do

Coronavirus outbreak: Not police, elephant patrols streets of Kerala amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 16 Apr 2020 21:54:15 GMT

Amid the rising number of coronavirus outbreak, a shocking video of an elephant walking on the empty streets in Kerala's Munnar district has taken the internet by storm. The heartwarming video, which has gone viral was shared by Indian Forest Service officer Sudha Ramen, who said that the elephant in the video is called Padaiyappa.

On Thursday, Sudha took to Twitter and shared the beautful video where the elephant can be seen wandering on the empty streets of Kerala amid lockdown due to coronavirus. While sharing the video with over 25,000 followers, Sudha wrote: Tusker 'Padaiyappa' on his night patrol to check on the lockdown in Munnar Town.

She further said that sighting wild elephants in Kerala is a common sight. Talking about the elephant, Sudha said that Padaiyappa has been visiting the town every now and then and is quite acquainted with the local. She said that it appears as if the elephant is on some special task this time.

In the 37-seconds video clip, the tusker can be seen walking down the empty streets of Munnar on night as the state fights the coronavirus crisis. In another tweet, Sudha said that although the elephant looks calm its best to to stay away from wild elephants, especially when it's a lone tusker.

Since the time it was shared., the video has garnered over 3,0000 views leaving netizens in awe of the elephant. One user said, "Have heard the name from locals. Seeing him for the first time," while another user wrote: It actually gives an idea why not all cities can go lock down from 10.00 pm till 05.00 am? Explaining the video, a third user commented saying, "Nature wants to bring itself back. Wonderful."

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Google says 'Thank You' to food service workers with an animated doodle

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 16 Apr 2020 22:31:05 GMT

After thanking doctors, nurses and health care professionals, on Thursday, the Google doodle paid tributes to food service workers, who have been serving people amid the coronavirus crisis with an animated illustration on Thursday. The animated doodle is part of the Google doodle which the search engine giant launched last week in order to celebrate the coronavirus warriors.

When one hovers over the doodle, it shows the message, "To all food service workers, thank you." The 'Thank You' doodle for food service workers features a heart emoticon being sent across to food service workers, who have been preparing food for COVID-19 patients, doctors and staff of the hospitals.

Besides food service workers, chefs, restaurants and food delivery workers have also resumed work in order to help the country fight the global pandemic. Through its animated doodle series, google will be honouring people who have been leading the fight against the novel coronavirus.

A few days ago, google released a doodle to thank medical professionals who have been leading India's fight against the deadly virus. To all doctors, nurses and medical workers; thank you." read the doodle message. The animated doodle also featured a little heart emoticon for everyone who is fighting the battle against COVID-19 on the frontline.

Talking about their animated doodle series to honours those fighting coronavirus Google said, "As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people are coming together to help one another now more than ever. We're launching a Doodle series to recognize and honour many of those on the front lines."

Besides healthcare professionals and food service workers, Google has so far honoured public health workers, emergency services workers, sanitation workers, farmers, grocery workers, public transportation workers, and delivery workers among others.

Till yesterday, India had 10,824 active cases and 1514 discharged and cured cases while 420 people have died from the disease which originated in China. Maharashtra has been the worst affected state with 2919 COVID-19 cases including 187 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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Nagpur Police's handy guide for lockdown inspired by Sholay is on point

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 16 Apr 2020 23:13:28 GMT

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, Nagpur police in its unique and witty is informing, educating and protecting its citizens across the city amid the nation-wide lockdown. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi extending the lockdown till May 3, citizens across the country have ample of time with themselves.

In order to kill boredom, Nagpur has come up with a few handy tips by taking inspiration from Bollywood's iconic film Sholay. On Wednesday, Nagpur police took to its Twitter account and shared a 4.0 handy guide list which will keep people engaged and entertained at home amid lockdown.


A still from Sholay urges people to play music and pursue hobbies

The Nagpur police shared few stills from the movie in order to get their message across to its people. A still featuring actor Amjad Khan as Gabbar urged people to call and connect with old friends while another still featuring superstar Amitabh Bachchan requested people to pursue their hobbies and indulge in music.

The witty post also featured two stills which urged families to engage in story telling while another one asked people to shave but at home amid the coronavirus lockdown. This ins't the first time that the Nagpur police took a clue from Bollywood films in order to create awareness on the spread of coronavirus.

Last month, the Nagpur police has shared a meme from Shahid Kapoor's popular film Kabir Singh, which showed friends making plans to go for a picnic amid lockdown. But it was their picture-perfect caption that won many hearts. The caption urged people to maintain social distance and break the chain.

Here are few movie inspired memes shared by Nagpur police:

The Rock featuring in Nagpur police meme as they request people to not indulge in panic buying.

Taking a cue from Kaun Banega Crorepati, they asked people to be a corona warrior by being at home amid lockdown.

Another one from an ad film showcasing the importance of washing hands amid coronavirus outbreak.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Woman travels 2,700 km across six states to meet ailing son in hospital

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 17 Apr 2020 06:56:05 GMT

Thiruvananthapuram: A 50-year-old woman travelled 2,700 km in a car crisscrossing 6 states to meet her critically ill son, a BSF jawan in Jodhpur, despite strict lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19.

The woman was accompanied by her daughter-in-law and another relative during the journey, which they covered in three days' time. Speaking to PTI from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Sheelamma Vasan said the health condition of her son, Arun Kumar (29), who was suffering from myositis, (inflammation of muscles), was improving.

"Due to God's grace we have reached here without any problems anywhere", she said. The family was informed by a Malayali doctor at AIIMS in Jodhpur about Arun Kumar's condition following which they decided to undertake the journey from Kerala through Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat to reach Rajasthan.

Thanks to the intervention of Union Minister V Muraleedharan, the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Oommen Chandy, the family could get necessary passes for the travel across the states.

Volunteers of Hindu helpline, a VHP organisation, helped in arranging a cab and two taxi drivers free of cost to take them to Jodhpur. After getting necessary passes arranged by Kottayam District Collector P K Sudheer Babu, Sheelaamma accompanied by her daughter-in-law Parvathyand another relative set off on the journey from Panackachira village in Koruthodu panchayat in Kottayam on April 11and reached Jodhpur on 14th, "Vishu" (Malayalam new year).

The jawan, who had come to his village in February end on leave and days after his return had fallen ill, had expressed desire to meet his mother and wife.
Arun Kumar's one-year-old child is in Kerala.

The mother's journey comes close on the heels of another woman who rode 1400 km on her two-wheeler from Telangana to bring back her son stuck in Andhra Pradesh. The Burqa-clad mom, Razia Sultana, a school teacher from Bodhan town in Telangana undertook the journey on her scooter and brought her son, a student from Rehmatabadin Andhra 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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: After elephant, wild bears patrol streets of Andhra Pradesh amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 19 Apr 2020 02:30:32 GMT

After a heartwarming video of an elephant walking on the empty streets in Kerala's Munnar district went viral, another viral video showing wild bears roaming freely in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh amid lockdown has taken the internet by storm.

The viral video was shared by Twitter user Susanta Nanda, an Indian Forest Service officer who is working in Odisha. Susanta shared the video with his 30,000 followers with the caption: It's a pair of bears strolling at Tirumala to see if everything is ok in gods abode.

In the 10-seconds video clip, the wild bears can be seen crossing the empty streets of Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh amid the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus. While sharing the video, Susanta jokingly said that the bears are making sure that everything if everything is okay in 'God's abode'. Susanta's God's abode reference was to the temple of Lord Venkateshwara which is located in Tirumala.

The short video clip went viral and has garnered over 15,000 views with 1,500 likes. Hundreds of netizens took to the comments section of the post to share their views. One user wrote, "Amazing," while another commented, "I wonder if these wild life strolling streets had their life goals to do so one day." A third user jokingly said, "Night patrol party of dear bears."

On the same day, IFS Susanta had also shared a viral video where a monkey was seen flying a kite from the terrace of a building. The video garnered over 20,000 views and brought a smile on everyone's face.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Google says 'Thank You' to all COVID-19 helpers in final doodle

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 19 Apr 2020 02:30:37 GMT

On Saturday, Google shared a compilation of all its doodle dedicated to coronavirus helpers who are leading the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The final doodle was dedicated to all helpers, workers and healthcare professionals among others.

While concluding its doodle animated series, Google India said: The best way to say thank you to all those on the front lines is by staying at home. Together, we will move past this. The animated doodle was part of the Google doodle series which Google launched last week in order to celebrate the coronavirus warriors.

When one hovers over the final doodle, it shows the message, "To all coronavirus helpers, thank you." Over the last one week, google honoured people such as doctors, workers, sanitation workers, farmers, food service workers, police officials, firemen, delivery people among others who have been leading the fight against COVID-19.

During the launch of the animated series, Google had said, "As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people are coming together to help one another now more than ever. We're launching a Doodle series to recognize and honour many of those on the front lines."

The final doodle, which is a compilation of all the animated doodle in honour of coronavirus warriors made sure that they did not miss out on anyone. Google Doodle team lead Jessica Yu said, "As with all of our Doodles, we hope the series allows for helpers everywhere to feel seen, heard, and valued and for everyone to remember there will be a light at the end of what could feel like a long tunnel."

The series which began on April 6 by expressing gratitude towards the health workers and the scientific community ended the series by thanking teachers and childcare workers in its penultimate doodle.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Punjab Police surprises little girl with cake on her first birthday amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 19 Apr 2020 02:40:19 GMT

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases across the country, the Punjab Police on Saturday took to Twitter to share a heartwarming video where they can be seen bringing smiles on its citizens amid lockdown. The Punjab police shared the video with their 60,000 followers where they can be seen going out of their way to celebrate the birthday of a little girl.

