India News

Article Written By Ananya Nayar, Website edited by Misaki Tomiyama

Currently: Delhi and Covid

Cases updated on December 5th

India currently has nearly 10 million CoronaVirus cases, the second-most in the world. Recently, the country’s capital- Delhi has been struggling to maintain and eliminate the surge in cases. The number of deaths, many days going over 100 deaths per day has overwhelmed funeral parties and cremations, the lack of ICU beds have also played a role in not controlling the cases.

The government has earlier said that they have gone with every “protocol and measure the World Health Organisation has prescribed” yet many have been asking ‘have they really?’ - the lack of social distancing in market places and government meets where they are greeted by the crowd is unavoidable, and the inescapable absence of masks usage in public places and by millions is extraordinary.

Might India get a vaccine?

AstraZeneca (a British pharmaceutical company currently developing a potential Covid vaccine) and Oxford University announced on the 30th that the vaccine is proving 90% effective. They said by the end of January they will produce 100 million doses of immunity, opening a pathway for India to claim this. By April, they would manufacture 400 million vaccines. This shot is one of the best hopes for a vaccine to immunise India. The AstraZeneca vaccine will require to be stored in a regular fridge, around 3-8 degrees celsius. Harsh Vardhan, the India Health Minister commented that India will no longer require the Pfizer vaccine, “US has not given license to Pfizer. So it does not make sense for other countries like India to consider it.”

Farmer Protests in India

Last week, thousands of farmers protested nationwide against the new laws in place, many have also called strike. The reforms look to loosen pricing, sale and storage for agricultural goods produced by the farmers. These rules had protected farmers from the free market for decades.

Farmers have been marching from many different states against the legislation and are demanding the new farm laws to be reversed. The protesters warned if nothing was done by the government they would block all entries to Delhi, the capital.

The agricultural minister announced that the farmers must talk to them before December 3rd, especially with a pandemic and surge in cases around.

Another minister stated they are all open for discussion and that they are ‘inclusive and sincere.’ He also announced the ‘Government will make it clear they will rethink the laws.’

Earlier this week, on Monday Narender Modi, described the opposition's intentions as “misleading and creating unfounded fears in the minds of farmers.” He further defended the law he assigned as “historic.” To aggravate the situation, on Wednesday a photo was leaked and went viral immediately. The photo portrayed a policeman swinging a bat at a shocked, elderly, Sikh man at a recent protest. Due to this, thousands of more farmers surged forward, to block entry to the capital. However, they were met with borders and policemen. Police allegedly fired tear gas shells and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

The Nainital Reptile Bridge

Nainital, a hill station in Uttarakhand recently built a bridge over roads in order to help reptiles to cross safely, without being at risk from human movements. The suspension bridge is 90 feet long and composed out of bamboo chutes, grasses and jute, to appeal to the reptiles they have put creepers and plants along the bridge. The eco-bridge can hold up to 3 humans, and officials are saying that they hope bigger animals like leopards would potentially use it along with other reptiles like snakes, pythons, monitor lizards, squirrels and monkeys.