Malayalees celebrate Onam

September 16, 2013

OnamThiruvananthapuram, Sep 16: Traditional fervour and gaiety marked the celebration of Onam festival in Kerala today though soaring prices of essential commodities in the run-up to the grand event dampened people's spirit.

People in their new attires visited temples and offered prayers early in the morning. All major temples, including the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayappa at Sabarimala, Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayour and Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple here witnessed heavy rush of devotees.

Onam is celebrated to honour King Mahabali, who according to legend ruled the state once, under whom the people were equal, prosperous and happy.

People believe that it was on this particular day of Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calender month of Chingam when Lord Mahavishnu took his fifth avatar as Vaamana, appeared in the kingdom of King Mahabali and sent him to nether world.

According to legend on Thiruvonam day, the spirit of King Mahabali visit the people of Kerala. Hence the day is marked by feast and festivities.

Flower mats (Pookalam) were laid in houses and family members enjoyed the grand feast (Onasadya). Cultural programmes organised by various institutions also marked Onam celebrations.

However, high price of food items cast a shadow on the festivities. The saying that 'Kannamvittum Onam Unnaanm' (One should have a good feast even by selling his land) seems to have come true during this Onam, with skyrocketing prices of food items dampening the festive spirit to a great extent.

Long queues of people were seen at the fair-price shops opened by State Civil Supplies Corporation, Horticorp and Consumerfed, as part of government efforts to control spiralling prices in the open market.

People also complained that various outlets opened by these agencies did not have enough stocks and 'many' had to return with empty bags.

High price of vegetables, the main ingredient of the various curries served during the feast, literally put the households in tight spot.

However, unmindful of everything, the tipplers in the state took to their own way of celebrating the festival, evident by the long queues in front of liquor shops and the rush in bars.

Similarly, in the last few days, unfazed by rising prices of goods, large number of people had made a beeline to shops selling electronics gadgets, washing machines, fridges and clothes, as most of them had offered festival discounts for their products.

The annual tourism week celebrations, being organised by the Kerala State Tourism Department as part of the Onam festival started on Saturday last.

Various dance, music and stage events as part of the tourism week would be held in different places in the city.

The festivities would come to a close on September 20. Events are also being organised in all district headquarters as part of the tourism week.

The day also saw protest in front of secretariat here with some tribal leaders staging a sit-in dharna to highlight the alleged government failure to check the death of infants in Attapaddy tribal belt of Palakkad district.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after two new cases of novel coronavirus that included one from Delhi were reported, the Health Ministry on Tuesday said six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation. The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, and they include his family members.

According to government sources, the man, who is a resident of Mayur Vihar, had visited them in Agra.

The six have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples are being sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.

Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the ministry said in a statement.

Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

His other family members have been asked to stay alert and look out for symptoms. One accountant, who came in contact with the man and some of his family members, was also quarantined, they said.

India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed 2,912 people in China.

On Monday, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said that an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The first sample collected from him on February 29 tested negative but his condition deteriorated, so a second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding, "Since there is a variation in the reports, the samples have been sent to the NIV, Pune for testing".

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

The infected person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection is from Telangana and had recently travelled to Dubai.

Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms.

"They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored," ministry said on Monday.

The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries.

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News Network
July 17,2020
New Delhi, Jul 17:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that as India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark and issued a warning that by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people may be infected in the country. He called on the government to take concrete steps to control the pandemic.
 
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi marked his earlier tweet from July 14 that stated: "This week the figure will cross 10,00,000 in our country."
"The tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark. If COVID-19 continues to spread at the same speed, by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people will be infected in the country.
 
The government must take concrete, planned steps to stop the epidemic," he tweeted today.
With the highest single-day spike of 32,695 cases and 606 deaths, India's COVID-19 tally on Thursday reached 9,68,876, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
 
The total number of COVID-19 cases includes 3,31,146 active cases, 6,12,815 cured/discharged/migrated and 24,915 deaths. 

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News Network
January 15,2020

Mumbai, Jan 15: A relative of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was killed and three others injured when their car met with an accident on Mumbai-Nashik highway, police said on Wednesday.

The mishap took place at Sinnar in Nashik on Tuesday night when the CM's sister-in-law Vina Karande and six other relatives were returning from Shirdi in a sports utility vehicle (SUV), Nashik (Rural) Superintendent of Police Aarti Singh said.

The car driver apparently lost control over the wheels, following which the vehicle overturned on a roadside while passing through a narrow bridge, located around 190 km from here, the official said.

They were rushed to a hospital in Nashik where Ajay Karande, husband of Vina Karande, died during treatment, the official said.

The three others were undergoing treatment at the hospital, the police said, adding that their condition was reported to be out of danger.

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