LGBTQ community supports Mumbai-based sculptor who was sexually assaulted in Goa
Two days after video of a sculptor, Durga Gawde, speaking about her alleged sexual assault and molestation in Saligao, Goa went viral, the LGBTQ community has extended their support to the gender-fluid artist.
On May 31, angry that Gawde confronted him for speaking on the phone while riding his bike, Brian Franco allegedly verbally abused and molested her. Franco was arrested on June 1, but released on bail four days later.
Some members of the LGBTQ community have called it a human rights issue. “Irrespective of who the person is or from which community he or she belongs to, such an incident shouldn’t take place,” said Harish Iyer, LGBTQ activist.
“It isn’t about my gender identity. These incidents happen with everybody – women, men and trans persons. The problem is that people often associate shame with such incidents. Instead, people [in such situations] should stand up and talk about it,” said Gawde.
As the video went viral, hashtags such as #lockupbrianfranco and #standupforyourself started to trend. “I shared the video of the incident on social media, because rarely does a person who has been molested have proof of the incident. I wanted people to see the incident and for action to be taken,” she said.
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Commuters unhappy with 8.33am AC local train at Titwala, want general train restored instead
Following the conversion of a Titwala-CST general local train into an AC local train, the commuters taking the general local train at 8.33am from Titwala station are not pleased. They have demanded the normal local train to be reinstated rather than the AC train. A signature campaign was organised by Kalyan Karjat Kasara Railway Passengers Association on Wednesday with hundreds participating. Around 400 commuters registered their signatures in the campaign initiated by the association.
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Create awareness about importance of booster shot: Yogi
Expressing satisfaction over progress of vaccination, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that the people should be made aware about booster vaccination centres and the importance of booster doses. He said there was a need to step up the pace of vaccination for children. He said a large number of children in the 12 to 14 years age group were yet to be vaccinated. He said 214 cases have been treated during the period.
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Taking strong notice against the Punjab government for issuing eviction orders against scheduled caste residents of Bhama Kalan village of Ludhiana district, who are living there since independence, National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Vijay Sampla issued a notice to the state government on Wednesday and asked them to submit a reply within 15 days. The NCSC also asked the Punjab government to immediately stop the eviction drive and maintain status quo.
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Untreated sewage from Longowal town being released into Ghaggar
With blatant disregard to environmental concerns, the Punjab water and sewerage board has installed a pump to release untreated sewage from Longowal town into the Ghaggar river. The pump has been set up in a room-like structure on the roadside and connected to Bahadur Singh drain with a plastic pipe. Punjab Pollution Control Board has also issued a notice to Longowal municipal council and sewerage board to stop the practice.
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Sangam city’s civil defence post warden bags UP govt citation
For Mehra's commendable work in the field of civil defence, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to award a citation to Mani Mehra, post warden of Chowk Division, Prayagraj for the year 2020. During lockdowns in 2020 and in 2021 he had arranged distribution of free food, facemasks and sanitizers for more than 2000 needy people.
