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Small town reporters reveal Covid-19 carnage in India

Meanwhile, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, the Divya Bhaskar newspaper found that 123,000 death certificates were issued between March 1 and May 10 – about 65,000 more than the same period last year though the state reported 4,218 Covid-19 deaths.

The Gujarat Samachar reported that an average of 200 bodies are being cremated daily using 72 tonnes of wood in Vadodara, compared with an average 60 corpses using 21.6 tonnes of wood before the pandemic.

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Truckers demand relief measures as losses mount to Rs 42,000 cr due to lockdowns

He said that the per day industry’s losses have gone up to Rs 1,600 crore in May from Rs 400 crore in the beginning of April as more states announced lockdown and lockdown-like restriction in the subsequent period amid the massive spike in Covid-19 infection cases in the country. ”In the first 15 days of April, the industry was facing Rs 400 crore per day, which rose to Rs 800 crore per day by April 30.

They have now doubled to Rs 1,600 crore per day till May 15. So, as of May 15, the industry’s cumulative losses were a whopping Rs 42,000 crore,” said Singh. He said that the rising diesel prices, besides the impact of the lockdown was adding to the woes of the industry.

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India’s Covid crisis hits work at ports as risk to global trade grows

India has 21.9 million tons of cargoes scheduled to arrive this month but with labor shortages and force majeure at some ports, many of the vessels could see discharge delays, according to IHS Markit associate director Pranay Shukla. That may have a knock-on effect on scheduled loadings at the exporting countries.
The situation may echo global trade disruptions seen last year after virus restrictions slowed shipments into China. While India accounts for only fraction of the global trade that China does, any delays in offloading vessels and releasing them to their next destination could create supply chain bottlenecks.

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UK to speed up vaccinations, warns Indian variant may delay full reopening

Britain put India on a travel “red list” in April, meaning all arrivals from India – now suffering the world’s worst wave of COVID-19 – would have to pay to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

Media reports at the time suggested that, because the quarantine requirement was announced four days in advance, many people had sought to fly beforehand. Britain has a large South Asian community.

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