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MSRTC strike enters 15th day as employees refuse to budge despite CM Thackeray’s appeal

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MUMBAI: Employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) continued their strike for the 15th day on Thursday over the demand for merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government, despite an appeal from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to cooperate with the government in its effort to resolve their issues.

All 250 bus depots of the MSRTC remained shut for the second consecutive day, an official said.

Lakhs of passengers across the state continue to face hardships with no solution in sight to the issue.

Despite the suspension of over 900 employees, several MSRTC workers are still firm on continuing the agitation until their demand for the merger of the corporation with the state government is met.

According to MSRTC officials and union sources, as of now no meeting with government authorities is scheduled on Thursday for resolving the issue of the strike.

A section of the MSRTC employees are scheduled to meet Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray during the day.

“The situation is unchanged today. All 250 depots are shut across the state,” an MSRTC official said.

The state-run corporation has so far suspended 918 employees from various depots for provoking and participating in the strike. Action is likely to be taken against more employees later in the day. The indefinite strike started from October 28 and gradually intensified after the Diwali festival concluded last week.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Thackeray appealed to the corporation’s employees not to hold the poor people to ransom by continuing their protest.

Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab, who is also the chairman of the MSRTC, on Wednesday met a delegation of the Maharashtra ST Employees Joint Action Committee and appealed to the employees to call off their strike, even as the corporation filed a contempt petition in the Bombay High Court.

Hundreds of MSRTC employees from across the state converged in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon and held a rally at the Azad Maidan to press for their demand.

Parab said Maharashtra has 56 state-run corporations, and if the MSRTC unions’ demand was ceded, other corporations will also demand merger with the government.

“While merging a corporation, comprehensive thinking is needed. Explain this to the workers and ask them to get back to work,” Parab told the unions.

BJP leader Sadabhau Khot met Parab on Wednesday and said the salaries of MSRTC workers were very low, some had committed suicide, therefore the corporation should be merged with the state government immediately.

Parab pointed out that the state government has already appointed a committee to study the merger demand.

The MSRTC on Wednesday also filed a contempt petition in the HC, saying the unions have continued the strike despite the court declaring it illegal.

The court sought replies from the unions by Friday, and posted the matter for hearing to November 15.

Germany hits record new Covid cases in 24 hours

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BERLIN: Germany registered a record 50,196 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, November 11, 2021, according to health authorities.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the rise in infections as “dramatic”.

“The pandemic is returning in a new spectacular fashion,” her spokesperson said, calling on regional authorities to take further steps to quell the outbreak. 

Pressure is also building on hospitals, in an outbreak blamed on Germany’s relatively low vaccination rates of just over 67%.

Several of the worst-hit states, including Saxony, Bavaria, and most recently Berlin, have introduced new restrictions aimed at non-vaccinated people, who have been the first to be affected by the rebound in cases. 

As of Monday, Berlin will ban unvaccinated people from entering restaurants, terraces, bars, sports halls, and hairdressers. 

Over 4.9 million people have been infected by Covdi-19 in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Amit Shah to chair conclave of southern States on Nov 14

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NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting of southern zonal council on November 14 with chief ministers of all southern states to enhance cooperation and improve coordination among the states to resolve pending inter-state issues. The meeting will be held in Tirupati, officials said on Wednesday.

Shah will preside over the much-awaited conclave of dignitaries of southern states that include the participation of Chief Ministers from states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Lieutenant Governors of Andaman and Nicobar and Puducherry are also likely to attend the meeting. 
AP is likely to raise the issue of Special Category Status (SCS) at the Southern Zonal Council (SZC) meeting. Apart from the SCS issue, the State will also raise issues pertaining to pending dues from the Centre and from neighbouring States.

The issue of bringing the Jurala project on Krishna in neighbouring Telangana under the purview of Krishna River Management Board along with a discussion on the Centre’s proposal of interlinking rivers are other topics likely to be discussed.

Maharashtra hospital fire: Arrested medical officer, three staff nurses sent to police custody till November 12

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PUNE: A local court on Wednesday sent a woman medical officer and three staff nurses, arrested in connection with the fire that killed 11 patients at the district civil hospital in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar, to police custody till November 12.

Dr Vishakha Shinde and nurses Sapna Pathare, Asma Shaikh and Channa Anant, have been arrested under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.

“The four accused were produced before a court and remanded to police custody till November 12,” Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Manoj Patil said.

At least 11 patients died in a blaze that broke out in the intensive care unit ward of the district civil hospital on November 6.

The state government has suspended Ahmednagar district civil surgeon Dr Sunil Pokharna, medical officers Dr Suresh Dhakne and Dr Vishakha Shinde, and staff nurse Sapna Pathare, while services of nurses Asma Shaikh and Channa Anant were terminated.

Dr Shinde was on duty at the hospital on November 6, but she failed to report the incident, the official had said.

Investigations have revealed that the three staff nurses were outside the ICU when the fire occurred, Patil had said earlier, adding that they were not supposed to leave the ICU.

A staff nurse’s primary job was to safeguard the patients in the event of a blaze at the ICU, he had said.