In the one-minute one-second clip, police officials of Mansa Police in Punjab can be seen delivering a cake to a kid's house on her first birthday. What's more? The police officials also sang Happy Birthday for the girl on their PA system.

While sharing the beautiful video with their followers, Punjab police wrote: Mansa Police’' sweet gesture for Maira's 1st birthday. Policemen gave her a surprise by delivering a Birthday Cake at her doorsteps. Not only did the police made the girl's day but they also took all precautions while delivering the cake. The police officials were seen donning face masks and even wearing hand gloves in order to protect themselves from the spread of coronavirus.

The heartwarming gesture by Mansa police officials has been praised by many on Twitter. On user said, "Police with a heart," while another user commented, "Great job by Mansa district Police." A third user said, "Punjab police with you, for you, always."

What do you think about this heartwarming 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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: No lockdown relaxation in Delhi from Monday, says Arvind Kejriwal

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 19 Apr 2020 09:27:16 GMT

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said there will be no relaxation in the lockdown due to coronavirus in the national capital as all the 11 districts are hotpots. Speaking to the media, Kejriwal said the situation will be reviewed after a week and if there is improvement, the relaxation will be given.

"After assessing the prevailing situation in Delhi, we have decided not to permit any relaxation in the lockdown, as of now," the Chief Minister said. The Centre has asked for lockdown relaxation from Monday at places where coronavirus infection is under control. He said 186 more cases were recorded on Saturday and all were asymptomatic.

"They didn't know they had coronavirus. This is more worrying," he said, adding one among the positive cases was distributing food in the government's hunger relief shelter. Kejriwal said in the last few days, Delhi has seen a spike in cases.

"We need to plan about the relaxation in the lockdown. Centre is saying that we should not relax the lockdown in the containment zones/hotspots. All the 11 districts of Delhi are declared hotspots. So, according to the Centre, no relaxation can be given in Delhi," he added. He also said wherever people are following orders, cases are not increasing.

"However, there are places where cases are increasing as people are not following orders," the Chief Minister said. He said though the cases are on the rise, the situation is still under control.

"We all have to follow orders. About 1,900 cases are in the city and 26 patients are in the ICU and six are on the ventilators," the Chief Minister 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


Full Article

do

No non-essentials at your doorstep from today: Government

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 20 Apr 2020 01:58:38 GMT

The government on Sunday prohibited e-commerce platforms from selling non-essential items during the lockdown, four days after allowing the companies to sell mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments. Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from the cart of e-commerce companies.

The order said the following clause — "e-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" — is excluded from the guidelines. Asked why the government made a U-turn on the matter, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry, Punya Salila Srivastava said the COVID-19 situation has been very dynamic and the government is taking decisions on a day-to-day basis. When the government has realised that allowing non-essential commodities to sell through e-commerce platforms may affect the proper implementation of the lockdown, the decision was reviewed and reversed, she said at a daily joint briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak. The April 15 order had said e-commerce platforms were allowed to sell such items from April 20.

The reason for reversing the order was not known immediately, but there was a talk of some retail traders mounting pressure on the government that local shops be also allowed to sell non-essentials items, like e-commerce giants. e-commerce platforms, however, are allowed to sell essential commodities such as food, pharmaceutical and medical devices. The previous order said, "Supply of essential goods is allowed, as under: All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies should be allowed to operate, ensuring strict social distancing without any restriction on their timing of opening and closure." A day later, Home Ministry officials said electronic items such as mobile phones, TVs, refrigerators, laptop computers, ready-made garments, stationery items for schoolchildren would be available on the e-commerce platforms from April 20.

Coronavirus maintains its grip on India


Thermal screening of security personnel being conducted as they stand guard on a street in Bhopal, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

. There is no proposal for reduction of pension and no action is being contemplated by the government in this respect, the Centre said on Sunday. The assertion assumes significance as rumours are afloat that the government is contemplating reduction or stoppage of pension.

. The Uttar Pradesh government has removed a second chief medical officer in Gautam Buddh Nagar, a hotspot of Coronavirus, within a fortnight, the health department said. A P Chaturvedi was shunted out late on Saturday and D K Ohri, the principal of Agra's Regional Family Planning Training Centre, was appointed the additional CMO, the department said in an order.

. A one-and-a-half-month-old baby has died of Coronavirus infection at a hospital in Delhi, officials said on Sunday, in perhaps the first fatality of an infant due to COVID-19 in the national capital. The baby died at Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital attached to the Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College.

. SpiceJet has decided to send employees earning more than '50,000 per month on leave without pay on a rotational basis, sources said on Sunday amid flight services remaining suspended till May 3. This arrangement would be in place for three months, they added. The sources also told PTI that the salary for April is likely to be paid to staff for the days they were on duty.

. As COVID-19 continues its depredation across India and the world, a major row has erupted in West Bengal, with many in the medical fraternity and Opposition parties claiming the state is reporting fewer cases as only a minuscule proportion of the population is getting tested for the inscrutable enemy.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Migrant labourers find remote possibility of getting work in Mumbai amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 20 Apr 2020 08:15:11 GMT

With some relaxation amid lockdown in non-hotspot areas, the daily wage labourers gathered at labour chowks in Mumbai in search of work, find remote possibility of getting any work during the lockdown that will continue till May 3. Raju Tiwari, one of the migrant labourer waiting for work, told ANI, "I am a daily wage labourer who does all sorts of work to earn for a living. Though since the lockdown we did not get any work, even now I do not think that anybody would come to hire us for work."

Echoing similar sentiments, Sunil Tiwari, another daily wage earner, said, "All my savings have been exhausted and now I do not have any work. For now, we are dependent on others giving us food." "Though the relaxation has been given by the government on the daily wage labourers working, the police beats us and stops us in going anywhere. If we do not go then how will we earn?" he added.

The Union Home Ministry on April 19 had allowed intra-state movement of the migrant labourers, if found asymptomatic upon screening, from their relief camps and shelters to their respective places of work.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: 12-year-old dies walking 100 km from Telangana to her Chhatisgarh home

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 21 Apr 2020 08:06:00 GMT

In a tragic case of migrant labour crisis, a 12-year-old girl, working at a chilli farm in Telangana, collapsed and died on Saturday while trying to make her way back home in Bijapur district in Chhatisgarh, amid the Coronavirus lockdown. According to the officials, the deceased, Jamalo Madkam, who left home in Bijapur’s Aded village just two months ago, was barely 11 km away from reaching there when she collapsed, Indian Express reported.

Officials also said that Madkam is suspected to have died of electrolyte imbalance as she was walking for three days with 13 others working in Telangana to her village, covering the distance of 100 km. The girl has also tested for Coronavirus that came negative. The results of the test came a day after she died.

Other than Madkam, the group included three children and eight women. Madkam’s father Andoram said that he had heard she left with a group from Peruru village in Telangana on April 16. “They decided to come back after realising that the lockdown had got extended and they would not get any work,” he said.

The girl was the only daughter of Andoram (32) and his wife Sukamati (30), who were barely surviving on forest produce until she went to Telangana for the first time to work on a chilli farm. He said that she had gone to work with some women from the village.

Medical Officer of Bijapur district Dr B R Pujari was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the group had walked through forests and in one place, the girl had a fall. The newspaper quoted sources saying that the girl had died at 8 am on Saturday when the group had reached the border of Bijapur district. They could not inform her family earlier as only among them carried a phone whose battery died.

When the group reached Bhandarpal village, they managed to inform the girl’s family by requesting a resident of the village to help them make a call to her parents. They also informed the police about the girl’s death to the police.

Pujari said that the medical team rushed to the spot as soon as they got the news. “Since Telangana had cases, we immediately sent our teams, but we couldn’t find them,” he said.  Then the team found the group who handed over Madkam’s body to them. The group was then sent to a quarantine facility whereas the girl’s body was sent to a morgue. Andoram and Sukamati collected the girl’s body on Sunday evening.

Chhatisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the girl’s family 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


Full Article

do

Five MP ministers sworn in amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 22 Apr 2020 01:41:00 GMT

Three present and two former legislators were on Tuesday sworn in as ministers in the first expansion of the council of ministers in Madhya Pradesh.

The five were sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at a simple function in the Raj Bhawan amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the ceremony. The state was without a cabinet since a month owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chouhan was sworn in CM on March 23 to head the BJP-led government in the state.

Among the new entrants, two ex-MLAs Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput are supporters of former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who with 22 MLAs, including six ministers, quit Congress last month to join BJP. Former BJP ministers Narottam Mishra, Meena Singh and Kamal Patel were also inducted in the cabinet in Tuesday's expansion.

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


Full Article

do

Don't use rapid test kits for 2 days, will probe fault: ICMR tells states

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 22 Apr 2020 02:15:29 GMT

Amid complaints about faulty rapid test kits, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday advised states not to use them for the next two days, saying it will issue an advisory after their teams carry out field validation of these equipment. At the daily government briefing on the Coronavirus situation in the country, ICMR's Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar was asked about the faulty rapid testing kits.

"We have received complaint from a state yesterday and so far discussed with three states. Too much variations have been reported in results of rapid test kits and RT-PCR kits. We advise states not to use them for the next two days," he said. "These kits will be tested and validated in the field by our teams. We will issue a clear-cut advisory in two days. If problems are detected in batches, we will tell the companies for replacement," he said.

He said that a total of 4,49,810 samples for COVID-19 infection have been tested till Tuesday of which 35,852 were done on Monday. As many as 29,776 samples have been tested in 201 labs under the ICMR network, and 6,076 at 86 private laboratories, he said.

The Chairman of the 4th Empowered Group (to tackle COVID-19) said that the government has created a portal with the master database of healthcare professionals and volunteers.

