Archives for August 2022

NEW DELHI: India logged 8,586 new coronavirus infections taking total tally of cases to 4,43,57,546 while the active cases have declined to 96,506, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday.-ADVERTISEMENT-Ads by 

The death toll climbed to 5,27,416 with 48 fatalities which includes six deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases comprise 0.22 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.59 per cent, the health ministry said.

A decline of 1,142 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.19 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.31 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,37,33,624, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 210.31 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 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, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 42 new fatalities include seven from Delhi, six each from Karnataka and Punjab, four each from Rajasthan and West Bengal, three from Haryana, two each from Bihar and Himachal Pradesh and one each from Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.

MADIKERI: Ahead of a massive protest and awareness rally planned in Madikeri by the Congress and BJP, section 144 prohibitory order has been imposed in Kodagu from August 24 to August 27.-ADVERTISEMENT-Ads by 

Further, the Kodagu district administration also banned sales of liquor on August 25 and 26.

Following the egg-throwing issue at Siddaramaiah on August 18 in Kodagu, the state Congress leaders including the opposition leader Siddaramaiah had called for the ‘Madikeri Chalo’ movement to host a protest in front of the SP Office in Madikeri on August 26. The Congress leaders declared that over one lakh Congress workers would join the protest in Madikeri.

Meanwhile, the Kodagu district BJP members including the MLAs called for a massive awareness rally in Gandhi Maidan in Madikeri on August 26. This rally was also likely to be participated by state BJP leaders, even as the event declared to create awareness against Tipu Jayanthi.

Stating that the two events posed a risk to the communal harmony in the district, Kodagu DC Dr BC Sateesha has passed a prohibitory order to control the situation. He has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CRPC from 6 am on August 24 to 6 pm on August 27.

All public gatherings, private and political gatherings, market day and other rallies have been banned on these days. Display of political party flags or black flags, display of black clothes leading to protests, bursting of crackers and gathering of more than five people in a group is banned under the order.  Planned wedding ceremonies and other personal functions are, however, exempted from the section.

Further, the administration has banned the sales of liquor from August 24 (midnight) to August 26 as a precautionary measure.

NEW DELHI: Among the hundreds of farmers who began their demonstration at the Jantar Mantar over a slew of issues, 64-year-old Sriaj Kodyuriv from Kerala garnered the most attention with his ‘Adivasi’ attire Kodyuriv reached Delhi on Monday after covering a three-day train journey from Kerala

For several hours, he stood at Jantar Mantar holding placards that read Implement MSP, Save farmer’.

“Farmers are closest to nature. If they abandon their farm equipment, we won’t be getting any food. I am here for this,” Kodyuriv said.

Asked why he chose the ‘Adivasi’ attire, he said: “This is to send a message that the farmers and tribal people deserve their rights.

“Jantar Mantar buzzed with voices of dissent on Monday as farmers from all over the country gathered here demanding a law ensuring minimum support price for crops, farm loan waiver, and sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra.

Ajay Mishra is the father of Ashish Mishra, an accused in a case related to mowing down four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh during a farmer protest last October.

Farmers, hundreds in number, launched their protest amid heavy security arrangements in a called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) at Jantar Mantar.

They waved flags, wore caps with the name of their farm organisations inscribed on them, and raised slogans for farmer unity and against the Centre accusing it of not coming good on its promises.

CHANDIGARH: BJP leader from Haryana and actor Sonali Phogat died of a heart attack in Goa, police said on Tuesday.

Phogat, a former Tik Tok star who had joined the BJP in 2019, was on a visit to Goa along with some of her staff members.

On Monday night, she was brought to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district after she complained of uneasiness, sources said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mapusa) Jivba Dalvi said she was brought dead to the hospital.

“Prime facie, the cause of death is established as heart attack but further medical examination is on,” he said.

The postmortem would be conducted at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim, the official said.

“She has passed away. I have been given information that she was in Goa,” Haryana BJP chief O P Dhankar.

