CMYK CONGRESS WORKERS ARE IN A STATE OF RESTLESSNESS IN UTTAR PRADESH OPINION Rs. 3 PATNA SUNDAY, 8 MAY, 2022 PG-12, YEAR— 8, ISSUE— 162 (RNI NO: BIHENG / 2014 / 59124) I WANT TO DO ANOTHER FILM WITH 'SAANI KAAYIDHAM' TEAM: KEERTHY PEOPLE & LIFE Morning India WHO report on Covid deaths baseless, say Health ministers ‘An attempt to tarnish India’s image’ AGENCIES KEVADIA: Health ministers of different states who attended the 14th conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare have slammed World Health Organisation for its estimate of 4.7 million Covid-related deaths in India, saying it is "baseless" and "intended to show the country in a poor light". They said India has a robust, efficient and comprehensive system for registering deaths and all Covid fatalities are systematically recorded transparently following a legal process. On Friday, a resolution was passed at the conference strongly objecting to WHO's estimates of Covid deaths in India. It stated the WHO estimate is "unacceptable" to India and the modelling methodology used by the global health body to reach the figure was "flawed". The three-day conference of the CCHFW, an apex advisory body of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, began in Gujarat's Kevadia on Thursday. It was chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar questioned the modelling methodology used by WHO to arrive at the death estimate, alleging that it was an attempt to "tarnish" India's reputation. "There is no rationale behind the modelling methodology used by the WHO to arrive at the estimate. All health ministers at the conference here have condemned the report and passed a resolution against it. We have urged Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to convey India's disappointment to WHO and raise it at higher international forums," he said. "We stand by our numbers because there is a robust, legal and transparent system for data collection and Covid mortality surveillance. It's a sheer attempt to malign India which has done good work on Covid management. There seems to be a malafide intention behind the report," Sudhakar said. Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla alleged that WHO's death estimate was sector. The search operation was stopped due to bad light and when they started to investigate the spot on Thursday, the BSF personnel found 150metre-long freshly dug tunnel originating from Pakistan in which the oxygen was supplied through the 265-footlong pipes found in the tunnel. This was the first such structure unearthed by the BSF beneath the International Border (IB) in the past 16 months, taking the overall number to 11 in the past decade. Last year the force had detected two tunnels in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. The officials in the security grid said that the patrolling has been intensified. ALOK MISHRA BSF ramps up patrolling at borders in Jammu after detection of tunnel AGENCIES NEW DELHI: Days after the Border Security Force (BSF) detected a cross-border tunnel in Jammu's Samba sector on May 4, the security force has ramped up patrolling on the border and keep eye on the fencing and nearby areas. According to the sources, the BSF has been tasked to initiate anti-tunnel drive every alternate day and to closely monitor the ground along the fencing, especially during the night patrol. Any "abnormality" at the fencing site must be reported, the sources further said. On May 4 evening, the BSF patrolling team found the opening of a cross-border tunnel in the area of Chak Faquira opposite the Samba Blast at Tata Steel plant leaves three injured AGENCIES JAMSHEDPUR: Three people sustained minor injuries in an explosion in a gas pipeline in Tata Steel plant here on Saturday, a company official said. The blast occurred around 10.20 am, and the injured employees were taken to Tata Main Hospital and administered first aid, he said. "This morning, we reported an incident of blasting sound in a coke plant unit, which was nonoperational and is undergoing a dismantling process, at our Jamshedpur Works. Our emergency response team immediately reached the incident site; the area was cordoned off and the situation brought under control," the steelmaker said in a statement. Two of the injured people have been discharged and one is under observation, it said, adding there has been no impact on production. As per the standard safety protocol, the inci- dent was immediately reported to authorities concerned, and further investigation to ascertain the cause of the explosion is underway, it said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted: "We have received information of blast at Tata Steel plant. The district administration in coordination with the Tata Steel management is taking action for speedy treatment of the injured." The company earlier said in a statement: "We would like to clarify that there was no fire, as misrepresented in media. In case of any breakdown or emergency, there is a normal process of flaring of gases (non toxic)." Ambulances and fire tenders immediately reached the spot and the area was cordoned off and the situation is normal now, it said. Factory Inspector, Jamshedpur circle, Binit Kumar Singh, said that a probe will be conducted to ascertain the exact cause behind the incident. "fabricated" and it has not made a proper calculation to arrive at the figure of 47.4 lakh Covid-related deaths. "India has a strong data collection system and there is no reason to doubt its authenticity. The modelling methodology used by the global health body was not scientific," he said. Madhya Pradesh Minister of Medical Education Vishwas Sarang alleged there was a conspiracy to belittle India's achievements on the COVID-19 front starting from the low mortality rate to the high vaccination coverage. "The figures by WHO are erroneous and not based on sound mathematics. All health ministers at the conference rejected the WHO report saying it was not founded on facts," he said told PTI. Sarang said that "20 to 22 health ministers, including those from states not ruled by the BJP, unanimously rejected the WHO report". Echoing similar sentiments, Health Minister of Sikkim M K Sharma and his Bihar counterpart Mangal Pandey alleged that the WHO report was "devoid of facts" and its modelling methodology was "not scientific". It's a deliberate attempt to portray India in a poor light, they claimed, adding registration of births and deaths in the country is extremely robust and is governed by the decades-old statutory legal framework the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1969. The Union Health Ministry on Thursday strongly objected to the mathematical models used by WHO for projecting excess mortality