Western India

Of the total deaths due to corona virus in India, 70 percent of deaths occurred in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

At the same time, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have 62 percent active cases of corona virus.

The Health Ministry gave information in this regard in the press conference on Corona virus.

Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health said that in view of the increasing cases and deaths of Corona in the capital, Delhi Government is being talked to. He informed that some special instructions have been given to the state government. If they are followed then the cases may come under control.

Regarding the increasing cases of Corona virus in India, he said, "Every day positive cases are increasing. This should be seen in the context of the entire population. The government has adopted a hierarchical approach to open up the economy by ensuring adequate testing capacity, giving clear guidelines to clinical treatment protocols and enhancing hospital infrastructure. ''

He said that compared to other countries, there are very few cases of kovid per million (population) in India. There are also very few deaths per million in India. There have been 49 deaths per 1 lakh. At the same time, there are 2,792 cases per million population of corona virus.

The Health Ministry also informed that a second sero survey has started in 70 districts across India. The results will come in the next two weeks.

Also told that 11 lakh tests of corona virus have been done in the last 24 hours. So far, more than 4.5 crore tests have been conducted in the whole country.

There has also been a decrease in the corona case in some states. According to the Health Ministry, there has been a weekly decrease of 13.7 percent in active cases in Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, there has been a weekly decrease of 16.1 percent in Karnataka, 6.8 percent in Maharashtra and 23.9 percent in Tamil Nadu and 17.1 percent in Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra has seen a 7 percent decrease in corona virus cases in the last three weeks.

More than 300 Indians stranded in Qatar have returned home due to a lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the Corona epidemic. The first chartered plane carrying these people reached Nagpur on Friday and the second plane landed in Mumbai on Saturday.

According to the news agency PTI, these flights were not part of the Vanda Bharat Mission of the Government of India. They were arranged by the representatives of the Indian Cultural Center in Doha.

Vinod Nair, vice-president of the Indian Cultural Center in Doha, said that the flight to Nagpur had 86 people from Chhattisgarh, 34 from Madhya Pradesh and 52 from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. They gave 24 thousand rupees as rent. Those who reached Mumbai paid Rs. 20,000 per person as rent.

Vinod Nair said that there are a large number of people in Qatar who want to return home. "We spoke to IndiGo Airlines and the Indian embassy about his return." In Qatar, people belonging to the Maharashtra Board of Cultural Center collected rupees for their tickets and arranged travel documents. ''

He said that another passenger plane carrying 169 passengers will reach Goa on Monday.

Madhusudan Ekre, a passenger who arrived in Nagpur from this chartered flight, told PTI that he had reached Qatar on March 4 on a business visa but got stuck there due to the lockdown.

He got information about this initiative of Indian Cultural Center from social media.

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In India, 16 migrant laborers have died in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

South Central Railway has issued a statement saying that the accident took place between Badnapur and Karmad railway station of Parbhani-Manmad section in the early hours of Friday.

According to the statement, a freight train going towards Manmad climbed on a group of 19 people sleeping on the track. 14 people died on the spot, while 2 people succumbed to their injuries seriously.

The statement said that the driver from the goods train immediately rang the horn after seeing people sleeping on the track and tried his best to stop the train.

South Central Railway says that an independent investigation into the cause of the accident will be done under the chairmanship of Railway Safety Commissioner of South Central Railway Ram Kripal.

Earlier, Chief PRO of South Central Railway had confirmed the accident from BBC Hindi and stated that, "It seems that the workers were sleeping on the track".

A person injured in the accident is undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital in Aurangabad.

Aurangabad SP Mokshada Patil told BBC Marathi's Niranjan Chanwal that all the laborers worked in a steel factory in Jalna near Aurangabad.

These people were going from Jalna towards Bhusawal. He was told that a train would be available from Bhusaval.

The accident occurred between Badnapur and Karmad railway station on Parbhani-Manmad rail section.

"The workers were returning to Madhya Pradesh," an official at Karmad police station told PTI. They were walking along the railway track and slept on the track due to fatigue.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the accident by tweeting. He said in his tweet, "People are very sad to die in a train accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Talk to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. They are keeping a close watch on the whole matter. All possible help will be provided."

