'Indian health workers are putting their lives at risk to fight the coronavirus disease. But opaque government decision-making is delaying the supply of crucial equipment needed to shield them from infection, prompting manufacturers’ associations to allege that “malintentions” have undermined the procurement process, an investigation by Scroll.in has revealed.
'Bollywood Singer Sonu Nigam has extended his stay in Dubai amid the coronavirus outbreak as it can put people around him in India at risk. He had gone to Dubai with his wife to meet his son. He had his concert too in Dubai scheduled to be held on Sunday. The 46-year-old singer took to social media to inform that he will extend his stay in Dubai in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, extolled PM Narendra Modi's ‘Janata curfew’ and inform about the live streaming of his concert on Sunday.
'Nearly 17 civic bodies, including the BMC, had put up hoardings and distributed posters and pamphlets in housing societies that mistakenly state that people should stay away from animals as a precautionary measure against the virus. As a result, many pet owners across the city panicked and abandoned their pets...'
'Has community transmission of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak begun in India? It may well have, but we wouldn’t know because we are not testing enough people, say experts. “Community transmission began in India two to three weeks ago, around the same time as other countries. India is not an exception to the way the virus behaves. We just haven’t tested a representative sample that the country’s population of 1.34 billion demands,” said Ramanan Laxminayanan, director and senior fellow at Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy...'
'In an interview that could cause considerable apprehension and even possibly fear, the director of the Washington-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy and lecturer at Princeton University Ramanan Laxminarayan has said that India could be the next coronavirus hotspot. Using the United States estimates for itself that 20%-60% of the population could be infected, Dr Laxminarayan said that means in the worst case scenario, 60% of the Indian population could be infected – which is some 700 or 800 million people.
'While addressing the Lok Sabha on the violence that broke out in parts of northeast Delhi on 24-25 February, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Meenakshi Lekhi claimed that most incidents of rioting have taken place under the Congress regime adding that the only incident of riots, which everyone is always reminded of, was in Gujarat in 2002 and there has been no such case post that in the state... Let’s take look at how the data collected by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Home Affairs, contradicts Lekhi’s claims...'
'While most of China’s neighbours have been able to contain the spread of COVID-19, countries far from it are seeing an exponential surge in cases. Early testing and wider coverage distinguish such Asian countries from Western countries. However, India is dangerously placed as it has among the lowest testing rates...'
'Indians seeking clarity from the government on the causes, responses, and aftermath of the riots in north-east Delhi, in which 53 people died and over 500 injured, would have been confused by Home Minister Amit Shah’s explanations in the Lok Sabha on March 11. Mr Shah’s 50-minute speech can be best described as a model of mendacity. It apportioned the blame on everyone but his ministry and the Delhi police, which report to him. According to his version, the riots were pre-planned, financed, and mobilised externally (by implication the Muslim community) and the police were ...'
'Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has been nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha by President Ram Nath Kovind. A notification to this effect was issued by the Union home ministry on Monday... This is the first time that a government has nominated a CJI to the upper house and will raise questions about the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, especially since Gogoi headed benches in key cases that the same government which has nominated him had important political stakes in.
'Going against their own advice, Karnataka ruling party BJP's top leaders took part in a massive gathering for BJP leader Mahantesh Kavatagimath's daughter's wedding. The wedding took place on Sunday in Shagun gardens in the Udyambagh industrial area in Belagavi district. Among the eminent guests at the wedding were Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai... The wedding was held in an open lawn under a canopy. The Karnataka MLC's daughter's wedding saw close to 2000 people, reports suggest. Visuals show people thronging at the wedding.
