- Title: Elephants take to streets, pollution levels drop in India during lockdown
- Date: 5th April 2020
- Summary: WAYANAD, KERALA, INDIA (APRIL 5, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) ELEPHANTS STUCK IN POND EXCAVATOR DIGGING, RESCUERS STANDING NEXT TO POND ELEPHANTS IN POND ELEPHANT WALKING OUT OF POND / SECOND ELEPHANT TRYING TO GET OUT OF POND ELEPHANT TRYING TO GET OUT OF POND ELEPHANT WALKING OUT OF POND KANPUR, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (APRIL 4, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) WATER IN GANGES RIVER WITH FACTORIES AND STRUCTURES SEEN ALONG RIVERBANK IN DISTANCE MAN ROWING BOAT IN RIVER MAN DRINKING WATER FROM RIVER VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (APRIL 4, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF RIVER FLOWING/ RUBBISH SEEN IN WATER BOATS ANCHORED IN INDIA'S HOLY GANGES RIVER BOATS ANCHORED / BUILDINGS ON RIVERBANK BOAT REFLECTED ON WATER SURFACE (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) PROFESSOR, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY, P.K. MISHRA, SAYING: "You will see improvement in almost all parameters (of water quality). There are some where improvement is not seen. But we have generally observed that there is an improvement of about 30 to 50 percent in parameters so this is a big improvement in 15 days." BOATS ANCHORED ALONG BANKS OF THE RIVER RIVER WATER SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON STEPS ALONG RIVERBANK BUILDINGS REFLECTED IN WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) VARANASI RESIDENT, SOMNA VISHWAKARMA, SAYING: "The biggest reason (for improvement of water quality of Ganges River) is that all the factories are closed. The meat and fish that used to be produced by people (has stopped), so the dirty water that used to flow has become pollution-free. People are not bathing in the riverbanks of the Ganges or washing clothes. So, if this is still the case in 10 days, and continues for even more days, then the Ganges could become pure and clean like before." JHAJJAR, HARYANA, INDIA (APRIL 5, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) INDIAN HEALTH MINISTER, DR. HARSH VARDHAN (WEARING PINK SHIRT) ARRIVING AT ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (AIIMS) ON JHAJJAR CAMPUS VARDHAN LOOKING AT PAPER SIGNS ON WALL WHILE INTERACTING WITH MEDICAL STAFF SAFETY HEADWEAR ON TABLE VARDHAN LISTENING TO MEDICAL STAFF BEDS FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS IN ISOLATION WARD MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MEDICAL STAFF BRIEFING VARDHAN ABOUT PROCEDURES VARDHAN ENCOURAGING AND THANKING MEDICAL STAFF WEARING SAFETY GEAR NEW DELHI, INDIA (APRIL 4, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF BIRDS SITTING ON TREE BIRDS BY WATER ON YAMUNA RIVERBANK SUN SETTING BEHIND TREES SUNSET REFLECTED ON YAMUNA RIVER
- Embargoed: 19th April 2020 12:12
- Keywords: COVID-19 DR. HARSH VARDHAN Elephants INDIA'S HEALTH MINISTER India Pollution coronavirus
- Location: KODAGU, KARNATAKA / WAYANAD, KERALA / VARANASI AND KANPUR, UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI / JHAJJAR, HARYANA, INDIA
- City: KODAGU, KARNATAKA / WAYANAD, KERALA / VARANASI AND KANPUR, UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI / JHAJJAR, HARYANA, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA002C87QVD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A herd of elephants were seen taking a stroll in India's southern Kodagu district on Saturday (April 4) as people stayed off roads and remained indoors during a 21-day coronavirus lockdown.
Two wild elephants that had fallen into a pond in southern Wayanad district were also rescued by forest officials with the help of an excavator on Sunday (April 5).
The lockdown imposed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is set to last until April 15, has also seen the water quality of the holy Ganges River improve as the inflow of waste and pollutants fell significantly.
The Ganges River, which is one India's largest, stretching from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is a destination for most of the untreated wastewater produced by hundreds of factories.
Indian Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Sunday visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jhajjar, an institute dedicated to COVID-19 where over 150 patients are receiving care.
India has 3,030 active cases of COVID-19 and the country has reported 77 deaths.
The numbers are small compared with the United States, Italy and China, but health officials say India is weeks away from a major surge in cases that could overwhelm its weak public health system.
(Production: Hanna Rantala, Marissa Davison) - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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