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NGT bans sale, use of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR from midnight till Nov 30

firecrackers
(File/Representational image)

New Delhi (NVI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today announced complete ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the Delhi and adjoining areas.

The ban will come into effective from November 9 midnight till November 30 in wake of the rising air pollution levels.

However, the decision comes amid festive season when the sale of firecrackers is at its peak.

The NGT has also directed that the order on ban of firecrackers will also apply to all those cities or towns where the air quality during November falls under the poor or worse than poor category.

“The cities/towns where air quality is ‘moderate’ or below, only green crackers be sold and the timings for use and bursting of crackers be restricted to two hours during festivals, like Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas Eve as may be specified by the State,” NGT said.

Apart from this, the Haryana government, following the NGT announcement, also restricted bursting firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm on some festivals including Diwali and Christmas.

The tribunal further said that it may have to consider directions to prohibit the use of firecrackers during the period when air quality is beyond a threshold to protect the health of the vulnerable groups.

Earlier on November 2, the NGT had issued a notice to the Ministry of Environment and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan on whether the use of firecrackers be banned from November 7-30 in the interest of public health and environment.

Furthermore, Delhi Police yesterday took to twitter and said that all licences issued for the sale of firecrackers in the national capital have been suspended and further action will be taken on National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions.

-RJV

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 85 lakh-mark and stands at 85,53,657 after 45,903 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll stands at 1,26,611 after 490 new fatalities were reported during the same period.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases increased to 17,19,858, followed by Karnataka with 8,46,887 cases, and Andhra Pradesh with 8,42,967 cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 4,450

Andhra Pradesh- 8,42,967

Arunachal Pradesh- 15,436

Assam- 2,08,789

Bihar- 2,21,624

Chandigarh- 15,134

Chhattisgarh- 2,00,937

Dadra and Nagar Haveli– 3,274

Delhi- 4,38,529

Gujarat- 1,80,537

Goa- 45,065

Haryana– 1,82,804

Himachal Pradesh- 25,486

Jammu and Kashmir- 98,892

Jharkhand- 1,04,442

Karnataka- 8,46,887

Kerala- 4,86,109

Ladakh- 6,809

Madhya Pradesh- 1,77,359

Maharashtra- 17,19,858

Manipur- 20,376

Meghalaya- 10,202

Mizoram- 3,096

Nagaland- 9,474

Odisha- 3,01,574

Puducherry- 35,838

Punjab- 1,37,445

Rajasthan- 2,11,310

Sikkim- 4,245

Tamil Nadu- 7,43,822

Telangana- 2,51,188

Tripura- 31,543

Uttarakhand- 65,279

Uttar Pradesh- 4,97,563

West Bengal – 4,05,314

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 60

Andhra Pradesh- 6,791

Arunachal Pradesh- 46

Assam- 943

Bihar- 1,144

Chandigarh- 234

Chhattisgarh- 2,447

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 6,989

Goa- 643

Gujarat- 3,760

Haryana- 1,912

Himachal Pradesh- 377

Jammu and Kashmir- 1,533

Jharkhand- 895

Karnataka- 11,391

Kerala- 1,692

Ladakh- 84

Madhya Pradesh- 3,028

Maharashtra- 45,240

Manipur- 197

Meghalaya- 93

Mizoram- 2

Nagaland- 46

Odisha- 1,425

Puducherry- 601

Punjab- 4,318

Rajasthan- 1,989

Sikkim- 78

Tamil Nadu- 11,344

Telangana- 1,381

Tripura- 359

Uttar Pradesh- 7,206

Uttarakhand- 1,065

West Bengal- 7,294

However, a total of 79,17,373 people have been cured and discharged. The total active cases stands at 5,09,673 in the country.

-CHK

Coronavirus cases surge past 50.3 million worldwide

Coronavirus cases

New Delhi (NVI): More than 50.3 million people around the world have been confirmed to have the coronavirus, while the death toll is nearing 12,56,177, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Over 33 million patients have recovered from the deadly disease globally.

In the US, the number of coronavirus infections are nearing 10 million and currently stands at 9,962,900 while the number of fatalities have surpassed 2,37,000 in the country.

Brazil’s coronavirus cases have surged past 5.6 million while the number of deaths have crossed 1,62,000.

