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Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna NEARBY Reign of terror is always Opposition leaders call for unity BJP leader tries to hold banned race PUNE After virtual meet, joint statement from 19 parties calls for protests next month Defying the Supreme Court’s temporary, says Modi ban on bullock cart races, Sandeep Phukan should “forget who is the farmers in Sangli’s Zare New Delhi village staged a race after ‘Somnath temple is leader as the people of India heeding to a call by BJP the best example Top Opposition leaders will lead” the fight against leader Gopichand Padalkar came together on a virtual the BJP. amid police deployment. and an assurance’ platform on Friday to give a Maharashtra Chief Minis­ NEWS Ī PAGE 10 call for unity and working to­ ter Uddhav Thackeray en­ DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Mahesh Langa gether for the “ultimate dorsed Ms. Banerjee’s views AHMEDABAD goal” of defeating the Bhara­ and Tamil Nadu Chief Minis­ At a time when the world is tiya Janata Party (BJP) in the ter M.K. Stalin raised the is­ anxiously concerned about 2024 Lok Sabha election, sue of the Centre “under­ the Taliban’s seizure of pow­ and providing a government mining” federalism. er in Afghanistan, Prime Mi­ that believes in the values of Former Congress chief Ra­ nister Narendra Modi, on Stories in stone: The Somnath Exhibition Centre that was the freedom movement and Congress president Sonia key issues that affect the pe­ hul Gandhi suggested that the occasion of launching inaugurated by Narendra Modi on Thursday. * ANI the principles enshrined in Gandhi, who convened the ople, and said parties that the Opposition parties offer new projects at the historic the Constitution. virtual meeting, said the op­ are not aligned to the Con­ an alternative vision to coun­ Somnath temple on Friday, manent, citing the example dominate for some time, but The leaders of 19 parties, position parties simply had gress should also be invited ter the vision offered by the reminded the world that the of Somnath temple, which their existence is never per­ who participated in the vir­ “no alternative to working as “every Opposition party BJP­Rashtriya Swayamsevak reign of terror is always tem­ was razed and plundered manent as they cannot sup­ tual meet, issued a joint cohesively together” and should be brought into the Sangh (RSS). porary and cannot be per­ several times in the past and press humanity forever,” he statement that called upon needed to rise above “com­ fight against the BJP”. In what appeared to be a manent. resurrected every time with stated. The Somnath temple “the people of India to rise to pulsions in the interest of the show of Opposition strength The Prime Minister, in a greater glory. was the best example and al­ the occasion to defend our nation”. Mamata’s call and forging of unity, 19 par­ subtle message, said “des­ “Forces that strive for des­ so an assurance to the secular, democratic Republi­ West Bengal Chief Minis­ Addressing a key point that ties including the Congress tructive and terror forces” truction and those who fol­ world, he pointed out. can order” and announced ter Mamata Banerjee sug­ often comes in the way of were part of the meeting. may become dominant tem­ low the ideology of creating joint protest action between gested the formation of a forging Opposition unity, porarily but were not per­ empires out of terrorism can CONTINUED ON Ī PAGE 8 September 20 and 30. core committee to focus on Ms. Banerjee said parties CONTINUED ON Ī PAGE 8 Ajit Pawar: administering second J&J seeks nod for vaccine Delta variant driving infections dose of vaccine priority in Pune trials on adolescents in India, says lab consortium Special Correspondent in a statement, said: “We are NEW DELHI committed to facilitating Jacob Koshy report by the consortium, of variant is the major VoC in 70 lakh people in district have received at least one dose so far NEW DELHI U.S. pharma major Johnson global equitable access to the 49,867 coronavirus sam­ India now. Continuing out­ Staff Reporter the last month alone. The & Johnson (J&J) has applied COVID­19 vaccine and re­ The Delta variant remains ples analysed, about two­ breaks are attributable to Pune number of patients in Pune for permission to conduct cognise the unmet needs of most responsible for the thirds — 30,230 — were Delta, a susceptible