Kolkata Dec 23 PTI The Visva-Bharati University has put the ball in the court of the West Bengal government about the uncertainty over organising the heritage Push Mela saying there was no response from the health department over holding the annual event in Santiniketan The fair is held in the month of Poush December in the Bengali calendar Vice-Chancellor Prof Bidyut Chakraborty said the central university founded by Rabindranath Tagore had thrice written to the health secretary since October seeking an opinion about holding the fair by adhering to COVID-19 protocols but there was no reply The VC made the remark while inaugurating a four-day on-campus Poush Utsav on Wednesday Baitailik musical rally prayers foundation day speech in memory of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagores father and Christotsav Christmas are organised during Poush Utsav traditionally held alongside Poush Mela in December-end Maharshi Debendranath Tagore had bought land at Bolpur then a village in 1862 and decided to call the place Santiniketan or the abode of peace Upasana Griha also known as Prayer Hall was set up by him as a meditation centre there The Poush Mela was first organised by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore n 1894 The tradition is followed by the authorities of Visva-Bharati even after becoming a Central university in 1951 Rabindranath Tagore wanted to create a platform of interaction between the rural community and well-educated followers of Brahma Samaj who used to gather at Santiniketan on the auspicious day of 7 Poush every year to observe the opening of the Upasana Griha on that date in 1891 Artistes representing traditional folk music and dancers perform at the fair and locals showcase their artefacts We had first written to the states health secretary in October on the issue of organising the Poush Mela in the Covid situation The Union government had said it was the protocol because of the pandemic But we are yet to get any reply from the health department the VC said The annual fair had not been held only thrice due to the Bengal famine in 1943 the Great Calcutta Killings in 1946 and the COVID-19 situation last year Strongly reacting to Chakrabortys comment the West Bengal minister for SMSE Chandranath Sinha said this VC is lying He has not bothered to take the initiative to hold the annual Poush Mela and now he is spreading falsehood Sinha wondered if it was so then how come the state administration has given consent to a cultural organisation for holding an alternative mela with the help of the Bolpur Byabasayee Samity from December 23 As demands for the fair grew among local citizens including local traders an organisation called Bangla Sanskriti Manch decided to hold an alternative fair at another place - not at the original Purba Pally ground but on the field next to Dak Bungalow More The VC should explain why did the university not reply to appeals of the Bolpur Municipality for organising the Poush Mela Sinha told reporters while supervising arrangements for a fair by the MSME department to promote local artisans and craftsmen PTI SUS MM MM
Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 16 (ANI): Health Department in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh is conducting a Mega Focus Sampling Drive in view of rising cases of COVID-19 new variant Omicron, informed health official.
Chennai Oct 28 PTI As many as 60 lakh people in Tamil Nadu have not been inoculated and the Health Department has embarked upon measures to identify the people in order to vaccinate them State Minister Ma Subramanian said on Thursday The Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said during the seventh edition of the mass vaccination campaign scheduled for October 30 the department would target the 60 lakh Till date 70 per cent of the people in Tamil Nadu have received first dose of vaccine Till date 571 crore vaccinations have been given in the State About 13 lakh people are waiting to receive the second dose Bharat Bitotechs Covaxin We have requested to expedite release of 10 lakh Covaxin doses by the Centre he said Subramanian was talking to reporters at the airport here after arriving from New Delhi Accompanied by health officials including the Health Department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan Subramanian has met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the national capital and presented a list of 15 demands of the State My meeting with the Union Health Minister in New Delhi has been very satisfying Based on the advice by Chief Minister M K Stalin we presented 15 demands pertaining to the State to the Minister he said On the vaccination front he said 60 lakh people have not been vaccinated and the Health Department was in the process of identifying those who are eligible to receive the doses We have vaccinated 133 crore people in the six mass vaccination programmes conducted so far he said On the new type of virus Delta AY42 variant of Covid-19 he said the impact of the virus in Maharashtra was one per cent of the population and no cases were reported in Tamil Nadu However to protect ourselves getting vaccinated is essentialThe department will create awareness campaign among those people who were not vaccinated with a message saying vaccination is the only solution to safeguard us from the virus he said PTI VIJ NVG NVG
Kolkata Oct 26 PTI A day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee cautioned hospitals of strict action including cancellation of their licences in case they deny holders of Swathya Sathi cards from its benefits the West Bengal Health Department on Tuesday issued an advisory of restrictions on unspecified packages The swasthya sathi scheme launched by Banerjee on December 30 2016 offers a basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family For emergency accidentalsurgical cases an unspecified package may be allowed with a ceiling of medicine and diagnostic charges of Rs 5000 maximum in addition to cost applicable against days of hospitalization as per approved rate for initial treatment the advisory said Despite large number of packages being available many healthcare providers are treating patients under the category unspecified package for medical management cases and for certain surgical cases which may be blocked under specified packages it said According to the advisory in case a person is not carrying the card the same has to be searched with the Aadhar number of the beneficiary in the Swasthya Sathi web portal In case a person does not have any of the health card identification of the personissuance of new card will be facilitated in the hospital itself Similar arrangements should also have to be made for all PPP diagnostic centres the advisory said Under the scheme there are at least 1900 packages where a family can avail secondary and tertiary care cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per annum from any of the empanelled hospital PTI SCH RG RG
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
