Several cities to undergo lockdown as infection spreads

AS the COVID-19 graph continues to rise exponentially in India, several cities are reimposing lockdowns to contain the spread. The Karnataka Government has announced a complete lockdown for Bengaluru from July 14th to July 22nd, as total cases stood at 16,862 with 229 deaths.

Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation areas will witness a ten-day lockdown in two phases from July 14th. The decision was taken by the administration with the objective of breaking the chain of transmission and boosting the critical health care infrastructure. Several areas from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will also undergo a lockdown.

Cities in the northeast will also see the return of lockdown. Assam Government has extended the lockdown for 14 days in parts of Guwahati and Kamrup (Metro). Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, will undergo a two day lockdown.

The Bihar capital of Patna has already gone back to lockdown with effect from July 10th. While the state has seen a recovery rate of 72%, Patna’s recovery rate stands at 50% with 700 active cases, making it the worst affected district in the state. Containment zones in West Bengal have also undergone a strict lockdown for seven days starting July 9th. Barricading was done in containment zones in order to restrict the movement of vehicles in and out of these areas.

Source: The Times of India | The Hindu

Mumbai faces shortage of crucial COVID-19 drugs

Several media reports surfaced over the last week, highlighting the shortage of crucial COVID-19 drugs in Mumbai . Various areas in the city saw long queues for COVID-19 drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab. The shortage of drugs has resulted in black-marketing, creating panic amongst the patients and their relatives.

The situation forced the State Cabinet Minister, Dr. Jitendra Awhad to write to the central government, requesting availability of adequate stocks of these crucial and life saving COVID-19 drugs.

According to a recent press release from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city’s recovery rate is now pegged at 67%.

Source: Times Now

GHMC plans to build 38 foot over bridges in next four months

To ease the traffic situation and ensure smooth flow of vehicles on the roads, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is planning to build 38 foot over bridges (FOBs) at an estimated cost of Rs 102 cr in the city. GHMC has also set a deadline of four months to complete the task. The move is aimed at reducing the traffic congestion and provide safer walking experiences for the pedestrian.

The FOBs will have modern design, spacious look and will be equipped with necessary safety features. 10 FOBs are under construction at LB Nagar, 7 in Charminar, 4 in Khairtabad, 5 in Secunderabad, 2 in Kukatpally and 10 in Serilingampally.

Source: The Hans India

All three ISBTs to re-open in Delhi

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has given approval for resuming inter state bus services from Delhi. The officials have informed that services will be started either by Monday or Tuesday. So far only the neighbouring state of Rajasthan has expressed interest to start these services, initially with 70 buses. Government reports have highlighted that the Transport Department has incurred a loss of almost Rs 5 crore per month due to closure of all the three inter state bus terminals (ISBT).

All three ISBTs, before the onset of the pandemic, witnessed a combined footfall of 25000 every day. An estimated 3467 buses at the least would ply to neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal etc every day.

Source: Hindustan Times

NGT demands action taken report on waste dumping in Wular Lake in Baramulla

Acting on the basis of an application filed by a Right To Information (RTI) activist, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has demanded an action-taken report from the State Pollution Control Board, Collector Baramulla and other agencies. The matter is regarding the open dumping of municipal solid waste in the Wular Lake by the corporation, as alleged by the activist in his application.

The lake is designated as a wetland (under the Ramsar Convention for Wetlands) and hence an eco-sensitive zone.

Source: India Legal

Bhopal counts for the most number of new cases in July, Gwalior Morena new hotspots

The capital city of Madhya Pradesh has witnessed most number of new cases in the month of July (436) followed by Morena and Gwalior. While Indore, the worst affected city, registered only 289 cases, Morena has emerged as the new and fastest hotspot in the state, recording 425 cases in July so far.

Morena has turned out to be a big cause of concern for the state government. The case count seems to be low in Morena and Gwalior, but the growth rate remains really high. Morena has recorded a growth rate of 104% while Gwalior has registered a rate of 93%.

At present, there are 1262 containment zones in the state and 846 fever clinics have been established in 52 districts of the state to provide primary treatment and carrying out testing based on symptoms.

Source: The Times of India

Compiled by Rishabh Shrivastava