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wanderingthedesertalone · 1 year ago

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Corona Alone a Diary Revisited: An American’s Experience of the Covid Lockdown in Mumbai

Lockdown In Retrospect

Mediocre Graces: In any case, by the end of the Pandemic, I had somewhat been restored to good graces, not that I was ever greeted in Anand Nagar(8) at least with the Atithi Devo Bhava(11) spirit, I got on the good side of the local gang and befriended a Muslim woman who sells fish in a roadside stall, but it was too late, lonesomeness and faithlessness in humanity had grabbed a hold of me. Sadly, I am no longer able to speak to the fish merchant. She married, her husband is conservative and doesn’t allow her to speak to men.

On Lonesomeness: It’s worth noting that many endured the Corona epidemic in complete isolation. According to The Wall Street Journal, 35.7 million Americans, including myself, lived alone (Byron) around the time of writing the first journal entry. However, not just did I live alone, I was an expat, I lived alone in Mumbai, India. Regardless of the negative stigma that goes along with living alone, solitude never bothered me, in fact, ever since I was divorced, in 2012, I’ve preferred to be alone. Besides, I could always grab a cup of coffee and talk to strangers, I have the gift of gab when needed, but the double-whammy of isolation and becoming a pariah had pushed me to the brink of insanity. I’ve come to believe that those things that don’t kill us make us weaker and since the Covid outbreak I’ve become impatient, nervous and have lost faith in humanity, as I’ve already said.

Too Much Fluff: In all, the NPR article is woefully misguided and simply tried to make a buck off of Covid lockdowns, like so many other news outlets were doing at the time. A better story would’ve been on those who live alone before the Pandemic, whether for reason of mental health, a willful solitude or social ineptitude, that chronicled each persons’ descent into madness; I despise fluff journalism, maybe because it reminds me of the way that Bollywood paints India as an endless serene landscape of humorous follies in love that can easily be overcome when it’s something else all together, not easily, or that I would like to, put into words. This isn’t just fluff, there’s comedy for sure, there’s humor in all tragedy but there’s a reason for sharing the gritty details of lockdown in India, I feel it’s important to share these stories lest we live them again! In the past year, I’ve filled 6 volumes with recollections of lockdown, I hoped to get them published by a newspaper, that failed.

Diary Excerpts and Commentary

A Note to the Reader: The following excerpts are from the journal of an expat living in Mumbai (recorded between Feb 2019 and Feb 2021), during Covid lockdown(1). Dates have been replaced with titles because, unless indicated in commentary or prose, they’re irrelevant:

It Begins: There’s a few cases of Covid in China and other places but I’m not too worried, this will have as much effect on me as the 2003 SARS outbreak(6), there’ve been many such scares in my lifetime. Besides, I caught the virus from a wedding party in Sri Lanka, it was like the Flu, high fever, mild delirium and a little trouble breathing. Interesting thing about Sri Lanka, all of the land and wealth seems to be in the hands’ of the Nords, the locals have very little and the price of food is like that of America or Europe. Also, airport authorities took a child’s Queen Conch shell away right before boarding, she was clearly enamored by her seemingly magical wave machine. After they took it from her, she cried all the way back to Mumbai.

The Flasher: A few Covid cases have been confirmed and I’m beginning to feel like an unwelcome guest in a foreign land, an unusual notion in a land where the locals say “Atithi Devo Bhava(11).” Typically, Indians are hospitable, on my travels to the South they were, of course, taxi drivers tried to scam me there, but cabbies the world over are a special breed of scum, you should’ve seen the way they took me to the wringer in Hong Kong, hospitality is a source of national pride here. This afternoon, there was a knock on the door, it was my landlord. I found myself baffled by what he said. I opened the door and he began to speak, timidly and slowly in broken English: “there’s been a complaint,” he said. “What’s wrong?” “A man is walking around outside naked.” “Oh, I see. Thanks for informing me,” I said and shut the door, believing that he was telling me of a dangerous predator lurking among this slum’s numerous tightly knit alleys at night. Later, I came to find that the landlord was attempting to tell me that the neighbors had accused me of going on moonlit strolls in the buff, I was the predator. I was shocked and enraged when I found that I was, according to gossip, a flasher, but consoled myself by telling myself that none of this is the landlord’s fault, he just wants to prevent other tenants from rioting. People are scared and looking to point a finger at an invisible assailant. This will be forgotten quickly and my name restored, I guess it’s not contradictory to be both hospitable and two-faced. Why do I care about my reputation in a slum? I don’t want any trouble.

Last Days of Freedom: Worry has set in, even chain restaurants no longer accept cash, not from me at least, I tried to buy something to eat with good ol’ paper money at McDonald’s and they refused to serve me. Worse luck, as the Chinese say. I’m working on a project here and I’m paid in cash, so credit isn’t something I have access to. This doesn’t just affect me, a large portion of the population is paid, untaxed of course, in cash and most likely doesn’t have a bank account. Also, everywhere I go my temperature is taken.

Days of Optimism: Lockdown began, I went to get groceries for the 2 days that we are told we must shelter in place and plan to go to bed early. There was hoarding and ransacking of shelves at the local grocer, but I’m sure that it’s just hysteria and this whole thing will end soon. Another interesting thing happened at the store today, two women got in a fight over the last box of cookies, the first woman, a pudgy mother with a bad attitude towards everyone that I had had the bad luck of having a few encounters with before, used to admonish me saying “smoking is a bad addiction,” I wagged my finger and said “sugar is a bad addiction,” laughing my way out of the store. It was the first time I’ve laughed in days, I’ve been in a daze, everything is quickly changing and feels so dire. The fowl woman, she lost the battle and the box of cookies. A word about change, I’m often told that nothing changes in this little hamlet and I believe it. It’s hyperbole, things change here, but slowly, there’s digital gadgets for sale, but there are also oxcarts that sell food and other remnants of the past. It’s not that nothing changes, It’s that time seems to go by slower here, like the locals heartbeat at a slower pace. I always feel rushed but they take as much time as the seasons.

Two Days In: The two days passed, but lockdown continues, the food I bought didn’t last. Even worse, I wasn’t informed that lockdown part 2 had begun without the first installment ending, I slept through the grocery shopping time, 6AM. I snuck out for an evening walk despite lockdown, 2 interesting things happened on my covert walk, I saw many others outside as well, they all spoke of the cow that wandered into the open air temple that’s adjacent to my apartment complex, some are feeding here, even the Muslims, having taken up many of the folk traditions of the Hindus they live among, agree that a sickly heifer wandering into the temple is a good omen, the other interesting thing, The Green Eyed Lady (an Indian with green eyes) made me some Khichdi(24). There were also Chinese in Haiden, Beijing, a district home to many Russians, who have green eyes. Isn’t genetic splendid? In any case, the woman asked me if I had eaten, usually more of a salutation than invitation here, I said “no,” so she brought me a bite to eat. The food supposedly heals the sick.

Big Changes in a Little Town: Since implementation of the Janata(5) Curfew, many continue to sit along alleys in large groups or participate in sports, not wearing masks(4). Yet, as I walk enroute to purchase groceries, these intrepid individuals say “here comes Corona” and cover their faces with their dupatta(7) or a handkerchief. This change of attitude towards me is, although slight, I’ve always had my fans and detractors here, is palpable. Maybe it’s just my nerves. Before lockdown, I sometimes played Teen Patti(19) with neighbors at least, never understood the rules though. Anyway, the shelter-in-place decree will be lifted on Passover, this must be a good omen, not that I sincerely believe in such things, I think to myself and reiterate my resolution to weather the storm in Mumbai. One concern about the transmission of Covid, Indians don’t have a sense of proximity, they always crowd.

One Good Deed: The endless bad news has left me exhausted. A few thoughts before bed, having lived in other parts of Asia and meeting many people from Europe, India is like America in one way, heterogeneity. It’s a type of melting pot, not a melting pot of strangers from far off lands but a mixture of old kingdoms, who have their own languages and cultures, forced under one, possibly too small, umbrella. Adding it up, Indian society, due to its long history, caste system and numerous religions is exceedingly complex, for example Muslims created the first free public institutes of higher learning, yet in some regards they’re treated like would-be separatists (Khurshid). Thinking about the day’s event, I sit on the small broken cot that’s my bed, I have to get this fixed soon, it’s interesting, the cost of handwork is very cheap here, in the US, anything that artisan might do is expensive and it’s more cost effective just to throw the old away. I’m reminded of this Chinese woman I met in Beijing, she told me “I’m not Han(23).” “Interesting, which ethnic group do you belong to?” “I’m Miao.” “Is there anything unique about the Miao?” “We don’t eat dogs. All Chinese people are the same, we are one people, the only difference between Han and Miao is that we don’t eat dogs.” I was teaching adult English at the time for extra income. India is more like America than China or Europe, diversity is endless.

Anand Nagar Has a New Song: The decree wasn’t lifted. Another day, thousands more Covid cases and locals have begun to shout “go home Corona!” Despite the taunts, I’m staying where I am. I don’t have much of a choice, there aren’t any flights anyway, the airports, in a panic, have shut down, everything, with a mere 2 day warning, has come to a grinding halt. I guess this isn’t merely more sensational media. Besides, the situation is becoming bleaker in the US and airports are havens for communicable diseases, they pack people in, from all over the world, like sardines. Have you ever seen the projected distribution of an epidemic? It all starts with airports. Resolute that this virus will blow over, I buckle down for the Summer of Corona in India.

Foreigners Have it Too: Nothing good has come from lockdowns so far, it has fostered hysteria, mob mentality, greed and anti-foreigner sentiment. This “City of Dreams,” has become a nightmare! The nation has fallen into the clutches of fear of contracting the virus from a foreign national. Hysteria, I tell you! I only hope that this all ends soon. Despite an anti-foreigner hysteria, according to The World Health Organization there are a total of 1637 people infected by Covid-19, a mere 49 of which are aliens(3) (The WHO). Yet, the locals blame it all on Tablighi Jamaat(13)(BBC), why not? Trump is calling this outbreak “The China Virus.” The borders have closed, looks like I’m staying here for a while, I didn’t plan on leaving anyway. Besides, there’s talk of easing restrictions. Back to the human condition, I had always been considered an outsider here, I had always been greeted with mocking and mistrust, to some degree, but there were those who accepted me. The first day I arrived the children called me names and adults mimicked the way I speak with derisive tones and gestures, I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery? I despise epigrams, I really do.

Nostalgia for Slightly Better Days: Before lockdown, there was a woman with a fish tattoo on her arm who often invited me to play cards but I shied away from her after neighbors had told me that she “accuses people of rape to blackmail them for money.” I don’t usually listen to gossip but wanted to play it safe. Other than that, I was at least invited to weddings, funerals and dances during the Graba(22) celebration. Funny story, the first year I refused to dance, a man jokingly told me that if I dance with a girl I have to marry her. I didn’t actually believe him, I’m not that gullible, I’m just not fond of Indian music. Back to the present, it’s not the time for nostalgia, although I can’t think of a better pastime right now, maybe if foreigners in India practice social distancing, unlike the locals, they won’t catch the virus and the stigma will dissolve. The other night I went for a walk just to break the monotony of watching time go by and hoping the world would heal. This morning, I was again accused of perverse behaviors by my landlord. I wasn't walking the alleyways naked, but I am being watched. On the walk, locals barred the alley and told me “no foreigners allowed.” Yet, they daily gather to play Cricket while sentinels watch for cops so that they can quickly disperse.

There’ Gestapos In This Movie Too: I guess I should mention something good too. Lockdown has caused a sort of hush here and now daily I can hear the sound of an infant being bathed through the one tiny window my studio apartment has. Through the 4 foot square aperture I can hear the infant laughing as warm water rushes over it. I now hope that things will return to the way they were before, just subpar not “holy crap the world is on fire and we are all going to die!” A combination of police and concerned citizens, working with the police, now stand along the main road with bamboo canes in hand. They remind me of stories my grandfather told of the Gestapo. Both are poised for violence. The police, they resound the sentiment of the concerned citizens, ridicule the foreigner. Now, I usually get an escort, something that is only afforded to me, to stop “roaming” as I go to get essentials. There are now dots painted on the sidewalk, we are supposed to stand on them to ensure social distancing, the locals don’t obey this. If I do the same, I’m informed, thwack would go the cane. I’ve begun to see in black and white, not metaphorically but literally, I feel as though I’m watching a movie about a distant authoritarian time. The brutalist architecture(24) is reminiscent of Russia and North Korea, it doesn’t take much imagination for the arabesque attributes to obscure. I haven’t slept much.

Building a Wall: This hamlet is bluffed by a river by a river on one side with a small foot bridge for crossing into Neilam Nagar. The police have blockaded the entrance to the crossing and are building a wall to, I believe, keep the several hundred thousand impoverished residence of this hamlet trapped like mice on a sinking ship. I truly fear the wall, perhaps it’s because of my education, having been forced to read the line ‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall(20),’ throughout school, it’s almost a national anthem. Walls and golf courses have always seemed as despicable things to me. Neither the rich nor the influential politicians are suffering the same as we are in the slums. They play golf in their gated communities…

The First Stone Tossed: As the situation in India worsens, so do the jeering. Now, a few individuals throw rocks at me, a tactic usually reserved for thwarting the region’s menacing wild dogs, as I venture into the ever more dangerous streets at the permitted time, 6AM, to get essentials, in an attempt to diffuse their frustrations over the region’s spreading epidemic. Yet, returning to the political quagmire that is America keeps me hopeful that sheltering in Mumbai will become easier. Rocks tossed or not, I’m staying in place. Oddly, despite not eating much, I’m gaining weight, it must be stress. Supplies have run thin, some are hoarding and there’s talk of a 2 week prohibition on supply trucks entering Anand Nagar.

