On Sunday (April 25) morning, the revered Sri Krishna Bhat left for the heavenly abode. He was the priest of the Hampi Badavi Linga temple in Karnataka for over 40 years. The news of his death was shared on Twitter by Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Girish Bharadwaj.
Hampi Badavi Linga Priest Sri Krishna Bhat reached the Feet Of Parameshwara this Morning, The 94 Year old Man who did immense seva to Eshwara for 40 Long Years.
Sri Krishna Bhat hailed from a village in Tirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district. He had come to Hampi to work as a priest at the iconic Satyanarayana temple. Later, he was appointed as the priest of the Badavi Linga temple by the Anegundi royal family. The Hindu priest would come to the temple every day for the past 40 years to attend his duties. He would often greet the crowd and then begin resume his chores. He stayed at the temple till late evenings.
Unlike other priests, Bhat was often seen climbing the 3-metre long Shivalinga and clearing the flowers offered to the deity the previous day. The temple, which is eternally waterlogged, does not have a scaffold or ladder. In the absence of any alternative, the Hindu priest had to cling onto the Shivalinga and apply vermillion and vibhooti on it. However, devotees never considered it as an ‘act of sacrilege’.
While speaking to the New Indian Express about it, senior priest (Virupaksha temple) Shiv Bhat informed, “There is no other way to worship the Shivalinga, without stepping upon it. You cannot say that this amounts to sacrilege. It is about commitment and devotion. You cannot even use a ladder or any support in the water-filled temple.” The temple was built during the Raya dynasty of Vijayanagara of 15th century.
Interestingly, the roof of the sanctum sanctorum of the Hampi Badavi Linga temple has permanent holes in it due to the Islamic invasions of the Bahmani Sultans. As such, worship at the temple premises was stopped for over 500 years. It was only in 1980s that the worship resumed at the iconic temple. Due to the presence of holes in the roof, sunlight illuminates the waterlogged temple. The splendour of the temple in the backdrop of mesmerizing illumination made the temple a major attraction for devotees and photographers alike.
Worshippers are not allowed entry into the temple. Usually, Sri Krishna Bhat would fetch the water from the temple and sprinkle it on them. Now that he has left for the heavenly abode, devotees are mourning his absence.
Mamunul Haque, an influential leader of hardcore Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh, along with other leaders, has confessed to wanting to turn Bangladesh into a Taliban state like Afghanistan if they came to power.
Haque was arrested by Dhaka police last week on the charges of instigating violence, attempt to murder, assault and vandalism. Along with other influential leaders from across the country, Haque had formed an organization called ‘Rabetatul Waizin Bangladesh’, to dethrone the government in power and establish a Taliban state, informed a top detective official.
Funded by Islamic forces, radical Islamist outfits like Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami, this group used to control ‘Waz Mahfils’, events organized to propagate militancy in the name of preaching Islam. They also forced organizers from Pakistan to invite their militant leaders as speakers.
Most arrested leaders confessed that they used madrasa students as shields to vandalize and set the government properties on fire, as they saw Hefazat-e-Islam as the only effective platform to topple the Awami League from power in Bangladesh.
Arrests and investigations
Along with Mamunul, fourteen other top-ranked Hefazat-e-Islam leaders and several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and BNP have been arrested since April 4 in connection with at least 65 cases filed for violence carried out by the Hefazat-e-Islam supporters in 2013 and in March this year.
Three teams have been formed involving investigating officers who have knowledge of Quran and Hadith, to interrogate the arrested leaders.
Conspiracies were hatched in 2013 and again this year in March by these radical Islamist organizations to oust the government led by Sheikh Hasina.
The same was confirmed by Mahbub Alam, Joint Commissioner of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to IANS on Saturday evening.
Mamunul Haque’s arrest
Mamunul Haque the joint secretary of the Islamist organization Hefazat-e-Islam was taken into custody and is said to be the instigator behind violent riots and targeted attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Muslim-majority nation.
More than 300 people have been arrested till now for their involvement in the cases of arson, vandalism and violence during the period 26-28 March in various towns of Bangladesh.
