Afternoon News - 21 April, 2020
04:20 Share

**1. Rs 17.20 crore deposited in accounts of 86,000 stranded persons: Himanta Biswa Sarma - **The State government has deposited Rs 17.20 crore in the bank accounts of 86,000 people from Assam who are stranded outside the State during the ongoing nationwide lockdown. An amount of Rs 2,000 has been given to each of them.

**2. Medical colleges, civil hospitals to reopen for general patients from April 24 in Assam - **In what can be called as a quantum leap in the fight against COVID-19, the State Health and Family Welfare Department has started rapid tests in the corona vulnerable areas including the ‘Spanish Garden’ at RG Baruah Road and Athgaon Kabarstan Masjid here as well as Lahorighat in Morigaon district.

3. Each of the 27 lakh farmers would be given financial aid of Rs 2,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Krishak Yojana to help them during the lockdown period, said State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora here on Monday. In the first phase, 10 lakh farmers will be given Rs 2,000 each.

**4. Coronavirus patient discharged from Telahi Model Hospital at Lakhimpur - **COVID-19 patient of Lakhimpur, Babu Ali was discharged from the hospital on Monday. The 18-year old youth was detected positive for fatal coronavirus on April 4 and then he was admitted in the Lakhimpur new Coronavirus Hospital set up at Telahi Model Hospital.

5. State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ranjit Kumar Das held a video conference with party MLAs and District presidents to take stock of the situation in various constituencies due to the lockdown.

**6. Health Department distributed masks among tea labourers in Dibrugarh - **As a preventive measure to protect tea labourers from new coronavirus, the Health Department has started distribution of masks among them in Dibrugarh district through National Health Mission from April 20.

**7. CM Sarbananda Sonowal requests other CMs for safekeeping of stranded Assamese - **In view of the ongoing nationwide lockdown put in place to fight the Coronavirus pandemic, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today called his counterparts of Jharkhand, Goa and Delhi, where several people of Assam got stranded and requested them to take adequate steps for their “safekeeping”.

8. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation, on Monday, sealed the Samsung Smart Plaza in Rajdhani Masjid for allegedly selling stale groceries and poultry products illegally.

**9. Northeast Frontier Railway strategies to fight against COVID-19 - **In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Indian Railways took the unprecedented decision of suspending all its passenger train operations from March 22. However, goods and parcel train services are being carried out 24/7 to ensure an uninterrupted and seamless supply chain of goods and essential commodities to people at every corner of India as per requirement.

10. Since the lockdown from March 24, a total of 1,906 people have been arrested and 15,551 vehicles have been seized till Monday. Out of the total seized vehicles 14,124 are two-wheelers, 1245 are two wheelers and 157 three wheelers. 13 trucks and 8 trucks have also been seized. A total fine of Rs. 80,88,400 have been realized in the State so far. The Assam Police has been vigilant on the spread of Fake News on social and in this regard 85 cases have been registered with 46 arrests.