Bengaluru doctors save life of 4-year-old boy with bloodless bone marrow transplant

Health

The boy belongs to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, the followers of which cannot take blood transfusions as treatment.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

It is not rare for doctors to take young children for bone marrow transplants. In fact, it is one of the most effective treatments for certain forms of leukaemia and other disorders. However, when the individual in question belongs to a faith which doesn’t permit them to get a normal blood transfusion, how do doctors tackle such a challenge? Bloodless bone marrow transplants are given to individuals belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, and this was exactly the method used by doctors in Bengaluru to save a 4-year-old boy. Ittai James Moshi and his parents hail from Tanzania. The boy’s parents are both IT professionals who moved to Bengaluru in 2018 for his treatment. He was diagnosed with a form of abdominal cancer and required a bone marrow transplant to treat him. However, the standard procedure to initiate a bone marrow transplant involves getting a blood transfusion. As Ittai and his parents belong to the Jehovah’s Witnesses community, it was not allowed for him to undergo the routine transplant. “We don’t usually opt for this form of treatment, however in this instance we had to opt for a bloodless transfusion,” explains Dr Sunil Bhatt, director and clinical lead of paediatric oncology (children’s cancer specialist) at Bengaluru’s Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre. “In this process, we obtain and harvest stem cells from the individual’s own bone marrow. These cells are then later reintroduced into the individual’s body to restore their bone marrow. It takes about three weeks for the new marrow cells to regenerate,” he explains about the procedure. He also notes that while a standard procedure is less risky, for individuals who are not allowed to undergo blood transfusions, this is an alternative method. Ittai underwent the procedure in September 2019 following which a team of doctors had been monitoring him to ensure that his vital signs were stabilising. After spending months at the hospital under observation, the doctors have stated that the boy is recovering well.

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Lessons on Tipu Sultan to be retained in Karnataka school textbooks for 2020-21

Education

BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan had written to the Education Department in October 2019 asking references to Tipu Sultan be removed from school textbooks.

TNM Staff

Although the Karnataka government is yet to confirm if references to Tipu Sultan in school textbooks will be removed in the future, it is set to be retained for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year. The Karnataka Textbook Society (KTBS) will complete issuing work orders for over 8 crore textbooks later this week. These books will be distributed to students from classes 1 to 12.  An official involved in the process told The Hindu that they had not received any instructions on making changes in the social science textbooks in lessons referencing Tipu Sultan. The official added that the orders cannot be delayed further since it will take 120 days for the textbooks to be printed and supplied to schools.  Madikeri's BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan had written to the Education Department in October 2019 asking that references to Tipu Sultan be removed from school textbooks. In the letter Apachu stated Tipu Sultan has been glorified as a freedom fighter. Appachu further alleged that Tipu converted tens of thousands of Christians in Mangaluru and persecuted Kodavas in Coorg (now Kodagu). In the letter, Apachu also alleges that Tipu was against Kannada since the language used in his kingdom was Persian. The Education Department formed an expert panel to study the issue in November but reportedly, the panel was disappointed by the lack of evidence and documents presented by Apachu Ranjan to back up his claims.  In December, the expert panel sent a report to the Education Minister suggesting that there was no need to make changes to the references of Tipu in textbooks.  Tipu Sultan ruled the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom from 1782 to 1799 and was involved in multiple battles against the British East India Company for territory in south India. In 2019, just months after coming to power, the BJP-led Karnataka government decided to cancel Tipu Jayanti celebrations held officially by the state government. The celebrations were introduced in November 2015 when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government introduced it for the first time.  Since 2015, Tipu Jayanti celebrations have been marred by campaigns run by BJP and pro-Hindu groups claiming that Tipu Sultan had persecuted Kodavas and Christians. Despite that, the Congress government led by then CM Siddaramaiah continued to celebrate Tipu Jayanti. 

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'RSS, BJP trying to establish Hindu Rashtra with CAA, NRC: Siddaramaiah

CAA

Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to change the Constitution to suit their ideology.

