Tag: 21-days national lockdown

Coronavirus India: Next 7 days critical in evolving lockdown exit plan, says Vice President

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the final week of the ongoing lockdown is “critical” for evolving an exit strategy as data regarding the spread of coronavirus  will have a bearing on the decision to be taken by the government.

He also appealed to the people to abide by whatever decision is ultimately taken by the government and cooperate with the same spirit that has so far been evident “even if it meant to continue with some degree of hardship still beyond April 14”.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 and it came into force on March 25.

“As today marks the completion of two weeks of nationwide lockdown in force since March 25, I thought it appropriate to reach out to the people and the leadership of the country with my views and concerns amidst current efforts to tide over the crisis caused by the outbreak of coronavirus,” Naidu said in a statement.

The vice president said between the considerations of the health of the people and stabilization of the economy being debated, “the former shall take precedence over the later.”

“In my view, while the concerns of economy can wait for another day, that of health can’t,” he said.

Referring to the exit plan being planned by the government, Naidu said, “The next one week of lockdown is very critical for evolving an exit strategy since the data regarding the spread of virus and its rate during the next week will have a bearing on the decision to be taken.”

Amidst efforts against the virus showing signals of success in arresting its spread , came the Tablighi Jamaat congregation “which had altered the nature of the curve with most of the new infected cases emanating from this meet,” he pointed out.

“The extent of participation in this congregation and its multiplier effect has upset our expectations,” he said.

The “avoidable episode” highlighted the consequences of any slip by way of violating the rules of social and physical distancing to contain the spread of virus, he said.

“In that sense, this avoidable aberration should only be seen as an eye-opener to all others,” the vice president said.

The duration of the fight against the virus may be uncertain at the moment but we shall triumph in the end, he said.

“Wisdom lies in minimising the costs to the health and wealth of the people across the globe. India has shown the spirit to do so and this need to be sustained till the end,” he said.

“Let’s live with the hardship a little longer for a better tomorrow, Naidu said.

The death toll due to novel coronavirus rose to 114 and the number of cases in the country climbed to 4,421 on Tuesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 lockdown: Thousands of drivers stranded without food or water at state borders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown, in a televised speech at only four hours’ notice, many transporters and drivers were caught off guard.

Of the roughly one crore trucks that ply on Indian roads, most are in transit on national and state highways. As a result of the national lockdown orders, tens lakhs of these trucks got stranded at check-posts, not sure where to go, and without any provision for food or water.

While the government, over the past 24 hours, issued several instructions to clear these logjams at various checkpoints across the country, the situation on ground hasn’t improved significantly.

In fact, All India Motor Transport Congress, the apex body for motor transport operators, said this could be a “humanitarian crisis in the making”. This was followed by a government notification to allow all stranded trucks to be given a one-time clearance pass.

The pictures tell the story. At various state-borders and check-points, thousands of parked trucks could be seen as far as eyes could see.

And, drivers were forcibly quarantined in these trucks without any arrangement for food or sanitation, as all ‘dhabas’ and hotels along the highways are shut, and a small number of grocers with provisions are reportedly selling goods at two-three times higher prices.

The All India Transporters Welfare Association and All India Motor Transport Congress have also reported a large number of instances of drivers abandoning their trucks — carrying goods worth hundreds of thousands rupees– on the highways.
“If the driver is getting on the highway to go to the grocers also, police are beating them up”, Mahendra Arya, president, AITWA, told CNBC-TV18.

“The government directive says that drivers should be allowed to reach their destination, but how, that message hasn’t reached the ground,” he added.

“We are drivers, where do we go? We don’t have homes, no arrangement for even drink water. Trains are not running either. I have my office here but that’s also shut. I’ve driven this truck from Gujarat, where do I unload it and leave it,” said a truck driver in a clip shared with CNBC-TV18 by AITWA.

Scared of police beating them up, drivers are also unwilling to go to work. “We are looking at a situation where there will not be enough drivers to even transport essential items,” Ashok Goel, MD, BLR Logistiks, a Mumbai-based transportation company, told CNBC-TV18.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 lockdown: Time spent on watching TV, with smartphone rises as people stay indoors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Time spent on watching television and with the smartphone has increased amid the coronavirus crisis as people spend more time indoors, according to data released by Broadcast Audience Research Council on Friday.

For the week between March 14 to March 20, there was a 6 percent increase in the reach of the television, while the average time per user went up by 2 per cent, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India said in a statement.

India was put in lockdown on March 25, but a lot of states like Maharashtra had gone into the lockdown mode days ahead as well.

It said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on the complete lockdown itself was watched by 197 million Indians on their TV sets.

There is a higher propensity to watch TV between 8 am to 5 pm, or the non-prime time hours, as more number of people are home.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus lockdown day 2: Online e-commerce cos, supply chain providers find movement across states getting smoother

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It is the second day of the 21-day nationwide lockdown and operations of essential service providers, especially e-commerce companies remain badly hit today as well. Most e-commerce companies are witnessing a sharp drop in attendance of delivery personnel. They have also been hit by courier and logistics partners shutting their operations.

