Shelter home incidents shameful, no culprit will escape action: Rajnath
New Delhi, Aug 7 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that rapes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh shelter homes are "sad and shameful" and assured that steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such acts and that no culprit would escape action.
"I direct the ministry concerned to issue advisories to all states so that no such incident is repeated. Running shelter homes can be investigated," Singh assured the opposition.
"Whatever happened in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh is sad and shameful," he said during the Question Hour.
However, there was again an uproar after the Union Minister praised and congratulated Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government for taking "concrete steps" after the Deoria shelter home crime surfaced.
"He (Adityanath) called a meeting of all the officers and directed them to take strict action. No culprit will escape action The District Planning Officer was suspended and the managers of the shelter home were arrested," Rajnath Singh said.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said: "The issue is being raised in the House consecutively for three days, let us have a parliamentary panel to inspect and submit a report."
Kharge also asked the Speaker to set up a House Committee to probe the incidents.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party staged a walkout after the Home Minister's statement, demanding an impartial probe into both Deoria and Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said: "These incidents are very unfortunate. All the concerned members should take appropriate action on such incidents in their constituencies. But, don't do politics on the matter."
Samajwadi Party member Dharmendra Yadav said "strict action should be taken against the culprits" and a probe should be initiated. He also said that he does not want to play politics on the issue.
He later said that the Home Minister's act of congratulating Adityanath for his efforts to take action in the Deoria case is "unfortunate and condemnable".
RJD member Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav also spoke on the issue.
Both shelter home horrors sparked a political storm in Parliament after the cases revealed sordid tales of women being abused at these places.
A total of 24 girls were rescued from the shelter home in Deoria late on Sunday after one of them told the police that they were being sexually abused.
Officials told IANS that 18 girls were missing from the privately-run shelter home which earlier got funds from the government. Its affiliation to the Women and Child Welfare Department was cancelled in 2017 after a CBI probe revealed some discrepancies.
At least 34 minor girls were raped at the Muzaffarpur shelter home. The crime came to light in July when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR on the basis of a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
