Maldives asks India to withdraw troops by March 15: Report
Male, Jan 14: Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw its military personnel from his country by March 15, a senior official here said on Sunday, nearly two months after Male sought their removal.
According to the latest government figures, there are 88 Indian military personnel in the Maldives.
In a press briefing, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President's Office, said that President Muizzu has formally asked India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15, the SunOnline newspaper reported.
"Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration," he said.
Maldives and India have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of troops. The group held its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male' on Sunday morning.
The meeting was also attended by Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar, the report said.
Nazim confirmed the meeting and said the agenda for the meeting was the request to withdraw troops by March 15.
The Indian government did not immediately confirm the media report or comment on it.
Soon after taking oath as the President of Maldives on November 17 last year, Muizzu, who is regarded as a pro-China leader, formally requested India to withdraw its military personnel from his country, saying the Maldivian people have given him a "strong mandate" to make this request to New Delhi.
The request for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel comes amid a row between the two nations in the backdrop of derogatory comments posted by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Muizzu suspended the three ministers after their social media postings, which stirred concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in numbers followed by Russia. Chinese tourists figured third.
During his just-concluded state visit to China, Muizzu sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing.
Speaking to the press on Saturday after returning from China, President Muizzu indirectly attacked India.
Without naming any country, he said, "We may be small, but that doesn't give you the license to bully us."
He also announced plans to reduce the country's dependency on India, including securing imports of essential food commodities and medicine and consumables from other countries.
"We aren't in anyone's backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state," he said, addressing the reporters gathered at the Velana International Airport.
He said that no country has the right to exert influence over the domestic affairs of a country, regardless of its size.
He vowed that he would not allow any external influence on the domestic affairs of the Maldives.
Male is also reviewing more than 100 bilateral agreements with New Delhi signed by the previous government here.
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HC asks Chhattisgarh govt to pay Rs 25,000 each to students served dog-soiled mid-day meal
Bilaspur, Aug 20 (PTI): The Chhattisgarh High Court has directed the state government to pay within a month Rs 25,000 each to the students who consumed mid-day meals soiled by a dog at a middle school in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district last month.
A division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, in an order delivered on Tuesday, highlighted negligence on part of the government in the entire episode and expressed the hope authorities will be more vigilant and careful in providing mid-day meal to students.
While awarding the compensation to 84 pupils, the bench did not take into account the state's argument that the affected students of the government school were administered three doses of anti-rabies vaccine and they were found to be fit after a subsequent health check-up.
The HC gave the ruling after taking suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the matter as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and sought an affidavit from the state government.
According to an inquiry report submitted by the government in the HC, the incident took place on July 28 at the government middle school located in Lachchhanpur village in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district.
The report, citing statements of the students, said a dog soiled the food distributed under the mid-day meal scheme. A self-help group (SHG) prepares food items served to students under the scheme at the school.
The students alerted teachers who advised SHG members not to distribute the dog-soiled food, but their directive was ignored. Despite a complaint made to the school headmaster, soiled eatables were not removed from the meal and subsequently consumed by the students, it said.
The Chief Medical and Health Officer, Balodabazar-Bhatapara, later submitted a report, according to which, up to August 8, three doses of anti-rabies vaccine had been administered to 84 children, it said.
According to the CMHO's report, all the affected pupils were found to be medically fit after a health check-up and were regularly attending the school. However, as a precaution, the children have been kept under continuous observation of Primary Health Centre personnel at Lachchhanpur.
The SHG has been removed from the work of preparing mid-day meal at the school and barred from availing any further governmental benefit. The school's in-charge Principal Santosh Kumar Sahu, Cluster Principal, In-charge Headmaster, teachers and Cluster Coordinator were suspended via an order dated August 6, the government report said.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Balodabazar-Bhatapara collector, in a letter addressed to school education department officials, issued directions related to preparation and distribution of mid-day meal.
The Directorate of School Education has also issued guidelines to District Education Officers, asking them to ensure maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene, undertake regular quality and safety check after preparation of food items and follow prescribed standards mandated under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojna.
The state government told the court no compensation was given as the affected students as they were found to be fit after a health check-up.
However, the bench noted, "Considering the fact that it was an institution of the government and SHG was assigned to provide mid-day meal, but the said mid-day meal was soiled by a dog and it was unfit for consumption for the students of the school.
"And though three doses of anti-rabies has been administered to 84 children of the school, it was negligent on the part of the state to take care that the food which was being offered in the mid-day meal by the SHG to the children of middle school, we deem it proper that Rs 25,000 be paid by the state to each of the student of the concerned middle school, who had consumed the said meal, within a period of one month from today."
The HC further observed, "We hope and trust that the state would be more vigilant and careful in providing mid-day meal to the children studying in government schools."