BJP Hisar district president Capt Bhupender said, “Sonali ji was in Goa. I spoke to her assistant and he said that she died of a heart attack”.

Phogat had unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly election from Adampur Assembly constituency against Kuldeep Bishnoi.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider listing a plea challenging the grant of remission by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal and lawyer Aparna Bhat against the grant of remission and consequent release of the convicts in the case.

“We are only challenging the remission and not the Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court order is fine, My Lords. We are challenging the principles on the basis of which remission was granted,” Sibal said.

The apex court had earlier asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea of remission.

Bilkis Bano, who was pregnant at the time, was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha was among 14 killed by a mob on March 3, 2002, in Dahod during violence that broke out across the state after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 passengers, mainly ‘kar sewaks’, were burnt to death.

Meanwhile, a discussion was held at the National Human Rights Commission here on Monday and the release of the 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case figured in it, sources said.

NHRC chairperson Justice (retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra headed the discussion, they said.

However, there was no official version from the NHRC on the discussion.

The 11 convicts walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.

They had completed more than 15 years in jail.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family.

Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the violence that broke out after the Godhra train burning.

PATNA:  The opposition in Bihar on Monday attacked the Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance government over a viral video showing an additional district magistrate thrashing an aspiring teacher who held aloft the national flag during a lathi charge at a protest in Patna

Former Deputy CM and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi sought to hold the CM responsible for the incident.

“The delay in teachers’ recruitment in the seventh phase is due to the CM’s dilly-dallying attitude,” he said, adding, “Such is the state of affairs in Bihar where Nitish has ruled for over 15 years. Currently, his party, the JD-U, is in charge of the education department. Therefore, Nitish should accept his failure on behalf of his government.”

The police resorted to lathi charge on the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and the State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) pass-outs during a protest near a major thoroughfare of Patna.

Initially, water cannons were used to suppress the protestors. The protesters had assembled to press their demand to expedite the recruitment of teachers in government-run primary schools.

Additional District Magistrate KK Singh, accompanied by police personnel, picked on an aspirant and beat him up with sticks, as he was shouting slogans against the state government for the delay. The protestors have been staging a dharna for 20 days but no official has visited them. They alleged that the government had not taken any decision three years after they cleared the CTET and STET.

Earlier, they staged a dharna at another place to exert pressure on the government.

“All that we have had are assurances,” said a protestor. Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar said the government has set up a two-member panel to look into the matter.

“Further action will be initiated on the basis of the inquiry report,” he said, expressing his displeasure over the manner in which the protestors were thrashed. “Action will be initiated against the officer in question if the allegations of showing disregard to the national flag are  found to be true,” he said.

Earlier, the state education minister said the process of appointment of CTET and STET passouts in the seventh phase would begin soon. 

Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav also assured the aspiring teachers that the government is serious about their demands.

The issue of teachers’ appointment has come to the fore at a time when the newly installed government has promised employment as its key welfare measure. The promise was also the core of Tejashwi’s campaign ahead of the 2020 assembly polls when he promised to provide 10 lakh jobs.

He also expressed regret over the incident.

“Such an incident should have never taken place”, said Yadav, referring to the much-televised baton charge by an additional district collector who kept striking a protester with a stick until the latter fell down and was no more able to avert the blows, using as a shield a Tricolour he was holding aloft, which was picked up and taken away by a policeman.

The protester was part of a several-hundred-strong crowd that had gathered in the heart of the city demanding teaching jobs for those who have cleared the eligibility tests.

Yadav, whose promise of “10 lakh jobs” had propelled the RJD to the status of the single largest party in the last assembly polls, said, “I urge the youngsters, with folded hands, to have some patience. We are committed to fulfilling our promises. But it has to follow some procedures and cannot happen overnight”.

“I have been receiving job aspirants at my residence, many of whom bring presents like bouquets and pens. My Facebook timeline bears testimony to that. I am fully aware of their anxieties. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also made public his intent to provide not just 10 lakh, but 20 lakh jobs and employment opportunities”, said the young RJD leader.

