The study indicated suicidal ideation, which involves someone thinking about or wishing for their own death, significantly increased in the 2020 post-lockdown patients compared with the 2018 and 2019 patients.
"Suicide prevention in the Covid-19 era is an important and difficult issue," the authors, including lead author Suzana Tosic Golubovic of the University of Nis in Serbia, stated.
"Further research studies are needed to find out how mental health consequences can be mitigated during and after the Covid-19 pandemic," they added.
During the lockdown, loss of social contacts and employment, economic worries, fear of illness, feelings of isolation and reduced access to psychiatric treatment acted as stressors that could exacerbate a mental illness or even prompt such illness in previously healthy individuals.
For the study, published in the journal Open Medicine, the team examined patient records in a psychiatric clinic in Serbia and asked patients about their experience of the pandemic.
The researchers investigated patients who were admitted to the clinic between May and August 2020, which was just after Serbia had come out of a lockdown. They then compared these patients with patients admitted during the same months in 2018 and 2019.
Suicide attempts also increased in the 2020 patients, although this trend was not statistically significant.The 2020 patients also showed higher levels of adjustment disorder, in which patients have difficulty adjusting to a stressful situation or event in their life.
Patients who had attempted suicide in 2020 were more likely to be exposed to information about the pandemic on social media and were more likely to present with adjustment disorder and major depressive disorder.
Strikingly, 60 per cent of the patients who had attempted suicide in 2020 had never received psychiatric treatment before, which was a significantly higher proportion than in the patients who attempted suicide in 2019.
Earlier the Odisha government had imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. But with the recent surge in COVID cases in the State, Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner revised the timings to 9 pm to 5 am every day, effective from January 7, 2022 (Friday).
While the traders welcomed the decision aimed at curbing the COVID menace, they also demanded assurance from the government to not clamp complete shutdown ahead which will push their livelihood at stake once again.
Speaking to OTV, a trader in the Millennium City who deals with mobile phones and spare parts, said, “We will obey all the restrictions put in place by the State government. We will make sure there is no crowd inside the shop. We will ensure physical distancing and wearing of masks.”
He added, “We are okay with shutting our shops from 9 pm but a complete shutdown should not be made mandatory, given that we have already suffered a lot during the last lockdowns,” he said.
The Odisha government on Wednesday announced a slew of new restrictions with a view to control the rapid surge in Covid cases, especially the highly-infectious Omicron variant of the virus, in the State.
Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said in a special video address that the fresh curbs which will be enforced strictly from January 7 (5 am) will continue till February 1(5 am).
As part of the easing, strict Covid appropriate behaviour will remain mandatory as per the rules, said Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte in a 5-page order.
The government has decreed that only the fully vaccinated persons shall be permitted to travel vide all modes of public transport as also for entry to malls, shops, establishments, ticketed or non-tickets events, programs, shows, public gatherings, where all the organisers shall also be fully vaccinated.
All fliers to Maharashtra from any international destination shall be governed by the Central government rules, but all domestic passengers must be fully vaccinated or carry an RT-PCR test report with 72 hours validity.
As earlier, only 50 per cent attendance will continue for theatres, cinemas, marriages, conventions, etc held in closed spaces, and up to 25 percent of the capacity of any open-to-sky venues.
In case the total people attending such events exceeds 1,000, then the organisers must inform the District Disaster Management Authority which will send its officials to ensure compliance of CAB, and if the same are violated may order closure of part or full venue.
All people must observe the Covid-19 norms like wearing face-masks, maintain at least 6 feet physical distance, ensure hygiene, sanitise/wash hands frequently, and those found violating the CAB shall be fined Rs 500.
All establishments which do not ensure their guests/visitor implement these norms would be penalised Rs 10,000, or otherwise flouting the same may face closure till the disaster norms are in force.
Defaulters in public transport like buses or taxis shall be fined Rs 500 along with the driver, conductor, etc, while the operators will be slapped with Rs 10,000 penalty, or withdrawal of licence till the disaster norms remain in force.
The Odisha capital has witnessed a marginal increase in suicide cases in the first half of 2021 compared to the corresponding period last year. While a total of 142 suicides were reported between January and June last year, the figure increased to 151 during the same period this year.
According to sources, Bhubaneswar registered 310 suicides throughout the year in 2020 of which 142 were reported between January and June. In 2019, 220 suicide cases were reported in the Capital city.
This year, 151 persons have died by suicide till June. The city witnessed 16 and 22 suicides respectively in the month of May and June when the lockdown was in force in view of Covid-19.
“Suicide has emerged as a major problem in the modern society. In the first six months of 2021, around 150 suicide cases have been reported,” said Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Umashankar Dash.
Speaking about possible reason for suicides, the DCP said, “One person takes the extreme step when he/she does not get assistance or support in time. The victim may not able to share his/her problems with any others. It is one of the major reasons of suicide.”
Meanwhile, physiologists emphasised on counselling of people suffering from mental pressure to avoid suicide.
Physiologist Dr Amrit Pattajoshi said, “The lockdown imposed in view of Covid has resulted in many types of physiological issues. Suicide is an end product or end result of a mental illness.”
There are many reasons for suicide like family or personnel problem. This apart, loss of employment during lockdown, isolation from social life and fear of contracting Covid-19 also drives many to suicide.
Today, a woman was rescued while attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the Kuakhai river on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
The woman from Laxmisagar area allegedly attempted to end her life due to police inaction. She alleged that though she had lodged a complaint at Mancheswar police station after being tortured by her sister-in-law, no step had been taken by the police.
According to sources, out of around 16,000 buses which provide the biggest share of public transport services in the State, only 2,000 vehicles have started plying on the roads across the State.
As the government has restricted overloading of passengers in the buses as precautionary measure to prevent Covid outbreak, there is a possibility of passengers outnumbering the seat availability as no traveller would be allowed to travel in standing position.
As per ground reports from major bus stands in the State, heavy inflow of passengers has been seen as compared to the number of vehicles.
Meanwhile, the owners of the buses have exuded confidence that the services will gradually normalise in few more days with the full-fledged reopening of economic activities.
Several buses are not in a condition to run due to lack of maintenance as they stood off the road for several days. The vehicles need urgent repairing which have forced the owners to take them to garages.
Badamabadi bus stand in Cuttack, one of the busiest junctions of the State, witnessed heavy congregation of passengers who are seen grappling with shortage of vehicles.
