Six girls injured in stampede-like situation at Puri Jagannath temple
Puri (Odisha), (PTI): At least six girl students were hospitalised after being injured in a stampede-like situation at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, police said.
The condition of the girls is stated to be stable.
The students, part of a 70-member group of boys and girls from Hrudananda High School in Rasgovindpur area of Mayurbhanj district, had come to Puri on Monday for a picnic during the Christmas holidays, a police officer said.
The students were at the sea beach throughout the day, and went to visit the 12th-century shrine in the evening before returning home, he said.
While climbing the 22 steps ('Baisi Pahacha') to the temple around 8 pm, the girls were caught in a stampede-like situation and fainted, a temple office-bearer said.
There were a large number of visitors to the temple during the day.
The injured girls, students of classes 9 and 10, were later rescued and admitted to a local hospital.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
