#$ % && ˆ ˆ - the pioneer...2020/05/04  · kurnool, guntur, krishna in andhra pradesh....

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A Commanding Officer (CO) of the Indian Army's elite Counter-insurgency force, 21 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), was martyred in action, along with four other security personnel, including a Major and Sub Inspector of Jammu & Kashmir Police, in Handwara town of North Kashmir’s Kupwara dis- trict late on Saturday night. They came under heavy fire while attempting to evac- uate civilians amid fierce gun- fight with a group of Pakistani terrorists. In the night-long operation, two terrorists, including a Lashkar-e- Tayyeba (LeT) commander Haider from Pakistan, were killed while try- ing to escape the tight cordon near the encounter site. At least, two to three ter- rorists are believed to have escaped taking advantage of the adverse weather conditions prevailing in the area. On ground zero, the security forces were still carrying out search- es in the area to track down the footprints of terrorists. The commanding officer, who attained martyrdom in the line of duty, was identified as Colonel Ashutosh Sharma from Uttar Pradesh. He had been decorated twice for bravery and had been part of several successful counter-terrorism operations in the past. In a span of less than one month, the Indian Army has suffered huge losses while con- ducting counter terrorist oper- ations in Kupwara district alone. On April 5, the Indian Army had lost five soldiers, including three elite para com- mandos in a hand-to-hand combat with infiltrating ter- rorists in Keran sector of Kupwara. Remembering her hus- band, Pallavi Ashutosh told a TV news channel, “I am proud of his supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. The loss is unbear- able and irreparable but I’m proud of what he did for his nation, for his unit, for his men and for the safety of civilians. I have no regrets.” He had told me he will come home the next day after eliminating the terrorists. “He will be home tomorrow with us, wrapped in a tricolour,” she said. Another Army officer, who attained martyrdom, was iden- tified as Major Anuj Sood from Himanchal Pradesh. His father, Retd Brig Chandrakant Sood while paying tributes to his son said, “He has made a supreme sacrifice. It was part of his duty and what he was trained for. I feel sad for his wife as they just got married 3-4 months back. He was meant to save lives.” According to ground reports, the joint teams of the security forces were chasing a group of 4-5 terrorists in Rajwara forest area since May 1. On May 2 when security forces received credible inputs about the presence of terrorists in Chanjmulla area of Handwara, they launched an operation to free civilians from the custody of holed up ter- rorists. Ground reports claimed, the team of Army offi- cers led by CO, along with JKP cop, was conducting house-to- house searches in the area when they came under fire from the terrorists inside one of the houses. However, Army spokesman claimed a team of five Army and J&K Police per- sonnel entered the target area occupied by the terrorists to evacuate the civilians and successfully extricated the civilians. H it hard by coronavirus, the CRPF shut its head- quarters here after an Assistant Commandant attached with a senior officer as private secre- tary tested positive even as 26 BSF men were also found infected on Sunday. The entire building at the CGO Complex here will be dis- infected and offices will remain closed till Tuesday morning. The infected officer’s fam- ily is being tested. Forty men traced to be in his contact have been quarantined. “As one corona positive case has been detected in the Directorate, the entire building of the Directorate General will be subjected to disinfection by the Government notified agency, keeping in view with protocols and directions of MOHFW. Accordingly, the Directorate General, CRPF office will remain closed till Tuesday morning (May 5, 2020). Hence all officers and men working in Directorate General, CRPF are requested not to come to office and work from home till then. They should remain available to their seniors on phone to respond to necessary emer- gencies,” said an order of the CRPF headquarters on Sunday. W ith several States like Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, which were relatively safe, reporting high number, and Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh showing no sign of slowing down in terms of positive cases, India on Sunday saw another 2,000 plus day cases taking its overall count to 42,000. This a huge increase from the time the country went into the first lockdown on March 24 when the total stood at just 500 positive cases. Delhi recorded highest sin- gle-day spike with 427 new coronavirus cases, tally now 4,549, said the Delhi Government. For instance, Haryana saw biggest single day gain of 66, while Bihar crossed 500 mark by adding 22 new cases and Laddakh’s count doubled in last two days from 23 to 42. Meanwhile, the Union Ministry has deployed 20 pub- lic health teams in 20 highest Covid burden districts which are reporting the maximum number of cases in the coun- try to oversee the containment measures in the affected areas. These districts are: Mumbai, Thane and Pune in Maharashtra; Ahmadabad, Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat; South East and Central Delhi; Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh; Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan; Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Hyderabad, Telangana; Agra and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh; Kolkata, West Bengal; Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of the 331 cases, 326 were returnees from the famous Sikh shrine in Maharashtra’s Nanded, who came back last week after remaining stuck there for nearly a month. In the past five days, Punjab record- ed 728 cases — a majority of them Nanded returnees. Tamil Nadu reported one Covid-19 death, 266 fresh infections, pushing total num- ber of coronavirus cases to 3,023 while Haryana reported 421 cases. Ladkah added 19 cases on Sunday taking the total to 92 cases. Gujarat on Sunday regis- tered 374 new Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths, which is the highest single-day increase in deaths so far. With this, the overall number of the coron- avirus positive cases mounted to 5,428 and the death toll rose to 290. T he Delhi Government on Sunday announced that officials engaged in essential services will function with full strength, but private offices will resume operation with 33 per cent workforce from Monday. “We have requested the Centre to lift lockdown and declare non-containment zone as Green zone so that com- mercial activities may start. Every year, in April, Delhi col- lects 3,500 crore revenue but this year only 350 crore revenue has been generated,” said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Chief Minister said the City Government will imple- ment all lockdown regulations prescribed by the MHA. The Delhi Government’s order came in the wake of spike in corona positive cases amid 97 areas of the national Capital being declared as containment zone while all 11 districts have been declared as ‘Red zone.’ “If the whole of Delhi is in the Red Zone, it will create problems for everyone,” Kejriwal said. Outlining the list of activ- ities that will be allowed dur- ing third phase of the lock- down, Kejriwal said that call centres and IT services, print and electronic media will remain open and weddings will be allowed at designated public places with 50 guests. But air, rail, metro, road transports will remain shut. Delivery of essential goods through e-commerce portals will continue while malls, cin- emas, salons, market complex- es, will remain shut. Self-employed such as aelectrician and plumbers are allowed to join work. Similarly agriculture work, warehouses, goods and services trans- portation are allowed. A cknowledging the role of the “corona warriors” in fighting the pandemic in the country, the Armed forces on Sunday paid tributes to them by conducting flypasts by fight- er jets in many parts of the country, including the nation- al Capital, playing martial tunes outside hospitals treating coro- navirus patients, and shower- ing on them flower petals by choppers. The warships were lit up from evening onwards and enthralled people in the coastal region at more than 25 places. The thanksgiving to the “frontline corona fighters”, including doctors, nurses, san- itation workers, police and the media, commenced in the morning with wreath placed on behalf of the three Services at the National Police Memorial here as a mark of respect. The IAF helicopters show- ered petals from air at the memorial. The nationwide pro- gramme of saluting the “coro- na warriors” was unveiled by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday. In fact, some of the activ- ities began on Saturday itself with the three services conducting flypasts, perfor- mances by military bands and the warships on the shores gaily lit up. The finale was on Sunday. After the wreath-laying ceremony at the Police Memorial, the countrywide activities commenced with a flypast of fighter jet formation including SU-30s, Jaguars and MIG-29s above the Rajpath. The fighter flying was undertaken at a height of 500 metres to enable the people of the capital and suburbs to see the skillful display. C ommercial passenger flights at Delhi airport will initially operate from Terminal 3 after the lockdown ends, said a senior official of its operator DIAL on Sunday, adding that entry gates, self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allo- cated to airlines to avoid over- crowding. The airport will use “ultra- violet disinfection tunnels” for all incoming baggage, said according to their plan. I ndia has completed 10 lakh real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to identify people infected with coronavirus. According to offi- cials, this is a major milestone in India’s fight against coron- avirus. But at 758 per 10 lakh tests, India’s testing ratio has been one of the lowest in the world. India has decided to ramp up its testing number to one lakh per day soon. The milestone comes amid the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s attempts to increase the number of test- ing. The biomedical research agency has ramped up tests to more than 70,000-75,000 sam- ples per day. According to the officials, testing for Covid-19 has been scaled up signifi- cantly over the last two months. They said, till 31st March, 47,852 samples were tested, which increased to a total of 9,02,654 samples as on April 30. From May 1 till May 2 evening, 1,37,346 tests were done. A RT-PCR test is a labora- tory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA that detects the virus while the antibody tests, which use blood, detect the body’s response to the virus, experts said. Starting with one single laboratory, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and having 100 labora- tories in the beginning of the lockdown, the RT-PCR test facility is now available in 292 Government and 97 private facilities across the country, officials said. Considered to be the most- effective diagnosis, RT-PCR is a throat and nasal swab test. It detects the virus early on, which is helpful in identifying and iso- lating an infected person. Meanwhile, domestic man- ufacturers of RT-PCR kits have been asked to ramp up pro- duction. Against a demand of 35 lakh RT-PCR kits, orders have been placed for 21.35 lakh kits, out of that orders for 2 lakh kits have been awarded to the domestic manufacturers. In Government labs, the tests are free but at private lab- oratories, it costs 4,500. A mid the extended lock- down, alcohol consumers living in the red zones of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the areas under the Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon Municipal Corporations had something to cheer on Sunday, as the Maharashtra Government ordered the re-opening of liquor shops in all areas except in containment zones from Monday onwards, with “certain conditions”. “There is no restriction on the number essential shops. In the case of non-essential shops, only five can remain open in one lane. Among the five non- essential shops, there can be one liquor shop. Malls, market complexes and markets shall remain closed in urban areas,” a senior official said. Detailed report on P5 T he increasing trend in Punjab’s COVID-19 posi- tive cases is far from over with the state witnessing another steepest rise of 331 cases in a day, taking the state’s tally to 1102 on Sunday. In past five days, the number of positive novel corona virus cases in the state has seen an increase by almost three times. From 375 on April 29, the state has recorded more than 100 cases every day — 105 on April 30, 105 on May 1, 187 on May 2, and 331 on May 3. The 331 fresh cases were reported from 16 of the state’s 22 districts. Other than Patiala and Jalandhar, which where the new cases were reported from the contacts of those already tested positive, all districts reported cases that were in connection with the returnees, with major- ity being amongst the pilgrims returning from Gurudwara Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra — the most coro- na-affected state in India. Among the districts, Amritsar registered the highest number of COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day with 75 persons testing positive taking the districts tally to 218 — highest in the state. Attribute it to the returnees, the Amritsar district has recorded 208 new cases in less than a week’s time. At least 609 of the 4,000 pil- grims who have returned from Hazur Sahib gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded in recent days have tested positive for coronavirus, a health official said. The pilgrims account for 55 per cent of the total coron- avirus cases in the state, he said. The second highest number of cases was reported from SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) with 62 — a district which had made it to the green zone from being the state’s first “hotspot” after not reporting any positive cases for 29 days in a row. The district now has 85 cases, of which 66 are active while 18 have recov- ered besides one death. Hoshiarpur too recorded a whopping 46 cases — with total 88 in the district, followed by 33 in Muktsar with total 50 in district, 33 in Bathinda with total 35 in district, 24 in Gurdaspur with total 30 Continued on Page 2

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Page 1: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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ACommanding Officer(CO) of the Indian Army's

elite Counter-insurgency force,21 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), wasmartyred in action, along withfour other security personnel,including a Major and SubInspector of Jammu & KashmirPolice, in Handwara town ofNorth Kashmir’s Kupwara dis-trict late on Saturday night.

They came under heavyfire while attempting to evac-uate civilians amid fierce gun-fight with a group of Pakistaniterrorists. In the night-longoperation, two terrorists,including a Lashkar-e- Tayyeba(LeT) commander Haider fromPakistan, were killed while try-ing to escape the tight cordonnear the encounter site.

At least, two to three ter-rorists are believed to haveescaped taking advantage of theadverse weather conditionsprevailing in the area. Onground zero, the security forceswere still carrying out search-

es in the area to track down thefootprints of terrorists.

The commanding officer,who attained martyrdom in theline of duty, was identified asColonel Ashutosh Sharmafrom Uttar Pradesh.

He had been decoratedtwice for bravery and had beenpart of several successfulcounter-terrorism operations inthe past.

In a span of less than onemonth, the Indian Army hassuffered huge losses while con-ducting counter terrorist oper-ations in Kupwara district alone.

On April 5, the IndianArmy had lost five soldiers,including three elite para com-mandos in a hand-to-handcombat with infiltrating ter-rorists in Keran sector ofKupwara.

Remembering her hus-band, Pallavi Ashutosh told aTV news channel, “I am proudof his supreme sacrifice in theline of duty. The loss is unbear-able and irreparable but I’mproud of what he did for his

nation, for his unit, for his menand for the safety of civilians.I have no regrets.”

He had told me he willcome home the next day aftereliminating the terrorists. “He

will be home tomorrow with us,wrapped in a tricolour,” she said.

Another Army officer, whoattained martyrdom, was iden-tified as Major Anuj Soodfrom Himanchal Pradesh. His

father, Retd Brig ChandrakantSood while paying tributes tohis son said, “He has made asupreme sacrifice. It was part ofhis duty and what he wastrained for. I feel sad for his wife

as they just got married 3-4months back. He was meant tosave lives.”

According to groundreports, the joint teams of thesecurity forces were chasing agroup of 4-5 terrorists inRajwara forest area since May1. On May 2 when securityforces received credible inputsabout the presence of terroristsin Chanjmulla area ofHandwara, they launched anoperation to free civilians fromthe custody of holed up ter-rorists. Ground reportsclaimed, the team of Army offi-cers led by CO, along with JKPcop, was conducting house-to-house searches in the areawhen they came under firefrom the terrorists inside oneof the houses.

However, Armyspokesman claimed a team offive Army and J&K Police per-sonnel entered the target areaoccupied by the terrorists toevacuate the civilians and successfully extricated the civilians.

��������������� ! 1�� 2��

Hit hard by coronavirus,the CRPF shut its head-

quarters here after an AssistantCommandant attached with asenior officer as private secre-tary tested positive even as 26BSF men were also foundinfected on Sunday.

The entire building at theCGO Complex here will be dis-infected and offices will remainclosed till Tuesday morning.

The infected officer’s fam-ily is being tested. Forty mentraced to be in his contact havebeen quarantined.

“As one corona positivecase has been detected in theDirectorate, the entire building

of the Directorate General willbe subjected to disinfection bythe Government notifiedagency, keeping in view withprotocols and directions ofMOHFW. Accordingly, theDirectorate General, CRPFoffice will remain closed tillTuesday morning (May 5,2020). Hence all officers andmen working in DirectorateGeneral, CRPF are requestednot to come to office and workfrom home till then. Theyshould remain available totheir seniors on phone torespond to necessary emer-gencies,” said an order of theCRPF headquarters on Sunday.

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With several States likePunjab, Bihar, Haryana,

Jammu & Kashmir, which wererelatively safe, reporting highnumber, and Maharashtra,Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhiand Uttar Pradesh showing nosign of slowing down in termsof positive cases, India onSunday saw another 2,000 plusday cases taking its overallcount to 42,000.

This a huge increase fromthe time the country went intothe first lockdown on March 24when the total stood at just 500positive cases.

Delhi recorded highest sin-gle-day spike with 427 newcoronavirus cases, tally now4,549, said the DelhiGovernment.

For instance, Haryana sawbiggest single day gain of 66,while Bihar crossed 500 markby adding 22 new cases andLaddakh’s count doubled inlast two days from 23 to 42.