According to the official, relatives of the patients had to rush to the ICU to save their near and dear ones, while the staff nurses waited outside.

Ruling TRS in Telangana to hold protests against NDA government, demanding paddy procurement

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HYDERABAD: Stepping up its attack on BJP and the NDA government at the Centre, the ruling TRS in Telangana on Wednesday said it would organise state-wide protests from next Friday against the Centre’s alleged refusal to buy paddy from the state’s farmers.

TRS Working President K T Rama Rao asked the party leaders to hold dharnas after obtaining permission from District Collectors as the model code of conduct is in force for the MLC elections.

The TRS’s decision to organise protests came amid an ongoing war of words between the party and BJP over paddy procurement and reducing VAT on petrol and diesel.

TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who sought procurement of all the paddy grown in the state by the Centre, had said on November 7 that his party would raise the issue in Parliament, besides holding dharnas in districts.

Slamming state BJP leaders who announced agitations against the TRS government for discouraging farmers not to go for paddy cultivation this Rabi season, Rao had alleged it was the Centre that is not willing to procure paddy from the state.

Stating that the BJP had no moral right to ask states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel, Rao had demanded that the NDA government remove the cess on petroleum products.

Rao had also said he would cut the tongues of BJP leaders if they don’t refrain from using bad language to criticise him.

Hitting out at Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Rao had alleged the saffron party leader is resorting to cheap talk and looking for political gain out of farmers.

State Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar said in Karimnagar on Wednesday that the Centre should buy the ‘Yasangi’ (summer) season paddy crop in Telangana.

Protests would be held in Karimnagar district on Friday in support of the demand, he said.

The Centre has indicated in a letter that it would not buy parboiled rice in the summer crop season, he said in a release.

BJP leader and Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy alleged on Wednesday that Rao is spreading untruths about petroleum prices.

In a tweet, he said that Rao had blamed the NDA government for the increase in fuel prices despite international crude prices not going up.

The prices go up only if they rise globally. The Centre decreased the prices now as things have improved, Reddy claimed.

He said on Tuesday that 600 lakh metric tons of rice was procured across the country during 2020-21 kharif marketing season.

Out of that, 94 lakh metric tons was procured in Telangana which was the second highest. It shows the Modi government’s sincerity towards the Telangana farmers, he said.

A reluctant PM, Deve Gowda wanted to be Karnataka CM for long, reveals book

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It was a long struggle for Gowda to reach the chief minister’s position in 1994 and he was at the peak of his political career in 1996 when the Prime Minister’s post came knocking. His party, the Janata Dal, was in a formidable position, having won 16 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, propelling him to the national stage after Atal Behari Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister.

Gowda was shocked when United Front leaders proposed his name to the post. Given his political acumen, Gowda was sceptical of Congress continuing its support to the coalition government for long. His hunch proved right.  

‘Basu’s decision to put Gowda in PM’s chair’

Congress did withdraw support 11 months later, cutting short Gowda’s run as Prime Minister. The book captures Gowda’s thinking before he accepted the PM’s post. “Don’t we all know what Congress did to Charan Singh, VP Singh and Chandrashekar? Will they spare me? Please, change your mind. I also have no felicity in Hindi and have not travelled the length and breadth of this country. You are our elder, I beg you,” Gowda is said to have appealed to Basu.

“When I saw he was unwilling to listen, I touched his feet and requested him to accept my argument,” Gowda is quoted as saying in the book. So much so, Basu told him, “Mr Gowda, do I go out and tell the people of India that we have no secular alternative to Vajpayee? Can we put out an advertisement in the newspaper for a secular Prime Minister?”

Author Srinivasaraju, who has been tracking political developments in the country for decades, told The New Indian Express that it was the conscious decision of Basu and then General Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Harkishan Singh Surjit to put Gowda in the PM’s chair, and it was their acknowledgement of Gowda’s administrative capabilities.

He travelled in an open jeep in J&K

The book highlights Gowda’s desire and intent to resolve India-Pakistan issues and how he had established a diplomatic back channel with then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif through Dr LH Hiranandani, an ENT Surgeon from Mumbai who had treated Gowda and was a friend of Sharif ’s father.

During his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 1996, Gowda wanted to go in an open-top jeep from the Rajouri airport to the town, but Army Commander Lt Gen Dhillon was concerned. He told Gowda, “If I do something like this, the country will hang me, sir.” Gowda replied, “Nothing will happen, don’t worry. You drive and I’ll sit next to you. Assume somebody lobs a grenade; both of us will die. Where is the question of you being hanged?”

Lt Gen Dhillon, during his interview with the author on December 4, 2019, said he was surprised by Gowda’s request for an openjeep ride.

“Prime Ministers don’t do this. They want to be protected all the time. Vehicles are flown in for them. But Gowda saab always moved around with minimal protection. He was a brave chap. The Valley would have changed if he had been around longer.”

The book highlights how he intervened in the budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, his letters to Vajpayee expressing strong views on violence in Gujarat in 2002, secret files about prominent political personalities that were kept by PV Narasimha Rao and passed on to Gowda’s PMO and his equation with senior Congress leaders as well as with current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Karnataka to get coal supplies from Odisha, Maharashtra

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BENGALURU: Karnataka will get coal from Maharashtra and Odisha for  thermal power generation units, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in New Delhi on Wednesday after meeting Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi. He claimed that the state is not facing any power crisis due to coal shortage.

