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Tag: India

  • Tourists in India forced to write ‘sorry’ 500 times for violating coronavirus lockdown

    Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in an Indian town made famous by the Beatles were forced to repent by writing “I am so sorry” — 500 times, according to reports.

    The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine.

    The travellers — from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria — were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.

    Local police officer Vinod Sharma said they were each made to write “I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry” 500 times.

    More than 700 foreign tourists from the US, Australia, Mexico and Israel staying in the area had flouted the lockdown rules, Sharma said, adding the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson.

    Police said they would direct hotels in the area to allow foreign guests to step out only if accompanied by local helpers.

    Establishments that did not follow the order could face legal action, Sharma said.

    Police have come up with unusual methods to encourage people to stay home to halt the spread of the deadly disease, including wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets.

    But officers in some states were also seen in videos on social media beating drivers on roadsides and making people out and about during lockdown do squats and leapfrogs as punishment.

    Some states have already extended the restrictions.

    On Sunday, India had registered more than 8,300 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths from the disease.

  • Ex-Indian cricketing star picks combined Pak-India XI of all time, names Imran Khan as captain

    Ex-Indian cricketing star picks combined Pak-India XI of all time, names Imran Khan as captain

    Commentator and former Indian cricketing star Aakash Chopra has picked his combined Pakistan-India XI of all-time, naming World Cup-winning former Pakistani skipper and now prime minister (PM), Imran Khan, as the captain.

    “I wanted to do a fun exercise today by selecting the combined all-time Test XI of Pakistan and India, although it was a very difficult task,” Chopra said in a video uploaded to Facebook. “One thing that we will all agree, before moving on, that the team will give more preference to Indian batsmen and Pakistani bowlers.”

    Chopra picked former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as the openers while selecting Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at the third and fourth batting spots, respectively.

    “There is no doubt that Sunil Gavaskar will be one of the openers as his presence is absolutely mandatory,” he said. “I would partner him with Virender Sehwag because he scored two triple centuries in Test cricket which is quite an achievement,” Chopra said, adding that after including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, he would go for Inzamamul Haq and Javed Miandad for the fifth and sixth slots.

    “Although they are both playing out of position, but deserve a place in the XI,” he said regarding the Pakistani batting legends.

    “For the wicketkeeper spot I will pick MS Dhoni. Although we can consider Dravid as well but I don’t want to make a batsman playing at one-down to keep the wickets,” he added.

    Two World Cup-winning skippers come next as Kapil Dev and Imran Khan give this team a whole new dimension. They could bat, they could bowl and they could lead the team with absolute authority.

    “At number eight and nine, I will pick Kapil Dev and Imran Khan. Imran will also be the captain of my side,” the former Indian cricketer said.

    Fast-bowler Wasim Akram finds a place in the side and so does Anil Kumble. Chopra also stated leaving out Waqar Younis was a tough call and he was made the 12th man of the team.

    “It is 100 per cent certain that Wasim Akram will be part of this lineup and he slots in at number 10. With over 600 wickets, I will include leg-spinner Anil Kumble as the final player in my team. It is hard to keep Waqar Younis out of this XI but I will definitely include him as my 12th man,” he said.

  • VIDEO: Banker uses steam iron to disinfect cheque

    A bank employee in India has found a unique way to disinfect cheques using a hot iron.

    A viral video of the cashier shows him holding cheques with a pair of tongs and then ironing them in a desperate attempt to disinfect them. Many people lauded him for his innovation.

    The video was shared on Twitter by Indian business conglomerate Anand Mahindra along with a caption: ‘I have no idea if the cashier’s technique is effective but you have to give him credit for his creativity’!

    According to a report by NDTV, the banker in the video is an employee of the Bank of Baroda whose creative method of disinfecting the cheques has won the internet, but it is not clear whether the measure is effective.

  • Jeremy McLellan riles up India with his latest Abhinandan tweet

    Jeremy McLellan riles up India with his latest Abhinandan tweet

    American comedian Jeremy McLallen who is also famous for his funny tweets has managed to rile up Indian social media users after posting an edited picture of himself with Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.

