Amritsar: In a mark of gratitude towards corona warriors, Dr Satyajeet and other police officials celebrated the birthday of Civil Lines SHO Shiv Darshan Singh on Friday while he was on duty.

Dr Satyajeet said that since police officers are doing their duties despite challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, he wanted to give them a small present by cutting a cake on his birthday.

"Cops are working continuously amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite several challenges. So I thought of giving them a small gift by cutting the cake on the birthday of the SHO," said Dr Satyajeet.

The SHO expressed his gratitude towards the doctor for making his birthday memorable. "I am very happy. I will remember this moment in my life because of the way I've been honoured here," said Shiv Darshan Singh.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a meeting to deliberate on the issues and reforms required in the agriculture sector. At the meeting, special emphasis was given on reforms in agricultural marketing, management of marketable surplus, access of farmers to institutional credit and freeing agriculture sector of various restrictions with appropriate backing of statutes, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India recorded 37,776 confirmed cases and 1,223 deaths on Saturday.

Raj sends 2,400 migrants
Two special trains were started from Jaipur to send around 2,400 stranded students and labourers back to their homes in Bihar and Jharkhand. While one train departed for Ranchi (Jharkhand) from Kota on Friday night, another train left from Jaipur to Patna (Bihar) with about 1,200 labourers
on Saturday.

It was an emotional affair at the railway station where these migrants were given a warm send off by railway officials and other senior personnel who continued clapping as the train left the station. Additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal, who is also the Chairman of the Committee formed to resolve issues of workers and migrants in the state, said that five special trains will be operated daily from Saturday.

Migrants from Jaipur arrive by 'Shramik Special' train at Danapur junction in Patna on Saturday. Pics/AP AND PTI

He further said that 38,000 labourers and migrants have been sent to their native states so far. These include 27,000 people from Madhya Pradesh, 6,197 from Punjab and 2,387 from Haryana. Apart from this, 25,259 students belonging to several states, including UP and studying in Kota have been sent back to their homes. On Friday, around 200 students of Odisha were sent to home in eight buses.

Need 400 trains: Kerala CS
Kerala Chief secretary Tom Jose on Saturday said it might take about a month to send back all the migrant labourers who are in the state presently. "On Friday night the first train left, on Saturday there are more trains and on Sunday even more. It might take a month and about 300 to 400 trains to send back all the migrant workers who are here," said Jose.

On Friday night around 10.30 pm, the first train with 1,148 migrant labourers left from Aluva to Bhubaneswar. Since the lockdown began in March, 3,61,190 migrant labourers have been put up across 20,826 camps in Kerala, the State labour department said on Saturday.

Odisha turns to K'taka, AP
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Saturday, took up the safe return of Odia migrants with BS Yediyurappa and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, his counterparts in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. Patnaik interacted with them separately through video link. While thanking them for taking care of Odia migrants, the Chief Minister requested their cooperation for their safe return.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

In a shocking development that sparked fears of local transmission, 41 persons residing in a single building in Kapashera in south-west Delhi have tested positive.

"One woman had tested positive on April 18. She was immediately shifted to a hospital. But considering the density of people housed in the building's small rooms and common toilets, we contained the area for public good," south-west Delhi's District Magistrate Rahul Singh said on Saturday.

The incident was reported in Theke Wali Gali near the DC office in Kapashera. As per the guidelines, a containment zone is created if at least three positive cases are reported in a particular area. "Samples of all residents of the building were collected and sent to National Institute of Biologicals, Noida. Of the test reports of 67 persons made available on Saturday, 40 tested positive," official sources said.

"The samples were collected on April 20 and 21 but due to closure of inter-state borders and high pendency with NIB, the results were delayed by around 10 days," the officer added.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Delhi Police has started investigation in a sedition case against Delhi Minority Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan for his provocative remarks on social media. Delhi Police Special Cell registered an FIR on the complaint of a Vasant Kunj resident. The complaint came to the Lodhi Colony office of the special cell, after the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Safdarjung Enclave forwarded it.

Khan on April 28 had posted controversial comments on his Facebook page. "Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face an avalanche," Khan had written.

However, the Commission said that "no action can be taken against the chief of the Delhi Minorities Commission—a quasi judicial body—as per the Commission's Act". "No civil, criminal or other legal proceedings shall be taken against the Chairperson, Members or officers performing functions under this Act, or under authority of the Commission, in respect of anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act by or under the authority of the Commission," the Delhi Minorities Commission Act says.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

With 2,644 more COVID-19 cases and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours, the number of people infected from coronavirus in the country has reached 39,980 including 1,301 deaths, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

Currently, there are 28,046 active cases while 10,633 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged. The coronavirus cases in Maharashtra have reached 12,296, including 2,000 discharged cases and 521 deaths.Gujarat is in second place with 5054 coronavirus cases. The state has reported 262 deaths, while 896 people have been discharged.Delhi's count stands at 4,122 of which 1,256 patients have recovered, while 64 patients have lost their lives.

While Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 figure stands at 2,757 with 1,341 patients recovered and 29 fatalities, Rajasthan has reported 2,770 cases of which 1,121 has recovered and 65 patients are dead.Madhya Pradesh has reported 2,846 positive cases so far of which 624 patients have recovered and 151 patients have lost their lives due to the virus. In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 2,487 people have confirmed COVID-19, of which 689 recovered and 43 people succumbed to it.

In Kerala, which reported the country's first COVID-19 case, 499 people have been detected positive for coronavirus.

The Centre on Friday extended the ongoing nationwide lockdown till May 17, while allowing different sets of relaxations in red, orange and green zones.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Five persons have been injured in a series of attacks by a tiger in the Jari village near the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh. The tiger also attempted to attack a forest department team that was called in to push it back into the wild. Two persons were injured in this attack. According to the victims, the incident first took place on Friday when the tiger attacked two brothers -- Gurpreet Singh and Hardeep Singh of village Jari -- when they were on way to their agricultural field on their motorcycle. They had a close shave but managed to flee by speeding away on their motorbike.

A few minutes later, the tiger pounced at Ram Bahadur, a cyclist, and injured him. The big cat left him as it was distracted by the noise of the bike's engine and horn blown by the two brothers. Within 10 minutes, the tiger again pounced on two commuters, Ujagar Singh and his aide Lalta Prasad of Lalpur village. They sustained serious claw injuries on their heads and shoulders. As they started to scream and brandished the rod they were carrying, the tiger abandoned them and disappeared into the nearby shrubs.

The PTR Deputy Director Naveen Khandelwal said the tiger also charged at the forest staff when they tried to push it back towards the jungle. "The operation was suspended on Friday afternoon and will be resumed depending upon the suitability of the ground conditions as we do not want to tranquilize the tiger. For the safety and security of villagers, the forest teams will keep monitoring the big cat's movement till the time it retreats into the forest," Khandelwal said.

On Saturday, the forest team lay in wait for the tiger but it did not make an appearance. The local residents have been advised to remain indoors and to move in groups, only if necessary.

The victims would be given financial compensation, the official added.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa requested his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray to release six TMC water from his state's reservoirs to rivers in Karnataka to meet acute drinking water shortage in North Karnataka. Yediyurappa pointed out that the North Karnataka districts, namely Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadagiri and Raichur are facing acute shortage of drinking water due to onset of summer during early days of March this year.

"I request you to kindly direct the concerned authorities to release 3 TMC of water from Warna/Koyna reservoirs to Krishna river and 3 TMC of water from Ujjaini reservoir to Bhima river on humanitarian grounds for drinking purpose," Yediyurappa said in his letter.

He reminded Thackeray that even in the past the Maharashtra government had released water from its reservoirs to meet the drinking water needs of both human beings and livestock in drought-affected areas of Karnataka.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Indian Air Force choppers on Sunday showered flower petals on the National Police Memorial here and hospitals treating COVID-19 patients to express gratitude and appreciation towards doctors, medical professionals, police officials and paramilitary forces who are at the forefront in the battle against the coronavirus. This aerial salute was part of planned activities by India's armed forces, which includes activities such as fly-pasts by fighter jets and transport aircraft of the IAF, playing of bands by the military and flashing warship lights, to express gratitude and honour the "corona warriors" of the country.

Early on Sunday morning, two C-130J Super Hercules special operations transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force conducted a fly-past over the Dal Lake in Srinagar followed by another over Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. The aircraft took off from Srinagar and will fly all the way to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to show gratitude towards COVID-19 warriors. IAF's SU-30 aircraft conducted flypast across Marine Drive in Mumbai.

Indian Air Force aircraft SU-30 flypast Marine Drive to express gratitude towards medical professionals and all frontline workers. Picture/Bipin Kokate

The Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers showered flower petals over hospitals treating coronavirus positive patients in Delhi, among locations across the country in order to express gratitude and appreciation to the COVID-19 warriors in the country. "The list of hospitals include AllMS, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, GTB Hospital, Loknayak Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjang Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Max Saket, Rohini Hospital, Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, and Army Hospital R&R," as per a statement by the Defence Ministry.

IAF also aircraft showered flowers on King George's Medical University in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. This flying activity is combined along with the training activity of IAF and opportunity flight for transport planes and helicopters, which are involved in moving supplies related to the COVID-19 task The IAS also conducted a flypast over Rajpath among other locations in the national capital as a mark of respect for those at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus.

Flower shower above J J hospital by Indian Navy in respect of Corona fighters. Picture/Shadab Khan

About 10 helicopters of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will shower flower petals on COVID-19 hospitals at 5 locations. Apart from this, as many as 46 Coast Guard ships will carry out illumination, fire green flares and sound ships siren at 25 locations, including, the remote sites and far-flung island territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands, covering the coastline of 7516 km.

Indian Naval Aviation assets will be flying over the hospitals treating corona patients and shower flower petals at Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and Vizag.

The activities planned by the defence forces were delayed by over an hour due to rains in parts of the country early this morning.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Eminent Kannada poet and writer K.S. Nissar Ahmed passed away here after prolonged illness, an official said on Sunday. He was 84. "Ahmed died at his residence in the city's south-west suburb after prolonged illness due to age-related complications," a state information department official told IANS here.

Kannada poet Professor KS Nisar Ahmed passes away at his residence. He was 84 years old. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/i7hadMxVhE

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020

Born on February 5, 1936 at Devanahalli on the city's northern outskirts, Ahmed was a prolific writer in Kannada and penned poems, plays, short stories and novels.

A post-graduate in geology, Ahmed worked in the mines and geology department of the state government at Gulbarga in the state's northern region in the 1950s-60s before moving to Bengaluru to teach the subject (geology) at the state-run central college in the city centre and later at Chitradurga and Shimoga in the state's Malnad region during the 1970s.

"Ahmed is a recipient of several awards and honours, including Padma Sri and Sahitya Academy award in 2008 and state awards like Pampa in 2017, Nadoja in 2003 and Rajyotsava in 1981," the official recalled. Kuvempu University at Shimoga awarded honorary doctorate to Ahmed in 2010.

Ahmed is well known for his poems "Nityotsava" and other popular works such as "Manasu Gandhi Bazaru", "Sanje Aidara Male" and "Manadondige Mathukathe".

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that India's COVID-19 mortality rate of 3.2 per cent is the lowest in the world and over 10,000 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease so far.

Today more than 10,000 COVID19 patients have been discharged. Those still admitted at hospitals are on the road to recovery. If in last 14 days doubling rate was 10.5 days, then today it's around 12 days.Our mortality rate of 3.2% is the lowest in the world: Union Health Minister pic.twitter.com/YnQpnJ9IeJ

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020

"Today more than 10,000 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. Those still admitted at hospitals are on the road to recovery. If in last 14 days doubling rate was 10.5 days, then today it is around 12 days," the Minister told ANI after visiting Lady Hardinge Hospital.

"Our mortality rate of 3.2 per cent is the lowest in the world," he said. With 2,644 more COVID-19 cases and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours, the number of people infected from coronavirus in the country has reached 39,980 including 1,301 deaths, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

Currently, there are 28,046 active cases while 10,633 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Two African lion cubs, born a month ago at Nehru Zoological Park here, came out for the first time in a 'day crawl'. According to Nehru Zoological Park Curator, N.Kshitija, this is the first time that the cubs came out since their birth last month.

#WATCH Telangana: One-month-old two African lion cubs were seen playing with her mother, Adhisana, in the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad today. pic.twitter.com/UCHQJcdw2e

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020

Lovely moments of the cute cubs spending time with their mother Adhisana were captured on camera by the zoo officials. One of the photographs released by the zoo authorities shows the mother licking her cub. The cubs are also seen playing with each other.

Shutdown for more than 40 days due to coronavirus-fuelled nation-wide lockdown, the zoo brought some cheers to animal lovers with the increase in the big cat population.

The Nehru Zoological Park (NZP), most popular and one of the largest zoos in the country, saw the birth of three Royal Bengal tiger cubs and two African lion cubs in the first week of April. Six jackal puppies and two Blue Gold Macaw chicks were also born.

Meanwhile, NZP officials said they were taking all precautions for the safety of the animals in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19. It sounded an alert last month after a tiger at a New York Zoo tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The animal keepers and veterinary staff were alerted to monitor the animals, particularly tiger and primates for checking any symptoms of cold, nasal discharge or any symptoms of flu. The officials said the precautionary measures were taken up as per the instructions of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

The veterinary wing is continuously monitoring the health of animals and checking for any symptoms. Thermal scanning is being done of about 150 Zoo employees engaged in taking care of the animals. The Zoo authorities took several preventive prophylactic measures since the first week of March.

The NZP, which is shut since March 22, is using the services of staff animal keepers, gardeners, security and workshop staff to attend duties for providing feed to the animals, cleaning the enclosures, maintaining hygiene and sanitation, maintaining health of animals and attending emergency maintenance works and services.

Set up in 1963, the NZP is the most popular and one of the largest Zoos with an average of 27-30 lakh visitors annually. It has over 155 species and 1550 specimens in spacious enclosures.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Maharashtra government has decided to allow standalone shops including liquor shops to open in green, orange and red zone areas, but not in containment zones.

As per the guidelines, only five non-essential shops can be opened in each lane. However, there is no restriction on the number of shops selling essential items opening.

The government has issued a list of guidelines informing what will be allowed and not allowed in different zones of the state

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that not more than 50 people would be allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 people could attend the last rites of a deceased person.

#WATCH Delhi is ready to re-open now...We will not be able to sustain the lockdown for long as the economy is in peril. The revenue has fallen from Rs 3500 Crores in April month of previous years to Rs 300 Crores this year. How will government function?: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/jKzVp0959b

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020

"Not more than 50 people are allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 at last rites of a deceased person," said Kejriwal during a video conference. "The Center's decision of lockdown on March 24 was very important. If we had not implemented the lockdown, then the situation in the country could have been horrific now," he added.

He further said: "That time the country was not ready to fight COVID19. We had no idea of social distancing. Neither the people nor hospitals were ready. We had no personal protective equipment kits or testing kits either." The CM said that they would not be able to sustain the lockdown for long as the economy is in peril.

"The revenue has fallen from Rs 3,500 crore in April month of the previous years to Rs 300 crore this year. How will the government function?" The Delhi government will take strict action against those found spitting at public places," he added.

As per the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive cases of coronavirus in Delhi is 4,122, including 1,256 recovered/migrated and 64 deaths.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The third phase of the countrywide lockdown begins Monday with "considerable relaxations", but curbs will continue in containment areas so that the gains achieved so far in the fight against COVID-19 are not "squandered away", officials said on Sunday. The country has been divided in three zones – Red, Orange and Green – based on Coronavirus risk-profiling. The extended lockdown is slated to last till May 17.

According to the home ministry, activities prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zones are: air, rail, Metro travel; inter-state movement by road; schools, colleges, and other educational, training and coaching institutions; hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants.

Places of large public gatherings – cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes – social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings and religious or public worship places are in the prohibited list. However, movement of individuals for non-essential activities in all zones, barring containment areas, is allowed but strictly between 7 am and 7 pm.

Barber shops, spas and salons in Green and Orange zones is allowed to open as is the sale of non-essential items by e-commerce firms. Sale of liquor will be allowed with certain conditions in all zones, barring containment areas, in standalone shops, not in markets or malls.

Sale of liquor, barber shops and salons were not allowed during the first two phases of lockdown. In all zones, persons above 65 years of age, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, and children below 10 years shall stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.

'10,000 patients cured'
Meanwhile, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that India's COVID-19 mortality rate of 3.2 per cent is the lowest in the world and over 10,000 Coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease so far.

"Today more than 10,000 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. Those still admitted at hospitals are on the road to recovery. If in last 14 days doubling rate was 10.5 days, then today it is around 12 days," the minister told ANI after visiting Lady Hardinge Hospital. Agencies

CRPF headquarters shut as two test positive

The headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here has been sealed after a personal staff of a senior officer and a bus driver of the paramilitary tested positive for Coronavirus, officials said on Sunday. The five-storeyed building is located inside the Central Government Offices (CGO) complex on Lodhi Road. A personal secretary of a Special Director General (SDG) rank officer working in the headquarters tested positive for the virus on Saturday, they said.

Nation thanks COVID-19 warriors

. Healthcare workers on Sunday had an "inspiring" start to the day as helicopters hovered over hospitals across the country and showered flower petals to thank the "Corona warriors". While the workers were "elated" and "overwhelmed" by the gesture, they also said it will send out a message to those who have stigmatised and humiliated them.

. The excise commissioner of Karnataka has issued an order granting permission to distilleries, breweries and wineries situated outside the containment zones to begin production activity.

. The audit committee constituted by the West Bengal government to ascertain if a death was due to COVID-19 or a pre-existing ailment will henceforth study only select Coronavirus cases and submit its report to the government, a senior member of the panel said on Sunday.

. In view of the extension of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown by two weeks, Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan has announced new guidelines to be followed in the state. According to the new guidelines, Sundays will be a closed day for everything including vehicle movement.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

In a setback, two senior army officers, were among five security personnel killed during an encounter with terrorists at a village in Rajwar forests of North Kashmir, officials said on Sunday. The deceased security personnel are — Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh, all from the Brigade of GUARDS regiment, and at present part of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles, deployed to counter terrorism in the hinterland. A J&K police sub-inspector, Shakeel Qazi, also fell victim to the bullets of terrorists.

The two holed-up terrorists, who were eliminated in the encounter, included commander of banned Lashker-e-Taiba Haider, a Pakistani national who has been active in North Kashmir area. The identity of the other was yet to be ascertained. They had held some civilians hostage, the officials said. Director General of J&K police, Dilbagh Singh said, "Sad to inform that five brave personnel, including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood and sub-inspector of JKP Shakeel Qazi were martyred in the line of duty." Security forces had noticed presence of some terrorists in the Rajwar forests in Handwara area for the past few days and a brief exchange of fire had taken place on Thursday.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

India's count of COVID-19 cases has reached 42,533, including 1,373 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

2,553 more coronavirus cases were reported and 72 people succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 29,453 active cases while 11,706 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged and one migrated.

Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 12,974, followed by Gujarat with 5,428 cases and Delhi with 4,549 cases.

The country is under lockdown till May 17 to curb COVID-19 cases.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Indian Navy joined the entire nation to express gratitude and salute the Corona Warriors on Sunday May 3rd, 2020. Expressing gratitude and appreciation of the entire nation - while representing the Indian Armed Forces - towards the determination and committed efforts of our Corona Warriors - the medical professionals, health workers, policemen, government staff and media, for their relentless efforts against COVID-19 through a number of activities on ground, in air and on water.

On Land

Station Commanders & Senior Naval Officers across the three Commands (Western, Southern and Eastern Naval Commands) and in Andaman and Nicobar Command met the Health Care professionals, policemen, sanitation workers and other frontline Corona Warriors to convey the appreciation on behalf of the Indian Navy and applauded their efforts in successfully treating the COVID 19 patients and also thanked for their relentless efforts.

Human Word Chain: 1500 Indian Navy personnel at INS Hansa, Goa expressed their appreciation by forming a Human Word Chain and thank the Corona Warriors.

Naval Band: Earlier in the day, the SNC band played some famous numbers on a warship berthed opposite the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and near the Vikrant-Venduruthy Bridge, epochal landmarks of Kochi. Naval Bands also performed onboard Ex-Viraat in Mumbai and in Visakhapatnam Harbour.

