By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Two brothers, potters by profession, have been sleeping under open sky for 40 days in Jaipur during lockdown along with their unsold stock of beautifully made earthen pots, clay bottles and home decor, hoping they would earn some money once the lockdown is lifted.

Things have remained unfavourable for them as people are wary of buying these pots fearing infection. Also, their plans of making Ganesha and Durga idols for the forthcoming festive season seem to be falling flat for they lack money and resources.

"The summer seems to be passing off silently without giving us any return," says Siyaram Prajapati, one of the two brothers, with a heavy voice. He says he and his brother have slept under open sky during lockdown and have not even gone to their village as they have to take care of their only asset -- the clay items.

They belong to Phagi, a small village near Jaipur, about 52 km from the state capital headquarters. "Like every year, we brought the latest stock of earthen pots, vessels, clay bottles and home decor to Jaipur, made by our family of 20 members. We start our from October each year," says Siyaram.

"We brought our work to Jaipur hoping to bring another set of stock lying in our house soon. We also planned to start making idols of gods and goddesses in June for Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri. But, this time, the stock we brought to Jaipur on March 20 has been lying unsold. No one wants to buy them amid theh corona scare and with no money in hand, it seems, the festive season this time would prove dry for us", he said.

"As the time passes, we are losing hope...to start making idols for Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri... we have no money with us to buy the raw material", he says.

"This is not only our story, but the story of many villagers. Last year, we sold around 80-100 pots each day since March. This year, we sold only 40 earthen pots till May 8," says the younger brother, Mahesh.

"People have been kind enough to offer us food. With all our savings having gone into making this stock, we have not moved from this place since March 24 for fear of thieves, animals and other incidents", he said.

"We eat and sleep alongside this stock of our earthen pots," he says. "This year, Lord Ganesha may not be visiting each household fearing corona...since we can't make the idols in the absence of money.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bengaluru police have organised a drawing and essay writing competition to encourage people to stay indoors and engage in creativity amid the Covid-19 lockdown, an official said on Saturday.

"Stay home, stay safe. When lockdown met art!...Drawing competition (below 14 years), topic - Nature. Essay writing competition (above 15 years), topic - Gratitude," said a poster tweeted by Rohini Katoch Sepat, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru South.

Sepat said the biggest ammunition in the war against Covid is the consistent support of people by staying indoors.

Police asked enthusiasts to post their creative work on the department's social media pages.

At least two police stations under Bengaluru South Division have called for entries, Chennammanakere Acchukattu and and JP Nagar.

The prizes for the creative posters on nature and essays on gratitude were, however, not revealed.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) City civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has put the brakes on chicken and mutton prices to bust profiteering amid lockdown, an official said on Friday.

"The maximum retail price for chicken and meat has been fixed to protect consumers during the period of lockdown," tweeted BBMP Commissioner B. H. Anil Kumar.

Price of 1 kg live bird (chicken) has been fixed at Rs 125, 1 kg dressed chicken Rs 160 kg and a kg of skinless chicken at Rs 180.

BBMP froze the price of a kg mutton at Rs 700.

Source: IANS

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Bhubaneswar, April 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) As many as 76 cases have been registered for rumour mongering during lockdown in Odisha, according to an official here on Thursday.

The Odisha Police have registered 144 cases over violation of different regulations and guidelines related to coronavirus in last 24 hours, said Subroto Bagchi, Odisha government chief spokesperson on Covid-19.

The cases have been registered during April 15-16.

Of the total cases, 134 cases had been registered for violation of lockdown, 4 for home quarantine and 6 for related issues, said Bagchi. 152 people have been arrested by police for different violations.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) After the Delhi government announced that it would give ration to the non-ration card holders and started issuing 'e-Coupons' to the poor to get the food grains free of cost, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said about 15 lakh people have applied for it.

"We all need to come together and help each other in this fight against the coronavirus," said Kejriwal.

Speaking to media, he said while his government is serving food to about 10 lakh people per day and can increase the capacity to even 15 lakh or 20 lakh depending on the requirements, people should actively highlight those looking for food or help.

"On Wednesday, we served cooked food for lunch and dinner to nine lakh people. We have enough capacity to feed 10 lakh people. We can even provide food to 15 or 20 lakh people, there is no issue of food. I request all to help the poorest of the poor in making them aware about the food shelters," Kejriwal said.

He said his team is active on social media and is also helping people if any food requirement comes on the platform.

"You need to highlight it. You can take the needy to the nearest shelter. No government or agency can work and succeed alone. We all should work together."

He said while people questioned the government for the 'e-coupon' for free ration, about 15 lakh applied for the e-coupons. "I know all are not aware. But we all have to work together. Those who can access the internet should help those in need."

The Chief Minister had also said that the needy can go to the office of the respective MLA and can take the help of his office for the registration.

The Delhi government has so far provided food grains to more than three lakh poor, who were not having ration cards, from about 375 locations, to help them deal with the crisis amid coronavirus lockdown, the Food and Supply Department said on Thursday.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) With scores of people in 72 houses in quarantine in Delhi's South District area after a pizza delivery employee tested positive for coronavirus, the question hangs heavy over whether door-to-door deliveries are a new health hazard.

Even though online food delivery applications across the country have started contactless delivery in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and incumbent social distancing rules, such an incident has become a matter of great concern.

After the incident, foodtech startup BOX8 with whom the delivery man was employed, stated, "After all precautions and vigilance, in an unfortunate turn of events, a delivery partner of our Malviya Nagar kitchen in South Delhi had tested positive yesterday."

The company also said that their delivery partner is keeping well and getting the required medical attention. "We have shut down the Malviya Nagar Kitchen in South Delhi for the next 14 days."

Online food ordering app Zomato, through which BOX8 sells food, on Thursday, confirmed that a rider from one of its restaurant partners tested positive forACovid-19. It, however, did not name the restaurant.

The online food ordering app further said that all the customers have been contacted, and the restaurant has been shut, effective immediately.