The Chief of the Hefazat-e-Islam Junayed Babunagari in a video message has demanded unconditional release of all the religious leaders of the organization including Mamunul Haque and the party’s Organising Secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to share a path-breaking development to facilitate uninterrupted oxygen supply in the nation amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Announcing the big decision to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants, Shah’s tweet read, “A big decision to curb the oxygen crisis and help the people in need. I thank PM @narendramodi Ji for allocating funds to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities across the country through PM CARES.”
A big decision to curb the oxygen crisis and help the people in need. I thank PM @narendramodi Ji for allocating funds to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities across the country through PM CARES.https://t.co/GBeiAbBgxc
As per the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s office, the PM CARES Fund has given in-principle approval for allocating funds to install 551 dedicated Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Medical Oxygen Generation Plants across the nation.
These Oxygen Generation Plants will be set up in Government hospitals in district head-quarters across the country. Timely action is being taken to make these plants functional as soon as possible to ensure uninterrupted supply of oxygen in hospitals. The procurement will be done through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The in-house captive oxygen generation facility would address the daily requirement of medical oxygen in the hospitals and the district. In addition, the liquid medical oxygen (LMO) would serve as a “top up” to the captive oxygen generation.
Informing about the steps taken previously to bridge the demand and supply gap in oxygen, the release read, “The PM CARES Fund had earlier this year allocated Rs.201.58 crores for installation of additional 162 dedicated Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Medical Oxygen Generation Plants inside public health facilities in the country.”
The additional 551 PSA Oxygen Plants will further strengthen the public health system.
While the health minister of Rajasthan Raghu Sharma was busy posting photographs with Bollywood’s A-lister actor Salman Khan’s bodyguard, the whole health infrastructure in the state is crumbling into pieces. Here is a list of top officials responsible for the health infrastructure failing miserably in fulfilling their duties as the state desperately calls for help.
Dainik Bhaskar’s report on crumbling medical infrastructure in Rajasthan
Siddharth Mahajan, health secretary, is responsible for ensuring the availability of beds, ICUs beds, ventilators, and medicines in the state. As per reports, the private hospitals are only getting 10% of what they have sought in terms of oxygen from the state government. There is no ventilator available in Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) for the last eight days, and beds are full for three days. The situation is the same in private hospitals. Either they do not have beds, or if there are beds, oxygen is scarce.
Rajaram Sharma, the drug controller, is responsible for ensuring the availability of medicine in the state. It is his responsibility to ensure drugs are not sold in black. However, reports suggest that he is unable to control the black marketing of essential medicines like Remdesivir. Recently, Udaipur Police arrested Dr Mohammad Abir for selling Remdesivir for Rs.35,000, which had an MRP of Rs.2,800.
Ravi Jain, state nodal officer, is responsible for oxygen supply in the state. Though he assured there is no shortage of life-saving gas in the state, the reports suggest otherwise. On Saturday, LK Lone Hospital sent an SOS message to the administration but only got half of the cylinders they asked for. The situation is so grim that the largest hospital in the state, SMS Hospital, almost ran out of oxygen. CT Surgery head, Dr Rajkumar Yadav said in a statement that they had to shift CT Surgery ward patients to CS ward amid a shortage of oxygen.
Alok Ranjan, RMSCL, is responsible for ensuring medicine supply in the state. Due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, the supply infrastructure is crumbling down, but reports suggest that he is not ready to answer any questions. The situation is similar to other officials responsible for the medicine availability. Remdesivir helpline is under four officials named Dinesh Kumar Taneja, Manish Kumar Modi, Komal Rupchandani and Naveen Sanghi. When Dainik Bhaskar contacted them, they all gave similar statements that they are here to stop black marketing of the drug and not for ensuring its supply.
Narottam Sharma, CMHO-First, is responsible for managing the health infrastructure in the capital. When he was asked about the imbalance in the demand and supply of the beds, ICU beds, medicines and oxygen, he clearly said that he could not do anything as everything was being operated by the higher officials.
