Biography of social reformer Narayana Guru released
New Delhi, June 14: A comprehensive biography of Keralas prominent social reformer and philosopher Sree Narayana Guru was launched here on Thursday, with the aim of popularising his life and teachings beyond the state.
Titled "Sree Narayana Guru: The Perfect Union of Buddha and Sankara", the biography, written by Asokan Vengassery Krishnan, was released by Rajya Sabha member Narendra Jadhav at a function in the Teen Murti House.
The 396-page book, published by Konark Publishers, has been edited by veteran journalist M.R. Narayan Swamy.
"Guru is widely known in Kerala, but not so much outside it. The idea is to take his teachings and philosophy to India and rest of the world, with this book," Krishnan told IANS.
In his address, Jadhav, likened the anti-caste crusade of Narayana Guru to that of B.R. Ambedkar.
This book chronicles the illustrious life of the sage who emerged as the conscience of Kerala in the twentieth century, the publisher said in a statement.
"As a social reformer, his impact was unmatched in history. Thoss who had been denied basic human rights for centuries were able to experience dramatic changes in their lives due to the awakening caused by Guru's teachings," it said.
In the book's preface, Krishnan writes that he had striven to "unravel the multifaceted personality of Sree Narayana Guru as a saint, sage, 'siddha', 'yogi', socio-religious reformer, thinker, educator, philosopher, pragmatic visionary, and poet".
Rajya Sabha member V. Muraleedharan deemed it as a book "relevant to present time", and said his teachings have universal applicability.
The dignitaries present during the launch include former Indian Council for Cultural Relations chairman Lokesh Chandra, Kerala MP A. Sampath, former diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan, fomer Kannur University Vice Chancellor P. Chandramohan among others.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
