Weekend curfew in Delhi; Metro will run to full capacity
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Sparing Delhi of a total lockdown in the face of a steep rise in covid cases, the
DDMA on Tuesday slapped on the Capital a weekend curfew and a Work From
Home on Government staff although a 'Red Alert' would have come into play
with the TPR crossing the 5% threshold for two consecutive days as per the
GRAP. This is because hospitalisation of severe cases is few and far between.
A Yellow Alert is already in force, closing schools, colleges and cinemas.
In another decision, Delhi Metro trains and public transport buses will be
allowed to run with full capacity. They were operating with 50% capacity since
last Wednesday when the Yellow Alert came into force. In a major 'discovery',
the bus stops and metro stations have at last been found to be superspreaders
with overcrowding (gatherings) as the running capacity of the trains and buses
was reduced. It suddenly dawned upon the authorities that the chances of covid infection are far less when there is linear movement - either people are moving or there is air flow (trains and buses), unlike of a gathering where the air flow is circular, carrying the virus to one and all! |
NEW DELHI, Jan 4: With covid cases surging in Delhi at a blistering speed, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting under the chairmanship of Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday decided to clamp more restrictions in the Capital.
As per the decisions, a weekend curfew will be imposed, private offices will
be allowed to function at 50% capacity only and the Delhi State Government employees
barring those engaged in essential services will work from home (WFH). However,
the Metro and buses will run to full capacity, unlike the present 50% capacity
under the Yellow Alert in force since last Wednesday. With overcrowding because
of the reduction in running capacity, Metro stations and bus stops had become
superspreaders.
There will be weekend curfew on Saturdays and Sundays, which will be in force
from 10 pm on Friday till 5 am on Monday as under the Yellow Alert already in
force there is night curfew from 10 pm till 5 am on all days.
This would mean the colour-coded Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will not
be followed in letter and spirit as the infections are mild and hospitalisations
are low. Else, a full 'Red Alert' should have come into play with the TPR crossing
the 5% threshold for two consecutive days as per the GRAP. (The TPR is currently
above 5 per cent for the last two straight days). A 'Red Alert' entails imposition
of complete lockdown as was done in early 2020 and during the devastating second
wave last year.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a digital press briefing
after the DDMA meeting that out of the around 11,000 active covid cases in Delhi
at present, only 350 cases are admitted in hospitals, out of which 124 patients
are on oxygen support and 7 on ventilators. (SEE: What is shut and what is open: Level I to
Level IV)
A virtual meeting of the DDMA was held last Wednesday too but it was decided
then also to 'wait and see' for some more time before clamping harsh restrictions
on business activities in the Capital. Although the TPR had breached the GRAP's
Level II, there were no alarming situation of a surge in serious cases of hospitalisations
due to covid or Omicron in Delhi, the meeting had concluded. On Wednesday there
were 923 cases which is an 86% jump from Tuesday's and the highest since May
30. But the TPR had climbed to 1.29 %, crossing the 0.5% threshold and then
the Yellow Alert came into effect.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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