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New 80-km long road to curtail Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage time

New Delhi (NVI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today inaugurated a new 80-km road from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh (China Border), that will significantly curtail Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage time from 2-3 weeks earlier to 1 week.

On the occasion, the Defence Minister also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing, the Ministry of Defence said.

Rajnath expressed confidence that local trade and economic growth in the region would receive a boost with the operationalisation of this roadway.

The road originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. In this 80 kilometer road, the altitude rises from 6,000 to 17,060 feet.

With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the pilgrims of Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, MoD said in a statement. “At present, the travel to Kailash-Mansarovar takes around two to three weeks through Sikkim or Nepal routes. Lipulekh route had a trek of 90 Km through high altitude terrain and the elderly yatris faced lot of difficulties,” MoD said in a statement.

The other two road ways via Sikkim and Nepal are along. They entailed approximately 20 per cent land journeys on Indian roads and 80 per cent land journeys in China. With the opening of Ghatiabgarh-Lipulekh road, this ratio has been reversed. Now Pilgrims to Manasarovar will traverse 84 per cent land journeys on Indian Roads and only 16 per cent land Journeys in China.

While congratulating the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) engineers and personnel on the occasion, the Defence Minister also mourned the loss of lives during the construction of this road.

According to Director General of BRO Lt Gen Harpal Singh, the construction of this road was hampered due to multiple problems. Constant snowfall, steep rise in altitude and extremely low temperatures restricted the working season to five months. Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra took place in the working season from June to October and it coincided with move of locals and their logistics as well as movement of traders (for trade with China) thus further reducing the daily hours for construction, the Ministry said.

Apart from this, there were numerous flash floods and cloud bursts over last few years which led to extensive damages, MoD said. “In the initial 20 kilometers, the mountains have hard rock and are near vertical due to which BRO has lost many lives and 25 equipment were also badly damaged due to falling into Kali River. Despite all odds, in last two years, BRO could increase its output by 20 times by creating multiple working points and inducting modern technology equipment. Helicopters were also extensively used to induct hundreds of tons of stores/equipment into this sector,” it added.

Also present on the occasion were Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Almora (Uttarakhand) Ajay Tamta and senior officials of Ministry of Defence and BRO.

PM pays tribute to Tagore

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on his 159th birth anniversary.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote: “Tributes to Gurudev Tagore on his Jayanti. Gifted in several fields, he made a strong contribution towards India’s freedom movement.

“His clarity of thought and expression were always outstanding.”

Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta in 1861. He became the first Indian to win Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He is known for his literary work ‘Gitanjali’ or ‘Song Offerings’, a collection of 103 English prose poems.

Tagore is famous by many names – Gurudev, Kabiguru, Biswakabi and often referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”. From India’s ‘Jan Gan Man’ to Bangladesh’s ‘Amar Sona Bangla’, Sri Lanka’s national anthem is also based on Tagore’s poem.

WATCH | INS Jalashwa crew ready for testing Indian evacuees at Male

The crew of Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa all set with the necessary safety and medical precautions and testing of the evacuees just prior to embarking on the ship. The premises of Male airport were utilised as a staging area for evacuees. They were screened and issued IDs before boarding the ship. INS ‘Jalashwa’, a Sanskrit name for the Hippopotamus, is an amphibious assault ship that has been engaged in evacuating Indians stranded in the island nation under Operation ‘Samudra Setu’. Another ship- INS Magar has also been pressed into service and both the ships will do multiple rounds to bring back over 3,000 Indians stranded in the Maldives. Read more

Op Samudra Setu: 1st batch of Indians board INS Jalashwa at Maldives

INS Jalashwa docked at Male today, to bring back Indians stranded in Maldives.

New Delhi (NVI): The first batch of over 700 Indian nationals will begin their journey back home via Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa that docked at Male today, as part of ‘Samudra Setu’ (Sea Bridge) mission by the Indian government.

The evacuation process began in the morning with the premises of Male airport being utilised as a staging area for evacuees. The process of screening people and issuing them with IDs was carried out, Indian Navy said.

“As per the latest manifest, a total of 732 evacuees have registered so far. This includes 19 pregnant women and 14 children,” the Navy said in a statement.

The Naval ship will take approximately 48 hours to reach India at Kochi port where arrangements have been made in advance for proper screening and check-up of the evacuees for any coronavirus symptoms. The MHA has issued SOPs in this regard.

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently announced that the Indian government will facilitate the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a phased manner from May 7.

IAF Mig-29 aircraft crashes in Punjab

New Delhi (NVI): A Mig-29 aircraft of Indian Air Force which was on a training mission from an airbase in Jalandhar met with an accident today, Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“…at 1045h, one Mig-29 aircraft airborne on a training mission from an Air Force base near Jalandhar met with an accident,” MoD said.

The pilot of ejected safely as he was not able to control the aircraft after it developed a technical snag. The pilot has been rescued by a helicopter and a court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of accident, MoD added.

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

New Delhi (NVI): As the nation is now in the third phase of the countrywide lockdown, amid rapid spike in COVID-19 cases, the total number of confirmed cases have been reported at 56,342 with 1,886 deaths so far, according to the Union Health Ministry.