Air

Kochi: As part of the Thanksgiving gesture, Chetak helicopter of the Navy showered flower petals on the District Hospital in Kochi. Subsequently, 07 aircraft flypast consisting of 02 Dornier aircraft, 01 SeaKing helicopter, 02 Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and 02 Chetak helicopters of Indian Navy was conducted over the city's renowned landmark, Marine Drive which was immediately followed by steampast by 07 Fast Interceptor Crafts of the Navy, in the channel, displaying a banner thanking the Corona Warriors.

Vizag: A Chetak helicopter from INS Dega showered flower petals over Andhra Medical College, Govt Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases (GHCCD) and GITAM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (GIMSR).

Mumbai: Indian Navy Chetak helicopter carried out flypast with showering of petals over Kasturba Gandhi hospital and Asvini Naval hospital in Mumbai.

Goa: Indian Navy Chetak helicopter carried out flypast with showering of petals over Goa Medical College and E.S.I Hospital (along with ICG Helps).

Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Indian Naval aviation assets carried out fly past along with the Air Force and Coast Guard across various parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

At Sea

Eastern Naval Command. INS Jalashwa and INS Savitri on their Mission Based Deployments saluted the Corona Warriors for their relentless fight against the COVID pandemic while at sea Western Naval Command.

Indian Navy personnel in Arabian Sea onboard Mission Deployed ships expressed their appreciation and thanked the Corona Warriors for their unwavering commitment in the fight against corona.

Indian Navy personnel onboard INS Vikramaditya off Karwar expressed their appreciation by forming a Human Word Chain in thanking the Corona Warriors.

Southern Naval Command. Steampast by 07 Fast Interceptor Crafts of the Navy, in the channel, in Kochi displaying a banner thanking the Corona Warriors.

Illumination of Ships at Anchorage

The day's events culminated with 25 Indian Naval warships across nine port cities including those in Andaman & Nicobar Islands carryied out illumination along with firing of flares and sounding of sirens from 7:30 PM onwards.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 1, issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 thereby further extending the nationwide lockdown for two weeks. The two week extension will come to an end on May 17.

With the lockdown extended for two more weeks, several people took to social networking sites to share their emotions as India reels under lockdown till May 17. While some took resort to memes others tried their best to tickle the funny bone using the #Lockdown3 amid the COVID-19 crisis across the country.

Here's how netizens reacted to Lockdown 3.0:

Me Entering #Lockdown3 ... pic.twitter.com/5wcYRUSmY5

— Supriya Bhardwaj (@Supriya23bh) May 2, 2020

Twitter user Supriya Bhardwaj said that this is how she would enter Lockdown 3.0 phase.

#Lockdown3 #lockdownindia
* yaar bhagwan ji please or lockdown extend na hone dena *
## lee bhagwan ji ## pic.twitter.com/1AJT4RtsiW

— âÂÂœ¨$h®€eâÂÂœ¨ (@the_silly_panda) May 2, 2020

When Twitter user The Silly Panda asked god to not extend the lockdown anymore.

Everyone : Chalo #Lockdown3 m thori rahat milegi
Govt and police to people in red zone areas : pic.twitter.com/gHZZoF976k

— aur.laundee 🇮🇳 (@aurlaundee) May 3, 2020

When it turns out that Lockdown 3.0 scheme with relaxations is not for people living in containment zones.

#lockdown #Lockdown3 #StayHome
Breaking : Lockdown extended for 2 more weeks ..

Me : pic.twitter.com/f4h5VcmHPH

— ðŸÂŒˆG U M R A H (@Nonveg_ladka13) May 1, 2020

When Twitter user Gumrah expressed that he used to living like this in lockdown.

#Lockdown3

Me thinking about how I can spend next 14 days. pic.twitter.com/i3uwWzCZFv

— Sneha (@Sneha6029) May 1, 2020

Twitter user Sneha shared this funny pictures saying that she is thinking how to spend the next 14 days.

*Lockdown extended*

People:#Lockdown3 pic.twitter.com/DujiShJOfD

— Sumit jadhav (@Ekdum_Jhakaasss) May 1, 2020

Here's how extroverts reacted when they learnt about lockdown being extended for two weeks.

parents after hearing that lockdown extended by 2 weeks.

#Lockdown3 pic.twitter.com/JrCyfPgM6w

— SaarCasm 🇮🇳 (@itzmesarcasm) May 1, 2020

Parents seem to be the most happy about the lockdown being extended.

Newly married couple when they get to know #Lockdown3 extended

He. She. pic.twitter.com/Zargjs8C7x

— Joe Goldberg (@itsmepankajkh) May 1, 2020

When lockdown extension news gives newly married couple something to cheer about.

Did any of these memes describe your Lockdown 3.0 feeling?

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Emphasising on the plight of migrants and the money being charged from them for ferrying them back to their home, Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that the party will bear the cost of their rail tickets.

In a statement, Sonia Gandhi said, our workers and labourers form the "backbone" of our economy and their hard work and sacrifice are the foundation of our nation.

She said that as the Central government barely gave a four-hour notice of the lockdown, workers and migrant labourers were denied the opportunity to return to their homes. Post the partition of 1947, this is the first time India witnessed a tragedy with such a massive human cost as thousands of migrant workers and labourers were forced to walk home several hundred kilometres on foot - without food, without medicines, without money, without transportation, without anything except for the desire to return to their families and loved ones.

"The very thought of their plight is enough to break our hearts as there was also the outpouring of support from fellow Indians for their inspiring resolve," she said.

The Congress leader lamenting at the government said, "What is the responsibility of our government? Even today, lakhs of workers and migrant labourers are languishing in different parts of the country and wish to return to their homes and families but there is neither adequate money nor provision for free transport."

"What is particularly disturbing is that the Central government and the rail ministry are charging them for train tickets in this hour of crisis," she said.

Sonia Gandhi said, "The Congress has, therefore, taken a decision that every Pradesh Congress Committee (state unit) shall bear the cost for the rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labourer and shall take necessary steps in this regard."

"This will be the Congress' humble contribution in service of our compatriots and to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with them," she said.

Her remarks came amid the reports that the migrants were being charged for their travel by trains to their respective states.

The railways has earlier said that it was charging the state governments for the Shramik special train tickets.

The railways also clarified that the Shramik Special trains are meant for "nominated people" identified and registered by state governments and the railways will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any groups.

The railways has started to run the Shramik Special trains for transporting the labourers from May 1, almost 40 days after the passenger, mail and Express trains services were suspended.

Till now the national transporter has run over a dozen of Shramik Special trains on the request of the state governments to ferry the migrant labourers.

Emphasising on the role of labourers in country's growth she said that they are the ambassadors of our nation's growth.

Attacking the government, she further said that when our government can recognise its responsibility by arranging free air travel for our citizens stranded abroad, when the government can spend nearly Rs 100 crore on transport and food, etc. for just one public programme in Gujarat, when the Rail Ministry has the largesse to donate Rs 151 crore to the PM's corona fund, then why can't these essential members of our nation's fabric be given a fraction of the same courtesy, especially free rail travel, at this hour of acute distress?

She said that Congress has been raising the issue of transporting the migrants from the outset of the lockdown.

"There needs to be provisions for the safe and free rail travel of migrant workers and labourers to their home-towns. However, despite our repeated demands, the Central government and the Rail Ministry have chosen to completely ignore the same," she said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

A five-year-old tiger that had attacked and injured five persons over the weekend, died 15 minutes after it was tranquilised at the Jari village on Sunday evening in the Pilibhit Tiger reserve (PTR).

The forest officials claimed that the big cat died of wounds, some wildlife activists suspect that it died due to overdose of tranquilizers.

The tiger had strayed out of the range of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and attacked three people in Jari village under Gajraula police circle on Friday morning.

It had also attacked a team of forest force personnel that had come to drive it back to the reserve.

The presence of the tiger had brought agricultural activities to a virtual standstill at Jari village.

A team of forest personnel that was camping in the village, had been closely monitoring the tiger's movement by installing camera traps in the area.

A team of veterinary officers, headed by doctor S.K. Rathore, also arrived in the village on Sunday in order to tranquilize the tiger and later release into the wild.

The tiger was spotted and tranquiliser darts were fired on it. But the big cat died within 15 minutes after it was tranquilised.

Deputy director of PTR Naveen Khandelwal said the tiger collapsed during the period it was under medical observation.

"The tiger had three wounds in its trachea, as a result of which it died," he said.

Kaushlendra Singh, a wildlife activist in Lucknow, however, said that the tiger's death was due to an overdose of tranquiliser.

Referring to information of forest staff present at the spot during the operation, Singh claimed that the tiger was hit with four darts. one after another.

Chief conservator of Bareilly zone, Lalit Verma, had told reporters that the veterinary team used only two darts in the operation.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

At a time when the country is reeling under the Lockdown 3.0 phase, a viral video of a doctor returning home after treating COVID-19 patients is winning hearts for all the right reasons. The video, which has gone viral now was shared by BJP Karnataka's official Twitter handle with their 3 lakh 50 thousand followers.

This is how the residents of an Apartment in Namma Bengaluru honoured Dr Vijayashree who returned home after treating #COVID patients.

Let us respect and appreciate the great services rendered by Our Doctors.#ThankYouCoronaWarriors#IndiaFightsCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/7yEWlckO6v

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 2, 2020

In the 39-seconds video clip, a woman doctor identified as Vijayashree can be seen given a standing ovation and welcomed home by her neighbours amid thunderous applause and cheers as she returns after her COVID-19 duty. While sharing the video, BJP Karnataka wrote, "This is how the residents of an Apartment in Namma Bengaluru honoured Dr Vijayashree who returned home after treating #COVID patients. Let us respect and appreciate the great services rendered by Our Doctors."

What a feeling..Goosebumps!really awesome 👏

— Mahesh PA (@MaheshPA85) May 2, 2020

The viral video shows Dr. Viajyshree entering her society after a long time as she was equipped with COVID-19 duty and treating coronavirus patients at the hsopital. In the video, Dr. Vijayshree can be seen entering her residential apartment as her neighbours and society members throng to their balconies to welcome her amid thunderous appaluse and cheer.

ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಾಣುವ ದೇವರು!

Dr. Vijayashree of Bengaluru received a heroic welcome when she returned home after tending to #COVID19 patients in MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital.

