Amara Raja Batteries resumes Andhra operations post HC order

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Amara Raja Batteries resumes Andhra operations post HC order

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd has resumed operations at its plants at Nunegundlapalli and Karkambadi at Chittoor district with effect from May 8, after the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted an interim suspension of the orders passed by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB).

The High Court on May 6 ordered a stay of the pollution board’s April 30 directive to the company, telling it to close its plants with immediate effect.

In a statement on Sunday, the company said: “Continuing with its focus on the best-in-class systems and processes for environmental, safety and health practices, the company will continue to engage closely with the APPCB to resolve any potential issues.”

Amara Raja added that it is confident of meeting all its supply commitments and assured all its stakeholders that the temporary disruption caused during the last few days will not have any material impact on its operations or order book.

“We have taken proactive measures to ensure that all our obligations to supply products and services to our customers are met in a timely manner without causing any inconvenience, whatsoever. We are assessing the impact of the short-term disruption and gearing up to sufficiently cater to the demands of all our customers and business partners,” said a company spokesperson.

“We also take this opportunity to thank all our employees, customers, partners, vendors and all other stakeholders who reposed faith in us and we will continue to strive to meet all their expectations.”

Telangana CM discusses Covid measures with Harsh Vardhan

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Telangana CM discusses Covid measures with Harsh Vardhan

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday spoke to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and briefed him about the measures being taken by the state government to curb the pandemic.

According to a statement issued by the state government, Rao also offered suggestions to the Union Minister on certain measures to be taken to contain the Covid spread.

The CM also said that the fast spreaders of the virus should be identified and be administered the vaccine dose on priority.

He also told Vardhan that vaccine guidelines should be relaxed so that the cab drivers, autorickshaw drivers, conductors, boys supplying the LPG gas cylinders, and those workers who go to several places to do their daily jobs should be brought under a special category and be vaccinated.

The Centre should extend this facility to the states to help curtail the major spread of the virus.

The statement said that the Union Minister has responded positively to the CM’s suggestions and assured to discuss the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the state government’s statement, after the review meeting, Modi spoke to the Chief Minister over phone.

The Prime Minister said that Vardhan had briefed him about the suggestions made by the Telangana Chief Minister.

“Your suggestions are good and we will implement them. I thank you for the good suggestions,” the statement issued by the state government quoted the Prime Minister as telling Rao.

The CM has also urged the Prime Minister to supply more oxygen and Remdesivir injections to the state.

Modi positively responded to the CM’s request and also assured that immediate action would be taken on the requests, the statement said.

Karnataka to go under 14-day lockdown from May 10

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Karnataka to go under 14-day lockdown from May 10

With the state in the grip of the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Karnataka government on Friday decided to impose a 14-day statewide lockdown from May 10-24.

The main objective of the 14-day shutdown is to restrict public movement as much as possible in order to prevent the virus from spreading.

While there will be strict restrictions on public movement, shops dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and animal fodder will be operational from 6 am to 10 am.

“Takeaway will be allowed from standalone liquor shops and outlets from 6 am to 10 am. Sale of vegetables and fruits through push carts, milk booths and Hopcoms outlets will be allowed to open from 6 am to 6 pm,” the government notification said, adding that home delivery of essential items will be encouraged 24×7 so that people don’t venture out of their homes.

In order to enforce the Covid appropriate behaviours, the government has authorised the civic agencies like the Bengaluru civic body, and district and local authorities to impose a fine of Rs 250 in municipal corporation areas and Rs 100 in other areas for violation of Covid protocols, the notification stated.

For the enforcement of social distancing measures, the police are authorised to book the violators under various sections of law, the notification said.

Prior to issuance of this notification, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had said that this 14-day shutdown period is crucial to contain the spread of the virus.

“I will not tolerate anyone trying to break the rules this time. I know that the ongoing partial lockdown that has been in force since April 27 has not yielded the desired results. This time we have come out with harsher measures to bring public movement to a complete halt,” he said.

According to the notification, only the scheduled flights and trains will be allowed to operate during this period.

“Flight and train tickets shall serve as passes for movement of persons by personal vehicles, taxis, cab aggregators, and autorickshaws. Other than medical emergencies or travel through air or train, anyone found using any mode of transport will be punished,” the notification added.

The state has also decided to close schools, colleges and coaching institutions while allowing only online or distance learning activities.

Besides schools, all cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadia, playgrounds, swimming pools, parks, entertainment parks, clubs, theatres, bars, pubs and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will remain shut for 14 days starting May 10.

“All social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious and other gatherings will not be allowed during this period,” the notification said.

