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PM Modi inaugurates Atal Tunnel, longest highway tunnel in the world at 3,000-meter altitude

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It will facilitate the movement of armed forces and infantry combat vehicles to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh besides boosting the tourism and winter sports in the region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of Atal tunnel world's longest highway tunnel in Manali Saturday Oct. 3 2020.

CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today, inaugurated the 9.02-kilometre long Atal Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in the world built at an altitude of 3,000 meters (10,00 feet) which will reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by going through Lahaul-Spiti in 46 km.

It will facilitate the movement of armed forces and infantry combat vehicles to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh besides boosting the tourism and winter sports in the region.

The tunnel was built in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 metres from the mean sea level using drill and blast NATM (New Austria Tunnelling Method) techniques by the Border Roads Organisation at a cost of about Rs 4,000 crore and will remain open throughout the year.

Without the tunnel the valley remained cut off for about six months every year amid heavy snowfall.

The tunnel will reduce the distance on road between Manali and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by about four to five hours.

Some three thousand cars and 1,500 trucks will pass through tunnel daily who’s overhead clearance is 5.525 metres and is horse-shoe shaped.

Its not just Leh that will be connected all-year round but also Lahul-Spiti the tribal district of the Himachal Pradesh.

There is an emergency exit at every 500 meters, a broadcasting system with CCTV cameras at every 250 meters, an automatic detection system, fire hydrant at every 60 meters, a telephone at every 150 meters, and air quality monitoring system at every one kilometre of the tunnel. 

The construction of the tunnel began in 2010 as the foundation stone was laid by then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on June 28 that year.

After the Geological Survey of India had given the green signal for the tunnel in 2,000 and in 2002 the then Prime Minsiter Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave the go ahead.

The feasibility study for the tunnel was first done in 1990.

Prime Minister Modi reached Manali earlier today, where he was accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence staff Bipin Rawat Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur and the DG BRO Lt Gen Harpal Singh at the inauguration ceremony.

After inauguration, PM Modi walked around the tunnel.

The South Portal of the tunnel is twenty five km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 metres, while North Portal is near village Teling, Sissu in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 Metres.

Media allowed to enter Hathras gang rape victim’s village as SIT probe completed

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Amid country-wide outrage over the incident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had on Wednesday formed a three-member SIT which was instructed to submit its report by October 14.

HATHRAS: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has completed its probe into the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman after an alleged gangrape, a Hathras administration official said on Saturday.

The administration has also lifted restrictions on the media’s entry into the village, a day after outsiders, including politicians, were barred from meeting the victim’s family due to the ongoing SIT probe, the official said.

“Only the entry of media has been allowed into the village of the victim as the probe of the SIT has completed,” Joint Magistrate Prem Prakash Meena told reporters.

He also refuted allegations that the administration had confined the victim’s family and confiscated their phones.

Amid country-wide outrage over the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Wednesday formed a three-member SIT which was instructed to submit its report by October 14, according to officials.

The Hathras administration had on Thursday clamped prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144, which bars assembly of more than four people, in the district where political parties had reached and staged protest to demand justice for the young woman, who died earlier this week, a fortnight after her alleged gangrape here.

Trump doing well, undergoing Remdesivir therapy for COVID-19 treatment: White House doctor

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The Trump administration had issued an emergency use authorisation for Remdesivir after the drug showed moderate effectiveness in improving outcomes for patients hospitalised with virus.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump, who was shifted to a military hospital after being tested positive for COVID-19, is undergoing Remdesivir therapy and is “doing well”, the White House physician has said.

The Trump administration had issued an emergency use authorisation for Remdesivir earlier this year after the drug showed moderate effectiveness in improving outcomes for patients who were hospitalised with the coronavirus.

Trump, 74, was flown to Walter Reed Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington DC, on Friday.

White House physician Sean Conley said medical specialists have recommended Remde Sivir therapy to treat the president’s COVID-19 infection.

“This evening, I am happy to report that the President is doing well,” Conley said in a health bulletin on Friday night, the first after the president was moved to the military hospital as a precautionary measure.