Meanwhile, the UnionMinistry has deployed 20 pub-lic health teams in 20 highestCovid burden districts whichare reporting the maximum

number of cases in the coun-try to oversee the containmentmeasures in the affected areas.

These districts are:Mumbai, Thane and Pune inMaharashtra; Ahmadabad,Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat;South East and Central Delhi;Indore and Bhopal in MadhyaPradesh; Jaipur and Jodhpur inRajasthan; Chennai, TamilNadu; Hyderabad, Telangana;Agra and Lucknow in UttarPradesh; Kolkata, West Bengal;Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna inAndhra Pradesh.

Punjab on Sunday record-ed 331 new coronavirus cases,with the total climbing to 1,102.Of the 331 cases, 326 werereturnees from the famousSikh shrine in Maharashtra’sNanded, who came back last

week after remaining stuckthere for nearly a month. In thepast five days, Punjab record-ed 728 cases — a majority ofthem Nanded returnees.

Tamil Nadu reported oneCovid-19 death, 266 freshinfections, pushing total num-ber of coronavirus cases to3,023 while Haryana reported421 cases.

Ladkah added 19 cases onSunday taking the total to 92cases.

Gujarat on Sunday regis-tered 374 new Covid-19 casesand 28 deaths, which is thehighest single-day increase indeaths so far. With this, theoverall number of the coron-avirus positive cases mountedto 5,428 and the death toll roseto 290.

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The Delhi Government onSunday announced that

officials engaged in essentialservices will function with fullstrength, but private officeswill resume operation with 33per cent workforce from

Monday.“We have requested the

Centre to lift lockdown anddeclare non-containment zoneas Green zone so that com-mercial activities may start.Every year, in April, Delhi col-lects 3,500 crore revenue butthis year only 350 crore revenuehas been generated,” said ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Chief Minister said theCity Government will imple-ment all lockdown regulationsprescribed by the MHA.

The Delhi Government’sorder came in the wake of spikein corona positive cases amid97 areas of the national Capitalbeing declared as containmentzone while all 11 districts havebeen declared as ‘Red zone.’

“If the whole of Delhi is inthe Red Zone, it will create

problems for everyone,”Kejriwal said.

Outlining the list of activ-ities that will be allowed dur-ing third phase of the lock-down, Kejriwal said that callcentres and IT services, printand electronic media willremain open and weddingswill be allowed at designatedpublic places with 50 guests.

But air, rail, metro, roadtransports will remain shut.

Delivery of essential goodsthrough e-commerce portalswill continue while malls, cin-emas, salons, market complex-es, will remain shut.

Self-employed such asaelectrician and plumbers areallowed to join work. Similarlyagriculture work, warehouses,goods and services trans-portation are allowed.

����� ! 1�� 2��

Acknowledging the role ofthe “corona warriors” in

fighting the pandemic in thecountry, the Armed forces onSunday paid tributes to themby conducting flypasts by fight-er jets in many parts of thecountry, including the nation-al Capital, playing martial tunesoutside hospitals treating coro-navirus patients, and shower-ing on them flower petals bychoppers.

The warships were lit upfrom evening onwards andenthralled people in the coastalregion at more than 25 places.

The thanksgiving to the“frontline corona fighters”,including doctors, nurses, san-itation workers, police and themedia, commenced in themorning with wreath placed on

behalf of the three Services atthe National Police Memorialhere as a mark of respect.

The IAF helicopters show-ered petals from air at thememorial.

The nationwide pro-gramme of saluting the “coro-na warriors” was unveiled byChief of Defence Staff GeneralBipin Rawat on Friday.

In fact, some of the activ-ities began on Saturday itself with the three servicesconducting flypasts, perfor-mances by military bands andthe warships on the shoresgaily lit up. The finale was onSunday.

After the wreath-layingceremony at the PoliceMemorial, the countrywideactivities commenced with aflypast of fighter jet formationincluding SU-30s, Jaguars and

MIG-29s above the Rajpath. The fighter flying was

undertaken at a height of 500

metres to enable the people ofthe capital and suburbs to seethe skillful display.

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Commercial passengerflights at Delhi airport will

initially operate from Terminal3 after the lockdown ends,said a senior official of itsoperator DIAL on Sunday, adding that entry gates,self check-in machines and check-in bays will be allo-cated to airlines to avoid over-crowding.

The airport will use “ultra-violet disinfection tunnels” forall incoming baggage, saidaccording to their plan.

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India has completed 10 lakhreal-time polymerase chain

reaction (RT-PCR) tests toidentify people infected withcoronavirus. According to offi-cials, this is a major milestonein India’s fight against coron-avirus. But at 758 per 10 lakhtests, India’s testing ratio has been one of the lowest inthe world. India has decided toramp up its testing number toone lakh per day soon.

The milestone comes amidthe Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR)’s attemptsto increase the number of test-ing. The biomedical researchagency has ramped up tests tomore than 70,000-75,000 sam-ples per day. According to theofficials, testing for Covid-19has been scaled up signifi-cantly over the last two months.

They said, till 31st March,47,852 samples were tested,which increased to a total of9,02,654 samples as on April 30.From May 1 till May 2 evening,1,37,346 tests were done.

A RT-PCR test is a labora-tory technique combiningreverse transcription of RNA

into DNA that detects the viruswhile the antibody tests, which use blood, detect thebody’s response to the virus,experts said.

Starting with one singlelaboratory, the NationalInstitute of Virology (NIV) inPune and having 100 labora-tories in the beginning of thelockdown, the RT-PCR testfacility is now available in 292Government and 97 privatefacilities across the country,officials said.

Considered to be the most-effective diagnosis, RT-PCR isa throat and nasal swab test. Itdetects the virus early on, whichis helpful in identifying and iso-lating an infected person.

Meanwhile, domestic man-ufacturers of RT-PCR kits havebeen asked to ramp up pro-duction. Against a demand of35 lakh RT-PCR kits, ordershave been placed for 21.35lakh kits, out of that orders for2 lakh kits have been awardedto the domestic manufacturers.

In Government labs, thetests are free but at private lab-oratories, it costs �4,500.

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Amid the extended lock-down, alcohol consumers

living in the red zones ofMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR) and the areas underthe Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwadand Malegaon MunicipalCorporations had something tocheer on Sunday, as theMaharashtra Governmentordered the re-opening ofliquor shops in all areas exceptin containment zones fromMonday onwards, with “certainconditions”.

“There is no restriction onthe number essential shops. Inthe case of non-essential shops,only five can remain open inone lane. Among the five non-essential shops, there can beone liquor shop. Malls, marketcomplexes and markets shallremain closed in urban areas,”a senior official said.

Detailed report on P5

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The increasing trend inPunjab’s COVID-19 posi-

tive cases is far from over withthe state witnessing anothersteepest rise of 331 cases in aday, taking the state’s tally to1102 on Sunday. In past fivedays, the number of positivenovel corona virus cases in thestate has seen an increase byalmost three times.

From 375 on April 29, thestate has recorded more than100 cases every day — 105 onApril 30, 105 on May 1, 187 onMay 2, and 331 on May 3.

The 331 fresh cases werereported from 16 of the state’s 22districts. Other than Patiala andJalandhar, which where the new

cases were reported from thecontacts of those already testedpositive, all districts reportedcases that were in connectionwith the returnees, with major-ity being amongst the pilgrimsreturning from GurudwaraHazur Sahib at Nanded inMaharashtra — the most coro-na-affected state in India.

Among the districts,Amritsar registered the highest

number of COVID-19 cases forthe second consecutive daywith 75 persons testing positivetaking the districts tally to 218— highest in the state.

Attribute it to thereturnees, the Amritsar districthas recorded 208 new cases inless than a week’s time.

At least 609 of the 4,000 pil-grims who have returned fromHazur Sahib gurdwara in

Maharashtra's Nanded in recentdays have tested positive forcoronavirus, a health officialsaid. The pilgrims account for55 per cent of the total coron-avirus cases in the state, he said.

The second highest numberof cases was reported from SBSNagar (Nawanshahr) with 62 —a district which had made it tothe green zone from being thestate’s first “hotspot” after notreporting any positive cases for29 days in a row. The districtnow has 85 cases, of which 66are active while 18 have recov-ered besides one death.

Hoshiarpur too recorded awhopping 46 cases — with total88 in the district, followed by33 in Muktsar with total 50 indistrict, 33 in Bathinda withtotal 35 in district, 24 inGurdaspur with total 30

Continued on Page 2

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Page 2: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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Facing flak from the Opposition and thepublic over the hike in Roadways bus

fares, Transport Minister Mool ChandSharma on Sunday defended the State cab-inet’s decisions, saying despite the hike, thefare of Roadways buses in Haryana wouldstill remain cheaper than the neighbour-ing States –Himachal Pradesh, Punjab andRajasthan. The Congress and other oppo-sition leaders are playing petty politics overit in the crisis time, he alleged.

The Transport Minister said that theinter-state bus services will not be oper-ated till the situation becomes normal inthe Country. Haryana Roadway buses willbe operated at 50 per cent seating capac-ity of passengers in ‘Green zone’. No suchbuses will be operated in ‘Orange zone’ and‘Red zone’ till further order.

In an interview with The Pioneer, overthe phone, Sharma expressed his views onfare hike of Roadway buses as well as gov-ernment’s steps to contain Covid outbreakparticularly in his constituency: Excerptsfrom the interview:

The Central Government released a list

classifying districts as hotspots or Red-Zones, Orange zones and Green zones.What do you have a plan to operate busservices in different designated zones ofthe State?

In Haryana, there are two ‘Red zones’,18 ‘Orange zones’ and two ‘Green zones’. In‘Green zone’, our Government has decidedto operate Haryana Roadway buses at 50 percent seating capacity of passengers.Roadways buses will be operated inMahendragarh and Rewari districts whichare designated as ‘Green zone’. No Buses willbe operated in ‘Orange zone’ and ‘Red zone.In the neighbouring States like UttarPradesh, Punjab, New Delhi and Rajasthan,at present the cases of Covid-19 are beingreported on daily basis. Considering this,our government has decided not to oper-ate Inter-state Roadway buses unless situ-ation improves across the Country.

In the ongoing nationwide lockdown,large numbers of people have lost theirearnings. In place of facilitating them,your Government has decided to hike thebus fare by 15 paise per km. What's thereason?

It is a minor increase in transport fare.

Transport fares have not been hiked overthe last many years. The bus fare inHaryana was last revised on June 30, 2016.Since then, the operational expenditure hasincreased substantially, especially onaccount of expenditure towards staff,diesel, spare parts, tyre-tubes, lubricants,bus chassis, fabrication cost and insurance.Considering all aspects, the State cabinetdecided to increase bus fare for ordinary,luxury and super-luxury buses. Eventhough, despite the hike, the bus fares inthe State are cheaper than other states.

Being a Minister, have you estimated rev-enue loss in the Transport departmentsince the enforcement of lockdown?

Whether department employees arebeing paid their salary on time?

Public transport is off the roads dueto a nationwide lockdown to contain thespread of Corona virus. The operation ofall Roadways buses has been suspended.Transport department has suffered a hugerevenue loss. Department officers areworking on it. Meanwhile, as of now, thereis no problem giving salary to employees.

Leader of opposition Bhupinder HoodaHooda termed

the decisionof the StateGovernmentto increase

the cess onpetrol-diesel andbus fares anti-people. What would yousay?

There is no need to create hue and cryby the opposition leaders over this issue ata time when State government is fightingagainst Covid-19 epidemic. This is not a timeto do petty politics. Congress leaders shouldunderstand that despite fare hike, the busfare in Haryana is cheaper than Congressruled States of Punjab and Rajasthan. He

should ask Punjab and RajasthanGovernments to reduce bus fare there.

Faridabad emerged as the new hotspotdistrict of Haryana with 68 Covid-19positive cases. How are you monitoringthe situation in your constituency?

My constituency Ballabhgarh comes inFaridabad district. Cases in Faridabadspiked due to public movement withneighbouring State New Delhi. As ofnow, Faridabad has reported with 68Covid cases has been designated as ‘Redzone’ along with Sonepat. To ensure thesuccessful implementation of lockdownseveral strict steps have been taken to con-trol and stop the movement of people andfor this, Inter and Intra State borders havebeen sealed. Along with this, ourGovernment has ensured the delivery ofall the essential goods and services to thedoorstep. Rations and food pockets dis-tributed among needy persons.

Large number of small and big indus-tries has been set up in your con-stituency. What are industrialists’demands?

Some local businessmen met and we

informed them about the measures takenby our government for their welfare. Wealso appeal them to follow the govern-ment’s guidelines regarding opening oftheir business.

How many stranded students have beenbrought back in Haryana fromRajasthan?

Some parents had approached us andexpressed their concerns. Considering allaspects, we had sent 31 State Transportbuses to bring back over 800 stranded stu-dents who are preparing for various com-petitive examinations, from Kota. Most ofthem have reached their home.

Large numbers of migrant workers stillwant to go back their native places.Whether they would be sent back to theirnative places by special trains or HaryanaRoadways Buses?

Large number of migrant workers ofneighbouring States were sent back to theirnative places in the Haryana Roadwaysbuses. No final decision has been taken sofar but whatsoever decisions being takenby the Centre and State governmentsregarding this issue will be implemented.

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Himachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur

on Sunday said due to collec-tive efforts of the state govern-ment and active cooperation ofpeople, the state is poised tosoon emerge as Corona Free.

Holding video conferenc-ing with DeputyC o m m i s s i o n e r s ,Superintendents of Police andChief Medical Officers fromShimla, he said it becomes allthe more important that strictvigil must be maintained oneach and every person visitingthe State.

Thakur directed the offi-cers to ensure that the personsvisiting the State from otherparts of the country must fol-low strict quarantine normswhile in home quarantine.

He said that downloadingof Aarogya Setu app must bemandatory for the peopleentering the State, adding thatit would be the responsibility ofthe elected representatives ofthe Panchayati Raj Institutionsand Urban Local Bodies toensure that the person enteringtheir village do not jump quar-antine.

Thakur said persons com-ing home particularly from red

or orange zone must ensure thatwhile remaining in home quar-antine, they maintain socialdistancing even with their fam-ily members. He said that theState Government was ensuringthat all possible help be pro-vided to the people of the Statestranded in other parts of thecountry. He said that it alsobecomes their moral responsi-bility to strictly follow the guide-lines of the State Governmentand cooperate with theGovernment for strictly adher-ing to home quarantine norms.

The Chief Minister said asmany as 1314 persons strand-ed in Tri-City area werebrought back to State in 51buses, which include 609 peo-ple of Kangra district, 335 peo-ple of Hamirpur district, 132people of Una district and 238people of Chamba district.

He said it was the largestmovement of stranded peopleof HP for bringing them backsafely to the State, adding thatmore such people of the otherdistricts stranded in the Tri-City would be brought back onMonday. He said all these per-sons would be medically exam-ined for symptoms and onlythereafter kept in home quar-antine.

The CM said economic

activities particularly in thegreen zones have been startedand special thrust was beinglaid on providing smoothmovement of essential com-modities and farming equip-ments. He said that since shopswere allowed to open with fewexceptions during the curfewhours, it must be ensured thateffective social distancing ismaintained and everyone usesface masks and sanitizer.

Chief Secretary AnilKhachi said that people arriv-ing from other States must beallowed to go to their respec-tive destinations for homequarantine only after properlyrecording their complete trav-el and contact history.

Principal Secretary to theChief Minister Sanjay Kundusaid that although the liquorshops would remain open dur-ing the curfew relaxation hours,Bars and Ahtas however wouldremain closed.

