Month: June 2020

India Sees Highest Covid-19 Spike Of 9,304 Cases In A Day

By LokMarg

India on Thursday witnessed a record single-day spike of 9,304 coronavirus cases taking the country’s tally to 2,16,919, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The ministry informed that 260 more deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2,16,919 including 1,06,737 active cases, 1,04,107 cured/discharged/migrated and 6,075 deaths.

Maharashtra has so far reported 74,860 cases, more than any other state in the country.

In Tamil Nadu, 25,872 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 23,645 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,39,485 samples were tested in the last 24 hours whereas 42,42,718 samples have been tested till date.

(ANI)

10-Yr Ban On 2,200 Foreign Tablighis From Visiting India

By LokMarg

The Government of India has ‘banned’ over 2,200 blacklisted foreign nationals for 10 years from travelling to India for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities, said the government sources on Thursday. It means that none of them would be allowed in any circumstances to travel to India as a visa will not be issued to them.

In April this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had blacklisted 960 foreigners for violating visa rules after they were found involved in Tablighi activities.

“Under the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the MHA has blacklisted 960 foreigners, present in India on tourist visas, for their involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities,” Home Ministry had said in April.

These foreigners were involved in Tablighi activities and went to Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz, which became the major source of spreading COVID-19.

The Home Ministry had earlier said that about 2,100 foreigners visited India for activities of the organisation since January 1 this year.

“While approximately 824 of them, as on March 21, were dispersed in different parts of the country, 216 of them were staying at Nizamuddin Markaz. Others might have left the country before the lockdown,” the MHA had said.A large number of Indian Tablighi Jamaat workers were also involved in the activities of the organisation in different parts of the country. Details of these 824 foreigners had been shared on March 21 with the state police forces for identifying them, getting them medically screened and quarantining them.The MHA had sent an advisory to all states in this regard on March 28 and March 29.

On March 28, the MHA issued a detailed advisory to Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all states, as well as CP Delhi, on this issue.The State DGPs were again advised by the Director of the Intelligence Bureau on March 29 to trace the movement of all such Tablighi workers in their areas, ascertain the people coming in their contacts and take steps for their medical screening. (ANI)

Migrant Crisis Will Haunt Modi Govt 2.0

By Anita Katyal

The first anniversary of second term of the Modi Government will be characterised forever with images of poor migrant workers left struggling as if refugees walking aimlessly in a war zone, even reminiscent of pictures from the Partition. There are comparisons with Trump as self-adulation now deflated by events gives way to venting false anger against the states trying to cope with the Centre’s poor handling of the Corona Pandemic.

The unending exodus of penniless migrant workers triggered by the corona lockdown has cast a long dark shadow over the Modi government as it completed one year of its second term in office on May 30. This should have been a grandstanding of glorious achievements attained against apparent great odds with self-congratulatory speeches. It has turned into a media exposure of its shortcomings.

Though Modi and his ministers marked the occasion by flooding major newspapers with lengthy columns detailing the government’s key decisions over the past year, they could not get away from recurring reports and images of lakhs of stranded migrant workers struggling and trekking thousands of kilometres with little or no food and money to reach the safety of their homes. Their little children in tow or being carried. It is an image of a country still in the underdeveloped stratus of economies. But India is the fifth largest economy in the world!

ALSO READ: Misery And Hope In Covid-19 Days

The Modi government has reason to be perturbed by these reports as they reflect poorly on its handling of this humanitarian crisis.  It is obvious that the Centre failed to anticipate the rush of migrants when the Prime Minister declared the first nationwide lockdown on March 24 at four hours’ notice. It was a failure of foresight. Worse, the Government remained in denial about the plight of the migrants for nearly two months after the lockdown was first imposed. 

Why four-hour notice? Not even the world’s most advanced countries would have had the courage to attempt such an ambitious clear out of the streets. In India, where millions sleep in the streets and hundreds of millions live in dire poverty living from day to day on available labour, away from family and home, this was a decision of astounding daring and unexplainable rationality.

For days those who had grown to gain some confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic suddenly wondered where is the planning, when they saw pictures of poor straddling to nowhere land. Surely the Modi Sarkar must have commandeered the great network of national and public transport at no costs barred to take migrants to safer places with safe physical distancing. Nothing.

This transpired to be another notebandhi type decision without any planning, without any infrastructure in place and with little regard to the poorest. They suffered the most then and they suffered most in this apparent show of strongman Modi. But the strong are not meant to hurt the weakest.

VIDEO: ‘No Money, No Food, No Work’

With the government’s image now taking a severe beating, a defensive BJP has played the Trump card and countered charges against it by turning the spotlight on the poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic in opposition-ruled states. The saffron party is at pains to point out that it was actually the state governments that had failed to pass on the money and other benefits announced by “Modiji” to the rightful beneficiaries. So many echoes of America where Trump has blamed the states for the hundred thousand deaths. Trump can also blame China, but Modi cannot blame Pakistan this time.