The covid-19 situation in Rajasthan
Rajasthan is slowly gaining a higher position in Covid-19 cases. Currently, it is in the fifth position in terms of active instances. The state reported 15,355 new cases on April 25. 74 people lost their lives in the states due to Covid-19 related complications. The state has reported 4,98,628 cases out of while 3,67,485 have recovered while 3,527 have lost their lives.
Dr. D.K. Baluja, the MD at Jaipur Golden Hospital, has said during a television debate on Saturday that the Delhi Government made a false promise of delivering medical oxygen to them but the oxygen never came. As a consequence, multiple people died at the hospital the previous day, said the doctor.
Dr. Baluja said that the assurance was given in writing by an official of the Delhi Government. He said that the patients who died could have been saved. The doctor broke down on live television during the debate.
दिल्ली सरकार ने हमसे ऑक्सीजन देने का झूठा वादा किया, कल हमारे यहाँ केवल ऑक्सीजन ना होने से मरीज मर गए, इससे शर्मनाक दिन मैंने अपनी ज़िंदगी में नहीं देखा
He said that he has never seen such a tragic day in his life. Dr. Baluja said that after the assurance was given, no one was available to address their concerns despite repeated attempts to call officials for help.
Advocate Sachin Dutta, representing the Jaipur Golden Hospital, informed the Delhi High Court on Saturday that Delhi Government officials were unavailable for calls even as people were dying in the hospitals. He also said that if the Delhi Government had managed affairs properly, his client would not have been in such a predicament.
Arvind Kejriwal has come under severe criticism from all quarters for failing to secure medical oxygen supply to hospitals. The Delhi High Court rapped them and said that they had not made adequate efforts to collect the oxygen allocated to them. A central government officer said in Court that Delhi officials believe everything will be served to them on a platter while other states are working actively to supply the oxygen allocated to them to hospitals.
On April 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation in the 76th episode of Mann Ki Baat. PM Modi started his address by saying CoronaCorona is testing the nation’s patience and the limit of every citizen at enduring misery. He acknowledged that the second wave of Covid-19 had shaken the country.
He said, “After successfully confronting the first wave of Corona, the country was full of enthusiasm, full of self-confidence, but this storm has shaken the country.”
The Government is applying its entire might
PM Modi said that the experts from different sectors, including the Pharma industry, vaccine manufacturers, oxygen production and experts from the medical field, have put forth their suggestions to the Government. While emphasizing on the importance of expert and scientific advice, he added, “The Government of India is applying its entire might to give a fillip to the endeavours of State Governments. The State Governments too are trying their best to fulfil their responsibilities.”
Conversation with frontline workers
PM Modi’s address had conversations with the frontline workers, including doctors and health workers who are waging a colossal battle against Covid-19 infection in the country. During his conversation with Dr Shashank, Dean of the Indian College of Physicians, they discussed how this wave was different from the first wave of Covid-19. Dr Shashank said that the second wave is spreading rapidly compared to the first wave. “The good thing is that the recovery rate is higher and mortality rate pretty low,” he added.
तो जो हल्का covid है उसके लिए तो हम oxygen का monitoring करते हैं, pulse का monitoring करते है, बुखार का monitoring करते हैं, बुखार बढ़ जाता है तो कभी-कभी Paracetamol जैसी दवाई का इस्तेमाल करते हैं और अपने डॉक्टर से सम्पर्क करना चाहिये।
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
He added that there is no need to get scared of the mutation as such mutations keep happening. “We shall overcome this wave too. Covid has a 14 to 21 day’s timetable, in which we should avail of the Doctor’s advice,” he said.
On the issue of scarcity of medicines, Dr Shashank said that people start clinical treatment very late, believing that the illness will subside on its own, which is not correct. “If they abide by information provided by the government, they will not face these difficulties,” he added. He suggested monitoring oxygen, pulse and fever during mild cases and if the temperature rises, consult a doctor. In case of moderate or severe infection, it is essential to contact a doctor immediately.
He said that the people should stop running after Remdesivir as it has a limited role. It is only for those patients who are on oxygen in a hospital that too under the strict supervision of a doctor. He also suggested doing breathing exercises like Pranayam that will improve breathing.
