'Amidst the criticism over the handling of the coronavirus crisis, the Indian government has decided to go ahead with an arms deal with Israel worth hundreds of millions of dollars. According to a statement released by the Indian government, Israel will supply the Indian military with 16,479 Negev light machine guns, despite growing concerns over the health emergency facing the country of 1.3 billion people.
'Maharashtra Police on Thursday found over 300 migrant workers crammed inside two container trucks which were ostensibly carrying essential commodities from Telangana to Rajasthan. The shocked officials found that the workers, who hailed from Rajasthan, had chosen this surreptitious and dangerous mode of travel as they wanted to return home. Reports of desperate migrant workers heading home amid lockdown on account of coronavirus pandemic are emerging from many parts of the country...'
'In four days and 200 km of walking, Pravin Kumar, 46, was stopped at every checkpoint. Police checked whether he and 11 others with him had their Aadhaar cards and then waved them on, with an instruction to maintain “social distancing”. So, for their only proper meal in 65 hours, offered by a voluntary organisation, the 12 sat one metre apart in Dehradun on Thursday afternoon. Kumar, employed like the others at the Char Dham Road Project’s Hanuman Chatti site in Uttarkashi, says he knows the value of hygiene in the time of coronavirus.
'A half-filled drum of water measuring about 25 litres is all Rekha has left for her family of six living in a slum cluster near south Delhi’s Mahipalpur. For the past three days, she said, her son and nephew have been unsuccessful in reaching a nearby, privately owned borewell from where they get their daily supply, because of police heavy handedness. “There is not a drop of water left here,” said the 35-year-old, referring to the jhuggi jhopri cluster of about a 100 families that are involved in waste picking in Mahipalpur.
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a complete lockdown of the country for a period of twenty-one days. All work, except that of essential service providers, is to be stopped. Daily wage workers nationwide are suffering under the lockdown because of the nature of their work. Hunger and poverty are looming over their heads. The prime minister’s Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi, is no exception. On Wednesday, a group of children were seen sitting cross-legged and eating grass, called “akri” in the local language.
'Anger is simmering in Goa, India’s smallest state, whose chief minister is keen to ensure a 100% lockdown including cracking down on the supply of daily essentials like milk and bread as the lockdown has begun to affect not just stranded tourists and homeless but even middle class households. With Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s grand plan for home delivery proving to be a non-starter, the opposition has approached the Governor’s office seeking his intervention. A group of residents has approached the High Court while still others are baying for the Chief Minister to resign...'
'Truckloads of green vegetables are rotting in Delhi’s Azadpur wholesale market, alleged traders from the largest commercial hub for perishables in India, even as consumers in the national capital scrambled for essentials in the wake of the countrywide lockdown announced on Tuesday night to keep rising Covid-19 infections in check. “At least 70 trucks of green vegetables each weighing 15 tonnes are rotting since retailers and shopkeepers are unable to reach the market," said Anil Malhotra, member of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee, Azadpur.
'On 15 March, the union ministry of home affairs sanctioned the appointment of Baseer Ahmed Khan, Kashmir’s divisional commissioner, as an advisor to Girish Chandra Murmu, the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Baseer is accused of being involved in a multi-crore land scam in 2009. A case against him regarding the matter remains pending with a special anti-corruption court in Baramulla. His elevation brings into question the Narendra Modi government’s promise of corruption-free governance in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution...'
'In the past week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in every speech he made, stressed on the importance of staying home right now. Given the urgency to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the country, PM Modi said, “Ghar main rahiye, ghar main rahiye, ghar main rahiye (stay home, stay home, stay home).” A similar message was repeatedly broadcasted by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in his daily video bulletins. “Ghari raaha, surakshit raaha (stay home, stay safe)” was how he ended each of his speeches.
'A 65-year-old man infected with the coronavirus died at a hospital in Srinagar on Thursday morning, recording Kashmir’s first recorded death due to the deadly disease. "Despite our best efforts, the COVID-19 positive patient at Chest Disease Hospital passed away due to cardiac arrest. The patient had a medical history of prolonged illness with Sugar, hypertension, obesity," a doctor said...'
