KOZHIKODE l wednesday l February 08, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION No separate law to check violence against doctors The Centre has decided not to go ahead with a legislation to protect healthcare professionals from physical violence Bill withdrawn after consultations Epidemic diseases act to protect docs In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Union health minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said a draft of the Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019 was circulated for consultations. However, the government decided not to enact a separate law to protect healthcare professionals and institutions ■ ■ The minister said the matter was further discussed with all stakeholders and an ordinance namely The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated on April 22, 2020 Later, the govt passed the Act on September 28, 2020 under which violence against doctors are cognizable and non-bailable offences 3 months Jail term and fine of `50,000-2,00,000 for offenders under Epidemic Act 2020 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 Rahul questions Adani-Modi link Accuses the BJP govt of tweaking rules to help the conglomerate win mega projects P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi FRESH from his five monthlong cross-country march, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi government and its alleged links with the Adani group, which is facing allegations of stock manipulation and fraud. Rahul’s all-out offensive against the government came on a day when Opposition parties decided to end the threeday logjam in Parliament and take part in the motion of thanks to the President’s address. The Wayanad MP alleged that the Modi government has been favouring the Adani group since it came to power in 2014. He also accused the Centre of changing rules to help Adani acquire airports. “There was a rule that only a company or person with experience in airports be given the responsibility of developing airports. But, the government changed the rules for the Adani group and six airports were handed over to him. Adani now dominates several sectors such as ports, airports, cement, me- Rahul Gandhi displays a poster showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting with billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani in what looks like a chartered plane | PTI dia and defence,” he added. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had not transacted any business till this debate in the ongoing Budget session as the Opposition stuck to its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee or Supreme Courtmonitored probe into allegations against Adani. Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech drew strong protests from BJP ministers and MPs, who asked the Congress scion to substantiate his ‘wild allegations’ with proof. The former Congress president, then, displayed a photograph of Modi and Adani in an aircraft together, wondering how many trips the duo must have taken together. Rescue race on, Toll 6,200 Y e s h i S e l i a n d M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi With the toll crossing 6,200 a day after a 7.8 pre-dawn earthquake shook up Turkiye and Syria, Turkiye President, Recip Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency for three months in 10 of the worst hit provinces in his country Amid . temperatures below freezing point and over 200 aftershocks, rescuers raced against time as nearly 6,000 buildings collapsed in Turkiye alone. Not all buildings have been With you, dear: Dad holds hand of dead daughter Mesut Hancer, in an orange jacket sitting on a pile of rubble, holds the hand of his dead daughter Irmak, 15, who lies on a mattress, crushed by a huge concrete block, in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake epicentre in Turkyie. AFP accessed by the rescuers yet. In the Hatay province in Turkyie where 1,500 buildings were destroyed, rescue effort was yet to begin. But in areas where teams worked, occasional cheers broke out through the night as survivors were brought out of the rubble. There were also reports of people stuck in the rubble sending videos and voice messages requesting urgent assistance and rescue. So far, over 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkiye. Temples to add, promote poojas as board pushes for their self-reliance M S V i d ya n a n d a n @T’Puram The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has asked temples under it to add more poojas and decided to start promotional activities as it looks to attract more visitors and make the temples self-reliant. In a circular communicating the decisions taken at the high-level meeting chaired by Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan last month, the TDB has asked temples to start new poojas related to their presiding deity in consultation with the thantri. Devi temples have been asked to start bhagavathiseva and aiswarya pooja on pournami (full moon) days. Special saneeswara pooja is to be con- ducted in Lord Ayyappa temples on Saturdays. The TDB has also asked temples that do not have daily pooja to begin it with important offerings. The circular says all shrines should offer the facility to conduct nelpara, ellupara and manjal para offerings on important days. TDB president K Ananthagopan said the reforms are aimed at attracting more devotees to temples and make the places of worship ● More on P4 self-reliant.  Govt forms 6-member board to oversee Chandy’s treatment C y n t h i a C h a n d r a n @T’Puram The state government on Tuesday constituted a six-member medical board to oversee treatment for Oommen Chandy, two days after his brother and 41 other relatives alleged denial of proper treatment for the ailing leader and petitioned CM Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his urgent intervention. The board will monitor the health and treatment of the former CM and coordinate with doctors of the Neyyattinkara hospital, where Chandy was admitted with pneumonia on Monday. Based on its clearance, he will be shifted to the Bengaluru hospital where he was earlier treated. Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan met Chandy at the hospital and held talks with his family, including daughter Achu Oommen who came from Dubai.  ● More on P4