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Tag: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

  • CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan says no lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, only ‘corona curfew’

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: There is no lockdown in Madhya Pradesh nor will it be imposed statewide, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said, adding that “corona curfew” has been enforced in some parts with people’s support.

    Talking to reporters here, Chouhan said lockdown is not a solution to the COVID-19 crisis and economic activities should continue to allow people to sustain their livelihood.

    “There is no lockdown in Madhya Pradesh. Nor will it be imposed state-wide. The (district) crisis management groups in some places, after talking to people, to break the chain of the virus, imposed self-restrictions like remaining indoors,” Chouhan said.

    The “corona curfew” has been imposed in some places, not the lockdown, the chief minister said, adding that there are a number of relaxations for many activities.

    “This is a ‘corona curfew’ to stop crowded activities. The economic activities should continue so that people can earn their livelihood. Some districts have imposed the corona curfew with public support,” he added.

    Earlier, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora on Saturday said the state government had decided to extend the “lockdown” in several cities, including commercial hub Indore, till April 19 and in some other districts till April 22.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Meanwhile, Chouhan said his government was making efforts to curb the spread of the disease, but the battle cannot be fought without people’s support.

    The government is developing facilities and has increased the number of beds for COVID-19 patients, he said.

    “There is no shortage of oxygen. Its supply is more than the demand. We have received 4,000 injections of Remdesivir (the key anti-viral drug) and would be getting 5,000 more today. Their supply would be regular,” he said.

    The CM said there won’t be any dearth of facilities, but an active support of people is required.

    Madhya Pradesh on Saturday reported 4,986 COVID-19 cases, the state’s biggest single-day spike, which pushed its infection count to 3,32,206, as per official figures.

  • ‘COVID patients died due to lack of oxygen supply’: Kin contradict Shivraj’s claim

    The development comes after a report published in a newsaper claimed that three patients in Sagar and one in Khargone died for want of oxygen in the last 24 hours.

  • 60-hour weekend Covid-19 lockdown in all Madhya Pradesh cities: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: A lockdown will be enforced in all cities of Madhya Pradesh from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday to check the spread of the coronavirus infection, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.

    Talking to reporters here after chairing a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in MP, Chouhan said his government aims to increase the number of beds for COVID-19 patients in the state to one lakh.

    “A lockdown will be enforced in all cities of the state from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday,” Chouhan said.

    ALSO READ | Not wearing mask amounts to crime in Madhya Pradesh: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

    In the past three weeks, the state government imposed lockdowns in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior on Sundays and extended the curbs to some other cities last Sunday.

    Chouhan said various crisis management groups will hold meetings to review the situation in cities where there has been a spurt in COVID-19 cases and will decide the course of action to contain it.

    Besides increasing the number of beds for the viral infection patients, the state government has also decided to set up one COVID-19 care centre in each district, he said.

    There are total 52 districts in MP.

    Private hospitals are also being roped in to increase number of beds for COVID-19 patients, Chouhan said.

    On Wednesday, MP reported 4,043 new cases of coronavirus, taking its tally to 3,18,014, while 13 fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,086, as per official data.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Uncontrolled COVID-19 surge prompts imposing Sunday lockdown in urban Madhya Pradesh

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Sunday lockdown was announced on Wednesday in urban areas of all 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh amid the uncontrolled surge of the second COVID-19 wave across the central Indian state. 

    A high-level meeting chaired by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also decided to impose a night curfew (10 pm to 6 am) in urban areas of all districts, which will be effective from Thursday.

    Further, it was also decided to impose a weeklong lockdown from 7 pm on Thursday in Chhindwara district, which neighbours Maharashtra. 

    Further, the meeting also cleared the decks for two days of lockdown in Shajapur district operational from 8 pm on Wednesday evening. Also, all government offices would function 5 days a week for the next three months (Monday-Friday from 10 am to 6 pm).

    The development came just a few hours after the CM, while maintaining that lockdown will always be the last option to control the spread of COVID-19 second wave, had said that lockdown in some districts cannot be ruled out if it’s necessary to save lives.He had also ordered a ban on the movement of passenger vehicles to and from Chhattisgarh till April 15.

    Shivraj Singh Chouhan also informed about raising the number of hospital beds for COVID patients from the present 24,000 to 36,000. The number of free beds for the poor will be increased to 15,000.

    Further, the daily free of cost COVID testing facilities for suspected patients would be raised to 40,000. Also, the maximum rate of RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen testing by private labs/hospitals was fixed at Rs 700 and Rs 300 per test respectively. An additional Rs 200 would be chargeable in case of samples being collected from home.

    Also, the maximum rates for other tests at private hospitals/nursing homes and diagnostic labs were fixed by the government, including Rs 600 for ABG, Rs 500 for D-Dimer, Rs 1000 for Procalcitonin and IL-6, Rs 200 for CRP and Rs 180 for Serum Ferritin. Additional Rs 200 would be a chargeable per test if the samples are to be collected from home.

    Keeping in mind the rising demand for the Remdesivir Injections amid reports of shortage of supply and black marketing of the anti-viral injection in Indore, the CM also announced determining SOPs and Protocols for the use of the injection at hospitals across the state. The CM also announced that the state government would procure Remdesivir Injections for rendering it free to poor and middle-class patients.

    Also, a door to door survey campaign titled Kill Corona-2 will be started in those districts, where the pandemic surge is rising fast. The campaign would identify the houses having suspected COVID-19 patients.

    Also, each of the 52 districts will have at least one COVID Care  Centre.

    The slew of decisions came amid the state reporting 4043 fresh cases and13 deaths over the past 24 hours, which took the total active cases in the state to 26,059, total positive cases since March 2021 to 3,18,014 and total deaths to 4086.

    The daily positivity rate which stood at 11.1% on Tuesday further rose to 12% on Wednesday.

    Over the last 24 hours, at least six districts of the state reported fresh cases in three digit figures, including Indore (866), Bhopal (618), Jabalpur  (269), Gwalior (181), Ujjain (123), Barwani (108) and Umaria (114). Out of these two districts, Barwani and Umaria are largely rural districts.

  • COVID-19 surge: Not wearing mask amounts to crime, says MP CM

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said not wearing a face mask amounts to crime and appealed to people to follow appropriate “social behaviour” to check the spread of COVID-19.

    The surge in cases now is due to people lowering their guard, Chouhan said after starting a 24-hour ‘sit-in’ here to spread the awareness among people about following the COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

    The CM launched the “Swasthya Agrah” (health request) at the Minto Hall in Bhopal at 12.30 pm on Tuesday and during his 24-hour ‘sit-in’, he will interact with people online and conduct his official work from the venue.

    “Wearing masks and maintaining social distance are not in our habit. Besides these, we have to take other measures also to control the pandemic. So, I am sitting here for a moral request to make these things a part of people’s habit,” Chouhan told reporters.

    He said it is a “crime” if someone is not wearing a mask, because this also affects the health of others around that person. Chouhan said he launched an awareness campaign for wearing masks on Monday.

    “I ensured that me and my family wear masks the word ‘mask’ means ‘mera aapka suraksha kavach’ (my and your safety shield),” he said.

    The coronavirus cannot be controlled only by government’s efforts, because the infection is being spread by (inappropriate) social behaviour, he said.

    “We are making efforts to arrange facilities to fight the pandemic at the government level, but the infection spread has to be stopped by (appropriate) social behaviour,” he said.

    Chouhan said people became complacent when the viral infection was brought under control in the country a few months back due to efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and launch of the vaccination drive.

    “This has again caused the spread. Lockdown is an easy solution, but I don’t consider it right. A limited lockdown is ok, but a permanent one is not a solution,” he said.

    The CM said self-discipline is necessary to prevent the spread of the infection, and urged people to wear masks, maintain social distance, wash hands and adopt other precautionary measures.

    Chouhan said his office will function during his 24- hour sit-in campaign.

    “I will review the COVID-19 situation in the state, talk to leaders of various sections of society and religious leaders on awareness about the disease and also hold a cabinet meeting, besides other works, during this Swasthya Agrah,” the chief minister said.

    Chouhan also said he has urged his party (BJP) workers not to come to the venue of his campaign so as to maintain social distance.

    The state government is also making efforts to take the help of volunteers, who can register themselves for assistance in the vaccination process, spread awareness about the prevention norms, and help patients in home and institutional quarantine, he said.

  • COVID-19: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan travels Bhopal asking people to wear masks

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic intensifying, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the streets of the capital on Monday evening, appealing to people to compulsorily wear face masks and follow other COVID appropriate behaviour.

    Boarding the top of an open vehicle, Chouhan travelled around 50 km from Anand Nagar locality to Bairagarh on the city’s outskirts, appealing to people through the public address system to wear masks.

    “I’ve started the campaign from my family by ensuring that my wife and two sons wear masks compulsorily when out in the crowd. Your mask is your safety against the killer pandemic, which is growing in dangerous proportions in the state. Mask Nahi Toh Baat Nahi, make it a thumb rule that we’ll not talk to others, unless they are wearing masks,” said Chouhan while addressing people throughout the 50-km route.