estimates linked to the pandemic given the availability of authentic data, saying the validity and robustness of the models used and methodology of data collection were questionable. India is likely to raise the issue at the World Health Assembly and other multilateral forums, sources in the ministry said. "Despite India's objection to the process, methodology and outcome of this modelling exercise, WHO has released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India's concerns," the Union Health Ministry said. India's daily Covid count, active cases rising 7 die, 9 hurt in Indore building fire AGENCIES NEW DELHI: India reported 3,805 new coronavirus infections in a day, pushing the number of active cases of the disease in the country to 20,303 and the overall tally to 4,30,98,743, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday. The data released at 8 am also showed that 22 fatalities -- 20 of them from Kerala alone -- were reported in a 24-hour period, taking the cumulative death toll to 5,24,024. The active cases now constitute 0.05 per cent of the total infections, the health ministry said, adding that the country's COVID-19 recovery rate is at 98.74 per cent. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.78 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.79 per cent, the ministry said. A total of 84.03 crore Covid tests have been conducted so far, including 4,87,544 a day ago. An increase of 615 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload, which now stands at 20,303. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,25,54,416, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent, the data showed. The cumulative number doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 190 crore. India's COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020. It crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021 and three crore on June 23, 2021. The 22 new fatalities include 20 from Kerala and one each from Karnataka and West Bengal, the data showed. A total of 5,24,024 Covid deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,845 from Maharashtra, 69,210 from Kerala, 40,103 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,177 from Delhi, 23,508 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,203 from West Bengal. INDORE: Seven persons were killed and nine others suffered injuries in a major fire that broke out in a three-storey residential building in Vijay Nagar locality of Indore early on Saturday, police said. As per the preliminary information, the deceased included a woman, a senior police official said. Indore Police Commissioner Hari Narayan Chari Mishra said there were several flats in the building that were rented out to people. "Seven persons have died so far in the incident that occurred in the building situated in a congested area of Vijay Nagar locality. As per the preliminary information, the deceased include a woman," he said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sampat Upadhyay said, "After the fire broke out, the area around the building's main door located on the ground floor and the staircase got enveloped in flames and black smoke, while the door that led to the terrace from the third floor turned extremely hot, due to which most of the people got trapped inside the building. Some persons rushed to the balcony of their flats to save themselves." Jhanjharpur to Asanpur Kupaha has been completed at a cost of Rs 456 crore. With commissioning of this section, rail connectivity between Mithilanchal divided into two parts will be re-established after 88 years. This will connect people of this region to vast network of railways and it will open door to economic prosperity for people of this region. With inauguration of this new rail route, three pairs of new DEMU Special Trains would be operated regularly from May 8 in between Laheriasarai and Saharsa through JhanjharpurNirmali-Aasanpur KupahaSaraigarh-Supaul. From Laheriasarai: Train number 05545 LaheriasaraiSaharsa DEMU Special train would leave Laheriasari at 5.05 am and after stopping at different stations and halt would reach Saharsa at 10.50. Train number 05543 Laheriasarai-Saharsa DEMU Special would leave Laheriasarai at 12.05 and after stopping at different stations and halts would reach Saharsa at 18.05. Train number 05547 Laheriasarai-Saharsa DEMU Special would leave Laheriasarai at 20.05 and after stopping at different stations and halts would reach Saharsa at 1.30 at midnight. From saharsa: Train number 05544 SaharsaLaheriasari DEMU Special would leave Saharsa at 05.15 and after stopping at different stations and halts would reach Laheriasarai at 11.30. Train number 05548 Saharsa-Laheriasarai DEMU Special would leave Saharsa at 11.00 and after stopping at different stations and halts would reach Laheriasari at 17.15. Train number 05548 Saharsa-Laheriasari DEMU Special would leave Saharsa at 18.35 and after stopping at different stations and halts would reach Laheriasarai at 23.55. AGENCIES Minister opens Jhanjharpur-Nirmali new rly section PATNA: Union minister of Railways, Communications, Information and Technology Ashwini Vaishnav inaugurated Jhanjharpur-Nirmali new gauge converted railway section (32 km) and NirmaliAsanpur Kupha new rail line (06 km) through video-conferencing from Delhi On Friday. After this, he also flagged off Train number 05553 Jhanjharpur-Saharsa DEMU Passenger Special as inaugural special for running of trains on this rail route. In his address, Union Rail minister described this event as historic, saying that major problem of this area has been solved after 88 years. With opening of this rail section, long pending demands of peo- ple of both sides of river Kosi has been fulfilled, he pointed out, adding that it is Prime Minister's vision that with rise of eastern zone, country's rise is possible. A sum of Rs. 6600 crore has been allotted for development works related to passengers' amenities and rail infrastructure in Bihar, he announced. A function was organized on this occasion at Jhanjharpur railway station where Power, Planning and Development minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Transport minister Sheela Kumari, Jhanjharpur MP Ramprit Mandal, Supaul MP Dileshwar Kamait, Madhepura MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav and Jhanjharpur MLA Nitish Mishra were present. It may be noted that this project is part of 206 km long Sakri-Lauha Bazar-Nirmali and Saharsa-Forbisganj gauge conversion project. Total sanctioned cost of this project is Rs.1584 crores. Along with this, Kosi Megabridge has been constructed at cost of Rs 491 crore, which was dedicated to nation on September 18, 2020 by PM Narendra Modi. Work of 38 km from