Indian Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday sent 2,600kg of mangoes as a gift for her counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and other political leaders will also receive the mangoes.
The mangoes were sent through Jashore's Benapole land port.
The shipment arrived at the Benapole-Petrapole check post in the afternoon.
Also read: Humanity will overcome pandemic soon: Modi writes to Hasina
After the completion of customs and port formalities, the Bangladeshi trucks carrying 260 cartons of mangoes crossed the border.
Humanity will overcome pandemic soon: Modi writes to Hasina
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina expressing his optimism that humanity will overcome the pandemic very soon.
"I remain optimistic that humanity shall overcome the pandemic very soon," Modi said in his letter marking the International Day of Yoga that falls on June 21.
The theme for this year's International Day of Yoga is "Yoga for Wellness", which is particularly relevant in the current context.
Modi extended his deepest gratitude for the cooperation and efforts extended by one and all in making the International Day of Yoga celebrations a resounding success every year in Bangladesh.
"It was heartening to see our sisters and brothers in Bangladesh turning out in massive numbers in the last few years to perform Yoga at the Bangabandhu National Stadium," he said.
Also read: India will always stand by Bangladesh: Modi
The Indian Prime Minister said International Day of Yoga celebrations will continue to enjoy Sheikh Hasina government's support in the years ahead.
In 2014, the overwhelming response of the United Nations General Assembly to recognize June 21 as International Day of Yoga underlined the universal appeal of Yoga that transcends all barriers.
Since then, the International Day of Yoga has been marked globally with great fervour.
The world will mark the seventh International Day of Yoga.
"Like the year gone by, this year's International Day of Yoga will also be marked under the shadow of the Covid-19 global pandemic," Modi said.
In the midst of this monumental challenge, the Indian Prime Minister said the Covid-19 warriors have waged a remarkable fight against the pandemic. "While the threat of the pandemic remains, there have been positive developments since the last International Day of Yoga," he said.
In addition to various treatment protocols, scientific understanding about the virus, Modi said, they now also have several vaccines to protect people from the pandemic. "Vaccination drives are underway in several nations, including India. I remain optimistic that humanity shall overcome the pandemic very soon," Modi said.
Also read: Ground-level cooperation needed to check all border incidents: Modi
Yoga has many benefits for the body as well as the mind. Despite all the efforts and precautions, Covid-19 may infect any person.
However, the Indian Prime Minister said, a strong immune system can aid in the fight against it.
"Yoga can help build that immunity, for instance, through breathing exercises that strengthen the lungs. At the same time, across the world, millions of people have been forced to stay indoors for months. This has taken a toll on their mental health as well. Regular practice of Yoga can also help them recover," he said.
The Indian Prime Minister said Yoga has an inherent power to connect. Yoga is good for community, immunity, and unity.
The theme of International Day of Yoga celebrations this year reflects the concern for the good health and wellbeing of people across the globe.
"It’s an endeavour to ensure that we focus on fitness as well as wellness," Modi said.
How India is changing vaccine plan amid shortages
Starting Monday, every adult in India will be eligible for a free vaccine paid for by the federal government.
The new policy, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, ends a complex system introduced just last month of buying and distributing vaccines that overburdened states and led to inequities in how the shots were handed out.
India is a key supplier of vaccines around the world, and its missteps at home have led it to stop exports of shots, leaving millions of people around the world waiting unprotected. Only about 3.5% of Indians are fully vaccinated and while supporters hope the policy change will make vaccine distribution more equitable, poor planning means shortages will continue.
Here’s a look at the changes to India’s vaccine policy and what they mean.
THE EARLIER POLICY
India has vast experience in running large immunization programs, and each year it distributes 300 million shots to infants and mothers for free. For these programs, the federal government is in charge of buying the vaccines and then works with the states to figure out how best to distribute them.
But the scale of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is unprecedented. And a massive surge in March pushed India’s health system to the breaking point. As hundreds of thousands of people became infected each day and hospitals overflowed with patients gasping for air, the states complained they weren’t getting enough shots from the federal government and clamored for more control over how the vaccines were distributed.
