Will polls in 5 states get postponed amid Covid-19? Decision today
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will hold a meeting with senior officials of the Union ministry of health and family welfare, including Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, on Monday to discuss the current Covid-19 situation ahead of the assembly polls in five states next year, reports said.
Assembly elections are due in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab in 2022.
“The Election Commission of India will convene a meeting on December 27 at 11am with senior officials of the ministry of health and family welfare, including secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The meeting will discuss the prevailing Covid-19 situation for upcoming assembly elections in five states,” news agency quoted a person familiar with the development as saying.
The meeting will come days after the Allahabad High Court requested the Election Commission to immediately postpone the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh for one to two months amid rising cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Last Thursday, the high court also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ECI to immediately ban rallies and public meetings of political parties in the state.
On December 23, Bhushan directed the poll-bound states to “exponentially ramp up vaccination”, especially in the “low coverage districts” to protect the vulnerable population.
The directions came just hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with officials amid the rising cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Union health ministry has also sent multidisciplinary teams to Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The teams will assess the situation, suggest remedial actions and submit a report every evening by 7pm.
They will specifically look at contact tracing, including surveillance, containment operations; Covid-19 testing, including sending of adequate samples from clusters to INSACOG network for genome sequencing; Covid appropriate behaviour and its enforcement; availability of hospital beds, ventilators and medical oxygen; and vaccination progress.
Meanwhile, data compiled across states showed the number of infections of the Omicron variant detected across India on Sunday crossed the 500-mark, even as more than 150 of these cases have already recovered.
As many as 77 new cases of the heavily mutated Omicron variant were reported on Sunday and the number of states and Union territories that have reported these infections has now touched 19.
Next Story :
-
Hyderabad Task Force Arrested Eight People Selling Adulterated Ginger Garlic Paste
![Hyderabad Task Force Arrested Eight People Selling Adulterated Ginger Garlic Paste]()
The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force (North) team caught eight persons who were allegedly preparing adulterated ginger garlic paste and selling it in the market. The sleuths seized huge quantities of garlic, ginger, boxes, garlic ginger paste and other articles from them.
-
Bahubali Main Gate At Telangana Secretariat Removed
![Bahubali Main Gate At Telangana Secretariat Removed]()
The Bahubali main gate (main entrance) at the Secretariat has been removed, leaving many people surprised. The main entrance passage at the Secretariat was blocked with blue tin sheets on Sunday.
-
Onion Prices Surge To Rs. 80 Per Kg In Hyderabad
![Onion Prices Surge To Rs. 80 Per Kg In Hyderabad]()
Onions are back to bring tears to the eyes of consumers with their prices. The prices of onion have again hit the roof, with a kilogram of the edible bulb sold at Rs. 80 in retail markets across the city. The prices which until a week ago hovered between Rs. 30 and Rs. 40 a…
-
Mid Manair Project Oustees To Get 4,696 Houses Under Indiramma Housing Scheme
![Mid Manair Project Oustees To Get 4,696 Houses Under Indiramma Housing Scheme]()
The Telangana government has allotted 4,696 houses to the Project Displaced Families (PDF) under the Mid Manair Reservoir with Rs. 5 lakh under the Indiramma Indlu scheme.
-
Revanth Reddy Slams BJP Leaders Over Inaction
![Revanth Reddy Slams BJP Leaders Over Inaction]()
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy criticized Union Minister Kishan Reddy for his silence on crucial issues, particularly the Sabarmati Riverfront cleaning project and the Musi River project in the state. Revanth accused Kishan Reddy and the BJP of hypocrisy, alleging that they were quick to praise Gujarat’s model but reluctant to support similar initiatives in Telangana.
Now you can get latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe. Click to follow Indtoday Facebook page and Twitter and on Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates
