NEW DELHI : The Centre will offer a whopping 140 per cent increase in subsidy on fertiliser to offset the price rise in international market, the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said on Wednesday.

“A historic decision was taken to increase the subsidy for DAP fertiliser from Rs 500 per bag to Rs 1,200 per bag, which is an increase of 140 per cent. Thus, despite the rise in international market prices of DAP, it has been decided to continue selling it at the older price of Rs 1,200 and the Central government has decided to bear all the burden of the price hike. The amount of subsidy per bag has never been increased so much at once,” read an official release.

The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) on Wednesday recommended that the vaccination should be deferred by three months after clinical recovery of the illness. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NEGVAC’s fresh recommendations are based on the evolving situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and emerging global scientific evidence and experience. For Covid patients, who have been given anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, the vaccination should be deferred by three months from the date of discharge from the hospital, said NEGVAC.

NEGVAC’s new recommendations further say if a person gets infected with Covid post administration of the first dose of the vaccine, the second dose should be deferred by three months after clinical recovery from the illness. It is recommended that an individual can donate blood after 14 days of either receipt of the Covid vaccine or testing RT-PCR negative if suffering from Covid-19 disease.

NEGVAC further clarified that there is no requirement for screening of the vaccine recipients by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) prior to Covid vaccination.

The expert panel said persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalisation or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

NEGVAC has recommended Covid vaccination for all lactating women. Regarding the Covid vaccination of pregnant women, the expert panel said the matter is under discussion and further deliberation by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

Sitting outside her mud house, 70-year-old Laxmi Suryawanshi is busy discussing with her friend how a vaccination injection against Covid-19 had led to the death of someone in her village, which is why she won’t take the injection. Like Laxmi Suryawanshi and her friend, there are thousands of tribals in Aarey Forest who are reluctant to get vaccinated.

Spread over 3,000 acres, which were once on the outskirts, the Aarey Milk Colony, which is in the heart of the “Maximum City”, has been “absorbed” by an ever-expanding Mumbai. Established in 1949, Aarey has 27 tribal padas, or hamlets, with an Adivasi population of over 10,000. There are Katkaris, Mahadev Kolis, Mallar Kolis, Warlis and other tribals who live in the hamlets inside Aarey.

Vanita Marathe, a woman from the same hamlet, says: “We fear vaccination, we don’t fear coronavirus. I will not go for vaccination. In case anything happens to me, who will look after my kids?”

Interrupting her, an elderly woman says: “A friend of my granddaughter got vaccinated and after that, she started having vertigo, fever, and nausea. For you, all these may be misconceptions, but what we have heard in real. We fear these injections and we won’t take them.” 

Ask any of these tribals and they would say: “None of us are vaccinated and will not get vaccinated as anything may happen.” The tribals are involved in daily chores including farming and the search for livelihood. While in some padas, people could be seen wearing masks, in some others, people were without masks. The tribals are also not allowing outsiders to enter their hamlets and believe that if they step outside in the city, they may contract the coronavirus.

“People here believe that vaccination will lead to deaths; we have heard from other villagers, so why take such injections. Some or the other day we have to die; when that is destined, it will happen. No injection can save us. Instead, if we go out in the crowd at vaccination centres, we can contract coronavirus easily. We are safe here in our Adivasi padas; no one has got infected here till date,” says Lakshman Sutar, who is head of the Khadakpada tribal hamlet with 150 houses.

Tribals are also angry that no government representative has come to them to make them aware about how the second Covid-19 wave has assumed dangerous proportions and is taking the lives of people across the country. “We are just hearing in news and TV that the second wave of the coronavirus is dangerous, but not a single government representative—no corporator, MLA or MP—has come to us or asked about our well-being. No one has made us aware which vaccine is good and which is not or which are the nearby vaccination centres. For all that information, high tech mobile phones are needed, but not all here in our padas have such phones.”

Youngsters from the villages have also resolved not to take the vaccine. 21-year-old Umesh Kharpade says: “Let them bring vaccination centres in our padas; still I will not get inoculated. There are so many versions, some vaccines are effective, some are not. The government itself is not sure of anything. Their rules change so often; recently, they increased the time gap between two vaccination jabs again. Everything is so uncertain and fluctuating.”

