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NAGPUR: Upset over reduction in Remdesivir’s quota for Maharashtra for the period May 1-10, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court during an urgent hearing on Sunday asked the Centre to reconsider its decision in view of the high number of active Covid-19 cases in the state.
The directives came on a suo motu PIL. Justices Sunil Shukre and Avinash Gharote noticed the state’s quota was reduced to 3,74,500 vials for May 1-10 from 4,35,000 fixed for April 21-30, a reduction of 60,500 vials as per Centre’s May 1 order. “Such reduction is not consistent with active cases in Maharashtra. On April 30, their numbers were 6.72 lakh and on May 1, those were 6.64 lakh. This means there is a reduction [in cases] by hardly 1.2%, while decrease in vials is about 14.5%. This mismatch needs to be reconsidered and removed by the Centre,” the judges said.
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MUMBAI: Security has been beefed up at all the 22 temporary prisons (and five Covid centres for prisoners) in the state after three prisoners, who were arrested for theft and assault, attempted to cut window grill and flee from a temporary prison in Byculla where they were being treated for Covid.
The jail administration has stopped admitting new inmates directly into the jail because of the surge in Covid cases during this second wave. When an accused is sent by the court to jail, he/she is first taken to a temporary prison and tested. Once the result is negative, the prisoner is sent to regular jail. However, if a prisoner tests positive, he/she is treated at the temporary prison before being shifted to regular jail.
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MUMBAI: The BEST undertaking takes a hit with ticket sale losses of around Rs 20 crore in a month. This is mainly due to the stringent lockdown-like curbs amid the second wave of Covid-19, with no standees and 50% occupancy in the red buses, sources in the transport body said.
“The BEST is incurring huge losses in operations. It has to pay the lease rent for over 1,000 buses, besides maintaining its own fleet of nearly 3,000 buses daily,” said a BEST panel member. “The BMC should sanction more financial aid for the red buses so that we can operate them despite losses and offer affordable fares to commuters.”
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MUMBAI: The vaccination drive for the youngest group of beneficiaries, the 18-45 age bracket, continued for the second day on Sunday, with 2,427 people getting Covishield shots at five centres in the city.
Despite a stockout of the free and highly subsidised vaccines given to the 45-plus age group through a central government programme, the youngsters will get the jabs through the state government’s specially purchased stock of three lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine. “We will continue with the drive for this age group on Tuesday,” additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said.
The city received 20,000 of the state-procured three lakh doses from Serum Institute of India in Pune. With roughly 2,500 doses to be given out every day, the stock should be sufficient for another five to six days in the city, said BMC officials.