Asthma patients queue up to take fish medicine?

Hyderabad, June 8: Hundreds of asthma patients from different parts of India queued up here Tuesday to gulp down a live 'murrel' fish with a yellow herbal paste in its mouth in the hope it can cure them.The distribution of the famous 'fish medicine' began this evening at the sprawling Exhibition Grounds in the heart of the city. The members of Bathini Goud family, which has administered the medicine free of cost for over 160 years, started distributing the medicine after a traditional 'puja' at 5 p.m., the time set by their astrologers, which also heralds the onset of monsoon. Men, women and children stood in long queues hours before the Goud family members and volunteers started administering the 'wonder drug'. The Hyderabad district administration made elaborate arrangements for the annual event. Over 300 policemen were deployed as part of the security measures. The fisheries department has made arrangements for the sale of 'murrel' fingerlings. Those who don't take fish are being provided medicine with jaggery. Like in the past, people from different regions gathered in the hope of finding some relief to their nagging respiratory problems, despite the controversies surrounding its efficacy. The fish medicine lost its popularity in recent years after some groups, working to inculcate scientific temper among people, termed it a fraud. They also approached the court, claiming that the contents of the herbal paste, which remained a closely guarded family secret, do more harm than good to the patients. The turnout has clearly dwindled over the last five years. The Goud family claims that over 400,000 asthma patients turn up every year but the turnout has hardly exceeds 100,000, going by the arrangements made by fisheries department for sale of fingerlings. The Goud family, which named the medicine 'fish prasadam' recently to avoid legal problems, claims that it was still popular despite the 'false propaganda' by some groups. According to the family, the tests in laboratories conducted as per court orders revealed that the herbal paste is safe. The herbal paste is put into the mouth of the live fingerling before slipping it into the mouth of the patient. It is believed that if taken for three successive years, the medicine cures asthma. The Goud family has distributed the 'fish prasadam' free of cost for 164 years. It claims that the secret formula for the herbal medicine was given to their ancestor in 1845 by a saint after taking an oath from him that it should be administered free of cost.
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Andhra earns nearly Rs.7,000 cr from liquor shops sale

Hyderabad, June 8 : At a time when a severe financial crunch has forced it to go slow on many welfare schemes, the Andhra Pradesh government has earned a whopping Rs.6,904 crore from the auction of liquor shops.The earnings are said to be the highest by any state through sale of liquor shops. The excise department earned Rs.6,904 crore from the auction of 6,505 out of 6,595 liquor shops. The revenues may cross Rs.7,000 crore as remaining 91 shops are yet to be auctioned. Tenders for majority of the shops for next two years were opened Monday. The remaining shops will be sold in couple of days. Excise Commissioner Hiralal Samaria told reporters the revenues were 114 percent more than waht was earned in 2008. The department was expecting Rs.4,500 crore this year. The average bid amount for each shop auctioned so far was over Rs.1 crore. Shops in some districts were sold for whopping Rs.5 crore. A shop at Nadikudi village of Dachepalli mandal in Guntur district was bid for Rs.5.21 crore while another shop in the same mandal was sold for Rs.4.92 crore. Creating a record of sorts, the government earned Rs.48.6 crore from the sale of tenders forms alone. About 48,600 bids were received for 6,596 shops which was 125 per cent in excess of the demand in 2008. Unlike in the past when shops in and around Hyderabad were auctioned for over Rs.5 crore, there were few takers this time. Slowdown in real estate market and the Information Technology sector is cited as the main reason for the relatively poor response in and around the state capital. Though slowdown in real estate has hit hard the state's revenues, the excise department has come to the rescue. Officials, however, said the revenues from liquor constitute only eight percent of the total revenues.  The fall in revenues over the last two years has already raised question mark on continuation of various welfare schemes launched by former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. In a state which witnessed total prohibition in mid-1990s following a massive movement by women, the sale of liquor shops was not without protests. The Lok Satta Party alleged that the government was encouraging the consumption of alcohol through auction of liquor shops. Party president Jayaprakash Narayan said liquor dealers promote unauthorised outlets or "belt shops" to make the sales required to realise the license fee. Women's groups also criticized the government for promoting consumption of liquor and demanded re-imposition of prohibition. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh High Court Tuesday issued notices to the central and state governments on a public interest litigation over sale of liquor shops. Narayana, a resident of Nizamabad district, filed a petition in the court, demanding prohibition. The petitioner alleged that the government was promoting sale of liquor, badly affecting public health.
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ISNA Joins Religious Leaders to Condemn Illegal Medical Experimentation on Detainees

