New Delhi: The doors of Gangotri Dham were opened with full religious rituals at 7.30 am on Saturday on Baishakh Shukla Tritiya. The idol of mother Ganga reached the Bhairon Ghati on Friday. Mother Ganga's Doli left for Gangotri Dham at 4 am on Saturday. On the occasion, the aarti (puja) of Maa Ganga was performed wishing good luck for mankind. Due to the postponement of the Char Dham Yatra, the doors of the 4 dhams were opened in a symbolic way. Only those performing the puja are allowed to visit the Dhams. The prayers will continue in the dhams.
Plasma therapy not effective, MAYbe dropped from guidelines
New Delhi: Plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients has not been found effective in reducing the progression to severe disease or death and is likely to be dropped from the clinical management guidelines, sources said. In a meeting of the ICMR-National Task Force for Covid-19 on Friday, all members were in favour of removing the use of convalescent plasma from the Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult Covid-19 Patients citing its ineffectiveness and inappropriate use in several cases, they said. The ICMR will issue an advisory on the matter soon, they said. The present guidelines allows "off label" use of plasma therapy at the stage of early moderate disease, that is, within seven days of the onset of symptoms and if there is availability of a high titre donor plasma. The decision to remove it from the guidelines comes in the backdrop of some clinicians and scientists writing to Principal Scientific Advisor K VijayRaghavan cautioning against the "irrational and non-scientific use" of convalescent plasma for Covid in the country.
6-time Amritsar MP dies at 100
Amritsar: Senior Congress leader and 6-time MP from Amritsar Raghunandan Lal Bhatia passed away after a brief illness, his family members said on Saturday. He was 100. Raghunandan Bhatia died at a private hospital here on Friday night. He is survived by his son Ramesh Bhatia, daughter Saroj Munjal and younger brother JL Bhatia. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1972 from Amritsar and again re-elected from the same seat in the 1980, 1985, 1992, 1996 and 1999 elections as a member of the Indian National Congress. Bhatia had also served as the governor of Kerala and Bihar from 2004 to 2008 and 2008 to 2009, respectively. He had also served as the minister of state for external affairs in 1992.
MAY 26 TO BE BLACK DAY: RYOTS
New Delhi: Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, on Saturday announced that it will observe May 26 as 'black day', marking six months of their protest at Delhi's borders against the Centre's three farm laws. In a virtual press conference, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal appealed to people to raise black flags at their houses, vehicles and shops on May 26 to protest against the contentious farm legislations.
Tiger dead in MP, 3rd in a week
Bhopal: A tiger was found dead in the buffer zone of the Bandhavgarh reserve in Madhya Pradesh, which took the number of tiger fatalities reported in the state to 3 within a week, an official said on Saturday. The decomposed carcass of the tiger was found near a drain in the buffer area on Friday, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve's field director Vincent Raheem told PTI over phone. “As the carcass was highly decomposed, the tiger’s tongue and an internal organ were sent for testing to ascertain the cause of the death. The report is awaited,” Raheem added.
UP jail shootout: 5 suspended
Lucknow: The UP Government has taken serious note of the shootout in Chitrakoot jail in which 3 undertrials were killed on Friday. On the instructions of CM Yogi Adityanath, 5 personnel including Chitrakoot Jail Superintendent SP Tripathi and jailer Mahendra Pal have been suspended. DG Jail Anand Kumar said 5 personnel including Jail Superintendent Tripathi and jailer Mahendra Pal were suspended. Ashok Kumar Sagar was appointed Jail Superintendent and CP Tripathi the new Jailor.
Pokhriyal’s virtual meet on May 17
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will interact with education secretaries of all states on May 17 and review the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education sector. In the virtual meeting, the minister will also review the promotion of online education and implementation of the New Education policy. —Agencies