Covid guidelines were thrown to wind due to heavy rush in front of the buses at Badambadi. Bus staff claimed they are strictly adhering to the Covid protocols.
“We have sanitised the vehicle properly before allowing the passengers to enter. We are not allowing passengers more than the number of seats as per government guidelines. But, people should follow the physical distance norms. We are also making them aware,” a bus conductor said.
Intra-state public transport had come to a grinding halt since May 5 after the statewide lockdown was declared in view of an unprecedented surge in Coronavirus cases.
Recently, the government had eased restrictions and allowed bus services with certain conditions. However, the Owners were reluctant to resume services due to financial crisis. The deadlock ended on Saturday after a fruitful discussion between the bus owners' association and the state government.
According to reports, the government has agreed to fulfill most of the demands of the bus owners including tax waivers.
The District and Subordinate Courts / Tribunals functioning in Category 'A' districts i.e. Angul, Bargarh, Bolangir, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sonepur and Sundargarh are to resume normal functioning on all working days and take up all matters until further order, the High Court has said in its circular.
The District and Subordinate Courts/Tribunals functioning in Category 'B' districts i.e. Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri are to resume normal functioning from 19.07.2021 to 03.08.2021 till 3.00 P.M. with break from 1.00 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. on all working days and take up all matters.
The HC has mentioned that the hearing may be taken up on either physical or virtual mode depending upon the convenience of the Court. However, in all cases the accused is/are to be physically produced in the first instance.
The Members of the Bar Associations may be requested to extend their fullest cooperation in implementation of the above measures, the Registrar (Admn) of the HC said in the notification.
For the functioning of its benches, the HC has said that all arrangements announced by it on July 1, 2021 shall continue to be followed till July 23. The benches notified for the period from July 19 to July 23 will function through video conferencing.
Notably, the Odisha government on Thursday allowed further relaxations to economic activities and movement of people at the district level while extending the partial lockdown in the State till August 1.
“Regular #MoBus Bus service will resume from 19.07.21, Monday. Further details will be shared later,” CRUT informed through a tweet.
The public transport provider further said bus services for incoming passengers will continue from railway station to Cuttack and Khordha even on weekend shutdown from Friday to Sunday. Shuttle service will be available from airport to railway station.
Earlier in the day, the Odisha government allowed intra-state public transport by buses throughout the State as part of graded unlocking process.
However, inter-state bus services will remain suspended till 6 AM of August 1, 2021. Moreover, bus operations to Puri town will also remain suspended till midnight of July 25,2021 in view of Rath Yatra.
However, as per the relaxed guidelines, though the operation of bus services will resume, the buses have been barred from taking standing passengers. They will ply with maximum seating capacity only, the guidelines added.
Moreover, as an incentive to private bus operators who run a massive fleet of around 14,000 buses in the State, the government announced exemption of MV taxes for the month of July on account of the losses they had incurred due to the lockdown. Earlier, the government had also announced tax exemption for the previous months ever since the lockdown came to force this year.
“The Commerce and Transport Department in exercise of powers conferred under Section 15(1) of the Odisha Motor Vehicle Taxation (OMVT) Act, 1975 have been pleased to exempt the payment of tax and additional tax of Stage/ Contract Carriages and Buses of all Educational Institutions in the State for the month of July, 2021,” read a notification issued by the Commerce and Transport Department.
The order issued by the transport department Principal Secretary said the plying of inter-state buses had stopped on account of imposition of lockdown and weekend shutdown by the State Government during the second wave of COVID-19. The restrictions affected the normal fleet of intra-state and inter-state buses in the State. Therefore, the government had earlier exempted the payment of tax and additional tax of Stage/ Contract Carriages and Buses of all Educational Institutions in the State for the month of April, May and June, 2021.
The fresh tax relief for private bus operators came hours after the State government allowed intra-state public transport by buses throughout the State as part of graded unlocking process. However, Inter-State public transport by buses shall remain suspended till 6 AM of August 1, 2021. Besides, public transport by buses to Puri town shall remain suspended till midnight of July 25,2021 .
Will Odisha fully unlock after July 16th?
As the next phase of partial lockdown in Odisha is coming to an end, all eyes are on Odisha government’s next move. Will the Odisha government continue to use its Category A & B formula?
While the overall COVID19 situation in Odisha has improved significantly, the same cannot be said for Cuttack, Bhubaneswar & Puri which come under category B districts. New cases in the Bhubaneswar Municipal & Cuttack Municipal Corporation areas have not seen any significant decline.
So it is believed that a special Unlock strategy may be adopted for these two areas. As per Health officials, though the situation has improved quite a lot, some control measures are still necessary in areas of concern, which include Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
Meet 40-year-old Sudarshan Sahoo who once sold Chat at a road side stall in the Capital city to make a living. Thanks to the long pandemic-induced lockdowns, Sahoo, as he stands now after a year, has morphed into a well-known bamboo artisan in the city.
Sahoo said he had persuaded a passion for art and crafts since his childhood days. However, lack inspiration and financial crisis forced him to look for alternative means of sustenance, before he ended up selling Chat by roadside in Bhubaneswar.
His strong will to infuse life in dead bamboos did not take off as he didn’t find time from his hectic professional schedule. However, the lockdown which proved a bane for many came as a blessing for him, as he says. As he got enough time at home due to the restriction on vending of street food, he braced up to give shape to his forgotten artistic skills.
Within days, he curated marvelous crafts, including miniature houses, temples and several others home decorating articles using bamboo as the basic raw. There was no looking back. Sahoo’s humble dwelling is now marked by steady flow art lovers every day.
Sahoo said her got immense support from his family members to create the articles.
“I was initially reluctant for the art and craft business due to its low returns. But, subsequently I was motivated when I saw customers showering praises on him for his talent,” said Sudarshnan’s wife.
“I also assist him in his work as much as I can even though I can’t create masterpiece like him,” she added.
Sudarshan had once visited the Exhibition ground at Unit 3 in Bhubaneswar in 2006 and bargained prices with a vendor for a bamboo craft. Though it was priced very high, the vendor refused any cut on prices for the article and even taunted him if he could create such piece on his own.
“I quietly left the place and worked dedicatedly to bring my latent skill out. Lockdown also gave me an opportunity to carry forward my passion,” said a determined Sudarshan.
Even though in a majority of districts in the State, the graph of the virus cases have waned, the situation is still far from satisfactory in some districts especially in the coastal belt.
