New Delhi: India reported 3,92,488 COVID-19 cases and 3,689 deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall infections to 1,95,57,457 and death toll to 2,15,542, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Sunday.

The active caseload, which crossed the three-million-mark on Thursday, also surged by 80,934 and currently stands at 3,349,644. This accounts for 17.06 per cent of the total confirmed cases in the country.

According to the Health Ministry, as many as 3,07,865 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours and so far, 1,59,92,271 people have recovered from the viral disease. With this, the country’s recovery rate stands at 81.84 per cent, the data also showed.

Meanwhile, a total of 15,68,16,031 people have been administered the coronavirus vaccine since the drive started in India in January.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Sunday said 84,599 people in the age group of 18-44 have been administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The data said a total of 16,48,192 people have been vaccinated across the country against covid-19 on Saturday. Among them, 9,89,700 people were given the first dose and the remaining 6.85 lakh beneficiaries received their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Total 29,01,42,339 samples tested up to May 1, 2021 for COVID-19. Of these, 18,04,954 samples were tested yesterday by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Srinagar: The government ordered on Sunday that all universities, colleges, skill training institutes, schools and coaching centres will remain closed in Jammu and Kashmir till May 31.

An order issued by the disaster management authority said that keeping the present Covid situation in view, it has been decided that all universities, colleges, skill training institutes, schools and coaching centres will remain closed in J&K till May 31.

Officials, however, said that religious places will remain open, subject to strict adherence to the Covid SoPs.

629 violators fined, 14 FIRs registered, 13 arrested: Police

Srinagar: Strict restrictions remained imposed on Sunday as part of 84-hour-long ‘COVID curfew’ that is scheduled to end on Monday morning in Kashmir valley, where fresh Coronavirus cases and death continued to rise unabated.

The lockdown has been extended till May 6 in four districts – Srinagar, Baramulla and Budgam and Srinagar. The decision to extend the lockdown in these areas was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha yesterday.

The extension in the lockdown in these districts has come in the backdrop of unabated rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Kashmir, particularly the summer capital, Srinagar, which has recorded the major chunk of positive cases during the last about a fortnight.

The administration had imposed corona lockdown from 7 pm from Thursday and till 7 am on Monday in Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Badgam, Kulgam, Pulwama and Ganderbal in Kashmir valley. The lockdown was later extended to the remaining three Kashmir districts — including Kupwara, Bandipora in north and Shopian in south — from Friday evening till Monday morning. However, essential services were exempted from the lockdown.

Streets continued to wore a deserted look as shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the road in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir valley, where security forces have closed the majority of the roads with barbed wires and barricades to stop the movement of people.

However, shops selling vegetables, milk and fruits were open as they have been exempted from the lockdown. The administration has allowed grocery shops, milk and dairy product shops, fruit and vegetable mandi, bakery and meat shops to function between 1000 hrs and 1800 hrs even during the lockdown. Chemist shops, LPG/petrol pumps, ATM, media, FCI, e-Commerce, construction activities, COVID-19 vaccination, inter-state movement are also allowed during the lockdown.

All the roads and market places, including Lal Chowk remained sealed with authorities seeking cooperation from the public to curtail the spread of COVID-19 by strictly adhering to the lockdown. Shops and businesses established were closed while all the roads were deserted as traffic and people were off the roads in downtown, civil lines, uptown in Srinagar.

An official said the Corona curfew at night shall continue in all Municipal / urban local body limits of all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. “Night curfew will be in force from 2000 hrs to 0700 hrs the next day”.

He said restrictions on assembly of more than five people under section 144 CrPc and other guidelines, including rotational system of opening of shops and public transport plying with only 50 per cent occupancy, will continue in the remaining seven districts in Kashmir, where curfew will be lifted on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman said police has enhanced the efforts to implement the Covid-19 guidelines/SOPs/restrictions strictly throughout the valley.

“During last 24hrs, Police has arrested 13 persons, lodged 14 FIRs and also realized fine to the tune of ₹77,131/- from 629 people for violating the guidelines/rules throughout Kashmir valley. Besides, 12 vehicles were also seized for violating guidelines/restrictions,” he said.

