OF hands over Remote Control Gun to Indian Navy, Coast Guard

Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli hands over Fifteen 12.7 mm M2 NATO Stabilized Remote Control Gun to Indian Navy & 10 to Indian Coast Guard. It is manufactured with transfer of technology agreement from Elbit Systems, Israel.The gun is meant for marine applications and can remotely engage targets. It is equipped with an inbuilt CCD camera, thermal imager and a laser range finder for observation and tracking of targets through day and night operations.

-Ladakh Buddhist Association President Thupstan Chewang said, 25th Edition of Sindhu Darshan Yatra will be a symbolic and limited event. In a press conference he said, respecting the Ladakh public apprehensions, LBA’s appeal to Delhi based Sindhu Darshan Yatra Samiti was honored and only 800 yatris are attending Sindhu Darshan this year. According to assurance given by the Yatra Samiti to the LBA, vaccinated yatris will carry RTPCR Negative report and follow local SoPs during their yatra. Chewang said, yatris will be coming to Leh in batches in August month. He said, the very intention of beginning the Sindhu Yatra, 25 years ago, was to join Ladakh with mainstream, attract domestic tourists and respect the emotional connect of Sindhi’s with Sindhu River. Chewang appealed to the UT Administration to strictly implement SoPs and control tourists roaming around Leh flouting all DDMA norms and posing a threat to Ladakh society.

-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked film and television producers to coordinate with the police about the place and timing of their shooting schedules in and around Mumbai. The Chief Minister on Saturday interacted with the office bearers of the Producers Guild, the largest body of filmmakers, through a televised system, regarding COVID-19 protocols that should be followed on the sets. Filmmakers Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra, Ritesh Sidhwani, Nagraj Manjule, Subodh Bhave, among others participated in the meeting, which was also attended by Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale and members of the state COVID-19 task force. Thackeray told them to ensure that COVID-19 detection tests are conducted regularly, guidelines followed, and vaccination of cinema artists and workers is expedited. The Guild sought an extension of the duration of shootings beyond 4 pm and assured that they would continue to follow the COViD-19 norms laid down by the state government. The CM told them that the second wave has still not subsided in Maharashtra and there is also possibility of a third wave.

-In Nashik district of Maharashtra, out of 1927 villages, 1246 villages have become corona free. The number of corona cases is also decreasing in other rural areas of the district. Particularly, those tribal villages, which had many cases, are now corona-free.The number of corona victims had increased tremendously in Nashik district in the month of March-April. However, due to vigilance and effective vaccination in rural areas, the number of cases is decreasing day by day. Presently, 1 thousand 548 patients are undergoing treatment. Yesterday, while 152 new cases were found, 257 patients were discharged from hospitals post recovery.

-Government has said that there is not enough evidence currently to suggest that there has been an increase in TB cases due to COVID-19 or due to increased case finding efforts. Union Health Ministry said, there have been some media reports alleging that a sudden rise in cases of Tuberculosis has been noticed among patients who were infected with COVID-19 recently, leaving the doctors worried on receiving around a dozen similar cases every day. The Ministry has clarified that TB screening for all COVID-19 positive patients and COVID-19 screening for all diagnosed TB patients has been recommended by the Union Government. States and UTs have been asked for convergence in efforts for better surveillance and case finding of TB and COVID-19, as early as August 2020. The Ministry said, due to the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions, case notifications for TB had decreased by about 25 per cent in 2020. It said, special efforts are being made to mitigate this impact through intensified case finding in OPD settings as well as through active case finding campaigns in the community by all States.The dual morbidity of Tuberculosis and COVID-19 can be further highlighted through the facts that both the diseases are known to be infectious and primarily attack the lungs, presenting similar symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing.