Kashmir.Watch

Category: National

  • Coronavirus | 162 new positive cases recorded in Maharashtra as tally is put at 1,297

    The bulk of the new cases were from Mumbai, where a further 143 persons tested positive

    PTI

    In all, 162 new COVID-19 cases were reported across Maharashtra, taking the cumulative tally to 1,297 positive cases on Thursday, the highest in the country, said health officials.

    Meanwhile, health authorities in Pune district confirmed that 12 deaths had been recorded on Wednesday, which takes the district’s death toll to 20 and the State’s to 82 despite the State health authorities including only two of these deaths in their medical bulletin issued on Wednesday.

    The bulk of the new cases were from Mumbai, where a further 143 persons tested positive, taking the tally of cases to 857. Pune registered four more cases, taking the district’s tally to 199, while three more cases were registered from Aurangabad district.

    One case each was reported from Thane, Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayander, as well Sindhudurg and Yavatmal districts.

    Akola district in Vidarbha registered its first case, while one new case was reported from Buldhana district.

    With Pune district registering nearly 40 new cases on Wednesday, the city’s Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Gultekdi will remain shut indefinitely till further notice from Friday onwards, said APMC administrator B.G. Deshmukh.

    Masks compulsory

    On Wednesday, Pune District Collector Naval Kishore had made the wearing of masks compulsory for citizens and government officials alike in Pune district as well.

    This is the highest single-day spike in the number of deaths recorded from Pune, which also reported as many as 38 new cases today. More than 170 of the total number of cases were from urban and rural Pune, and the remaining 21 being from Pimpri-Chinchwad.

    The district has recorded more than 120 new cases and 13 deaths over a five-day period prompting authorities to completely seal off the eastern part of the city which includes a wide swathe from the RTO to Gultekdi.

    In a bid to sternly enforce the stringent lockdown measures, hundreds of police personnel led by senior police authorities took out a ‘route march’ on Wednesday take to task any errant citizen moving about within the cordoned-off zones.

    Similarly, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, too, has decided to seal-off four areas in the township beginning Wednesday.

    Till date, a total 117 persons have been discharged while more than 4,400 persons had been placed in institutional quarantine facilities across the State.

    According to health officials, at least 25 persons among the 1,300-odd people who had attended the Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat conclave have tested positive so far.

  • Clerical error led to release of COVID-19 positive patient, says Health Department in Villupuram

    The 30-year-old patient from Delhi was sent from Villupuram Government Hospital to a private quarantine facility from where he went missing, after his test result was erroneously marked negative

    S. Prasad | PTI

    A day after the COVID-19 test results of a Delhi-based man came back positive after he was released from quarantine from the Villupuram Government Hospital, Health Department authorities in Villupuram claimed that a ‘clerical error’ had led to the incident.

    Highly placed sources in the Health Department, on condition of anonymity, said the patient, aged 30 years had come to Puducherry to attend an interview last month, after which he reached Villupuram. He was staying in a facility operated by the Villupuram Red Cross when he developed fever and was admitted to the Villupuram Government Hospital on April 6

    “The treatment protocol for COVID-19 testing was followed and the throat swabs of the patient along with test samples of others were sent to the Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital (VGMCH) at Mundiyambakkam here for testing the same day.

    “While the test results of three other patients were positive, the results of the Delhi man were pending and inconclusive. As per protocol, patients who test negative should be sent to a facility or home quarantine while the second round of confirmatory tests have to be taken for tests which are inconclusive or pending,” an official said.

    The staff at the VGMCH, while entering the results in the report, had made a clerical error and entered his test results as negative. This error contributed to the whole confusion following which the authorities in the GH decided to discharge the patient.

    The man was taken in a 108 ambulance to the facility quarantine operated by the Red Cross, from where he went missing.

    Health Department officials said that that a minimum of 15 to 20 samples were sent every day to VGMCH. “The Department has requested the staff in VGMCH to be more cautious to prevent such incidents,” an official said.

    Meanwhile, the Villupuram district police have constituted seven special teams and intensified surveillance across the district to trace the man.

