Tag: DELHI

Prince Charles’ Charity British Asian Trust Seeks ‘Oxygen For India’

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 27 April 2021
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British Asian Trust’s ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal will raise funds for oxygen concentrators, and together with local partners in India, will rapidly deploy them to the hospitals and patients that need them most …. Reports Asian Lite News

Oxygen appeal for Corona crippled India. The British Asian Trust (BAT), a Prince of Wales’ Charity, has launched an emergency appeal ‘Oxygen For India’ to aid the deepening Covid-19 crisis in India. Rates of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India are rising at a hugely alarming pace, with India setting new world records for the daily rise in number of cases.

India’s hospitals are overrun, have stopped admitting patients and are running low on vital supplies and equipment including oxygen, leaving people helpless as they watch their loved ones die on stretchers outside the hospital doors.

British Asian Trust’s ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal will raise funds for oxygen concentrators, and together with local partners in India, will rapidly deploy them to the hospitals and patients that need them most. Having consulted with the Indian and UK governments, the British Asian Trust’s advisors and programme partners in India have outlined a package of support that will compliment what industry, government and other charities are doing to help.

All funds raised by the ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal will go towards providing as many oxygen concentrators to hospitals as quickly as possible. Oxygen concentrators are alternate devices to oxygen cylinders – while cylinders contain a finite amount of oxygen supply, a concentrator continually recycles oxygen from the air and delivers it to the patient.

A donation of £50 will provide oxygen for 40 patients struggling to breathe, £450 will provide low-flow oxygen concentrator to help 900 patients and an £830 donation will provide high-flow oxygen concentrator to help 550 of the most seriously ill patients.

“We have seen the terrible impact of the pandemic worldwide but the devastation in India currently is one of the worst points of the last 12 months,” said Hitan Mehta, Executive Director, British Asian Trust. “The astronomical numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India are frightening and we fear there is still a peak to come. What we can do now is provide essential support as quickly as possible to help those most in need. Our ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal has been set up to provide vital supplies and equipment to save lives. We simply cannot stand by and do nothing.”

Hitan Mehta (British Asian Trust)

British Asian Trust ambassadors such as Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nitin Ganatra and Isa Guha have supported the launch of the appeal on social media, whilst Sunrise Radio, the UK’s biggest and most-listened to commercial Asian radio station will support the appeal pro bono with round the clock airtime. The appeal will also be supported by advertising agency Here & Now 365 and Indian TV channel NDTV 24×7.

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal

Actor and British Asian Trust ambassador Nitin Ganatra shared his thoughts on Twitter: “Devastating scenes in India where people are dying in the streets due to Covid-19, please take a look at the British Asian Trust’s emergency appeal. Please share. #OxygenForIndia Please give generously.”

Nitin Ganatra

Tony Lit MBE, Managing Director, Sunrise Radio adds: “It is crucial that we work together to do whatever we can to support India in this time of national crisis. The pandemic is destroying Indian families and communities and we must do everything to help and support them as quickly as possible. I am proud that Sunrise Radio is partnering with the British Asian Trust to launch the Oxygen For India emergency appeal and alongside Here & Now 365 and NDTV 24×7 we will be donating substantial advertising space across radio and television to help raise the vital funds required to support those most in need in India.”

Tony Lit

Manish Tiwari, Managing Director, Here & Now 365 adds: “This is a vital appeal to provide emergency support to those in India suffering the most during one of the worst periods of the pandemic. Working alongside Sunrise Radio and NDTV 24×7 we hope to raise as much awareness and funds as possible to support the British Asian Trust’s Oxygen For India appeal.”

The Oxygen For India emergency appeal is being supported by the British International Doctor’s Association (BIDA) who have partnered with the British Asian Trust to help raise funds, with a target of raising £100,000.

Manish Tiwari

Donate to the Oxygen For India emergency appeal now. Make a donation and be part of the collective effort to get oxygen to those who need it urgently.

If you are giving up to £100 you can have it doubled by following the instructions here: https://givematch.com/causes/british-asian-trust-uk
If you are giving more than £100, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/indiacovidappeal
If you want to give more than £10,000 please call Colman Cawe, Director of Fundraising on 07496 131 665.

