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Netizens trend #ArrestPChidambaram after he asks for a ‘revolt’ against Modi govt

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens trend #ArrestPChidambaram after he asks for a ‘revolt’ against Modi govt

On Friday (April 30), Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram found himself at the receiving end of social media backlash for urging Indian citizens to resort to a mass uprising against the incumbent Modi government.

In a tweet on Wednesday (April 28), P Chidambaram wrote, “I am appalled by the statement of the Union Health Minister that there is no shortage of oxygen or vaccines or Remedesivir. I am also appalled by the statement of the U.P. Chief Minister that there is no shortage of vaccines in U.P.”

Screengrab of the tweet by P Chidambaram

The Congress leader further relied on rhetorics to bolster his claims. “Are all the television channels telecasting fake visuals? Are all the newspaper stories incorrect? Are all the doctors lying? Are all the family members making false statements? Are all the visuals and photographs fake?” he inquired.

Screengrab of the tweet by P Chidambaram

In a tweet uncharacteristic of a democratic leader, P Chidambaram gave a call for ‘public rebellion’ and anarchy. “People must revolt against a government that is assuming all the people of India are fools,” he urged the Indian citizens.

Screengrab of the tweet by P Chidambaram

Netizens demand immediate arrest of the Congress leader

Although the contentious tweets by the Congress leader were posted two days ago, miffed netizens took to Twitter on Friday to demand his immediate arrest. Popular Twitter user Mahesh, wrote, “This guy must be arrested for sedition. #ArrestPChidambaram.”

BJP IT Cell Head (Haryana) Arun Yadav tweeted “Chidambaram had posted an anti-India tweet. He has asked the people of India to revolt against the government. I demand his arrest under the National Security Act (NSA).”

Another Twitter user (@Mayanksaini2002) emphasised, “Such a small-minded person he is…in such hard time when we are fighting the do or die battle, this bullsh*t personality wants people to revolt ….Has he done something for the people who are in need?? No, politics is above someone’s life for these morons”

Twitter user Ranjeet Jha wrote, “Chidambaram’s anti-national tweet said, All people of India should revolt against the government .. I demand P Chidambaram arrested under the National Security Act.”

Hindu saint Yogi Devnath had also demanded immediate arrest of P Chidambaram for his ‘anti-national tweet’ under the stringent National Security Act.

Another Twitter user wrote, “India Suffering from Pandemic. Here top Congress leader P Chidambaram wants Revolts against Country. How inhuman, cruel P.C. is?” He had also shared a Hindi newspaper cutting of the disturbing tweet made by the Congress leader.

P Chidambaram makes a misleading claim about Delhi-NYC flights, creates panic

Earlier, the former Union Minister who was earlier jailed and is facing serious corruption charges, had shared a headline from a Times of India report, without any context, in an attempt to spread misinformation about airfares online. “A Delhi-New York economy class, one-way ticket costs 7.2 lakh”, wrote Chidambaram on Twitter, insinuating that the extraordinary fare of 7.2 lakhs is widespread.

“Is the passenger buying a ticket or is he/she leasing the aircraft?”, added Chidambaram, trying to create a narrative based on an uncommon, extraordinary fare which is not the standard fare even at this moment.

Slain Pakistani Islamic terrorist Usman Khan had conned the Christian priest inside prison, convinced him of ‘change of heart’

OpIndia Staff
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Slain Pakistani Islamic terrorist Usman Khan had conned the Christian priest inside prison, convinced him of ‘change of heart’

Two years after a Pakistani origin Islamist Usman Khan went on a stabbing spree near London bridge, a prison chaplain who helped in his release has expressed regret over it. Khan was shot dead by the London police after he stabbed 5 victims and killed two on November 29, 2019. It must be mentioned that Usama Khan was arrested in 2012 for conspiring to blow up London Stock Exchange and was released in 2018.

As per reports, the Christian priest named Rev Paul Foster had worked with several prisoners including Usman Khan. He recounted, “(Usman) had conversations with me about wanting to change and make a fresh start – to pay more attention to the ripple effect of his actions.” On being told that Intelligence reports suggested that the slain terrorist was radicalising other prison inmates, Foster was surprised.

“If that intelligence is correct, he was obviously presenting himself in a way that was likely to deceive the likes of myself and others. I’m open to say I am wrong, and it is possible I have been conned…” the Christian priest conceded. He added, “We were being presented with a lot of positive things about his behaviour – even some of the prisoners were telling me… in one instance a chap lost his son to a murder and Usman was the person at his door offering his condolences and asking if he could help.”

Prison chaplain conned by an ’emotional and remorseful’ radical Islamic terrorist

Foster further said that the Pakistani origin terrorist was ‘open and emotional’ during a discussion session with a victim. He also claimed that Usman Khan had himself regretted how his actions ‘shamed’ the Muslim community. Despite the slain terrorist being categorised as ‘high risk Category A’ inmate, the prison chaplain felt that he was remorseful.

Interestingly, Usman Khan had also completed a ‘Learning Together’ writing course in 2018 and also became a mentor to others. Learning Together is a programme founded by Dr. Amy Ludlow of the Cambridge University. Khan had claimed in a research paper titled ‘Radicalisation in Modern Europe’ that the ‘root cause’ of extremism was the ‘personal injustice’ and ‘grievances’ of individuals. He had supposedly expressed his desire to help people steer away from the path of radicalism.

Usama Khan was ‘invited’ to the event, where he went on a stabbing spree

It has now come to light that Dr. Ludlow had invited him to the event in November 2019, where the stabbing attack took place. Usama Khan was released from prison in December 2018. Dr. Amy Ludlow had assessed him as ‘low risk’ despite prison Intelligence from 2017 suggesting that he was actively involved in ‘forced conversions’ and radicalisation. When asked to ‘cheer’ at the event, Khan had said, “Don’t worry you’ll hear my cheering all the way from Stafford (his hometown).”

Although Dr Ludlow had requested the Staffordshire police to send 2 officers with Khan to the event, the request was turned down by the cops. She had argued that the slain terrorist would feel ‘more comfortable’ if he had company. During the ‘offender rehabilitation conference’ organised in Fishmongers’ Hall, Khan unleashed his real motives and stabbed 5 individuals. During the attack, two individuals namely Jack Merritt (25) and Saskia Jones (23) were killed.

London Bridge terrorist was poster boy for ‘deradicalization’ program

Usman Khan was considered a ‘poster boy for deradicalisation’ following his release from prison after being convicted on charges of terrorism. The ‘Learning Together’ programme had even advertised him as a success story. Khan also wrote a ‘Thank You’ note to the organizers after they provided him with a computer that he could use without violating his bail conditions. The programme also shared his note of gratitude alongside a poem that he wrote.

The poem went as, “I write so my words become a soothing light, I write so I can enter the coldest of hearts, I write so I can speak to those locked off from the world engulfed in the blinding absence of sight. I write so I can express what I feel is right.” In the note of gratitude, Khan wrote, “I typed these reflections on the Chromebook I received and I am truly grateful to be able to express myself through it.”

“I cannot send enough thanks to the entire Learning Together team and all those who continue to support this wonderful community,” he added. Usman Khan was banned from entering London but he received special permission to attend the event organized by the Learning Together initiative.

‘Reservation’ in the COVID-19 vaccine process? Chhattisgarh’s Congress CM writes to PM Modi, suggests ‘socially weaker’ be given priority

OpIndia Staff
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‘Reservation’ in the COVID-19 vaccine process? Chhattisgarh’s Congress CM writes to PM Modi, suggests ‘socially weaker’ be given priority

The Indian government has opened the vaccination process for those between the ages of 18 and 45. The state government and private hospitals are now beginning the process of vaccinating those between the ages of 18 and 45, while the central government is moving ahead with its planned vaccination process, focussing on those above the age of 45. In the process, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has now demanded a form of ‘reservation’ for the socially weaker sections in the COVID-19 vaccine process.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is a Congress leader, has suggested that the government implement a form of reservation in the vaccine process. Writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he has written that an order of priority for vaccination should be fixed in the age category of 18-44 years, and priority should be given to the socially and economically weaker sections, in the light of the shortage of vaccine.

Baghel has also suggested that on-sight registration be offered for the preferred lot so that nobody is deprived of the vaccination since right now, the registration is only online.