Sources said the State Health department is consulting various stakeholders before taking any decision on the next stage of pandemic restrictions while looking at Covid protocols, test positivity rate and vaccination status.
Odisha government clamped down the lockdown restrictions for the first time this year after a massive resurgence in Corona cases. After enforcing the curbs from May 5 to 19 in the first phase and from May 19 to June 1, the government extended the lockdown till June 17. After gradual dip and considerable improvement in various districts, the State authorities gave way to a series of relaxations in districts with low virus cases under a partial lockdown phase. But now intense public speculations continue to brew on whether similar partial lockdown restrictions will continue in Odisha with more relaxations or the period will see full phase unlocking activities based on the categorisation of districts.
High placed sources indicate that the State government may go for more relaxations in the districts exhibiting less than 5% of TPR for an extended period of time. However, there is little or no likelihood on opening of educational institutions, religious places which are places of mass public gathering because of virus outbreak scare.
It is also believed that decision on reopening of businesses like salons, gyms, swimming pools and restarting road public transport will be a massive challenge for the state administration.
In the meantime, the Chief of Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET), CBK Mohanty has said various aspects of the pandemic like positive count, active cases, vaccination numbers, hospitalisation cases are being thoroughly analysed on a district to district basis to prepare a comprehensive plan for the next stage of the unlocking activities.
Notably, Odisha has recorded 3319 virus cases in the last 24 hours. The trend of the daily cases furnished by the Health Department shows that the State continues to exhibit over 3000 plus new positives on a daily basis even a month and a week after registering its peak with over 12k cases on May 22.
While the average TPR of the State hovers around 5%, there are some districts like Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj where the positivity rate continues its roller coaster ride.
The Health Department has said that special strategies have been formulated after consultations with the authorities of these districts for further containing the virus cases.
Employees of many corporates who once enjoyed the hybrid working style from the comfort of their homes during the first stages of the pandemic are also believed to be developing home-work fatigue and frustration due to severe work burden.
Corporate houses opine that offices are still functioning with 15 per cent of employees while the rest continue to be assigned work from home. The companies are also taking painstaking efforts in facilitating employees with proper infrastructure including laptop and internet connectivity.
Despite functioning with a comparatively less number of employees, the expenditure on infrastructure continues to remain the same which is taking a toll on medium-scale enterprises especially during times of massive inconsistency and uncertainty in profits at the time of the pandemic crisis.
The businesses also complain that a trend of a marked decrease in the level of output and performance of the employees has been witnessed this year.
Experts believe that Indian employees have not been able to adapt to this long-term change in the new culture of work and lifestyle. If the trend continues for long, it might not only cause huge setbacks in the company productivity and revenue generation in future but also further tarnish the quality of powerful human resource base that India boasts of.
“We are forced to reduce staff at office but continue to consume more time in tracking, monitoring and motivating the employees who are working at home. When we observe the Pros and Cons of the new work culture, we found several hic-ups. If the trend continues, it may lead to serious problems in sustenance of the companies,” said Jayashree Mohanty, Chairman and Co-founder, Luminous Infoways.
From the perspective of the employees, experts point at a rising graph in the quality of work and output during the first wave of the pandemic. It is believed that an all-new style of work might have instilled newfound motivation in many employees who claimed of having worked sincerely to churn out more output than the normal time. However, the work pressure has considerably increased from thereafter which has probably led to decease in output.
“We are getting extra work burden at home nowadays which is causing an imbalance between professional life personal lives. Sometimes we have to dedicate extra time when we fail to wind up the assigned works in scheduled time, said Manjulata Swain, a resident of Sailashree Vihar in Bhubaneswar who is the RTI team leader at Luminous Infoways. Swain says she has to seat in front of the laptop till late night to complete the task amid family hustle-bustle.
It is not the lone case of Manjulata only, but many such corporate employees are facing similar issues.
“Initially it was enjoyable as the staff preferred to work from anywhere. There was no burden of communication, maintaining proper dress code and office etiquette. But, the gradual mix-up of the private life with the profession has led to severe mental stress," said Subrat Tarenia, Global Enablement Manager, SAP.
The State Transport Authority (STA) has asked all the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) to implement the revised guideline.
In a letter to the RTOs, the STA has instructed them to allow dealers to have access to VAHAN portal for registration of new motor vehicles from June 17 until further orders. Automobile dealers have been cautioned to strictly adhere to Covid norms after resuming operation
On May 31, the government STA has permitted new vehicle registration in Sundargarh, Rourkela, Nuapada, Gajapati RTOs as government allowed opening of vehicle showrooms from June 11. Govt had however not allowed opening of vehicle showrooms in other districts during lock down.
The government on Wednesday announced a slew of new rules while extending a partial lockdown in the State till July 1 (5 am). Essential shops will remain open between 6 am and 5 pm in Category A districts while the same will remain open from 6 am to 1 pm in Category B districts.
As per reports, the showroom was facilitating sales to customers who thronged to buy readymade garments before Raja Sankranti which falls on June 14.
The customers present inside the showroom fled the place when the special squad of CMS raided the premise, said reports.
Earlier on Wednesday, a similar raid was conducted by the district administration of Jajpur at a garment godown at Jajpur Road for allowing customers during lockdown.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Raja Sankranti which falls on June 14 every year is a festival celebrated with much pomp and vigour across Odisha. As the demand for readymade garments skyrockets at this time of the year, the business organisations make roaring sales.
Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra made the announcement saying that the lockdown 2.0 in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic which was scheduled to end on June 1 has been further extended.
During the lockdown period, all the usual restrictions will continue to be strictly imposed. There will be complete restrictions on any kind of gatherings. Weddings and funeral functions will be allowed with the permitted cap as specified earlier in the second phase of the lockdown. Weekend shutdown will also be enforced.
In three districts namely Nuapada, Gajapati and Sundargarh where the Covid cases have drastically reduced in past several days, the State government has allowed some relaxations. As per the decision, all businesses except barber shops, parlours and malls are allowed to operate with strict Covid guidelines from 6 am to 1 pm. Earlier, people were allowed to avail only essentials during 7 am and 11 am.
The State government has however cautioned that if Covid cases resurge in the aforementioned districts, the curbs will be reinforced once again.
Mohapatra informed that due to Covid lockdown restriction in the last one month, the positivity rate of the virus infection has come down to 26% to 14%.