  • Gurugram unit of U.S. based firm sacks several employees

    Company refuses to give reasons for move; staff of its Pune unit also laid off

    Ashok Kumar

    At least a hundred employees have been terminated by Fareportal, a New York-based global tech travel firm, in Gurugram amid the COVID-19 outbreak, without assigning any reason. The company laid off employees at its Pune firm as well.

    Many of those laid off had been working with the company for five to 10 years. Though there was no exact numbers, the sacked employees claimed that more than 800 people were laid off in total.

    The company’s Gurugram unit vice-president Vinay Kanchi disconnected the call when contacted by The Hindu to seek his reaction. He also did not respond to a text message also in this regard.

    ‘Illegal” termination
    The All India Central Council of Trade Unions has written to Haryana Chief Minister on the complaints received by them about the “illegal” termination of the employees in Fareportal.

    In its letter, the union said that it was a gross violation of all the laws, and dealt a heavy blow to the employees during the COVID-19 outbreak. Seeking necessary action, the letter further said that the governments had asked the employers to refrain from termination of employees and this act of the company further aggravated the chaotic situation.

    The union also wrote a similar letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister and the Minister of State (Independent Charge) Labour and Employment.

    Raju Prasad, a ticketing executive, working with the company for the past four years said that he and many of his colleagues received their termination letters through e-mail.

    Left in the lurch
    “In terms of the ‘termination’ clause of the Appointment Letter, company hereby, terminates your employment”, read the letter, without assigning any reason.

    He said that he was staying on rent in Delhi and had a family of three to support, including his ailing mother, and the sudden termination had left him in the lurch. “How will I pay rent for this month,” asked Mr. Prasad. He claimed that he was in contact with 134 colleagues, who had been sacked.

    “Many of those sacked had been working with the company for several years. A few of them were employed for more than 10 years,” said Mr. Prasad. He said that it was difficult for them to get a job in the current situation.

    He said the number of sacked employees in Gurugram alone could be around 500 and the same number of people were believed to have been sacked in Pune.

    Mr. Prasad said the management people did not respond to their repeated calls to ascertain the reason for sudden retrenchment.

  • Brazilian President invokes Ramayana while seeking hydroxychloroquine from India

    India has partially lifted a ban on export of hydroxychloroquine, cited by many as a viable therapeutic solution to fight coronavirus infection. India is supplying the drug to the US and several other countries hit by the pandemic.

    PTI

    In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking supply of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invoked ancient Indian epic Ramayana, mentioning the story of how Hanuman brought a holy medicine from the Himalayas to save the life of Lakshmana.

    India has partially lifted a ban on export of hydroxychloroquine, cited by many as a viable therapeutic solution to fight coronavirus infection. India is supplying the drug to the U.S. and several other countries hit by the pandemic.

    Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, has recorded close to 14,000 coronavirus cases and over 660 deaths due to the disease. Globally, the virus has killed over 75,000 people and infected more than 13 lakh.

    Besides the Ramayana, the Brazilian leader also referred to Jesus Christ, while exuding confidence that the two countries will overcome the global crisis by joining hands.

    “Just as Lord Hanuman brought the holy medicine from the Himalayas to save the life of Lord Rama’s brother Lakshmana, and Jesus healed those who were sick and restored the sight to Bartimeu, India and Brazil will overcome this global crisis by joining forces and sharing blessings for the sake of all peoples,” Bolsonaro said in the letter on Tuesday.

    According to the Ramayana, Hanuman brought ‘Sanjeevani Booti’ from the Himalayas to save Rama’s brother Lakshmana after he was injured in a battle in Lanka

    Mr. Bolsonaro said Brazil hopes that use of the hydroxychloroquine will help in treatment of the virus infected people in his country.

    “Like many other countries, Brazil places hope in the use of hydroxychloroquine as an effective means to treat patients who have contracted COVID-19,” the Brazilian leader wrote in the letter.

    On March 25, India banned export of hydroxychloroquine in the midst of views in some quarters that the drug could be used to fight COVID-19. India is the largest exporter of the drug. The ban was partially lifted on Tuesday.

    In the letter, Mr. Bolsonaro requested Mr. Modi to ensure that Brazil gets supply of the drug ordered prior to imposition of the ban on it.

