NEWS

aryana CM Manohar Lal addressed a press conference, hours after he was forced to cancel his appearance at a 'kisan mahapanchayat' in Karnal district. The two-time chief minister touched upon a number of issues, including the ongoing farmers' agitation and the political controversy involving the Covid-19 vaccine.

Asked about the violent protests in Karnal earlier in the day, CM Manohar Lal said the state administration had spoken to agitating farmers. "They had agreed to hold a symbolic protest but no agitation. We had made preparations trusting them," he added.

"People had turned up. It is not like they were scared to come to the meeting but it is just some youngsters who created mischief on the helipad. I had almost arrived and would have addressed the gathering but it would have caused trouble," Haryana CM Manohar Lal told reporters at the Haryana Bhawan in Delhi on Sunday.

On Friday, DGCA (The Director-General of Civil Aviation) issued the guidelines for the transportation of the COVID-18 vaccines by airline and airport operators. Also, the Centre has directed the airlines to pack the vaccine in the packets of dry ice.

The circular by DGCA read, “Carriage of Covid-19 vaccines from the manufacturing units to the place of administration gains significant importance especially in the light of the high expectations of the government(s), health care personnel and the general public. It is needless to say that amongst the various modes of transport, air transport is the most efficient option. Hence, it is imperative that air logistics provide a well-defined procedure that meets global safety standards and requirements based on local conditions.”

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said orders have been issued for conducting safety audit of all hospitals in the state soon after 10 newborn infants died in a hospital fire tragedy.

The Shiv Sena leader also flew in from Mumbai in the afternoon and met parents of the infants who died in the fire on Saturday.

He spoke to hospital and health officials.

The chief minister told reporters that he met the kin of the victims with folded hands.

Delhi government on Friday said that those arriving from the United Kingdom and found COVID-19 positive will be kept under isolation to prevent the new coronavirus strain from spreading further.

The announcement was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, according to news agency ANI.

"All those arriving from the UK, who test positive will be isolated in an isolation facility. Negative ones will be taken to a quarantine facility for 7 days followed by 7 days home quarantine," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said.