On the accident, the Indian Railways Ministry issued an official statement saying, "This morning when the loco pilot noticed that some laborers were sleeping on the track, they tried to stop the train. But eventually the train hit them. Investigation in this regard Has been ordered.

Railway Safety Commissioner Ram Kripal of the South-Central Zone will conduct an independent investigation into the train accident.

Maharashtra has extended the lockdown till April 30. Whereas West Bengal also extended the lockdown till April 30.

Mamta extended the lockdown till April 30, told the media not to run the news by quoting sources.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has quoted Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi as saying that the nationwide lockdown due to Corona will be extended by two more weeks i.e. 30 April. The West Bengal government has also closed schools till June 10.

Mamta Banerjee said this in her press conference at the state secretariat in the evening after video conferencing with Prime Minister Modi on Saturday. She said that the number of Corona patients has increased to 95 with the arrival of six new cases during the last twenty four hours in West Bengal.

Mamta told, “I objected to various companies giving money in PM Cares under CSR and depriving the states of it from various companies. If money can be given to the center, then why discriminate against the states?''

Chief Minister Mamata said that she has sought to monitor and increase international borders. If Bengal is affected by people coming from across the border, then it is bound to affect the Northeast and other neighboring states.

Mamta told the Prime Minister, “Humanitarian aspects should also be taken care of during lockdown. With increasing lockdown, it is necessary to maintain balance in life and livelihood and maintain supply of essential commodities.''

She said that the Center suggested reducing congestion in dense markets. The government is considering doing this so that the crowd can be curbed.

The Chief Minister asked the media to refrain from showing and publishing news about Corona by quoting sources. She said that this leads to needless terror.

Mamta said, “I have asked the Prime Minister for a special financial package for the unorganized sector, small and medium industries, tourism and agriculture sector, besides keeping long distance trains and international airlines currently closed. Along with this, she has also appealed to take care of the migrant laborers trapped there.

Mamta has also demanded the Prime Minister to pay two months' wages to the laborers working under the 100 days employment scheme.

The state government has announced an exemption to the agricultural sector for harvesting rabi crops. Apart from this, discounts have also been given to flour and oil mills, bottled drinking water, fisheries centers and bakeries.

But they all have to follow the safety rules. The Chief Minister said that the government will keep an eye on congestion in various areas of the state through drones and the lockdown will be strictly implemented.

Maharashtra extended lockdown till 30th April

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has told the media that he has extended the lockdown till April 30 in his state.

Thackeray said that he and the chief ministers of several states have suggested Prime Minister Modi to pursue the lockdown.

The BJP and Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra may have got a clear majority, but there has been a bit of bitterness between the two parties over government formation.

The Shiv Sena has demanded the BJP to let the chief minister hold the post of chief minister for two-and-a-half years. For this, Shiv Sena has sought a written promise from the BJP.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with a total of 56 party MLAs at his residence on Saturday. In this meeting, he clearly said that there will be a 50-50 formula between the two parties and under this, both will hold the post of Chief Minister for two-and-a-half years.

Along with this, Shiv Sena has also placed a condition of having equal number of ministers of both parties in the cabinet. It is being said that it is not easy for the BJP to accept these terms of the Shiv Sena. In such a situation, BJP can try to get support from Sharad Pawar's NCP.

BJP has got 17 seats less in the assembly elections in Maharashtra this time compared to 2014. The Shiv Sena also got seven seats less than the last time. 145 MLAs are needed to form the government while BJP has 105 and Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs.

There is no agreement regarding the post of Chief Minister

In Maharashtra, the problem of government formation is increasing. However, while the Shiv Sena has made it clear that now the talk will only be with the top leaders, the BJP has also given a clear indication that the Chief Minister's post will remain with him and he will not compromise on it in any way.

However, in the BJP government, Shiv Sena can get around forty percent ministerial post. It is hoped that this time the Shiv Sena will be given some important portfolios in the state cabinet.

The Shiv Sena wants to go ahead with the 50-50 formula for the chief minister's post while the BJP is not ready for it.

Political activities have intensified before the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, India.