The Congress leader claims that there is a shortage of vaccine and due to that, it is imperative that “socially weaker” and “economically weaker” sections are given the vaccine first. It is pertinent to note that while several Congress-ruled states are talking about the shortage of vaccines, Karnataka has placed an order for 1 crore vaccine doses to inoculate those between the ages of 18 and 44.

Interestingly, Chhattisgarh has announced that it would offer the vaccines for free to its people. And that was a wise and fair decision by several states, including Chhattisgarh since many who are economically weaker might not be able to afford the vaccine if they want to get inoculated before their phased vaccination, where the central government would provide it for free.

While phased vaccinations are the norm worldover, demanding that “socially weaker” sections be given priority makes no scientific sense. Government grant prioritisation to those who at a higher risk and offer vaccine for free for those who are economically weaker. The only sense that demanding prioritisation of ‘socially weaker’ sections makes is political and certainly not scientific.

In an order released on Friday (April 23) by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), it has laid down guidelines for facilitating the systematic implementation of Phase III of the vaccination drive. The guidelines have been issued keeping in mind the cohort size, the number of individuals are eligible for vaccination during a particular phase. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has specified that all efforts should be made to control overcrowding and law and order situation.

The order stated that it will be mandatory for both public and private covid vaccination centres to register on the CoWIN app, record details of all vaccination, issue digital certificates and report to CoWIN and AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunization) systems. All previous guidelines required for a health facility to be considered a Covid Vaccination Centre (CVC) will remain unchanged. This includes the availability of sufficient cold chain equipment, capacity, trained vaccinators, rooms, and the ability to managed AEFI.

The private hospitals, which will provide vaccination services, can procure the vaccines directly from the manufacturers but only from the supply not meant for the Government of India. It may be noted that the manufacturers will sell 50% vaccine doses to the central govt, and the rest 50% to both state governments and private hospitals. The private CVCs should declare the types of vaccines, stockpile, and their prices on the CoWIN app. “All vaccination slots at private CVCs will continue to be offered only for online appointment from CoWIN or Arogya Setu. On-site registration/ appointments will be allowed only if any doses are left in the last opened vial(s) so as to minimize vaccine wastages,” the order clarified.

‘Bring Delhi under President’s rule, or there will be dead bodies piled up on roads’: AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal on Covid crisis

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bring Delhi under President’s rule, or there will be dead bodies piled up on roads’: AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal on Covid crisis

Delhi has been battling with a deteriorating Covid crisis. The Delhi government’s inability to handle oxygen supply was recently heavily criticised by the Delhi High Court.

On 29 April, Delhi recorded 395 deaths due to Covid, the national capital’s highest single day death toll since the beginning of the pandemic. Yesterday, it also registered 24,235 new cases with a Test Positivity Rate of over 32.82%. The number of containment zones in the city have increased from 33,749 on 28 April to 35,924 on 30 April.

Amid acute shortage of medical oxygen, hospital beds and critical medicine that seems to be spiralling out of control, Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Delhi’s Matia Mahal constituency Shoaib Iqbal has appealed for the President’s rule in the national capital.

In a video message, Shoaib Iqbal stated that he is feeling helpless seeing the condition of Delhi struggling in the Covid crisis. He stated that a very close friend of him is battling for his life in a hospital. The AAP MLA stated that despite trying, he could not arrange for oxygen, ventilator or critical medicines for his friend.

I am a six-time MLA, but feeling helpless now: Shoaib Iqbal

Iqbal stated that despite being one of the senior-most MLAs in Delhi, he is nether able to arrange for a ventilator or medicines for his friend, and his friend may die anytime now, leaving behind a helpless family. He told to Times Now that there is no communication channel to address issues. The MLA stated that the situation is so bad that if it goes on like this, soon there will be dead bodies piled up on the roads.

Iqbal stated further that his own conscience has made him appeal for President’s rule as he is not able to watch the worsening crisis in Delhi. He highlighted that there has been no co-ordination, no communication channel or no discussion betwee the ministers and MLAs of AAP on how to handle the crisis. He lamented the lack of communication that is leading to deaths and scarcity in the capital.

