The Priest : A Prayer On A Sunday Night

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Tonight, Lord, I am alone.
Little by little the sounds
died down in the church.
The people went away,
And I came home,
Alone.

I passed people who were
returning from a walk.
I went by the cinema
that was disgorging its crowd.
I skirted café terraces where tired strollers
were trying to prolong t
he pleasure of a Sunday holiday.
I bumped into youngsters
playing on the footpath,
Youngsters, Lord,
Other people’s youngsters
who will never be my own.

Here I am, Lord,
Alone.
The silence troubles me,
The solitude oppresses me.

Lord, I’m 35 years old,
A body made like others,
ready for work,
A heart meant for love,
But I’ve given you all.
It’s true of course, that you needed it.
I’ve given you all, but it is hard, Lord.
It’s hard to give one’s body;
it would like to give itself to others.
It’s hard to love everyone and to claim no one.
It’s hard to shake a hand
and not want to keep it.
It’s hard to inspire affection,
only to give it to you.
It’s hard to be nothing to oneself
in order to be everything to others.
It’s hard to be like others, among others,
and be an other to them.
It’s hard always to give
without trying to receive.
It’s hard to seek out others
and to be oneself unsought.
It’s hard to be told secrets,
and never be able to share them.
It’s hard to carry others
and never, even for a moment, be carried.
It’s hard to sustain the feeble
and never be able to lean on one
who is strong.

It’s hard to be alone,
Alone before everyone,
Alone before the world,
Alone before suffering,
death,
sin.

Son, you are not alone,
I am with you.
I am you.
For I needed another human vehicle
to continue my Incarnation
and my Redemption.
Out of all eternity, I chose you.
I need you.

I need your hands to continue to bless,
I need your lips to continue to speak,
I need your body to continue to suffer,
I need your heart to continue to love,
I need you to continue to save,
Stay with me.

Here I am Lord,
Here is my body,
my heart,
my soul,
Grant that I may be
big enough to reach the world,
Strong enough to carry it.
Pure enough to embrace it
without wanting to keep it.

Grant that I may be a meeting-place,
but a temporary one,
A road that does not end in itself,
because everything to be gathered there,
everything human, must be led to you.

Lord, tonight, while all is still
and I feel sharply the sting of solitude,
While people devour my soul
and I feel incapable of satisfying their hunger,
While the world presses on my shoulders
with all its weight
of misery and sin,
I repeat to you my “yes”
—not in a burst of laughter, but slowly,
clearly, humbly.

Alone, Lord,
before you,
In the peace of the evening.

– – – written by Fr. Michel Quoist, 1954, France

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India has highest number of stillbirths: Lancet report

AARTI DHAR

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of stillbirths in the world.

This finding comes after the country recorded the worst female child sex ratio ever (Census 2011). India figures at the top of 10 countries that have the highest number of stillbirths, according to the Stillbirth series published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.

As high as 66 per cent (1.8 million) stillbirths in the world occur in just 10 countries. India is followed by Pakistan, Nigeria, China, Bangladesh, Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Tanzania.

The top five — India, Pakistan, Nigeria, China and Bangladesh — alone represented half of all stillbirths worldwide. In India, the stillbirth rates varied from 20 to 66 per 1,000 total births in different States. China has made some progress over the years to reduce its figure.

Almost half of all stillbirths, 1.2 million, happen when the woman is in labour. These deaths are directly related to the lack of skilled care at this critical time for mothers and babies. Two-thirds occur in rural areas, where skilled birth attendants — midwives and physicians in particular — are not always available for essential care during childbirth and for obstetric emergencies, including Caesarean section.

About 2.6 million stillbirths occurred worldwide in 2009. Every day, more than 7,200 babies are stillborn — 98 per cent of these occur in low and middle-income countries. These deaths occur mainly during the last trimester of pregnancy (after 28 weeks’ gestation).

Of these 2.6 million, approximately 1.2 million stillbirths occur during birth (intrapartum) and 1.4 million before birth (antepartum). Most intrapartum stillbirths are associated with obstetric emergencies (childbirth complications).

In high-income countries, obesity, smoking, and advanced maternal age are among the big risk factors. Childbirth complications, maternal infections in pregnancy, maternal disorders, especially hypertension and diabetes, foetal growth restriction, and congenital abnormalities are the biggest reasons for stillbirths.

The overall number of stillbirths fell from an estimated 3.03 million in 1995 to 2.64 million in 2009.The global rate has been reduced from 22 stillbirths per 1,000 total births to 19. Analyses suggested that stillbirths had decreased by 1.1 per cent per year since 1995, lower than the 2.3 per cent annual reduction rate in child under-five mortality, and 2.5 per cent annual reduction in maternal mortality. A survey of healthcare professionals and parents in 135 countries showed that most stillborn babies were disposed of without recognition or rituals.

