Ambulance on Jaipur NH soon just a phone call away

NEW DELHI: If you spot an accident or meet with one on Delhi-Jaipur highway, you just need to call 1033 to get an ambulance. The service scheduled to start in the next fortnight will be managed by a call centre which will be linked to 11 life support ambulances on this 260-km stretch.

A top road transport and highways ministry official said that at least 390 signage on this stretch will be placed mentioning the toll-free telephone number. "The department of telecom has allotted this number for emergency calls across the all national highways. We are now pursuing the plan to see that people can use this number all over the country. The beginning would be made on Delhi-Jaipur highway where we are trying to ensure quick arrival of ambulances on spot. If people don't get ambulances in time, the toll-free number has no use," he added.

The official added that once the call centre receives information of any accident, it would immediately inform the ambulance deployed close to the mishap site and ask it to reach there immediately. The call centre executives will also inform the local police for immediate action. The highway stretch between Delhi and Haryana-Rajasthan border is perhaps the deadliest highway corridor in the country. At least 250 lives were lost in 2011 only in the Haryana portion.

The provisions to have a centralized call centre and deployment of more ambulances are a part of the ministry's pilot project to provide free and cashless immediate medical care to accident victims. The scheme, likely to be launched by this month-end, aims to rush ambulances with trained staff within 10 minutes of any accident. A private insurance major, which has is implementing the project, has roped in hospitals along to the highway stretch to provide immediate care under the cashless scheme.

Source : TNN

Shimla chosen for international project to lower greenhouse gases

SHIMLA: The Queen of the Hills, as Shimla was fondly called by the British, has been shortlisted for a global project to lower greenhouse gas emissions on the pattern of European cities, a municipal official said.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation is one of six Indian cities selected for implementing the "Promoting low emission urban development strategies in the emerging economy countries" project, municipal health officer Omesh Bharti said.

He said the project, is to be executed by ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) South Asia, with support from the European Commission, in collaboration with UN-Habitat.

A communication from ICLEI said the project aims to support the promotion of low emission urban development in developing economies.

Besides India, the project is also being implemented in Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa.

Bharti said the civic body would enter into a memorandum of understanding with ICLEI once it got approval from the corporation's elected members.

ICLEI would play a role in capacity building of the corporation officials to improve urban planning, mobility, energy, water and solid waste management, leading to sustainable patterns for urban development, he added.

Shimla was planned by the British colonial government in the late nineteenth century for a maximum population of 16,000. Currently, it supports over 200,000 people.

source: IANS

Uttarakhand NGO gets French award for protection of human rights

Dehradun: An NGO in Uttarakhand has bagged a French award for its contribution to protection of human rights.

The

Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA), a voluntary organisation based in Nainital, was honoured with 'Special Mention of the 2012 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic' in recognition of its work in the field of "defence of socio-economic rights and sustainable development" of people, the NGO officials said today.

The award comprising a medal and a diploma was presented to the CHEA Director by French Ambassador Franois Richier at a function in Delhi on June 6, they said.

CHEA was appreciated for its endeavours to strengthen community forestry institution (Van Panchayats) for women's empowerment and affirmation of economic and social rights of rural communities in the Indian Central Himalayan region, they said.

PTI

Normal monsoon expected in Karnataka

Bangalore: The southwest monsoon is expected to be normal this season across Karnataka due to favourable atmospheric conditions evident from excess rainfall during the last 10 days, a meteorological official said on Monday.

"The atmospherical conditions are good for normal monsoon this season, which will last till September," regional meteorological director B. Puttanna said.

"As the southwest monsoon had been active since it set in neighbouring Kerala and advanced into the coastal and south interior regions of the state, the rainfall had been above normal," he added.

Since June 1, the state has received 75 mm rainfall, which is 45 percent more than normal in the coastal districts and the Western Ghats region. Rains were also widespread in the south interior and north interior parts of the state.

"However, Chamarajnagar, Chickmagalur and Kodagu districts had less rain. If the monsoon remains active over the next couple of weeks, more rains are expected to make up for any deficit in isolated regions of the state," Puttanna said.

Deficit monsoon and a prolonged dry spell during the monsoon season last year led to severe drought in the state, resulting in water levels dipping to lowest in reservoirs and catchment areas.

"Indications so far are that monsoon rains will be normal this year with prospects of excess rainfall in coastal and the Western Ghats due to low pressure and positive wind movement," the official said.

With the monsoon setting in on time, farmers have taken up sowing operations in those areas where rains have been widespread and above normal.

"Sufficient quantities of seeds and fertilisers have been stocked in the districts for distribution to farmers. Sowing is in full swing in about 30 percent of the areas where rains have been widespread and the rest of the state will be covered by August as the monsoon advances into central and northern districts of the state," state Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said in the legislative assembly earlier Monday.

The state government has formed vigilant teams to check the quality of seeds and fertilisers and prevent sale of spurious seeds and other farm inputs.

IANS

Mercedes may assemble A-Class in India

PTI

New Delhi: Mercedes-Benz India is considering local assembly of its luxury compact car A-Class, encouraged by over 400 bookings received within 10 days of the car's launch, .
   
