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Pune saves 30 tonnes of oxygen a day with help of audit even as Delhi Govt refuses Modi govt’s appeal for oxygen audit

OpIndia Staff
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Pune saves 30 tonnes of oxygen a day with help of audit even as Delhi Govt refuses Modi govt’s appeal for oxygen audit

As the Coronavirus cases continue to accelerate, the medical oxygen crisis remains a major challenge for many states in India, especially Delhi. For all this while, the Arvind Kejriwal government has been pinning the blame on the central government for the crippling shortage of oxygen in the national capital. However, when the centre proposed to carry out a detailed audit of oxygen utilisation in the national capital, the Delhi Government immediately turned down the request.

While Delhi refused to conduct an audit, a TOI report suggests that the exercise has helped large, dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad save over 30 tonnes of oxygen every day.

The civic bodies of the two places have said that auditing has helped them control the pilferage and wastage of the life-saving gas, ultimately helping them save a substantial amount of the critical element per day.

The municipal bodies of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad believe that the judicious use of medical oxygen and keeping a check on wastage by following simple steps like stopping high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) when the patient is having food or when not in bed have helped the hospitals save a considerable amount of oxygen.

According to the TOI report, COVID-19 facilities like Sassoon General Hospital in Pune and Pimpri, the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital etc are saving at least 6 tonnes of oxygen per day.

S Chokalingam, administrative controller of Sassoon General Hospital said that internal auditing, timely monitoring and checking wastage has helped the hospital bring down the consumption of the gas considerably.

Smita Zagade the deputy commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation informed: “Two weeks ago, there were close calls with oxygen supply at our bigger facilities, but the situation has improved a lot since then. The appointment of oxygen nurses, maintaining patients at the right oxygen level, use of prone position and preventing leakage has proved fruitful. the oxygen supply has been streamlined, which has helped us use it judiciously.

Speaking on the same lines, the Dean of the College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) Jumbo unit, Shreyansh Kapale also shared how internal auditing has helped the hospital to bring down its consumption of medical oxygen from around 22 tonnes to 16 tonnes.

Arvind Kejriwal govt opposes centre’s proposal to conduct an Oxygen audit in Delhi

It’s appalling how smaller cities like Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad are trying to emerge from the crisis by following the simple step of conducting oxygen audits, but Delhi, which is one of the worst affected places has objected to the audit.

In response to the Union Government’s request to carry out a detailed audit of oxygen utilisation in the national capital, the AAP govt said on Thursday that the Supreme Court should instead order an audit to look into the centre’s arbitrary allocation of oxygen and mismanagement of transportation to Delhi and other states.

Since for all this while, the Delhi Govt has been blaming the centre of not providing them with adequate oxygen supplies, the latter had requested an audit to know the real demand for Oxygen in Delhi.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the centre had told the apex court that the central government had already supplied 730 MT of oxygen to Delhi on May 5 (Wednesday), which was more than the Supreme Court’s order asking them to supply 700 MT of Oxygen. He said that some experts believed that Delhi could manage the situation with 500-600 MT with proper distribution and utilisation the way Mumbai has been doing. He had accused the Delhi government of being slow in offloading oxygen from tankers and allowing them to go back for a refill.

In a Rajasthan village of 3,500 people, 21 die in 21 days after man was buried without protocol, village, that keeps no record, denies COVID-19 link

OpIndia Staff
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In a Rajasthan village of 3,500 people, 21 die in 21 days after man was buried without protocol, village, that keeps no record, denies COVID-19 link

Amidst the 2nd wave of the pandemic, it has now come to light that 21 people have died in less than 3 weeks in a village in Rajasthan after Coronavirus protocols during the burial of an infected patient were violated. The incident took place in the Kheerva village in the Laxmangarh tehsil of Sikar district in Rajasthan.

As per reports, the village has a population of about 3500 people. The ‘unusually high number of deaths has alerted the health officials in the State. Interestingly, only four out of 21 deaths have been officially registered as Covid-19 fatalities. The data was recorded between April 16 and May 5 this year. The spike in deaths in the small village has added to the fears of a ‘community spread.’ The State health officials visited the Kheerva village on Friday (May 7) and collected random samples.

