Only seven persons pledge to donate organ

--‘Status of organ donation very bad in India’

 
BHUBANESWAR: “Status of organ donation in India especially in Odisha is very bad,” said All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar director Dr Ashok Kumar Mahapatra on the occasion of the World Organ Donation day celebrated at the AIIMS campus here on Tuesday.

Mahapatra said that awareness, education and motivation are needed to sensitise people about the organ transplantation and body donation for a greater cause that saves lives of many people. He informed that kidney transplantation, which was started from 1971 at AIIMS, costs Rs 2.5 lakh, while it costs around Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5-10 lakh for heart and bone marrow transplantation respectively in the Government hospitals.

“Now it becomes easy and accessible to transplant organs. A person can save nearly eight persons’ lives through organ donation,” said Mohapatra, adding, “Organ can be collected from the persons who suffer brain death.”

He said that a dying patient can help the persons who need heart, lung and eyes. Even skin, bone and a few other body parts can be transplanted easily. “Due to blind belief and superstitions, organ donation has become a non-starter in the State,” he said.

Mahapatra felicitated all the seven persons for extending help to save others life by donating their valuable organs. He also said that hundreds of people in need of organ transplants cannot be saved every year because of lack of donors.

Notably, the Central Government has amended the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 (42 of 1994) to include certain changes called the Transplantation of Human Organs Rules, 1995 to streamline organ donation and transplantation activities which accepted brain death as a form of death and made the sale of organs a punishable offence.      

452 bottle of Aska-40 wine seized

BHUBANESWAR: The Government Railway Police (GRP) seized 452 bottles of Aska-40 wine made up of country spirit and out-stilled liquor after conducting raid on an illegal liquor shop at Falikia bazaar near Railway Station here, said the police on Tuesday.

The police arrested the liquor vendor P Kamesh Reddy of Falikia bazaar in the city and seized the bottles packed in 19 packets having 90 litres of liquor. Reddy was selling liquor in his house without getting a license, said the police.

In another incident, GRP arrested two persons for looting railway passengers by adding drug in the eatables. The looters were identified as Deba Behera and Basant Kumar Sahu. The habitual offenders revealed that 20 gangs were engaged in the work.

Notably, around 300 similar loot cases had been registered between 2010-11 and 2012-13.              

Neighbour allegedly torches house in city slum

BHUBANESWAR: To take revenge, neighbours torched two thatched houses of Phuleswari slum in the city when the couples were fast asleep in their home.

Sukhdev Bhoi and Sarat Swain who were living in the slum had an argument with his neighbours a few days ago. They were waiting for an opportunity to give a lesson to the couples. On Monday night, the miscreants torched the houses, said Bhoi’s wife.

An FIR has been lodged at Khandagiri police station in connection with the case. Police are investigating into the matter.

     

Ushashree murder case: Ex-Army doc seeks bail

BHUBANESWAR: Accused ex-Army medical officer Dr Somnath Parida, who had sliced his wife Ushashree into pieces on June 3 this year, filed a bail petition again at the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court here on Tuesday.

The doctor was arrested and forwarded to the court by the Commissionerate Police suspecting his involvement in the murder of his wife. As the accused doctor’s name was not specifically mentioned in the FIR as a murderer of his wife, he should get bail, said Parida’s lawyer.

Notably, the court had rejected Parida’s bail plea before. On July 20, the court had rejected the appeal by the police for Narco test of accused Parida on health ground. Later the police had moved court to apply for brain mapping of the accused.  

Maoist surrenders in Gajapati

PARLAKHEMUNDI: A senior cadre of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda’s Odisha Maovadi Party surrendered to the Gajapati police, said DIG (South) Amitabh Thakur at a Press conference here on Monday.

He was identified as Naseeb Nayak alias Pratap (22) from Aligonda under the Adaba police station in the district involved in at least 14 criminal cases, the police said.

Nayak joined in the Maoist activities in 2009 at the age of 18. He had worked with Bansadhara division of the CPI (Maoist) led by Azad. He was working in the border areas of Rayagada, Kandhamal and Gajapati district. Later he preferred to stay with Sabyasachi Panda when he quit the party to form a rebel outfit called the Odisha Maovadi Party in 2012.

Nayak was involved in eight criminal cases in Gajapati district alone out of the total 14 cases. He confessed before the police that he was upset over the activities of the Maoists in the zone.   

Nayak was presented before the media here this afternoon in presence of the SPs of Ganjam and Gajapati with the DIG.

Chief Secy urged to set up Odia University in State

BHUBANESWAR: Eminent linguist Padmashree Dr Devi Prasanna Pattanayak and his team met Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra at the Secretariat here on Monday and urged him to take initiative for the setting up of an Odia University for the promotion and development of Odia language across the globe.

The delegation led by Pattanayak comprised of former diplomat Abasar Beuria, former BPUT vice-chancellor Omkarnath Mohanty, Kendrapada MLA Sipra Mallick and former chairman of OERC DK Ray discussed with the Chief Secretary about the need of a university in the State.

“The next responsibility of the State after getting classical tag for Odia language is to establish a university for promotion of the language. Classical status can give recognition to the language inside the country, but the university will promote it across the globe,” said Pattanayak.

“Odia is a rich language and we should take care of it for its prosperity and publicity inside and outside of the State,” said the members.

The committee had already met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and had talked about the demands before.