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Bombay high court tears into Goa government for seeking Covid certificate waiver for 5,400 workers | Goa News – Times of India
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“Even as of May 17, though the positivity rate has fallen to 32.7%, it is perhaps the highest in the entire country. This application for waiver, therefore, cannot be regarded as being made in any public interest or to find some balance between arresting the spread of the epidemic and legitimate economic concerns,” the court stated in its order passed on May 18.
According to the government, as many as 3,443 and 1,992 workers enter Goa daily from Maharashtra and Karnataka, respectively. The court said that if there were no restrictions on entry into Goa, the state’s medical infrastructure would completely collapse.
While seeking waiver of a Covid negative certificate, the government assured that the workers would be thermally scanned at the respective checkposts. The government tried to make its case by pointing out that as of May 10, hardly 0.25% of the travellers entering Goa had tested positive for Covid-19.
“The statistics pointed out in this application are misleading because they refer to the tested cases, which themselves may be few. The tested cases are not restricted to entrants by road alone. The statistics ignore the untested and asymptomatic cases. Therefore, based on the statistics referred to in the application, no case is made out for variation or vacation of our interim order,” a division bench comprising Justice M S Sonak and Justice M S Jawalkar observed.
The court noted that even if the workforce of approximately 3,443 people is permitted to enter Goa without a negative RT-PCR certificate, they will require a negative certification from Goa to enter into Maharashtra in the evening. It is not clear as to whether the workforce from Karnataka can actually travel into Goa and thereafter return on the same day without proof of vaccination or an RT-PCR negative certificate, the court said.
Advocate general Devidas Pangam said Goa has to rely upon its neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka for supplies, labour, and workforce. He submitted that the restriction has been affecting Goa’s economy and the smooth operation of industries, including those concerned with combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government trying to seek waiver for residents of Goa or persons coming for work into Goa “overlooks the unfortunate fact that the coronavirus makes no distinction between the residents of Goa or persons entering for work into Goa…,” the court stated.
To the ICMR advisory placed before the high court by the advocate general stating that the need for RT-PCR tests in healthy individuals undertaking interstate domestic travel may be completely removed to reduce the load on laboratories, the high court pointed out that this was issued on May 4 in context of the general position of the epidemic throughout the country.
“To that extent, the focus of the advisory was not on the peculiar situation in the state of Goa. Here, almost 2,000 deaths have been reported since the epidemic raised its ugly head in March 2020, out of which almost 1,000 deaths took place in the last 10 days or thereabouts,” the court stated.
“The position of the state-run medical facility, ie GMC, was too horrendous to recall, particularly in the context of overstretched demand on medical infrastructure, oxygen, and even on the medical and paramedical staff,” the court stated.
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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral
Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.
Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.
He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.
“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.
She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.
After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.
Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.
However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.
2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.
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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states
On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.
According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.
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