Archives for March 2021

MYMBAI: A total of 36 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra Legislative assembly, informed JJ hospital on Monday.

“A total of 2,746 samples were tested for re-entry to the legislative assembly for the budget session of Maharashtra on March 6 and 7, out of which 36 were found positive,” JJ hospital said in a statement.

The samples were taken from MLAs, their staff, government officials, police personnel and journalists, etc who are attending the assembly sessions from last week. A test was conducted a week back also when over 3,900 samples were tested and 42 were found COVID-19 positive.

The Maharashtra assembly will table the budget on Monday morning. The budget will be presented by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who holds charge of the finance ministry.

The budget session of the Maharashtra assembly was earlier curtailed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The state, meanwhile, registered 10,187 fresh COVID-19 infections and 47 deaths on Sunday, the union health ministry informed. 

Kolkata: At least six people were injured in a blast in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district when they were allegedly manufacturing bombs, police said on Saturday.

The incident happened at the residence of one of the injured persons in Gosaba area on Friday night, a senior police officer said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that they belong to a political party, he said. They are undergoing treatment at Canning Sub- Divisional Hospital, the officer said.

Family members of the injured people claimed that the six are supporters of the BJP and were attacked by Trinamool Congress activists when they were coming from a marriage ceremony.

“We are aware of the claims of their family members.

It seems that they were manufacturing bombs when the blast occurred. We are investigating the matter and talking to local people,” the officer said.

Bengaluru: Senior Kannada poet, writer N.S Lakshminarayana Bhatta (85) passed away at his Banashankari residence during the early hours on Saturday. 

Having contributed in various genres with his Lyrical composition, literary criticism, translation, song writing for children, and several other works of writings, he was famously known as NSL in the world of Kannada literature. 

‘Baare Nanna Deepika, Madhura Kaavyarupaka’, ‘Toredu Hogadiro Jogi’. ‘Adigeragida ee Deenala Marethu’, ‘Nee Sigade Baalondu Baale Krishna’ are some of his famous written works. 

Chief Minister B.S Yediyurappa expressed his condolences on the passing of the renowned Poet N.S. Lakshminarayana Bhatta on Saturday. 

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education on Friday issued a revised board exam date sheet for a few subjects, including mathematics, commerce and physics, for classes 10 and 12.

For class 10, the science exam has been deferred to May 21. Earlier, it was scheduled for May 15. The mathematics exam which was scheduled for May 21, will now be held on June 2, according to the latest date sheet.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said that for class 12-science stream, the May 13 physics exam will now be held on June 8.

Exams for mathematics and applied mathematics, which were earlier scheduled for June 1, will now be conducted on May 31 for class 12 science and commerce streams, it said in the revised date sheet.

The board has revised the date for the June 2 geography exam of the arts stream and it will now be held on June 3.

The exams for classes 10 and 12 will begin from May 4 and conclude on June 10.

Usually, practical exams are conducted in January and written exams begin in February and conclude in March. However, the exams are delayed in this session due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools across the country were closed in March last year to contain the spread of COVID-19. They were partially reopened in some states from October 15.

The board exams last year had to be postponed mid-way in March. They were later cancelled and the results announced on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme.

Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Devendra earlier demanded to hand over this sensitive case to the central government agency National Investigative Agency (NIA).

After the death of Scorpio owner whose vehicle was abandoned stockpiled with gelatin sticks near India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antillia, Maharashtra Home minister hand over this case to Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday.

Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Devendra earlier demanded to hand over this sensitive case to the central government agency National Investigative Agency (NIA). However, Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh said that Maharashtra police is competent to probe this case.

The dead body of Mansukh Hiren the owner of this said Scorpio vehicle was found at Mumbra, Thane on Friday. Devendra Fadnavis said Scorpio owner is one of the key witnesses in this case, is now found dead that increases the suspect and mystery deepen the further.

He also claimed that Mansukh in his statement earlier said that he had come to Crowford market in South Mumbai for some personal work when a bomb scare happened near Mukesh Ambani residence. As per police, his vehicle was parked under the bridge at Mankhurd and from this place, it was stolen by an unknown person.

“We want to know why Scorpio owner came to Crawford market? Whom did he meet there? All of these questions need to be investigated. We also got information that this same person had also called Sachin Waze who is investigating officer (IO) of this case twice in June and July of last year. Sachin Waze and Hiren’s What’s app chat record also need to be checked because the terror angle is involved here. Therefore, this case needs to be given to NIA for a fair probe,” he demanded.

Fadnavis said that in this case, the IO Sachin Waze is from Thane, the dead body was also found in Thane and the along with Scorpio, another vehicle Innova which had come on bomb scare day was also from Thane.

“When the the incident happened near Mukesh Ambani residence that time also, before the local police, Sachin Waje reached first. Our suspect has been increasing in this case even though we do not cast any doubt on any particular individual,” Fadnavis said.

Sachin Waze refuted all allegations of Leader of Oppositions. Waze said Fadnavis is free to speak anything. “On that particular day, before me, several police officers went to the spot. All details are in the police record,” Waze said refused to speak more.