There are some NGOs who are providing the tribals food during these difficult times. Some activists are trying to convince the tribals to get vaccinated, but demand better healthcare facilities in the area. Aarey activist Amrita Bhattacharjee, who works closely with the tribals, says, “This area does not have adequate healthcare facilities and the economically backward tribal families need to travel long distances to avail treatment for any health-related issues. In the tribal areas in Aarey, Covid related casualties are rare, though the Aarey forest is located in the middle of Mumbai which has witnessed many Covid-related deaths. Hence, the tribal community is afraid of entering the crowded urban areas of Mumbai for vaccination. They have demanded a vaccination center inside the 12 sq km area of Aarey Milk Colony. The partly functional Aarey Hospital premises should be utilised to set up a vaccination center for the tribal community. And the old hospital infrastructure should be upgraded to provide healthcare facilities to the tribal community in Aarey.”

Even as the country is yet to truly evaluate the trails of death and destruction left begind by Cyclone Tauktae, a new cyclonic storm, named Cyclone Yaas, is expected to start forming in the Bay of Bengal by 22 May, said R.K. Jenamani, senior scientist, National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.

“Low pressure of the new cyclonic storm is expected to start forming in the Bay of Bengal by May 22. May 23 should mark depression stage, and the final cyclonic storm is expected to hit by May 24-25,” Jenamani told ANI.

Cyclone Yaas will hit the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal on 26 May. Meanwhile, both the states will experience heavy rainfall from 22-26 May.

Talking about cyclone Tauktae, Jenamani said, “Cyclone Tauktae has already crossed Gujarat on Monday night (17 May). It is now close to Rajasthan’s Udaipur. The southern area of the state has received heavy rainfall the entire day (Wednesday).”

“The cyclone has now weakened and has reached its point of depression. However, its remnants are still very active in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, west of Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand,” he added.

The department has issued no wind warnings as such, as the winds are blowing at the normal speed of 30-40 km per hour. Heavy rains are nonetheless predicted for Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Jenamani further told ANI that Delhi would receive less rainfall as compared to Noida and Ghaziabad due to the cyclonic storm.

Delhi and its adjoining areas received light spells of rain on Wednesday under the impact of cyclone Tauktae which has now moved north-northeastwards across Rajasthan to west Uttar Pradesh after making landfall in Gujarat on Tuesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IMD predicted that light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with a speed of 30-40 Km/h would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of the entire Delhi and parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Tauktae stands to be the strongest storm to impact Gujarat since 1998 as it battered parts of the state and left behind a trail of destruction along the coast, uprooting electric poles and trees, and damaging several houses and roads, before weakening, officials said.

WITH ANI INPUTS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a one-day aerial visit to Gujarat to take stock of the situation in the state following the devastating Cyclone Tauktae. He boarded a helicopter from Bhavnagar to inspect the situation after the cyclone. After 1 hour and 50 minutes of aerial observation, a review meeting was held in Ahmedabad with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and senior secretaries of state. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister’s Chief Secretary K. Kailasanathan, Chief Secretary Anil Mukim; Principal Health Secretary Jayanti Ravi joined the meeting.

After this review meeting, PM Modi announced immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to Gujarat against the loss of crores caused by the cyclone. In addition, Rs 2 lakh has been announced for those who died during the hurricane across the country and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The PM conducted aerial inspections in Una (Gir-Somnath), Jafrabad (Amreli), Mahuva (Bhavnagar) and Diu to assess the damage caused by the cyclone. After this meeting, he announced immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to Gujarat.

The Central government will then send a team of ministers to each of the cyclone-affected states. This team will further take stock of things, based on which more help will be given.

Assuring the people of Gujarat, PM Modi said that the Central government is with the state government in these difficult times. Whatever help is needed in the affected areas will be provided. This includes everything from repairing houses to building new ones, the PM said.

Apart from this, PM Modi also discussed in depth the current Covid-19 situation. The PM was apprised of the steps taken by the state administration. The PM advised to take further steps to prevent the transition.