The deceased include Gafur Kha (101), Bismillah (80), Jannat Bano (62), Hafiz Bano (95), Elaiji Bano (78), Salamat Bano (65), Mahtab Khan (87), Bihari Lal Sharma (71) Javed Khan (32), Majeed Khan (88), Bismillah Bano (83), Jannat Bano (73), Chhotu Kha (81) Taj Bano (71) Banu (70), Hajra Bano (81), and Alam Khatoon (69).

Coronavirus patient buried without following guidelines, local MLA shares story

Reportedly, a Coronavirus patient was buried last month on April 16 without adhering to Coronavirus protocols. The deceased’s body was taken out of the plastic body bag and touched by several villagers, who facilitated the burial.

The matter came to light after local Congress MLA Govind Singh Dotasra shared the story on social media and inferred that the death of 21 people in the village was caused due to violation of Coronavirus guidelines. Meanwhile, the local administration claimed that the patient did not die of Coronavirus infection.

Local administration denies death due to Covid, villagers accuse MLA of peddling fake news

At the same time, the residents of Kheerva village have also denied that the 21 deaths were linked to Coronavirus. They also accused the MLA and Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra of peddling misinformation. Later, Dotasra also deleted his social media post. On being asked by the Times of India about the reason for deleting his social media post, he claimed that the local administration told him that the patient did not die due to Covid-19.

Village keeps no record of deaths, making it vulnerable to Covid-19

In his clarification, the MLA said, “Still, the team of doctors was sent to find out the reason behind the unusual number of deaths in the village. A total of 157 RT-PCR samples were collected to determine the scale of infection in the village.” While describing the dismal condition of record-keeping in the village, Sarpanch Hakim Ali emphasised, “Sometimes we don’t record a single death in a year, while the average is around five to six. This is too high.”

Delhi oxygen-hoarding case: Another arrest in Khan Market racket, Matrix Cellular CEO arrested, Navneet Kalra still on the run

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi oxygen-hoarding case: Another arrest in Khan Market racket, Matrix Cellular CEO arrested, Navneet Kalra still on the run

On Friday, Delhi Police continued its crackdown on the alleged black marketer of oxygen concentrators in Delhi and arrested another person identified as Gourav Khan in connection with hoarding of Oxygen concentrators at a popular restaurant Khan Chacha in the national capital.

According to the reports, Delhi Police arrested 47-year-old Gourav Khanna, a resident of Orchid Appartments, Sector 54, Gurugram on Friday night in connection with the alleged black marketing of the Oxygen concentrators. Khanna is the CEO of Matrix Cellular Services Ltd which is one of the companies involved in importing the equipment.

Following his arrest, the Delhi Police said that Matrix Cellular had received a consignment of 650 oxygen concentrators, of which 524 have been recovered. The accused was selling the concentrators at an exorbitant cost of Rs 71,000.

Delhi Police raids popular eatery Khan Chacha

Earlier on Friday, Delhi Police had seized 419 oxygen concentrators from a restaurant and a farmhouse in South Delhi on Wednesday. The Delhi Police had also busted oxygen concentrators black-marketing racket and recovered 105 concentrators from two upscale restaurants in the Khan Market area on Friday.

The two restaurants namely Khan Chacha and Town Hall are owned by Navneet Kalra, who is currently on the run. Reportedly, Navneet Kalra imported the oxygen concentrators from China at around Rs 20,000-25,000, and sold them in Delhi for at least Rs 70,000, making a huge profit due to the higher demands for the machines in the city due to the shortage of oxygen for Covid-19 patients. Kalra had sold nearly 50 such units so far.

Navneet Kalra owns several eateries in Delhi, and owns the retail chain Dayal Opticals, which was founded by his father Dayal Dass Kalra. His restaurants among the most well known in Delhi, and are frequented by VIPs like celebrities and politicians.

