With 12,059 new cases & 78 deaths, India pushes tally to 1,08,26,363

by Argus News

New Delhi, Feb 7: Continuing its streak of low numbers of single-day coronavirus cases, India reported 12,059 new infections in the last 24 hours even as its overall tally mounted to 1,08,26,363, health officials said on Sunday.

For over a week, the country has recorded less than 15,000 new infections daily. Also, the daily Covid-19 death toll has been below the 200-mark for more than a month now.

On January 19, India had reported 10,064 new cases, the lowest this year. Last year, the lowest 9,633 cases were recorded on June 3.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that there were 78 more Covid-19 fatalities, taking the overall death toll to 1,54,996.

As per the Ministry's data, there are 1,48,766 active cases at present after 14,488 patients were discharged in a day. Till now, 1,05,22,601 persons have been discharged so far.

The recovery rate has increased to 97.2 per cent, while the fatality rate is down to 1.43 per cent.

A total of 20,13,68,378 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to February 6. Of these, 6,95,789 samples were tested on Saturday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Nearly 6 million (57,75,322) doses of corona vaccine doses have been administered in India since the drive began on January 16 after approval for 'Covishield' and 'Covaxin'.

As per the Health Ministry, India is in fifth position globally in terms of the vaccine doses administered in the country, despite the fact that many countries had launched their vaccination campaigns before India.

(IANS)

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Lack Of Jobs Forces Us To Go Outside: Rescued Odia Worker Of Uttarkashi Tunnel Mishap

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Bhubaneswar, Dec 1: Bishweswar Nayak, one of the four rescued Odia labouers of Uttarkashi tunnel collapse, said he went to Uttarkashi as he didn't avail a job in the State. He narrated the plights of all 41 trapped labourers in the collapsed tunnel

"There are no jobs in Odisha. We have to go to other States to earn a livelihood. Our State government has always made false promises to jobs. Our government has no concern for poor people like us," Nayak said.

Nayak along with three other rescued Odia labourers reached Bhubaneswar today. The fifth Odia will return home later.

"A few accidents have occurred during my 20 years of work. I didn't get scared of such accidents. But the tunnel collapse was a different one which I will remember forever. When I returned from work, I saw that the road was completely blocked for 70 meters," said Nayak.

He said they (41 lahourers) spent 12 hours in sheer darkness. However, they got their first meal through a 4-inch pipe. They were given puffed rice, cashew nuts, and raisins as their first meal.

"We also got piped water. All 41 of us lived together. We all lived as brothers. We used to walk together in the tunnel," he said.

PM Modi Thanks UN Chief For Support To India’s G20 Presidency

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Dubai, Dec 1: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday.

The Prime Minister thanked Guterres for his support during India's G20 presidency.

He highlighted India's initiatives and progress in achieving climate goals.

Both leaders exchanged views on priorities and concerns of the Global South related to climate action, climate finance, technology and reforms of the multilateral governance and financial institutions, including the UN.

The UN Secretary-General appreciated India's efforts in the areas of sustainable development, climate action, MDB reforms, and disaster management under G20 Presidency. He welcomed PM Modi's Green Credit Initiative.

He affirmed to work with India to build on the achievements of India's Presidency and take them forward at the UN Summit of the Future 2024.

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BMC Gets Serious About Mumbai Air Pollution, Invites EoI For Artificial Rains

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Mumbai, Dec 1: The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday invited expression of interest (EoI) from global companies for its planned "cloud seeding" programme intended for artificial rains to battle the severe air pollution in Mumbai.

The civic body has sought EoIs from companies, firms, and organisations having a legal status for initiating the "cloud seeding" programme using suitable technologies and with experience of similar nature in the past three years, till December 14.

The move came 10 days after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde woke up early in the morning and went on a pre-dawn review of the air pollution status and measures being taken by the BMC to control it.

At that time, he had assured that if required, the state government will go in for a "cloud seeding" programme and sign an agreement with a Dubai-based company to control air and dust pollution in Mumbai.

However, in the past few days, following unseasonal rains in parts of Mumbai and other regions of Maharashtra, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has considerably improved.

Besides, after a rap from the Bombay High Court, the BMC has initiated a series of measures to control the air pollution created by thousands of private and government construction sites, vehicles and other sources of pollutants.

Civic officials indicate that the process of appointing a "cloud seeding" company is likely to be completed in the next 3-4 months, depending on various parameters as a measure to control the air pollution in Mumbai.

(IANS)

With 12,059 new cases & 78 deaths, India pushes tally to 1,08,26,363

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