Congress, BJP support the demand

The BJP in Delhi has supported Iqbal’s demand. As per a report in Navbharat Times, BJP leaders have stated that Iqbal is right and the Kejriwal government is no longer capable of handling the healthcare crisis in Delhi. Congress’ Delhi chief Anil Choudhary had demanded President’s rule on April 28, stating that the Kejriwal government has been a complete failure in performing its constitutional duties.

Chinese state media now claims that cases of a mutant strain found in India detected in China, 11 taken to the hospital: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese state media now claims that cases of a mutant strain found in India detected in China, 11 taken to the hospital: Details

As the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic rages on across the nation, India is facing the full brunt of a deadly second wave with 3,86,693 cases on Tuesday alone. For the past 9 days or so, the cases have been crossing the 3 lakh mark with over 3,000 deaths. With several countries in the world sending in help to India after India helped these countries in their time of need, Chinese state media is now claiming that they have detected some cases of mutant strains of COVID-19 found in Indian in China.

Chinese state media, Globals Times, has now reported that the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control has claimed that COVID-19 mutant strains found in India have been found in some cities of China now.

According to Global Times, 11 Chinese crew members on a cargo ship that had docked in China recently have tested positive for COVID-19. China has termed these cases as ‘cases imported from India’. Reportedly, the 10 cases that tested positive and the 1 asymptomatic case have been sent to the hospitals while 10 others remain under observation on the Cargo shit itself.

While China is supposedly taking strict measures to ensure that “imported” infections can be stopped, the chief epidemiologist has reminded the people of the country that precautions are to be taken in these tough times and that implementing epidemic control measures is the key.

Global Times reports, “The ship, Huayang Chaoyang, is registered in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Since 2021, the cargo ship has docked at ports including Chittagong in Bangladesh, Kakinada in India, Singapore, and Xiamen in China. It is now docked at a shipyard in Zhoushan awaiting repairs”.

It is pertinent to mention that China has implemented new epidemic control policy at its ports that says that ships that have passed through ports in India within three months are not allowed to enter the port, while those which have left Indian ports for more than three months will be allowed to enter with all their crew members returning negative for COVID-19.

How China had blamed India as the origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus (COVID-19) only a few months ago

In November 2020, China had hilariously blamed India for being the ‘origin’ of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus. In a desperate attempt to shift focus, Chinese ‘researchers’ from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had claimed that the pandemic originated in India in the summer of 2019. 

They had alleged that the disease transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated water and made its way to Wuhan. The Chinese researchers allegedly used ‘phylogenetic analysis (a study of virus mutation)’ to ascertain the origin of the disease. They argued that the virus could be traced by finding samples with the least mutations. They estimated the time taken for mutation, compared it to samples from India and assumed that the virus originated between July -August 2019. The Chinese researchers blamed the ‘poor’ healthcare system in India and a large youth population for ensuring the spread of the virus, without being detected. They also claimed that the virus spread possibly to Europe before coming to China. 

“From May to June 2019, the second-longest recorded heatwave had rampaged in northern-central India and Pakistan, which created a serious water crisis in this region. The water shortage made wild animals such as monkeys engage in the deadly fight over water among each other and would have surely increased the chance of human-wild animal interactions. We speculated that the [animal to human] transmission of SARS-CoV-2 might be associated with this unusual heatwave…In this regard, the COVID-19 pandemic is inevitable and the Wuhan epidemic is only a part of it,” they had claimed. Earlier, the Chinese regime has tried to pin the blame of the pandemic on countries like the USA and Italy. 

Chinese research calling India the origin of Coronavirus flawed and biased, reiterates experts

However, experts such as David Robertson from Glasgow University have rubbished these claims as ‘flawed’ and something which did not add to the understanding of the Coronavirus. He emphasised, “The author’s approach of identifying the “least mutated” virus sequences is… inherently biased. The authors have also ignored the extensive epidemiological data available that shows clear emergence in China and that the virus spread from there. This paper adds nothing to our understanding of SARS-CoV-2.” Expert Marc Suchard from the University of California stated, “Picking the viral sequence that appears to have the least number of differences to the others in an arbitrary collection is unlikely to yield the progenitor”.

Bombay HC refers to RSS Swayamsevak Narayan Dabhadkar’s sacrifice, says his death ‘reflection on Maharashtra Govt’s healthcare system’

OpIndia Staff
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Bombay HC refers to RSS Swayamsevak Narayan Dabhadkar’s sacrifice, says his death ‘reflection on Maharashtra Govt’s healthcare system’

In a hearing today related to various issues regarding Covid-19 testing, availability of Remdesivir, Oxygen, etc. in Maharashtra, the division bench of the Bombay High Court referred to the supreme sacrifice of Narayan Dabhadkar, the 85-year old RSS man who gave up his hospital bed for a younger COVID-19 patient.

“People of the nation are saluting an octogenarian so that a middle-aged man could get his bed,” said Bombay HC Chief Justice Dipankar Datta.

“What about this reflection on your (Maha Gov) healthcare system? Had we woken up earlier, both could have lived. Had we been a bit more vigilant we could have avoided this situation. It is our collective failure that has got us here,” added the Chief Justice, lamenting the sacrifice of Narayan Dabhadkar, calling it a reflection on Maharashtra’s healthcare system.

Nagpur based Narayan Dabhadkar, the octogenarian Swayamsevak, had voluntarily given up his hospital bed for a younger patient on 22nd April as Maharashtra struggles to give every Covid patient required healthcare. Narayan Kaka, as he was called affably, felt that he had ‘lived long enough’ while the other patient had little children to take care of. He died 3 days later.

However, his memory was later smeared by a bogus fact-check from the publication Loksatta claiming that the reports of the sacrifice as fake. However, it has now quietly edited its report to include a statement by Anil Sambre, the Vidarbha region campaign chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“The incident involving our senior RSS volunteer Narayanrao Dabhadkar is true. He begged the hospital to discharge him, give his bed to others, and be allowed to go home. However, Dabhadkar is being deliberately misrepresented on social media by some people,” the statement reads

Exit polls predict a close contest in West Bengal, clear verdict in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry

OpIndia Staff
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Exit polls predict a close contest in West Bengal, clear verdict in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry

As the final phase polling in West Bengal draws to a close, the exit poll results of all the states holding the 2021 Legislative Assembly Elections have been released by media houses and the poll agencies working with them. Various news outlets aired the exit polls for the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry.

In a notification last month, the Election Commission prohibited the publishing of any exit poll from 7 am on March 27 to 7 pm on April 29 through any print or electronic methods. Now that this prohibition has been lifted, news outlets and polling agencies have revealed their exit polls.

West Bengal

Most exit polls are projecting a hard-fought battle in West Bengal, and there is no consensus among them over the winner. Among the polls for the state that have been released till now, Times Now-CVoter has projected a narrow win for Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. If she wins, this will be Banerjee’s third term as West Bengal’s Chief Minister. However, exit polls from CNX, Peoples Pulse, and India Today-Axis and Jan Ki Baat are projecting a historic victory for the BJP alliance, although with very narrow margin. If victorious, it would be the first time BJP forms a majority government in West Bengal.

Exit PollNDATMCCongress+Others
Republic-CNX138-148128-138
Times Now-CVoter11515814-25
India TV-Peoples Pulse172-19164-887-12
India News-Jan Ki Baat162-185104-1213-9
India Today-Axis134-160130-1560-1
News24-Today’s Chanakya108 ± 11180 ± 110 ± 3

Assam

Exit polls are by and large projecting a victory for the BJP led NDA alliance and CM Sarbananda Sonowal. If re-elected, this will be BJP’s second term in power in Assam, after registering an landslide victory against the Tarun Gogoi-led Assam Government in power since 2001. However, since the start of the polls, the question was not which alliance will win the polls, the question was who will be the CM, current CM Sarbandana Sonowal or senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Exit PollNDA UPA Others
Republic-CNX79452
Times Now-CVoter58-7153-660-5
News24-Today’s Chanakya70560
India News-Jan Ki Baat70-8145-550-1
India Today-Axis75-8540-501-4

Kerala

Exit polls are projecting a huge wave in favor of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF, re-electing it for another term in the Kerala legislative assembly. If the exit polls hold true, Vijayan will serve his 2nd term as Kerala Chief Minister.