REGISTER ON PORTALFOR INTERSTATE TO ANDFRO MOVEMENT

A Spokesperson of theState Government said heretoday that the stranded personsof Himachal Pradesh, whodesire to come to HimachalPradesh and likewise persons

from other States or UnionTerritories willing to go back totheir respective nativeStates/UTs and those who donot have vehicle should regis-ter themselves onhttp://covid19epass.hp.gov.inand are requested not to applyfor Covid ePass.

He said that those personswith vehicles who desire toenter Himachal Pradesh orwanting to go out of HimachalPradesh can apply for ePass onhttp://covid19epass.hp.gov.inportal.

On the basis of registrationon this portal, the state gov-ernment will get informationabout the places where thepeople of the state are strand-ed and that they want to comeback to the state. Similarly, thegovernment will also knowhow many people from otherstates want to return to theirstates from Himachal.According to the informationreceived through registration,the state government will makeproper arrangements for theirmovement. The state govern-ment has appointed nodal offi-cers to ensure that the strand-ed people reach their destina-tion, and will also coordinatewith the concerned states forthis task.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Sunday

announced a �10 lakh aid and ajob to the kin of an Army jawanfrom the State killed in anencounter with terrorists innorth Kashmir's Handwara onSunday. He termed the attack aghastly act at a time when thewhole word was grappling withthe coronavirus pandemic.

Naik Rajesh Kumar, a soldierwho hailed from Mansa districtof Punjab, was among five secu-rity personnel killed in the anti-terror operation which began onSaturday and continued till latelast night. A decorated coloneland a major were also killed inthis operation.

Extending his heartfelt con-dolences to the family of NaikRajesh Kumar of 21 RR(Rashtriya Rifles, parent unit 3GUARDS ), who belonged toRajrana village in Sardulgarhtehsil of Mansa, the CM said hisheart went out to them.According to a a governmentstatement, the CM announced afinancial assistance of �10 lakh,including �5 lakh as ex gratia andthe remaining in lieu of a plot,to the next of kin besides a

Government job to one eligiblemember of his family.

The body of the martyr willarrive in his village on Mondaywhere he will be cremated withdue honours, keeping the coro-navirus safety protocols in mind.

As the news of the martyr-dom of the four Indian Armypersonnel and a J&K policemancame, the CM joined the nation“in saluting the bravery andvalour” of the martyrs, andprayed to God to “grant strengthto their families in this time ofgrief.”

The chief minister describedthe attack as a “ghastly and cow-ardly act by the terrorists, whocontinued to be pushed in byPakistan from across the borderdespite the whole world, includ-ing the two nations, currentlyengaged in a bigger war againstthe Covid-19”. While terrorismcould not be condoned at anytime, resorting to such an act ata critical time like this showed atotal lack of shame on the partof Islamabad, which seemedhell-bent on exploiting theopportunity for their own gains,said Capt Amarinder in a state-ment here.

But India would not takesuch attacks on its security per-

sonnel, he added, warning thatnotwithstanding the Covid bat-tle at hand, nobody should makethe mistake of trying to takeadvantage of the country's per-ceived vulnerability at this diffi-cult time.

HIMACHAL GOVERNORAND CM MOURN MAR-TYRDOM OF MAJOR ANUJSOOD

Himachal GovernorBandaru Dattatraya and ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur haveexpressed grief over the martyr-dom of Major Anuj Sood, mar-tyred along with four other offi-cer and jawans in encounter withmilitants in Handwara in Jammuand Kashmir. He had his rootsin Dehra of District Kangra inHimachal Pradesh.

The Governor said that hehas served the Nation withutmost dedication and workedtirelessly to protect the citizensof the country. The ChiefMinister said that Major AnujSood has made a supreme sac-rifice for the cause of the coun-try while fighting the terrorists.They prayed the Almighty togive peace to the departed souland strength to the bereavedfamily members.

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One more Covid-19 patientrecovered in Himachal

Pradesh on Sunday, taking thetotal number of those cured inthe state to 34, officials said.Forty-one coronavirus caseshave been reported inHimachal Pradesh so far andthe number of active cases inthe state is only one.

The last patient from Unadistrict has recovered from theinfection, Additional ChiefSecretary (Health) R D Dhimansaid. Una district had the high-est number of 16 coronaviruscases in Himachal Pradesh. Allof them have recovered one byone and Una has become coro-navirus-free now.

Sixteen patients from Unadistrict, six from Chamba, fivefrom Solan, four from Kangra,two from Hamirpur and onepatient from Sirmaur districthave recovered so far. No freshcoronavirus case has beenreported in the state for the past10 days, Dhiman said.

Of the 333 samples sent fortesting on Sunday, 134 testednegative while reports of therest are awaited, he added.

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Punjab Food and CivilSupplies Minister Bharat

Bhushan Ashu on Sunday saidthat despite several challengesarising out of lockdown or cur-few amid Covid-19 restrictions,the State has successfully pro-cured more than 90 lakh metrictonne (LMT) of wheat in 19days, out of a total expected 135LMT.

Congratulating the state'sfarmers, arhtiyas (commissionagents), labour and other stake-holders for smooth conduct ofongoing procurement opera-tions across the State, Ashuinformed that the StateGovernment was strictly main-taining social distancing in allmore than 4,000 purchase cen-tres for health safety and well-being of those involved in thisgigantic task.

“It is a matter of great satis-faction that in just 19 days, theState has successfully procuredover 90 LMT of wheat despite

several obstacles including short-age of labour and closure of jutemills,” he said. Nevertheless thescarcity of labour amid lockdownand curfew, Punjab Governmenthas loaded a record 25.77 LMTof wheat and rice through 1031special trains so far in order toensure food security of thenation besides assisting the otherstates said the Minister addingthat it was 44 percent of the totalfoodgrains supplied, nation-wide.

On the lifting front, Ashusaid that the State was also lift-ing more than five LMT daily inorder to ensure that no farmerhad to wait due to space crunchin mandis. “In these times of eco-nomic crisis, the StateGovernment has infused itsagrarian economy with �10,000crore so far,” he said while cate-gorically maintaining that therewas no dearth of bardana despitethe closure of jute mills as theState had already made alternatearrangements of PP bags andonce used bales in this regard.

PUNJAB PROCURES 98% OFWHEAT ARRIVED SO FARIN MANDIS

Nearly 98 percent of wheatout of total arrival so far has beenprocured in all the mandis acrossPunjab despite the challengingtask amid Covid-19 restrictions.

“85.28 LMT of wheat hasbeen procured out of 86.90 LMTarrived so far in mandis,” said theAdditional Chief Secretary(Development) ViswajeetKhanna while expressing satis-faction over the procurement ofnearly 65 percent out of esti-mated 135 LMT within a peri-od of just 18 days from April 15during this difficult phase.

Khanna said that amongstall the districts, Sangrur tops inarrival of 8.16 LMT, which isalmost 10 percent of the totalstate’s arrival and out of which8.05 has been procured till date.Khanna further pointed out thatPatiala and Bathinda districtrank second and third witharrival of 6.87 LMT and 6.80respectively.

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In line with CentralGovernment’s guidelines,

Haryana Government onSunday decided that during theextended lockdown period oftwo weeks till May 17, per-mission to all the industrialunits and entrepreneurs, inred, orange, and green zoneswould be granted on a weeklybasis.

“Activities permitted insidethe containment zone will bestrictly regulated as per MHAguidelines.

However, the revisedguidelines shall supersede andreplace the old guidelinesissued by the StateGovernment,” said an officialspokesman.

Sharing more details ofthe same, the spokesman said,as per the latest MHA guide-lines, activities in a regionshall be allowed based on therisk profiling of the region ordistricts into red (hotspots),orange, and green zones.

The risk profiling anddemarcation of areas of con-

tainment zones shall be deter-mined by the Union Ministryof Health and Family Welfareor Health Department,Haryana from time to time.

The spokesman said that asper the revised guidelines, inthe week one starting from May4 to 10, in “Industrial areas withAccess Control (vizIMT/IA/IDC/SEZs)” IT/ ITEnabled Services (ITES) locat-ed in the red zone would beallowed to carry out their activ-ities with staff strength of 33percent, while industries oth-ers than IT/ITES can starttheir operations with 50 per-cent of staff. In the orange zoneIT/ITES would be allowed tocarry out their activities withstaff strength of 50 percent,while others can start theiroperations with 75 percentstaff.

In the green zone, bothIT/ITES and others can carryout their operations with 100percent staff strength.Industries in the rural areaswould run on similar lines ofthe above guidelines in allthree zones.

Similarly, e-commerceindustrial units located in thered zone would be permitted tocarry out activities for essentialgoods only.

In the orange zone, activ-ities can be carried out withstaff strength of 50 percent,while in the Green zone thestaff strength would be 75 per-cent.

The spokesman furtherinformed that for “other indus-tries located in urban ormunicipal areas” other than“industrial areas with accesscontrol” (IMT/IA/IDC/SEZs)would be allowed to carry outtheir operations in only orange(50 percent staff strength inIT/ITES and 75 percent forothers) and green zone (bothIT/ITES and others can carryout their operations with 100percent staff strength). Theindustrial activities of the unitslocated in Red zones would bestrictly prohibited.

The spokesman furthersaid that all the industrial unitsor entrepreneurs wouldmandatorily apply onSaralharyana portal https://sar-

alharyana.gov.in/ by provid-ing necessary details in order togenerate requisite passes for theemployees or staff. All interstatemovement of goods or cargoincluding empty trucks shall beallowed.

As a part of the application,the applicant will have to givean undertaking of complianceof Standard OperatingProcedures (SOPs).

Immediate and self-gener-ated approval shall be accord-ed as soon as the application issubmitted on the said portal.

Passes for the employeesshall initially, be granted on aweekly basis i.e. with the fixedvalidity starting from May 4 toMay 10 and from May 11 toMay 17, he said.

The spokesman said on theportal an applicant will have toprovide details of their ancillaryunits in the application as perthe prescribed format to seekany support from the StateGovernment in reinstatingtheir supply chains.

In case of a change in therisk profile or category of thearea or district, prescribed

guidelines as per the currentstatus (red/orange/green) shallprevail at that point in time andadditional relaxations accord-ed previously shall stand auto-matically withdrawn.

The DistrictAdministration shall continu-ously assess the on-ground sit-uation and in case newCOVID19 cases arise in thedistrict, Deputy Commissioner(DC) needs to follow the guide-lines applicable for the currentsituation of his district lies inred, orange or green zone (out-side containment zone) andaccordingly to the needful, headded.

Sharing the details aboutthe penal provisions, thespokesman said that any per-son violating these lockdownmeasures and the NationalDirectives for Covid-19Management will be liable tocriminal prosecution as per theprovisions of Section 51 to 60of the Disaster ManagementAct, 2005, besides penal actionunder Section 188 of the IPC,and all other legal provisions asapplicable.

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Expressing gratitude to thefrontline Covid-19 war-

riors, flypasts by the Indian AirForce over Chandigarh's rain-fed famed Sukhna Lake wasexhibited on Sunday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF)choppers dropped flower petalsover the Command Hospital inChandimandir, near here, andthe PGIMER and theGovernment Medical CollegeHospital in Sector 32 here.

All three services of the

Indian Armed Forces displayedsolidarity with the corona war-riors who are working at thefrontline to fight the pandem-ic in the country.

Also, in neighbouringPanchkula and Mohali cities, anIndian Army band performedat one government hospitaleach to express gratitudetowards the frontline workers.

“We appreciate the kindgesture and I am extremelythankful to our Armed Forcesfor appreciating and com-mending the efforts of health

care workers, the front linewarriors battling the globalpandemic of Covid-19. It ishugely motivational,” said DrJagat Ram, Director PGIMERas the helicopters ceremonial-ly flew past and showeredpetals on the health care work-ers comprising doctors, nurs-es, housekeeping, sanitationand other allied services’ staffof PGIMER gathered in theKairon Block of PGIMER.

Lauding the initiatives ofthe others in the fight againstCovid-19, the DirectorPGIMER further said, “The

other front line warriors, ourpolice personnel, also deserveour whole-hearted admirationfor their commitment and tire-less work.

Even the role played bymedia in these challengingtimes is praiseworthy.

In fact, the healthcareworkers, police and media, allthree of them are front linewarriors, who are risking theirown lives to save the lives ofothers in their own capacitiesand carrying forward theirown responsibilities. Our saluteto all of them.”

INTERVIEWpioneer

From Page 1

in district, 16 in Ludhiana with total 111 indistrict, nine in Ropar with total 14 in district, fourin Fatehgarh Sahib with total 16 in district, fourin Sangrur with total 11 in district, four in Jalandharwith total 124 in district, two in Ferozepur withtotal 29 in district, three in Mansa with total 16in district, two in Barnala with total 4 in district,two in SAS Nagar with total 95 in district, and onein Patiala with total 86 in district. Notably, the num-ber of cases has recorded a steep rise over the pastweek with 65 per cent of Punjab's 1,102 cases havebeen recorded in the past five days alone.

Amritsar now has the most number of casesat 218, followed by Jalandhar (124), Ludhiana (111),SAS Nagar (95), Hoshiarpur (88), Patiala (86), SBSNagar (85), and Muktsar (50). The state also

recorded another death on Sunday from Ferozepur,taking the state’s tally to 21. With this, Ferozepurrecorded its first death. The deceased has beenidentified as a resident of Ali ke village. As per thebulletin, he was tested positive after the death.

However, another two have also died atLudhiana hospital who have been tested positiveon Saturday. But the official figures are yet to reflectthe same, which would take the state;s death tollto 23.Among the two, one was an elderly man fromPhagwara in Kapurthala. Both patients were admit-ted to Ludhiana's DMCH Hospital and tested pos-itive for the infection on Saturday.

As per the bulletin, two patients are critical andon ventilator support. Till date, a total of 26,439samples have been taken in the state, of which20,197 are negative and reports of 5,140 awaited.

����2�����%����+��������888;�/"���� ��� �����(�� <;=��������������=>Chandigarh: An 82-year-oldwoman from Chandigarh, whowas suffering fromCoronavirus, died at theAlchemist Hospital inPanchkula on Sunday morning.

A resident of Sector 18, shehad tested positive for Covid-19 on April 20. This is the firstCovid-19 related death report-ed from the city. Panchkulachief medical officer Dr JasjitKaur confirmed the develop-ment. PNS

Page 3: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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People of Chandigarh can usetheir vehicles without for-

mal passes from 7 am to 7 pm,visit sector markets from 10 amto 6 pm and can also buyliquor from Monday onwards.

For, the ChandigarhAdministration on Sundayissued fresh guidelines allowinga number of relaxations in thecity, in line with CentralGovernment’s order related toextension of COVID-19 lock-down by two weeks.

While wearing face masksat public places remain manda-tory in the city, the residents willbe allowed to use their vehiclesfrom May 4 without formalpasses from 7 am to 7 pm foressential purposes like going tooffice, factory, hospital andneighbourhood shops. Usage ofcycle is also allowed, as per theorder issued by UTAdministration.

Four wheeler vehicles willhave maximum two passengersbesides the driver whereas fortwo wheelers, pillion rider is notallowed, the order stated.

All shops in internal sectormarkets (neighbourhood shops)will remain open from 10 am to6 pm on odd-even basis. Forinstance, on May 4, shops witheven number will open and onMay 5, odd numbered shopswill be open. There will be strictemphasis on implementation ofsocial distancing norms andother precautions. Milk, veg-etables, fruits and chemistsshops are exempted from thesetimings, the order stated.

Marriage gatherings andgatherings for last rites have alsobeen allowed in the city underthe fresh UT’s guidelines.

However, all bars, restau-rants, sweet shops and eatingplaces will remain closed.Delivery of cooked food byhotels, restaurants or onlineagencies will also remain closedin the city till further orders.

All malls, market com-

plexes such as Elante Mall,DLF Mall and big shops locat-ed in Sectors will also remainclosed.

