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Another earthquake hits Delhi 

Mild earthquake hits Delhi
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): A day after a medium-intensity 3.5 magnitude quake shook Delhi, the National Capital was today hit by another earthquake, measuring 2.7 on Richter scale.

National Center for Seismology said that the quake took place at 1.26 PM, with the epicenter being 9 km north of Delhi and at a depth of 5 km.

Yesterday, tremors were felt in the Delhi-NCR region in the evening, prompting people in many areas to rush out of their homes for safety.

The quake occurred in National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, near at 28.2 N and 77.2 E with focal depth of 8 km near Sonia Vihar at 17:45:03 IST, the NCS said in a statement. The distance of epicenter was around 16 Km North of Lodhi Road.

NCT, Delhi lies on Zone-IV as per seismic zoning map of India.

(Further details awaited)

PM Modi to address nation at 10 AM tomorrow

PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 AM tomorrow, April 14, when the 21-day nationwide lockdown ends.

All eyes are on PM Modi as he is expected to make an announcement on the lockdown and possibly, its further extension by two more weeks.

Speculations are rife that the Central Government may extend the lockdown till April 30. In an interaction with PM Modi through video conferencing on Saturday, the Chief Minister of various states had made a suggestion in this regard.

Several chief ministers, including Punjab’s Amarinder Singh and Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal, had suggested extending the lockdown at least by a fortnight.

At least six states — Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka and Telangana — have already announced an extension.

The announcement for a 21-day lockdown, which ends tomorrow, was made by the PM on March 24.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India crossed the 9,000-mark on Monday, while the death toll climbed to 308.

CEC & ECs to contribute to COVID Funding

Election Commission
Election Commission of India

New Delhi (NVI): In view of the pandemic situation in the country, the Election Commission has decided to contribute to the COVID-19 funding in the form of voluntary reduction of thirty per cent in the basic salary paid by the ECI.

Under the voluntary action, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra will have a thirty per cent cut from their salaries for a period of one year commencing 1st April, 2020.

The decision comes at a time when the country, like the rest of the world, is grappling with coronavirus pandemic.
The numerous steps being taken by the Government and Civil Society organisations require vast resources for which contribution from all sources, including reducing the burden of salaries on the exchequer, might be helpful, the ECI said in an official statement.

So far, the total number of positive cases has increased to 9,152 in India, with 308 deaths being reported, according to the Health Ministry data.

44 evacuees from Iran return home after quarantine at Mumbai naval camp

New Delhi (NVI): 44 Indian evacuees from Iran who completed their quarantine period at a naval camp in Ghatkopar, Mumbai were flown back to Srinagar in a special C-130 aircraft of Indian Air Force aircraft, the Ministry of Defence said.

The evacuees included 24 women and they spent 30 days at the Indian Navy Quarantine Facility at Material Organisation, Ghatkopar, Mumbai, the Ministry said in a statement.

“The 44 individuals spent 30 days in the facility commencing 13 Mar 20, ending with each testing negative for COVID-19 on 28 Mar,” it added.

The isolation phase which started on March 13, was supposed to end on March 28 but was further extended till April 12, as the evacuees had no means of travelling to their homes in Srinagar and Ladakh, the Ministry said.

“Consequently, arrangements were made to airlift them using IAF aircraft and on 12 Apr 20, a C-130 aircraft has flown these individuals back to Srinagar,” it said.

The evacuees were attended by a dedicated team of medical staff from the Navy who worked tirelessly to monitor the health of these people.

They were supported by a team of conservancy personnel and other staff to take care of the cleanliness of the facility, their comfort and well being. The meals provided were prepared under strict supervision and customised to meet any special requirements.

In the quarantine facility, all the evacuees were provided with comfortable facilities, which included a library, TV room, indoor games, a small gymnasium and limited cricket gear, the ministry said.

For the return journey, each evacuee was given packed food, refreshments and two hand-stitched masks, prepared by Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), Ghatkopar.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown was imposed last month on March 24 to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic. So far, the total number of positive cases has increased to 9,152 in India, with 308 deaths, according to the Health Ministry data.

COVID-19: Hand sanitizer, homemade masks prepared by Assam rural women

New Delhi (NVI): Rural women in Assam have engaged themselves in preparing various products such as hand sanitizers, homemade masks and liquid disinfectants to be distributed for free among family members and poor people in the nearby villages to help combat COVID 19 in the state.

In this initiative, these women have been engaged by Rural Women Technology Park (RWTP) which comes under CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorha and is supported by SEED Division and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

“Meeting a challenge such as coronavirus needs strong community participation and support. Self-help Groups (SHGs) and dedicated NGOs are perfect vehicles in the current scenario for awareness creation, introducing relevant solutions, making and distributing the low-tech items such as masks and disinfectants,” Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST said.

Rural women from the region were trained to produce homemade masks from traditional ‘Gamocha’ (a traditional Assamese cotton towel) by RWTP, Jorhat.

Design of the homemade mask has been finalized, around 150 Gamochas purchased, in which 6 homemade masks can be prepared from one Gamocha, with two sewing machines arranged.

It has also been proposed that the women be paid at the rate of Rs 15 per mask. Apart from this, 200 liters of liquid disinfectant is being produced. The raw materials required for liquid disinfectant like dettol, ethanol, glycerine, essential oil have been acquired.

The women of RWTP were trained before closing down on March 24. The participant women prepared about 50 litres of hand sanitizer, 160 litres of liquid disinfectant which have already been distributed among the 60 women participants and their family members.

RWTP has also prepared posters and leaflets on ‘COVID19: Do’s and Don’ts’ in Assamese language for creating awareness among the people about the novel coronavirus pandemic and the precautionary measures to be taken during the prevailing situation.

Tributes paid to martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tribute to the martyrs who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919, and said their valour will inspire Indians for the years to come.

PM Modi took to twitter and said, “I bow to those martyrs who were killed mercilessly in Jallianwala Bagh on this day. We will never forget their courage and sacrifice.

“Their valour will inspire Indians for the years to come,” Modi added.

He also shared a picture of his earlier visit to Jallianwala Bagh memorial.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Remembering the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh. Amritsar, who were massacred on this day in 1919. I salute their courage and sacrifice. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten,” he tweeted.

Among those who paid tributes was Punjab CM Amarinder Singh who wrote, “I join the nation in paying my tributes to the innocent martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”

“It’s been 101 years but the memory of this unfortunate incident still haunts us. I bow in the honour of their martyrdom,” he added.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is remembered as a turning movement in the India’s freedom struggle. At least 400 people were killed and a thousand were injured.

Coronavirus cases top 1.85mn globally; death toll crosses 1,14,000

New Delhi (NVI): The death rate in Italy and France appears to be slowing, as the number of people confirmed to have the coornavirus across the world rose beyond 1.85 million.

Italy has also showed signs of a slowdown with 431 new fatalities being reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 19,899 with a total number of 1,56,363 infected cases being reported till date, according to John Hopkins University data.

In addition to this, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the US have reached 5,26,391 with a total of around 20,500 deaths, making the country the worst affected in the world due to the contagion with the highest number of cases and deaths.

Meanwhile, officials in New Zealand and Australia say they are not prepared to start easing social distancing rules or reopening their economies yet, even as the rate of new coronavirus cases slows.

Globally, more than 1,14,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus while nearly 4,22,000 people have recovered of the disease.

Coronavirus cases rise to 9,352 in India, death toll at 324

New Delhi (NVI): As the 20th day of the nationwide lockdown came to a close, the death toll due to coronavirus in India rose to 324 while the total number of positive cases increased to 9,352, according to Union Health Ministry.

Out of the total, 8,048 are active cases and 979 cured/discharged, while one case is migrated, according to the  Health Ministry’s latest data.

In the last 24 hours, 796 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported across the country with at least 35 new deaths.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra remains the worst affected state in the country with 1,985 cases followed by Delhi (1,154) and Tamil Nadu (1,075).

Meanwhile, four other states have also crossed the 500-mark. These states are Rajasthan, Kerala, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.

There are a total of 1,154 cases, and 24 deaths in the national capital and 27 people have been cured.

WATCH | Mother of a young terrorist in J&K appealing her son to shun violence

Mother of a newly recruited terrorist, Asif Majid Dar of Kakapore (in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir ), making an emotional appeal to her son to shun the path of violence and return back to his family. Indian Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps has urged Asif to listen to his Mother’s appeal and has assured him that it will assist and help him in every way possible to safely return home.

Afghanistan gets 5,022 metric tonnes of wheat from India

New Delhi (NVI): India today shipped the first consignment of 5,022 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan as a humanitarian gesture to ensure food security during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Afghan envoy to India Tahir Qadiry thanked India for the goodwill gesture while tweeting: “Today, Afghanistan’s all-weather friend #India shipped the 1st consignment of 5,022 MT of wheat of the total gifted package of 75,000 MT. The allocation of 500,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets is to be dispatched soon too. True friend through our thick & thin.”

Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar had last year said that India would gift 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan.

The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan also tweeted on the development, expressing India’s commitment to helping its all-weather friend. “251 containers carrying 1st consignment of 5,022 MT of wheat out of total gift of 75,000 MT from India to Afghanistan set sail from Kandla Port to Chabahar Port today. The remaining consignments will follow in the weeks ahead,” it tweeted.

The embassy also announced that India will be sending another consignment of 5,00,000 Hydroxychloroquine tablets to Afghanistan. India has already cleared the first list of 13 countries to which it will export the HCQ tablets, seen as helpful in the treatment of cases.

“This humanitarian gesture of Indian people to our Afghan brethren will ensure food security during difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic. India is gifting 500,000 tablets of HydroxyChloroquine to AFG for health professionals and COVID-19 positive cases,” the Indian Embassy said in another tweet.

India is the largest exporter of the anti-malarial drug and it has already sent a consignment to the United States where more than 20,000 people have lost their lives due to coronavirus.

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