Maneka’s call to release Rivaldo
The Hindu
The jumbo has been in a kraal since May 5
Prominent animal rights activists and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has called for the release of elephant Rivaldo in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). The elephant has been put inside a kraal (elephant shelter used to contain the animal and to impart training) since May 5. Now, a month after it was moved to the kraal, a mahout and two assistants have begun training the animal by teaching it commands. Ms. Gandhi told The Hindu on Monday that the elephant “has not attacked humans and is in no way a menace.” The BJP MP said the elephant had become habituated to humans because of a wound on his snout, which has since healed. “It is the fault of humans for feeding him, so now he sees himself as semi-human,” she said.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.