The special drive against the violators of Covid-19 guidelines/rules continued throughout all the districts of Valley to ensure that people adhere to SOPs/ guidelines envisaged by government to curb COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Srinagar: The government on Sunday notified Red, Yellow and Green zones keeping in view the rising Covid-19 cases.

As per government Order no. 26-JK (DMRRR) of 2021, Srinagar district and Lakhanpur Containment zone on the NH-44 with a buffer of 500 meters radius is in red zone. All districts of Kashmir Province except Srinagar and all districts of Jammu Province are in the green zone, while as no area finds itself in the green zone.

Further the order reads that “This categorization of districts into Red, Orange and Green Zones/ Districts will be followed for the purposes of implementation of permitted activities in the respective districts, as per a separate order, to be issued by the State Executive Committee (SEC). This classification of districts will be reviewed periodically and any further modifications will be made by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.”

Udhampur: In view of the spike of COVID-19 in the District , District Administration Udhampur has taken several initiatives in recent past  for expediting  the vaccination process under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner, Indu Kanwal Chib.

Though a lot need to be done to achieve vaccination targets set for different age groups, yet a large number of people are coming forward for inoculation.

A 90 year old woman – Thakri Devi of Kashira Panchayat set an example for others to follow when she got her first dose here at a vaccination camp organised by district administration in the area.

While sharing her views about COVID-19 disease, she  said “Last year I tested COVID positive and survived,  today after getting the Covid-19 vaccine, I feel more confident and protected as the vaccine is the biggest shield against Covid”. She appealed to the people of the District to come forward and get vaccinated against the infection. She also prayed to God for good health and safety of the whole mankind. She stressed on wearing masks, maintaining social distancing besides following other Covid SOPs being issued by the Government.

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress is all set to retain the power in West Bengal, upsetting the pollsters who predicted a neck-and-neck contest with the BJP, as it was leading comfortably in 192 seats and won 21 of the 292 seats in the counting of votes for Assembly elections till 1900 hrs.

The Bharatiya Janata Party was at the distant second, leading in 75 seats and winning three seats (78).

The Left parties, which have once ruled the state for 35 years, and Indian National Congress failed to open their account.

In another significant development, Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, in alliance with Congress, will replace the 10-year-old rule of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, as it was racing ahead in 112 seats and declared elected in two seats and its alliance party INC leading in 16 seats.

The AIADMK was leading in 75 seats and won two seats while the BJP was leading only in three seats of the total 234 seats.

Tamil-actor turned politician Kamal Hassan’s newly floated party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) was leading only in one seat.

The Left Democratic Front in Kerala has created a history as it will be the first to retain power in the coastal state which has an odd history of changing goalpost every five years. The LDF won 44 seats and was racing ahead in 49 seats while the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front bagged 17 seats and leading ahead in 25 seats of 140 seats. The BJP failed to open its account.

In Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal-led NDA is set to retain the northeast state as it won seven seats and is leading in 59 of 120 seats. The opposition UPA bagged two seats and was racing ahead in 44 seats of the total 125.

All India N R Congress-led BJP alliance in Puducherry is heading towards a victory as it won 11 seats and leading in three seats while Congress bagged four seats and was leading in two seats. The Congress recently lost the majority in the Territorial Assembly as several MLAs resigned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief MK Stakin, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for their victories.

In the battle of prestige in Nandigram, Mamta Banerjee lost and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari was declared winner, post which the TMC has demanded a recounting of votes.

The TMC said that counting for Nandigram is not complete and the EC announced the results without counting the last round.

Banerjee addressing a press conference termed the results as “victory of democracy”. She said the swearing-in ceremony will be a low-key event in view of the prevailing Covid-19 situation.

In Kerala, Shafi Parambil United Democratic Front (UDF)’s incumbent Shafi Parambil won Palakkad, defeating ‘Metroman’ Sreedharan of BJP who was also the chief minister candidate.

The Opposition parties were quick to congratulate Mamata Banerjee. Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Nationalist Congress Party head Sharad Pawar wrote congratulatory messages on Twitter.