When the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi arrived in Nashik two days ago to start campaigning from the BJP, he had targeted the Congress, but also made strong comments on NCP and its senior leader Sharad Pawar. He surrounded the opposition on Article 370, saying that while the whole country is in support of it, the Congress and NCP are opposing it.

And now NCP has targeted BJP, saying that supporting BJP was their biggest mistake.

NCP national general secretary Jitendra Awhad said this in a program in BBC Marathi. He said that supporting BJP in Maharashtra was his party's biggest mistake.

In view of the Maharashtra assembly elections, in a session of Rashtra-Maharashtra organized by the BBC Marathi program in Pune, Jitendra Awhad said "The party convened a confidential meeting in Alibaug (Maharashtra). Where only 35-40 leaders of the party were invited I was standing right next to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and said that if we compromise with our ideals then we should end Sector. ''

This statement of Jitendra Awhad is special because NCP is a party that refrains from talking about any controversial decision.

The 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections made a hung assembly. BJP emerged as the largest party. It won 122 seats but needed 23 more seats to prove its majority. A majority of 145 seats were to be proved. The Shiv Sena was fighting the elections independently, breaking its alliance with the BJP even before the elections and was not ready to support the BJP to form the government at any cost.

It was Sharad Pawar's NCP party that came forward to take BJP's lead through 41 seats. Just after the election results came, NCP proposed to support BJP from outside. Sharad Pawar had said, "For the creation of a stable government and for the good of Maharashtra, we have only one option left to support the BJP so that it can form the government."

The NCP's support not only paved the way for the BJP to form the government in the richest state of the country, but it also increased the pressure on the Shiv Sena and it had to think to establish its place in the state's politics.

Experts believe that Pawar's move jolted the Shiv Sena plan and she was no longer in a position to negotiate with the BJP as the BJP now had the support of the NCP outside of the Shiv Sena as Plan B.

Many leaders, including senior BJP leader LK Advani, had said at that time that joining hands with the Shiv Sena should have been a priority rather than a losing and tainted party NCP. After a long debate, there was considerable negotiation and after that ten members of Shiv Sena joined the Fadnavis government.

But if one feels that the love between the BJP and NCP had ended with the Shiv Sena joining the government in 2014, it was not so. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Sharad Pawar's Baramati house in the year 2015.

Supriya had said that the meeting was based on development. She is an MP from Baramati and also a daughter of Sharad Pawar.

Then in 2016, Modi was in Pune in connection with another program. Where he publicly praised Pawar. He had said, "I have no hesitation in saying or accepting that in the early stages of my political life in Gujarat, Pawar only taught me to hold my hand and walk."

But after that in the local elections in the year 2017, when the NCP was defeated by BJP, the equations changed since then.

The NCP started taking a very tough stance with the BJP after those elections. From fighting against the communal BJP, to supporting the BJP for stability and now against the fascist BJP… NCP has taken a U-turn but now it is difficult for them to defend their decisions.

Another party that has taken a U-turn is the Swabhimani Kisan Party. Its founder and former MP Raju Shetty fought against Sharad Pawar for a long time. He then joined the NDA in 2014 but left it in 2017. Now his party is an ally of NCP. This party also has dominance in southern Maharashtra.

When Shetty was questioned about his U-turn during a BBC program, he said "We never said that NCP leaders are saints. But we need their support to fight against BJP. Shivaji has taught That if you have to fight the Mughals, then you have to become an ally of Adil Shah and Qutub Shah. ''

Shetty is now Pawar's associate. He furthers his point by saying, "We do not expect that if the NCP and Congress government is formed then Ram Rajya will come but at least we will get freedom that we can give our feelings Be able to express.

BJP MP from Pune and former Kabina minister Girish Bapat says that the alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP will definitely happen. However, he also said that he hoped that the Shiv Sena would demand fair seats.

The alliance between the two saffron parties was broken before the 2014 assembly elections over seat sharing. But this time it has not happened.

Intense negotiations are going on between the BJP and Shiv Sena on the seat sharing. The BJP had publicly assured the Shiv Sena to give half of the total seats, but the BJP has backed it after a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

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