The Indian army was building a road and a small bridge near Pangong Lake and Chinese troops raised objections. The Chinese troops brought rocks, stick and barbed wire to fence off the area and the confrontation soon began.
Sixty-eight trains were scheduled to leave on Tuesday for UP, 27 for Bihar, and one train each were to leave for Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. Till 12 noon, only one out of 18 trains scheduled to depart for UP had left. At Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Kurla), thousands of migrants were brought in packed buses to board special trains.
I feel Sadananda Gowda should not have taken that flight if he had no intention to go for quarantine. If he went on a regular flight, he should have followed rules which were applicable to other flyers. There cannot be a different set of rules and norms for VVIPs and common people.
Nearly 23 lakh people were thus protected from infection and 68,000 lives were saved. Public Health Foundation of India has calculated that 78 thousand lives were saved, while Boston Consulting Group's model claimed that 1.25 to 2.10 lakh lives were saved in the nick of time.
In the present situation, the number of special trains cannot be reduced, nor can the migrants be allowed to enter their villages without being quarantined. Local police and district authorities have a huge task on their hands right now.
I am waiting for the day when people will not find a single migrant walking on foot on highways. The constant refrain of these migrant workers, who had lost their source of earnings, has been: "we want to go home". They were unwilling to listen to promises and pleas.
Rumour mongers are having a field day spreading baseless news on social media. On Tuesday, thousands of migrants assembled at Bandra terminus, Mumbai, to catch special trains. Many of them told India TV that they had got calls from people claiming to be speaking from police stations, asking them to reach Bandra station soon.
On Monday, India TV spoke to most of the chief ministers about the migrants' problem. Almost all of them agreed that the time for persuading migrants to stay home was now over, and arrangements must be made so that they reach their home states safely.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in India shot up to 85,786 with a spike of 3,787 new cases on Friday. For the sixth consecutive day in a row, the number of fresh cases have been in the 3,500+ range.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in India crossed 82,000 on Thursday with 3,995 fresh cases and 99 deaths reported during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,646. Nearly 27,686 patients have recovered. It was the fifth consecutive day of the graph rising at the rate of more than 3,500 a day.
With the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a Rs 3 lakh crore lifeline for micro, small and medium industries and relief for income tax payers and employees in organized sector, the first steps towards Atmanirbhar Bharat have begun. But the exodus of lakhs of migrant workers still continues and it has become a worry for state governments.
Normally big foreign investors will never say this, but the harsh ground reality is that there have been instances in the past when cases lingered on in our courts, the entire law was changed, and big infrastructure and investments made by foreign companies went waste.
The victims, tired after walking along railway tracks for 38 km, sat on the railway tracks, had a frugal meal of rotis and chutney, and then dozed off. By the time, the goods train ran over them, only five of them could jump away to safety.
Doctors in both government and private hospitals are, no doubt, putting in their best while treating COVID-19 patients. They undertake risks to their own lives. The nation respects these doctors and health workers.
In Tonk, Rajasthan, a group of youths sitting on the roadside was chewing paan and spitting on the road on Tuesday night. This was objected to by some senior citizens. Soon a brawl ensued, and groups of youths began stoning cars and homes causing head injuries to six persons.
For the last one and a half months, citizens are practically confined to their homes, children are not allowed to go and play in parks, doctors, nurses, police personnel have been away from their families for more than a month, ensuring that we stay in good health and the nation is protected from the pandemic.
The Railways did not want big crowds to gather at major railway stations. They passed on the onus of collecting fare to the state governments who were bilaterally organizing these trips.
Clearly, the lives of common people will change a lot after May 4. On one hand, we have to protect ourselves and our community from virus spread, and on the other hand, the government needs to allow economic activity so that the wheels of development and commerce can move. Let me make it clear: the time for celebrations is yet to come.
In Meerut, India TV reporter found rooms full of meal packets rotting. These were collected from hunger kitchens, depriving the needy of their morsel of food.
Apart from allowing the return of stranded persons, the Centre is now formulating guidelines for further relaxation of lockdown norms from May 4 in Orange and Green zones, where the pandemic has not affected human lives much.
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