Tags British Asian Trust, covid, Covid crisis, DELHI, Help Delhi, London, NRI, NRIs, Prince Charles

-Top News COVID-19 India News

Capital lockdown till May 3

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 25 April 2021
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CM Kejriwal says extension of lockdown is the last weapon against coronavirus. The positivity rate rose to 36-37% (the highest in the country)…reports Asia Lite News

Capital Delhi on Sunday extended the lockdown by another week in light of spiral caused by the second wave of the pandemic. Delhi’s health apparatus is creaking under pressure unable to cope with the number of cases and lack of oxygen supply to hospitals.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “We enforced a six-day lockdown that is ending tomorrow. This was our last weapon against coronavirus. The positivity rate rose to 36-37% (the highest in the country) at the start of the lockdown, and is now showing signs of improvement over the past two days. It’s has come down to below 30% today. Will have to monitor this situation closely and see if it comes down further.”

Many top hospitals in Delhi, in the last 48 hours, have sent out SOS messages over medical oxygen shortage. 25 people died at Jaipur Golden Hospital due to low oxygen pressure on Friday. Kejriwal on Saturday wrote to all chief ministers “requesting them to provide oxygen to Delhi, if they have spare”.

A view of LNJP Hospital after lockdown in National Capital in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases, in New Delhi On Friday, 23 April, 2021.(Photo:Qamar Sibtain/IANS)

Kejriwal pointed out on that during last week’s lockdown, the Covid-19 positivity rate climbed to almost 36 to 37 per cent. However, he added the rate went down in the last 1-2 days and today it went down below 30 per cent. “I’m not saying that Covid-19 is ending. We will have to observe for a few more days. The positivity rate might go up or come down.” the Delhi chief minister said.

Meanwhile, on a day when India’s daily cases of Covid-19 crossed 3,00,000 for the fourth straight day, PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation through ‘Mann Ki Baat’ warning citizens against falling prey to rumours around the coronavirus vaccine. The Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) said on Sunday that 349,691 fresh infections were detected across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 16,960,172. More than 2,000 people succumbed to the viral disease yet again, as the related death toll rose by a record 2,767 fatalities and now stands at 192,311 or 1.13% of the infection tally.

Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in new Delhi on Monday March 22, 2021.(Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)

Rahul urges party workers to help the needy

Reacting to Modi’s statement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the “system has failed” and it is the duty of the party to provide help to fellow citizens suffering due to sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country.

“System’ failed, so it’s important to do Jan ki baat. In this crisis, the country needs responsible citizens. I request my Congress colleagues to leave all political work — just provide all help and ease the pain of our countrymen,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

US in talks to send aid to India

Washington is under increasing pressure to do more to help India, the world’s largest democracy and a strategic ally in President Joe Biden’s efforts to counter China, as it grapples with a record-setting surge in coronavirus infections

Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, warned in an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post that India’s 1.3 billion people are facing a humanitarian catastrophe. He said some 2,000 people were dying daily, but most experts estimated that the true number was five to 10 times that level.

“Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet.

Oxygen cylinders are stored at Kolkata Medical College Hospital during the increasing numbers of COVID 19 patients in Kolkata on April 23, 2021.(Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)

Maharashtra Covid tally zooms past 42 Lakhs

After three consecutive days of high fatalities, Maharashtra’s Covid-19 death toll fell as the state’s case tally zoomed past the 42 lakh-mark, with an increase in the number of active cases, health officials said.

A day after reporting a record 773 deaths, the state’s fatalities fell to its second highest peak of 676 on Sunday, taking its overall toll to 63,928, the worst in the country.

Dropping a little from the record high of 68,631 new cases recorded on April 18, the state on Saturday reported a single-day tally of 67,160 fresh infections, taking its overall figures past the 42 lakh-mark to 42,28,836.

The situation in Mumbai improved considerably with a drop in new infections from 7,199 on Friday to 5,867 on Saturday, taking its Covid tally to 6,22,146 till date, 20 days after touching the highest daily spike of 11,206 cases on April 4.

The city also reported 71 fatalities on Saturday, which took its overall death toll to 12,726, the highest for a single city in the country.

The state’s death rate dropped marginally from 1.52 per cent a day earlier to 1.51 per cent now, while the number of active cases increased again from 691,851 on Friday to 694,480 on Saturday.