"Till now, details of 1.24 crore human resources of various kinds have been added to it," he said. Details of Corona warriors in 20 categories and 49 sub-categories, who can contribute to COVID-19 management efforts, are available to states and union territories on the portal, he said. Lav Agrawal, the joint secretary in the Health Ministry, told the press conference that 18,601 positive cases have been reported across the country so far. As many as 3,252 people have been cured till now, he said, adding 705 of them recovered on Monday. "This takes our recovery percentage to 17.48," he said.

Assaults, arrests and deaths amid COVID-19


Workers wearing protective suits prepare food packets to distribute among needy people arranged by the district administration in Srinagar, on Tuesday Pic/PTI

. In a heart-wrenching incident, a 12-year-old girl collapsed and died of sheer exhaustion after walking for three days continuously covering 100 kilometres from Telangana back home to Chhattisgarh during the national lockdown.

. The TMC on Tuesday dubbed as "adventure tourism" the visit of two central teams to West Bengal for an on-the-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation, and asked why such delegations were not sent to states with much higher numbers of infections and hotspots.

. A 35-year-old man died allegedly after he was assaulted by the police for violating lockdown norms in Guntur Rural on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Shaikh Mohammed Ghouse.

. The National Fisherfolk Forum (NFF) on Tuesday urged the Central and Tamil Nadu government to take steps to bring back 400 fishermen from the state stranded in Andaman.

. An Allahabad university professor has been arrested along with 29 persons, including 16 foreign participants of Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

. The Rajasthan government on Tuesday stopped using the China-made rapid testing kits for Coronavirus after they delivered inaccurate results. The state's health minister, Raghu Sharma said the kits gave only 5.4 per cent accurate results against the expectation of 90 per cent accuracy and therefore the kits were of no benefit.

. Some Infosys techies, spread across the globe, have tested COVID-19 positive, according to the software major on Tuesday.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Migrant couple stranded in Tripura names their newborn 'Lockdown'

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 22 Apr 2020 04:45:43 GMT

A migrant couple from Rajasthan's Alwar, who got stranded in Tripura, have named their newborn boy 'Lockdown'. The couple Sanjay Bauri and his wife Manju Bauri sell plastic wares and keep travelling to various states to earn money. They visit Tripura for six months every year to sell cheap plastic wares. The government officials suggested to name him 'lockdown' as he was born on April 13 during the lockdown.

"The baby is fine. We are getting food from the administration. He is fine. As he was born during the lockdown, we have decided to name him lockdown," the father of the newborn told ANI. "The government is helping us a lot and taking care of our child. They also ensured the safe delivery of my son. But we would be happier if we return to back to Rajasthan as soon as possible," Manju said.

Besides them, 13 other migrant families are living there in Badharghat.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Education bookshops, fan shops to be exempted from lockdown, says Home Ministry

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 22 Apr 2020 10:21:25 GMT

The Union Home Ministry has extended relaxation to several agriculture and commercial industries from the lockdown restrictions. In the commercial sector, shops selling textbooks and establishments selling electric fans can also operate.

In the agricultural sector, the relaxation has been extended to facilities for export or import such as pack houses, inspection and treatment facilities for seeds and horticulture produce. It also includes relaxation to research establishments dealing with the agriculture and horticulture activities and the inter- and intra-state movement of planting materials and honey bee colonies, honey and other beehive products.

The Union Home Ministry also also ordered Standard Operating Procedure for the sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers (crew members) at Indian ports and their movement. According to the SOP laid down for sign-in of a Indian crew member, the ministry said that the seafarer will have to intimate their travel and contact history for the last 28 days to the ship owner or the recruitment and placement service.

The SOP can be followed through email, as per procedure laid down by the Director General of Shipping.

In a late development, the Home Ministry released a detailed SOP for disembarking and subsequent repatriation of seafarers stranded in ships and different ports-of-call across the world in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development, which was welcomed by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant late on Tuesday, comes on a day when more than 60 Goan crew-members onboard cruiseship Marella Discovery, anchored off Mumbai, had released a video urging Sawant to allow them to disembark urgently, with the ship scheduled to sail for Europe on Wednesday.

"I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for permitting the disembarking of seafarers at Indian ports. Goans stranded on the high seas will now soon be back home. I would request all the seafarers and their families to support the government in safe return of all our stranded brothers and sisters," Sawant said in a social media post on Tuesday.

According to government sources, the cruiseship currently has more than 100 Indian sailors, out of which more than sixty are from Goa. Earlier on Tuesday, after the video by the ship's Goan crew members went viral, the Opposition MLAs urged Sawant as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's urgent intervention in the issue.

"The crew member however will be tested for COVID-19 before boarding the ship and will be allowed to sign-in only if he is tested negative," the ministry said.

"For sign-off purposes, the Indian seafarer arriving on the vessel would undergo the COVID-19 test for confirmation that he/she is negative for COVID-19," it added. The crew member will be kept in a quarantine centre until the report arrives.

According to Goa CM Sawant, more than 8,000 seafarers of Goan origin, are stranded in various anchored ships and ports-of-call across the world. Sawant had said that the process for repatriation would only begin after the SOP was released by the MHA.

The SOP mandates testing of all sailors disembarking on Indian ports for Covid-19, followed by quarantine at a facility operated either by the port or by the respective state government where the port is located, until the test reports are received.

"If the seafarer is tested as positive for COVID-19, he/she will be dealt as per the procedures laid down by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," the SOP states.

"For the seafarers tested negative and signed off, the local authority in the area where the seafarer disembarks will be intimated about his/her clearance for sign-off and for issue of a transit pass from the place of disembarkation to the place of his/her residence," it also states.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Tigress Anushka gives birth to three cubs at Birsa zoo amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 22 Apr 2020 11:19:08 GMT

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, there is heartwarming news for tiger conservationists and animal lovers across the country. On April 18, a tigress at Ranchi's Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park gave birth to three cubs amid the total lockdown in the country.

After the birth of the three cubs, Ranchi's Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park which is also known as Birsa zoo has now emerged as the new tiger breeding centre in India. The Birsa zoo's celebrated tiger couple, Mallik and Anushka, have given a boost to the 'Save Tiger' campaign with the birth of their three new cubs.

A heartwarming video of the new cubs was shared by Twitter user Indian Forest Service Association with the caption, "In this corona-filled gloomy environment heartening news coming from Bhagwan Birsa Zoo, Jharkhand where a Tigress has given birth to three cubs .Congratulations to all the Zoo Officials and staffs of Bhagwan Birsa Zoo, Ranchi."

Tiger Mallik and tigress Anushka were brougt to Ranchi's Birsa Zoo from Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological Park in March 2016. While speaking to Hindustan Times zoo veterinarian Dr Ajay Kumar said, "The tigress is showing normal maternal care patterns and the cubs are in good health."

With the birth of the new cubs, the total number of tiger population at Birsa zoo has gone up to 10. Although the zoo has been currently closed due to the coronavirus crisis, once re-opened, the three new cubs will not be available for public viewing for a period of three months.

The Birsa zoo authority has taken extra precautionary measures in order to ensure a safe and healthy atmosphere for the three new born cubs. Kumar further said, "No one is allowed to enter the tigress' cage. The cubs were kept in nursery and their health and activities are being monitored through CCTV cameras installed there."

The vet further said that vaccination to the three cubs would be started only after three months, "The mother tigress is feeding well to all three cubs. Mother and her cubs are healthy," Dr. Kumar 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


Full Article

do

Lockdown tales: Two families shell out Rs 1.4 lakh for an ambulance ride from Chennai to Tripura

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 23 Apr 2020 09:06:32 GMT

Two families from Agartala in Trupura who had visited Chennai for medical treatmnet got stranded due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to curb the rising number of coronavirus cases in India. But what followed was quite extraordinary as the families had to pay a whopping Rs 1.4 lakh to hire an ambulance to take them back to Tripura.

One family resides in South Tripura district's Udaipur area while the other stays at Mohanpur area of West Tripura district. Interestingly, the two families shelled out the huge sum and travelled over 3,700 kilometres for five days to reach Tripura from Chennai.

While speaking to Times of India, Chanchal Majumder, who stays in Udaipur said, "Both families had travelled to Chennai on March 20 for treatment and had planned to return in a week," He said that they were stuck in a hotel in the Southern Metropolis of Chennai after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 crisis.

Recalling the experience in Chennai, Majumder said, "Life became terrible as we were confined to one room and were suffering from shortage of amenities." He further said that till April 14 (the last day of 21-day lockdown) they could manage somehow but things started to get tougher since then and more so, he had to return home as his daughter's wedding is fixed to talke place on May 8.

Talking about how he managed to get transport amid the lockdown crisis, Majumder said that on April 15, they finally managed to hire an ambulance to get back home. On their way back home, the ambulance in which the two families were travelling was stopped at over hundred checkpoints but Majumder said that the police were kind enough to let them pass through after listening to their story.

"Food and water was not a problem. In many places, NGOs and and police officers offered us meals and water," Majumder stated. Upon reaching Tripura, both the families were sent in isolation for 14-days at a quarantine facility.

Tripura health officials said, "All five are doing good and none of them have shown any COVID-19 symptoms so far. However, just to be extra cautious, we have sent their samples for testing."

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: 30 days of lockdown has helped check virus spread, says govt

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 24 Apr 2020 04:47:51 GMT

The government said on Thursday that it has been able to "cut Coronavirus transmission", minimise its spread and increase the doubling time of COVID-19 cases in the country during the 30-day period of the nationwide lockdown. While asserting that the growth of Coronavirus cases in the country has been more or less linear and not exponential, it also said testing has been ramped up consistently. Addressing a daily press conference on the COVID-19 situation in the country, C K Mishra, chairman of Empowered Group Two, said, "One crucial weapon we employed during the 30-day lockdown period is RT-PCR test to ascertain if one has contracted the disease or not."

