Delhi government says 'no' to Muslim school teachers going for Friday prayers
New Delhi, April 27: The Delhi government has told the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) that Muslim teachers cannot be allowed to go for Juma prayers during school hours, a senior official said on Friday.
DMC Chairman Zaraful Islam Khan told IANS that the Education Department of the Delhi government had in a written response said that teachers "can't leave their classes" and go for Juma prayers on Friday, as it would "harm the interests of students".
"They (Education Department) said that the rules can't be relaxed and teachers have to reach school by 12.45 (p.m) for classes which begin at 1 (p.m)," Khan said.
Earlier, teachers had approached the Commission with a request to allow them to go for prayers on Friday, after which it had sought a response from the Education Department and the three municipal corporations on the issue.
The response from the municipal corporations were awaited, Khan said.
"The teachers told us that there is a Union Home Ministry order of 1954 which says that employees can go for prayers after foregoing a certain amount from the salary. We have written to the Home Ministry to know whether the rule is still applicable," Khan said.
The response from the Home Ministry is yet to come, according to Khan.
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Medical tests, vaccination for Haj pilgrims to be completed by March 28
Bengaluru: Health and Family Welfare Services Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde has directed officials to complete medical examinations and vaccination for pilgrims travelling for Haj this year by March 28.
In a circular issued to the Director of the Medical Education Department, he stated that the District RCH Officer has been designated as the nodal officer to complete all related activities as per the Standard Operating Procedure. The District Health Officer concerned will oversee overall monitoring and coordination of the programme.
The Commissioner has instructed deans and directors of medical colleges, district surgeons and medical superintendents to extend necessary cooperation to ensure smooth conduct of the medical examinations. Medical colleges have also been asked to deploy specialist doctors from their institutions to assist in the medical screening teams for Haj pilgrims.
Hospitals participating in the process must submit details of the specialist teams involved in the examinations and the schedule of health camps organised for the pilgrims. They have also been directed to update the daily progress of the activities on the website https://hphis.ehospital.nic.in/ for monitoring and review.
Officials have been asked to make necessary arrangements in view of the 3,991 Haj pilgrims in Bengaluru who are required to undergo medical screening. Facilities for the examinations have been arranged at Victoria Hospital, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (Bowring Hospital), K.C. General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, K.R. Puram General Hospital and Yelahanka General Hospital.
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Haj Committee president Zulfikar Ahmed Khan said that medical examination camps are being organised at Haj Bhavan until March 16. As per the directions of the Saudi Arabian government, all Haj pilgrims must undergo mandatory medical screening.
Pilgrims will first undergo general medical check-ups at Haj Bhavan, and those requiring further tests will be referred to government hospitals based on doctors’ recommendations. He also said arrangements have been made for medical examinations at seven government hospitals in Bengaluru for Haj pilgrims.