Also read: To launch J&J Covid shot in India, Biological E begins talks with govt lab to test vaccine
So, starting in May, the federal government agreed to buy just half of all vaccines produced for use in India and continued to give them out for free to health care and frontline workers and those over 45. The other half became available for states and private hospitals to buy directly. These vaccines were destined for people between 18 and 45; they were free if obtained from the states, but cost money if obtained privately.
WHY IT DIDN’T WORK
The states had never bought vaccines before and a limited supply meant they were competing with one another as well as with private hospitals. They were forced to pay higher prices than the federal government could have negotiated, said Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, a health policy expert.
“That essentially makes it inefficient,” he said.
Private hospitals passed that cost on to people, and amid shortages at government centers, people had to either pay for a vaccine, or not get a shot.
The change in policy also expanded eligibility to all adults. Expanding the criteria despite shortages meant shots weren’t always going to the groups the federal government initially said it would prioritize: those with essential jobs and the elderly. Since May, more people younger than 45 have received their first shot than those older than 60. More than 74 million people over 60 remain unvaccinated.
Modi said these decisions were taken to satisfy the states’ demands, but the fractured response may have cost lives, said Dr. Vineeta Bal, who studies immune systems at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune city.
Also read: After Black & White: First case of Green Fungus reported in India
WHAT HAS CHANGED NOW?
The federal government has now decided to buy a larger portion of vaccines — but it’s still not returning fully to its original policy. It will buy 75% of all vaccines made for use in India and likely renegotiate prices. These shots will be given to states and will continue to be distributed for free. Private hospitals can buy the remaining 25% at prices that have been capped and can charge for them.
States will receive vaccines based on their populations, disease burdens and how many people have been vaccinated. They will be penalized for wasting doses.
But supply remains a challenge. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: “Where will the vaccines come from is a big question.”
India has placed orders for vaccines still in development, but for the moment it will continue to rely on existing, overstretched suppliers like the Serum Institute of India.
India's virus surge damages Modi's image of competence
India’s hospitals were packed with coronavirus patients, relatives of the sick scrambled to find supplies of oxygen, and crematoriums were running near full capacity to handle the dead.
Yet despite those clear signs of an overwhelming health crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed ahead with a densely packed campaign rally.
“I have never seen such a huge crowd before!” he roared to his supporters in West Bengal state on April 17, before key local elections. “Wherever I can see, I can only see people. I can see nothing else.”
As another deadly wave of COVID-19 infections was swamping India, Modi's government refused to cancel a giant Hindu festival. Cricket matches, attended by tens of thousands, carried on, too.
The catastrophic surge has badly dented Modi’s political image after he drew praise last year for moving quickly to lock down India’s nearly 1.4 billion people. Now, he’s been called a “super-spreader” by the vice president of the Indian Medical Association, Dr. Navjot Dahiya.
With deaths mounting and a touted vaccine rollout faltering badly, Modi has pushed much of the responsibility for fighting the virus onto poorly equipped and unprepared state governments and even onto patients themselves, critics say.
“It is a crime against humanity,” author and activist Arundhati Roy said of Modi’s handling of the virus. “Foreign governments are rushing to help. But as long as decision-making remains with Modi, who has shown himself to be incapable of working with experts or looking beyond securing narrow political gain, it will be like pouring aid into a sieve.”
The 70-year-old, whose image as a technocrat brought him deep approval from a middle class weary of corruption and bureaucratic dysfunction, has been accused of stifling dissent and choosing politics over public health.
When the official COVID-19 death toll crossed 200,000 — a number experts say is a severe undercount — Modi was silent.
His government says it is on a “war footing,” ramping up hospital capacity, supplies of oxygen and drugs.
“The present COVID pandemic is a once-in-a-century crisis,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told The Associated Press. “All efforts are being made to overcome the situation by the central government in close coordination with the state governments and society at large.”