popula­ Maharashtra Deputy Chief has been consistently declin­ clinical trials of its single­ children. On August 17, 2021, continuing spread of among the interna­ tion, reduced vaccine effec­ Minister Ajit Pawar on Fri­ ing in the last four weeks. We shot COVID­19 vaccine on we submitted an application infections in India, ac­ tionally classified var­ tiveness in blocking trans­ day said that priority would are also ensuring that oxy­ adolescents aged 12­17 years to the CDSCO to conduct a cording to a weekly iants of concern or mission, and opportunities be accorded to administer­ gen supply remains suffi­ in India. study of the J&J COVID­19 update from the India variants of interest for transmission. Vaccina­ ing the second dose of CO­ cient in every taluka of the The company has moved vaccine in India in adoles­ Sars Cov2 Genome (VoC/VoI). tion continues to be very ef­ VID­19 vaccine to people, af­ city and district keeping in an application to the Central cents aged 12–17 years.” Consortium (INSA­ Of these, nearly fective in reducing severe ter which new recipients mind the possibility of the Drugs Standard Control Or­ COG), a repository of 20,000 were the Del­ disease and death,” said an would receive the first jab. third wave,” he said. ganisation (CDSCO) seeking CONTINUED ON Ī PAGE 8 labs tasked with monitoring ta variant (AY.2) and about accompanying note. “Many are waiting for the Ajit Pawar approval. ZYCOV-D VACCINE FOR THOSE the coronavirus variants. 5,000 its associated lineages second dose. According to Spikes in rural areas A J&J India spokesperson, ABOVE 12 APPROVED Ī PAGE 10 According to an August 16 (AY.1 and AY.3). “The Delta CONTINUED ON Ī PAGE 8 experts, if the second dose is been vaccinated with at least The rural regions of the dis­ given late its effect won’t last one dose till now, while ob­ trict, which have been re­ for long. Hence, we have de­ serving that a steady decline porting case spikes, have the cided to first complete giving in new cases had been re­ highest case positivity rate at Recoveries continue to outpace case surge in Maharashtra the second doses. Once that ported across the district. 3.9%. Mr. Pawar said the go­ is completed, the first doses “Pune city’s case positivi­ vernment was trying to pro­ Staff Reporter With 105 deaths, the cum­ “Of a total of 5,19,21,798 cases, taking its total cases to rose to 3,077. Six fatalities will be administered,” said ty rate is 2.5% and the fatali­ cure the maximum number Pune ulative toll has risen to laboratory samples tested 11,08,547, while three deaths took the toll to 15,941. Mr. Pawar, who is also ty rate is 2.3%, while Pimpri­ of vaccines and private hos­ As many as 6,384 patients 1,35,672, while the case fatal­ thus far, 64,15,935 have re­ pushed the toll to 18,560. As The Brihanmumbai Muni­ Pune’s Guardian Minister. Chinchwad’s case positivity pitals left with excess doses were discharged across Mah­ ity rate stands at 2.11%. The turned positive, with more per district authorities, the cipal Corporation said its Taking a review of the stands at 3.1% and the fatali­ that may expire soon had ex­ arashtra on Friday, while total cases have reached than 2.07 lakh samples being active case tally stands at a vaccination drive would res­ pandemic situation in the ty rate at 1.4%. More than 70 pressed interest in sharing 4,365 new COVID­19 cases 64,15,935, while cumulative tested in the last 24 hours,” little over 8,200. ume at civic and State­run district with senior authori­ lakh people have been vacci­ them with the State govern­ were recorded, causing the recoveries have risen to said State Surveillance Offic­ Mumbai reported 319 new centres in Mumbai from Sa­ ties, Mr. Pawar said 70 lakh nated with at least one dose, ment until fresh vaccine State’s active case tally to 62,21,305, with the recovery er Dr. Pradeep Awate. cases to take its tally to turday as fresh stock of over people in Pune district had with 16 lakh vaccinated in stock could be procured. further decline to 55,454. rate standing at 96.97%. Pune reported 882 new 7,40,608, while active cases 1.6 lakh doses has arrived. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC AHAR begins Remembering martyrdom vaccine drive for hotel staff in Mumbai Staff Reporter Mumbai The Indian Hotel & Restau­ rant Association (AHAR), the apex body of the indus­ try, on Friday kicked off a vaccination drive for hotel employees in Mumbai.