Stalin announces two-week lockdown starting May 10

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Stalin announces two-week lockdown starting May 10

A day after he and his council of Ministers were sworn in, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday announced total lockdown in Tamil Nadu between May 10-24 to prevent spread of coronavirus, while exempting essential services.

He also said with the impending two week lockdown from Monday onwards all shops and establishments are allowed to function from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

In a statement issued here Stalin said the two week lockdown is announced to intensify actions to prevent the spread of coronavirus and due to unavoidable reasons.

Stalin said the lockdown will kick in from 4 a.m. on May 8 to 4 a.m. on May 24.

According to Stalin liquor shops will also be closed.

The banned and permissible activities during the lockdown are:

-International flights are banned other than which are permitted by the Union Home Ministry.

-E-registion on https://eregister.tnega.org must for people coming to Tamil Nadu from other Indian states and overseas.

-Train and flight passengers will be allowed to move on production of tickets.

-Only standalone shops selling groceries, vegetables, meat and fish will be allowed to function till 12 noon without air conditioning.

-Other than above shops, all other shops are to be closed.

-Dunzo like delivery organisations can deliver vegetabls/provisions/grocery/meat/fish only till 12 noon.

-Big format stores (over 3,000 sq.ft) and shopping malls are to be closed.

-State owned liquor shops to be closed.

-Only takeaways permitted at hotels and restaurants and not dine-in. Hotels and lodges to serve food to their guests staying for commercial and medical purposes in their rooms. Otherwise hotels and lodges to remain closed.

-Tea shops to be closed at 12 noon.

-Ban on cultural/political/educational functions in indoor auditoriums and outdoors.

-Only 20 persons allowed at funerals.

-Not more than 50 persons allowed in weddings.

-Closure of barber shops, beauty parlours, spas, saloon.

-Closure of recreation clubs, movie theatres, liquor bars, auditoriums, meeting halls, amusement parks and other places where there will be large gatherings of people.

-Ban on retail sales of fruits and vegetables at Koyambedu Market in Chennai. Similarly ban on retail sales of fruits and vegetables in wholesale markets in other places in the state.

-State government departments other than Secretariat, Fire Service, Police, Revenue, Disaster Management, Medical, Prisons, Electricity, Water Supply, Treasury, Local Bodies, Social Welfare, Womens Welfare- will remain closed.

-These above restrictions are applicable for central government departments as well.

-Other than exempted industries all others, information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES) units will remain closed. Work-from-home is permitted.

-Closure of places of worship for the public, but daily poojas permitted by the temple staff.

-Ban on all tourists to Nilgris, Kodaikanal, Yercaud and other places.

-People are not allowed to go to the beach across the state.

-Parks, museums, archaeological sites closed to the public.

-Schools, Universities, Colleges and summer camps are banned.

-Sports training academies are to be closed.

-Intra-district and inter-district government/private bus, taxi, autorickshaw service banned except for those travelling to attend weddings, job interviews and to hospitals with proper proof.

-No permission to operate for food and grocery/provisions/vegetable delivery companies like Zomato, Swiggy.

-Essential services like the delivery of milk, newspaper, courier service, hospitals, medical diagnostic labs, ambulance and hearse services are allowed.

-Vehicles carrying goods, oil, agricultural produce, oxygen trucks are allowed.

-Shops selling cattle feed, pesticides and fertilisers are allowed to function between 6 a.m and 12 noon.

-On the days during total lockdown (Sundays) hotels, restaurants can be open between 6-10 a.m., 12 noon to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Food delivery companies like Swiggy and Zomato can function only during this period.

-Amma canteens will function as usual.

-Pavement shops selling vegetables and flowers can function till 12 noon.

-Ration shops to function between 8 a.m. and 12 noon.

-On going construction activities will be permitted.

-Organisations serving old/handicapped people can move around with identity proof.

-Media activities are permitted.

-Continuous process industries and industries manufacturing essential items are allowed to function.

-Banking, postal services, data centres maintenance are allowed.

-Warehouse operations to load and unload goods allowed.

-Petrol, diesel vending outlets can function.

-Banks, insurance companies, ATM transport services are allowed with 50 per cent employees.

Telangana to ensure speedy transportation of oxygen

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Telangana to ensure speedy transportation of oxygen

The Telangana government is taking special measures to ensure uninterrupted and speedy transportation of medical oxygen tankers.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Friday directed all the officials concerned to work with coordination. He asked Transport Department officials to form teams with experts in logistics to transport oxygen tankers in two routes onward and return from Angur, Odisha and Bellari, Karnataka in the shortest possible time.

He directed officials to discuss with railway officials to provide a Green Channel facility for the non-stop movement of the Oxygen Express to minimise travelling time to three days from six days.

He also asked officials to provide police escort along with mechanics and other experts team to handle any untoward incidents enroute. He suggested officials to modify the tankers where they can be easily lifted by cargo aircraft.

He wanted officials to form teams with drivers and mechanics to ply the tankers round the clock to designated points and pool up additional tankers from private contractors to add to the present 30 fleet of tankers which are transporting oxygen.

Earlier, the Chief Secretary visited the government-run Gandhi Hospital, the biggest Covid treatment facility.

He inspected the new ward which been made ready for Covid patients in the library building with 160 additional beds. It will be started shortly.

Somesh Kumar also visited the triage facility and interacted with the doctors and staff.

He also inspected the new oxygen generation plant which has been started Friday with 4 tonne per day capacity. This will be able to cater to around 400 patients.

The top bureaucrat inspected the works relating sanitation, street lighting, and oxygen pipeline taken up to provide better facilities to the patients.

Has Vijayan’s glorification upset CPI-M?

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Has Vijayan’s glorification upset CPI-M?

There’s a buzz going around that the CPI-M is a bit upset with the way Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is being glorified after he led the party to a historic win.

The assumption gained strength after their editorial in the latest edition of the People’s Democracy, which came out, on Friday.

“There is an effort by sections of the media and some political commentators to reduce this historic victory solely to the personality and role of Pinarayi Vijayan.

“According to them, it is the emergence of a ‘supreme leader’ or ‘strong man’ that was the main reason for the electoral success of the LDF. They claim that one man dominates the government and Party”.

It goes on to state that, “there is no doubt that Pinarayi Vijayan, as chief minister, set a new standard in providing political guidance to policy-making, always keeping the people’s interests in mind and displaying administrative ability in getting policies implemented.

“Nevertheless, the victory is the result of both individual and collective efforts.

“As far as the CPI(M) and the LDF are concerned, the incoming ministry will continue the tradition of collective work and individual responsibility,” reads the editorial.

Incidentally, none has a doubt that Vijayan has become the last word not just in the government, but also in the party and it surfaced when there was not a whimper of protest when the decision came not to field all those who have had two successive electoral wins and also dropped a few legislators who had only one term taking the total to 33 sitting legislators being dropped.

Now all eyes are on his choice of cabinet ministers from the party and the word is that, here again, it will be his call.

Incidentally, both the Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA leaders have been for a while been attacking Vijayan and describing him as an autocrat in the ‘mold of Stalin and Hitler’.

India records 4.14L new Covid cases, 3,915 deaths

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India records 4.14L new Covid cases, 3,915 deaths

 India has recorded 4,14,188 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours — the highest so far, along with 3,915 fatalities, taking the total number of cases in the country to 2,14,91,598, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.

It is the third time after May 1 that India has crossed the four lakh mark of active cases in last 24 hours. On Thursday, India recorded 4,12,262 cases.

It is the 15th straight day when India recorded more than three lakh cases while over 3,000 casualties have been reported for the last nine days.

India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,14,91,598 with 36,45,164 active cases and a total of 2,34,083 deaths, so far.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 3,31,507 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said that a total of 16,49,73,058 people have been vaccinated so far in the country, including 23,70,298, who were administered vaccines in the last 24 hours.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 29,86,01,699 samples have been tested up to Thursday (May 6) for Covid-19. Of these 18,26,490 samples were tested on Thursday.

Lockdown will lead to collapse of economy, says Telangana CM

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Lockdown will lead to collapse of economy, says Telangana CM

Making it clear again that lockdown will not be imposed in Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said such a move would bring life to a standstill and would lead to total collapse of the economy.

Chairing the first meeting following his recovery from Covid-19, he said that he took this decision after examining the situation in the states where the lockdown was imposed and where the positive cases have not come down as well as taking into account past experiences.

“There is no use imposing lockdown. Since Telangana is the most happening state in the country, 25 to 30 lakh workers from other states are working here. We have seen how their lives were adversely impacted by the lockdown we imposed during the first wave. If they are dislocated, they will not come back,” he said.

“Moreover, there is bumper yield of paddy in the state. Paddy is stocked in 6,144 procurement centres in the state and they are weighing it. Purchasing paddy is not a simple process. There are lakhs of people involved in the process. What will happen to the workers who came from other states and are working in the rice mills? What will happen to them if there is lockdown? If the workers go helter-skelter, how would one get them back,” he asked.

“At the same time, we cannot stop the supply of essential commodities, milk, vegetables, fruits, emergency medical services, deliveries, sanitation and other such emergency and essential services. We are also importing from other states, vaccines, medicines, injections etc… these will be affected if the lockdown is imposed. If the lockdown is imposed, the government will become responsible for creating a panic situation. Hence, the government is not ready to impose lockdown. However, we will identify the areas where the cases are more and declare them as micro level containment zones and take the required measures,” the CM said.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over phone and urged him to supply the required vaccines, oxygen and Remdesivir to the state.