Reportedly, Kalra took orders for Oxygen concentrators via an online portal as well as through WhatsApp groups. The Delhi Police have also accessed to the screenshots of Navneet Kalra, where he had discussed the supply and demand of oxygen concentrators in one such group on April 26.

It is important to note that Navneet Kalra was felicitated by during the oath taking ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi govt in 2020. He was among the 48 personalities honoured as ‘Delhi ke Nirmata’ by the AAP govt after it returned to power.

Arvind Kejriwal govt expels 7 journalists from Whatsapp group after report critical of govt handling of oxygen crisis, senior journalists keep mum

OpIndia Staff
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Arvind Kejriwal govt expels 7 journalists from Whatsapp group after report critical of govt handling of oxygen crisis, senior journalists keep mum

The Arvind Kejriwal government has been the darling of the media for a long time. Only recently, an RTI had revealed that Rs 150 crores were spent by the AAP government in Delhi only in the first three months of 2021 on media ads. Now, that loyalty seems to be being put to test. Newslaundry reported how 7 Hindustan Times journalists were thrown out of an official WhatsApp group after their paper wrote an article critical of the AAP government’s handling of the oxygen crisis in Delhi amidst the rising COVID-19 pandemic.

The incident reportedly occurred on the 6th of May after Hindustan Times had published a report headlined, “Anatomy of Capital oxygen crisis: 5 things Delhi govt didn’t get right”. The report essentially pointed out how the Kejriwal government had failed to effectively manage to supply chain, the distribution of oxygen within Delhi, how it has failed to spread awareness about oxygen filling centres and has no centralised number to help patients, how it refused to be proactive in setting up PSA plants in Delhi and how the government’s response for delayed after the second wave began.

Drawing the Kejriwal government’s ire for this report written by a journalist called Sweta Goswami, Vikas Yogi, the Arvind Kejriwal government’s Chief Media Coordinator proceeded to throw out 7 reporters from the Hindustan Times who were present in this WhatsApp group.

IANS journalist Navneet Mishra too took to Twitter to post a screenshot of the journalist from Hindustan Times being expelled from the group too and questioned the Kejriwal government.

It is pertinent to note that this WhatsApp group was an official media group used by the government to send out press releases and health bulletins to the media. While such groups are extremely common and there is nothing wrong with it, it is pertinent to note that while there were over 150 journalists present in the group, only a handful spoke up for the journalists who were unceremoniously thrown out for merely doing their job.

The journalists who spoke to Newslaundry spoke about the high-handed manner in which the government had behaved and how it had refused to give any responses to even the reporters they knew “personally” about why the other journalists had been expelled. Further, they spoke about how the Arvind Kejriwal government had “refused” to interact with the media much and had stopped taking any questions for the past year. While Kejriwal does press conferences every day, the journalists revealed that no journalists were allowed to ask questions in that press conference.

The most shocking aspect of the report, however, was how while a handful of journalists spoke up for those expelled, most senior journalists in the group chose to keep quiet because they did not want to draw the ire of the Kejriwal government.

Newslaundry quotes a journalist present as saying, “There are more than 150 journalists in the group and a lot of them are very senior correspondents. But only six people in total questioned the removal, everyone else remained silent,” he said. “This very clearly shows that nobody wants to upset the government. Perhaps they are afraid that they will stop getting access to information or that their organisation will not back them up if they speak up in support”.

it is pertinent to note that recently, an RTI reply had revealed that Rs 32.52 crores were spent on ads by the AAP government in January 2021, Rs 25.33 crores were spent in February 2021 and a whopping Rs 92.48 crores were spent in March 2021. This averages to Rs 1.67 crore daily when the health infrastructure in the national capital had begun to crumble amid the second wave of coronavirus. The reply specifies that the total expenditure includes advertisements and publicity through print media, electronic media as well as the internet. Further, the Kejriwal government has spent over 800 crores in advertisement expenses in past two years.

With an average of Rs 1.67 crores spending on a daily basis for ads, the revenue for which forms a large chunk of how media houses fund themselves, it comes as no surprise that several journalists would refuse to speak up against the high-handedness of the Arvind Kejriwal government as they threw 7 journalists out for a report that did not sit well with the government.

