Tag: 26 july 2020 news

TN crosses 2 LAKH mark

26july2020 Covid-19 news update

Number of persons getting diagnosed with Covid-19 is rising by leaps and bounds in Tamil Nadu. The media bulletin issued by the Department of Health on Saturday evening says 6,988 persons (almost 7,000) tested positive for coronavirus across the State while 89 persons died during the last 24 hours. These are highest numbers to be registered by the Government on a single day since the pandemic broke out in March 2020.

The bulletin said there were 52,273 patients across Tamil Nadu as on Saturday evening. More than 2.06 lakh people have been tested positive till date. The Government is leaving no stones unturned to identify and isolate those affected with the pandemic. There are 115 laboratories across the State which tested 61,729 persons on Saturday. Till date a total of 2.2 million persons have been tested by these laboratories making Tamil Nadu the State which has tested maximum number of persons. With 89 persons breathing their last on Saturday the total fatalities in the State have reached a whopping 3,409.

It is back to square one for Chennai as the Metropolis tested 1,329 positive cases out of the 6,988 new patients. The neighboring Chengalpet (449), Kancheepuram (442) and Thiruvallur (385) continued to lead the table with high number of patients. Health Minister Vijayabaskar agreed on Saturday that discrepancies in testing have come to the notice of the Government. β€œThere were instances of persons testing negative ending up as positive cases in subsequent tests. We are installing advanced CT-Scan instruments in Government hospitals to ensure foolproof testing and diagnosis,” said the minister on Saturday

Aditya Thackeray’s intervention helps save 400-yr-old tree, tiger corridor

Sunday 26 july 2020/ writed by kaspersahu

A relentless campaign by villagers and environmentalists and a timely intervention by Maharashtra’s Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray have helped save a 400-year-old banyan tree and a crucial tiger corridor in Maharashtra from various developmental projects.

After the people from Bhose village in Sangli district of western Maharashtra came together to protest against the banyan tree being felled down as part of the Solapur-Sangli-Kolhapur-Ratnagiri Expressway project, the villagers and environmentalists organized a novel protest by hugging the banyan tree and seeking Aditya’s intervention in their crusade.

Simultaneously, a protest broke out over the auctioning of auction the Bander coal mine in Tadoba Tiger Sanctuary, Chandrapur district, which would have destroyed more than 1,200 hectares of prime forest land, plus the tiger corridor linking the reserve with sanctuaires in Wardha and Amravati districts.

On July 16, Aaditya Thackeray wrote a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari making a strong case for saving the tree through changes in the alignment of the Ratnagiri-Solapur highway on state highway 166 which passes through the village.

β€œThis is welcome news. Coal ministry has issued notification to withdraw Bander Coal Mine from auction list of 41 coal blocks. Happy to note that the eco sensitive region of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve was dropped from the list,” Aditya had tweeted on Wednesday.

Simultaneously on Wednesday last, a team from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) visited the spot for a survey and to discuss the issue in detail with Bhose villagers, the temple trustees and environmentalists.

The visiting NHAI concluded that it would not be necessary to cut off the banyan tree but trim its branches a bit for the highway to run beside without causing any obstructions to the traffic and realign the service road to save the tree.

Subsequently on Friday, Aditya tweeted: β€œA 400 year old banyan tree in Sangli a District and a Tiger corridor saved yesterday. Feels good. 2 interventions where I had humbly requested 2 Union Ministers and received a positive response from both to assist saving the environment”.

β€œI have to thank CM Uddhav Thackeray ji for personally writing to the Union Govt on the same. Along with him, Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod ji had written too. Bandu Dhotre ji led the movement on ground and @Jairam_Ramesh,” the Tourism Minister added

Smuggling carried out with complicity of UAE diplomatic staff: Swapna

Sunday 26 july 2020

Gold smuggling case involving UAE Consulate Staff at Thiruvananthapuram turned murkier on Saturday with Swapna Suresh, the kingpin and K T Ramees, her associate , telling the investigating agencies that the higher ups in the Consulate were part of the smuggling operation.

β€œThe UAE Consul General and the AttachΓ© were part of the smuggling operations using diplomatic channel. For each consignment of gold smuggled into India, they were paid $1,500/ each,” Swapna and Ramees reportedly told the Customs officers during the interrogation.

This statement finds mention in the affidavit submitted by the Customs in the special court in Kochi which is expected to hear the bail applications filed by the duo on Monday.

The Consul General and the AttachΓ© are not in India. While the Consul General left the country immediately after the covid-19 broke out, the attachΓ© reportedly fled after the smuggling operation was busted by the Customs and the arrest of Swapna and her associates.

The Customs and NIA teams in their raids seized many incriminating documents linking Swapna to gold smuggling. A raid on her bank lockers yielded 1 kg gold and cash of Rs one crore. Though she had said that it was a marriage gift from a Sheikh in the UAE who was her father’s employer, the investigating agencies are not fully convinced with her explanation.

Besides the officials in the consulate, the smuggling cartel consisting of Swapna, Sarith and Sandeep Nair had links with many bigwigs in politics and bureaucracy, said sources in the investigating agencies privy to the interrogation.

Meanwhile, the NIA team in its raids and probes had seized digital records which prove the complicity of M Sivsankar, the suspended former principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The NIA has summoned Sivsankar for another round of questioning to their Kochi office on Monday.

K Ramkumar, senior lawyer, Kerala High Court, who has been commissioned by the Customs Department told The Pioneer that evidences collected till date have made it a water tight case and the role of the accused have been established beyond any doubt. β€œPlease remember that three agencies are probing the case. There is no way out for the accused,” said the septuagenarian lawyer.

The ruling Left Democratic Front which has scheduled its meeting for Tuesday cancelled the same on Saturday siting the Covid-19 pandemic. But political Kerala is agog with rumors that the meeting was postponed because the NIA’s decision to interrogate Sivsankar on Monday. If Sivsankar is arrested by the NIA on Moday, it would be a major embarrassment to the CPI(M), according to political commentators.