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We are harassed in Pakistan, many keen to migrate to India: Pakistani Hindu family

August 13, 2012

Hindus

Attari, August 13: Amidst confusion over the travel plans of 223 Pakistani Hindus who arrived in India in two batches on Friday and Saturday following reports of their persecution, another Hindu family - husband, wife and four children from Sibi district in Balochistan (Pakistan) said goodbye to their friends, relatives and their country with the intent to settle in India.

The family which arrived at the Attari International Railway Station on board Samjhauta Express on Monday, was quite vocal on their plans.

"Pakistan se gila nahin, wahan kae bashindo se gila hai" (We have no complaint from Pakistan but its people) said Mukesh Kumar while talking to TOI .

A grocery shop owner in Sibi, Mukesh said Pakistani immigration officials were so skeptical of the visit of Pakistani Hindus to India that before letting them board Samjhauta Express at Wagah on Monday, they were made to give a written undertaking that they were not harassed in Pakistan and would return.

An emotional Mukesh said he had sold his house and other belongings before leaving Pakistan. "I know my relatives are there and they could be harassed but I had to save my and the life of my family, they might also leave Pakistan one day," he said adding that hundreds of Hindu families were keen to migrate to India.

He said he would now go to Indore to seek help from his cousin who lived there.

Mukesh spoke of the terror in Balochistan where gun-wielding motorcyclists often came to their shops and demanded huge money and went to houses to harass Hindu ladies and took away their ornaments.

Following reports of insecurity among Hindus and their possible mass exodus from Sindh and Balochistan, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had constituted a three-member committee comprising of senator Hari Ram, member National Assembly Lal Chand and law minister Maula Baksh Chandio to express solidarity with Hindus on behalf of his government and instill a sense of security among them.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Pranjal Pari, daughter of Mukesh doesn't know that the family has left Pakistan forever. But there was pain in her voice when she said "In school I never played with other (Muslim) girls and remained aloof ."

"Mujhae dar lagta hai , kabhi kuch no kuch hota rehata hai" (I am scared , something keeps on happening) she said.

Echoing her thought was brother Shwet Ahuja who said it was difficult to mix with other boys of his age as they were discriminated.

Mukesh's wife Sumen Devi said they had decided to move India for good after one of their relatives Ravi Kumar was kidnapped by unidentified miscreants and when the family failed to meet their demand of ransom they sent back his dead body after two and half months.

"Mujhe nahi jana wapis ab, bahut ho gaya" (I wouldn't go back, it is enough," she said while wiping her tears.

Mukesh said police did register their cases but didn't do anything to trace the culprits.

Suhani, another Hindu girl who arrived in India remarked sarcastically, "We are very secure as we don't go out of the home and if there is need to move out we wear burqa". She, however, said she had not arrived here to settle but for meeting relatives.

Vashdev , another Hindu from Pakistan said that he had heard of some incidents but didn't know where.


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Agencies
July 29,2020

New Delhi, Jul 29: Coronavirus infections in India continue to mount as the country's total case tally crossed the 15-lakh mark.

India added 48,513 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 15.3 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update on July 29.

Key Figures

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 15,31,669
Active cases: 5,09,447
Cured/discharged/migrated: 9,88,029
Deaths: 34,193
Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 48,513
One-day recoveries: 35,175
One-day deaths: 768
India’s coronavirus epidemic is growing at the fastest pace in the world, increasing 20% over the last week, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported.

Fresh cases continued to come in at a heightened pace, hovering just below 50,000 for the last six days.

Moderna Inc.’s vaccine candidate against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the path to a defense for humans against the pandemic. Pfizer Inc., however, is preparing for the novel coronavirus to endure, leading to long-term demand for a seasonal shot to protect against Covid-19.

“There is a likely scenario that either the vaccine’s immunity will not be lasting forever,” said Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla in an interview Tuesday, “or that the virus will mutate, or that the virus will find ways to come back again and again.”

Even as the transmission rate of Covid-19 remains high in India, the pace of recovery has risen too. On Wednesday, India reported its third day of over 35,000 recoveries.

Global Update

Flare-ups in virus cases from Hong Kong to Europe are proving difficult for policy makers to wrangle. The U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, even as daily infections slowed in some hard-hit states. China reported 101 new cases, up from 68 a day earlier, with 98 of the total from local infections, mostly in Xinjiang.