    On the completion of the three-hour campaign, Chouhan announced to hold 24 hours Swasthagrah under the open sky near the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside the historic Minto Hall on Tuesday to appeal to people to adopt COVID appropriate behaviour.

    All the meetings will be held at the venue of the Swasthagraha only throughout the 24 hours starting from 12.30 pm on Tuesday. Earlier, in the day, the CM appealed to all religious gurus, politicians, social activists and media houses to forget differences and unite to fight the pandemic.

    He also dialled ex-CM and present Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath and apprised him about the pandemic’s situation in the state. He also sought suggestions from Nath to further streamline the fight against the pandemic.

    Also, during the day the state government made some important decisions, including fixing rates for RT-PCR Test and Rapid Antigen Test at private labs and also instructing private hospitals not to charge hefty sums from the COVID-19 patients.

    The RT-PCR rate at private labs has been fixed at Rs 700, while the fees for Rapid Antigen Test have been fixed at Rs 300. The labs will be eligible to charge additional Rs 200 on both tests, if the samples are collected from home.

    Meanwhile, the central Indian state, is seventh in the country when it comes to number of positive cases, active cases and deaths.

    Over the last 24 hours, the state reported 3398 fresh cases and 15 deaths, taking the active cases count 22,654. Since March 2020, the state has reported 310249 total cases and 4055 deaths, while a total 283540 people have so far recovered from the viral infection, including 2064 in the past 24 hours.

  • Successive Congress govts gave unemployment, insurgency, infiltration to Assam: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

    By PTI
    PALASBARI: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday alleged that the successive Congress governments in Assam had given only unemployment, violence, insurgency and infiltration.

    On the Congress electoral tie-ups with parties like Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam and the Indian Secular Force floated by a Muslim cleric in West Bengal, he claimed that Rahul Gandhi is “going the Jinnah way”.

    Addressing an election rally at Palasbari of Kamrup district, Chouhan said development in the state came in only after the BJP formed government five years ago.

    “The Congress ruled Assam for so many years, but what did they give? The Congress governments gave only unemployment, violence, insurgency and infiltration,” the senior BJP leader said.

    The people of the North-Eastern state could see the first glimpse of development when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power and a BJP government took charge of Assam in 2016, Chouhan claimed.

    “I also request you all that do not trust the five guarantees of the Congress. They never fulfil their promises. 0You go to other states where Rahul Gandhi had promised to waive farm loans within 10 days of forming governments,” he added.

    The Congress has “guaranteed” that if it is voted to power, a law will be enacted to nullify the CAA, five lakh government jobs will be given, 200 units of electricity will be free for all, housewives will get Rs 2,000 per month and minimum wages of tea garden workers will be raised to Rs 365.

    Addressing a press conference in Guwahati later, Chouhan claimed that after the Congress came to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, it did not waive agricultural loans.

    The Kamal Nath government in MP fell in 2020 following a rebellion in the Congress camp and Chouhan became chief minister.

    He presented some video clips of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promising to waive farm loans, which were claimed to be made before the 2018 assembly election in MP.

    The chief minister claimed that farmers in his state stopped paying instalments after Congress formed the government.

    But as it did not waive farm loans, banks sent notices to farmers to recover the loans with more interests, Chouhan said.

    “Rahul Gandhi is telling lies everywhere. I think in the name Rahul, R stands for rejected, A for absent-minded, H for hopeless, U for useless and L for liar,” Chouhan said.

    Likewise, in the case of the INC (Indian National Congress), I stands for irresponsible, N for nepotism and C for corrupt, he added.

    “The Congress has joined hands with (AIUDF president) Badruddin Ajmal, who is harbouring infiltrators.

    The Assamese culture and heritage will be threatened by Ajmal.

    “The Congress tied up with the Muslim League in Kerala, Furfura Sharif in West Bengal and Ajmal in Assam. Rahul Gandhi is going the Jinnah way,” Chouhan said.

    The CPI(M)-headed Left Front and the Congress have joined hands with the newly-formed Indian Secular Front floated by Abbas Siddiqui, an influential Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, to forge an alliance.

    Earlier this month, Chouhan had claimed that instead of following Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress is following in ‘Jinnah’s footsteps’ and it will ‘destroy’ the country.

    Chouhan said that if voted to power, the saffron party will come up with a law to prevent love jihad, as has been done in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

    The word “love jihad” is used by right-wing activists to refer to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.

  • MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan completes first year of his fourth chief ministerial tenure

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan completed the first year of his fourth chief ministerial tenure on Tuesday. 

