Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for 2021

Archives for 2021

After Health Minister Mandaviya’s counter, Sisodia claims Centre gave only 12-14 hrs to file data

by

New Delhi: The Centre gave only 12-14 hours to the Delhi government to furnish data on deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second COVID-19 wave, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday, a day after he had claimed no such communication was received by it.

Sisodia’s statement came after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya questioned the Delhi government’s claim of not having received any letter from the Centre inquiring about deaths due to oxygen shortage and tweeted the communication sent by his ministry on July 26 in this regard.

In the communication received by the Delhi government on July 26, the Centre gave time till noon of the next day to file the data, a mere 12-14 hours time frame, Sisodia said in response to Mandaviya’s tweet.

Sharing a snapshot of the mail sent to the Delhi government on Twitter and addressing Sisodia, Mandaviya had earlier in the day said it is not too late and he can send the data by August 13 so that the health ministry can reply to Parliament on the issue.

Sisodia claimed the time given till August 13 was not mentioned in Centre’s letter.

“It was never mentioned that the data can be submitted by August 13. If there is any such letter that says so then it must be shown by the Centre,” Sisodia said in a statement.

The Delhi government will “soon” submit a report to the Centre on the issue of deaths due to oxygen shortage in Delhi, he added.

Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister of the Delhi government for COVID-19, had on Tuesday claimed that the Delhi government had not received any letter from the Centre inquiring about deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second COVID-19 wave.

Last month, opposition parties had hit out at the government for informing the Parliament that no deaths due to oxygen shortage have been specifically reported by states and Union Territories during the second COVID-19 wave.

The central government at a press briefing on Tuesday said only one state has till now reported “suspected” deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second wave of COVID-19 after the Centre sought the data from them on such fatalities following the raising of the issue in Parliament.

“When the question was raised in Parliament, states were specifically asked this question and as per reports received only one state mentioned suspected death and no state has so far said that there were deaths because of oxygen shortage,” Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal had said while replying to a query.

According to the sources, 13 states and UTs including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have responded to the query by Tuesday.

They said only Punjab has reported four “suspected” deaths due to oxygen shortage.

There were reports of deaths of COVID patients due to a shortage of oxygen in some hospitals in Delhi during the second wave of Coronavirus in April-May this year

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh meets PM Modi, seeks repeal of farm laws

by

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh meets PM Modi, seeks repeal of farm laws

New Delhi: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to immediately initiate steps for the repeal of the controversial farm laws.

He also sought amendment to the relevant law for including farmers in free legal aid category, the chief minister’s office said.

The Punjab CM, who called on the prime minister here late this evening, submitted two separate letters, called for the immediate review and revocation of the three farm laws that have triggered widespread resentment among farmers of Punjab and other states.

Farmers have been protesting at Delhi borders since November 26 last year against the agriculture legislations and have demanded their immediate withdrawal.

The chief minister said the farmers’ agitation had the potential of posing security threats to Punjab and the country with Pakistan-backed anti-India forces looking to exploit the farmers’ discontent with the government, an official statement said.

He called for the prime minister’s intervention for the expeditious redress of the concerns of farmers.

He said the Government of India should explore an enduring solution to end the continued agitation as it was not only impacting economic activities in Punjab but also had the potential to affect the social fabric, especially when political parties and groups take strong positions.

Amarinder Singh noted that he had earlier too sought the prime minister’s appointment for a meeting with an all-party delegation from Punjab, his office said.

He also called for the need to compensate farmers for the management of paddy straw at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal and also to address the fears of DAP shortage, which could aggravate the farmers’ problems and the crisis triggered by the farm laws.

In another letter, the chief minister stressed that due to the fragmentation of landholdings and persistent disputes with lessees and various market operators and agents, farmers are facing heightened litigation these days that has caused stress on their meagre financial resources.

Stressing the need to reduce the farmers’ financial burden as a result of such litigation, he noted that the Central Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides free legal aid to certain categories of persons, who are perceived to be the vulnerable sections of society.

Pointing out that the country’s farmers are also very vulnerable, he said they are, at times, compelled to commit suicide due to financial problems, even though they remain proud and prefer to till their land even at the cost of their lives.

“It is, thus, the need of the hour to amend Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to include farmers and farm workers in the category of persons entitled to free legal services to pursue and defend themselves in the courts to secure their livelihood, Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.

He felt this step would help reduce cases of farmer suicides and ensure better protection of their legal and financial rights.

The chief minister urged the prime minister to advise the central ministries dealing with farmer welfare and laws to carry out necessary amendments to the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, in the larger interest of farmers

Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi civic body polls on Sept 3

by

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Election Commission on Wednesday said polls for the city corporations of Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi, along with bypolls to a few other urban local bodies, will be held on September 3.

