News Analysis India

Tag: Manohar Lal Khattar

  • Manohar Lal Khattar faces anger of farmers, 70 hurt in melee

    By Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: About 50 farmers and 20 police personnel were injured on Sunday in clashes at Hisar where Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had gone to inaugurate a new Covid- 19 hospital. 

    The farmers were protesting the Centre’s farm laws. Khattar had left the venue after inaugurating the 500-bed hospital by the time the farmers reached there.

    The police had tried to stop them outside Hisar, but they managed to break the barricades and proceed to where the CM was going. 

    As they neared the venue, the police first fired tear gas shells, and then, resorted to lathi-charge. In retaliation, the farmers pelted stones at the police.

    The clashes continued for about two hours. The police have detained a few people, including women. Chief Minister Khattar appealed to the agitating farmers to cooperate with the government in its fight against Covid-19. 

    ​He said understanding the need of the hour, the farmers who are protesting against the new farm laws, should immediately call off their stir so as to ensure that the chain of the virus is broken.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) condemned the ‘brutal assault’ on the protesters. But, a police source said as many as 20 police personnel were injured and two of them are undergoing treatment at a local hospital. Earlier, before proceeding to the venue, the farmers also attacked DSP Abhimanyu Lohan.

  • Farmers protest against Haryana CM in Hisar, police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators

    By PTI
    HISAR: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated a 500-bed COVID hospital here and said his government is committed to expand the healthcare facilities in the sate amid the raging pandemic.

    Earlier, a group of farmers tried to move towards the venue where Khattar was to inaugurate the hospital but they were dispersed by police by using force and lobbying tear gas shells.

    Khattar said with the inauguration of the Chaudhary Devi Lal Sanjivani COVID hospital, not only the coronavirus patients of Hisar district but the people of nearby districts would be able to get the required treatment at the facility.

    On April 26, Khattar had visited Hisar and identified the campus of Jindal Modern School adjoining Jindal Stainless Limited unit and after completing all the necessary procedures, the hospital was constructed in a record 17 days time, an official statement said.

    “In this difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic, this hospital is certainly a boon for COVID-19 patients as it has adequate availability of beds and oxygen,” it said.

    “The hospital will directly get about eight metric tonnes of oxygen supply from Jindal Stainless Limited, which will be available at 71 liters per minute per bed. It is proposed that no fee would be charged from the patients who will come to get treatment in this hospital,”” the statement said.

    Khattar said the Haryana government is constantly working to provide better healthcare facilities to the people by making necessary arrangements required for the prevention of COVID-19 in the state.

    He said 12,375 beds have been made available in government and private hospitals of the state.

    Now this number has increased to 13,500, he added.

    The chief minister said the COVID-19 pandemic has hit everyone unexpectedly.

    “All the sections of the society have to fight this pandemic by staying united, positive, and cooperating with frontline workers,” he said.

    The chief minister said that the opposition is unnecessarily blaming the government on the COVID-19 issue, which “is certainly not an ethical thing to do in this hour of crisis”.

    “Instead of levelling allegations on the government, the opposition should make the information available to the public about what the government has done,” the statement quoted him as saying.

    Khattar said the opposition should give its suggestions to the government on how to fight the pandemic.

    “This is not the right time to accuse the government.”

    The chief minister also appealed to the agitating farmers to cooperate with the government in its fight against the deadly virus.

    He urged that understanding the need of the hour, the farmers, who are protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws, should immediately call off their stir so as to ensure that the chain of virus spread is broken.

    “This is the biggest crisis of humanity, so we all have to fight together. This pandemic is not limited to any person, a city, or a class. This is the fight of the whole world,” he added.

    Khattar’s appeal came after farmers tried to reach the venue of his event.

    Police said the farmers jumped police barricades and they had to use force and resort to tear gas shelling to disperse them.

    The farmers claimed that a few of them were injured in police action.

    A police spokesman said farmers pelted stones at the force and some personnel were injured and subsequently hospitalised.

    Police said they detained some agitators, included women, as they were marching towards the venue to create obstructions in the chief minister’s event.

    The farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws and they been opposing the public functions of the BJP-JJP leaders in the state over it.

