Lockdown extended in India’s high-risk zones
new delhi — India extended its coronavirus lockdown until June 30 in high-risk zones but permitted restaurants, malls and religious buildings to reopen elsewhere from June 8 despite a record high number of cases detected nationwide on Saturday.
The home ministry ordered state governments and local authorities to identify ‘containment zones’, or areas that should remain under lockdown, as they continue to report high number of infections.
The government allowed hospitality and retail sectors and places of worship to open from June 8 and expected authorities to ensure physical distancing rules and staggered business hours.
India reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday and has so far recorded 173,763 positive cases, making the world’s second-most populous country ninth on the list of most infections. Restrictions on international air travel and city train services have not been revoked but permission for intra-state travel was granted. The federal government expected states to make a call on reopening schools and colleges in July.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Sunday as his government wrestles to contain the pandemic despite imposing the world’s longest lockdown. In an open letter marking one year into his second term, Modi urged people to follow the rules. —
The bird had participated in a pigeon racing contest and the digits on the bird’s leg are my mobile phone number
srinagar — Indian police have released a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisherman after a probe found that the bird, which had flown across the contentious border between the nuclear-armed nations, was not a spy, two officials said on Friday.
“The pigeon was set free yesterday (May 28) after nothing suspicious was found,” said Shailendra Mishra, a senior police official in Indian-administered Kashmir. It was unclear where the bird was released and whether it flew back to its owner.
The Pakistani owner of the pigeon had urged India to return his bird, which Indian villagers turned over to police after discovering it.
“It’s just an innocent bird,” Habibullah, the owner of the bird, who goes by just one name, told Reuters on Friday.
He rejected allegations that the numbers inscribed on a ring on the pigeon’s leg were codes meant for militant groups.
Habibullah, who lives in a village near the Kashmir border, one of the most militarised zones in the world, said the bird had participated in a pigeon racing contest and
habibullah
Pakistani owner of the pigeon
the digits on the bird’s leg were his mobile phone number.
The sport is especially popular in the border villages, said Yasir Khalid of the Shakar Garh Pigeon Club, adding such races are held in India too, and it is not unusual to lose a bird on either side. Owners identify their birds with stamps on the wings, paint and rings on the feet.
“We had to take the bird into our custody to probe if it was being using for spying,” a senior Indian border security officer said requesting anonymity, while explaining this was part of the drill given border sensitivities.
In 2016, a pigeon was taken into Indian custody after it was found with a note threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —