The minister, who hails from the Marathwada region, had attended the cabinet meeting held at the state secretariat in Mumbai earlier this week, the sources said.

MUMBAI: A Maharashtra cabinet minister, who belongs to the NCP, has tested positive for COVID-19, sources said on Friday.

The minister, who hails from the Marathwada region, had attended the cabinet meeting held at the state secretariat here earlier this week, the sources said.

He is the third cabinet member in Maharashtra to test positive for the viral infection.

“It came to light on late Thursday night that the minister has tested positive for the disease.

He has been quarantined in Mumbai,” the sources said.

Apart from the minister, a few members of his personal staff, too, have tested positive for the disease and are being isolated, they said.

Earlier, two cabinet ministers, Ashok Chavan (Congress) and Jitendra Awhad (NCP), had tested positive for the disease and recovered later.

Top officials of the Union Health Ministry asked states to make a district-wise plan for the coming months in view of the lockdown curbs being lifted.

NEW DELHI: As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 2.5 lakh mark on Monday morning, the Centre reiterated the need of conducting house-to-house surveys in 38 districts across 10 states that have the highest caseloads.

In a meeting with district and state-level authorities, top officials of the Union Health Ministry asked states to make a district-wise plan for the coming months in view of the lockdown curbs being lifted.The districts that participated in the meeting headed by Union health secretary Preeti Sundan were from Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Main issues discussed were the widespread infection in densely populated urban areas, the importance of house-to-house surveys, prompt testing followed by isolation, clinical management of cases and containment strategy.

The country now has 2,56,611 confirmed cases of which 7,135 have died. Health ministry officials advised states on the measures to be taken in the containment zones for case management and buffer zones surveillance activities and promotion of COVID-appropriate behaviour.

To reduce the fatality rate, the Centre has stressed on measures such as prioritising the high-risk and vulnerable segments like elderly people and people with co-morbidities while contact-tracing to prevent deaths; active surveillance, adequate testing and promoting health-seeking behaviour for timely detection of cases and ensuring prompt shifting of patients without escalating the symptoms.

On the issues of infrastructure and human resource management for the containment of Covid-19, the Centre asked states to carry out proper planning for health infrastructure, deploy an adequate number of surveillance teams and set up a system for communicating bed availability.  It was also stressed that care needs to be given to regular and essential health services.

The Centre also underlined the need for augmentation of the survey teams, efficient ambulance management, efficient triaging of patients at the hospitals and bed management and clinical management of the hospitalised cases through rotational 24X7 teams.

The secretary also suggested to states to involve elected representatives in rural areas for cooperating with the district health authorities for confidence-building and timely accessing of available health services and activating fever clinics for detection of severe acute respiratory illnesses and flu cases in the buffer zones.

Sources said three security men have sustained bullet injuries in the gunfight and have been hospitalized.

SRINAGAR: Four militants were killed in an ongoing gunfight with security forces in militancy-hit Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

With these killings, nine militants have been killed in two encounters with security forces in Shopian district, which has emerged as stronghold of militants after killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani in July 2016.

A police official said acting on specific information about presence of militants, a joint contingent of J&K police’s Special Operations Group, CRPF and army laid siege around Pinjoora village in Shopian late last night.

He said in the early hours today, security personnel launched house to house searches in the village to track down the militants hiding there.

“While the searches were going on, militants hiding in the area fired volume of fire towards the security men. The fire was returned by the troops, triggering an encounter,” the official said.

He said in the ensuing gunfight, four militants have been killed so far.

Sources said three security men have sustained bullet injuries in the gunfight and have been hospitalized.

The operation was going on when reports last poured in, a police official said.

This is the second encounter in Shopian district in recent times. On Sunday, five militants of Hizbul Mujahideen including a commander were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Reban area of Shopian district.

The deceased militant commander was identified as Farooq Asad Nalli, who had joined militancy in 2015 and was wanted by security agencies for attacks on security forces.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 1,10,960, while 1,09,461 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, as per the latest government data.

NEW DELHI: India saw a record single-day jump of 9,851 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths on Friday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,26,770 and the death toll to 6,348, according to the Union health ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 1,10,960, while 1,09,461 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

“Thus, around 48.27 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said.

The total confirmed cases include foreigners.

Of the 273 deaths reported since Thursday morning, 123 were in Maharashtra, 44 in Delhi, 33 in Gujarat, 16 in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Tamil Nadu, 10 in West Bengal, six each in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, four each in Karnataka, Bihar and Rajasthan, three each in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, two in Uttarakhand and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Jharkhand.

