'A 32-year-old man in West Bengal’s Howrah went out to buy milk during the lockdown on Wednesday when he was beaten up by the police. He later passed away after the thrashing. His family has alleged he died of the injuries. The man has been identified as Lal Swami, a resident of Howrah, who stepped out of his residence to buy milk. His wife has alleged he faced police lathicharge when the personnel were clearing a gathering on the streets, reported ABP Ananda...'
'To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. To the Indian Police, every situation can be solved with a bit of violence. That seems to be the dictum of police authorities around the country, as India enters Day 2 of the three-week lockdown announced on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pictures and videos have emerged from around the country of people being brutally hit by lathis, of doctors being assaulted and of vegetable vendors being slapped around and extorted for bribes...'
'With harvesting of wheat crop about to commence in the next few days in the key grain growing States of Punjab and Haryana, farmers are a worried lot fearing loss due to delay in harvesting and procurement of amid the ongoing lockdown, due to coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak... “My crop will be ready for harvesting in next 9-10 days, if the weather is clear. But I am nervous about how I will harvest it. If the lockdown continues, I don't know how anyone can employ combine harvesters or even manual labour in the field?
'When H. received an urgent message from the hospital on Monday night asking her to come in to work, she knew it would be bad. The world was in the grips of a pandemic, and her home state in south India had discovered 22 positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. For weeks, the hospital where she worked had been all hands on deck — even doctors not treating coronavirus patients were required to take throat and nose swabs, check symptoms, and decide who needed medical assistance.
'In his new book, Sebastian & Sons, TM Krishna tells of Parlandu, the “greatest mrdangam maker ever”. Parlandu was Dalit, as all makers of the mrdangam, a percussion instrument made with cow hide which is integral to Carnatic music, are. He was employed by Vaidyanatha Ayyar and, later, by his legendary pupil, the revered Carnatic musician Palghat Mani Iyer. Both teacher and disciple, as almost all mrdangam players, were Brahmin.
'Urban India is staring at a possible spike in food prices and scarcity of fruits and vegetables in the coming days, as transport curbs and pandemic fears open up a wide chasm between the farm and the fork. Major crop-growing states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have imposed lockdowns or curfews in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Inter-state goods transport is at risk as well, as truck drivers are harassed at borders, and casual labourers who sort, grade and load harvests are in short supply.
'Health workers on duty in villages and district hospitals across rural Kashmir lack personal protection equipment (PPE), making them vulnerable to infection and crippling their ability to work normally amidst the coronavirus outbreak. PPE consists of gloves, masks, eye protection device, and the hazmat cover-all suits worn to protect health care workers from getting infected. These workers pleaded that rural hospitals be supplied with better protective gear to enable doctors and paramedical staff work smoothly.
'As the global coronavirus pandemic worsens by the day, fear is swelling in India -- and frontline medical workers are bearing the brunt of public panic. India has reported 562 cases of the novel coronavirus so far, a relatively low number given the country's size and density. But there are signs of rising anxiety amid a dramatic nationwide lockdown, with scenes of panic buying and targeted harassment of doctors and other frontline workers.
'Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has practically paralysed the planet. On Tuesday, India went into a 21-day country-wide lockdown, the world’s largest quarantine measure ever. Yet one activity seems remarkably unaffected: the political wheeling and dealing of the Bharatiya Janata Party...'
'Shabana Ansari has five daughters to look after and no home to return to. After riots broke out in Northeast Delhi last month, the Eidgah relief camp in Old Mustafabad has doubled up as a home to her and 600 other riot victims. However, with the coronavirus outbreak, she and the other families are forced to look for a place to stay in 24 hours after authorities began clearing the camp. Shabana, who has no spare clothes, ration, medicines or even a spare blanket, said, “My house is a smouldering ruin. Now I have to look for a home as they cleared out the relief camp.