“He is not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy. He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably,” he said.

Conley, in a White House memorandum, said he recommended Trump be moved to Walter Reed Military Medical Centre “for further monitoring”.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, were tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

While the president was taken to the military hospital, the First Lady stayed back at the White House.

Hathras protest: We need to fight against the ‘rape epidemic’, says Swara Bhaskar

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Bhaskar had joined the civil society activists, students, women and members of various political outfits who had gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Friday to demand justice for the victim.

NEW DELHI: It is time the country starts fighting the “rape epidemic”, Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar said on Friday as she joined a protest here at Jantar Mantar to demand justice for the Hathras gang-rape and murder victim.

“People from different groups are here, this shows how enraged people are against what happened in Hathras, Balrampur, Azamgargh. There is a rape epidemic which has spread in the country, especially the kind of news we are getting from Uttar Pradesh,” Bhaskar said while addressing the protesters.

“It is time we start fighting against the rape epidemic. and today we are standing against it here and we have to win,” she added.

Bhaskar had joined the civil society activists, students, women and members of various political outfits who had gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Friday to demand justice for the victim.

The protest was initially supposed to be held at the India Gate but was later shifted to the Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.

The security was beefed up in the area.

Besides ground force, senior police officers and paramilitary personnel were deployed to manage the crowd.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging that the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, had said the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

COVID-19 Updates Section 144 imposed in Thiruvananthapuram due to rising cases, new orders issued

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As part of Covid control measures, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector imposed Section 144, banning  the gathering of more than five people in Kerala’s capital due to rise in coronavirus cases.

India’s Covid tally has reached 64,73,545 with a spike of 79,476 new cases and 1,069 deaths reported in last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry on Saturday.

With 79,476 new cases, the tally reaches 64,73,545 including 9,44,996 active cases, 54,27,707 recoveries and 1,00,842 deaths as per Union Health Ministry data.

India reported 1,069 deaths in the last 24-hours making it the third country to report over one-lakh deaths globally.

​Of the total deaths, the highest have been reported in Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu and then Karnataka, which has reported the third highest number of deaths.

Sikhs in US safe under Trump; Biden’s election campaign ‘demoralising’: Community leaders

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The Biden campaign, which launched the ‘Sikh Americans for Biden’, in a press release on Sunday said that Sikh-Americans experience bullying at rates twice the national average.

WASHINGTON:Asserting that Sikhs are safe under the Trump administration, a group of prominent Sikh-American leaders have alleged that the Biden campaign is trying to “demoralise and demotivate” the community.

It is because of President Donald Trump’s initiatives to ensure religious freedom and liberty that so many Sikh youths are serving in the US military today with their turbans and beard intact, said Harmeet Dhillon, a Sikh-American attorney and co-chair of Lawyers for Trump.

According to Jasdip Singh, co-chair of the Sikhs for Trump, the community members in the US have never been as safe as is under President Trump.

“We are a martial community, no one can bully us. By saying so (that the Sikh community is not safe in US), the Biden campaign is trying to demoralise and demotivate us,” he said.

The Biden campaign, which launched the ‘Sikh Americans for Biden’, in a press release on Sunday said that Sikh-Americans experience bullying at rates twice the national average and have reported a spike in these encounters since 2017.

The Biden campaign vowed to address the unique challenges, including xenophobia, being faced by the Sikh community in the US.

Singh claimed that a Biden-Harris administration would be “anti-Sikh”.

In the November 3 presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris will challenge incumbent Republican President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Singh said Harris, during her tenure as California Attorney General, was against the employment of a Sikh man, Trilochan Singh Oberoi, who refused to shave off his beard.

“Harris asked him to shave his beard and choose between faith and livelihood. Despite being of Indian-origin, she is anti-Sikh,” he said.

“We cannot support Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Those are not Sikh values,” Singh said.

In 2005, Oberoi cleared the written test, vision test, a physical abilities test, and every other test required by the state of California to get him a corrections officer job but was denied the position when he refused to shave his beard.

