News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Yogi minister’s letter on poor handling of COVID-19 pandemic in Lucknow goes viral

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The law minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, Brijesh Pathak, has written a letter to express his angst over the lackadaisical attitude of the health authorities in Lucknow which is going through a big COVID-19 surge and topped the state tally with 5382 cases on Tuesday. The state logged 18021 fresh active cases of COVID-19.

    In his confidential letter, written on Monday, to additional chief secretary, medical health, Amit Mohan Prasad and principal secretary, medical education, Alok Kumar, the minister writes: “I am shocked to find that while government hospitals and labs are taking around 4-5 days to give the test reports, private laboratories have been asked to stop Covid testing.”

    The letter, now viral on social media, is a potential tool for opposition parties to condemn the state government’s handling of the pandemic surge.

    In a single-page letter, Pathak, a sitting MLA from Lucknow Central, has expressed his anguish over the fact that he had received a frantic call from the residence of Yogesh Praveen, an author and expert on Lucknow and Awadh, informing about his critical condition and that an ambulance was needed. “I contacted the office of the chief medical officer, Lucknow, but the ambulance never reached andYogesh Praveen ji died,” he added.

    The law minister has also drawn attention towards the alleged paucity of test kits in the state capital. He claimed that when there was a need for at least 17,000 test kits a day for the coronavirus test, hardly 10,000 were available in the state capital labs.

    “I am flooded with requests, desperate pleas from citizens of Lucknow to save their lives and often find the district health authorities insensitive and don’t find it necessary to respond to the distress calls,” said Pathak adding that when the issue was brought to the knowledge of the health minister, the officers started picking the phones but hardly to any benefit of the common man.

    Asking the higher authorities to immediately intervene to put medical infrastructure in order at the earliest, the minister wrote that patients were getting their test reports in a week’s time. “Ambulances are not reaching the patients in time, CMO office is taking two days to give referral slips to patients for admission to any COVID-facility,” wrote Pathak.

  • Police unearth two illegal arms manufacturing units in UP’s Muzaffarnagar, four held

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: Police here on Sunday unearthed two illegal arms manufacturing units, arresting four people and seizing pistols and muskets, according to a release.

    Police seized 27 pistols, five muskets and a large number of gun barrels from the manufacturing units.

    The release said the Kotwali police raided an illegal manufacturing unit at Sherpur village, recovering 11 pistols, four muskets and 14 gun barrels.

    In another raid, 16 pistols, one musket and 15 gun barrels were recovered from a manufacturing unit at Basikala village under the Shahpur police station in the district.

  • Two dead, as many injured in cave-in while digging well in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba

    By PTI
    MAHOBA: Two labourers engaged in digging a well in a village here died and two more were severely injured after a mound of soil and stones caved in on them, officials said on Saturday.

    Eight labourers were digging the well at a depth of 20 feet in Mahuabandh village under the Ajnar police station limits on Friday when the accident occurred, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Kulpahad tehsil Mohammad Uvaish said.

    Ramsevak Ahirwar (35) and Gyasilal (30) died on the spot, while Ramnarayan and Kamlesh suffered serious injuries, he said.

    Uvaish said the injured were undergoing treatment at a hospital and the bodies of the deceased had been sent for a post-mortem examination.

  • Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swaroop Shukla tests positive for COVID-19

    By PTI
    BALLIA: Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swaroop Shukla has tested positive for COVID-19.

    The minister of state for parliamentary affairs said he got himself tested for the disease on Thursday after noticing some symptoms.

    The test report came out as positive for COVID-19 on Friday, Shukla added.

    “I have isolated myself. Those who came in contact with me in the past few days should get themselves tested,” the BJP MLA from Ballia said.

  • UP sees biggest single-day spike of 8,490 cases, situation alarming in state

    By Online Desk
    Uttar Pradesh on Thursday witnessed its biggest single-day spike in Covid cases with 8,490 infections and 39 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

    Of these, 50% of cases are from Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Kanpur. 

    The development comes even after the clamping of night curfew in the six cities of the state.

