Markaz Nizamuddin, the place where a religious congregation left several people affected with coronavirus, on Tuesday said it has not violated any provision of the law and offered its premises for setting up a quarantine facility.
Markaz Nizamuddin, which is the international headquarters of Tabilghi Jamaat for close to 100 years, will cooperate with the authorities, it said in a statement.
Delhi government on Tuesday said 24 people, who took part in a religious congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin earlier this month, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said 700 people who attended this congregation have been quarantined while around 335 people have been admitted to hospitals.'
Besides, participants from across India, the congregation was attended by people from different countries, including Indonesia and Thailand.
The Markaz statement referred to the directive of the Delhi government to take legal action against the Markaz administration.
'During this entire episode, Markaz Nizamuddin never violated any provision of law, and always tried to act with compassion and reason towards the visitors who came to Delhi from different states. It did not let them violate the medical guidelines by thronging ISBTs or roaming on streets,' the statement said.
The statement said the Markaz would like to humbly offer the entire premises as a quarantine facility to help the authorities tide-over the challenge of current pandemic.
'Visitors/guests/devotees/worshippers from across the globe throng the place for pre-scheduled programmes and all the programmes are decided a year in advance in order to facilitate visitors from far-off places to plan their participation,' it said.
The Markaz said when the Prime Minister announced the 'Janata Curfew' on March 22, the ongoing programme was discontinued immediately, but a large number of people were stuck in the premises due to the closure of railway services on March 21.
The statement said the Markaz observed the 'Janata Curfew' and the visitors stayed put in the premises.
'Before the Janta Curfew could be lifted at 9pm, the chief minister of Delhi announced lockdown of Delhi beginning at 6am on March 23 till March 31, thereby further diminishing any chances of these visitors availing road transport for their journey back home,' the statement said.
The statement said around 1500 people left the Markaz on March 23 by 'availing whatever meager transport was available'.
On the evening of March 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide 21-day lockdown, the statement said, adding there was no option for Markaz Nizamuddin but to accommodate the stranded visitors with prescribed medical precautions.
On March 24, a notice was issued by SHO of the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station seeking closure of Markaz premises.
The Markaz responded to the notice the same day by stating that around 1,000 visitors belonging to different states and nationalities were present in Markaz while 1,500 had left.
The Markaz had also requested the SDM of the area to issue vehicle passes so that the remaining people could be sent back to their native places outside of Delhi.
'It is relevant to indicate here that lists of 17 vehicles with registration numbers along with the names of the drivers plus their license details were submitted to the SDM so that the stranded visitors/guests could be ferried towards their destination. The requisite permission is still awaited,' the statement said.
It said on March 27, six persons were taken for medical check-up while the next day, the SDM and WHO team visited the Markaz and 33 persons were taken for medical checkup to Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital.
On March 28, another notice was issued, by the Office of ACP, Lajpat Nagar, reiterating the prohibitory orders and warning of legal action, the statement said, adding, that 'this being totally oblivious of the above deliberations and steps that had already been taken by Markaz in consultation with the authorities'.
The Markaz said it replied to the second notice as well.
Meanwhile, the Telangana administration has estimated that over 1,000 people from the state might have attended the religious congregation in Nizamuddin, a senior official said, adding the search is on to identify people who came in contact with them.
The state government intensified its efforts following the death of six people who attended the meeting.
'We estimate over 1,000 persons might have attended the congregation in Delhi. Respective district collectors and police personnel were on the job to locate people who came in contact with them after their return. Family members of the deceased were quarantined depending on the symptoms they show,' the official told 'PTI'.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath ignores social distancing guidelines as he addresses the gathering in Ayodhya during the lockdown on Wednesday PTI
UP CM cuts short visit, to hold meeting on Nizamuddin fallout
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cut short a western Utter Pradesh trip on Tuesday, rushing back here to discuss the possible spread of coronavirus from the religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin.
Adityanath visited Ghaziabad in the morning, but called off the rest of the trip. Initially, he was scheduled visit Meerut and Agra next to assess preparations to fight the spread of coronavirus.
He headed back to Lucknow meet senior officers and review quarantine measures, after reports that a meeting organised by Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi's Nizamuddin may have infected many people from the state, an official said.
The CM was expected to hold a meeting with senior officials later in the day, a government spokesman said.
Twenty-four people, who took part in a religious congregation in Nizamuddin West earlier this month, have tested positive for coronavirus, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.
'An estimated 700 people, who attended this congregation, have been quarantined while around 335 people have been admitted to hospitals,' he told reporters, referring to the situation in Delhi.
Over 21,000 camps operational, house over 6.6 L people
Over 21,000 COVID-19 relief camps have been made operational in the country where more than 6.6 lakh stranded and destitute people are sheltered as of now, the Union home ministry said on Tuesday.
Punya Salila Srivastava, a joint secretary in the ministry, told reporters during a daily briefing that over 23 lakh people are also being provided food at these camps.
She said the ministry was continuously monitoring the ongoing lockdown situation in coordination with the states and union territories and the situation till now has been satisfactory.
The essential supplies system is also running satisfactorily, she said, adding interstate cargo movement is also going on smoothly.
'We hope that the lockdown will be effective,' Srivastava said.
Pay-and-use quarantine units at 50 hotels in Odisha
A total of 50 hotels have been designated as pay-and-use quarantine facilities by the civic bodies in major Odisha cities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Tuesday.
At least a dozen hotels have been roped in by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to offer quarantine facilities to people at a price in the state capital, while similar arrangements have been made in around 26 hotels in neighbouring Cuttack as part of measures taken by the state government to contain the spread of COVID-19, they said.
A large number of quarantine centres are required to be set up to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and many government buildings have already been designated as such facilities, a senior official said.
However, it is necessary to make more such units available as part of the state's preparedness to deal with any emerging situation, he said.
At least 42 residents of Gujarat's Surat district who returned to India from foreign trips this month have not been found at the residential addresses mentioned in their passports, an official said on Tuesday.
In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the Centre had provided Gujarat government a list of around 27,000 people whose passports mentioned their addresses in the state so that they could be tracked and their health monitored.
However, 42 of these people, whose passports mentioned that they are residents of Surat, have not been found at the specified addresses, a district health official said.
Of these 42 'missing' persons, 16 are from Palsana area, nine from Bardoli, six each from Choryasi and Olpad localities, three from Mangrol and two from Kamrej, he said.
After their foreign trips, most of these people landed at various airports like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chennai, the official said.
As many as 60 prisoners were released on bail from Akola district jail, in accordance with the Supreme Court's order to reduce crowding in prisons during the coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Tuesday.
At least 60 prisoners, who were serving sentences of upto seven years, were released following a health check-up on Monday, Akola jail superintendent A S Sadaphule said.
This was done in accordance with the Supreme Court's directive to reduce crowding in prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The jail administration has taken various measures to protect detainees from the pandemic, the official said.
Prisoners were given masks, visits from family were suspended and court proceedings were held over video- conferencing, he added.
Tamil Nadu virus cases rise to 74, Nizamuddin link surfaces
Seven people tested positive for coronavrius in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday with the total number rising to 74 and a chunk of the cases having links to a religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin West earlier this month.
A day after Chief Minister K Palaniswami said a number of people from Tamil Nadu -part of a group of about 1,500 people- who had been to Delhi recently to attend a meet were infected, the government said that of the seven fresh cases, five men had travel history to the national capital.
Asked if the five men were part of the Tamil Nadu group that attended a religious congregation in Delhi, an official replied in the affirmative.
Tablighi Jamaat had held a conference in Delhi recently.
As many as 14 people form Erode, who attended the Delhi meet, had tested positive besides the five men.
Migrants stand in a queue at Rajauli in Bihar’s Nawada district on Sunday Sanjay Choudhary
Another case in Bihar, tally 16
A 35-year-old man with a travel history to Dubai tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday here, taking the tally of those afflicted in Bihar to 16, an official said.
Pradip Das, Director of ICMR Rajendra Memorial Research Institute, which is conducting the bulk of coronavirus tests in the state, said the latest case was that of a resident of Gopalganj district who had returned from Dubai before the lockdown came into force.
Meanwhile, a 45-year-old woman, who had tested positive on March 22 and had been admitted to AIIMS, Patna, was on Monday discharged after full recovery, hospital authorities said.
The woman, who resides in Anisabad locality of the city, had recently travelled to Nepal and had turned up at the hospital to get tested as a precautionary measure.
The hospital authorities said she remained stable during her stay at the facility, developed no symptoms and looked perfectly healthy, though a close watch would be kept on her for another week. Her family members, including her son who had recently travelled to Italy but did not test positive, have been living at home in self-imposed quarantine.
According to the state health department, close to 1,100 samples have been tested so far.
60 pc cut in salaries of Maharashtra MLAs, MLCs
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday said there would be a 60 per cent cut in this month's salaries of public representatives in the state, including the chief minister, in view of coronavirus affecting the economy.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the state finance minister, said the decision has been taken after consultation with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and various unions of employees.
In an official statement, Pawar announced a 60 per cent cut in the March salaries of the chief minister, all other ministers, MLAs, MLCs and representatives of local governing bodies.
'The salaries of Class I and II will be cut by 50 per cent while that of Class III employees will be cut by 25 per cent. There will be no cut in the salaries of remaining classes in the state bureaucracy,' he said.
The decision has been taken after a detailed deliberation with various unions of employees, he said.
People stand in queues to enter APMC Vegetable Market, during a nationwide lockdown, imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic in Navi Mumbai, Monday, March 30, 2020 PTI
Over 20,000 house marked as 'home quarantine': Delhi LG
Over 20,000 houses have been marked as ''home quarantine'' by the Delhi government in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, lieutenant-governor (LG) Anil Baijal said on Tuesday.
