes his garden exceptional along with protection of 11 species in addition to 130 numbers of Orchids, 13 numbers of Dioscorea spp and 123 numbers of medicinal plants.
Most of these plants are collected from different forests and vegetation types across the state and are carefully protected with utmost care.
Many awards and recognitions have reached him in the past as well with the notable ones including Vanamithra award by Kerala State Government in the year 2012 and Swami Vivekananda Yuvaprathibha Puraskaram in 2015, Wayanad District Youth Award in 1998.
To honour his efforts in biodiversity conservation, some taxonomists also named a plant endemic to the Western Ghats as a tribute with his name Seidenfadenilla salimii.
source: http://www.mssrfcabc.res.in / M S Swaminathan Research Foundation / Home> News Room / July 30th, 2021
The efforts by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to enter the Urban Local Bodies has finally yielded result with its candidate winning in Hosapete City Municipal Council in the newly formed Vijayanagara district.
In the elections held to 58 urban local bodies (ULBs) in 20 districts of the State, the AAP secured the lone seat at Hospet with its candidate Shaikh Shah Wali winning in ward no. 22 of Hosapete CMC.
Mr. Wali secured 703 votes and registered a win against the Congress candidate by a margin of 71 votes. Among other candidates in the fray, three Independents secured 381, 359, and 293 votes respectively, pushing the BJP candidate, with 61 votes, to the last position.
While there were 4,515 voters in the ward, only 61% (2,759) voted. Mr. Wali secured 25% (703 votes) of the votes cast.
Mohammad Nasir, a local AAP member, told The Hindu that Mr. Wali, who belongs to the semi-nomadic tribe Helavaru, was chosen by community elders to contest as the AAP candidate largely because development issues in their area were ignored.
Successive governments have neglected the Helavaru community. Due to the alleged failure of the State Government in providing facilities and amenities to the tribal community, they decided to vote collectively for the AAP candidate, he said.
A farmer, Mr. Wali joined the AAP eight months ago.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kalaburagi – December 31st, 2021
The book is a harrowing tale of a doctor’s ordeal and gives a compelling account of the tragic deaths of several children and the disturbing events that ensued.
Dr Kafeel Khan at a medical camp. Photo: Facebook/drkafeelkhanofficial
Gorakhpur:
The 2017 oxygen shortage tragedy at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College that led to the deaths of more than a hundred children was not a random accident but the outcome of the administration’s apathetic and insensitive attitude towards government hospitals. The aftermath of the incident also exposed how the government machinery, instead of learning from such horrific accidents, works to suppress the truth, protect the culprits and punish those who try to expose the reality.
The reportage on the oxygen fiasco meanwhile rendered it synonymous with the identity of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was then an assistant professor in the hospital’s Department of Paediatrics. The incident and the ensuing fate of Khan was widely reported in the media.
But what actually happened and who were the real culprits? Were they shielded by the powers that be? Those who knew the truth have either kept mum on the issue or have sided with the government’s narrative. The government has made claims like, “The hospital did have an oxygen crisis but that’s not what killed the children”, “The children died because they were gravely ill”, “Children die of encephalitis in July and August every year” and that the government and its ministers or senior officials cannot to be blamed for the deaths as the college administration was negligent. Khan, the government said, was solely responsible because he failed to inform his seniors about the oxygen crisis and had committed medical negligence and used to practice privately.
Khan was sacked last month , four years following the incident. Two doctors and four employees of BRD Medical College, who were also accused of negligence, have been reinstated. R.K. Mishra, who was the principal of the college at the time of the deaths, and Ppharmacist Gajanand Jaiswal have retired after being reinstated. Little is known of the whereabouts of Manish Bhandari, the owner of Pushpa Sales, the oxygen supplier, ever since he was released from jail.
The government did not compensate the families of the children who died in the tragedy, claiming that their deaths were not caused by oxygen shortage.
The terrible incident is no longer talked about, except when it is brought up in conjunction with news related to Dr Kafeel Khan.
Kafeel Khan The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis Pan Macmillan (December 2021)
Recently, Khan’s 300-page book titled The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis was published by Pan Macmillan India, reinvigatoring a discussion on the deaths.