    As farmers started assembling in numbers and marching towards the venue, the chief minister left after he inaugurated the hospital.

    Earlier, a large number of farmers riding on tractors allegedly broke police barricades near Mayyar and Satrod villages on Hisar-Delhi National highway.

    To protest the police action, farmers squatted and blocked some roads in the district.

    Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh said over 150 farmers have been detained and demanded their immediately release.

    Khattar said 1,000 teams have already been deputed to conduct door-to-door COVID-19 testing in villages from May 15.

    He said the rates of private hospitals and ambulances have also been capped by the state government and strict action will be taken against those flouting the rules.

    The Centre has said the new farm laws will benefit farmers by freeing them from the clutches of middlemen and ushering in new technology in the sector.

    However, farmers say these legislations will remove the safety net of the minimum support price (MSP) and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Haryana CM urges farmers to suspend protest

    Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday urged farmers to suspend their protest against farm laws amid the Covid-19 situation, claiming that their movements to and from dharna sites were spreading the infection in villages.

    While addressing the press conference, CM Khattar said, “In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, I once again appeal to the farmer leaders to suspend their protests. The only goal, of all of us, should be to save the lives of people in the time of this crisis. There is nothing more than human life.”

    Following these protests, the Chief Minister informed that in many villages, hotspots have emerged because from there, people are regularly coming and going back from dharna sites.

    “A month ago, I appealed to farmer leaders to suspend protest amid Covid-19 spread and can resume it after the situation is under control. Now, it has emerged that these dharnas have made a few villages hotspot as villagers travelled back and forth to protest sites”, said Haryana CM ML Khattar.

    “Covid Hotspots have been identified in rural areas. 8,000 teams of the Health Department will go door-to-door in the villages to conduct health check-ups of the people”, he said.

    “The government will provide free insurance of Rs 2 lakh on the death of a person up to the age of 50 from poor families. The premium of Beema Yojana will be deposited by the state government in their accounts and from the same account, the amount of premium will be deducted”, Khattar said.

    Meanwhile, in wake of the pandemic, the Haryana government on May 10 announced a lockdown in the state till May 17.

    The farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the farm laws passed by the Centre.

    They have been protesting against the three farm laws: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.

  • Suspend stir, it’s spreading COVID to villages: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to farmers

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday urged farmers to suspend their stir against farm laws amid the grim Covid-19 situation, claiming that their movements to and from dharna sites were spreading the infection in villages.

    Khattar said farmers may resume their agitation later if they wish, but they must stop it as of now.

    “If they wish to restart these dharnas once the situation is under control, they are free to do so,” Khattar told a news conference digitally.

    He said he had appealed to farmers’ leaders even a month earlier to suspend their dharnas so that the disease does not spread.

    Referring to farmers’ movement to and from dharna sites, Khattar said, “What is coming to the fore now is that because of these dharnas, this (infection) has spread.

    “In many villages, hotspots have emerged because their people are regularly coming and going back from dharna sites,” the chief minister added.

    Farmers have not only been sitting in protest near the Singhu and Tikri borders but in many other parts of Haryana too.

    “Their leaders should understand the situation even now. They keep ranting that they will take the vaccine but will not get themselves tested. If they do not get tested, one doesn’t know who might have been impacted by COVID,” said Khattar.

    “They should come forward to be tested so that those found positive can be treated and other necessary measures can be taken accordingly,” he added.

    Referring to protesting farmers’ reluctance to be tested for the infection, the chief minister said “everyone should have faith in the health and medical system. If we start doubting it, it displays our narrow-mindedness. So, I appeal to farmers sitting on dharnas to get their tests done”.

    Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, Khattar had earlier nearly a month ago too had urged farmers to withdraw their stir on “humanitarian grounds”.

    He had then said while it is the constitutional right of every person to protest and the state does not have a problem with anyone doing so in a peaceful manner, the situation due to rising COVID cases is a matter of concern.

    Days after the CM’s appeal last month, Haryana BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni had then said protesting farmers should not be compelled to get themselves tested or vaccinated and if health workers tried to force them, they will not allow them to enter protest sites.