Of the total 6,348 fatalities, Maharashtra tops tally with 2,710 deaths followed by Gujarat with 1,155 deaths, Delhi with 650, Madhya Pradesh with 377, West Bengal with 355, Uttar Pradesh with 245, Tamil Nadu with 220,  Rajasthan with 213, Telangana with 105 and Andhra Pradesh with 71 deaths.

The death toll reached 57 in Karnataka and 47 in Punjab.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported 35 fatalities due to the disease, Bihar has 29, Haryana has 24 deaths, Kerala has 14, Uttarakhand has 10, Odisha has seven and Jharkhand has reported six deaths so far.

Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh have registered five COVID fatalities each, Assam has recorded four deaths while Chhattisgarh has reported two deaths so far.

Meghalaya and Ladakh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the ministry’s website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

Surprisingly, the parents have denied their daughter’s allegations of molestation against the son.

ETAWAH: A 20-year-old girl surrendered before police after killing her elder brother who had allegedly tried to molest her.

The incident took place in Kotwali police circle in Etawah district in the early hours of Wednesday.

The deceased has been identified as Deepak Rajput, a resident of Sati Mohalla.

According to reports, Deepak, who was pursuing a computer course at a local institute, attempted to molest his younger sister who resisted the attempt and then attacked him with a sickle and pestle.

The parents had gone to their maternal grand-parents’ place in Bela town at the time of incident.

The alleged victim then went to the police station and informed them about the incident.

Circle Officer (City) Vaibhav Pandey said: “The accused girl later reached Kotwali police station and confessed before the police about the crime. She guided the police to her house in Sati Mohalla, where they found her brother lying in a pool of blood with grievous wounds. He was rushed to Sefai Medical College where doctors declared him brought dead on arrival.”

“A case under relevant sections including 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC has been registered at Kotwali police station and the accused has been arrested,” he said.

Surprisingly, the parents have denied their daughter’s allegations of molestation against the son.

The circle officer said, “We are cross-checking the call details of the victim and the accused. She will be produced before court and sent to jail on Thursday.”

Mumbai: Singer-composer Wajid Khan of music director duo Sajid-Wajid, popular for their work on superstar Salman Khan’s films such as Wanted , Dabangg and Ek Tha Tiger , died in wee hours on Monday in a city hospital due to coronavirus. The 42-year-old singer had underlying kidney issues.

“He died of a cardiac arrest,” Wajid’s brother Sajid while confirming that the musician had tested positive for COVID-19.

Music composer Salim Merchant, who first confirmed the news of Wajid’s death, said the composer was hospitalised recently at Surana Hospital, Chembur where his condition deteriorated.

“He had multiple issues. He had a kidney issue and had a transplant a while ago. But recently he got to know about kidney infection… He was on the ventilator for the last four days, after his situation started getting worse. Kidney infection was the beginning and then he got critical,” Salim told PTI.

A source close to the family also confirmed the coronavirus diagnosis.

“He had coronavirus. When you already have heart and kidney issues, your immunity is low. His situation worsened in the last few days,” the source added.

The music composer duo made their Bollywood debut with Salman’s 1998 movie “Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” and went on to work on actor’s various films including Garv , Tere Naam , Tumko Na Bhool Payenge , Partner and the popular Dabangg franchise.

Wajid also did playback for Salman in chartbusters like “Mera He Jalwa”, “Fevicol Se” and for Akshay Kumar in “Chinta Ta Chita Chita” from the film “Rowdy Rathore”, among others. He recently co-composed Salman’s songs “Pyaar Karona” and Bhai Bhai , which the actor released on his YouTube channel.

Wajid along with his brother Sajid served as mentor on singing reality shows “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012” and “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar”.

The composer duo also scored IPL 4 theme song, “Dhoom Dhoom Dhoom Dhadaka”, which was sung by Wajid.

Soon after the news of the composer’s demise broke, many from the film fraternity took to Twitter to pay tributes.

Actor Priyanka Chopra said she will always remember Wajid’s smile.

The one thing I will always remember is Wajid bhai’s laugh. Always smiling. Gone too soon. My condolences to his family and everyone grieving. Rest in peace my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers,” she posted on Twitter.

Actor Parineeti Chopra said Wajid was one of the “nicest” men in the industry.

“Always singing. All heart. Always positive. You will truly be missed Wajid bhai,” she tweeted.

Actor Varun Dhawan shared a picture of his filmmaker-father David Dhawan with Wajid and remembered the musician as one of the most positive people in Bollywood.

“Shocked hearing this news @wajidkhan7 bhai was extremely close to me and my family. He was one of the most positive people to be around. We will miss you Wajid bhai thank you for the music, he wrote.

