At Thane Public Library, which reopened Thursday. (Express Photo: Deepak Joshi)
Maharashtra Coronavirus News Live Updates: Maharashtra’s COVID-19 tally on Saturday increased to 15,86,321 with 10,259 new cases, said a health official. The state also reported 250 deaths, taking its death toll to 41,965, he said. A total of 14,238 patients were discharged after treatment, taking the tally of recovered people to 13,58,606. There are 1,85,270 active patients in the state now.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said gymnasiums and fitness centres in the state will be allowed to reopen from Dussehra, which falls on October 25. “Gymnasiums and fitness centres are for the welfare of citizens, so care should be taken to ensure that there is no virus spread. The SoPs should be strictly followed,” he said.
To manage heavy passenger traffic in the upcoming festive season, the Western Railway has announced that it will run 12 special trains that would be operated on various routes during the time of Dussehra and Diwali . Of these 12 pairs of special trains, five pairs will run from Bandra Terminus, two pairs each from Indore and Udhna and one pair each from Okha, Porbandar and Gandhidham stations, the WR said in a release on Friday. All the trains will run as special trains on special fare.
The Shiv Sena on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who recently wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding the immediate reopening places of worship. In an unusually worded official letter, the Governor had mockingly asked if the Sena leader had “suddenly turned secular.”
According to an editorial published in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the BJP has been “exposed” on this issue. It said that the Maharashtra Governor should be recalled if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah wish to preserve the “prestige” of Raj Bhavan. It further said restaurants have opened with strict Covid safety protocol, but reopening temples will see crowding.
If the BJP wants temples to reopen, then there should be a national policy, it said, adding that several important temples in the country are closed. “Even the gods must be ringing the temple bells in happiness,” it said. “If the sound of ringing bells has reached Modi and Shah, then they will recall the Governor to preserve the prestige of Raj Bhavan,” the Saamana editorial said.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-coronavirus-live-updates-pune-thane-covid-cases-6738581/