Mexico’s health ministry reported on Sunday 5,887 additional coronavirus cases and 219 more deaths, bringing the official number of cases to 9,67,825 and the death toll to 95,027.

Meanwhile, France reported a further 38,619 coronavirus cases in the last hours, bringing the country’s total to 1,787,324.

Greece has reported a record daily rise of 35 coronavirus deaths, and 1,914 new cases of the virus.

The UK has reported 20,572 new infections and 156 deaths, taking the country’s caseload to 1,192,013 and its official toll to 49,044.

-CHK

PM greets Uttarakhand on statehood day

modi
PM Narendra Modi (File photo)

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wished the people of Uttarakhand on the state’s 21st foundation day.

On November 9, 2000, Uttarakhand (then Uttaranchal) was formed as the 27th state of India. It was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.

PM Modi took to Twitter to greet the people on the occasion of Uttarakhand Sthapna Divas.

“Hearty congratulations to the residents of Uttarakhand on the state’s foundation day. Leading on the path of progress, this state full of natural wealth and natural beauty will continue to touch new heights of such development,” the Prime Minister tweeted in Hindi.

On the 21st foundation day of the state of Uttarakhand, many programs will be organized virtually at the capital Dehradun and all district headquarters today.

-RJV

COVID cases in India climb to over 85.5 lakh; death toll tops 1.26 lakh

COVID cases

New Delhi (NVI): The coronavirus cases in India saw a jump of 45,903 in the last 24 hours, raising the total number to 85,53,657, Union Health Ministry said.

The country’s death toll due to the virus rose to 1,26,611, with 490 new fatalities being reported in the past 24 hours.

So far, 79,17,373 patients have been cured an recovered all over the country and the active cases stands at 5,09,673.

However, this is for the ninth consecutive day when active COVID-19 cases in the country remained below the six lakh mark.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases increased to 17,19,858, followed by Karnataka with 8,46,887 cases, and Andhra Pradesh with 8,42,967 cases.

Maharashtra has also reported the highest number of fatalities at 45,240 followed by 11,391 in Karnataka and 11,344 in Tamil Nadu.

The other worst affected states are Tamil Nadu (7,43,822) Uttar Pradesh (4,97,563), Kerala (4,86,109) and Delhi (4,38,592).

The death toll in the national capital rose to 6,989, while 3,89,683 patients in Delhi have recovered so far, the healthy ministry data shows.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data, a total 11.85 crore samples tested for COVID-19 up to November 8. Of these 8,35,401 samples were tested yesterday.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain yesterday said that the national capital has hit the peak of the third wave of COVID-19 and the number of cases suggests it has been the worst so far.

-RJV

Demonetisation helped reduce black money: PM on 4th anniv of note ban

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on fourth anniversary of note ban today, said that demonetisation has helped reduce black money, increase tax compliance and formalisation and given a boost to transparency.

While tweeting on the completion of fourth year of demonetisation, that came into effect from November 8, 2016, the Prime Minister said shared illustrations with data on the benefits of note ban.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also echoed PM’s thoughts on note ban. “Demonetisation not only brought transparency and widened the tax base, it also curbed counterfeit currency and increased circulation,” tweeted.

“While surveys conducted post-demonetisation led to unearthing of undisclosed income worth several crore, Operation Clean Money helped formalise the economy,” the FM said in another tweet.

She said that to fulfill its promise of freeing India from corruption, the Modi govt implemented Demonetisation 4 years ago on this day. “The move that was an unprecedented attack on Black Money also led to better tax compliance and a major push to digital economy,” she added.

On November 8, 2016, PM Modi, in an unexpected move, announced the scrapping of the existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes with immediate effect.

-ARK

Paddy procurement shows increase

New Delhi (NVI): The paddy procurement is continuing smoothly and has shown an increase of 19.92 per cent over last year, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said today.

In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at its MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes.

“Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with purchase of over 248.99 LMTs of paddy upto 07.11.2020 against the last year corresponding purchase of 207.63 LMT showing an increase of 19.92 % over last year,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Out of the total purchase of 248.99 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 175.24 LMT which is 70.37 per cent of total procurement, it said.

About 21.09 lakh farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 47,010.10 crore.

 -ARK

Delhi air quality remains in ‘severe’ category for 4th straight day

Delhi air quality
File Photo

New Delhi (NVI): Delhi’s air quality remained in ‘severe’ category for fourth consecutive day, with SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) recording an overall AQI of 456 at 8 am.

The concentrations of major pollutants such as PM10 and PM2.5 were recorded at 465 and 306 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) respectively, both falling under the ‘severe’ category, as per the Ministry of Earth Science’s air quality monitor SAFAR.

According to data available with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 4 PM was recorded at 416.

Farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and neighbouring regions have also contributed to the poor air quality in the national capital.

As per the data available with CPCB, the AQI was at 431 in Anand Vihar, 411 in Dwarka, 465 in Jahangirpuri, 423 in Punjabi Bagh, and 410 in RK Puram.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3), Dilshad Garden (IHBAS), ITO, Lodhi Road, Pusa, and Sirifort recorded ‘very poor’ air quality with the overall AQI values standing at 392, 376, 353, 320, 382, and 389 respectively.

The national capital’s air quality is likely to remain ‘severe’ on Diwali festival as well, according to SAFAR.

The air monitoring agencies recently said that while meteorological conditions were moderately favourable for dispersion of pollutants, a very high number of farm fires in Punjab was the primary reason for ‘severe’ air quality.

-ARK

PM inaugurates Ro-Pax ferry service b/w Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Ro-Pax terminal at Hazira and flagged off the Ro-Pax ferry service between Hazira and Ghogha in Gujarat through video conferencing.

Speaking on the occasion, the PM said RO-PAX service between Hazira and Ghogha has made dreams come true for the people of Saurashtra and South Gujarat, as the journey is shortened from 10-12 hours to 3-4 hours.

This will be the second such ferry service to be launched by the PM after the Ghogha-Dahej route three years ago, which is now dysfunctional.

The PM said that people of Gujarat have got their Diwali gift today. He said the service will save time and expenses will also be reduced. About 80,000 passenger trains and 30,000 trucks will be able to take advantage of this new service in a year, he added.

Modi said better connectivity between Saurashtra and Surat is going to change the life of the people in these regions. He added fruits, vegetables and milk can now easily be transported and pollution will also be reduced due to this service.

He also wished the people for this new maritime connectivity established between Bhavnagar and Surat.

The PM also interacted with the local users and renamed the Ministry of Shipping as the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

J&K: 4 security personnel killed, 3 terrorists eliminated in Machil encounter

Narco smuggling
Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (File Pic)

(Updating earlier copy)

Jammu (NVI): Four defence personnel including 1 BSF jawan were killed in an encounter along LoC in Machil sector of Kupwara district in J&K, defence officials said today. Three terrorists were also eliminated by the forces in the action.

At around 1 AM, BSF patrol noticed suspicious movement near the Anti Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) (LoC Fence), about 3.5 km from the LoC, the Army said in a statement. “Firefight ensued in which one terrorist was killed. A BSF soldier was Killed in action (KIA). Firefight stopped at 0400h,” read the official statement.

More troops were rushed to the spot as terrorists’ movement was tracked by surveillance devices.

Contact was re-established at 10:20 am in the morning when own search parties came under heavy enemy fire approximately 1.5 km from the LoC.

In the ensuing firefight two more terrorists were killed. “Own troops suffered three KIA and two injured. Injured soldiers have been evacuated. Ops in progress,” the Army said.

One AK-47 rifle and two bags were also recovered from the site of encounter.

Earlier in September, the Border Security Force (BSF) had foiled two infiltration bids along the International Border (IB) in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the Army had said that at least 250 to 300 militants are ready to infiltrate into this side of LoC before snowfall but the counter-infiltration grid is robust and soldiers are ready to foil all such bids.

General officer Commanding (GoC) of north Kashmir based Kilo Force, Major General HS Sahi, while speaking to media on October 22, had said that the Army is getting continuous inputs about the presence of 250 to 300 militants at the launch pads who are ready to sneak into this side to foment trouble.

It may be recalled that recently, General officer Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps, Lieutenant General B S Raju had said that this year so far, Army has been successful in foiling infiltration along the LoC. He had stated that only 30 militants had managed to infiltrate into this side compared to 126 last year from January to October 1.

-ARK

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