    He mentioned that two Brazilian laboratories, EMS and Apsen, import inputs for the production of hydroxychloroquine in Brazil and the country’s internal supply of the drug depends on the production by the two firms, adding the imports have been mainly from India for more than 10 years

    “It is for this reason that we would like to stress, once again, the importance of the authorization for export of the cargos belonging to these two laboratories, which relate to orders placed prior to the imposition of restrictions,” he said.

    The Brazilian president said the two companies are closely following the results of studies regarding the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine to fight COVID-19 cases.

    “The companies need the inputs to manufacture the medicines not only for COVID-19 patients, but also for those suffering of chronic diseases that are normally treated with the same substance,” he said.

    The Brazilian leader also referred to the partnership between the two countries in the pharmaceutical sector, adding leading Brazilian pharmaceutical laboratories have a “solid and long” partnership with Indian laboratories.

    Mr. Bolsonaro also said he was convinced that joint efforts by India and Brazil will help both the countries in overcoming these “strenuous moments“.

    “Brazil and India enjoy a long and friendly relation of great importance to both nations, sharing many similarities and complementarities,” he said.

    “Without doubt we can refer to India and Brazil as leaders of their respective regions, always acting responsibly towards their neighbours. Our coming together is therefore fundamental to fight this pandemic,” he added.

    Mr. Modi and Mr. Bolsonaro had a telephonic conversation on Saturday during which they discussed ways of cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

  • SC issues notice to J&K Govt on plea seeking restoration of 4G internet

    Srinagar, Apr 09: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued a notice to Jammu and Kashmir government on a plea seeking restoration of 4G internet services in the Union Territory.

    According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), a three-judge bench of Justice N V Ramana, Justice R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai issued notice to J&K government’s standing counsel through e-mail. The notice is returnable within one week—(KNO)

  • Coronavirus | McDonald’s starts delivery services in Delhi NCR

    The move comes after the government’s notification, categorising food delivery as one of the essential services during the lockdown period.

    PTI

    Quick service restaurant chain McDonald’s India on April 8 said that it has re-started delivery services from eight restaurants in the Delhi-NCR. The move comes after the government’s notification, categorising food delivery as one of the essential services during the lockdown period.

    “Our missions are guided by the government’s directives, which include compliance with all local and state restrictions, wherever applicable,” the company said in a statement.

    The company has implemented “additional safety measures” to ensure hygiene and cleanliness, from increasing handwashing frequency to temperature monitoring to use of hand sanitisers and increased sanitation of surfaces with hospital-grade disinfectant, the company mentioned.

    Besides, social distancing measures have been implemented at these restaurants, it added.

    After the lockdown was declared by the government, CPRL, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in the northern and eastern regions had closed its operations at its 150 stores.

    India is presently going through an unprecedented complete lockdown of three weeks, ending on April 14, to prevent the spread of new coronavirus which causes life-threatening COVID-19 disease.

  • Coronavirus | 11 Indians die of coronavirus in U.S.

    All Indian citizens who have succumbed to the deadly infection in the U.S. are male, with ten of them from New York and New Jersey area. Four of the victims are said to be taxi drivers in New York City.

    At least 11 Indians have died of COVID-19 in the United States with another 16 testing positive for the infection which has claimed more than 14,000 lives and afflicted more than four lakh people in the US.

    All Indian citizens who have succumbed to the deadly infection in the U.S. are male, with ten of them from New York and New Jersey area. Four of the victims are said to be taxi drivers in New York City.

    New York City has emerged as the US epicentre for COVID-19 spurt, accounting for more than 6,000 deaths and over 1,38,000 cases of infections. New Jersey accounts for 1,500 fatalities and nearly 48,000 infections.

    One Indian national reportedly died in Florida because of coronavirus. Authorities are also ascertaining the nationality of some other Indian origin people in the States of California and Texas.

    All 16 Indians, including four females, who have tested positive for coronavirus are in self-quarantine. Coming from diverse background, eight of them are from New York, three from New Jersey and rest from other states like Texas and California. They hail from Indian states like Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

    Indian Embassy and consulates across the United States are working closely with local authorities and Indian-American organizations to provide necessary assistance to Indian nationals and students affected with COVID-19.

