Social boycott, depression, money trouble, govt apathy: The faces of India’s covid crisis as deaths near 1 lakh-mark

News Network
October 1, 2020

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New Delhi, Oct 1: Eight months after the novel coronavirus arrived in India, the death count due to COVID-19 is inching towards the 100,000-mark. Nearly 6.5 million people have been infected in total, second only to the number in the United States.

Reuters met and interviewed relatives of 30 people who died of the virus in India, from coastal Kerala on the country's southern tip to the Himalayan region of Kashmir in the north.

The 30 victims were ordinary people from all walks of life, and included police officers and doctors on the frontlines of the fight against the virus.

In what is still a conservative and developing country, some of the relatives said they faced ostracism after their loved ones caught the virus. Others said they have suffered from depression and money troubles. All said more could have been done to save the people who died.

Life after

Javed Ali, a 42-year-old doctor in New Delhi, died in July. His wife, Hena Kausar, also a doctor and now the sole carer for their two children, said she doesn't know what she will do without him.

"Our whole life has changed," she said. "I still want to be a doctor (but) I have to choose between my job and kids."

Nineteen-year-old student Fardeen Khan was orphaned after his mother Noor Jahan died in June. His father had died in 2018.

"I have no financial support now," he said. "I have no job"

Some relatives said they found the reaction from authorities and neighbours after their bereavements difficult to bear.

Sunita Patil's husband Vivek, a 46-year-old music teacher, died suddenly at home in Mumbai before a bed at a local hospital became available. The next morning, she said, municipal workers came to the house shouting for them to come outside to be taken to a quarantine centre.

"They were not sensitive to the fact that there has been a death in the family just a day back, and we are in mourning," she said.

Nadeem Akhtar's sister Shabana Ahmed, a 52-year-old architect, died in New Delhi in April.

"What really upsets me more than the healthcare system was the behaviour of society," he said.

"My sister's neighbourhood boycotted her family. There was no emotional or moral support even after her death. Society failed us."

Chances missed

India's rudimentary healthcare system has at times struggled to cope with the huge number of coronavirus cases.

Many of the victims' relatives said there were missed opportunities to cure the infected.

Jamal Khan, a 41-year-old farmer, developed a fever in August in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh.

His brother, Asim, said local doctors failed to realise he was COVID-positive. It was only when he was transferred to Delhi, ten days after he first became ill, that he was diagnosed.

By then, his lungs were badly damaged, and he died soon after, according to Asim.

"If he would have been diagnosed on time in his own native place, he would have surely survived," Asim said.

Rekha Khandait's 58-year-old husband Jayant is one of more than 200 police officers who died from the virus in the western state of Maharashtra alone. She was one of several people who said a lack of oxygen contributed to the death.

"I can't believe that six months have passed, she said. "I still haven't told our son yet about his death."

Tilak Raj, a 38-year-old software engineer, said when his mother Krishna Devi was hospitalized, there was no oxygen in the ambulance. When they arrived at the hospital, the cylinder that was provided was empty in five minutes.

"If we had a better health system, my mother would have survived," he said.

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News Network
March 20,2025

Bhagalpur: A violent clash between two nephews of Union Minister Nityanand Rai in Bihar’s Bhagalpur resulted in one death and another critically injured on Thursday.

The incident occurred in Jagatpur under Parvatta police station, Navgachia district. The injured nephew is undergoing treatment at Bhagalpur hospital. Following the incident, top district officials rushed to the hospital, and an investigation is underway.

Naugachhia SP Prerna Kumar stated, "Around 7:30 am, we received information that two brothers shot at each other in Jagatpur village. One succumbed to injuries, while the other is critical. Initial reports suggest a dispute over a water tap escalated into gunfire. The deceased has been identified as Vikal Yadav, and the injured as Jaijit Yadav. Prompt action has been taken, and statements are being recorded. We also have information that they are relatives of a Union minister."

According to reports, the altercation between Jagjit Yadav and Vikal Yadav turned violent when one opened fire on the other. The injured man then grabbed the gun and retaliated. Both were taken to Bhagalpur hospital, where Vikal Yadav was declared dead, and Jaijit remains in critical condition.

During the clash, their mother, who tried to intervene, was shot in the hand. She is also receiving treatment at Dr. AK Yadav’s clinic.

Parvatta police station in-charge Shambhu Kumar confirmed that the dispute revolved around water and led to gunfire. Authorities are investigating further to determine the exact cause of the conflict.

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coastaldigest.com news network
March 20,2025

Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), Karnataka’s second busiest airport, has seen 148.5kg of gold smuggled between 2019 and December 2024, with 90% arriving from the UAE. Customs officials recorded 346 cases, averaging 30kg of gold seized per year (2.5kg per month). Most smugglers are from Kerala and Bhatkal.

A senior customs officer revealed that MIA sees at least five gold smuggling cases per month. Numbers dropped during the pandemic but surged after flights resumed. Many offenders are first-time carriers, while some are habitual smugglers. With fewer flights, customs thoroughly checks passengers, making smuggling harder.

Smugglers constantly innovate concealment methods. Hiding gold in the rectum remains common, but gold is also found in trolley bags, mobile covers, chocolate boxes, milk powder, biscuit packets, and clothing layers. Electronic devices like car speaker magnets, LED bulbs, AirPods, wristwatches, and ballpoint pens have been used.

Unusual tactics include hiding gold in a woman’s hairband, a baby’s diaper, and even a kheer mix packet (347g). In one case, a passenger attempted to smuggle 100g in his mouth under a mask but was caught.

Officials note that while the UAE remains a key source, smugglers now bring gold from other Gulf countries, continuously adapting to evade detection.

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Agencies
March 26,2025

The airstrikes led by the United States have killed at least 25 civilians in Yemen over the past week, marking the deadliest week of bombing on the country since the final months of the Washington-backed Saudi war in January 2022.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Yemen Data Project said the 25 civilians were the victims of 38 US-led aerial assaults on March 15-21, adding that 28 people were also injured in the attacks.

The independent tracker also said that 21 out of the 38 US air raids hit non-military, civilian targets.

“Civilian targets hit included: a medical storage facility, a medical center, a school, a wedding hall, residential areas, a cotton gin facility, a health office, Bedouin tents, and Al-Eiman University,” it said.

The deadliest US strike in the first week of US bombing campaign struck a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern Sa'ada province, killing 10 civilians and wounding 11 others, among them children.

The US began bombing Yemen on March 15, a few days after Yemen resumed its operation against Israeli-linked ships in response to Israel’s Gaza aid blockade that violated a ceasefire with the Hamas resistance group.

The Yemeni Armed Forces began their anti-Israel naval campaign in November 2023, a month after the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The Yemeni forces halted their attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in January, when Israel accepted a three-phase Gaza ceasefire.

Two months later, however, Israel unilaterally broke the Gaza truce and resumed its brutal onslaught on the besieged territory.

On Tuesday, Yemeni media reported 17 US strikes on Sa'ada and two more on the nearby 'Amran province.

The reports said American warplanes carried out "aggressive air raids... causing material damage to citizens' property," but gave no details of casualties.

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