District Magistrate B.M. Mishra told IANS that after the incident surfaced, authorities immediately quarantined his 16 colleagues at the outlet and a detailed trail was followed to identify each house where food was delivered by the outlet.

"We have found that 72 houses had taken delivery from that outlet and hence everyone has been told to follow precautionary measures and be under self- quarantine," Mishra told IANS.

Another multi-national pizza outlet, Dominos, has also tried to assure consumers. "We have moved 100% of deliveries to Zero Contact Delivery thereby avoiding any physical contact with the customer. Additionally, all our Safe Delivery Experts are wearing gloves and masks to ensure the safety of our customers," the company said in a statement.

Source: IANS

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It was launched by the Women and Child Development Department, which already has a women helpline number 181.

"The WCD Department introduces a WhatsApp number 7205006039 for reporting cases of domestic violence. It already has a Women Helpline Number 181. Under lockdown experts feel instances of domestic violence may increase and this will be a useful tool for women in distress," tweeted the department.

Earlier, Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay said complainants need not go to police stations for lodging FIRs during the lockdown as the police would reach the complainant upon receiving a call.

The DGP has issued the instruction to police officers after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the police to give priority to domestic violence cases during the lockdown.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the rails free of passenger trains traffic, the Indian Railways (IR) has used them to earn money by transporting essential items. It has run special parcel trains, transported 20,400 tonnes of consignment and earned Rs 7.54 crore during the 21-day lockdown.

A senior railway ministry official said special parcel vans were made available for mass transportation by e-commerce entities and other customers, including state governments.

"Then railways decided to run time-tabled special parcel trains on select routes, to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items," he said and added, these special parcel trains were being operated on 65 routes.

The official said by 6 p.m. on April 14, of the 77 trains, 75 were time-tabled special parcel trains, with 1,835 tonnes of material loaded, earning the IR Rs 63 lakh in a day.

It had run 522 special parcel trains by 6 p.m. on April 14. Of this, 458 were time-tabled trains that ferried 20,474 tonnes consignment.

The IR had announced suspension of passenger, mail and express trains from March 24 to April 14. But with the extension of lockdown till May 3, it has extended the suspension and stopped the ticket booking until further notice.

Source: IANS

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Hyderabad, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Around 150 migrant workers, who were trying to go to Andhra Pradesh on foot, were persuaded by a Telangana Minister to stay back, here on Tuesday.

The daily wagers from Maredpally in Secunderabad had gathered with their wives and children at Habsiguda to leave for their villages in the Srikakulam district, over 700 km from here, in Andhra Pradesh.

With the lockdown extended till May 3, they wanted to return to their villages. "How can we survive here. We have no money to pay the rent. By going back to our homes, we will survive somehow," said a woman.

When the officials told them that on reaching Andhra Pradesh they would be kept in 14-day isolation, the labourers said they were ready for that.

Local legislator B. Subhash Reddy and Telangana Minister T. Srinivas Yadav succeeded in convincing them to stay in Hyderabad. Vehicles were arranged to take them to their rented places in the city. They were promised to be given Rs 500 each and 12 kg rice per head, as announced by the state government.

The Minister said the homeowners would be asked to defer the rent.

The incident occurred a few hours after Yadav said the government was extending all help to 1.80 lakh migrant workers in Greater Hyderabad. He also claimed that 95,000 workers were being provided free meals daily through Annapurna canteens.

However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) said on Tuesday rice and cash were being distributed among nearly 40,000 migrants.

Source: IANS

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Ranchi, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Dhanbad Lok Sabha member P.N. Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who returned to his home town in the Dhanbad district on Sunday, has been put into 14-day isolation, according to an official here on Tuesday.

The MP was alone at his officials residence in the national capital. He was feeling alone and also had some health issues.

On knowing about Singh's return, the state officials visited his residence and asked him to isolate himself for the mandatory 14 days and not meet anyone during the period.

"The Dhanbad MP has been home quarantined. His sample will be taken for Covid-19 test," said Ptashant Layak, circle officer.

In Jharkhand, two deaths and 24 coronavirus positive cases have been reported.

Source: IANS

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Jammu, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) It is the peak marigold flower harvesting season in J&K, but instead of taking the yield of the cash crop to Jammu markets, farmers are wasting it by throwing it into canals.

Many farmers with small landholdings at R.S. Pura near Indo-Pak border in Jammu had turned to flower cultivation to reap more benefits rather than following the traditional wheat-paddy cycle, but a lockdown in the wake of coronavirus has resulted in losses for them.

"Some farmers took to marigold cultivation lately, but due to the lockdown has resulted in farmers wasting the rich flower yield," said Rohit a farmer at RS Pura. "All the mandis and markets have closed so we can't sell our flowers and are facing daily losses."

RS Pura is said to be the rice bowl of Jammu and Kashmir and is famous for basmati rice, but farmers who diversified for more gains are in a fix now.

The farmers are now pinning hopes on the government to announce a farmer specific package to help them tide over the crisis.

"Farmers have supported the lockdown call given by the government, but it is the duty of the government to think about farmers and to ensure that they don't lose their livelihood," said Jasbeer Chowdhury, a farmer.

Farmers say they need help even as the lockdown period has been extended.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka police helpline will unite lockdown separated family members for births and deaths, a top police official said on Tuesday.

"We will try to facilitate and unite families within the city, state or states, as onetime medical emergency in the below cases only: Childbirth and sad demise of a family member," tweeted Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood.

Sood listed three phone numbers for people to contact facing such medical emergencies, 22942300, 22942400 and 22942500.

The top cop, however, said the interested parties must arrange their own transportation and produce medical transcriptions for scrutiny.

"Please arrange your own transport and medical transcriptions for verification," Sood said.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Five people driving around Karnataka's Kodagu district in a roofless off-road vehicle have been arrested for violating the lockdown,an official said on Monday.