When Modi won national elections in 2014, he presented himself as someone who could unlock economic growth by merging business-friendly policies with a Hindu nationalist ideology.
Critics saw him as craving power over the national welfare and catering to his Hindu nationalist base. They blamed him — although courts exonerated him — in the bloody 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state, where he was chief minister.
The economy tumbled after his government overhauled India’s cash supply and introduced a goods and services tax. Yet, he easily won reelection in 2019 on a wave of nationalism following clashes with archrival Pakistan.
Despite a second term marred by a souring economy, widening social strife, and deadly clashes with neighboring China, “Modi has proven to be incredibly politically resilient,” said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
When the coronavirus hit, Vaishnav said Modi took an approach different from former President Donald Trump and current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“He never called the virus a hoax. He took it seriously. He encouraged mask-wearing, social distancing. He encouraged the sorts of things health authorities everywhere have been calling for,” he added.
The strict lockdown, imposed on four hours’ notice, stranded tens of millions of migrant workers who were left jobless and fled to villages with many dying along the way. But experts say the decision helped contain the virus and bought time for the government.
Cases rose when the country started reopening in June 2020, and the government developed emergency infrastructure plans. When the wave receded and reported cases plummeted over the winter, many officials saw it as a triumph. States dismantled makeshift hospitals and delayed adding ICU beds and ventilators.
The government had sought to create 162 oxygen plants earlier, but has only built 38. It says 105 more will be built this month.
The fragile health care system was not upgraded enough, said Gautam Menon, a science professor at Ashoka University, “and with the current surge, we’re seeing precisely the consequences of not doing this.”
When cases ebbed in January, Modi crowed about India’s success, telling the World Economic Forum that the country “has saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively.”
His ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hailed his “visionary leadership,” making India a “proud and victorious nation in the fight against COVID.”
In mid-March, tens of thousands attended cricket matches against England at Narendra Modi stadium in Gujarat, an event that swelled national pride even amid warnings that infections were climbing.
On March 21, advertisements on the front pages of newspapers read, “Beautiful Clean Safe,” as Modi and a political ally welcomed Hindu devotees to the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage to the Ganges River that drew millions throughout April.
By contrast, in March 2020, his government blamed a Muslim gathering of 3,000 for an initial spike in infections in a move that triggered violence and boycotts, even as courts dismissed the accusations.
Critics have blasted the BJP for holding election rallies packed with tens of thousands of unmasked supporters, particularly in West Bengal. Other parties also campaigned to large crowds. Bowing to criticism, Modi began appearing over video instead of live, but the crowds remained.
Though his party was defeated in the state, analysts say he still enjoys popularity nationwide.
Meanwhile, India’s vaccination campaign begun in January has sputtered amid perceptions the virus was defeated. Only 10% of the population has received one shot and fewer than 2% have gotten both since it began in January.
The latest effort to inoculate those between 18 and 44 has been left to states and the private sector — an approach that critics say will make it easier for the government to pass blame when problems arise. Already, several states have said they don’t have enough vaccine to even start.
The surge has sparked assistance from overseas, a reversal of India’s earlier success at “vaccine diplomacy” when it exported 64 million doses. Some say Modi’s flagship self-sufficiency campaign, known as “Make in India,” is being undermined.
“India has long sought to project itself as a strong nation that need not be dependent on any other. Its immediate need for international assistance flies in the face of that image,” said Michael Kugelman of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
Some Modi supporters are lashing out. When BJP lawmaker Kesar Singh Gangwar died of the virus in Uttar Pradesh state, his son said Modi’s office didn't help.
“What kind of government is this? What kind of PM is Modi?” said Vishal Gangwar. “If he cannot provide treatment to a lawmaker of his own party, what is happening to a common man is anybody’s guess.”
To circumvent such criticism, the government ordered Twitter to remove posts criticizing his pandemic response. In BJP-run Uttar Pradesh, authorities recently charged a man over a tweet pleading for oxygen for his dying grandfather, accusing him of “circulating a rumor," as top officials deny widespread oxygen shortages.