Music composer-singer Vishal Dadlani said he was “heartbroken” after hearing the news.

Both @SajidMusicKhan and @wajidkhan7 have been close & true friends. The kind who might see the light on and show up at our studio in the middle of the night just to meet and talk and share a laugh. Can’t believe Wajid and I will never speak again,” he wrote.

Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan said he was still unable to come to terms with the news of Wajid’s demise.

Shocking ! Good bye dear brother.. love you .. till we meet on the other side ! Prayers for your peaceful journey Wajid bhai, he tweeted.

Singer Javed Ali posted, Feeling Deeply Saddened after hearing shocking news of the sudden demise of Wajid Khan. May his Soul Rest in Peace. My heartfelt condolences to his family. May Allah give strength to the family.”

Ahmedabad/ New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a red-colour coded warning to coastal Maharashtra and Gujarat for June 4 in view of a cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea.

Fishermen who have ventured into the Arabian Sea along the north and south Gujarat coasts have been advised to return by Sunday and not go out till June 4.

“A low pressure is currently over east central Arabian Sea and the Lakshadweep Islands. It is likely to intensify into a depression in the next 12 hours and a cyclonic circulation in the next 24 hours,” the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.

A low pressure area is the first stage of any cyclone.

“It is very likely to move nearly northwards initially till June 2 and then recurve north-northeastwards and reach near north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts around June 3,” it added.

The system will bring strong winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall to coastal Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The IMD has issued an orange-colour coded warning to Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Goa and coastal Maharashtra for June 1. The same warning applies to coastal Maharashtra and Goa for June 2.

For June 3, a red-coloured coded warning has been issued to coastal Maharashtra and Goa and an orange coloured warning to Gujarat.

The red-coloured warning has been issued to coastal Maharashtra, Goa and the entire Gujarat for June 4, Sathi Devi, the head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre, said.

“An intense rainfall activity is expected due to the weather system,” Devi added.

The IMD has four colour-coded warnings as per the intensity of any weather system — green, yellow, orange and the last one being red.

The Ahmedabad meteorological centre of IMD also advised hoisting of “distant cautionary (DC)-1” storm warning signals at all ports on north and south Gujarat coasts, as the sea condition was very likely to be “rough to very rough,” with wind speed reaching 90-100 kilometre per hour gusting to 110 kilometre per hour by June 4.

“Fishermen out at sea are advised to return to coasts by May 31. They are advised not to venture along and off south Gujarat coast on June 2, and along and off north and south Gujarat coast on June 3-4,” it added.

On June 2, wind speed is likely to reach 40-50 kilometre per hour gusting to 60 kilometre per hour over south Gujarat coast, with sea conditions very likely to be “rough to very rough”.

On June 3-4, squally wind speed is likely to reach 90-100 kilometre per hour gusting 110 kilometre per hour over Gujarat coasts, and the sea condition is very likely to be high to very high, it said.

Fishermen are also advised not to venture into west central Arabian sea along and off south Oman and Yemen coasts during the next 24 hours due to depression over south coastal Oman and adjoining Yemen, the IMD said.

Raipur: A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) personnel allegedly opened fire at his colleagues in Narayanpur district of the state, killing two of them on the spot and injuring another one, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Friday night in a camp of the CAF’s 9th battalion at Aamdai Ghati under Chhotedongar police station limits, located around 350 km from capital Raipur, inspector general of police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P.

“Assistant platoon commander Ghanshyam Kumeti opened fire from his AK-47 rifle, killing two personnel and injuring another, following some dispute with them,” he said.

Platoon commander Bindeshwar Sahani and head constable Rameshwar Sahu were killed in the incident, while another platoon commander Lachhuram Premi sustained injuries, he said.

Kumeti has been arrested, the senior official said, adding that the injured man was airlifted to Raipur and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, he said.

The personnel involved in the incident belonged to ‘B’ company of CAF’s 9th battalion, he added.

New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,971 and the number of cases climbed to 1,73,763 in the country registering a record single day spike of 265 deaths and 7,964 cases till Saturday 8 am, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 86,422 while 82,369 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. In the last 24 hours, 11,264 patients have recovered.

“Thus, around 47.40 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. The total confirmed cases includes foreigners.

Of the 265 deaths reported since Friday morning, 116 were in Maharashtra, 82 in Delhi, 20 in Gujarat, 13 in Madhya Pradesh, nine in Tamil Nadu, seven in West Bengal, four each in Telangana and Rajasthan, two in Punjab and one each in Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the total 4,971 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 2,098 deaths followed by Gujarat (980), Delhi (398,) Madhya Pradesh (334), West Bengal (302), Uttar Pradesh (198), Rajasthan (184), Tamil Nadu (154), Telangana (71) and Andhra Pradesh (60).