It is also pertinent to note here that since the COVID-19 crisis began, the media has been more than favourable to the Arvind Kejriwal government. As Delhi cases and deaths spiked, the scale of the mismanagement by the AAP government became rather evident, however, the media was far more focused on running ads to whitewash the image of the government. We had reported how India Today ran Arvind Kejriwal ads 25 times in 10 hours.

Pertinently, AAP is now new to this shenanigan. Even in 2016, the Arvind Kejriwal government had expelled ABP and Dainik Jagran reporters were thrown out of the government WhatsApp group because their opinions did not align with the Delhi government. Soon it emerged, at least 6 journalists had borne the brunt of the AAP regime.

Delhi Government and the mismanagement of the oxygen crisis

While it seems the media, overall, is far from interested in calling out the AAP government’s shenanigans in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal and his government have refused the centre’s pleas for an oxygen audit and said that the Supreme Court should rather order an audit to look into the centre’s arbitrary allocation of oxygen and mismanagement of transportation to Delhi and other states.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the centre has already supplied 730 MT of oxygen to Delhi on Wednesday, which was more than the Supreme Court’s order asking them to supply 700 MT of Oxygen. SG Mehta also insisted that there was a need for carrying out a simultaneous audit of oxygen utilisation in Delhi. 

Requesting an audit to know the real demand for Oxygen in Delhi, SG Mehta said that some experts believed that Delhi could manage the situation with 500-600 MT with proper distribution and utilisation the way Mumbai has been doing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta accused the Delhi government of being slow in offloading oxygen from tankers and allowing them to go back for a refill. 

Interestingly, while Delhi is denying an audit to understand how the state is consuming oxygen, data has revealed that while the Delhi govt continues to demand more oxygen, its demand is four times the actual consumption of Mumbai, which has a similar number of active COVID cases. 

According to AAP leaders, Delhi has been demanding 700 MT of oxygen per day during the last fortnight of April, and its demand went up to 976 MT per day from 29th April. On that day, Delhi Deputy CM wrote to the union govt demanding 976 MT oxygen per day. Delhi had an active caseload of 97,977 on that day. On the same day, Mumbai consumed 225 MT oxygen for 61,433 active cases. If we go by Mumbai’s average O₂ for that day, Delhi should need around 360 MT. According to the Delhi govt, they received 400 MT of oxygen on that day, which means they received more oxygen than the consumption by Mumbai.

‘Where will you go if Muslims don’t run puncture shops?’ Congress leader DK Shivakumar shows open bigotry against Muslims while slamming Tejasvi Surya

OpIndia Staff
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‘Where will you go if Muslims don’t run puncture shops?’ Congress leader DK Shivakumar shows open bigotry against Muslims while slamming Tejasvi Surya

After Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya courted controversy by taking the names of 17 Muslim employees working at Covid-19 war room at South Bengaluru in connection with the “bribe for bed” scam, Congress leader DK Shivakumar hit back at him today. But while slamming the BJP leader for linking the Muslim men with the scam, the Karnataka Congress President ended up stereotyping Muslims as butchers, mechanics and puncture fixers.

Slamming Tejasvi Surya for taking names of Muslim employees in connection with the bribe for bed scam, DK Shivakumar asked Surya where he will go if his car breaks down, his tyre punctures, or his bicycle breaks, or from where he will buy meat.

“If they don’t slaughter meet, where will he get the meet? If they don’t run the puncture shop, he cannot drive your vehicle. If they don’t run mechanic shops, you cannot ride bicycle/motorcycle. Will people from Tejasvi Surya’s house do the repairs works?” the Congress leader asked.

He also questioned Tejasvi Surya, “Where will you go if they don’t fix puncture or repair your vehicles? Can you ever become a mechanic like them?”

DK Shivakumar also said that Surya was communalising the issue.

