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Railways to restart select passenger trains from May 12

(Representational Image)

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railways today said that it will gradually restart passenger train services from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains and booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm tomorrow.

Booking will be available only on the IRCTC website, Ministry of Railways said in a statement, adding that ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) shall be issued.

These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi, the Ministry said.

“Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains everyday as ‘Shramik Special’ for stranded migrants,” it said.

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal wrote on Twitter: “Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of special trains connecting New Delhi with major stations across India. Booking in these trains will start at 4 pm on 11th May.”


The Ministry further informed that only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.

Proper COVID safety and social distancing protocols will be followed and it will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure. “Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. Further details including train schedule will be issued separately in due course,” the Ministry added.

Railways ready to run 300 Shramik special trains daily: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi (NVI): Railways is fully geared up to run 300 Shramik special trains for migrants daily, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said today while appealing to States to give permission to evacuate stranded migrants.

“As per the directions of Hon’ble PM @NarendraModi ji, Railways is fully geared up to run 300 Shramik Special trains everyday at short notice since the last six days,” Goyal tweeted.

“I appeal to all the States to give permission to evacuate and bring back their stranded migrants so that we can get all of them back to their homes in the next 3-4 days itself,” he said in another tweet.

According to the Ministry of Railways, 366 “Shramik Special” trains have been operated till May 10 (1500 hrs) across the country.

“As on 10th May 2020, a total of 366 ‘Shramik Special’ trains have been operationalized from various states across the country, in which 287 trains had reached its destination and 79 trains are in transit,” the Rail Ministry said in a statement.

These 287 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh (1 Train), Bihar (87 Trains), Himachal Pradesh (1 Train), Jharkhand (16 Trains), Madhya Pradesh (24 Trains), Maharashtra (3 Trains), Odisha (20 Trains), Rajasthan(4 Trains), Telangana(2 Trains), Uttar Pradesh (127 Trains), West Bengal(2 Trains), the Ministry said.

These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur, Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa etc, it said.

The Ministry said that in these Shramik Special Trains, maximum around 1200 passengers can travel observing social distancing. Proper screening of passengers is ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers are given free meals and water.

The Railways has decided to operate these trains after a Ministry of Home Affairs order regarding the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places by special trains.

Meanwhile, at 2 pm tomorrow, a train carrying 1,188 passengers will leave from Chandigarh to Kishanganj in Bihar. It will also carry passengers to Araria in Bihar.

75% Covid patients in Delhi asymptomatic or have mild symptoms: Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi (NVI): Delhi Chief Minister today said that out of around 6,923 Covid positive cases in Delhi, only 1,476 cases are in hospitals. He said that 75 per cent of total Covid patients in Delhi are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

“Out of around 1,500 cases in hospitals, 91 are in ICU and 27 are on ventilator,” he said during a webcast today.

Kejriwal said that the Central government has released SOPs for treatment of people with mild symptoms at home. “We have made arrangements for such people at their homes now, they need not to be admitted in hospitals,” he said, adding that Delhi Government teams brief the family members of such patients on possible treatment at home.


“Our teams call at the homes of such patients on a daily basis and keep in close touch with them,” he said.

The Delhi CM said that if such patients do not have separate rooms or toilets in their houses, the government is ensuring that they can get admitted to Covid-19 care centres.

“So, there are very less such people who are serious or are dying in Delhi,” he added.

After Maharashtra and Gujarat, Delhi is has recorded third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the country. As per the health bulleting for today, the national capital has 4,781 active cases while 2,069 have recovered till date. 381 new cases were reported today and 73 deaths have taken place so far.

Covid-19: PM to hold 5th meeting with State CMs via video-conference tomorrow

PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold his fifth meeting with state Chief Ministers tomorrow via video-conference and is expected to review phased exit from lockdown and the road ahead.

PM Modi is expected to interact with the state CM’s at 3 PM tomorrow and is likely to get an opinion from the States on the further raising of exemptions to boost economic activities.

