A 4-member team of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that is in the state to assess post-poll violence situation, arrived at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata to meet Governor.The MHA has deputed a four-member team, led by an Additional Secretary level official including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official, to visit the ground reality.Additional Secretary Home Ministry Govind Mohan, Additional Secretary Education Ministry Vinit Joshi, JointDirector of Intelligence Bureau Janardan Singh and IB Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) IB, Nalin are among the team.On Wednesday, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary reminding him of the letter written on May 3 to check the post-poll violence and also to provide a report on the incidents.
Tag: MHA
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MHA asks West Bengal government to send report on post-poll political violence in state
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday sought a report from the West Bengal government on post-poll violence targeting opposition workers in the state.Political workers, including from BJP, were allegedly targeted by opponents since the announcement of results for the 292-member West Bengal assembly where the ruling Trinamool Congress emerged victorious.
“MHA has asked West Bengal Government for a report on the post-election violence targeting opposition political workers in the state,” a spokesperson tweeted.
The BJP has alleged that one of its party offices in Hooghly district was set on fire, and some of its leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, were heckled by TMC activists in other parts of the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged her supporters to maintain peace and asked them not to fall prey to provocations.
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Centre issues fresh guidelines, asks states to clamp lockdown in high caseload areas
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday asked states and Union Territories to immediately impose lockdowns in areas with high Covid spread.The government, however, did not make any mention of a national lockdown in its Covid guidelines for the month of May.
Through an order issued on Thursday evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked the states and UTs to take “the necessary containment measures” in view of ‘the unprecedented surge in Covid cases across the country”.
The fresh guidelines for COVID-19 management came amid a sudden spike in the number of cases and a shortage of beds, ICUs and oxygen in some parts of the country like Delhi.
The MHA asked the states and UTs to implement an “intensive, local and focused containment framework, in specific district/cities/areas” identified based on the criteria that it had prescribed in its earlier communication to the states and UTs.
In an advisory issued on April 25, the MHA had asked the states and UTs to identify districts where “either the tests positivity had been more than 10% or more in the last one week; or, where bed occupancy was more than 60%.”
ALSO READ | Maharashtra extends lockdown till May 15 as state reports 66,159 fresh Covid cases
The ministry reiterated the need to identify such districts, stating that such places which fulfilled “any of the above two criteria should be considered for taking intensive and local containment measures.”
The MHA also asked the states to consider the containment measures, as conveyed in an advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 25 for immediate implementation based on an assessment of the situation.
The implementation framework for community containment and large containment areas, as advised by the health ministry, has also been enclosed with the MHA order.
The guidelines for the pandemic come on a day when India registered a record 3,645 fatalities taking the total number of casualties from the pandemic to 2.04 lakh.
On the same day, the covid cases recorded a rise of 3,79,257 cases, pushing the number of active cases past the 30 lakh mark and taking the overall Covid tally to 1,83,76,524.
According to the most recent data released by the government, the overall recovery rate has dipped to 82.10%.
The national directives for COVID-19 management shall continue to be strictly followed throughout the country, the statement said.
The MHA order shall be effective till May 31.
The home ministry said the focus will be on containment to flatten the current curve of the pandemic.
Movement of individuals shall be strictly prohibited during the night hours, except for essential activities, in areas where the number of cases is high.
Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, festival related and other gatherings and congregations have been prohibited.
Marriages will be attended by up to 50 people and funerals by up to 20.
Shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, sports complexes, gymnasiums, spas, swimming pools and religious places will remain closed.
Essential services and activities such as healthcare services, police, fire, banks, electricity, water and sanitation, regulated movement of public transport including all incidental services and activities needed for a smooth functioning of these activities shall continue.
Such services shall continue in both the public and the private sector.
Public transports like trains, metro, buses and taxis will operate at a maximum capacity of 50 per cent.
There shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement, including transportation of essential goods.
All offices, both government and private, will function with a maximum of 50-per cent staff strength.
All industrial and scientific establishments may be allowed to operate subject to the workforce following the physical-distancing norms.
Referring to testing and surveillance, the guidelines said the districts will continue with the “Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate” strategy and ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour.
The MHA said an analysis should be undertaken with respect to the requirement of health infrastructure so as to manage the present and projected cases (next one month) and necessary action initiated to ensure sufficient oxygen beds, ICU beds, ventilators, ambulances including creation of makeshift hospitals, as needed.
Sufficient quarantine facilities shall also be re-activated.
The states should leverage the government and private health facilities, including the hospitals available with the central ministries, railway coaches, temporary field hospitals etc.
They should ensure that only those satisfying the protocol for home isolation are allowed under home isolation and create a mechanism for their monitoring through call centres, along with regular visits by surveillance teams.
Specific monitoring shall be done for the high-risk cases and their timely shifting to a health facility.
Similarly, the elderly and co-morbid contacts of the positive cases shall be shifted to quarantine centres and monitored.
The states should also ensure availability of sufficient ambulances for the purpose and coordinate the availability of oxygen, other related logistics, drugs etc.