As on March 23, nearly 15,000 tests were done across the country and by April 22 more than 5 lakh tests were conducted, which is about "33 times in 30 days", he said, adding, "But we are conscious of the fact that this is not enough and we have to continuously ramp up testing in the country and we will do that." Of the empowered groups formed to suggest measures to ramp up healthcare, put the economy back on track and reduce misery of people once the lockdown is lifted, Mishra is the chairman of Empowered Group Two tasked with coordinating availability of hospitals, isolation and quarantine facilities, disease surveillance, testing and critical care training.

"The growth of COVID-19 cases has been more or less linear, not exponential; this indicates that the strategies we adopted have succeeded in containing the infection to a particular level. Post imposition of lockdown, while the number of new positive cases has increased by 16 times, testing increased by 24 times," Mishra said in his presentation.

Finance ministry puts DA, DR on hold

The finance ministry has decided to put on hold increment in dearness allowance (DA) for 50 lakh central government employees and 61 lakh pensioners till July 2021. "Additional installment of DA payable to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to pensioners due from January 1, 2020, shall not be paid," it said.

India fights the virus as lockdown continues

Cong blames Centre: The chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on Thursday hit out at the central government for not providing financial assistance to them, asking how the country would win the battle against COVID-19 in this time of crisis. The chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry demanded a financial package for the states to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pay cut rolled back: IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta told employees on Thursday that the airline has decided to roll back the pay cuts, which were announced earlier for senior staff members, for the month of April in deference to the “government’s wishes”. “However, your Excom (Executive Committee) members and SVPs (senior vice presidents) have volunteered to take pay cuts this month. For everyone else, you can expect your April salaries to be paid without the pay cuts,” Dutta told employees through an email.

K’taka relaxes lockdown: Partial relaxation in the extended lockdown has begun across Karnataka, excluding Coronavirus hotspots and containment areas, according to an official here on Thursday. “As notified, the 19-day extended lockdown has been partially relaxed to mitigate hardship to the people and revive the economic activity to sustain growth,” the official said.

Pool testing: Even though Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh has been declared Corona-free, the district administration is taking no chances regarding the deadly virus. The Bareilly health department has deployed a mobile medical unit in crowded localities of the city to collect “pool” samples for random COVID-19 testing of vegetable and fruit vendors, hawkers, chemists, etc.

‘Don’t hold iftars’: The Association of All Goa Muslim Jamaats on Thursday issued a pre-Ramzan advisory urging Muslims in the state not to organise community iftars and pray for frontline health workers, police and those involved in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exit strategy: The Congress Working Committee in its meeting, held virtually, on Thursday demanded that the remaining period of the lockdown should be used to prepare and publish a detailed exit strategy and a comprehensive road map for the future.

04
No. of cops in Bengal injured in clash with villagers

686
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

5L
Total no. of samples that have been tested till now

34
No. of Bhopal cops who have tested COVID-19 positive

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Hyderabad cop pays Rs 20,000 hospital bill of stranded man from Himachal

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 24 Apr 2020 05:55:44 GMT

Hyderabad: In a humanitarian gesture, a police officer in Hyderabad paid Rs 20,000 from his pocket for the emergency surgery of a man from Himachal Pradesh who got stranded here due to the lockdown.

B.L. Laxminarayan Reddy, inspector and Station House Officer of Kukatpally police station under Cyberabad police commissionerate, not only got Lalit Kumar admitted to a private hospital but also paid the hospital bill from his pocket.

Lalit Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh, was stranded due to the lockdown at Kukatpally here and was in need of medical surgery. He approached the police and the inspector came forward to get him admitted to Omni Hospital.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur appreciated the police officer's kind gesture.

Dattatraya, who hails from Hyderabad, spoke to Laxminarayan Reddy over the phone and lauded him for the immediate help he rendered to the man in distress. He said that the official's action is an inspiration to all.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister sent a letter to Laxminarayan Reddy. "This act was a great gesture on your part and I appreciate your exemplary effort. Your deed is an inspiration to all the persons involved in the fight against COVID-19," Thakur wrote.

"Your concern beyond humanity towards Mr Lalit who got stranded due to lockdown really deserves this appreciation. Admitting him at the hospital and supporting financially on your own, proves once again that police are there to reach every needy. Proud of you dear SHO, Kukatpally," tweeted Telangana Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy, who also posted Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's letter of appreciation for the police official.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Over 10,000 private buses not willing to ply in Kerala post-lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 24 Apr 2020 07:05:25 GMT

As and when the present lockdown norms are lifted, over 10,000 private bus owners have decided to inform the Kerala government, that they will not be operating their buses, as strict social distancing norms will leave them reeling in losses. The bus owners points out that even without any such norms, they are incurring heavy losses and with this new scenario, they will be unable to operate.

Hence they will request the Transport Department to keep the buses in the garage and under the G Form application, they will not have to pay the road taxes also, as the buses will not be operating. State Transport Minister A.K.Saseendran said that their concerns are genuine under the new circumstances.

"Since I alone am unable to take a decision, we will bring this before the Chief Minister and the cabinet. This situation would also be applicable to the state-run transport department also. Things are not that easy," said Saseendran.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Students distribute sanitary pads to needy

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 24 Apr 2020 09:28:06 GMT

Bhopal: With most establishments downing their shutters in light of the COVID-19 lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, many have lost access to essentials, including hygiene products.

However, a non-profit organisation run by students has come to the rescue of underprivileged women in the slums of Bhopal, by providing them sanitary napkins in these unprecedented times.

A city-based organisation called Manasa distributed at least 3,000 sanitary napkins in slum colonies across the city to help women who could not buy these monthly hygiene products
during the lockdown. "Our group, which primarily consists of students, raised money for poor women. We pooled in Rs 16,000 to buy sanitary napkins," founder of the organisation Janvi Tiwari said.

The 21-year-old got in touch with different agencies and NGOs that were involved in distributing essentials in ghettoes and got them to give away sanitary pads as well. "I realised that women living in slums would find it difficult to purchase sanitary products during the lockdown. I didn't want them to use unhygienic cloth strips that can cause
infections" said Tiwari, who is pursuing a degree in psychology.

With the lockdown in place, the supply of sanitary pads to the city has dwindled and they were trying to access more sanitary napkins for distribution, said Tiwari, who has been working on the issue of menstrual health for the last two years.

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


Full Article

do

Lockdown brain-teaser! How many tigers can you spot in the picture? Big B says 11 tigers

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 25 Apr 2020 05:36:03 GMT

An intriguing game of counting tigers in a picture has taken the social media by storm. A Twitter user posted a picture of a family of tigers with few other tigers hidden in the background, and asked netizens to spot the exact number of big cats. While few netizens guessed correctly, most were left scratching their heads with the intriguing brain-teaser.

Twitter user @isharmaneer posted the picture with the caption, "How Many Tigers You See In This Pic?" Spotting four tigers in the picture at first glace is relatively easy - two cubs and two adults. But on closer inspection, netizens realised that the big cats have been cleverly morphed in the background.

The puzzle, that has received over 6,700 likes and 783 retweets, has not just baffled a few celebrities too. Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan commented that he found 11 tigers while actors Dia Mirza, and Prachi Desai said that they were able to spot 16 tigers. 

According to the Daily Mail, there are 16 tigers in the picture, hiding in plain sight, users commenting on Neer's post claimed that they were able to find up to 20 tigers in the picture. Here are some responses:

How many tigers were you able to find?

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Viral photo of cops sleeping on ground, Twitter expresses gratitude

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 25 Apr 2020 05:50:35 GMT

Amid the Coronavirus lockdown, there are some people at work trying to make sure people at home stay safe from the pandemic. One of them is police officers, who are working tirelessly to ensure people stay at home and do not get infected by the deadly virus that has already infected millions across the globe and claimed scores of lives.

A photo of two cops catching a wink on the ground has gone viral online. The photo was posted by Twitter by Madhur Verma, the Deputy General of Police, Arunachal Pradesh who also lauded the efforts by the police department amid the nationwide lockdown imposed by the central government.

"Isn’t comfortable bed and an eight hour sleep such a luxury ? Yes it is... if you  are a cop !” said Verma, adding, “Proud of these #CoronaWarriors"

The photo posted on Friday garnered over 34,800 liks and was retweeted more than 6,400 times. Users commenting on the photo praised the police department for their efforts amid the lockdown and hailed them as ‘heroes’.

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


Full Article

do

Gautam Gambhir performs last rite of domestic help

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 25 Apr 2020 08:23:41 GMT

Cricketer-turned-BJP MP Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of his domestic help - a nanny who Gambhir called as "family", prompting Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan to thank him for his "compassion". The deceased, identified as Saraswati Patra was working with the Gambhirs for a few years now.

On Thursday, Gambhir tweeted: "Taking care of my little one can never be domestic help. She was family. Performing her last rites was my duty. Always believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. Only way to create a better society. That's my idea of India! Om Shanti."

Patra was with the Gambhir family for six years and breathed her last amid the nationwide lockdown. Patra was reportedly battling diabetes and blood pressure and was admitted at a private hospital in New Delhi.

Patra was from Jajpur district of Odisha. BJP minister from Odisha Pradhan tweet his gratitude towards Gambhir. He said: "Taking care of Saraswati throughout the course of her illness, he also ensured her dignity in death by performing her last rites himself since her mortal remains could not be sent to her family back home in Odisha. Thank Shri @GautamGambhir for this humanitarian gesture."