"We have booked a case against five people touring in roofless jeep, violating lockdown conditions," Kodagu Superintendent of Police Suman D. Pennerker told IANS.

Police arrested Karthik, Aruna, Chetan, Ranjit and driver Swamy under Indian Penal Code's Section 188 and the Disaster Management Act's Section 51B.

According to Penneker, the group of five checked into Padington resort, and were related to the property's manager.

The manager also joined the group in their drive.

"Some local people shot videos of those moving people which were shared with the police. Police went and verified," Pennekar said.

A rumour also did rounds that the lockdown violating tourists were related to a JD-S MLA but the police denied it.

"We got a tip off that some lawmaker had come and stayed in the resort and that his family was hanging around. We got to know that the people hanging out were the relatives of the resort manager, not the JD-S MLA," the SP said.

The SP said that the lawmaker did not violate any lockdown conditions nor his family was present, saying he came only with his driver.

Pennekar, however, did not reveal the name of the lawmaker.

All the five accused were released on bail.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hundreds of horticulture and floriculture farmers in Karnataka are reeling under heavy losses due to labour shortage, lack of transport and buyers, a senior Congress leader said on Monday.

"Though Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa claimed no farmer or grower would suffer due to lockdown, hundreds of them in the state are reeling under losses as their produce is perishing due to labour shortage, absence of transport and buyers at the market," opposition party's state unit President D.K. Shivakumar told IANS here.

Shivakumar visited several farms growing fruits, flowers and vegetables in Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts to assess the damage the sudden lockdown has been causing since it was enforced on March 25 across the country to contain the coronavirus spread.

"Besides meeting the consumption needs of Bengaluru, the growers export their produce, especially flowers to Europe and the Gulf region. With flights also grounded, they are not only unable to send them, but see them perishing in their farms," Shivakumar said.

The neighbouring districts are pocket boroughs of Shivakumar, who represents the Kanakapura assembly segment in Ramangara district, and his younger brother D.K. Suresh is the Lok Saba member from Bengaluru Rural constituency.

Although the Centre has allowed farmers/growers to carry on their activities, including harvesting and transporting their produce to the markets, suspension of public transport service during the lockdown has prevented them from getting labour to their fields.

Salubrious climate and availability of ground water or Cauvery river water makes farmers/growers produce a variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables through the year for domestic and export markets.

"The growers told me that no agriculture or extension officer visited them since the lockdown began to enquire about their plight. As the lockdown is likely to continue for 2 more weeks, at least in Bengaluru and Mysuru, which are Covid hotspots, the state government should rescue them from ruin, as flowers, fruits and vegetables are perishable," Shivakumar demanded.

Clarifying that he was not politicising the issue as parties and people were united in its fight against the virus, he said as Yediyurappa was a son of a farmer and took oath as Chief Minister in the name of farmers, his priority should be the welfare of farmers and growers, who have no other means of earning income.

"The Chief Minister should rush his Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers to villages across the state along with officials to mitigate their hardship, as they are the worst victims of the crisis," reiterated Shivakumar.

The state government should arrange farm labour, transport and support price to ensue the farmers/growers get remunerative price for their produce in the market, just as the services and industry sectors are given so many incentives and tax reliefs to sustain them, he added.

Source: IANS

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Srinagar, April 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the start of tele classes and e-learning initiatives, the students of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir will be able to study at home during the lockdown announced to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The J&K government has also decided to provide 2,500 low-budget educational tablets to the students of classes 10 and 12 for enhancing their virtual learning experience. The tablets would be loaded with textbooks, problem-solving techniques and other related material.

The Department has also started tele classes on Doordarshan on a daily basis from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. by resource persons of the Education Department. Tele classes have also been started on local cable networks.

Meanwhile online virtual classes are being started through different platform like WhatsApp, Zoom Cloud, Skype, Google Classroom to reach out to the children.

"The schools have to form different groups of their students and teachers and accordingly form a timetable for virtual classes. They should also engage them in a play way activity, quizzes, assignments, small projects in a two-way process," Principal Secretary, School Education, Asghar Samoon said.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent 21-day lockdown triggering a financial crisis, cash-starved Karnataka has decided to auction 12,000 housing sites to raise funds, according to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday.

"The government will auction 12,000 corner sites, lying idle in Bengaluru, to raise funds for development works," Yediyurappa said after a meeting with Ministers and officials here.

Yediyurappa also holds the portfolio of Bengaluru development.

The meeting explored ways and means to mobilise resources for funding various schemes, announced in the budget for 2020-21 on March 5 and passed in the Assembly on March 24.

"The state government will also be able to mobilise funds from stamp duty and penalty by regularising unauthorised houses and buildings after a speedy disposal of cases pending in the high court and the Supreme Court," said the Chief Minister.

Though the state government is set to extend the 3-week lockdown by 15 days in the coronavirus hotspots, like Bengaluru and Mysuru, if not in the entire state, from April 15, it's waiting for the Centre's guidelines for partial relaxation.

"The meeting also decided to amend the law to allow sale of vacant sites/plots in private and cooperative housing societies for constructing homes or flats and raise funds from their registration fee, including stamp duty," said Yediyurappa.

"Corner and vacant sites in towns across the state under the State Urban Development Authority will also be auctioned to raise funds for post-Covid expenses to restore normalcy," the Chief Minister said.

The meeting also decided to use Rs 1,000 crore with the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Health University to modernise all state-run hospitals to improve services.

The state government has decided to distribute free milk for one week to the needy, including daily wagers, street vendors and construction workers.

As lakhs of farmers and growers of fruits and vegetable are reeling under the lockdown, Yeddiyrappa urged sugar mills for early release of Rs 2,834 crore dues to cane growers.

"The state government has released Rs 45 crore compensation for paddy crop loss in Raichur and Koppal districts in the state's northern region due to hailstorm, winds and unseasonal rains," Yediyurappa said.

The Chief Minister will hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday after Prime Minster Narendra Modi addresses the nation at 10 a.m. on Covid measures and the lockdown.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, April 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Monday announced extension of lockdown till April 30 and said all the restrictions would continue.