Towards the end of the 16-day lockdown, the situation will be reviewed once again and if more districts exhibit a decline in the trend of Covid cases, phase-wise relaxations will be allowed accordingly in such districts.
A meeting through Video Conferencing was held today with the Principal Secretaries of the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs of the States/UTs wherein Leena Nandan, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution reviewed the availability and price situation of Pulses across the country. Secretary, Food & Public Distribution and Secretary, Agriculture, Government of India were also present in the meeting.
During the meeting, it was reiterated that Essential Commodities Act (EC Act), 1955 is aimed at ensuring adequate availability of the scheduled essential commodities at fair prices to the common people. Participants in that meeting observed that sudden spurt in prices of pulses may be due to hoarding of pulses by the Stock Holders.
Section 3(2)(h) and 3(2)(i) of the Essential Commodities Act(EC Act), 1955 makes a provision for issuance of issue orders for collecting information or statistics to the persons engaged in the production, supply or distribution of or trade and commerce in of any essential commodity and to maintain and produce for inspection such books, accounts, and records relating to their business and to furnish such information relating thereto. The powers under this section have been delegated to State Governments vide Central Order GSR 800 dated 09.06.1978.
Accordingly, the Department of Consumer Affairs vide letter dated 14th May, 2021 requested States/UTs to use the power under section 3(2)(h) and 3(2)(i) of the EC Act, 1955 and to direct all the Stockholders like Millers, traders, importers etc. to declare the stocks of pulses and that the same may be verified by the State/ UTs Governments.
States/UTs were also requested to monitor the prices of pulses on weekly basis. An online datasheet was also shared with States/UTs to fill the details of millers, wholesalers, importers etc. and the stocks of pulses held by them.
The pulse-producing States/UTs were also requested to facilitate procurement as sustained procurement would incentivize farmers to cultivate pulses on a long-term basis. The pulses buffer is maintained by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) with pulses procured from the farmers.
The buffer procurement process supports farmers on the one hand by procuring pulses at MSP, while disposal from the buffer helps in moderating moderate price volatility and thereby mitigate hardships to consumers. The procured pulses are being stored locally to ensure the supply of stocks to States at minimal logistic costs and make them available at affordable prices to the consumers.
States/ UTs were requested to monitor the prices of all 22 essential Commodities, especially pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and milk and to look for early signs of any unusual price rise so that timely interventions can be made to ensure that these food items are provided at affordable prices to consumers.
States/UTs were also apprised about the notification dated 15th May, 2021 issued by the Department of Commerce regarding the amendment of the import policy of Tur /Pigeon Peas; Moong, and Urad from “Restricted” to “Free” with immediate effect and for the period up to 31stOctober 2021.
This liberalized regime would enable seamless and timely import of pulses. In order to ensure that all regulatory clearances such as Phyto-sanitary clearances and customs clearances are issued in time, these issues were also discussed and deliberated in a meeting of the Departments of Food, Consumer Affairs, Agriculture, Customs and Commerce held today.
(PIB)
However, the government made the decision for them by clamping a state-wide lockdown hitting their earnings hard.
A Deja-Vu hit Prashant Kumar Das, a Restaurant employee at Bhubaneswar, who fears that his employer will not be able to pay him salary this month owing to the lockdown. “During last year’s lockdown I was left starving for food. Many nights had passed without food. Thought, this year will be different, but the same lockdown haunts us again,” he said.
“Online food aggregators are the only hope through which the restaurant is doing a little business, but that will not suffice the restaurant owner to afford so many employees. We will have to work without pay until the situation normalises and the restrictions lifted,” Das added.
Similarly, another woman, Purnaprabha Sahu from Bangali Sahi in Cuttack had opened a roadside tea stall in front of Bharatiya Tower at Badambadi. Following the death of her husband, the tea stall was the only source of income for her family of four that included three school-going teenaged daughters. The lockdown came as a big blow for her as she fears if she could be able to pay the house rent next month.
“Forget about food or studies of my daughters, I do not even know where I will get the money to pay rent,” Sahu said.
Not only the lower middle class people in the twin cities, but some of the reputed Pattachitra artisans in the pilgrim town of Puri too are bothered by the lockdown. Some of them even contemplating to leave the art work and sell vegetables in the market to earn a living.
Some of them thought that the year 2021 will bring fortunes to them as the tourists had just started rolling down, but the COVID 2nd wave and the subsequent lockdown swept away all their hopes to gutter. “It has become almost impossible for us to earn a livelihood by creating Pattachitras. Since cyclone Fani, it has been almost 2 and a half years, we never got a chance to stand straight. Our economic back bone has broken,” said Saroj Kumar Behera, an artist from Puri.
Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash informed about the announcement through a presser today. The Twin City Police has decided to launch doorstep FIR service for the benefit of people so that they don’t have to come out to police stations during the lockdown, Dash said.
Anyone having any complaints regarding dacoity, burglary, or any other crimes can inform the police by dialing number 100 or by calling the IIC of the concerned local police station. After collection of details of the complaint, police will reach the residence of the complainant and register the FIR.
Bhubaneswar DCP however assured that there will be no question of any lackadaisical approach in the investigation into the complaints received from the people.
“Apparently the labourers were desperate to return home fearing the current lockdown situation and purchased a boat to reach their destinations via sea route. A probe will certainly be undertaken as to how and under which circumstances they managed to reach Odisha during the lockdown,” said Behera.
“As boat services come under the Transport department, I have instructed the officials in our department to look into the matter,” the transport minister said.
Labourers returning to #Odisha from Chennai via sea route: The boat has been seized & a tight vigil will be kept on people entering the State through sea routes; stern action will be taken against those violating the #Covid_19 lockdown norms, says Transport Min Padmanava Behera pic.twitter.com/mYt0qjaYiT
— OTV (@otvnews) April 26, 2020
Behera further warned that if any person is found coming to the State in such an illegal way by violating national COVID lockdown rules, action will be taken accordingly.
Speaking about security in the coastal areas, Pranabindu Acharya, ADGP of Railways and Coastal security said, “Marine police are keeping a vigil at coastal areas. Those who are returning through sea route are immediately detained and put under quarantine. All the people in coastal areas have been sensitised. Home guards have been deployed in all coastal villages and fish landing points.”
As many as 38 people reached Pati Sonepur coast in Ganjam district on a boat from Tamil Nadu last evening. According to reports, they had brought the boat for about Rs 2 lakh. Upon their arrival, they were detained by marine police and placed under quarantine.
