North East - The Purbottar

18 Apr

Bookings Open In Air India For Travel From May 4 On Certain Domestic Routes

editor0 CommentsNorth East, Travel

State-run carrier Air India today said it has started taking bookings for travel from May 4 on some domestic routes and from June 1 for international routes. The airline said it is, however, not taking any booking for domestic flights for travel till May 3, or the day the extended lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic is scheduled to end. Air India has also stopped taking bookings for international flights till May 31."The situation is being constantly reviewed and we shall keep you updates," Air India said on its website.The airline has been sending its planes for cargo duties across the…

18 Apr

In Warning To Lockdown Violators, Arvind Kejriwal Cites 26-Patient Case

editor0 CommentsNorth East

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today warned people of the dangers of not following social distancing advice during the lockdown by citing the case of a neighbourhood in the national capital, where 26 people were found infected with COVID-19."In Jahangirpuri, 26 people of the same family tested positive. They lived next to each other and despite containment measures, they continued visiting each other. We are worried for you," Mr Kejriwal said in a briefing on video today."Pray to god that the number of cases reduce in the coming days. There are now 71 containment zones in Delhi... The coronavirus doesn't…

18 Apr

Delhi, Noida Faces Heavy Rain, Hail And Strong Winds

editor0 CommentsNorth East

Heavy rain accompanied by hail and strong winds hit many parts of Delhi and neighbouring Noida this evening bringing down the temperature. It looked like it snowed on the empty roads of the national capital.On Friday too, light rain brought down the temperature in Delhi.Social media went into an overdrive, with many sharing videos and images on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Videos on Twitter show pounding rain and hailstones hitting the streets.

17 Apr

Centre Adds More To List Of What Is Allowed in Lockdown

editor0 CommentsNorth East

The government has made new additions to the list of activities that will be allowed amid lockdown in parts of the country that are least affected by coronavirus.Non-banking finance corporations and micro-finance institutions will be marked essential services that can resume. Coconut, spice bamboo, areca nut and cocoa plantations, and forest produce by scheduled tribes have also been added to the list. Construction in rural areas of water supply and sanitation and laying of power lines and telecom optical fibres and cables will also be allowed, according to a notification put out by the home ministry.

16 Apr

Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Free Unlimited Data, Calls During COVID-19 Lockdown

editor0 CommentsNorth East

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to ensure that free unlimited calling, data usage and DTH facilities are provided to subscribers to ease "psychological stress" during the lockdown till May 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.It has also sought a direction to the Health Ministry to take appropriate steps to deal with psychological pressure mounting on individuals due to the lockdown or being kept in quarantine.The plea sought directions to the government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to invoke relevant terms of agreement of licenses granted to DTH…

16 Apr

India Fast-Tracks COVID-19 Fighting Drug Supplies To UAE

editor0 CommentsNorth East

India is fast-tracking procedures to supply hydroxychloroquine, a drug considered to be efficient in fighting the coronavirus, to the UAE after a request from the country's government, media reports here quoted the Indian envoy as saying.India's Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor said there is a huge demand for the anti-malarial drug from many countries and India is considering it on a case to case basis."As the drug is on the restricted list, we are obviously giving exception to the UAE, given the friendly relations between the two countries," Khaleej Times quoted Kapoor as saying.

16 Apr

68 Doctors, Nurses Of Hospital In Delhi Quarantined After Patient Dies

editor0 CommentsNorth East

68 doctors, nurses and staff of a government hospital in Delhi have been asked to be under home quarantine after a 25-year-old patient, who is suspected to have had coronavirus, died on Wednesday night.The woman, who was pregnant, was admitted to the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital in north west Delhi on Monday, but allegedly did not disclose that she had travelled abroad recently and had been asked to be under home quarantine.The hospital, which can admit up to 200 patients, has said in a statement that the woman was admitted after submitting false information.

16 Apr

Centre Sets Foodgrain Production Target At Record 298.3 Million Tons For 2020-21 Crop Year

editor0 CommentsBusiness, North East

The agriculture ministry aims to increase foodgrain production by 6.35 million tonnes to record 298.3 million tonnes in the 2020-21 crop year riding high on hopes of normal monsoon.The foodgrain output in the 2019-20 crop year (July-June) is estimated at an all-time high 291.95 million tonnes, as per the second advance estimates released by the ministry in February."IMD has forecast the June to September southwest monsoon rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be normal. This augurs well for rain-fed kharif crops," Agriculture Commissioner SK Malhota said at a national level video conference organised to plan for…

16 Apr

US says that China May Have Secretly Set Off Low-Level Nuclear Test Blasts.

editor0 CommentsNorth East, Technology

China may have secretly set off low-level underground nuclear test explosions despite claiming to observe an international pact banning such blasts, the US State Department said in a report on Wednesday that could fuel US-Chinese tensions.The finding, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, may worsen ties already strained by US charges that the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted from Beijing's mishandling of a 2019 outbreak of the coronavirus in the city of Wuhan.US concerns about Beijing's possible breaches of a "zero yield" standard for test blasts have been prompted by activities at China's Lop Nur nuclear test site throughout 2019,…

16 Apr

Rahul Gandhi says to the centre that lockdown doesn’t defeat coronavirus

editor0 CommentsNorth East

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said today that a nationwide lockdown shall only be purposeful in pausing the deadly coronavirus, but it cannot defeat it. He recommended that the government should go for testing "aggressively and strategically". Rahul Gandhi also suggested through his statements that there should be two zones in India - hotspot and non-hotspot."In no way does a lockdown defeat the virus. It helps only to stop the virus for a short while. The only way to do this is to increase testing," the Congress MP said, addressing the media through a video app.