QBullet: Public Transport May Open With Conditions; Naikoo Killed
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1. Public Transport May Open With Conditions
Amid the third phase of the nationwide lockdown enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday that public transport may resume soon and that the central government was formulating guidelines for the same.
His statement comes on a day the Central Road Research Institute’s (CSIR-CRRI) made some recommendations for the safe use of public transport once the nationwide lockdown is lifted.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Top Hizbul Commander Riyaz Naikoo Killed in Encounter
Riyaz Naikoo, 35, a top terrorist of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in an encounter with security forces at his village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said on Wednesday, announcing a major breakthrough that is expected to weaken the home-grown terror group significantly.
Naikoo, who carried a Rs 12 lakh reward on his head, was among four militants killed in Pulwama after security forces launched three separate, coordinated operations in a 25km radius on Tuesday night and early Wednesday after inputs that the Hizbul operational commander could be hiding in the area. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that according to inputs Naikoo was visiting his family on Tuesday; he is believed to have stayed overnight at a hideout in Awantipora’s Gulzarpora Beighpora village.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. 50,000 Cases and Counting, Fresh Spikes in Urban Centres
The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country crossed 50,000 on Wednesday, nearly doubling over the course of 11 days, even as limited reopening of businesses made necessary by a sluggish economy triggered worries of another wave of the contagion across hot spots.
The spread of the infectious disease has largely been pushed by urban hot spots in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi, the three worst-hit states. On Wednesday, 3,490new Covid-19 cases were diagnosed and 98more deaths from the disease were reported, taking the total tally to 52,967and fatalities to 1,711.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Punjab and Haryana HC Dismisses Accused IPS Officer Zaidi’s Bail Plea
THE Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of suspended Himachal Pradesh IPS officer Zahur Haider Zaidi, who is an accused in the Kotkhai custodial death case.
Zaidi had filed an application for interim bail for 60 days in wake of the pandemic and complained about the lack of physical distancing inside the Burail jail in Chandigarh, while also citing his history of hypertension and heart ailments. The CBI, through its counsel Sumeet Goel, opposed the bail plea and said that sufficient medical facilities are available in the jail. It added that medical documents attached by Zaidi pertained to September 2017.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. COVID-19 Hits Maharashtra’s Plan to Build 40,000 Km of New Roads in Rural Areas
Days before restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic were first imposed in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition in the state had announced a plan to build 40,000 kilometres of rural roads. On March 6, state Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, presenting the coalition’s first Budget, had earmarked Rs 1,501 crore for the ambitious scheme in 2020-21.
By March 14, as Maharashtra reported its earliest cases of the coronavirus from Pune and Mumbai, the state government started to shut economic activities to avoid the spread of the virus. Ten days later, the Prime Minister announced a nationwide lockdown.
While the Budget was approved, the ambitious scheme remained just an announcement on paper.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Day After Mumbai’s Exit, State Liquor Consumption Drops by 22%
Mumbai’s decision to shut down liquor vends saw a 22 percent drop in the liquor consumption in Maharashtra.
On Tuesday, retail liquor stores across the state had sold 16.1 lakh litre of alcohol, worth Rs 63 crore. A day later, after BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi decided to discontinue operations of standalone liquor shops and other non-essential outlets, the consumption dropped to 12.5 lakh litres, worth of Rs 43.75 crore.
Excise Commissioner Kantilal Umap said: “The two districts of Mumbai account for 1,190 retail liquor stores. The island city has 350 shops, while suburbs another 769. On Tuesday, about 600 of these were running. All of them shut down on Wednesday.” Contending that Maharashtra is a liquor prohibition state, senior officials said that a door-to-door delivery of liquor was unlikely.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Repurposed Drugs Offer Hope in India’s COVID Fight
Even as the race for a vaccine to treat COVID-19 gathers momentum in laboratories across the world, governments, researchers and doctors are frenetically searching for workable solutions till such time as a new wonder drug is here. In the frontline of this fight are drugs that were originally developed to treat other diseases, but are thought to have qualities that can be used on COVID-positive patients.
On Wednesday, the country’s apex body for health research, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), approved one such drug, Lopinavir/ritonavir — a fixeddose combination of drugs used for treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS — for Covid patients.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Delhi Cop Dies After 2 Hospitals Turn Him Away
COVID-19 claimed its first victim in the Delhi Police after 31-year-old constable Amit Kumar died at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Tuesday, 5 May.
Kumar, who was posted at Bharat Nagar police station in northwest Delhi, started showing symptoms on Tuesday afternoon. He was refused admission at two government hospitals before being taken to the RML hospital.
His colleagues, who drove him around in a private car, alleged that they informed the district control room and their seniors about Kumar’s deteriorating health, but received little help from them.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Teen Admin of ‘Bois Locker Room’ Group Arrested, 5 Quizzed
Delhi Police has arrested the administrator of the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group on Instagram where male students were indulging in conversations about sexually assaulting their female schoolmates. TOI had reported on Wednesday police had picked up the teenage administrator from Noida. The cops are confirming the age of the boy, who is awaiting his board exam results. Another juvenile was earlier apprehended.
Police said on Wednesday that the accused, believed to be 18 years old, had created the group around the first week of April. When questioned, he told the cops he did not remember the exact date he set up the group, only that he did it for “fun”. Sources revealed the accused did not personally know everyone in the group and had added people after references from friends and group members.
(Source: The Times of India)
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