However, Centre and various states have assured e-commerce companies of cooperation by local authorities. In Delhi, delivery persons would be allowed if they show their ID cards. In Bengaluru, the police is issuing passes to deliverymen. States like Kerala have also decided to home deliver food kits, to fill the e-commerce gap. The state had also announced a Rs 19,000 crore package to tackle the impact of COVID-19.

In Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has instructed district level officials to take steps to minimise inconvenience to people for essential items and services. The state has also announced a relief package for construction workers.

Ashish Jhina, co-founder and COO of Jumbotail; Rajesh Yabaji, co-ounder and CEO of Blackbuck, and Sahil Barua, co-founder and CEO of Delhivery discussed steps announced by the Centre and states. They also spoke about the issues that essential services providers are facing.

Barua said, “There has been a lot of change in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, there was still some confusion on the ground in terms of the orders of the central government versus state authorities but today we have got permission to operate in almost all of the cities that we are live in.”

“We are coordinating with the local authorities and they have been very proactive since morning in issuing very clear guidelines, not just to us, but to a wide range of companies. We have had staff returning and we have been able to open up most of our facilities again. There are still a few states where we are awaiting confirmation, but otherwise in general the move appears to be pretty decisive, pretty quick, and pretty well coordinated right now,” Barua further said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Jinha said, “As far as Karnataka is concerned, there are physical passes being issued. Karnataka went into lockdown a little bit earlier than the rest of the country, so we had a few more days to prepare. There are some implementation challenges on the ground, percolation of information to the lowest level takes time, but we have seen a lot of proactive attempts by government and police to make sure that facilities are open.”

“Demand is spiking although there are some shortages in terms of vehicles and last mile delivery boys, etc.From a government perspective there is a huge amount of intent and situation does seem to be getting better day-by-day,” Jinha added.

Agreeing with Barua and Jinha, Yabaji said that the situation on ground is smoother today than when the lockdown first kicked-in. “Most of the state borders have got resolved in terms of what is the clarity. Customers also have been proactive, large companies like Coco-Cola, etc. have their sanctions in place to move the goods which they produce. So, when it started, there was a lot of confusion, and as today we speak, situation is back to smooth.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus lockdown: Man kills brother for stepping out

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A 28-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his younger brother for stepping out of their home during the COVID-19 lockdown in the western suburb of Kandivali, police said on Thursday.

Rajesh Laxmi Thakur killed his younger brother Durgesh after the latter stepped out of the house despite repeated warnings about the lockdown on Wednesday night, an official from Samta Nagar police station said.

The deceased, who was working in a private firm in Pune, had returned home following the coronavirus scare, he said.

When Durgesh got back home after his outing, the accused and his wife shouted at him and a heated argument ensued, following which the accused attacked him with a sharp object, the official said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, he said, adding that a case of murder has been registered against the accused.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus lockdown: From squats to frog jumps, police punish violators

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Defying the lockdown, people in several parts of Kolkata and some other districts ventured out on Thursday, prompting police to force those wandering about without a valid reason to do squats and frog jumps.

From Behala in the southern part of the city to Nagerbazar in the north, most people were seen standing at demarcated spots outside shops and grocery stores to buy daily supplies during the morning hours.

Even as roads remained mostly empty across the state, many ventured out in various areas and when stopped by police couldn’t cite valid reasons, prompting them to act tough.

While more than 1,800 people were arrested only in Kolkata since Monday evening, many were let off with warnings and a few got whacked with batons. In some areas, police also made the violators do squats and frog jump on the roads.fr

Announcement through loudspeakers were made across the city, asking people to remain indoors and not to panic as the government was taking measures to ensure regular supply of essential items.

Railway stations, bus terminals and airports in the state wore a deserted look, while business establishments remained shut as the nationwide lockdown continued.

Vendors did not deliver newspapers in most parts of the state for the third consecutive day despite repeated pleas even from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Most gated colonies and apartments in Kolkata were locked.

TMC MP Santanu Sen, a doctor by profession, conducted an awareness drive in Dum Dum area, asking people not to step out of their homes and maintain a safe distance between each other when out to buy daily supplies.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

15,000 litres of fresh milk, 30,000 kg vegetables thrown away: What one-day lockdown costs us

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The 21-day lockdown wasn’t a great start for e-commerce service companies. Despite central government asking states to allow e-commerce operations to run during the lockdown, there were several disruptions in operations and delivery on ground.

Disruptions led to a lot of wastage of perishable items, with startups like MilkBasket being forced to dump 15,000 litres of milk and 10,000 kg of fruits and vegetables.