He brought to the notice of the PM that the oxygen supplies allocated to the state from Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu and Bellary in Karnataka have not been supplied so far.

KCR said since Hyderabad became a medical hub, people from nearby states are also depending on it for their treatment. He told the PM that 50 per cent of Covid patients in Hyderabad are from other states and this had an adverse impact on the availability of oxygen, vaccines and injections like Remdesivir.

He said the current availability of oxygen is 440 tonnes per day and it should be increased to 500 tonnes. The availability of Remdesivir is only 4,900 units and it should be increased to 25,000. He said the Centre had so far gave only 50 lakh doses of vaccine and it should also be increased based on the needs of the state. The CM requested the PM to ensure the supply of 2 to 2.5 lakh doses of vaccine per day and it should be supplied immediately.

Later, Union Minister Piyush Goyal spoke to the CM and assured him that oxygen would be supplied from the eastern states, instead of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The CM spoke to the companies manufacturing Remdesivir and asked them to increase the supply. He said, as on date, 9,500 beds with oxygen are available in government hospitals and wanted 5,000 more to be added within a week all over the state.

He also instructed the Chief Secretary to make arrangements to airlift 12 cryogenic tankers from China at a cost of Rs 1 crore each for the better oxygen supply.

He said that 5,980 Covid outpatient centres are created all over the state in PHCs, Community hospitals and area hospitals and wanted people to utilise the services.

The CM wanted that a special officer should be appointed to monitor the measures to contain the virus spread in the state. He instructed that all those who took the first dose of the vaccine should be given the second dose on priority.

KCR directed medical and health officials to purchase 500 oxygen enrichers. He suggested that more number of enrichers should be added immediately and wanted setting up of system that generated oxygen in a short time.

The CM said that the reports suggested the intensity of the second wave of coronavirus would come down by May 15. He wanted people to take precautionary measures to curtail the virus and they asked them to exercise restraint by themselves.

He advised people not to move in crowds, more than 100 should not attend the marriage ceremonies, frequently use sanitisers, wear masks and maintain physical distance at all times. Such precautions would only prevent the virus spread, the CM said.

Mamata accuses BJP of instigating violence in Bengal

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Mamata accuses BJP of instigating violence in Bengal

Hours after Union minister and senior BJP leader V. Muraleedharan alleged that his convoy was attacked by Trinamool Congress supporters in West Midnapore district, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the saffron party of instigating violence in Bengal to put undue pressure on the state government on the issue of law and order.

Speaking at a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee said, “One minister is trying to provoke people. Some sporadic incidents happen after elections and that is natural, but the BJP-led Central government is trying to exaggerate the whole thing. They are instigating violence.”

Banerjee also said that the BJP leadership should control itself and accept the mandate of the people.

Announcing a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the people who died in post-poll violence in the state, the Chief Minister said, “Altogether 16 people have died. Half of them are from the BJP, one from the ISF, and the rest from our party. So people from all the parties have died and I am really sorry for them. But what the BJP is doing is not acceptable.”

Accusing the Centre of putting pressure on the state government, Banerjee said, “I took oath at 11 am on Wednesday and in the evening, they sent a strong letter and the next day they sent a Central team. Why are they in such a hurry? I don’t see this kind of prompt reaction when it comes to the supply of oxygen, vaccines, emergency medicines, or saline. They don’t send their teams then. They can’t accept their defeat.”

The Chief Minister also made it clear that controlling the Covid situation is her priority and she would work to keep the people of the state safe.

“I don’t have the time to fight with the BJP now. The elections are over. I want to make one thing clear that whoever comes to the state needs to get an RT PCR test done. I shall not allow anyone into the state without that,” Banerjee said.

“Even a Central minister or a businessman coming by a chartered flight will have to come with a fit medical certificate and I shall not allow anybody without that. If the person tests positive, he or she will have to stay in quarantine for 14 days at his own cost. I shall do everything for the poor people but not for those who have money,” she added.

When asked about people fleeing from Bengal and taking shelter in Assam, the Chief Minister said, “They are teaching the chief ministers to speak against me. When there was a problem in Assam, people came to Bengal. It happens in the bordering districts. I can see this more in Cooch Behar where the BJP has done well.”

Speaking on the Covid situation, Banerjee cautioned everybody to stay safe for the next 14 days.

“The state government has decided to develop oxygen plants in all the 105 state-run hospitals and it has already been prepared in Diamond Harbour and Cooch Behar. We have also asked the intern doctors and the post-graduate doctors to come forward and join our war against Covid. This will give an additional strength of 2,000 doctors,” she said.

Third wave of Covid inevitable, warns govt’s Scientific Advisor

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Third wave of Covid inevitable, warns govt’s Scientific Advisor

The third wave of Covid is inevitable given the amount of virus circulating in India, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, K. VijayRaghavan warned on Wednesday.

Addressing the Union Health Ministry press conference, he said: “Third phase is inevitable given the amount of virus circulating. But it is difficult to predict the timeline. We should prepare for the new (third) wave.”

He also said that regular monitoring of the Covid-19 vaccines is needed for upgradation to deal with the new strains.

The Scientific Advisor also pointed out that variants are transmitted the same as the original strain.

“It doesn’t have properties of new kinds of transmission. It infects humans in a manner that makes it more transmissible as it gains entry, makes more copies and goes on, same as original,” he said.

VijayRaghavan also emphasised that vaccines currently available are effective against existing variants. He said that scientists in India and across the globe are working to anticipate new variants and act against them rapidly by early warning and developing modified tools.

The Union Health Ministry, meanwhile, said that around 2.4 per cent day on day growth in Covid cases has been noticed in the country.

Joint Secretary, Health, Luv Aggarwal said: “12 states have more than one lakh active cases, seven states have 50,000 to one lakh active cases and 17 states have less than 50,000 active cases. Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have more 1.5 lakh active cases.”

Aggarwal stated that 24 states and UTs have reported more than 15 per cent Covid positivity rate while 10 states have more than 25 per cent positivity rate. Maharashtra has a reported positivity rate of 24 per cent.

Niti Aayog’s Member, Health, Dr V.K. Paul urged physicians to come forward and provide teleconsultations to people and families at home who are infected with Covid. Referring to the new strain, he said: “The response to the changing virus remains the same… we need to follow the covid appropriate behaviour such as mask, distancing, hygiene, no unnecessary meetings and staying at home.”

Telangana rules out lockdown, says situation under control

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Telangana rules out lockdown, says situation under control

The Telangana government on Wednesday ruled out imposing a lockdown in the state, saying the Covid situation in the state is under control.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar told reporters that a downward trend had started in the new cases and hoped that the situation would soon become normal.

He said the government was of the view that there was no need for imposing lockdown in the state now or in future.

He also said their observation was that lockdown was of not much help in controlling the situation.

The Chief Secretary said the government would consider and take a decision on the Telangana High Court’s suggestion to impose week-end lockdown or extend night curfew beyond May 8.

He claimed that the situation in Telangana was better compared to other states in the country.

“If you see the cases over last 10 days, the trend is clear. Things are under control and cases are on decline,” he said.

The Chief Secretary said that Telangana did not face big problem in the second wave as the state ramped up health infrastructure after the first wave.

In September last year, the state had 18,000 beds in government and private hospitals treating Covid. Today the number has gone up to 52,000 beds. He said the state had adequate number of testing kits and sufficient stocks of medicines.

He claimed that the state has also efficiently handled the situation with regard to supply of medical oxygen.

“So far we have been able to manage well. At every hospital, we are doing oxygen audit. We have formed teams to ensure there is no shortage. If we get more oxygen from the government of India, we will manage the situation without any problem,” he said.

The Chief Secretary said while the situation in the state was under control, there were some problems due to panic created through social media messages and also some people hoarding oxygen or medicines like Remdisivir out of panic.

He said the government was adopting a new strategy with focus on outreach to people. Teams have been formed in Greater Hyderabad and other districts for door-to-door survey and to distribute medicine kits to those having Covid symptoms.

Covid outpatient services have also been started in government hospitals, primary health centres and sub-centres.

“Our slogan is start treatment if you have symptoms. ICMR guidelines also say the same. The medicine kit has two packets. If the symptoms persist even after five days, take the medicines from another packet,” he said.

He said a call centre was already working in Greater Hyderabad to provide Covid related information. Similar call centres are being opened in all districts.

The Chief Secretary also denied that the government is suppressing information relating to Covid cases or deaths.

Journalists declared frontline warriors in Punjab

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Journalists declared frontline warriors in Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday announced that all accredited and yellow card journalists in the state will be included in the list of frontline warriors in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

All power corporation employees in the state have also been brought under the ambit of frontline workers.

These employees, along with the journalists, will now be eligible for all the benefits that the frontline workers are entitled to, including priority vaccination, the Chief Minister said at a high-level Covid review meeting.

Journalists have been taking grave risks in covering the pandemic from the ground and helping to spread awareness about the virus for the past more than a year, the Chief Minister said.

They need to be protected, he said, adding that though many states had raised the demand for their inclusion in the frontline workers category, the government of India has not responded so far.

The Punjab government, therefore, has decided to provide frontline protection to the journalists and also power corporation employees, who to are endangering their lives while maintaining critical power services in hospitals and other vital institutions.