A big thank you to all the #CoronaWarriors working selflessly on the frontline of this pandemic. We SALUTE you! pic.twitter.com/COHT4KYYE1

— M Goutham Kumar (@BBMP_MAYOR) May 2, 2020

M Goutham Kumar, Mayor of Bengaluru also shared the video and informed that Dr. Vijayshree is treating COVID-19 patients at MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Since being shared online, the video has garnered over 15,000 views with hundreds of netizens lauding the doctor for her selfless commitment towards the country amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Salute to Dr. Vijayashree and all the medical teams taking care of our brothers and sisters in the country and abroad...#CoronaWarriorsIndia working 24x7 selflessly and relentlessly 👏👏👏👏

— Anwar Karakulangara (@karakulangara) May 3, 2020

One user wrote, "May be this is the awesome moment of her life. Great work," while another user commented, "Dr. Vijayashree is the real hero for the front line of COVID-19," A third user said, "They are the real warriors...BIG SALUTE...!" While thanking the Dr. Vijayshree, a fourth user stated, "What a feeling...Goosebumps! Really awesome!"

Here's how netizens reacted to the video:

May be this is the awesome moment of her life. Great work.

— Shivaraj B M (@Shiva2105) May 3, 2020

Superb 👌. Great gesture by public.

— Vishwanath Shetty (@VishKodlady) May 3, 2020

Well this is human culture for humanity. Thanks for share this video.

— Mohammed moosa (@Mohamme73738356) May 3, 2020

Dr. Vijayashree is the real hero for the front line of covid-19

— Siva Kumar .A (@SivaKum97095133) May 3, 2020

बहुत खूब ।। इसी तरह डॉक्टर्स को मोटिवेट रखने की जरूरत है।। They are the real warriors.. BIG SALUTE ..

— Naveen Suman (@NaveenBoB22) May 3, 2020

I salute to such society and the civilization and the doctor for their achievements in surrounding

— Arvind Narsingrao Marpak (@ArvindMarpak) May 3, 2020

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

A pregnant woman died at a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Sunday, with her family alleging negligence by doctors and medical authorities. The family carried the body from the hospital in a stretcher trolley, a video of which went viral, triggering outrage.

This incident happened a week after another pregnant woman died along with her unborn twins at the MCCH in Anantnag. The woman, who eventually was declared COVID-19 positive, came from a Red Zone area and had been allegedly denied swift treatment. Shakeela Akhtar, a resident of Salai Panzmulla area of the south Kashmir district, was admitted at sub-district hospital Seer Hamdan on Saturday night, but was referred to the Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) on Sunday morning where she died, officials said.

They said her family alleged delay in her treatment at the SDH and also protested outside MCCH against doctors claiming negligence. The district administration, however, said while an inquiry has been ordered into the death of the woman at the sub-district hospital and a doctor and a nurse have been placed under suspension, the family took away the body without completing the formalities. "Prima facie, medical negligence that warranted immediate suspensions.

Further action shall follow after enquiry outcome. About denial of ambulance, the infuriated attendants apprehensive about delay in burial on account of tests, took away the dead body without completing formalities," additional district magistrate, Anantnag, Syed Yasir said on Twitter. Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Bashir Ahmad Dar also said the family feared they would have to wait for the burial of the woman's body if her sample was taken for COVID-19 testing.

"Preliminary reports suggest the dead body was taken away by relatives, fearing they will have to wait for burial if sample is taken for covid test. Most unfortunate to say the least (sic)," Dar wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, several political parties have demanded a time-bound inquiry into the death of the woman. National Conference Member of Parliament from Anantnag Justice (retd) Hasnain Masoodi, while expressing grief and sorrow over the deaths of two pregnant women, welcomed the action taken by the authorities against the doctors and other staff suspected to have acted negligently.

Masoodi demanded time-bound inquiry and action warranted in light of the results of the inquiry. CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami demanded an FIR must be lodged against the culprits without any delay. "There should be no eye-wash or cover-up as due to willful negligence of the doctors, a mother and a yet to be born baby have lost their lives," he said. The Congress party also demanded an inquiry and action against all those involved in the death of two pregnant women in the district, a spokesman of the party said in a statement here. Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader and former legislator Rafi Ahmad Mir also demanded a time-bound and a fair probe into the incident.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

After sharing an interactive doodle featuring the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, on Monday, Google shared throwback game from 2016 in order to urge people to stay at home and keep themselves entertained by playing these games. Scoville is part of the latest series that Google launched last week urging people to stay home and play games amid the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s day 6 of our throwback #GoogleDoodle series...

Today, spice it up with our 2016 Doodle game celebrating pharmacist & inventor of the Scoville scale, Wilbur Scoville! 🌶️🥵#GoogleDoodle → https://t.co/FhX0mtZxBU pic.twitter.com/RNW8UhGfAN

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) May 4, 2020

The latest doodle is in honour of celebrated pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The doodel was first published on January 22, 2016 to celebrate the Scoville's 151st birthday. Wilbur Scoville is well known for his Organoleptic test which he invented back in 1912 while working at the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company. The test measures the heat of several chilli peppers.

The interactive Scoville game

In the Scoville game, one has to throw ice-cream balls at the animated peppers in order to win the game. When one hovers over the final doodle, it shows the message, "Stay and play at home with popular past Google Doodles: Scoville (2016). Once clicked on the doodle animation, google takes the user to a game where one can play the interactive ice-cream and peppers game.

While launching its 10 game series to be played at home amid the coronavirus outbreak, Google Doodle said, "As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people and families everywhere are spending more time at home. In light of this, we’re launching a throwback Doodle series looking back at some of our popular interactive Google Doodle games!"

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

With 1,074 COVID-19 patients getting cured in the last 24 hours, India's recovery rate has further moved to 27.52 per cent, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday. Talking to media persons here, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said: "A total of 1,074 people have been cured in the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of cured patient in a day. 11,706 people have been cured till to date. The recovery rate is 27.52 percent."

Till now, 11,706 people have been cured. In the last 24 hours, 1074 people have been cured.This is the highest number in terms of cured patients noted till date. Our recovery rate is now 27.52%. Total number of COVID19 cases is now 42533: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secy, Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/cyf6HDy5VK

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2020

On April 30, 630 COVID-19 patients had recovered in the 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 25.19 per cent in the country which was 23.3 per cent on April 28.

According to the official data, India has registered 2,553 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which have surged the total number to 44,532.

"A total of 2,553 cases have been increased in the last 24 hours which led the total number of cases to 44,532," Agarwal said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Social media was flooded with hilarious memes and witty jokes as India entered Lockdown 3.0 phase on Monday. With wine shops opening in red, orange and green zones, thousands of poeple thronged to the shops to stock up on alcohol.

Although wine shops have been advised to follow several guidelines and practice social distancing, hundreds of people lined up outside wine shops across the country as early as 5 and 6 in the morning. Netizens took to social networking sites to share their emotions as visuals of long ques emerged outside wine shops.

Neighbor uncle after spotting me in a queue at a liquor shop -#LiquorShops pic.twitter.com/9cuNN8g9dE

— नà¥Â€रà¤ÂÂÂÂÂœ . (@AjeebPrani) May 4, 2020

Here's what happens when neighbour uncle spots you at a liquor shop.

When liquor shop gets green signal #liquorshops #beer #LiquorShop pic.twitter.com/dF3OZg6O7j

— UTKARSH KHARE (@IAMUTKARSHKHARE) May 1, 2020

Happiness needs no bound when one hears about wine shops opening.

#wineshops
Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy. pic.twitter.com/2PN4Fvezpg

— Tulsi Nivas Bisen (@BisenTulsi) May 4, 2020

When wine shops promise to revive Indian economy amid coronavirus crisis.

Posted without comment. #liquor #liquorshops #Lockdown3 pic.twitter.com/NLHya73lYn

— Carona Mohapatra (@carona_m) May 4, 2020

This TikTok video will definitely tickle your funny bone.

Hilarious.... check out how he is craving for wine n chicken😂😂#wineshops pic.twitter.com/NUqyy8FDrg

— Bharatt Dilip Shitole 🇮🇳 (@bharatshitole) May 4, 2020

When alcohol and chicken are life amid lockdown.

Someone spent his month's salary today #wineshops pic.twitter.com/0tOCIUhoOL

— Abhishek Baadkar (@Ibaadu) May 4, 2020

So, this really happened?

#LiquorShops #wineshops #wine

*After getting 1 km long queues outside their shops*

Liquor shop owners to grocery shop owners : pic.twitter.com/bcXp8Svjhy

— JRism (@jiteshrochlani) May 4, 2020

Liquor shops owners upon seeing huge lines outside their shops.

The air in Bengaluru is so clear that I can even see the end of this liquor shop queue. #LiquorShops

— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) May 4, 2020

When Twitter user could see long ques outside wine shops due to better air quality.

Me and boys after hijacking the wine shop 😂 #LiquorShops pic.twitter.com/BfNL2IiiHc

— Prakash Tiwari (@prakash__t) May 4, 2020

Here's what happens when one hijacks wine shops amid lockdown.

RED ZONE BE LIKE

APNA TIME AAYEGA#LiquorShops pic.twitter.com/5hgFbwsrX1

— 𝕳ð–ÂÂÂÂŽ𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖇𝖊𝖗ð–ÂÂÂÂÂŒ (@ImpossiBall) May 4, 2020

People staying in red and containment zones be like.

Corona?? What Corona?? Its Marriage type celebration with Band Bajaa as #LiquorShops open ðŸÂÂÂÂÂŽ·ðŸÂÂÂÂÂŽºðŸ˜‚🍻 pic.twitter.com/45hoFLZPqB

— Rosy (@rose_k01) May 4, 2020

When news of wine shops opening is celebrated with Band, Baaja and Baarat!

#LiquorShops owners waiting for their customers be like:
(Aa aa aaa aa aaa sound plays in background) pic.twitter.com/rDzpsa1D8W

— The Steno Boi (@Thestenoboi) May 4, 2020

Liquor owners waiting for customers be like.

Drinkers after getting the news that liquor shops are open in all zones#LiquorShops pic.twitter.com/gmfB4UyYqo

— Sociopath Memer (@sociopath_ladka) May 4, 2020

When Twitterati could not argue but agree with Mohnish Behl from Hum Saath Saath Hain.

