RIVANCH

As a locked down India watches the uptick in coronavirus cases with a growing sense of anxiety, the elderly have cause for concern. The statistics are disturbing: more than 80 percent of deaths due to COVID-19 — 14 out of 17 (till the time of filing the copy) — are elderly. This is roughly in line with global numbers. According to statistics provided by the Imperial College London, while the average rate of death due to novel coronavirus infection is 0.5 percent to 1 percent, the rate for people above the age of 60 is significantly higher at 2.5 percent to 10 percent. Globally, the elderly make up 45 percent of hospitalisations due to COVID-19.  Fifty-three percent of these need to be shifted to the intensive care units (ICU), and 80 percent of them in the ICU do not survive. Experts say the senior citizens' best shot at surviving COVID-19 is avoiding infection. The shockingly large number of deaths in Italy  — the highest in the world and having crossed 10,000— is being attrib

The immediate problem that has overwhelmed India is the movement of millions of migrant labourers who are now crossing state borders to reach their villages. Specific inter-state transit bus terminals (ISBT) across the country are crumbling under the weight of the migrant daily wagers wanting to go home. This has created an unprecedented situation as the coronavirus pandemic is now on the move. So many people at one spot all clustered and crowded in a location is also creating new hotspots for the virus. A migrant worker's family wait to be transported to their village. AP To understand the enormity of the problem, the Economic Survey 2017 estimated that 90 lakh people moved between states annually for five years between 2011-2016. The total number of internal migrants in the country (accounting for inter- and intra-state movement) is a massive 13.9 crores (139 million). The inter-state movement has source states and destination states. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the biggest

In areas covered under the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act), municipalities cannot be created. However, in violation of this Act and without consulting the gram sabha — a mandatory process in these scheduled areas — the Vishrampuri village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region became one of the villages to be declared a nagar panchayat in 2009. A nagar panchayat is an area in transition from a rural to an urban one. On the face of it, this sounds like development, but the consequence was that the area actually became more deprived of benefits. Higher status, fewer rights In the gotul or the indigenous knowledge centre of Vishrampuri, its walls decorated with traditional musical instruments, a group of young and old village representatives gathered to tell the story of the village. Jagat Markam, a youth active in raising awareness about community rights in the area, said, “The nagar panchayat that was formed was a group of 14 villages, each wi

Bihar Board Result 2020 | The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will not to be declared  today (Sunday, 29 March) on the official website biharboardoline.bihar.gov.in. The Bihar Board Class 10 result was expected on Saturday, but officials said that confirmed that Class 10 results will not be declared on 28 March . However, according to media, the results are likely to be announced in the second week of April. Meanwhile, BSEB has refrained from providing the exact date and time for the declaration of Class 10 results. There is also the possibility of a delay in results because the government has halted all non-essential work, which includes schools and colleges. It is likely that the grading of copies for board exams may also have been hit. Candidates can also check their BSEB 10th results on the official website of Bihar Board at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in after it has been officially declared. The Class 10 Board examination for matric students were held between 17 Feb

Bihar Board 10th Result 2020 | The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will not declare the Bihar Board Class 10 2020 result soon today (Sunday, 29 March) . Earlier, several media reports had said the results would be declared in April due to the coronavirus lockdown. The candidates who appeared for the Class 10 board exams will be required to visit the official BSEB website at  biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in  to check their results. According to a Hindustan Times report, BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said the evaluation process for matriculation exams has been postponed till 31 March due to lockdown across in view of the coronavirus outbreak. There are over 100 evaluation centres in Bihar with over 20,000 teachers deputed to check the answer sheets. BSEB had announced the result for Class 12 a few days back, in which the pass percentage was 80.4 percent. The news of the delay in Class 10 exam result comes amid the coronavirus pandemic. Over 600 people have been tested positive