With 97 cases, Chandigarhfigures in the list of COVID-19red zones declared by theCentral Government.

The Administration hasdeclared six containment zonesincluding part of Bapu Dhamcolony (BDC), part of Sector30-B, Kacchi Colony, Dhanas,part of Shastri Nagar(Manimajra), part of Sector 38and part of Sector 52, which willremain completely sealed andthere will be no relaxations andunchecked influx of peopleand transport there.

Parida, UT Adviser saidthat curfew will be lifted fromthe city from Sunday midnightand city will be under lockdownfor next two weeks.

All non-essential activitiesshall remain strictly prohibitedbetween 7 pm to 7 am and res-idents will stay indoors as perthe prohibitory orders.Movement will be allowed foressential purposes from 7 am to

7 pm, he said.Chandigarh, being a trici-

ty and capital of Punjab andHaryana, the passes issued bythe Deputy Commissioners ofMohali and Panchkula will behonoured. Strict perimeterand thermal scanning will bedone at border entry points,Parida added.

While the Administrationhas allowed opening of innersector markets from May 4,congested markets such as inSector 46 Rehri Market, Sector22-D, Shastri Market, Sector 15Patel Market, Sector 41, KrishnaMarket, Sector 19, Sadar Bazarand Palika Bazar, Sector 18Gandhi Market, Sector 27Janata Market etc. will remainclosed.

All government offices willbe open under strict social dis-tancing norms from Mondayonwards. However, no publicdealing will be done till May 11so that the premises can be san-itized and pending or arrearworks could be expedited. TheSampark Centres, however, willbe open from May 11.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Sunday said the StateGovernment is committed toensure that all agriculturallabourers and migrant labour-ers of other States of the coun-try who are stranded inHaryana reach their homes ina safe and systematic mannerat the earliest.

This commitment wasmade by Chief Minister here ina video conference chaired byhim with office bearers of sixdifferent Labour Unions andPresident of Labour Cells offive different political parties.

During the meeting, it wasdecided that agriculturallabourers of border states ofUttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Punjab, Uttarakhand andHimachal Pradesh will besent to their homes in busesand those of Bihar, Jharkhandand Madhya Pradesh will besent by special Shramik Trainsfrom different stations inHaryana.

Return of migrant labour-ers of the remaining states,being relatively lesser in num-bers, shall be ensured throughspecial trains from New Delhi.

The Chief Minister urgedthe unions to spread this mes-sage of Government's com-mitment and also the need forhaving patience to the labour-ers and their families.

Otherwise, their eagerness toreturn can lead to theirexploitation by unscrupulouselements, he said.

Manohar Lal said that asfor the few more days somelabourers would have to spendin Haryana, they must observesocial distancing, try to engagein useful work or learn somenew skills. The government iscommitted to ensure that noperson would go hungry dur-ing the Corona crisis inHaryana.

There was consensus in themeeting that as far as possibleindustrial labourers should beencouraged to assist in earlyreopening of their units.

It was also decided in themeeting that district level com-mittees under the chairman-ship of Deputy Commissionerwith representatives of differentlabour unions will be set up toreview the progress of disburse-ment of salaries for the month ofMarch and April to workers byindustrialists, especially the smalland medium industries.

The Chief Minister alsoassured that there is no plan tocut down on the 17 per centDA being paid to governmentemployees. The Chief Ministerfurther assured that there willbe no discrimination of Ashaand Anganwadi workers indistribution of PPE kits to themembers of official teamsengaged in screening work incontainment zones.

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Haryana Government is con-sidering to impose a vari-

able "Covid cess" on liquor tosupport the areas or institutionsadversely hit by the pandemic,Deputy Chief Minister DushyantChautala said on Sunday.

"The government is consid-ering new Covid cess so thatthose areas or those institutionswhich have been adversely hit bythe pandemic and need supportcan be helped," Chautala told anews conference here on Sunday.

Asked how much cess thegovernment is contemplating toimpose, he said, "Discussions areon. Every product is different,fixed cess is not possible, so it willdepend on product and quanti-ty. The cess will be variable".

The deputy chief ministerindicated that the cess could beanywhere between �2-20.

Chautala, who also holds theportfolios of Excise, Industry andCommerce Departments, saidno decision has yet been takenon when to open the liquorvends. He, however, said sug-gestions including from mediahave been sought so that stepsare taken accordingly. It will haveto be ensured that there is nocrowding and proper social dis-tancing is maintained at thevends, as and when these areopened, he said.

The state government hasalso sought report from deputycommissioners on whether vendsshould be opened or not asCovid-19 situation varies fromdistrict to district, he said.

To a question, Chautala saidstock of warehouses involved inliquor distribution was checked onthree different occasions in the pastover a month and irregularitieswere found in 53 of these and FIRswere registered and fines imposed.

On giving relaxations toindustry in accordance with theCentre's guidelines, he said fromApril 20 onwards they havebeen easing out restrictions, bar-ring those units which are incontainment zones, so that eco-nomic activity can be resumed.

"From May 4-10 and from

May 11-18, we will give morerelaxation to industry, but withmore strictness than even whatMHA guidelines say so that ourindustry is revived on one hand,while on the other we are able tocheck coronavirus infections tooon the other," he said.

In the IT sector, workforcewith 33 per cent in red zone, 53pc in orange and 100 pc in greenzone will be permitted while insecond phase (May 11-18) it willbe 50 pc, 75 pc and 100 pc,respectively.

In rural area, for the redzone, industry will be given per-mission to open with 33 per centworkforce and with 50 per centfor in-situ where units can retainworkforce at places of work.Likewise, industry will be givenpermission to open with 75 percent and 100 per cent in orangeand green zones, respectively.

For e-commerce, for theperiod between May 11-18, onlyessential goods will be allowed inred zone, Chautala said.

Shops in rural areas havebeen opened, he said, whileadding in the urban areas, innon-containment zones, espe-cially those in orange and greenzones, deputy commissionershave been authorized to decidewhether to open shops by odd-even system (on the basis of shopnumbers) .

With MSME sector beingadversely hit, Chautala said theHaryana government will beextending a financial support ofnearly �250 crore to them. Oncurrent crop procurement, hesaid 41.23 lakh metric tonne(LMT) wheat and 3.62 LMTmustard has been procured.From June 1-30, sunflower willalso be procured at the rate of Rs5,650 per metric tonne, he said.

He said despite the chal-lenges of labour shortage andother difficulties in view of thelockdown, procurement wasgoing on smoothly. "I am hope-ful that we will touch 75 lakh MTtarget of wheat procurement innext 10 days," he said.

On Congress'' criticizing thestate government for hiking

VAT rate on diesel and petroland increasing bus fares, he saidwhile people are not complain-ing as they fully know the pre-sent crisis situation, theOpposition is doing politics overthe issue.

Hitting out at Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep SinghSurjewala, who has been criticalof the Manohar Lal Khattar gov-ernment on various issues,Chautala said, "Why did he notraise voice when the Congressgovernment in Rajasthan reviseddiesel and petrol ratss on threeoccasions in recent times, whydoes he not dub it as Jazia Taxthere?"

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66 new Coronavirus caseswere reported in Haryana

on Sunday, taking the State’sCovid-19 tally to 442.

The state also reported adeath due to coronavirus tak-ing the toll to five in the state.

“A 45-year-old man hailingfrom Gurugram died in thedaycare Center of Pt BDSharma Post Graduate Instituteof Medical Sciences (PGIMS),Rohtak on Saturday night. Hewas Covid-19 positive andadmitted to the PGIMS onApril 30. The doctors gavehim best possible treatment asper protocols but he died onSaturday night,” said aspokesman of the PGIMS.

Out of 66 fresh cases, 18were reported from Sonepat, 12from Faridabad, 11 fromPanipat, 9 from Gurugram, 6from Jind, four from Fatehabadand two each fromYamunangar, Jhajjar andPalwal, according to the stateHealth Department’s eveningbulletin.

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Punjab has received a nodfrom the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR) toundertake clinical trials forConvalascent Plasma Therapyon Covid-19 patients.

Notably, the Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh hadallowed use of this therapywhen Ludhiana ACP Kohliinflicted with coronavirus andadmitted in SPS HospitalLudhiana.

The State Government hadprovided all support and formerDirector PGIMER, ChandigarhProf Dr KK Talwar, had orga-nized the requisite profession-al guidance but ACP Kohli'scondition deteriorated beforethe therapy could be tried out.

The matter was, however,pursued and a formal propos-al sent to ICMR for formalapproval The stateAdditionalChief Secretary (GovernanceReforms) and Covid HealthSector Response andProcurement Committee chair-man Vini Mahajan said that theICMR, New Delhi, had given its

nod to conduct the trial, whichis expected to commence short-ly.

“Government MedicalColleges at Amritsar andPatiala, Guru Gobind SinghMedical College and Hospital inFaridkot, Sri Guru Ram DasInstitute of Medical Sciencesand Research at Amritsar,Christian Medical College andHospital at Ludhiana,Dayanand Medical College andHospital at Ludhiana andSatguru Partap Singh Hospital,also in Ludhiana, have part-nered to undertake the clinicaltrial of Convalascent PlasmaTherapy,” she said.

The inter-institution coor-dination would be done by thePrincipal Investigators, whowould also ensure that theentire trial is conducted instrict accordance with theICMR protocol at each institu-tion.

Mahajan said that with theable guidance and expertise ofDr KK Talwar, a Memorandumof Understanding (MOU) hasbeen signed by the PrincipalInvestigators, including Dr

Aikaj Jindal, the Head ofDepartment, TransfusionMedicine, Satguru Partap SinghHospital, Ludhiana; and Dr MJoseph John, Head ofDepartment, ClinicalHematology, Christian MedicalCollege and Hospital, Ludhiana.

PUNJAB CROSSES 20k RT-PCR COVID TESTS ONMAY 2

Punjab Government onSaturday completed a mile-stone in its fight against Covidwith the total number of RT-PCR tests crossing 20,000 mark,even as the State geared up toadd more lab and testing facil-ities in the days ahead.

Good capacity increasedby the Medical EducationDepartment and the HealthDepartment has helped theState scale up its testing to 1,500a day, which the Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh has fur-ther directed to be ramped upto 6,000 a day by mid-May, tocope with the rush of migrantsand other Punjabis expected toreturn home in the comingdays.

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Train to the home will chugonly for the stranded. The

Union Minister of HomeAffairs, in a letter to chief sec-retaries of all the states, hasmade it clear that the inter-statemovement was permitted onlyfor the people stranded atplaces other than their hometown.

The letter has, however,prompted the PunjabGovernment to seek clarifica-tion from the Ministry ofHome Affairs to clarifywhether the migrant labourersworking in the state’s factoriesare included in the definitionof “distressed stranded per-sons”, while asking the StateGovernments and the UnionTerritory to facilitate the move-ment of such distressed strand-ed persons as allowed underMHA’s orders.

The letter, written by theUnion Home Secretary AjayBhalla, has given clarificationregarding the Ministry of

Home Affairs’ order, datedApril 29, 2020, and May 1,2020, wherein movement ofmigrant workers, pilgrims,tourists, students and otherpersons, who are stranded atdifferent places due to lock-down, have been allowed.

“It is clarified that theMHA orders are meant tofacilitate the movement of suchstranded persons, who hadmoved from their native placesor workplaces, just before thelockdown period, but could notreturn to their native places orworkplaces on account ofrestrictions placed on themovement of persons and vehi-cles as part of lockdown mea-sures,” said Bhalla, in the letter.

The letter stated that thefacilitation, in the orders, is“meant for such distressed per-sons, but does not extend tothose categories of persons,who are otherwise residingnormally at places, other thanthe native places for purposesof work etc”.

Also, the orders allowing

inter-state movement also notapply on those who wish tovisit their native places in thenormal course.

“We have received neworders today and the status ofmigrant labourers, who work infactories here, is unclear…TheChief Secretary will take up theissue with the MHA tomorrow(Monday) to seek clarifica-tion,” a senior government offi-cial told The Pioneer, request-ing anonymity.

The official said that “about90 per cent of the migrantsbelong to this category. Wehave to wait for the Centre’sclarification”.

As of now, more than 6.44lakh (6,44,378) migrants, whoare interested in returning totheir native places, have regis-tered themselves on the StateGovernment’s special onlineportal — www.covidhelp.pun-jab.gov.in — designed for thepurpose.

Maximum of 3.43 lakhs(3,43,081) migrants from UttarPradesh and 2.35 lakhs

(2,35,273) from Bihar haveregistered themselves for goingback to their home towns.Besides, 10,692 stranded peo-ple from Jharkhand, 10,355from West Bengal, 9,914 fromMadhya Pradesh, 6,157 fromUttarakhand, 5,810 fromJammu and Kashmir, 4,682from Himachal Pradesh, 3,794from Rajasthan, 2,450 fromHaryana, 2,040 fromChhattisgarh, among others,have also registered.

The State Government issharing the detailed data reg-ularly with the “destinationstates”, which are shortlyexpected to finalize thearrangements for the safereturn of these migrants keep-ing in view the health protocolsmandated by the CentralGovernment.

On the other hand, 9343persons, registered on the por-tal, wanted to return to Punjabwith maximum 1,652 belong-ing to Ludhiana, followed by783 from Mohali and 758 fromAmritsar, besides others.

Chandigarh: Punjab PublicWorks Department MinisterVijay Inder Singla on Sundaysaid that as many as 23 toll plazasoperational under the StateGovernment will resume col-lection from May 4 onwards.

The tolling operations weresuspended on March 27 in viewof the nationwide lockdown andsuspension was extended onApril 19 till May 3, he said.

Singla said that toll author-ities have also been directed toensure social distancing, saniti-zation, frequent washing ofhands, putting up masks, handgloves and other preventive mea-sures in terms of the guidelinesissued by the Union and StateGovernments to contain thespread of Covid-19.

The Minister said that theorders in this regard have beenissued by the Department butif any toll plaza would fallwithin the containment zone,the tolling operations willremain temporarily suspendedon that particular toll plaza tillMay 17. PNS

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Page 4: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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The incident of stone-peltersresurfacing in Pulwama

and attacking forces engaged inan encounter with terrorists hasalarmed the security establish-ment. It has come about aftera long gap and that too, amida stringent Covid-19 lockdownin the Valley and the continuedpresence of security forces infull strength since the abroga-tion of Article 370 giving spe-cial status to Jammu andKashmir last year.

Faced with this re-emerg-ing threat after it nearly dieddown in 2019, the securityforces are now redrawing theirtactics to control crowds atencounter sites. Officials havemaintained that there has been“no major incident of stonepelting at encounter sites” in2020. Hence, the Pulwamaincident has understandablyalerted the security establish-ment.

The stone-pelting incidenthas also coincided with thesurge in militant activities lead-ing to increased anti-militancyoperations. At least, 62 mili-tants have been neutralizedsince January one this year with30 of the total ultras killed inthe month of April alone, offi-cials said.

However, at least 15 secu-rity men have also died in thelast four months including thelatest casualties of a Coloneland a Major on Friday. In fact,terrorists barged into thehomes of some security men inKashmir valley and shot themdead before decamping withtheir automatic weapons.

The sequence of events inDangerpora, Pulwama, sawheavy stone pelting commenc-ing as the security forces wereapproaching the houses wherethe militants were hiding. Thiswas to delay the cordon andsearch net to get in place andgive ample warning to the

ultras to escape. Reports saidwhile two militants were killedin the ensuing firefight, theother two managed to escape inthe confusion due to stone

throwing.Radicalised elements, espe-

cially in four districts of SouthKashmir, used to resort tostone throwing whenever

the security forces were closingin on hiding militants in vari-ous hamlets, sources said hereon Sunday.