The BJP Yuva Morcha President had taken the names while visiting the South Bengaluru Covid-19 war room on Wednesday. He had questioned the qualifications of the 17 employees working at the war room during his expose of the Covid-19 bed scam. Bommanahalli BJP MLA M Sathish Reddy and Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya had accompanied him. Subramanya was heard asking the officials, “Have you appointed these people for Madrassa or the Corporation (BBMP)?”

Congress party has launched an attack against the BJP leaders after the video of their comments went viral, and has been demanding their arrest.

On the other hand, the agency managing the war room has suspended the 17 employees pending the enquiry in the case is over.

The BBMP-Bed Scam:

The massive scam came to light after Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, along with three other BJP MLAs – Satish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya, and Uday Garudachar had stormed into the BBMP war room in Bengaluru on Tuesday to expose the illegal bed-allotment nexus between civic officials and private agents.

The BJP MP had alleged that some officials in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had joined hands with the touts to book hospital beds in the name of people under home isolation while selling these beds to other patients in need at an exorbitant price.

Addressing the press conference, Surya had said that there are enough beds in Bengaluru city. However, the war room personnel had been running a racket of false blocking the beds. They were then allotting those beds to the people in exchange for money. He added that there was a nexus between BBMP officials, Aarogya Mitra hospitals and private agents who were indulging in the said crime.

Further, Surya had questioned the hiring process of 17 individuals and asked about the agency that they belonged to. Some of the names he enquired about while confronting BBMP officials are Mansoor Ali, Tahir Ali Khan, Sadiq Pasha, Md Zayed, Alsai Saheer, Umer Khan, Salman Urif, Zameer Pasha, Zabiullah Khan, Sayed Hasnain, Sayed Shahid, Sayeed Shahbaz, Md Yunus, Syed Mohin and Syed Mukesh.

FIR registered against Kangana Ranaut after TMC spokesperson files complaint, had called Mamata Banerjee a demoness

OpIndia Staff
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FIR registered against Kangana Ranaut after TMC spokesperson files complaint, had called Mamata Banerjee a demoness

An FIR has been registered in West Bengal against Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut for allegedly spreading ‘hate propaganda’ and ‘inciting violence’. The complaint which led to the FIR was apparently filed by TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta.

The complaint states, “Ms Ranaut has posted several posts from her verified official Instagram handle bearing url: httpa://instagram.com/kanganaranaut?igshid=2yruw6zd7j in the ‘Story’ section. She has also distorted and maligned the image of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal – Smt. Mamata Banerjee. Hence she is to be charged against hate propaganda to incite violence in West Bengal.”

Kangana Ranaut has been highlighting the issue of post-poll violence in West Bengal through the ‘story’ feature on Instagram. She has shared multiple stories to highlight the ongoing campaign of violence against opposition party workers in the state.

Source: Instagram
Source: Instagram

Kangana Ranaut has referred to Mamata Banerjee as a demoness and compared here to Tadaka from the Ramayana. Only recently, she was permanently suspended from Twitter. Kangana Ranaut was responding to a tweet by BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta where he had said that the situation was alarming in Nanoor, Birbhum district. Dasgupta had said that a thousand Hindu families had fled into the fields to escape mobs targeting BJP supporters.

“I want to request everyone keep the focus on Bengal violence and pressurise the government to stop the genocide. Whole focus has gone to the suspension (of my Twitter account). It does not matter I can come via many platforms, let’s not make it about that,” she had told OpIndia.

Hindu temples around the world come forward to help India in its struggle against COVID-19

T Waraich
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Hindu temples around the world come forward to help India in its struggle against COVID-19

As India goes through a deadly COVID-19 wave marred by various shortages, Hindu temples around the world have sprung into action to provide aid and relief. Hindu temples in places like Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, London, and the U.S. are now working towards providing various forms of relief and COVID-19 aid. All of this part of a collective effort from the Hindu diaspora to support India at this difficult hour.

Bangkok, Thailand

The Hindu Samaj Temple in Bangkok, Thailand is mobilizing support to help India fight the second wave of Coronavirus that is currently affecting the country. The temple is coordinating with the Indian embassy as well as the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) in sending oxygen equipment to India.