The posts in this articles are personal views of the Twitter users. They do not reflect the opinions or views of mid-day online

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

The government has not talked about charging anything from migrant labourers as 85 per cent of the transportation cost is borne by the railways and 15 per cent by state governments, the Centre said on Monday amid a row over the national transporter allegedly charging the workers for ferrying them home during the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The government also said the process of transporting the stranded migrant labourers was being coordinated by states "except for one or two states".

Asked if the migrant labourers were being charged for being ferried home, Joint Secretary at the Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal said that as far as migrant labourers are concerned, the guidelines have clearly stated that under the infectious disease management one should stay where he or she is.

"Based on the request given from states for particular cases, permission was given to run special trains. Be it government of India or the Railways, we have not talked about charging from workers. Eighty-five per cent of the transportation cost is borne by the Railways, while states have to bear 15 per cent of the cost," he told the media.

At the daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation, Agarwal also said that in the last 24 hours, 1,074 COVID-19 patients have recovered, the highest number of recoveries in one day. The recovery rate stands at 27.52 per cent with 11,706 COVID-19 patients cured till now, he said. Agarwal said in the last 24 hours, 2,553 Novel Coronavirus cases were reported, taking the number of overall cases to 42,533.

India on its way back to normalcy

. Life was limping back to normalcy in most parts of Karnataka with easing of COVID-19- induced restrictions on Monday as the state headed into the third phase of lockdown started since March 24.

. West Bengal has the highest mortality rate in the country at 12.8 per cent, Inter Ministerial Central Team leader Apoorva Chandra wrote in his final observations to state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, before leaving for Delhi on Monday.

. Electricians, plumbers, part-time house helps and other workers took tentative steps back to work on Monday as large parts of India, including the national capital, entered the third phase of the lockdown with curbs eased in some places.

. Kerala on Monday opened its borders at six places for Keralites stranded in other states due to the COVID-19 lockdown to return to their native place. The government through an order issued earlier had designated six entry points for receiving the stranded persons from other states to enter Kerala.

Migrants pelt stones at cops in Gujarat

Hundreds of migrant workers seeking to return home clashed with the police and pelted stones at them near a village in Gujarat's Surat district on Monday, following which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells and baton-charged the agitated workers, an official said. Besides, several labourers also came out on a road in Rajkot demanding that they be sent back to their hometowns, while some migrant workers got their heads tonsured in an area of Surat after being unable to go back home.

Section 144 extended in Noida area

The Noida district administration has extended Section 144 of the CrPC till May 17 in Gautam Buddha Nagar, with relaxations in the lockdown subject to certain restrictions. The police shared some information on the relaxations through tweets. A notification was issued by Gautam Buddh Nagar Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ashutosh Dwivedi, stating that "the home ministry has issued detailed guidelines to prevent spread of Coronavirus.

BSF hdqs sealed after staff tests positive

Two floors of the BSF headquarters in Delhi have been sealed after a staff member was tested positive for COVID-19, officials said. The eight-storeyed BSF head office is located in the CGOs complex on Lodhi road that also houses the CRPF headquarters. "A head constable of the BSF working in the force headquarters has been found COVID-19 positive," a BSF spokesperson said on Monday.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Many government-run liquor shops which opened after a gap of over 40 days in the national capital on Monday had to be shut as people who gathered outside the outlets did not follow social distancing norms, and the police had to use mild force in some cases to disperse the unruly crowd.

People queued up in large numbers in the morning at the liquor shops. According to an official, about 150 government-run liquor shops have been allowed to open from 9 am to 6.30 pm in accordance with the latest lockdown relaxations given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Many people were not aware that only government shops were allowed to open. In most areas, including Burari, Mayur Vihar, Gandhi Vihar, Rohini and Janakpuri, a large number of people had lined up outside outlets.

An official said an alcohol vend had to be closed in Mayur Vihar in east Delhi as people failed to maintain social distancing norms. Similar cases were reported from north and central Delhi. With people gathering in large numbers, the police had to resort to mild force.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country climbed to 46,433 on Tuesday morning, the Union Health Ministry said.

Of the total cases, 32,138 are active, 12,726 people have recovered, and 1,568 have succumbed to the disease.

Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with the total number of cases rising to 14,541 and 583 deaths, though 2,465 people have recovered from the deadly virus.

Gujarat has reported 5,804 cases so far followed by Delhi with 4,898 cases, according to the Health Ministry data.

The other states which have seen a sharp rise in cases are Madhya Pradesh (2,942), Rajasthan (3,061), Tamil Nadu (3,550) and Uttar Pradesh (2,766).

Maharashtra has the highest number of fatalities, among all the states, followed by Gujarat with 319 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 165, Rajasthan 77 and Delhi 64.

Among other major states, Andhra Pradesh has reported 1,650 cases and 36 deaths so far, Bihar 528 cases and four deaths, Haryana 517 and six deaths, Jammu and Kashmir 726 cases and eight deaths, Karnataka 651 and 27 deaths and Kerala 500 cases with four deaths.

The states which have reported less than 10 cases are Tripura, Mizoram, Puducherry, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Twenty eight-year-old freelance journalist, Rizwana Tabassum, committed suicide by hanging herself. Samajwadi Party leader Shamim Nomani has now been arrested for abetting the extreme step after a suicide note recovered from her room blamed him.

"Shamim Nomani is responsible," her suicide note said. Tabassum killed herself in Harpalpur of Varanasi district on Monday.

SSP's PRO Sanjay Tripathi, told IANS on Tuesday that Shamim had been formally arrested. He was detained and interrogated on Monday night.

The PRO further said that the post mortem report of Rizwana had confirmed death by hanging.

According to Varanasi Sadar CO, Abhishek Pandey, a case has been registered against Lohta resident Nomani on the charge of abetment to suicide under Section 306 on Tabassum's father complaint.

Nomani has been detained for interrogation and the body has been sent for post-mortem.

Shamim and Rizwana reportedly were friends for a long time but no one is aware of what happened suddenly.

According to reports, when Tabassum did not come out of her room on Monday, they called out to her but there was no response.

The police were informed about the incident and when the policemen broke open the door, Tabassum's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan.

Her father said, "She never told about anything nor did she have any enmity with anyone. She was a good daughter as well as a good journalist."

She had completed Mass Communication from Banaras Hindu University and worked as a freelance journalist for several portals and publications.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday registered an FIR against independent MLA from Nautanwa Aman Mani Tripathi and his six associates for stepping out without having a valid pass during COVID-19 lockdown.

They were returning from Uttarakhand and were detained in the Nazibabad area of Bijnor district. Superintendent of Police (SP) Bijnor Sanjeev Tyagi said, "He was not authorised by Uttar Pradesh government to go to Uttarakhand. He was out unnecessarily and did not have a valid pass. Action is being taken. He will be quarantined and tested."

No weapons were recovered from the seven, added the SP. Tripathi and others were earlier arrested by the Uttarakhand Police on Sunday allegedly for violating lockdown norms and misbehaving with government officials.

After the arrest, they were served a notice and were sent back to Uttar Pradesh. The incident had occurred at Gauchar of Chamoli district where his entourage was stopped for screening by the officials on duty. Tripathi, along with 10 others, was on a trip to Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Uttarakhand DG, Law and Order, Ashok Kumar had told ANI that an FIR has been registered against Tripathi and 11 other persons under Sections 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code, Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Disease Act.

The Uttar Pradesh government had clarified on Monday that it did not authorise Tripathi to travel to Uttarakhand.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The COVID-19 epidemic has caused shock and grief to Pune Police after a 58-year-old cop lost his life in the battle against the novel coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, the Pune Police handle, which is known for its witty tweets and informative posts, on Monday announced the sad news to its followers.

ASI Shri Dilip Popat Londhe (57) from Faraaskhana Police Station lost his life this afternoon, battling Coronavirus.
Pune Police prays for his his soul to rest in peace and offers its condolences to the bereaved family. pic.twitter.com/XuGFTjqkIG

— PUNE POLICE (@PuneCityPolice) May 4, 2020

In its tweet, the official handle of Pune Police said that they lost ASI Dilip Popat Londhe from Faraaskhana Police Station due to the COVID-19 crisis. While paying tribute to the cop, the Pune Police also offered condolences to the deceased's family.

फरासà¤Â–ाना पà¥Â‹लà¥Â€स सà¥Âà¤ÂŸà¥Â‡शनà¤Âšà¥Â‡ सहायà¤Â• पà¥Â‹लà¥Â€स फà¥ÂŒà¤Âœदार शà¥Âरà¥Â€ दिलà¥Â€प पà¥Â‹पà¤ÂŸ लà¥Â‹à¤Â‚ढà¥Â‡ हà¥Â‡ à¤Â•रà¥Â‹ना रà¥Â‹à¤Â—ाशà¥Â€ बाधित à¤Â…सलà¥Âयानà¥Â‡ à¤Â‰पà¤Âšार à¤Â˜à¥Â‡त à¤Â…सताना à¤Â†à¤Âœ रà¥Â‹à¤Âœà¥Â€ तà¥Âयाà¤Â‚ना वà¥Â€रमरण पà¥Âरापà¥Âत à¤Âालà¥Â‡ à¤Â†हà¥Â‡.
भावपà¥Â‚रà¥Âण शà¥Âरदà¥Âधाà¤Â‚à¤Âœलà¥Â€ 🙏 Our Prayers pic.twitter.com/7oNIOY14fq

— CP Pune City (@CPPuneCity) May 4, 2020

As per the tweet by Pune Police, ASI Dilip Londhe, who had been fighting the novel coronavirus for the past few days succumbed to the deadly virus on Monday afternoon. While speaking to ANI, Dr. Jitendra Oswal, Deputy Medical Director of Bharati Hospital, where the cop was admitted said, "He was on the ventilator for the last 12 days. He was suffering from hypertension and obesity."

To date, Pune has reported 2,051 positive cases of the COVID-19 infection. Amid the lockdown being extended till May 17, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has identified 69 containment zones where all shops carrying essential services shall remain open between 10 am and 2 pm.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL by former Uttar Pradesh police chief Vikram Singh seeking direction to quash nearly 75,000 FIRs registered for violating orders of lockdown and petty offences during the coronavirus pandemic.