Clock ticks for out-of-breath patients

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 23 April 2021
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Delhi Disaster Management Authority appoints two senior bureaucrats as nodal officers to ensure smooth movement of tankers and facilitate oxygen supply to city hospitals, reports Asian Lite News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05PX5tiDEg0

The unabated second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the country. According the health ministry, a total of 3,32,730 Covid cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data released on Friday.

The country also registered over 2,000 daily deaths for the third consecutive day with the highest spike in single-day deaths of 2,263 on Friday, since the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, taking the cumulative death toll in India to 1,86,920 so far.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded its highest ever fatalities over the last 24 hours — 306 Covid patients died and more than 26,000 cases were logged. According to a Delhi government health bulletin released late on Thursday, the city’s positivity rate stood at 36.24 per cent, meaning every third person who underwent the test was infected.

Delhi has been logging over 25,000 cases for days now. The huge numbers have converted its hospitals to battle zones where for the last three days, the doctors have been fighting to save patients amid a massive shortage of beds and most crucially, oxygen.

Outside many hospitals, desperate relatives of patients could be seen waiting, many in tears, appealing for a bed and treatment for their loved ones.

Also read:24 Covid patients die after oxygen leak

Since morning, several private hospitals in Delhi said they ran out of oxygen, and two approached the High Court for relief. The Delhi government listed several hospitals which were completely out of supplies even as other hospitals flagged shortages to press and on social media.

Around 25 Covid-19 patients have died in the last 24 hours in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the hospital authority said here on Friday.

Relative of a coronavirus victim mourns outside a mortuary of a COVID-19 hospital in New Delhi(IANS)

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital raised an alarm for immediate need of oxygen supply as over 140 critical patients admitted in the hospitals were on ventilators and on oxygen support.

With Delhi Government’s efforts, the hospitals received oxygen supply, however, the hospitals said it received only two MT of oxygen which will last merely for the next few hours.

“Ventilators and Bipap are not working effectively. Resorting to manual ventilation in ICUs and ED. Major Major crisis likely. life of another 60 sickest patients at risk. Need urgent intervention,” said Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, in a statement early morning on Friday.

Amid flood of complaints regarding oxygen shortage by over a dozen hospitals, including government-run hospitals, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has appointed two senior bureaucrats as nodal officers to ensure smooth movement of tankers and facilitate oxygen supply to the city hospitals.

Workers unload oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients(IANS)

The DDMA also directed the Delhi Police to provide a green corridor for all oxygen tankers from point of entry to the designated destination when they arrive.

The move came hours after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the police force in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were blocking oxygen transport to the national capital and urged the Centre to ensure normal supply even if that meant taking the help of paramilitary forces.

Also read:Delhi gasps for oxygen

According to the DDMA order, senior IAS officer Udit Prakash will be responsible for ensuring smooth and seamless movement of tankers till borders of Delhi and sort out all issues pertaining to suppliers, states and the Central government.

It also stated that IAS officer Vijay Bidhuri will be responsible for controlling, coordinating and facilitating the supply of oxygen to health establishments.

Workers load medical oxygen cylinders for hospital use on Covid-19 coronavirus patients amid the rising cases(IANS)

Meanwhile, hospitals in Gurugram are running short of beds for Covid patients. As per the district administration’s Covid portal, there were no ICU beds or beds with ventilator support available, while only 22 oxygenated beds were available in the district.

Officials, however, have assured that they are making every effort to increase the number of beds in Gurugram. According to the administration’s Covid portal, a total of 22 beds with oxygen support were available at the ESI Hospital located in Sector-9, Gurugram.

Gurugram on Friday reported its highest ever single-day spike of 3,553 Covid cases, with the number of active cases crossing the 18,000-mark to 18,120, of which 17,068 are under home isolation, as per the health bulletin issued by the district health department.

Also read:India to press IAF into service for oxygen import

Tags Covid. India, DELHI, India, oxygen

COVID-19 India News

First AI-based Covid testing facility at IGI Airport

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 22 April 2021
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The facility under the Garuda brand name is owned by AI company Thalamus Irwine….reports Asian Lite News

India’s first Artificial Intelligence-enabled Covid-19 testing facility for international passengers has commenced operations at Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport in New Delhi.