In a statement issued here, Palaniswami said that based on the recommendation made by expert group and the decision taken at the cabinet meeting held on April 11, the lockdown has been extended.

He also said rice and one kg sugar/oil/dal will be given free of cost to ration card holders for May.

Palaniswami also said Rs 1,000 will be paid to construction workers and members of various sectoral welfare boards.

Similarly, migrant workers will be issued 15kg rice, 1 kg dal and one kg cooking oil free of cost.

According to him, based on requests, bakeries will be allowed to function between 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and they can do only parcel sales.

Palaniswami said the government has made arrangement with Telemedicine Society of India so that people can do get clarifications.

Source: IANS

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By Anand Singh

Noida, April 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Around 20-25 women gather near the Noida Sector 16 Metro station around 9 a.m. every day to collect some cooked food or ration, distributed by the state government.

But most of them return empty-handed as they are too old to stand in the queue for long or run to the food vehicle.

Savitri, in her late 80's, a resident of Panna in Madhya Pradesh, was not lucky on Monday either. "I come here everyday in hope of getting some food. But today again I didn't get food," she told IANS.

"The administration distributes food and ration everyday. But at this age I can't run and stand in the queue," she said.

Rukmini, a widow and mother of five, said, "I come here everyday to receive some food or ration. But often return home without any, as the cops chase us away to our homes."

Also, it's tough for people like them to compete with others to get food, she said and added, many times me and my children spend the day without food.

Situation in sector 71 of Noida is no different. A group of 10-15 people, mostly women, had come from the Gaur City's Shiv Colony to a spot near the Kailash Hospital in the hope of receiving some food. They claimed to have received no ration or food in the past 15 days.

Said Chandani, "We approached the police personnel at Noida Sector 71 police station. They shared with us some mobile numbers, but we are yet to get any help. Today, we heard that food is being distributed in this area. When we came, we were told food was being served in some other area."

She claimed to have called the police helpline 112 several times in the past 15 days, but didn't get any help.

Another woman near sector 71 of Noida said in the past 18 days, they were not getting enough to eat.

"I have small children at our home. I have no money to buy milk for them," Monika, a resident of sector 71, said holding one-year-old kid in her arms, whose husband was a daily wager. Due to 21-day lockdown, he could get no work and hence no money to feed the family.

"We can stay hungry till afternoon, when the time food distribution begins. But the children can't wait for that long," she said and added, supply of ration would be a great help as I would be able to cook that for children.

It's sad that despite food and ration being provided by the Noida district administration, many non-government organisations, private companies and several others, many had to go without food.

Perhaps, something more needs to be done for the poor and the needy.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at Anand.s@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Bhubaneswar, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Odisha Transport Department on Sunday allowed Ola to provide 100 cabs as emergency mobility services to and from hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack during the lockdown period.

The Transport Commissioner, in an order, said that Ola will provide 100 cabs in the twin cities for the emergency mobility services to the public including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff.

The state government has extended the lockdown period till April 30 to combat Covid-19.

The Regional Transports Office (Bhubaneswar-I) will coordinate with Ola for issue of passes to the vehicles to operate during the lockdown period.

The driver has to upload photo and their IDs of the passengers to their system for each trip. The persons not having IDs with them should not be allowed for any ride, said the order.

Source: IANS

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Hyderabad, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the lockdown extended till April 30, authorities in Telangana on Sunday announced postponement of TS EAMCET and all other common entrance tests for admissions into professional courses scheduled in May.

The Telangana State Council for Higher Education (TSCHE) said that all common entrance tests stand postponed due to extension of lockdown by the government. The new dates will be announced later.

It also announced that the last date for payment of fee and submission of online applications for all the Common Entrance Tests (CETs) without late fee is extended up to May 5.

Telangana State Engineering, Agriculture & Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) was scheduled in the first and second weeks of May.

Other CETs scheduled in May include TS Engineering Common Entrance Test (TS ECET) for diploma holders of engineering, technology and pharmacy, TS Physical Education Common Entrance Test (TS PECET) and TS Integrated Common Entrance Test (TS ICET) for admissions into MBA and MCA courses.

Andhra Pradesh has also postponed all CETs scheduled to be held in May due to coronavirus induced lockdown.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the government will initiate the process of providing relief assistance to gramin and 'phatphat sewa' drivers, taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers from Monday.

Addressing the media, Kejriwal said the government is taking all measures for the security of the most vulnerable and poorest sections of society.

"We are providing food for these people. Around 71 lakh beneficiaries are provided ration and 23 lakh beneficiaries, who do not have ration cards, have applied and they will also be provided ration through our schools," he said, listing the welfare schemes of the government.

Kejriwal said the construction workers were provided Rs 5,000 as relief assistance.

He said the public vehicle drivers with a valid driver's license and valid driver's badge, will get the relief assistance from Monday.

The benefit will be given to all PSV badge holders who have been issued the badges till March 23. In case of persons whose driving licences have expired on or after April 1, will also be considered for grant of the benefit. A helpline service -- 011-23930763 & 011-23970290 -- will be available for answering the queries of PSV badge holders between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Kejriwal said the lockdown has affected thousands of public service transport drivers.

"We are providing them relief assistance of Rs 5,000 each to help their families in these distressing times. From Monday, all the drivers will be able to submit their applications on the Transport Department's website. I would like to appeal to them to register on the website of the Delhi Transport Department," Kejriwal added.

The drivers can apply on the website 'transport.gov.in' by filling the driving license number, PSV Badge number and contact number on the website.

"The applicant will then receive an OTP, and after putting the OTP, a new screen will appear asking details such as applicant's Aadhaar number, Date of Birth, and gender. The application process will then be completed and the relief assistance will be transferred to the applicant's Aadhaar linked bank accounts," the Transport Department said.

Assistance will be given to drivers of auto rickshaws, taxis, gramin sewa, phatphat sewa, maxi cab, eco-friendly sewa, e-rickshaws and school cabs, it added.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the amount will help the drivers "in these times of distress".

The passenger transport services in Delhi have been stopped to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The restrictions are in force since the announcement of the 21-day lockdown.

As a result, a large number of persons including the drivers of public service vehicles were adversely affected financially.

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the 21-day lockdown set to continue from April 15 for 2 more weeks to contain the coronavirus spread, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) stopped booking tickets, as bus service will also remain suspended till further notice, an official said on Sunday.

"We have stopped ticket bookings from Sunday until further order. We are processing booked tickets for refund, as public transport service will remain suspended during the extended lockdown," a KSRTC official told IANS here.

Though the state-run corporation stopped operating its service on intra-state and inter-state routes since March 25 when the 3-week lockdown was suddenly enforced, it was booking tickets for trips within and outside the state from April 15 onwards.

"About 5,200 tickets were booked in advance, including 4,600 for buses leaving Bengaluru on April 15. They are being cancelled and the amount will be refunded," the official added.

Touted to have the largest air-conditioned Volvo fleet of buses in the country, KSRTC operates services in 17 of the 30 districts across the southern state and to neighbouring states, including Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

The corporation has about 8,650 buses and ferries about 30-lakh passengers daily in normal days. Its subsidiaries in the state's northeast and northwest regions operate services in the remaining 13 districts, transporting about 40-lakh people daily.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the Centre is focussing on quick solution to the issues flagged with the Union Home Ministry control room.

A team of officers of Joint Secretary and above from various ministries are engaged with the task and they try to resolve the issues in coordination with the state and Union Territory governments.

"Issues raised with the Home Ministry control room are solved by the officials of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Railways and Civil Aviations who take help of state governments for the purpose," a ministry official said.

In its persistent effort to help the needy during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Home Ministry has been addressing hundreds of calls received from people from different states. These queries were addressed by its nine control room helplines being run round-the-clock for seven days at its office.

The official also said that the state governments are trying their best in providing door to door supply of essential commodities to the people residing in hotspot areas so that they should not go out of their houses.

The state governments are also taking help of volunteers and the civil society organisations in this effort, the official said. As per the official, Army units have also come forward at some locations and they have been extending their support in distribution of food and increasing awareness in rural areas.

"The condition of essential commodities is under control."

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far claimed 273 lives and infected over 8,000 people across the country despite the nationwide 21-day lockdown imposed here since March 24 to break the transmission of the deadly disease.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday allowed godowns (warehouses) and cold storages to store any goods as it exempted them from the lockdown while directing states and Union Territories to follow the measures as well as ensuring movement of employees of manufacturing units of essential goods.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla gave the instructions in a fresh letter to the state and UT Chief Secretaries and authorities on Sunday.

He reminded the states and UTs to ensure the movement of inter-state and intra-state cargo movement of essential goods.

"Union Home Ministry on Sunday again issued clarification to the state and Union Territory (UT) governments instructing that there is no restriction on inter-state or intra-state cargo movement of essential items or any other items," a ministry official said in a press briefing.

"Godowns and cold storages can store any kind of goods. The godowns inside the company premises are also under exempted category. It is also directed to all state authorities to ensure the movement of employees of the manufacturing units of essential goods."

The instruction came just two days ahead of the end of the nationwide lockdown, with no word yet about its future. The movement of essential goods and services are exempted from the lockdown measures while violations are punishable under the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code as per the Home Ministry's consolidated guidelines.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Delhi Congress on Saturday fed labourers and the Yamuna Khadar area's farmers under the 'Congress Ke Rasoi -- Aao Haath Badhaye' programme at 105 places in 14 districts of the city and distributed ration at 43 places.

Speaking to reporters, Delhi Congress chief Chaudhary Anil Kumar alleged that the cooked food distributed by the AAP government was of low quality.

"Congress workers have shown mirror to the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by feeding the 50,000 needy and poor daily. The Delhi government has been patting its back by providing half-cooked and cheap food to the poor in Delhi."

On the occasion, the Congress leader also reiterated its demand that power and water bills of Delhi people be waived for three months. School fees should also be waived, he added.

On Saturday, the number of cronavirus cases in India rose to 7,548 with 242 deaths.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Cracking the whip on the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal, the Union Home Ministry has written to the state Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police seeking action against the 'dilution' of lockdown measures in the state, functioning of shops selling non-essential items and permission for religious gatherings by the state police.

"As per further reports received from security agencies, gradual dilution of lockdown has been reported from West Bengal, with an increase in the number of exceptions being provided by the state government," read the letter sent by the Internal Security Division of the MHA.

Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee government allowed sweet shops to stay open. There were also reports of the Bengal government allowing flower shops to open. But what brought discomfiture to the Mamata government is mention of allowing a huddle at certain minority dominated places that may be used by the opposition to cry appeasement, a charge Banerjee's government has often faced.

"There is no regulation of vegetable, fish and mutton markets where people have been thronging in complete violation of social distancing norms in Rajabazaar, Narkel Danga, Topsia, Metiabruz, Garden Reach, Ikbalpur and Maniktala in Kolkata," read the letter written by Deputy Secretary Srinivasu K.A.

The MHA told the Bengal top bureaucrat and top cop that these are in complete violation of the MHA orders which involved the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to enforce a complete shutdown for 21 days across India and is now tipped to be extended for another couple of weeks.

The Ministry has not only demanded strict action by the Mamata Banerjee government in the matter but asked for a report on the action it has taken against the violators.

Source: IANS

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Amaravati, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Even as he favoured continuation of the lockdown in the state's red and orange zones, and relaxation in areas unaffected by COVID-19, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Saturday, assured his support to implement Prime Minister's decision on the matter.

During the course of the PM's interaction with chief ministers across the country, Jagan Reddy appraised him of the measures taken in the state and the impact of coronavirus on farming activities in the state.

Pointing out that the state is largely agrarian contributing to 35 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and employing nearly 65 per cent of the workforce, Jagan Reddy apprehended that lakhs of farm-families stare at destitution, if the present circumstances continued.

Speaking about the state's COVID-19 strategy, the Chief Minister said 141 clusters have been identified for focused containment measures. He pointed out that of the 676 mandals in the state, 37 are red zones or severely affected areas, and 44 are orange zones which are partially affected.

In all, 81 mandals are categorised as red and orange zones. The remaining mandals are unaffected and denoted as green zones, he explained to the Prime Minister.

"Lockdown should be limited to red zones. Restrictions can be continued in places with mass gathering. Social distancing can be continued in other places. While I have given my opinion, the country should move ahead with one single strategy. Whatever strategy you suggest, we will go ahead with it," he assured the Prime Minister.

Drawing parallel to the influenza epidemic of 1918, which affected India's economy for nearly two years, the Chief Minister said that India should prepare for a long-haul strategy now. He called attention to the state's lack of storage for agriculture and aqua produce.

Source: IANS

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Patna, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Since the declaration of Bihar as a dry state in April 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been taking various measures to stop the liquor mafia from smuggling in huge consignments of liquor from neighbouring states but apparently to no avail.

A video which recently took the Internet by storm, shows state JD-U Vice President Vishal Gaurav in an inebriated state, singing and dancing with a bottle of liquor in his hand amid the lockdown.

Soon after the video went viral, the opposition parties spared no effort to attack the ruling party. Taking to Twitter, the RJD said, "Nitish Kumar ji this man is JDU's state vice president. Despite liquor ban in the state, the leader could be seen sanitizing himself by dancing. The poor in Bihar are dying due to lack of ration and the chief minister has failed to control the law and order situation in the state."

Retweeting this tweet, former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad wrote, "Respected Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ji, the leader should be arrested immediately. If this person who violates the law is not arrested then it clearly means that the government itself is violating the legal barriers and getting it done. "

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Family members of Rama Shankar have not seen him for about a fortnight as he has been staying in his office since the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 23 to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Speaking to IANS, Shankar, who works at the RailTel and has been posted at Gurugram data centre, said, "Sometimes it gets lonely, so we make either audio or video calls to our family members."

He said senior collegaues call them regularly to keep up the motivation.

Speaking about the work at the data centre, Shankar said the work load has increased as the on-ground staff is very limited.

"With support from the team, we are managing all the work," he said.

RailTel, a 'mini Ratna' PSU of the Indian Railways handles crucial communication system, video conferencing and implementation of e-office platform as well as storing important data for the national transporter in its two data centres in Haryana's Gurugram and in Telangana's Secunderabad.

"Running the data centre is extremely crucial and we cannot afford any faults here. That is why we are keeping ourselves motivated," he said, adding the data centre is being cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Besides Rama Shankar, there are other employees of RailTel who are also out in the field to ensure connectivity to the railways.

RailTel officials said all the video conferencing service is being supported by RailTel's TPaaS NOC (National Observation Centre) at Secunderabad.

Ravi Kumar, team leader of TPaaS NOC, is now handling more work with only 50 per cent of workforce available in the office.

"We participate in video conferencing with railway officials even late at night for which we have one official, enabling us to ensure video conferencing 24X7," Kumar said.

However, the bigger challenge for the officials is to persuade their families to get accustomed to the situation. "My family is supportive, but they are very worried about my safety. Every evening, when I reach home, my daughters come running to me, but I avoid them and rush to take a bath first."

"It is too much for me to ask them to stay away from me, even for sometime, but I have to do this for their sake," Kumar said.

Commenting on the arrangements made by the RailTel for their staff, spokesperson Sucharita Pradhan said: "Some of our staff are staying in our Gurugram office to ensure ground support. RailTel has provided them beds and food."

She said in the current crisis situation, ensuring the availability of essential commodities and associated supply chain is of paramount importance for which railway freight operations need to run without any hiccups.

She said in such a scenario it is all the more important for keeping the network and data centre operations stable so that it doesn't hamper the railway freight movement and communication across the country.

She further stated that a large number of banks are also dependent on RailTel services for their data communications needs.

The RailTel spokesperson said that to run the two data centres and four regional network operation centres and one central network operation centre, RailTel management has deployed minimal physical workforce of two to three employees for whom rosters have been prepared and duties assigned on a rotation basis.

To facilitate meetings from home, video conferencing facilities have been installed at the residence of 15 General Managers and head of five production units of railways for meetings with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi and Chairman Railway Board V.K. Yadav.

The RailTel officials said the same service is also being used for coordination between GMs and DRMs and other officers who are participating through either telepresence or WebEx from their residence.

Pranoy Mondal, Senior Manager of RailTel, who handled the video conferencing equipment installation in the Eastern region said, "Lockdown posed a number of challenges, but we managed to set up the video conferencing system quickly."

He said that the RailTel also upgraded the Railnet speed to facilitate high- speed internet for railway officials at their residences at some places and apart from these special arrangements, the regular maintenance work, fault rectifications, maintaining links for banks are being taken up.

"We have been given proper protective gears like masks, gloves for working the fields for these kinds of maintenance and repair works. We are maintaining social distancing and taking all kinds of precautionary measures while we are working," Mondal said.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Terming the sudden 21-day lockdown hasty and unplanned, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supremo and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda on Saturday said lakhs of farmers and workers were reeling under its domino impact.

"The lockdown was a hasty decision taken without foresight and proper planning due to which lakhs of farmers, labourers and workers across the state are suffering untold hardship as their life has been disrupted as never before," Gowda said in a letter to state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in Kannada.

Though Gowda assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his support to the central government's war against the virus when the latter spoke to him on Wednesday, he did not mince words in saying the state government should have consulted experts, farmers, traders and other stakeholders before clamping the lockdown overnight, with buses, trains and flights suspended.