Counting of votes will take place on September 6 and the model code of conduct will come into effect from August 16, it said.

Elections will be held for a total of 252 wards across seven urban local bodies. They includecity corporations of Belagavi (58 wards), Hubballi-Dharwad (82), Kalaburagi (55), along with the Doddaballapur City Municipal Council (31), Tarikere Town Municipal Council (23), Bidar City Municipal Council (2) and Bhadravathi City Municipal Council (1).

While the last date for candidates to file their nominations is August 23, the last date to withdraw papers is August 26.

According to the commission, there are a total of 14.01 lakh eligible voters, with the highest being in Hubballi-Dharwad – 8.11 lakh.

Elections are being held as the term of some of these local bodies has ended and due to orders of the High Court, the Commission has said.

Congress appoints Naseer Hussain, Chhaya Verma as its whips in Rajya Sabha

by

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday appointed MPs Syed Naseer Hussain and Chhaya Verma as its whips in the Rajya Sabha, a party statement said.

“Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has appointed MPs Syed Naseer Hussain and Chhaya Verma as whips of Congress Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha,” the party statement by Congress chief whip in the Upper House Jairam Ramesh said.

The Congress has appointed Mallikarjun Kharge as leader of the Opposition and Anand Sharma as deputy leader of the Congress in the upper house and the move is seen as a measure to strengthen its floor management in the Rajya Sabha.

The party now has the same number of whips and chief whips in the upper house as in the Lok Sabha.

2nd Test: Shardul Thakur ruled out of Lord’s test against England due to left hamstring injury

by

London: Virat Kohli might have to seriously consider playing his best tweaker Ravichandran Ashwin instead of the injured Shardul Thakur but the Indian captain didn’t specify whether the seasoned off-spinner would get the nod ahead of a pacer in the second Test against England.

While India were in a better position to win the first Test before the heavens opened up on the final day, the first innings score of 278 was still below par as none among Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane scored runs.

Not to forget that all three haven’t scored heavily in the past two years and save Rahane, who got a hundred in Melbourne, the other two batting mainstays haven’t been able to convert a lot of their half-centuries into three-figure marks.

“I don’t think that’s an area of concern. Our basic focus is not to think individually where people are but collectively how much strength they bring into the team is our focus. What’s your best and strongest batting unit that you can take on the park,” the skipper said.

As far as team combination is concerned, Shardul being ruled out with a “left hamstring injury” does tilt the lower-order batting balance, although the Mumbai seamer didn’t trouble the scorers in the only innings that he played.

Ashwin, who was dropped from the playing XI in the drawn opening game in Nottingham because of Ravindra Jadeja’s superior skills with the willow, is back in the mix as Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at the Lord’s on Monday.

It’s still not clear whether he picked up the injury during the first Test or not.

With Thakur all but ruled out of the upcoming match starting Thursday, Kohli might have to revisit his 4-1 bowling combination which can’t be cast in stone considering the lean nature of his team’s lower-order batting.

“For us, it’s about finding that perfect balance but if someone like Shardul is not available, then we definitely need to think how to pick up 20 wickets and not try to plug in another guy, who can give us some runs with the bat. I think we are very comfortable how first Test went,” Kohli gave an open-ended answer.

London has been recording a maximum temperature of 24 degrees with average temperature around 14 degrees.

It would be interesting to see if England retain a green top like they did in 2018 when Indian batting collapsed twice in two days and all-rounder Chris Woakes walked away with the honours.

In case, the pitch is on the drier side, there will possibly be no harm in playing both Ashwin and Jadeja, who can trouble this brittle England batting line-up with their different variations.

The poor quality of the new generation of England Test players was exposed again as skipper Joe Root had to come to his team’s rescue for the umpteenth time with a fifty in the first innings and a match-saving 21st Test hundred in the second essay.

There is every possibility that Rory Burns could be replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who scored a hundred opening the innings for the Combined Counties against Indians in the tour game last month.

For Kohli, if four pacers are non-negotiable, then one among Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav will be straightaway replacing Thakur but the choice might not be that easy.

“Most likely it will be a template going ahead [4-1 combination], but we’ve always been adaptable as well, to the conditions and pace of the wicket,” Kohli had said after the first Test.

But adaptability is the rider that the Indian skipper used during that post-match conference and hence Ashwin, who is currently on the verge of surpassing Harbhajan Singh’s (417 wickets) tally, comes into the picture.

