'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
Clashes broke out between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party workers in Dadar area in Mumbai on Wednesday after the youth wing of the BJP took out a protest march against 'offensive' remarks in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana about the land deal controversy in Ayodhya.
The pleas raising issues about the dam, which was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki district of Kerala, came up for hearing before a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar.
The Union home ministry has issued strict guidelines for the enforcement of the 21-day complete nationwide lockdown in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, invoking the National Disaster Management Act which may result in imprisonment of up to two years for any violation. All government offices, the offices of state and Union territory governments, autonomous institutions, public corporations, commercial, private, industrial establishments shall remain closed, the guidelines issued by the ministry said.
The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Union Home Ministry officials and National Disaster Management Authority regarding the situation 'which is being monitored closely'.
Calling malls, cinema halls, weekly markets, metro services and religious places "superspreader" areas, the Delhi government has directed all district magistrates to greatly intensify enforcement of COVID-19 norms in such places in view of a persistent rise in cases in the city.
The entire coastal region of Odisha has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night.
The campaigning for phase one of Uttar Pradesh assembly election on February 10 ends on February 8 evening.
Habib operates more than 850 salons and around 65 hair academies across 115 cities across India.
The Congress has decided to hold its public rally against inflation in Jaipur on December 12 after the Delhi Police denied it permission to host the rally in the national capital.
"If the states are not complying with the directions and orders of the Central government, you are not helpless. You have to ensure that your order is implemented. "You have got the power under the Disaster Management Act. You can take steps also," the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre.
In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said there were reports that local level restrictions on movement were being imposed by various districts and states.
Mandatory thermal screening, staggered lunch breaks, alternate seating arrangement in classrooms and avoiding routine guest visits are among the guidelines announced by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for reopening of schools and colleges from September 1.
Kiren Rijiju said the coronavirus-forced nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 17, forced his ministry to delay the resumption of the training camps at Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres. The lockdown was earlier meant to end on May 3.
In accordance with ''Level-1'' alert under the graded response action plan (GRAP), private offices will function with physical attendance of 50 per cent of the staff, barring essential categories.
'We have all the technologies available, but it should be converted to something that can be commercially viable.'
The National Disaster Management Authority on Monday asked states to be more proactive on disaster management and appoint full-time chiefs for disaster management authorities. "The states have to become more proactive. The responsibility to respond to any disaster is with them. I know many states which are not aware of what funds are available with them for natural disaster. We need to really educate the states," said NDMA's Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy.
The West Bengal government has taken all precautionary measures to deal with Cyclone Yaas, likely to hit the state on May 26, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will stay at a control room set up for the purpose to monitor the situation, officials said.
The Delhi government has banned construction and demolition activities in the city till November 21.
'We are not organising any large celebrations on New Year's Eve to avoid last-minute changes in guidelines.'
Six people have lost their lives so far in the Cyclone Tauktae-hit coastal and surrounding Malnad districts of Karnataka, officials said.
The court declined to increase the number of people or allow use of other floors of the mosque for offering prayers as sought by senior advocate Ramesh Gupta on behalf of the Delhi Waqf Board, but allowed them to move an application before the SHO for the same.
The 91 foreigners from 21 countries were chargesheeted for attending Markaz at Nizamuddin in New Delhi allegedly in violation of visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued after the COVID-19 outbreak.
During this period, all government and private offices, shopping complexes, malls, bars, sports complexes, pubs and beauty parlours will remain closed.
Flood victims have been fighting for survival and living in temporary shelters nearby railway tracks with lack of food items. They are yet to get any help from the government, reports M I Khan.
According to reports from the states, several congregation participants are yet to show up before authorities.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration on Thursday alleged that a group of students broke into the central library and clashed with the staff there following which an FIR has been registered with the police.
The relaxations will come into effect from Tuesday morning, said a government order.
From tiny tots to junior wing students, children in Delhi were excited to be back in schools on Monday after a prolonged closure of over 19 months in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bhalla said the availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen is an important pre-requisite for managing moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 and with the increasing cases, the medical oxygen supply will need to keep pace with the requirements of the states and union territories.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday imposed several new restrictions, including a ban on inter-city and inter-district travel and curbs on office attendance in an attempt to bring the spiralling coronavirus infections under control.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation till Sunday was running trains with 50 per cent seating capacity, after the services had resumed after a long hiatus on June 7.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he had tried to contact Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone regarding the oxygen supply for the state but the PM was not available since he was busy campaigning for the West Bengal elections.
'When we talk of disaster, it is a combination of hazard and vulnerability.' 'If we reduce vulnerability, it will remain a hazard.'
Landslides blocked roads, many villages went without electricity and the death toll climbed to 52 as authorities on Wednesday faced the aftermath of the rains that had battered Uttarakhand for over two days.
The Centre has initiated 'major penalty proceedings' against former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, amid a tug-of-war between the Union government and the Mamata Banerjee dispensation over him, which may deprive him of post-retirement benefits, partially or fully.
The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
A Red alert, indicating heavy to very heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, has been sounded for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathnamthitta and Alappuzha districts on December 3, while Orange alert (6 cm to 20 cm rains)for Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts the same day.
Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains, while incessant downpour badly hit road and rail traffic in several parts of the state, including around Mumbai, as authorities called in NDRF to help the administration in rescue efforts.
"These pictures show that at night time all goods are lying there and covered with blue sheets. The state of affairs is such that, Covid or non-Covid, we see is frightening. There could be a stampede; there could be hundreds of deaths," the Delhi HC said.
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