At the same time, it is running a campaign to publicise the Modi government’ efforts to shore up the economy and focus on the specific relief measures initiated by it to provide succour to migrants, farmers and daily wagers.     

As part of this plan, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a series of press conferences to unveil the details of the Rs.20 lakh crore economic package which had been announced earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation. 

This was followed by a string of interviews by Sitharaman to media houses in which she explained the benefits of the stimulus package and responded to critics about its shortcomings. 

Though the government’s package could have been announced at a single press conference, Sitharaman instead chose to phase it out over five days, a PR exercise in itself.

It is obvious as anything. The Prime Minister’s first announcement about the package and the finance minister’s follow-up explanatory media briefings were essentially an exercise in “headline management”, an attempt by the government to divert attention from the heart-breaking media reports about the migrant workers.  

And yet the migrant story refused to go away. 

The Modi government’s initial assessment that the situation would soon settle down came to a naught as there has been no stopping of this exodus and no end to the misery of those forced to make their way home on their own.

Television news channels, newspapers and even international media have been replete with reports about the plight of stranded migrant workers. And how they are cycling, walking on highways, tramping through fields and hitching rides in trucks and tempos in their desperation to get home. Many dying as well from accidents, exhaustion and illness. More than hundred migrants have lost their lives in accidents while undertaking this perilous journey.  

Managing the fall-out of the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the underbelly of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Over the six years it has been in power, the saffron party has finessed the art of messaging and acquired an expertise in setting the political agenda. Events have taken over now. Neither twitter nor an adulating press can hide the scars of a badly planned response to the pandemic. Ordering shutdown was much easier than planning for one.

ALSO READ: Gujarat Model Blown Away By Virus

But the corona crisis proved to be a rare occasion when the BJP and the Modi government’s strenuous efforts failed to change the narrative in its favour. Realising that the government’s image was continuing to suffer, the Modi government decided to operate Shramik special trains to transport migrant workers to their villages. 

Coming nearly two months after the first lockdown was declared, the operation of special trains is a proverbial case of too little, too late. The inept handling of the travel arrangements only added to the government’s woes. Its decision to bill the migrant workers for their fare home provided fresh ammunition to the government’s critics to mount a fresh attack against it.

As if it did not have enough on its plate, the ensuing war of words between the BJP and opposition made matters worse for the Modi government. Cooperative federalism was forgotten and politics was soon at play in the middle of the greatest threat in modern times.

Unable to cope with the rush of travellers on the special trains, Railway minister Piyush Goyal attempted to turn the tables and blame the chief ministers of opposition-ruled states for not giving their consent to receive the Shramik special trains. 

West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee was the main target here as the BJP is expanding its footprint in this Eastern state and with assembly elections due next year, the saffron party did not want to pass over this opportunity to show her in poor light. It had earlier buttonholed the Mamata Banerjee government for not following the COVID-19 guidelines and has periodically fielded West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar to needle the chief minister. 

And then there was the unedifying spectacle of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath engaging in a war of words with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over ferrying migrants from UP to their native villages. The Congress leader wrote to the chief minister, seeking his permission to transport them in the 1,000 buses which had been especially commandeered by the party. 

The Yogi government first said no, then yes and then demanded necessary documentation of the vehicles. This back-and-forth continued for some time and finally ended with the Congress sending back the buses parked for the stranded migrants at the state borders, accusing the Yogi government of indulging in petty politicking.

There is no denying that the migrant crisis has tarred the Modi government’s image. And yet there is little doubt that it will eventually emerge unscathed from this mess thanks to a lacklustre and divided opposition. Unless the opposition comes from a coalition of state parties.

But, for the moment, the government is merely in damage control mode.

Troops Kill Top Jaish Militant Who Masterminded Pulwama

By LokMarg

Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces on Wednesday morning in Kangan area of Pulwama district.

Vijay Kumar, Inspector General Police of Kashmir Range said that the encounter is the second biggest success for security forces this year after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, who was recently eliminated in Kashmir’s Beighpora area of Awantipora.

Kumar said that one of three terrorists include a terrorist from Pakistan Abdul Rehman Ilyas who was active in Pulwama and South Kashmir since 2017.

Speaking further on Ilyas, the senior police officer also said that he made the improvised explosive device (IED) which was recovered from car in Pulwama on May 28.

“On May 28, a big incident was averted… Three terrorists were killed in an encounter today. They all were affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). One of them is Abdul Rehman Ilyas Fauji baba who was an active terrorist from Pakistan’s Multan. He participated in the Afghanistan war. He was active in Pulwama and South Kashmir since 2017. He participated in several incidents. He is an IED expert. He made the IED which was recovered on May 28,” he told reporters here.