The phenomenon peakedinto a major disruptive activi-ty during the encounter withthe Hizbul Mujahideen com-mander Burhan Wani in 2016and it continued for the nextcouple of months.

After giving a tough timeto the law enforcement agen-cies, stone pelting instancesnearly came to an end in late2019 after the Centre’s Article370 move. Prior to that, theerstwhile State witnessed 1,999incidents in the same year.This figure had crossed 2,650in 2016 following Wani’skilling. More than 1,450 inci-dents were reported in 2018while 1,410 incidents occurredin 2017.

With almost negligent inci-dents in the last many months,security forces are taking the

Pulwama incident

seriously as it took place despitelock down restrictions andgeneral improvement in lawand order, sources said.

The tightening up of theanti-terror grid will now seegenerating more real-timeintelligence to go after the mil-itants so as to avoid giving anywhiff to the misguided locals togather and throw stones as anobstruction, they said.

Moreover, the focus will beon launching operations insmall teams in minimum pos-sible time to avoid leakage ofinformation and getting out ofthe encounter site as fast as pos-sible. This will make sure thatthe radicalized elements donot have time and space tomarshal their resources,sources said adding any chanceof collateral damage will also bereduced to a large extent.

On the sudden spurt in thenumber of fire-fights, officialssaid Pakistan-backed militantsare now trying desperately to

infiltrate from the mountainpasses in North Kashmir.While many attempts werefoiled, some militants managedto sneak in and the encounterin Keran some weeks backand the latest engagement inHandwara are clear indicators,they said. Both these places arein North Kashmir.

Five para-commandoswere killed in Keran in earlyApril while five security per-sonnel including two officersfell on Friday.

With snow melting in thehigher reaches of NorthKashmir, the anti-infiltrationgrid is now fully geared tothwart determined attemptsby Pakistan to push in militantsinto the Kashmir valley.

According to an estimate,nearly 300 well trained ultrasare lodged in more than 25launch pads across the Line ofControl(LOC)and sources didnot rule out the number ofencounters on the LOC and in

the hinterland going up in thecoming days.

Army Chief General M MNaravane, who visited Srinagarin late April after the five com-mandos were killed, had saidfocus on anti-infiltration mea-sures on the LOC will contin-ue. “As far as fighting terrorismin the hinterland is concerned,we will approach it through thejoint mechanism instituted forthe purpose. We have a highlevel of synergy between all theforces operating in the Valley,”he had said.

The Army Chief had alsosaid the security forces will giveproportionate response toPakistan to all acts of infringe-ment of ceasefire and his sup-port to terrorism. The onusremains with Pakistan to bringpeace in the region. “UnlessPakistan gives up its policy ofstate sponsored terrorism, wewill continue to respond withimpunity and precision,”Naravane said.

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Cancer has emerged as oneof the major risk factors

responsible for increased mor-tality due to Covid-19, accord-ing to a study published in lat-est journal of CancerDiscovery. It is the largest studyso far to assess outcomes forpatients with cancer who havealso been infected with thedeadly contagion.

As a group, said the study,Covid-19 patients with bloodcancers, such as leukemiaand lymphoma, has the high-est mortality rate.

"Our findings emphasisethe need to prevent cancerpatients from contractingCovid-19 and-if they do-toidentify and closely monitorthese individuals for danger-ous symptoms," said co-leadauthor of the study, Dr VikasMehta, a surgical oncologist atMontefiore and associate pro-fessor of otorhinolaryngolo-gy--head and neck surgery atEinstein.

Dr Mehta added, “wehope that our findings caninform states and communi-ties that have not yet been soseverely struck by this pan-demic about the unique vul-nerability cancer patientsface."

The study involved 218cancer patients who testedpositive for Covid-19 fromMarch 18 to April 8, 2020 atMontefiore Medical Center inthe Bronx, New York City, oneof the regions in the UnitedStates hit hardest by the pan-demic.

A total of 61 cancerpatients died from Covid-19,a dramatically high case-fatal-ity rate of 28 per cent.

"A key element is thatmortality appears to be moreclosely related to frailty, age,

and co-morbidities than toactive therapy for cancer,"said co-senior author BalazsHalmos, director of theMultidisciplinary ThoracicOncolog y Program atMontefiore and professor ofmedicine at Einstein.

"Our data suggest that weshould not stop lifesaving

cancer therapies, but ratherdevelop strategies to min-imise potential Covid-19exposures and re-evaluatetherapies for our most vul-nerable cancer populations,"explained co-senior authorAmit Verma, director of thedivision of hemato-oncologyat Montefiore and professor of

medicine and of develop-mental and molecular biolo-gy at Einstein.

The time period duringwhich these patients weretreated was earlier in the epi-demic when testing wasalmost exclusively done insicker, symptomatic patientswho required hospitalisation.

This may partially explainthe high fatality rate withinthe study's cancer popula-tion. However, even whencompared to mortality ratesin non-cancer patients atMontef iore and across New York City during thesame time period, cancerpatients demonstrated a sig-

nificantly higher risk of dying from Covid-19, said thestudy.

As a group, Covid-19patients with hematologic(blood) cancers, such asleukemia and lymphoma, hadthe highest mortality rate: 37per cent (20 of 54 patients).For patients with solid malig-

nancies, the mortality ratewas 25% (41 of 164). Strikingdifferences were observedamong specific solid cancers:the mortality rate for patientswith lung cancer was 55 percent and colorectal cancer was 38 per cent, com-pared with mortality rates of14 per cent for breast cancer

and 20 per cent for prostatecancer.

Certain underlying conditions-older age, hyper-tension, heart disease, andchronic lung disease--weresignificantly associated withincreased mortality amongcancer patients with Covid-19.

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Disability rights organisa-tions are up in arms

against the recent order of theDirector of the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences,Rishikesh, threatening itsemployees including faculty,with compulsory retirement ifthey are unable to performduties, due to physical or men-tal disability, which interfereswith efficient discharge ofduties.

The organisations havenow sought intervention ofDr Harsh Vadhan, UnionHealth Minister and ThawarChand Gehlot, UnionMinister of Social Justice andEmpowerment to intervene inthe matter, seeking with-drawal of the “blatantly dis-criminatory order.”

‘Any employee (includ-ing faculty), if unable to per-

form duties, due to Physical ormental disability, which inter-feres with efficient dischargeof duties, will be compulsoryretired, as per CCS rules,’says the official order dated 9April 2020 signed by Dr RaviKant, Director, AIIMS,Rishikesh.

The National Platformfor the Rights of the Disabled(NPRD) slammed the move,saying that “the memo doesnot specifically state whichsection of the CCS rulesmakes a provision for such“compulsory” retirement.

“On the contrary, theCentral Services (Pension)Amendment Rules, 2018,states, “The case of a govern-ment servant acquiring a dis-ability, where the provisions ofSection 20 of the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities Act,2016 (49 of 2016) are applic-able, shall be governed by the

provisions of the said section,”said MuralidharanVishwanath, Secretary, NPRD.

He also cited various pro-visions of the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities(RPWD) Act 2016 which pro-tects the righst of the PwDswhile in duty.

“Despite progressive leg-islation to empower peoplewith disabilities, the AIIMS,Rishikesh is passing an officeorder which is not only unfair,discriminator y but alsounlawful”, said disabilityrights activist and founder ofDoctors with Disabilities, DrSatendra Singh.

Dr Singh also said that theorder will have adverse impacton the morale of disabledstaff at AIIMS, Rishikesh dur-ing Covid-19 pandemic timeswhen all efforts are beingtaken to boost the morale ofthe employees.

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Days after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi expressed

his vision for self-reliant andsustainable villages, theCommon Service Centres(CSC), the digital arm of theGovernment, on Sundayannounced to fulfil the nation'sneeds for assimilating the spir-it of self-reliance at rural level.

From the new age e-com-merce to realising direct ben-efit transfers (DBT) to provid-ing loans and imparting onlineeducation to villagers, the CSChas all in its basket to play asignificant role in nation’sgoal of achieving Gram Swaraj,CSC CEO Dr Dinesh KumarTyagi said.

The Prime Minister had onPanchayati Raj Day on April 24emphasised the need for assim-ilating the spirit of self-relianceand advocated that panchyatsand villages can play a signif-icant role in nation’s goal ofachieving Gram Swaraj.

The PM highlighted therole of the digital economy(CSC) and internet connectiv-ity( Bharat Net ) in facilitatingself-reliance and meeting theseemerging challenges encoun-tered by the country in today’scontext like the corona pan-demic scare.

The CSCs, under the

Ministry of Electronics & IT ofGovernment of India, is a sig-nificant pillar of the DigitalIndia Programme. This pan-India network is operated andmanaged by the Village LevelEntrepreneurs and is closelyaligned to the spirit and visionof Gram Swaraj. Currently,over 3 lakh VLEs are manag-ing the CSCs in rural andsemi urban areas of the coun-try.

"The core components ofGram Swaraj centered on self-reliance and socio-economicdignity, especially for the mar-ginalized communities, arebeing addressed and deliveredby the CSCs. Through tech-nology, enabling policy anddigital infrastructure, CSCsare contributing to GramSwaraj through digital literacy,awareness about Governmentand other schemes contribut-ing to social empowerment;digital entrepreneurial oppor-tunities and infrastructure con-tributing to economic empow-erment and citizenship servicesthat contribute to inclusion andpolitical empowerment by pro-viding easy access to servicesand schemes," said Tyagi.

Tyagi said the fact thatSarpanchs(Panchayat repre-sentative) of different GramPanchayats from across thecountry sitting in villages con-

nected with the Prime Ministerdigitally through video con-ference itself establish thepower of digital infrastruc-ture and support the vision ofdecentralized democracy andcitizens’ active participation innation building.

Other significant tenets ofthe Gram Swaraj concept is thefocus and ability for meetingcommunity needs utilisinglocally available resources.During the COVID 19 pan-demic the innovative CSCGrameen e store are not onlymeeting the requirement of the

citizen but also supporting thefarmers to sell its produce or anartisan to market its products.

"This localised e-com-merce CSC Store is trans-forming the rural economyand making them self reliantbeside general economic devel-opment of the village," Tyagisaid.

CSC has also started in alimited way the Rural BPO,which has a huge potential foremployment generation andcan reverse/contain the Ruralmigration, he pointed out.

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The Department ofBiotechnology (DBT)

under the Union Science andTechnology Ministry hasannounced the launch of1,000 Genome sequencing ofSARS-Cov 2 virus to under-stand viral and host genomicsof COVID-19 outbreak. Thedeadly contagion has sweptacross the nations killing over2 lakhs worldwide. In India,the virus has claimed over1,320 lives.

Under the study, the sci-entists will sequence 1,000SARS Cov-2 genomes fromthe clinical samples to under-stand the evolving molecularphylogeny of the virus and theemerging mutations in theviral RNA as well as identifythe host genetic variationswhich correlate with trans-mission, susceptibility anddisease severity.

The samples will be col-lected from across India tostudy the emerging mutationsin the virus and how theychange the symptoms of theinfections disease that haskilled at least 235,000 peopleacross the world, as per astatement here.

This study is being coor-dinated by National Instituteof Biomedical Genomics(NIBMG) in Kalyani, WestBengal. The institute hasalready sequenced about fiveSars-CoV-2 genomes.

Other partners includeCentre for DNAFingerprinting AndDiagnostics – Hyderabad,Institute of Life Sciences –Bhubaneswar, National Centrefor Cell Science – Pune,Institute For Stem Cell Scienceand Regenerative Medicine –Bengaluru. Other DBT labo-ratories will also contribute insample collection andsequencing from across thecountry. The Indian Instituteof Sciences is also likely to jointhe project.

The analysis of the datawill also help the researchersunderstand how genetic vari-ations in the human hostrelate to the severity andtransmissibility of the infec-tion and the susceptibility toit.

The findings of this studywill also assist development ofefficient diagnostic assays,vaccine and drug candidatesand help formulate policies forcontainment of the outbreak.

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Amid rising number of coro-navirus cases in the

Central Armed Police Forcesand concerns over severalpolicemen contractingCOVID-19, the Centre hasadvised the States for preparingan effective second line ofdefence to contain the spreadof the pandemic.

In a separate letter to all theChief Secretaries of States/UTsand DGs Prisons, the Ministryadvised them to strictly followguidelines and protocols formanaging Covid-19 in prisons.

In its communication toall the States and UnionTerritories, the Union HomeMinistry said the police chiefsmay consider the option of'work from home' for person-nel not deployed on frontlinein hotspots and containmentznones, and wherever feasible.

"To meet the challenge ofCOVID-19, and to ensure sus-tainment of control strategyfor COVID- 19, police forcesneed to prepare an effectivesecond line of defence to makeup for the police personnelwho may be rendered ineffec-

tive due to COVID infectionduring the

pandemic," the home min-istry said.

The Ministry has also reit-erated guidelines and proto-cols for security personnelengaged in managing publicduring the continuing lock-down.

As for writing about theguidelines for prisons, theHome Ministry said the novelcoronavirus is a global healthcrisis and has affected a hugepopulation the world over.

The virus which causes thedisease is highly infectiousand even pre-symptomaticpeople can infect others andany person who is in closecontact with someone who hassuspected or confirmedCOVID-19 is at risk of con-tracting the disease, it said.

"People in prisons andother places of detention, liv-ing in closed and crowdedenvironment, are likely to be

more vulnerable to the coro-navirus disease," the HomeMinistry said.

Moreover, it said, experi-ence shows that prisons, jailsand similar settings wherepeople gather in close prox-imity may act as a source ofinfection, amplification andspread of infectious diseaseswithin and beyond prisons.

Prison health is, there-fore, widely considered aspublic health. Any controlstrategy for COVID-19 in thecommunity which does notencompass the prison contextwill not be sustainable, theministry said.

"It is, therefore, consideredessential that health-careteams of States and UTs shouldwork with the custodial anddetention staff in prisons andother places of detention, fol-lowing the national guide-lines and protocols on thesubject issued by the govern-ment of India from time to

time," it said.The home ministry said

certain inmates in a prisonwere tested COVID-19 posi-tive.

In view of this, it is con-sidered expedient to issuethese guidelines to reiterate theprecautions and measures tobe taken, the ministry said.

In a separate development,the ministry has sought areport from the CRPF on whythere has been an upward spi-ral in the number of Covid-19cases.

The BSF has also reported42 Covid positive cases till sofar.

In 31 Battalion located ata camp here, as many as 140persons have been tested pos-itive for the disease even as testreports of others are awaited.

Another company wasquarantined on Saturday fol-lowing detection of a coronavirus positive case. On Sunday,the CRPF headquarters wassealed after detection of aCovid-19 positive case and all40 personnel traced to havebeen in contact with theinfected official have beenquarantined.

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Chief Justice of India S ABobde has directed that

Supreme Court officers inthe ranks of deputy registrarand above or their equivalentin the registry shall attendoffice from May 4.

The apex court hasrestricted its functioning sinceMarch 23, days before thenationwide lockdown startedfrom March 25, and ispresently hearing urgent mat-ters through video-confer-encing.

An office order, issued onSunday by the top court'ssecretary general Sanjeev SKalgaonkar, said that remain-ing staff members shall con-tinue to work from home asper terms and conditions asnotified earlier.

"In partial modification oforders referred above, theChief Justice of India hasbeen pleased to direct that allthe officers in the ranks ofdeputy registrar and above, or

their equivalent, in the registry shall attend officewith effect from Monday,May 4, 2020," it said.

"The remaining staff shallcontinue to work from homeon such terms and conditionsas notified earlier, by theorders under reference, how-ever, concerned registrar(s)may direct any other subor-dinate officer/staff to attendoffice to meet any urgentrequirement(s) and, on suchdirection, such officer and/orstaff shall report for duty atoffice on the date and time sodirected," it said.