However, despite the strict warning from the Election Commission of India of no victory processions or gatherings in view of the virulent second wave of Covid-19, celebrations were seen in some parts of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The ECI issued a notice to chief secretaries of the four states and one union territory to check such gatherings.

The elections were held between March 27 and April 29. West Bengal went for polls in eight phases. However, polling on two seats was postponed due to the death of candidates. Voting for Assam was held in three phases while in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, the polling was conducted in a single phase.

Srinagar: The Srinagar International Airport authorities have drawn criticism for allegedly failing to implement guidelines, including maintaining social distancing, amid unabated rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Kashmir valley.

Pictures in which passengers could be seen queued up in lines compactly without maintaining social distance inside Srinagar airport has gone viral on social media, including Facebook and twitter, attracting criticism from the locals.

Following the criticism, Srinagar airport in a series of tweets on its official handle urged passengers to maintain a social distance and wear mask.

The Airport authorities said that some flights are cancelled as airlines are merging passengers, which delay the process. “Therefore sometimes passengers bunch appear in certain zone, the team are working on it to diffuse the same round the clock,” Srinagar airport tweeted.

In another tweet, the Srinagar Airport authorities said that officials are ensuring strict compliance of social distancing norms by the passengers and staff to minimize human contact. “We urge all passengers to maintain a social distance, wear mask. We are continuously striving towards improving the passenger experience. @AAI_Official,” it added.

“We better understand that if you are traveling in this pandemic, must be an essential situation you have. You can make your journey safe to just follow COVID protocols @Aaisnrairport premises. We are taking all the steps against spread of COVID.#TogetherWeCan. @AAI_Official,” it said.

“We would like to apprise you that,we are taking all the precautionary measures against spread of COVID. We’re regularly sanitizing the terminal buildings & high contact surfaces. We need a little bit help from you that please follow the guidelines.@AAI_Official,” another tweet read.

“We all know the present pandemic situation, we advise passengers to follow social distancing guidelines and personal hygiene to keep everyone around safe and healthy, While our teams are making sure to keep @Aaisnrairport safe for you.@AAI_Official,” the official twitter handle of Srinagar airport added.

Srinagar: In first such order, a government teacher was fired from his services in north Kashmir district of Kupwara without holding any enquiry ‘in the interest of the security of the State’.

However, the termination of the government teacher has attracted huge criticism from civil society and political leaders and Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC).

“The Lieutenant Governor is satisfied under sub-clause (c) of the proviso to clause (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution of India that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold an enquiry in the case of Idrees Jan, Teacher, Government Middle School, Kralpora, Kupwara,” an order of the General Administration Department (GAD) read.

The order said Lt Governor after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available that the activities of Mr Jan are such as to warrant his dismissal from service.

Official sources said Jan was booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) in 2016. However, they said that he was released and reinstated as a teacher after J&K High Court (HC) quashed his detention under PSA.

The J&K government on April 21 constituted a Special Task Force (STF) to identify and scrutinize the government employees, and lodge cases against those who pose a threat to the country’s security or are involved in ‘anti-national activities’.

Meanwhile, expressing resentment over the termination of a teacher by government on charges of being allegedly involved in anti national activities, Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) said the decision was autocratic and not democratic.

“It is a partial decision and biased too where an employee is dismissed from his service and not allowed to put his point across or clear his stand. Among the pillars of democracy one of the strongest is judiciary in which the deprived lot entrust their faith and seek justice. As laid in the constitution of India, a convict can even reach out to the President of the Republic of India and appeal for justice. India being the largest democracy in the world confers this privilege to its citizens. But unfortunately the decision seems more of an autocratic set-up rather democratic,” EJAC President Fayaz Shabnum said.

Srinagar:  An Army man allegedly committed suicide by shooting self with his service rifle in north Kashmir district of Baramulla.

Official sources said panic gripped Veervan area in Sheeri, Baramulla when a gunshot was heard from an Army camp on Sunday afternoon.

“Other soldiers present in the camp rushed to the area from where the gunshot was heard only to find a jawan in a pool of blood,” they said.