The department rejected him, saying the state-mandated wearing a gas-mask during jail emergencies and that keeping beard would be a hindrance.

Finally in 2011, after a six-year-long legal battle, Oberoi was appointed as a correctional officer in the prison and won USD 295,000 in damages.

Singh said, “I want to address all my Sikh brothers and sisters who are questioning me that how being a Sikh I am supporting Trump. I want to ask them a question. How they being Sikh are supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris who are supporting and promoting weed and drug culture, who support abortion, same-sex marriages.

“Are these Sikh values?” Singh, who is also a businessman, said as part of the 2020 election campaign he has been travelling to some of the remote parts of the US and his turban and beard have never posed any problem.

“Everywhere I go — from Pennsylvania to Ohio, even in the remote parts of the country — people welcome us. Trump supporters have given me so much love and affection like never before. I represent Sikh and India with my turban,” he said on Monday.

Singh, who had launched ‘Sikhs for Trump’ in 2016, claimed Trump has very strong support from the community.

“Sikh truckers in the US are now supporting President Trump. President Trump has personally acknowledged and thanked the support of the Sikh/Indian American community,” he said, claiming that this year more than 50 per cent of the community members are supporting Trump.

Trump’s policies and vision for America resonated with Indian and Sikh values, he said.

Kanwaljit Singh Rekhi, a Sikh leader, said all minority groups in US have benefited from Trump’s economic recovery plan.

“Small minority businesses mostly owned by South Asians survived during the pandemic due to President Trump’s aggressive economic recovery plan,” he said.

According to Baljinder Singh, another Sikh leader, Trump signed the Religious Freedom Act, which opened doors for Sikh members to serve in the US military and other law enforcement agencies, keeping their turbans and beard intact.

WHO, partners roll out faster COVID-19 tests for poorer nations

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GENEVA: The World Health Organization announced Monday that it and leading partners have agreed to a plan to roll out 120 million rapid-diagnostic tests for the coronavirus to help lower- and middle-income countries make up ground in a testing gap with richer countries – even if it’s not fully funded yet.

At USD 5 apiece, the antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests for which WHO issued an emergency-use listing last week, the program initially requires USD 600 million and is to get started as early as next month to provide better access to areas where it’s harder to reach with PCR tests that are used often in many wealthier nations.

The rapid tests look for antigens, or proteins found on the surface of the virus.

They are generally considered less accurate ” though much faster ” than higher-grade genetic tests, known as PCR tests.

Those tests require processing with specialty lab equipment and chemicals.

Typically that turnaround takes several days to deliver results to patients.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the program as “good news” in the fight against COVID-19.

“These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days, at a lower price with less sophisticated equipment,” he said.

“This will enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests.

“”We have an agreement, we have seed funding and now we need the full amount of funds to buy these tests,”he said, without specifying.

Dr. Catharina Boehme, chief executive of a non-profit group called the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, said the rollout would be in 20 countries in Africa, and would rely on support of groups including the Clinton Health Initiative.

She said the diagnostic tests will be provided by SD Biosensor and Abbott.

Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund, a partnership that works to end epidemics, said it would make an initial USD 50 million available from its COVID-19 response mechanism.

He said the deployment of the quality antigen rapid diagnostic tests will be a “significant step”to help contain and combat the coronavirus.

“They’re not a silver bullet, but hugely valuable as a complement to PCR tests, since although they are less accurate, they’re much faster, cheaper and don’t require a lab,”he said.

Many rich countries have also faced problems rolling out accurate tests, and testing itself is no panacea — countries like France and the United States have all faced backlogs and hiccups at times, and rapid tests in Britain and Spain turned out to be inaccurate.

But rolling out testing in poorer countries aims to help health care workers get a better grip on where the virus is circulating, in hopes of following up with containment and other measures to stop it.

Sands said high-income countries are currently carrying out 292 tests per day per 100,000 people ” while the lowest-income countries were conducting 14 per 100,000 people.