Oxygen therapy for the admitted cases shall follow the guidelines issued by the health ministry on a rational use of oxygen.
Use of investigative drugs (Remdesivir, Tocilizumab etc.) shall also strictly follow the clinical management protocol and the advisories issued by the health ministry.
The states should ensure 100 per cent vaccination for the eligible age-groups.
Details of hospital beds and their vacancy status should be made available online and also released to the media on a daily basis.
Details on the availability of oxygen, drugs, vaccine and vaccination centres, including the guidelines related to the use of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab etc. be also widely publicised, the MHA stated.
(With PTI Inputs)
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Enough oxygen stock at present, but transportation to states is a challenge: Centre
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday reassured the country that despite the huge demand for medical oxygen for Covid patients, there is no problem of availability but conceded that its distribution and transportation to hospitals is a challenge.As of April 24, said Piyush Goyal, additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs at a government briefing on Covid situation, that against the existing capacity of about 7,500 MT lmo production, 9,103 MT lmo had been manufactured in the country.
The statement by the Centre comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that all liquid oxygen being manufactured in the country will be used only for medical purposes under the present circumstances.
The country, burdened with a huge number of active Covid cases — over 28 lakhs — is facing an enormous challenge of meeting the huge demand for medical oxygen as nearly 15% of all Covid cases require hospitalisation, the majority of them also needing supplemental oxygen.
Goyal underlined that most of the oxygen production in the country is concentrated in the eastern parts and it takes time for the crucial supply to reach various states on time, adding that railways has pitched in to ferry it rapidly to places where the requirement is the highest.
Authorities meanwhile also stressed the judicious use of oxygen amid an unprecedented situation.
“We have to reduce the number of cases and use hospital resources optimally. The judicious use of oxygen is very important. Right now, there is an unnecessary panic,” said Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS (New Delhi).
Officials underscored said that many people have been found to be occupying hospital beds out of panic and asked people to take admission only on doctors’ advice and also advised hospitals for judicious use of oxygen and to plug leakage.
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Two containers for carrying oxygen being brought from Dubai to met demand: MHA
India is struggling with a second wave of coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.
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COVID-19: Four cryogenic tanks for transporting oxygen being airlifted from Singapore, says MHA
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Amid the grim COVID-19 situation in the country, four cryogenic tanks, to be used for the transportation of oxygen, are being airlifted from Singapore on Saturday.A Home Ministry official said the four empty tanks are being brought to India by a heavy lift transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
A C-17 aircraft of the IAF took off from the Hindon airbase in the outskirts of Delhi for Singapore’s Changi airport early on Saturday morning.
After loading the tanks, the aircraft is expected to land at Panagarh airbase in West Bengal this evening, another official said.
On Friday, the Union Home Ministry said it was in talks for the import of high-capacity oxygen-carrying tankers from Singapore and the UAE.
The move came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country.
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COVID-19: Ensure free movement of medical oxygen-carrying vehicles along inter-state borders, says MHA
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday directed the states to ensure uninterrupted movement of medical oxygen-carrying vehicles along their borders, and said they must not impose any curb on production and supply of the essential public health commodity anywhere.Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s communication to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories came in the wake of reports of shortage of the medical oxygen for COVID-19 patients in different parts of the country in the last few days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday also undertook a comprehensive review to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the country and called for ramping up its production.
In the communication to the chief secretaries of states/UTs, the Union home secretary said there is no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods as announced in the guidelines on March 23.
He said in the last few days, a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases has been observed in the country along with high positivity rate, and in order to break the chain of transmission and curb the spread of the infection, various states and UTs have imposed additional restrictions on certain activities, curfews, among others.
Bhalla said availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen is an important pre-requisite for managing moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 and with increasing cases, the medical oxygen supplies will need to keep pace with the requirements of the states.
The home secretary emphasised that medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and any impediment in its supply in the country may critically impact the management of patients suffering from COVID-19 disease in other parts of the country.
“Therefore, you are requested to ensure that no such restriction is imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between the states and UTs, and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen carrying vehicles,” the letter said.
Bhalla told the states that no curb shall be imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit the oxygen supplies only to the hospitals of the state in which they are located and there shall be free movement of oxygen carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inter-city supply without restriction.
Keeping in view the requisition of medical oxygen and to ensure its smooth supplies to agencies concerned, Empowered Group-Il, which is mandated for coordinating medical logistics including oxygen, has prepared a supply plan that is required to be followed by all states/UTs and agencies concerned, he said.
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Neither prepared nor submitted any report to MHA on 2006 Mumbai train blasts: IB to Delhi HC
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Intelligence Bureau has told the Delhi High Court that it has not prepared or submitted any report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the 2006 Mumbai train blasts.The submission has been made by the IB in an affidavit filed pursuant to the court’s direction in January this year to state on record that it had not prepared any report in 2009 or shortly thereafter on the bombings of July 11, 2006 when seven RDX bombs ripped through as many Western line local trains in Mumbai killing 189 people and injuring 829.
