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https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/freedom-from-dependence-a-new-era-in-health-care/article68525937.ece

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The Hindu

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The Hindu

Elusive consensus: even those backing UCC demand exemption for tribal communities

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He toldthat there was “no rope, ladder or any other means of rescue in the basement, and Kannan started using the water hose as a rope”

Deendayal and Hari, who knew swimming, went back to the basement with the hose to search and rescue the trapped students.

The former said, “The electricity of the building had already been cut off due to the fear of a short circuit. And it was evening and the water was dirty, so there was little visibility. The furniture of the library was also floating. It was very difficult to find the trapped people.” 

Hari said, “We tried much more than our capacity. But human efforts also have a limit. Even if we wanted, we were not able to help the other trapped people because we had no means except our courage.”

Rescue efforts delayed, teams ‘did not have required equipment’
By 7 pm, two or three police personnel from the local Karol Bagh Police Station arrived at the coaching institute, “someone from the management” had informed the police.

Hari said “We were trying to rescue the trapped students. One of the police persons showed great urgency and went inside the water with us, without any equipment. He helped rescue several trapped students. But soon the situation was beyond human control.”

Half an hour later, the Delhi Fire Service team arrived. “But they too were unable to help in evacuating the students as they did not have the necessary equipment to deal with the situation.”

The fire service team, which did not include any divers, did not venture into the waterlogged area “but immediately called for a pump and started to remove water from the basement”.

Kannan said, “The fire service arrived around 7:30 pm but they could not help us because divers were needed to deal with such a situation, which the fire service did not have.”

The NDRF team arrived on the spot about 40 minutes after the fire service team began its rescue efforts.

The NDRF divers went inside the area and soon found the three trapped students who had reportedly already died.

The NDRF operations continued till around 12 am.

The names of the students have been changed to protect their identity.

Account of incidens provided by four students – survivors and eyewitnesses of the incident.

Source : Newslaundry

What happened in the Library of Rau's IAS on that doom's day.

This is an account of the incident provided by Survivors and eyewitnesses of the incident -  All four students from Tamil Nadu – Kingsley Kanan (21), Vijay Kumar (22), Deendayalan (25) and Hari* (25).

First five minutes: ‘Water rose up to waist within seconds’
Around 6:50 pm, water from the road had begun filling up the basement. “It is very common for the basement to be filled with ankle-deep water during the rainy season” Kanan told.

About 10 minutes before the closing of the library at 7 pm, Kanan had packed his bags and walked upstairs to the parking lot.

About two minutes later, a black SUV passed the building, and more water rushed towards the coaching centre with double the force and broke the iron gate of the building. Then the water started entering the basement very fast.

The librarian soon began walking up to students, asking them to vacate the library as the basement was flooding.

At around 6:51 pm, he asked Vijay Kumar, who was sitting near the front door, to quickly vacate the library.

The library in the basement, about 60 feet in length and 30 feet in width, had two doors – one on the front-side and the other at the rear of the building.

He said “suddenly the water-level started rising rapidly. Within a few seconds, the water reached up to the waist. At that time, about 35 children were present in the library”.

Then panic struck the students. “As the water inflow increased, there was chaos. Everyone tried to get out through the front door,” said Kumar, adding that as the students rushed, a large toughened glass sheet kept near the door fell, and he too got injured.  

Along with Kumar, about 20-25 other students also came out through the front door. “I somehow got out but about 11 students remained stuck behind me.” Deendayalan and Hari, at the rear portion of the library, were among those 11 students. 

Deendayalan said, “The library is divided into compartments, when all this was happening near the front door, those at the back did not know anything. I could only hear the voice of the librarian, ‘Everyone quickly vacate the library, water is filling up.’

The student said even before he could pack his belongings, “the water-level reached up to his waist and he quickly ran towards the front door”. And as he tried to open the door against the force of the water, the 4-feet wide glass door broke.

Deendayalan then saw some students slipping into the water, down the stairs, towards the library door. “Some sharp parts of the broken glass door were jutting out. I began breaking them so others do not get injured. But before I could do it, the water level reached up to the neck.”

He said that “it was difficult to get out from the front door”, so they rushed to the door at the back-side. “But by then the water had risen considerably and the furniture had started floating. Some of us reached the back door with great difficulty.”

The next 20 minutes: ‘We wanted to rescue but had no means’
At around 6:55, Kannan saw his friends, Deendayal and Hari, struggling to climb the stairs that reached the back gate. He told, “Deendayal was pleading for help and kept saying that there were more people trapped downstairs and we had to get them out at any cost.”

Deendayal said that by the time he came out, “the entire basement was submerged in water. Since sewage water had also mixed with the rainwater, the water was stinking and made us feel suffocated. There was a burning sensation in our eyes. By then, the faculty, management and other staff present in the coaching centre also started trying to get the students out.” 

Continued.....

Minimum Support Price: Lessons from the Malwa Experience in Madhya Pradesh | Economic and Political Weekly
https://www.epw.in/engage/article/minimum-support-price-lessons-malwa-experience

What are the lessons from this regional narrative? There are two countervailing competitive systems—the decentralised procurement operations and the regulated mandis for private trade. You require both so that price levels are around the MSP. This is especially so in the post-harvest period when supplies are large, and mandi price would always dampen and very often they would reach distress levels. Hence, protection is required for the farmers at the first point of sale. In the above instance, farmers have real and exercisable options of accessing the procurement centre or the mandi. Traders at the mandi, buying for the private market, are competing with the MSP rate being offered at the procurement centre. Thus, the auction price moves in a band around the MSP, depending on quality, prompt payment, and other local circumstances. It requires both systems to operate effectively.

Another lesson learned is the necessity for decentralized and extensive procurement operations in specific regions. This becomes crucial, particularly when state governments contemplate transitioning towards pulses or oilseeds. The entrenched success of wheat in Malwa illustrates the challenge of shifting focus due to established procurement systems. However, developing analogous systems for pulses or oilseeds in distinct agro-climatic zones shouldn't pose insurmountable difficulties. These commodities possess an all-India market with robust private demand, offering potential avenues for successful implementation.

To ensure both systems are in place, private trade needs to be encouraged. This can be done by expanding the reach of regulated markets in underserved areas by creating more mandis and sub-mandis and facilities provided to traders. These markets have to be vibrant so that a substantial portion of the marketable surplus goes through this channel. This is feasible when processing units, dal mills, etc., are encouraged in the selected region. These regulated markets need to be established at nodal points with decent transport facilities. In this way, each system could have its supply chain worked out. The procurement operation could supply to government schemes, while the private market could supply to mills and urban centres.

Economic and Political Weekly

Minimum Support Price: Lessons from the Malwa Experience in Madhya Pradesh

This article focuses on the need to study and learn from regional experiences where procurement at minimum support price has been effective and its impact on the private markets. Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, for wheat, has some lessons to offer. The prices…