Partial curfew in Andhra from Wednesday

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Partial curfew in Andhra from Wednesday

with Covid cases continuing to rise with each passing day, the Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to impose a partial curfew in the state with effect from Wednesday.

As per the restrictions which will be in force for a period of two weeks, shops and establishments will be allowed to operate between 6 a.m. and 12 noon.

Section 144 will be in force during these hours.

From 12 noon onwards, curfew will be in force, and only emergency services will be allowed to function.

On Monday, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Ministers, and officials met to review the prevailing situation and decide upon measures to tackle the pandemic situation in the state.

Health minister Alla Nani said: “The Chief Minister has instructed to impose curfew in specified hours. Along with covid control measures, he has directed us to increase bed capacities in hospitals.”

Andhra Pradesh has been reporting progressively higher Covid cases with every passing day. On Sunday, the number touched the all-time high of 23,920 cases.

Jagan credits party for record Tirupati LS bypoll win

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Jagan credits party for record Tirupati LS bypoll win

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed happiness over the party’s emphatic victory in the Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll, for which votes were counted on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, Reddy complimented YSRCP candidate M. Gurumoorthy and said, “After 23 months of governance, the people have wholeheartedly blessed our government in the Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll. The people who blessed us with a majority of 2.28 lakh votes in Tirupati during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections have given us a bigger majority of 2.71 lakh votes as they’re happy with the good deeds of this government.”

The YSRCP candidate polled 6,25,820 votes. In contrast, the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate garnered 3,54,253 votes while the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ratna Prabha polled 57,070 votes.

Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll was necessitated by the death of the YSRCP’s Balli Durgaprasad in September 2020. There were 28 candidates in the fray that saw a concerted battle between the ruling YSRCP, the opposition TDP and the BJP.

Voting for the bypoll had taken place on April 17 with overall voting percentage of 64 per cent.

TRS extends victory margin in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly bypoll

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TRS extends victory margin in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly bypoll

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which retained the Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly seat in the by-election, has increased its vote share and margin of victory compared to the 2018 polls.

The ruling party marginally increased its vote share to 47.05 per cent from 46.34 per cent. Its candidate Nomula Bhagat polled 89,804 votes to defeat his nearest rival K. Jana Reddy of the Congress by a margin of 18,872 votes.

The margin of victory for the TRS in 2018 was 7,771 votes. It was Bhagat’s father Nomula Narasimhaiah who was elected as the TRS candidate in the previous elections, defeating Jana Reddy, a veteran Congress leader and a former minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Narasimhaiah’s death in December last year caused the vacancy and the by-election was held on April 17.

Bhagat, who made electoral debut, defeated Jana Reddy by a higher margin. The Congress leader this time polled 70,932 votes. The party’s vote share came down to 37.16 from 42.04 per cent in the previous election.

As in the past in this constituency, it turned out to be a direct fight between the two parties. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finished a poor third as its candidate polled 7,676 votes (4.02 per cent), forfeiting his deposit.

There was not much improvement in the performance of the saffron party, which had polled 1.48 per cent votes in 2018.

Nagarjuna Sagar had witnessed 86.18 per cent polling in last month’s bypoll despite the Covid-19 surge. Out of 2.20 lakh voters, 1.89 lakh had cast their votes.

The ruling party’s strategy to field Bhagat proved successful, though the leadership was initially reluctant in view of the shock defeat at the hands of the BJP in Dubbak Assembly by-election in November last year.

The saffron party had wrested Dubbak from thee TRS though the ruling party had fielded widow of the deceased legislator S. Ramalinga Reddy to bank on the sympathy factor. However, the political analysts had attributed the defeat to overconfidence by TRS leadership.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had not campaigned in Dubbak. This time he addressed a couple of meetings and made a slew of promises to people of Nagarjuna Sagar.

The choice of Bhagat, a highly educated youth and practising High Court advocate, also seems to have helped the party. He was actively involved in his father’s campaign 2014 and 2018 elections and enjoyed considerable support among people.

Political observers say caste factor also played a key role in the by-election. Bhagat comes from Yadav community, which constitutes 40 per cent of over two lakh voters in the constituency.

The TRS was upbeat following its victory in the elections to two graduates’ constituencies of the Legislative Council in March. The ruling party retained one seat and wrested another from BJP.

The TRS also did not take any chances as it faced a strong rival in Jana Reddy, a seven-time MLA. He was earlier elected five times from Chalakurthy constituency, which became Nagarjuna Sagar in the delimitation exercise in 2009. He had won both in 2009 and 2014.

The defeat of the senior leader has dealt a big blow to the Congress’ efforts revive its fortunes in the state.

