Amid a massive row, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi today reversed its decision to shut non-critical services till 2.30 pm tomorrow for the grand consecration event at Ayodhya Ram Temple.

This comes a day after the premier healthcare facility announced a half-day break for staff in non-critical services. While the official note did not specifically mention if Out Patient Department (OPD) services would be available, it was feared that outdoor patients would not be able to consult specialists during the break.

A memorandum issued by Rajesh Kumar, AIIMS-Delhi’s administrative officer, yesterday had referred to the central government’s announcement of a half-day for government employees tomorrow. “It is notified for information of all the employees that the Institute will remain half day closed till 14.30 hrs on 22.01.2024,” the memorandum said. It, however, added that “all critical clinical services” shall remain functional.

The notification sparked a huge outcry, with many pointing out that patients wait for weeks, and sometimes, months to get an appointment at the premier healthcare facility. To shut OPD services suddenly would severely inconvenience them, especially those who had travelled from outside Delhi in the hope of good, affordable healthcare at the state-run facility.

This morning, AIIMS-Delhi issued a fresh notification, stating that the OPD “shall remain open to attend to patients with appointment in order to prevent any inconvenience to them and to facilitate patient care”.

Safdarjung Hospital, another key healthcare facility in the national capital, has said OPD registration will take place between 8 am and 10 am and all registered patients will be attended to. The hospital will run pharmacy services till noon but elective surgeries won’t take place.

Earlier, Opposition leaders had strongly slammed the AIIMS announcement of a half-day break for the Ayodhya event. Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi had hit out at the move with a sarcastic post on X. “Hello humans, Please don’t go into a medical emergency on 22nd, and if you do schedule it for post 2pm since AIIMS Delhi is taking time off to welcome Maryada Purushottam Ram,” she had posted.

“PS: However, wonder if Lord Ram would agree that health services are disrupted to welcome him. Hey Ram, Hey Ram!,” she added.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, too, criticised the move yesterday. “India’s largest Government Hospital AIIMS Delhi will remain closed till 2:30 pm on Monday. There are literally people sleeping outside in the cold at AIIMS gates waiting for an appointment. The poor and dying can wait because priority is given to Modi’s desperation for cameras and PR,” Mr Gokhale posted on X.

The centre has announced a half-day leave for government employees tomorrow so that they can watch live telecast of the pran pratishta ceremony in Ayodhya, last-minute preparations for which are underway.

Several states have announced half or full day leave for government offices and educational institutions tomorrow.

A plane that crashed in Afghanistan this morning is not an Indian aircraft, the government said today after Afghan local media reported the passenger plane was believed to be flying from Delhi to Moscow.

“The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian scheduled aircraft nor a non-scheduled (NSOP)/charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan registered small aircraft. More details are awaited,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) January 21, 2024

Russian aviation authorities said today a Russian-registered plane with six people thought to be on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan the previous night, after local Afghan police said they had received reports of a crash.

Russian aviation authorities said in a statement the plane was a charter ambulance flight travelling from India, via Uzbekistan to Moscow on a French-made Dassault Falcon 10 jet manufactured in 1978, news agency Reuters reported.

The aircraft crashed in Badakhshan province, which borders China, Tajikistan and Pakistan but the exact site of the accident was unknown, news agency AFP reported quoting a local official.

“The plane has crashed, but the location is not known yet. We have sent teams, but they have not arrived yet,” Zabihullah Amiri, head of the provincial information department, told AFP, without giving further details. “We were informed by local people in the morning.”

The Hindu Kush mountain range cuts through the province, which is home to Afghanistan’s highest mountain, Mount Noshaq at 7,492 metres high.

With inputs from AFP and Reuters

Jacob Elordi expressed his desire for more action and fewer dialogues in the upcoming filming of Euphoria season 3. Playfully raising concerns about potentially outgrowing his role as teenage football player Nate Jacobs, Elordi jokingly suggested a “Benjamin Button” scenario to match the character’s age during a recent appearance on a talk show.

Addressing speculations about the upcoming season set to premiere in 2025, Elordi commented on rumours hinting at a time jump that would transition the characters from high school to adulthood. The actor, who gained numerous fans during the first two seasons of the Sam Levinson-created series, also revealed an unexpected A-list admirer—Leonardo DiCaprio.

As Euphoria prepares to return in 2025 after more than three years off the air, the possibility of a time jump is being considered. When asked about whether the third season could potentially serve as the show’s finale, the network and Max chief acknowledged the star power of the ensemble, including Elordi, Zendaya, and Sydney Sweeney. However, he emphasised that the decision would ultimately be in the hands of the show’s creator, Sam Levinson.

The second season finale left viewers on a significant cliffhanger, especially concerning the character Fez, portrayed by Angus Cloud, who tragically passed away unexpectedly in 2023 after completing filming. According to reports, Levinson had started crafting the script for the already greenlit third season before the writers’ strike occurred on May 2. The details of the creator’s intentions for Cloud’s storyline remain uncertain.