We launched moon mission but where's tech for sewer cleaning?: Jignesh Mevani
Gandhinagar: Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday challenged Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to declare any one village "untouchability-free" before the upcoming Independence Day and maintained the social evil was still prevalent in the state.
Speaking in the legislative Assembly, he came down heavily on the BJP government in Gujarat over the issue of atrocities against Dalits.
Referring to the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission on Monday, Mevani said while it shows expertise in space, there exists no technology to prevent death of sanitation workers engaged in cleaning sewers or septic tanks.
"It is the need of the hour for the government to visit villages where Dalits are subjected to untouchability and discrimination such as not allowing them to fetch water from common well.
"The government should book the guilty under the Protection of Civil Rights Act. But, the sad part is that no offence is registered," the Dalit leader said.
The MLA from Vadgam in Banaskantha district was speaking on his 'cut-motion' moved against the budgetary demands of the Social Justice and Empowerment department.
"Whenever an incident of atrocity takes place, media persons ask me `when will I visit that place'. Now, it is my humble appeal to Vijay Rupani, known to be a sarva-mitra' (friend of all), to be a 'Dalit-mitra' and visit such places.
"I want him to declare any one village of Gujarat untouchability-free before August 15," he said.
Speaking in the budgetary demands, Mevani slammed the government, saying not a single rupee has been allocated to eliminate the social evils of discrimination and untouchability.
"The Social Justice and Empowerment department was not created to uplift Dalits and tribals economically. This department is meant for ensuring social justice by eliminating discrimination and untouchability, which are still prevalent in the state.
"But, not a single rupee has been allocated to eliminate these social evils in the budget of this department," said the independent lawmaker.
"It was announced yesterday that we have successfully launched Chandrayaan-2. But, at the same time, we do not possess a technology to prevent sanitation workers from entering in sewer lines and dying in them," rued Mevani.
He offered to gift a robot to the state government to clean sewers and prevent death of sanitation workers.
"This is my offer to the government. I will gift you a Rs 11 lakh robot, invented in Kerala. Sanitation workers need not enter in to manholes if we use this robot.
"I am ready to gift it. But, can you give it in writing that you will use it?" asked Mevani.
Alleging that Dalits are forced to use separate crematorium, he urged the government to bring a policy wherein people from all castes are required to use common crematorium.
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Spurious ointment racket busted; Delhi Police recovers material worth Rs 2 crore from Ghaziabad unit
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted a major interstate racket allegedly involved in the manufacture, repackaging and nationwide sale of spurious Schedule-H medicines, an official said on Sunday.
Police have also located a manufacturing unit and seized counterfeit drugs and raw material worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
According to the police, two men -- Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta of northeast Delhi's Sabhapur -- have been arrested in the case, he said.
"The operation was carried out by the Crime Branch. The accused were engaged in producing and selling counterfeit versions of popular prescription ointments, including Betnovate-C and Clop-G, which are widely used for treating skin infections, allergies and sports-related injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said in a statement.
The officer further said the spurious medicines were sold as genuine branded products, posing a serious risk to public health.
Acting on inputs, the Crime Branch team first conducted a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of the country's largest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets.
"During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit Schedule-H ointments was recovered. Subsequent technical analysis and follow-up intelligence led the team to a manufacturing unit operating from Meerpur Hindu village in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
"A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of counterfeit medicines, huge quantities of raw chemicals, packing material, empty tubes bearing forged brand labels and machinery used for mixing, filling and sealing ointments," the DCP said.
He further said drug inspectors from the North and Central Zones of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of the concerned pharmaceutical companies, conducted spot inspections and drew samples from the seized stock. They confirmed that the medicines were counterfeit and neither manufactured nor supplied by their companies.
The accused were also found to be operating without any valid licence to manufacture, store or sell pharmaceutical products, he added.
Police said that an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station on December 12 under various sections of the BNS and provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"The seized material included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop-G, more than 3,700 tubes of spurious Skin-Shine ointment, nearly 22,000 empty fake Clop-G tubes, over 350 kilograms of semi-prepared ointment, besides chemicals and manufacturing equipment," the DCP said.
He said further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, delivery handlers and retailers involved in the illegal trade.