The facility under the Garuda brand name is owned by AI company Thalamus Irwine.

According to the company, the facility is run by an AI-system using computer vision technology and a paper-free backend for processing mass volumes of international passengers.

Presently, destination countries require an ‘Antigen Test’ negative report to allow the passengers inside their jurisdictions.

Industry players such as Lufthansa, KLM and Air France, among others, have had success using the facility.

After the test, passengers get their results in 10-15 minutes on their mobile phones.

As per the company, the passengers of an entire international flight can be tested within a couple of minutes by using the ‘scalable node architecture’, ‘complete digital systems for patient entry’, ‘AI driven process improvement’ and ‘SoP management’.

Besides, IGI Airport’s HOI app allows for seamless management of patient flow to the facility.

In terms of the technology, the system even monitors the SoPs and ensures employees and users are maintaining high levels of security and compliance standards in the sample processing room.

Also read:Rahul Gandhi tests positive for Covid 19

It cited that the facility eliminates majority of the bottlenecks associated with the need to test multiple passengers in quick succession.

The Cloud based infrastructure also ensures independence from physical storage on premise.

Furthermore, the facility offers several firsts such as AI based monitoring of every move the staff makes, so as to monitor the safety protocols such as adherence to SoPs during sample collection etc.

In case the SoPs are flouted, the system intervenes by alerting the employees to correct their behaviour and also informs the store manager.

Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in new Delhi on Monday March 22, 2021.(Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)

In addition, the AI ensures there aren’t discrepancies between the results entered by the employees with those generated by the system.

Notably, the system acts as a second layer of protection to eliminate incorrect entry of data.

“This centre has been designed bearing in mind the current requirement for fulfilling last minute testing needs of the travellers, where the volume is large and time is of the essence and there is absolutely no possibility of downtime,” said Thalamus Irwine CEO Rishabh Sharma.

“Credit goes to DIAL’s visionary leadership in embracing technology as the frontier tool in ensuring bottlenecks can be eliminated and passengers can get a hassle free service towards creating a safer air traffic,” Sharma added.

At present, India has banned scheduled international flights. However, passengers can still travel to and from few countries under the various ‘Air Bubble’ agreements that have been entered by the Centre.

Also read:24 Covid patients die after oxygen leak

Tags airport, Covid-19, DELHI

-Top News India News

Delhi gasps for oxygen

CM Kejriwal says the government has repeatedly appealed to the Centre to increase its oxygen quota and has also informed it that the suppliers are facing obstructions from district authorities of Haryana and UP, reports Asian Lite News.

Delhi is gasping for oxygen for a second day running as several hospitals are left with a few hours’ stock.

With the alarming surge in the number of Covid cases in the national capital, if the oxygen quota gets depleted in hospitals, Delhi will stare at a catastrophe, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government has said in statement.

The statement came after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the “Centre has increased Delhi’s oxygen quota”.

“The Centre announced that it will supply 480 metric tonnes of oxygen to Delhi, which will take almost 72 hours to reach. The city is running out of time. A total of 140 MT of oxygen, which was supposed to reach Delhi, has not reached the capital so far,” the statement said.

It added that the Delhi government has repeatedly appealed to the Centre to increase its oxygen quota and has also informed it that the suppliers are facing obstructions from district authorities of neighbouring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Delhi government has been demanding oxygen supply from the Centre of up to 700 MT per day. However, it received around 240 MT oxygen on Monday and 365 MT on Tuesday, according to the statement.

Lacking with its own source of oxygen, Delhi’s supply comes mainly from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

India records world’s highest single-day spike

Meanwhile, India reported over 3 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, the highest daily increase in infections the country has recorded in the pandemic so far. No country has recorded more cases in a single day. There were 2,104 deaths reported on the same day, another record for India. With 3,14,835 new cases, the total infections stand at 1,59,30,965. The toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,84,657.

Amid the oxygen crisis in the national capital, the Delhi High Court came down strongly on the Centre on Wednesday, saying it seemed that “human lives are not that important… for the state. Beg, borrow or steal. It is a national emergency,” the Division Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said. The court’s observations come as several private hospitals reached out to the Delhi government regarding depleting oxygen supplies.