    Because of the strict travel restrictions and regulations to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, local city officials have been performing the last rites of the deceased and in many cases are not allowing even their immediate family members to attend their cremations, officials said.

    – PTI

  • To fight COVID-19, Sonia offers five suggestions to govt

    Scrap ₹20,000-cr. for Central Vista project, ban govt advertisements to media and put on hold all official foreign trips, she says.

    PTI

    In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, offering five suggestions to cut government expenditure, including scrapping the ₹20,000-crore for the Central Vista project, bannning government advertisements to media, and putting on hold all official foreign trips.

    “I am writing to convey our support for the decision taken by the Union Cabinet to reduce salaries of Members of Parliament by 30 per cent. Austerity measures which can be used to divert much needed funds to the fight against Covid-19 are the need of the hour. In this spirit, I am writing to offer five concrete suggestions,” Ms. Gandhi said.

    PM’s initiative

    She made it clear that the suggestions were in response to the Prime Minister asking for suggestions from the Congress during a telephonic conversation last Sunday.

    Ms. Gandhi said there should be a proportionate 30 per cent reduction in the expenditure budget (other than salaries, pensions and central sector schemes) for the Union government. “This 30 per cent (i.e. ₹2.5 lakh crore a year approximately) could then be allocated towards establishing an economic safety net for migrant workers, labourers, farmers, MSMEs and those in the unorganised sector.”

    • “First, impose a complete ban on media advertisements – television, print and online – by the Government and Public Sectors Undertakings [PSUs] for a period of two years. The only exceptions should be advisories for Covid-19 or for issues relating to public health,” she said. She noted that the Centre spent ₹1,250 crore annually on media advertisements.
    • “Secondly, suspend the ₹20,000 crore ‘Central Vista’ beautification and construction project forthwith. At a time like this, such an outlay seems self-indulgent to say the least. I am certain that Parliament can function comfortably within the existing historical buildings,”she stated. The money could be spent on “constructing new hospital infrastructure and diagnostics along with equipping our front line workers with Personal Protection Equipment [PPE] and better facilities.”
    • Ms. Gandhi said there should be a proportionate 30 per cent reduction in the expenditure budget (other than salaries, pensions and central sector schemes) for the Union government. “This 30 per cent (i.e. ₹2.5 lakh crore a year approximately) could then be allocated towards establishing an economic safety net for migrant workers, labourers, farmers, MSMEs and those in the unorganised sector.”
    • The Centre had spent ₹393 crore on foreign travel in the past five years. “All foreign visits, including that of the President, the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, State Ministers and bureaucrats must be put on hold in a similar fashion”. Exceptions could be made in case of special emergency or exigencies in national interest to be cleared by the Prime Minister.
    • Ms. Gandhi suggested that all money under the PM-CARES Fund moved to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to ensure “efficiency, transparency, accountability and audit in the manner in which these funds are allocated and spent. I understand that ₹3800 crore approximately are lying unutilised in the PMNRF [at the end of FY2019]. These funds, plus the amount in PM-CARES Fund, can be utilised to ensure an immediate food security net for those at the very margins of society,” she added.

  • Lockdown unlikely to be lifted on April 14: PM at all-party meet

    At the end of the three-and-a-half hour meeting, Narendra Modi said he would consult Chief Ministers before deciding the exit strategy.

    Agencies

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with parliamentary floor leaders of both Houses on April 8 said it didn’t seem possible that the countrywide lockdown can be lifted as per the original schedule of April 14, but added that he will consult the Chief Ministers before deciding the exit strategy.

    The meeting went on for nearly three-and-a-half hours. The Prime Minister heard everyone’s concerns and spoke about the ongoing lockdown. He said that as per the advice and information that he has been receiving it looks difficult to end the lockdown on April 14.

    Speaking to media, senior Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra said, “PM told us that it doesn’t seem likely to lift the lockdown for now. He didn’t give a deadline, but said that he will be consulting the Chief Ministers.”

