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J&K: First time in recent history, no Friday prayers in masjids

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): For the first time in recent history, Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir skipped Friday congregation prayers in masjids, as the UT administration had appealed people not to be a part of public or religious gatherings, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Every Friday, Muslims across the world offer Friday prayers in congregation at a Masjid with a large gathering of people from the community.

J&K administration has advised people to stay at home and avoid huge congregations, in line with similar restriction orders in the country to restrict the spread of coronavirus. The country is currently under a 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19, from March 25 to April 14.

J&K government spokesman Rohit Kansal tweeted: “DCs and SPs advised to strictly caution all religious leaders not to call any gatherings. Public gatherings a major source of social contact and spread of the virus.”

Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Nasir-ul-Islam had also appealed people not to offer Friday prayers in Masjids. “We are heading towards a disaster. To stop it, there should be no Friday prayers in any mosque or shrine,” he had said.

Most of the religious heads of the Masjids have been asked to limit the number of people to masjids. “It’s for the first time, we are facing such a situation that we have to skip Friday prayers,” said a local resident.

Besides, large contingents of forces have been deployed all over the state to restrict any unnecessary public or traffic movement. In J&K, curfew-like restrictions entered the ninth day today.

Police has said that they won’t honor any identity cards of staff engaged in essential services, and has advised them to obtain passes from concerned district magistrates.

Junaid Azim Mattoo, Mayor of Srinagar, also asked people not to perform Friday prayers in mosques.

The Municipal Corporation of Srinagar earlier this week had cleaned all the temples and historical mosques here.

The number of COVID-19 positive cases has already reached 14 in J& K while one infected patient succumbed to his condition in a Srinagar hospital yesterday.

PM lauds RBI for taking ‘giant steps’ to safeguard economy amid COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for taking measures to cushion the impact of coronavirus on the economy.

His remarks came after the Centra Bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent today to tackle the challenges thrown by COVID-19 on the economy.

PM Modi tweeted, “RBI has taken giant steps to safeguard our economy from the impact of the Coronavirus. The announcements will improve liquidity, reduce cost of funds, help middle class and businesses”.


RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, in a briefing today, said that RBI has injected  Rs 3.74 lakh crore liquidity into the system through various measures.

Apart from the repo rate, the central bank slashed reverse repo rate by 90 basis points to 4 per cent.

RBI also announced a three-month moratorium on EMI payments for all types of term loans applicable to all the banks to reduce the economic damage caused due to the unprecedented coronavirus contagion.

COVID-19 cases climb to 44 in Bangladesh; 5 deaths so far

New Delhi (NVI): Five more coronavirus cases have been reported in Bangladesh, taking the total number of positive cases to 44, according to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

While the death toll from the disease has remained unchanged at five, a total of 11 people have fully recovered from the disease.

Of the five newly-infected ones, one is an imported case, three came in contact with infected patients and information about another is still unavailable, according to United News of Bangladesh.

IEDCR Director Professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora said in a press briefing yesterday that the 5 newly-infected people are male.

The IEDCR will soon launch district-level hotline numbers to help people contact it easily.

Prof Flora also said samples will be collected from wider range of citizens from now on.

Ramayan to be re-telecast on Doordarshan from tomorrow

New Delhi (NVI): Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ will be re-telecast on Doordarshan from tomorrow on public demand, Prakash Javdekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting said in a tweet today.

“Happy to announce that on public demand, we are starting re-telecast of ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 in DD National, One episode in morning 9 am to 10 am, another in the evening 9 pm to 10 pm,” Javdekar said in a tweet.

The popular demand for Ramayana to return on TV began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete nationwide lockdown for 21 days, starting from March 25.

Ramayana, aired during 1987-88, was a drama adaptation of Hindu epic of the same name and is primarily based on Valmiki’s Ramayan and Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many on social media have written how Ramayana was hugely popular at one time.

Meanwhile, social media users also said that the mythological show would help reduce stress at the time of the nationwide lockdown.

SJVN, CRPF make contributions to combat COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN), a Miniratna PSU under the Union Ministry of Power, has announced that it will provide Rs 1 crore to combat coronavirus which has taken the world by storm.

SJVN Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said the amount would be used to procure six ventilators by Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital in Shimla, five ventilators by Dr Rajender Prasad Medical College in Tanda and some ventilators in Rampur hospital at Khaneri in Shimla district.

The SJVN Ltd will also extend financial support to provide other essential items like masks, sanitizers and gloves to these health institutions, the Ministry fo Power said in a statement today.

Many government organisations and PSUs are coming forward to contribute in funds for fighting COVID-19 in the country which has claimed 17 lives so far.

Yesterday, CRPF also donated Rs 33.81 crore to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to aid the battle against coronavirus. This came as CRPF personnel decided to contribute a day’s salary to the fund.

RBI announces 3-month moratorium on EMI payments

Economic growth
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

New Delhi (NVI): The Reserve Bank of India today announced a three-month moratorium on EMI payments of all term loans outstanding as of March 1, 2020, amid the 21-day lockdown due to the pandemic situation in the country.