“Due to the harassment faced by our employees, we were in complete lockdown. While the intent for the lockdown is right but the message that went out to the frontline, the constable on the street is that no one should come out. As a result, blue collar employees and our delivery staff were beaten up on the street before they could even show their ID,” said Anant Goel, co-founder & CEO, Milkbasket

It is not just MilkBasket but Ninjacart, a startup that connects farmers with kirana stores, also said that they faced similar issues on ground. “We had to dump 20,000 kgs of vegetables in Chennai today. We have not closed our operations, but will have to in 2-3 cities as we are still waiting for clear directives,” said Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO & Co-founder, Ninjacart

While startups iron out issues with local authorities, they will soon be faced by another road block. When in crisis, people often revert down to Maslow’ hierarchy of needs to basic desires such as health, safety and security. These reports are sending out waves of panic among essential services staff.

“Employees themselves are scared to come out to work as local panchayat are not letting people move out before the coronavirus scare. The bigger challenge now will be to get people back into work because of the social pressure,” added Goel.

It’s not just panchayats, even housing societies, landlords and PG owners are raising concerns and are against people stepping out of their home to do their job.

There is some relief for these players as central government has taken note of these concerns and is working with states to address challenges, Goyal narrated.

DPIIT secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra has said that states have been asked to allow home delivery personnel with identity cards to deliver food and pharmaceutical products.

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant told CNBC-TV18 that he personally intervened to make sure Grofers’ operations were up and running and ensured that their services resumed.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced they will issue curfew e-pass to ensure seamless workflow of essential services.

Gurgaon and Noida Police took to twitter to assure smooth movement on streets for those who fall under essential services category. In Bengaluru, police commissioner is set to meet all related stakeholders.

Despite several requests and measures being taken, people are still panic-buying. Grocery store shelves were wiped out minutes after the announcements of the lockdown.

And, if stocking up of perishable food items continue at this rate, we may already be leading towards the brink of a wastage crisis.

While food wastage is an inexcusable act at any given point in time, dumping fresh produce at this scale during a nationwide lockdown because of a communication gap between the Centre and those at the frontline is something we simply can’t afford.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coronavirus lockdown: Parle to donate 3 crore packs Parle G biscuits through govt agencies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Biscuits major Parle Products on Wednesday said it will donate three crore packs of biscuits in the next three weeks, specially to the needy people through government agencies with the country going for a 21-day lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic.

The company said its manufacturing units are functioning with 50 per cent of workforce keeping with government advisories to curb escalation of the coronavirus outbreak, but it is working to ensure that sufficient quantity of its products are available in the market.

“We have decided to work with government, donate through government agency three crore packs of biscuits — one crore each in the next three weeks — specially for people in need…We will be donating one crore packs of Parle-G biscuits every week for the next three weeks, effectively about three crore packs of biscuits,” Parle Products Senior Senior Category Head Mayank Shah told PTI.

He further said, “We are also looking at ensuring that those who need food right now — there will be many people whose livelihood will be hampered, we will work very closely with the government to ensure that they don’t go hungry.”

Shah said, “As a result of lockdown there is a huge amount of panic buying and hoarding is happening. People are going out and buying everytihng that’s available in terms of food, including biscuits which is ideal for this kind of situation because they have a longer shelf life and retain freshness for a longer period of time.”

Shah said although the factories of the company and third party vendors are working with an average of 50 workforce, Parle Products is “going all out and ensuring that we are available in the market in sufficient quantity so that there is no panic”

“We have seen a lot of buying happening in processed food as well, including biscuits, which is the top item to be stocked up during this kind of of lockdown. We have ensured that supplies are continuous and are not interrupted.”

Shah said while the Centre has exempted biscuit manufacturers from the restrictions of the lockdown, the company is facing issues in some pockets as local authorities have not allowed transport of raw materials and finished products.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mahabharata war lasted 18 days, this war against coronavirus will take 21 days: PM Modi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NPR, first phase of Census postponed due to 21-day lockdown

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The updating of the National Population Register (NPR) and the first phase of the Census 2021 have been postponed due to the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said on Wednesday.

Both the exercises were supposed to be carried out from April 1 to September 30.

In a statement, the home ministry said Census 2021 was scheduled to be conducted in two phases — house listing and housing census during April-September and population enumeration during February 9 to 28.

The updating of NPR was also proposed to be done along with the Phase I of Census 2021 in all the states and union territories, except Assam.

The home ministry said due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, high alert has been declared by the Centre as well as the states and union territories.

Keeping in view these issues, the first phase of Census 2021 and updating of NPR, which was to begin on various dates decided by the state and union territory governments beginning April 1 and various related field activities, are postponed until further orders, the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown across the country from Tuesday night due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Officials said since the census and NPR exercise require the enumerators to visit every household and meet people, such exercise is not possible to carry out due to the prevailing situation.

Therefore, the decision to postpone it has been taken by the government, the officials said.

The home ministry had recently said the preparation for the Census 2021 and updating of the NPR were at its peak and will begin from April 1.

There have been opposition from several state governments to the NPR and some of then even adopted resolution expressing their to the exercise.

The states which have been opposing the NPR include Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.

However, most of them also said they will cooperate with the house listing phase of the Census.

The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow