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Maharashtra

‘Third wave’ may be a tsunami of 60 lakh cases, warns Maharashtra government

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Rajesh Tope.

With the possibility of India hurtling towards a Covid-19 “third wave”, the Maharashtra government on Friday cautioned that the state could witness around 60 lakh cases in such a situation.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that while around 20 lakh were affected in the first wave followed by 40 lakh in the second, the dreaded next wave may lead to over 60 lakh cases.

“Of these, nearly 12 per cent would require oxygen support during treatment… We are trying to achieve 100 percent vaccination as soon as possible,” he said.

Contending that the third wave has already started in the US, the UK, Russia, and other countries, he called upon people to take extreme precautions during the upcoming festivals like Janmashtami, Ganeshotsav, Navratri and Diwali to avoid a surge in the cases.

Tope has discussed the issue with his Kerala counterpart Veena George, whose state recorded 31,000 new cases on Thursday with the Onam celebrations considered the prime reason, but the authorities have stepped up testing.

He revealed that to tackle the upcoming health crisis, the Maharashtra government is in the process of recruiting more doctors, nurses and other medical-paramedical staffers besides enhancing health care capacities including for juveniles.

“By September end, we plan to recruit 7,000 medical staff including 1,200 doctors. We are enhancing the production of liquid medical oxygen, increasing the number of beds in Covid hospitals, and getting 1,000 new ambulances,” Tope said.

Additionally, the government has approved an increment of Rs 1,500 in the salaries of 71,000 ASHA workers for which an an amount of Rs 275 crore will be included in the budget.

Health Department officials said that at least nine of the worst-hit districts in the two previous waves “are being monitored very closely” to ensure that infections and fatalities can be controlled, besides taking measure to shield children and infants.

The situation has already become worrisome as the state has already recorded over 200 cases of the Covid-19 variant, Delta Plus, which has claimed 5 patients till date.

This week, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation authorities were stunned after 22 young students, mostly below 18, were found infected out of 95 in the St Joseph’s School & Orphanage in Dongri, and the institution was promptly sealed on Thursday.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

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Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

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Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

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Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

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Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

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Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

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