98 Indians died during annual Haj pilgrimage: MEA
New Delhi, Jun 21: Ninety-eight Indians have died during the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca largely due to natural causes, chronic illnesses and old age, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the total number of deaths of Indians in the entire Haj period last year was 187.
As many as 1,75,000 Indian pilgrims visited Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for Haj this year.
"Every year a large number of pilgrims from India attend Haj, and some of them unfortunately pass away during the Haj period. This year, 175000 Indian pilgrims visited Makkah for Haj," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
"The Haj period is from May 9 to July 22. This year, till now, 98 deaths have been reported. The deaths have been due to natural causes, chronic illnesses, and old age," he said.
"Six people died on the day of Arafat and four were accident-related deaths. Last year, total deaths in the entire Haj period were 187," Jaiswal said.
According to reports, more than 900 pilgrims have died this year during Haj that has been marked by heat waves.
Some of the deaths have reportedly been due to heat-related illnesses as temperatures crossed over 50 degree Celsius in Mecca.
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Karnataka School Edu Dept prohibits children from being made to dance to obscene songs
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka School Education Department has issued a circular strictly prohibiting children from being made to dance to obscene songs in educational and cultural programmes.
It stated that such dances would negatively impact students' mental health and moral values. It will create indiscipline and harm the sanctity of education.
"All the Deputy Directors (Administration) of the state's School Education Department have been asked to take strict measures to prevent children or students from dancing to obscene songs in all government, aided and unaided schools in the state," the office of the commissioner of the School Education Department said in a recent circular.
"If it is found that children are being made to dance to obscene songs, appropriate action will be taken against the headmaster or management of such school," it added.
The department also listed certain measures in this regard, which include: strictly prohibiting children from being made to dance to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes; selecting songs that are inspiring, positive, instilling national pride in children and reflecting the greatness, dignity, values, culture, and morality of the state.
Stating that the school headmaster and management are responsible for selecting songs and dances for cultural programmes, it said, they should also ensure that students wear decent clothes in dance or cultural programmes.
