India

NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 11-million mark, reaching 11,005,850 on Monday as 14,199 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 156,385 as 83 COVID-19 patients died since Sunday morning.

There are still 150,055 active cases in the country, while 10,699,410 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and other accused in the National Herald case on a plea by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

Justice Suresh Kait, while issuing notice to the Gandhis, AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young India (YI), sought their stand on Swamy's plea by April 12.

Mumbai, Feb 22 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim bail for six months on medical grounds to ailing poet and activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale took into account the advanced age of Rao (82), his "precarious" health condition, quality of medical aid provided to him in prison, and medical facilities available at the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, while holding that his case was "fit and genuine for grant of relief".

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) Train services resumed in the Kashmir Valley on Monday after remaining suspended for around 11 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said this will enhance ease of movement and provide a big boost to the tourism sector.

"Railways to resume train operations in Kashmir Valley on Banihal-Baramulla section from 22nd February, with two services operating initially," Goyal tweeted.

Earlier, the Railways said that no date has yet been fixed for resumption of all passenger train operations.

Srinagar, Feb 22 (PTI) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was on Monday unanimously re-elected as president of the PDP for a three-year term.

Mufti's name was proposed by senior leader Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura and seconded by Khurshid Alam, a party spokesperson said after the election.

Patna, Feb 22 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday drove a tractor to reach the Bihar assembly, in an expression of solidarity with those opposing the farm laws and protest against spiralling rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.

The leader of the opposition also flayed the Nitish Kumar government in the state for keeping mum on the issue of oil price rise and claimed that agriculturists in Bihar were often forced to sell their produce at rates less than half of the MSPs because of the abolition of APMCs.

Lucknow, Feb 22 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav panned the budget presented by the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday, saying expectations of the poor and the farmers' were not met.

The Adityanath government presented a Rs 5.5 lakh crore budget for 2021-22 in the Assembly with a target of making Uttar Pradesh self-reliant. With the Assembly election a year away, the budget includes new schemes of Rs 27,598 crore.

"Khel khatam, paisa hajam" (game over, money usurped)," Yadav said when asked about the budget.

Kanpur: Biometric machine is being installed on the Medical College campus for proper monitoring of doctors' attendance. 

Dr R B Kamal, the principal of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College, said that attendance through the machine was being made compulsory. It should be ensured that all the doctors would come on time. The close circuit cameras would also be set up. 

The biometric machine will be installed at both the places like medical college building and LLR Hospital respectively.

Kanpur: City buses are once again going to ply in various areas here. Buses were repaired and made operational. How many buses are supposed to be plying on different routes? 

As many as 60 buses will start running in the city's outer areas from the next month.

At the same time, a total of 100 buses at Fazalganj depo were refurbished to include in the running fleet from the coming month of March.

If everything goes normal, daily bus commuters will get a cheaper and comfortable ride on the city roads.

Kanpur: Fare increased threefold in the name of a special express train running between Kanpur Central and Charbagh railway station in Lucknow.

Daily commuters usually travelling by MEMU are now coughing up the extra fare beyond their imagination. Like a spiral hike in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, the railways too has given a jolt to the MEMU train passengers.

If the previous fare up to Charbagh was 20 rupees it has gone up to forty-five rupees now.