The office order said allofficers and staff, while com-muting to and from office andalso while at work, shall strict-ly follow all precautions as peradvisor y and guidelinesissued by the Governmentand the apex court registryfrom time to time towardspreventing the spread ofCOVID-19, like practisingsocial distancing and wearingface masks.

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Page 5: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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While the Centre and StateGovernments in the country

are burning mid-night oil devising astrategy to deal with the post-coro-navirus phase, a senior CPI(M)leader in Kerala has been caught upin a Catch -22 situation at the resi-dence of his secret lover at Kollam.The district administration has putthe prince of romance under quar-antine in a Government hospital.

It turned out to be a May Daywith a difference for GMuraleedharan, a criminal lawyer byprofession who is also the secretaryof the Trivandrum Bar Association.He had an illicit affair with a mar-ried woman in Kollam, the adjoiningdistrict.

When her husband left forAlappuzha to attend the last rites ofa close relation, the lady invited thelawyer lover for a rendezvous at herown residence. The CPI(M) leadertold his wife at Thiruvananthapuramthat he has to meet a client at Kollamto be briefed about an upcominghearing and would be back only thenext day.

His escapades to the neighbour-ing district continued for a couple ofdays and this was observed by thelocal residents. Unknown to thelawyer was that fact thatChathannoor, the area where his loverhad her residence, has been declared

as a containment zone and strict lock-down rules were in force.

The local population who tooknote of the arrival and departure ofthe stranger struck on May Day byinforming the Kollam district col-lector about the goings on. TheCollector in turn alerted the coron-avirus monitoring team about theinter-district visitor who was floutingthe laws openly. On the occasion ofhis fourth visit, the lawyer was takeninto custody by a team of officialsdrawn out from the departments ofpolice, revenue , health and localadministration.

The arguments by the lawyer thathe had come as part of his professionfell flat as the relations of the womancertified that there were no legalissues associated with the family.

The district administration wasnot willing to take any chances andthe modern day Perry Mason wasquarantined for 14 days in the KollamDistrict Hospital where he is busypreparing a brief to present before the“Court of Justice” where he has toappear first after releasing from theconfinement, his own house.

One is reminded of the catch-word that coronavirus is not just a dryand humid season but has lightermoments too. May be a movie byname Pathi,Pathni and Pandemiccould be made featuring theescapades of the modern dayCasanova.

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With 35 fresh cases of coronavirus,the Union Territory of Jammu &

Kashmir Sunday crossed the 700 bar-rier. On the other hand, theGovernment on Sunday listed all 10 dis-tricts of Kashmir valley as red districtsalong with three districts of Jammu,Samba and Kathua from Jammu divi-sion.

Four districts of Reasi, Udhampur,Ramban and Rajouri were categorisedas Orange districts and only three dis-tricts of Doda, Kishtwar and Poonchwere categorised as Green districts.

Meanwhile, the testing capacity inJammu and Kashmir has been furtherincreased up to 2500 tests per day.

According to the media bulletin, 35new positive cases of novel Coronavirus(Covid-19), 01 from Jammu divisionand 34 from Kashmir division, havebeen reported on sunday thus takingthe total number of positive cases inJammu & Kashmir to 701.

According to the bulletin, out of 701positive cases, 406 are Active Positive,287 have recovered and 08 have died.

Moreover, 33 more Covid-19patients have recovered and dischargedfrom various hospitals- 02 from Jammu

Division and 31 from Kashmir Division.Earlier, in the day Indian Armed

Forces organised multiple events toshow solidarity and gratitude to theseCorona Warriors across J&K.

Indian Army organised events inKashmir valley, in Rajouri, Akhnoor,Jammu, Samba, Kathua and felicitatedall agencies involved in the fight againstCovid-19 by organizing Military PipeBand Displays as a token of apprecia-tion and goodwill gesture at manyplaces. In Jammu Tiger Divisionorganised events at: Govt MedicalCollege Jammu, J&K Police linesGandhi Nagar, Govt Hospital Gandhi

Nagar, Police Station, Bari Brahmana,Employees State Insurance CorporationHospital, Bari Brahmana. Banners withencouraging slogans were displayed andsenior army officials greeted and inter-acted with counterparts from otheragencies. Miran Sahib Brigade also pre-sented Hand sanitizers manufactured byBrigade EME workshop and Greetingcards from children to the CoronaWarriors in Govt Medical CollegeJammu. In Rajouri, Corona Warriorswere honoured by Ace of SpadesDivision at District Police Lines, CivilHospital, Government College andArmy Hospital.

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It turned out to be a BlackSunday for Chennai as the

number of persons tested pos-itive for coronavirus in themetropolis increased by 203 ina single day, according to themedical bulletin released bythe Government of Tamil Nadu.

The total number of per-sons tested positive for thepandemic in the State crossedthe 3,000 mark by Sundayevening and reached 3,023 by7.15 pm. The day saw 266 per-sons testing positive for coron-avirus all over the State.

This is the highest numberof persons testing positive in theState in a single day whichprompted medical expert likeDr Ranjith Vijayahari to desig-nate Chennai as a “very veryhotspot” and termed the situa-tion highly critical. With 203persons testing positive on asingle day, Chennai city alonehas 1,458 active covid-19patients. One more person suc-cumbed to the pandemic onSunday making the total num-ber of deaths to 30.

What is causing concern isChennai emerging as TamilNadu’s epicenter of coronaviruseven as the State Government

has decided to relax the regu-lations and make things easy forindustries and business estab-lishments to function fromMay 4. “The only option beforethe Tamil Nadu administrationis to identify, isolate and quar-antine the persons testing pos-itive. The State has to ramp upthe testing. The contacts of allthe 203 persons tested positivehave to be identified and test-ed and if need arises, they haveto be isolated,” said DrVijayahari who prefers a totalclose down of the hotspotswith stringent regulations.

Earlier in the day, theGreater Corporation ofChennai passed a legislationtaking over all marriage hallsand halls in the city to accom-modate the coronavirus patientswhose numbers are rising bythe day. The perception of thegeneral public towards the

norms declared by theGovernment need to bechanged, according to DrRajesh Kesavan, a medical doc-tor.

“The fact that we haveseized more than 3 lakh vehi-cles for violation of the pro-hibitory orders and collectedmore than �3.5 crore as fineshows that there is no let up inthe attitude of the city residents.Now we have to see whatimpact the new order enactedby the Tamil Nadu Governmentto arrest and imprison personsloitering around would make,”said a police officer in Chennai.

The lack of coordinationbetween the State and CentralGovernments with regard to theavailability of quarantine facil-ities came out on Sunday. TheSouthern Division of theRailways had worked overtimeand converted 575 rail bogiesinto temporary hospital facili-ties. “Each compartment/bogiecould accommodate eight per-sons and if the need shoots up,we can put 16 persons in a sin-gle coach. But the request hasto come from the StateGovernment. We are ready witha buffer arrangement,” a seniorRailway Official told ThePioneer.

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For the entire medical fra-ternity in Tamil Nadu and

Kerala, Sunday, May 3, 2020would remain as a day to beremembered throughouttheir life.

The helicopters of IndianAir Force showered petals onCovid warriors, the doctors,nurses, para medical staff andall healthcare workers engagedin fighting the spread of thepandemic.

In Chennai IAF heli-copters flew over the RajivGandhi Government GeneralHospital and the Tamil NaduGovernment Multi SuperSpecialty Hospital and show-ered flowers over the hospitalstaff waiting outside.

Many of the doctors and

nurses could be seen showingthe victory sign with theirfingers as a mark of apprecia-tion to the country’s Forcesand the respect they showedon the hospital staff.At Thiruvananthapuram,Brigadier Seshadri, head of theArmy Unit accompanied byofficers and soldiers drovedown to the Police HeadQuarters and expressed theirgratitude to the members ofthe Kerala Police who havebeen working round-the-clockas the frontline guards to fightcoronavirus.

The Government GeneralHospital at Ernakulam wit-nessed some emotional scenesas the doctors and nursing stafffrom Sanjeevani, the Navy’shospital at the Head Quartersof the Southern Navy

Command called on theircounterparts to hand over a‘big thank you’ message.

These doctors, nurses andpara medical staff deserve allour respects and love becauseof the kind of job which theyare doing since the outbreak ofthis pandemic. This is an extraordinary situation and that’s

why we are here to give themall moral support,” said thecommanding officer ofSanjeevani, the naval hospital.

The doctors and nurseslooked excited and happy astheir cavalcade of the IndianNavy came calling. “I havebeen working as a nurse for 29years and this is the first of its

kind recognition and acknowl-edgement I am getting. Thiswill rekindle and rejuvenateour energy,” said a nurse in theGovernment general Hospital.

But there were dissidentvoices too. Dr Rajesh Kesavan,adjunct professor, SRMInstitute of Technology andScience said there was no needof such a grand show just toexpress gratitude.

“The medical fraternityneeds dignity and freedom towork. The smile of the patientswho get discharged from thehospital after they are curedare our trophies,” said DrKesavan.

Some of the medical staffwho stood outside the hospi-tal building in the scorchingsun of May were heard com-plaining that not even a singlepetal fell on them.

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In what was dismissed as anorchestrated show of soli-

darity for the same policeforce which the locals attackeda few days ago for imple-menting lockdown atTikiapara in Howrah, hun-dreds of locals on Sundaytook out a long processionexhibiting contrition for manyof them did last Tuesdaywhen men in uniform tried tomake them follow the lock-down rules.

A large number of civilsociety members andOpposition leaders immedi-ately dismissed the “suicidal”rally as a Trinamool Congress’damage-control exercise andquestioned the organizers’level of awareness in takingout the Sunday’s “apology-cum-solidarity” march.

“It is like adding salt to thewound. Tuesday’s incidentwas a spontaneous local out-burst by a particular sectionof electorate that usuallyserves as the vote bank of theTMC… but what happenedtoday was irresponsible andsuicidal,” BJP’s Sayantan Basusaid asking why the localadministration gave the per-mission to the organisers toarrange such a huge gather-ing.

“The rally itself shows

how irresponsible the politi-cal leaders who organized itare. It was no method ofshowing solidarity. I will notonly hold the police admin-istration responsible but alsothe police ministry whichworks under Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee for thisreckless act. And if someonesays that the Governmenthad no information of thisrally I will not subscribe that,”CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakrabartysaid.

Half-a-dozen men inkhaki were injured and at leasttwo police vehicle were van-dalized when locals attackeda police party that tried topush the people indoors whilethey were breaking lockdownnorms and crowding a smalllane at Tikiapara which hasbeen identified as a contain-ment zone. Incidentally, theattack on police men contin-ued even on Saturday eveningwhen several men in uniformwere beaten up and theirvehicles were damaged atSiuri in Birbhum district,sources said.

Meanwhile, amid theongoing ‘ration unrest’ under-scoring an inefficient publicdistribution system that hasallegedly deprived hundredsof villagers of their weeklyallotment of free rice theState administration has can-celled the licenses of 42 ration

dealers, Bengal Governmentsources said adding another32 erring dealers have beenar-rested too.

Earlier, State FoodMinister claimed that about 7crore people of the State hadbeen provided with free rationin the month of April blam-ing the Centre however thatfor supplying lesser amount ofpulses. He said while theState required more than43,000 metric tons of pulsesthe Centre had sent only lit-tle more than 4,000 MTs.

There was more violencein Bengal with agitated vil-lagers attacking and vandal-izing ration shops this time atNandigram following com-plaints that the dealers werenot supplying adequateamount of ration to them.Hundreds of villagers raidedthe house of the dealer atNandigram and burnt hisvehicle, sources said. Similarunrests were earlier witnessedat North 24 Parganas, Salar inMurshidabad district wherethe locals torched a rationshop.

Violence was also wit-nesses at Bhangar in South 24Parganas where hundreds ofration cards were recoveredfrom the house of an allegedTMC leader.

The ruling party howev-er has dismissed any connec-tion with the said person.

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Aday after Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee

wrote a 13-page letter to GovernorJagdeep Dhankhar faulting himonce again for humiliating heroffice it was the turn TrinamoolCongress MP and the ChiefMinister’s nephew AbhishekBanerjee to fire salvos at theCentral Government for wastingpublic money to beautify Luttyen’sDelhi.

Junior Banerjee said that theCentre was spending �20,000crore to beautify Parliament andthe surrounding areas adding theamount could be spent to providetwo meals to 1.85 crore people forsix months during the hard coro-na times.

Writing a lengthy letter to theGovernor the Chief Minister hadon Saturday asked him to eitherstop attacking her or step downfrom his office and assumecharges as the Chief Minister ofthe State.

Referring to supremacy ofthe legislature she wrote that “theparamountcy of the StateLegislature (as, indeed, ofParliament) is subject only to theConstitution, judicial review andthe basic structure doctrine andcertainly not even remotely to theoffice of Governor….”

Quoting from the SarkariaCommission reports and aSupreme Court judgment shewrote, “In a nutshell, Respected

Governor, the crux of the matter, which is being missed byyou, is that if you a) do not agreewith me or my Government, b)find that the state is not being runas you like it, c)find wrong decisions, wrong appointments,wrong policies, wrong everything;You may (politely) bring yourgrievance to my attention (notwrite to Ministers, departments,officers or go to Press or public)and, if it is still not resolved toyour satisfaction, there is, unfor-tunately no other power in you, solong as my government com-mands the confidence of the leg-islature.”

Senior TMC leader ParthaChatterjee also said thatDhankhar had disrespected hisconstitutional post as theGovernor of West Bengal. “He isopposing the State government'smoves like a political figure usingthe media. He is giving out all hisletters sent to the chief minister'soffice in the public domain. Thisis unwarranted and unfortunate,” the senior Ministersaid.

Soon after receiving the letterthe Governor hit back saying: “Atthe outset in this critical time Iurge her to focus on grim situa-tion and work in togethernesstowards alleviating untold publicmiseries. While I find no sub-stance in her version, both in factand law, I appreciate her stance forfull cooperation with stateGovernment.”

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Amid the extended lock-down, alcohol consumers

living in the red zones ofMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR) and the areas underthe Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwadand Malegaon MunicipalCorporations had something tocheer on Sunday, as theMaharashtra Governmentordered the re-opening ofliquor shops in all areas except-ing in containment zones fromMonday onwards, with "certainconditions".

A day after it notified theextended lockdown guidelines,the State Governmentannounced certain relaxations,under which it allowed re-opening of any number ofstand-alone shops vendingessential commodities and fivenon-essential shops, includingone liquor shop, on a particu-lar road/lane, from Mondayonwards.

“There is no restriction onthe number essential shops. Inthe case of non-essential shops,only five can remain open inone lane. Among the five non-essential shops, there can beone liquor shop,” a senior gov-ernment official said.

In its notification amend-ing its earlier notification, theState Government said: “A;;malls, market complexes andmarkets shall remain closed inurban areas. However, shops

selling essential goods in mar-kets and market complexes arepermitted”

“All stand-alone (single)shops, neighbourhood (colony)shops and shops in residentialcomplexes, without any dis-tinction of essential and non-essential, are permitted toremain open in urban areasexcluding containment zones.However, in areas under theMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR), Pune MunicipalCorporation (PMC), Pimpri-Chinchwad MunicipalCorporation (PCMC) andMalegaon MunicipalCorporation (MMC), if thereare more than five shops in alane/road then besides all shopsselling essential goods, up to amaximum of 5 shops sellingnon-essential goods in thatlane/road will be permitted toremain open,” the amendednotification read.

“All shops in rural areas,except in malls, are permittedto remain open, without anydistinction of essential andnon-essentials. Social distanc-ing will be maintained in allcases,” the notification added.