“To blame social media or users for either critiquing or begging for help is just — I mean, what are their priorities? To help people or silence criticism?” said digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa.
The level of urban and middle class anger at Modi is unprecedented, political analyst Vaishnav said, although it is blunted by supporters who believe he can do no wrong.
“He shouldn’t be expected to solve all problems by himself. The government machinery which existed before him, full of corruption, is to blame,” said Sunil Saini, a driver in New Delhi. “My vote will go to Modi the next time too.”
Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scores a hat-trick in Bengal
Indian state of West Bengal's firebrand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, affectionately called 'Didi', scripted history on Sunday by single handedly pulling off a landslide victory in the assembly election, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Though the Trinamool Congress swept back to power with a resounding majority of well over 210 seats in the 292-member assembly and Mamata secured a third five-year term in office, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-BJP's star campaigner Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.
The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 80 seats. In 2016, the saffron outfit had just three legislators in the state. In fact, it is now the main opposition party in the state as the Left Front, a coalition of Communist parties, has been decimated by the Trinamool Congress. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011.
Addressing the media in state capital Kolkata in the evening, Mamata hailed her party's astounding success at the assembly polls as a "victory for Bengal".
"Khela hobe (game) did happen, and we did win. The BJP kept going on and on about double-engine sarkar (government), while I assured you all that I will score a double century. This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win. This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said.
Though Mamata conceded defeat to Adhikari in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said she would challenge the result in a court of law. "Don't worry for Nandigram, for struggle you have to sacrifice something. Let the people of Nandigram give whatever verdict they want, I accept that," she said.
Just an hour before her press meet, Mamata addressed her party workers outside her residence in south Kolkata and urged them not to indulge in any victory celebrations. "Covid is going on. Please follow all Covid protocols and don't put your lives at risk," she said.
Political leaders cutting across party lines, including Prime Minister Modi, took to social media to congratulate the three-time Bengal Chief Minister on her "historic win".
"Congratulations to Mamata Didi for @AITCofficial's win in West Bengal. The Centre (federal government) will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfil people’s aspirations and also to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic," Modi tweeted.
Top BJP leader and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also congratulated Mamata."Congratulations to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, @MamataOfficial Didi on her party’s victory in West Bengal assembly elections. My best wishes to her for her next tenure."
Former Chief Minister of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and head of regional Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav also hailed Mamata's win. "Hearty congratulations to the conscious public, the combative Ms Mamta Banerjee ji and the dedicated leaders and activists of TMC, who defeated the politics of hate of BJP in Bengal!" he tweeted.
In fact, West Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
"It was BJP's star power versus Trinamool's one-woman army. From Modi to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, the entire top leadership of BJP campaigned in Bengal. But none failed to unseat Didi. She came back again, this time with a bigger mandate," Prof Suneeta Roy, a political pundit, told UNB over the phone from Kolkata.
Though it was a huge setback for the BJP, particularly the Modi-Shah juggernaut, the country's ruling party managed to retain power in the neighbouring northeastern state of Assam -- defying all odds and defeating the country's main opposition Congress party, which tried its best to reclaim its erstwhile citadel.
"People have blessed us. We can say for sure that the BJP will form government in Assam. We are coming back to power with our partners," Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
The BJP also won the assembly election in the Union Territory of Puducherry in southern India, but failed to retain power in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, along with its bigger coalition partner AIADMK. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK swept to power in the 243-member assembly after being in the opposition for a decade.
It was also a big disappointment for the BJP as well as the Congress in the southern state of Kerala, where the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, won a historic second term for the first time in 40 years. Kerala is known to vote out incumbents every five years.
Elections to the four states and one Union Territory took place in March and April, just as India started witnessing a ferocious second wave of Covid-19. On Sunday too, India registered close to four lakh cases and nearly 3,700 deaths in a span of 24 hours. The country has been reporting over three lakh daily infections for the last 10 days.
