Poonam Khetrapal re-elected in WHO
New Delhi, Sep 5 : Poonam Khetrapal Singh on Wednesday was elected as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia for a second five-year term, World Health Organisation said.
Singh's candidature was unopposed, as the 11 member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region met at the ongoing Regional Committee session held here to elect the next Regional Director, the global health body said in a statement.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda who chaired the Regional Committee meeting said: "She will surely lead the region to greater heights. Her commitment to the public health agenda in the member states was reflected in all flagship priorities of the region."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that she had brought a delivering results in countries -- a key theme of WHO's new General Programme of Work and of WHO's transformation project.
Thanking the member states for electing her, Singh said:"My vision is to consolidate, accelerate and innovate to further strengthen progress in the priority areas and translate vision into action."
Singh will commence her next five-year term on February 1, 2019.
She served in the health sector in various senior positions during her stint in the Indian Administrative Services and in the World Bank.
She also worked in WHO Director-General's cabinet in Geneva, as the Executive Director of Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments in WHO headquarters and was Deputy Regional Director WHO South-East Asia Region from 2000-2013.
As per WHO procedures, the WHO Executive Board, which next meets in Geneva in January 2019 is expected to confirm Khetrapal Singh's nomination and appoint her as the Regional Director.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
