Farmers stage dharna outside the DC office in Rohtak on Tuesday.

Tribune News Service
Rohtak, April 20

Farmers under the banner of the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and other farm organisations on Tuesday staged a dharna outside the DC office against the recently passed Bill for recovering damages to public and private properties from protesters.

They also submitted a memorandum to the district authorities demanding the repeal of the Bill. Women too decried the law by describing it as draconian and a weapon for framing peaceful protesters.

Mahapanchayat amid Covid surge

Hisar: Farmers organised a mahapanchayat at the Khatkar toll plaza in Jind district, mobilising people to join protest sites at the Delhi borders. They were not wearing masks and not maintaining social distancing. The mahapanchayat demanded withdrawal of the three farm laws, compensation to farmers who lost their crop due to fire recently and withdrawal of the “protesters to pay” Act. TNS

Addressing the protesters, AIKS vice-president Inderjit Singh recalled the British raj times when punitive measures used to be taken to contain the freedom struggle. “The BJP was following authoritarianism with an intention to devastate those who would try to raise the voice against the regime. The act for recovering damages to public and private properties from protesters has been enacted for the same purpose,” he alleged.

Inderjit said the protest was organised at every district headquarter following the call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha to mount pressure on the authorities to scrap the contentious law and withdraw police cases against farmers.

A similar protest was also organised in Jhajjar city.

extreme left: Pawan Beniwal

Tribune News Service
Hisar, April 20

BJP leader Pawan Beniwal, who contested two Assembly elections on the party ticket from the Ellanabad Assembly segment in Sirsa district, quit the BJP after meeting the protesting farmers at a dharna site in Sirsa district today.

Beniwal, who contested againsy INLD leader Abhay Chautala in 2014 and 2019, said he was feeling “suffocated” in the BJP for the past some months as the ruling party was not taking any interest in the development of the segment. Besides, his pleas with the party leadership to find an amicable resolution to the farmers’ issue too fell on deaf ears. “I find it difficult to stay in the party which is not ready to listen to the voice of the large number of farmers who are on agitational path in a democratic way for the last many months.”

Beniwal had left the INLD to join the BJP in 2014 when the party fielded him against Abhay Chautala.

Meanwhile, at a Congress event in Gurugram today, former minister Attar Singh Saini from the Hansi segment, former MLA Balwan Singh Daulatpuria from Fatehabad joined the Congress in the presence of the state Congress in charge Vivek Bansal and state Congress president Kumari Selja.

Surender Nehra, son of former minister Jagdish Nehra from Sirsa district, and a leader Bir Singh who had contested the Assembly poll from Rania on the BSP ticket too joined the Congress at the function.

Farmers at a protest in Tikri on Tuesday against the central farm laws. Photo: Sumit Tharan

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, April 20

A day after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha announced ‘Phir Delhi Chalo’ campaign to bolster numbers at the protest sites, farmers and labourers from Punjab have started returning to Tikri to join the agitation against the central farm laws.

The protesters put up an impressive show of strength in Tikri today to mark the birth anniversary of farmer leader Dhanna Bhagat. The crowds had been steadily thinning at the protest sites in Tikri, Singhu and Ghaziabad over the past few weeks.

While the SKM, a joint forum of farm unions, said the farmers had returned home temporarily for wheat harvesting, some alleged the protesters were unhappy with the top union leadership for campaigning in poll-bound states at the cost of the farm stir.

“Around 3,000 farmers from Punjab have returned to Tikri after completing their rabi harvest. Many more are likely to reach here in the coming days,” claimed Purushottam Singh Gill, a BKU (Lakhowal) leader. He said the count of local farmers too was growing.

Pargat Singh, a BKU (Rajewal) leader, said farmers and labourers were arriving by trains, buses and in their personal vehicles as tractors were still required for agricultural tasks. “The numbers will keep rising now as farmers will be free for over a month after selling their produce,” he claimed.

The SKM has appealed to the migrants returning to their native places not to panic and join their protest. “We will make all arrangements for food and shelter. They must join the common struggle against the Centre,” said SKM leader Darshan Pal.

The Army will keep on standby fully equipped medical teams and if the need arises, open its medical facilities to treat civilian patients

Photo for representation.

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 19

With the country witnessing a surge in cases of COVID-19 infections, Headquarters Western Command will render all possible assistance to state governments within its area of responsibility in their efforts to combat the pandemic.

This includes assistance in providing medical care to civilians, maintenance of law and order, setting up of quarantine facilities, distribution of essential items as and when called upon to do so.  

According to sources, senior officers at Command Headquarters had discussions with civil authorities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Jammu, today evening on modalities for providing the Army’s assistance.

The Army will keep on standby fully equipped medical teams and if the need arises, open its medical facilities to treat civilian patients.

It will also assist the local authorities in providing medical aid, ferrying essential items in remote or far-flung areas and evacuating persons requiring immediate medical attention.

The Army is also providing its railway rolling stock to the Indian Railways for transport of oxygen tankers and oxygen cylinders to various parts of the country in wake of the spike in demand of medical oxygen.

The Railways is running special trains for the purpose.

Earlier, during the lockdown last year, the Army had operated several quarantine camps to house travellers and other suspected cases of COVID-19 during their stipulated period of isolation, besides providing medical teams, equipment and medicines to the civil administration in various parts of the country.

To combat the pandemic, the Army also issued fresh instructions this week, which included reducing office attendance to 50 per cent, conducting meetings through video conferencing and staggering office timings.

