NEWS

A 300-crore memorial-museum being built by the Haryana government at Ambala to honour the martyrs of the 1857 uprising is nearing completion. Spread over a 22-acre site off the national highway passing Ambala, the memorial is likely to be inaugurated by early next year.

The Haryana government believes that the Shahid Smarak would highlight that it was Ambala, and not Meerut, from where the 1857 uprising actually began, which culminated in India attaining Independence in 1947.

“The objective of constructing a war memorial in Ambala is to immortalise the bravery of those unsung heroes who never got credit for scripting the first revolt (against the British). It will also highlight Haryana’s contribution to the freedom struggle with a special emphasis on revolt incidents at Ambala,” says a senior Haryana government official.

World's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday said it is reducing its locally-made Covid-19 vaccine Covishield's production by at least 50 per cent from next week as the company has no further orders from the Indian government, according to a report.

In an interview to news channel, Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla said, "The company is in a dilemma as supply is more than demand for Covishield and it has to dial down the production. We will complete our existing orders to the government by next week. The company has written to the government for guidance on volumes needed."

"If the government doesn't need it, SII will start exporting as I mentioned in Q1 of 2020. We have recently explained this to the government and we have been discussing so I think we will wait a few days for them to have their internal discussion and get back to us," Poonawalla added, according to the news channel.

Chief Minister Biplab Deb has consolidated his position within the BJP with the overwhelming results in the party's favour in the recent civic body polls in Tripura. However, the results also indicate that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is rapidly making inroads in the state.

From 0.30% in the 2018 Assembly elections, the TMC's vote share went up to 16.39% in the recent civic polls. In the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), it emerged as the second biggest party after the BJP. In comparison, the CPM, the ruling party in the state for more than two decades till it was displaced by the BJP, saw its share tumble from 42.22% to 18.13% – leaving it only marginally ahead of the TMC.

The BJP, that had got 43.59% in the 2018 polls, garnered as many as 59.01% of the votes – winning 99% of the 222 seats that went to polls, sweeping 11 of the 14 urban bodies. Earlier, it won 1,123 seats across seven urban bodies uncontested. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the results showed people had voted for “good governance”. CM Deb said his government was not planning “for merely five years but 25”.

The Karnataka government has placed several restrictions in the state after two travellers tested positive for the Omicron variant of Coronavirus.

The Karnataka government has issued new COVID guidelines allowing visitors with double dose of Covid-19 vaccination to enter shopping malls and cinema halls after two cases of Omicron variant were reported in the state.

A visitor has to show vaccination certificate before entering a mall after the State Government tightened security and revises Covid-19 guidelines amid Omicron threat.