PM Modi urged people to take vaccine
During a conversation with Dr Naveed Nazeer Shah, a professor at a Government Medical College in Srinagar, PM Modi discussed vaccine hesitancy among a certain group of people in the country. Dr Shah, who is administering Covid-19 patients in Srinagar, said that they noticed a lot of patients were asymptomatic. He added close to 90-95% of the patients recovered without in-medication. “if we maintain physical distance and avoid social gathering, we can carry on with our daily work and keep ourselves protected from this infection too,” he said.
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
Dr Shah said that we now have two made-in-India vaccines that are Covaccine and Covishield. Till now, over 15 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir have got vaccine shots. There are misconceptions or myths about the vaccine that need to be addressed. He said, at his hospital, no side effects have been found in vaccines that have been administered. “Only things that are routinely associated with every vaccine – someone getting a fever, ache in the entire body or getting pain locally where the injection is applied- we have seen such side effects in all patients; we have not seen any gross adverse effect,” he added.
Follow whatever protocol is there, said sister Bhavana Dhruv
PM Modi talked to frontline worker sister Bhavana Dhruv at B R Ambedkar Medical College in Raipur. She said working while wearing PPE kits is not easy. She said the patients she has worked with are afraid of the name Covid. The nurses work day and night to provide them with a healthy environment to ease their fear.
She emphasized on early consultation with the Doctor. She said out of fear, people do not get their test done. When severity would increase, by then, their lungs would have already been infected…by the time they came, they would need ICU by then, and with them, their entire family would come that makes the situation difficult to handle. She added if all government protocols are followed, it would be easier to help the patients.
Don’t panic as it worsens the health
While talking to sister Surekha, Senior Nursing Officer, K.C. General Hospital PM Modi discussed the importance of following protocols, the efficacy of the vaccine and staying calm. Sister Surekha said that when a patient feels the symptoms, they should isolate themselves immediately and consult a nearby doctor to start the treatment. It is essential not to get stressed as it will worsen the condition of the patient.
Talking about the vaccine, she said that no vaccine could provide 100% safety from the disease. It takes time to build immunity; thus, it is important to stay home, stay healthy and avoid contact with people as much as possible. Wash hands regularly, wear masks properly and maintain physical distance to keep yourself safe. She also added that ayurvedic kaadha, steam inhalation, gargling and breathing exercises help in keeping the disease away.
Please practice physically distancing, wear mask properly, wash your hands regularly and home remedies you can practice in the house.
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
PM Modi also talked to Prem, an ambulance driver and talked about his experiences on duty. When Prem told PM Modi about his mother, who asked him to leave his job but he refused. He told his mother, “mother, if I too leave the job and sit idle, then who will carry these patients?” He added because everyone is deserting, leaving behind their jobs in this period of CoronaCorona! Everyone is leaving the job. Mom tells me to leave that job. I said, no, mom, I will not leave the job!
Follow the guidelines, get vaccinated, stay safe – PM Modi
Towards the end, PM Modi wished everyone on Bhagwan Mahavir Jayanti and urged them to follow restrain amid upcoming festivals including Ramzan, Buddha Purnima, and 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.
“I once again urge all of you to get vaccinated and we also have to take full care.
‘Dawai Bhi, Kadai Bhi’ – Get vaccinated and maintain all precautions. Never forget this mantra.
We will soon prevail together over this calamity.”
Six critically ill patients suffering from Covid-19 died at a private hospital on Saturday in Amritsar, Punjab due to a shortage of oxygen. Now, the hospital authorities have pinned the blame on the district administration for prioritizing government hospitals for oxygen supply.
Amritsar | Five patients have died at the hospital. We are facing an oxygen shortage for the last 48 hours. The administration is saying that oxygen will not be given to private hospitals before government hospitals: MD, Neelkanth Hospital pic.twitter.com/c4GNeMn86m
Sunil Devgan, the managing director of Neelkanth Hospital where the patients died, said, “The district administration bought oxygen cylinders from suppliers for government hospitals. It is responsible for the (oxygen) shortage in private hospitals,”
He added that the families of the patients were informed about the limited stock of oxygen and were given an option to shift them to a different facility. “But they declined the option,” said Devgan.