Doraiswamy’s keynote to stimulate dialogue on Indo-Bangla relations
An array of experts from Bangladesh and India have been brought together for an online symposium hosted by the Cosmos Foundation to assess the state of relations between the two countries and identify the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the effort to take it forward.
The keynote address at the symposium titled ‘Bangladesh-India relations: Prognosis for the Future’ will be delivered by Vikram Doraiswamy, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan will deliver the opening remarks at the event, which is set to premiere on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation at 8pm BST on Thursday.
Also read: Bangladesh-India bilateral talks begin at PMO
Renowned scholar-diplomat and adviser on foreign affairs to the last caretaker government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury will chair the session.
It is the latest instalment in Cosmos Foundation’s Ambassador Lecture Series, in which the envoys of various countries stationed in Dhaka are invited to deliver a keynote, before engaging with a high-level expert panel on bilateral ties between Bangladesh and the country they represent.
For this edition, the panel of discussants drawn from both sides of the border will comprise Ambassador (Retd.) Tariq A. Karim, Professor C. Raja Mohan, Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Dr.Debapriya Bhattacharya, Major Gen. (Retd.) A. N. M. Muniruzzaman, Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Brig. Gen.(Retd.) Shahedul Anam Khan, and Ambassador (Retd.) Krishnan Srinivasan.
Also read: Bangladesh-India to strengthen ties through mega events in 2021
The full video of the event will be available for viewing on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation, and (elsewhere) from Thursday at any time, following the premiere.
Over the better part of the last 12 years, India and Bangladesh have diligently forged a warm and friendly relationship that has been described as a textbook example of a neighbourly relationship.
The essence of the bond between the two countries lies in a shared heritage of culture and history that can never be erased, which culminated during Bangladesh’s struggle for independence in 1971.
Also read: Doraiswami for infrastructure dev to boost Bangladesh-India trade
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attendance as the most honoured chief guest during Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee celebrations of independence just last month, served to reiterate that the two countries are experiencing a ‘golden age’ in their relationship.
Against this backdrop, Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of conglomerate the Cosmos Group, brings together the finest minds to arrive at a prognosis for the future of the relationship, in line with its commitment to eliciting strategic insights and policy solutions for Bangladesh as it charts its course toward a future that is ever-brighter.
‘No place for you’: Indian hospitals buckle amid virus surge
Seema Gandotra, sick with the coronavirus, gasped for breath in an ambulance for 10 hours, as it tried unsuccessfully at six hospitals in India’s sprawling capital to find an open bed. By the time she was admitted, it was too late, and the 51-year-old died hours later.
Rajiv Tiwari, whose oxygen levels began falling after he tested positive for the virus, has the opposite problem: He identified an open bed, but the 30-something resident of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh can’t get to it. “There is no ambulance to take me to hospital,” he said.
Such tragedies are familiar from surges in other parts of the world — but were largely unknown in India, which was able to prevent a collapse in its health system last year through a harsh lockdown. But now they are everyday occurrences in the vast country, which is seeing its largest surge of the pandemic so far and watching its chronically underfunded health system crumble.
Tests are delayed. Medical oxygen is scarce. Hospitals are understaffed and overflowing. Intensive care units are full. Nearly all ventilators are in use, and the dead are piling up at crematoriums and graveyards. India recorded over 250,000 new infections and over 1,700 deaths in the past 24 hours alone, and the U.K. announced a travel ban on most visitors from the country this week. Overall, India has reported more than 15 million cases and some 180,000 deaths — and experts say these numbers are likely an undercounts.
India’s wave of cases is contributing to a worldwide rise in infections as many places experience deepening crises, such as Brazil and France, spurred in part by new, more contagious variants, including one first detected in India. More than a year into the pandemic, global deaths have passed 3 million and are climbing again, running at nearly 12,000 per day on average. At the same time, vaccination campaigns have seen setbacks in many places — and India’s surge has only exacerbated that: The country is a major vaccine producer but was forced it to delay deliveries of shots to focus on its domestic demand.
Also read: Indian capital gasps for oxygen
Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician at the University of Michigan who has been tracking India’s pandemic, said India failed to learn from surges elsewhere and take anticipatory measures.
When new infections started dipping in September, authorities thought the worst of the pandemic was over. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan even declared in March that the country had entered the “endgame” — but he was already behind the curve: Average weekly cases in Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, had tripled in the previous month.
Mukherjee was among those who had urged authorities to take advantage of cases being low earlier in the year to speed up vaccinations. Instead officials dithered in limiting huge gatherings during Hindu festivals and refused to delay ongoing elections in the eastern West Bengal state, where experts fear that large, unmasked crowds at rallies will fuel the spread of the virus.
Now India’s two largest cities have imposed strict lockdowns, the pain of which will fall inordinately on the poor. Many have already left major cities, fearing a repeat of last year, when an abrupt lockdown forced many migrant workers to walk to their home villages or risk starvation.
New Delhi, the capital, is rushing to convert schools into hospitals. Field hospitals in hard-hit cities that had been abandoned are being resuscitated. India is trying to import oxygen and has started to divert oxygen supplies from industry to the health system.
Also read: India's capital to lock down as nation's virus cases top 15M
It remains to be seen whether these frantic efforts will be enough. New Delhi’s government-run Sanjay Gandhi Hospital is increasing its beds for COVID-19 patients from 46 to 160. But R. Meneka, the official coordinating the COVID-19 response at the hospital, said he wasn’t sure if the facility had the capacity to provide oxygen to that many beds.
The government-run hospital at Burari, an industrial hub in the capitals’ outskirts, only had oxygen for two days Monday, and found that most vendors in the city had run out, said Ramesh Verma, who coordinates the COVID-19 response there.
“Every minute, we keep getting hundreds of calls for beds,” he said.
Kamla Devi, a 71-year-old diabetic, was rushed to a hospital in New Delhi when her blood sugar levels fell last week. On returning home, her levels plummeted again but this time, there were no beds. She died before she could be tested for the virus. “If you have corona(virus) or if you don’t, it doesn’t matter. The hospitals have no place for you,” said Dharmendra Kumar, her son.
Laboratories were unprepared for the steep rise in demand for testing that came with the current surge, and everyone was “caught with their pants down,” said A. Velumani, the chairman and managing director of Thyrocare, one of India’s largest private testing labs. He said that the current demand was three times that of last year.
Also read: India records over 260,000 daily COVID-19 cases, tally at 14,788,109
India’s massive vaccination drive is also struggling. Several states have flagged shortages, although the federal government has claimed there are enough stocks.
India said last week that it would allow the use of all COVID-19 shots that had been greenlit by the World Health Organization or regulators in the United States, Europe, Britain or Japan. On Monday, it said that it would soon expand vaccinations to include every adult in the country, an estimated 900 million people. But with vaccine in short global supply, it isn’t clear when Indian vaccine makers will have the capacity to meet these goals. Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said it was scaling up to make 700 million doses each year.
Meanwhile, Shahid Malik, who works at a small supplier of oxygen, said that the demand for medical oxygen had increased by a factor of 10. His phone has been ringing continuously for two days. By Monday, the shop still had oxygen but no cylinders.
He answered each call with the same message: “If you have your own cylinder, come pick up the oxygen. If you don’t, we can’t help you.”
Indian capital gasps for oxygen
Believe it or not, rising Covid-19 cases have left the Indian capital's medical infrastructure on the brink of collapse. Several hospitals in the city are left with just a few hours of oxygen, the Chief Minister of Delhi said on Tuesday, prompting the High Court to slam the federal government for not banning the industrial use of the life-supporting gas immediately.
On Tuesday, India reported as many as 259,170 Covid-19 cases and 1,761 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic broke out over a year ago. The national capital alone reported over 30,000 new Covid cases and some 250 deaths.
Also read: India's capital to lock down as nation's virus cases top 15M
"Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge the Centre (federal government) to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, after a number of leading private hospitals claimed that their oxygen supplies will last for a maximum of 8-12 hours.