Pradhan added, as a fellow Odia, "His act of compassion will enliven the faith in humanity for millions of poor, who are working far from their homes for livelihood and will garner respect from all folds of society."

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Despite reprieve, salons, gyms, liquor shops to remain shut, says Home Ministry

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 25 Apr 2020 13:07:21 GMT

New Delhi: On Saturday, the Home Ministry clarified that only standalone shops are being allowed to open as per the directive and that the order does not apply to Covid-19 containment zones or liquor stores. Then in further clarification, the government said that salons, barbershops, and restaurants will continue to be closed as the relaxation was given to "shops selling items".

The Ministry has cleared the air after initial confusion due to Friday night's MHA order. The clarification says, "In urban areas, all standalone/neighbourhood shops & shops in residential complexes are allowed to open. Shops in markets/market complexes & shopping malls are not allowed to open."

Here are all shops that can open:

1. All shops in residential areas and markets in the neighbourhood will open those sell items.

2. All shops that are registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State or the Union Territory, including those shops in residential complexes and market complexes, outside the municipal corporations and municipalities, will be allowed to open.

3. In urban areas, non-essential goods and services will be allowed to operate provided they are in residential areas or are a standalone shop. This essentially means a sweet shop too can function.

4. However, those shops in registered markets but outside municipal corporations and municipalities can open only with 50 per cent staff.

5. Shops that fall under rural and semi-rural areas and markets that are registered can open. In cities, only standalone shops and residential shops can open.

Meanwhile, the ministry also clarified that sales by e-commerce companies will continue to be restricted to essential goods only.

So, what all that can't be open?

1. No shops have been allowed to open in multi-brand or single brand malls, it had said. So, one can forget about their plans for a mall visit.

2. No movie theaters are being allowed to open.

3. lquor shops too will remain closed and the MHA has made it a point to stress on that.

3. Gyms and swimming pools too will be off-limit as they are areas where social distancing goes for a toss.

4. Markets with a cluster of shops like that of south Delhi's Khan Market too will remain shut.

5. Since they don't sell items but offer services, salons too will remain closed.

However, much of the final decision rests with respective state governments and UT administrations. But where they do allow these new reprieves, however conditionally, it will surely be a welcome change for a locked-down populace.

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


Full Article

do

Maharashtra: Lockdown may be extended in COVID-19-hit urban areas

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 26 Apr 2020 06:34:10 GMT

The Maharashtra government may extend the lockdown in the coronavirus-hit urban areas of the state after May 3, an official said on Sunday. The state government is closely monitoring the situation in areas outside the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati, a senior state official said. "It is the cities where most of the COVID-19 cases are concentrated. If the state has to relax its current stringent lockdown measures, it would be in rural and least affected
areas of the state. However, we are looking at the scenario as rural and urban areas are connected," he said.

Despite minimum COVID-19 cases in rural areas of Pune district, the industries there have not resumed because most of their workforce live in cities, he said. We need to work out some plans for every city or district-wise to get things moving. The administration needs more time to come up with solutions, hence it is highly unlikely to lift the lockdown restrictions May 3 onwards in all parts of the state, the official said.

State Health Minister Rajesh Tope had on Saturday said the number of COVID-19 cases in the state is not coming down. "The state is yet to reach a stage where the number of coronavirus cases would stabilise. Till then, we cannot take the risk of allowing people to gather at public places in large numbers, Tope said.

The minister, however, said the state government would take a collective decision on what to do once the nationwide lockdown ends on May 3.

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

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


Full Article

do

Lockdown heroes! Netizens heap praises after photo of cops sleeping on the ground goes viral

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 26 Apr 2020 06:45:18 GMT

When the country is under total lockdown, a picture of two cops is doing the rounds on the internet for all the right reasons. The picture shared by Madhur Verma, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Arunachal Pradesh has gone viral and won the hearts of netizens.

The picture shows two cops sleeping on the road with their helmets and the lathis besides them. The policemen look exhausted after long duty hours and catching up on a well-deserved nap on the footpath when many of us have the luxury to sleep in a comfortable bed within the confines of our homes. 

Take a look at the post 

DIG  Madhur Verma shared the picture with his 1.18 lakh followers and captioned it: Isn't comfortable bed and an eight hour sleep such a luxury? Yes it is... if you are a cop! Proud of these #CoronaWarriors!

Many users appreciated the efforts of the cops and heaped praises on them.

The hard-hitting picture struck a chord with netizens and garnered over 54 thousand likes and over 8 thousand re-tweets. Twitterati took to the comments section of the post to shower praises on the police officers for their selfless service to the nation.

One user said, "God bless our corona warriors. Grateful for their selfless and much needed services," while another user said, "A big salute to true warriors. Let's always respect and support them." We can never pay back to these #CoronaWarriors No Words! 

India has been under lockdown since March 25 and the frontline workers, including the health workers and the police have risked their lives to serve the nation

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Viral video shows Tamil Nadu police teaching unique lesson to lockdown violators

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 26 Apr 2020 07:45:47 GMT

A unique initiative by Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur Police to teach lockdown offenders a lesson and create awareness about the spread of the novel coronavirus has taken the internet by storm. A viral video shared by a meme page on Facebook shows police officers in Tamil Nadu teaching people violating the lockdown guidelines a lesson for life.

In the three minute 50 seconds video clip, police officers of Tiruppur Police can be seen stopping people roaming freely without face mask amid lockdown across the country. In order to teach a lesson to those defying lockdown rules, the Tamil Nadu police came up with their own unique initiative which has been appreciated by netizens.

As the video moves forward, the police officers are seen pushing the lockdown violators into an ambulance which has a man posing as a COVID-19 patient. Once pushed inside, the violators can be seen begging the officers to let them comes out of the ambulance van.

The hilarious yet creative video ends with a police officer making an appeal to people to not roam without face masks. The officer says, "When you roam around, anyone can have the novel coronavirus and you may not know. The government and the police officials have been stressing on the importance of staying indoors. If at all you need to come out to buy essentials, please wear masks."

The funny video which aims to create awareness to combat the spread of COVID-19 has garnered over 2.3 million views and about 73 thousand shares. Hundreds of people took to the comments section of the viral video to laud the Tamil Nadu police and shower praise on their unique initiative.

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


Full Article

do

Google Doodle shares games, urges people to stay home

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 27 Apr 2020 06:20:24 GMT

After a series of creative doodles to thank the ones who are fighting Coronavirus from the forefront, like the healthcare workers, police, Google doodle is now urging people to stay at home to contain the spread of novel Coronavirus and spend the extra time by playing games.

Today's animation features a young kid dressed as one of the O's from the word Google. The kid is sitting on the computer and playing a game. The text on the doodle reads, "Stay and play at home with popular past Google Doodles: Coding (2017)."

Once you click on it, it takes you to a game that was originally shared by Google in 2017 to celebrate 50 years of kids coding. The game features a rabbit and various carrots which are placed around him need to be collected.

Covid- 19 has affected a total of 29,70,705 people and taken 2,06,514 lives globally till now. In India, the novel coronavirus positive cases have crossed the 27,000 mark and over 800 fatalities have been reported.


Full Article

do

COVID-19 Outbreak: Hike pay of intern doctors in UP, Priyanka Gandhi asks Yogi Aditynath

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Apr 2020 05:16:21 GMT

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Monday raised the issue of low salary paid to the intern doctors performing their duty amid the nationwide lockdown to combat coronavirus and demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should raise their pay.

"Intern MBBS doctors in UP are performing their duty in this crisis with all sincerity. Their lives are also in danger. And they get only Rs 250 per day. Chief Minister Yogi Aditynathji, their salary is very low. In my understanding, it is your duty to increase the salary of intern doctors at this time of crisis," Priyanka Gandhi, who is also the party in-charge for eastern Uttar Pradesh, said in a tweet.

Her remarks came after several intern doctors in the state raised the issue of getting Rs 250 per day. On Monday, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh rose to 1,955 with 31 people losing their lives due to the pandemic across the state. A total of 335 people have been cured in the state so far.

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


Full Article

do

Otters put up a brave fight to protect their baby from feral dogs in viral video

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Apr 2020 07:20:59 GMT

In an extra-ordinary sight from Madhya Pradesh, an otter was seen putting up a brave front and protecting her baby from a pack of feral dogs. The sight was captured at the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary that has been making rounds in the social media for quite some time now.

The viral video was shared by forest officer Ravindra Mani Tripathi on Twitter called the scene a ‘great fight’ and ‘rare viewing for humans and explained that it shows a ‘great interaction’ between dogs and otters.

The four dogs in the video are seen standing in the bank of the river and trying to attack a small otter in the water. Soon, two other otters came to the baby’s rescue and put up a fight with the canines.

In another video, that appears to be of the same incident sharing by forest officer Susanta Nanda on Twitter, the elder otter is seen taking the baby to a safe point and joining another otter into running out of the water and scare the dogs. The caption of the video reads, “Otters defending fiercely their baby from feral dogs.”

The two videos have collectively garnered more than 11,000 views on Twitter with over 300 likes and was retweeted by more than a hundred of users. The users commented on the video saying that they have never seen a sight such as this one.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus outbreak: Google shares ICC Champions Trophy doodle urging people to play games at home

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Apr 2020 11:32:45 GMT

After a series of doodle honouring coronavirus warriors, Google launched a new series since April 27 where they have been urging people to stay home and play games amid the COVID-19 crisis. Today, google shared an interactive doodle featuring the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

The doodel features the letter G where a person can be seen donning a Chef's hat as he uses a rolling pin in place of a bat while the letter E shows another person ready to bowl to the batsman like a bowler. When one hovers over the final doodle, it shows the message, "Stay and play at home with popular past Google Doodles: Cricket (2017).


