Congress MP raises concern over lack of toilets for girl students in govt schools
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan on Monday raised concern over the absence of separate toilets for girl students in government schools, urging the Centre to conduct an immediate survey of school infrastructure across the country.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader from Chhattisgarh said the ground reality of the government's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme was far from its promise.
"There are slogans from various platforms, but there is not even a toilet for girl students in schools," she said.
Ranjan cited a recent report stating that over 5,000 schools in Chhattisgarh do not have separate toilets for girl students, adding that the state High Court had termed the situation "shameful" and sought a response from the state government.
ALSO READ: Deeply distressed by loss of lives in Odisha hospital fire incident: President Murmu
Referring to national data, she said as per a 2014-15 survey of 14.72 lakh schools, a majority lacked basic infrastructure. In Bihar, only 23 per cent of schools have separate toilets for girls, while in Uttar Pradesh the figure is 69 per cent. In Jammu and Kashmir, 1,321 government schools have no toilets.
She said UNICEF data shows 22 per cent of schools lack basic infrastructure for girl students, and around 2.3 crore girls drop out of school due to absence of facilities such as clean water, soap and sanitary napkins.
"Is Beti Bachao Beti Padhao confined only to speeches and advertisements?" she asked.
Ranjan urged the government to survey school infrastructure on a war footing and ensure every government school has separate, clean toilets along with water, soap and sanitary napkins for girl students.
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.
Latest: Trump calls for help to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): US President Donald Trump said he has demanded that about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries on Monday.
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest, gradually restarted operations after a drone struck a fuel tank and started a fire. Authorities said it was quickly contained, and no injuries were reported.
Tehran has accused the United States, without evidence, of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, as oil prices soared. Brent crude oil was trading near USD 105 per barrel on Monday.
Trump said the US is negotiating with countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows, but declined to name them.
Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with more than 850 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
Here is the latest:
Bahrain reports missile and drone attacks
-------------------------------------------------
Bahrain's Defence Ministry says air defence systems have responded to attacks on Monday morning.
The ministry says four missiles and three drones were fired.
Israel sends troops into Lebanon for a limited operation
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Israeli military says it sent additional ground troops into Lebanon for what it calls a “limited and targeted operation.”
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says the latest deployment is meant to defend Israeli border communities against attacks from the Hezbollah militant group.
Shoshani says Hezbollah has sent hundreds of fighters from its elite Radwan unit toward the border since the militant group entered the war two weeks ago.
He says Israel carried out artillery and airstrikes on multiple sites before sending in the troops.
Earlier in the war, Israel beefed up the presence of ground troops inside Lebanon in what it says is an attempt to prevent attacks on its northern border towns.
Israeli strikes on South Lebanon kill 3, including 2 paramedics
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency says one person was killed by an Israeli airstrike early Monday on a home in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Sir.
The agency says another strike occurred after paramedics from the Islamic Health Society, Hezbollah's health arm, arrived at the scene.
The agency says the second strike killed two paramedics and wounded another person.
Israeli military says 70 per cent of Iranian launchers destroyed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Israeli military says it has destroyed an estimated 70 per cent of Iran's missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Monday that while Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced.
He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85 per cent of Iran's air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites.
Shoshani says the war will go on “for as long as needed” and says Israel still has thousands of targets it is prepared to strike.
China has no comment on Trump's Strait of Hormuz request
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump's request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Foreign Ministry's Lin Jian, at a daily briefing in Beijing, instead repeated China's calls for an end to the fighting, noting the impact on energy and goods trade.
Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times that the US would like an answer from China before his planned trip to Beijing in about two weeks, and that “we may delay.”
Lin said China and the US have maintained communication on Trump's visit.
“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–US relations,” he said.
Drone strike starts fire at UAE oil facility
-----------------------------------------------
A fire broke out Monday following a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates' seven emirates, authorities said.
The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, causing an “advanced” fire.
No casualties were reported.
UAE says Palestinian killed in Abu Dhabi missile attack
---------------------------------------------------------------
A Palestinian civilian was killed in a missile attack early Monday in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said a missile fell on a civilian vehicle in the Al Bahyah area.
The death raised the toll to seven people in the UAE since the beginning of the war on Feb. 18, authorities said.
EU weighs naval missions to reopen the Strait
------------------------------------------------------
The European Union is weighing two types of naval missions to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief.
She made the announcement ahead of a gathering of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Rising prices for energy and fertilisers have brought the war in Iran to the top of their agenda, she said.
Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf or form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.