    It was marked by the CM releasing thousands of crores to beneficiaries of different schemes. At a state-level program in Bhopal’s Minto Hall, he released the second installment of relief amount of Rs. 1530 crore, Rs 340 crore of the Mukhya Mantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana, and loan amount of Rs 60 crore into the accounts of rural street vendors with a single click. 

    Chouhan also virtually dedicated eight girls shiksha parisar buildings constructed by the Tribal Works Department at a cost of Rs 219.5 crore plus and 77 school buildings and three hostels constructed under the School Education Department at a cost of Rs 104.74 crore. 

    The CM dedicated Shiksha Parisars at Pati, Niwali, Barwani and Sendhwa in Barwani district and Sondwa in Alirajpur, Shivpuri district, Bhainsdehi in Betul and Panwarkheda in Hoshangabad district. In the programme which began with kanya pujan and Madhya Pradesh song, a book on Shivraj Sarkar ke ‘Jan Seva ka Ek Saal’ was also released. 

    He said “while fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream, work is being done to assist and uplift every section in Madhya Pradesh. Assistance of Rs 1,18,000 crore was directly deposited into the accounts of the people of the state under various schemes. During the difficult COVID-19 period, 129 lakh metric wheat of over Rs 25,000 crores was procured from farmers.”

    “To make life easier and to give shape to the concept of good governance, the facility of providing Khasra-Khatauni, copy of map, income and the original residence certificate has been provided on mobile. More than 9,000 crores of land has been freed from the possession of land mafia. Jal Jeevan mission is working in the state to provide water through taps to every house. The work of changing the picture of Bundelkhand region has started with the Ken-Betwa Nadi Jodo Yojana.”

    “Land worth Rs 10,000 crores has been freed from the mafia. More than Rs 900 crore has been recovered from chit fund companies. Such actions will continue,” he said. 

    The CM further said that this year the gross domestic product of the state will be more than Rs 10 lakh crores. All possible efforts are being made to raise the income of every person.

    Working towards building an Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh, more than 1800 factories will be inaugurated next month simultaneously. To ensure good quality of education in the state, activities are going on for the development of well-equipped schools, tourism development, solar, wind energy and roads.

  • MP: Amid rising cases, siren to be blown to make people take vow of wearing masks

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: A siren will be sounded in all cities in Madhya Pradesh at 11 am on March 23 for two minutes when people will take a vow to wear masks and maintain a physical distance at public places to check the spread of coronavirus, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Sunday in view of a fresh surge in the infections.

    He said a siren will be blown again at 7 pm on Tuesday to remind people of their resolve to follow these norms.

    “Putting on a mask is very important and that is why we are starting this campaign. We should be cautious. Do not let things go out of our hands,” the CM told reporters.

    Chouhan said, in a worrying trend, fresh COVID-19 cases in Indore, Bhopal and other places are on the rise.

    He also appealed to people to celebrate upcoming festivals, including Holi, at their homes.

    “Slogans like ‘Meri Holi, Mera Ghar’ should be embraced totally. Festivals should be celebrated with caution,” he added.

    The state on Sunday recorded 1,322 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 2,75,727, while the toll rose by three and the number of people discharged by 663, an official said.

    The death toll in the state is 3,906 and the recovery count is 2,63,821, he said, adding that six of 52 districts in the state did not report a new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours.

    “A death each was reported from Gwalior, Ratlam and Burhanpur. Indore’s caseload rose by 326 to reach 64,153, while that of Bhopal touched 47,110 with the addition of 382 cases. The active caseload in the two cities is 2,090 and 2,069 respectively,” he said.

    With 22,980 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in MP crossed 61.40 lakh.

    Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 2,75,727 new cases 1322, death toll 3,906, recovered 2,63,821, active cases 8,000 number of tests so far 61,40,126.

  • Param Bir Singh letter: Anil Deshmukh must resign, says Shivraj Chouhan as he lashes out at Uddhav government

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh should resign after a former Mumbai police commissioner accused him of corruption.

    Chouhan said all records of corruption had been broken in Maharashtra under the present government there, adding that the alliance led by Uddhav Thackeray was stalling development.

    “The way allegations are being levelled, skeletons are coming out of the cupboard in a sequence. This is the limit of corruption. The concerned minister must resign immediately,” Chouhan told reporters here when queried about the upheaval currently underway in the western state.

    After the arrest of Mumbai police assistant inspector Sachin Waze in an NIA probe in connection with the recovery of an explosives-laden vehicle near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s home, the state government had transferred Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

    Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that home minister Deshmukh had asked his officials to “collect” Rs 100 crore per month, over half of it from the 1,750-odd restaurants, bars and hotels in the megapolis.