After the first confirmed coronavirus case in India, which was reported in the state of Kerala on January 30, the virus has tightened its grip across the nation.

Total positive cases in different states/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 33

Andhra Pradesh- 1,847

Arunachal Pradesh- 1

Assam- 54

Bihar- 550

Chandigarh- 135

Chhattisgarh- 59

Dadar Nagar Haveli- 1

Delhi- 5,980

Gujarat- 7,012

Haryana– 625

Himachal Pradesh- 46

Jammu and Kashmir- 793

Jharkhand- 132

Karnataka- 705

Kerala- 503

Ladakh- 42

Madhya Pradesh- 3,252

Maharashtra- 17,974

Meghalaya- 12

Mizoram- 1

Odisha- 219

Puducherry- 9

Punjab- 1,644

Rajasthan- 3,427

Tamil Nadu- 5,409

Telangana- 1,1123

Tripura- 65

Uttarakhand- 61

Uttar Pradesh- 3,071

West Bengal – 1,548

State/UT wise total death toll in the country:

Andhra Pradesh- 38

Assam- 1

Bihar- 5

Chandigarh-1

Delhi- 66

Gujarat- 325

Haryana- 7

Himachal Pradesh- 2

Jammu and Kashmir- 9

Jharkhand- 3

Karnataka- 30

Kerala- 4

Madhya Pradesh- 193

Maharashtra- 694

Meghalaya- 1

Odisha- 2

Punjab- 28

Rajasthan- 97

Tamil Nadu- 37

Telangana- 29

Uttar Pradesh- 62

Uttarakhand- 1

West Bengal- 151

A total of 16,540 people have been cured or discharged from hospitals in India. There are around 37,916 active cases currently.

COVID-19 volunteers honoured on World Red Cross Day

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): On World Red Cross Day this year, the Red Cross society honours the selfless contribution of COVID-19 health workers and volunteers.

This day is observed on May 8 every year, to celebrate the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement across the globe.

The Day is celebrated to pay tributes to the Red Cross volunteers and staff for their contribution in helping the society and people in need.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mentioned in a tweet, “It’s already World Red Cross Red Crescent Day in some countries around the (globe)!! Today and every day let’s #KeepClapping for all volunteers and staff worldwide responding to COVID-19.”

 

The main aim of the Red Cross Society is to inspire, initiate and encourage all kinds of humanitarian activities at all times and under all circumstances and to protect life and health.

The day also observes the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, who was born on May 8, 1828. He was the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.

All around the globe, people donate blood on this day. Due to the current scenario, as the world is witnessing coronavirus outbreak, no big celebration will be organized this year.

Meanwhile, several online programs for celebration have been organised by several Red Cross societies.

Coronavirus cases surpass 3.8 million worldwide

New Delhi (NVI): Globally, more than 3.8 million people have been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus so far, and more than 2,69,000 people have died, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the US, more than 1.25 million infected cases have been recorded, while 75,670 fatalities have been reported till now.

In another development, Russia’s coronavirus cases now stand at over 1,77,000, while the country has overtaken France and Germany to become the fifth highest total in the world after a record daily rise.

Meanwhile, the number of people who have died from a coronavirus infection in France has increased by 178 to 25,987, the lowest rate of increase in four days.

In the UK, COVID-19 death toll has risen by 539 to 30,615, according to figures announced by the foreign ministry.

In addition to this, in Africa, Covid-19 could kill as many as 1,90,000 people in the continent during the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the WHO has warned.

15 migrants run over by train in Maha

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): At least 15 migrant workers heading home were killed after they were run over by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, early this morning, while 5 others were left injured in the mishap.

The migrants were sleeping on the tracks when the train hit them at around 5.15 am.

The Railway Ministry said on Twitter: “During early hours today after seeing some labourers on track, loco pilot of goods train tried to stop the train but eventually hit them between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Parbhani-Manmad section. Injured have been taken to Aurangabad Civil Hospital. Inquiry has been ordered.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter in this regard and said, “Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due to the rail accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation. All possible assistance required is being provided.

Reportedly, the migrants had been walking along the tracks and slept on the lines near Karmad, around 360 km from Mumbai, as they didn’t anticipate any train movement due to lockdown.

COVID-19 cases in India top 56,000; death toll at 1,886

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India has increased to 56,342, while the death toll rose to 1,886 from the pandemic, Union Health Ministry confirmed.

The ministry also said that 3,390 new coronavirus cases and 103 deaths have been recorded in last 24 hours.

Maharashtra continued to be the worst affected state with 17,974 cases, followed by Gujarat with 7,012 cases and Delhi with 5,980 cases.

Other states with a high virus hit included Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

According to Health Ministry data, India is in a better state as the fatality rate is 3.3 per cent and recovery rate is 28.83 per cent.

Around 180 districts across the country have not reported any new case of COVID-19 infection in less than seven days, it said.

Meanwhile, Indians stranded in different parts of the world due to the existing bans on air travel are being evacuated by Air India and the Ministry of External Affairs joint initiative.

A total of 13,57,413 samples have been tested for the virus across the country.

So far, number of active cases stands at 37, 916 and 16,539 people have been cured or discharged.

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