Devgan informed that even after the death of patients, only five oxygen cylinders have been supplied to the hospital. The hospital chairman claimed that three main oxygen suppliers have said that government hospitals are being prioritised.
“Heavy police force has been deployed outside the oxygen units to prevent oxygen supply to private hospitals,” Devgan alleged.
Denying the claims, an official spokesperson claimed that oxygen was being supplied to private hospitals without any prejudice and that the government hospital was also running short of oxygen supply on Friday night.
Government blames the hospital
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) to initiate a thorough probe into the incident. Reprimanding the hospital authorities, he alleged that the hospital prima facie seems to have flouted orders given to all private hospitals facing oxygen shortage to shift their patients to government medical colleges.
Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira also held the hospital responsible for not acting on time. Reacting to Neelkanth’s announcement about the shortage in a meeting held with owners of private hospitals on Friday, Khaira said, “We told private hospitals not to admit any critical patient or those who need oxygen if they have shortage as we could arrange only a few cylinders for GMCH (Government Medical College Hospital), where more patients are admitted.”
“Private hospitals are responsible for arranging the required number of (oxygen) cylinders. If Neelkanth Hospital was short of supply, they should have referred the patients to other hospitals,” he alleged.
Punjab Minister OP Soni in a media interaction also alleged, “Amritsar’s Neelkanth Hospital authorities should have brought the matter of oxygen shortage to the notice of the Administration.”
Amritsar’s Neelkanth Hospital authorities should have brought the matter of oxygen shortage to the notice of the Administration. An inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the matter: Punjab Minister OP Soni pic.twitter.com/GgzNwZhljB
The DC has set up a two-member committee, comprising a PCS officer, Dr Rajat Oberoi, who is also in-charge of the death analysis committee, and a civil surgeon from Amritsar, to probe the matter, an official spokesperson said.
Amritsar civil surgeon Charanjit Singh also ensured an inquiry into the incident and said no such incident will be allowed to take place henceforth.
India along with battling the second wave of coronavirus is also battling fakery and deceit. Some media reports have been claiming that the Centre has asked Twitter India to take down tweets which were critical of India’s handling of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital portal medianama on Saturday published an article claiming that Twitter accounts of MP, MLA and an Editor were restricted for being critical of government’s handling of second wave of COVID pandemic. Even at first this sounds ridiculous because unless you have lived under a rock, many, many social media users including BJP supporters have been critical to varying degrees on handling of pandemic. However, this was soon picked up by other portals.
Crediting Medianama, Scroll claimed that several tweets on the alleged “ground-reality” have been taken down by Twitter on a legal request by the Government of India.
Quoting Twitter’s response to Medianama’s queries on its action, the reply read, “upon receiving a legal request, the platform reviews content under rules set by it and the local laws.”
It is imperative to note that nowhere has Twitter India in its response mentioned that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked the company to take down tweets “criticizing the government” as claimed by Medianama and certain twitter users.
Since then, the users who received a reply from Twitter Legal informing them of their problematic tweets have been alleging that the action was taken by the platform on being prompted by the Central government to suppress criticism.
Twitter user alleges suppression of information. Furthers fake news by the Scroll
MeitY’s response
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to remove content and posts that were found to be “spreading misinformation and public panic” around the pandemic.
Top MEITY Sources: The Govt asked @TwitterIndia to block certain accounts as they were spreading fake news by posting old pictures to misinform and create panic among the people. Accounts not restricted due to criticism of Govt’s handling of Covid crisis.
Sources said that the flagged posts carried misleading information about the Covid-19 pandemic, and were being circulated with an intention to incite public panic.
Recently, a Kashmiri journalist identified as Aarif Shah posted a photograph of an old lady hooked to an oxygen cylinder while sitting on the road. The same image was shared by the RVCJ group, TMC’s official Twitter handle of ‘Banglar Gorbo Mamata’ and soon went viral.
Aarif deleted the post after backlash.
On reverse searching the image, it was found that the photograph was from the 2018 ANI report where a man was allegedly made to wait for an ambulance at Agra Medical College while carrying an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder. The photograph was taken when he kept the cylinder down for a while.