Insomnia: Depression has set in and money has mostly ran out. Immediately before lockdown, I was given a promotion but as of yesterday, the company I worked for has permanently shut their doors. I’ve just now realized that I haven’t left my house, let alone gotten out of the broken cot for days. I look at the clock, it’s 5:50 AM, the allotted time for shopping. Getting groceries at dawn isn’t a matter of waking at dawn; I haven’t slept in days either, just sat on this cot watching time go by. Insomnia is starting to take a toll, I’m beginning to hallucinate, time has lost all meaning, at times days go by in minutes yet other times, minutes last for a small eternity. It has been days since I’ve had a face to face conversation with another human.

Home Invaders: Somewhat dazed, I sit on my bed contemplating the meaninglessness of time when there’s nothing to do. Jolted from my daydream-like state, there’s a pounding sound on the door. The sound is getting louder. I hear shouting. The words come into focus, “foreigner, we’re coming in! We’re breaking the door down,” says the unfamiliar voices. I spring to my feet and bolt the door. The pounding becomes more and more rapid and fear takes a hold of me. But then I hear a familiar voice, the voice of my neighbor, she shouts something in Marathi and the marauders leave. I fall into a sleep and don’t wake for 2 days. Food was cut off for 2 weeks, I had to get a bite to eat from the Hanuman Mandir(18). They handed out plates of rice and lentils.

Vigilantes: Days go by and panic worsens among residents of this Mumbai chawl(8). Due to rising fears, vigilantes begin to safeguard the streets from “roaming.” These sentinels attempt to impose restrictions of their own device on me: they inform me that I am not permitted to walk along certain roads because they are afraid that I carry the virus, this happened once before on a late night walk but now it’s the norm, although I’m merely in search of a store to buy necessities and wearing a mask. In the end, these vigilantes won’t cause a reduction in hanging out on the street, this I know, but a few of this slum’s inhabitants get to feel empowered because they are the new sheriff in town. I guess we all need a whipping-post and there’s good among the wicked, a local temple and a few individuals are handing out grains to the needy. We are all needy here. At this point, the lockdown has gone on for months.

The New sheriffs in Town: Currently, there’s two police along Mumbai’s backstreets, those who were given authority by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MNC) and vigilantes. Feeling harassed and completely rejected by society, loneliness takes hold of me, I begin to search for a way out of this “city of dreams,” maybe returning home while a buffoonish leader (Trump) who makes a mockery of the US isn’t so bad, I think to myself. All things considered, it’s nearly impossible to abide by laws set by both the government and a hysteric mob anyway.

No Payment Until April: At least I have a roof over my head, I think to myself, an article in Aljazeera, Foreign Tourists Face Hostility in India Amid Coronavirus Panic informs that an Israeli woman was evicted from her home in Goa due to locals fear of contracting COVID-19 and others were forced out of their hotel (Purohit), I can go a day without milk, but not without a bed, not to mention, the police had recently found tourists living in a cave because they are trapped in India and have ran out of money (NBC). I haven’t yet been evicted, but am also out of funds and live under constant threat of eviction. Rent payment is suspended until April (Delhi High Court). I lay on my broken cot, I will try to get it fixed on the black market, and continue to doom-scroll taking note of the day’s death tally and searching for any sign of things getting better. Passover has passed but Covid hasn’t.

Nobody Goes Home for That Price: I do some research and come to find that the US Department of State is offering “repatriation flights,” these flights carry a $2000 price tag (a promissory note for the aforementioned amount must be signed before boarding the plane) and a random port of arrival is where I’ll end up if I choose to return home through the ever so benevolent government, how can anyone pay this price during a Pandemic (this thing has been upgraded to a Pandemic, how lovely words are). Upon arriving at this port, the returning expat must find their way home through barricades and the threat of being infected by Corona (Genter). I harden my heart and again resolve to weather the storm in Mumbai. Besides, if the promissory note isn’t paid, I will be banned from international travel. I’m a Digital Nomad. I travel, work at an incredibly low rate and can only afford to survive in developing countries.

August’s Heat: The death toll jets upward and 75 degree angle, it’s updated daily. While bombarded with an endless stream of bad news, jeering has morphed into threats of violence, sleep is still a rare occurrence, heat rash has caused the parts of my body covered by clothing to become as freckled as Little Orphan Annie, I’m as poor to boot, my field of vision is filled sprawling geometric patterns and my temper is quick.

Worse Than the Daughters of Temperance: As the situation thickens, stores begin to deny me service. A shopkeeper refuses to sell me certain items that are in stock and we aren’t barred from sale, I have just been informed that liquor and tobacco have become contraband. The more than nagging need to satiate addictions during lockdown aside, this proprietor allows Indian nationals to purchase products, but denies me the same goods. He’d have me starve to death! I, like all outsiders, have become the face of a faceless virus that has ruined lives, in fact “Muslims were initially blamed for the spread of infection (Siddiqui),” a group that is no less a part of India than Sikhs(10), yet, like Jews anywhere in the world, are perpetual outsiders. All things considered, this is mass hysteria! Nobody I know has died from Covid yet. A sampling error? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I sit in my room without a breeze (I don’t have A/C) and ponder what society has come to, Freud’s mob mentality.

They’re Trying to Starve Me Out: That shopkeeper has changed his mind, I returned to him to buy groceries but he yelled “go away foreigner white face.” He then insisted that a clerk not give me an old box, although I was carrying a heavy load and had no tote. The hypocrisy of people here is an in the face classism, a rule for me and a rule for them. The Covid cases are increasing exponentially! So are my headaches. They’re not headaches as much as a feeling that every nerve ending in my body is being prodded with a needle and the inside of my brain shrinking. Now, I sit at home alone, the rats scurry across the floor, the heat comes in waves, time stands still and there’s nothing to laugh about, Covid cases are in the hundred thousands and the death toll is staggering as well.

Befriending the Gang: August’s heat, insomnia, constant dread and lack of nutrition are getting to me, I don’t know how much longer I can go on. Even local pharmacists have begun to convey a fear of me and insist that I have a cough when I go in to ask for something for heat rash. Unlike the grocers, the pharmacists sell me goods, but with great hesitation and suspicion in regards to my presence in this chawl. Finding tobacco is now the chief task of every day. It’s sold on the black market, along with chocolate, alcohol and meat, at exorbitant prices. So, like a heroin addict, I slink up to a back alley leant-to and buy a pack of smokes. It’s just like buying illicit drugs: there’s an obligatory period of making small-talk, ambiguity over whether or not the man actually has tobacco, razzing, phone calls and scurrying about to find it. In the end, I walk away with cigarettes at European prices and a dirty feeling.

Suicide Among Death: Lockdown continues and most in this chawl have lost morale. The neighbor sent her son over to tinker on my electric piano. She told me of what has been dubbed The Flower House Girl. A young woman hung herself from rafters due to endless confinement to her home and the bleak picture of tomorrow that the daily news paints. What a shame! I had wondered what the fire department was doing on the main street. They took her out of the third story window with the truck’s ladder.

Another Year Another Onion: Did I mention it’s a New Year? I didn’t even notice that the year had changed, the date passed unceremoniously and with festivities. Again, the police have rebuilt the wall that surrounds this chawl, tightening the perimeter, I’m not sure if it’s to keep Covid out or us in. In any case, food has scarcely made it through the makeshift wall and news is that food supplies will be cut off for 2 weeks, again. In any case, that which makes it in is mostly sequestered by the gangs, anyhow. It’s that I’ve got the most onions mentality(12). Despite rarely eating, I continue to gain weight. Speaking of onions, there are now over nine million confirmed Covid cases and farmers are protesting the price gouging of seeds, stating that “We are the ones who have provided food, milk, vegetables when the whole country was in lockdown, we were still toiling in the fields. It is the government” not gathering in New Delhi “that has put us at risk by introducing these laws during Covid (Hollingsworth et al).” My heart is with these brave men and women and if I had the strength I would be beside them. All things considered, despite the news and friends’ proclamations that a new year brings new hope, this may be an onion of a year too.

The Walls Close In: Yet again, the police have reduced the circumference of the wall. I feel claustrophobic or like I’m slowly, very slowly drowning. I go to bed, but sleep doesn’t come. I hear the rats fight over the last morsels of food in this chawl, when I wake, there’s inevitably a rodent corpse on the footpath in the ally that leads to my house. Food has been cut off for 2 weeks. I gave the last of my supplies to a family, in total it amounted to a pound of rice and a pound of lentils. Now, the cot is less of a fishing net with big holes and more of an empty frame. I lay on the floor instead, will I be able to get somebody to fix it, I don’t know. I have to get my family to send money first.

An Altercation: We are now allowed an evening walk, so I venture out to the usual chants, a ragtag team of would-be thugs follow me. A wave of exhaustion washes over me and my pace slows to a crawl in front of the BJP(14) Office. As I cross in front of the office, beneath the flag, a scrawny slum-bastard walk up and says “are you British?” “I’m American,” I reply. “I hear they call you Hari(15).” I can smell the alcohol on his breath as he speaks. “What of it?” “More like Harry Potter.” “I guess that’s funny,” I say and try to walk away, but he grabs me by the collar and takes a swing, he misses. I return the blow, my fist makes contact with his face. My heart is racing. I fear an all out retaliation when, like roaches from beneath rot-wood, members of the local gang emerge from the alleys and come to my aid. I had been buying tobacco from them, at highway robbery prices for weeks, and so it’s in their interest to act as my vigilante guardians, in some regards, the gangs are better than the police, or at least their corruption and self service is laid out on the table for all to see, where the cops are supposed to protect and serve, protecting and serving often isn’t the case here, it comes down to ethnic and caste schisms.

Two Deaths and a Ghost: It’s another day and the death toll has spiked again. Feeling that I escaped death and death being the only thing the news reports on I begin to wonder, had I been killed by a mob, would my death have been reported as a Covid death? Is the death toll real? There’s a little hospital in this chawl, it’s certainly not inundated with the dying and morticians don’t walk the streets singing “bring out your dead,” as they did during the Black Plague of 1665. In fact, of the 3 who purportedly died in Anand Nagar, one was an elderly with Emphysema, the other was a suicide and the last one, I saw him walking down the street the other day, risen from the grave as by some Covid era miracle. Truth be told, he had gone back to his family home and returned. Not an easy task, much like during the Holocaust, traveling papers are required to go anywhere, there’s not even any trains, minus a few for displaced workers. A combination of lack of food, a growing mistrust of the government’s intention with regards to lockdown and dire times brings these lyrics to mind: My wife fixed up a tater stew/ We poured the kids full of it/ Mighty thin stew, though/ You could read a magazine right through it. Always have figured/ That if it’d been just a little bit thinner, Some of these here politicians/ Coulda seen through it(21).

Are the politicians duped or am I? What about herd immunity? I feel like I’m living in the Dust Bowl, except there’s no storm of dust and the sky isn’t black. The enemy is invisible. Or, am I the enemy? So much for relativism.

Police and Indians: On another outing, again attempting to purchase essentials, those things that whether for sustenance or pleasure, an invisible hand has decided that I may indulge in, I find that even local authorities seem misinformed about the number of foreign nationals in India with Covid. Recently, police stopped me for questioning and informed me that “foreigners are the cause of Corona Virus.” After looking for a quarantine stamp on my hands several times and not finding one they insisted that I run back home and followed me on motorcycles. This was witnessed by several locals who cheered the police on. As the police resounded sentiments of this chawl’s inhabitants, it reinforced negative feelings. I didn’t eat that night. The days following the police harassment, locals continued jeering me by saying “the police will come and hit you,” while mimicking the thwack of a cane on their posterior. Not just are they misinformed, they’d like to see me hung.

Read the Sign: In case you feel incredulous in regards to my claims about placing a stamp on the hands of foreigners and the police’s blindingly Orwellian allegiance to the BJP, the party who blamed Covid on Muslims and foreigners, The National Library of Medicine has this to say about it: tourists who arrived in India from affected countries were put in quarantine for 14 days in their port of arrival, their “left hand was stamped with ink” to maintain the date and time of their home quarantine, “a move that could risk assault, due to stigma towards Covid suspects [foreigners].” Individuals violating the quarantine can be penalized via Indian penal code Section 188, 269 and 270 (Siddiqui). The police, like the locals, are looking for a whipping-post and have a draconian view about foreign nationals in India during this crisis, what a hoot it would be to cane them. Bollywood is no “City of Dreams,” in fact, misinformation abounds here, signs, obviously posted by Conservative and nationalistic Hindu Vegans, reads as so: ‘Ways to avoid Covid/ Don’t eat meat/ Don’t smoke/ Don’t talk to foreigners.’ I no longer see the good that I jotted down in an earlier journal entry. Also, tired of the word “misinformation,” not sure who gets to decide what’s misinformation, although I myself used it in this entry, just tired: days crawl by and the feeling of isolation causes a pressure on my cranium and a meaninglessness to all things.