Philippine health authorities warned that hospitals and infirmaries risk getting overwhelmed.

Globally, confirmed Covid-19 cases have topped 16.6 million with over 658,000 dead.

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News Network
May 18,2020

As many as employees of Zee News have tested positive for the coronavirus, Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary said on Monday. Most of them are asymptomatic, he said, tweeting an official statement from Zee News about the situation.

The organisation said that on May 15, one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus. Following this, the company started testing employees who may have come in contact with the employee. Twenty-seven more were found to be infected.

“Fortunately most of them are asymptomatic and are not complaining of any discomfort,” Zee News said. “We believe this is because of early diagnosis and proactive intervention.”

The news network said all guidelines and protocols have been followed, and its office, newsroom and studios have been sealed for sanitisation. The Zee News team has been shifted to an alternative facility.

“At the moment, Zee Media Corporation has 2,500 employees, by far the largest in the private sector,” the company said. “We are committed to the safety of each one of them.”

Chaudhary also claimed that “those who are infected had the option of sitting at home and sharing memes”. “They came to work because they are committed professionals.”

Following this, some social media users claimed that Zee News employees found infected with Covid-19 were still at work. In response, Chaudhary alleged that a malicious campaign was being conducted to distort his statement. He said no infected employee had come to work, and all the contacts of the employee who tested positive on May 15 had been tested and quarantined.

Over the past two months, journalists from several media organisations have tested positive for the coronavirus. On April 21, 26 employees of a Tamil news channel based in Chennai tested positive for the coronavirus. The previous day, over 50 journalists from Mumbai were found infected, after samples of over 170 journalists were tested.

On May 7, a newspaper journalist died of the coronavirus in Agra. Some states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, have tested journalists for Covid-19.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Ayodhya,  Aug 4: Various religious ceremonies have been conducted for the past 108 days by saints in Ayodhya and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in `muhurat puja' at 12.44 pm on Wednesday as part of 'bhoomi pujan' for construction of a grand Ram temple.

PM Modi will arrive at 12:30 pm at the Ramjanmbhoomi and take part in various prayers including the main "bhoomi pujan".

Govind Giriji Maharaj, treasurer of Shri Ramjanmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that the religious ceremonies will begin from 8:30 am in the morning and will continue till 12:30 pm.

"The Prime Minister will arrive at 12:30 pm and he will offer `puja' for 15 minutes and take 'sankalp'. First Lord Ganesh will be worshipped then he will offer prayers of eight shilas. Some prayers at shilas we have conducted already," Giri told said.

"The muhrat of pooja is at 12: 44 pm. He will say words 'prathisthapayami' and it is crucial to be done in that muhrat," he said.

Elaborating on the rituals to be performed tomorrow by the Prime Minister, the trust member said that most important is `Kurm Shila' .

"The most important is Kurm Shila - this is right beneath the place where Ram Lalla will be seated. It is this ceremony that we are conducting tomorrow. A cone of Bakul tree wood will be kept in ceremony. This isn't an ordinary cone, it is made of various metals including gold and silver. 

A lotus with nine gems too will be part of pujan which will be offered to this cone by the Prime Minister," he said.

"These are intrinsic to main bhumi pujan. The first religious ceremony was of Devi Kali. There are two devi kalis here, `choti' and `badi'. She is kuldevi, family's goddess of Sita. Today we held Ramarchan ceremony," said Giri.

The Vedic pundits who are involved in religious ceremonies have come from Delhi, Mathura and Kashi.

Asked about the absence of Nepal's religious head of Janaki Mandir, he said that there are many, including 20 religious heads, who would not able to come because they can't leave their seat in Chaturmas.

On the design of temple, Giri said, the old design will remain as it is except a rise in height.

"The structure has become popular and we will keep it. Keeping in mind the modernisation of architecture, we have raised height from 128 feet to 161 feet and instead of three peaks we will have five peaks," he said.

Kanchi Pithadhishvar Maharaj has sent silver coins as souvenirs for every sadhu participating in it, Giri said.

Invitations have been sent to 175 people, including 135 saints of 35 religious organisations to attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Ram temple.

The construction of Ram temple will begin in Ayodhya after the ceremony to lay the foundation stone.

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