90-year-old Padma Shri Awardee Guru Mayadhar Raut evicted from govt accommodation
The eviction proceedings against 90-year-old Padma Shri awardee Odissi dancer Guru Mayadhar Raut from government accommodation began on Tuesday, reported The Hindu.
The accommodation provided by the centre for prominent artists decades ago including Guru Mayadhar Raut was cancelled earlier in 2014 while a notice was issued in this regard in 2020 after which late Birju Maharaj had moved court, the report said.
Artist and daughter of Guru Raut, Madhumita Raut said the artists had lost their case against the eviction on February 25 and had time till April 25 to vacate the houses at the Asian Games Village here. She said the hearing of artists’ appeal in the Delhi High Court was scheduled on Wednesday morning.
“The Directorate of Estates knew our appeal was to be heard on Wednesday so they came with their staff and police to forcibly throw out our belongings on Tuesday. They came at 1 p.m. and I was serving lunch to my father. I appealed to them to allow my father to eat but they did not allow it,” she said.
According to the report, Raut was in the process of vacating the house on Wednesday and moving to a student’s house as a temporary measure until the hearing. She said that the house was allotted to her father about 25 years ago.
“I don’t mind if they evict, but the way in which it was done was inhumane. The houses were allotted to artists who work with the guru-shishya tradition and don’t care for commercial interests. Isn’t it the government’s responsibility to take care of Padma awardees?” she claimed.
The report said that among the artists who were allotted accommodation in the Asian Games Village, Guru Raut was the first one to be evicted so far. It also said that Vanashree Rao, wife of Kuchipudi dancer Guru Jayarama Rao, who was allotted government accommodation in Asian Games Village in 1987, said the artists were awaiting the court’s decision on their appeal.
The Cabinet Committee on Accommodation in November 2020 had decided to waive damage charges accumulated by 27 artists, a total of ₹32.09 crore, for overstaying at the allotted houses beyond 2014. They had been given time till the end of the year to vacate.
The report noted that up to 40 artists can be allotted accommodation under a special quota in the General Pool Residential Accommodation on the recommendation of the Culture Ministry if they earned under ₹20,000 a month.
A comment from the Directorate of Estates in this regard is anticipated, the report said.
PC: India Today
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UP: Disguised as a woman, man sets married lover on fire after she refuses to leave with him
Mathura (UP), Mar 11 (PTI): A man disguised as a woman set his married lover on fire inside her house here on Tuesday afternoon after she refused to leave with him, police said.
As the woman's neighbours rushed to her house after hearing her screams, the accused, Umesh (28), tried to escape by jumping from the terrace but sustained severe injuries, police said.
Both Rekha (30), who suffered over 70 per cent burns, and Umesh are undergoing treatment at SN Medical College in Agra, they said.
Rekha, a resident of Koh village, was alone at home watching TV when the incident occurred. Her children, aged seven and five, were at school and her husband Sanju, a farm labourer, was away at work, Farah police station in-charge Sanjay Kumar Pandey said.
Around noon, Umesh, a resident of Hasanpur village in Haryana and the brother of Rekha's elder sister-in-law, reached her house with a bottle of petrol, the police official said.
"Umesh was wearing a lehenga to disguise himself as a woman and was dropped off near the village by a friend on a motorcycle. He entered Rekha's house from the terrace, walked into her room and pressured her to leave with him. When she refused, he poured petrol on her and set her on fire," Pandey said.
Alerted by Rekha's screams, her neighbours rushed to her help while Umesh tried to escape by jumping from the terrace. However, he was seriously injured, the official said.
After reaching the spot, police took Rekha and Umesh to the Farah community health centre. Due to their critical condition, they were later referred to SN Medical College in Agra, police said.
"Umesh was a regular visitor to Rekha's house and their relationship developed over time. On August 31 last year, Rekha left home with him. Her family filed a police complaint and she was brought back from Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh on February 10," Pandey said.
"After the incident, Rekha distanced herself from Umesh, realising her mistake. When she refused to go with him today, he became enraged and tried to kill her," the official said.
Pandey said that no formal complaint has been lodged in the matter yet. "Once a complaint is received, legal action will be taken. For now, saving their lives is the priority," he said.
