Articles by News Desk

Vaccine for children from October As per a Reuters report, children aged 12 or older will be eligible for vaccination from October. Zydus Cadila will start producing 10 million doses per month of Zy-CoVD, the world’s first DNA based vaccine, once it gets emergency use authorization from the Indian government last month. Zy-CoVD is the only vaccine India has approved for children. In another development, the Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to waive fees for children who lost their parents to COVID-19. In an official communication, CBSE has asked schools to prepare a list of such students along…

Corporation sets one month vaccination target The Greater Chennai Corporation has set a target of one month to complete the COVID-19 vaccination of all those who are over 18 years of age. To this end, the civic body has begun deploying teams to various areas of the city to carry out the vaccination. The special teams are tasked with persuading those residents who have not taken the vaccine so far. The civic body has deployed 1000 workers to carry out this task.  Vaccination numbers in the city is set to hit the 50 lakh mark in the coming week. The…

Mumbai schools to reopen post Diwali? At the last Pediatric Task Force meeting that local corporations should take the final decision of reopening schools in their areas. However, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar on September 23rd, said that the decision of re-opening of schools in Mumbai and surrounding areas will be taken after Diwali BMC Education Officer, Raju Tadvi was quoted as stating that they are "preparing a plan for safe reopening, which will be given to all schools in the city, irrespective of which board they are affiliated to.” Under this plan, schools will be required to have a medical…

City roads to be audited: Govt State government has decided to conduct a road maintenance audit in Bengaluru to fix responsibility on officials for poor road conditions. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday informed the State Legislative Council that a detailed audit of main, arterial and sub-arterial roads will be undertaken. Bommai added that administrative approval had been given in 2015-16 for spending Rs 20,060 crore on Bengaluru roads, but not a single road is free of potholes or cracks. Meanwhile, B R Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said that traffic-calming measures like rumblers and surface markers were…

Bengaluru is not typically imagined to be a hotspot of biodiversity, and the urban biodiversity here often gets missed in conversations about the environment. The city's water bodies and green spaces, apart from being recreational spaces, are a home to biodiversity as well as a source of livelihood for many citizens. In this set of illustrations, we examine the components of Bengaluru’s lakes, and get a glimpse of what lies beneath the concrete layers and dense human population in our city. Every artwork has elements of household and construction waste that the artist found in her neighbourhood in Bengaluru. Look closely…

NCRB Report 2020: India registers a crime rate of 56.5 per one lakh women   As per the NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) report for 2020, the country has reported a crime rate of 56.5 per one lakh women, compared to 62.3 in 2019. Of these, more than 1.11 lakh cases related to "cruelty by husband or relatives" while more than 62,000 cases were kidnapping and abduction. The report also revealed a grim situation in terms of heinous crimes like rape and murder. The country reported an average of 80 murders and 77 rape cases daily, according to the report.…

City had most cybercrimes, second-highest murders in 2020 According to the ‘Crime in India-2020’ report by the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), Bengaluru was the city with maximum number of murder cases in south India last year (179). Among all 19 metropolitan cities in the NCRB list, Bengaluru is second to Delhi, which reported 461 murders. The reasons for the murders spanned from petty quarrels to illicit relationships. Kamal Pant, Commissioner of Bengaluru City Police attributed the high number of cases to swelling population and unbridled growth of the city. Bengaluru also reported the highest rate of cybercrimes; of the…

Whole-genome lab inaugurated in Chennai In a bid to track vector-borne diseases and superbugs resistant to antibiotics, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated a whole-genome sequencing lab at the state public health laboratory in Chennai.  The facility will also help detect SARS-CoV-2 variants. When the virus multiplies, the mutations get accumulated in the genetic code. While the treatment for all variants of COVID-19  has been the same, alterations in the genetic structure have the capability to hasten the spread of the virus.  Until now, the state has sent the samples to the Bengaluru-based Instem (a part of a…

NGT admits petition to stop Versova beach construction Environmentalist Zoru Bhatena's petition filed against renovation of Versova beach has been admitted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Bhatena claims the developmental work violates clearances issued under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). Versova beach is also an important nesting site for Olive Ridley turtles. A two-judge bench found merit in the petition and ordered the Public Works Department (PWD), MCZMA, the state environment impact assessment authority, the municipal corporation and the district collector to respond to the notices served. Source: Hindustan Times Read more:…

96.6% efficacy with one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, says ICMR One dose of COVID-19 vaccine ensures 96.6% efficiency in preventing death while a double dose ensures 97.5% efficiency against death, said ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava. Analysis of data collected between April 18th and August 15th showed that most deaths during the second wave occurred amongst the unvaccinated. Dr Bhargava also informed that protection against death is available for all age groups. Health ministry officials say pace of vaccination is steadily increasing. Average doses per day has increased from 20 lakh in May to 78 lakh in September with…