Schools to close on Mondays during Shravan in Ujjain
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
.
So, the schools will be closed on July 14, 21, 28 and Aug 4 and 11. Sundays before them – July 13, 20, 27 and Aug 3 and 10, will be working days for the schools, the order stated. The decision was made to avoid hassles for school children during the grand processions taken out every Monday during the Shravan and Bhadrapad months of religious significance.
District education officer Anand Sharma stated that the decision was made in the interest of children and parents to avoid traffic congestion caused by the procession on Mondays.
Starting next Monday, a procession for Lord Mahakaleshwar will be organised as part of the Shravan-Bhadra month. This time, six processions will be taken out beginning July 14, and the final royal procession will be held on Aug 18. On the day of the royal procession, there is a local holiday in Ujjain.
During the procession, traffic in the city increases, and for safety and crowd control, police set up barricades on the roads.
This causes school vehicles to get caught in the crowd and stuck in traffic jams, the officials feel. To prevent this inconvenience for parents and children, the district education department proposed to the collector to hold school on Sundays instead of Mondays, DEO Sharma said, adding that students and their parents, who use other means to reach school also face difficulties.
"This is not being done for the first time; it is being practised for the past two years," Sharma said.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
This arrangement has drawn flak from working couples. State Employees Union regional secretary Manohar Giri said, "Nowadays, both husband and wife need to work to manage family responsibilities. They have to work and typically get off on Sundays. Also, most employed individuals reside at the district headquarters and within the municipal limits, so operating schools on Sundays will create mental, physical, and financial pressure on working parents.
"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Bihar's election platter turns spicy with mutton parties in Shravan
Patna: Holy Shrawan month is on, and temples are abuzz with Shiva devotees fasting. Vegetarianism is in vogue. But in poll-bound Bihar, guess what's stealing the spotlight? Mutton curries! Mutton Rogan Josh — that rich, aromatic Kashmiri delight made a surprise appearance in the central hall of the state assembly on Monday, the second Somwari. The occasion? First day of the monsoon session before the state goes to polls. The serving was enough to stir a political potboiler. Leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav wasted no time. He accused the NDA leader of adopting a "double standard" over meat consumption. "BJP MLAs relished mutton on Shravan Somwari (Monday). We have no objection to anyone's food choice, but the PM should not be 'selective' in his attacks. While he finds it pleasing that his party leaders eat mutton during Shravan, he doesn't hesitate to attack opposition leaders even though they avoid non-vegetarian foods," Tejashwi posted on social media. He also uploaded a video of the stall with "Mutton Rogan Josh" to highlight his point. The video has gone viral on social media. The BJP reacted by saying that Tejashwi, being the leader of the opposition, should focus on the election looming large rather than watching who is eating what. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy the Dip: Top 5 Dividend Stocks with Growth Potential Seeking Alpha Read More Undo "Maybe the caterer also arranged for the mutton dish along with vegetarian food, but did Tejashwi only watch who ate the mutton?" state BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said on Tuesday. Mocking Tejashwi, Sharma said whether the leader of opposition should scan the CCTV images to find out who consumed what or focus on Bihar's development. This isn't the first time mutton has made an entry in Shravan when majority Hindus turn vegetarian. Last week, Union minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh triggered a similar row when he hosted a mutton party for his supporters in Lakhisarai, which is a part of his Munger Lok Sabha constituency. In a video that went viral, Lalan is heard saying that he arranged both "vegetarian and non-vegetarian" foods. Tejashwi again took a dig at Singh for hosting a mutton party during Shravan. Earlier this month, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor arranged "biryani" for all those who came to hear his speech in Kishanganj district. TV footage released later showed people crowding the food stalls and scrambling to get the food packets. But the party claims it was "vegetarian biryani" and not mutton. Mutton had been the menu for controversy earlier also when RJD chief Lalu Prasad cooked a special mutton dish for Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at his daughter's residence in Delhi during Shrawan in 2023. The video of Lalu cooking mutton in a desi style and stirring in a pot went viral at that time, drawing sharp reactions from the NDA. Later, Tejashwi and his ally, Muhesh Sahani, drew bitter criticisms from the NDA leader after both were caught on camera relishing fish during a chopper ride as part of the poll campaign during the LS elections. The NDA leaders targeted the duo, describing their acts as an "insult to sanatan" for relishing during "Navaratra". Later, Tejashwi clarified that they had eaten the non-vegetarian dish before the start of Navarata.
India.com
4 hours ago
- India.com
Booth By Booth, Temple By Temple: How West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Is Taking On BJP Ahead Of Polls
West Bengal Assembly Elections will take place next year, but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is well aware of how tight the contest will be this time, given that the opponents are not Congress-Left but the BJP, which will contest the polls with all its might. To take on the BJP, which is spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TMC is taking on each and every political aspect being taken up by the saffron party. During a recent rally, Prime Minister Modi started his speech with 'Jai Ma Durge' and 'Jai Ma Kaali' chants, a shift from 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Siya Ram'. Wooing Booths With Funds The TMC is aware of how the BJP works to mobilise booths and grassroot workers and thus, CM Mamata Banerjee is not targeting booth-level workers and voters as well. On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee announced 'Amader Para, Amader Samadhan' (our neighbourhood, our solution) program under which she announced Rs 10 lakh funds per booth to provide grievance redressal and services to common people. Banerjee said that this is the first such initiative in the country where people to voice their opinions and mutually decide the issues they need to get it resolved in their booth using Rs 10 lakh. She said that local issues will be identified and resolved at the extreme micro level. She said that the scheme gives power in the hands of people, as it's for the first time that people will decide what's best for them under a Govt-public participatory programme. "In total, the state government will be spending Rs 8000 crore on this programme. It will start on August 2. A Task Force will be headed by the Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, who will monitor this," said Banerjee. Counter Polarisation Accused of appeasement politics by the BJP, the TMC is now doing course correction by taking up soft Hindutva, to not upset the Muslims while appealing to the Hindu voters. Recently, Banerjee led the grand inauguration of Rs 250 crore Jagannath Dham and now, she has launched 'Durga Angan' project, a grand year-round temple complex dedicated to Ma Durga. This is being seen as a counter to the BJP invoking 'Durga' and 'Kali' in its campaign. During Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, Banerjee made her intent clear why targeting PM Modi, "Why is it that you suddenly start remembering Ma Kali and Ma Durga only during the elections? Ma Durga is our revered goddess, and Durga Puja has even received international recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Now listen, just as we developed Jagannath Dham, we will create 'Durga Angan' so that people can visit and experience it throughout the year." BJP Alleges Symbolism The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticised the move, calling it a violation of constitutional principles and accusing the state government of diverting public funds for religious purposes. Party leaders claimed the decision was a calculated attempt to appeal to Hindu voters who have traditionally supported the BJP. Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, argued that government funds should not be used to construct any place of worship—whether it be a temple, mosque, church, or gurudwara. He accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misusing taxpayer money and disregarding the secular framework outlined in the Constitution.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Case for diversity in higher courts
A former chief justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Suresh Kumar Kait, has alleged that the collegium, which makes the final selection of judges to constitutional courts, is 'dishonest' in its treatment of people from the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backwards Classes (OBC), while making appointments to the high courts. His claim rests on the fact that the number of judges from these social groups is not commensurate with their share in the country's population. Kait has proposed reservations to address this anomaly. Kait's very subjective description of the conduct of the collegium could be discarded, but his remark about the lack of diversity and representation in high courts surely calls for a conversation. To be sure, the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which guides appointments in constitutional courts, has not proposed caste quotas in judiciary. The collegium makes its choices using MoP as a guide and, after due consideration, which includes consultations with the government and review of feedback from State agencies, appoints the judges. Merit and seniority are considerations when the collegium looks at the candidates, but multiple chief justices of the Supreme Court have said they try to ensure that appointments reflect the social diversity of the country. However, data shows that despite the best intentions of the collegium, the higher judiciary remains mostly the preserve of upper caste Hindus. A response by the government in the Lok Sabha in December 2024 reveals that out of 684 high court judges appointed since 2018, 21 belong to SC category, 14 to ST category, and 82 belong to OBC category. In percentage terms, this is 3%, 2%, and 12% of the appointments, whereas the share of these groups in the population (as per the National Family Health Survey, 2019-2021) is 22%, 9.5%, and 42%. A data analysis by HT revealed that 75.6% of judges in the Supreme Court during 2010-25 belonged to Hindu upper castes, whereas OBC representation was limited to 7.8%. The representation trend has improved over the decades, though the change has been far from adequate. Kait's attempt to shame the collegium as 'dishonest' is uncalled for, but the data is glaring for anyone to ignore that Dalits, tribals and OBCs are underrepresented in constitutional courts. Appointments to constitutional posts have not followed any principle of affirmative action, but representation has become a political question — so much so that no party can ignore it in the selection of people to ministerial positions and high public office. The inclusion of caste enumeration in the census and legislation on women's reservation in Parliament suggest that representation and diversity have become central to public life and appointments. The judiciary's turn has come.
