India

Kolkata, Apr 3 (PTI) At least 1,000 undertrial prisoners have been released from various correctional homes in West Bengal on interim bail in keeping with the Supreme Court's directions to consider decongesting the jails in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said here on Friday.

The process of granting bail to the undertrials commenced on March 23, State Legal Services Authority secretary Durga Khaitan said.

Mumbai, Apr 3 (PTI) The NCP on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his light up lamps message, saying it left citizens quite disappointed in the fight against coronavirus even as one of its Maharashtra ministers termed it as pure stupidity to tell people to do so.

Maharashtra Housing Minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad also said he will not switch off lights as appealed by Modi as he is "not stupid.

Lucknow, Apr 3 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government will create a corona care fund of Rs 1000 crore which will help in setting up testing facilities and procuring ventilators, masks and sanitisers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday.

Not only will the government help with this fund, but help will also be taken from corporate houses under the Corporate Social Responsibility, he said at a meeting with senior officials here.

KANPUR: Women are turning towards yoga, exercises and physical activity in order to tone up their muscles at the home in tough days of the ongoing lockdown. This sheer tendency keeps the body healthy in every way. There are women of different ages and sizes in the tannery town here who are not only taking recourse to methods like jumping, hopping, and other physical workouts but also losing weight as a result.

When such kinds of women were contacted in different localities of the area, they disclosed in their own way how they are benefitted by choice and free will. 

Mumbai, Apr 2 (PTI) The Mumbai Police has registered 709 offences against as many as 1,364 people for violating prohibitory orders during the coronavirus lockdown in the last 13 days, an official said on Thursday.

The Maharashtra government has invoked section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the state is under lockdown in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The police have registered around 709 offences against 1,364 people under section 188 (disobeying an order issued by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code since March 20, the official said.

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought to know from the Centre its stand on a plea that has highlighted the urgent need to provide WHO-graded protective gear to doctors, nurses and medical staff who are treating coronavirus patients across the country.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah that heard the matter through video-conferencing, asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to examine the plea and place before the court the Centre's stand with regard to the issues highlighted in the petition.

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) CPI(M) has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the creation of the PM Cares Fund for those affected by coronavirus and said a similar fund was set up after the Pulwama attack and there has been no transparency about it.

The Polit Bureau said in a statement that a separate fund for the COVID-19 pandemic was unnecessary.

Ayodhya, Apr 1 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday booked a senior journalist over comments on Twitter claiming that the day Tablighi Jamaat held its event in Delhi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had insisted that a Ram Navami fair will take place as usual.

The FIR against The Wire editor Siddharth Varadarajan also mentioned his remark, questioning Adityanath's participation at a religious ceremony at the Ramjanmabhoomi site in Ayodhya during the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) The budget of big-ticket Durga Pujas is set to take a hard knock due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak as sponsorships by corporate advertisers would be reduced, leading to scaling down of the grandeur, organisers said on Thursday.

The Durga Puja, the biggest festival in West Bengal, will be held in October this year.

Noida (UP), Apr 2 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government has shunted out the chief medical officer (CMO) of Gautam Buddh Nagar Anurag Bhargava, according to an official order.

Bhargava is the second high-level officer to be shifted in Noida after the district magistrate was shunted out earlier this week after a meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the coronavirus situation.