The MMR, where relax-ations have been announced,comprises Mumbai, satellitetowns like Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai,Panvel, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar.

The State Government has

permitted supply of goods, allessential supplies shops andmovement for medical emer-gencies have been permitted inall – Red, Orange, GreenZones, besides containmentareas and also within civicbodies.

The Government has alsopermitted opening of medicalclinics, out-patient-depart-ments, posts and couriers,banking and finance, agricul-tural activities, e-commerceessential goods, urban indus-tries, industries with accesscontrols.

The State Government haspermitted cars on a driver-plustwo passengers basis in allthree zones, including redZones, while it has allowed ply-ing of two-wheelers without apillion rider Taxis and aggre-gators have been barred.

In Red Zones, onlyGovernment offices shall con-tinue to work with 5 percentstaff as in the past two lock-down periods even in lock-down 3.0.

However, relief has beengranted for government andprivate offices in Green andOrange Zones which can startwork with 33 percent staff.

Industrial activities con-tinue to be banned in the RedZones comprising MMR, PMRand MMC, though private con-struction sites having in-situlabour can resume activities inthis zone.

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Dubbing the Centre’s deci-sion to establish the

International Financial ServicesCentre (IFSC) Authority inPrime Minister NarendraModi’s home State of Gujaratinstead of Mumbai as “egre-gious, erroneous and unwar-ranted”, NCP President SharadPawar said that the move wouldnot only cause financial dam-age to the country but will alsobring “international discredit”to it by undermining theimportance of Mumbai.

Indirectly accusing Modiwho hails from Gujarat ofindulging in “State politics”,Pawar said in his letter: “DearPrime Minister you have madeyour mark on the world forumwith your vision, wisdom, clair-voyance and political acumen.I expect you to take a rational,judicious decision keeping asidethe state politics and considerit as an issue of utmost nation-al importance... I hope my let-ter will be taken in a right spir-it. And a true statesmanship isexhibited, considering to estab-lish IFSC in a Financial Capitalof India i.e. Mumbai."

Pawar’s letter to the PrimeMinister came on the heels ofthe leaders of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Maha VikasAghadi in Maharashtra slam-ming the Narendra Modi gov-ernment’s notification on April27 declaring Gandhinagar in

Gujarat as the headquarters ofthe IFSC Authority, at theGujarat International Financial-Tech (GIFT) City. The MVAleaders disapproved the move,by saying that the PrimeMinister should not only thinkof his home state, but nation asa whole.

In a letter written to thePrime Minister on Satuday –copy of which was releasedSunday, Pawar said: “SinceIFSC is a unified agency to reg-ulate all financial service cen-tres in the country and Mumbaibeing the country’s economic,financial and commercial cap-ital is the best choice and placeto relocate IFSC. I thereforeurge you to reconsider thedecision to shift the FISC inGujarat and shift it in Mumbaion merit basis”.

Citing the data publishedby the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on April 23, 2020 to con-firm the Government’s earlierdecision to set up the IFSC inMumbai, Pawar stated: “TheIndian banking sector hasdeposits to the tune of145,00,000 crore. The share ofMaharashtra alone in thedeposits is 22.8 percent, fol-lowed by Delhi (10 percent),Uttar Pradesh (7.8 percent),Karnataka (7.2 percent) andGujarat (5.4 percent)”

“As per the reserve require-ment, every bank has to main-tain SLR at the rate of 18 per-cent of its deposits in the form

of government-securities (G-Sec). Though this G-Sec, theCentral Government receivesfunds to the tune ofRs.26,00,000 crore. Out of suchfunds, Rs 5,95,000 crore isreceived from the state ofMaharashtra alone as againstGujarat’s contribution of Rs1,40,000 crore,” the NCP chiefsaid.

“In spite of Maharashtra’simmense contribution to G-Sec, the decision of establishingthe IFSC (Authority) in Gujaratis egregious, erroneous andunwarranted. It will be per-ceived as a move to shift finan-cial institutions and businesshouses away from Maharashtraand will create unnecessarypolitical disturbances. It will notonly cause financial damage tothe country but also bringinternational discredit to it byundermining the importance ofMumbai,” the NCP chief wrote.

“Mumbai is already recog-nized as the world’s Top 10 cen-tres of commerce in terms ofglobal financial flow generating6.16 percent of India’s GDP andaccounting for 25 percent ofindustrial output and 70 per-cent of capital transactions toIndian economy. The cityalready houses important finan-cial institutions and corporateheadquarters of numerouscompanies and its businessopportunities attract manyMNCs from all over the world,”Pawar said.

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Spotlight once again turned ontoMumbai’s Dharavi slum on Sunday, as

two more persons succumbed to Covid-19 and Asia’s largest slum recordedhighest-ever day’s tally of 94 infectedcases, taking the total number of positivecases to 590.

With two fresh deaths, the total num-ber of deaths in this densely populatedslum has risen to 20.

A day after it had witnessed 89 –which thereto the biggest-ever surge inCoronavirus infections in a single day,Dharavi witnessed an alarming 94 newinfected cases on Sunday.

That the pandemic has spread allover Dharavi could be evidenced fromthe fact fresh cases are being reportedfrom majority of the areas of this slum.

On Sunday, as many as 11 new caseswere reported from Matunga Labourcolony, while there were 10 new cases inValmiki Nagar.

The following are other areas wherea big surge in infections was witnessed:Indira Nagar (7 cases), Cross Road(seven cases) 60 feet Road ( six cases)and Mukund Nagar (four cases).

There were three children – agedthree, nine and ten years -- among thenewly infected persons. Eighty three oldwoman from Ajmera chawl is the old-est woman is among the persons whotested positive for Coronavirus onSunday.

Sunday was the fourth occasionwhen there have been substantial num-ber of cases. Earlier on April 23, onedeath and 25 cases had been reportedfrom Dharavi in a single day. Later onMay 1, there were 38 new cases.

Spread over 240 hectare area, Dharaviis one of the Covid-19 hotspots inMumbai.

Ever since first few cases ofCoronavirus were reported in the earlyfirst week of April, the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC) is close-ly monitoring the situation in Dharaviwhere the health authorities haveclamped a total lockdown.

Located between Western Railway’sBandra-Matunga and Central Railway’sSion-Matunga stations in north-centralMumbai, Dharavi is home to more than4 lakh people.

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Page 6: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

As the “sword arm” of the nation,the armed forces are the ultimatearbiters of national sovereigntyand security. Constitutionalwirings of the country have

mapped out clearly defined roles, restraintsand interplay mechanisms among the vari-ous specialist arms of governance. In pur-suance of the defined realms, recruitment,equipment and training are afforded ontoeach institution to work independently andoccasionally, complement each other, excep-tional exigencies aside. Herein, the principleof requisitioning the armed forces as only the“last resort” is implied when the said exigencyis believed to be beyond the specific capabil-ity or assets of the defined specialist institu-tion and all other alternative civilian and non-military (including those of centrally polic-ing armed forces) assets. Therefore, for allinternal exigencies like riots, mob control andarmed insurgencies among others, variousStates and specialist Central police forces areresponsible.

Similarly, to manage natural disasters likeearthquakes, tsunamis or floods, organisa-tions like the National Disaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA) have a National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF) team of trained13,000 personnel. Even the Government’smedical ecosystem (not private) is said tohave over 35,000 hospitals with well over7,00,000 beds to cumulatively address anymedical exigency, like the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Yet, it is disconcerting to see the fre-quent invocation and requisitioning of thearmed forces towards all sorts of exigencieswith increasing regularity.

At one level, it speaks volumes about thefaith the citizenry affords on the institutionof the armed forces to conduct the tasks withclinical efficiency. On the other hand, itreflects the abysmal and repeated failure ofother arms of governance to cope with theirrespective callings. While handling internalinsurgencies in Kashmir or the North-east-ern States is now almost assumed to be a mil-itary task (when it ought not to be), thethoughtless beseeching of the military intovirtually any civil predicament is unhealthyfor the institution as also for the nation. Afew months back, the lazy clamour, seekingmilitary intervention on the streets of Delhito restore peace amid communal violence wasautomatically triggered, interestingly byboth sides of the conflict. The disciplined,apolitical and agenda-less moorings of thearmed forces beget the much-needed reas-surances of fair play and non-partisan pro-tection.

Involving the armed forces into internalstrife dilutes the fundamental ethos of the mil-itary, which is to protect the nation fromexternal threats and provide support in nat-ural disaster relief. This calls for anunmatched organisation, the ablest body andthe most disciplined personnel — all ofwhom are driven by a sense of national ser-vice beyond their principal mandate. But they

should never be seen taking ontheir own citizens, however mis-guided they may be, as thatwould willy-nilly dilute the per-ception of political agnosticismof the armed forces. Civil strifesare complex with shades of greythat could entail some genuinegrievances and missteps by theGovernment, too. A couple ofyears ago, a “godman” had heldPanchkula hostage with his fol-lowers and the might of the Statepolice had embarrassingly capit-ulated — it took just six columnsof an Army detachment toimmediately restore order. Suchinstances have led to the conve-nient assumption of “callingout” the Army at the drop of ahat, like now in the ongoingCOVID-19 crisis.

This pandemic has led tomultiple civic and control issuesthat are challenging for thepolice. However, to suggest itsintervention is premature andnot in consonance with theprinciple of “last resort.” Neitherare the police understaffed,underequipped or underexposedto deal with such issues vis-à-visthe armed forces, nor should thenation tap into the “last resort”and reservoir of able-bodiedpersonnel safeguarding the sov-ereignty of the country. Already,the military domain has beenroped in to organise quarantineset-ups. That brings the risk ofinfection within its “barracks” —the haunting spectre of two sud-denly impoverished ships of theUS Navy (aircraft carrier USSTheodore Roosevelt and the

destroyer USS Kidd) ought toposit the real risk of the realmonto conventional weaponryand personnel. Around 122jawans at a Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) battalion inDelhi have already tested posi-tive for Coronavirus.

As it is, the working condi-tions of the armed forces neces-sitate certain commune-styleliving and operations. To add theadditional burden of COVID-19imperatives means double taxa-tion. The ongoing challenges ofmanaging insurgency inKashmir (additionally bornedue to “supporting” the policingforces) have not diminished.News columns regularly carrythe casualty toll in the ongoinginsurgency.

The potential (willful)decapitation of the militarywherewithal with Corona risks,without maximising the variousgovernmental or even privatealternatives available, is unfair.With its budgetary allocations,the existing medical ecosystemof the armed forces is alreadywell stretched to attend to nor-mal requirements of the servingand veteran fraternity, for whichit is primarily intended.

In a deeply polarised society,unfortunately, even an unprece-dented tragedy like COVID-19has subliminal political and reli-gious undertones that beset anypotential involvement. Thearmed forces cannot saunterinto the societal minefield ofcommunity management as it isinflicted with perception

“divides” of regional, ethnic andworse, religious denominations.The management of the timesrequires “civic engagement”,which is fundamentally differentfrom the blunt kinetic training ofthe Army. The Army should not“untrain” itself to adjust to thepolicing imperatives as thatdilutes the principal task of a mil-itary soldier.

Last, such requisitioningalso militates in the eyes of theservicemen, who could feel thatthe nation has taken them forgranted, to be used as and where,and then forgotten with mean-ingless platitudes. They areremembered the next time whensome other arm of governancefails. Beyond the condescendinginanities, the armed forces havewitnessed an unprecedenteddilution of budgets, precedenceand work conditions.

The same cannot be saidabout various other governmen-tal institutions to which thearmed forces provide regular“support.” Such trying timesoffer an invaluable opportunityto introspect the strategic pre-paredness, planning rigour andinstitutional efficacy of all gov-ernmental arms. To casuallyrequisition the armed forces is awillful and regrettable shortcut.It endangers the fighting abilityof the sword arm and ensuresthat other institutions anddomains remain perenniallysub-optimal.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)

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Sir — The Government’s decisionto extend the lockdown for twomore weeks with limited relax-ations in red, orange and greenzones so as to exit from the shut-down in a staggered mannerwhile also reopening the econo-my is welcome. The businesscommunity, while welcomingthis decision, pointed out that apartial relaxation of the lockdownwon’t be enough to repair thefractured supply chain.

Most activities that call formass gathering remain suspend-ed. Schools, colleges, malls, cin-ema halls and restaurants willremain closed. This sounds strin-gent but the relaxations allowedin green and orange zones offersome relief to businesses keen toget back to work. TheGovernment’s intent behind thismove, which is to resume theeconomy, cannot be doubted.But a Byzantine set of guidelinesis sure to create confusion amongthe people. Who’s going to definewhat’s allowed and what’s not?Further, the rules themselvesvary from place to place.

Mayank KhatriUjjain

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Diluted lockdown till May 17”(May 2). The only ideal way toprevent the spread of Coronavirusnow seems to be physical confine-

ment. This is why the Ministry ofHome Affairs’ decision to extendthe nationwide lockdown for twomore weeks didn’t come as surprise.

It is a fact that despite takingevery possible precautionary

measure, the deadly virus contin-ues to spread among the peoplewith a sheer rapidity. This man-ifests that our battle against thepandemic is going to continue fora longer period of time.

Even now, people are seen

violating the lockdown rules inseveral cities and villages. Onlypatience, unity and belief can actas ammunition in this fierce bat-tle against COVID-19. Losingtemper on “Corona warriors” isnot the solution.

Tushar AnandPatna

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Sir — With lakhs of migrantworkers wanting to travel backhome, in a post-COVID worldwhen economic activity resumes,many States would be staring ata labour crisis. Already, the shockit has dealt to an already vulner-able economy has been immense.Home to about eight lakhmigrants, excluding the IT sector,Bengaluru is heavily dependenton them to keep its economygoing. Not to forget, the countrywas already suffering from aneconomic crisis. A labour marketcrunch can further aggravateproblems and easily turn into anightmare.

MN Qasmi Kolkata

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Page 7: #$ % && ˆ ˆ - The Pioneer...2020/05/04  · Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Punjab on Sunday record- ed 331 new coronavirus cases, with the total climbing to 1,102. Of

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There is a general understanding that pandem-ic preparedness requires not only the involve-ment of the health sector but the whole soci-

ety. However, until there is scientific intrusion in thedecisions at each level, the preparedness andresponses will be partial. This increases the scien-tific responsibility manifold with a commitment tofast track information and solutions that will ulti-mately influence life sustenance. During an outbreak,there is a moral obligation to learn more, as quick-ly as possible, in order to shape the public healthresponse and for proper scientific evaluation of newinterventions being tested. Such an approachimproves preparedness for future outbreaks.

This requires carefully-designed and ethically-conducted scientific research and release of correctscientific information. Evaluation of diagnosticsthrough rapid methods, probable treatmentsthrough suggested drugs and vaccines require clin-ical trials and regulatory control. Research for sug-gesting preventive measures and social behaviourincluding epidemiological, social science and imple-mentation studies can play a critical role in reduc-ing morbidity and mortality.

The world is looking at national and worldhealth systems for an emergency response to thispandemic and at the same time expecting the sci-entific fraternity to come up with a scientific pre-paredness plan in the form of prevention, manage-ment and treatment. There is no paucity of exper-tise and technology available to carry out crisis-relat-ed research. Using the available infrastructure andmanagement framework, the resources can be rapid-ly mobilised to come up with rapid solutions.

