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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Bombay high court directs action against illegal feeding of pigeons
The Bombay high court has expressed concern over the illegal feeding of pigeons despite a ban, citing the health hazard it poses, while directing the municipal corporation to take strict action against the violators and lodge complaints against them. The court expressed concern over the illegal feeding of pigeons. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) A bench of justices Girish S Kulkarni and Arif S Doctor made the observations on Wednesday as it heard petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s demolition of kabutarkhanas (feeding points) on July 3. The court stayed the demolition and observed that the illegal pigeon feeding continued despite clear directions from the municipal corporation. The BMC has moved to close 'Kabutarkhanas' over pigeon droppings and severe respiratory diseases related to exposure to pigeons. The BMC on July 24 told the court that the pigeon droppings and the feathers triggered asthma and other diseases such as hypersensitivity and pneumonitis. A medical report submitted to the court highlighted that exposure to pigeons and their droppings can harm lungs and cause acute breathlessness. It said most people realise this medical condition too late by the time fibrosis starts in the lungs. No drug is available to cure or reverse fibrosis.
Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Labour government making things more difficult for all of us
The kind of white-collar jobs on which Edinburgh relies are the ones most vulnerable to the efficiencies AI can bring, says Sue Webber (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) As a city councillor, I got very tired of hearing left wing councillors arguing that Edinburgh was a wealthy city which could tolerate all sorts of charges and taxes to fund their pet projects. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The result was the garden tax, low emission zones, extended residents' parking charges and above-inflation Council Tax rises culminating with this year's 8 per cent rise. Coming next year, hotels and guest houses are expected to collect the tourist tax. Recently we've also heard left wingers argue that all those families whose children attend private schools can easily afford 20 per cent VAT on their fees. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Anyone would think the magic money tree blossoms in Edinburgh, but earlier this week I attended a cross-party briefing organised by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce which laid bare the concerns that local businesses have for the future. The most obvious is the ongoing impact of Labour's tax on jobs through higher employers' National Insurance contributions, responsible for redundancies in all sectors, and the clear message is it's going to get a lot worse later this year before it gets better. As a result, businesses are being ultra-cautious about recruitment and wage increases, and as usual the first budgets to be slashed are in marketing, which creates a vicious circle of fewer sales which only increases the pressure on employee numbers and salaries. Of course, much of this is a foreign language for too many politicians, and the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group has already flagged up the problems of foisting the tourism tax on businesses without the council carrying out the necessary preparation work businesses will need to make its introduction as smooth as possible. It will not be councillors or council officers with pound signs in their eyes who will bear the brunt of any confusion, but the businesses and their customers, and that could impact on repeat bookings next year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Then there is the Labour Government's new Employment Rights Bill, with new rights for staff, which is causing widespread confusion and concern and is also likely to be a disincentive for recruitment because it will guarantee full employment rights for new staff from day one, even if they cannot do the job for which they have been hired. And all of this is before factors like global political instability and the technology revolution are considered. There is no more point employers worrying about what Vladimir Putin or President Xi are going to do next than the rest of us, but employers will have no choice but to meet the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI), something creative industries are already having to face, and which the Labour Government seems determined to address by making it easier for American tech giants to plunder material generated by creative industries here. But AI will impact on lawyers and software engineers too and the kind of white-collar jobs on which Edinburgh relies are the ones most vulnerable to the efficiencies AI can bring. There will, of course be opportunities too, but if anyone thinks that whatever prosperity we enjoy in Edinburgh can't disappear because it's a seat of law and government, has a spectacular castle and a big arts festival then they better think again. The old certainties are just that, old, and governments making things more difficult for businesses make things more difficult for us all. Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Dog bite cases surge in Punjab, 1.5 lakh cases reported in first 6 months
With an average of around 840 dog bite cases reported daily, Punjab has witnessed a sharp increase in incidents this year. In the first six months of 2025, the state has recorded over 1.5 lakh dog bite cases, with Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Patiala being as the worst-affected districts, accounting for nearly 36% or 53,432 cases. With an average of around 840 dog bite cases reported daily, Punjab has witnessed a sharp increase in incidents this year. In the first six months of 2025, the state has recorded over 1.5 lakh dog bite cases, with Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Patiala being as the worst-affected districts, accounting for nearly 36% or 53,432 cases. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/ Representational image) Last year, the state reported a total of 2.13 lakh dog bite cases. The data, accessed by HT, has revealed a steady jump in cases over the past few years. From 1.10 lakh cases reported in 2020, the number of dog bite cases has gone up to 2.13 lakh in 2024, a rise of more than 1 lakh in four years. Three deaths have been reported this year. Last month, a mother-daughter duo died of rabies in Pathankot, and on July 17, a 32-year-old man succumbed in Patiala after being bitten by a stray dog. Dr Sumeet Singh, district nodal officer of the National Rabies Control Programme, said that rabies is 100% fatal. 