JAIPUR: As many as 47 inmates of the Jaipur district jail have tested coronavirus positive. With this the total number of infected people in Rajasthan has reached 4,838.
The jail superintendent is also infected. They all have been put under a Covid Care Centre set up on the campus, DGP Jails NRK Reddy said.
Ninety-nine per cent of them are asymptomatic but they were tested positive in the last fortnight because of one inmate of Jamawramgarh area who had contracted the virus after going through 21 days of quarantine in jail when brought on April 10, the DGP said.
Despite social distancing and quarantine, the positive cases spiked to 48, and the test reports of those who got bail are awaited, he said.
Meanwhile, Dungapur reported 21 Covid cases, followed by Udaipur nine, Sirohi two, Kota, Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur and Ajmer one each, a medical bulletin said here.
There is no fresh fatality due to Covid and the death toll stood at 125 since Thursday night.
Of 4,838 patients, 2,772 have recovered and of them 2,467 discharged. As many as 1,941 active patients are there in the state-run hospitals.
Meanwhile, 42 BSF jawans have recovered and were discharged from Jodhpur’s AIIMS on Friday.
Jaipur has recorded maximum casualties at 67, followed by Jodhpur 17, Kota 10, Ajmer five, Nagaur and Pali three each, Alwar, Karauli, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Sikar, Chittorgarh two each , and Jalore, Churu, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Sawaimadhopur and Tonk one each.
Reviewing the hardship of schooling of BPL families’ children, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has raised the income cap for admission to private schools under the 25 per cent quota for poor from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.
Bringing an amendment under the Right to Education Act (RTE), the CM said this would benefit lakhs of families who would become eligible with the increase in the income cap.
In a quiet move by the Finance Department, the cess on stamp duty has been hiked from 10 per cent to 20 per cent for fund to fight calamities.
The increase in cess will also be used for fighting natural or manmade calamities like drought, flood, epidemic and public health exigencies. With this hike, the surcharge on stamp duty would touch up to 30 per cent, including the Swachch and cow cess of 10 perc eent. When contacted, no official of the Finance Department was available for comment on the sudden tax imposition.
Loan to farmers
To check on distress sale of their produce, the state government has announced loans for farmers at 3 per cent against their produce, an official statement said on Friday night. Farmers will get loans at 3 per cent interest with the loan amount capped at Rs 1.5 lakh for small and marginal farmers, and Rs 3 lakh for big farmers.