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The Indian Express •

Relatives of students who died ‘due to ragging’ look for closure: ‘Doors are open, hoping my son will come home’

A mother in Assam who came to know that her son’s body had signs of a gunshot wound and a stab injury on the neck; a father in UP who gave up hope after pursuing his daughter’s death for three years; an elder brother in Telangana who remains hopeful that justice will be delivered.These are the searing stories that bring to life the number 78 — the count of students who died on campus allegedly due to ragging, between 2012 and 2023, according to data from the University Grants Commission (UGC) th...
The Indian Express •

UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar: Weak implementation of anti-ragging regulations within institutions may give perpetrators safe passage

From regular advisories to follow-up action, the UGC is working on “continuous improvement” in its anti-ragging programme but it is also the responsibility of institutions to follow its regulations “in letter and spirit” to remove the menace, according to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar.“Addressing the root cause of the ragging menace is equally essential… Weak implementation of anti-ragging regulations within institutions may give the perpetrators a safe passage,” he said. Kumar was responding to...
The Indian Express •

Ragging deaths: Complaints spike, system stuck in grey zone, Supreme Court guidelines on paper

🔴 The video shows a boy on a cot with his hands and legs tied. A group of other boys is seen jabbing him with a sharp object, laughing while doing so, while the victim is heard crying. This clip is now the focus of a Kerala police investigation into an alleged case of ragging at a government nursing college in Kottayam — the latest reminder of a menace that continues to haunt the hallways of educational institutions across the country.Supreme Court guidelines to eradicate ragging from 15 years a...
The Indian Express •

Failing them again: Beds remain empty as one-stop centres for rape survivors under Nirbhaya Fund remain crippled with low referral, official apathy

A decade after the December 16, 2012, Delhi gang rape incident that shook the nation, the One-Stop-Centres (OSC) or ‘Sakhi’ centres, established with the Nirbhaya Fund set up by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) to support women affected by violence, have failed to take off. An investigation revealed several challenges, including a lack of awareness, infrastructure, lack of coordination between departments, police apathy and hesitancy among women. At the nation’s financial...
The Indian Express •

Nandurbar: Several schemes on paper for women, but benefits yet to reach thousands

Along the backwaters of Narmada river, 25-year-old Tagali Laldas Pawara resides in Khadkya village, located in Akrani taluka of Nandurbar district, just 10 km from the Gujarat border. Last July, she delivered her second child at home. But even before the anemic Tagali could recover, within a month of her delivery, she had to join her husband in Gujarat to earn a livelihood in a sugarcane farm. Soon, the infant who was left behind with her in-laws developed pneumonia and succumbed to it on August...
The Indian Express •

In Nandurbar, with no proper treatment, sickle cell anaemia patients develop deformities, even die

Nandurbar district, which has a predominantly tribal population, has the most number of sickle cell anaemia (SCA) patients in the state. Despite having the highest number of cases of the life-threatening blood disorder, the district lacks basic health infrastructure, medicines and specialists to treat the disease.Without proper treatment, patients develop deformities and some even succumb, of which there are no records.Burshalal Vasane’s right leg is slightly bent inward and he walks with a stic...
The Indian Express •

Nandurbar’s floating dispensary, water ambulances struggle to stay afloat

Over the years, the Maharashtra government has taken several initiatives and poured funds to improve the medical infrastructure in Nandurbar district. Many of these projects, which were launched with much fanfare, however, cut a sorry picture today, among them a floating dispensary and water ambulances.Despite the state government’s efforts, Nandurbar, with a population of 16.46 lakh, has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in Maharashtra with health and economic disparities seriously affec...
The Indian Express •

Rs 6-crore Bilgaon PHC has no electricity, patients treated under torchlight

In the last two years, Nandurbar district has set up 11 newly-designed advanced primary health centres (PHCs). Worth Rs 6 crore each, each PHC is spread over 3,000 sq ft with a doctors’ quarter. However, the condition of these PHCs – meant to provide healthcare to the poorest and weakest sections of Nandurbar’s tribal population – is abject.One such PHC is the Bilgaon facility inaugurated in 2021. A year down the line, the centre still lacks basic health infrastructure like electricity.It has fo...

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