作者： bharat.cn

STATES HIKE FUEL, LIQUOR TAX

The economic cost of the pandemic also began to hit the people with a sharp increase in fuel prices. Looking to shore up their dwindling resources, more states announced higher taxes on liquor sales.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday hiked petrol and diesel prices and also asked tipplers to shell out more. Petrol will cost Rs 2 more for a litre and diesel Re 1. UPiites will shell out between Rs 5 to Rs 400 more per bottle of liquor, depending on its size and the category of the drink.

Prices of liquor will be raised by a maximum of Rs 20 from May 7 in Tamil Nadu. Karnataka, too, hiked excise duty on liquor by 11 per cent to mop up revenues.

Petrol and diesel prices in Chandigarh will go up by nearly Rs 3 per litre.

Meanwhile, Punjab pegged its overall revenue loss for the month of April at 88 per cent due to all its tax revenues having dried up and only 1.5 per cent the industry being operational.

AHMEDABAD SHUTS DOWN FULLY FOR 1 WEEK

To control the spread of coronavirus in Ahmedabad city, civic authorities on Wednesday ordered the closure of all the shops except those selling milk and medicines for a week.

As per the order, shops will remain closed from May 7 midnight till 6 am on May 15.

While milk outlets and medical stores can remain open, all other shops, including those selling fruits, vegetables and grocery items, will remain closed, the order said.

INDIA REGISTERS NEARLY 50,000 CASES

While the Union Health Ministry stopped giving an evening update of the COVID-19 tally from Wednesday, its morning update showed the death rising to 1,694 and the number of cases climbing to 49,391, registering an increase of 126 deaths and 2,958 cases since Tuesday morning. It also showed more than 15,000 people having recovered, giving a recovery rate of nearly 29 per cent.

While Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases and fatalities, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab are among other major states affected badly by the virus.

Kerala also has reported more than 500 confirmed cases so far, but it did not report a single new case on Wednesday and the state government officials said the number of active patients is now only 30 as a big majority of COVID-19 patients have recovered.

On Day 2 of the Lockdown 3.0, India remained on edge as a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday pushed the nationwide Covid-19 tally closer to the 50,000-mark and the death toll crossed 1,500 with over 190 more fatalities.

While several authorities withdrew relaxations introduced from Monday, others relied on them to revive sinking state economies. While tipplers queued up outside the liquor shops, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh levied 70 and 75 per cent additional tases respectively on alcohol. Delhi and Punjab also spike the prices of petrol and diesel to make up for the lost revenues during the lockdown.

As the concern for coronavirus spread due to liquor queues gained traction on social media, states stressed that the revenue was crucial.

Meanwhile, the Centre announced ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Air India will operate 64 repatriation flights for a week from May 7 while the Navy deployed two ships as India rolled out a massive evacuation plan on Tuesday to bring back thousands of its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Domestically, Indian Railways said that it has run 76 Shramik Special trains since May 1, carrying over 70,000 migrant labourers stranded due to the countrywide lockdown to their homes states. Twelve additional trains are likely to operate tomorrow.

Health Ministry justifies spike in cases

The Health Ministry said the country recorded a record single-day increase of 195 deaths and 3,900 cases between Monday 8 AM and Tuesday 8 AM. However, the ministry said that number was so high as it included old cases and deaths some states had not reported previously.

At the same time, the recovery rate has improved to 28.17 per cent, joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Aggarwal said during a press briefing on the Covid-19 situation.

“We are very comfortable in terms of managing Covid-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level or any lack of cooperation may have its consequences,” he warned. Aggarwal also said that the delay in reporting of Covid-19 cases by certain states has led to the sudden spurt in figures.

Several state and central government officials also said that the numbers have been going up in recent days due to an increased number of tests being conducted.