“It is the second biggest success for Army, CRPF and police after Riyaz Naikoo who was neutralised. The other two terrorists have not been identified yet,” Kumar said.

(ANI)

Mumbai Escapes Nisarga Fury As Cyclone Shifts Course

By LokMarg

The dreaded cyclone Nisarga changed course to southwest and made its landfall on Alibaugh even as metropolitan city of Mumbai and adjoining Thane remained prepared and on edge on Wednesday.

The city witnessed strong winds but escaped the cyclonic fury for which the thousands of NDRF personnel and BMC workers had prepared for the worst.

The cyclone intensified into a severe storm in the early hours of Wednesday as expected by Indian Meterological Department, which had issued warning for coastal areas of Maharashtra, and Daman and Diu.

The flight services were resumed from 6:00 pm at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Earlier in the day, all flights scheduled to operate between 2.30 pm and 7.00 pm on Wednesday at the CSMIA were suspended after a FedEx aircraft overshot the runway.In the wake of Cyclone Nisarga, the CSMIA had cancelled most of the flights.

The cyclone made landfall near Alibaug in Maharashtra and is expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm in the next six hours, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Several evacuation operations are being conducted across the state by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with the help of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), armed forces and the state police.

Cyclone Nisarga has impacted many daily activities and transportation in Maharashtra.The state government has issued an advisory with a list of do’s and don’ts to stay safe.
(ANI)

J&K Govt Revokes Public Safety Act Against Faesal

By LokMarg

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has revoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against former civil servant and chief of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) Shah Faesal, sources told ANI on Wednesday.

Besides Faesal, the Union Territory administration has also revoked PSA against two PDP leaders — Sartaj Madni and Peer Mansoor, said sources.

In February this year, Faesal was booked under the PSA that allows detention without trial for up to three months and multiple extensions.

Faesal was detained on August 14 last year, a week after the scrapping of special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last year, Centre announced the abrogation of Article 370 revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcating it into two Union Territories. (ANI)

India Crosses 2 Lakh Mark In Covid-19 Cases

By LokMarg

India registered its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with 8,909 more cases reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases reported in the country to 2,07,615.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,01,497.

The total death toll rose to 5,815 with 217 more deaths caused by the virus infection in the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said that 4,776 COVID-19 patients have been cured in the last 24 hours and a total of 1,00,303 patients have been cured of the disease.

The recovery rate is 48.31 per cent and the fatality rate is 2.80 per cent.

The recovery has been steadily rising. It was 38.29 per cent on May 18, 26.59 per cent On May 3O and 11.42 per cent on April 15.

The total count of cases reached 72,300 in Maharashtra on Wednesday. While there are 38,502 active cases in the state, 31,333 people have been cured or discharged while 2,465 patients have died due to the disease.

In Tamil Nadu, the total number of positive cases reached 24,586 and 197 died due to infection on Wednesday, according to the data of Health Ministry.

The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 22,132 in Delhi on Wednesday. There are 12,333 active cases in the national capital, 9,243 people have been cured or discharged while 556 people have died, according to information from Health Ministry.

Gujarat has reported 17,617 cases of coronavirus. There are 4,631 active cases in the state, 11,894 people have been cured or discharged while 1,092 patients have died in the state.

Rajasthan reported 102 new cases of COVID-19 today taking the total count of cases to 9,373. The death toll stands at 203 after two deaths were reported today, said state Health Department.

Madhya Pradesh has so far reported 8,420 cases of COVID-19. While there are 2,835 active cases in the state, 5,221 persons have been cured or discharged and 364 persons people died in the state.

Uttarakhand reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 today taking the state’s total count to 1,043. Seven people have died of the virus in the state.

The total number of cases in Jharkhand stood at 712 and five persons have died.

The total number of COVID19 cases in Himachal Pradesh now stands at 345 including 200 active cases, 140 recovered and five deaths, according to state Health Department.

There are 774 active cases in Kerala and the total count of cases is 1,412. The death toll due to coronavirus in the state stands at 11.

Andhra Pradesh has reported 79 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases stands at 3,279 and the death toll is at 68, according to the State’s COVID-19 Nodal Officer.

The total number of cases rose to 1,513 in Assam. The number of active cases stands at 1,185.

Manipur has reported 13 new cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 102 including 76 active cases.

The Health Ministry said that 41,03,233 samples have been tested so far for COVID-19.

(ANI)

Migrant Worker

Watch – ‘No Money, No Food, No Work’

By LokMarg

LokMarg speaks to a stream of migrant workers on their way home in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The dejected workers lament heartless employers and apathetic administrations. Yet, their resolve to reach their families remains firm as they brave the scorching sun, long distance to reach home.

