News Analysis India

Tag: Porbandar

  • Two-month-old girl branded with hot iron rod to treat cough in Gujarat; quack held 

    By PTI

    PORBANDAR: A two-month-old baby girl was hospitalised after she was allegedly branded with a hot iron rod by a “self-styled doctor” to treat her for cough in Gujarat’s Porbandar district, police said on Sunday.

    The quack was arrested on Sunday and an FIR was registered against him and the child’s mother, Deputy Superintendent of Police Surjeet Mahedu said.

    The baby has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a government hospital. She is under observation and her condition is reported to be stable, he said.

    “The baby suffered from cough and phlegm a week ago and her parents tried a local cure at home, but she did not get relief. Thereafter, the child’s mother took her to one Devrajbhai Katara,” Mahedu said.

    Katara allegedly branded the baby with a hot iron rod on her chest and stomach. When she did not get relief, the parents took the child to Bhavsinhji General Hospital in Porbandar and the matter came to light, he said.

    Based on a complaint by the infant’s father, an FIR was registered against Katara and the baby’s mother under Indian Penal Code Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by means of any instrument likely to cause death) and other provisions, the official said.

    The condition of the baby, who was admitted to the ICU of the hospital in Porbandar, was stable, he said.

    Dr Jai Badiyani from the general hospital told mediapersons that the baby was brought to the medical facility on February 9 with breathing complications.

    “She was put on oxygen support in the ICU. During the treatment, we found that she was branded on her chest. This increased her complications,” he said.

    Earlier this month, a two-and-a-half-month-old girl died in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district after allegedly being branded with a hot iron rod more than 50 times by an exorcist, police said.

    Another case where a 3-month-old girl was branded with a hot iron rod had also come to light in Shahdol, they said.

    PORBANDAR: A two-month-old baby girl was hospitalised after she was allegedly branded with a hot iron rod by a “self-styled doctor” to treat her for cough in Gujarat’s Porbandar district, police said on Sunday.

    The quack was arrested on Sunday and an FIR was registered against him and the child’s mother, Deputy Superintendent of Police Surjeet Mahedu said.

    The baby has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a government hospital. She is under observation and her condition is reported to be stable, he said.

    “The baby suffered from cough and phlegm a week ago and her parents tried a local cure at home, but she did not get relief. Thereafter, the child’s mother took her to one Devrajbhai Katara,” Mahedu said.

    Katara allegedly branded the baby with a hot iron rod on her chest and stomach. When she did not get relief, the parents took the child to Bhavsinhji General Hospital in Porbandar and the matter came to light, he said.

    Based on a complaint by the infant’s father, an FIR was registered against Katara and the baby’s mother under Indian Penal Code Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by means of any instrument likely to cause death) and other provisions, the official said.

    The condition of the baby, who was admitted to the ICU of the hospital in Porbandar, was stable, he said.

    Dr Jai Badiyani from the general hospital told mediapersons that the baby was brought to the medical facility on February 9 with breathing complications.

    “She was put on oxygen support in the ICU. During the treatment, we found that she was branded on her chest. This increased her complications,” he said.

    Earlier this month, a two-and-a-half-month-old girl died in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district after allegedly being branded with a hot iron rod more than 50 times by an exorcist, police said.

    Another case where a 3-month-old girl was branded with a hot iron rod had also come to light in Shahdol, they said.

  • Six workers trapped inside chimney of cement factory in Gujarat’s Porbandar

    By PTI

    PORBANDAR: At least six workers were trapped inside the chimney of a cement factory in Gujarat’s Porbandar district on Thursday evening and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been called in, an official statement said.

    The incident took place at the Ranavav-based plant of Saurashtra Cement Limited which markets its product under the brand name “HATHI”.

    While the rescue operation was on, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani spoke to district collector A M Sharma and ordered deployment of two companies of the NDRF to help with the operation, the statement added.

    “A metal scaffolding structure was erected inside the chimney to apply a coat of paint. The structure suddenly collapsed when workers were nearly 40 feet above the ground. Six workers are currently trapped inside the chimney under the metal debris of the scaffolding,” said collector Sharma.

    Camera-mounted drones were sent inside the chimney to locate the workers and establish contact with them, he said.

  • Rae Bareli rail coach factory was underutilised before 2014: PM Modi

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said earlier governments did not make the most of India’s potential and cited the rail coach factory in Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency as an example.

    Asserting that “positive mindset and approach are needed to change things,” he laid stress on realising “our full potential to ensure development of the nation”.The Prime Minister was speaking at the centennial foundation day of Lucknow University via video link on Wednesday.

    “For long, it has been a problem that we have not utilised our potential to the full. In the past, it was also true for the governance of our country. We have tried to change this after coming to power,” he said.

    “The rail coach factory in Rae Bareli is an example of how we can change things by changing our outlook. The factory was set up many years ago and had all the machinery to make train coaches, yet only denting-painting (maintenance) was done there. Tall promises were made for the factory, but nothing changed. When we came to power in 2014, we looked into the affairs and, within six months, the factory started making rail coaches. It is now one of the biggest coach manufacturers in the country,” he said.The PM also cited urea production in the country to underline his point.

    “I was surprised to know that despite having sufficient urea plants, the country was importing urea only because our plants were not working to their full potential. The previous governments had not done much to change this. When we came to power, we made changes, and now the country has become self-reliant in urea,” he said.

    Will power and good intentions were equally important as capabilities, he said.He also spoke about his experience of popularising khadi with the help of students in Gujarat through a fashion show at Porbandar on Gandhi Jayanti in 2002.This made khadi “fashionable”, he said, adding that the quantity of khadi sold in the last six years was more than that sold in 20 years before 2014.