Category: National

Correspondent called for questioning

The Hindu

Describing a report headlined “Kin allowed to exhume bodies of militants in Baramulla” published by The Hindu on April 19 as “fake news,” the Jammu and Kashmir police have registered an FIR in the matter.

The Hindu’s correspondent in Srinagar, Peerzada Ashiq, was called for questioning by the Cyber Police in Srinagar on Sunday and then again on the same evening by the Anantnag police before being permitted to return home.

“The details quoted in the news item were factually incorrect and could cause fear or alarm in the minds of public. The news published without seeking confirmation from the district authorities,” a J&K police release said on Saturday. An FIR (No. 81/2020) was registered in relation to the news item at the Anantnag police station, the release added.

The Hindu’s report was based on a quote from the uncle of a slain militant, Ghulam Nabi Magray. However, contrary to what he conveyed to the reporter, no permission for exhumation of the bodies had been given. Apparently, the families had misconstrued grant of a movement/curfew pass as sanction for exhumation.

The report also said, “Yasin Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner, Shopian, was not available for his comment.” No rejoinder/clarification was received by the newspaper prior to the registration of the FIR either from the police or from the information department.

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s Twitter handle, used by her daughter Iltija, said, “A correspondent working for The Hindu was interrogated for hours on an article that didn’t fit into the narrative of the establishment. Any dissent/counter opinion has been outlawed & criminalised. Filing FIRs & invoking stringent laws meant for criminals is a blot on democracy.”

In a related development, the Kashmir Press Club condemned the booking of a freelance photojournalist, Masrat Zahra, under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Ms. Zahra was also interrogated by the police.

An “appeal” was also issued by the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar that any information, which has bearing on national security and can cause “social instability” be clarified/confirmed before publication.

With the new cases reported in Dharavi, the positive cases in Maharashtra has risen to 4666 with 232 deaths.

Mumbai alone has crossed the 3000 mark. The total number of COVID19 cases in the city is now 3032 and death toll is 139.

Additional 1,553 cases reported over 24 hours, raising the national total past 17,000, while at least 543 have died.

AP

India has recorded its biggest single-day spike in coronavirus cases as the government eased one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to allow some manufacturing and agricultural activity to resume.

An additional 1,553 cases were reported over 24 hours, raising the national total past 17,000 on Monday. At least 543 people have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, and epidemiologists forecast the peak may not be reached before June.

The nationwide lockdown imposed on March 24 halted all but essential services. Starting on Monday, limited industry and farming were allowed to resume where employers could meet social distancing and hygiene norms and migrant workers were allowed to travel within states to factories, farms and other work sites.

“In the event a group of migrants wish to return to their places of work within the state where they are presently located, they would be screened and those who are asymptomatic would be transported to their respective places of work,” India’s home ministry said in a letter to state governments.

However, government surveys in the central Indian state of Maharashtra, the worst-hit by the virus, have suggested the few companies eligible to restart operations can do so because they are required to transport and shelter workers as a virus-prevention measure.

While a partial lifting of a curfew permitted the restart of coal plants and oil refineries, animal feed and agro-industry and other labour-intensive manufacturing such as brick kilns, much of the country remained under lockdown.

India’s airspace was closed to commercial traffic, its passenger rail system, buses and metros were halted, e-commerce was restricted to food and other essentials, and schools, stadiums and houses of worship remained closed until May 3.

India is also continuing to ramp up testing, build up stocks of ventilators and personal protective equipment and prepare makeshift isolation wards and dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.

In Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and home to one of Asia’s largest slums, city authorities were planning to administer hydroxychloroquine to thousands of slum-dwellers over 14 days to gauge whether the drug helped to slow the spread of the disease in a place where social distancing norms are not possible to achieve.

It was unclear how many people would participate in the experiment, or when it would begin.

In a series of tweets, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said a directive was issued on Sunday to airlines, restraining them from doing open bookings since they did not heed to government’s advice in the matter

PTI

The restrictions on domestic and international flight operations will be lifted when the government is confident that spread of the novel coronavirus has been controlled, and poses no danger to Indians, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday, amidst reports of some airlines doing open bookings.

In a series of tweets, the Minister also said a directive was issued on Sunday to airlines, restraining them from doing open bookings since they did not heed to government’s advice in the matter.