In the book, Khan describes a series of incidents beginning on the dreadful night when the hospital ran out of oxygen to the day of his arrest, subsequent imprisonment and his dismissal from service more than four years later. The book not only weaves together the scattered strands of information surrounding the oxygen shortage tragedy of the BRD Medical College on August 10, 2017 but also brings to the fore many new facts which remained unknown till now.
The oxygen fiasco was reported in both national and international media. While it is true that the incident remained in the news a long time afterwards, most of these speculations only went on to further mystify and blur the facts instead of providing clarity. The book tries to blow the lid off the attempts to conceal the truth behind the incident in a ‘calculated manner’ and uncovers the system’s attempts to make a doctor the scapegoat to cover up its failure.
The book also highlights various aspects of Khan’s personal life. We come to know that his father was an engineer in the irrigation department. Kafeel Khan was brought up in an open-minded atmosphere and spent his early days in a locality where residents hailed from different religious backgrounds. They celebrated Holi as zealously as Eid. On Diwali, he narrates, his family received many sweets from their Hindu neighbours which he would carry in his school tiffin for an entire week.
From his family, the story quickly progresses to the events of August 10, 2017. On the fateful night, Khan received a WhatsApp message on his mobile about depleting oxygen levels in the encephalitis ward. He was on leave that day as his sister was visiting the family from Oman and he wanted to spend time with her. But when he received the message, he decided to immediately go to the hospital. On his way, he kept calling his superiors at the medical college. While most of his calls went unanswered, those who did pick up failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and tried to pass the buck.
In his book, Khan gives telling details of the situation he witnessed in the ward that night and how he handled it. He describes the wailing and pleading parents while their children battled for life and the utter helplessness of the doctors, nurses and ward boys. There were 313 children admitted in the hospital’s pediatric and neonatal intensive care units that night. At 7:30 pm, the oxygen plant had run out of oxygen and the ventilators began sounding the warning beeps. As a contingency arrangement, 52 jumbo cylinders kept in the hospital reserve were installed, which were exhausted within four hours and the oxygen supply was completely cut off to the wards, including the encephalitis ward. By the time Khan reached the hospital, eight children had already died.
He and his colleagues immediately started giving oxygen from Ambu bags to the children on ventilator support. The condition of all the children in the ward was assessed and oxygen from Ambu bags was given to those who needed oxygen the most. A three-year-old girl’s condition deteriorated and despite the staff’s best efforts, could not be saved. The NICU witnessed similar chaotic scenes. The relatives of the patients, who had been informed about the lack of oxygen, were either yelling at the hospital staff or begging them to save their children.
Meanwhile Khan was faced with the dual challenge of treating the deteriorating condition of the children, on one hand, and arranging for oxygen cylinders on the other. A truck carrying a jumbo cylinder was on its way from Imperial Gas Limited in Faizabad but there was no sign of it until 1 am. Till then, no senior officer of the BRD Medical College had reached the hospital. In their absence, Khan decided to fetch three jumbo cylinders from a nearby hospital in his private vehicle. He then approached eight more hospitals for help, ferried as many cylinders as he could arrange and tried to replenish the oxygen supply. But it was not enough. The encephalitis ward was consuming 16 jumbo cylinders every 45 minutes. The truck that arrived from IGL Faizabad at 2 am brought only 50 cylinders. Kafeel arranged for a truck with the help of central oxygen operator Balwant, and sent an outsourced worker to the Khalilabad plant paying Rs 20,000 from his own pocket. The oxygen plant had agreed to supply jumbo cylinders at Rs 350 per cylinder.
Despite being informed of the urgent need for oxygen, a plant in Gida refused to supply oxygen saying that its contract with the college had been terminated and handed over to IGL Faizabad. It would supply oxygen only after the contract has been renewed, the plant said.
Despite Khan and his team’s night-long efforts to save the children and arrange cylinders, 23 children in the PICU and NICU and 18 adult patients in the medicine ward had succumbed by 10 am the next day.
A room containing oxygen tanks is seen in the BRD Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur. Photo: Reuters
When there was a shortage of vehicles to cart the jumbo cylinders, Khan reached out to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) stationed in the Fertilizer Campus on the morning of August 11 and contacted the DIG to provide a truck and cylinders. The SSB did not have jumbo cylinders, but they provided a truck and 12 jawans so that cylinders could be swiftly transported from the plant to the medical college.