The death toll reached 48 in Karnataka, 42 in Punjab, 28 in Jammu and Kashmir, 19 in Haryana, 15 in Bihar, eight in Kerala, and seven in Odisha.

Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have registered five COVID-19 fatalities while Chandigarh and Assam have recorded four deaths each so far.

Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each, according to the ministry data. According to the ministry’s website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

PM IN OPEN LETTER TO COUNTRYMEN ON FIRST ANNIV OF HIS SECOND TERM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the first anniversary of his second term on Saturday by writing an open letter to his countrymen, asserting that India has started traversing on the path to “victory” in its long battle against COVID-19 while acknowledging “tremendous suffering” of migrant workers among others.

In normal circumstances, he would have been in people’s midst but the present conditions, a reference to the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus, do not permit that, he said, explaining the reason for his writing the letter.

He said his government has taken “historic” decisions and the nation progressed rapidly in the last one year, even as he acknowledged that there is a lot that needs to be done and many challenges and problems face the country.

“I am working day and night. There could be deficiencies in me but there is nothing that our country lacks,” Modi said, adding, “I believe in you, your strength and your abilities even more than I believe in myself.”

He said India has surprised the world with its unity and resolve in the fight against coronavirus, and there is a firm belief that it will also set an example in economic revival.

Talking of the people’s sufferings, he said in a crisis of this magnitude, it can certainly not be claimed that no one suffered any inconvenience or discomfort.

“Our labourers, migrant workers, artisans and craftsmen in small scale industries, hawkers and such fellow countrymen have undergone tremendous suffering. We are working in a united and determined way to alleviate their troubles,” he said.

Modi asked people to take care to ensure that inconveniences that they are facing do not turn into disasters.

It is very important for every Indian to follow all rules and guidelines, he said, adding people have displayed patience so far and should continue to do so.

“This is one of the important reasons for India being safer and in a better state than many other countries. This is a long battle but we have started traversing on the path of victory, and victory is our collective resolve,” he said.

Referring to the post-COVID world, the prime minister said there is a widespread debate on how the economies of various countries, including India’s, will recover.

“However, given the way India has surprised the world with its unity and resolve in the fight against coronavirus, there is a firm belief that we will also set an example in economic revival,” Modi asserted.

Pitching for self-reliance, he said it is the “need of the hour.”

“We have to move forward based on our own abilities, in our own way, and there is only one way to do it – Aatmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India,” he said.

The recent Rs 20 lakh crore package given for Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is a major step in this direction, he said. He had announced the package in his recent address to the nation.

“This initiative will usher in a new era of opportunities for every Indian, be it our farmers, workers, small entrepreneurs or youth associated with start ups,” Modi pointed out.

Due to the pandemic this is certainly a time of crisis, he said, adding that for Indians this is also a time for a firm resolve.

“We must always remember that the present and future of 130 crore will never be dictated by an adversity. We will decide our present and our future. We will move ahead on the path of progress and victory will be ours,” he said.

Referring to an ancient saying, the prime minister said that if people have action and duty on one hand, then success is assured on the other hand.

He said as Parliament’s productivity increased, breaking records, several key legislations were passed.

As a result of the policies and decisions of the government, Modi said the rural-urban gap is shrinking.

“For the first time, the number of rural Indians using internet is 10 per cent more than the number of urban Indians,” he pointed out.

Recalling his return to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a bigger mandate, he said this day last year began a “golden chapter” in the history of Indian democracy, as it was after several decades that people of voted back a full term government with a full majority.

Modi and his Cabinet had taken oath on this day last year.

He said the people of India voted not merely for continuity but also with the dream of taking India to new heights and making it a global leader.

The decisions taken in the last one year are directed at fulfilling this dream, he said.

Noting that some of the decisions taken by his government were widely discussed and remain etched in public discourse, Modi asserted the nullification of Article 370 furthered the spirit of “national unity and integration”.

“The Ram Mandir judgment, delivered unanimously by the honourable Supreme Court of India, brought an amicable end to a debate persisting for centuries. The barbaric practice of triple talaq has been confined to the dustbin of history. Amendment to the Citizenship Act was an expression of India’s compassion and spirit of inclusiveness,” he said.

People feel involved and integrated in the development trajectory of the nation, and the light of ‘Jan Shakti’ and ‘Rashtra Shakti’ has ignited the entire nation.

“Powered by the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, India is marching forward in all spheres,” he said.