Mending a Bed: Despite having become a pariah, I was able to get the cot fixed, for a small fee, a tailor was willing to come over, and work against the law, they despise me, but like money enough to look past it. The work doesn’t look great, it’s rigged. Most everything here is rigged. I’m never sure if this is the ingenuity of a race of impoverished people or the result of an attitude that declares good enough is good. In the end, most everything is a hodgepodge of corrugated steel, broken bits of wood and rope with exposed electrical wires that run through water and the elements in general. I’ve always said, if the manpower here became a collected force and decided to stop pollution, get the rivers clean, enforce something like an ADA, demand fair housing they would be an unstoppable force. Instead, they divide themselves along ethnic schisms.

A Pickpocket: Food has returned to the stores and shopkeepers are serving me, but I was pickpocketed at the register. I took my wallet out to pay, right before my eyes a man reached in my wallet and took a 500 out, it was the last of the money I had. I came home empty handed. For the first time since my divorce, I broke down and cried. Now I sit wiping my eyes. Is all hope for humanity lost? I cannot answer. Besides Covid, there’s so much political turmoil! It looks as though there won’t be a smooth transition of power this time.

What I’ve Learned From the Steppenwolf: I’m concerned for the nation’s migrant workers, other visiting foreign nationals and those who descend from Mizoram and Assam, these individuals may be more prone to the psychological effects of loneliness than myself. Culturally, Indian life centers around an extended family, whereas I’m more akin to Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf. All in all, it’s tough to live overseas in the best case scenario and down-right depressing when you’ve become public enemy number one. But, as I said, I have a tough enough skin to survive this, but there are those who’ve been cannibalized by their own society. Anyway, lockdown should end in 3 weeks, the infection rate is on the decline. We are now aloud out in the evenings and I have taken to sitting with friends in front of the Rukhmini(16) Temple. It’s like the opening line of a joke, a Jew, a Muslim and a Hindu… Among us, there’s a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian and a Hindu priest. All in all, I need them not, but it’s nice to have some companionship, even if there’s little communication. I have returned to good graces.

Family Matters: Although I feel alone, I’m not jealous of India’s family structure. Locals often ask me about my family, casual things like “how is your mother?” “I don’t know. I don’t keep in touch with my family very much,” I respond. It’s a matter of privacy and staying out of gossip. Here, grown men never grow up, they are fed and coddled by their mothers. I had recently met a man who can’t cook for himself, nor wash his own clothes and still occasionally sleeps in bed with his mother. Speaking of men, spouse abuse, along with drinking, is on the rise. It’s not uncommon to see and hear it. Too often, after dark, I witness, when I sneak out for a walk to break the munatiny, men hitting women by the open air temple that my house is adjacent to. Speaking of temples, Hanukkah recently passed. I lit a makeshift menorah, but even that gave me little joy. As for now, the best thing is drinking chai by the little Rukmini temple.

Down With the Wall: The wall has come down! Lockdown isn’t over, but the wall has come down. Alas, air travel has returned, the government has announced “air bubbles” and I’m returning to America. After everything, I was never again treated as more than a second-class citizen in that chawl but it matters not, I’m leaving! In the end, the locals’ reaction to me and the psychological impact of the loneliness, their words and actions heave upon me, have caused deep scars. On a more disappointing note, all local newspapers have declined to publish my recollections of lockdown. An earnest question, were we fed false dichotomies, ones that stated wear a mask or everyone dies and get the vaccine or everyone dies, just for some political experiment or agenda? It’s just odd that after the farmers protested the Covid number began to decrease.

Integrity Intact

No Amnesty for the Wicked: One might say, you’ve survived the worst, why bring this up at all? Isn’t it time for amnesty? I feel the answers to this was best put into words in the video Pandemic Amnesty: Do you Forgive and Forget and so I will summarize what the author said, “there were things that happened that there needs to be a recognition of, and there needs to be a public apology. There needs to be a promise that this never happens again. There needs to be people who actually pay for their behavior, potentially criminal behavior. […] Until the people who did harm admit that they did harm this kind of thing will just keep repeating itself. […] Some people were victims, other people were perpetrators, and then there [were] also enablers (Wand).” For instance, The Deccan Herald reports that there have been “attacks on people from India’s northeastern region […], suspecting them of being carriers of the virus.” Assaulting your own people is like cannibalism, that’s all there is to it! As it was written in the newspaper, apart from being called “Corona” or “Chinki(9)” India’s [Asiatic] people were spat on and forcibly quarantined, despite showing no Covid symptoms, all because of their looks and an ignorant fear that anyone who looks different are the root cause of the Pandemic. Also, they were denied entry into their apartment complexes, evicted, merely threatened with eviction or forced out of restaurants to make others comfortable and none wanted to share transport with them (Karmakar). Of all things, it’s not time for amnesty.

Ignorance isn’t an Excuse: There needs to be punishment for these wicked deeds! There’ll be no retribution for foreigners who suffered in India, but locals, those from minority communities, who had just days before lockdown been upstanding citizens, deserve retribution and possibly reparations. There those who died from the virus and those who died at the selfishness and ignorance of mankind, for those who died by the hand of man have this to say: “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time ( Elie Wiesel).” Ignorance, for good reason, has never been, nor shall it be an excuse for breaking laws and committing atrocities. The Atlantic is wrong in their assertion that we should just forgive and forget (Oster). Perhaps, in the name of healing, it’s time to forgive, but should never forget!

A Clear Conscience: During The Covid Outbreak, I may have lost my mind, found myself in complete isolation and on the brink of starvation at times, but at least I kept my dignity. I threw no stones and attempted to obey the laws, even those that actively brought hardship into my life. I defended myself when needed, I live by the adage “walk gently and carry a big stick.” As for the war of the ethnicities in India, I guess it’s none of my business, alone, I can’t defend the minorities. And in regards to retribution for the wicked, my hands are also tied. However, I won’t give amnesty, not in my heart. Forgetting and moving on, as Oster’s article suggests (Oster) is, to reiterate, akin to allowing the cycle to repeat again. In the end, my travels have provided me with armor to protect against cabin fever, I’ve endured hardships and loneliness in remote villages of Nepal and have been “the stranger” in the metropolitans of Hong Kong, Bangladesh… But there are those among the Indians whose identity and self-worth come from a tightly knit family and friend structure, many of which took their own lives due to isolation. Others starved to death because of lack of income and others died due to the rejection of medical services. Luckily, I was not immune to the effects of isolation, but well insulated from the threat of Corona by a chawl that exists off the radar and societies’ fear of foreigners, local inhabitants keep me at arm’s length and so, I didn’t catch the virus during lockdown.

Notes

1: The views herein are not the of WTDA but the author. At WTDA we publish a variety of news, depending on what we deem to be an interesting story at the moment.

2: At the time of writing, Covid hadn’t yet been declared a Pandemic.

3: Citation no longer available at The World Health Organization.

4: The author of this journal wants it to be known that they don’t, nor did they ever, believe that masks are/were an effective way of preventing Covid-19 but were forced to wear a face covering by Indian law. At the time, they obeyed the law.

5: Public.

6: Hyped media, having no real effect on the life of the author.

7: A long scarf worn by Indian women.

8: The Marathi word for neighbourhood which is colloquially used to denote a slum.

9: North Indian slang for India’s Asiatic population.

10: A religion that combines attributes of Islam and Hinduism and originated in India.

11: Guests are G-D.

12: In 2019, due to flooding, there was an onion shortage. An entrepreneur had been hoarding onions. At the time, not only did he declare that “onions are the new gold” he purportedly sold the onions for 3 times the market value. To the author, it serves as a symbol of the selfish psychological state that caused some of the worst aspects of Covid lockdown.

13: A 3 day Islamic spiritual event in India’s capital hosted by a 100 years Islamic Missionary Movement. Due to the cases reaching over 300 after the event, the meme was coined: China is the “producers” of the virus, and Muslims are the “distributors.”

14: A political party, of which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the leader of. Every neighborhood has a BJP office.

15: A common male name in India and regional pronunciation of the Anglo name Harry.

16: The primary wife of the Hindu G-D Krishna.

17: The name of the slum in which the writer lived during lockdown.

18: A temple in the slum in which the foreigner lived during lockdown. The temple is dedicated to the monkey G-D, a deity who helped Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.

19: A poker-like card game in which the players make melds with three cards.

20: Mending Wall by Robert Frost.

21: Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues by Woodie Guthrie.

22: A dance form native to the west Indian state of Gujarat, performed in October to honour the Hindu Goddess Durga. It is also celebrated in Maharashtra. People gather on the streets, dancing in pairs of men and women where they rhythmically click sticks together.

23: The largest ethnic group in mainland China, about 91% of the population.

24: A South Indian dish made of rice and lentils. It’s a comfort food that’s supposed to aid in healing.

25: Brutalist architecture emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era.These buildings characterised by minimalism and bare building materials. They are commonly seen today in old Soviet Union countries and Central Asia, reminding many of totalitarianism.

#lockdown #travelogue #Covid-19 #memoir #India #autobiography #travel #online diary #memories of Covid #Pande #coronavirus #pandemic #mumbai #maharashtra #expatliving #overseas #police #mob mentality

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hobbyandfunzone · 3 years ago

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Evolution of a Legend - Part -1

Anand”,”Abhim

This is an analysis of Leading Actors of the Hindi film in pre-Amitabh Bachchan era and what Amitabh Bachchan brought into the industry.

If we start with the arrivals of the first three superstars ( if we do not consider Ashok Kumar) of the Hindi film industry , Dev Anand , Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor all of who started in the late 40s , we basically remember what they brought in with them –

Dev Anand brought in Style ,fashion and portrayed role of happy-go-lucky flamboyant loveable characters with the assistance of great music. We cannot forget him in “Kaala Pani”,”Paying Guest”, “Tere Ghar Ke Samne”, “Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai”, “Taxi driver” etc. Although later he gave a commendable performance in “Guide” , he mainly focused on care-free happy-go-lucky roles.

Raj Kapoor brought in serious topics into movies – although similar kind of movies had already arrived with Ashok Kumar like “Achhyut Kanya”, “Kismat” etc , Raj Kapoor started directing the movies.His movies had a different form of story telling , very elegant romance and drama. All his movies, be it “Shree 420″,”Anari”,”Aag” ,”Aah",” Mera Naam Joker” etc all had strong and different portrayal of romance. And of course songs were so integral part of the romance. However, he was not very disciplined and always reached very late on the sets.

Dilip Kumar , the strongest ACTOR of the three, brought in pathos , under-playing character and sophistication. Most of the roles he enacted were played with subtlety , “therao” and so my underpaying. Although he had music , but it was secondary to his acting ability. He could easily mold himself to a villager in films like “Naya Daur” or “Ganga Januma” with proper accent and gestures, royals in “Kohinoor” and “Mughul-E-Azam” , fun in “Ram-aur-Shyam” and intense dramas like “Devdas”, “Aadmi” etc.

After them, there came the next generation of actors – Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar,Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra , Raj Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Sashi Kapoor, Jeetendra from mid-fifties to mid-sixties.

Each of these actors played mainly played light hearted romantic roles in their own styles.

Sunil Dutt was intense and angry (the first angry young man) , who can forget “Mother India”, “Mujhe Jeene Do”,”Insaan Jaag Utha”.

Rajendra Kumar was mainly romantic lead and very dramatic. However , no one can deny his performance in “Gora Aur Kala”.

Manoj Kumar , although did couple of romantic movies like “Patthar Ke Sanam” focused mainly on patriotic movies starting from “Saheed”.

Dharmendra , was mainly a mixture of romance and intensity – “Patthar ke Phool” , “Anupama”, “Satyakam” were fabulous.

Raj Kumar was all dialogues and style – “Waqt”, “Heer Ranjha” , “Neel Kamal”.

Shashi Kapoor , started with a very off-the-path role in “Dharmputra” , did some good romantic movies like “Sharmilee”,”Jab Jab Phool Khile”.

Shammi Kapoor and Jeetendra(called Jumping Jack) initiated dancing ( if we can call them) , with great style and some good music. Who can forget “Caravan” , “Farz” and later Himmatwala,Mawali of Jeetendra . Simliarly Shammi Kapoor gave us huge musical blockbuster like “Teesri Manzil”,”Di Deke Dekho”,”Junglee”.”Janwar” etc.

Next evolved Rajesh Khanna , the so called 1st superstar of Hindi Film Industry with fanatic fanfare and 3 years of all blockbuster movies. He came with style , melodrama and some great great music.He tried with some successful subtle performances with “Anand” , “Amar Prem” , “Aavishkaar”, etc , but he started getting monotonous. His discipline was questionable and he never reaches the sets in time.Also, the sudden success got to his head and he misused it.

What we know less about these actors are :-

a> Discipline

b> Professionalism

c> Method acting ( Dilip Kumar stands out)

d> Compete commitment

e> Use of Voice

f> Use of singing ability and lip syncing ( Dev Anand was perfect in lip- syncing)

g> Dance

Amitabh Bachchan came with all of these.

Amitabh Bachchan started in 1969 with “Saat Hindustani” , had only 1 hit movie (thanks to Rajesh Khanna) called Anand and a stray of simultaneous flops till “Zanjeer” (his 13th film) and “Abhimaan” (14th Film) both in 1973 , we see 2 sides of his acting skills – intense, angry no-nonsense in Zanjeer and an intense role in Abhimaan.

However, we should understand how Amitabh Bachchan arrived.