Exit PollLDF UDF NDA Others
Republic-CNX76613
Times Now-CVoter74651
News24-Today’s Chanakya1023530
India Today-Axis104-12020-360-20-2
India News-Jan Ki Baat64-7661-712-4

Tamil Nadu

Exit polls project a huge sweeping victory for the DMK-Congress alliance and M.K. Stalin. If he wins, Stalin will finally secure his place in the DMK as the son and heir of M. Karunanidhi. If victorious, this will be Stalin’s first ever term as Chief Minister

Exit PollNDA DMK+AMMK+Others
Republic-CNX58-68160-1704-6
Times Now-CVoter6416613
News24-Today’s Chanakya57175
India Today-Axis38-54175-1951-20-3
India News-Jan Ki Baat102-123110-1301-2

Puducherry

If the limited number of exit polls are to believed, N. Rangaswamy is coming back to power for the 3rd time with the NDA alliance securing majority. If these exit polls hold true, the UPA alliance will lose control of this legislative assembly, with the NDA alliance storming to power.

Exit PollUPA NDA Others
Republic-CNX1218
ABP-CVoter6-1019-231-2
India Today-Axis6-1020-24
India News-Jan Ki Baat11-619-24

Results of the assembly elections in the four states and one union territory will be announced on May 2 after the counting of votes.

Bharat Biotech reduces the price of Covaxin for state governments a day after Covishield price for states cut by SII

OpIndia Staff
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Bharat Biotech reduces the price of Covaxin for state governments a day after Covishield price for states cut by SII

Bharat Biotech has announced that it is reducing the price of its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin for the state governments. While initially the price was set at ₹600 per dose, now the company has announced that it will be charging ₹400 per dose from the states. However, the price for private hospitals remained unchanged at ₹1200.

In a statement issued today evening, Bharat Biotech said, “Recognizing the enormous challenges to the public health care system, we have made COVAXIN available to State Governments at a price of Rs. 400/dose.”

“We wish to be transparent in our approach to pricing which was determined by internally funded product development, several operationally-intensive BSL-3 manufacturing facilities (the first of its kind in ourcountry) and clinical trials,” the company further added. “We wish to champion “Innovation in India” and our commitment to public health is absolute!” the statement by the company said.

The reduction in the price of Covaxin came a day after the price of Covishield vaccine was reduced by Serum Institute of India yesterday.

Earlier on 24th April, Bharat Biotech had announced that Covaxin price for the state governments will be ₹600, and the price for private hospitals will be ₹1200.

The company announced the prices as per the order issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 19th April opening up the vaccination for anyone above 18 years of age. The govt had said that while the central govt will continue to vaccinate people above 45 years of age free of charge, state governments and private hospitals will be allowed the buy vaccines to vaccinate the adult population of the country. The ministry had asked the vaccine manufacturers to transparently declare the price they will charge from state govts and the open market before 1st May, from when the third phase will begin.

However, after the prices were announced by both the companies, they were attacked by opposition parties, alleging them of selling the vaccine at higher prices to the states compared to the central govt. This is despite the fact that the companies had already announced that they are selling the vaccines to the central govt at a discounted rate of ₹150 per dose only for the initial round, and for any subsequent orders they will be charging the same price from the centre as from the states.

Top sellers of India’s misery: Hindustan Times, AFP, Bloomberg and Nur Photo emerge biggest contributors of crematorium photos on Getty Images

OpIndia Staff
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Top sellers of India’s misery: Hindustan Times, AFP, Bloomberg and Nur Photo emerge biggest contributors of crematorium photos on Getty Images

India is facing the worst surge in Covid-19 cases for the last few weeks. The unexpected rise in the number of infections made India the centre of attention for media across the globe. Unfortunately, the focus of many media houses is not on the coverage of how India is managing the pandemic’s second wave but minting money on the pretext of the misery.

The photographs of the customary Hindu funeral pyre have become a valuable commodity for photo agencies. If someone scrolls the British-American media company Getty Images and look for India Pyre or Delhi Pyre with a 30-day window, it is easy to find hundreds of photographs showcasing the Indian funeral pyres lit ablaze.

The photographs depicting India’s misery are the hotcakes selling under the Editorial section for Rs.23,000 per piece on the stock image site, which is the standard price for a large version of editorial photographs on Getty Images. A smaller version of the same images can be downloaded for a lesser price.