Police release sketch of man who parcelled body

STAFF REPORTER

 

DISHA KANWAR New Delhi, 13 October A t a time when the industry is suffering from high inflation, the railways have decided to go for a more than 15 per cent across-the-board rise in freight rates through the imposition of an extraneous hike in tariff. The move is meant to help the railways garner more revenue and is likely to translate into a `6,000- 7,000 crore burden on the industry. A 10 per cent busy season charge on the base freight rate will be applicable from October 15. The railways will also impose a five per cent development surcharge from October 15 on the net tariff, comprised of the base freight rate and various demand management charges, under the dynamic pricing policy. Unlike earlier, the busy season charge will be levied on all commodities except containerised cargo and certain automobile traffic. It is likely to continue till June 30, 2012. All the commodities will be charged at the rate of 10 per cent, with 100 per cent exemption to container operators and automobile traffic moved in NJMG, BCACM and BCCNR wagons. Other charges like punitive charges for overloading, penal charges on mis-declaration and freight concession (discount/rebate) will also be granted on the net tariff rate. The railways had in 2007 imposed a two per cent development surcharge to replace the safety surcharge levied earlier. That will now be levied at the rate of five per cent. Development surcharge will be calculated over and above the 10 per cent busy season charge that has become applicable on the base freight rates from this month. Though the railways did not increase freight rates at the time of the Budget in February, it has adopted the surcharge route to generate more revenue. For instance, in April this year it imposed a surcharge of five per cent on the coal and coke group. On all the other commodities, a seven per cent busy season charge was imposed. Similarly, it had imposed a surcharge on iron ore last year. Not only is the surcharge this time one of the highest so far, but it is also uniformly imposed on all commodities. Before the introduction of the dynamic pricing policy in 2006, the railways’ passenger fares and freight rates remained unchanged round the year and across all routes, even though tariffs for airlines and road sectors varied depending on the demand and the season. According to the dynamic pricing policy, the rates for non-peak season, nonpremium services and empty flow directions are less than the general rates; the rates for peak season and premium services could be higher than normal. For freight, the non-peak season is July 1 to September 30. For the passenger segment, this period is January 15 to April 15 and then July 15 to September 15 but the railways do not follow variable pricing for passengers. An official on the condition of anonymity said generally an increase in freight rates was decided on need basis, depending on the amount of revenue required to be generated. “The railways have not increased the base freight rate but only tinkered with the extraneous charges,” said the official. Unlike the base fare, surcharges are imposed for a particular time period. Officials defended the decision, saying the railways did not pass on the burden to customers despite an increase in input costs on account of fuel price hikes and higher wages.

SEBI IMPOSES `5 LAKH PENALTY
ON PANTALOON RETAIL
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) has imposed a penalty of `5 lakh on retail major
Pantaloon for failing to address investor grievances
within the stipulated time frame. Sebi had earlier
identified the Kishore Biyani-promoted firm as one of the companies against whom a large number of investor grievances were pending for more than six months as on June 30 last year. In July 2010, Sebi had asked the company to redress the complaints and submit an action taken report within 30 days

15% HIGHER RAIL FREIGHT RATES TO JACK UP INDUSTRIAL COSTS

15% HIGHER RAIL FREIGHT RATES 
TO JACK UP INDUSTRIAL COSTS
Higher expenditure behind steep rise; industry to take `6,000-7,000 crore hit
DISHA KANWAR  New Delhi, 13 October 
At a time when the industry is
suffering from high inflation,the railways have decided to go for a more than 15 per cent across-the-board rise in freight rates through the imposition of an extraneous hike in  tariff. The move is meant to help the railways garner more revenue and is likely to translate into a `6,000-7,000 crore burden on the industry. 
A 10 per cent busy season charge on the base freight rate will be applicable from October 15. The railways will also impose a five per cent development surcharge from October 15 on the net tariff, comprised of the base freight rate and various demand management charges, under the dynamic pricing policy. 
Unlike earlier, the busy season charge will be levied on all commodities except containerised cargo and certain automobile traffic. It is likely to continue till June 30, 2012.
All the commodities will be charged at the rate of 10 per cent, with 100 per cent exemption to container operators and automobile traffic moved in NJMG, BCACM and BCCNR wagons. Other charges like punitive charges for overloading, penal charges on mis-declaration and freight concession (discount/rebate) will also be granted on
the net tariff rate.
The railways had in 2007 imposed a two per cent development surcharge to replace the safety surcharge levied earlier. That will now be levied at the rate of five per cent. Development surcharge will be calculated over and above the 10 per cent busy season charge that has become applicable on the base freight rates from this month.
Though the railways did not increase freight rates at the time of the Budget in February, it has adopted the surcharge route to generate more revenue. For instance, in April this year it imposed a surcharge of five per cent on the coal and coke group. On all the other commodities, a seven per cent busy season charge was imposed. Similarly, it had imposed a surcharge on iron ore last year. Not only is the surcharge this time one of the highest so far, but it is also uniformly imposed on all commodities. Before the introduction of the dynamic pricing policy in 2006, the railways’ passenger fares and freight rates
remained unchanged round the year and across all routes, even though tariffs for airlines and road sectors varied depending on the demand and the season.
According to the dynamic pricing policy, the rates for non-peak season, nonpremium services and empty flow directions are less than the general rates;
the rates for peak season and premium services could be higher than normal. 
For freight, the non-peak season is July 1 to September 30. For the passenger segment, this period is January 15 to April 15 and then July 15 to September 15 but the railways do not follow variable pricing for passengers.
An official on the condition of anonymity said generally an increase in freight rates was decided on need basis, depending on the amount of revenue required to be generated. “The railways have not increased the base freight rate but only tinkered with the
extraneous charges,” said the official.
Unlike the base fare, surcharges are imposed for a particular time period.
Officials defended the decision, saying the railways did not pass on the burden to customers despite an increase
in input costs on account of fuel price hikes and higher wages.

PRIMARY MARKET UNDER REVIE

 
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