Brazil suspends Bharat Biotech's Covaxin order over graft allegations
Hyderabad, June 30: The Brazilian government, which agreed to purchase 20 million doses of Bharat Biotechs COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, on Wednesday announced suspension of the contract following allegations of irregularities in the deal.
"By recommendation of @CGUonline, we decided to temporarily suspend the Covaxin contract.
According to CGU's preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract, but, due to compliance, the @minsaude opted to suspend the contract for further analysis," Brazil Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tweeted.
The Covaxin contract to Brazil landed in controversy after the South American countrys Attorney General reportedly launched a probe into the deal.
"It is noteworthy that the @govbr did not pay ANY CENT for the Covaxin vaccine.
The measure does not compromise the pace of the vaccination campaign against #Covid19 in Brazil, since there is no approval from Anvisa for emergency or definitive use of the immunizing agent," Queiroga said in another tweet.
#URGENTE??|
— Marcelo Queiroga (@mqueiroga2) June 29, 2021
Por recomendação da @CGUonline, decidimos suspender temporariamente o contrato da Covaxin. Pela análise preliminar da CGU, não há irregularidades no contrato, mas, por compliance, o @minsaude optou por suspender o contrato para uma análise mais aprofundada.
⚠️ Vale ressaltar que o @govbr não pagou NENHUM CENTAVO pela vacina Covaxin. A medida não compromete o ritmo da campanha de vacinação contra a #Covid19 no Brasil, já que não há aprovação da Anvisa para uso emergencial nem definitivo do imunizante.
— Marcelo Queiroga (@mqueiroga2) June 29, 2021
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