On May 1, the members of the temple collectively raised enough funds to send 15 (ten litre) concentrators along with 500 oxygen masks. With RTAF as the transporter, the life-saving oxygen equipment was sent to the Indian Red Cross Society.

On May 5, the temple mobilized its members to send another batch of aid through the RTAF. Sudeep Sehgal, honorary secretary of the temple said, “After the first successful delivery, we are in the process of acquiring more concentrators and will continue our support to India during this difficult time. There is a flight leaving for India on 5th May with a further 10 (ten litre) machines donated by the Hindu Samaj along with donations from various other Indian organizations in Thailand.”

“On seeing the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, the members of our organization felt an urgent need to help in any way it could on humanitarian grounds. Being in touch with relatives and friends of the community we learned of the short supply of Oxygen concentrators and Oxygen tanks… which prompted our members to raise funds for this cause.” Sehgal added.

United States of America

Hindu temples in the U.S. are also joining in the relief efforts. The Shree Radhey Shyam Temple in Bloomingdale, Georgia, USA is affiliated with SGVP Gurukul USA, which is raising money directly for medical aid to the SGVP Holistic Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, according to Piyush Shah, who volunteers with SGVP Gurukul USA. Their donation link is provided here.

The SGVP Holistic Hospital is treating about 120 patients a day, all of them COVID patients. According to Mr. Shah, the hospital has treated more than 6,000 COVID-19 patients in the last few months with over 98 percent favorable outcomes. The hospital’s approach for COVID-19 treatment is unique, resulting from the combination of modern medicine, ancient ayurvedic medicine, and yoga.

The Hindu charity is assisting the hospital in acquiring a sustainable supply of medical oxygen through on-site liquid oxygen storage and oxygen generation plant. Additionally, the hospital is seeking more respiratory support equipment which includes oxygen concentrators and ventilators.  

“Once we have acquired the infrastructure we can increase the hospital’s capacity,” Piyush Shah said.

United Kingdom

In Britain, volunteers from three Hindu temples raised more than 600,000 pounds ($830,000) last weekend by cycling up to 20,127 kilometers (12,506 miles) on stationary bikes at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London. This distance is roughly three times the distance from London to New Delhi.

“I think every single person of Indian origin will have someone affected over there,” said Yogen Shah, aged 40. “And anywhere around the world that you have COVID, you feel for that human being, you feel for that person, whether they’re Indian origin or not.”

Looking for a way to help, members of the Hindu temple in Neasden decided to organize a fundraiser that would be socially distanced and attract young people. They decided on the bikeathon because they also wanted to bring London and New Delhi closer together — connecting the two capitals in spirit even though most travel is barred by COVID-19 restrictions.

Relay cycle challenge at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London, to raise fund for Covid-19 fight in India

Organizers arranged a total of 12 stationary bikes in front of the temple. Joining with temples in Leicester and Chigwell, they attracted 750 riders.

Each volunteer got an hour on the bike — 50 minutes to clock up the kilometers and 10 minutes to sanitize the bike before handing it over. Each volunteer set up a fundraising page that goes toward an overall fundraising goal.

The stationary bike ride at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London’s Neasden neighborhood is one of many fundraising drives taking place across the U.K. as the Indian diaspora seeks to help India battle the raging Coronavirus pandemic.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

BAPS temples around the world are helping India fight the pandemic. With the support of members from the UAE’s Indian community, BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi is working to create a supply chain of oxygen tanks and cylinders which will provide upwards of 440 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen per month starting this week, said Swami Brahmaviharidas on Wednesday.

“This oxygen will be provided to the needy through the government and BAPS’s own network of COVID hospitals,” stated Swami Brahmaviharidas.

Oxygen cylinders arranged by BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi for India

Swami Brahmaviharidas said the first round of relief being sent this week will include 44 metric tons of liquid oxygen, 30,000 liters of medical oxygen gas in 600 cylinders, and 130 oxygen concentrators. “Logistical support for these humanitarian efforts is being provided by the Transworld Group via air and sea,” according to Swami.

