Bhatkal: 45 including top health official test positive for COVID-19; partial lockdown enforced
Bhatkal: The sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Coastal Karnataka continued on Monday as Uttara Kannada District reported over 80 fresh cases of the virus. In the District, Bhatkal alone accounted for 45 new cases in a single day.
A top official of Bhatkal Taluk Government Hospital also tested positive for the deadly virus along with a few other staff of private testing labs, which has triggered panic among the residents. On Monday, 11 women, one girl, and one girl child along with 19 men, 7 boys, and six kids (boys) tested positive for the virus.
The surge in cases of the virus in Bhatkal Taluk has forced the District Administration to enforce the lockdown once again. An official statement from the Deputy Commissioner ordered lockdown in the town limits between 2: pm to 6 am with all the commercial activities set to remain closed.
Bhatkal Assistant Commissioner, Bharat S, added that people will not be allowed to step out between 2: pm to 6: am unless in cases of medical emergencies.
Meanwhile, the administration has also initiated a WhatsApp campaign to reach out to the masses and to manage the grim-looking situation in the town.
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Organisation urges Centre to set up National Widows' Rights Commission
Mumbai (PTI): A Maharashtra-based voluntary organisation has appealed to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to establish an independent National Widows' Rights Commission to address "systemic and lifelong injustices".
Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal (MPSSM) said widowed women in India face social ostracisation, denial of property and inheritance rights, economic insecurity, psychological trauma, and heightened sexual vulnerability.
These issues are not adequately addressed by existing institutional mechanisms, it said.
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In its representation to the ministry, the organisation stated that despite Constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14, 15 and 21, there is no exclusive statutory body that focuses specifically on the unique and long-term vulnerabilities of widows.
The proposal notes that while women's commissions function at the national and state levels, their broad mandate limits focused attention on widows' issues, leading to gaps in grievance redressal, monitoring and accountability.
Calling widowed women a "structurally vulnerable group" comparable to other constitutionally recognised categories, MPSSM has proposed the creation of National and State Widows' Rights Commissions with the power to inquire into complaints, summon reports from police and administrative authorities, and make time-bound recommendations, including registration of FIRs and legal action where required.
It demanded that the commission be empowered to suggest rehabilitation measures, financial assistance schemes and amendments to existing laws, and submit annual reports to Parliament or state legislatures.
MPSSM president Pramod Zinjade said the establishment of a dedicated Widows' Rights Commission was a "constitutional necessity and moral obligation" to restore dignity, security and human rights of widowed women and to eliminate regressive social practices.
Zinjade said he has also written to the United Nations seeking the establishment of an International Widows' Rights Commission (IWRC).
He has been leading a campaign in rural Maharashtra to eradicate evil customs related to widows. Several villages have passed unanimous resolutions banning such customs.
