Author: LokMarg

Following Delhi High Court’s order, nurses of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) called off the strike on Tuesday night.

“We are accepting the decision of the Delhi High Court. We have been asked to appear in court on Wednesday. We will do so and based on the decision of the court, we will chalk our future course of action,” said a representative of the AIIMS nurses union.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the AIIMS nurses union to ensure that the employees including nurses who are on strike join duties immediately.

On Tuesday AIIMS moved Delhi HC seeking direction to the Nurses Union and any staff of AIIMS to desist from resorting to strike or in any manner disrupting the general functioning of the petitioner’s institute and hospital.

The bench of Justice Yashwant Varma on Tuesday directed Nurses Union to ensure that its workers including nursing officers immediately start working and issued notice to the nurses union. The court listed the matter for a detailed hearing on Wednesday morning while hearing a petition moved by the AIIMS administration against the ongoing strike by nurses.

In response to the suspension of the President of AIIMS Nurses Union, Harish Kajila, the nursing staff of the hospital on Tuesday went on an indefinite strike. The nurses union has demanded the immediate revocation of Kajla’s suspension.

In a letter addressed to the AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, the Union wrote, “In response to your unilateral decision to suspend Harish Kajila, president of AllMS Nurses Union, without even citing proper reasons, the union called an emergency executive meeting and took the decision to go on indefinite strike from 8 AM on April 26 demanding immediate revocation of suspension of Harish Kumar Kajla and stopping of all kinds of retaliative measures against union executives and Union members of main operation theatre (OT).”

“The union has always been receptive and open to expressing our genuine concerns and version throughout this issue. But unfortunately, we were neither called, nor contacted via any communication which forced us to go on an indefinite strike to safeguard the basic rights of our members. We would like to remind you that the undemocratic AllMS administration will be solely responsible for the consequences if any,” the letter read.

On April 23, AIIMS witnessed a dispute between the nursing officer Harish Kajila and the Resident Doctors Association. The nursing staff were protesting over the lack of manpower and late duty hours in the main operation theatre. (ANI)

After 1,000 years, a rare and unique astronomical event will take place during the last week of April when four planets including Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will align in a straight line in the eastern sky for around one hour before the sunrise, said Subhendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar.

Speaking to ANI, Subhendu Pattnaik said, “During the last week of April 2022, a rare and unique planet alignment will occur, which is popularly known as ‘planet parade” Although there is no scientific definition for ‘planet parade’, it is being widely used in astronomy to denote an event that takes place when planets of the solar system line up in a row in the same area of the sky.”

Pattnaik further explained the three most common types of ‘planet parade’. He said

when planets line up on one side of the Sun as seen up above the plane of our solar system is termed as the first kind of planet parade. The alignment of three planets on one side of the Sun is very common and can be seen for many days in a year.

Similarly, the alignment of four planets occurs once a year while that of five planets occurs once in every nineteen years. The alignment of all eight planets occurs once in about 170 years.

“Secondly, when some planets appear in a small sector of the sky at the same time regardless of their visibility conditions, from Earth’s point of view we term the event also as a planet parade. A planet parade of this type last happened on April 18, 2002 and July 2020 when all planets of the Solar system that are visible to the naked eye lined up in a row in the evening sky,” said Pattnaik.

He said the third type of planet parade is on rare occasions where there are favourable conditions for observation of all or some of the planets. These events are also referred to as planet parades. Three planets can be simultaneously observed in the same part of the sky several times a year.

“During the last week of April 2022, a rare and unique planet parade will take place when Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up in the eastern sky around one hour before sunrise. This will be a planet parade of the third kind as described above. The last such parade of these planets occurred in 947 AD around 1,000 years ago,” Pattnaik said.

“One hour before sunrise on April 26 and 27, the moon along with four planets will be visible within 30 degrees from the eastern horizon in a near-perfect straight line. If the conditions are right, one can see Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn in a line without the need for binoculars or telescopes. On April 30, the brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter – can be seen very close together. Venus will be 0.2 degrees south of Jupiter,” he added. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed his condolences over the death of 11 people due to electrocution during the chariot procession in Appar Swami Temple of Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur and also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin.