    Khattar, meanwhile, was also asked to comment on the allegations that a woman from West Bengal, who died after showing COVID-like symptoms, at a hospital in Bahadurgarh, had been raped by two men she had accompanied to a farmers’ protest site at the Tikri border.

    “Police are conducting investigations. Whosoever is found guilty in investigations, strict action will be taken against them as per law,” said Khattar.

    Haryana Police had on Sunday formed a special investigation team to probe the allegations after the 25-year-old woman’s father lodged a police complaint.

    Six people, including two prime accused, have been named in an FIR lodged on a complaint by the father of the deceased woman on Saturday.

  • Haryana to launch COVID vaccination drive for journalists: CM Manohar Lal Khattar

    The Chief Minister said that during this massive vaccination drive the COVID19 vaccines would be administered to every media person, an official statement said.

  • All hospitals to update data regarding beds, patients and oxygen on online portal: Haryana CM

    By ANI
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday directed that data regarding hospital beds, number of patients, and availability of oxygen at all government and private hospitals should be updated on an online portal in view of coronavirus cases in the state.

    Addressing district deputy commissioners of the state over a virtual video conference, Khattar directed the district administrators to form teams in order to monitor the demand for oxygen and the oxygen tankers.

    He also said that the unloading of oxygen tankers is to be done immediately.

    The Chief Minister told officials to form teams in order to keep a check on the black marketing of medicine.

    Other additional measures discussed in the meeting include prioritizing rapid antigen tests and setting up medical health camps in rural areas along with conducting awareness campaigns regarding the disease.

    According to the Union Health Ministry, Haryana has 1,13,425 total active COVID-19 cases. 

  • ‘Nobody expected a tsunami’: Manohar Khattar on rising COVID-19 cases

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Calling the huge surge in COVID-19 cases an “unexpected tsunami”, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said the state government is putting all its might to tackle the crisis.

    “One expects that floods can come during rainy season, but no one expects a tsunami,” he said on the rising cases of the novel coronavirus infection.

    He said his government was working at various levels, including ensuring availability of beds and medical oxygen supplies, besides ensuring necessary medicines.

    Speaking at a news conference, Khattar noted that restrictions like prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC, daily night curfew, curtailed timings for closure of shops, curb on the number of people allowed for indoor and outdoor gatherings, are among the measures taken to contain the infection spread.

    While extra beds are being added in hospitals, MBBS and PG students are being deployed to take care of COVID-19 patients, he said.

    The Haryana government is also planning to avail the services of IAS, IPS, IFS and HCS officers, who were doctors or held MBBS or MD degrees prior to their joining the government service.

    “We are putting all our might and in this we are getting everyone’s cooperation and support, that is, from common people, private sector to various other institutions,” the chief minister underlined.

    Notably, Haryana has seen a big surge in coronavirus cases as well as fatalities in April.

    Khattar said that no one had expected that there would be such a huge surge in cases, but now things were being put in place to deal with the situation.

    He noted that last year the highest peak in infections during a 24-hour period was 3,100 cases, which until April 27, 2021 had shot to nearly four-fold.

    He said the good thing was that the COVID fatality rate at present was 0.88 per cent as against 1.1 per cent seen last year.

    Meanwhile, the CM ruled out the imposition of lockdown as a measure to check the virus spread, saying “it has been seen the economic disruption it (lockdown) causes and with great difficulty we have come out of it”.

    “If cases come down in Delhi, it will have some affect in our districts like Gurgaon and Faridabad,” he said.

    In response to a query, the BJP leader said there was a rush of patients from Delhi in cities like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, and now Ambala.

    He said though this had put the state’s health infrastructure under strain, the government will treat everyone, irrespective of the place one is coming from.

    He also advised patients with mild or moderate symptoms not to rush to hospitals unless doctors treating them “strongly advise so” Khattar reiterated that there was no shortage of oxygen and that the Centre had raised the state’s daily quota of the life-saving gas.

    As there is large requirement of tankers to transport oxygen, he said the industry has been asked for help.

    “A suggestion has come and we are talking to the industry about the possibility of using empty LPG gas cylinders for oxygen supply if we make minor alterations like changing their nozzles,” he said.