According to the details in the book, on the afternoon of August 11, the then district magistrate Rajiv Rautela contacted Khan and after being apprised of the whole situation assured that oxygen would be provided. He asked the Gida plant, which had earlier refused to entertain Kafeel’s request, to supply oxygen. Later, 50 jumbo cylinders arrived from IGL Faizabad in two trips. Kafeel also contacted the chief medical officer and the additional director (health), urging them to help solve the crisis. One said he was in a meeting and the other asked Khan to contact the chief medical superintendent regarding the arrangement of cylinders. One of these officers later became part of the committee that was formed to investigate the tragedy.
In the afternoon, a professor from the Department of Paediatrics reached the ward followed by the head of the department and the chief medical superintendent of the Nehru Hospital. Together, they wrote a letter to the principal of the BRD Medical College, urging him to arrange medical oxygen.
By the evening of August 11, the news of children dying due to oxygen shortage had spread like wildfire and media persons began pouring in at the BRD Medical College. By then, a few local journalists and photographers had already reached the College and began reporting on the crisis. The district magistrate issued the first official statement about the incident in a press conference at 7:30 pm that day and announced the formation of a committee to investigate the deaths. This committee was asked to submit its report within 24 hours.
Initially, the reports in media and on social media hailed Kafeel as a hero for his efforts to muster up oxygen cylinders using his personal resources and save the lives of children. On August 12, the state health minister Siddharth Nath Singh and medical education minister Ashutosh Tandon reached the college. Singh, in a press conference, denied the death of any child due to lack of oxygen and made the insensitive ‘children die every year in August‘ remark. The statement was widely condemned.
On August 13, a tanker of liquid oxygen arrived at the hospital at 1 am and the supply was restored. Kafeel, who had tirelessly spent 48 hours on rigorous duty since August 10, finally returned home only to wake up to a fresh twist the next morning. A new tale had been spun and a fresh narrative was played out in the media.
In the morning, J.P. Nadda and chief minister Yogi Adityanath arrived at the BRD Medical College and Khan was summoned. He reached the hospital hoping to receive a pat on the back for his efforts but he was in for a rude shock and suddenly found himself in the crosshairs.
According to Khan, the moment he appeared before the chief minister, he said in a reprimanding tone, “Tu hai Dr Kafeel Khan?” (So, you are Dr Kafeel Khan?)
“Yes, Sir.”
“Tune cylinder ka arrangement kiya tha?” (Are you the one who arranged cylinders?)
“Yes, Sir.”
“Ye 4-5 cylinder la kar tu ne kitni jaan bacha li? Tu sochta hai cylinders ki vyvastha kar ke tu bohot bara hero ban gaya; dekhta hoon tujhe.” (How many lives did you save with a few cylinders? Do you think by arranging cylinders you became a hero? I will take care of you.)”
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Photo: PTI
Khan was suddenly the villain, accused of leaking the news of oxygen shortage to the media. However, when he tried to speak up and provide a clarification, senior officers stopped him from doing so.
In the press conference, the chief minister dismissed the claim that the children died owing to a dearth of oxygen. He announced the formation of a committee headed by the chief secretary to probe the incident and said that its report would be submitted in a week.
As soon as the press conference was over, media persons flocked the hospital of Khan’s wife. A mob also attacked the hospital and a showroom owned by Khan’s brother, pelting stones and vandalising them. On social media, Khan was vilified as an ‘oxygen thief’, and a ‘pawn of the opposition leaders’. The TV news channels began referring to him as the head of the paediatric department, the deputy principal, the superintendent of the hospital, blaming him entirely for the disaster.
Khan was advised to take leave until the turmoil subsided. On August 16, the report of the committee constituted by the DM was submitted, which did not fix the responsibility on Khan but also failed to mention, let alone laud Khan’s efforts to arrange oxygen cylinders at such a critical time.
Finally, on August 21, the report of the committee headed by the chief secretary came out and an FIR was lodged against nine people, including Khan and everyone was gradually arrested.
The police began raiding his house daily, making searches and harassing the family members. His sister’s house in Lucknow was also raided and his brother was taken into custody. He decided to surrender and finally did so at the Special Task Force office in Lucknow. The STF brought him to Gorakhpur and handed him over to the Gorakhpur police, who put him in jail.
