TIRUNELVELI l monday l november 28, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION prostate gland enlargement cases shooting up: lancet The surge is more pronounced in low and middle-income countries of Latin America, south and east Asia 91% surge in cases in India, 70% globally 1.82 crore number of cases to rise further Between 2000 and 2019, there was a 90.9% surge in number of benign prostatic hyperplasia cases in India, as per the study. In contrast, the worldwide average was 70%. Qatar saw the highest surge of 500% during the period. An enlarged prostate gland can lead to a variety of symptoms, including difficulty in urinating | P7 ■ Latin America saw the sharpest region-wise rise in number of cases (98%), followed by east (97%) and South Asia (91%) ■ As life expectancy increases, cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia are expected to rise further, the study warned ■ The condition is typically found in men over the age of 65 N.o. of benign prostatic hyperplasia cases in India as of 2019 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Thousdands of demonstrators, including university students, rally against Beijing’s stringent zero-Covid policy, shout anti-Xi slogans showdown D i l i p S i n g h Ks h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Oct 13: A rare protest held against Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing over strict antiCovid measures Oct 14: A protest banner on a bridge in Beijing calls for Xi’s removal Oct 17: Xi reaffirms China’s adherence to zero-Covid policy in Communist Party Conrgess amid rising public discontent Oct 18: Protests spread to other cities Oct 28: Large-scale protests erupt in Tibet against China’s zeroCovid policy. Nov 4: Despite zeroCovid policy China reports 4,420 new locally transmitted Covid-19 infections, the highest in six months Nov 8: Seven people arrested in northeastern China following a clash between residents and authorities enforcing Covid-19 restrictions. Nov 10: Authorities promise to improve quarantine and other anti-virus policies Nov 14: Residents of Guangzhou city break lockdown rules and clash with police Nov 23: Employees at the world’s biggest Apple iPhone factory Zhengzhou beaten and detained amid protests over anti-virus controls. Nov 25: A fire in an apartment building in Xinjiang kills 10 people amid stringent lockdowns. Public anger at Xi mounts in the wake of the incident Modi, Kharge, Kejri turn on Guj heat People show blank papers as a way to protest in Shanghai on Sunday | afp Anti-lockdown stir flares across China E x p r e ss Ne ws Se r v i c e Isolated protests in China against stringent Covid curbs are gaining traction and spreading to more cities as thousands of people, including students, hit the streets and campuses on Sunday in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan and Nanjing, confronting police and even publicly calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping. In Shanghai, a large group of people gathered at Wulumuqi street and chanted “Xi Jinping step down, CCP step down”, news agency AFP reported citing a verified video circulated on Chinese social media. Such public display of defiance is rare in China, where the ruling Communist Party is known for crushing all kinds expressions of dissent. However, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all that with people being pushed to the brink by the government’s insensitive backto-back lockdowns, mass Covid tests and stringent quarantine protocols. Experts say China’s zero-Covid policy is stirring rare public anger with people growing weary of the mindless restrictions. According to reports, protests were also held at Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University, Peking University and Communication University of China at Nanjing. Videos circulated online showed protesters holding up blank sheets of paper, a tactic used to evade censorship or arrest. The protests, which began in the morning, intensified with the participation of hundreds of people by mid-afternoon, the BBC reported. The developments come as China reported a record 39,506 domestic Covid cases on Sunday . The protests seem to have escalated after several people died in last week’s blaze in a high-rise building in remote north-west city of Urumqi in the Xinjiang region, allegedly because rescue efforts were hampered due to lockdowns. Xinjiang is one of the worst-affected regions where lockdown has been in force for more than 100 days. While Chinese authorities refuted the notion that Covid restrictions caused the deaths in Urumqi, local administration did issue an apology , offering to phase out curbs. If the protests spread further, it could pose a major challenge for Xi, who is just over a month into his third term in power. Campaigning for the Gujarat elections hit a crescendo on Sunday with several national leaders of the BJP Congress , and AAP descending on the coastal state. Speaking at a public meeting in Gujarat’s Kheda district, Prime M i n i s t e r N a re n d r a Modi, sharpened his attack on the Congress. “Gujarat had for a long time been a target of terrorism. People of Gujarat were killed in explosions in Surat and Ahmedabad. The Congress was ruling in Delhi then. We asked them to target express read Aftab to undergo fourth polygraph session today New Delhi: Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who is accused of brutally killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, will undergo the remaining two sessions of polygraph test on Monday and Tuesday, sources said on Sunday. The narco test is likely to be held on December 5, they said. Poonawala has already undergone three sessions of the