If the skipper believes that his batting needs to be suitably beefed up, then Ashwin is the right choice in case weather permitting, there is something available on the fourth or fifth day Lord’s pitch.

England are likely to miss their senior pacer Stuart Broad as he had injured his right calf muscle during a training session which possibly rules him out of the game.

England added Lancashire seam bowler Saqib Mahmood in the squad as cover with ECB informing that spinner Dom Bess will be leaving the squad and returning to Yorkshire.

In case the pitch offers some assistance, Moeen Ali, who has been inducted might again like to torment the Indians like he did in 2014 and ’18 series or else there is world’s fastest bowler Mark Wood, whose average speed is 90 clicks per hour.

For India, KL Rahul would like to consolidate his position at the top of the order even though Mayank Agarwal being back in the nets is a welcome sign for India.

While batting order might not be tinkered with but Agarwal’s fitness could also make Rahul an option in the middle-order, where he personally prefers batting.

While both Pujara and Rahane are not in the best of form of late, they will only be replaced in the likely event of a last-minute injury.

Squads: India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.

England: Joe Root (Captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood.

Match Starts at 3:30 pm.

COVID-19: 38,353 new infections in last 24 hours, active cases lowest in 140 days as vaccination tally nears 52 core mark

by

NEW DELHI: India logged 38,353 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,20,36,511, while the active cases have declined to 3,86,351, the lowest in 140 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,29,179 with 497 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases comprise 1.21 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands 97.45 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 2,157 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

As many as 17,77,962 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 48,50,56,507.

The daily positivity rate was recorded 2.16 per cent.

It has been less than three per cent for the last 16 days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.34 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,12, 20,981 and the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.

Cumulatively, 51.90 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 497 new fatalities include 152 from Kerala and 137 from Maharashtra.

A total of 4,29,179 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,34,201 from Maharashtra, 36,848 from Karnataka, 34,367 from Tamil Nadu, 25,068 from Delhi, 22,775 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,252 from West Bengal and 18,004 from Kerala.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

The ministry said 20,47,733 first doses were administered and 4,05,719 second doses in the age group 18-44 years on Tuesday

Cumulatively, 18,20,95,467 people in the age group 18-44 years across states and union territories have received their first dose and 1,29,39,239 their second dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

Five states — Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — have administered more than 1 crore cumulative doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44 years, the ministry said.

Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have vaccinated more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

As on day-207 of the vaccination drive (August 10), total 37,76,765 vaccine doses were given.

Of these, 27,60,199 beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 10,16,566 people received the second dose of vaccine according to the provisional report till 7 PM.

Final reports would be completed for the day by late night.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the statement said.

More than 2.07 crore balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Over 52.56 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far through all sources and a further 48,43,100 doses are in the pipeline.

Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 51,09,58,562 doses, the ministry said.

Under the new phase of the universalization of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Centre procures and supplies 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by vaccine manufacturers in the country to states and UTs.

KS Eshwarappa stoops too low, uses abusive language against Congress leaders

by

BENGALURU: Even before the new government has fully settled down to business, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa put new Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the party in a tight spot by his controversial statement and objectionable remarks against opposition Congress leaders.

On a response to the media citing some Congress leaders’ ‘joker’ jibe at him, a rather upset Eshwarappa referred to his opposition colleagues as ‘sons of prostitutes’. Political rivals hitting each other below the belt is not new in state politics, but this was a new low.

Upon realising he had crossed the Lakshman Rekha in public discourse, the minister withdrew his comment and requested the media not to play it up. 

However, Chief Minister Bommai, apparently not knowing about Eshwarappa’s follow-up comments, initially went on to defend his minister’s aggressiveness. “It is not a provocative statement,” Bommai said, responding to a question if action would be taken against the minister for his remarks during a party workers’ meeting at Shivamogga on Sunday.

“It is true that violence is not an answer to violence, but Eshwarappa was giving expression to his pain as party workers were murdered in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Karwar and Sirsi,” the CM said. But with the opposition Congress seething with anger over Eshwarappa’s Tuesday offensive, which came in addition to his Sunday remarks, Eshwarappa was made to retract.

Taking umbrage, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said the BJP leader “lacked culture”. “Those with civility would not use such derogatory words in public life! What administration can anyone expect from such people,” he said, adding that people in public should be ready to accept healthy criticism. He didn’t, however, elaborate how calling a minister ‘joker’ came under civil criticism.

KPCC president DK Shivakumar and senior Congress leader and MLC BK Hariprasad also hit out at Eshwarappa. “The entire State is watching him. He had taken an oath that he will not hate anyone and take everyone along. He has failed to honour that and stooped to such low levels. Congressmen in this State will answer him at the right time and place,” Shivakumar urged the new chief minister to take a befitting step against Eshwarappa’s no-holds-barred remarks.

