|
 Over a third have died over the past three weeks during a
devastating second wave fuelled by a new virus variant detected in
India, mass political and religious gatherings, and lowering of the
guard by the public, health officials and experts say.
Now farmers have stirred fresh alarm by saying they will hold mass
protests across the country on Wednesday to mark six months of their
campaign against deregulation of agriculture markets.
Farmers are camped out on Delhi's outskirts despite a great risk of
infection to themselves, the joint committee of farmers
organisations said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
urging him to repeal laws to liberalise the farm sector.
"We have no desire to expose the protesting farmers or anyone else
to avoidable health hazards," the letter said.
But challenging laws that would make farmer livelihoods vulnerable
to corporate agri-businesses is itself a life and death matter, it
said.
Twelve opposition parties including Congress issued a statement
saying they stood by the farmers, who are an influential voting bloc
in India's vast countryside.
The fear is that a mass rally on the edges of the capital Delhi
could become a "super-spreader" incident like the Great Pitcher
festival on the banks of the river Ganges last month when thousands
took a holy dip, or the crowded political rallies that were held in
states holding local elections.
[to top of second column] |
 "Please don't act
irresponsibly, this kind of protest is totally
unacceptable when the lives of people are at
stake," Amarinder Singh, chief minister of
Punjab state where the farmer demonstrations
originated, said in a statement.
India's daily tally of new coronavirus infections rose by 222,315,
government data showed on Monday - still the world's highest 24-hour
increase at this time, although it has fallen off highs of over
400,000 earlier this month.
The giant South Asian country has recorded a total of 26.75 million
COVID-19 infections, second only to the United States. Deaths rose
by 4,454 to reach a total of 303,720.
Health experts say the actual number of fatalities could be several
times higher as many are not being reported as COVID-19 deaths.
Scores of bodies have washed up in the Ganges or have been found in
shallow graves by the riverbank.
(Additional reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; editing by
Mark Heinrich)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