“We are shocked and dismayed that the government does not seem to be seeing the reality… What is happening? Why is the government not waking up to the reality,” said the court.

“There is no sense of humanity left or what. What are we looking at… This is really, really ridiculous. You’re concerned about industries at this point of time when people are dying in thousands. One week, two weeks, your industries can wait. It is an emergency of such a grave nature,” it said.

Govt plans to import oxygen containers

India is deliberating on importing oxygen containers and equipment from friendly foreign nations to address the oxygen crisis faced by the country in the middle of the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Central government is also planning to press the Indian Air Force (IAF) into airlifting oxygen containers and equipment from other nations.

“The deliberations are still on,” said a source, adding that the places from where these containers and other equipment could be airlifted have been identified.

#IndiaFightsCorona

The IAF transport fleet is supporting the fight against Covid-19. Air lift of medical personnel, critical equipment and medicines is underway for Covid Hospitals and facilities across the country. pic.twitter.com/eBHv2yicyR
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) April 21, 2021

The source said that the problem India is facing in importing oxygen is transportation due to an acute shortage of containers to carry the life-saving gas. The government is in talks with all the stakeholders in this matter.

Also Read-Health infra creaks as Covid-19 cases cross 2 million mark

Tags covid, DELHI, oxygen

-Top News India News

Health infra creaks as Covid-19 cases cross 2 million mark

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 20 April 2021
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Reports are emerging from across the country of hospitals running out of ICU beds, and crucial supplies such as oxygen cylinders, reports Asian Lite News

The number of active cases in India on Tuesday crossed the two million mark as the mammoth surge of new infections continued to push the overburdened health care system to limits. Reports are emerging from across the country of hospitals running out of ICU beds, and crucial supplies such as oxygen cylinders.

The latest in the series of grim landmarks for the country comes only 10 days after active cases in the country crossed the 1 million active cases mark on April 10.

As of Tuesday morning, there were a total of 2,59,170 active cases across the country, the highest active caseload ever recorded in India since the start of the outbreak in March last year.

For the third day running, India’s daily case tally remained above the quarter million mark as 2,56,596 new cases were reported, while a record 1,757 daily deaths were lodged. India’s overall caseload has now reached 15.3 million — the second-highest after the United States — and 1,54,320 people have lost their lives to the disease.

Active cases — those Covid-19 patients still carrying the virus, and thus under treatment — is a crucial metric representing the country’s battle against the disease because it directly reflects the pressure on the health care system in a region.

When the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak was raging at its peak, India’s active cases only hovered over the 1 million mark briefly (for a period of five days between September 15 and September 20 last year).

This means that the current active caseload, and by extension the burden on the country’s hospitals and nursing homes, is more than double what the country saw even during the peak for the first wave.

This also makes India only the second country after the US to have more than 2 million active cases at any given point of time.

The metric is even more crucial in current circumstances because the country’s health care system is being weighed down by cases, particularly in regions that have massive chunks of active cases such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi, many of which have been reporting not only shortage of supplies such as oxygen tanks, but are also running out of ICU beds, and even space in morgues and funeral homes.

One of the major reasons to have caused an acute area-specific shortage of life-saving supplies is the uneven distribution of the active cases in the country.

Maharashtra, for instance, is home to only 9% of the country’s population, but is currently bearing the load of one of every three (33.4%) active cases in India. The western state, the worst-hit by Covid-19, had 678,198 active cases as of Tuesday morning.

Just the top 10 states by active cases are responsible for over 80% of all such cases.

Delhi, which is home to 0.3% of the country’s population, has 3.8% of India active cases – 76,887.

Uttar Pradesh had 208,523 active cases (10% of the country’s caseload), Karnataka 142,084 (7%), Chhattisgarh 129,000 active cases (6.4%) and Kerala with 103,327 active cases (5.1%) made the top five along with Maharashtra.

Also Read-India’s migrants battle to survive again as COVID cases surge

Tags covid, CRISI, DELHI, pandemic

India News Lite Blogs

Migrants once again queue up to head home

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 20 April 2021
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Last year, hundreds of migrant labourers had left the city on foot in the absence of public transport during the lockdown…reports Asian Lite News.