(Deccan Samachar Service) June 08, A report was issued today by the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which details evidence of illegal experimentation on detainees captured after 9-11, in the form of torturous medical experiments, performed by healthcare professionals working for the U.S.Military and intelligence agencies during the Bush administration. The comprehensive PHR report described the methods of "enhanced interrogation techniques" used by medical professionals to determine the "breaking points" for detainees. This information was delivered to the Department of Justice to amend the current laws in a way that legalizes these gross acts of torture and medical negligence from prosecution. ISNA condemns the acts of torture inflicted by these medical professionals. These acts directly violate their sworn oath as physicians to protect human life and alleviate human suffering. ISNA condemns the actions our government to effectively legalize this torture and turn their backs on upholding both the spirit and letter of the constitution.ISNA praises the Physicians for Human Rights and their dedication to protect all people from illegal and damaging misuse of medical skills and experiments to inflict pain instead of alleviating suffering. ISNA joins Physicians for Human Rights and other religious leaders to demand a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the misuse of medical skills and the acts of the Department of Justice in relation to this case. ISNA President, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, will join other leaders in a press conference about this issue tomorrow morning.ISNA is a founding member of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, an organization that also supports the courageous report issued by the Physicians for Human Rights. For more information on the press conference,the PHR Report and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, ================================================

Press Statement by Media Adviser on the Visit of the Prime Minister to Jammu and Kashmir on 7th and 8th June 2010

(PIB NEWS) June,08, The Prime Minister made a two day visit to Jammu & Kashmir from 7th June to 8th June 2010.The Prime Minister presided over the 5th convocation of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at SKICC, Srinagar. In his convocation address, the Prime Minister lauded Dr Shah Faisal on his achievement in topping the Civil Services Examination of the UPSC. He assured that in cooperation with the state government, we will make all possible efforts to create employment opportunities in J&K. The Prime Minister mentioned that three Round Table Conferences had been convened, with participation from many civil society participants, and other political groups. He noted that the recommendations of these deliberations are being implemented in a step-wise manner. The Prime Minister mentioned that the process of talks could be extended. The Government of India is willing to talk to all those who are willing to shun violence. The Prime Minister noted complaints related to human rights. He made it clear that the "Government policy is to protect human rights of the people even when dealing with terrorism. The security forces in J&K have been strictly instructed to respect the rights of civilians. We will act to remove any deficiency in the implementation of these instructions." Later in the evening, the Prime Minister had interaction with representatives of various political parties. Among these were delegations from National Conference, Indian National Congress, PDP, BJP, Panther's Party, Awami National Conference, J&K Democratic Party (Nationalist), the CPI(M), and the CPI. On Tuesday morning he met the Sikh community, house boat owners, artisans, saffron growers, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and hoteliers, and many other groups. The Prime Minister also took a review meeting of the developmental activities in the state, with the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues, and senior officials. Shri Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, and Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare also participated in the deliberations. The Prime Minister noted that the state is doing well on flagship programmes. He drew the state government's attention to unutilized funds and also impressed upon them the need to move forward and hold elections for the local bodies and panchayats. The Chief Minister gave a detailed presentation on the economic situation, plan performance, financial delivery, and on the progress in certain specific sectors like energy, transport, and health. He underlined his government's commitment to third party / independent scrutiny in project implementation as part of a larger principle of accountability and transparency. He assured the Prime Minister that local body elections would be held in October/ November 2010.
In his closing remarks, the Prime Minister complimented the Chief Minister for providing dynamic leadership to the state administration. In particular, he observed "it is heartening to note that the state government has gone in for tariff-based bids even for hydro projects." While the Prime Minister assured the Chief Minister of financial support for the state government, including on account of difficulties of implementation of the 6th Pay Commission award, Dr Manmohan Singh expressed his disappointment that a section of the state government employees often respond to bandh calls by separatist groups, and fail to discharge their duties in the service of the people of the state. Among many assurances, the Prime Minister ordered for restoration of cuts amounting to about Rs 400 crores in the state plan outlay for 2009-10. He also announced that Central Government had decided to dispense with the cutback of Rs 691 crores in this year's outlay in the reconstruction Plan. The Prime Minister mentioned that the Ministry of Rural Development will assist in setting up of Self Help Groups of women belonging to Gujjar and Bakkerwal communities. The Ministry of Tribal welfare will provide additional allocation to take forward the schemes that use local community based volunteers for delivery of health and education to nomadic groups like gujjars and bakkerwals. Three Cultural Centres including folk museums, auditoria etc, will be set up by the Ministry of Culture for the pahadi, gujjar and bakkeral communities, along with computer laboratories in selected schools for these groups. The Prime Minister concluded that the Central Government will do all that it can to support the state government. He added that "things have improved considerably, fund utilization is better, but much more remains to be done.” Just before leaving for New Delhi, the Prime Minister had a meeting with the Chief Minister. No aides were present.
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Vice President’s Address at the Ceremony Hosted by Lord Mayor of Prague, Czech Republic

(PIB NEWS) June,08, Following is the text of the address of the Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari at the Ceremony hosted by Lord Mayor of Prague Mr. Pavel Bem at Old Town Hall, Prague in Czech Republic today : “My wife and I and my entire delegation are delighted to be in your beautiful and renowned city, so richin culture and tradition. Prague is one of the great cities of the world, and I am happy to be back here, having visited it several years ago. We in India have great admiration for the Czech Republic and its capital city in particular. We admire its history, cultural heritage and its accomplishments in all the fields of human knowledge. Prague lies at the intersection of Europe. It was here that tradesmen, politicians, scholars and artists from all over the world have met. Prague has witnessed the unfolding of events that have impacted the course of history. Czech Republic and India have historically been close partners in our quest for equality, human rights, freedom and democracy. The leaders of India’s freedom struggle, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, visited your beautiful city in the 1930s. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore visited Prague in the 1920s. Both Pandit Nehru, as well as Tagore, raised their voices against Czechoslovakia’s occupation. I thank you very much for this honour that you have extended to me and my delegation and through us to the people of India.”
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Jaganmohan Reddy postpones 'Odarpu Yatra' to July 8

Hyderabad,June 8: Congress MP and the son of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy has postponed his controversial 'Odarpu Yatra' to July 8."I got a message from the high command to postpone the yatra indefinitely. I have full faith in our leader. Hence, as per the message from the high command, I am postponing the yatra for some days," Jaganmohan said in a statement."I will resume the yatra on July 8. I believe that I will be able to get the approval and blessings of our party President by then," he added.Jaganmohan was scheduled to undertake his yatra in Srikakulam District from today.Earlier, the Congress had asked Jaganmohan not to go ahead with his yatra.After a meeting with Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Jaganmohan had claimed that he has been given permission to go ahead with his yatra. Reddy said: "My yatra was widely appreciated, and I have been given a clear indication to go ahead and do what I was doing."However, the claim was dismissed by Moily who said Jaganmohan Reddy should stop his yatra.
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'Fish Prasadam' distribution starts today

Hyderabad,Jun 8:Thousands of Asthma patients are gathering here from across the country for a two-day distribution of 'fish prasadam,' which started here today.Patients from across the country, who are here for the 'fish prasadam,' believe that fish distributed by 'Bathani brothers' will cure them of their disease. The Hyderabad district administration has made appropriate arrangements for the distribution of the 'prasadam.' There are 32 counters for distribution of 'fish prasadam' at the exhibition grounds at Namapalli in the city. The department of fisheries has procured 1.50 lakh murrel fingerlings, stocked in 24 nurseries of fish seed farm in the city.The department has set up 27 stalls for the supply of live murrel seed near the queue complex for the 'prasadam' point, official sources said.The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation would plying 40 speical buses from Rajiv Gandhi Intenrnational Airport at Shamshabad, Railway stations and various bus stations for the convenient of the patients.The city police has made elaborate security arrangements by deploying police personnel at the 'fish prasadam' points. For giving due consideration to cleanliness during the gathering, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation authorities has deployed scores of sweepers and labourers to work round the clock.Hyderabad City Police Commissioner AK Khan, in a notification, said the police have taken all steps to regulate traffic without causing inconvenience to the general public in connection with the distribution of 'fish medicine' on Mrugashirakarti falling on 8th and 9th od this month.
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YSR's son defers 'yatra' on Sonia Gandhi's directive

Hyderabad, June 7 Finally bowing to the Congress leadership, Lok Sabha member Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy Monday postponed his 'odarpu yatra' by a month.The late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's son said he will now launch his yatra in Srikakulam July 8. The young MP announced this in a statement a day before he was scheduled to set out on the controversial tour. The yatra is aimed at consoling the family members of those who either committed suicide or died of shock following the death of his father in a helicopter crash last year. After blowing hot and cold on the yatra, Reddy decided not to go ahead with his yatra June 8. The decision came after he was reprimanded by the party leadership for repeatedly defying its directive and Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked him to defer his yatra. Reddy said in the statement: "I have full faith in Sonia Gandhi and I will launch yatra on July 9 with her consent." Jagan's attempt to defy the high command and take out yatra in Warangal district of Telangana region May 28 had triggered violence. The MP was arrested on his way to Mahabubabad town in the district but firing by gunmen of his two loyal legislators in the town injured nine pro-Telangana activists, who were opposing his tour. While stating that he saw no reason for postponing the yatra in a non-Telangana area, Reddy said he would abide by the party president's directive. The MP said his mother Vijayalakshmi June 2 wrote a letter to Gandhi, urging her to give permission for the yatra. "We were waiting for an appointment with her to explain our stand in person. However, last night I received a call from high command asking me to indefinitely postpone the yatra. I asked if there are any strong reasons for this?" said Reddy without mentioning the high command's response.
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