-The Hindu 68% of villages still safe, says Additional Chief Secretary, Health Lucknow: Thirty-two percent of villages in Uttar Pradesh have reported positive cases of COVID-19, a senior State official said on Wednesday. So far, 28,742 villages in the State reported positive cases during a testing drive in 89,512 villages, said Amit Mohan Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Health. There was no COVID-19 infection in 68% of these villages, said the official, implying that cases...

-CaravanMagazine.in As the second wave of COVID-19 spreads to Rural Areas with minimal healthcare, villages across the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh have been conducting a 21-day puja to ward off the virus. The puja involves worshipping and invoking the protection of local patron saints, collectively referred to as Dih Baba, and pacifying goddesses associated with epidemics, such as Sheetala Mata. “Hospitals are in terrible condition and there are no medicines,...

-The Hindu States, especially in the north, are facing the brunt of the second wave, made worse by their poor health infrastructure When the first wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the country, the central government imposed the strictest lockdown for almost two months. For most of the migrants stuck in urban areas without incomes, jobs and food to survive, the only escape was to walk back to the Rural Areas...

-TheWire.in For millions of rural families who still lack access to good internet connectivity or are computer illiterate, the programme may end up increasing out-of-pocket expenses. As part of the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), the central government intends to create an Aadhaar-like unique identification for every land parcel in the country. The initiative named Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) will assign a geo-referenced 14-digit alphanumeric unique ID for...

-The Hindu Only about 15% have been immunised outside urban areas, despite reporting over 60% of the cases Even as the second COVID-19 wave has showed signs of easing, the spread of cases into Rural Areas and the relatively lower vaccination numbers in rural India points to a burgeoning rural crisis. During the first wave (which peaked in September 2020), the COVID-19 cases started piling up in the urban areas initially and...