As Delhi went into a six-day lockdown amid the deteriorating COVID-19 situation, hundreds of migrant workers thronged at the Anand Vihar Bus Terminal on Monday evening to board the buses for their native places.

After the Delhi government imposed a week long lockdown from Monday night to curb the spike in Covid cases, in a replay of last year’s migrants crisis, a large number of people gathered at bus stations here on Tuesday to flee from the city, fearing the shutdown of the public transport may force them to walk hundreds of kilometers.

Last year, hundreds of migrant labourers had left the city on foot in the absence of public transport during the lockdown.

Hundreds of people including children, women and elderly queued up at Rajiv Chowk, Sector-12, Sector-34, Khandsa and Sector-37 bus stations on Tuesday with their belongings to head home leaving their jobs and employment back in the city.

Ram Lal, a migrant labourer waiting for a bus at the bus stand, told IANS, “I am going to the village in Bihar due to the lockdown, how can the poor man give rent and survive without earning. Due to lockdown in Delhi maximum employees of our company are working from home but we are helpers, we have no such facilities. Our company has been closed. I have to take care of my family. I will not come back here now.”

Migrants gather in huge numbers at anand vihar railway station as delhi government announced curfew till 26 April. (Pallav Paliwal)

Tulsi Kumar, another migrant labourer told, “I am going to my village in Uttar Pradesh. After the lockdown, work will be stopped, then how will I take care of myself and my family. I will come back after the situation becomes normal.”

The labourers could be seen at several bus stops across the city. At Sector-12 bus stop where only one bus heads towards Madhya Pradesh before the lockdown in Delhi, now after the lockdown four buses are heading for Madhya Pradesh.

Migrants gather in huge numbers at anand vihar railway station as delhi government announced curfew till 26 April. (Pallav Paliwal)

“We are paying Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 for our destination which is a huge amount, but we have no other option but to pay this amount as I just want to reach my native place at any cost rather than stay here without any work,” Rawal Singh told.

Like them, many others from various parts of the city are heading to the bus stands from where they will catch a bus to their villages.

However, majority of them said, this time corona fear is not in their mind, the only thing in their mind is how to reach home without walking on foot.

Migrants gather in huge numbers at anand vihar railway station as delhi government announced curfew till 26 April. (Pallav Paliwal)

It is estimated that nearly 20 per cent of labourers from Gurugram have left the district.

“The spike in Covid-19 cases is a worrisome concern for us but the lockdown in Delhi has panicked workers despite our request they are not ready to stay here. This will affect the industries a lot. Hundreds of workers have already left the city and more are going back. The industries are now facing labour crunch which will cause delays in productions,” Aman Khanna, an owner of an automobile unit told.

Also Read-Covid surge: India on UK’s red list

Tags CURFEW, DELHI, Migrant workers

COVID-19 India News

Curfew adds to auto drivers’ woes

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 17 April 2021
No Comments on Curfew adds to auto drivers’ woes

The auto union alleged that the Delhi government did not take auto operators into confidence and the police is troubling those who are plying without passengers going to airports or railway stations…reports Asian Lite News.

Delhi CM Aravind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to the people of the national capital to follow the weekly curfew without any failure. Auto-rickshaw drivers in the national capital struggled to find passengers during this weekend curfew, with only a few of them being lucky enough to find passengers at bus and railway stations as Delhites adhered to the curfew.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

The roads in the national capital were mostly deserted and auto drivers were finding it tough to get passengers, as there was only relaxation for people involved in essential services and those going to railway stations or airports.

Rajendra Soni, General Secretary of the Delhi Auto Union said, “Since the resurgence of Covid-19, the situation of auto operators is not good as there is no work, even as the Delhi government has imposed a two-day weekend curfew. We are cooperating with the government.”

The auto union alleged that the Delhi government did not take auto operators into confidence and the police is troubling those who are plying without passengers going to airports or railway stations.

Malls, gyms, spas etc are closed due to Covid restrictions. Only exemptions for the weekend curfew are marriages and the government has issued a curfew pass for the same.

Auto driver Vinod said, “Due to weekend curfew, neither is there work nor passengers but I have to pay the auto rent.”

