The National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, in association with the Gujarat Council of Science & Technology (GUJCOST), will be organizing a Citizen’s Science Webinar Series on ‘Science Communication in the Time of COVID-19’ during 10-16 May 2020 everyday between 10-11 a.m. The webinar would be accessible online through internet.

The webinar would address ways of tackling the current pandemic by applying various methods and means, an urgent need of the hour. It will develop awareness and preparedness to deal with and address current health crisis posed by COVID-19 to help overcome the situation.

In order to facilitate necessary actions and preparedness of the society to address the challenge, such strategies to reach out to society with the necessary information by involving various stakeholders, including students, academics, media and volunteers,and so on, would be an advantage.

Communication of associated risks through effective science popularisation for promoting community-level response will help translation and usage of authentic scientific and health information and facilitate crisis management.

In other news 

The evacuation of stranded Indians in Bangladesh started today with the first batch of 168 passengers leaving for Srinagar from the Hazrat Shahjalal Airport at 11 in the morning on Friday. All of the evacuees who left Bangladesh today are medical students from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir studying in Bangladesh.

This is part of the biggest repatriation exercise undertaken by the government of India under its Vande Bharat Mission for people stranded in various countries of the world due to Corona pandemic.

According to a press release issued by the High Commission of India in Bangladesh, the stranded Indians will be evacuated in a phased manner with the first phase starting from 8 May. In the first phase, 7 flights of Air India will carry Indian nationals to Srinagar on May 8, 12, 13. Flight to Delhi will depart on 9 & 11 May, for Mumbai on 10 May and for Chennai on 14 May. Each flight will carry approximately 170 passengers.

Prior to the evacuation the High Commission of India remained in constant touch with students and principals to resolve various issues like food, lodging, finance etc in cooperation with the principals of the medical colleges.

High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das came to the airport to over see the arrangements and see off the. Speaking exclusively to Prasar Bharati Special Correspondent in Dhaka she said that the colleges where these students were studying took good care during the period of lockdown before evacuation. She expressed happiness over the fact that the students will reach their homes after quarantine period well in time for the Eid celebrations.