Kids in Pune get vaccinated against Covid-19. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)The Pune region reported the highest daily infections in the state today with 2,136 new Covid-19 cases and 35 fatalities. Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 6,107 fresh Covid-19 cases, 329 less than yesterday, the state health department said. On Monday, the state had recorded 6,436 new cases and 24 fatalities.
Meanwhile, eight local Shiv Sena workers surrendered before Pune police today in connection with an alleged attack on former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, in Maharashtra last week, PTI reported. Somaiya had claimed that he was attacked by “Shiv Sena gundas” in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) premises on Saturday when he had gone there in connection with the allegations of irregularities in contracts to run jumbo COVID-19 hospitals.
In other news, a few Class IX students of SNBP High School in Pune’s Morwadi were not allowed to sit for their final examination by the school administration Tuesday after their parents failed to pay their fees on time. While the incident triggered a row, the Education minister’s office later said action will be taken against the school.
The Khaperkheda Thermal Power Station (KTPS) has stopped dumping ash slurry into a pond in Nandgaon village of Maharashtra's Nagpur district, an official from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said on Tuesday.
The MPCB had received several complaints and reports regarding air and water pollution caused due to the dumping of fly ash into the pond by the KTPS without taking any precautionary measures, he said. (PTI)
The Pune region reported the highest daily infections in the state today, with 2,136 new Covid-19 cases and 35 fatalities. Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 6,107 fresh Covid-19 cases, 329 less than yesterday, the state health department said. On Monday, the state had recorded 6,436 new cases and 24 fatalities.
Maharashtra reported 6,107 new Covid-19 cases and 57 deaths today. There are 96,069 active cases in the state.
At least 2,657 people and 3,210 animals have died of electrocution in Maharashtra over a period of two and a half years, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) has revealed.
The MSEDCL shared the data in response to an RTI application, it was stated.
A total of 1,012 people and 1,298 animals were electrocuted in 2019-2020, while 1,060 people and 1,099 animals died of electric shocks in 2020-21, the state-run power company stated in its reply.
The state had recorded 585 human and 723 animal deaths due to electrocution from April to November 2021, it said. (PTI)
A few Class IX students of SNBP High School in Pune’s Morwadi were not allowed to sit for their final examination by the school administration Tuesday after their parents failed to pay their fees on time. While the incident triggered a row, the Education minister’s office later said action will be taken against the school.
In the morning, as soon as the students started entering the classrooms, two staffers, a teacher and a coordinator, asked those whose fees were not up to date to stand near the gate of the school. Read More
The Congress on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "insulting" Maharashtra by suggesting that the state had encouraged the spread of COVID-19 in other states.
Speaking to reporters, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole also said that the opposition party will stage protests outside BJP offices in the state on Wednesday demanding an apology from the prime minister.
"Speaking in Lok Sabha on Monday, PM Modi insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maharashtra by accusing the 12 crore people of the state of spreading COVID-19. PM Modi should apologise for his remarks," Patole told reporters. (PTI)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has honoured Pune firefighters with Hero to Animal Award for rescuing ten Persian cats from a burning building in Ghorpade Peth last week.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to NCP minister Nawab Malik in a contempt plea by Dhyandev Wankhede, the father of former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who claimed that though Malik gave an undertaking to the court, he continued to make defamatory statements against the Wankhede family.
The high court has asked the minister to respond by February 21 stating why action must not be taken against him and contempt proceedings initiated in accordance with the law. Read More
At Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC), the mission is to bring exciting science avenues to the doorstep of citizens and make the astronomy for all mission successful. Towards that goal, ‘One Million Galaxies’ — a citizen science astronomy programme, will be launched on the upcoming Science Day (February 28) with an aim to involve citizens to get over the difficulty of examining the vast amounts of data collected by astronomers.
PKC’s principal investigator Prof Ajit Kembhavi told The Indian Express, “The programme enables interested people, who may not have any training in astronomy, to help find features in galaxies. All that they will need is access to a basic computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone and a reasonable internet connection, of the kind available through a cell phone data package. The required training will be provided through short training sessions over a video link. Trained persons can examine galaxies for features at their convenience from the comfort of their home and should be able to cover a hundred galaxies in a few hours which can be spread over a week or two.” Anuradha Mascarenhas reports.
Eight local Shiv Sena workers surrendered before Pune police on Tuesday in connection with an alleged attack on former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya here in Maharashtra last week, an official said.
Somaiya had claimed that he was attacked by "Shiv Sena gundas" in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) premises on Saturday when he had gone there in connection with the allegations of irregularities in contracts to run jumbo COVID-19 hospitals. (PTI)
The Pune rural police arrested a man who, under the influence of alcohol, had been calling the 112 emergency helpline multiple times over several days. The accused was later remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.
Officials from Yavat police station arrested the man, identified as Ashok Digambar Gaikwad (40), on Sunday and produced him before a court in Daund the next day. He is a resident of Yavat town in Pune district’s Daund taluka.
Inspector Narayan Pawar, in-charge of Yavat police station, said they received a call from officials at the control room of the helpline. “They had been receiving multiple calls from a number and a man was talking under the influence of alcohol. He was calling at least eight to 10 times a day for seven days in a row. We sent a team to the address where the number was registered and detained the man,” he added.
A hot day with clear skies are predicted for Pune city on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department has said. The IMD has forecast the maximum temperature to rise to 33 degrees.
Warm nights prevailed over the city, with the minimum temperatures rising. Shivajinagar recorded 14.8 degrees, Pashan - 15.2 degrees and Lohegaon - 16.7 degrees.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a vaccine against omicron variant of coronavirus for examination, test and analysis, official sources said on Monday. "With reference to your application, please find herewith the permission to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine (omicron variant) for examination, test and analysis under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to manufacture the test batches of the drug/drugs mentioned therein," an approval order issued on February 4 stated.
Maharashtra on Monday recorded 6,436 new coronavirus cases, a steep fall of 3,230 from a day ago, and 24 fresh deaths linked to the infection, while 18,423 more patients recovered from the disease, the state health department said. With these additions, the overall tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 78,10,136, while the death toll jumped to 1,43,098, the department said in a bulletin.