Even as senior congress leaders in Nagpur are demanding transfer of NMC Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe for his way of handling COVID-19 crisis in the city, an online petition ? People’s Confidence Motion ? opposing this demand has garnered more than 20,000 votes in just two days.

The petition, which is started by an anonymous person, is addressed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. It mentions Mundhes extraordinary actions to fight the COVID-19 crisis in Nagpur. The petition claims that ?politicians with vested interests are planning to introduce a formal no-confidence motion against an honest and hard-working officer like Mundhe.

Also read: Nagpur: HC grants bail to Tablighi Jamaatis arrested by Gadchiroli police during lockdown

Nation Next had reported yesterday as to how Congress MLA Vikas Thakre and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole are demanding Mundhes transfer. Thakre had gone further to say that Mundhe should be punished.

Coronavirus outbreak has left many in the country unemployed and transgenders and people affected by HIV are some of the worst hit people. It is with an intention to help these people that Nagpur NGO Sarathi Trust has so far distributed over 250 ration kits among these people and is trying to secure more donations for the same.

Speaking to Nation Next, Anand Chandrani, Founder, Sarathi Trust, said, Last month, I came across videos of transgender community supplying ration kits to those in need and I thought that they did not need help. But then I started getting calls from some people from transgender community requesting for help since they had exhausted their resources. Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA) helped us out by donating 104 ration kits. Thereafter, we got in touch with National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), who helped us with 109 kits.

Few days back, I got a call from one of my colleagues, who got us in contact with the police department, which was willing to provide 50 kits to those in need. Since, we already had helped transgender community twice, we thought of helping HIV affected people in Nagpur. Next week, we are planning to distribute 100 more ration kits with the help of Humsafar Trust in Mumbai. We have also decided to distribute medical kits, which will include hand sanitizer, handwash, mask, multivitamin tablets, homeopathy tablets, etc., Chandrani added. Chandrani further urged people to come forward to help the LGBT community and HIV affected people in Nagpur.

Speaking about the donation to Sarathi Trust, VTAs Secretary and President of Nagpur Residential Hotels Association, Tejinder Singh Renu told Nation Next: We came to know from some friends in the media that help was reaching to many needy people in the city but the transgender community still needed help. We got in touch with Chandrani, who sent us a list of around 109 names and numbers of people, who required ration kits. We arranged the required ration kits and asked the NGO to collect it from the kirana stores. The kits were distributed in a very responsible manner. Sarathi trust even shared with us the list of people who received the kits.

A six-seater private aircraft has been hired for Rs 9.06 lakh to fly six pets from Delhi to Mumbai in mid-June. The jet has been booked for the pets who were left stranded in the capital because of the travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. The plan has been set in motion by 25-year-old entrepreneur and cyber security researcher Deepika Singh.

As per Singh, she got the idea about flying the pets when she was arranging a jet to fly her relatives from Delhi to Mumbai. Singh told The Print: Some people wanted to travel with their pets but when the others refused, I decided to arrange for another jet.

Singh then approached Accretion Aviation (aggregator for private jets, helicopters and yachts) for a six-seater plane. The jet ride for pets costs Rs 9.06 lakh, with each seat costing 1.60 lakh. As per reports, so far seats have the booked two Shih Tzus, one Golden Retriever and one Lady Pheasant bird. Two more pet passengers are required for the plane ride to be viable.

58-year-old Harvinder Kaur, hailing from Chembur in Mumbai, is one of the people who have booked seats on the jet to fly her dogs with the help of the jet. Her two 14-month-old Shih Tzus named Finishia and Michelle started living with her relatives in Delhi after she had to leave the country capital due to coronavirus outbreak. I do not care about the money. They are like my children. I miss them terribly, Kaur told The Daily.