    In the image posted on Twitter by Jeremy, the Indian pilot can be seen drinking the famous cup of tea given to him during his 60-hour capture in Pakistan in February last year, with the wreckage of downed Indian Air Force (IAF) Mig-21 fighter jet in the background.

    The tweet said, “Stay Home, Stay Safe”.

    The post sparked fury among Indian social media users but the comedian continued with his trolling. “Why are Indians messaging me saying he’s a hero. I know he’s a hero that’s why I gave him tea and took a picture with him,” he tweeted later.

    He then shared a screenshot of a message by an Indian Twitter user named Amit Kumar who asked McLellan if he (Jeremy) was a terrorist.

    McLellan was not done there. He proceeded to post another edited photo of himself with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  • Coronavirus: Improved air quality leads to breathtaking view of Kashmir from Sialkot

    With reduced industrial pollution and traffic due to coronavirus resulting in improved air quality across the globe, breathtaking views of Kashmiri peaks from Punjab’s north-eastern city of Sialkot — one of Pakistan’s most industrialised regions — have started doing rounds over social media.

    In the wake of COVID-19, lockdowns have had a dramatic impact on air pollution around the world. While lockdowns have emerged as a temporary but effective solution to the global pandemic, they also appear to be dealing with another pressing problem faced by citizens — suffocating pollution. As millions of humans stay home around the world, pollution is temporarily alleviating.

    While the mountains of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) could earlier only be seen from Sialkot after heavy rains — when the weather was super clean –, they can now be seen from the city as improved air quality leads to better visibility and clearer skies.

    Earlier, images of clear skies over China and California, and fish swimming in Venice’s canals also made their way to social media. While they are a glimpse of what it might look like if we take better care of the earth, none of it is likely to last.

    https://twitter.com/ikaveri/status/1239660248207589383

    Much of this temporary environmental reprieve will diminish once the economy picks back up again. And of course, no one should want to curb pollution and tackle climate change via a deadly global pandemic, given the grave health and economic impacts the crisis is creating.

  • Indian court allows man to go out to buy food for cats amid strict lockdown

    The Kerala High Court approved permission to a petitioner on Monday to travel to get “Meo-Persian biscuits” for three of his cats amid the strict coronavirus lockdown in India.

    N Prakash who is an  owner of three cats, had moved the court after he was denied to travel by police to get food for his pets.

    According to the directives by the Kerala government, residents have to get a travel permit based on an affidavit for leaving their houses, even if  they have to go to buy essential food items.

    Prakash, stated in his petition, that “as a pure vegetarian, he could not cook non-vegetarian food in his house”. He said that he had applied for the travel pass online, but his application was rejected.

    Upon hearing the appeal, the judge said that the petitioner could go to buy cat food on the basis of a self declaration, along with a court order.

    He added that the court will pass a general order in this regard to cover situations like this.

  • Man attempts to sell India’s ‘Statue of Unity’ on OLX to raise funds to fight coronavirus

    Man attempts to sell India’s ‘Statue of Unity’ on OLX to raise funds to fight coronavirus

    A case was filed against an unidentified person in Gujarat, India for putting up an online advertisement to sell the Statue of Unity for ₹30,000 crores to meet the government’s expenses for hospitals and medical infrastructure to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

    According to details, the world’s largest statue, which is located in Kevadia Colony of Gujarat, was put up for sale in an OLX ad.

    “Emergency! Selling Statue of Unity because of urgent money required for the hospitals and healthcare equipment,” read the ad.

    The Statue of Unity authorities took an action after a local newspaper published a report about the ad, filing a complaint against the unknown individual.

    “An unknown person, with a malafide intention to defame the government had put up the Statue of Unity for sale on OLX, despite not being authorized to do so,” a release signed by Nilesh Dubey, Assistant Commissioner, Statue of Unity stated.

    The release also criticized OLX for not verifying the ad before posting it on the website. Police said they were trying to locate the source of the listing on OLX to determine who was behind the ad and bring him/her to book.

    The memorial to Sardar Patel, at 182 metres, is the world’s tallest such structure, ever since it was inaugurated in October 2018. It has been a major tourist attraction in India until it was closed for the public on March 17 as a precautionary measure to control the spread of coronavirus.