He said the 120 million tests would represent a “massive increase”in testing, but were still a fraction of what is needed in those countries.

With lockdown curbs lifted, Uttarakhand tourism sector gets a leg-up

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Hotels across major tourist destinations have received over 80% booking and they hope that the losses during the summer will be recovered. 

Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple

DEHRADUN: With all restrictions lifted for tourists to visit Uttarakhand, including the mandatory Covid negative report, business activities are gaining ground in the tourism sector.  

Hotels across major tourist destinations have received over 80% booking and they hope that the losses during the summer will be recovered. 

“We have received over 80% booking for this weekend. Every necessary precaution will be in place to check the spread of Covid. Now that the business seems to be back on track, we hope things are going to be promising,” said Ved Sah, spokesperson of the Nainital Hotel and Restaurants Association. 

Hotel owners in Mussoorie also said that bookings are expected to be full in a day or two for the weekend. “I have got bookings of over 75% to date. The summer season went without any business. We hope to recover some of the loss as people would now want to travel more than ever,” said Sandeep Sahni, president of the Uttarakhand Hotels Association. 

Many other popular destinations such as Mukteshwar, Bhimtal, Harsil, Devorayag and others are also getting bookings along with lesser known destinations. 

According to estimates, over 2.5 lakh people are dependent directly or indirectly on the tourism sector for their livelihood.  

The state government, from September 24, eased norms on Covid. Now, tourists travelling to the hill state do not need a Covid negative report but hoteliers and tourists will have to inform authorities in case of symptom or infection. 

Tourists will have to mandatorily register themselves on the Dehradun Smart City portal.

“Our aim is to revive the tourism sector so that the industry gets a boost. Tourism is the backbone of our state’s economy and we are committed to make the sector world class,” said tourism minister Satpal Maharaj.

COVID-19 Update in India reports 70,589 new cases, 776 deaths as tally crosses 61-lakh mark

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India’s case tally stands at 61,45,292 including 9,47,576 active cases, 51,01,398 cured/discharged/migrated & 96,318 deaths.

India’s COVID-19 tally has crossed the 61-lakh mark with a spike of 70,589 new cases and 776 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Case tally stands at 61,45,292 including 9,47,576 active cases, 51,01,398 cured/discharged/migrated & 96,318 deaths, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s latest update read.

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the duration of several schemes has been extended till December 31 due to COVID-19.

“The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the duration of several schemes till 31.12.2020 in view of the continued disruption caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in certain parts of the country and to provide greater Ease of Doing Business,” a tweet from the Office of Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Amarinder says Punjab govt will move Supreme Court over new farm laws

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Addressing the gathering, the CM slammed the Centre for bringing the farm laws, saying they would “destroy” the farming community.

Farm Bills, Amarinder Singh

KHATKAR KALAN: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said his government would approach the Supreme Court over the issue of new farm laws.

He also slammed the BJP-led central government, accusing it of snatching the rights of states.

“Will it (Centre) leave anything with them to run their states,” Singh asked.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, along with AICC general secretary and Punjab Affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar along with other leaders on Monday paid tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Khatkar Kalan village.

Amarinder Singh, Rawat and others held a sit-in protest here against the new farms laws.

Addressing the gathering, the CM slammed the Centre for bringing the farm laws, saying they would “destroy” the farming community.

“I have said we will take this matter forward.

The president has passed these bills and now we will take this matter to the Supreme Court,” Singh said.

Stating that his government would take every possible step to protect the interest of the farming community, he said, “Two advocates from Delhi are coming here tomorrow and we will discuss this matter with them”. President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three contentious farm bills that have triggered protests by farmers, especially in Punjab.

According to a gazette notification, the president gave assent to three bills — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Defending farmers for holding protests over the farm laws, the CM said they had the right to do so as “you are taking away their livelihood”.

He accused the central government of snatching the rights of states.

“Now you have taken away (right over) the farm sector. Which thing will you leave with states? Will you leave it or not? You have taken away everything (from states). How will we run our states?” he added.

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