Another auto driver Durgesh alleged that the police is unnecessarily harassing them. Also, no hotels are open so the problem of eating meals is also there.

The auto drivers are only getting passengers at railway stations and bus stands.

The weekend curfew came into effect from Friday night in the national capital, except for essential services. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday morning repeatedly urged the people of Delhi to strictly follow the curfew.

“Due to Covid-19, there is curfew in Delhi on Saturday and Sunday. Please follow it. We all have to defeat the pandemic together,” Kejriwal tweeted.

With the exponential spike in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the state government on Thursday announced imposition of weekend curfew from Friday 10 p.m. to Monday 5 a.m. till April 30.

This is the first time in 2021 that the national capital will witness curfew on weekends and it is likely to be extended if Covid cases continue to surge.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has already made it clear that only essential services are exempted from the Covid restrictions. Interstate transport would continue uninterrupted.

There would be no restrictions on movement of people for medical purposes and home delivery food services would be allowed.

There is a strict curb on dining out in restaurants.

A total of 19,484 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Friday night, which was the highest daily Covid tally in the capital.

Also Read-Delhi IIT launches low cost e-scooter

Tags covid, CURFEW, DELHI

Arts & Culture Lite Blogs

Delhi Contemporary Art Week begins in April

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 31 March 2021
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Organised by seven Delhi-based galleries, DCAW focuses on contemporary art, showcasing a new wave of South Asian artists under one roof…writes Siddhi Jain.

The fifth edition of Delhi Contemporary Art Week (DCAW) will run from April 8-15 in the national capital, and is among the first collective, large scale art venture post-pandemic and a celebration of the spirit of artists and art institutions across South Asia as they overcame the many challenges presented by the global pandemic.

Organised by seven Delhi-based galleries, DCAW focuses on contemporary art, showcasing a new wave of South Asian artists under one roof.

With an innovative approach to programming, spread over an 8-day period, this year’s DCAW will be interspersed with talks, walkthroughs and a range of activities for art collectors and enthusiasts including a musical evening, said the organisers.

This year’s edition of DCAW is at heritage building Bikaner House, and will be spread across the Main Ballroom of Bikaner House as well as the Centre for Contemporary Arts.

In addition to the curated exhibition spaces of each partner gallery, there will be a specially curated exhibition by accomplished young curator Reha Sodhi, in the Main Ballroom’s side wing. As well as the multiple exhibition spaces at Bikaner House, there will be exhibitions at each of the DCAW partner’s individual galleries, creating a citywide fervour around contemporary art, the organisers said.

New policy to stop illicit liquor sale

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 23 March 2021
No Comments on New policy to stop illicit liquor sale

Sisodia added the new policy will also ensure equitable distribution of liquor across the national capital….reports Asian Lite News.

The Delhi Excise Department said on Monday that it lodged 1,864 FIRs against illegal liquor traders across the city besides recovering over seven lakh bottles of illicit liquor in the last two years.

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the Excise Department has arrested around 2,000 people involved in illegal liquor trade in the national capital during the same period.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced lowering of legal age to drink liquor in the national capital to 21 from 25 during a press conference at Secretariat in New Delhi, India, on Monday, March 22, 2021 (Pallav Paliwal)

Talking about Delhi government’s upcoming excise policy, Sisodia told the media that the new policy is aimed at doing away with liquor mafia, besides shoring up its revenue share by up to 20 per cent in a year.

“As per the government’s record, there are around 850 registered liquor shops but people say that more than 2,000 liquor shops are run by the liquor mafias in Delhi. To curb all these irregularities and to fight the liquor mafia, we have come up with this new excise policy,” Sisodia added.

“The liquor shop owners will have to ensure law and order outside the shops. If needed, they can take the help of the police or security guards, but ensuring law and order will be the responsibility of the liquor shop owners. The new policy will stop bootlegging and illicit liquor sale,” he said.

Sisodia added the new policy will also ensure equitable distribution of liquor across the national capital.

“We have decided to set up an international standard check-up system through which we will keep a watch on low-quality liquors and stop their distribution. An international quality lab will be set up to test the quality of liquor coming into the city,” the Deputy CM said.

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Tags DELHI, liquor, TRADE