Not going very far into his background, we know that he is the son of legendary Hindi poet Dr Harivash Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan who came from noble family.

His upbringing was a mix of intellectualism and fighting attitude.

He worked for a company in Kolkata for a couple of years and came to Mumbai to be in films.

When he started working in films , he did a film called Pyar Ki Kahani in 1971. There was a scene in the movie where he was to kill the veteran actor Shri OmPrakash ji. After the killing shot , Om Prakashji told the unit that he very surprisingly saw in him British way of method acting and said to all that Amitabh would go very far.

Simliarly, Pran ji also recommended him to film writers Salim-Javed (who wrote films like Andaaz,Hathi Mere Sathi,Zanjeer,Deewar,Sholay,Kala Patther,Trishul,Shakti,Arjun,Mr India,Naam etc) the writer duo ,who went to see him in film Bombay-to-Goa and selected him watching an action scene in the movie.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the legendary film-maker cast him in Guddi (Jaya’s first film – a women oriented movie) saw his talent , removed him from Guddi and cast him with a very powerful role in Anand. Although , Rajesh Khanna took away all the accolades in the movie, Amitabh was recognised and he received his first filmfare award for best supporting actor role. Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Amitabh worked in classics like “ Anand”,”Abhimaan”,”Mili”,”Namak Haram”,”Chupke Chupke”,”Jurmana”,”Bemisaal”,”Alaap”.

During his struggling days, Amitabh had no money and hence, started working even as junior-artist. Sashi Kapoor in those days was acting in a Merchant-Ivory production film called Shakespearwala. Amitabh , to earn his living participated in a crowd sequence( a funeral scene) ,where Sashi Kapoor saw him , called him out and said that such roles were not for him – he should wait and he will get good roles. Sashi Kapoor even edited the scene where Amitabh was present , so that no one even had a glimpse of him.

So even when Amitabh was giving flops one after the other , his talent got noticed.

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newstfionline · 3 years ago

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Thursday, May 20, 2021

For Migrant Children in Federal Care, a ‘Sense of Desperation’ (NYT) In a federal shelter in Dallas, migrant children sleep in a windowless convention center room under fluorescent lights that never go dark. At a military base in El Paso, teenagers pile onto bunk cots, and some say they have gone days without bathing. And in Erie, Pa., problems began emerging within days of the shelter’s creation: “Fire safety system is a big concern,” an internal report noted. Some of the hot water heaters were not working, and lice was “a big issue and seems to be increasing.” Early this year, children crossing the southwestern border in record numbers were crammed into Customs and Border Protection’s cold-floored, jail-like detention facilities. They slept side by side on mats with foil blankets, almost always far longer than the legal limit of 72 hours. Republicans declared it a crisis. Democrats and immigration groups denounced the conditions, which erupted into an international embarrassment for President Biden, who had campaigned on a return to compassion in the immigration system. The administration responded by rapidly setting up temporary, emergency shelters, including some that could house thousands of children. But the next potential crisis is coming into view. “I know the administration wants to take a victory lap for moving children out of Border Patrol stations—and they deserve credit for doing that,” said Leecia Welch, a lawyer and the senior director of the legal advocacy and child welfare practice at the National Center for Youth Law, a nonprofit law firm focused on low-income children. “But the truth is, thousands of traumatized children are still lingering in massive detention sites on military bases or convention centers, and many have been relegated to unsafe and unsanitary conditions.”

Ceasefire calls and U.S. credibility (Foreign Policy) As the bombings [in Gaza] continue, the human toll is becoming clearer. More than 52,000 people in Gaza have been displaced by Israel’s aerial assault, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday, with most seeking refuge in U.N.-run schools. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirmed that 11 of the more than 60 children killed so far by Israeli airstrikes were participants in an NRC program helping children deal with trauma. Even if hostilities soon end, the Biden administration’s resistance to a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire has tested U.S. credibility. “They pledged to come back and support the U.N. system and multilateralism,” one council diplomat said in a report by Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch and Robbie Gramer. “We don’t see that happening now in the Security Council.” The episode also encouraged China to carve out a leadership role at the Security Council on Middle East issues, a topic where it usually takes a back seat, while at the same time allowing it to dodge questions on its actions in Xinjiang. Multiple reports appeared on Tuesday, attempting to shine light on Biden’s approach not to call publicly for a cease-fire. They depict an administration wary of getting on the bad side of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The tactic has been criticized as a misreading of U.S. leverage over an ally to which it provides significant military aid and political support. Shibley Telhami, writing in the Boston Globe, voiced some of that criticism on Tuesday. “If an American president cannot leverage this extraordinary and unprecedented support to advance core American values,” Telhami writes, “what hope is there for succeeding anywhere else?”

Spain Sends Troops to African Enclave After Migrant Crossings Jump (NYT) Spain deployed troops, military trucks and helicopters in its North African enclave of Ceuta on Tuesday after thousands of people crossed over from Morocco, one of the largest movements of migrants reported in the area in recent years. More than 8,000 migrants, including nearly 2,000 minors, arrived on the beaches of Ceuta on Monday and Tuesday, mostly swimming or aboard inflatable boats, according to the Spanish authorities, who said that Spain had already sent back 4,000 people. The sudden arrival of thousands of people in Ceuta—more than had attempted the crossing in all the rest of the year so far—comes amid a deepening diplomatic spat between Spain and Morocco over the hospitalization in Spain of the leader of a rebel group that has fought for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco. Videos broadcast on Spanish television on Tuesday appeared to show Moroccan border guards opening fences to the Spanish enclave. While Morocco has warned of “consequences” for harboring the rebel leader, it was not immediately clear if the spike in migration was linked to the diplomatic dispute.

Grand day for the French: Cafe and bistro terraces reopen (AP) It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces reopened Wednesday after a six-month coronavirus shutdown deprived residents of the essence of French “joie de vivre”—sipping coffee and red wine with friends. The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of COVID-19 and to give citizens back some of their world famous lifestyle. As part of the plan’s first stage, France’s 7 p.m. nightly curfew was pushed back to 9 p.m. and museums, theaters and cinemas reopened along with outdoor cafe terraces. France is not the first European country to start getting back a semblance of social and cultural life. Italy, Belgium, Hungary and other nations already allow outdoor dining while drinking and eating indoors began Monday in Britain.

Indian navy searches for 78 missing from barge sunk by storm (AP) Indian navy ships and helicopters searched in rough weather and seas Wednesday for 78 people still missing from a barge that sank off Mumbai as a deadly cyclone blew ashore this week. Navy Cdr. Alok Anand said 183 people were rescued within 24 hours by three ships and helicopters engaged in the operation. Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than two decades, packed sustained winds of up to 210 kilometers (130 miles) per hour when it came ashore in Gujarat state late Monday. The storm left at least 25 dead in Gujarat and Maharashtra states. The Hindu newspaper Wednesday tallied more than 16,000 houses damaged in Gujarat state and trees and power poles uprooted.

How Myanmar's military moved in on the telecoms sector to spy on citizens (Reuters) In the months before the Myanmar military's Feb. 1 coup, the country's telecom and internet service providers were ordered to install intercept spyware that would allow the army to eavesdrop on the communications of citizens, sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters. The technology gives the military the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of the telecom and internet firms, the sources said. The directives are part of a sweeping effort by the army to deploy electronic surveillance systems and exert control over the internet with the aim of keeping tabs on political opponents, squashing protests and cutting off channels for any future dissent, they added.

Restrictions reimposed as virus resurges in much of Asia (AP) Taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed, and restaurant service is restricted across much of Asia as the coronavirus makes a resurgence in countries where it had seemed to be well under control. Sparsely populated Mongolia has seen its death toll soar from 15 to 233, while Taiwan, considered a major success in battling the virus, has recorded more than 1,000 cases since last week and placed over 600,000 people in two-week medical isolation. Hong Kong and Singapore have postponed a quarantine-free travel bubble for a second time after an outbreak in Singapore of uncertain origin. China, which has all but stamped out local infections, has seen new cases apparently linked to contact with people arriving from abroad. The resurgence hasn’t come close to the carnage wrought in India and parts of Europe, but it is a keen reminder that the virus remains resilient.

Immigration In Japan Under Pressure (NYT) For months Japanese jailers said they ‘thought’ the young migrant from Sri Lanka was faking her illness, even as she wasted away before their eyes before dying alone in her cell. Wishma Rathayake had a lifelong fascination with Japan. She entered the country in the summer of 2017 to study Japanese at a school in the Tokyo suburbs, hoping eventually to teach English. She met another Sri Lankan student in Japan who became her boyfriend. Sadly, after a series of unwise decisions, unfortunate events, and a now-expired residence permit, she found herself in a detention center a few hours south of Tokyo, awaiting deportation. It was August 2020. While in detention she was threatened by her ex-boyfriend, now back in Sri Lanka. She thought she’d be safer in Japan, and with the encouragement of advisers at START, a local nonprofit, she decided to try to stay. That move irritated officials at the detention center, who demanded she change her mind. In late December Wishma fell ill with a fever. Within weeks she was having trouble eating, standing, and speaking. In late January 2021 a doctor prescribed her vitamins and painkillers, but they made her even sicker, so she filed for a provisional release. Detention centers had already released hundreds of healthy detainees due to coronavirus concerns, but in mid-February Wishma’s request was denied without explanation. She submitted a second request on medical grounds; by this time she was so weak she could barely sign the form. Despite the severity of her symptoms, officials waited until March 4 to take her to a hospital. Two days later the 33-year-old was dead. Japan has a long history of hostility toward immigration. Despite being the world’s third-largest economy, it settles less than 1% of asylum applicants—just 47 in 2020. Critics of the country’s immigration system say most decisions are made in secret; detainees who have overstayed their visas can be held indefinitely, with little access to courts. Detainees who apply for asylum, as Wishma did, are particularly unwelcome. Critics say Wishma was the victim of an opaque and capricious bureaucracy that has nearly unchecked power over foreigners who run afoul of it. And while there have been other instances of inhumane treatment of foreigners that ended in death, especially for people of color, the particularly egregious circumstances of Wishma’s death have driven national outrage to a whole new level. Protesters have gathered almost daily in front of Parliament, and objections by opposition lawmakers have been unusually fierce.

Experts warn shuttered Australia is becoming a ‘hermit nation’ (AFP) Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended his “Fortress Australia” Covid-19 restrictions Tuesday, as experts warned that plans to keep the borders closed for another year will create a “hermit nation”. Last March, Australia took the unprecedented step of closing its borders to foreign visitors and banning its globetrotting citizens from leaving. That prompted the first population decline since World War I, stranded tens of thousands of Australian citizens overseas and separated hundreds of thousands of residents from family members. But the country now has almost no community transmission and life for most is relatively normal. And the government’s recent suggestion that borders could remain closed for another year has sparked fierce debate. Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid on Tuesday warned: “Australia cannot keep its international borders closed indefinitely.” A University of Sydney task force examining how Australia can safely reopen this week went further, warning the country “cannot continue to lock itself off from the world as a hermit nation indefinitely”.

Powerless (NYT) Abeer Ghanem, like many Gazans, long struggled to work around the long blackouts that blighted the besieged Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean Sea. But with the outbreak of hostilities a week ago between Israel and the Hamas militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, she said, she now gets at best four hours of electricity a day, intermittently. When it comes on, her family scrambles to charge their lights and batteries for the long, sleepless nights punctuated by outgoing Hamas rockets and the thunder of Israeli airstrikes. A combination of fuel shortages, damage to the electricity supply lines running from Israel and an aerial bombardment that has torn apart local power lines means that many families are receiving at most three to four hours of electricity a day, according to Gaza’s power company. “What we have now for fuel will last for two or three days,” said Mohammed Thabet, a spokesman for the Electricity Distribution Co. of Gaza. The power shortages are compounding the daily misery for Gazans and are also taking a toll on the provision of water, sewage treatment and the ability of hospitals, swamped with casualties, to function. Even if supplies resume, the crisis has caused millions of dollars in infrastructure damage.

Palestinians go on strike as Israel-Hamas fighting rages (AP) Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories went on strike in a rare collective protest Tuesday as Israeli missiles toppled a building in Gaza and militants in the Hamas-ruled territory fired dozens of rockets that killed two people. The general strike was a sign that the war could widen again after a spasm of communal violence in Israel and protests across the occupied West Bank last week. Although the strike was peaceful in many places, with shops in Jerusalem’s usually bustling Old City markets shuttered, violence erupted in cities in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians burned tires in Ramallah and hurled stones at an Israeli military checkpoint. Troops fired tear gas, and protesters picked up some of the canisters and threw them back. Three protesters were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and other cities, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli army said two soldiers were wounded by gunshots to the leg. The general strike was an uncommon show of unity by Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up 20% of its population.

#headlines #news

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bollywoodupdate-bysejuti · 5 years ago

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Bollywood Complete Upcoming Movies List 2020

65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020 Taanaji Baaghi 3 Sooryavanshi Akshay Kumar Laxmmi Bomb Sadak 2 Bhuj Prithviraj Laal Singh Chaddha Bachchan Pandey Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020

2019 already finished . And in 2020 bollyoowd has a lot of upcoming movies which is include romantic, period drama, comedy, horror , biography , thriller, action all genre movies . Today Malisha Jarin will show you 65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020 . Here is the 2020 serial wise confired movies 2020 .

