Maha Dy Speaker, other tribal leaders jump onto Mantralaya net to oppose ST status to Dhangars
Mumbai, Oct 4: Tribal leaders, including Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, protesting against the demand to include the Dhangar community in the Scheduled Tribe list, on Friday jumped from the third floor of Maharashtra state secretariat Mantralaya on the safety net just a floor below.
No injuries were reported in the incident that saw tense moments unfolding at the six-storey Mantralaya complex.
Zirwal, his fellow Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Kiran Lahamate and BJP tribal MP Hemant Savara were among those who jumped from the third floor onto the safety net installed on the second floor, a precaution taken in response to previous suicide attempts at the site.
The incident occurred around 12.40 pm, a police official said.
The protest, which involved two MLAs and an MP from the ruling Mahayuti alliance, highlighted escalating tensions over the government's handling of tribal issues.
After the police personnel removed these leaders from the net, these tribal representatives then gathered in the ground floor passage and began a sit-in claiming that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not meeting them to discuss the quota issue.
Dhangar or shepherd community in the state is demanding ST category inclusion for the purpose of reservation. But Zirwal and other tribal leaders are protesting against this demand.
"I am an adivasi first and then an MLA and a deputy speaker," Zirwal told reporters when asked what led him to resort to such a protest.
"CM Shinde should meet the protesters," he added.
BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar said Zirwal holds a constitutional post and there is no need to take such an extreme step.
Zirwal said the state government should offer protection to students who have been protesting since a fortnight against the halt to recruitment under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in Maharashtra.
Speaking in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar about the incident, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said, "Zirwal is in the government and a responsible person...The protesters should have spoken to other leaders who are present there. The chief minister meets everyone after the cabinet meeting. Instead of doing such agitations, they should have spoken to the CM first. This kind of protest by Zirwal is unacceptable."
"Caste-related agitations are going on across the state. The CM and two deputy CMs do hold talks with those who wish to discuss issues," he said.
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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.