“I want to once again say that flight restrictions that are in place as a result of India’s fight against COVID-19 will be lifted once we are confident that spread of the virus has been controlled and it poses no danger to our country and people,” he tweeted.

The Minister said, “since some airlines did not heed our advisory and opened bookings, and started collecting money from flyers, a directive was issued to them on 19th April restraining them from doing so. They were also informed that they will be given sufficient notice and time to commence bookings.”

While government-run Air India stopped the bookings after the government’s advisory, private carriers ignored it and continued taking bookings for travel after May 3, prompting the aviation regulator DGCA to issue a circular on Sunday.

“All airlines are hereby directed to refrain from booking tickets… Further, the airlines may note that they shall be given sufficient notice and time for restarting operations,” the circular said.

All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended for the lockdown period. However, cargo flights and special flights, permitted by the DGCA, can fly during the duration of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, several passengers have posted their complaints on social media against Indian airlines for not refunding booking amounts for flights cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown, and instead issuing credit vouchers for future travel.

On April 16, the Aviation Ministry said that passengers can ask airlines for full refunds if the bookings were done during the first phase of lockdown for travel up to May 3.

However, the government has not taken any decision so far on whether full refunds should be issued to passengers who booked their tickets before the lockdown began for travel during the March 25-May 3 period.

The first phase of the lockdown was from March 25 to April 14, and was later extended by 19 days till May 3.

PTI

BMC’s health committee member Amey Ghole has confirmed that 167 samples of media people were collected and of those 53 have tested positive.

They are in process of figuring out the logistics and may move the positive patients to hotels and guest houses.

Most are asymptomatic at present.

India Today

A private hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut had recently put out an advertisement in a Hindi newspaper, asking Muslims to visit the hospital only if they have got a Covid-19 test done and their results turned out negative.

The advertisement issued by Valentis Cancer Hospital asked Muslim patients and their attendants to produce their Covid-19 negative certificates and only then can they avail medical facilities at the hospital.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed an FIR against the owner of Valentis Hospital over the matter.

Further, the advertisement said that the hospital will send the sample of the patient and attendant for Covid-19 in case of an emergency and they will be charged Rs 4,500 for each test.

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.

PTI

The baby died at Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital attached to the Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College.

“The baby was brought to the hospital a few days ago. He tested positive for COVID-19. The child was admitted to SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) ward and died yesterday,” a doctor at the hospital said on the condition of anonymity.

The surveillance team has been informed for contact tracing, he said.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital has climbed to 1,893, according to the Delhi government.

As per the age profile of COVID-19 victims in Delhi shared by the health department, of the total 43 fatalities, 24 were above 60 years.

Nine were aged between 50-60 and 10 were aged below 50, officials said.

Meanwhile, at least two doctors and six nurses at the Lady Hardinge Medical College have tested positive for coronavirus, sources said.

They were all deployed at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.

The hospital has initiated a contact tracing to find out who all had come in contact with them in the last few days.

According to a doctor, a 10-month-old baby who was recently brought to the emergency department with respiratory problems had tested positive for COVID-19.

Now, the entire Paediatric ICU is being sanitised, the doctor said.

While ministry of Civil Aviation issues circular for all airlines to refrain from booking tickets.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus

PTI

Air India on Saturday announced it has opened bookings on select domestic and international routes from May 4 and June 1, respectively.

“In the light of the ongoing global health concerns, we have currently stopped accepting bookings on all domestic flights for travel till May 3, 2020, and on all international flights for travel till May 31, 2020,” a notification on Air India’s website said on Saturday.

“Bookings for select domestic flights for travel from May 4, 2020, and for international flights for travel from June 1, 2020 onwards are open,” it stated.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus. The first phase of the lockdown was from March 25 to April 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 extended the lockdown till May 3.

All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during this period.

On April 3, Air India had said it has stopped bookings, both domestic and international, till the end of the month.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clarified on Sunday that supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies will remain prohibited during the lockdown.

On April 15, the MHA had revised its earlier guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to allow the States to decide on the additional public activities to be allowed from April 20 in non-hotspot zones. It said the additional facilities will have to be based on strict compliance to the existing guidelines on lockdown measures