The #SupremeCourt on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL by former #UttarPradesh police chief Vikram Singh seeking direction to quash nearly 75,000 FIRs registered for violating orders of #lockdown and petty offences during the #coronaviruspandemic. pic.twitter.com/1xiNJ5qoqQ

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 5, 2020

A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai questioned Singh's counsel, "You want there should be no FIR and this (Section 188 IPC) should not be invoked...then how can the lockdown be enforced?"

The bench wondered why such petitions were coming to the apex court? Singh's PIL sought quashing of nearly 75,000 FIRs registered under Section 188 of the IPC and other provisions for violation of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said this person has been on the field and also has experience. "The submission is that we cannot have rule of law, which is selective. You cannot have one rule of law for those who have to travel by chartered flights...," said the advocate.

Justice Kaul replied he "can see an agenda". The lawyer contended that if the law didn't permit registration of FIRs then the NDMA law cannot be allowed for registration of FIRs. He told the bench that cases have been registered against migrants and those withdrawing money from ATMs.

Singh filed the PIL in his capacity as the Chairman of a think-tank -- Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC). He requested the apex court to issue directions, under the Disaster Management Act 2005, to state governments to not file complaints under Section 188 of the IPC or for other petty offences during the lockdown.

"Police action on an individual who is perhaps suffering from distress and lack of information as a result of the circumstances has ramifications which can extend beyond the coronavirus lockdown, and cannot be good for a constitutional democracy. The situation needs to be handled humanely, and it will be best to avoid adding aspects of criminality, wherever possible," Singh's plea stated.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

A day after reopening the liquor shops, Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday increased alcohol prices by 50 per cent. The government said the move was aimed at discouraging liquor consumption. The shops had reopened on Monday with a hike of 25 per cent in liquor prices.

A day after reopening the #liquorshops, #AndhraPradesh government on Tuesday increased alcohol prices by 50 per cent.

The government said the move was aimed at discouraging liquor consumption. The shops had reopened on Monday with a hike of 25 per cent in liquor prices. pic.twitter.com/u3cb6rO5f6

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 5, 2020

However, the hike failed to deter the tipplers, who gathered in large numbers at the shops across the state, flouting the social distancing norm to check the spread of COVID-19. As the scenes of long queues and chaos raised fears of further spike in the number of corona cases in the state and the government came under criticism for encouraging liquor sale during a pandemic, it hiked the prices by 50 per cent on Tuesday.

Officials said the new prices will come into force with immediate effect. However, shops will open only after the issue of formal orders and the new prices are updated online. There was utter confusion on Monday when the shops reopened for the first time after the lockdown began as the prices following 25 per cent hike were not updated online.

The government claimed that another 50 per cent hike has been taken as further step towards discouraging alcohol consumption. With the latest hike the prices have increased by 75 per cent in two days. Officials said the latest decision was taken to discourage liquor consumption in view of the conditions that prevailed on Monday.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government said the number of liquor shops would be further reduced by 15 per cent by the end of this month. The YSRCP, which had promised total prohibition, started phase-wise implementation after coming to power in May last year.

As a first major step towards prohibition in October last year, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government took over the state. The state-owned Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Limited (APBCL) took control of the liquor shops from private contractors after reducing the number of outlets to 3,500 from 4,380 earlier.

In December, the government had claimed that as a result of its steps the liquor consumption came down in the state.e retail liquor business and increased the price to discourage consumption.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The hopes of many employees have gone down in the dust as many companies have laid off the employees and fired them due to the coronavirus pandemic. The sole reason for the employees being sacked is the poor financial condition of the companies. The COVID-19 crisis has put many financial operations on hold. In this tough situation, NextGig is helping the candidates find jobs despite the markets getting affected. NextGig, a community-based job action center is empowering people by helping them in such critical times.

Developed by SapienHR Analytics, NextGig is doing an incredible job giving the candidates timely updates about hiring alerts. SapeinHR Analytics has experience of working with almost one lakh candidates and companies from different sectors. The men behind the company are Ravi and Siddeque who are associated with the hiring industry since 2015. Both are alumni of Nottingham University Business School and have rightly created the placement platform for the candidates to apply for the jobs.

SapienHR Analytics came into existence in 2015 and till date, the company has served more than 100 clients. Ravi holds an experience of more than 10 years in strategic and business leadership while Siddeque too has an experience of almost a decade in the field of technology and entertainment. “Many startups which were established recently are at a higher risk with having no inflow of revenue coming in at this time. It is pretty evident with many well-known companies cutting hundreds of jobs to maintain the financial stability in the crisis”, quoted Siddeque.

Besides this, Ravi believes that many firms including grocery delivery, fintech, gaming and logistics and transportation are hunting for human resources during this time. He said, “The tech startups are leaving no stone unturned and are aggressively looking for hiring. Many experienced professionals have lost their jobs due to the company facing losses. This would benefit many startups with having skilled employees.” To know more, check out the website www.nextgig.co.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

India, which was not manufacturing even a single personal protective equipment (PPE) kit, has now achieved an almost unrealistic goal of producing 2.06 lakh PPE kits daily within two months after the coronavirus outbreak. The highest single-day production of PPE kits, around 2.06 lakh kits, was recorded on May 2. However, on average, domestic production is about 1.5 lakh per day.

A PPE kit consists of mask, eye shield, shoe cover, gown and gloves, which doctors and healthcare workers wear during the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "It is very comforting to us that our in-house PPE kit production is increasing fast. On May 2, the country recorded maximum production of protective gears of about 2.06 lakh manufactured in a single day," a senior Health Ministry official told ANI.

"Earlier, there was no domestic manufacturing of PPE kit in the country and almost all of them were imported. Within a short span of time, India has been able to increase the daily production of PPE kits to about 1.5 lakh," he said. "In January, there were only 2.75 lakh PPE kits (imported ones) available in the country. As of today, we have about 15.96 lakh PPE kits in the centre-state buffer stock," added the official.

The government has identified at least 110 domestic manufacturers of PPE kits in the country. However, only 52 companies are manufacturing PPE kits right now. Companies like Alok Industries, JCT Phagwara, Gokaldas Exports, Aditya Birla, etc., are some of the domestic PPE kits manufacturers. The Union Health Ministry official added: "As of now, the Central government has distributed about 21.32 lakh PPE kits to the Centre and state-run hospitals. At least 15.96 lakh PPE kits are in the Centre State buffer stock."

Recently, the Empowered Group-3 of the Central government had informed that the total projected demand of PPE kits till June 2020 would be 2.01 crore. Orders for 2.22 crore PPE kits have already been placed, of which orders to the tune of 1.42 crore have been placed with the domestic manufacturers and 80 lakh PPE kits are being imported.

Some government institutes like South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and Ordnance Factory Board are at the forefront of developing new technologies, materials, and testing facilities. DRDO has also developed new PU coated nylon/polyester for supply to domestic manufacturers/

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The total number of novel coronavirus cases in India mounted to 46,711, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. In an evening update, the Health Ministry said of the total cases, 31,967 are active cases, and 1,583 have succumbed to the disease. However 13,160 people have recovered so far.

Total number of #COVID19 positive cases in India rises to 46,711 including 31,967 active cases, 1,583 deaths, 13,160 cured/discharged and 1 migrated: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare pic.twitter.com/xbeWihMr6H

— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2020

The total number of deaths suddenly saw a spike in West Bengal. The Ministry said the total toll reported from West Bengal was 133. It was 61 on Monday. Earlier at a presser, Joint Health Secretary Lav Aagarwal had said that states should report on time about the number of cases and fatalities in order to ensure better management of cases.

Maharashtra continued to top the chart with a total 14,541 cases followed by Gujarat with 5,804 cases and Delhi with 4,898 cases. Other states which saw a surge in cases are Madhya Pradesh (3,046), Tamil Nadu (3,550), Rajasthan (3,061), Rajasthan (3,061) and Uttar Pradesh (2,859). States which reported over a thousand cases are Andhra Pradesh (1,717), Punjab (1,233), Telangana (1,085) and West Bengal (1,259).

States which saw a significant number of cases are Bihar (529), Haryana (517), Jammu and Kashmir (726), Karnataka (659), Kerala (500), Odisha (170), Chandigarh (102) and Jharkhand (115).

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Soon after the Delhi police started questioning a prominent South Delhi school student in connection with the Boys Locker Room controversy investigation, 22 others linked to the mess went underground on Tuesday.

The Cyber Cell of the Delhi police earlier detained one teenager in connection with the Instagram chat group where rapes were glorified and photos of underage girls were shared and they were objectified.

The one who has been nabbed so far is a 15-year-old student of a prominent school in South Delhi. "Twenty-two other boys have also been identified and they would be called for investigation," the police said on Tuesday. The detained accused would be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

Based on the information provided by the minor during questioning, police teams have been sent to various parts of the National Capital Region. After the police registered the case, many students in the group have gone underground.

Leaked screenshots of the private Instagram chat group stirred up a storm over rape culture in India after numerous boys were allegedly seen sharing photos of underage girls, objectifying them, and planning "gang rapes".

A case was registered under Section 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged document), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman) of the IPC and 67 and 67A of the Information Technology (IT) Act at cyber cell of the Delhi police.

Earlier on Monday, the police received a complaint from the principal of a prominent school in South Delhi's Saket at the Saket police station requesting for a probe into the matter, the same was forwarded to the Cyber Cell thereof. Apart from this, another complaint was filed at a police station in North Delhi by a parent in connection with this Instagram group.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

As many as 3,900 new COVID-19 cases and 195 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the biggest spike in a single day, the health ministry said on Tuesday and asserted that "some states" were not reporting cases in a timely manner, which is now being addressed.

Addressing the daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, joint secretary at the health ministry, Lav Agarwal said the total number of cases stand at 46,433 and the death toll at 1,568. "We are dealing with an infectious disease. Thus timely reporting of cases and their management is very crucial and gaps in these areas were noted in some states, which after due persuasion are being addressed," Agarwal said.

The ministry said 1,020 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those cured to 12,726, a recovery rate of 27.41 per cent. "We are very comfortable in terms of managing COVID-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level may have consequences," he said. The lockdown has yielded very positive results, doubling time of cases has improved from 3.4 days before lockdown to 12 days now, he added.