The game provides you a virtual experience of playing cricket at a stadium

Once clicked on the animation, google takes the user to a game where one can play cricket on a pitch. The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy doodle was originally shared to celebrate the launch of the ICC Champions Trophy. the interactive feature gives you the surreal feeling of being in a stadium while playing the sport.

Explaining the motive behind launching the 10 game series to be played at hime, Google 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


Full Article

do

Kedarnath portals open today amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 03:41:52 GMT

The portals of Kedarnath Temple were thrown open at 6.10 am on Wednesday after a six-month-long winter break. Amid the nationwide lockdown, pilgrims are prohibited from visiting the shrine. Covered in a thick layer of snow, the temple was decorated with 10 quintals of marigold flowers.

The process of opening the doors of Kedar Dham began at 3 am. Shiva Shankar Linga, the chief priest of the shrine, carried out the tradition of opening the doors. The first ''pooja" was performed in the name of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said a statement. A representative of the Devasthanam Board, BD Singh, along with 20 employees from Panchagai, was present here when the religious rituals and aarti were performed. Apart from this, around 15 policemen and administration officials participated in the aarti. All participants maintained social distancing during the rituals.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has extended warm wishes to the devotees and administration of the shrine. He prayed for everyone's good health and happiness. "With the blessings of Baba Kedar, we will surely be able to defeat corona. This time devotees could not visit the shrine but Lord Kedar's blessings are with us," he said.

This year Army band did not participate in the religious ceremony at a time of opening the portals of the shrine due to lockdown restrictions.

With the opening of the doors of Kedarnath Dham, three of the four dhams of Uttarakhand will be opened. While Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham opened on April 26 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the portals of Badrinath Dham will open on May 15.

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


Full Article

do

COVID-19: 60 doctors dance to Pharrell Williams' 'Happy', win hearts

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 03:53:12 GMT

The Coronavirus outbreak has infected scores of people across the globe and claimed many lives. As people stare into uncertainty, many doctors, nurses and other healthcare staffs have been battling the pandemic on the frontline to ensure things go back to normal as soon as possible. Amid such a time, a video of doctors across the country dancing to Pharrell Williams’ hit song, Happy, has been made the internet smile with hope.

Posted by the Ministries of Memories on Instagram, the makers of the video said in the caption that they were trying to bring ‘some sunshine and raising awareness for mental health.’ The video has 60 doctors from cities such as Pune, Surat, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Prayagraj, Indore, Agra, Gurugram, Delhi, Kochi, Lucknow and Kolkata busting some gracious moves.

The wide-shared video has been conceptualised by Dr Pooja Nadkarni Singh, Dr Sheetal Sawankar and Dr Unnati Mamtora and they are calling the video, a ‘Song of Hope’.

 
 
 
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Puja & Rahul Kedia (@theministryofmemories) onApr 24, 2020 at 10:35pm PDT

Posted on Saturday, the video has garnered more than 36,102 views on Instagram and has received 2,646 likes. The users commenting on the video lauded the makers of the video for sending the message through such a peppy song.

A user said, "Take a bow, respected Medicos! You and your dedicated, lovely staff are performing divine Seva! May God help you always grow from strength to strength! Love you all! Thank you for stretching that bit more to make this amazing video and regaling our hearts!." Another user said, "Absolutely loved this....Thank you for bringing a smile in such anxious times." One user said, "Great job on spreading some smiles, kudos to the whole team."

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


Full Article

do

Home isolation guidelines: Do's and Don'ts to follow for COVID-19 patients

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 04:36:49 GMT

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, the health ministry on Tuesday, issued home quarantine guidelines for people who have very mild symptoms of COVID-19. According to the guidelines, those with mild syptoms can opt for home isolation but will have to be in constant communication with the District Surveillance Officer, and a hospital and will have to sign an undertaking.

The present guidelines were issued in addition to guidelines on appropriate management of suspect/confirmed cases of Covid-19 issued by the Health Ministry on April 7

As per the revised guidelines, patients who have mild symptoms or are pre-symptomatic can now opt for self-isolation at their homes but they need to follow the norms laid down by the Health Ministry. 

Who is eligibile for self isolation at home?

COVID-19 patients who have been clinically assigned as a very mild case or pre-symptomatic case by the treating medical officer are eligible for self-isolation at home.

What are the pre-requisites in order to self-isolate at home?

  • Patients who are eligible for self-isloation at home must have a requisite facility at their place of residence for self-isolation. More so, the patients must also ensure that there is enough space for other members of the family to quarantine at home.
  • The patient must have a caregiver who can look after the patient and provide care 24x7. 
  • Another prerequisite is that there should be a communication link between the caregiver of the patient and the hospital during the entire duration of home isolation.
  • The caregiver and all the close contacts of the COVID-19 patient should take Hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis as per the protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer.
  • The patient has monitor his or her health and regularly inform their health status to the District Surveillance Officer for further follow up by the surveillance teams.
  • Finally, the patient needs to fill an undertaking on self-isolation stating that they shall follow all home quarantine guidelines laid down by the Health Ministry.

When should a COVID-19 patient seek medical attention?

According to the revised guidelines issued by the Health Ministry, mild or pre-symptomatic patients shall seek immediate medical attention on the following grounds.

  • When they face difficulty in breathing
  • If they experience persistent pain/pressure in the chest
  • Feel mentally confused or inability to arouse
  • If they develop bluish discolorations of lips or face
  • And if advised by treating medical officers

When will home isolation end?

Home isolation for COVID-19 patients can only be discontinued when the symptoms are clinically resolved and the surveillance medical officer certifies the mild or pre-symptomatic patient to be free of infection after the necassary laboratory testing.

Do's and don'ts for self-isolation patients and caregivers

  • Caregivers must wear triple layered medical mask when in the same room with the COVID-19 patient.
  • Caregivers should avoid direct contact with body fluids of the patient, especially oral or respiratory secretions.
  • Caregivers must use disposable gloves while handling the patient. Hand hygiene should be undertaken done before and after removing gloves.
  • Caregivers should pay strict attention to hand hygiene before and after preparing food, before eating, after using the toilet, and whenever the hands look dirty.
  • Caregivers should avoid sharing cigarettes, eating from the same utensils, or exposing themselves to used towels or bed linen.
  • COVID-19 patient should wear triple layer medical mask at all times. The patient must discard the mask after eight hours of use or earlier if they have become wet or visibly soiled.
  • The patient must isolate themselves in a room and stay way from people.
  • Patient must stay away from the elderly who maybe suffering from co-morbid conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal disease.
  • During self-isolation, mild or pre-symptomatic patients must drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated and follow respiratory etiquette all the time.

With inputs from Agencies

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


Full Article

do

Delhi High Court Bar Association suggests plan for restoring operations after lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 04:52:54 GMT

The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) has suggested commencement of regular and normal working of courts in a phased manner with compliance of social distancing norms and wearing of masks after lifting of COVID-19 lockdown."We believe that physical court hearings, albeit in a phased manner, have to be commenced with meticulous and scrupulous compliance of social distancing norms, wearing of masks, maintaining the highest standards of sanitisation and hygiene etc," the DHCBA said in a statement.

The suggestions by the DHCBA in a letter to the committee headed by senior High Court judge Justice Hima Kohli include:

Courts have to be operational not only to extent of providing "urgent relief" but also to cater to other legal remedies which may be availed by common litigants. Scope of matters that may be listed includes injunctive reliefs, bail applications, suspension of sentence, objections to arbitration awards, execution petitions, writ petitions of all types, criminal appeals etc.

By notification by the court and judicial orders by Supreme Court, limitation periods have ceased to run during lockdown period, to avoid last minutes rush of filings when courts do reopen, ordinary e-filings/online filings of all matters be allowed, though they might not be heard till normalcy is restored. Petition boxes be used to acknowledge filings made therein.

Till normalcy is restored, litigants and interns shall not be permitted to access court/chamber blocks. Restriction may continue on advocates representing a party.

Lawyers, operating from their chambers and offices need access to chambers to prepare their cases, access their files, records, books and infrastructure. Client conference may be permitted after court hours.

Kiosks and shops inside court complexes may be kept closed. However, cafeterias and kitchens catering to chamber blocks may only be permitted to service lawyers by offering 'take away' options.

Only one entry point may be allowed per courtroom building. Entrants may be subjected to thermal temperature scanning. The option of making entrants pass through sanitisation tunnels may also be explored.

Public conveniences must be maintained with the highest level of sanitisation and for using these social distancing norms can be employed. An adequate number of sanitisers may be provided at various points throughout the court buildings.

Both District Legal Services Authority and Mediation Centres require the physical presence of litigants, the same may not be functional till normalcy is restored. As arbitration proceedings can go on without the presence of litigant, arbitration centre may be functional.

The Bar Association also assured the court of its utmost cooperation.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus lockdown: Family forced to carry asthma patient on handcart; declared dead on arrival

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 05:33:58 GMT

The family of an asthma patient put him on a handcart when the ambulance did not turn up, but failed to save his life with policemen on the way to hospital and doctors there allegedly ignoring his plight. Both police and medical authorities denied their alleged negligence which the family said led to the death Monday of vegetable vendor Satish Agrawal, who lived in curfew-bound Faithagadi in Kota's Rampura area. Agrawal was carried about half the way to MBS Hospital on the cart from which he sold vegetables, before a private ambulance arrived.

"As none of the ambulance services responded, I put my father on his vegetable cart and started for the hospital over two and a half kilometres away from home," he said. "Though policemen on the way removed barricades at various intersections on the curfew-bound road, none of them thought of helping us and rushing my father in a police vehicle to the hospital," Manish told PTI.