This decision applies to all regional, rural banks, co-operative banks, NBFCs including Housing Finance Companies.

With the RBI giving a green signal to defer loan repayment for three months, the ball is in the banks’ court to pass on the benefit to people, many of whom have been affected due to job loss and salary cuts in wake of COVID-19 crisis.

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das in a briefing today also announced that the repo rate has been reduced by 75 basis points (bps) to 4.4 per cent. The reserve repo rate has been reduced by 90 basis points to 4 per cent.

The Repo rate cut – which is the rate of interest at which banks borrow from RBI – will ensure banks have more access to funds, while the Reverse-repo rate cut will make it less attractive for banks to park their funds with the central bank.

This comes at a time when the country is under a 21-day lockdown to curb the coronavirus contagion, which might result in adverse effects on the economy due.

The decision comes a day after the government announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore worth relief package for poor people, employees and women to cope with the COVID-19 crisis.

The RBI Governor also said that the Indian banking system is “safe and sound” and depositors should not resort to panic withdrawal of their deposits. He urged those with deposits in private banks to not indulge in panic withdrawal. Measures were also announced and listed to shore up liquidity.

Social gatherings banned: 5 ways to make the best of isolation

New Delhi (NVI): As the coronavirus pandemic is tightening its grip over the globe, with governments asking their people to socially distance themselves, virtual connections have become more important than ever before.

Although WHO has made it clear why we need to stay away from one another, confining yourself to home is no easy task. Loneliness is already a social health crisis itself, with roughly 1 in 3 adults experiencing it to some degree, according to the World Economic Forum.

Here are the five ideas to stay (virtually) social and make the best of isolation:

1. Throw your own film festival

Technology has already addressed this, and there’s never been a better time to take advantage. You can playback video at the same time, mute to discuss key plot points, and even enjoy a meal or drink together while you watch Netflix shows.

2. Keep up to a routine

With many of us working from home – or indeed not working at all – some rules and structure can help. Keeping routine following the things you usually do in daily life can help to ground us in times of isolation.

3. Do online courses

There are countless options, the internet gives you access to a number of courses from institutions including some big institutions as well. If there can be such a thing as a silver lining to the COVID-19 crisis, one might be that we all have more time. Why not put it to good use by doing an online course!

There are many courses which are free, but if you’re happy to pay a small optional fee, you can get a certificate too.

Or simply take the opportunity to learn about something you’ve always been interested in.

4. Enjoy the sunshine and exercise if you can

While we’re self-isolating and socially distancing, going outside is still okay in many cases, at least for a limited time. You could take a walk in your lawn or terrace and let the natural surroundings relax you.

Even if you can’t go out or to the gym, you can still come up with some good exercise to do at home.

5. Dress up and video calling

The internet makes it easier to continue doing some of the things you like, virtually. Video conferencing was growing in popularity before the pandemic and offers a great way to stay in touch with friends and family.

Finally, if you’re struggling to cope with the coronavirus crisis, always keep a look at the World Health Organization’s helpful advice.

US surpasses China, Italy in confirmed coronavirus cases

New Delhi (NVI): The US has reported more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world, surpassing even China’s total, showing how rapidly the virus can move through a population.

Over 16,000 positive cases were reported in a single day in the US as the total number of coronavirus patients soared to 85,088, according to John Hopkins University data.

A week ago, the number of confirmed cases was at 8,000. It has dangerously surged 10 times in the span of a week.

At least 263 deaths more deaths have been reported in the country, taking the total death toll to 1,290 so far.

Italy has reported the highest death toll with more than 8,200 deaths.

Whereas, Spain has the second-highest death toll at 4,365 with more than 57,000 confirmed cases.

Overall, 1,20,000 people worldwide have recovered from COVID-19, while more than 23,000 people have died.

More than 5,32,000 people have been infected by coronavirus globally.

COVID-19 deaths rise to 17 in India, total 724 cases

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 724 today and 17 people have died from the pandemic so far. 88 COVID-19 cases were reported in the country yesterday, highest in a single day.

47 out of the total cases are foreign nationals, according to the Health Ministry. The 17th death has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh which recorded its first death due to the disease yesterday.

Other states which have reported COVID-19 deaths are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh.

At present, there are 640 active cases, 66 cured or discharged and 1 migrated COVID-19 patient. The Health Ministry data states that 15,24,266 passengers have been screened at airports.

Afghanistan to release around 10,000 prisoners amid COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): The Afghanistan Government today said that it will be releasing up to 10,000 prisoners, including women in children lodged in detention centers, as a preventive step against the spread of coronavirus.

Afghan officials were quoted as saying by the media as saying that the development comes after President Ashraf Ghani passed a decree in this regard.

However, those who are being released will pose no harm to the people outside as they were charged under small offences, Aghan media said.

According to the Afghan Government, six health employees have been infected by the virus in Herat and Kandahar provinces.

Apart from that, 90 people have been infected by COVID-19 in Afghanistan, while four people have lost lives so far, as per media reports.

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