TNM Staff

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the RSS and the BJP were trying to establish a Hindu Rashtra by implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). "The Drafting Committee of the Constitution had 289 members and among them were people from the RSS. They wanted a Constitution based on Manusmriti but they were not allowed to implement it then. Now, the RSS and BJP are trying to establish a Hindu Rashtra by implementing such laws (CAA and NRC)," Siddaramaiah said, addressing a press conference at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru.  "Sangh Parivar could not succeed in infusing its ideology during the drafting of the Constitution even when their members were in the committee. Now they want to change it to suit their ideology," Siddaramaiah said, criticising the RSS and BJP. The former Chief Minister pointed out that the protests against the CAA and NRC have continued and claimed that the BJP was ‘misleading the public’ by saying that these two contentious laws will not affect Indian citizens. “We have no objection to granting of citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But why have they excluded persecuted sectoral minorities and persecuted minorities from Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar? Sangh Parivar could not succeed in infusing its ideology during the drafting of the Constitution even when their members were in the committee. Now they want to change it to suit their ideology,“ he added.    The Congress party has maintained its opposition against the CAA, which brought into effect on January 10. 

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Powerful House committee is latest to take stab at ‘surprise’ billing fix

A new plan is at odds with a bipartisan deal struck last year to settle billing disputes that can leave patients on the hook for thousands of dollars.

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‘Vengeful state repression deeply concerning’: Azim Premji Uni profs on CAA-NRC

CAA

The statement has also condemned the recent attack on JNU students and professors and the “undemocratic” manner in which the issue of fee hike protests at JNU was dealt with.

TNM Staff

Representational Image

Professors, researchers and staff members of Azim Premji University in Bengaluru have released a statement expressing their distress over the controversial  Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nation-wide National Population Register (NPR).  Criticizing the government over bringing the “unconstitutional” provisions, the statement condemned the police action in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Mangaluru, as well as other parts of the country. “We stand in solidarity with all those peaceful protestors who are exercising their constitutional right to dissent as it is ‘the safety valve of democracy’,” reads the statement, signed by 76 members from the university. The statement has condemned the “undemocratic” manner in which the issue of fee hike protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was dealt with and the recent attack on students and professors. “We, the undersigned faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and members at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, are writing this letter as concerned people of India to express our distress over the recent events in our country over the past few months,” the statement reads.  The statement termed the CAA to be in direct violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution and to be patently divisive on communal lines. It added that the CAA and the proposed NRC are spreading fear among several communities.  “The poor, who are also document-poor, especially women, are likely to be the most affected if a nationwide NPR-NRC is rolled out. The vengeful state repression that these protests were met with, especially in BJP ruled states, is deeply concerning,” the statement reads. “The brutal attacks by the Uttar Pradesh police on innocent protestors, and their usage of stun grenades in Aligarh is reprehensible. 18 people have died and at least 1200 people have been arrested in UP.  In Mangalore, not only did the police use teargas inside a hospital, they also killed two people. The Delhi police has also used tear gas on students in the Jamia Millia Islamia library. Apart from these universities, students and teachers from other institutions (e.g., IIM-Ahmedabad, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru) have had to face intimidation for practising their constitutional right to dissent peacefully,” the statement adds. The statement also spoke of the sedition case filed against the student holding the ‘Free Kashmir’ placard in Mysuru University during anti-CAA protests and referred to it as “another grim picture of the complete breakdown of basic freedoms in India.” Condemning the high-handedness of the BJP-led government, it says, “We urge the Government of India to instead focus on developmental issues, improve government accountability and strengthen public institutions.“ The statement also raised the issue of ongoing internet blockade in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a clear violation of the fundamental rights of the people. The statement also called for the release of all political prisoners and ensure the return of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.

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National Common Mobility Card set to be launched across Bengaluru from April

Transport

From April, the metro authorities will introduce automatic fare collection (AFC) gates that will comply with the NCMC card.