He said the BAPS Hindu Mandir sadhus and volunteers have joined community members in creating a dedicated supply chain of support and services.

“With these efforts, we also request everyone to join themselves in earnest prayer and devotion. May the Almighty show his grace and compassion on India and the world in these most devastating times,” said Swami Brahmaviharidas.

In its hour of need, Hindus and Hindu temples around the world are mobilizing to provide aid and relief to India. The Hindu diaspora around the world is spiritually connected to India, therefore these efforts at providing aid come as no surprise. These relief efforts showcase the solidarity of the Indian diaspora.

Asianet News journalist calls Bengalis ‘Pakistanis’, says no use showing ‘Sanghis’ getting thrashed in times of Covid-19

OpIndia Staff
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Asianet News journalist calls Bengalis ‘Pakistanis’, says no use showing ‘Sanghis’ getting thrashed in times of Covid-19

An audio clip of a conversation between a viewer and an Asianet News journalist from Kerala has gone viral where the latter can be heard making objectionable comments against ‘Sanghis’ and the Bengali community. Asianet News has since then issued an apology regarding the same.

The journalist in question, PR Praveena, is reportedly the daughter of senior Congress leader in the state, P Ramani.

In the conversation, the journalist can be heard saying that ‘Sanghis’ from Bengal are Pakistanis and ‘Sanghis’ getting thrashed is not important news in times of Covid-19. The viewer had called the journalist to ask why her channel was not broadcasting the atrocities being committed against BJP workers in West Bengal.

The journalist had told the viewer in a derisive tone, “We are not covering Bengal deliberately. Covid is the only thing that we are up against. Our relatives, our friends, our neighbours are dying because of Covid and we do not have even enough space to bury people. There is no use showing some Sanghis in Bengal being attacked.”

The viewer asked if Bengalis are not Indians. “No, no, they are from Pakistan,” the journalist responded in a taunting manner. Asianet News has since then apologised over the same and said that such inappropriate conduct is not acceptable. The channel has also said that they have taken appropriate action over the matter.

Post-poll violence had erupted in West Bengal after results showed a Trinamool Congress victory. Multiple BJP workers have lost their lives regarding the same. Senior TMC leaders were initially in denial of it but later, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced compensation for the victims.

Resident doctors at Mumbai municipal hospitals launch protest over stipend arrears, threaten to go on fast

OpIndia Staff
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Resident doctors at Mumbai municipal hospitals launch protest over stipend arrears, threaten to go on fast

On Friday (May 7), the resident doctors of 4 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hospitals launched a social media campaign against BMC’s decision to compensating their stipend arrears with the money paid for Coronavirus duty. The healthcare professionals had been at the forefront of the Coronavirus duty since March 2020.

Rupsa Chakraborty, a journalist with the Hindustan Times, has shared visuals of resident doctors expressing their dissent on social media. With hashtags such as #BMCBetrayedUs and #BetrayedBetrayedStillWorking written on papers, the resident doctors mobilised their campaign on Twitter.

Despite the ill-treatment meted out to them by the resident doctors, they are still continuing their service at the time of the pandemic. They had demanded ₹1.2 lacs as stiped arrears for Coronavirus duty and have vowed to fast if demands are not met. The resident doctors will however continue with their duty.

Resident doctors denied dues totalling ₹1.2 lacs by BMC

Reportedly, the resident doctors were being paid ₹10,000 per month for duty in the Coronavirus ward since May 2020. As such, they received a payment of ₹80,000 for Covid work until December last year. The BMC administration had however discontinued payment for Covid work in January when Coronavirus cases fell. It had announced a hike in salary by ₹10,000 in September last year.

Despite the hike in salary arrears being announced in September 2020, about 3000 doctors in four BMC hospitals received the circular only in March this year. The BMC hospitals include KEM, Cooper, Sion, and Nair. While the resident doctors had been anticipating accumulated arrears for the hiked stipend, they received a rude shock from the BMC. The administration told them recently that the payment made for Covid work was an advance payment of the hike in stipends that was announced in September last year.