The report is from 2018. Image Source: Screenshot from ANI’s 2018 report
Twitter’s response
Explaining the procedure, a Twitter spokesperson said, “If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only.”
Twitter ahead of withholding the content, notify the account holders so that they’re aware that the action has been taken in response to a legal request from the Government of India.
Fake and provocative Tweets float during Farmers protests
Similar allegations were made on the Central government when the farmers’ protest was at its peak claiming the government was trying to strangulate the agitation in February this year.
However, even then The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had asked Twitter to block around 250 Tweets/Twitter accounts which making fake, intimidatory and provocative Tweets using #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide hashtag.
The tweets were an incitement to genocide which could have posed as a grave threat to public order and therefore the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) ordered for blocking of these Twitter accounts and Tweets under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
In another notice to social media giant Twitter, the centre directed the social media platform to block 1,178 accounts found to be from Pakistan peddling Khalistani secessionism.
On Saturday (April 25), the Uttar Pradesh police arrested two nurses for stealing and auctioning the life-saving Remdesivir injection of a dying man in Meerut, reportedThe Times of India.
The two male nurses worked at a reputed private hospital in Meerut. They had stolen the Remdesivir injection which was allotted to a Coronavirus patient by the name of Shobhit Jain. While three doses had been administered prior to his death, the fourth dose was stolen by the two nurses. According to the police, the accused have been identified as Abid Khan and Ankit Sharma.
Although one dose of Remdesivir costs around ₹900-2000, the duo put it up for auction. The winning bid was around ₹25,000. The bid was placed by the police officials, who were pretending to be the relatives of Shobhit Jain. Based on a tipoff, the cops arrested the accused nurses who had quoted ₹32,000 for the Remdesivir injection.
Reportedly, around 6 security personnel deployed at the hospital tried to protect the accused but were later overpowered and arrested by the police as well. While speaking about the matter, SSP (Meerut) Ajay Sahani said, “Our surveillance team and policemen were working on the case after a tip-off. They (the nurses) had quoted Rs 32,000. We have arrested the nurses, Abid Khan and Ankit Sharma.”
Yogi Adityanath orders strict action against black marketing
On Saturday (April 24), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced several measures to manage the rising Covid-19 cases in the state. Reviewing the pandemic situation through video conferencing, the CM issued several directives regarding the availability of hospital beds, oxygen, and Covid-19 medicines in the hospitals in the state.
The CM directed that all hospitals in the state where Covid-19 patients are being treated should make public the details of vacant beds in the hospital twice a day. These details should also be uploaded on the portal of Integrated COVID Control & Command Centres (ICCCC) of the districts. The CM said that beds should be allotted with full transparency.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that in collaboration with DRDO, the process of setting up Covid hospitals in Lucknow and Varanasi is about to be completed. Saying that the operationality of these two hospitals with all necessary medical facilities will further strengthen the medical resources of the state, he asked the health ministry to make arrangements for trained human resources etc.
The CM said that Remdesivir and other lifesaving drugs should be distributed transparently. He added that 18,000 vials of Remdesivir have been received from Cadila, and its supply is increasing every day. More demand should be sent to the concerned companies as per the demand. There is a need to further improve the supply as well as its distribution system. These facilities should be made equally available to all the needy, the CM emphasised.
Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country, India’s global allies have extended support to India to tide over the second wave of the pandemic. The country is now faced with an immediate demand for oxygen cylinders and containers to store oxygen and transport them across India.
Reportedly, the Union Ministry of Defence and Union Ministry of Home Affairs have reached out to several countries under operation ‘Oxygen Maitri.’ India’s global partners such as France, Russia, Germany have not only expressed solidarity with India’s fight against the pandemic but have also extended help at the time of crisis. India’s diplomatic relations have significantly improved in the backdrop of operation ‘Vaccine Maitri’.
