Unnao: The head teacher of a co-educational school in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has been arrested on charges of molesting 16 girl students. The children said the teacher bribed them with candies to indulge in improper acts.

The matter came to light when the girls lodged a complaint on the portal of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

NCPCR member visited school

Taking cognizance of the matter, NCPCR member Preeti Bhardwaj Dalal visited the school for a probe and recorded the statements of the survivors and prima facie found the charges against the accused, Rajesh Kumar, to be true.

The teacher has been booked under the POCSO Act and molestation charges under the IPC, following a complaint lodged by the cook of the school, Ruby Devi.

The cook said she had informed another teacher about the alleged harassment. The district’s basic education officer has also suspended the accused.

A three-member team headed by basic education officer-level officer is further investigating the case. ASP Shashishekhar Singh said: “The head master, who was absconding since the FIR, has been arrested.”

Ahmedabad, November 28: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to impose a prohibition on the utilisation of loudspeakers for broadcasting azaan, or the Islamic call to prayer, from mosques. A bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee termed the petition as “wholly misconceived”.

Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in ‘noise pollution’

The PIL by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in “noise pollution,” adversely affecting the health of the general populace, particularly children, and causing other inconveniences.

The petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis

Ahmedabad, November 28: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to impose a prohibition on the utilisation of loudspeakers for broadcasting azaan, or the Islamic call to prayer, from mosques. A bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee termed the petition as “wholly misconceived”.

Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in ‘noise pollution’

The PIL by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in “noise pollution,” adversely affecting the health of the general populace, particularly children, and causing other inconveniences.

The petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis

However, the court observed that the petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis. In its judgment, the bench emphasised that azaan, typically lasting a maximum of 10 minutes, was unlikely to reach decibel levels that could constitute a significant noise pollution hazard.

The court further questioned the petitioner’s counsel about the sounds of bells and gongs during temple rituals

It expressed skepticism regarding the petitioner’s ability to establish that the human voice, amplified through loudspeakers during azaan, could generate sufficient decibels to create a public health hazard. The court further questioned the petitioner’s counsel about sounds of bells and gongs during temple rituals.

‘Morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 AM’

“In your temple, the morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 am. Does it not cause noise? Can you claim that the noise of ghanta (bell) and ghadiyal (gong) is confined within temple premises only and does not extend outside?” the bench asked.

10-minute azaan could not result in noise pollution

Highlighting the existence of scientific methods for measuring noise pollution, it noted that the PIL needed to furnish concrete data or studies to substantiate the claim that a 10-minute azaan could result in noise pollution.

Uttarkashi: The rescue operations underway to save the 41 trapped workers in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel is in its final stage and micro mining expert Chris Cooper said that a breakthrough is expected by 5 pm (IST).

The statement by the micro tunneling expert that the rescue teams expect to “see” some people by “5’0 clock” comes as a new lease of life and hope for the workers who have been trapped in the collapsed Sillkyara tunnel for the last 17 days now.

“So we are still mining, we have got a couple of more meters to go, it’s going quite easily, we are expecting to see some results by 5’0 clock,” said the expert.

When asked how many meters were left, he replied, “2-3 meters.” He also added that “we should see some people,” when asked if all the 41-workers will be rescued by today itself.

Preparations underway

With just few hours to go for at least the initial batch of workers to be rescued, preparations were underway on Tuesday (November 28) to immediately rush the rescued workers to hospital as soon as they are out of the tunnel.

 a dedicated ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds for the workers are ready at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, which is some 30 km from Silkyara.

separate ward comprising 41 oxygen-supported beds has been readied at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the workers.

“The pipe has gone in up to 52 metres. Earlier, it was at 51 metres. It was pushed one metre further in my presence. It will be pushed two metres more to 54 metres after which one more pipe will be laid,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said on the status of the rescue operations on Tuesday (November 28) morning.