Delhi

NEW DELHI, May 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — The local government in India’s capital Delhi issued an advisory on preventive measures to control a possible locust attack in its territory.

The advisory calls for organizing awareness programs for the public and farmers to prevent the probable attack of swarms of locusts in the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi.

It said that since the swarms usually fly during the day and rest at night, they should not be allowed to rest.

Gurgaon; 28 May 2020 (UMM): BJP’s national spokes-person Sambit Patra showed symptoms of coronavirus, and has been hospitalised in a private hospital in Gurgaon on Thursday.

A source at Medanta hospital in Gurgaon said Patra was 'admitted in the morning and is stable'.

BJP leaders and many others posted their wishes for a speedy recovery of the party spokesperson, who is one of the most popular politicians among BJP supporters.

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tributes to freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary, saying he motivated several people to join the freedom struggle.

"On his Jayanti, I bow to the courageous Veer Savarkar. We remember him for his bravery, motivating several others to join the freedom struggle and emphasis on social reform," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

He also shared a clip of his May, 2018 "Mann ki Baat" radio programme in which he referred to Savarkar.

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday asked the central government to unlock its coffers and help the needy affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

In a video message posted as part of the Congress' 'Speak Up India' campaign, she lamented that even though the country is passing through a serious economic crisis with loss of livelihood due to the pandemic and the lockdown, the central government has not heard the cries of pain and trauma of people.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Fitch Ratings on Tuesday forecast the Indian economy to contract 5 per cent in the current fiscal on account of slump in economic activities following a "very severe" lockdown that has lasted much longer than expected.

In its Global Economic Outlook (GEO) for May, Fitch projected growth to rebound to 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 and an estimated 3.9 per cent growth in 2019-20.

The forecast of 5 per cent contraction is sharp decline from 0.8 per cent growth projected by the global rating agency in late April.

New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Centre to identify private hospitals where COVID-19 infected patients could get treatment for free or at a nominal cost.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, hearing the matter via video-conferencing, observed that there are private hospitals which have been given land either free of cost or at nominal rates and they should treat coronavirus infected patients for free.

Lucknow, May 25 (PTI) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday asked UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to explain the basis of the statement in which he has reportedly claimed that a large number of workers returning from other states are infected with coronavirus.

The Congress leader also shared a news clip on the CM's statement on her Twitter handle.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the four phases of nationwide lockdown have "failed" and not given the results that Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected.

Addressing a press conference, he asked the central government to clarify its strategy as far as opening up of India is concerned and how it intends to support migrants and states.

"What is the central government's plan to go forward as the disease is growing exponentially in the country," he said.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) The Central Industrial Security Force on Tuesday reported 20 fresh coronavirus cases, with 18 from its unit that guards the Delhi airport, officials said.

The over 1.62 lakh personnel strong force has a total of 78 active COVID-19 cases, while 132 personnel have recovered from the disease till now.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,167 in the country, while the number of cases climbed to 1,45,380, registering an increase of 146 deaths and 6,535 cases since Monday 8 am,?the Union Health Ministry said

The number of active COVID-19 cases climbed to 80,722. As many as 60,490 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

"Thus, around 41.61 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior Health Ministry official said.

The total confirmed cases includes foreigners.