'Of the total cases of dog bites, nearly 70% of the cases were from stray dogs. People should immediately rush to the nearest government health centres for treatment, which is free. People should not be ignorant at all. Punjab government has now extended treatment of dog bite cases to all the Aam Aadmi Clinics across the state,' he said. Failure of sterilisation programmes The senior officials from the local bodies department admitted that the animal birth control (ABC) programme has failed to deliver the desired results across Punjab, particularly in major cities. 'Most of the municipal corporations in Punjab have outsourced the sterilisation of dogs to private agencies, but this has not yielded effective outcomes. Sterilisation remains the only scientifically proven method to control the stray dog population and, in turn, reduce dog bite incidents,' said a senior official, who didn't wish to be named. An expert epidemiologist said that of the total dog bite cases, more than 50% of patients had grade-3 wounds, who needed immunoglobulin to be administered before the dog bite vaccine, said the epidemiologist. A grade-3 dog bite is a single or multiple transdermal bite with contamination of the mucous membrane with saliva. 'The grade-3 bite requires anti-rabies serum (ARS) before the anti-rabies vaccine, to make the dose effective. Without ARS, the vaccine is of no use as the victim may die within a few days,' the expert said. Patiala municipal corporation commissioner Paramvir Singh said after seeing a rise in the cases, they have stopped outsourcing the sterilisation programme. 'Instead of giving a contract for the sterilisation of stray dogs to a third party, we have decided to carry it out ourselves. We have got three veterinary surgeons with us, and we will sterilise 50 dogs per day in the coming weeks,' he said. Dr Sandeep Jain, co-opted member, Animal Welfare Board of India, said a lack of follow-up and accountability in sterilisation efforts has seen a sharp rise in the dog population. 'In rural areas, panchayats are not involved in the ABC programme. There is no accountability in rural and semi-urban areas. In rural areas, stray dogs get used to eating animal flesh because of designated places for the disposal of dead animals. If these strays don't get animal flesh, they start biting people. If the government sterilises 70% of the stray dog population in a year, then dog bite cases will start to decline,' he said. No SOP for dog bite compensation The Punjab health department is yet to issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the government doctors on whose diagnosis the compensation for dog bite cases would be fixed. The department had constituted a five-member committee to formulate SOPs following the order of the Punjab and Haryana high court, last year, announcing the compensation of ₹10,000 for each tooth mark and that of ₹20,000 for every 0.2 cm of wound where the flesh is torn off. One of the five committee members, pleading anonymity, told HT that they had already formulated the SOP, but the department did not issue it to the doctors. Dr Arshdeep Kaur, state nodal officer, did not respond to repeated calls and text messages.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Bizman arrested for sexually assaulting minor girl
MUMBAI: A 35-year-old businessman from Byculla was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl multiple times since February. The accused and the minor were residents of the same building and the accused first approached her to be friends, said a police officer. Arrested computer hacker and cyber criminal with handcuffs, close up of hands (Getty Images/iStockphoto) According to the police, the accused used to take her out to various places in the city, after which he allegedly used to sexually assault her in his car in the building's parking lot and also in her flat when she was alone. 'On Tuesday evening, the girl's family caught the businessman sexually assaulting the girl in their flat and registered a complaint against him,' the officer said. There were behavioural changes in the girl since she started meeting the accused and she was always disturbed, the family told the police. A case has been registered against the businessman under section 64 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 4(1) (penetrative sexual assault), 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harrasment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Gautam Budh Nagar: ‘Mediation campaign' launched at district court
The district judiciary has launched the 'Mediation for the Nation' campaign at the Gautam Budh Nagar district court premises, officials informed on Wednesday. A wide range of disputes including matrimonial disputes, cheque bounce cases, motor accident compensation claims, land acquisition matters, bank loan recovery cases, tenancy issues, family and property disputes, contractual and commercial disputes, are being addressed under the campaign. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Running from July 1 to September 30, 2025, the campaign aims to offer the public a swift, amicable, and free-of-cost resolution for their pending or potential legal disputes through mutual settlement. 'The 'Mediation for the Nation' campaign is being conducted under the directives of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the Supreme Court's Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee. The aim is to provide citizens with a swift, accessible and amicable resolution to their disputes,' said district judge and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) chairman Malkhan Singh. A wide range of disputes including matrimonial disputes, cheque bounce cases, motor accident compensation claims, land acquisition matters, bank loan recovery cases, tenancy issues, family and property disputes, contractual and commercial disputes, are being addressed under the campaign, according to officials. Additional district judge and full-time secretary of DLSA, Chandramohan Srivastava, stated that cases suitable for resolution through mutual agreement are being identified and processed at the Mediation Centre located within the district court premises. DLSA has urged citizens to consider resolving their long-pending or anticipated disputes in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation. Those interested can contact the Mediation Centre or reach out to the DLSA office via email at or phone at 7678643985 for more information, said officials.
