Mangaluru: Week-long lockdown to cap COVID-19 spread begins in Dakshina Kannada
Mangaluru: The week-long lockdown to stop the spread of Coronavirus in Dakshina Kannada, imposed by the District Administration began on Wednesday evening at 8 pm as per the orders issued by the administration earlier.
Since there are restrictions on bus transport, private buses will also remain off the road for a week from Thursday, said Dakshina Kannada District Bus Owners' Association president Dilraj Alva.
Both government and private vehicles may be used only in cases of emergency or by the essential service sectors.
Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that ration and grocery shops and stalls selling food items, grains, fruits, vegetables, and meat will be open from 8 am to 11 am every day.
Containment areas will be sealed down for the period. Commercial and private institutions, liquor shops, bars, and malls will be closed for a week. People will not be given entry into gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, stages, auditoriums, and meeting halls.
Organizing social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural as well as religious functions and gatherings at all religious places and places of worship is also not permitted.
The guidelines given for the lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 should be strictly followed, the deputy commissioner said.
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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.
