1.35mn migrants have arrived in the state, says UP govt
Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said that a record 1.35 million migrant workers had arrived in the state.
Addressing a press conference, additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reiterated that state government was committed to safe travel of the migrants coming from various states.
The DGP has been directed to intensify patrolling and strictly implement lockdown orders, he said. He said 6,50,000 migrant workers have arrived in the state from March 1 to April 30, 4,69,000 migrants have been brought back by 380 trains and another 70,000 migrants have been transported by buses while 1,50,000 have arrived by private vehicles.htc
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has pulled up a wastewater management plant after the members of Ulhasnagar Citizens Forum filed a complaint attaching photographs of Waldhuni river which has turned red due to discharge of industrial effluents. Waldhuni, a tributary of Ulhas river, supplies water to cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. On Thursday evening, MPCB issued a notice to the Badlapur common effluent treatment plant (CETP) directing them to respond within 48 hours about the source of the pollution, and that if the CETP had failed in curtailing effluents.
“If CETP fails to respond to the direction notice by Sunday, we will initiate legal action and also consider shutting down the plant, which means industries functioning in the area will not be working as well,” said SL Waghmare, regional officer (Kalyan), MPCB.
A three-member team from MPCB surveyed a nine-kilometre stretch of the river from Ulhasnagar railway station to Badlapur, to check the source of the effluents.
Badlapur CETP is run by an association of local industrial units. According to CETP operators, 22 pharmaceutical, textile, food processing and chemical industries were functional during the lockdown, sending effluents to CETP.
“The source of the effluent is coming mostly from red dye from one of the textile industries. Our vigilance team of three members have been directed to investigate and inform MPCB at the earliest,” said Khushal S Jain, member, Badlapur CETP.
According to MPCB’S daily CETP report published on its website, all water quality parameters were within safe limits. “Within the next couple of days, water quality will further improve,” said Waghmare.
Vara Vara Rao and Dr Shoma Sen, two accused booked for their alleged role in the Elgar Parishad case, have moved the special court for interim bail in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rao, 81, and Sen, 62, have separately approached the special court seeking interim bail on the grounds that as senior citizens, they are at high risk of contracting the virus. The special court has scheduled the matter for hearing by May 22.
Rao, in his plea, stated that he has ailments such as piles, prostrate enlargement, coronary artery disease, oedema/ anasarca (swelling of feet), hypertension, sinusitis, migraine, vertigo. Sen, too, has raised medical grounds and her age for interim bail.
The special court has asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a reply on their bail pleas at the next hearing. The two had previously sought bail on health grounds amid Covid-19 outbreak. However, their pleas were rejected by the special court on March 31.