When we looked at the list of the names associated with the images on Getty Images, we found out that among around 820 photographs of pyres, Hindustan Times is the most significant contributor of such pictures on the website, followed by Agence France Presse, Bloomberg, Nur Photo and several others agencies and independent contributors. Here is a list of contributors with a sample screenshot of their uploads on the stock image website.

Hindustan Times: The largest contributor of pyre photographs from Delhi on Getty Images, news agency Hindustan Times has uploaded 330 images in the last 30 days. The photographs are taken by several photographers associated with the media house, including Amal KS, Raj K Raj, Sakib Ali, Mohd Zakir and others.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by Hindustan Times on Getty Images

Nur Photo: The Italian Photo Agency uploaded 77 such photographs on Getty Images under the Editorial section in the last 30 days.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by NUR Photo on Getty Images

Agence France Presse: There are a number of photographers associated with AFP in India. Among those who contributed to the pyre images are Sajjad Hussain, Prakash Singh, Money Sharma, Tauseef Mustafa, Jewel Samad, Punit Paranjpe and Sanjay Kanojia. AFP uploaded 175 photographs collectively clicked by these photographers.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by AFP on Getty Images

Anindito Mukherjee: Anindito Mukherjee is an independent photojournalist from India. He is a regular contributor for Bloomberg. There are 109 photographs of pyres in his name on Getty Images that were uploaded in the last 30 days.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by Anindito Mukherjee on Getty Images

SOPA Images: The Hong Kong-based photo agency contributed 139 images on the topic in the last 30 days.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by SOPA Images on Getty Images

Bloomberg: Bloomberg is a US-based agency, and it has uploaded 54 such images on Getty.

Screenshot of pyre photographs by Bloomberg on Getty Images

Other contributors are Pacific Press, Turkey-based photo agency Anadolu Agency and Independent contributor Abhishek Chinnappa.

Note: All images in the report are screenshots taken from the Getty website, and no copyright violation is intended as the report is on the stock image platform

BJP leader Tajinder Bagga requests Delhi CM to convert Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics into COVID care centres

OpIndia Staff
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BJP leader Tajinder Bagga requests Delhi CM to convert Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics into COVID care centres

With Delhi hospitals completely overwhelmed due to the sudden surge in new coronavirus cases, citizens have reminded the AAP govt that they have the ‘famed’ mohalla clinics, which can be converted to Covid care centres. On Thursday, netizens urged the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to turn the unutilized Mohalla Clinics into Covid Care Centres. 

As the citizens of Delhi struggle to get a bed, installing even 20 beds each in the apparent 1000 Mohalla Clinics of Delhi will act as a relief to the crumbling health infrastructure in the national capital, suggested Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, BJP leader and a resident of Delhi. He said that with 20 beds each in the mohalla clinics, the Delhi govt can create 20,000 beds for Covid-19 patients in a day.

While some were converted to testing centres last year, Bagga suggested most remain to be shut at the moment. If put to use, the clinics can be utilized to increase the medical capacities to tend to critical patients. Delhi reported around 26000 new corona cases and 368 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The Kejriwal government is currently building new Covid capacities in open spaces with the help of DRDO and ITBP.

The matter of the mohalla clinics had come up during the hearing on the Covid-19 situation in Delhi in Delhi High Court also yesterday. Senior advocate Tushar Rao had suggested that the mohalla clinics should be used as a contact point for patients, to give immediate consultation and collection of samples, and also to check who needs hospitalisation, oxygen etc.

Condition of Mohalla Clinic

The Mohalla Clinics in Delhi continues to remain in ill shape with some turned into a garbage spot.

A Jagran report exposing the condition of Mohalla Clinics. Image Source: jagran.com

BJP president JP Nadda last year tweeted a video that exposed the Mohalla Clinics stating they lack even basic facilities, including medicines and infrastructure.

Sharing the video JP Nadda wrote: “Kejriwalji, you promised to open 1,000 Mohalla clinics every year. Whatever small number of clinics you opened lack even the basic facilities.”

JP Nadda’s tweet was soon retweeted by Home Minister Amit Shah saying that after education, now the “health revolution of Kejriwal government has been exposed”.

Delhi continues to face an acute shortage of hospital beds and medical essentials such as prescribed based medicines and oxygen supply.

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