INDIA - The Purbottar

08 May

India’s Covid-19 crisis reaches rural parts

editor0 CommentsHealthCovid-19, Health, INDIA, rural india

A disconcerting feature of the second wave of Covid-19 is the surge in cases in rural India. Compared with the first peak in September last year, the number of cases in India’s hinterland or backward regions has quadrupled, and so has the number of the dead. The districts covered by the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) — 243 of the 272 for which data are available — had more than 39.16 lakh people infected with the disease as on May 5. This is more than four times the 9.5 lakh infections at the peak of the first wave on September 16, 2020.…

07 May

5 year old girl stuck in India while family is in Australia

editor0 CommentsHealthAustralia, Covid-19, INDIA

Dilin was unable to hold back his emotions when he talked about his young daughter, who he has not seen since November 2019. "I can certainly see the sorrow in her heart… she truly misses us," he told an Australian Senate committee on Friday. Johannah, 5, is one of at least 173 unaccompanied children who are stuck in India trying to return to Australia. She was staying with her grandparents when the pandemic struck and borders were closed. Johannah's parents tried to get her on government organised flights to Sydney but children younger than 14 are not allowed to travel…

07 May

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli join the fight against the spread of Covid-19

editor0 CommentsHealthcovid, Health, INDIA

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli have joined the fight against the spread of Covid-19 as the power couple has started a fundraiser to help people in this time of crisis. The development came two days after IPL 2021, in which Virat was leading RCB, was suspended. The couple aims to raise Rs. 7 crore for Covid relief and have donated Rs. 2 crore in the fundraiser #InThisTogether, they said in a statement. Anushka Sharma shared a video on Twitter wherein she and Virat pledged their support towards the Covid-19 relief work. She wrote, “As our country battles the second wave of Covid-19, and our…

07 May

Plane crashes with 71 boxes of Remdesivir

editor0 CommentsHealthCoronavirus, INDIA, plane crash, remdesivir

A plane carrying 71 boxes of Remdesivir from Ahmedabad crashed into barriers at Gwalior airport on Thursday night. All three onboard, pilot M R Majid, co-pilot Shiv Jaiswal and tehsildar Dilip Dwivedi, escaped with minor injuries. According to preliminary information, the plane crashed into barriers kept on the runway for fighter planes. Superintendent of Police, Gwalior, Amit Sanghi, while confirming the incident saying, “The arrested barriers were kept for fighter planes and the pilot of the aforesaid plane was not informed about it. And thereby, the plane crashed into it. The incident happened at around 8.30 pm.” The three traveling…

06 May

Russia is dispatching another batch of 150,000 Sputnik V vaccines to India

editor0 CommentsHealthINDIA, Russia, Sputnik V vaccines

According to diplomats based in New Delhi and Moscow, Russia is sending at least four medium oxygen generating trucks, which can feed a 200-bed hospital after being plugged into the power supply. Apart From this , In the end of May another three million doses will be landing in Hyderabad with partner Dr Reddy’s Laboratories while in the next two days Russia is sending another 150,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines . Moscow has decided to ramp up Sputnik V doses to more than five million next month and more than 10 million vaccines in July. The first batch of 150,000…

06 May

US travel advisory: “Do not travel to India due to COVID-19”

editor0 CommentsHealthCovid-19, Health, INDIA, USA

The US has reissued its travel advisory on India, urging its citizens not to travel to the country due to an unprecedented surge in the COVID-19 cases there. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. “Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism,” the State Department said on Wednesday in its latest travel advisory that looked identical to the one issued on April 28. Both the travel advisory…

06 May

Forces in Jammu & Kashmir bring down three militants

editor0 CommentsNorth Eastcrime, INDIA, jammu kashmir, PAKISTAN, TERROSISTS

Three militants were killed, while one surrendered before security forces during an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Kanigam area of the South Kashmir district during the night following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said. He said as the presence of four newly recruited local militants of Al-Badr outfit got ascertained, the security forces exercised maximum restraint and tried their best to persuade them to surrender. The militants turned down the offer to surrender and opened firing and lobbed…

03 May

Pakistan opens fire along International Borders: Violates ceasefire agreement

editor0 CommentsNorth Eastborder, defence, INDIA, jammu kashmir, PAKISTAN

Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire by opening fire along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district on Monday, a senior BSF officer said. A BSF spokesman said this is the first-ever ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the IB after the two countries signed a fresh agreement to maintain calm along the border on February 25 this year. “Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing along IB at 0615 hours in Ramgarh sector”, Inspector General of BSF, Jammu frontier, N S Jamwal, told PTI. There was no casualty in the firing. The BSF spokesman said Pakistani troops opened unprovoked…

30 Apr

Television journalist Rohit Sardana passes away due to a heart attack.

editor0 CommentsHealthaaj tak, Covid-19, Death, heart attack, INDIA, journalist, Rohit Sardana

Television journalist Rohit Sardana, who tested positive for coronavirus recently, passed away Friday due to a heart attack. Many Union ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his colleagues in the media expressed condolence over the demise of Sardana who was associated with Aaj Tak news channel. “Rohit Sardana left us too soon. Full of energy, passionate about India’s progress and a kind hearted soul, Rohit will be missed by many people. His untimely demise has left a huge void in the media world. Condolences to his family, friends and admirers. Om Shanti,” PM Modi tweeted. “Pained to learn about Shri…

30 Apr

Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International, dispatches 2,184 oxygen concentrators.

editor0 CommentsBusiness, HealthCovid-19, INDIA, oxygen, USA

Houston-based Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International, which has raised nearly $8 million towards Covid-19 relief efforts in India, has dispatched the first batch of 2,184 oxygen concentrators from Atlanta. The organisation has also ramped up its social media fund-raising goal from the earlier $5 million to $10 million now. Sewa said the oxygen concentrators left Atlanta for New Delhi by air on Thursday. United Parcel Service (UPS) Foundation is carrying the cargo free of cost, it added. (Photo: Twitter/Sewa_Intl) “Thanks to UPS Foundation for carrying our cargo free of cost, making all arrangements, and giving full cooperation to move the material. India team has…