2 labourers die after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning sewage tank
Varanasi, Nov 10: Two labourers died after inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning a sewage tank in the Chaukaghat area here on Saturday, police said.
Sewage tanks in the area are being linked with pumping stations of the Dinapur sewage treatment plant, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate on November 12 during his visit to Varanasi, they said.
The newly-constructed sewage treatment plant was being made operational ahead of the prime minister's visit, for which more than a dozen labourers were engaged in the cleaning of sewage lines, police said.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies of two labourers. They were identified as Vikas Paswan (18) and Dinesh Paswan(27), natives of Bhabua in Bihar.
A junior official at the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam was taken into police custody for allegedly sending the labourers inside the sewage tank without safety equipment, police said.
A probe into the matter was underway, they added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