Taking to Twitter, the LG said the number of food distribution centres will also be increased to ensure social distancing in the national capital.
Baijal held a meeting with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev and police commissioner S. N. Shrivastava through video conference to discuss measures to combat Covid-19.
'It has been decided to increase the number of food distribution centres from the present 500 to 2500 so that social distancing is adhered to effectively. Home quarantine has to be strictly monitored. More than 20,000 homes have been identified by GNCTD for home quarantine,' he tweeted.
In another tweet, the LG said that the decision to increase food distribution centres was taken after reports that social distancing norms were violated at some centres.
'My advice to administration & police is to keep very strict watch on social distancing & home quarantine. Take deterrent actions for any violation & widely publicise. Separately, action to ramp up medical facilities to be expedited,' LG tweeted.
Govt extends validity of vehicle permits till June-end
The Centre on Monday extended till June 30 the validity of documents like driving licenses, permits and registration that expired since February 1, in a move to ensure hassle-free transportation of cargo amid the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
In an advisory to all states and Union Territories, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has asked them to treat such documents as valid till June 30.
The decision was taken to facilitate the citizens facing difficulties in renewing the validity of various documents related to the Motor Vehicles Act and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules due to nationwide lockdown in the country and closure of government transport offices, according to the advisory.
Two homeless persons play with a stray dog during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic, in Bengaluru, Monday, March 30, 2020 PTI
Make arrangements for migrant labourers: Bombay HC to Maharastra govt
Taking note of the hardships being faced by migrant labourers amid the lockdown, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra government to make all necessary arrangements for them, and also consider taking funds from charitable organisations.
A single bench of Justice Sunil Shukre on Monday heard a petition filed by one C H Sharma, raising concerns over the spread of coronavirus on account of the movement of thousands of labourers and their families from cities to rural areas, both within and outside the state.
The court while considering the issue said such large-scale movement of labourers increases the danger of further spread of coronavirus, and noted that these people are in need of assistance from the state government.
'This is apart from the unfathomable hardships the labourers are going through owing to stoppage of their income.
In these circumstances, what looks sensible is to provide clothing, medicine and health care and throwing generally an umbrella of protection around these labourers,' the court said in its order.
'This court would, therefore, direct the State of Maharashtra to make arrangement for stay, food, sanitation clothing and health care for the labourers, including migrant labourers,' it said.
The bench said it was conscious of the fact that to provide these facilities, funds would be required.
A biker rides past taxies parked along a road during the nationwide lockdown in wake of deadly coronavirus outbreak, in Calcutta, Monday, March 30, 2020 PTI
Bengal death toll rises to 3
A woman infected with the coronavirus died at a hospital in Bengal's Howrah district, taking the total number of Covid-19 deaths to three in the state, a health department official said on Tuesday.
The woman in her 40s had recently visited north Bengal but had no foreign travel history, he said.
'The person died on Monday night before test results came. Her test results confirmed that she was infected with the coronavirus,' the official said.
Meanwhile, four new cases of coronavirus have been reported in West Bengal, taking the count to 26, he said.
Second death in Kerala
A 68-year-old man died of coronavirus in Thiruvananthapuram, taking the number of Covid-19 deaths in Kerala to two, the government said on Tuesday.
The condition of the man was 'extremely critical', a press release from the state-run Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and Hospital said.
The patient from nearby Pothencode, was on ventilator support for the past five days and was suffering from high blood pressure. He was also on dialysis, it said.
The first coronavirus death in the state was reported from Chullickal in Kochi.
The man had not gone abroad and it is not yet certain how he had contracted the virus.
The man had been admitted to the hospital on March 23 due to fever. Though he tested negative on March 26, in the second test on March 29 he was found positive for the virus.
The samples of the deceased's wife and daughter have been sent for testing and the results are awaited.
The man had attended a wedding and funeral before he fell ill.
Devaswom minister Kadakamapally Surendran said the doctors had tried their best to save the man's life, but failed.
A BMC worker sprays disinfectant at a market to contain the coronavirus during a nationwide lockdown in Mumbai, Sunday, March 29, 2020 PTI
MP reports 5th death
A 49-year-old Covid-19 patient died in Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of coronavirus deaths in the state to five, an official said on Tuesday.
The woman, a resident of Chandan Nagar, breathed her last at the Manorama Raje TB Hospital, an official from Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College said.
She had no travel history and was already suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, the official said.
So far, 47 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in the state, including 27 from Indore.
Besides, Jabalpur has reported eight cases, Ujjain reported five, Bhopal three and Shivpuri and Gwalior two each.
They are being treated in different hospitals of the state.
Among those who died, three are from Indore while two are from neighbouring Ujjain.
Indore is the worst affected city in the state. The district administration has imposed curfew in the urban limits of the city from March 25.