The poor in India are in a fix. They don’t know which is a bigger killer: the novel coronavirus or hunger which has been thrust upon them due to an unprecedented crisis. A group of 25 to 26 men, aged between 35 and 50, wait near a makeshift shanty that they have erected near the railway crossing near Idgah Chowk in Meerut’s Sakhoti Tanda in Uttar Pradesh. Some are pacing restlessly, the reporter is told. All over India, migrant labourers have been scrambling to get home since the lockdown. PTI “We had no idea all this would unfold so fast,” said Ajay Prasad, 38-year-old migrant labourer who works for a private construction company, along with others, on a contract basis. Ajay and the 24 others hail from Jharkhand’s Latehar district. They were working on a project commissioned by the Indian Railways when the janata curfew — the trial lockdown — was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 8 pm on 21 March. “Sochein ek din ka bandi hai, nikal jayenge kal parso tak,” said Ajay w

Jaipur : Coming out with a unique way of engaging' those flouting the lockdown orders amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the district administration in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu area has decided to send such violators to the quarantine wards to take care of coronavirus patients. Representational image. PTI SDM Nawalgarh, Murari Lal Sharma also urged people to click photographs of those loitering on roads without any reason and send the pictures to the district authorities. "I have decided that those flouting the lockdown orders will not be arrested and cane-charged by the police. We will use their services in sanitising the quarantine wards and taking care of the patients admitted in them," he told PTI . Such people will be pressed into service in the quarantine wards set up at JJT University and Singhania University, the official said. The official also circulated a message on social media to inform people about the decision. This is not a joke as we will implement it f

Bilaspur : A case was registered on Saturday against a Congress corporator in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur town for allegedly asking his tenant, a nurse, to vacate the house fearing that she could become a carrier of coronavirus. Representational image. AFP Sitaram Jaiswal, the corporator, denied the allegation, claiming that he was being framed up. An FIR was registered against him at Civil Lines police station based on a complaint of the doctor at whose hospital the nurse works, said a police official. The complainant alleged that Jaiswal asked the woman to vacate the house on Friday, saying that being a healthcare worker, she was more susceptible get the virus infection. The nurse then vacated the house and left for her village which is near Bilaspur city, he said. The FIR was registered under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and also the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the official said, adding that no arrest has been made as further p

08:03 (IST) Coronovirus in United States Latest Updates Trump says New York quarantine 'will not be necessary' New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could soon be placed under a "strong travel advisory" just as the United States topped 2,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday. President Donald Trump said a quarantine will not be necessary in those states but he's asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a "strong travel advisory." The CDC is expected to issue guidelines on the advisory Saturday night, Trump said. ....Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary. Full details will be released by CDC tonight. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020 07:52 (IST) Coronovirus in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates Family of five test positive in Meerut An individual who along with his four family members returned from Maharashtra's Amravati to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday has teste

It has been only days since China lifted its two-month lockdown. Several public spaces are also being opened one after the other. The ease in movement is being allowed in phases but the country, where the deadly coronavirus originated, remains vigilant. Security staff at Hongyuan Park in eastern China’s Hangzhou city have been given artificial intelligence (AI) enabled glasses that can detect the body temperature of visitors, South China Morning Post reported. Fever is one of the leading symptoms of COVID-19 patients. People visiting the Hongyuan Park, which is a part of the Xixi Wetland preserve, would not have to stand in queues or come in close contact of each other at the entrance now. The guards will be able to check if any tourist has fever or not from as far as one metre. The smart glasses have been made by a Hangzhou-based startup called Rokid Corp. The glasses work on “non-contact thermal augmented reality.” The company told South China Morning Post that upon wearing

It has been only days since China lifted its two-month lockdown. Several public spaces are also being opened one after the other. The ease in movement is being allowed in phases but the country, where the deadly coronavirus originated, remains vigilant. Security staff at Hongyuan Park in eastern China’s Hangzhou city have been given artificial intelligence (AI) enabled glasses that can detect the body temperature of visitors, South China Morning Post reported. Fever is one of the leading symptoms of COVID-19 patients. People visiting the Hongyuan Park, which is a part of the Xixi Wetland preserve, would not have to stand in queues or come in close contact of each other at the entrance now. The guards will be able to check if any tourist has fever or not from as far as one metre. The smart glasses have been made by a Hangzhou-based startup called Rokid Corp. The glasses work on “non-contact thermal augmented reality.” The company told South China Morning Post that upon wearing

Bihar Board 10th Result 2020 | The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is expected to declare the Bihar Board Class 10 2020 result today (Sunday, 29 March), reports said. This, however, has not been confirmed by the board officials. Earlier, several media reports had said the results would be declared in April due to the coronavirus lockdown. The candidates who appeared for the Class 10 board exams will be required to visit the official BSEB website at  biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in  to check their results. According to a Hindustan Times report, BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said the evaluation process for matriculation exams has been postponed till 31 March due to lockdown across in view of the coronavirus outbreak. There are over 100 evaluation centres in Bihar with over 20,000 teachers deputed to check the answer sheets. BSEB had announced the result for Class 12 a few days back, in which the pass percentage was 80.4 percent. The news of the delay in Class 10 exam result co

The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 918 on Saturday as the country recorded 194 new cases, the highest jump the country ever recorded in a day. And even as the government ramped up efforts to implement the lockdown and enforce social distancing among citizens,  a stampede-like situation prevailed at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border as hundreds of migrant workers thronged the bus station to get seats on the limited number of buses the Uttar Pradesh administration operated to ferry them back home. In fact, reports through out the day highlighted the distress of daily waged workers from across the country, who found themselves stuck in the midst of a curfew, and their livelihood destroyed. Taking cognizance of the situation, the Centre also asked the state governments and Union Territory administrations to utilise Rs 29,000 crore in their respective State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) for providing food and shelter to migrant workers. Resources were also being mobilised

Bihar Board Result 2020 | The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is likely to be declared today (Sunday, 29 March) on the official website biharboardoline.bihar.gov.in. The Bihar Board Class 10 result was expected on Saturday, but officials said that confirmed that Class 10 results will not be declared today (Saturday, 28 March). However, according to media, the results are likely to be announced in the second week of April. Meanwhile, BSEB has refrained from providing the exact date and time for the declaration of Class 10 results. There is also the possibility of a delay in results because the government has halted all non-essential work, which includes schools and colleges. It is likely that the grading of copies for board exams may also have been hit. Candidates can also check their BSEB 10th results on the official website of Bihar Board at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in after it has been officially declared. The Class 10 Board examination for matric students were held b

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the creation of an assistance and emergency situation relief fund where people can contribute and help in the government's fight against coronavirus. It is my appeal to my fellow Indians, Kindly contribute to the PM-CARES Fund. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead. This link has all important details about the fund. https://t.co/enPvcqCTw2 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2020 The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund will go a long way in creating a healthier India, he said on Twitter. "People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India's war against COVID-19," he said, adding the fund has been constituted respecting that spirit. People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India’s war against COVID-19. Respecting that spirit, the Prime Minister’s

New Delhi: Indian Railways on Saturday announced that one of its prototypes has been converted into an isolation ward on a trial basis in view of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country. "On a trial basis, for now, we have converted only one prototype into an isolation ward. If this goes well then 10 coaches per week will be converted into an isolation ward in every Railways zone," said an Indian Railways official. Preparing to Combat Coronavirus: In a novel initiative, Railways has converted train coaches into isolation wards for COVID-19 patients Now, Railways will offer clean, sanitised & hygienic surroundings for the patients to comfortably recover. #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/miYO3LOGfN — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 28, 2020 Informing further about the isolation coaches, the official said, "Each non-AC coach has 9 compartments and 4 toilets, of which 2 can be converted into bathrooms." Ten cabins will be available with si