All India NR Congress founder N Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry for the fourth time. He will head a coalition government, comprising the BJP. Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rangasamy at a function held on the lawns of the Raj Nivas. Immediately after the swearing-in, Rangasamy reached the Legislative Assembly and assumed charge as Chief Minister. The swearing-in was attended by a limited number of people, newly elected legislators belonging to the AINRC, the BJP, the DMK, the Congress, Independents and leaders of the AIADMK. The AINRC, which contested as part of the NDA along with the BJP and AIADMK, secured 10 seats. The BJP won 6 seats while the AIADMK drew a blank in the 30-member Assembly.
11 die in Andhra hospital for want of oxygen
Eleven Covid patients who were in the ICU died at a government hospital in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati on Monday after the supply of medical oxygen was disrupted. The deaths have been reported at a time when India is fighting a deadly second Covid wave and shortage of medical oxygen has emerged as a key challenge. Even as families of patients alleged that the oxygen supply was disrupted for about 25-45 minutes, Chittoor District Collector said "there was a five-minute lag in reloading the oxygen cylinder that caused the pressure to drop", which led to the deaths. The delay in arrival of oxygen tanker had triggered the crisis, he further said. The hospital has a capacity of over 1,100 beds; there are over 100 patients in the ICU, and 400 on oxygen beds.