India imports cryogenic oxygen containers from Singapore
On Saturday (April 24), the Singapore embassy in India informed that 4 cryogenic oxygen containers were transported to India from Changi airport in Singapore via an Indian Air Force (IAF) carrier. “We stand with India in its fight against Covid-19. Through a bilateral and multi-agency effort, an IAF transport plane picked up 4 cryogenic oxygen containers at Changi airport in Singapore this morning.”
Min-Liang Tan, Singaporean entrepreneur and the co-founder of Razor Inc. had offered also surgical masks to India. “Are surgical masks in need? I can see if we have some we can spare from our manufacturing line in Singapore to send over to India,” he asked.
The Singaporean embassy in India has responded by saying that it will reach out to his office.
EU offers help to India to fight the Coronavirus pandemic
Charles Michael, the President of the European Council, said, “The EU stands in solidarity with Indian people amidst resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. The fight against the virus is a common fight.” He further informed that a meeting between PM Narendra Modi other European Union (EU) leaders will be held on May 8 to discuss Covid support and cooperation.
The #EU stands in solidarity with Indian people amidst resurgent #COVID19 pandemic.
The fight against the virus is a common fight.
We will discuss our support and cooperation at EU-India Leaders’ meeting on 8 May with @narendramodi and @antoniocostapm
On Friday, EAM (Minister for External Affairs) S Jaishankar held a meeting with Vice-President Margrethe Vestager to discuss preparation for the India-EU summit.
Appreciated the support offered by EU on Covid challenges currently faced by India. Confident that EU will help strengthen our capabilities at this critical juncture.
He thanked the EU for offering support on the existing Coronavirus crisis in the country. “Confident that EU will help strengthen our capabilities at this critical juncture,” S Jaishankar said.
Germany supplies 24 oxygen transport tanks to India
In a tweet, the German embassy in India informed, “In this spirit, the private German company Linde together with Tata have managed to secure 24 oxygen transport tanks that will be airlifted to India in order to increase transport capacity from production sites to Covid19 hotspots.”
In this spirit, the private German company Linde together with Tata have managed to secure 24 oxygen transport tanks that will be airlifted to India in order to increase transport capacity from production sites to Covid19 hotspots.
This is despite the fact that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently lamented that the European Union had ‘allowed’ India to become the pharmacy of the world. She had expressed fear that Germany would not get Covid-19 medicine, given that the second wave of Coronavirus has badly hit the country.
UK, France and Russia express solidarity with India
The Secretary of State for Health & Social Care in the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock, had expressed solidarity with India. In a tweet on Friday, he said, “Heartbreaking scenes from India. My thoughts are with our Indian friends. We stand ready to help fight this awful virus.”
Heartbreaking scenes from India. My thoughts are with our Indian friends. We stand ready to help fight this awful virus.
Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France stood by the Indian people amidst the resurgence of Coronavirus cases in the country. “France is with you in this struggle, which spares no-one. We stand ready to provide out support.” His statement was reiterated by the French ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain.
❝I want to send a message of solidarity to the Indian people, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. France is with you in this struggle, which spares no-one. We stand ready to provide our support.❞
As per reports, Russia has also offered to help India amidst the Coronavirus. Citing sources, India Today reported the government will import oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators from Russia.
United States claims ‘solidarity’ with India while staying silent on lifting embargo on vaccine essentials
In a tweet of Sunday, Secretary Antony Blinken tweeted, “Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”
Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.
This is despite the fact that the Biden administration has restricted the supply of raw materials required for vaccine production in India.
‘Vaccine Maitri’ – India led the global fight against the Coronavirus pandemic
India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has yet again come to the world’s aid by successfully supplying vaccines to its neighboring and other developing countries at an extremely affordable cost, besides giving away millions of doses to friendly nations for free. India has airlifted more than millions of COVID-19 doses to almost 100 nations under its initiative termed “Vaccine Maitri”.
Till now, India has sent 10.6 million doses for free to friendly nations. Along with that, Serum Institute of India has sent almost 20 million doses under commitment to COVAX, while another 35.8 million doses have been exported by the vaccine manufacturers under commercial contract with foreign nations. Now that India has been badly hit by the second wave of the pandemic, India’s diplomatic relations established by the Modi regime are proving fruitful and effective.