On the other hand, the workers claimed that they had to go through a lot of hardship after they got stuck in Tamil Nadu due to the nation-wide lockdown.
Despite #COVID19 #Lockdown, 38 labourers reach #Odisha from Chennai by sea route; the labourers, who arrived in Sonepur under Chikiti block of Ganjam dist have been detained by marine police; collector informs #OTV that they will be quarantined & swabs will be sent for testing pic.twitter.com/RfHtrJkaNG
— OTV (@otvnews) April 25, 2020
“Due to the lockdown, we did not get work and our savings dried up. Unable to get foods for survival, we somehow arranged the boat and reached home,” they said.
Earlier, 27 fishermen including 10 from Odisha reached Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh from Chennai after a five-day journey in a boat. Nine of them were from Ganjam district and one from Puri. They were placed under quarantine at a centre in Ichchapuram.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday night after the state cabinet meeting.
The lockdown in the state was to end on May 7 but the cabinet decided to extend it by another 22 days. The state government also decided not to give any relaxations in Hyderabad and five other red zone districts.
The Chief Minister said while the guidelines issued by the Centre allowing economic activity in orange and green zones will be followed, no activity will be allowed in Hyderabad and other red zone districts except the construction activity.
"Only cement, steel, hardware and electrical shops will be allowed to open in red zone districts," he said.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, announced that while all shops can open in Mandal headquarters and villages, only 50 per cent shops will be allowed to open in municipal towns in green and orange districts. The shops can remain open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Chief Minister made it clear that night curfew will continue across the state without any relaxation. KCR said he would review the situation on May 15 and decide whether to give relaxations in red zones or not.
The Chief Minister said the state on Tuesday reported 11 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,096. He said 43 people were discharged on Tuesday. With this, the number of active cases stands at 439.
Telangana government also decided to re-open all liquor shops except those in containment zones with 16 per cent hike in liquor prices from Wednesday.
The decision was taken by the state cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao. He told reporters after the meeting that liquor shops would open in all areas, including Hyderabad and other red zone districts. However, liquor outlets in containment zones will remain closed.
"The state has 2,200 odd liquor shops. Except for 15 shops in containment zones, all will be re-opened," he said.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, made it clear that the liquor outlets and consumers would have to ensure social distancing. "Any shop flouting these rules will be immediately shut down," he said.
The Chief Minister said that his government would not tolerate the chaotic situation witnessed in Delhi, Bengaluru and other cities. The shops can remain open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and sell liquor only to those wearing masks.
KCR said the government had to take a decision to re-open liquor shops as all four states which share borders with Telangana have re-opened them. "If we don't open shops here, it will lead to smuggling from neighbouring states," he said.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh all have re-opened liquor shops.
Meanwhile, the Centre has announced to facilitate their return on compelling grounds in a phased manner from May 7 on payment basis.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs made the announcement, informing that the travel would be arranged by aircraft and naval ships and a standard operating procedure (SOP) has been prepared in this regard.
Indian Embassies and High Commissions are preparing a list of distressed Indian citizens and the facility would be made available on payment basis, a statement issued by the Home Ministry said.
According to the statement, “Non-scheduled commercial flights would be arranged for air travel and the travel would begin in a phased manner from May 7.”
“Medical screening of the passengers would be done before they board the flight and only the asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel,” it said.
During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow the protocols, such as the health guidelines issued by the Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Ministry.
(IANS)
Stressing that the company needs to prepare itself for things getting worse, Goyal said that multiple aspects of his business have changed dramatically over the last couple of months and many of these changes are expected to be permanent.
"While we continue to build a more focused Zomato, we do not foresee having enough work for all our employees. We owe all our colleagues a challenging work environment, but we won't be able to offer that to 13 per cent of our workforce going forward," he said in a detailed statement.
Over the next couple of days, the company will get on Zoom video calls with the impacted employees to walk them through the next steps and help them find jobs as soon as possible.
"All our employees, who no longer have any work at Zomato, will continue to be with us at 50 per cent salary for the next 6 months," said Goyal.
"Some impacted employees work with us through manpower agencies and not directly on our payroll. We are going to help these agencies support these employees with two months of severance (vs 15 days of contractual obligation)," he added.
In March, Goyal had hinted that to conserve cash flows, hundreds of Zomato employees have taken deep voluntary salary cuts.
Zomato is offering those who are laid off to keep their company-issued laptops and phones (if any), saying that previously allocated ESOPs will continue to vest "during this period of 6 months, as all these people will remain on our payroll with reduced pay".
Starting June, said Goyal, the company proposed a temporary reduction in pay for the entire organisation.
"Lower cuts are being proposed for people with lower salaries, and higher cuts (up to 50 per cent) for people with higher salaries," informed Goyal.
If someone has already taken a voluntary cut equal to or more than the proposed temporary reduction in pay, he or she will not be expected to take an additional cut.
"This temporary reduction in pay will also be eligible for 2x ESOP grants just like the earlier voluntary cuts. I foresee (and hope) this to be around 6 months from now," said the Zomato CEO.
Zomato's business has been severely affected by the COVID-19 induced lockdown as a large number of restaurants have already shut down permanently.
"I expect the number of restaurants to shrink by 25-40 per cent over the next 6-12 months. What actually happens, for better or worse, is anybody's guess," Goyal said.
He, however, said that the company's burn rate is significantly down from the pre-COVID levels.
"We are, however, going to prepare ourselves for things getting worse. Covid-19 has been a black swan event for the world economy; and we do not yet know if we have hit the global minima in this journey with the virus," said Goyal.
"Therefore, we need to make sure that we preserve as much cash as possible to weather the storm if the business environment gets worse, or continues to be the same for the rest of the year or more," he added.
Zomato has over 150 offices globally.
Goyal also announced plans to make partial or full work from home a permanent feature.
This includes full-time work from home or at the field (for sales teams, office presence is only required for large team meetings, gatherings, performance reviews), part-time work from home (some days in office, other days at home), and work from the office (all days in office).
You Would Also Like To Read: Fighting COVID19: Zomato Launches ‘Contactless’ Food Delivery
Zomato Acquires UberEats In All-Stock Deal In India
(IANS)
Union Minister of HRD, Ramesh Pokhriyal took to Twitter on Saturday saying that CBSE is taking into consideration some additional ‘technical aspects’ after which the exam date sheets will now be announced on Monday.