"After Manish had covered over a kilometre till Nayapura circle on the way to MBS Hospital, I somehow managed to hire a private ambulance," another relative said. "Even at the hospital, we were made to shuttle from one room to another and to a makeshift clinic outside the hospital building before doctors eventually attended on him and declared him dead at 2.30 pm," he said.

MBS Hospital's medical superintendent Dr Naveen Saxena, however, refuted the allegation. "Satish Agrawal was brought to the hospital in a collapsed condition and a doctor immediately examined him in room 125 and declared him brought dead," he said. "Sometime later, the family members of the victim, however, said the patient's heart was still beating, following which Dr Lokesh Suwalka re-examined him and conducted an ECG," Dr Saxena said.

"The medical staff did not delay in the treatment," he asserted. On the unavailability of an ambulance, he said the service is managed by the chief medical and health officer. The officer could not be contacted for comment. Kota's Assistant Superintendent of Police Dilip Saini too rejected the family's allegation about policemen ignoring the plight of the patient being carted to a hospital on a handcart.

"It is hypothetical to say that the policemen did not help. The policemen in the area did not have any vehicle or an ambulance, which could have been summoned only from a hospital or the ambulance service numbers 104 or 108," said Saini.

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


Full Article

do

COVID-19: 267 stranded people leave for London from Amritsar

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 05:51:04 GMT

 A Qatar Airways special flight carrying 267 people onboard departed for London from Amritsar Airport on Wednesday morning. "Amritsar International Airport. Qatar Airways departed today morning: ATQ-Doha-LHR; Pax details as below: British 222, Indian 44, Chinese 01. Total 267," KBS Sidhu, Special Chief Secretary, Punjab, tweeted.

A relief flight of the British Airways had operated chartered flights to carry out several round of evacuation last week for its people who have been stranded in India due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Special flights from Bengaluru via Ahmedabad to London, Goa to London, and Mumbai to London have also operated on several dates this month. 

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


Full Article

do

Maharashtra: Man assaults cop on lockdown duty, tries to set him afire

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 29 Apr 2020 08:10:35 GMT

A 35-year-old police constable on lockdown duty here in Maharashtra was injured after a man allegedly assaulted him and tried to set him ablaze, an official said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as Arun Sinh Jadhav, has been arrested, he said. The incident took place near Maloli village in Malshiraj tehsil of Solapur on Tuesday night when the constable was asking people to stay indoors, a duty officer at Velapur police station said.

"At that time, Jadhav came in his car and started abusing the policeman. The accused sought an explanation from the constable as to why he had gone to check his brother's hotel," the official said. Jadhav snatched the policeman's phone and threw it on the road. He then allegedly slashed the constable's left hand and face with a blade and started thrashing him, the official said. "The accused then took out a bottle of petrol from his car and allegedly poured it on the policeman. However, a
police patil (village-level official) and some others caught hold of Jadhav and stopped him from setting the constable on fire," the official said.

The constable, who is attached to Velapur police station, later lodged a police complaint in connection with the incident. The accused was subsequently arrested and booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), the official 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


Full Article

do

Lockdown tales: Mother sends son to buy groceries, he returns with a wife

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 30 Apr 2020 04:48:10 GMT

Tasked to ensure the enforcement of lockdown in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the district's Sahibabad Police were on Wednesday surprised when a mother came to the police station complaining that she had sent her son to buy groceries but he returned with his wife.

"I had sent my son to do the grocery shopping today, but when he returned, he came back with his wife. I am not ready to accept this marriage," said the teary-eyed mother. Speaking about the marriage, Guddu, 26-year-old groom, said: "I got married to Savita two months ago at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Haridwar."

"However, we could not get the marriage certificate at that time due to lack of witnesses. I had decided to visit Haridwar again for my marriage certificate but could not do so as the lockdown was imposed," he added. "After returning from Haridwar, Savita stayed at a rented accommodation in Delhi. However, today I decided to bring her to my mother's house as she was told to leave the rented accommodation due to lockdown," said Guddu.

Giving a solution to the family feud, the Sahibabad Police have asked Savita's house owner in Delhi to let the couple stay there during the lockdown period.

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


Full Article

do

Raghuram Rajan tells Rahul Gandhi: India needs to be cleverer in lifting lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 30 Apr 2020 07:39:46 GMT

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday said that unemployment numbers are really worrying and India needs to be "cleverer" about lifting the lockdown. Rajan's remarks came during his interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, via video conference, on the economic crisis due to ongoing lockdown which is scheduled to end on May 3. "The numbers are really worrying. If you look at CMIE, virtually another 100 million more people have been put out of work as a result of COVID. 50 million through unemployment and 60 million through leaving the labour force," he said while responding to Rahul's query that India has a high level of unemployment, that is now going to be massive.

"I think it says, we need to open up in a measured way but as fast as possible so that people start having jobs. We don't have the capacity to support people across the spectrum for too long. Being a relatively poor country, people start out with significantly lower reserves," he said. "But we have to be cleverer about opening up. Perhaps do mass testing. Take a mass sample, say 1000 samples and check in mass, if there is any sign of the virus in those mass samples. If you do find it, then go deeper into the sample and check who it might be. This way it would reduce the burden on our test infrastructure and can allow us to try and vet much more. We have to be cleverer since we simply cannot wait till we have that kind of testing," the economist said.

Rajan said that it is all too easy to cover a lockdown forever, but obviously that is unsustainable for the economy. On the opening of the economy, he said: "It has to be sequencing. First, places where you can maintain distancing. It is not just distancing in the workplaces, but also distancing to and fro, from the workplace."

"So, a lot of work needs to be done both on creating the structures, as well as ensuring that the workplace is relatively safe. As well as ensuring that if there are accidents, if there are fresh cases, how do we isolate quickly without having to go to a second or a third lockdown? Those will be devastating if we have to go there," he added.

When asked about finances of the agricultural sector and the workers, migrant workers, Rajan said that the government should to find ways of getting both money as well as food through PDS to as many of these people.

"This is where the efforts we have made in Direct benefits transfer (DBT) need to be realised at this point. All the ways we transfer to relatively poor people, we need to take a call on that. We have different ways of accessing - through widow pensions, MGNREGA Rolls. And we need to say that look these are people who don't have a job, who don't have a livelihood and for the next 3-4 months while the uncertainty is on, we are going to support them," he 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


Full Article

do

Lockdown Tales! Senior citizen gets emotional as police surprise him with birthday cake

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 30 Apr 2020 08:15:16 GMT

Amid the total lockdown across the country, a viral video of Haryana police is doing the rounds on the internet for all the right reasons. The video shared by IPS officer Pankaj Nain of the Haryana Cadre has gone viral and won the hearts of netizens.

The viral video shows Haryana's Panchkula police surprising a senior citizen on his birthday with a cake amid lockdown across the country. In the one-minute 46 second clip video, a policewoman can heard asking a senior citizen his name as he walks out of his house to answer the question. "My name is Karan Puri. I live alone and I'm a senior citizen,"says the man as he walks towards the front the gate of his house, where cops can be seen waiting for him with a surprise.

Watch the heartwarming video here:

As the video moves forward, the senior citizens can be seen shocked and surprised as the team of Panchkula police burst out singing 'Happy Birthday' for him. Moved by their sweet gesture, Mr Puri is seen crying his heart out as the cops present him a cake and make him wear a birthday cap.

Requesting the senior citizen to cut the cake, a police who can be heard consoling Mr Puri said, "Koi baat nahi sir, aapki family hain hum bhi (It's okay, sir, we are your family)." The heartwarming video can be seen ending with the senior citizen wearing a red hat and as he cuts take cake while the cops sing for him.

IPS officer Pankaj Nain shared the video with his 70 thousand followers and captioned it: Interactions with Police is always emotional - be it fear, anger, anxiety or gratitude. He further said that he has never seen such an overwhelming emotional burst. Officer Nain said that the Panchkula Police made the best birthday ever for this senior citizen who is staying all alone.

Since being shared on Twitter, the heartwarming video struck a chord with netizens and garnered over 5,000 views and nearly 1000 likes. Twitterati took to the comments section of the post to shower praises on the Haryana police officers surprising the senior citizen on his birthday amid the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

One user said, "Proud Moment," while another user said, "I am speechless! Pleading face. The look on that man is priceless when the policeman said "hum bhi aapke hi bachhe hai." "This made my dayFolded handsFolded handsFolded hands. A big salute for these policemen," read a third comment.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, India has been under lockdown since March 25 and the front-line workers, including the health workers, doctors, and the police are risking their lives to serve the nation.

Here's how netizens reacted to the viral 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


Full Article

do

Man climbs up pole to demand liquor in Bareily amid lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 1 May 2020 04:49:20 GMT

In a bizarre incident, a man climbed up a unipole advertising hoarding and threatened to commit suicide if he was not provided liquor. The high drama began late on Thursday evening and ended after an hour when police promised him a bottle of liquor.

Confirming the incident, Kotwali SHO Geetesh Kapil said: "We managed to get him down without any injury. We had only promised but did not give him liquor. The sale of liquor is banned in the state and we are strictly following the lockdown guidelines. We are trying to establish his identity so that his family can be informed."

The policemen offered food and soft 

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


Full Article

do

India's doubling rate of COVID-19 cases increases to 11 days from 3.4

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 1 May 2020 05:25:24 GMT

The current doubling rate for COVID-19 cases has improved to 11 days as against 3.4 days before the lockdown was imposed, while the case fatality has been recorded at 3.2 per cent, the health ministry said. Addressing a press briefing, health ministry Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases was found to be between 11-20 days in Delhi, UP, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Punjab.