    After the onset of infection in March 2020, Thursday was the day when such a large number of infected people were found. Earlier, on September 11, 2020, 7103 were found infected in the state

    Now active cases have increased to 39,338 in the state. So far 9,003 people have died from this infection. State’s Additional Chief Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad said that 2,04,878 samples were examined in the state on Wednesday. 

    In all, 66,88,260 people have taken the first dose of vaccine so far. The second dose of vaccine has also been given to 11,79,437 people.

    In the state capital Lucknow, hospitals have stopped admission of Covid patients. The 22 Covid-19 hospitals including KGMU SGPGI, Lohia Institute, Lokbandhu Hospital, RSM Hospital, Medanta Hospital, Era Hospital, Chandan Hospital, have been fully flooded.

    The situation at the King George Medical University in Lucknow is alarming as 26 doctors and medical staff tested Covid positive on Thursday.

  • Night curfew implemented in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi due to increasing cases of corona

    Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to impose night curfew in Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi from Thursday. The curfew will be implemented from 8 April and will remain in effect till 16 April. The curfew will continue from ten in the night to six in the morning. According to an order issued by Lucknow District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash, the night curfew will be applicable only in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation area and not in the rural area. Supply of fruits, vegetables, milk, LPG, petrol-diesel and medicine will continue. Government and semi-government personnel working in night shifts and private sector personnel engaged in services of essential commodities will be exempted during this period.

    He further said, this restriction will not apply to medical, nursing and para medical institutions. People coming to and from the railway station, bus station and airport will be able to travel by showing their tickets. There will also be no restriction on the movement of goods trains. In the last 24 hours, 1,333 new cases of corona have been registered in Lucknow, while 6,023 new cases have been registered in the state.

    In a meeting held late on Wednesday night, the Chief Minister has also instructed other district magistrates of the state that if they get more than 500 cases in their area, then they too can impose night curfew in the area. A night curfew will also be imposed in Benares from April 8, which will continue from 9 in the morning to 6 in the morning. During this time, all non-medical institutions will be closed.

  • 17-year-old boy dies by suicide inside brick kiln in UP’s Shamli; family alleges murder

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: A 17-year-old boy working as a labourer at a brick kiln in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district has allegedly hanged himself, with his family claiming he was murdered, police said on Wednesday.

    The body was found hanging inside the factory in Kiwana village under the Kandhla police station limits on Tuesday, Station House Officer (SHO) Rozant Tyagi said.

    An investigation is underway, and the victim’s family has alleged that it is a case of murder, the police said.

    The body was sent for an autopsy, Tyagi added.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA’s 24×7 Helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance.)

  • TMC leaders swindled all central aid for Bengal: Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday flayed the ruling TMC in West Bengal, alleging that its leaders swindled whatever central aid was extended to the state, from “funds to ration supplies”.

    Addressing two election rallies at Mal assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri district and Kurseong in Darjeeling, the senior BJP leader also said his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee has deprived the state of the Centre’s development schemes.

    “She has neglected West Bengal for the last 10 years and by not being a part of several central welfare schemes, Mamata has denied the state of its share of benefits.

    “Whatever assistance the Centre provided to Bengal, from funds to ration supplies, was swindled by TMC leaders.

    After the BJP comes to power in the state, each paisa will be recovered and spent on development works,” he asserted.

    Adityanath accused the Mamata Banerjee government of neglecting tea garden workers.

    “In other tea growing states, the workers get a daily wage of Rs 350 and have land rights, while it is not even Rs 200 in West Bengal.

    The BJP is committed towards the welfare of the workers and the Gorkha community that resides in the area,” he said.

    What is required for West Bengal is a ‘double engine government’ which will work in tandem with the Centre where the BJP-led NDA is in power, Adityanath said.

    “Benefits of central schemes have not reached the people. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has played with their lives and livelihoods,” he said, adding that the elections in the state are not only for the change of the government but also for creating ‘sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal).

    The UP CM also wondered why Banerjee gets miffed at hearing ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans.