Though the central government tweaked the guidelines to allow farmers and growers to carry on their activities, including harvesting the crops and sowing for intermediary crops, the absence of transport and curbs like social distancing have hit them hard.

"With 60 per cent of the state's 6.5-crore population dependent on the agriculture sector despite its 3-4 per cent contribution to the GDP," Gowda said farmers and growers were facing acute financial distress due to the lockdown and the inability to sell their produce.

To mitigate the hardships of farmers producing food crops and growers of vegetables and fruits, their labour and intermediaries, Gowda said the state government should lift all curbs on their activities, including harvesting, procuring, processing and ferrying their produce to markets.

"As the lockdown, suspension of public transport service and strict enforcement of social distancing stalled even the movement of farmers and their intermediaries, growers are suffering huge losses due to vegetables and fruits perishing in tonnes in the summer heat," Gowda told Yediyurappa in the letter.

Touted as a 'son of the soil' and a farmer himself, the 87-year-old veteran leader urged the prime minister and the chief minister to ensure agricultural activity did not suffer further if the lockdown is extended beyond April 14.

Accusing the Centre of ignoring the warning signals since the first Covid case was reported in Kerala on January 30, Gowda said the lockdown was decided without planning and factoring in the plight of farmers, migrant labour, daily wagers and lakhs of workers in the informal sector.

"Though the Centre had two months to prepare for the inevitable, it kept quiet till mid-March and woke up to lock down 1.3 billion people across the country without giving them time or opportunity to prepare for enduring the crisis," recalled Gowda.

Appreciating measures to contain the spread of the virus in the southern state, especially in cities and towns and ensure social distancing was maintained to prevent community transmission so far, Gowda said the state government should lift curbs to ensure horticulture produce like fruits, vegetables and flowers were plucked in time and transported to markets for sale so that growers could benefit.

"The state government should also ensure the supply chain from farm to market is maintained by procuring the perishable goods from growers at a fair price and sold through horticulture kiosks across the state for the benefit of producers and consumers," Gowda added.

Source: IANS

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Panaji, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Virutally enemies back home, a 'helpline' run by Russians, Ukrainians and foreigners from other Russian-speaking nations, is coming to the aid of international travellers stranded in Goa due to the lockdown, sorting out their food, medicine queries as well as advising frantic callers about visa-related issues.

The lockdown which has inevitably imposed tremendous hardships on stranded foreign populations, especially tourists, is forcing them to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 global pandemic, including getting used to 'dal-chawal'.

The helpline anchored by Roman Naumov, who hails from Moscow, but is in Goa on a business visa, consists of Russians, Ukranians all working together through phone and social media communication apps like Whatsapp and Telegram.

"There about half a dozen of us. Russian, Ukrainians, all working together on Telegram channel, etc. People who are in need, they post seeking assistance and members of groups arrange for help," Naumov told IANS.

While food supply has somewhat regularised now, during the initial spell of chronic food shortage, several Russians had to make do with dal and rice, a sea change from their staple of bread and borscht back home.

"Russians have to adjust to eating dal and rice. What else could one doAat such a time, when there was not much available. At least there was his. This is a rare situation where people have no food, no money, no relatives, no friends," Naumov said, adding that food in India was still cheaper compared to Russia.

The helpline also informs tourists with little or less money about places where cooked food is being distributed by philantropists for free. Or people fund the helpline volunteers, so that food and medicine can be arranged in case of emergencies," Naumov further said, adding that the helpline over the period of the lockdown has attended to hundreds of pleas for help from Russian, Russian-speaking tourists from Commonwealth of Independent States countries and other foreign as well as Indian tourists, who were stranded in Goa.

Added to the worry now, says Anastasia Gritsay, who runs a dual language -- Russian and English -- publication 'Colours of Goa' is the price of the fare back home.

"A ticket by special flights to Russia is 400 Euros. There are many who are worried about this," she said. Especially those on a tight budget and some who have lost jobs back home due to the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic are getting anxious. The inability of most Russians to converse in English, the most commonly used foreign language in India, is also an obvious hurdle she says.

As far as the Goa government is concerned, according to Amit Satija, an Indian Administrative Service officer who has been appointed by the state government as the nodal officer for affairs related to foreign nationals in the state, while availability of flights remains an issue, more than 3000 foreigners have been repatriated to their respective countries.

"We have evacuated nearly 3,300 foreign nationals of different nationalities through 19 flights which have left via Goa. One of the main issues though has been availability of flights," Satija told IANS.

Goa is one of the most popular destination for foreign tourists, especially those from Russia and the United Kingdom.

Source: IANS

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The incident occurred late on Friday night when the detainees converged at the bungalow of local BJP corporator Ajay Bahira.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided the premises and took into custody the 11 persons including Bahira, partying with liquor on the bungalow terrace, said Senior Inspector of Panvel Police Station A. K. Landge.

They have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Local politicians have demanded that stringent punitive action be initiated against Bahira, including suspension as a corporator to serve as a deterrent to others.

The latest incident comes just five days after BJP legislator from Wardha, Dadarao Y. Keche celebrated his birthday on April 5 and over 200 people gathered at his home in Arvi.

Videos and pictures of the event went viral with the gathering estimated at more than 200 men and women, seen thronging outside the lawmaker's home where he was reportedly distributing relief material.

The Wardha district authorities took serious note of the incident and slapped a notice on Keche, but the legislator alleged that it was "a conspiracy hatched by his political opponents".

Source: IANS

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By Rohan Agarwal

New Delhi, April 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Same professor, similar notes, identical lecture points, but everything is not the same for the students in universities across the nation.

Eversince the coronavirus pandemic started to gain momentum in India, country having second largest population across the globe, educational institutes were the first ones to be closed down as precautionary measures. Since then e-learning has been projected as an alternative to face-to-face teaching, but various students and professors claim otherwise.

Putting out issues with the e-learning module which for now is the only alternative to continue the educational calendar, professors and students led by various students' bodies have now started to demand extension of the semester to compensate for the loss of face-to-face interaction.