The party suffered a series of setbacks since the 2018 Assembly polls. It not only lost a dozen MLAs to the TRS but also suffered defeat in by-election to Huzurabad seat, which was vacated by state Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy following his election to Lok Sabha in 2019. The TRS captured the Congress stronghold.

The defeat in Dubbak, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and elections to rural and urban local bodies had thrown Congress into total disarray.

The humiliating defeat in Nagarjuna Sagar is also a big setback to the BJP, which was hoping to build on the victory in Dubbak and impressive performance in GHMC polls to project itself as the only viable alternative to the TRS.

The BJP fielded a tribal as the constituency has 40,000 Lambadi voters. Ravi Kumar Naik, a physician, had joined the saffron party in March. The party’s hopes were dashed as its candidate forfeited the deposit.

Centre releases Rs 8,873.6 cr fund to states to fight Covid

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Centre releases Rs 8,873.6 cr fund to states to fight Covid

The Finance Ministry has released an amount of Rs 8,873.6 crore in advance towards central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for FY22 to help states in their fight against Covid-19.

The advance release of 1st instalment of central share towards SDRF has been released as a special dispensation on the recommendations of the home ministry.

Normally, the first instalment of SDRF is released in the month of June as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

However, in relaxation of normal procedure, not only has the release of SDRF been advanced, the amount has also been released without waiting for the utilization certificate of the amount provided to the States in the last financial year.

Up to 50 per cent of the amount released i.e. Rs 4,436.8 crore can be used by the States for COVID-19 containment measures.

The funds from SDRF may be used by the States for various measures related to containment of COVID-19 including meeting the cost of oxygen generation and storage plants in hospitals, ventilators, air purifiers, strengthening ambulance services, COVID-19 hospitals, Covid Care Centres, consumables, thermal scanners, personal protective equipment, testing laboratories, testing kits, containment zones, etc.

Lockdown in Delhi extended by one week: Kejriwal

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Lockdown in Delhi extended by one week: Kejriwal

Amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced to extend the lockdown in the city for one more week.

Earlier on April 26, the Chief Minister had extended the week-long lockdown in the national capital till May 3.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said, “Lockdown in Delhi is being extended by one week.”

The national capital has been witnessing a massive surge in the number of Covid-19 cases since the past few weeks. As per the data received on Saturday morning, the city recorded over 27,000 new cases and 375 deaths in the past 24 hours – the 13th straight day when Delhi reported more than 20,000 cases a day.

Telangana logs 7,646 new Covid cases, 53 deaths in 24hr

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Telangana logs 7,646 new Covid cases, 53 deaths in 24hr

Telangana’s daily Covid-19 count of new cases and deaths saw a slight drop in the last 24 hour with 7,646 new cases being reported across the state while 53 deaths were also reported.

On Thursday, the state had reported 7,994 new cases while 58 deaths.

The drop in cases is apparently due to relatively low number of tests conducted. The authorities tested 77,091 samples during the 24-hour period that ended 8 p.m. Thursday. A total of 80,181 tests were conducted the previous day.

The fresh cases pushed the state’s cumulative tally to 4,35,606 while the death toll jumped to 2,261.

The case fatality rate remains 0.51 per cent against the national average of 1.1 per cent.

The number of active cases mounted to 77,727. A total of 5,926 people recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,55,618.

The recovery rate has slipped further to 81.63 per cent against the national average of 82 per cent.

During the last 24 hours, the health authorities tested 77,091 samples, taking the total number of tests to over 1.29 crore. Samples tested per million population improved to 3,46,745.

The daily count of cases in Greater Hyderabad dropped to 1,441 from a record high of 1,630 the previous day.

Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy district adjoining Hyderabad reported 631 and 484 cases respectively.

Out of 33 districts in the state, only six reported cases in double digits.

Sangareddy reported 401 cases, followed by 330 in Nizamabad, 289 in Siddipet, 285 in Nalgonda, 283 in Suryapet, 274 in Karimnagar, 243 in Mahaboobnagar, 230 in Jagtiyal and 212 in Khammam.

Cong performed poorly in Assembly polls at four states, say exit polls

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Cong performed poorly in Assembly polls at four states, say exit polls

Sonia Gandhi-led Congress performance in all the four states — West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam — where Assembly polls took place remained bad, according to exit polls.

In West Bengal, the C-Voter survey predicted 14 to 15 seats to Congress Aand Left combined where as Chanakya gave them eight seats. The Axis survey gave two seats to them and CNX gave between 11 to 21 seats. In 2016 Assembly elections in the state, Left + Congress had cornered 76 seats.

In Assam, C-Voter predicted 53-66 seats to Congress led UPA, Chanakya has between 47 to 65 seats. Axis and CNX in its survey gave 40 to 50 seats.