State Congress working president Ramalinga Reddy too added that BJP should take action against Eshwarappa for hurling “abusive language”, and even demanded a first information report (FIR) be filed against the minister for hurting sentiments.

PU admissions begin, e-classes from Aug 16

by

BENGALURU: Admissions for first-year PU courses began officially across the state on Tuesday.Director of Pre-University R Snehal said admissions for the year 2021-22 for first PU students were to start the day following declaration of SSLC results. The department has allowed admissions up to August 31. During this period, students will have to pay their fees as well. Online classes will start on August 16.

A late fine will be levied on admissions that are held thereafter. For those getting admitted between September 1 and 11, a late fee of `670 will be levied. Meanwhile, those getting admitted between September 13 and September 25 will have to pay a special fine of `2,890. Schools will have to pay the fees to the department of PU in a day of students paying the fee.

In the meantime, the Registered Unaided Private Schools Management Association (RUPSA) has written to Minister for Primary and Secondary Education B C Nagesh, to make arrangements for students who have written the SSLC examination to be admitted to PU or an equivalent grade.

RUPSA President Lokesh Talikatte said a letter in the regard has been sent to the government twice. He said that last year, only 6.23 lakh students were given seats in PU colleges. This year, 8.7 lakh state board students alone have completed Class 10, and if other boards are considered, the state is looking at over 12 lakh students applying for first PU or its equivalent grade. 

Talikatte requested that provision be made for admissions for the additional 3 lakh SSLC students who cleared the examination this year. He said that although there is unlimited intake in government PU colleges, there are just 1,234 such colleges, and they have only 6,250 permanent lecturers. He said now is the time to appoint more lecturers. 

Ravi Shastri Co not to seek extension as head coach for Indian cricket team, all eyes on Rahul Dravid

by

CHENNAI: On a day when the BCCI advertised for the position of head of cricket for the National Cricket Academy all eyes were firmly on the incumbent Rahul Dravid.

Since taking charge of the India A and Under-19 setups in 2015, the former India captain was elevated as head of cricket in 2019. Should he re-apply for the job before the August 15 deadline, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. However, if he stays away, then it would open the doors for Dravid to take charge as the head coach of the men’s team after the T20 World Cup.

Current head coach Ravi Shastri and the tenure of the support staff come to an end with the T20 World Cup and as things stand, there are indications that they won’t seek an extension. Shastri, first as team director and then as head coach, has been part of the national men’s team set up for six years across two tenures. During the period, he has led India to the top of the Test rankings.

However, according to the top officials of the BCCI, Shastri is not keen on continuing after the T20 World Cup. Even bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar are expected to part ways with batting coach Vikram Rathour. Although an ICC title has eluded India during Shastri’s tenure, he has turned the team into a formidable outfit. And since 2017, no team has a better win-loss abroad than India in away Tests as the team even played in the World Test Championship final. Among the most stellar feats under Shastri’s tenure include back-to-back Test series win in Australia and an ODI series win in South Africa for the first time.

With Shastri heading for exit, whether Dravid reapplies for the NCA post is being seen with interest. In the years Dravid has spent at the NCA, he has been credited with creating a strong bench strength and bringing in an A team programme that has bridged the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket. Last month, he accompanied the India white-ball team to Sri Lanka as head coach and was non-committal when asked about taking up the role full-time.

COVID-19: India’s drug regulator approves study on mixing of Covaxin and Covishield doses

by

NEW DELHI: India’s drug regulator has given approval for a study to be conducted by the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore on mixing of COVID-19 vaccines Covaxin and Covishield, official sources said on Wednesday.

An expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on July 29 had recommended granting permission for conducting the study.

The trial will involve 300 healthy volunteers.

“The aim of the study is to assess the feasibility on whether a person can be given two different vaccine shots — one each of Covishield and Covaxin — to complete the inoculation course,” a source said.

Separately, a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) involving 98 people, 18 of whom had inadvertently received Covishield as the first dose and Covaxin as the second in Uttar Pradesh, showed that combining these two COVID-19 vaccines elicited better immunogenicity than two doses of the same vaccine.

The study also found that immunisation with combination of Covishield and Covaxin was safe and the adverse effects were also found to be similar when compared to the same dose regimen.

Meanwhile, more than 53.24 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far and a further 72,40,250 doses are in the pipeline, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 51,56,11,035 doses.

Over 2.25 crore balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the ministry said.

The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives