6 from Bengal make death plea to Prez fearing detention after names 'deleted' from voter list
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Kolkata (PTI): Six residents of Arambagh in West Bengal’s Hooghly district made a plea for death to President Droupadi Murmu on Monday, after their names were reportedly deleted from the electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, a senior official said.
They submitted an application to Murmu through a poll official, who is also the SDO of Arambagh.
The applicants, including a retired government school teacher, visited the SDO office and submitted their plea along with supporting documents, he said.
"All the six are residents of Ward No. 6 of Arambagh Municipality, where a total of 206 names were reportedly struck off from the list," the poll official said.
Among the applicants is Taibunnesa Begum, who had served as headmistress of Gochar Bhagwati Girls School, Goghat, for around 20 years, he said.
She claimed that her name was deleted from the list despite possessing pension papers and other official documents, including a passport, according to the official.
“We have submitted an application for voluntary death, as we cannot bear this suffering anymore,” Taibunnesa said, standing outside the SDO office.
The applicants were accompanied by local councillor Swapan Nandi.
Taibunnesa expressed apprehension that they would be sent to detention camps as their names were “deleted” from the voters’ list, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“We would rather seek death than face detention,” she said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been criticising the BJP over the SIR, had recently asserted at a poll rally that there will be no detention camp in Bengal.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
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