When asked if the Mercedes plans to assemble the A-Class in India, Mercedes-Benz India managing director and chief executive officer Eberhard Kern said: "Currently, we are doubling our capacity at Chakan (Maharashtra). We will add more models to be assembled there for which we will decide early next year."

"We have received over 400 bookings in just ten days after launch. This is a historical high for us as never in the past we had any models receiving this kind of booking," Mr Kern told PTI.
   
Mercedes Benz India assembles the E, C, S and M Class models currently and will also start rolling out the GL Class from August this year at the Chakan plant. The facility has an annual capacity of 10,000 units, which will increase to 20,000 units next year.
   
The company had launched two variants of the A-Class compact car in India on May 30 at an introductory price of Rs. 21.93 lakh and Rs. 22.73 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).
   
Globally also the A-Class has received good response and has so far clocked 90,000 bookings within months of launch in September 2012.
   
Mr Kern said the waiting period for the model in India will be around three months and the company will continue to take bookings for the A-Class.
   
"For a booking made now in June, the delivery will be in September. We are in discussion with our headquarters to somehow meet the demand here in India," he said.
   
On the response to the A-Class, he said: "It is very much beyond our expectations. Somehow, the A-Class seems to be a choice of the new generation."
   
In order to strengthen its position in the market, Mr Kern said Mercedes will launch the new E-Class in India on June 25.
   
Merecedes has been focusing on its new generation cars (NGC), which comprises the A-Class, B-Class, CLA (sedan) and the GLA (compact SUV). It had launched the B-Class in India last year. The CLA and GLA are also expected to be hitting the Indian market in the near future.

Sex workers sign up for Ignou course

AHMEDABAD: Education is said to be the passport to a better future. That thought has probably encouraged 20 teenaged sex workers to sign up for Indira Gandhi National Open University's (Ignou) newly launched bachelor preparatory programme (BPP) for sex workers.

Sapna, 19, is one of them. "My brother is growing up and may soon resent my profession," she says. "When I got into sex work, I was desperate. But there is still a girl in me who wants to study." Sapna dropped out of school three years ago after her father died. Her younger brother and illiterate mother were in no position to put food on the table. When a neighbourhood brothel offered to sign her up for Rs 1,000 a day, she could not refuse.

After three years of sex work, Sapna has now rediscovered her desire to study. Nineteen other girls like her from Ahmedabad and Wadia village have also signed up for the course in the last two days. Ahmedabad is only the second city after Kolkata to have the Ignou initiative.

There are an estimated 30,000 sex workers in Gujarat and 4,000-odd in Ahmedabad. Director of Ignou's regional centre in Ahmedabad, S K Ghosh says, "The number of sex workers signing up for the course is expected to increase manifold as we are holding meetings with voluntary agencies working with them." Initially, Ignou is offering BPP and a diploma in food and nutrition to the sex workers, and has waived fees for them.

"Our inspiration for this initiative came from our successful experience in state prisons where 10,000 inmates completed or are undergoing courses, ranging from BPP to post-graduate courses and diplomas," Ghosh adds. In a first, Ignou has prepared the course material in Gujarati for BPP and some diploma courses to increase its reach.

Researcher Bhumi Dave, who has studied the state's sex workers, says most of them have basic education. "Some 52% have secondary and higher secondary education. A degree can provide them better alternatives and self belief," she says.
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Railways to launch SMS-based service for hygiene related complaints

New Delhi: Railways have decided to launch an SMS-based service for immediate response to passenger complaints regarding housekeeping service in coaches.

The service will be launched on a few select trains to facilitate passengers to contact on board staff through SMS or phone call for complaints related to cleanliness in coaches, toilets and other problems faced during journey.

An On-site Passenger Complaint Redressal System (OPCRS) is being developed as envisaged in the Rail Budget 2013-14, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The service is likely to be launched in either Mumbai Rajdhani or Bangalore Rajdhani as a pilot project soon.

As per the system, a passenger can send SMS for any issue related to coach housekeeping like dirty toilets, compartment or absence of liquid soap.

"Passengers will SMS his PNR on a common number like one being used for PNR inquiry," the official said.

Railways have asked for a three-digit number from the Department of Telecommunication for the purpose.

Once the SMS is sent, the information will be registered on OPCRS connected with GSM network, and it will be immediately routed to a GSM hand held unit (mobile phone) available with housekeeping supervisor on train.

Simultaneously, an acknowledgement would be sent on the mobile phone of the complainant with a complaint ID with instruction to disclose the ID to the housekeeping supervisor after he attends to the problem to his satisfaction.

Housekeeping supervisor on receipt of passenger information would locate him, get briefing of his requirements and attend to the problem besides giving him feedback.

After the job is done, housekeeping supervisor would request for complaint ID from the passenger and send it via SMS from the hand held unit back to OPCRS.

It will send the feedback to the complainant for closure of his complaint.

"In case the passenger does not disclose the complaint ID, it is presumed that the complaint has not been disposed of to the satisfaction of passengers," the official said.