The next few pages of the book record a horrendous account of Khan’s seven-month long stay in jail – an 800-prisoner facility with 1,897 prisoners in it.
In jail, he met several high-profile prisoners – Kaka, D. Ram, V. Singh, Shailesh, Vishwa and also ‘Mantriji’ who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a poetess. Most of them showed Khan kindness. Despite all the media propaganda, they treated him with respect for being a good Samaritan and responsible doctor who tried to save the lives of children. Khan writes that most of the undertrial prisoners spend long periods in jail in the hope of being freed or granted bail but 99% of them are met with disappointment as cases remain in limbo for years.
Khan also details a first-hand account of corruption inside the prison walls. Any prisoner can avail the facilities that he can afford. Under this covert system, rates are fixed for kachchi baithki and pakki baithki – levels of evading laborious chores in jail. Then there are rates of bidi, cigarette, vegetables, eggs, bottled water as well as meeting with relatives. To avail such luxuries, one has to keep one’s mouth shut – besides abiding by the other rules. Based on hierarchy of caste, religion, connections and nature of crime, the dark underbelly of the prison is governed by a handful prisoners.
While awaiting bail, Khan tried to piece together the episodes of the oxygen tragedy. From jail, he contacted everyone including Manish Bhandari, the director of Pushpa Sales, the college principal Mishra, and Dr Satish. Finally, he saw the whole picture. He learnt that both the Gida gas plant, which had refused to supply oxygen to the hospital despite being aware of the deaths of children, as well as IGL Faizabad with which the hospital had signed a contract in 2017, had close relations with the ruling party leaders. Also, Khan claims, Pushpa Sales had not only failed to pay the dues to the top officials of health and administration but also to line the pockets of various ministers, a matter which was brought up in several official meetings. Hence, the authorities behaved in a lackadaisical manner while the children were gasping for breath. Later, a hunt was launched for ‘a neck to fit the noose’ and a communal government found Khan as the perfect scapegoat, he says.
Dr Kafeel Khan, after his release from jail. Photo: @Saurabhsherry/Irfan Ghazi.
The final section of the book describes Khan’s ordeal after his release from jail, various charges levelled against him and his re-arrest. He was arrested from the Bahraich district hospital, where he had gone to investigate the death of children admitted for encephalitis. Later, charges under the National Security Act were slapped on him for a speech he had delivered during an anti-CAA-NRC protest at the Aligarh Muslim University. He was released after the Allahabad high court quashed the NSA charges.
However, despite getting a clean chit on two key charges in the departmental inquiry of the oxygen shortage incident, he was sacked. The book has several more details. An entire chapter is dedicated to his rural health campaign, under which he organised medical camps, especially creating awareness about encephalitis, locally known as chamki fever, in various flood-affected parts of Bihar and Assam.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Book> Rights / by Manoj Singh / December 19th, 2021
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Wednesday presented the annual ‘RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism’, instituted by the Mumbai Press Club, in a virtual event.
Reuters Chief photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed in clashes in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo | Twitter)
Mumbai :
Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who died during an assignment in Afghanistan, has been posthumously awarded as the ‘Journalist of the Year’ for 2020 by the Mumbai Press Club.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Wednesday presented the annual ‘RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism’, instituted by the Mumbai Press Club, in a virtual event.
He presented the prestigious award to Siddiqui “for his spectrum of investigative and impactful news photography”.
Danish Siddiqui’s wife Frederike Siddiqui received the award.
“He was a man with a magical eye and was rightly regarded as one of the foremost photojournalists of this era.
If a picture can tell a thousand words, his photos were novels,” Chief Justice Ramana said while paying tributes to the scribe.
Senior journalist Prem Shankar Jha, 83, was bestowed with the lifetime achievement award “for his long and distinguished career of incisive and analytical writing”.
“His reputation for hard work, the highest ethical standards, and intellectual rigour are unparalleled in the field,” CJ Ramana said while congratulating Jha.
The Mumbai Press Club instituted The RedInk Awards a decade ago to recognise good investigative and feature writing and raise the bar of journalism in the country.
Apart from Siddiqui and Jha, variour other journalists were awarded in 12 categories as part of the 10th edition of the award event.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / December 30th, 2021
