Articles by News Desk

Respected Sir,We, civil society organisations and activists from Maharashtra, who are engaged in human rights work with different communities and have also been extensively involved in relief work and advocacy throughout the pandemic and consequent lockdown, address this letter to you to put forth some of our pressing concerns regarding the new restrictions announced in light of increasing number of COVID cases in the state of Maharashtra. We also request for a personal meeting with you to discuss our below suggestions and explore possibilities of civil society collaborations through constructive engagement and consultation, with an aim to create an effective…

The much anticipated Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021 is here. The political landscape of the state has undergone drastic changes since the last election, with both major parties losing their leaders in M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalitha. New entrants such as Kamal Hassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam have found their footing in the scene. The Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to make inroads in the state with a popular ally. TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam attempts draw voters away from the ruling Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Friends have turned foes and foes have turned allies as parties attempt to form…

COVID cases reach alarming highs; Maharashtra announces night curfew and weekend lockdown The daily COVID case count in the country has been a steep rising curve, with the Sunday (April 4th) tally crossing a lakh for the first time and beating the previous high of 97,894 recorded in September last year. This was also when Mumbai reported the highest single-day spike in cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with a 24-hour tally of 11,163 cases reported. 10 states have contributed to more than 91% of the cases and deaths due to COVID. At a high level meeting chaired by…

Chennai witnesses uptick in COVID cases, more beds arranged Chennai recorded 1,290 fresh COVID-19 cases on April 3rd. There were 730 recoveries, 7 deaths and 7,713 persons are currently undergoing treatment.  In the wake of increasing COVID infections, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has re-initiated containment measures in 378 streets. A street or house with three or more index cases, or with two or more affected families, are classified as containment zones. This time, the containment restriction is defined at the house-level unlike in the past, when it was imposed at the street-level.  So far, 4,163 houses have been identified…

In view of rising COVID cases, on April 2, the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) issued an order imposing restrictions in public spaces. The situation of COVID in Karnataka has been reviewed and it has been observed that there has been a persistent rise in the number of COVID cases in the State during the last month, the order said. Further, a large number of social, religious and public gatherings like marriages, political rallies are being witnessed in which COVID appropriate behaviour is not being followed which may cause a setback in the appreciable gains made in the suppression…

Hardik Joshi, Unsplash,Com Fire results in the death of 11 COVID-19 patients On March 25th, a fire rapidly spread in Dreams Mall Sunrise Hospital resulting in the death of 11 COVID-19 patients. Relatives of the deceased ran around the city for almost 10 hours searching for their bodies. Dreams Mall had been declared fit for housing a make-shift COVID hospital days before an audit last May claimed that fire-fighting systems of the building are non-functional. Despite this audit, Mumbai’s Fire Brigade granted a fire safety compliance report for the mall on July 22, 2020. Draft rules published in 2009 would…

Cases surge; Govt imposes restrictions Over 470 children below 10 have been infected with COVID-19, since the beginning of this month. A total of 244 boys and 228 girls have been infected from March 1 to 26. The cases among children were limited to eight to nine daily during the early days of this month but they steadily rose to 46 on March 26. The cases are different from the trends seen last year, as the state reported most new cases among people aged 40 or less. Contrary to the advice from the Technical Advisory Committee, the government ruled out…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike plans to tap into residents' networks, health centres in industries and private hospitals to supplement its efforts and prevent the second wave of COVID-19 from getting out of hand. The novel approach was reiterated by its new Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, who assumed charge on Wednesday. While the number of vaccinations in the city hovers around 35,000 a day, the BBMP wants to double it by creating more vaccination sites. The civic body plans to involve resident welfare associations (RWAs) and also rope in industrial complexes that have their health centres, for the purpose. The new…

The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike has urged the government to make ‘affordable service for all’ a key goal in its bus rejuvenation plan for the city. In a petition addressed to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, the BBPV elaborated the impact of pandemic on the public transport corporation and made suggestions for the government's proposed rejuvenation plan for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Over the past year Bengaluru saw diminished bus operations. People struggled with long wait times, crowded buses and costly commutes during the pandemic. BMTC struggled with low revenues and was unable to provide timely benefits and social…

Vaccine for people above 45 from 1st April As the country faces the second wave of COVID-19 infection, the government has decided to boost the pace of vaccination in the country. The Central government has decided to widen the beneficiary base by allowing people above 45 years (with or without comorbidity) of age to take the COVID vaccine from 1st April onwards. Nationally, the vaccination drive was started on 16th January with healthcare and frontline workers. So far, more than 5.5 crore vaccination shots have been administered. In a separate development, the government has increased the time between the first and…