    With people above 18 years of age now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine from May 1, the CM said Rs 250 crore-worth order to procure 50 lakh injections has already been placed.

    “This vaccination campaign will be conducted in hospitals, community health centres, primary health centres, dispensaries, and other institutions,” he said. 

  • ‘Dead won’t come back by arguing over numbers, focus on relief for those suffering’: Khattar on COVID crisis

    By PTI
    ROHTAK: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said it was pointless to argue over COVID-19 fatality figures as the dead won’t came back to life, and the focus should be on helping those suffering now.

    Khattar was replying to questions on the alleged under-reporting of deaths due to coronavirus — at many places the scenes at crematoriums and burial grounds do not reflect the official numbers.

    “The kind of difficult situation we are going through, we don’t have to play with data. Our entire focus should be on how people will recover and how we can provide them relief,” he told reporters here on Monday.

    “And those who have died will not come back by creating a furore over it,” he said at one point, arguing that there was no point in getting into a debate on whether the official number of deaths was correct.

    The opposition Congress was quick to slam his remarks with party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala saying, “These can only be the words of a merciless ruler.”

    “There is a need to make a noise over every death which is the result of the government’s inefficiency, so that the deaf BJP government can hear the echo,” he said.

    Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi also condemned the CM’s comment.

    “These remarks are shameful. I strongly condemn the thinking of the chief minister,” the Congress leader tweeted.

    Khattar had visited Rohtak, Panipat, Hisar and Faridabad to review the supply of oxygen and other facilities for COVID patients.

    “We will do everything possible so that lives are saved. Whether the deaths are less or more, there is no point getting into this debate,” he said.

    “Whether we are able to set the systems right is the question. From our side, we are setting the systems in place,” he added.

    Khattar said nobody had expected this kind of a situation.

    “Who knew this pandemic will come, neither you knew nor we. To fight this, we need everyone’s cooperation including yours, mine, the patients’. Therefore, these issues should not be the topic of any controversy.”

    The CM was asked to comment on the PGIMS hospital in Rohtak briefly stopping admission to new COVID-19 patients on Sunday night after facing a “shortage” of medical oxygen.

    He said that oxygen pressure in the government facility had dipped and if they had started taking more patients they would not have been able to take care of those already admitted.

    Khattar said things were quickly sorted out and the admissions restarted on Monday.

    Haryana on Monday recorded its biggest single-day jump in COVID-related fatalities with 75 deaths, and reported yet another big rise in infections with 11,504 new cases.

    The state has over 80,000 active cases after a coronavirus surge in April.

    The demand for medical oxygen has also risen several-fold in recent days, and deaths due to its alleged shortage taken place in Hisar, Rewari and Gurgaon.

    The state government had ordered probes in these cases.

  • Closely monitoring oxygen supply, other states being given stock as per quota: Haryana CM Khattar

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that he was closely monitoring oxygen supply and pointed out that the systems put in place were working well and other states too were being given stock as per the quota fixed by the Centre.

    Khattar, who was responding to questions on the COVID situation and availability of liquid medical oxygen supply, said the state has been in touch with the Centre and has briefed officials in this regard.

    The chief minister also said that as per the quota fixed by the Centre, 140 metric ton (MT) oxygen per day was being supplied to the national capital and added that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called him up in this regard and said their position was better now.

    Oxygen plants in Haryana have a capacity of 270 MT, out of which the Centre has fixed allocations for Delhi at 140 MT per day.

    Coronavirus cases in Haryana have also witnessed a sharp increase during this month and demand for medical oxygen has also gone up, officials said.

    Khattar, who was interacting with reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet here, said that he also had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening, whom he assured that he was himself monitoring the oxygen supply issue.

    He said that Prime Minister Modi stressed that all systems should be maintained and he assured him of that.

    The prime minister said that this pandemic has engulfed the entire country and the world and everyone was together in this fight, he said.

    “I assured him that all the systems are in place and there is no difficulty. I also said that as per the (oxygen supply) quota fixed we are giving to other states. I also said that other states too should be asked to supply as per quota fixed,” Khattar said.