65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020

Check The Video Here ::

1. Taanaji is a historical drama based on Subedar Taanaji Malusare, the military leader in the army of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj .

2. Chhapaak Based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

3. Jai Mummy Di is a light-hearted family .

4. Street dancer

5. Panga is inspired from the life of a national level Kabbadi player from India.

6. Turram Khan

7. 65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020

8. Malang

9. Love ajkal 2 . 10. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a story about how a conservative family comes to terms with the fact of being gay. 11. Chehre It is a mystery-thriller that revolves around a group of friends, some of whom are retired lawyers. Untitled film Anurag basu , life in a metro 2nd instalment

12. Baaghi 3 13. Gunjan Saxena Janhvi Kapoor she is all set to play the first woman IAF pilot Gunjan Saxena 14. Janhvi Kapoor has begun shooting for the horror-comedy Roohi Afza, in which she stars alongside Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma. 15. In Sooryavanshi, Akshay essays the role of Veer Suryavanshi

65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020

16. 83 is a biopic based on the life of veteran cricketer Kapil Dev, which talks about the time India won the coveted World Cup in 1983. 17. Gulabo Sitabo depicting day-to-day struggle of common man. 18. Coolie No. 1 19. Laxmmi Bomb 20. Khaali Peeli Ek dedh shana, ek item, ek taxi aur ek raat ki kahani. 21. Mumbai Saga The story tells the changing face of Mumbai 22. Sadak 2 Sanjay Dutt,Pooja Bhatt,Aditya Roy Kapur , Alia Bhatt 23. rrr 30 july 2020

65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020 24. Shamshera Ranbir Kapoor is playing double role, as central character Shamshera and his father. Vaani Kapoor is playing a dancer. 25. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 26. Bhuj: The Pride of India . The film is based on true events happened during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

27. Sardar Udham Singh . The film is based on the life of Udham Singh, a revolutionary freedom fighter.

28. Rannbhoomi this is the first time Varun will be seen stepping out as warrior

29. Dhaakad Kangana will play a spy in the heroine-centric action thriller.

30. Untitled Film Luv Ranjan The movie will mark the collaboration of Ajay Devgn and Ranbir Kapoor on the big screen after eight years. The two were last seen together in 'Raajneeti'.

65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020 31. dostana 2 Dostana 2008 ‧ Comedy music Drama Stars: Kartik Aaryan , Janhvi Kapoor Director: Collin D'Cunha

32. brahmastra superhero film . directed by Ayan Mukerji, It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy .

33. Ramboo Stars: Tiger Shroff Director: Siddharth Anand

34. Attack action thriller Stars: John Abraham Director: Lakshya Raj Anand

35. InsAllah Stars: Salman Khan , Alia Bhatt Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

36. Jayeshbhai Jordaar comedy film Stars: Ranveer Singh Director: Divyang Thakkar

37. Udham Singh Stars: Vicky Kaushal Director: Shoojit Sircar 38. Krish 4 Stars: Hrithik Roshan Director: Rakesh Roshan

39. Prithiva raj Chauhan Director: Chandra Prakash Dwivedi Stars: Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt

40. Shakuntala Devi Vidya Balan has confirmed she is playing the lead role in a film on mathematics genius Shakuntala Devi 65 Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 | Complete Upcoming Movies List of 2020 1. 2. kgf chapter 2 Directed by Prashanth Neel Starring Yash Sanjay Dutt Srinidhi Shetty

Dabang 3 Salman Khan Chulbul Pandey in the film helmed by Prabhu Deva.

3. Takht Stars: Ranveer Singh , Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt Director: Karan Johar

4. SHERSHAH

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#bollywood #upcoming movies #Bollywood Upcoming Movies 2020 #bollywood news #bollywood updates #bollywood gossip #movies #hindi #news updates

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jyotipoddar · 3 years ago

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BOMBAY-- through the lens of hindi movies.

🎭🎭

Mumbai is a city and BOMBAY is a person.😊

A loving grandfather like person, who embodies the old world charm, the filminess, the urban-ness and the warmth for every soul, which reaches here, chasing dreams.

I love calling it BOMBAY, though it is politically incorrect.

There are so many songs written on the persona of BOMBAY. The essence of this city is hardwired into our movies.

Be it an anxious and bewildered

Mr Ram Prasad Dashrath Prasad Sharma (Amol Palekar) running after a BEST bus to reach his office, or a lively Mr Anand Sehgal (Rajesh Khanna) who came to spend his last few months of life in “Bambai”.

Be it Nawazuddin Siddique cutting vegetables while traveling in the local train in ‘Lunchbox’ or a Vidya Sinha riding a Kali-Peeli taxi in ‘Rajnigandha’ pondering over her decisions in life.

I have always been an admirer of such subtle moments, which speak a lot, in undertone. They take you through many moods and landscapes on that BOMBAY-MUMBAI celluloid. 😇😇

This city has woven sheer magic, when you see it through the eyes of a migrant, whose quest for a better life has drawn him here. Be it a career, or be it becoming a movie star as in ‘Chala Murari hero ban ne.” 😄

Finding a house which does not dig a hole in your pocket is a daunting task here. This has been told in ‘Gharonda’ and ‘Piya ka ghar’ so well.

Be it the underworld in ‘Don’ or 'Vaastav', business in ‘Guru’ or an angry ‘Vijay’ of ‘Deewar’, working as a labour in docks, who buys a building, to gift his mother, because she had carried bricks on her head, during the construction of that very building. Every street of this city has innumerable rags to riches stories to narrate.

Think of any routine activity of Bombay say the ‘chawl’ life, the Ganapati festival, the humongous population, finding a job, and you get reminded of numerous movies.

As Cinephiles, we may devour upon the world cinema, but this “Bombay cinema” which is colourful, crazy, full of improbable plot twists, melodramatic, and which disregards reality quite often, has its unshakeable fandom, with Bombay in its DNA.

May this ‘Mayanagri” keep casting its magical spells…😇😇

#bombay #cinema #movies

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thestartuplabofficial · 4 years ago

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11 Best Indian Venture Capitalists & Where Are They Investing in 2020

To latch on to growth, it is the venture capitalists (VCs) that boost potential startups, ventures or small companies. There is a lot of vigilance and tracking involved in this pursuit. But VC executives are the ones that put their predictions to invest. Quite simply, such private equity firms are the ones who sit with a microscope and look for brilliance and dedication.

If figures are to be brought into action, somewhere around $254 billion was invested globally which accounted for 18,000 startups being pushed to glory. To talk about the situation of Indian venture capitalist industry, a very impressive start was seen in Q1 with the US $7.9 billion being invested in it.

Venture capital firms have been operational in India since the 90s. But majorly in the past 10years, the Indian Growing A Startup scenario has witnessed a push through the funding raised from them. It was as early as 2006, that the majority of VC firms became active and functioning.

There are a lot of examples to put out. The biggest ones among them being Flipkart and Oyo are known to have raised the most amount of capital. Risk is certainly one factor. There is so much more that venture capitalists seek before investment. There is a windfall if a venture capitalist succeeds, but a backlash with the failure is imminent too. Let’s take a look at the top 10 venture capitalists in India, the type of funding they provide and their preferred niches for companies or startups.

1. Saama Capital

Saama Capital kick-started in 2006, as a wing of SVB Capital Partners. But later on in 2011, Ash Lilani and Suresh Shanmugham tore it into an altogether separate firm. It has made major investments into many platforms, including Lendingkart, Sminq India Solution, Veeba Food Services, Fisdom, Snapdeal, Paytm, Mezi, AppLabs, Tutorvists, Prizm Payments, Sula Vineyards, Sks MicroFinance, currently known as Bharat Financial Inclusion.

Saama Capital is currently invested in, Chai Point, RAW Pressery, EazyDiner and Bluestone.

Website: http://simafunds.com

2. India Quotient

India Quotient is a well-known Mumbai based investment firm that has 70 portfolio companies which it currently aids. This number is aimed to grow by 15-20 more with its upcoming fund. India Quotient, a seed-stage investor, began in 2012 with $5 million assigned to its first fund. This venture capitalist firm is interested to add manure to startups with a $20-100 million valuation.

They look out for potentiality in firms or companies making use of Big Data, AI and Blockchain technologies. Founder Anand Lunia shines as a lead investor in myHQ, Masai School, Vyapar App, Coolberg, GoComet, ShareChat, Lendingkart.

Website: https://www.indiaquotient.in

3. SAIF Partners

In 2011, SAIF Partners started as a stage sector venture capitalist firm. SAIF acts as a VC to many private and public companies. They look for visionary entrepreneurs and their vision is not niche confined. They readily take up potential startups across all diverse sectors.

It has provided major funding to startups like Swiggy, NoBroker, ShareChat, UrbanClap and Rivigo. It is looking forward to expanding and growing further in the upcoming 8-10 years. SAIF serves as a Series-A investor, particularly for consumer brands and tech-powered businesses. Additionally, this VC firm sees potential to invest in the B2B, SaaS Startup Compliance space too.

Website: http://www.saifpartners.com

4. Kalaari Capital

Kalaari Capital has been a top hit in India and looks at it as homegrown venture capitalists. It served as a seed-stage venture capitalist to Urban Ladder, Curefit, Myntra and serves as a late-stage investor too. Kalaari reaches out to entrepreneurs with a distinctive richness and a newness in their concepts. They mainly look for startups with an avant-garde concept.

Recently, in October 2019, it invested in ElasticRun by raising $40M. All in all, Kalaari Capital, founded by Vani Kola has made a total of 155 investments and stands as a lead investor for 61 of them. A total of $479M funds have been raised by Kalaari Capital. It is a Bangaluru based VC firm.

Website: https://www.kalaari.com

5. Chiratae Ventures

This VC firm is a sub-organization of IDG Ventures and has successfully raised $703M of total funds. In India, Chiratae is a progressive technology venture capital fund. It was founded by Sudhir Sethi and TC Sundaram in 2006. Chiratae is inclined towards becoming a major investor in entrepreneurial setups in India and has currently had 75+ ventures.

They are a corporate venture capital firm that has pitched in investments at an early stage venture, late-stage venture and as a seed funder. Chiratae invests in consumer media and technology, software/SaaS, Health Tech and Fin-Tech. Their Series-A funding list includes Onco.com, Miko, Play Shifu among others.

Website: https://www.chiratae.com

6. Info Edge

Info Edge serves as a parent to Naukri Internet Services (NISL). This is an early to late venture capitalist firm that has its branches spread across several domains and has become India’s top internet-based business. It has a portfolio that majorly invests in businesses and independent entrepreneurial ventures like Zomato and Policy Bazar.

Info Edge delves into the Indian consumer internet domain profoundly. It was launched in April 2006. Info Edge has made investments in Nogle Technologies, Kinobeo Software Ninety Nine Labs in the course of 2010-2011. There are two flagship products that Info Edge is known for, namely CleanProperties and PricePoint.

Website: http://www.infoedge.in

7. Blume Ventures

Blume Ventures founded by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Natch is into tech-enabled or tech-focused ventures. Blume Ventures have an inclination towards B2B businesses. But apart from that, they partner across agriculture, BioTech, CleanTech, Commerce, DeepTech, Education, FinTech, Gaming, Healthcare Startups in Delhi, HRTech, Media, Mobility, Real Estate, Retail, Social and Travel. They function as a seed funder or an early-stage venture and mostly go for long term investment.

Optimally Blume Venture provides funding somewhere around $50K- $250K and is based in Mumbai. They have had 181 investments so far and has been able to raise a total of $122.4M via their 3 funds. They have provided Series-A funding for Log 9 Materials, Wedding Brigade, FastFox and Series-B funding for HealthifyMe. They have a $0.05 Mn – $0.3 Mn seed funding range.

Their seed round findings include Lambda Test, Trell, Classplus, Cognicept Systems, InVideo, Bijak, The Healthy Billion, GreyOrange, Kaleidofin, and Unacademy. They bagged an award for Seed VC Investor of 2018 among others.

Website: https://blume.vc

8. DSG Consumer Partners

DSG Consumer Partners are a Singapore based venture capital firm that invests in consumer businesses. It’s founder and managing director, Deepak Shahdadpuri believes in long term investment and has been providing investments since 2013. They have invested in leading brands like Eazydiner, Zipdial, Tierra Food, Exito Gourmet, Redmart, Vybes and Suzette among others.

They are also widely known as an institutional backer and have funding OYO, Indian hospitality unicorn the same way. DSG looks into consumer products and India remains the crux of all their investments. They provide Series-A funding for SleepyCat, Planet SuperHeroes, Leverage Edu.

Website: http://www.dsgcp.com

9. Nexus Venture Partners

Nexus Venture Partners stipulates seed, growth stage and early-stage investments. Its founders include Naren Gupta, Suvir Sujan and Naren Gupta, in addition to are a Mumbai and Silicon Valley-based VC firm.

The venture capitalist firm, notorious for its investments in startups like Zomato, Snapdeal, Goodera, Delhivery and Komli, ScaleArc and PubMatic.

They focus mainly on early growth-stage companies. Nexus Venture Partners, have provided Series-A funding to WhiteHat Jr, Series-B funding to Postman, Rapido Bike Taxi and Series-C funding to Rancher Labs among others. For early growth stage companies, they have an investment budget of $0.5Mn and $10 Mn. They look out for investment opportunity in capital-efficient business models, driven entrepreneurs, high potential market opportunities, innovative and differentiated ventures and standalone businesses.

