AAP govts in Punjab, Delhi will procure onions from you, don't throw them away: Mann tells farmers
Bhavnagar, Feb 26: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday assured farmers in Gujarat's Bhavnagar that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments in Punjab and Delhi will buy their onions by sending a train so that they do not have to face losses amid the prevailing situation wherein this kitchen staple is fetching low prices from traders.
Several farmers from Bhavnagar district met Mann at the circuit house here and urged him to find a solution to their problem as prices have hit rock bottom due to a bumper yield.
Talking to farmers outside Bhavnagar circuit house to understand their issue, Mann asked AAP's Gujarat unit president Isudan Gadhvi to take details from farmers so that the party can raise this issue in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the upcoming Parliament session next month.
"I am also a farmer's son so I understand your pain. Please do not destroy your crop. I will inquire about onion demand in Punjab and Delhi and then lift the stock from here. We will send a train to transport your onions," said Mann.
According to Nikulsinh Zala, one of the farmers who met Mann, onions grown in Bhavnagar are known for their top quality but farmers are not getting the fair price due to the monopoly of wholesale traders.
"We met Mann to discuss the issues being faced by farmers of Bhavnagar due to low prices of our produce. Mann asked us to have patience and assured us that both the Punjab and Delhi government would buy our onions and send a train here to transport it to those states in the coming weeks," Zala told reporters.
"Punjab CM assured that both the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi will send a train to Bhavnagar to procure onions grown here. He requested us to have some patience and not to throw away our produce. Mann also assured that all the five AAP MLAs will raise this issue in the Assembly during the ongoing Budget session," said another farmer, Mohan Makwana.
A few days back, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, Shaktisinh Gohil, had raised this issue claiming that farmers are getting only Rs 2 per one kg of onions at APMCs due to bumper yield.
"Onion-growing farmers of Bhavnagar and other parts of Gujarat are in great trouble. They are hardly getting Rs 2 per one kg of onion. I urge both - the Centre and the Gujarat government - to immediately announce Minimum Support Price (MSP) for onions. As a relief, the government should also announce subsidies for the farmers hit by low prices," the national spokesperson of Congress had said.
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SC asks states, UTs to prepare action plan to implement guidelines for intensive care services
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has asked all the states and Union Territories to prepare a "realistic and practical" action plan to implement the guidelines necessary as a minimum standard for intensive care units.
The apex court was informed that "Guidelines for Organisation and Delivery of Intensive Care Services", on which there is consensus and which is practical, implementable and necessary as a minimum standard for an ICU, has been prepared.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan said copies of the guidelines should be shared with all the states and UTs.
"Moving further, as an immediate measure, let all the additional chief secretaries/secretaries ... heading the department of health and medical education in the states and the UTs, convene a meeting of all experts involved in this exercise to prepare an action plan for implementation of the guidelines. Such a plan shall be realistic and practical," the bench said in its April 20 order.
The top court was hearing a matter relating to healthcare services, including guidelines for the treatment of patients in the ICU or critical care unit.
The bench said five basic issues shall be identified and prioritised in the first instance.
"The challenge ... lies in determining what ought to be treated as absolutely essential and mandatory; accordingly, an initial list of five basic requirements, in terms of priority, relating to both manpower and equipment/logistics, shall be prepared," it said.
It said a methodology should also be formulated for implementation on the ground, and more importantly, a mechanism to ensure compliance and monitoring of the implementation.
"We expect the exercise to commence immediately and the first meeting to be held within one week from today. We direct that the meeting shall be attended personally by the concerned additional chief secretary/secretary ... heading the department of health and medical education in the states and the UTs," the bench said.
It said the report prepared pursuant to the deliberations should be forwarded by the respective states and UTs to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Government of India, who in turn would circulate it to all the states and UTs.
The bench said thereafter, a meeting of all concerned should be convened where a final common agreed draft shall be prepared and circulated.
"A final report/blueprint/recommendation shall be prepared, which shall be placed before this court on the next date," it said, adding that the entire exercise should be completed within three weeks.
"Let the Ministry of Health, Government of India, formally issue the guidelines placed before us today, to the states and UTs concerned by way of an advisory. A copy of it shall also be uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Health, Government of India," the bench said, while posting the matter for further hearing on May 18.
During the hearing, it was suggested that for future requirements, the nursing staff should be trained to handle such situations since they remain with the patient round the clock, unlike doctors who may visit periodically.
"We fully endorse the suggestion, which is not only pragmatic but also imperative. Accordingly, the Indian Nursing Council and the Para Medical Council of India are impleaded as party respondents," the bench said.
It said on the next date, the newly added respondents shall come up with a plan indicating how they propose to augment the courses or curriculum and training imparted by them so that persons emerging from institutions recognised by them are capable of managing and handling situations in the ICUs.