In Tamil Nadu, DMK and Congress alliance is forming government however Congress was only allocated 25 a total of 234 Assembly constituencies.

The C-Voter survey shows that DMK-led alliance is projected to secure 160 to 172 seats in the state. The incumbent AIADMK- led alliance is expected to be restricted to 58 to 70 seats in the state. While the Axis exit poll shows that DMK+ should get 175-195 seats and the AIDMK+ to contend with 38 to 54 seats.

Chanakya predicted 164 to 186 seats of DMK and Congress Aand 46-48 seats to AIDMK. The CNX predicted 160-170 seats to DMK and Congress and 58 to 68 seats AIDMK.

In Kerala, it’s a straight forward electoral battle between the incumbent Pinarayi Vijayan led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress Aled United Democratic Front (UDF).

According to the exit polls, the ruling LDF expected to retain the southern state of Kerala and thus buck the trend of defeating the incumbent every electoral cycle. Kerala went to the polls on April 6 to elect 140 legislators.

According to the C-Voter survey 71-77 seats to the LDF and the UDF to secure 62-68 seats. While the Axis survey shows 104-120 to LDF and 20-36 to UDF. The CNX predicted 72-80 seats to LDF and 58-64 seats UDF. Chankya survey shows 93-111 seats to LDF and 26-44 seats to UDF.

All the exit polls has predicted TMC’s Mamata Banerjee having a hurricane edge that could make her retain power for the third time in West Bengal.

While the BJP led-NDA to be key player in the state giving a robust challenge to the TMC. The DMK led by MK Stalin is all set to sweep Tamil Nadu.

The LDF is expected to retain power in Kerala breaking the cyclic nature of the state. The BJP is being tipped to retain power in Assam and also taking Puducherry from the Congress.

If the exit polls are to hold on the result day it will be a relief for the BJP with party doing exceptionally well in West Bengal, retaining power in Assam and winning Puducherry. While the Congress will have a lot to worry about as they could not win Assam and in Kerala, now the home state of Rahul Gandhi who is a Lok Sabha MP from the state, his party could not make a comeback.

Retd Kerala prof built houses for 200 underprivileged families

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Retd Kerala prof built houses for 200 underprivileged families

 Dr M S Sunil, a retired zoology professor from Catholic College, Pathanamthitta in Kerala, is known for her compassion in providing shelter to the deprived and underprivileged.

She developed the passion while working as the National Service Scheme (NSS) programme officer at her college. She came to know that a girl doing postgraduation from the same college, along with her grandmother, was living in a makeshift shanty without a proper door. Moved by the plight of the girl, the professor decided to construct a home for the student.

With the support of the students and fellow staff members, she constructed the home at a cost of Rs 1.17 lakh in 2005. Since then, there was no looking back for Sunil. The student, Asha, is now a higher secondary teacher in a government school and is still living in the home constructed by Sunil.

Since 2005, the professor has constructed 200 houses for the deprived and the underprivileged and her 200th house was handed over to two widows, Janaki and Rukmini, at Kavalam in Alappuzha district of Kerala. The land documents are in the name of Janaki (80) while Rukmini is her close relative. The house which was built at a cost of Rs 5 lakh was supported by the Chicago Malayalee Association (CMA).

Union Minister of State for External affairs V Muraleedharan handed over the house to Janaki and Rukmini on April 18, 2021.

Sunil said , “This is the 200th home handed over to a deserving family who were living in a dilapidated tent like accommodation. I really really happy and proud that I could wipe the tears from their eyes.”

President Ram Nath Kovind had conferred on her the Nari Shakti Puraskar for the year 2018 on Women’s Day for her exemplary contribution to the society.

Talking about the selection of beneficiaries, the professor said that the selection is based purely on due diligence on the need and not on the basis of caste, creed or religion.

Sunil has not rested on the laurels she had received from all sections of the society rather from providing homes to the underprivileged she is now also conducting blood donation camps and providing free food kits to 50 families every month.

The retired college professor has constructed 23 homes for those who had lost everything in the floods of 2018 and is now into construction of around eight homes with the 201st home being almost ready.

She said, “Initially, I had to use my own resources to provide homes to the needy but gradually people from all sections of the society started supporting my cause. I think people come forward once they find that you are genuine. I thank God as well as the good Samaritans who had supported me in the cause.”

Interestingly, Sunil has a male name which was a decision taken by her father, late M M Samuel, who was expecting a baby boy and had reserved this name for the child. However, despite the baby being a girl, her father decided to name her Sunil.

“It is an interesting name and people used to ask me all sorts of questions on this name being given to a woman, but I feel that my father’s decision has given me extra mileage in society on this,” Sunil said.

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