Jessica Lal’s Murder Convict Manu Sharma Freed From Jail

By LokMarg

Manu Sharma, a convict in the 1999 Jessica Lal murder case, has been released from Tihar Jail on the grounds of good behaviour after serving more than 16 years in prison, jail officials said on Tuesday.

Sharma had received the approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for his release after a recommendation of the Sentence Review Board for the same.

Advocate Amit Sahni, while speaking to ANI, had said that Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had approved the name of Siddharth Vashishth also known as Manu Sharma for release from Tihar Jail.

He said that Sharma’s name was approved in a sentence review board meeting held on May 11. Earlier, Delhi High Court had also asked the SRB to consider his name for release.

Sharma, the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma, was convicted for shooting and murdering Jessica Lal, when she refused to serve him liquor at Tamarind Court restaurant at Qutub Colonnade in south Delhi’s Mehrauli on April 29, 1999.

Vashishth, 45-years-old, was serving a life term in connection with a case registered under Section 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of the offense or giving false information to screen offender) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to officials, the convict has undergone imprisonment for 16 years, 11 months and 24 days in actual, and 23 years 4 months and 22 days with remission. He has availed parole 12 times and furlough 24 times.

Earlier, Manu’s wife — Preity Sharma — had approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) claiming that her husband had been illegally detained for more than the prescribed period of incarceration (20 years with remission) as per the prevalent policy of the state.

(ANI)

India’s Covid-19 Count Inches Close To 2L Mark

By LokMarg

India reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours as the country’s coronavirus count reached 1,98,706, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Tuesday.

The country reported 204 more deaths caused by the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the deaths to 5,598. India’s total corona count includes 97,581 active cases and 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated ones.

With the fatality rate of 2.82 per cent — one of the lowest in the world and recovery pace of 48.07 per cent, India remains on a firmer footing in her fight against coronavirus.

“The fatality rate due to COVID-19 in our country is 2.82 per cent, one of the lowest in the world. Only 10 per cent of India’s population accounts for 50 per cent of the country’s COVID-19 linked deaths. 73 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in India are people with co-morbidities,” said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, at a press conference here on Tuesday.

“It is a wrong comparison to look at the total number of COVID-19 cases only and mention that India is seventh in terms of the number of cases. Our population should be considered too. 14 countries having a similar population as India have reported 22.5 times more cases and 55.2 times deaths,” he added.

“The recovery rate of the nation is continuously improving. A total of 95,527 patients have been cured of COVID-19; 3,708 have recovered in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate is now 48.07 per cent, up from 11.42 per cent on April 15,” he said.

Maharashtra continues to have the highest number of corona cases in the country. Its total confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 70,013 on Tuesday. There are 37,543 active cases in the State, while 30,108 people have been cured or discharged while 2,362 patients have died so far.

In Tamil Nadu, the total number of positive cases has reached 23,495. The toll due to the coronavirus infection stands at 184 on Tuesday, according to MoHFW.

In Delhi, the total number of COVID-19 cases have been pegged at 20,834. There are 11,565 active cases in the national capital. 8,746 people have been cured or discharged while 523 people have died in the country’s capital.

Gujarat has so far reported 17,200 cases of coronavirus, while there are 5,357 active cases in the State. 10,780 people have been cured or discharged while 1,063 people have died in the State.

Rajasthan reported 171 new cases of COVID-19 today, taking the total number of cases to 9,271. The toll stands at 201 after two deaths were reported, said the state’s Health Department.

Madhya Pradesh has so far reported 8,283 cases of COVID-19, while there are 2,922 active cases in the State. 5,003 people have been cured or discharged, while 358 people died in the State.

Uttar Pradesh, in the last 24 hours, reported 348 new cases of COVID-19. There are 3,231 active cases in the State and 5,078 people have been cured or discharged. The toll stands at 223, said Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Secretary, Health.

Uttarakhand reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 today, taking the State’s total to 958. Six people have died of the virus in the State so far.

Jharkhand reported 24 more cases of COVID-19 today, taking the total number of cases in the State to [?], said Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni.

The total number of COVID19 cases in Himachal Pradesh now stands at 340 including 213 active cases, 122 recovered and five deaths, according to Himachal Pradesh’s Health Department.

Andhra Pradesh has reported 82 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases stands at 3,200 and the toll is at 64, according to the State’s COVID-19 Nodal Officer.

The total number of cases rose to 1,485 in Assam. The number of active cases stands at 1,194 said Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Manipur has reported five new cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 83 including 72 active cases, according to the state government.

Over one lakh samples are being tested every day to detect coronavirus infection, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday, adding that India is far from the peak of COVID-19.

“ICMR is focusing on to increase COVID-19 testing capacity. As of June 1, we have 681 laboratories that are approved for conducting COVID-19 tests — 476 government and 205 private labs. Today, we are conducting 1.20 lakh tests every day,” said Nivedita Gupta, ICMR scientist, at a press conference in New Delhi. (ANI)