    He said that Delhi, which is getting 140 MT oxygen per day from Haryana, was on Thursday given an additional 30 MT to meet their needs.

    Haryana is also giving 20 MT oxygen per day to neighbouring Punjab as per their quota, even as the state is also keeping 20 MT reserve to meet emergency uses, he said.

    About his conversation with the Delhi chief minister, he said, “I received a phone call from Kejriwal, he was thanking while stating that since yesterday evening their position is better and it should continue that way, to which I said that when a system is in place there should be no problem.”

    The Haryana government had earlier denied allegations by several hospitals in Delhi on Wednesday that it was not allowing vendors to supply oxygen to them.

    It also denied Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s allegation that an official of the Haryana government stopped oxygen supply to Delhi from a plant in Faridabad.

    Khattar, however, said that from a plant in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, from where Haryana used to get 20 MT of oxygen supplies per day were not coming.

    “I will speak to the Rajasthan chief minister about this,” he said.

    The supplies from Bhiwadi cater to some hospitals in Gurgaon and Rohtak.

    Khattar, meanwhile, assured the people on the availability of hospital beds, saying things were being scaled up wherever the need is felt.

    In Gurgaon’s SGT medical college and hospital, he said an arrangement of additional 500 beds was being made.

    He also said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will soon be setting up two dedicated COVID hospitals of 500 beds each in Panipat and Hisar.

    About Haryana’s average COVID vaccine wastage, he said it was not more than 1 to 1.5 per cent.

    On antiviral remdesivir, Khattar said, “We have enough stock, yesterday too we got 1,000 more injections.”

  • Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar rules out coronavirus lockdown in state

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday reached out to migrant workers, ruling out the imposition of a coronavirus lockdown in the state and told them to continue with their work without worrying about it.

    Their assurance has come amid apprehensions that the state government may impose a lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. “We have said we will not impose a lockdown. We want to assure them on this,” Khattar said in his televised address to the people of the state.

    The chief minister said if migrant workers head home on the basis of mere “apprehensions”, they will lose work and a new phase of difficulties will start for them. “So, they should not entertain any worry and continue with their work,” he said.

    Meanwhile interacting with reporters, Vij reiterated that the state is not imposing any lockdown. He asked migrant workers not to pay heed to “any propaganda” and said they should continue to work like before. “I have asked the industry to run at full capacity. I have told them that COVID protocols should be followed in factories,” said Vij.

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    A migrant worker in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, who along with few others was going to catch a bus to UP, told reporters that many workers were apprehending the imposition of a lockdown like Delhi. “As Delhi has imposed a lockdown, what if Haryana follows suit? If that happens, we will lose work. In that situation, we are better off at our homes,” he said.

    Vij said that Haryana’s three districts–Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat–were contributing half of active cases in the state. With Gurgaon witnessing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases this month, Vij said 800 additional beds are being provided in the district so that people do not face any difficulty, he said on Tuesday.

    To a question, Vij said many patients from Delhi could be seeking treatment in Haryana’s NCR districts and added that they will treat every patient coming to the state. Vij reiterated that he has ordered testing and vaccination of all farmers sitting on Haryana’s borders with Delhi.

    “Today, I spoke to deputy commissioners of Sonipat and Jhajjar to talk to farmer leaders in this regard so that this process could be speeded up,” said Vij, who is also the state’s Health Minister. Meanwhile, on the prevailing COVID situation, Khattar said, “We are passing through a difficult phase.”

    Various departments are putting in best efforts to ensure people do not face any problem, he said, assuring people on the availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators and medicines. To further augment oxygen availability, we are taking steps, he said.

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    He said that of 2,131 oxygen beds, 731 are occupied by coronavirus patients while of 1,080 ventilators available, 131 are in use. He further said 526 COVID centres having 45,000 beds are currently available. There is no need to panic, he stressed and urged people to follow all COVID-related guidelines.

    Khattar informed that the state has arrangements for conducting 40,000 tests per day, which it intends to scale up to 70,000 tests a day soon. Private hospitals will charge Rs 500 for testing and Rs 600 for the collection of samples from home, he informed.