    “Those who had spoken against Lord Ram had faced debacles. Similar fate awaits her,” Adityanath added.

    He claimed that Trinamool Congress “goons” had killed 130 saffron party workers in West Bengal.

    “After we come to power here, these goons will be dealt with as per law,” he said.

    The BJP leader also said Darjeeling has the potential to become a world-famous tourist destination.

    “Darjeeling will be made number one in tourism in the world if the BJP is voted to power, and it can be developed as a hub of health and wellness centres,” he added.

  • Uttar Pradesh BJP leader resigns in support of farmers’ agitation over agri laws

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Priyamvada Tomar resigned from the party on Wednesday in support of the farmers agitation.

    She also resigned as member of the Uttar Pradesh Women Commission ahead of the panchayat polls in the state.

    In her resignation letter to state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, she alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state had been neglecting the demands of the farmers regarding the new farm laws despite their protests, which have been going on for over four months.

    Tomar further said she took this decision due to BJP’s “anti-farmer” policy.

    “The BJP has neglected women in Uttar Pradesh and failed to fulfil their wishes,” she told PTI.

  • Mohali court rejects Mukhtar Ansari’s plea for medical examination

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: A Mohali court has rejected a plea of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari who sought directions to jail authorities to constitute a medical board for examining him.

    The court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (JMIC) Amit Bakshi said the Supreme Court has already considered Ansari’s plea regarding his medical condition.

    “There is nothing on record which cab suggest that after the apex court order on March 26 there have been any fresh medical issues with the accused,” the Mohali court judge said.

    No separate order to constitute a board for treatment of the accused is required to be passed, the judge wrote in his March 31 order.

    Ansari, wanted in Uttar Pradesh for several cases, was on Wednesday produced before the Mohali court in connection with an alleged 2019 extortion matter.

    He was in a wheelchair when he was brought to the court.

    Ansari, through his counsel Raj Sumer Singh, had moved a plea in the court for directing the jail authorities to get him medically examined due to “acute ailments and medical distress”.

    The counsel had also claimed that the accused suffered “medical” emergency on March 29, 2020 and since then he has been suffering from “acute chest pain”.

    Ansari had a previous medical condition and had also suffered two major heart attacks.

    It was feared that if he was denied proper medical assistance, he might succumb to his medical ailments, it was further submitted.

    The counsel had also sought a reply from the Rupnagar jail superintendent before deciding the application.

    The counsel also mentioned in the plea while referring to the March 26 Supreme Court order that as the MLA from Mau had to travel to Uttar Pradesh, keeping in view his medical condition, he be treated through a recognized government medical hospital in Mohali by constituting a board.

    The Mohali court judge in his order said, “No reply on behalf of the jail superintendent would be required as the jail superintendent was duty bound as per law to provide appropriate medical facility to the accused as per his medical condition (if any), as per the jail manual and also to comply with the order dated March 26 of the apex court.

    ” The court also directed that as Ansari is in judicial custody in the present case, therefore, the jail superintendent, at the time of transferring the custody of the accused to UP as per directions of the apex court, will mention that he be produced through video conferencing on April 12 in the present case.

    Ansari has been lodged in Rupnagar district jail in Punjab since January 2019 in connection with an alleged extortion case.

    On March 26, the Supreme Court directed the Punjab government to hand over the custody of Ansari to the Uttar Pradesh Police, saying the custody was being denied on trivial grounds under the guise of medical issues.

    The apex court had also said that a convict or an undertrial prisoner, who disobeys the law of the land, cannot oppose his transfer from one prison to another and the courts should not be a helpless bystander when the rule of law is being challenged with impunity.

    A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy had said the custody of Ansari be handed over to Uttar Pradesh within two weeks so as to lodge him in Banda District Jail in UP.

    The apex court also noted that Ansari was allegedly involved in several cases of attempt to murder, murder, cheating and conspiracy apart from offences under the Gangsters Act, which were lodged in Uttar Pradesh.

    Out of these cases, 10 are at the stages of trial.