“Deeply pained by the mishap in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I hope that the injured recover soon,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
PM Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the Thanjavur mishap and Rs 50,000 for the injured persons.

“An amount of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the mishap in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The injured would be given Rs 50,000,” PMO further said in a tweet.

An FIR has also been registered and an investigation has started in connection with deaths due to electrocution during the chariot procession in Tamil Nadu today.

“A total of 11 people have died. Three people died on the spot and seven died in the hospital. 15 people are injured and have been taken to Thanjavur Medical College for treatment. FIR has been filed and an investigation into the matter has started,” said V. Balakrishnan Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range.

The police official said that the incident occurred after the temple car came in contact with a high voltage power line and went up in flames.

“Prima facie it suggests that some high tension wire came in contact with the temple car (of chariot festival) during the annual chariot festival in the Kallimedu village,” said Balakrishnan.

“The temple car was negotiating a turn and faced some obstacle before being reversed when it came in contact with the overhead line,” he added. (ANI)

An FIR has been registered and an investigation has started in connection with deaths due to electrocution during the chariot procession in Appar Swami temple of Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur on Wednesday.

“A total of 11 people have died. Three people died on the spot and seven died in the hospital. 15 people are injured and have been taken to Thanjavur Medical College for treatment. FIR has been filed and an investigation into the matter has started,” said V. Balakrishnan Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range.

The police official said that the incident occurred after the temple car came in contact with a high voltage power line and went up in flames.

“Prima facie it suggests that some high tension wire came in contact with the temple car (of chariot festival) during the annual chariot festival in the Kallimedu village,” said Balakrishnan.

“The temple car was negotiating a turn and faced some obstacle before being reversed when it came in contact with the overhead line,” he added.

More details are awaited. (ANI)

The price band for the much-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) of India’s largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has been set at Rs 902-Rs 949 per share.

A discount of Rs 45 has been set for retail and employees, while the bid lot size has been fixed for 15 shares per lot, sources told ANI.

According to the sources, LIC has decided to give a discount to policyholders of the company. “A discount of Rs 60 per share has been set for the policyholders of LIC.”

On April 23, 2022, the LIC board gave its nod to cut down the issue size to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent due to the market condition. A proposal to reduce the size of LIC’s IPO to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent proposed in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) was tabled and approved at a board meeting held on Saturday.

A total of 22.13 crore shares will be offered in this IPO. Out of the total shares, 10 per cent or 2.21 crore shares are reserved for the policyholders.

LIC’s IPO is to open on May 4 and close on May 9, sources told ANI.

Last month, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the initial public offering proposal of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

The company has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

It has time until May 12 to launch the IPO. If it is not done by May 12, the company would be required to file fresh papers with the market regulator.

The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the last financial year that ended March 31 but had to delay the sale after the Russia-Ukraine war triggered a market rout. (ANI)

A massive fire broke out at North Delhi’s Bhalswa landfill on Tuesday.

Over 10 fire tenders are at the spot to douse the flames. According to Delhi Fire Service officials, smoke was reported around 5 PM that later spread into a massive fire.

“We received a call at around 5.47 pm. Initially, there was only smoke but later due to wind fire erupted. 12 fire tenders are present at the spot. Our aim is to ensure that fire does not spread to residential areas,” said, CL Meena, Assistant Divisional Officer, Delhi Fire Service.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years.

Following the DCGI’s move, Paediatric Pulmonologist at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Dhiren Gupta welcomed the decision and urged parents not to hesitate to get their children vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Corbevax has been granted emergency use authorisation for the age group 5-12 years while Zydus Cadila’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for children more than 12 years of age.

“It is a good move to approve vaccines for kids. Our vaccine system has been elaborated and now we have vaccines for kids also. In the past one month, since the kids are going to school, they are getting infections. The vaccine doesn’t prevent the infection but definitely helps in confidence-building for the family. Secondly, Omicron is a milder variant but in future, it will help in other variants,” Dr Dhiren told ANI.

The Paediatric Pulmonologist clarified that these approved vaccines are safe as experts have reviewed the data several times. He said, “This vaccine is not like experimentation. This vaccine has been there for four months. Scientists have stated its efficacy and that is why it has been rolled out for 5-12 years. We want a safe vaccine for this age group. There is no doubt that we should vaccinate our kids.”