"First of all the universities are not well prepared for e-learning modules, we have to use third party apps to connect to students. But the biggest concern is availability of resources with students to avail online classes," Rajesh Jha, member of Delhi University's executive council told IANS.

Jha hinted towards the need of high speed internet, laptops/desktops among other hardware as an essential to avail the online classes which are mostly provided through video calls or video recording of the lectures.

"Not only students, but many ad-hoc teachers also in the varsity are facing this issue, their salary structure might not aide them well to get these resources," he added.

Jha's views were also supported by students from various universities, as they claim that despite their teachers' best efforts, the 'learning satisfaction' is absent from online classes.

"I know this is the only alternative available, but in the long run online classes cannot fulfill a students' needs. Plus if we had to take classes on video class we could have taken up open learning and not regular classes," Anupriya a student of a foreign language course in JNU said.

Many professors also claimed that lack of classroom discipline and the time constraint has resulted in an increased drop out rate from classes.

"The time constraint has been a big issue, we cannot control if the students join or leave the class, but all the teaching fraternity is working hard to devise the best way for filling in the gap," Neha Jingala, professor in journalism department of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce said.

She pointed out that students from areas like Jammu and Kashmir are also facing problems with the e-module due to slower internet. Hence the teachers are supplementing it with educational material on Whatsapp.

The issue has also been taken up by students organisations like Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) who have advocated that either the semester is extended or the universities arrange special face-to-face classes before the exams are taken up.

"We have maintained that students' satisfaction with the learning has to be made sure, either the university calls for special classes after the lockdown or they delay examination till next semester, but examination must not be taken up without complete learning satisfaction," Siddharth Yadav, state secretary of ABVP told IANS.

On the other hand NSUI has already written to the administration of DU and other universities to push back the semester. The student body has demanded pushing back of semesters by at least 3 months or skipping of examinations for this semester.

"There is no way that face-to-face learning can be replaced, the e-modules must beAtreated as alternatives and exams should only be conducted after proper classes," Lokesh Chug, National Media Coordinator of NSUI said.

However the situation was a little better with the private run universities where the infrastructure and the already going e-learning style has helped students to adapt better.A

"The response at Ashoka has been very good, with very high attendance. Sessions are also being recorded on video for students with limited internet access. Face to face education will continue to be important for a liberal arts and sciences university, because it enables rich learning from your peers as well as from your faculty. E-learning is a valuable platform, and will continue to be used going forward," Ali Imran, Vice President, External Engagement, Ashoka University said.

Students in his university also agreed as they say many of them were prepared with e-learning format way before the lockdown was announced.

"If you see many of our professors were already using e-learning methods to provide us notes and lectures so this is not a big change, just that we are doing it on regular now," Dheeraj Bisht a student of university said.

Similar views were presented by students of other universities like Galgotia in Greater Noida, Symbiosis in Pune and Punjab Technical University in Punjab.

(Rohan Agarwal can be contacted at Rohan.a@ians.in )

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bureaucratic system amid lockdown over COVID threat forced parents of Indian Army Colonel Navjot Singh Bal, a gallantry award winner who lost his battle against cancer, to embark on a 2,000-km road journey to see their brave son for the last time.

The officer died in Bengaluru on April 9. His parents are travelling by road from Gurugram to Bengaluru to attend his last rites.

They left on Friday morning and are likely to reach only by Saturday evening, driving about 2,000 km.

Bureaucratic hurdles didn't allow the parents of Col Bal (39) to travel by military aircraft. The matter was ignored at the force and the bureaucratic top level, sources said.

Colonel Bal was awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award for showing exemplary valour in an operation in Lolab in Jammu and Kashmir.

The bureaucratic explanation given to the parents was that there are no civilian flights available. They were also told that requests made for an military aircraft to fly did not materialize as no formal orders were passed.

The parents were told that due to the lockdown, a clearance was needed from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The necessary permissions for movement were given by Thursday evening.

However, there were no formal orders for the Indian Air Force to fly the parents, forcing them to take the arduous road journey.

"There needs to be a clearance for civilians to fly in an Air Force aircraft and despite requests and an understanding that the family could be flown, there were no formal orders," said a source.

Colonel Bal was a Special Forces officers belonging to the 2 Para Regiment of the Indian Army.

He also commanded his unit before he was diagnosed with cancer over a year back. The officer was commissioned in the Indian Army in 2002.

Source: IANS

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Noida, April 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown called to combat the spread of coronavirus, grocery stores and supermarkets are running out of stocks for essential items here, with suppliers claiming limited items in their inventory.

Most of supermarkets in Noida are complaining of lack of supply of essential items such as rice, flour and pulses. Local markets are also facing shortage of items like Dettol, Maggi, Nutrela, among others.

One of the store managers of an Easyday retail outlet in Ghaziabad's Crossing Republic told IANS: "The demand for rice, pulses, wheat and flour is quite high. However, the supply is limited during the lockdown period. We are receiving these items once in two days."

The condition was similar at the Easyday oulet in Noida area as well as Spencer's in Noida and at other local retailers.

He said the demand for the Dettol, Nutrela, Biscuits and bread have gone up following the lockdown.

While all passenger, mail and express train services have been suspended during the lockdown period, freight trains, special parcel trains and goods trucks are plying across the country to maintain the supply of essential items. Yet basic items like rice and pulses are fast flying off the shelves at many stores, much to the dismay of the common people.

Till Friday evening, the total number of active Covid-19 cases in India rose to 6,741 with 206 people have succumbed to the dreaded virus across the country so far, according to the data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

A bread supplier in Noida area said that the delivery of the breads is getting delayed as the trucks are arriving late due to the lockdown and are stranded at checkposts at number of places.

He said he supplies bread to around 15 stores in the Noida area.

Another supplier wishing not to be named said he was getting less supply from the stockists. "Out of the limited stock that I get, I have to maintain the supply to all the stores".

Source: IANS

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