During Valentine's Week, Mihika Shenoy and Trishina Kirpalani share the story on how they met and fell in love.
'My argument was straightforward: If the Constitution allows this reservation and SC/ST and OBC candidates are already getting reservation in private institutions -- backed by Constitution Bench orders -- then not extending the same to EWS candidates directly violates the 103rd Amendment and Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality.'
Lockdown in Amravati city in Maharashtra was extended for a week on Saturday in view of the coronavirus situation, while restrictions were also imposed for the weekend in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal.
An order issued by Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta on Monday said wearing face covers or masks, maintaining social distancing, restricted gatherings, and other measures shall continue to prevail.
Students at Tezpur University in Assam have shut down the institution, protesting against Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. The shutdown has led to the cancellation of end-term examinations and has garnered support from teachers and non-teaching staff.
Government and private bus transport services, now allowed within districts barring Chennai, its nearby areas and Madurai would cease to be operational from July 1 to 15, the government said.
A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.
'They are all worried about one thing -- what about tomorrow?'
Based on the report of the expert committee set up to formulate the state's lockdown exit strategy and the inputs received from various sections of the society, the chief minister said it was necessary to continue with the lockdown restrictions for some more time.
Experts say Indian Railways must grow its share in the freight market to remain financially sustainable.
The ongoing lockdown that was scheduled to conclude at 5 am on May 3, now stands extended for another week.
"The state is threatened with the spread of COVID-19 virus. Therefore, to take certain emergency measures to prevent and contain the spread of the virus, the lockdown in the state has been extended till January 31," the circular said.
The Centre on Saturday issued fresh guidelines relaxing the nationwide lockdown, the fourth phase of which ends on May 31.
Currently, the weekend lockdown is in force from 8 pm on Fridays and last till 7 am on Mondays.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir seems to be making most of the lockdown across the country. The lockdown across India was extended till May 3 to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and East Delhi MP Gambhir is getting to spending time with his kids at home, even though they are not letting him catch up with his sleep.
Calling for public cooperation to the government's efforts to stem the spread of the virus, Stalin urged people to follow due protocol like social distancing and wearing of masks.
Kejriwal said the lockdown was required so that the gains made after much struggle are not lost.
Uddhav Thackeray also said that the decision on lifting the curbs completely after April 30 will be taken depending upon the prevailing situation.
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced new relaxations such as resumption of intra-district transportation in 25 districts after a hiatus of nearly two months. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta has issued an order notifying extension of the lockdown, an official said.
'Considering the seriousness of the situation, the state government has decided to extend the lockdown till July 31,' Chief Minister Hemant Soren said in a tweet.
The 21-day lockdown is aimed at checking the spread of the coronavirus.
The video conference, which began at 11 am, comes amid indications that the central government may extend the nationwide lockdown with some possible relaxations even as Punjab and Odisha have already announced extending the lockdown beyond April 14 when the current spell of 21-day shutdown across the country ends on Tuesday.
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra till Wednesday night stood at 25,922 and the number of fatalities at 975, with Mumbai alone accounting for 15,747 cases and 596 deaths.
"Because, we can recover from the economic problem. But, we cannot recover lives. We cannot recover the lives of the people," he told reporters in Hyderabad.
The state had witnessed a record single-day spike of 7,014 cases on Sunday.
The Delhi government had been forced to impose lockdown amid a steep rise in COVID-19 cases on April 20. Although, the cases have come down and positivity rate has reduced from the high of 35 per cent on April 26 to around 23 per cent now, but strictness is needed.
Amarinder said predictions by health experts about the spread of the pandemic are 'horrendous and frightening'.
The Maharashtra government on Thursday extended the lockdown-like restrictions in the state till June 1 to break the chain of COVID-19.
The state has also conveyed its views on the relaxations it wants in the fourth phase of the lockdown.
Patnaik said the state has also urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to Odisha till April 30.
P K Mishra, a retired IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as the principal secretary to the prime minister.
The lockdown imposed on April 19 night will now continue till 5 am on May 3.
Is it sustainable?' 'Or is it like an overdose of a medicine that saves your life in the short run but kills you through long-lasting side-effects?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The UK's lockdown, which involves strict stay at home measures with movement allowed for limited urgent purposes only if "absolutely necessary" and for one form of daily exercise, came into force on March 23 after a televised address by Boris Johnson.
All schools and colleges in West Bengal will remain closed till June 10, she added. The Trinamool Congress supremo said she raised the issue of a financial package for the state and clearing its dues.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday extended till June 30 the lockdown in the entire state, and announced easing of restrictions and phase-wise resumption of activities under the "Mission Begin Again".
'Premature lifting of the lockdown will spread the disease from asymptomatics, and those undetected, to the whole community, ushering in prolonged misery, preventable and avoidable deaths, famine and social unrest,' warns Dr Debashish Danda.
The UK is likely to be for another three weeks, is inevitable.
India is currently under the 21-day lockdown since March 25, with only essential services exempted to contain the fast-spreading virus.
The state government is closely monitoring the situation in areas outside the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati, a senior state official said.
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