“PM @narendramodi to hold the 5th meeting via video-conference with state Chief Ministers tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM,” PMO said in a tweet.


The virtual meeting will also be attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. Senior Officials from the Centre including the Home and Health Secretary are also expected to join in.

Earlier today, the PM chaired a meeting of the NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) to review the situation in Visakhapatnam where 11 people were killed and over 1,000 were affected due to a gas leak incident at a chemical plant on Thursday.


India is currently under the third phase of a nationwide lockdown that is slated to end on May 17. The lockdown was first announced by PM Modi on March 24 and has been extended twice since then.

The government had announced some relaxations in green and orange zones, while extending the lockdown till May 17. These include movement of private and public transport within a state, functioning of private offices with 33 per cent strength and opening of standalone liquor shops in red zones, except in containment zones.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 death toll in India has crossed the 2,000 mark with 2,109 fatalities. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 62,939 with 41,472 active cases. There are 111 foreign nationals in total confirmed cases. 128 people have died and 3,277 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.

Movement of doctors, nurses, paramedics should be unhindered: Cabinet Secretary

New Delhi (NVI): Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba today asked all States and Union Territories to ensure free movements of doctors, nurses and paramedics amid Covid-19 lockdown while noting that all steps should be taken to facilitate and protect corona warriors.

The Cabinet Secretary was speaking during a video conference with Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries of all States and UTs via video conference to review their status of Covid-19 management.

During the virtual meeting, the Cabinet Secretary said that more than 350 Shramik special trains have been operated by Railways ferrying 3.5 lakh migrant workers, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

He requested State governments to cooperate with railways in running more Shramik special trains. Apart from this, the Cabinet Secretary noted the cooperation of States on return of Indians from abroad under Vande Bharat Mission.

In the meeting, the State Chief Secretaries informed about the situation in their States and also said that while protection is required from COVID, the economic activities also need to be stepped up in a calibrated manner.

In another news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold his fifth meeting via video-conference with state Chief Ministers tomorrow at 3 PM. He is expected to review phased exit from lockdown in the meeting with state CMs and is likely to get an opinion from the States on the further raising of exemptions to boost economic activities.

Low intensity quake hits Delhi-NCR

Mild earthquake hits Delhi
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI) An earthquake measuring 3.4 on richter scale was felt in Delhi and its adjoining areas in the afternoon.

According to the National Centre of Seismology, the epicenter of the quake was located to 9 km North fo New Delhi. Tremors were felt at 01:45 pm and the depth of the quake was 5 km.

(Source: seismo.gov.in)

However, this was a mild quake and there was no report of any damage. Delhiites took to Twitter and posted their reactions.

Before this, two quakes of the same intensity hit the Delhi-NCR region on April 12 and 13.

Meanwhile, Delhi also witnessed a thunderstorm and rains earlier today that brought the temperature down, in a brief respite from the heat.

INS Kesari leaves for 5 Indian Ocean countries to deliver Covid assistance

INS Kesari (Source: Twitter)

New Delhi (NVI): India has sent its Naval ship INS Kesari to deliver Covid-19 assistance including medicines, medical personnel and food items to five Indian ocean countries — Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles — to deal with the pandemic.

The ship has been despatched under ‘Mission Sagar’ to help its partners in the Indian ocean.

“Responding to their requests for assistance in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, Government of India has sent Indian Naval Ship Kesari to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles, carrying on board two Medical Assistance Teams, consignments of Covid related essential medicines and essential food items,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement today.

(Source: MEA Twitter)

The medical assistance teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments to deal with Covid emergency and dengue fever (in case of Comoros), MEA said.

The Indian Naval Ship will deliver consignments of Covid related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to Maldives. In addition, in case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent, the Ministry said.

(Source: @MEAIndia)

The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.

‘Mission Sagar’ is inspired by Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region, MEA said.

“India has already supported the efforts of the Governments of Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles by providing them consignments of Covid-19 related essential medicines. A team of select medical personnel was also dispatched to Maldives to augment the preparedness of the Maldivian Government to fight this crisis,” MEA said in a statement.