  • Two men who lied to wives about going to Bangkok get quarantined by police

    Two men who lied to wives about going to Bangkok get quarantined by police

    We’ve all seen enough Bollywood and Hollywood movies where men lie to their girlfriends or wives about going on a business trip when in fact they are cheating on them with someone else. Well, something similar happened in India recently.

    According to a Twitter user, Abhijit Basak, whose Twitter bio identifies him as the State IT Cell Convenor of BJYM, West Bengal (India), two men got in for trouble when police paid them a visit.

    This is what the tweet read, ‘They told their wives that they were visiting Bangaluru for business and actually visited Bangkok. However, after returning home, Police visited their homes with their travel records and pasted on the gate & explaining to their wives why their husbands need to be quarantined’.

    Things came crumbling down for two men in India when the truth about their vacation was revealed to their wives by the police.

    According to a report in the Indian media, the incident allegedly took place in Ambala. After tracking down their travel history, the police pasted posters that advised everyone to stay away from the member: as they are under quarantine for 14 days. However, twice the posters were torn by the involved party. When the police pasted them for the third time, they were misbehaved with.

    “Posters were placed two or three times outside the house. But they tore. When the team reached for the third time, then misbehaved. Police was given a written complaint, now the police will take action,” the report quoted Dr. Kuldeep Kumar, CMO, Ambala as saying.

    Well, we can certainly say that these men didn’t think they would get busted and how!

    On Twitter, however, people are concerned about the well being of the two and not because of coronavirus.

    https://twitter.com/drmanishgoutam/status/1244570055557316608?s=20

  • VIDEOS: Pakistanis, Indians start robbing banks of hand sanitisers

    From wearing masks to cleaning hands with soap and water or sanitiser every hour, people are trying every possible way to protect themselves from falling sick amid the coronavirus outbreak.

    With this leading to a shortage of sanitisers not just in Pakistan but also across the globe, videos showing rather desperate attempts by people to stay healthy in time of COVID-19, have started doing rounds over the internet.

    One such video was recently shared by journalist Naila Inayat, who wrote, “When you think no one is watching you.”

    The 32-second clip is a CCTV footage from March 27 of an ATM. The video shows a man taking out money from the machine. As soon as he puts the money in his pocket, he spots the bottle of hand sanitiser. Instead of pumping it in his hands, he puts the entire bottle inside his jacket and walks out of the vestibule.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    It, however, wasn’t the only video of its sort.

    Here’s another video shared by a user on Facebook last week.

    Meanwhile, similar videos have gone viral from across the border too.

    Have something to add to this story? Let The Current know in the comments.

  • Seven people quarantine themselves on a tree in India

    Seven people quarantine themselves on a tree in India

    Seven migrant workers, who came back home to West Bengal’s Purulia district from Chennai amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, perched on a banyan tree to remain in quarantine in the absence of separate room for self-isolation in their small huts, Gulf News reported.

    After several days in their ‘temporary home’, the workers were on Saturday ordered to come down by the local administration.

    The workers, all residents of Bangidiha village of Purulia district, said as they live in one-room mud huts with their families, there is no way they can keep themselves in isolation.

    However, none of them have displayed symptoms linked to COVID-19, nor have they undergone any test for the disease.

    “At present we don’t have any health issues. But in case we are detected positive for the disease at a later date, then at least none of the villagers will be infected because of us,” said one of the workers Bijay Singh Laya.

    The workers reached Kharagpur junction station on Sunday last from Chennai where they underwent thermal screening and tests but the doctors did not find any symptom of the disease. “However, they asked us to stay in quarantine for 14 days as a safety measure”.

    “But we don’t have any separate personal room in our home. So, we decided to live on the branches of the banyan tree just outside our village,” he said.

    The seven labourers tied their beds to the branches of the tree, and used a mosquito net to prevent themselves from getting bitten.

    Their family members brought them a daily ration of rice, pulses, and vegetables, along with other cooking implements and left after keeping those under the tree, while strictly maintaining the norms of social distancing.

    “We get down from the tree, cook, and then go up again,” said one of the workers.

    Villagers on their part kept night vigil by turn to ensure the tree-dwellers are not devoured by wild animals from the nearby forest or bitten by venomous snakes.

    However, when the matter came to the attention of the local administration they asked the workers to return to their village.