-Down to Earth Death and injury prevention get little attention To address the problem of road safety, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has published a draft Road Transport and Safety Bill for public comments and suggestions. If passed by Parliament, it would replace the existing Motor Vehicles Act of 1988. While the bill should be aiming for zero mortality, it has set a target to save 200,000 lives in...
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West Bengal transport minister calls cycle ban in Kolkata illegal -Sayantan Bera
-Down to Earth State government yet to revoke ban on non-motorised transport despite repeated protests, calls from civil society and advisory from Union Ministry of Urban Development "I have been fined three times this month while delivering milk," says an angry Omkar Mandal. For over two decades now, Mandal has been cycling about 10 km every day to pick up and deliver milk. "Each time I have to pay Rs 120. How...
More »RTE: Schools keep fingers crossed, govt yet to decide penalty -Naveed Iqbal
-The Indian Express A day after the deadline for implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act expired, representatives of the Delhi State Public Schools Association (DSPSA) met Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Education Minister Kiran Walia, seeking a reprieve. Speaking to Newsline, Walia said, "We have already brought down the minimum area requirement to 200 square meters. Beyond this, there are concerns of fire safety and other issues." She said the delegation...
More »Stalking is now a crime, will invite three years in jail -Nagendar Sharma
-The Hindustan Times Stalking — physical or electronic via phone calls, text messages or emails — is now a criminal offence, punishable with one to three years in jail. The provision is part of the law that came into force after President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3 signed an ordinance, which widened the scope and ambit of the laws dealing with sexual violence against women. The ordinance included a number of recommendations...
More »Insightful and path-breaking-Brinda Karat
-The Hindu Although it has left some crucial questions unanswered, the Verma Committee report is a big step forward in the struggle for women’s rights The UPA government has perhaps got more than what it bargained for from the committee it set up, headed by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice J.S. Verma, in the wake of the public outrage following the horrific Delhi gang rape. The government had...
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