Website: https://nexusvp.com

10. Basil Partners

They are a Singapore based venture capitalist firm with Rajeev Srivastava as it’s CEO and Managing Partner with Soma Ghosal Dhar as it’s CEO and partner. They dedicated to fund technology service companies and has been active since 2008. They are focussed on technology investments in the USA, SE Asia and India.

In 2018 they concluded with their 3rd funding round. They have funded Accion Labs, Endeavour Software Technologies with Series-A funding, Karmic Lifesciences and Netscribes with a Series-B funding and Select Hub, CIGNEX Datamatics and Razorfish Technologies India with venture rounds.

Website: http://basilpartners.com

11. Helion Venture Partners

They can be readily called as one of the oldest homegrown private equity firms in India. Helion VC has invested in many Startup IT Services in Delhi and companies as an early to late-stage and a private equity investor. It had 4 Indian founders, out of which, 3 severed ties in 2015.

They were founded back in 2009. Successful in investments in Big basket, MoEngage, Whatfix, Toppr, GoZefo, Livspace, Workspot among others. Helion venture partners span across entrepreneurial domains of online services, mobility, outsourcing, consumer services, enterprise software, E-commerce among others.

Website: http://www.helionvc.com

With the growing private equity, Venture Capital market in India, in July it sought to soar to a high of $8.3 billion. These figures are expected to see a further rise, due to the above top 11 VCs that have been thoroughly active and engaging to boost business by raising fund

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years ago

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Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Satyendar Jain's health improving but fever remains, says Delhi govt; global COVID-19 toll crosses 4.5 lakh

23:40 (IST)

Coronavirus in US Latest Updates

New York guv considers quarantine for people arriving in the state

New York governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly said the district administration was "considering a possible quarantine on people entering New York state as the virus continues to spread," CNN reported.

"Reminding reporters about other states, including Florida, which issued a mandatory quarantine on New Yorkers coming to their states approximately 100 days ago, Cuomo acknowledged that experts have advised him to issue a quarantine for people coming to the state and he is considering it now," the report added.

23:21 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Satyendar Jain's health is improving, says Delhi govt

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who is in hospital for COVID-19 treatment, showed some improvement on Thursday but his fever has not yet subsided, senior officials said.

The 55-year-old minister is getting oxygen support on and off as per requirement, they said.

Jain had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) here after running high-grade fever and suffering sudden drop in oxygen levels.

"His fever is down a bit today. He was kept on oxygen supply for longer time today. But, his overall condition is improving," a senior official of the hospital said.

(PTI)

23:06 (IST)

Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Latest Updates

Chennai Police instructed to 'strictly' implement 12-day lockdown, says report

"With the 12-day lockdown set to begin in Chennai from Friday, the Greater Chennai Police issued a series of instructions for the city residents to follow during the period. Barring hospitals, labs, ambulances, pharmacies, and funeral hearses, there are restrictions on other activities. Auto rickshaws, taxi cabs will not be allowed to run in the city except in case of emergency," The Indian Express reported.

22:51 (IST)

Coronavirus in Jharkhand Latest Updates

Jharkhand reports 23 new COVID-19 cases

23 more COVID-19 cases, 47 recoveries and 1 death were reported in Jharkhand on Thursday. Total number of cases in the state is now at 1,919, including 710 active cases, 1,198 recovered/discharged and 11 deaths, the state health department said.

22:48 (IST)

Coronavirus in US Latest Updates

1.5 million more laid-off workers seek unemployment benefits

About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work.

The latest figure released Thursday marked the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked at nearly 7 million in March as the coronavirus shut down much of the economy and caused tens of millions of layoffs. The decline was much smaller, though, than in recent weeks, falling just 58,000.

The total number of people receiving unemployment aid also fell slightly, reflecting the return of many to their old jobs.

Still, analysts had expected a sharper decline in weekly applications, and some expressed disappointment that so many people are still seeking unemployment benefits even as restaurants, gyms and many categories of retail shops are reopening across the country.

(AP)

22:34 (IST)

Coronavirus in Chhattisgarh Latest Updates

82 new COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh today

The number of COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh rose to 1,946 after 82 new cases were reported on Thursday. "As many as 46 patients were discharged during the day from hospitals across the state following recovery," News18 reported.

22:25 (IST)

Coronavirus Pandemic Latest Updates

Race for virus vaccine could leave some countries behind

As the race intensifies for a vaccine against the new coronavirus, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunized first — leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccines in time to save lives before the pandemic ends.

Earlier this month, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be inequitable and extremely messy, said health experts.

“We have this beautiful picture of everyone getting the vaccine, but there is no road map on how to do it,” said Yuan Qiong Hu, a senior legal and policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders in Geneva. Few measures have been taken to resolve numerous problems for achieve fair distribution, she said.

(AP)

22:12 (IST)

Coronavirus Pandemic Latest Updates

Global COVID-19 toll crosses 4.5 lakh

The global toll due to coronavirus on Thursday crossed 4,50,000, according to a tally compiled by AFP.

21:59 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Railway Board chairperson visits isolation coaches in Delhi

Railway Board chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav on Thursday visited Anand Vihar terminal where around 300 COVID care isolation coaches have been set up, in view of the rise in #COVID19 cases.

Delhi: Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav today visited Anand Vihar terminal where around 300 COVID care isolation coaches have been set up, in view of the rise in #COVID19 cases. pic.twitter.com/twVwekdEJL

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2020

21:50 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Manish Sisodia says rapid antigen tests conducted at 193 centres

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that the rapid antigen testing was conducted at 193 centres on Thursday.

"A total of 7040 people were tested for #COVID19, of which 456 tested positive. People who live in containment zones are being tested in the initial stage," he said.

21:43 (IST)

Coronavirus in Haryana Latest Updates

Haryana district admin imposes two-day curfew during solar eclipse, says report

"The Kurukshetra administration has decided to impose a two-day curfew from Friday to prevent people's gathering at the city's holy pools during the solar eclipse on June 21. District Magistrate Dhirendra Khadgata said the step is being taken to ensure that no one takes a dip at the city's Brahma Sarovar and Sannehit Sarovar during the solar eclipse in view of coronavirus outbreak," News18 reported.

21:32 (IST)

Coronavirus in Karnataka Latest Updates

COVID-19 cases in Karnataka rise to 7,944

Karnataka reported 210 new cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 7,944, and the toll stood at 114.

21:24 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Mumbai reports 1,298 new COVID-19 cases

1298 COVID-19 cases, 518 recoveries and 67 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Thursday, the BMC said. Total number of cases in the city is now at 62,799, including 31,856 recovered/discharged, 27,634 active cases, and 3,309 deaths.

21:15 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Delhi HC says Kejriwal govt not using testing facilities optimally

The Delhi High Court on Thursday said that the AAP government "was not using testing facilities of private labs to their optimum capacity", News18 reported.

"A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad arrived at the conclusion after comparing testing data on Delhi government's website and the figures given in its affidavit placed before the court," the report said.

21:02 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

3,752 new COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra today

Maharashtra records highest single-day spike with 3,752 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, total number of cases stands at 1,20,504. Death toll rises to 5,751 after 100 deaths were reported today. 60,838 patients have been discharged so far including 1672.

20:53 (IST)

Coronavirus in Manipur Latest Updates

Manipur reports 54 new COVID-19 cases

Manipur on Thursday reported 54 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the state's tally to 606. "All the 54 people who tested positive for COVID-19 had returned from other states," News18 reported.

20:41 (IST)

Coronavirus in Rajasthan Latest Updates

35 new COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan today

315 more COVID-19 cases, 17 deaths and 275 recovered in Rajasthan on Thursday. Total number of cases in the state is now at 13,857, including 2,785 active cases, 10,742 recovered and 330 deaths.

20:27 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Centre lifts ban on hydroxychloroquine

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Thursday lifted the export ban on hydroxychloroquine API and its formulations.

"This comes after a WHO scientist said that it has been proven doesn't work in stopping deaths among people hospitalized with the new coronavirus. The US FDA also revoked its emergency use after concluding that they may not be effective to cure the virus infections," News18 reported.

20:13 (IST)

Coronavirus in Punjab Latest Updates

118 new COVID-19 cases in Punjab today

118 fresh COVID-19 cases and five deaths have been reported in Punjab on Thursday. Total number of cases stands at 3615 and toll is at 83, the state department of information and public relations said.

20:03 (IST)

Coronavirus in Gujarat Latest Updates

COVID-19 cases in Gujarat rise to 25,660

510 new COVID-19 cases and 31 deaths have been reported in Gujarat in the last 24 hours. State tally rises to 25,660 including 17,829 cured/discharged and 1592 deaths, the state health department said.

19:57 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Dharavi reports 28 new COVID-19 cases

The BMC on Thursday said that 28 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai, taking the total number of cases to 2134. A total of 78 people have succumbed to the disease in the area so far.

19:46 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Delhi govt starts antigen tests for COVID-19

The Delhi government on Thursday commenced COVID-19 testing through the rapid antigen methodology at 169 centres in and around containment zones of the city. A total of 341 teams are involved in the rapid-antigen testing which makes results available within 30 minutes.

(PTI)

19:31 (IST)

Coronavirus in Kerala Latest Updates

Kerala CM says discussions on over making COVID-19 tests available to expats

In those Middle East countries where expats don't have facility for rapid testing,discussions are underway to make Truenat Rapid Test kits available to them:Kerala CM on state govt's decision to make COVID-19 negative certificate mandatory for all passengers returning from abroad

Discussion regarding it is taking place with airlines and will need permission from respective Indian Embassies: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

19:16 (IST)

Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Latest Updates

2,141 new COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu today

The Tamil Nadu health department said that 2,141 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 52,334. The toll is at 625 after 49 deaths were also reported.

19:05 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

MHA says UP, Haryana govts can lower price of COVID-19 test after internal consultations

The MHA on Thursday said, "Home Minister Amit Shah, while chairing a meeting to review preparations for COVID-19 management, said that Expert Committee has fixed a price of Rs 2,400 for tests and if the price for such tests is higher in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, they could decide to lower their prices after internal consultations."

18:46 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Modi says Yoga will become more popular in post COVID-19 world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the nation on Yoga Day this year and said, "In the post COVID-19 era, the focus on preventive healthcare will get stronger and that is why I am confident that yoga will become even more popular."

18:38 (IST)

Coronavitus in Delhi Latest Updates

Delhi authorities need to work on common strategy against COVID-19, says Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said, "Keeping in view the structure of Delhi-NCR region, all the concerned bodies need to unite and work on a common strategy against coronavirus. In this context, I met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior officials of Center and Delhi-NCR today to discuss a strategy."

18:32 (IST)

Coronavirus in Kerala Latest Updates

97 new COVID-19 cases in Kerala today

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that 97 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state on Thursday.

The toll rose to 21 after one death was also reported. Total cases in the state stand at 2,794 cases, of which 1358 are active cases.

18:20 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Over 15,000 migrant workers are returning to Maharashtra, says govt

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that over 15,000 migrant workers are returning to the state after they left the state during the lockdown.

"On average 11,500 workers were returning to Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai daily, while 4,000 to 5,000 labourers were returning to Gondia, Nandurbar, Kolhapur, Nagpur and Pune," he was quoted as saying by News18.

18:14 (IST)

Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu Latest Updates

First Tamil Nadu cop succumbs to COVID-19

Reports said that the first police personnel of the Tamil Nadu force succumbed to coronavirus on Thursday.

"A 47-year-old inspector working at the Mambalam police station in Chennai died due to COVID-19 and will be laid to rest with full honours on Friday," News18 reported.

18:02 (IST)

Coronavirus Pandemic Latest Updates

WHO studying trial data on HIV drugs as COVID-19 treatment

Large multi-country trials of the combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir to treat COVID-19 have recruited thousands of patients and the World Health Organization is now looking at interim data, the UN agency's chief scientist said. Soumya Swaminathan said several thousand patients had been enrolled in the lopinavir/ritonavir arm of the WHO-led Solidarity Trial and in a separate UK-led COVID-19 trial of the drug combination," News18 reported.

17:54 (IST)

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

604 new COVID-19 cases in UP today

Uttar Pradesh on Thursday recorded 604 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 15,785.

17:40 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Kejriwal says Delhiites shouldn't have problem with COVID-19 testing now

दिल्ली में करोना की टेस्टिंग -आज दो महत्वपूर्ण घटनायें हुईं 1. दिल्ली में टेस्टिंग के रेट घटाकर 2400 रुपए किए 2. आज से दिल्ली में रैपिड ऐंटिजेन टेस्टिंग शुरू हुई जिसके नतीजे 15 मिनट में आ जाते हैं उम्मीद करता हूँ कि अब दिल्ली के लोगों को टेस्टिंग की कोई समस्या नहीं होगी

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 18, 2020

17:32 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Centre tells states, UTs to ensure payment of salaries to doctors

According to the Supreme Court directions, the Centre on Thursday told state governments and union territories to ensure the timely payment of salaries to doctors and health workers on COVID-19 duty.

Live Law reported that the violation of this order will "be treated as offence under the Disaster Management Act'"

Following SC directions, Centre issues order invoking provisions of Disaster Management Act to direct States and UTs to ensure payment of salaries to doctors and health workers doing COVID19 related duty. Violation to be treated as offence under DMA.@MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/03H00ekq7d

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) June 18, 2020

17:17 (IST)

Coronavirus in Nepal Latest Updates

Nepal reports 671 new COVID-19 cases

The Nepal health ministry said 671 more COVID-19 cases were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the country to 7848.