Meanwhile, INS Jalashwa reached Kochi today with first batch of Indians brought back from the Maldives. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also tweeted: “INSJalashwa hs arrivd in Kochi wth the 1st batch of 698 Indians frm Maldives. Thank @indiannavy DefenceMinIndia
& Kerala Govt fr support&cooperation. Excellent work by HC @sunjaysudhir &his Team @HCIMaldives. Now on to the next one!.”

Over 4 million Covid-19 cases globally, deaths exceed 2,79,000

US sees highest single-day spike in Covid cases

New Delhi (NVI): The confirmed Covid-19 cases across the world stand at a whopping 4.02 million, with 87,729 cases reported in the past 24 hours, according to US-based John Hopkins University.

There have been 2,79,000 deaths globally, with 5,429 in 24 hours. Meanwhile, 1.38 people have recovered from the deadly virus so far.

The United States is the worst-affected country where 79,696 people have lost their lives due to the pandemic. The country has 1.34 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,01,000 recoveries. 25,562 fresh cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.

Apart from this, the UK has the highest number of deaths in Europe at 31,587. The country has 2,15,000 confirmed cases so far with 3,896 freshly reported cases.

Russia is now the world’s fifth-most infected country, with more than 1,99,000 confirmed cases, surpassing Germany and France, as per Johns Hopkins University data. The country has reported 1,827 deaths so far (104 in past 24 hours). It is behind the US, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Indian, Chinese soldiers clash along Sikkim border

Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): Indian and Chinese troops had a face-off along Indo-China border in north Sikkim during which some soldiers from both the sides sustained minor injuries, the defence ministry said today.

According to sources, there was a confrontation between Indian Army soldiers and troops from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) near the Naku La sector, ahead of Muguthang, yesterday.

However, both sides were disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level, MoD said in a statement.

“Aggressive behaviour & minor injuries both sides took place, disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level,” the Ministry’s official statement read.

Temporary and short duration faceoffs occur as boundaries are not resolved, it said. “Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. Such an incident occurred after a long time,” the statement read.

PRO Eastern Command also released a statement later: “Temporary and short duration Faceoffs between border guarding troops do occur as boundaries are not resolved. Incident of face off as referred to in the article did take place. Aggressive behaviour by the two sides resulted in minor injuries to troops. The two sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level. Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols.”

This is not the first time, that Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed with each other. In 2017, Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army.

Coronavirus cases in India cross 60,000, death toll at 2,109

New Delhi (NVI): With 128 fatalities in the past 24 hours, Covid-19 death toll in India has crossed the 2,000 mark. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 62,939 with 41,472 active cases. There are 111 foreign nationals in total confirmed cases.

19,357 people have been cured or discharged so far, according to the Union Health Ministry. Apart from this, 3,277 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.

Latest data on the Health Ministry website

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state, with 20,228 COVID-19 cases and 779 deaths, followed by Gujarat where cases rose to 7,796 with 472 deaths. While 3,800 people have recovered in Maharashtra, 2,091 have recovered in Gujarat.

Delhi has recorded 6,542 cases, with 73 deaths so far. 2,020 people have recovered from the virus in the National capital so far.

New cases in India Since March 15 (Source: Wikipedia)

In addition to this, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh have witnessed over 100 Covid deaths.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry said that it will send Central teams to 10 states that have witnessed a growth in coronavirus cases. The teams, consisting of a senior Health Ministry official, a joint secretary-level nodal officer and a public health expert, will be sent to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

This is in addition to 20 central teams of public health experts who were sent to districts with high coronavirus cases.

India is currently into the third phase of the nationwide lockdown that is slated to be lifted on May 17. The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24. Since then, it has been extended twice.

This is in addition to 20 central teams of public health experts who were sent to districts with high coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases has cross four million globally. There have been 2,79,000 deaths so far, with 5,429 fresh deaths recorded. 1.36 million people have recovered from the virus.

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