“We are making arrangements to start mining,’’ he added. When he approached the Union government last time, the state did not get the environmental clearance. “We later went to Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav and now we have the clearance. We can mine at Mandakini block which is good news for Karnataka. As of now, there is no shortage of coal and we will ensure that there will be no shortfall in the future too,” he added. 

On Mekedaatu, he said the state government is determined to implement the ambitious project, which needs clearance from the Central Water Commission (CWC). CWC has already given permission to the state to prepare a detailed project report, but with a rider that a nod from the Cauvery Management Authority (CMA) is mandatory. “The issue has been referred to CMA and a meeting has already been convened,” he added. 

‘Will discuss water rows with lawyers’

“WE expect the project to be cleared in the next meeting. I will meet senior lawyers on Thursday and will discuss Cauvery, Mekedaatu and Krishna river disputes,” he added. Slamming Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah for alleging that senior politicians and their families are involved in the Bitcoin scam, Bommai said, “He holds a responsible position and should make allegations with proof.

We have already handed over the case to Enforcement Directorate, who are probing. We are open to any inquiry and there is no question of a cover-up, even if big names are involved,” he asserted. Asked if the BJP high command has sought a report on the controversy, he replied in the negative.

‘Dangal girl’ Geeta sheds 35 kg to get back on wrestling mat

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CHENNAI: Geeta Phogat last took the mat for a competitive wrestling bout in 2018. Back then, she finished third at the Yasar Dogu international event in Istanbul, Turkey. A lot has changed since then with India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medallist giving birth to a baby boy in December 2019.

“I was around 93-94kg after I gave birth to my child. But keeping away from the sport you love is difficult. Even when I was pregnant, I was thinking about a comeback because wrestling gives me satisfaction which nothing can give,” Geeta, who will compete in 59kg, told this daily.

It all began with losing the excessive weight and getting back to her best shape. “Stamina and speed play a vital role in contact sports like wrestling. Stamina was never an issue for me because of the hard work I did in childhood but getting back the speed was not easy. Executing wrestling moves with speed was the toughest thing,” added the Dangal girl.

The wrestler, whose last stint in the nationals came in 2017, produced some of her best results in 55kg — 2010 CWG gold and 2012 Worlds bronze but she chose 59kg weight category to make a comeback. “It’s been more than three years so I thought 59kg would be appropriate. The 2024 Paris Olympics is the ultimate goal so I would switch to 57kg, which is an Olympic division. I cannot compete in 62kg as my sister Sangeeta (Bajrang Punia’s wife) is competing there. I know the 57kg is a competitive category with Worlds medallists Anshu Malik and Sarita Mor there but I would love to compete against these good young wrestlers. The aim is to start representing the country again,” said Geeta, who will take the mat on Friday.

The top-two finishers from each weight category in the nationals will get a chance to represent India in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships scheduled in Pretoria, South Africa from December 3 to 5.

Besides Geeta, the nationals will also witness participation from wrestlers like Sakshi Malik (62kg), Narsingh Yadav (74kg) and Rahul Aware (61kg). However, the wrestlers who represented the country in the Tokyo Olympics will be conspicuous by their absence. Sonam Malik (62kg) underwent elbow surgery and recovering from it. Similarly, Vinesh Phogat (53kg) and Anshu are also recovering from their respective injuries. In the men’s event, Tokyo Games medallists — Bajrang (65kg) and Ravi Dahiya (57kg) — will be missing from action along with Deepak Punia (86kg).

India’s active coronavirus tally lowest in 266 days, death toll at 4,62,189 with 340 fresh fatalities

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NEW DELHI: India added 13,091 new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,44,01,670, while the active cases declined to 1,38,556, the lowest in 266 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 4,62,189 with 340 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 34 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 137 consecutive days now.

The active cases comprise 0.40 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.

25 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decrease of 1,127 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

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.

India records 11,466 COVID cases, 460 deaths; active infections continue to decline

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NEW DELHI: India recorded a single-day rise of 11,466 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the country’s tally of infections to 3,43,88,579, while the count of active cases has declined to 1,39,683, the lowest in 264 days, Union Health Ministry data showed.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 33 straight days.

Less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 136 consecutive days now.

The tally of active cases has declined to 1,39,683 which comprises 0.41 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.25 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decrease of 955 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.90 per cent.

This has been less than two per cent for 37 days.

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

This figure has been below two per cent for 47 days, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,37,87,047, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.34 per cent.

The cumulative number of doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 109.63 crore.

India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

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

The 460 new fatalities include 384 from Kerala, and 27 from Maharashtra.

Kerala has been reconciling Covid deaths since the past few days, hence the toll of the state is high.

A total of 4,61,849 fatalities have been reported so far in the country, including 1,40,430 from Maharashtra, 38,122 from Karnataka, 36,238 from Tamil Nadu, 34,362 from Kerala, 25,091 from Delhi, 22,903 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,252 from West Bengal.

The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.

“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.

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