Gujarat confidential: Perception Matters

On his way to a conference in Kochi on Thursday, Gandhidham-based paediatrician and neonatologist Dr Rajesh Maaheshwari got a prompt response on X when he posted a photograph of the Ahmedabad airport that has a feeding bottle on the signage for the Baby Care Room. His tweet said that the symbol seemed to “spread the message in society of bottle feeding and discourages breastfeeding”. The airport’s X handle responded saying it had taken note and “shared it with the concerned team”. On reaching Kochi airport, he saw the feeding room there with an icon of a breastfeeding mother and shared a picture with The Indian Express. “See the difference – only mother feeding baby picture is put, there is no feeding bottle… that is promotion of breastfeeding”, said Dr Maaheshwari.

Pendency Concerns

As reduction of pendency of cases in courts remains a priority area, the Gujarat High Court has taken to prioritising disposal of old matters. The causelist of the chief court – headed by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal – on Thursday included six criminal appeals preferred by the state in 1997, marked as “critically old matters”. However, the HC could not take up these matters due to paucity of time. According to the National Judicial Data Grid, the Gujarat HC has 1,945 cases pending that are 20 to 30 years old, including 949 criminal cases.