    Mr. Misra said he flagged the urgent need to refinance the industries and ensure cash in the hands of labourers who find themselves out of job because of the lock down.

    “The rescue package that the government announced is extremely limited and will not help. Most countries have drawn up a package worth at least 10% of the GDP. In case of India by the same calculations it should have been 15-20 lakh crore. So far the government has only announced 2 lakh crores,” Mr Misra added. The industries, especially the MSME sector needs massive refinancing, he said.

    Data: The lockdown effect on jobs in India

    BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party too demanded that the lockdown should be lifted in a phased manner ensuring no inter-State transport. LJP president Chirag Paswan who attended the meeting said that the restriction should be far stricter in the urban areas. “The harvesting season has begun, so we told PM to ensure that the farmer is not inconvenienced during the lock down and harvesting can go on without any trouble,” Mr Paswan said.

    On behalf of the DMK, Lok Sabha floor leader T.R. Baalu attended the meeting. Minutes after the meeting, DMK president M.K.Stalin in a tweet said, “During today’s all party meeting with @PMOIndia, our floor leader TR Baalu stressed on the low testing numbers, inadequate PPEs, TN’s fund allocation, #MPLADS cut, and other issues. DMK and its cadre extend their full support to fight COVID-19.”

    The CPI(M) was represented by Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem, who among other things demanded that the union government should immediately release all pending dues to the state governments. Citing Kerala’s example he said that GST compensation arrears of nearly ₹3000 crore is pending. “Central assistance provided to the state of Kerala for COVID relief is ₹157 crore. It’s is only 1.4 per cent of the total ₹11,091 crores allocated nationally,” he said, seeking a hike in financial assistance to the State.

  • Covid-19: Govt asks Tiktok, Facebook to remove rogue content, keep details of uploaders for probe

    The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is learnt to have asked social media platforms like Tiktok, Helo and Facebook to remove rogue messages spreading misinformation and weakening government’s effort to fight against the coronavirus.

    Social media companies have also been asked to save details of uploaders of such malicious content which can be shared with law enforcement agencies when required.

    “MeitY has said that a large number of fake/false and misinformation based audio and video clips are being circulated on social media platforms especially TikTok, Helo and Facebook. It said that such false and misinformation based messages have the potential for creating panic and other online harms,” according to a source aware of the development.

    The ministry in separate communications asked social media companies to remove the content as it weakens the government effort to fight against coronavirus and the Supreme Court has also taken serious note of such content while hearing a matter on the subject on March 31, 2020.

    “The ministry has said that the rogue messages effectively weaken the all-out effort being made by the India government for containing the spread of coronavirus,” the source said.

    The communication from MeitY follows after a report submitted by open-source intelligence and fact-checking IT firm Voyager Infosec stated that several videos are being posted on social media platforms like Tiktok, Youtube and Twitter to influence Muslims in India against following safe practices to contain coronavirus infection.

    The firm found that videos have been shot at both foreign locations and in India and are being primarily posted on Chinese mobile video app Tiktok with fake information about coronavirus and religious instigations against health advisories.

    These videos are further shared on other platforms like Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook,” the report said.

    The report submitted to India Cyber Crime Coordination Centre claims to have analysed over 30,000 videos within a period of five days. It further said that most of these videos have been created with professional video editing softwares, and originally uploaded accounts are being deleted after circulating them on other social media platforms.

    “MeitY has asked social media platforms to work closely with each other so that messages, including audio and video messages, are identified and removed as soon as possible. It has asked social media companies to submit daily reports on measures taken by them,” the source said.

    The ministry has asked social media companies to ensure that the rogue messages do not go viral and at the same time also save information of all those people who create or upload such messages. The details of content uploaders can be shared with the law enforcement agencies as and when required, it added.

    When contacted, Tiktok spokesperson said, “We are actively working with the government to support them in their efforts to fight misinformation and proactively also working to elevate credible information related to covid-19 on our platform.”

    Email query sent to Facebook elicited no immediate reply.

    Earlier, industry body IAMAI, whose members include Google, Facebook, Tiktok etc, said any request to remove content needs to come via proper legal notice.

    With inputs from PTI