Commenting on the uptick in COVID cases, Dr Dhiren termed it a “mini-surge.”

Speaking about the symptoms witnessed in children, the doctor said, “In April, we witnessed high-grade fever, cold and cough as the main symptoms. Not a single patient got admitted. Many who got infections in January-February are getting reinfected so don’t get complacent. Prevention is going to be the cure. In the paediatric age group, other symptoms are loose motions, vomiting and nasal blockage.”

Dr Sameer Bhati, Public Health Expert, Member Vaccination Awareness Committee said, “During the surge in cases, this step of government will help in herd immunity. This will support reopening of schools and will be helpful for parents. People have confidence in Covaxin because it has been administered on children of 15-18 years and real-time data is also available. Corbevax is also efficacious and administered in the age group of 12-14 yrs old. Similarly, ZycovD was earlier approved for three doses, but now the DCGI has approved a two-dose regime that will improve the production. Overall the decision taken by the government will boost vaccination in India.”

Welcoming the vaccination for kids, Dr Nita Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor and HOD, Department of Paediatric Hematology-Oncology, Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida said, “The approval for COVAXIN for children of 6 to 12 year-old kids in India could not have come at a better time than this. For children, this is a boon as it ensures protection from the virus and helps them continue schooling as it should be. These vaccines have a good safety record and have been shown to have efficacy in clinical trials. It is also helpful for children with compromised immunity as it allows them to continue treatment for cancer, bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation, immunosuppression for many autoimmune diseases etc. without the fear of severe COVID.”

Covaxin is formulated uniquely such that the same dosage can be administered to adults and children alike. Covaxin is a ready-to-use liquid vaccine, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, with 12 months shelf life and a multi-dose vial policy.(ANI)

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is coordinating with the Bangladeshi officials to dismantle the network run by Pakistan’s ISI-backed syndicate and pumping fake currency into India via Bangladesh, local media reported.

India is actively working with Bangladesh to track and curb the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) network in the country.

Recent recoveries of fake notes in Bangladesh have exposed Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI of its involvement in running the network for pumping fake notes inside Indian borders. In addition to the ISI, some transnational criminal gangs are also involved in carrying out the smuggling, reported Bangladesh Live News.

In November 2021, Dhaka Police arrested two Bangladeshi nationals namely, Fatema Akter and Sheikh Md. Abu Talab for smuggling FICN and recovered a consignment worth 7.35 crores. Using its bases in Bangladesh, the network was smuggling fake currencies into India.

Another such incident came to light in February 2022 when Dhaka police seized some gunny bags filled with a large quantity of FICN and arrested some people suspected to have been involved in the racket.

Upon investigation, it was found that the arrested individuals were a part of a transnational FICN syndicate, being guided and handled by Pak ISI and operating in at least seven countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and UAE, reported Bangladesh Live News.

Investigation in the recent cases confirms the years old mode of operation: FICN is printed in Pakistan and then illicitly imported into India either directly through the border with Nepal and Bangladesh or through other routes linking Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Colombo.

ISI-backed FICN network received global attention in 2011. In 2011, the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of the US State Department confirmed the flow of counterfeit currency produced in Pakistan to India and that terrorist and criminal networks used this money to finance their activities in the country. (ANI)

Delhi has logged 1,204 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total active cases in the national capital to 4,508, the government’s health bulletin informed.

It is for the fifth continuous day that the national capital has reported over 1,000 cases. As per the Delhi health bulletin, the national capital has witnessed a dip in the COVID positivity rate, which has been reported to be at 4.64 per cent.

In the last 24 hours, one COVID death was also reported in Delhi. With a fatality rate of 1.39 per cent, the total tally of deaths caused in the national capital due to the virus now stands at 26,169.

As many as 863 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic in the city to 18,46,414.

A total of 25,963 COVID samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Under the vaccination drive in the city, 62,520 beneficiaries were jabbed with the COVID shot taking the cumulative vaccine doses administer so far to 3,32,45,663. (ANI)