Local TV channels also beamed footage of hundreds of Delhi residents queuing up in hospitals, begging for beds for their loved ones with Covid-19 positive reports.
Also read: India records over 260,000 daily COVID-19 cases, tally at 14,788,109
Taking cognizance of the media reports and Kejriwal's tweets, the Delhi High Court also came down heavily on the federal government and questioned its decision to implement a ban on the industrial use of oxygen for Covid patients only from April 22. "Economic interests can't override human lives. Else we are heading for a disaster," the court said.
"Out of 130 crore, there are less than two crore official cases. Even if it's five times, that means only 10 crore cases. We should protect the remaining people. At this rate, we might lose one crore people. We should act fast. We are not here to run the government but you have to be sensitive to the situation," a two-judge bench said.
Also read: Covid-19: Global cases near 142 million, deaths top 3 million
UNB had earlier reported that the Covid-19 pandemic has suddenly turned India into a Covid vaccine importer from a mass exporter. And the government has turned to foreign vaccine producers for inoculating the citizens. The Sputnik vaccine from Russia, officials had said, would arrive next month.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest Covid inoculation programme on January 16. Two 'Made in India' jabs, one developed by the Serum Institute in collaboration with AstraZeneca, and the other by Bharat Biotech, are being given.
Four die in federal police firing in eastern India
At least four persons were killed in firing by federal security forces when a mob attempted to snatch their weapons outside a polling booth in election-bound West Bengal, triggering a blame-game between the eastern Indian state's ruling Trinamool Congress and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Police said that clashes broke out between a group of local residents and personnel of the para-military Central Indian Security Force in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, following rumours that an aged man passed out after being thrashed by the federal troops at a polling booth in Sitalkuchi, about 680 km from state capital Kolkata.
"Actually the man who had come to vote fainted, and his treatment was going on across the booth. As rumours spread, locals thought he was beaten by the central forces. A mob soon gathered and tried snatching weapons from the federal troops," police officer Debasish Dhar told the local media.
In self-defence, the Central Indian Security Force personnel opened fire, in which four men, including a first-time voter, died, another police officer said. "The Election Commission of India has stopped polling at the booth in Sitalkuchi and sought a detailed report from the local administration."
Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP were, however, quick to blame each other for the four deaths.
While Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee accused the central security forces of "planned murder" and demanded Indian Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, Prime Minister Modi apparently attributed the clashes to the "goons of Trinamool".
"Home Minister Amit Shah is completely responsible for the incident and he himself is the conspirator. I don't blame central forces because they work under the Home Minister's order. We will demand his resignation," Banerjee said at a press conference in the evening, calling the deaths "murder by central forces".
On the other hand, Prime Minister Modi, currently campaigning in the state, slammed Chief Minister Banerjee and her party for the violence. "What happened in Cooch Behar is sad... I offer condolences to bereaved families. Mamata Didi and her goons are jittery because of groundswell of support for the BJP," he said.
However, Banerjee soon hit back at Modi. "The BJP knows it won't win so it's resorting to bombs and violence. The central forces are torturing people in villages. Women, boys and girls are being threatened that they should vote for the BJP. In the state election, 20 people have been killed so far and 13 of them are from our party," she said.
West Bengal is currently witnessing the most high-profile contest in India's ongoing state elections. While Chief Minister Banerjee has harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP has been asking people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
DSA: Madrasa principal held for sharing 'distorted' photo of PMs
Police have arrested a madrasa teacher under the Digital Security Act (DSA) in Lalmonirhat for sharing a "distorted" photo of the prime ministers of Bangladesh and India on Facebook.
The 33-year-old, Zahidul Islam, was arrested from his house at Bhelabari union of Aditmari upazila of the district. He is the principal of Bhelabari Nurani Madrasa.
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Aditmari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam said, "Zahidul was arrested on Wednesday night from the madrasa as he shared a distorted photo of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Facebook account."
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"A case has been filed against him under the DSA in this connection," he added.