Soumya Chatterjee

NAMMA METRO BY SUDHIR DESHWAL/FLICKR via Wikimedia Commons

A common inter-operable smart card system for multiple urban transport systems, like the Namma Metro and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, may finally see the light of day in April. Currently, the smart card ensures commuters do not have to wait in the queues to buy tickets while using the metro. With the new system, commuters can travel seamlessly using one single card for the bus, metro and other transport modes in the future, without the hassle of carrying exact change. IAS officer Ajay Seth, the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), said this card will be the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) as launched by the Prime Minister in March 2019.  Earlier, Seth had told TNM that a pilot program for a prepaid card, which would work only for metro and the BMTC (closed-loop), was set to start in October 2019. But that plan was dropped in favour of the NCMC. From April, the metro authorities will introduce automatic fare collection (AFC) gates that will comply with the NCMC card. “We are installing these new AFC gates in the new metro stations in the Kanakapura Road line (Green Line Reach 4 extension Yelachenahalli-Anjanapura line). Operations are due to start from August in this line. The BMTC is also moving to build capacity on their side. Gradually all existing metro stations will have the new AFC gates which would work with the single-use tokens, existing smart cards and NCMC cards,” he told TNM on Thursday. Incidentally, these new AFC gates will also be the first indigenously made AFC gates in the country. The prototype for the gates is designed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) along with Centre For Development Of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The same gates will also be installed when the metro starts Phase-II operations. BMTC officials said they are also preparing to acquire handheld devices for conductors that can work with these NCMC cards. Officials said the time frame can only be assessed on the budgetary allocation by the state government. NCMC are bank-issued multiple-use Debit/Credit/Prepaid cards. These cards can work both online and offline, contactless and contact-mode transactions and are not limited to transport purposes. In response to the question in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the National Common Mobility Card is an open-loop card, which can be used for all local travel needs in the country. This is aimed at low-value payments for various segments which included Transit, Smart cities, Toll, Parking and other low-value merchant payments, in addition to the normal day to day retail payments. The vision behind the introduction of this card is to have interoperability, based on open standards. As part of the same reply, she said there is the provision of storing money on the card, which can be used for contactless payments across various uses such as toll transit, parking etc. The wallet where the money is stored is referred to as a global/card wallet. Also, any refund pertaining to the transactions conducted using a global/card wallet will be credited in the replica of the wallet maintained at bank’s end, which further can be added to Global/Card Wallet by the customer.        

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VHP, Bajrang Dal demand dress code at Kukke Subrahmanya temple in Karnataka

Temple

VHP division secretary Sharan Kumar said devotees wearing jeans, T-shirts and shorts were seen at the Kukke temple.

PTI

Photograph by Soorajna/CC 3.0/ Wikimedia Commons

Pro-Hindu outfits Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have asked the Karnataka government to enforce a traditional dress code for the devotees visiting the famous Kukke Subrahmanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district. In a letter submitted to the Muzrai temple authorities on Wednesday, the organisations demanded that the dress code followed in temples of other south Indian states, including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, should be implemented at this temple as well. The two outfits also requested the Muzrai Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary to implement the traditional dress code in all state-run temples. Kukke Subrahmanya temple executive officer MH Ravindra said the letter from the outfits has been forwarded to the Muzrai Department as the temple committee alone cannot enforce a dress code. It is up to the government to take a decision on the matter, he said. VHP division secretary Sharan Kumar claimed devotees wearing jeans, T-shirts and shorts were seen at the Kukke temple, which, he said, is not desirable. “Devotees should wear Hindu traditional dress or ethnic wear when they enter temples,” he said. The Kukke Subrahmanya temple attracts visitors from across the world. It is located in Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. It is located close to the famous trekking spot Kumara Parvatha and pilgrims often cross the Kumaradhara river and take a holy dip in the river before entering the temple. Earlier in 2018, rigid dress code prohibiting jeans, trousers and shorts were put in place at the Mahabaleshwara Temple in Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Similar restrictions were proposed at Hampi's Virupaksha Temple in the same year, although it is not strictly enforced.  In Andhra Pradesh, temples including the Tirumala Temple, Kanakadurga Temple in Vijayawada and Annavaram Temple in Rajamahendravaram introduced dress codes. Male devotees could wear lungi, kanduva and shirt while female devotees have to wear a sari or dupatta with a dress. The dress codes, however, are not strictly enforced. In Kerala, Guruvayur temple in Thrissur district has a strict dress code. While men must wear mundu, boys can wear shorts. However, they cannot wear a shirt but can cover their chest with a veshti. Women and girls are allowed to wear saris, long skirts and salwars.

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