PM Modi had arrived at the Ahmedabad airport after conducting the aerial inspection of the areas affected by cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat. PM Modi held a meeting with the top officials, including the CM, at the Ahmedabad airport.

Cyclone Tauktae has wreaked havoc in many places after hitting the coast of Saurashtra. From Saurashtra to many districts of South Gujarat, 5 inches of rain have fallen in 8 hours. Roads have also been blocked with trees collapsing due to strong winds. Heavy rains have been recorded in Bhavnagar, Valsad, Surat, Amreli, Bharuch, Anand, Ahmedabad and other districts in the state.

According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, Gandhinagar, 176 talukas in 23 districts of the state received heavy to moderate rainfall from 6 am to 2 pm today, including 5 inches in Bhavnagar taluka, 4.8 inches in Umargam, 4.5 inches in Olpad and 4 inches in Rajula. Botad and Surat received 3.7 inches of rain, Ahmedabad received 3 inches, Sinhor 3.6 inches, Hansot, Palitana, Pardi and Vallabhipur 2.9 inches, Umrala 2.7 inches and Vapi 2.5 inches.

A brother-sister duo, Vishnubhai Chunara and Manjuben Chunara, died due to electrocution following storms and rains in Sanand city of Ahmedabad district. In Ahmedabad district, roofs and mud houses have also reportedly collapsed due to strong winds and rains.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s request to the Centre to immediately suspend flights from Singapore because of an alleged new strain in that country that is suspected to affect children and could lead to a third wave of Covid infections in India, has led to a full-blown war of words, with the BJP attacking Kejriwal and Singapore’s Ministry of Health also saying there is no truth about a “Singapore variant”.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday reprimanded Kejriwal over his claims of a “new Singapore Covid-19 variant” alarm and said the “Delhi CM does not speak for India”.

However, addressing a digital press conference on Wednesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia strongly slammed the BJP-led Central government for its inadequate and substandard Covid-19 crisis management. He also pointed out how the Central government is interested in playing murky politics rather than timely and swiftly taking control of the crisis. 

Sisodia said, “CM Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday pointed out that the third wave of Covid-19 might unravel on young children and alerted the Central government against this. However, instead of preparing or taking any action against this important news, the Central government has shown condemnable behaviour by playing dirty politics of blame and lies. CM Arvind Kejriwal rightly notified two facts to the public, first on the development of new strain in Singapore and second on how this strain might affect children and how we need to be careful. The Central government, instead of showing any concern towards the danger our children might be in, gave more attention to building its diplomatic image in Singapore.”

He said, “The unabated ridicule by BJP of CM Arvind Kejriwal only indicates that BJP and Central government are more worried about Singapore and how Singapore views us, instead of worrying about how this new strain in Singapore may adversely affect our children, if it is brought to India. BJP is more worried about how Singapore will respond to our concern rather than our own children in India. They will not bring vaccines for children, but worry about Singapore.”

Warning against the strain that has recently been discovered in Singapore, Sisodia said, “Today, our doctors and scientists are warning the nation against the new strain that has emerged in Singapore. Even the Supreme Court has mentioned that the next wave will adversely impact children. But our Central government is least concerned about the chances of a third wave or how our children will have to face the brunt of it.”

He said, “The Central Government needs to prioritise our children first and foremost, instead of playing politics and fixing its image abroad. Delhi Government has always been committed and will continue to commit itself for the safety of our children. We want to protect and save our children from this deadly crisis. Our nation is worried for our children instead of how Singapore views us. The Central government has just taken keen interest in glorifying its image abroad and helping other countries to accumulate vaccines, but the Delhi government will ensure that every step is taken to stop this new strain from affecting our children and keeping our children, our citizens completely safe.”

However, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted on Wednesday and said: “Irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. So, let me clarify—Delhi CM does not speak for India.”

The Singapore government has also strongly objected to Kejriwal’s tweet. “Singapore Government called in our High Commissioner today to convey strong objection to Delhi CM’s tweet on ‘Singapore variant’. High Commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy,” tweeted Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday said there is no truth in the references in reports in a section of Indian media about the presence of a new variant of coronavirus in the country, adding that there is no “Singapore variant”.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS FROM SINGAPORE