Only emergency medical treatment would be permitted in military hospitals and all training activities would be conducted while adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

The armed forces too have not been immune to the pandemic and according to official figures, about 40,000 personnel in all three services were infected with the virus. Strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and precautionary measures as well as a vigorous vaccination drive is being undertaken by the forces.

ingh has conveyed to Gen MM Naravane that the Army units in various states can get in touch with state administrations to understand their requirement

New Delhi, April 20

As India reels under a massive spike in coronavirus cases, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the Army to extend assistance to state administrations to deal with the pandemic, including by offering help in creation of additional capacities to treat Covid patients.

Sources in the security establishment said following Singh’s communication to Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, it was decided that the Army would consider offering treatment to civilians in its medical facilities, wherever possible, besides extending other assistance to civil administrations.

Singh has conveyed to Gen MM Naravane that the Army units in various states can get in touch with state administrations to understand their requirement like creation of additional capacities to deal with increasing volume of patients.

Subsequently, it was decided that the senior-most Army officer in a state would get in touch with the chief minister to understand the requirement and take forward the process, including offering to treat civilians wherever possible, they said.

Sources said the defence minister had been in touch with the top brass of his ministry and the three forces on how the civilian administration across the country could be assisted in battling the coronavirus situation.

Sources said it was also communicated to the leadership of the Indian Air Force and the Navy to gear up their preparedness in dealing with the situation.

Separately, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar reviewed the possible areas where the armed forces can extend assistance to the civilian authorities.

Following his review, the Defence Ministry instructed 67 hospitals run by Cantonment Boards across the country to ensure medical services to cantonment residents as well as those from outside.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has already been told to extend all possible assistance it can extend to civil administrations across the country.

The DRDO has already reopened a medical facility near the Delhi airport for treatment of Covid patients. The facility has been made operational with 250 beds and their number is being increased to 1,000.

The premier organisation is coming up with a similar facility in Lucknow.

India has witnessed a massive spike in coronavirus infections as the country recorded over two lakh cases daily in the last five days.

In view of the rapid surge in infections, India is facing an acute shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, essential drugs. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 20

All companies and factories under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have been told to immediately buy oxygen producing machines and provide extra beds to civil administration and state governments to combat the Covid crisis.

The decision was announced following an emergency virtual meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday.

There are nine public sector undertakings (PSUs) under the MoD. Also, the Ordnance Factory Board has 41 factories while the Defence Research and Development Organisation has multiple units and labs working on dual use technology — military and civil.

The Defence Minister asked the armed forces to be in close contact with state governments and use emergency powers to procure goods needed to fulfil critical medical requirements.

Tejas technology for private industry

• MoD has offered to the private industry a technology developed for oxygen generation onboard Tejas jet
• 1,000 litres of oxygen can be generated per hour; can cater to hospital needs
• A DRDO tech for maintaining blood oxygen level in troops at extreme high altitudes will be used for Covid patients

Pakistan PM Imran Khan.

Islamabad, April 21

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday wished a speedy recovery to former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh who tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Singh, 88, was admitted to the AIIMS trauma centre in Delhi, which is a dedicated COVID facility, with a mild fever on Monday.

“Wishing ex Indian PM Manmohan Singh a speedy recovery from Covid 19,” Khan, who recently recovered from COVID-19, said in a tweet.

Singh had taken two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 4 and April 3.

Khan’s message comes amid some signs of easing of tensions in bilateral ties. In February, the militaries of the two countries announced a ceasefire agreement.

The bilateral relations deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August 2019.

The move angered Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties with India and expelled the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad. Pakistan also snapped all air and land links with India and suspended trade and railway services. PTI

Sivasagar, April 21

Three employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were on Wednesday kidnapped by suspected ULFA(I) militants from its Lakwa oilfield in Sivasagar district along the Assam-Nagaland border.

The PSU, in a statement, said that the three employees had been kidnapped by armed miscreants in the early hours of Wednesday from a rig site of ONGC in Lakwa field of Sivasagar.

The three employees have been identified as MM Gogoi and Ritul Saikia – both junior technicians (production) – and Alakesh Saikia, a junior engineering assistant, an ONGC spokesperson told PTI.

“The kidnapped employees were taken by the miscreants in an operational vehicle belonging to ONGC. Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungle close to the Assam-Nagaland border,” the statement said.

A senior official of the Sivasagar district administration said that suspected ULFA(I) militants are behind this kidnapping and they escaped through Nagaland.

“These are very preliminary findings. We can talk about it after some investigation,” he added.

No demand for ransom or anything else has been received.

ONGC said a complaint had been lodged with the local police and higher officials had reached the site.

“Local administration has been informed and ONGC is in touch with the authorities,” it added.

The company said it had been exploring and producing oil and gas in Upper Assam since the early 1960s. PTI

New Delhi, April 18

The Ministry of Defence has invited entries suggesting ‘innovative tributes to bravehearts’. Members of the public can send in their entries which will be tribute messages for the gallantry awardees. The competition is being held from 15th April to 15th May 2021. Citizens of India can send in their unique and innovative tributes to salute the bravehearts of the nation. Entries received as a part of the competition will be adjudged on the basis of elements of creativity, originality, composition and simplicity and how well they highlight the vision and objectives of the Gallantry Awards portal.

The winners will be recognised on the Gallantry Awards portal and its related social media channels. Details can be seen on www.gallantryawards.gov.in. — TNS