Quarantine wards set up at Corbett to save wildlife from coronavirus
Dehradun: Transmission of the coronavirus to a tiger at a zoo in the US has led authorities at the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand to set up quarantine wards in its ranges for tigers, elephants and sniffer dog squads to protect them from the virus. Quarantine wards have been set up at Kalagarh and Bijrani ranges of the reserve in compliance with the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, CTR Director Rahul told PTI. Apart from that, 40 video-mode cameras and 450 still-mode cameras have been installed at the peripheries of the reserve to keep a tab on any abnormal behaviour by animals which might suggest they have contracted the COVID-19 contagion, he said. The reserve staff have been asked to stay put at the posts and they are being supplied with essentials there to prevent the possibility of their getting infected with COVID-19 and then passing it on to the animals that they have to handle, the official said. Patrolling staff have also been asked to keep an eye on any abnormal behaviour by the wildlife at the reserve, he said. Elaborate arrangements have also been made at the Rajaji Tiger Reserve to save tigers and other animals at the facility from the novel coronavirus infection, its Director PK Patro said. (PTI)
Face mask mandatory in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: In view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad, the city civic body has made it compulsory for people to wear masks from Monday, failing which they would be fined Rs 5,000 or sentenced to three years in jail, an official said. The order has been issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly disease, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said on Sunday. “From 6 am on Monday, everybody in Ahmedabad city municipal limits will have to wear mask mandatorily when going out in public places. Those found without masks will be fined Rs 5,000. Those who fail to deposit the fine will be jailed for three years,” he said. People can wear masks available in the market or those made from cloth, or even tie a handkerchief so as to cover the nose and mouth, he said. (PTI)
Man held for selling fake e-passes
Aurangabad: A 21-year-old man was arrested in Beed in Maharashtra for allegedly making fake passes that allows vehicles and people to move during lockdown in place for the coronavirus outbreak, police said on Sunday. Mahesh Ashok Fapal was held from Belora village in the district, an official said. “These passes, which allow movement of essential goods or people in case of medical or other emergency, are available online. However, Fapal was making fake ones on a mobile phone and selling it. We found 4-5 duplicate passes,” the Dindrud police station official said. He was arrested for cheating and has been sent to judicial custody, he added. (PTI)
Woman throws children into river
Bhadohi: A woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi allegedly threw her five children into the Ganga following an argument with her husband, police said on Sunday. Efforts are on to trace the children, they said. Superintendent of Police Ram Badan Singh said the incident took place in Jahangirabad village under the Gopiganj police station area late on Saturday night. He said Manju Yadav and her husband Mridul Yadav often quarrelled in the past one year. “Hence, she thought of killing her children by throwing them into the river,” he said. The SP said the river near the Jahangirabad ghat where the incident took place is deep. “The search for the children is on,” he said. Police said when the woman came to the ghat, the children raised an alarm but the fishermen there fled believing her to be a witch. They said the woman did not leave the spot after the incident and herself told people about it on Sunday morning. (PTI)
Farmer kills self in UP
Banda (UP): A farmer reportedly ended his life here over non-availability of labourers for harvesting his wheat crop due to the lockdown imposed across the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus, police said on Sunday. “Rambhavan Shukla (52) committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree on the outskirts of Jaari village,” Additional Superintendent of Police Lal Bharat Kumar Pal said. According to the family of the deceased, Shukla had been searching for labourers since the past few days, but he could not find any due to the lockdown. They alleged that he went out to look for labourers on Saturday, but ended his life. The police said the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem. The matter is being probed, police added. (PTI)
TikToker who mocked masks positive
Bhopal: A 25-year-old man, who in a TikTok video ridiculed the use of masks for protection against COVID-19, has tested positive for the disease in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, an official said on Sunday. Authorities at the hospital where he is admitted had to seize his mobile phone as he kept posting more videos from the isolation facility even after testing positive. His condition is stable and has no travel history. In one of the videos, apparently shot after the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the man was purportedly seen sitting on a bike and when someone asked him to wear a mask, he dismissed it saying “why to trust a piece of cloth? Keep faith in God”. In later part of the video, he was seen throwing a piece of cloth in the air while the song ‘Faya Kun, Faya Kun’, from the movie “Rockstar” played in the background. After the man uploaded these videos on TikTok, several people mocked him for making fun of the mask. (PTI)
Constable walks 450 km to join duty
Jabalpur: The whole country is under a lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak but there are people who are still keeping up their jobs at priority. Constable Anand Pandey is one of them who walked for 450 km from Kanpur to Jabalpur to join his duty. Resident of Kanpur, Pandey is posted in Jabalpur, and had come on leave on February 20 as his wife was not well. He got stuck in Kanpur due to the lockdown but it did not stop him from joining his duty. He started walking from Kanpur on March 30 to reach Jabalpur. He also got lift from a few passers-by. It took him three days to reach Jabalpur. Inspector SPS Baghel and the entire staff of Omati police station appreciated the efforts of Pandey. (IANS)
Pak violates ceasefire in J&K
Jammu: Pakistan Army violated bilateral ceasefire on the line of control (LoC) in J&K’s Poonch district on Sunday. “Around 1.40 p.m., Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by small arms firing and intense shelling with mortars in the Kirni and Qasba sectors of the Poonch district,” Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devender Anand told IANS. (IANS)