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Indian Express
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
After Bhopal '90-degree' bridge goes viral, Congress drops pic of Andhra's ‘Temple Run' highway
The Congress Kerala on X shared a Google Maps image of a bridge in Andhra Pradesh Monday, showing its peculiar design featuring three sharp turns squeezed into a single stretch. This post followed the viral discussion about a controversial railway overbridge with a 90-degree curve in Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal. In a playful jab at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-BJP ruling alliance, the Congress Kerala post read: 'Bhopal made a 90° flyover. Andhra: 'Hold my chai.'' According to the comments section, the bridge is located on State Highway 57 (SH 57) near a place called Vasudevapuram. Bhopal made a 90° flyover. Andhra: 'Hold my chai' — Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) June 16, 2025 The post quickly gained traction, racking up over seven lakh views and sparking plenty of amused reactions. One user wrote, 'Temple Run — Andhra version.' Another joked, 'I think these were designed by Covid-time engineers.' A third chimed in, 'I've seen worse ones — imagine this underground with waterlogging during rains.' Meanwhile, a curious user asked, 'Why can't it be connected to the other side in a curved manner? Any technical reason?' Also Read | Couple fined Rs 53,000 in Noida after 'objectionable' bike ride video goes viral; netizens call them 'Besharam' The Congress's post has come even as the internet was still busy roasting Bhopal's railway overbridge for its bizarre 90-degree curve. A newly built railway overbridge near Aishbagh Stadium in Bhopal stirred controversy just as it neared completion — not over delays or budget issues, but over what many believed was a major design flaw. The sharp, almost 90-degree turn right after the ascent raised serious safety concerns. While Congress criticised the design online, Madhya Pradesh PWD Minister Rakesh Singh dismissed their claims as politically driven but assured a review. The Rs 18-crore bridge was meant to ease traffic for nearly three lakh daily commuters in the area.


Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
World must now build on the pandemic treaty
The world now has its first pandemic treaty that will hopefully orient its preparedness and response to avoid a repeat of the suffering endured during the Covid-19 pandemic. Member-States of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the landmark agreement at the ongoing World Health Assembly at Geneva. The treaty's birth has certainly not been smooth. Mooted in 2021, the initial deadline of 2024 expired amid a sea of distrust between the global South and North and swirling misinformation — such as the WHO assuming sweeping powers over sovereign member-States on ordering vaccine mandates, lockdowns, etc, forcing the global health body to issue a denial. Even now, crucial pandemic management aspects will likely have to wait for an annexure expected in a year. Key among these is pathogen access and benefit sharing (Pabs) or easier access to vaccines, life-saving treatments, and other such resources for a member-State in exchange for data on any novel pathogen surfacing within its jurisdiction. If Covid-time talks are a precedent, this will be one of the toughest hurdles. Developed nations — where the bulk of research on the relevant areas happens — had a tightfisted response to the developing and least developed world's call for sharing from their stock. On calls to ease intellectual property rights held on pandemic essentials, harnessing the TRIPS mechanism, they were unyielding. Another factor that will have a significant impact on the treaty's eventual effectiveness is the absence of the US, at WHO and within the list of likely signatories. Given it is a powerhouse of pathology and medicine research, its rejection of the treaty has serious implications for technology-sharing and surveillance, among others, hindering pandemic management. And its refusal to fund WHO — it was the body's largest historical funder — will mean the watchdog is left with very little teeth unless China or Europe fills the vacuum. The pandemic treaty is certainly a foundation, but if an edifice of global health cooperation can be raised remains to be seen.