He also blamed the BJP, which has now been ousted from power in the state, for the acute unemployment problem.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who served as the deputy CM for about a decade and a half till 2020, accused Kumar of being “directly responsible for the sad state of education”.

“The CM’s party JD(U) has throughout kept the education portfolio. So the CM should be held personally responsible for the mess in which education is and which is at the root of today’s violence,” Modi alleged in a statement.

State Congress spokesman Asit Nath Tiwari, whose party is an ally of the ruling coalition, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the episode.

“The official is K K Singh, an additional district magistrate with a reputation of high-handedness. During the COVID epidemic, he had commanded citizens to produce videos of themselves beating utensils failing which their applications will not be considered,” Tiwari alleged.

“We could have understood had the youngster been involved in stone-pelting or any type of physical violence himself. But beating up of a tricolour-wielding young man who posed no menace is unacceptable and the official concerned must be punished,” Tiwari demanded.

BENGALURU:  If all goes well, Karnataka will be the first state in the country to reduce its dependence on petrol and diesel with the state government aiming to increase production of ethanol, which is allowed to be blended at 20 per cent with motor fuels. This will also likely bring down prices of petrol and diesel.-ADVERTISEMENT-Ads by 

Karnataka, which ranks third among sugarcane-growing states in the country, is coming up with a new ethanol policy that will provide for bigger profits for sugarcane growers. Ethanol can also be used to make disinfectants, sanitisers, medical spirit and bio-compressed natural gas.

Udyog Mitra Managing Director Doddabasavaraju, who is in charge of facilitating these industries, said there is an increased demand for ethanol after the Union government stressed on blending 20 per cent of ethanol with petrol and diesel. But none of the states have been able to produce even 10 per cent of ethanol required, he added. 

“The state government, to promote its production, is providing all facilities, including subsidies. Those interested in setting up ethanol plants can also get loans easily from banks,” he said. 

Research on running vehicles on ethanol

“Oil supply companies, including Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum, have come forward to blend ethanol with their products. If we start using ethanol, the country’s dependence on crude oil will come down,” he said. Also, research is on running vehicles purely on ethanol, which could be the future.

“When that becomes a reality, the demand for ethanol will further increase. We are gearing up to increase production and it will happen over the years,” he added. According to the data available with TNIE, in the last one year, the state government has okayed proposals to produce 5,185-kilo litres per day of ethanol from sugarcane at 18 production units.

Three of these projects will be set up at an investment of Rs 5,850.18 crore. Of the 18 companies, five have been granted approval to produce ethanol, not only from sugarcane but also from rice, corn and wheat bran.

“Now, ethanol is produced only when sugar factories run for four to five months a year. If ethanol can be extracted from grains with some additional machinery, these units can run and generate employment the entire year. It will also serve our purpose of increasing the production of ethanol,” Basavaraju said.

AHMEDABAD:  Months ahead of the Assembly poll, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel late on Saturday night stripped Cabinet Ministers Rajendra Trivedi and Purnesh Modi of the Revenue and the Road and Building portfolios, respectively. The move comes less than a year after the Gujarat Cabinet, led by Vijay Rupani, was replaced.

While Patel will hold the additional charge of both the ministries for now, MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi has been given the additional responsibility of revenue as its MoS while MoS industries and forest and environment Jagdish Panchal will be the MoS for the road and building department. 

The rejig is aimed at sending out a message that indiscipline will not be tolerated, as per sources. “The two were projecting themselves more than was acceptable,” said sources. Trivedi is an MLA from Raopura of Vadodara district. He was Speaker of Gujarat Assembly and was MoS for sports, youth and cultural activities department (Independent charge) in the Rupani ministry. He is the only minister who got a place in the Patel ministry.

Modi was elected from Surat West in 2017 and was re-elected from Surat Pashchim in 2012. He filed a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly defaming the “Modi community” at an election rally ahead of 2019 polls. His name was included in the Patel cabinet at the last minute.