India

Panaji, Aug 10 (PTI) Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the COVID-19 situation in his state was serious and it accounted for 42 per cent of all deaths nationwide due to the infection.

Fadnavis, leader of opposition in the Assembly in the neighbouring state, was in Goa to pay a courtesy visit to Chief Minister and party colleague Pramod Sawant.

Speaking to reporters here, Fadnavis said the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra must increase testing and set up more isolation facilities.

Gandhinagar, Aug 10 (PTI) In a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19, the Gujarat government on Monday increased the fine for not wearing mask in public places to Rs 1,000 from the present Rs 500.

The decision came after the Gujarat High Court in its order last month asked the government to collect a minimum fine of Rs 1,000 from those found without mask in public places.

In the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, the high court had observed that "masks are logically the best defense individuals have against COVID-19".

Srinagar, Aug 10 (PTI) Shah Faesal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and floated the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) last year, has resigned as its president, the party said on Monday.

Faesal had dropped a hint about stepping away from politics on Sunday as he edited his personal details on Twitter, removing the reference to his political affiliations.

Mangaluru, Aug 10 (PTI) A newborn baby girl was found abandoned in a garbage bin near the district mother and child hospital in Udupi, about 55 kms from here, on Monday morning, police sources said.

The baby, spotted by civic workers, has been admitted to the hospital.

The condition of the infant is stable, the sources said.

A case has been registered and investigations to find out the person who abandoned the baby have begun.

CCTV cameras in the area are being examined, the sources added.

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Former President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

"On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID19 today," he tweeted.

"I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for COVID-19," Mukherjee said.

KANPUR: Since March-end the careful thing that we can all execute is to stay at home. We feel confident that the dread of the air-borne virus would continue to wane and it is only then we would start living in no fear.

Think of those who do not follow the habit of trimming hairs on the head by automatic machine. It is not clear whether the hair saloons are opening and if these are unlocking most of us fear to tread there owing to the terror of the pandemics.

Indore, Aug 9 (PTI) A case was registered against Madhya Pradesh Congress working president and MLA Jitu Patwari for allegedly posting a doctored image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which the ruling BJP claimed hurt the dignity of the PM as well as religious sentiments of Hindus.

In the image uploaded by Patwari, the PM is seen wearing a mask and holding a bowl during the Ram Temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5.

Chennai, Aug 9 (PTI) DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday said a Central Industrial Security Force officer asked her if she was an Indian, when she asked the woman official to speak in Tamil or English.

"Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if 'I am an Indian,' when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi.

I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi. #hindiimposition," Kanimozhi who is also the DMK's women's wing secretary said on her twitter handle.

Jaipur, Aug 9 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday questioned the shifting of BJP MLAs to Gujarat, saying the opposition party was ridden with factionalism.

His comments came in the wake of the BJP herding its 18 MLAs in the past two days to party-ruled Gujarat ahead of the Rajasthan assembly session beginning August 14.

The BJP had claimed that their MLAs were being harassed by police and the administration at the behest of the Congress government in the state.

New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI) Asserting that the government's agri-reforms are focused on empowering small farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agri-Infra Fund that will help create post harvest infrastructure in villages and generate jobs.

He also said that the country does not face problems in farm production but in post-harvest losses and therefore efforts are being made to strengthen post harvest infrastructure facilities and ensure better income for farmers.