JEE, NEET exams to be held in July

Engineering entrance examination JEE will be held from July 18-23, while medical entrance exam NEET will be conducted on July 26, Union HRD Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal announced on Tuesday. The two crucial exams were postponed due to the lockdown imposed in the country to combat COVID-19. "JEE-Mains will be held from July 18-23, while JEE-Advanced will be held in August. NEET will be conducted on July 26," he said. "A decision will soon be taken on the pending CBSE Std X, XII board exams," he added.

Vistara sends seniors on LWP for four days

Vistara CEO, Leslie Thng on Tuesday announced that senior employees will have to go on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to four days per month in May and June as a measure to conserve the airline's cash flow to tide over the difficulties faced by the aviation sector due to lockdowns across the world. Vistara had sent the same set of senior employees on compulsory LWP for up to six days in April.

BJP demands Mamata's resignation

After the West Bengal government released fresh data about the COVID-19 situation in the state, the BJP launched a scathing attack on it. State BJP in-charge and party General Secretary, Kailash Vijayavargiya demanded the resignation of Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Vijayavargiya said that Banerjee should speak in a serious manner and take responsibility. She has no right to continue in office, she should resign. He said that Mamata is only doing politics, she has nothing to do with the lives of people.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Undeterred by the threat of coronavirus infection or the 'special corona fee' of 70 per cent levied on alcohol, hundreds of tipplers queued up outside liquor vends in the national capital for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, keeping the police on their toes. Long queues were formed outside the vends in Krishna Nagar and Vishwas Nagar, and a large number of policemen stood outside to manage the crowd and ensure social distancing. At some places, like the Gole Market in central Delhi, although the liquor shops were shut, baton-wielding paramilitary personnel were also deployed to keep the crowd at bay. About 150 government-run liquor shops have been allowed to open from 9 am to 6.30 pm as per the latest lockdown relaxations allowed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On Monday, many liquor shops downed their shutters after crowds turned unruly, showing little care about social distancing. Late in the night, the Delhi government levied a 70 per cent 'special corona fee' on the sale of liquor. The new rate is applicable from Tuesday. The special branch of the Delhi police has also prepared a report suggesting extending the timings of the liquor sale in Delhi after chaos outside shops on Monday. To ensure that he gets his stock of liquor, Bharat Kumar, a resident of Burari, stood outside the liquor shop since 8 am -- the shop opens at 9. But there were many even ahead of him. "I was in queue for liquor since 8 am. Despite this, it took me one and half hour to buy three liquor bottles," he said. Asked about the government's decision to impose a hefty 'corona fee' to discourage tipplers, he said, "It will not affect us. People will get liquor from Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad." But there were many who still could not manage to buy liquor for the second day.

"I searched for some shops in Krishna Nagar but there were long queues of around 400-500 people. Here, the shop has not been opened and policemen are sending us back. It's not fair, the government has raised the price so much and still there are problems if one tries to buy it," said Raj Kumar, 38, who had come to a liquor shop in Shakarpur in east Delhi. Ramesh, who declined to share his second name, said he was trying his luck after failing to buy liquor bottles from nearby shops because of the huge crowd. "Yesterday, I waited for two hours in a queue outside a shop but the police closed it after the crowd became unruly," Ramesh said. Rajbir Singh, in his late 40s, tried his luck at a liquor vend behind Regal Cinema in central Delhi, but failed. "I only have one peg every fortnight. But I have not had even that for long," Singh said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 49,391, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday morning. This includes 33,514 active cases, and 1,694 deaths due to the infection so far.

However, 14,182 persons have been cured and discharged so far, according to the Health Ministry. One patient has migrated. Maharashtra with 15,525 cases is the worst-affected state, while Gujarat with 6,245 cases is second on the list.

Delhi with 5,104 COVID-19 cases is the third most-affected by the infection.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

He posed as Superintendent of Police (SP), called up a subordinate police official and asked him to get his mobile phone repaired or face the consequences. But, his bluff was later called and the man landed in lockup. Azamgarh SP Triveni Singh said the 23-year-old youth, Shubham Upadhyay, is the son of a farmer. He was preparing for competitive exams when his phone developed a snag on Saturday.

He tried to reach out to local mechanics, but they were unavailable to fix it due to the lockdown. Upadhyay used a free caller identification app to call up the in-charge of the Kotwali police station, K. K. Gupta, and threatened to shunt him out, if he failed to swiftly get the work done. Gupta grew suspicious and eventually caught the youth.

In his statement to the police, Shubham Upadhyay said, "On Sunday noon, I tried to breach the district borders to reach Lucknow to repair my phone, but since there was heavy police presence and barricading, I returned home. Later, I installed a free caller identification app in my handset and mentioned the name as SP Azamgarh and even uploaded a photo of the cop to appear genuine." He first called SHO, Kotwali to get the phone repaired and was told the handset would be picked up from the SP office in an hour. Then, he called a businessman to bring his SUV and hand over his mobile to the SHO.

But when Upadhyay called the police again to suggest a separate meeting point, he raised suspicion. When the SHO tried to confirm the venue, Upadhyay got hesitant and said he would send a peon. "I suddenly realised something was fishy and rang up the public relation officer of SP Azamgarh, who denied any such order from the SP. When the caller's number was scanned, it displayed the name of SP Azamgarh," said SHO Gupta.

A trap was laid and when the SHO reached the venue, he found one Praveen Shukla sitting in the vehicle. Police got the address of the accused from Shukla and reached Upadhyay's home in Bilariya locality and arrested him.

Upadhyay has been booked under IT Act and for threatening a public servant.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Ever since the cases of Coronavirus outbroke in the country, the police personnel, healthcare staffs and other essential workers working on the frontline to contain the spread of the pandemic are being hailed as heroes. In a move to express gratitude, the Indian Air Force helicopters showered flower petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in different parts of the country on May 3. Also, the COVID team of the Delhi Police did a sirened parikrama of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to thank the healthcare workers.

Now a video of a cop from Delhi Police singing 'Teri Mitti' from Akshay Kumar’s 2019 film Kesari to thank healthcare workers has been making rounds of social media of late. This one-minute-eight second-long video posted by Rajat Rathor on Facebook got netizens swooning over his voice and guitar skills. He sang the song wearing his uniform to express his gratitude to the corona warriors fight to contain the pandemic in the frontline.

He captioned the video, "A tribute from my side. For all The heroes who are fighting with this pandemic. Doctors and force member salute to all of u. This song is one of My fav song" The video posted last week garnered 26,253 views on Facebook with more than 1,000 likes and was shared 670 times.

A user said in the comments, "It is a very lovely voice. I like this (sic)." Another user commented, "Totally impressed from ur art in delhi police department...... (sic)" One more user said, "Salute to all Indian policemen."

What do you think about the post?

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Token system has been introduced for the purchase of alcohol from liquor stores in Pune, said Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar on Tuesday. He said there will be an implementation of a token system at these stores and without a token, no liquor can be purchased.

On Tuesday, Pune Police registered cases against nine liquor stores for not following the COVID-19 health guidelines.

The move comes as liquor stores witnessed huge rush across the country after the relaxation of lockdown norms by several state governments over the past few days.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

With the nationwide lockdown in place due to the Coronavirus outbreak, major cities in the country that otherwise attract a lot of crowds has been wearing a deserted look. After viral videos showing breathtaking aerial visuals of Mumbai and Gurugram, The Twitterati is swooning over the aerial visuals of Amritsar.

Shared by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, made by the district administration of Amritsar, the video opens with the splendid view of the Golden Gate at night after which it moves to an aerial shot of the Golden Temple. The video goes on to shows glimpses of the War Memorial, the Amritsar railway station, the roads and bazaars, Town Hall and Khalsa College, and ends with a breathtaking view of the well-lit Golden Temple at night.

In the caption, Singh said, “Sharing a video made by District Administration, Amritsar with an inspiring message. We all need to fight together in this war against #Covid19 & help our Corona Warriors by abiding with all rules & regulations. Let's do it for Punjab. We will win this war!”

Sharing a video made by District Administration, Amritsar with an inspiring message. We all need to fight together in this war against #Covid19 & help our Corona Warriors by abiding with all rules & regulations. Let's do it for Punjab. We will win this war! #StaySafeStayHealthy pic.twitter.com/v8985DdC9X

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 3, 2020

The video posted on May 3, garnered more than 14,800 views with 1,200 likes and was retweeted 283 times so far. The users commenting in the video resounded the chief minister’s assurance that we will win the war against the pandemic.

We will win. 🇮🇳

— Preeti Yadav (@drpreetiyadav9) May 3, 2020

Sir, Surely we will.....

— Sneha Singh (@Snehasi7) May 3, 2020

Simply awesome sir. We also got to see the beautiful city and its important landmarks.

— T K Srinath (@tksri100) May 3, 2020

Beautiful Message for ushering in Solidarity as we move ahead

Awareness Campaigns in Regional Language will be effective

Nice aerial shots too

Glad to see something like this without involving the Chief Minister as focus

Signs of mature polity

Happy to see Farmers working

— Colonel Rohit Dev (RDX) 🇮🇳 (@RDXThinksThat) May 3, 2020

My beautiful #Amritsar 😍 I'm proud of Amritsar's District Administration.

— Karun Mahendru 🕉ï¸Â ♋ (@KARUNCOOL22) May 3, 2020

What do you think about the video?

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Governments must borrow to meet their deficits and not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Wednesday after the Centre and the Delhi government hiked taxes on petroleum products. New or higher taxes are justified only when the economy is booming, the former finance minister said, dubbing the imposition of taxes as "cruel". Tax burdens on the middle class and the poor is actually taxing distress, he said in a series of tweets.

"Governments should give money to the people in times of distress, not squeeze and take money from the people," Chidambaram said. "We have been pleading for cash transfers from the government to the bottom half of the people/families. Instead governments are doing a reverse transfer of money from the people to the government! Cruel," he said.

New or higher taxes will impoverish families further, Chidambaram asserted. "Governments must borrow to meet their deficits, not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt," he said. Chidambaram's remarks come after the central government on Tuesday night hiked the excise duty on petrol by a steep Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre.

Retail prices of petrol and diesel will not be impacted by the tax changes as state-owned oil firms will adjust them against the recent fall in oil prices, industry officials said. Petrol prices in the national capital were hiked by Rs 1.67 a litre and diesel by a steep Rs 7.10 per litre after the Delhi government raised local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT) on the two fuels.

Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 71.26 a litre as against Rs 69.59 previously, oil industry sources said. Diesel price has been hiked to Rs 69.39 per litre from Rs 62.29. Struggling with low revenues during lockdown, several states have also hiked taxes on alcohol.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Mid-day online journalists interact with the frontline workers in a new series 'Real heroes of coronavirus'. Media photographers, reporters, railway staff and medical workers tell their stories of grit, determination and every-day challenges in times of the pandemic.

Mail Express Guard Vishal Kalage has been working with Central Railway's Miraj division in Sangli, Maharashtra for 11 years. After the Railways decided to stall passengers train services, Kalage, who studied micro-biology, decided to use the lockdown period by making masks and face shields at home with the help of his wife and mother and contribute in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Vishal Kalage distributes face masks to doctors, police staff and common people free of cost

We spoke to Vishal Kalage about his noble work and what it feels like to contribute to the society in the fight against coronavirus.

Here's an excerpt from the interview.

What inspired you to take up the task of making face masks?

When the lockdown was imposed, I went to buy medicines for my mother, who is an heart patient and I inquired about the cost of a disposable face mask. I was surprised when the shopkeeper told me that the face mask would cost Rs 30 and had to be thrown away after six hours of use. That is when I decided that I should make face masks.

When I pitched the idea to my wife (Rohini) and mother (Menakshi), they immediately agreed to the plan. My wife has done a course in fashion designing, she made few sample masks before we zeroed in on the final product.

Speaking about the shortage of face mask in the market due to the sudden demand, which emerged after the outbreak of the coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, Vishal said, "Honestly, there were no sanitisers at that time; hand wash was also not available and many medical shops were selling available stock at a higher price. At the same time, due to panic buying many front line workers including doctors and police staff did not have masks. Seeing the crisis that had emerged due to the shotage in supply of masks, I decided to make face masks at home and help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic."

What challenges did you face while making face masks at home?

Due to the nationwide lockdown, the fabric required to make masks were not available in the market. After searching four to five orthopedic medical shops, I finally got the required fabric from which I could make face masks at home. I purchased 10 (2x6) bedsheets at Rs 360 per bedsheet for making the masks. Five bed-sheets were used to make the lace while the other five bed sheets were used to stitch the main bracket of the face mask (three tier/plating of the face mask).

Vishal Kalage's wife sitches face mask at home (on left) and she posing with the final mask which was made at home (on right)

When did you start making the face masks?

On Day 2 of the initial 21-day nationwide lockdown, we started making face masks at home. In the beginning, we were able to stitch 160 face masks on a daily basis. Now we stitch 200 mask everyday. To date, we have stitched over 4,500 face masks. The face masks have been distributed free of cost to the railway staff, police staff and even hospitals among others.

How did you manage the production, did you hire people or the family managed it?

Initially, we hired two women from the garment industry, who had lost their livelihood due to the lockdown. The lace work was done by them, one would do the cutting while the other woman would work on the laces. The rest of the work required for making the masks was looked after by my wife, mother and myself.

Although the women worked for a few days, Vishal said he paid them adequate sum to sustain during the crisis.

Can you take us through the process of making face mask at home?

The cloth pieces are cut from the bed sheets as per the required size, dipped into dettol for nearly two hours and left out under the sun to dry. Once the pieces are completely dry, we start the process of stitching the mask. After the stitching, the face masks are ironed at 350 degree celsius for three minutes on both sides.

Explaining why ironing the face masks was important, Kalage said, "Being a microbiology student, I realised that the face masks will have to be bacteria free and clean, which is why we decided to press it under 350 degree celsius. This way we created a sterilisation process at home only."

To date, Vishal Kalage and his family have made 4500 masks and 150 face shield which has been distributed free of cost

After the masks are ready, Vishal's daughter Nakshaytra and son Nakshayraj help him in packaging by making a bundle of 50 face masks each. The kids then arrange these bundles in a bag which Vishal Kalage distributes to the doctors, police staff and the public at free of cost.

Besides face masks, Vishal also makes face shields at home. Using lamination sheets which his school going children use, Vishal with his wife's help made face shields at home. "We use lamination sheets and teflon sheets to make simple yet protective face shieds at home," he said.

How did the idea of making face shields come up?

While buying bedsheets for the face masks, I was shocked to learn that face shields made up of a plastic layer with a fibre like headband were sold for Rs 550 in medical shops.

I came back home with the pictures of the shield and referring the pictures I made my own face shield. The final product I made at home cost me Rs 80. Moreover, the shields are reusable, scratch proof and water proof and it can protect the doctors or the police staff directly from the saliva or the droplets of the COVID-19 patients.

Vishal Kalage has been working as a mail express guard at Miraj with Central Railway's Pune division since the last 11 years

How did you manage the expenses?

My wife and my mother helped me a lot and supported me. In the beginning, we used our little savings to make masks and face shields at home. But as the good word spread, our friends and family came together and contributed and soon I had Rs 14,500. This amount was used to make more face masks and face shields at home. The Railways also helped us by providing 10 linen blankets free of cost.

What precautions do you undertake to stay protected against COVID-19?

Whenever I come back home after distributing masks or have been out for personal work, I ensure to take bath. Before entering the house, I sanitise my bike and my shoes as I have small children and elderly mother, who is a heart patient. I take all these measure to make sure that no one should get contaminated and my family is safe and protected against COVID-19. I would request people to follow the hygiene instructions given by the government, stay home and be safe."

Vishal made the face shield at home at a nominal cost of Rs 80 

How do you feel now that you are able to contribute for a noble cause during such a crisis?

The feeling of helping people and the country during the coronavirus crisis cannot be expressed in words. All I know is that at night, I sleep with deep satisfaction and happiness.

Rs 80
The cost of face shield which Vishal Kalage made at home

4,500
The number of face masks the Kalage family stitched and distributed free of cost

150
The number of face shield he made at home

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

The Excise Department of Punjab on Tuesday released new guidelines for home delivery of liquor in a bid to ensure that social distancing norms are not violated amid curfew and COVID-19 lockdown. Now, only two people in a group with an official pass are allowed to make home delivery of liquor.

One household will not receive more than two litres of booze. The delivery person is restricted to visit in the vehicle authorised by the department. Moreover, social distancing norms should be followed at liquor shops and not more than five people are allowed to gather outside the shops.

Proper sanitisation will be done at liquor stores, which are allowed to open only if relaxation is given by the district administration in their area.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The Maharashtra government has appealed to all central government departments to make available their hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state. "Anticipating higher numbers of patients in the coming days, Maharashtra govt has appealed to all Central govt departments like Railways, Port Trust, Army, Navy etc to make available their hospitals for treatment of COVID patients in Maharashtra," said a statement from Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

As a part of planning, the State Government has requested hospitals, institutions & buildings under the management of the Railways, Mumbai Port Trust, Indian Army, Navy and other Central Gov. undertakings to make their facilities available across Maharashtra.

— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) May 6, 2020

According to the Maharashtra CMO, "Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is himself in talks at the highest level in central govt." A CMO press note confirmed that the Maharashtra government has set up several quarantine and isolation centers at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Planetarium, Bombay Exhibition center, Richardson and Cruddas company and at various other places in the state.

But as the Center has warmed about a spike in cases during May, Maharashtra wants additional ICU beds and other medical facilities. So it has requested the central government departments which have hospitals in Maharashtra to make them available for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said that he will hold a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister to discuss the worsening COVID-19 situation in the state, as 34 out of its 36 districts are affected by the infection.

"The situation in Maharashtra is certainly a matter of concern right now as 34 out of 36 districts are affected by COVID-19. I will hold a meeting with the Chief Minister as well to discuss further course of action to control spread of the virus in the state," the Minister said at a press conference here.

The situation in Maharashtra is certainly a matter of concern right now as 34 out of 36 districts are affected by #COVID19. I will hold a meeting with CM as well to discuss further course of action to control spread of the virus in state: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan pic.twitter.com/g2Ez09pNLM

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

"Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Solapur, among the 34 districts are a cause of concern for us," he added. The Union Health Minister further said the Centre's aim was to ensure that no new cases come up from districts in Maharashtra and assured all help to the state in the coming days.

"There are 1,026 containment zones in Maharashtra right now, as per my knowledge. The team from Centre and doctors are stationed there and we will give further help to Maharashtra as per the need," the Minister said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra had 15,525 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday morning, including 617 deaths. However, 2,819 patients have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment for the disease.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been ranked 17th in the latest world billionaires list by Forbes with a net worth of $44.3 billion – once again leading the tally from India's perspective.

Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $88 billion (revenue) oil and gas giant Reliance Industries, among India's most valuable companies. Reliance Jio has signed on more than 340 million customers by offering free domestic voice calls, dirt-cheap data services, and virtually free smartphones, said the report.

The next Indian on the 34th annual list -- veteran Mumbai investor Radhakishan Damani who is touted as India's retail king after the March 2017 IPO of his supermarket chain DMart – is at a distant 65th position with a net worth of $16.6 billion.

Damani got into retailing in 2002 with one store in suburban Mumbai and has been unstoppable since. His property portfolio includes the 156-room Radisson Blu Resort in Alibag and a popular beach-front getaway close to Mumbai, according to the report.

At 114th position, HCL Technologies Founder Shiv Nadar is worth $12.4 billion. One of India's leading philanthropists, Nadar has donated $662 million to his Shiv Nadar Foundation.

While Hinduja brothers are at 116th position with $12.2 billion net worth. Srichand and Gopichand live in London and Prakash resides in Monaco while the youngest sibling Ashok oversees their Indian interests from Mumbai. At 138th position, Uday Kotak is worth $10.7 billion. His Kotak Mahindra Bank is now among India's top four banks in the private sector, boosted by its 2014 acquisition of ING Bank's Indian operations.

In January this year, the bank reached an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India over the issue of reducing Kotak's stake in the bank to 26 per cent. Telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal is at 154th position with $9.5 billion net worth. Bharti Airtel today is among India's largest mobile phone operators with more than 418 million customers.

Others in the latest list are Cyrus Poonawalla who is founder of Serum Institute of India (at 161th position with $9.2 billion net worth), Gautam Adani at 162th position with $9.2 billion net worth and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal with $8.9 billion net worth at 170th spot, among others.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news