From the Newsroom: Tamil Nadu extends Covid-19 lockdown

In today's episode, Tamil Nadu extended Covid-19 lockdown till August 31, Sushant Singh Rajput's father files a caveat in the Supreme Court, Slain gangster Vikas Dubey's close aide Gopal Saini surrenders before a special court and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa flags off the tunnel boring machine between the proposed Cantonment and Tannery Road metro stations.

Here is the top news of today, Thursday: July 30, 2020:

Tamil Nadu government on Thursday extended the Covid-19 lockdown till August 31 in the state by giving only a few relaxations like allowing delivery of non-essential goods by e-commerce sites. The ban on public transport has been extended till August 31, while availing e-pass for inter-district and inter-state travel will continue to be in force.

In a detailed statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said “complete lockdown” during which only essential services would work will continue to be in force on all Sundays during the month of August across the state.

In Chennai, restaurants will be allowed to open dine-in facilities at 50 per cent of its total capacity from 6 am to 7 pm from August 1, while vegetable shops, grocery outlets and standalone commercial establishments will be allowed to keep their shops open from 6 am to 7 pm.

E-commerce sites have been allowed to begin delivery of non-essential goods from August 1, while the ban on public transport, temples in urban areas and towns, cinema halls, shopping malls, and gyms would continue till August 31.

It also said companies or factories in Chennai that have been allowed to function with 50 per cent of staff can increase their strength to 75 per cent from August 1.

Sushant Singh Rajput's father Thursday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court and sought a hearing before any order is passed on actor Rhea Chakraborty's plea.

The caveat is a type of petition filed to pre-empt any ex-parte order on the plea filed by the opposite side.

Rhea moved the Supreme Court Wednesday seeking transfer of an FIR from Patna to Mumbai and the stay on the investigation by the Bihar police on the allegations of Sushant Singh Rajput''s father that she abetted 'suicide' of his actor son.

Slain gangster Vikas Dubey's close aide Gopal Saini, who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on him, surrendered before a special court in Kanpur Dehat on Wednesday, a government counsel said.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Kanpur Police were on the lookout for Saini since July 3 after eight policemen, including Deputy SP Devendra Kumar Mishra, were ambushed in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur when they were going to arrest Dubey and fell to bullets fired from rooftops, said an official.

The much-delayed work on the underground section of the Namma Metro Phase 2 line began on Thursday with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa flagging off the tunnel boring machine (TBM) between the proposed Cantonment and Tannery Road metro stations.

The Reach 6 line connects Gottigere in the south to Nagavara in the north. The work on the elevated section of the line, the full length of which is 21.25 km, began about two years ago.

However, the 13.9 km tunnel section has been delayed by more than a year as Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was forced to issue tenders again to break contractors' nexus in an overpricing of the bid.

The work was finally awarded last year by dividing the underground section into four packages. Thursday's flag-off was for the 2.88 km tunnel work between Shivaji Nagar and Tannery Road stations. Two TBMs, Urja and Vindhya, will complete the work.

The contractor Larsen and Toubro has provided the TBMs from the China-based company CRCHI. The consignment reached Bengaluru via Chennai in March but work could not begin due to the lockdown. The work on the line, originally planned to connect the Kempegowda International Airport is expected to be completed in 2024.