#CBSE is taking into consideration some additional technical aspects before finalizing the datesheets of the board exams of classses 10th and 12th, due to which, the datesheets will now be released by Monday i.e. 18-05-2020. Inconvenience caused is sincerely regretted.
— Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) May 16, 2020
Earlier in the day, the MHRD had declared that it would come up with the finalized exam dates for the upcoming exams scheduled in July today at 5 pm.
The board exams for class 10 will be only for the students from northeast Delhi, where the exams could not be completed due to law and order situation. Similarly, class 12 board exams will be held for students nationwide.
The board had last month announced that it will only conduct pending exams in 29 subjects which are crucial for promotion and admission to higher educational institutions.
Sources said the schedule would be decided in order to ensure that the board exams are completed before competitive examinations such as engineering entrance JEE-Mains, which is scheduled from July 18-23, and medical entrance exam NEET, which is scheduled on July 26.
As many as 3000 CBSE affiliated schools have been selected as exam evaluation centres from where over 1.50 crore answer copies of both Class X and XII board exam papers would be despatched to the homes of designated evaluators, union HRD minister had announced on May 9.
According to the latest Union Home Ministry's order, "all other activities will be permitted, except those which are specifically prohibited" under the fourth phase of the lockdown that ends on May 31.
However, in containment zones, only essential activities will be allowed. States and union territories - based on their assessment of the situation - may prohibit certain other activities in various zones or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary, the order added.
Emails sent to Flipkart and Amazon India did not elicit a response.
Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice President of Paytm Mall, said the move will help the company deliver to most of the metro cities which were in the red zones.
"We thank the government for taking the decision for allowing the delivery of non-essentials in red zones across the country. This move will help us deliver to most of the metro cities which presently fall in the red zones," he said, adding that the company has received a sizeable number of consumer electronics wishlist orders from metro cities.
"...people have been waiting to buy laptops, mobile phones, as well as other daily use items for the last several weeks now. The government's decision will also help in opening up supplies of consumer electronics from warehouses which are in the red zones," Mothey said.
He added that the company has already had discussions with its merchant and logistics partners, and will start taking orders and delivering from Monday itself.
"We are ensuring that all state and central guidelines are followed to operate in the red zones. In the coming week, we hope for more relaxations in the interstate movement of non-essential goods so that e-commerce activity scales up," he added.
An industry executive, who did not wish to be named, said companies are waiting for more clarity from states before taking a final call on the resumption of services in various locations.
A Snapdeal spokesperson said the MHA guidelines pave the way for a broader resumption of economic activities across most parts of India.
"E-commerce has played a crucial role in the last two months by delivering a range of much-needed goods to consumers - within the safety of their homes. Our sellers and delivery partners have worked extensively to meet these requirements while exercising strict safety measures and we applaud their commitment in rising to the occasion," the spokesperson said.
He said the company is "ready and equipped" to now start serving customers all across India - in red, green and orange zones - and added that the development will enable lakhs of medium and small online sellers to start rebuilding their businesses.
In the first two phases of the lockdown (that started from March 25), e-commerce companies were allowed to sell only essential items like grocery, healthcare and pharmaceutical products.
In the third phase (from May 4), these platforms were allowed to sell all items in orange and green zones, but only essential items were allowed to be shipped in red zones that include top e-commerce hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.
Sales of non-essential items on e-commerce platforms in the first week of May were lower than last year on account of the lockdown, but orders were scaling fast as people bought apparel, smartphones and grooming products among other items.
The industry continues to face the challenge of availability of limited manpower for warehouses and delivery.
Similarly, cab-hailing services like Ola and Uber may also resume services across locations.
The MHA order said inter-state movement of passenger vehicles and buses with mutual consent of the states and union territories involved.
It added that intra-state movement of passenger vehicles and buses, as decided by the states and union territories.
These activities will be permitted with restrictions, except in the containment zones. Also, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the movement of people will continue to operate.
Ola and Uber did not respond to emailed queries.
(PTI)
You Might Be Interested:
Centre Allows States, UTs To Categorise Zones, Issues Revised COVID-19 Containment Protocols
COVID-19 Lockdown 3.0: E-Commerce Players Welcome Relaxations In Operations
In the order, issued by the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to the Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs, it is mentioned that states and UTs cannot dilute restrictions imposed in the MHA guidelines and can only make them stricter based on the local level assessment and the Health Ministry guidelines.
The order was issued on Sunday, soon after the MHA issued the guidelines for lockdown 4.0 to lower the spread of the deadly pandemic which so far has claimed 3,029 deaths and infected over 96,000 people across the country.
The MHA on Sunday issued revised guidelines regarding the lockdown restrictions, to contain the COVID-19 virus with "widespread relaxations given in the restrictions".
Under the new guidelines effective from Monday, states and UTs would now "delineate the red, orange and green zones, taking into consideration the revised guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Sunday".
Inside the red and orange zones, containment and buffer zones would be identified by the local authorities, based on local level technical inputs and Health Ministry guidelines, the MHA guidelines mentioned.
https://twitter.com/otvnews/status/1262051251065241606
Within the containment zones, the guidelines said, the strict perimeter would be maintained as earlier and only essential activities would be allowed.
Limited activities would continue to be prohibited throughout the country but "all other activities would be permitted except the ones that are specifically prohibited under the MHA guidelines".
In view of these points, the MHA has reiterated to the states and UTs that despite widespread relaxations given in the lockdown restrictions under revised guidelines, they "cannot dilute the restrictions imposed in the MHA guidelines".
They may prohibit "certain other activities or impose restrictions, as deemed necessary on the basis of a ground-level analysis of the situation", the order said.
Further, it has been communicated that states and UTs must take into consideration the benchmarks and thresholds indicated in the revised guidelines issued by the MoHFW, while delineating zones at the local level.
"It has also been urged to give wide publicity to the Centre and respective state guidelines at the local level for the convenience of the public," the order issued by the Home Secretary reads.
The lockdown since March 25, which entered its 55th day on Monday, has battered the economy and dealt a severe blow to daily wagers and the poor, posing a serious challenge for the Narendra Modi-led Central government.
The new nationwide lockdown guidelines got extended for the third time on Sunday, which was first imposed from March 25 and then extended from April 15 and May 4.
