Treat COVID patients but attend to other emergencies too, High Court directs government

Takes up letter on death of a woman as PIL petition

05/05/2020, MARRI RAMU,HYDERABAD

Treating COVID-19 patients is, no doubt, a priority for the government, but attending to medical emergencies and pregnant women cannot be undermined.

Making this observation, Telangana High Court on Monday instructed the State government to issue a circular ensuring that people facing medical emergencies are taken care of and pregnant women are attended to in all government hospitals. A bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy passed the order, having taken up a letter written by lawyer K. Kishore Kumar as PIL petition.

The advocate wrote to the CJ expressing concern over the death of a woman, Jenila, and her newborn in Yapadine village of Ieeja mandal in Jogulamba Gadwal district within two days of delivery in a government hospital. Her husband held the government responsible for the two deaths, alleging that she was made to travel for over 200 kms to be admitted in a hospital for delivery.

As she developed pains before delivery, the family rushed her to the PHC in Gadwal on April 24. Doctors there advised her family to shift her to Kurnool in AP, stating that she was anaemic. Due to lockdown, she could not be taken there.

With the help of district administration, she was taken to Mahbubnagar government hospital in an ambulance. Doctors there wanted her to be admitted to the government maternity hospital in Hyderabad. “Doctors there refused to admit her on the ground that she was coming from a COVID-19 hotspot area,” lawyer Kishore Kumar stated in his letter.

She was sent to Gandhi Hospital for coronavirus diagnostic tests. She tested negative and was sent back to maternity hospital where she gave birth to a baby boy. The newborn was taken to Niloufer Hospital after developing complications, where he died.

The woman was sent to Osmania General Hospital where she died . The bench said the government should think of making available adequate number of ambulances.

The bench directed the government to file a counter affidavit on the matter. It is posted to May 20 for next hearing.

AP police reject travel passes given by Telangana police

Stranded migrants diverted to other routes after intervention by Nalgonda police yields no result

05/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,NALGONDA

Nalgonda Superintendent of Police A.V. Ranganath with Miryalaguda MLA N. Bhaskar Rao at Wadapally on Monday.By Arrangement

Extreme situations of stranded people continued at the inter-State border here at Wadapally in the district on Monday, as Andhra Pradesh police denied entry to its returning migrant population.

Nearly 300 persons, including those belonging to other States, waited at the check post for hours, after which they were diverted to other routes.

Nalgonda Superintendent of Police A.V. Ranganath, along with Miryalaguda MLA N. Bhaskar Rao, reviewed the situation and spoke to top officials on the other side, but it did not yield results. “The problem is that AP Police do not have instructions, and they are not accepting the passes. We convinced most of the waiting groups to take other routes,” Mr. Ranganath said.

However, about 70 people stayed back at the check post hoping for entry relaxation. The numbers increased by night. Local police along with legislator Mr. Bhaskar Rao arranged water, lunch and biscuit packets for the migrant groups.

Protest for pending dues

Meanwhile, about 15 km away, a large group of workers employed at the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant at Damaracherla, staged protests, demanding clearance of pending salaries. Of the 2,200 workers employed at the project, about 1,800 are from Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

SP Ranganath held talks with labour contractors of the protesting groups and, following guidelines, said that transport facility would be arranged for those willing to return to their native places. Police pacified the workers for the day.

Centre urged to unearth black money

05/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,HYDERABAD

The National Backward Classes Welfare Association has requested the Centre to make all out efforts to bring out black money in the country so that it could be used for rebuilding the economy. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, president of association and former legislator R. Krishnaiah suggested that the government could issue Covid bonds with the facility for investment of unaccounted for money with 30% penalty. Mr. Krishnaiah stated that a psychological change is apparent among those holding the unaccounted for money after the coronavirus attack on humanity as they had been found helping the needy people in different ways. In such a situation, an opportunity provided to bring out the unaccounted for money with investment in government bonds after 30% deduction as penalty by the Income Tax Department would encourage such individuals to bring out their black wealth, he said.

Serpentine queues, bumper business as liquor shops open

05/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

Serpentine queues and chaos in some places marked the opening of liquor shops in the city on Monday after 40 days. People started queuing up from early morning till evening to purchase liquor. At many places, maintaining social distance became a challenge for both the police and staff of the shops. In many shops, stocks of beer were exhausted by 3 p.m. In some other places, the police decided to close shops by 6 p.m., forcing many to return empty handed.

Ravi Prakash, a resident of R.T. Nagar, said: “After the lockdown was announced, people were selling liquor in black charging exorbitant rates. Now, MRP shops are open. I stood for more than an hour to get inside the shop.”

Some people decided to hoard lest shops are closed again. “Due to the lockdown, we could not get liquor for more than a month. The lockdown has already been extended before. So I stocked up,” Ashish, a resident of Sahakarnagar, said.

Jagadish, the owner of a liquor shop in Kogilu Cross, said: “Due to the lockdown, our employees had gone to their home town. We had to run the business with limited staff. Most of our stock was exhausted.”

Many shops put up boards stating that liquor will be sold only to those wearing masks. The Excise Department had directed the shops to allow five people inside for purchase and maintain 6-ft social distancing.

The department maintained that there was enough stock of liquor in Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Ltd. (KSBCL) depots and measures have been taken for operations of distilleries and breweries.

A ‘new normal’ day in Assam

Life back on track with conditions after relaxation of curbs

05/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,GUWAHATI

Heavy traffic on GS Road in Guwahati after relaxation of lockdown on Monday. Ritu Raj Konwar

A semblance of normalcy returned to Assam on Monday with the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown allowing several commercial activities to resume across the State’s green zones.

There are no red zones in Assam with 32 of the 43 who tested positive for COVID-19 having been discharged while one person died. Of the State’s 33 districts, only four are marked orange zones.

People ventured out of their homes to buy essential commodities and other items as 33% of shops and commercial establishments were allowed to open by the government from 6 am to 6 pm. The business outlets have been instructed to open on a rotation basis.

State-owned and private buses began plying with 50% passengers under the Transport Department’s watch. Government and private offices also began functioning with 50% workforce. Private vehicles and app-based cabs allowed to carry a maximum of two passengers were on the streets too.

Social distancing

“The police have been asked to monitor the movement of people to ensure they venture out with mask and maintain social distancing,” Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The liquor shops, which were allowed to open two days ahead of the general relaxation date, did considerable business.

The Department of Excise could not provide data but the All Assam IMFL Retailers’ Association said the daily sale in the State was about ₹15 crore.

Hotels, restaurants, gyms, salons, parks, swimming pools, shopping complexes, theatre halls and weekly markets continued to remain shut.

Kejriwal chairs Cabinet meet as govt. offices open

Training manual designed for caregivers, COVID-19 patients under home isolation

05/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday chaired the first Cabinet meeting after government offices were opened as part of the new lockdown guidelines.

Among the major decisions, the Cabinet approved the process of home isolation of mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients. “A training manual has been designed which will be given to all patients and their caregivers. A team of health workers will call each patient and educate them on best practices for home isolation. This will be followed by a daily call that will track important vitals of the patient,” the government said in a statement.

The Delhi government also approved a proposal to extend a one-time financial assistance of ₹5,000 to owners of e-rickshaws registered in Delhi. “Permit-holders of paratransit vehicles who were also holding PSV badges have already been covered under the existing scheme,” the statement said.

The Delhi Cabinet also approved ration for May to 38 lakh non-PDS card-holders who registered for ration e-coupons online. Each individual will be given 4 kg of wheat and 1 kg of rice. Every family will also receive a COVID-19 relief kit that is being given to PDS card-holders.

Meanwhile, an ex-gratia amount of ₹1 crore was approved for the kin of Ankit Sharma, an IB staffer who died on February 26 in the north-east Delhi riots.

Liquor shops open, then shut again

Chaos reigns across city as crowds fail to adhere to social distancing norms

05/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,NEW DELHI

People form a queue to buy liquor in east Delhi on Monday. Sandeep Saxena

Hundreds of people thronged liquor shops across Delhi on Monday as the vends opened after a gap of 40 days, leading to chaos as customers did not adhere to social distancing norms. In north, east and south Delhi, the police had to resort to crowd-controlling measures to manage the crowd. By the afternoon, most of the shops were told to shut as the situation grew out of control.

“Liquor shops in Delhi will remain shut till vendors make arrangements such as deployment of marshals and markings on ground to ensure social distancing. All beat staff have been instructed to be vigilant and not allow any shop to operate if the vendor does not follow safety protocols,” said a senior police officer.

With only a select number of vends open, those looking to buy alcohol had to first find a shop that was open and then join a serpentine queue. “I have visited four wine shops in the area but they are all closed. I have been walking from one shop to the other only to find shuttered stores. I came early hoping to avoid the rush but it looks like there are none open near my neighbourhood,” said Vivek, a resident of Jangpura.

In areas where the vends were open, residents complained about the chaos.

In C-Bock Market of Vasant Vihar, long queues outside a liquor shop prompted the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association to alert authorities about the situation. Chaos was also seen outside liquor shops in Malviya Nagar and Vasant Kunj with people queuing up as early as 7 a.m. to buy alcohol.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the Delhi government did not give any extra relaxation and the liquor vends were opened as per central government guidelines. The Excise Department said that 160 out of 800 liquor shops were permitted to open.

The four government corporations that own these vends are supposed to deploy marshals and ensure that no more than five people are allowed inside a vend at any given time, read an order issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev on Sunday. “The onus for opening any shop and fulfilling qualifying criteria under Clause-7 (ii) (d) of the MHA’s Order dated 01.05.2020 shall be on the corporation concerned,” it further added.

Ravi Dhawan, Commissioner of the Department of Excise, Entertainment & Luxury Tax, did not respond to multiple phone calls and messages seeking comment.

A report prepared by Delhi Police on the situation suggested that shop timings should be extended and there should be sufficient stock of liquor. It, however, added that crowd-management measures need to be taken on priority.