17:14 (IST)

Coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh Latest Updates

425 new COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh today

"The COVID-19 surge continued unabated in Andhra Pradesh with a record single day high of 425 new cases being added, taking the overall tally to 7,496. The coronavirus toll also continued its upward trend as two more patients died in Krishna district, making it a total of 92 so far in the state, according to the latest bulletin," News18 reported.

17:08 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Centre to spend Rs 50,000 cr on livelihood scheme for migrant workers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said within 125 days, for 116 districts, nearly 25 schemes of the government will be brought together under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, "we will reach saturation levels for each of those schemes within those 125 days."

She added, "Everyone who needs an assignment in these 116 districts will be given work under Garib KalyanRojgarAbhiyaan, broad estimated expenditure for the scheme is Rs 50,000 crores, the money allotted for this will be front-loaded."

16:55 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Kejriwal says Delhi, NCR can't be separated

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said, "The discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah was focussed on how we can save the entire NCR unit from COVID-19 because the NCR can't be separated. Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad are the same."

16:44 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Kejriwal, Sisodia visit COVID-19 isolation centre

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia visited Radha Soami Satsang Beas centre, on Thursday. Kejriwal said, "This space is being converted into COVID-19 isolation centre. Around 10,000 beds can be set up here."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia visited Radha Soami Satsang Beas centre, today. CM Kejriwal says, "this space is being converted into COVID isolation centre. Around 10,000 beds can be set up here." #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/zhsCeZ36mm

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2020

16:34 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Nirmala Sitharaman says Centre 'meticulously mapped' skill sets of migrant workers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday addressed a press conference ahead of the launch of a livelihood scheme for migrant workers.

"Workers from all over the country wanted to go back to villages a little while after the lockdown began and central and state governments made some arrangements, and they have gone back. We have looked at the districts to which they have largely returned.

"We have found that migrant workers returned in large numbers to 116 districts, spread over six states - Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The central and state governments have meticulously mapped the skill sets of the migrant workers who have returned in large numbers to the 116 districts in 6 states," she said.

16:23 (IST)

Coronavirus in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Uddhav Thackeray appeals fro 'low-key' Ganesh festival

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday appealed for a "simple and low-key Ganesh festival" celebration this year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, "and asked Ganesh mandals to undertake social welfare programmes", News18 reported.

"Thackeray said the threat of coronavirus is not yet over and therefore, it will not be possible to celebrate the Ganesh festival with the usual pomp and gaiety. He said there should be no crowding or processions during the festival," the report said.

16:18 (IST)

Coronavirus in India Latest Updates

Nirmala Sitharaman addresses presser over Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday addressed a press conference at the launch of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA).

"Faced with the challenge of providing employment to returning migrants in the wake of COVID-19, the Centre had launched the GKRA scheme, under which public works worth Rs 50,000 crore will be carried out," The Indian Express reported.

16:12 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Centre to give 500 ventilators, 650 ambulances to Delhi

The MHA on Thursday said that the Centre will give 500 ventilators and 650 ambulances to Delhi's hospitals, The Indian Express reported.

16:03 (IST)

Coronavirus in Delhi Latest Updates

Centre to conduct 6 lakh tests in Delhi via rapid antigen method

MHA MoS G Kishan Reddy was quoted by PTI as saying that the Centre will conduct 6 lakh COVID-19 tests in Delhi through the rapid antigen method at 169 new facilities.

15:48 (IST)

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

Over 16,000 samples tested for COVID-19 in UP yesterday

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday said that 16,546 samples were tested for coronavirus in the state on Wednesday.

"A total of 5,15,280 samples have been tested till date," said Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad.

He added, "630 new cases reported in the state, in last 24 hours. There are 5659 active cases, 9638 people have been discharged after making full recovery from the disease. A total of 488 people have succumbed to it."

15:33 (IST)

Coronavirus in Assam Latest Updates

82 new COVID-19 cases in Assam today

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 82 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 4,777. The number of active cases stands at 2,111.

15:18 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Uttarakhand Latest Update

57 new cases reported from Uttarakhand, takes total to 2,079

Uttarakhand on Thursday reported 57 new COVID-19 cases till 2:30 pm today, taking the total number of positive cases to 2,079, according to the lastest update from the state Control Room COVID-19.

15:11 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Odisha Latest Update

Odisha reports 174 new cases of COVID-19, total rises to 4,512

Odisha reported 174 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total to 4,512 in the state, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 146 were reported from different quarantine centres where people returning from other parts of the country are lodged, they said. The process of contact tracing and follow up action is being taken, a health department official said.

15:04 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Update

Seven employees of Chinese firm contract COVID-19 in Pune

Seven persons, including a Chinese national, employed at a Chinese firm in Chakan town of Maharashtra's Pune district, have tested positive for coronavirus, a health officer told PTI on Thursday.

Following the detection of these cases, 130 employees, including nine Chinese nationals, have been quarantined, Dr Baliram Gadawe, a health officer from Khed tehsil said. The employees belong to a Chinese firm that manufactures machinery and mining equipment and has a unit in Chakan, he said.

14:54 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Update

PM's decision to make energy sector reliant will create over than 2.8 lakh jobs, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that in line with the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the process to auction 41 coal mines for commercial mining. “This historic decision will make India self-reliant in the energy sector by introducing competition and boosting coal production,” said Shah, reports ANI.

The home minister says this decision of the Modi-led BJP government will create more than 2.8 lakh jobs, attract capital investment worth Rs 33,000 crore, and generate annual revenue of Rs 20,000 crore for the state governments.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that over 15,000 migrant workers are returning to the state after they left the state during the lockdown.

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Twitter said that a total of 3,820 police personnel tested positive for the coronavirus in the state. Of these, 2,754 have recovered and 45 have died of the infection.

The Supreme Court on Thursday while referring to the Rath Yatra at Puri’s Jagannath Temple in Odisha, said they will not allow it, according to Live Law. Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow this to continue,' Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said.

The Delhi government has decided to fix the price limit of RT-PCR tests for coronavirus at Rs, 2400, PTI quoted Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as saying on Thursday. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launches India’s first mobile lab for COVID-19 testing in Delhi, ANI reports.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the annual Rath Yatra and related activities at Puri's Jagannath Temple in Odisha, scheduled for 23 June this year, in view of the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reported.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said that as per the new testing protocol approved by ICMR, testing for COVID-19 will be done from today onwards as per the new Rapid Antigen methodology. 'This technique will be faster and cheaper, 169 testing centers set up in the National Capital. Priority for the supply of kits will be given to Delhi,' he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking at the launch of the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining today said: India will turn this Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity. It has taught India to be self-reliant. India will also reduce its dependence on imports.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to hold a meeting today at 12 pm with senior administrative officers of Delhi-NCR, in view of COVID-19 management and situation in the national capital, reports ANI.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said as many as 62,49,668 samples have been tested till 17 June. Of these, 1,65,412 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate has further improved to 52.95% with the recoveries/deaths ratio stands now at 94.07%.

India on Thursday reported 12,881 new cases and 334 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the latest update from the Union health ministry. With this, the country’s overall count rises to 3,66,946, including 12,237 fatalities.

Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has been given additional charge of the health ministry and other departments allocated to Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain after Jain tested for positive COVID19 yesterday, reports ANI.

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in its large multi-country trial of treatments for COVID-19 patients had been halted after new data and studies showed no benefit, reports Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to make full use of the expanded COVID-19 testing capacity stating that saving lives is a top priority as India recorded a spike of 2,003 coronavirus deaths after Maharashtra and Delhi added earlier fatalities not attributed to the disease.

Modi also called for fighting the stigma associated with the novel coronavirus and that people should be assured there is no need to panic if somebody has contracted the infection as the number of recovered patients has also been rising. The COVID-19 recovery rate for the country currently stood at around 53 percent.

The prime minister's exhortations came on a day the country registered 2,003 COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry, pushing the death toll to 11,903. This was after Maharashtra and Delhi added earlier deaths that were not attributed to the disease.

According to the health ministry, India's caseload rose to 3,54,065 with 10,974 new infections being reported in the last 24 hours. The active cases stood at 1,55,227, while 1,86,934 people have recovered, the ministry added.

Administrative measures

As COVID-19 cases spike, some states came out with new strategies to check the spread of the disease.

In a first, Tamil Nadu tested as many as 25,463 samples in a single day while 2,174 people tested positive for the coronavirus, the state's highest increase in a 24-hour period, propelling its tally to over 50,000.

The Maharashtra government has been testing samples aggressively and tracing new cases under "chase the virus" strategy, and has also ramped up health infrastructure, according to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

With this strategy, the virus spread has been significantly contained in Dharavi, the biggest and thickly-populated slum sprawl in Mumbai, an official release quoted Thackeray as having told the prime minister during a video conference.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally stood at 1,16,752, according to a state health bulletin.

The Karnataka government has decided to conduct random testing on slum dwellers, vendors and bill collectors at markets, delivery and courier boys among others, aimed at effective surveillance, an official circular said. On Wednesday, the state's toll reached 102, while the number of cases rose to 7,734 with 204 patients testing positive.

In Delhi, health surveys were conducted for 1.78 lakh people in 242 containment zones between 15 and 16 June in a bid to improve contact mapping in the National Capital, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah stepped in and announced a slew of measures to fight the pandemic.

Saving lives should be top priority: Modi

Saving lives should be the top priority, Modi told the chief ministers, as he called for expanding the health infrastructure of the states, according to an official statement.

Wednesday's interaction virtual meeting was the second and final segment of Modi’s sixth round of consultations with chief ministers of states and L-Gs of Union Territories in the last three months on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Referring to the rise in number of infections, Modi underscored the need for testing, tracking, tracing and isolating COVID-19 patients to deal with the pandemic.

Noting that the spread of COVID-19 is more in a few big states and cities, he asked the states to make full use of their existing testing capacity and also work to augment the health infrastructure.

India has stepped up testing capacity significantly to three lakh samples per day with a network of 924 laboratories including 674 in the government sector.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 60,84,256 samples have been analysed for coronavirus in the country till 16 June with 1,63,187 tested on Tuesday.

The prime minister said big crowds, lack of physical-distancing, daily movement of large number of people and small houses in some cities have made the battle against the coronavirus "more challenging".

State-wise figures

Of the 2,003 new deaths, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 1,409 fatalities taking its COVID-19 death tally to 5,537, while coronavirus deaths in Delhi surged by 437 taking its toll to 1,837, according to the Health Ministry data updated at 8 am.

Besides, Tamil Nadu has reported 49 deaths followed by Gujarat at 28, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana at 18 each, Madhya Pradesh 11, West Bengal 10, Rajasthan 7, Karnataka 5 and Telangana 4. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, Puducherry and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each in the last 24 hours.

Of the total 11,903 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 5,537 fatalities followed by Delhi with 1,837 deaths, Gujarat with 1,533, Tamil Nadu with 528, West Bengal with 495, Madhya Pradesh with 476, Uttar Pradesh with 417, Rajasthan with 308 and Telangana with 191 deaths.

The COVID-19 toll reached 118 in Haryana, 94 in Karnataka, 88 in Andhra Pradesh, 72 in Punjab, 63 in Jammu and Kashmir, 41 in Bihar, 25 in Uttarakhand, 20 in Kerala and 11 in Odisha.

Maharashtra has reported maximum number of cases at 1,13,445 followed by Tamil Nadu at 48,019, Delhi at 44,688, Gujarat at 24,577, Uttar Pradesh at 14,091, Rajasthan at 13,216 and West Bengal at 11,909, according to the Health Ministry's data.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 11,083 in Madhya Pradesh, 8,272 in Haryana, 7,530 in Karnataka and 6,778 in Bihar. It has risen to 6,841 in Andhra Pradesh, 5,406 in Telangana, 5,298 in Jammu and Kashmir, 4,319 in Assam and 4,163 in Odisha.

Punjab has reported 3,371 novel coronavirus cases so far, while Kerala has 2,622 cases. A total of 1,942 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 1,839 in Jharkhand, 1,781 in Chhattisgarh, 1,092 in Tripura, 649 in Ladakh, 629 in Goa, 560 in Himachal Pradesh and 500 in Manipur.

Chandigarh has registered 358 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry has 216 cases, Nagaland has 179, Mizoram has 121, Arunachal Pradesh has 95, Sikkim has 70, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 45 COVID-19 cases. Meghalaya and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have registered 44 infections so far.

Ensure payment of salaries to doctors, says SC

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to issue directions to states for payment of salaries and providing necessary quarantine facilities to doctors and healthcare workers engaged in treating COVID-19 patients.

The government told the court it would issue the necessary directions.

A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah said that doctors and healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients should not be denied quarantine facilities.

The top court asked the Centre to file a compliance report within four weeks on payment of salaries and quarantine facilities to doctors and healthcare workers and warned that non-compliance would be viewed seriously.

The bench was hearing a plea filed by a private doctor raising questions on the Centre's 15 May decision that 14-day quarantine was not mandatory for doctors.

Doctor Arushi Jain, in her petition filed through advocates Mithu Jain and Arjun Syal, had alleged that front line healthcare workers engaged in the fight against COVID-19 are not being paid salaries or their wages are being cut or delayed.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre said that government would issue the directions to states and Union territories within 24 hours to ensure timely payment of salaries to doctors and health care workers.

With inputs from PTI

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bollywoodirect · 6 years ago

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Remembering Chetan Anand on his 21st death anniversary. Chetan Anand (3 January 1921 – 6 July 1997) was a film producer, screenwriter and director from India, whose debut film, Neecha Nagar, was awarded the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award at the first ever Cannes Film Festival in 1946. Later he co-founded Navketan Films with his younger brother Dev Anand in 1949. He was the eldest brother of the Anand family as he was the elder brother to Hindi film actor-directors, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand. His younger sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of Hindi and English film director Shekhar Kapur. In the early 1940s, while he was teaching History, he wrote a film script on king Ashoka, which he went on to show to director Phani Majumdar in Bombay. Anand failed to qualify for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exams in London. As luck would have it, Phani Majumdar cast him as a lead in his Hindi film, Rajkumar, released in 1944. He also became associated with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in Bombay present day Mumbai. He soon took to film direction with the well-acclaimed movie Neecha Nagar which won the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award (then known as 'Grand Prix') at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946. It was the debut film for Kamini Kaushal and became the first Indian film to gain international recognition and was the debut of Pandit Ravi Shankar. By the early 1950s, he and his younger brother Dev Anand had set up Navketan Productions in Bombay present day Mumbai. Afsar, starring Dev Anand and Suraiya, was the first film made by Navketan, which turned out to be a moderate success. It was followed by Taxi Driver and Andhiyan, both of which he directed for the Navketan banner. While he made his reputation as a director, Chetan Anand kept on acting too occasionally. He appeared in Humsafar made in 1957. In 1957 he directed two movies Arpan and Anjali, in which he played lead roles too. He went on to act in Kala Bazar, Kinare-Kinare, Aman, Kanch Aur Heera and Hindustan Ki Kasam, which he directed too. Later on Chetan Anand started his own production banner called Himalaya films and teamed up with photographer Jal Mistry, music director Madan Mohan, lyrics writer Kaifi Azmi and actress Priya Rajvansh. Together they gave some of most memorable and unique films in Hindi cinema like Haqeeqat, Heer Raanjha, Hanste Zakhm, and Hindustan Ki Kasam. Anand is known to be the film-maker who 'discovered' Rajesh Khanna from an acting competition. Khanna as a result got his first break and was cast by Anand in the film Aakhri Khat, although G.P.Sippy's 'Raaz' introducing Rajesh Khanna and Babita was the first 'released' film for Rajesh Khanna. Aakhari Khat is known for its beautiful locations, songs penned by Kaifi Aazmi, composed by Khayyam, the beautiful lady Indrani Mukherjee and the child star 'Bunty'. Actually Bunty and the music were the main attractions of this film. Chetan Anand later directed Rajesh Khanna in the film Kudrat, based on the theme of reincarnation, which helped the latter arrest a slide in popularity, allowing Rajesh Khanna make a temporary comeback with this hit film. Apart from 17 feature films he is also known for the acclaimed television serial, Param Vir Chakra, which was aired Doordarshan in 1988.

#chetan anand #bollywood #bollywoodirect #dev anand #vijay anand

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angeldelcamino · 4 years ago

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El futuro de Sharings puede sentarse en motocicletas eléctricas

¿El futuro del viaje compartido? Puede sentarse en motos eléctricas Nomita D.P . y su hija en un scooter Bounce alquilado después de un viaje de compras en Bangalore, India. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times BANGALORE, India – En la visión del futuro de Uber, los autos autónomos nos llevarán a todas partes, eliminando la necesidad de sus millones de conductores humanos. Pero a medida que el gigante de transporte se prepara para vender hasta $ 10 mil millones en acciones al público esta semana para ayudar a construir esos vehículos, ya está surgiendo un enfoque de baja tecnología para el futuro de la conducción autónoma en India: motocicletas que los clientes alquilan y conducir por sí mismos. Varias empresas nuevas, respaldadas por las grandes empresas de riesgo de Silicon Valley y el competidor indio de Uber, Ola, apuestan a que los vehículos de dos ruedas compartidos “se adaptan mejor a las billeteras y las necesidades de transporte que los automóviles que son el corazón de la industria del transporte de pasajeros. Imagen El director ejecutivo de Bounce, Vivekananda Hallekere, centro, dijo que los conductores encarecían demasiado los servicios de transporte. Y si los usuarios saben cómo usar un scooter, ¿por qué necesitan un controlador? preguntó. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times El modelo tradicional de Uber y Ola está llegando a sus límites, dijo Vivekananda Hallekere, cofundador y director ejecutivo de Bounce, que maneja más de 6,000 motocicletas. que la gente puede recoger y dejar en cualquier lugar de la ciudad sureña india de Bangalore. Los viajes en automóvil son demasiado caros para la mayoría de los indios, los conductores se quejan de largas horas y poca compensación, y las plataformas de transporte están luchando para obtener ganancias, dijo. No puede hacerlo asequible con un controlador “, dijo el Sr. Hallekere. Y si los usuarios saben cómo usar un scooter, ¿por qué necesitan un controlador? Al centrarse en la gran cantidad de personas que no pueden pagar los servicios actuales de transporte, estas nuevas empresas están abriendo un nuevo frente en la batalla global para proporcionar servicios de transporte compartido. En países desarrollados como Estados Unidos, Uber debilitó la industria del taxi y creó una nueva demanda de viajes al persuadir a decenas de millones de clientes para que se subieran a un automóvil con un conductor común convocado por una aplicación. Pero en países en desarrollo como India, donde los vehículos de dos ruedas superan en ventas a los autos de seis a uno, Uber y sus competidores deben encontrar un enfoque diferente o riesgo de interrupción desde abajo. India, con 1.300 millones de residentes, es el mercado más grande del mundo para motocicletas . Alrededor de 20 millones de nuevos se venden anualmente, desde scooters de baja potencia hasta jugadores de la industria Harley-Davidson de servicio pesado, estiman que 200 millones de personas poseen una licencia para conducir al menos un vehículo básico de dos ruedas. En una mañana reciente entre semana, Mallikarjun D., un ingeniero de software, sacó su teléfono inteligente y reservó una motocicleta eléctrica en Vogo, un competidor de Bounce, para sus nueve -mile viaje a su trabajo en el gigante de outsourcing Infosys. Por lo general, toma el autobús Infosys, dijo mientras se ponía el casco y tomaba la bicicleta de un jardín que servía como estacionamiento en el vecindario de Vogo. Pero llegó tarde, y a un ritmo especial de 10 rupias, o 14 centavos, durante todo el día, descubrió que la bicicleta era la solución perfecta. Imagen Mallikarjun D., izquierda, en un punto de alquiler y alquiler de scooters Vogo en Bangalore. Es un costo razonable ”, dijo. Y es útil para el medio ambiente. ”Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times Es un costo razonable ”, dijo el Sr. Mallikarjun. Y es útil para el medio ambiente “. Vogo y Bounce lo están dominando en Bangalore, el centro tecnológico de India, donde Ola también tiene su sede y está observando cuidadosamente. Vogo requiere que la gente recoja y deje sus bicicletas en lugares designados, mientras que las bicicletas Bounce se pueden recoger o dejar en cualquier lugar. Nomita D. P., que estaba comprando ropa escolar con su hija de 10 años cerca de la estación de metro Jayanagar, dijo que había estado usando Bounce durante unos cinco meses. Es más barato que un auto rickshaw, los taxis de tres ruedas que son comunes en India, y más confiable que un automóvil Uber o Ola, dijo. Uno espera un automóvil y luego lo cancelan ”, dijo la Sra. Nomita, una editora médica que trabaja desde su casa. Un conductor de rickshaw se negará a llevarte porque vas en la dirección equivocada “. Imagen Un puesto de alquiler de bicicletas Bounce frente a una estación de metro en Bangalore. Las bicicletas compartidas no han tenido tanto éxito en la India. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times En este momento, las motos Vogo y Bounce son difíciles de encontrar. Ambas compañías están compitiendo para obtener suficiente en las calles, con el objetivo de obtener alrededor de 50,000 cada una, para que sus servicios sean realmente convenientes en Bangalore. Otras grandes ciudades seguirán. La industria naciente enfrenta otros desafíos. En la estación de Jayanagar, los baúles de dos de las motos de Bounce no se abrían, atrapando los cascos adentro, un problema común. Al scooter de la Sra. Nomita le faltaba el espejo retrovisor. Muchos vehículos estaban sucios. No está claro cuán viables serán estos servicios a largo plazo. Al igual que Uber y Ola en sus primeros días, ambas compañías están ofreciendo promociones para reducir el precio de los viajes, lo que requiere mucho gasto. Imagen Usted quiere que cree hábito para el cliente “, dijo el director ejecutivo de Vogo, Anand Ayyadurai, a la izquierda, en la sede de la compañía en Bangalore. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times Desea que se cree hábito para el cliente “, dijo Anand Ayyadurai, cofundador y director ejecutivo de Vogo, quien dijo que los costos bajarían con el tiempo. También está la lección aleccionadora de las bicicletas compartidas en India, que se anunciaron como una gran idea pero no pudieron despegar. El caótico tráfico del país y las largas distancias entre el transporte público y los hogares y lugares de trabajo hicieron que las bicicletas compartidas fueran poco atractivas, lo que obligó a varios operadores a cerrar. Es un negocio muy complicado y muy difícil ”, dijo Shailesh Lakhani, socio de la firma de capital de riesgo Sequoia Capital, que ha invertido en Bounce. Dicho esto, la cantidad de demanda es una locura “. Imagen Ather Energy, una nueva empresa de Bangalore que fabrica motocicletas para Bounce y Vogo, está formando un socio para aumentar la producción. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times Vogo y Bounce esperan reducir costos al abastecer sus flotas con motocicletas eléctricas, que cuestan menos por milla que las de gasolina. Están buscando otra nueva empresa de Bangalore, Ather Energy, para abastecerlos. Ather ha diseñado un scooter eléctrico aspiracional de alto precio que es uno de los pocos que califica para los subsidios gubernamentales de energía limpia, y está construyendo una red de estaciones de carga rápida. Sin embargo, Ather solo puede fabricar unos 500 scooters al mes en su fábrica de Bangalore. La compañía está formando un socio de fabricación para aumentar enormemente la producción, dijo Tarun Mehta, cofundador de Ather y su director ejecutivo. Bounce y Vogo se están preparando para intensificar su lucha con nuevos fondos. Bounce ha recaudado $ 18.9 millones de firmas de riesgo como Sequoia y Accel, según documentos corporativos analizados por la firma de datos, y está recaudando $ 80 millones adicionales. Imagen Un piloto para Ola, un rival de Uber, en Bangalore. Ola está invirtiendo en Vogo, citando el potencial de crecimiento en alternativas al viaje en automóvil. Crédito … Rebecca Conway para The New York Times Vogo ha recaudado $ 17.8 millones de Ola, la empresa de riesgo estadounidense Matrix Partners y varias empresas indias. Ola también planea proporcionar hasta $ 100 millones para ayudar a Vogo a desplegar hasta 100,000 motocicletas y ha prometido incluir los vehículos como una opción en su popular aplicación de transporte. La decisión de Ola es pragmática. El transporte tradicional es un negocio que está madurando en la India, al igual que en el resto del mundo. Muchos conductores no están contentos con los pagos reducidos de Ola y Uber, y periódicamente se declararon en huelga en Mumbai, Delhi y Bangalore para presionar por mejores condiciones. Los pasajeros se quejan de largas esperas por autos y tarifas en aumento. Los sistemas de transporte público, particularmente las líneas de metro, están mejorando, pero no llevarán a las personas la última milla a casa o al trabajo. ¿Cómo se crean opciones de movilidad para los próximos 900 millones? ” preguntó Anand Shah, un vicepresidente senior de Ola que supervisa sus esfuerzos de movilidad eléctrica. No tienes que mirar muy lejos, puedes ver lo que India está eligiendo ”. Además de apoyar a Vogo, Ola ofrece taxis de motocicletas en algunas ciudades indias y está promoviendo una mayor adopción de auto-rickshaws eléctricos. Uber no ha hecho ningún movimiento para compartir motos. Pero ha reconocido el potencial de los vehículos baratos que los clientes conducen ellos mismos. El año pasado, compró Jump, que alquila bicicletas eléctricas y scooters de pie motorizados en dos docenas de ciudades importantes de los Estados Unidos y Europa. En febrero, Uber dijo que más clientes en Sacramento, la capital de California, habían alquilado sus vehículos Jump que habían convocado a los autos tradicionales. Uber declinó hacer comentarios, citando el período tranquilo antes de su oferta pública inicial. Los scooters, las bicicletas y los ciclomotores tienen el potencial de robar parte del mercado de los servicios de automóviles de Ola y Uber, dijo Chandrasekar Iyer, quien está estudiando la interrupción en la industria automotriz como miembro del Clayton Christensen Institute en el área de San Francisco. Pero el Sr. Iyer, un consultor de Tata Consultancy Services, predijo que los gigantes de transporte no permanecerían inactivos. Vivek Durai, cofundador de , que supervisa de cerca a las empresas privadas en India, dijo que el gran dinero estaba comenzando a inundar. Hay un hambre profunda para resolver esto ”, dijo.

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