Anti-quota bandh: Partial impact in some states

Agencies
April 10, 2018

Lucknow, Apr 10: A nationwide anti-quota bandh call today received mixed reactions with shops remaining closed in some parts of states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan amidst heavy security arrangements, while internet services were restricted in a few sensitive areas.

Reports from Bihar showed attempts to block trains, while some schools suspended their bus services in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (MP), which was the worst hit during the April 2 nationwide bandh called by Dalit groups with at least eight people being killed in violent protests.

Officials in MP said the call for today's bandh was given on social media and no organisation had come forward so far to claim responsibility for it.

In Rajasthan, which was also hit badly during the Dalit-convened bandh, the state government has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and blocked mobile internet services in the state capital as a precautionary measure.

The police chiefs and collectors of districts across the state have been asked to take prompt action if any nuisance is created, officials in Jaipur said.

Yesterday, the Union Home Ministry had issued an advisory to all states to beef up security and prevent violence during the Bharat Bandh against caste-based reservations in jobs and education.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also said the districts magistrates and superintendents of police (SPs) would be personally held responsible for any violence in their area of jurisdiction.

The directive came a week after a similar protest saw massive violence in different parts of the country leading to the death of at least 11 persons.

The situation in the state (Rajasthan) is peaceful, ADG (Law and Order) NRK Reddy told PTI in Jaipur.

He said that companies of paramilitary forces including BSF and CRPF have also been deployed in sensitive areas of different districts in the state.

Markets in the walled city area of Jaipur as well as in the areas such as Bajaj Nagar, Barkat Nagar and nearby places were not open today.

However, no demonstration or rally has taken place and the situation is quite peaceful. Private schools were closed and transport vehicles are plying normally.

The authorities in Bhopal have announced a daytime curfew in Morena and Bhind, besides enforcing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Gwalior, Bhopal, Sagar and some other sensitive towns of the state to avoid any untoward incidents.

"We are monitoring the situation. There has been no impact of the alleged bandh so far. The state police are also keeping a watch on the social media," Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told reporters.

The internet services to have been blocked in the Gwalior-Chambal region to prevent rumour-mongering, officials said.

Bhopal range Deputy Inspector General of Police Dharmendra Choudhary had said yesterday that the social media messages were being monitored.

He had warned that those spreading hate messages would be booked under the Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant.

In Uttar Pradesh, life remained by and large normal and officials said there was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state till around noon.

Today's anti-quota protest came a week after a nationwide protest by Dalit groups against "dilution" of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court, entailing massive violence in different parts of the country and leading to the death of nine people

 

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Agencies
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: AAP MLA and national spokesperson Atishi has tested positive for COVID-19, her party colleagues said on Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to wish her speedy recovery.

"Atishi ji has played an important role in the fight against corona. I hope that she will get healthy soon and again get involved in serving the people," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

According to sources, Atishi was tested on Tuesday for COVID-19 and her report came positive today.

She is presently under home quarantine, the sources said.

"Get well soon Atishi, recover soon from Corona," AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted.

Atishi represents Kalkaji assembly constituency.

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News Network
April 3,2020

New Delhi, April 3: The total number of coronavirus cases in India on Friday climbed to 2301, including 156 cured and discharged and 56 deaths, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

At present, there are 2088 COVID-19 active cases in the country.

"A total number of COVID-19 positive cases rises to 2301 in India, including 156 cured/discharged, 56 deaths and 1 migrated," said the Health Department.

The highest number of positive cases of coronavirus was reported from Maharashtra at 335, including 16 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu (309 and 6 deaths) and Kerala (286 and 2 deaths).

There are 219 coronavirus positive cases in the national capital, including 8 cured and discharged and 4 deaths.

The states which have crossed 100-mark for COVID-19 positive cases also include Andhra Pradesh (132), Karnataka (124), Rajasthan (133) and Telangana (107).

While 18 people were detected positive for coronavirus in Chandigarh, 70 cases were confirmed from Jammu and Kashmir and 14 from Ladakh.

In North-East, one COVID-19 case each has been confirmed from Mizoram and Assam, and two in Manipur.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Jan 13: India lost more than $1.33 billion to internet restrictions in 2019 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government pushed ahead with his party’s Hindu nationalist agenda, raising tensions and sparking nationwide protests.

The worst shutdown has been in Kashmir, where after intermittent closures in the first half of the year, the internet has been cut off since Aug. 5 following the government’s decision to revoke the special autonomous status of the country’s only Muslim-majority state, a study said. The prologued closure was criticized by India’s highest court, which ruled Friday that the “limitless” internet shutdown enforced by the government for the last five months was illegal and asked that it be reviewed.

India imposed more internet restrictions than any other large democracy, according to the Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2019 report released by Top10VPN, a U.K.-based digital privacy and security research group. The South Asian nation recorded the third-highest losses after Iraq and Sudan, which lost $2.31 billion and $1.86 billion respectively to disruptions. Worldwide internet restrictions caused losses worth $8.05 billion, the report said.

The cost of internet blackouts was calculated using indicators from groups including the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, and the Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Center. It includes social media shutdowns in its calculations.

India’s ministry of information and technology didn’t respond to an email seeking a response to the report’s findings.

‘Conservative Estimates’

Through 2019, India shut access to the internet for over 4,000 hours. The report added shutdowns in India were often narrowly targeted, down to the level of blocking city districts for a few hours to allow security forces to restore order. Many of these incidents were not included in the report.

“These are conservative estimates,” said Simon Migliano, head of research at U.K.-based Top10VPN. “Internet shutdowns are increasing and it shows a damaging trend.”

India’s other major internet disruptions coincided with two moves by the government that affect India’s Muslim minority. The first disruption took place in November in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan after the Supreme Court handed a victory to Hindu groups over Muslim petitioners in a long-simmering dispute over a plot of land.

There were further disruptions in December when protests erupted against the introduction of a religion-based law that allows undocumented migrants of all faiths except Islam from neighbouring countries to seek Indian citizenship. The government enforced shutdowns across Uttar Pradesh and some Northeastern states in order to quell the protests, the report said.

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