“It is respectfully submitted that no report was prepared and/or submitted in 2009 or any time shortly thereafter by the IB to MHA in respect of the 7/11 Mumbai bomb blasts,” the agency has said in its affidavit, filed through central government counsel Rahul Sharma.
The IB, also represented by advocate C K Bhatt, has further said that the case was investigated by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police.
Justice Prathiba M Singh on January 27 had asked IB to record on an affidavit that it had not prepared any report in 2009 or shortly thereafter on the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case.
The order came on a plea moved by Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddique, who has been awarded capital punishment for the July 11, 2006 serial blasts, seeking an IB report of 2009 purportedly calling for review of evidence in the case.
IB, in its affidavit, has said that Siddique’s claims were based on news reports which cannot be admitted or recognized as an official submission.
The court had called for an affidavit after noting that the agency had earlier told the high court, in an earlier round of litigation on the same issue, that it was exempted from providing the report under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
In the earlier matter, the high court had said the Central Information Commission (CIC) “erroneously” concluded that the information sought by Siddique did not pertain to allegations of corruption or human rights violation and asked it to consider his request afresh.
However, before the CIC, the IB stated that there was no such report as claimed by the convict and the commission, thereafter, dismissed his plea on June 11, 2019.
In his plea filed through advocate Arpit Bhargava, Siddique has sought setting aside of the June 11, 2019 order of CIC claiming that the commission took the decision by “blindly” trusting IB’s statement that there was no report of 2009.
Bhargava, during the hearing on January 27, had told the court that the IB filed an affidavit in July 2019 before CIC stating no such report existed only after the plea was dismissed Siddique, presently lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail, has claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case which amounts to violation of his human rights and therefore, he needed the IB report which purportedly called for review of the evidence in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.
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Drugged migrant labourers exploited: MHA to Punjab
Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to the Punjab government that migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are forced to work as bonded labourers in border villages of the state and they are often given drugs which affect their physical and mental condition.These facts came to light after the Border Security Force (BSF) rescued a few of them. Arun Sobti, Deputy Secretary (PR and ATC), MHA, wrote a confidential letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police on March 17 saying the BSF had apprehended 58 persons from the border areas of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Abohar in 2019 and 2020. During questioning, it emerged that most of them were “either mentally challenged or in feeble state of mind” and had been working as bonded labourers with farmers in border villages of Punjab.
The persons belonged to poor families from Bihar and UP, the letter stated. The MHA letter further said that human trafficking syndicates hire such labourers on the promise of good salary, but after reaching Punjab, they are exploited, paid poorly and meted out inhuman treatment. “For making them work for long hours in fields, these labourers are often given drugs which adversely affect their physical and mental condition. The BSF has been handing over the rescued persons to the state police for further necessary action.’’ The ministry asked state officials to look into the matter and take appropriate measures “to address this serious problem”.
Action taken may be informed to the MHA on priority, Sobti stated. Copies of the letter were also marked to Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, with request to issue suitable instructions to all states — especially Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha — for generating awareness at various levels. When contacted, Punjab’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Anurag Aggarwal said: “The MHA letter did not have details. So, we have asked the deputy commissioners concerned to probe the matter and submit a report.
We will take action as per law.” However, Surjit Singh Bhura, vice-president of Punjab Border Kisan Welfare Society, denied any such thing was taking place. “The farmers of the border areas do not force labourers from UP and Bihar into bonded labour and also do not give them drugs. The narcotics come from Pakistan and the people of our area do not smuggle them,” he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal also termed the MHA missive as a “ridiculous assumption” aimed at defaming the Punjab farmers.
Former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra alleged the letter was self-contradictory and asked the Union home ministry not to make “illogical connections”. Chandumajra said such letters from MHA would send a wrong signal across the country and would create an atmosphere of confrontation. He said there was no FIR about any person being forced to work as a bonded labourer in any of the areas mentioned in the letter. “In fact, the opposite is true. Farmers of Punjab pay labourers in advance for their services and that’s why lakhs of migrant workers come to Punjab every year for planting crops,” he said.
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Centralised data of internet shutdown not maintained by ministry: MHA on internet ban during tensions
By ANI
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday replied in Rajya Sabha about the methodology of the Centre to control fake news and misinformation during tensions and riots and internet shutdowns are a prescribed method.According to the reply, Union Home Ministry has said they don’t maintain centralised data of internet ban. “Challenges of the cyber space are many, which flow from its vastness and borderless characters. Information in cyber-space flows fast and has potential of misuse. During tensions and riots, suspension of telecom services/internet shutdown is done by the appropriate authorities in the States / UTs concerned in the interest of maintaining public safety and averting public emergency, as per procedures defined in the ‘Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Amendment) Rules, 2020’,” the MHA said.
“Centralised data of internet shutdown is not maintained by the Ministry of Home affairs. Orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are available at MHA website,” MHA replied to a question asked by a Member of Parliament.