(IANS)
You Might Be Interested:
Centre Allows States, UTs To Categorise Zones, Issues Revised COVID-19 Containment Protocols
India Lockdown Extended Till May 31, Revised Guidelines Issued By Centre
After nearly two months of losing jobs following the enforcement of the nationwide lockdown in view of the Covid outbreak, the reopening of the city has now reignited hopes for lakhs of Odia people who used to depend on the scores of textile mills to earn their livelihood.
As per information, around 50 textile units out of the 1000 units operating under Anjali Industrial Estate in Surat have now resumed their operations. The textile mills federation in the city has assured that after getting a green signal from the government, more units will resume their operations.
Bijay Mangukia, the chief of textile traders association said the reopening of the factories has brought a new lease of life for the worker community which has been badly battered by the Covid outbreak and the lockdown.
However, lakhs of labourers who have returned from Surat to Odisha amid the Corona crisis could make it difficult for a full reopening. The families of migrant labourers who have come back to Odisha are also showing unwillingness to allow them to return to Surat apprehending more such crisis.
As per the district administration of Ganjam, one of the most migration-prone districts in Odisha, so far around 70,000 people have returned to the district and most of them are Surat returnees. It seems weeks of hardship have instilled fear & paranoia making them skeptical about returning and once again restarting their life's journey in the Silk City of the country.
Sridhar Mohanty, a Surat returnee said, "We fear that such crisis may hit back once again so we don't want to risk our lives by going back to Surat again. If Odisha government can provide us the opportunity to work, we will be grateful."
The situation has now posed serious questions about the fate of labourers who have returned. Furthermore, it remains to be seen how far Odisha is able to provide jobs to lakhs of homecoming migrants.
Another problem that continues to rear its ugly head even though it matters more to Gujarat, is that after losing its bulk of human resources due to lockdown, will the textile industry in Surat be the same again.
On the other hand, many Odias who have remained in Surat hoping to weather the crisis have now heaved a sigh of relief and are willing to stay back.
Chintamani, an Odia worker engaged at a textile mill said we are extremely happy to see that finally we can get down to work after weeks of hardship.
https://youtu.be/K-oyoyqZflY
Announcing the big development, State Private Bus Owners’ Association secretary Debendra Sahoo today said that they have decided to run buses from May 28 following a fruitful discussion with the government.
Private buses to ply in #Odisha from tomorrow, informs bus owners' association Secy Debendra Sahoo following general body meeting today pic.twitter.com/cv7s0rETeX
— OTV (@otvnews) May 27, 2020
"During the general body meeting today, the State government has fulfilled our three primary demands and assured to pay heed to some others in view of the losses incurred by bus owners due to lockdown. After a unanimous decision between all the stakeholders and keeping in mind the interest of the public, we have decided to run the buses across the State from tomorrow," said Sahoo.
The association secretary further said that the State Transport Minister has assured that taxes due on bus owners have already been exempted and steps are being taken for insurance facilities of bus staff.
"We know that presently bus owners will have to bear losses by running the buses with low passenger footfall but we have a social obligation and it is our aim to restore normalcy in the State," Sahoo said.
It is worth mentioning here that the Odisha government had already given green signal for plying buses in the State, but the buses remained off roads due to deadlock between the bus operators and the State government.
Initially, the buses were allowed to operate in green zones with 50 per cent occupancy and subsequently permission was given for running of buses across the State with easing of lockdown norms. However, the bus operators had put forth certain demands before the State government to resume the service.
The deceased identified as Pramila Dehuri, had gone to her farmland in the morning when she was attacked by an elephant. The incident which was the second death being reported in the last one week due to elephant rampage in the region triggered outrage among the locals.
On the other hand, another woman at Madhabalua village under Sadangi range in Dhenkanal died in a similar incident. The woman was allegedly sweeping her courtyard when an elephant unexpectedly attacked her. Immediately after the incident, the officials of the forest department reached the spot and launched an investigation in connection with the incident.
The situation seems to have gotten worse at Gunia village at Koira, Sundargarh with locals alleging that a herd of 10 elephants have been venturing into human settlements in the area after swaying their tracks from the jungle.
The pachyderms have left heavy damage to several houses and agricultural lands. Villagers have demanded the forest officials to ward off the stray elephants into deep jungle and also provide them with compensation for their damaged property and land.
It may be noted that incidents of man-elephant conflicts had slowed in Odisha in recent weeks possibly due to lockdown imposed in the wake of Covid outbreak.
According to Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), wild elephants in Odisha have killed 527 people between April 2014 and March 2020. During the last six years, as many as 442 persons have sustained injuries during conflicts with wild jumbos during a total of 805 recorded incidents of encounters between humans and elephants, the statistics said.
Angul district with 22 deaths has recorded the highest number of human deaths last year due to conflicts with elephants. The State continued to witness just over 100 human-elephant encounters during the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016. But incidents of the man-elephant confrontation showed a steep rise to touch 204 during last year.
As many as 115 people were killed while 132 people injured during 2019-2020, the WSO data said.
(Edited by: Suryakant Jena)
Some More Related Stories:
246 Elephants Died In Odisha In 3 Years: Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh
Elephant Attack Deaths: Forest Officials Unable To Relocate Captured Wild Tusker
Union Home Minister Amit Shah conveyed the views of states on the issue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, in Delhi earlier in the day.
The sources pointed out that many states, majority of them ruled by the BJP, are in favour of the lockdown extension for the fifth time due to increase in novel coronavirus cases in the wake of return of migrant workers from different states and Indians stuck abroad.
On Thursday, Amit Shah held telephonic talks with Chief Ministers of different states as to how successful the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown had been and what all were the expectations and demands of the states.
He held separate discussions with Chief Minister of his Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments in the states.
The sources said most Chief Ministers favoured lockdown extension for two more weeks, with focus on containment zones and normalisation of activities in other zones. The Goa Chief Minister wanted a 15-day extension.
The sources said that the Ministry of Home Affairs was busy devising the strategy to be adopted in the fifth phase of the lockdown in the background of the feedback received from different Chief Ministers.
(IANS)
Also Read:
All states and UTs are divided into two groups and two days are dedicated so that the Prime Minister can listen to all the Chief Ministers, official sources said on Friday.
Sources also add that Delhi, which has been witnessing a sudden spike in numbers, will feature on the second day. PM Modi's interaction with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been scheduled for June 17.
PM @narendramodi will interact with state Chief Ministers on the 16th and 17th. pic.twitter.com/RWGeanxgHd
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 12, 2020
There have been at least five such interactions so far with the fifth one taking place on May 11. It was this virtual interaction where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in a fiery mood. That interaction took place ahead of the expiry of lockdown 3.0 which was to end on May 17.
