Education
HC seeks Centre’s steps against Blue Whale game
New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to submit a list of steps taken to ban the Blue Whale online game that has led to numerous suicides among teens.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar asked the central government to file the report by October 12.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police told the High Court that a direction has been issued to social media service providers Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, Yahoo, Rediff and Twitter to block or take down any link or reference to the game.
The police also stated that it has issued an advisory for parents and guardians regarding harmful effect of the game.
The court was hearing a plea filed by an advocate Gurmeet Singh, who cited deaths of youths in India and abroad because of the game.
Singh has sought immediate directions to restrain the internet majors from uploading any material pertaining to the Blue Whale Challenge.
The plea also sought direction to Delhi Police to appoint a special team comprising at least five members to oversee whether the internet companies are complying with the court’s direction.
The plea mentioned that more than six youths across India in the age group of 12-19 have taken their lives within a span of two weeks while playing this game.
It added that deaths of teenagers have been reported from other countries including Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile and Italy due to the game.
The sudden popularity of the lethal online game Blue Whale Challenge had forced the government to issue directions to the internet giants to remove links of the game.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT had directed Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately remove the links of Blue Whale Challenge.
Among the deaths reported is of 14-year-old boy Manpreet Singh Sahani who allegedly walked off the fifth floor of his building in Sher-e-Punjab Colony in Andheri East in Mumbai on July 30.
–IANS
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Education
As many as six new nursing colleges to be functional in Haryana soon
Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal shared that the construction work of six nursing colleges in the state will be completed soon and classes will commence in the month of July. Not only this, the new building of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Panchkula has also completed its construction work.
Adding on to this, he shared that, till now, the classes are being held in another building, the chief secretary said while presiding over the review meeting of development projects worth more than Rs 100 crore here.
CHIEF SECRETARY REVIEWED MAJOR PROJECTS
The Chief Secretary reviewed several major projects, including power, health, medical, and technical education in the state, and directed the concerned officials to complete them within the stipulated time period.
COLLEGES UNDER CONSTRUCTION
He said that the construction of nursing colleges in Dherdu village of Kaithal, Khedi Ram Nagar village of Kurukshetra, Kheranwali village of Panchkula, Aura and Dayalpur village of Faridabad, and Sadatpur village of Rewari is under construction.
The construction work of Medical college in Koriawas in Narnaul, Medical College at Jind, Bhiwani, and Dental College at Nalhar is being completed at a fast pace. The work of the second phase of Kalpana Chawla Medical College is also undergoing.