Now that the BMC has proposed to adjust the payment for Covid work in their hiked stipend arrears, the resident workers are being denied an amount of ₹1.2 lacs. Forced by circumstances, the Coronavirus warriors have taken to social media to share how the BMC has denied them of their dues. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors has threatened to go on a strike, if the matter is not resolved in 7 days. The resident doctors have received the support of senior doctors, working at the BMC hospitals.

While speaking about the matter, a resident doctor told the Times of India that a resident doctor received a stipend of ₹55000 while an MBBS doctor was being paid ₹80000 to MBBS doctors. He pointed out that a circular was released in June last year that a daily incentive of ₹300 will be paid to all health workers, besides ₹10,000 for those employed for Covid work. The resident doctor conceded that the circular did not mention that ₹10000 would be an advance payment of stipend.

BMC justifies move, claims resident doctors were not misled

In its defense, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has claimed that the amount has been paid in advance. Suresh Kakani, the additional municipal commissioner, claimed that resident doctors were never told that ₹10,000 would be an incentive. He alleged, “We wanted to bring their stipend on par with the rest and hence the hike of P510,000 was decided upon. But since we didn’t have an approval from the general body then, we gave it as an advance. We got the approval two weeks ago and accordingly adjustments would happen.”

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan to feature in new Zee show two years after Pulwama attack

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani actress Mahira Khan to feature in new Zee show two years after Pulwama attack

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan will feature prominently in a new show by Zee. The first episode of the show, titled ‘Yaar Julahay’, will be aired on Tata Sky Theatre on the 15th of May. The show will appear on other DTH platforms as well. It has led to speculations whether the unofficial embargo on Pakistani artists have been lifted.

One central government source was quoted by reports as saying, “The embargo on Pakistani artistes was always a moral issue. At the time when hostilities were at their highest Bollywood filmmakers like Karan Johar were inviting actors from across the border to work in the country. The call to boycott Pakistani artistes was never legally binding.”

“Each episode of ‘Yaar Julahay’ features the immersive reading of a remarkable story that is as unique and complex as the subcontinent we live in. Each one of the featured writers has processed reality through characters that we can still identify with. It was a joy to work on these classic tales with Kanwal and Sarmad Khoosat because we have collaborated with them before and they always approach a project with a certain artistic sensitivity and deep respect for the material they are working with. Their sensibility was needed for a project as unique as this,” Chief Creative Officer – Special Projects at Zee Network, Shailka Kejriwal, was quoted as saying.

‘Yaar Julahay’ will have dramatic readings spread across 12 episodes. Stories by Gulzar, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Munshi Premchand, Amrita Pritam, Qurratulain Haider, Balwant Singh and others will feature on the show and readers will include Armad Khoosat, Sarwat Gilani, Nimra Bucha, Fawad Khan, Sania Saeed, Irfan Khoosat, Yasra Rizvi, Samiya Mumtaz, and Faisal Quresh, reports say.

Mahira Khan will read Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s story, Guriya, on the show. Actor and director Sarmad Khoosat said that the show was inspired by the story telling tradition of ‘Dastangoi’.

He said, “We have interpreted ‘Dastangoi’ in a contemporary way and there is also live and recorded music along with suggestive details articulating the theme of the story. For instance, when I directed Mahira Khan for the story ‘Guriya’, the set was strewn with dolls that in a way told their own story. They created an eerie atmosphere that augmented the narration and enhanced the inherent mood of the reading.”

“This series attempts to introduce a newer audience to literature through a format that blends ‘Dastangoi’ with the Chamber Theatre technique where a reader has an environment, a minimal stage setting to not just read in but to perform, interpret and deliver a story in. In each reading, we have tried to maintain the integrity of the author’s voice even as we amplify it through the digital medium to reach as many people as possible,” he added.

‘Yaar Julahay’ is the initiative of Zee Theatre. The name of the show was inspired by a Gulzar poem. Following the Pulwama terrorist attack, an embargo on Pakistani artists had been put in place by the film industry heeding to national sentiment. However, it is not clear whether any such ban was proposed for the entertainment industry as a whole.

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