India has 1,41,842 active Covid-19 cases and 8,498 deaths, as of Friday evening. With lockdown 5.0, which is widely touted as Unlock 1.0, kicking in, the Covid numbers in many states have rapidly started to spike, which has become a cause of concern for the Centre as well as the states. Already, Central teams are being deputed to provide technical support and handhold the state Health Departments and municipal health officials in reviewing steps being taken to tackle Covid-19 in six key metros -- Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The lockdown, enforced on March 25, was originally supposed to end on April 14. It was then extended to May 3, and then again to May 17. The lockdown 5.0 will come to an end on June 30.
(IANS)
Stories You May Like:
COVID-19 crisis an opportunity, time for bold decisions and investments: PM Modi
COVID-19: PM Modi says advancements nations make in health sector will matter more than ever
Each and every Odia irrespective of where they are would never want to miss such an occasion even though Covid-19 pandemic has taken some sheen out of this most important agrarian festival of Odisha. The nostalgia of the festival must be captivating the minds of as many as 215 prabasi Odias in UAE as they are set to return to Odisha tomorrow after remaining stranded for months amid the COVID-19 shutdown. And to make their homecoming even more special, they are being flown back by none other than a lady pilot from their own state.
Capt. Madhusmita Pattnaik, an Odia pilot working with Air Arabia will operate the special chartered flight carrying the stranded Odias from Sharjah to Bhubaneswar. The flight is scheduled to take off from Sharjah International Airport at 8 am (UAE time) tomorrow (June 14, 2020) and touchdown at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar in the afternoon.
Madhusmita is also excited to return to her home State during such an occasion. Speaking to OTV, Capt Madhusmita Pattnaik said, "Many people will finally be able to return to Odisha all because of help from Odia Society in Dubai. The special direct flight will leave at 8 am UAE time."
Dr Chandra Sekhar Khuntia who spearheaded the initiative for the repatriation of these stranded Odias, informed that several distressed Odias sought help for returning to the Odisha. Later, the Odia Society in UAE with help of the Indian Embassy based in the Gulf country, India’s External Affairs Ministry and the UAE government arranged a chartered flight to repatriate the stranded Odias.
Clowns, who bring smiles to many people, animals like lions, tigers and elephants who perform on the directions of ring masters, motorcycles running in the well of death, beautiful girls performing stunts etc might not be seen anymore which means the circus might become a history for the next generation.
Anil Kumar, manager of Asiad Circus, told IANS, "Our circus has been closed since March 13. Some of the people working have gone back to their homes while some are still living in the camp but they are working as daily wage labourers. They sleep here after coming back from their work."
"The situation was already bad for us, but the pandemic spread has made it worst. Earlier, we hardly managed to earn bread and butter but now we don't even have money to recharge our phones," he said.
There used to be around 150-200 circuses in the country but due to the restrictions imposed due to coronavirus, they are on the verge of closure. Some of the circuses closed down due to increasing cost while the remaining are closing down due to various restrictions imposed by the government.
Though there is a circus association in the capital but due to lack of members it is also not active.
According to circus operators, around 10 to 15 circus closed down due to coronvirus while the remaining are struggling. According to Kumar, circus is no longer a profitable business and if the government does not pay attention, soon it will just be on papers.
However, the growth of multimedia has also affected the circus business as now children have a lot of options for their entertainment.
Rambo Circus, one of India's most popular and oldest circus, has been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to provide financial assistance to the members of this circus, it has started digital shows.
Rajesh Shah, a resident of Boroda, runs a consultancy which helps the circus companies. Shah said, "Out of 20 big circus across the country, only 10 big are existing now. All the artists have gone back to their hometowns because of Covid."
"It will be very difficult to get these artists back as they are very hardworking and they will find some other work for themselves."
The Great Bombay Circus, which started from Mumbai in 1920, completed 100 years this year and witnessed a great success but currently its condition is bad. Two brothers run this circus.
Sanjeev, the owner of the Great Bombay Circus, said, "150 members of the circus have gone back to their homes because of no work in the past seven years. Everyday cost of running a circus is around Rs 1 lakh. A lot of circus companies have closed down in the last two years. We even had to borrow money from relatives due to financial problems."
"There is an association, the Indian Circus Federation, but it is also not active now because there are no active members. More circus companies will close down in the future," he said.
"The government will have to help our industry financially. Nobody thought that this disease will bother for so long. While showing online circus is not feasible for a long time, because a whole family will watch the circus on one ticket which will result in huge loss for us in the future," Sanjeev added.
(IANS)
Also Read: How A Group Of City Students Defied The Lockdown Blues With Their Own Home-Cooked Food Start-Up
The PM cleared the air on the possibility of lockdown and said that there are no provisions to enforce such restrictions country-wide but also called for observing a vaccine festival between April 11-14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries.
#BreakingNews: No lockdown, says PM Modi after COVID meet with Chief Ministers pic.twitter.com/JP7lJ3suP4
— OTV (@otvnews) April 8, 2021
PM Modi tells Chief Ministers to observe 11th to 14th April as ‘Tika (vaccination) Utsav’ for Corona vaccination#TikaUtsav #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/3zMQMSwyXL
— OTV (@otvnews) April 8, 2021
In his interaction with chief ministers to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, Modi asserted that the country had much more resources to deal with the virus than before and the focus should be on micro-containment zones.
“There is a need to improve the governance system. I understand that because of the one-year battle, the system can experience tiredness and there can be laxity, but we must tighten it for 2-3 weeks and strengthen the governance,” he said.
Modi emphasised on ‘Test, Track, Treat’, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Covid management to contain the pandemic.
Along with public participation, our hard-working doctors and health-care staff have helped a lot in handling the situation and are still doing it, he said.
“With administration appearing lax in many states, rise in cases has increased problems. To stop the spread of the virus, there is a need to work on a war-footing,” he said.
The daily count of positive cases has reached a new record high of over 1.26 lakh, despite having dipped to about 20,000 a few weeks back.
At a high-level meeting with senior officials, Prime Minister Modi had on Sunday reviewed the COVID-19 situation and vaccination exercise in the country amid the “alarming rate of growth” in infections and deaths.
Modi had said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic, according to an official statement that was released after the meeting.
(With Inputs From Nitesh Kumar)