polygraph test, the last being held for three hours on Friday. G20 presidency a big opportunity, says Modi New Delhi: Narendra Modi in his monthly Maan Ki Baath speech on Sunday said G20 presidency brings a huge opportunity to India and the country must focus on furthering global good. “What a great opportunity has come for India!” he said. “Whether it is peace or unity, sensitivity towards the environment, or sustainable development, India has solutions to challenges” | P7 terrorism but they targeted me instead. Terrorism was at peak in the country he said. ,” Modi added that the spectre of terrorism will haunt the country until vote bank politics is eradicated. “We caught terrorists in Gujarat but the then Congress government in Delhi was saving terrorists for vote bank politics,” he said. “During the Batla House encounter, Congress leaders cried in support of terrorists,” he added. Addressing a rally at Dediapada, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed said India is a democratic country thanks to the Congress. “Modi B INITA JAISWAL @ Chennai For 53-year-old Meera Balaji on wheelchair the wish to click a selfie with her husband at the beach with waves washing at her feet has been part of her bucket list since their marriage in 1993. The dream came true after 30 years as a permanent ramp was thrown open for public use at the Marina Beach on Sunday The per. manent ramp, a six-year dream and struggle of disability activists including the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA) and the city corporation, is said to be the first permanent (Coastal Regulation Zone) CRZ-compliant ramp in the country for persons with disabilities. “I’ve been residing in Chennai since my birth, but this is the first time I’m going near the sea,” said Meera with child-like exuberance. For others like P Saravanan, the possibility offered by the ramp to visit the beach on their own without depending on friends gave a sense of new-found liberty “I’ve come to the beach . before but it was always with a group of friends who would carry me. I’m happy that the ramp has been built but I hope it will be maintained in a usable condition,” Saravanan said. After the ramp design was finalised, corporation officials were struggling for funds to turn the dream into a reality They were looking for CSR or . philanthropic support before the scheme was taken up under Singara Chennai 2.0.  P5 Despite years of effort, Tamil Nadu schools have still not become fully accessible for children with special needs (CWSN) as nearly 70% of them don’t have disabledfriendly toilets. According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for 2021-22, released recently by the Union ministry of education, of the 58,801 schools (including government, aided, and private) in Tamil Nadu, only 17,579 schools have toilets for children with special needs (CWSN) complete with facilities like ramps, handrail and wheelchair access. Because of lack of facilities, several CWSN, particularly girls, hesitate to go to A permanent ramp was thrown open for use at the Marina Beach on Sunday | Ashwin prasath Permanent ramp costs `1.14cr The 263-metre facility is constructed with babool, red meranti and Brazilian wood at a cost of `1.14 crore. It has handrail for support and viewpoint is 10 metres from the sea. MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated it on Sunday. 2 jawans on poll duty killed by colleague Two jawans of the Indian Reserve Battalion, on election duty in Gujarat, were killed and two others were injured after their colleague opened fire over a dispute in a village near Porbandar on Saturday Chennai-Tiruchy NH turns death trap, 2,076 killed in accidents in four years B AN B US E LVAN @ Chennai Accident data for Chennai-Tiruchy NH At least 2,076 people died and more than 7,000 were injured in road accidents in about four years (January 2018 to June 2022) on the 334-km-long Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway45, show police records. Sources said it could be because of lack of service roads and possible design faults. The four-lane highway which , became operational in 2000, is the only gateway to southern districts of Tamil Nadu. The road, originally designed to handle 35,000 passenger car units (PCUs), now handles more than 1.4 lakh PCUs on an average every day . With no proper approach road or vehicular underpass for light vehicles, the 121-km section of the road from Tambaram to Ulundurpet has become a death trap for motorists with more than 50% fatalities and injuries being recorded on Police Dist Tambaram police Chengalpattu Villupuram Kallakuruchi Perambalur Tiruchi city (North)* Tiruchi Total disabled live marina dream, 70% schools in state lack new ramp takes them to sea disabled-friendly toilets NIRU PA M A VISWANATHAN @ Chennai and Shah ask what Congress did in the last 70 years. If the Congress had not worked in the last 70 years, we would not have seen a democracy today he said. ,” Meanwhile, Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took a swipe at Modi questioning his repeated visits to Gujarat. This, he said, shows the BJP is “scared” of the results of Gujarat polls. Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked both the BJP Congress at his Surat rally . Gujarat elections will be held in two phases – on December 1 and December 5 – and the results will be known on December 8. school, say experts. What is even more worrying for disability activists is that the percentage of schools with toilets accessible for students with disabilities is down 3% from 32% in 2021 to 29% in 2022 in the state. One notable aspect is that government schools have better infrastructure for CWSN compared to private ones in the s t at e. T h e re p o r t shows that at least 36.2% gover nment schools have CWSNfriendly toilets while the figure is just 24.4% for private schools. “Such dismal performance is not expected from a progressive state like Tamil Nadu. Our administrators still don’t understand the conce pt of inclusive education,”said TMN Deepak, a disability-rights activist. P5 Black spot elimination work in Tindivanam-Ulundurpet (January 2018 to June 2022) Accidents Deaths Injuries 311 115 193 1,958 684 2,181 2240 508 3,114 536 143 453 278 317 959 225 75 141 583 234 692 6,131 2,076 7,733 l Vehicular underpass being *Additional accident details of Tiruchy North police district have not been included Source: Data obtained through RTI from DGP office, Chennai that stretch, show data obtained by TNIE from police department through RTI. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the state’s efforts to mark accidentprone locations as black spots have failed to bring down the accident rate as the road was designed without considering traffic movement from villages abutting the road, say locals. “The villages and panchayats b e t we e n Ta m b a r a m a n d Tiruchy have not been provided with service and approach roads. Until 2014, the Ulundurpet junction recorded one fatal accident every 10 days. Now bridges have been built at a few places. More than 20,000 people were affected because of the accidents,” said S Rathinavelu, a resident of Vikkiravandi.  P5 Cometh the hour, cometh A moment to remember Argentina, needing a win to avoid early exit, were held goalless after over an hour’s play against Mexico late on Saturday. Their talisman striker Lionel Messi had struggled to penetrate a heavily crowded defence. It was now or never. Messi needed just one chance. Receiving a cross just over 20 yards from goal, he hit a fierce low drive with his magical left foot to find the back of net sending packed stadium into a delirium Messi Little magician scores vital goal to set up Argentina win in ongoing World Cup in Qatar... Later, Messi turned the provider, laying a pass to substitute Enzo Fernandez whose sublime finish — a curling right foot strike — found the top far corner net Today’s matches Group G: Serbia vs Cameroon, 3.30 PM; Brazil vs Switzerland, 9.30 PM Group H: South Korea vs Ghana 6.30 PM; Portugal vs Uruguay, 12.30 AM (Tuesday) built at Ellis Chathiram, Arasur crossing, Kootteripattu junction and Padhur bus stop l Service road being developed for Thirumathur l VUP’s have been proposed at five junctions-Jakkampet bus stop, Mundiyambakkam, Annamalai Hotel, Pappanapattu bus stop and Vikkiravandi road junction the Equation results Belgium shocked Morocco stun Belgium 2-0 in a Group F game on Saturday Japan 0-1 Costa Rica A win against Poland in their last group tie will ensure last 16 spot for Argentina, who were shocked 1-2 by Saudi Arabia in their opening match. However, if they are held by Poland their qualification will depend on the other result between Saudi Arabia and Mexico. A defeat will certainly send them home early Unopposed, PT Usha set Himalayan yak milk, meat may soon hit the stores near you to become IOA president food animal tag P r a sa n ta M a z u m da r @ Guwahati Yak farmers of Himalayan highlands have a reason to cheer as the scientific panel of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying’s recommendation to declare Himalayan yak as a food animal. The ‘food animal’ tag will become official once it is notified in the gazette after approval by competent authority . “The reason why the yak population is decreasing is because yak farming is less remunerative. The animal’s milk and meat are not part of the conventional meat and dairy industry and consumed only locally. There is also no big market,” Dr Mihir Sarkar, director of ICARN, told this newspaper. He said if yak is declared a food animal, the economic benefits it could bring may encourage more people to take up yak farming. Yak milk is highly nutritious. It is rich in fat and protein and contains many essential minerals. It is also deemed to have medicinal value. As per the nutritional analysis, yak milk contains 78-82% water, 7.5-8.5% fat, 4.9-5.3% protein, 4.5-5.0% lactose and 12.3-13.4% fat and solids-not-fat. Traditional yak milk products are central to the cuisine of the highlanders. The meat of yak is considered very lean and better than beef. India has some 58,000 yaks, found on the heights of Arunachal, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. In Arunachal, their popula- tion is estimated to be around 24,000, found in Tawang, West Kameng and Shi Yomi districts. Though the animal has intense socio-cultural significance to the pastoral rearing communities, the past few decades witnessed an unprecedented decline in its population. The decline is partly blamed on a lack of interest on the party of today’s youngsters to engage in yak rearing as it is a demanding job that offers very less in return. E x p r e ss Ne ws Se r v i c e @ Chennai It’s final. Olympian and multiple Asian Games gold medallist PT Usha is the lone candidate for Indian Olympic Association president’s post. She is unopposed and set to be the next president of the IOA. The elections are scheduled on December 10. Even on Sunday, the last day of the nominations, no other candidate came forward to challenge her and as reported by this newspaper, the Athletes’ Commission and the Sportspersons of Merit (SOMs) and several other federations have backed her. Usha, who has been nominated by BJP to the Rajya Sabha, did not find any opposition from any of the members who were part of IOA for years. Her panel of senior vice president and treasurer too are unopposed.  More on: p12