‘‘Outsiders’ need to go out of constituencies after May 10’
Returning Officer Sasikanth Senthil
Mangaluru, May 6: Before 48 hours of closing all voting process, which means, after May 10, 6 pm, all outsiders including star campaigners, workers and party leaders should not be in any constituencies, said Returning Officer Sasikanth Senthil.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Senthil said that all owners of all hotels, community halls and lodges were clearly directed not to provide lodging facility for any of the ‘outsiders’ in any constituency in the district. If anybody found staying inside the constituency violating the direction, would be sent outside, said Sentil, who is also the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.
The district administration has made all preparations for the election to be held on May 12. As per the direction of the Election Commission, all voters, political parties and candidates should follow the norms and it was informed to the agents of all candidates, he said.
Appointment of polling agents
Mock polling would be conducted in all 1858 polling booths before the actual polling starts on May 12. So, all polling agents should be present in polling stations by 5.45 am and be there till the end of voting process. Candidates could appoint their agents and provide the appointment orders in Form 10 to respective officers of the polling stations, he said.
Total 517 sensitive polling stations were identified in the district in which, web casting, CPMF deployment, videography and micro observers were appointed, he said.
Exit poll survey
Before 48 hours of the closing of election process, the Election Commission has banned all exit poll surveys. Following this, political parties, candidates and their supporters should get the permission from the district and state level MCMC committee and get the permission for the advertisements to be given on May 11 and 12, which means, by May 9, they have to submit two sets of advertisements should be submitted to Chief Election Officer, 2nd Floor, East Part, Treasury Bhavan, Race Course Road, Bengaluru with all information and publish them, he said.
It is also banned campaigning within the radius of 100 mt of the polling station on May 12. The political parties could set up candidates booths after 200 mts of polling station and they could use one table, two chairs and 1.5 ft banner. But before setting up of such booths, they should get permission from gram panchayat or local bodies, he said.
A candidate could get permission to use total three vehicles including one for the candidate, one for agent and another for party workers, he said.
In all polling stations, a facility would be provided with the booth level officer would help the voters to get their voter ID number with the help of alphabetical list of voters, he said.
Prohibitory order
In order to conduct the election in a smooth way, prohibitory order was imposed under Section 144 to avoid illegal assembly, conducting public programme, taking out procession and public campaigning before 48 hours of voting, he said.
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4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
