Top Headlines of the Day
1. Burst crackers in Chandigarh and land in jail for up to 2 years
This Diwali abstains from bursting crackers or is ready to face up to two-year imprisonment as the Chandigarh administration has decided to invoke the Disaster Management Act 2005 against violators.
There is no relaxation. So clear instructions have been passed to station house officers to ensure strict compliance. Anyone caught selling or bursting crackers will be booked under Section 188 (for non-compliance of prohibitory order) of the Indian Penal Code and action will also be taken under the relevant section of the Disaster Management Act,” said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police, Chandigarh.
Though the offense is bailable, provisions under the Disaster Management Act are stricter as compared to Section 188 of the IPC, which carries maximum jail of only three months.
2. 2-hours window to burst green crackers in Punjab
The Punjab Government today announced a two-hour window for the use of green firecrackers on Diwali and Gurpurb across the state, barring Mandi Gobindgarh town. The fireworks timing has been restricted to 35 minutes on Christmas Eve in the state.
A complete ban has been imposed in the industrial town of Mandi Gobindgarh from November 9-10 to November 30-December 1 midnight on account of its poor air quality index (AQI) levels.
Four major towns — Amritsar, Jalandhar, Khanna, and Ludhiana — that fall in the “poor” air quality category classified by the NGT have been spared from a total ban, as per the orders issued by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today.
3. Allotment of flats in Chandigarh: Draw streamed on YouTube
To ensure that social distancing is maintained, the CHB live-telecast the draw for the allotment of flats in Maloya. The UT Administration has decided to relocate the residents of pre-fab shelters in Sector 52 and 56 to EWS flats at Maloya-I under the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme.
“For the first time, the draw was streamed live at the site of beneficiaries and on their mobile phones or computers through YouTube,” the CEO.
Garg said physical possession of the flats in Maloya-I would be handed over from November 17 in a staggered manner to avoid the rush and to ensure compliance with the social distancing norms
4. Amid Covid, demand for flu shots shoots up 30% in Tricity
While the wait for a Covid-19 vaccine continues, the demand for seasonal flu shots have risen among Tricity residents to protect themselves from other respiratory illnesses. There has been a 30 percent spurt in the demand for flu shots, according to private medical practitioners in the Tricity.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recently stated, “Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever during 2020-2021 to protect yourself and the people around you from flu, and to help reduce the strain on healthcare systems responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
5. Covid-19: Virus kills four more in Chandigarh
The city today witnessed 90 cases of Covid-19 and four deaths, taking the tally to 15,339 and the virus toll to 241.
The city also witnessed 66 recoveries, pushing the count of cured patients to 14,176. There are now 922 active cases in the city. As many as 1,440 samples were collected in the past 24 hours.
6. Covid-19: 70 more test positive in Panchkula
Seventy more cases of Covid surfaced in the district during the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 7,644. No new fatality was reported from the district till Tuesday evening. The district has seen 7,085 patients being cured.
7. Covid-19: Two more dies in Mohali, toll 250
Two more fatalities due to Covid-19 were reported from the district during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths in the district to 250. The district also reported 75 fresh cases. The number of infections has increased to 13,060. Meanwhile, 45 patients have been cured.