Doubling rate between 20-40 days has been seen in Karnataka, Ladakh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Kerala, he added. In the last 24 hours, 1,718 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, taking the total number to 33,050 in India, he said.

Agarwal further said that the current case fatality rate is 3.2 per cent for COVID-19 in the country, with 65 per cent of it males and 35 per cent females.

No way to withdraw the lockdown: Tripura CM

Dilip Ghosh, Bengal BJP chief

'I was dumbstruck on hearing the CM say that she was not involved in the formation of the death audit committee. The CM says she even doesn't know who all are in the panel. Then who is running the govt? It must be a ghost. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a remark'

Biplab Kumar Deb, Tripura chief minister

'We do not find any way to withdraw the lockdown as it is the only viable means to break the chain of the Coronavirus outbreak. It seems we have to continue with the lockdown andwe have to withdraw some restrictions in a phased manner'

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus lockdown extended by two more weeks; MHA lists red, green and orange zones

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 1 May 2020 13:24:08 GMT

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4.

The current lockdown period is scheduled to end on May 3.

"After a comprehensive review and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains, the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, today, to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4, 2020," read the order of the Home Ministry.

The Central government also listed 319 districts of the country as green zones, 284 as orange and 130 as red zones. This classification, which will come in force for a week after May 3, is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts.

Maharashtra, which accounts for the highest number of cases and deaths, has 14 red zones which include Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune, Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Nagpur, Solapur, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Satara, Dhule, Akola, Jalgaon.

Uttar Pradesh has 19 red zones,  followed by Tamil Nadu with 12 red zones and 11 in Delhi. The national capital has no orange and green zones but only red zones.

In red zones and outside containment zones, certain activities including plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, taxis and cab aggregators, intra-district and inter-district plying of buses and barber shops, spas and salons will be prohibited in addition to those prohibited throughout India.

A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions, the order said.

This came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with chief ministers of several states last month where some of them suggested extension of lockdown.

Highlights of lockdown 3.0

  • MHA issues new guidelines to regulate activities during extended lockdown based on risk profiling of districts into red, orange, green zones.
  • Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road and schools, colleges to remain shut during extended lockdown
  • Educational, training, coaching institutions and hospitality services including hotels and restaurants to remain close during lockdown
  • Places of large gatherings such as cinema halls, malls, gyms and places of political, cultural gatherings to remain shut, says MHA
  • Movement for all non-essential activities will be prohibited between 7 pm and 7 am.
  • People living in COVID-19 containment zones must download 'Aarogya Setu' app 
  • Religious places and places of worship will remain shut during lockdown
  • In all COVID-19 zones, people above 65, those with comorbidities, pregnant women to stay at home, except for essential works
  • OPDs, medical clinics shall be permitted to operate in red, orange and green zones with social distancing norms during lockdown
  • In COVID-19 red zones and outside containment areas plying of cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, taxis, opening of salons prohibited
  • Sale of liquor, paan, tobacco to be allowed in green zones after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing; not over 5 persons at one time at shop
  • In COVID-19 red zones movement of individuals, vehicles allowed only for permitted activities during lockdown
  • Maximum of 2 persons, besides driver, in four wheelers, no pillion rider on two wheelers

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


Full Article

do

MHA extends lockdown for 2 weeks, lists 130 districts as Red Zone

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 2 May 2020 04:36:12 GMT

The government on Friday announced that a "limited" lockdown, including suspension of inter-state travel, air and train services, will continue to remain in force for another two weeks throughout the country from May 4 but some activities would be allowed after classifying areas into Red, Orange and Green zones. The government order, which announced extension of the lockdown invoking the Disaster Management Act, said a limited number of activities would remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone.

These prohibited activities include travel by air, rail, Metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training hospitality services, cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums and sports complexes. All social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut, the order said but added that movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by MHA.

The home ministry also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into new zones with Red signifying a hotspot.


A health worker cleans an area near Jhalar Math slum, in Kolkata on Friday. Pic/PTI

Divided into zones

The Union health ministry has listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone on the basis of incidence of cases of COVID-19, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback.

This classification of districts is to be followed by states and UTs till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations. The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action. Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones in the new classification.

Zone assessment erroneous: Bengal

West Bengal Principal Secretary (Health), Vivek Kumar has written to Union Health Secretary, Preeti Sudan, calling the Centre's assessment of 10 red zones in the state "erroneous". Kumar said in a letter that there are only four red zones — Kolkata, Howrah, North-24 Paraganas and Purba Medinipur. "With regard to the presentation made in the cabinet secretary's video conference with the states, 10 districts were shown in the red zone. This is an erroneous assessment," the letter said.

K'taka cases rise; WB asks clinics to open up

  • The COVID-19 total in Karnataka rose to 576 with the addition of 11 new cases, the health department said on Friday. "Eleven new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon... Till date, 576 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed," it said.
  • Wearing of facial mask in public and work spaces has been made compulsory in the city with violations to attract penalty of Rs 1,000 for first time as part of measures to fight COVID-19. Spitting, urinating and littering in public places have also been banned and such acts will be considered as public offence in the Karnataka capital.
  • With Haryana government sealing its borders with Delhi to contain COVID-19 spread, scores of people commuting to Gurugram were sent back on Friday by the state police, which only allowed passage of those associated with essential services.
  • The Tamil Nadu government on Friday said it has received over Rs 300 crore in cash and kind towards its battle against Coronavirus. Government employees, corporate entities, individuals, philanthropic organisations and others have contributed Rs 306.42 crore for this purpose to the CM's Public Relief Fund so far.
  • Two days after West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee appealed to all doctors across the state to resume private practices in their respective neighbourhoods, majority of private healthcare clinics remained closed owing to unavailability of community physicians on Friday.

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


Full Article

do

Guidelines list activities in Red Zones in nation-wide lockdown 3.0

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 2 May 2020 05:46:13 GMT

Cycle rickshaws, autos, taxi, cabs, barber shops and intra-district plying of vehicles and buses are restricted in Red Zones mentioned in the fresh lockdown 3.0 guidelines to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. However, the guidelines allowed the movement of individuals and vehicles, only for permitted activities with restrictions. Four-wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the vehicle driver; for two wheelers, pillion rider is not allowed, according to the guidelines issued with the announcement of extension of nationwide lockdown for another 14 days beginning on May 4.

The lockdown 3.0 will end on May 17. Industrial establishments in urban areas such as Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control; manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates; production units, which require continuous process, and supply chain; manufacturing of IT hardware have been allowed in the Red Zone.

Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing and manufacturing units of packaging material are permitted. All industrial and construction activities are permitted in rural areas. Construction activities in urban areas; only in situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside) and construction of renewable energy projects are permitted.

All malls, market complexes and markets shall remain closed in urban areas such as areas within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities. However, shops selling essential goods in markets and market complexes are permitted, all standalone (single) shops, neighbouring (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas without any distinction of essential and non-essential. All shops in rural areas, except in malls, are permitted to remain open without any distinction of essential and non-essential.

"Social distancing ('do gaj ki doori') will be maintained in all cases." E-commerce activities will be permitted only in respect of essential goods. Private offices can operate with upto 33 per cent strength as per requirement with the remaining persons working from home. All government offices shall function with officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above to the extent of 100 per cent strength.

The remaining staff will attend up to 33 per cent as per requirement. However, defence and security services, health and family welfare, police, prisons, Home Guards, civil defence, fire and emergency service, disaster management and related services, National Informatics Centre (NIC), customs, Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) and municipal services shall function without any restrictions. Delivery of public services shall be ensured and necessary staff will be deployed for such purpose, the guidelines said.

The fresh guidelines were issued after the Ministry announced extension of the lockdown for more 14 days till May 17, splitting the country in Red, Green and Orange Zones. The criteria for identification of districts as Red, Green and Orange Zones have been spelt out in detail in the letter dated April 30, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The Ministry made the announcement as the lockdown 2.0 was to end on May 3.

The government took the decision after a comprehensive review, and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown 3.0: Twitterati reacts with hilarious memes

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 2 May 2020 08:10:51 GMT

The central government issued an order further extending the lockdown for two weeks from May 4 due to the surge in Coronavirus cases in the country. In the press statement, the Union Home Minstry also profiled the red, orange and green zones in the country and issued fresh guidelines in terms of public transportation and other services available to the public during the period.

Ever since the announcement was made, people have taken to Twitter and have been expressing their emotions on the issue  with hilarious memes. With #Lockdown3 has been trending on Twitter, netizens are trying to have a comic-relief with their witty posts.

Here are some of the reactions that are sure to tickle your funny bone:

How are you spending your time under lockdown?

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Cops clap as train with stranded students leave Kota for Jharkhand

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 2 May 2020 09:46:26 GMT

The central government on May 1 started train services for students, migrant labourers, tourists and others stranded in different parts of the country to the home states. On Friday, a train carrying students who were stranded in Rajasthan’s Kota district left for Jharkhand amid applause from cops at the spot.

Many students were reportedly stranded in Kota, a town known for its educational institutions that coaches scores of pupils for competitive exams, ever since the national lockdown due to coronavirus was imposed.

In a video posted by the Prasar Bharati News Service on Twitter, policemen and other railway personnel were seen standing on the platform and clapping as the train with students was leaving from Kota railway station to Jharkhand, in what seems to be a gesture to wish them a safe journey. The caption for the post read, "1449 coaching students left for #Jharkhand in a special train last night from Kota, Rajasthan."

These special trains would ply without any stops, following health and safety protocols as per an order by the central government.

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


Full Article

do

Coronavirus Lockdown: Doctor, cops celebrate SHO's birthday

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 2 May 2020 10:50:55 GMT

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


Full Article