Science for response coordination: Preparingfor and deploying emergency responses will requirecoordination not only of scientific research activi-ties but for associated policy and administrative deci-sions, too. A coordinated scientific response is thekey to collaborate and integrate the efforts to ensurethat other than scientific expertise, a complete spec-trum is covered, including epidemiologists, datamanagers, laboratory technicians, emergency man-agement and risk communications specialists, pub-lic health managers and medico-legal personnel.Active participation and cooperation of represen-tatives of different sections of the community willbe an absolute must for tackling the situation. ThePreliminary Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) ofthe India COVID-19 Emergency Response andHealth Systems Preparedness Project has elaborat-ed the requirement for strengthening pandemicresearch and multi-sector, national institutionsand platforms for “one health.” This is in the formof a separate component of the strategic plan whichseeks to develop core capacity to deliver the “onehealth” approach to monitor, detect and manageinfectious disease outbreaks in animals and inhumans. India is uniquely positioned to play a keyrole in research on viruses, other disease pathogensand vaccines for its own emergency response andfor global public good.

This component will support research onCOVID-19 by Indian institutions working in col-laboration with the Indian Council for MedicalResearch (ICMR). It will support biomedicalresearch to generate evidence to inform the short-term and medium-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The component will build capacity forresearch at Central and State levels to position Indiato better respond to pandemics.

Scientific information availability for research:Availability of credible information on a global plat-form is crucial for scientists for their research andto avoid duplicity of efforts. It typically takes time

to organise scientific research effortsand/or access the data generated. Toaddress this, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) has created a plat-form to integrate the global research infor-mation on COVID-19. This platform pro-vides updates on research activities, inter-national clinical trials registry platform forvaccines and therapeutics and solidarityclinical trials.

The platform also provides access tothe WHO’s COVID-19 database thatprovides global literature on the disease.It is a valuable information resource andis of great importance to the global scien-tific fraternity conducting research on thevirus. The National Institute of Health(NIH), Office of Data Science and Strategy,too, is hosting a platform to provide openaccess data and computational resourcesto address the health emergency. It is animportant resource to access informationon genomics, clinical studies, digitalimages, expression counts, bioactivitydata, case studies, visualisation tools, epi-demiology, community participation andparticipant-level clinical data. Severalcountries, including India, are providingsuch platforms to their scientists. Thereis an effort to find cohesive groups inter-nationally so that such collaborativegroups can come up with quick alterna-tives to the global pandemic.

Scientific solutions through samples:The COVID-19 represents a great chal-lenge for our healthcare systems. The sit-uation and the working conditions are dif-ficult in many places and direct patientcare has the highest priority. The next chal-lenge, however, is to support those whoare finding a cure for it. Biobanks are cru-cial in the run towards a vaccine and/ortreatment. Biobanks can provide key ser-vices to researchers, such as efficient andhigh-quality storage of samples in clini-cal and research settings, samples fromhealthy individuals and standards for tar-getted identification, collection and con-servation of important samples.

Biospecimens offer researchers oppor-tunities to understand the pathogen bet-

ter and develop diagnostic, therapeutic,and preventive measures, that may miti-gate the damage by similar outbreaks inthe future. At the same time, long-termstorage of biospecimens involves poten-tial risks to individuals and communities.These risks can be managed throughadherence to guidelines relevant to thelong-term storage of biological specimenscollected during infectious disease out-breaks. Only biobanks and researcherswith the appropriate equipment, trainingand facilities can collect, share and han-dle samples from COVID-19 affectedpatients. India has set up a number ofbiobanks but all positive samples arerequired to be transported to ICMR-NIV,Pune for the purpose of maintaining a bio-repository for health research purposes.

Scientific efforts that will shape thefuture: The WHO has pooled in resourcesand scientists from across the world in itssearch for a potential vaccine and sever-al scientific endeavours all across the globeare shaping social, economic and politi-cal decisions on managing the disease andbehavioural patterns. India is also playinga big role in association with WHO andindependently for tackling the disease bur-den and its spread. In addition, thousandsof researchers around the world are offer-ing their expertise, time and help throughinternational platforms such as CrowdfightCOVID-19 to fight against the contagion.Scientists are connecting through socialmedia apps such as Twitter, Facebook, andLinkedIn to provide their services volun-tarily.

With no vaccine in sight for at leastthe next 12-18 months, it seems the fightfor rescuing humanity from this deadlyvirus has only just begun. With no realglobal consensus on the response mech-anism, each nation is finding its own wayto protect its citizens.

While India’s “containment/lock-down” approach to fighting the pandem-ic is happening on one side, the slowdownin trade between India and the world iscounter-productive. This disruption intrade is hitting the supply chains of many

essential commodities needed for the fight.This includes COVID-19 testing kits,masks, alcohol-based sanitisers, person-al protective equipment (PPEs), dressmaterials for frontline health workers, ven-tilators and so on. All efforts at global andlocal levels are being made to hasten theavailability of the essentials so that human-ity does not suffer.

India has set up a ‘COVID-19 TaskForce’ for mapping virus-related technol-ogy capabilities in start-ups, academia,research and development labs and indus-try. The capacity-mapping group consistsof representatives from the Departmentof Science and Technology (DST),Department of Biotechnology (DBT),ICMR, Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology (MEIT), Councilfor Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR), Atal Innovation Mission (AIM),Ministry of Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MMSME), Startup Indiaand All India Council for TechnicalEducation (AICTE). This task force hasidentified over 500 entities in the areas ofdiagnostics, drugs, ventilators, protectiongear, disinfecting systems and so on. Thesolutions identified include masks andother protective gear, sanitisers, affordablekits for screening, ventilators and oxygena-tors, data analytics for tracking, monitor-ing and controlling the spread of outbreakthrough Artificial Intelligence and Internetof Things-based solutions, to name a few.

Many research groups are focussingon basic science and other social aspectsof this pandemic like virus morphogen-esis and development, sequencing oflocal strain, virus-host interaction, genet-ic variants linked with virulence, evolu-tion and transmission pattern, pathogen-esis studies and collection of epidemiolog-ical data. These studies are necessary fordevelopment of vaccines and therapeuticdrugs against COVID-19. In the end thescientific community has a responsibili-ty to find a solution to this pandemic soon.

(Bhaskar is Registrar, Regional Centerfor Biotechnology, Faridabad and Suri iswith the IIM, Jammu)

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The most repeated cliche inadvertising and marketingcircles is the word “disrup-

tion.” It implies breaking away fromthe norm and using jarring ways toattract the attention of potential con-sumers towards a product or a ser-vice. But as with most post-mod-ernist ideas this, too, became anautomated norm that lost its mean-ing beyond being just an excitingword to throw around. Nevertheless,American author David Von Drehleexplains this idea of disruption asbeing part and parcel of a mindset

that eventually aided the rise of neo-populism.

He sees “disruption” as a glori-fied recklessness which may exciteand even enrich hip, young entre-preneurs, but isolates those whoselivelihoods are still dependent onwhat is wrecked in the name of suchdisruption. Drehle equates this withthe nature of populism ruling var-ious countries, especially the US,India, Brazil, Hungary, Italy, the UK,the Philippines, Venezuela, Pakistan,and do on.

Populism gains currency intimes of major economic and socialchanges. Such changes can triggeran optimistic outlook, as they didwith the rise of science and brandnew economic and political ideas,which aided the growth and influ-ence of the middle classes from the18th century onwards. But thesechanges also leave behind a trail offailures which can dramaticallytransform an optimistic outlook

into a more paranoid one. This is the scenario in which

populism thrives. When thesechanges grow roots, they establishtheir own elite. And it is this elitethat are targetted by populists. In hisbook The Populism Explosion, JohnJudis writes that things remain incheck as long as the elected andunelected political elite work todeliver sustained prosperity to themasses and steadily improve thenation’s living standards. But if thisprocess is dented by an economicdownturn, things can get ugly.

Political analyst Patrick Liddiardwrites that populism emerges whenpolitical and economic elite leave outvast sections of the polity from thedecision-making process. The reac-tion to this gets compounded dur-ing an economic crisis. He adds that,whereas the entry of new players ina democratic process should bodewell for a democracy, it in fact endsup shattering it when this process is

initiated and enforced by populists. According to Drehle, in times of

disruptive changes that have com-plex and overlapping reasons, pop-ulists tend to boil it down to just oneor two explanations. For example,during the early decades of the 20thcentury, when revolutions wereerupting, wars were being wagedamong dying monarchies, newpolitical ideas were being shapedand Western societies were rapidlyshifting from rural to urban, “thetypical populist boiled it down to aproblem of corrupt railroad baronsand Jews.”

Drehle adds that it was thewidespread impact of World War-II which suddenly eroded pop-ulism’s appeal. This, followed bycompetent leadership, broke theback of early 20th-century pop-ulism. Many political analysts arepredicting that the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic is likely toplay a similar role in eroding the

appeal of neo-populism. DanielLinsker writes, “Populist govern-ments, reliant on their need toconstantly convey positive messag-ing that bolsters their support, havestruggled to take the decisive, for-ward-looking action that theCOVID-19 crisis demands.”

Linsker adds, “More than ever,populist leaders now face a credibil-ity problem. Obsession with thespread of the virus is leading thepublic to seek answers from expertsand specialists, and self-isolationprovides people with more time tolook for information.” This is exact-ly the opposite of what populismseeks from the polity.

The glorified disruption ped-dled as something revolutionary andanti-elite is likely to devour the dis-rupters themselves, as the pandem-ic wrecks economies and lives. Yet,true to form, some populists are try-ing to win back the initiative by cre-ating a scapegoat.

Perpetrators have simplyrevived the tactics of a time whenthe US spent billions of dollars toportray China as an evil entity outto destroy humanity.

Failing to stop the communistsfrom taking over China in 1949 —and after fighting a gruesome warwith the Chinese army in Korea —a book appeared in 1951 by EdwardHunter, Brainwashing in Red China:The Calculated Destruction of Men’sMind. It quickly became a bestseller.So much so that Hunter soon pro-duced a sequel. In the book, Hunterclaimed that the Chinese had invent-ed an elusive brainwashing tech-nique to create a slave race.

Hunter was neither a psychol-ogist nor a psychiatrist. But he stillmanaged to impress the USGovernment. Hunter’s tomesinspired the US Government tospend billions of dollars to under-stand this brainwashing technique.The US Government also brought

in a host of psychologists to studythe files of American POWs inChina. All this amounted to noth-ing in the end.

There is no doubt that the cur-rent authoritarian Chinese set-upbungled the handling of the out-break of COVID-19 in China in itsdelay to report it. If it had warnedthe world and not tried to hide theoutbreak, the world would not havebeen in the mess it is now. But topopulist leaders around the world,this mistake can be transformed intosomething a lot more insidious,especially during times of theirfailing.

For pro-China populist regimes,however, such as the one rulingPakistan, the guns have been turnedtowards a provincial Government(in Sindh) that is not headed by theruling party. Thus far, the SindhGovernment seems to be substitut-ing for China as a scapegoat.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

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Washington: The streamingvideo began and, within min-utes, the president’s eldest sonwas musing that Osama binLaden had endorsed JoeBiden.

Subtle, it was not.Welcome to the Trump cam-paign, digital edition.

Seven nights a week,President Donald Trump’sreelection team is airing liveprogramming online toreplace his trademark ralliesmade impossible for now bythe coronavirus pandemic.

Hosted by top campaignofficials, prominent Republicansand “Make America GreatAgain” luminaries, the free-wheeling shows offer realityaccording to Trump.

The shows are an effort tostay connected with core sup-porters and maintain enthusi-asm for a suspended campaignthat has had to rewire itself onthe fly. Trump himself has notyet appeared in his campaign’sshows.

A review of one week’sworth of the 8 pm broadcasts,ending on the final day ofApril, reveals a concertedeffort to test attacks on Biden,

the presumptive Democraticnominee.

But the inherently limitedeffort also raises questions asto whether the campaign canreplace the gold mines ofpotentially new voter data thatthe rallies delivered as itattempts to reverse a recentslide in a number of battle-ground states.

The shows are a proxy forthe “Trump TV” network thepresident considered launch-ing had he lost the 2016 elec-tion, and they create an echochamber for true believers.

Akin to actors in a belovedsitcom well into its run, theTrump officials warmly speakin shorthand, trusting thattheir audience knows the plotand its characters and are tun-ing in to see programs that, attimes, made the president’sinfamously off-the-cuff ral-lies look tightly scripted.

“Joe Biden had the covet-ed Osama bin Laden endorse-ment! That’s sort of a big deal!”exclaimed Donald Trump Jr onApril 24, hosting that night’sbroadcast deemed “Triggered”after his new book. AP

Rome:From the United States toEurope to Asia, the easing ofsome coronavirus lockdownsbrought millions out of theirhomes to enjoy the outdoorsand warm spring temperatures.

Yet the global pandemic isstill slicing through the defens-es of other nations, causinginfections and deaths to marchrelentlessly higher.

India on Sunday reportedmore than 2,600 infections, itsbiggest single-day jump, andnew coronavirus cases in Russiaexceed 10,000 for the first time.

The confirmed virus deathtoll in Britain was creeping upnear that of Italy, the epicentreof Europe’s outbreak, eventhough the UK population isyounger than Italy’s and Britainhad more time than Italy to pre-pare before the pandemic hit.

There was also worryingnews from Afghanistan, wherenearly a third tested positive ina random test of 500 people inKabul, the capital city.

China, which reported twoonly new cases, is seeing asurge in visitors to newlyreopened tourist spots afterdomestic travel restrictions wererelaxed ahead of a five-day hol-iday that runs through Tuesday.

Nearly 1.7 million peoplevisited Beijing parks on thefirst two days of the holiday, andShanghai’s main tourist spotswelcomed more than 1 millionvisitors, according to Chinesemedia. Many spots limited dailyvisitors to 30 per cent of capac-ity or less to keep some socialdistancing in place.

Italians are counting downthe hours until Monday, whenparks and public gardens werere-opening nationwide forstrolling, jogging or bike riding.But with sunshine and warmtemperatures across the coun-try, many were outside in forceon Sunday, walking downstreets and chatting on side-walks. Many had masks, but inRome, some lowered them totalk with friends or neighbours.

Despite the easing, Italianswill still have to stay a metreapart, picnics are not allowedand playgrounds will remainclosed. Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte has warned ifthe rate of contagion starts ris-ing again, such freedoms will becurtailed.

In Spain, many venturedout this weekend for the firsttime since its lockdown beganon March 14. AP

Seoul (South Korea): NorthKorean leader Kim Jong Undid not undergo surgery or anyother medical procedure, aSouth Korean official saidSunday, amid speculationabout his health that continuesto linger even after he reap-peared publicly in recent days.

North Korea had saidSaturday that Kim attended thecompletion of a fertilizer fac-tory near Pyongyang onFriday, in his first publicappearance in about 20 days.

While North Korean videoshowing a smiling Kim movingaround, cutting a red ribbonand smoking quelled intenserumours that he might begravely ill or even have died,some media outlets andobservers still raised questionsabout his health, citingmoments when his walkinglooked a bit stiff at the factory.

A senior South Koreanpresidential official toldreporters Sunday that the gov-ernment had determined thatKim did not have surgery orany other procedure, accord-ing to the presidential BlueHouse. AP

London: British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson revealed for thefirst time on Sunday that therewere “contingency plans” inplace in case things went “badlywrong” and he died during histreatment for Covid-19 in ahospital here last month.

The 55-year-old leader,who returned to work at 10Downing Street after his recov-ery last week, told ‘The Sun OnSunday’ that he was given “litresand litres of oxygen” after goinginto intensive care at St Thomas’Hospital on April 7.

“It was a tough oldmoment, I won’t deny it. Theyhad a strategy to deal with a

‘death of Stalin’-type scenario,”he told the newspaper. “I wasnot in particularly brilliantshape and I was aware therewere contingency plans inplace. The doctors had all sortsof arrangements for what to doif things went badly wrong.They gave me a face mask so Igot litres and litres of oxygenand for a long time I had thatand the little nose jobbie,” hesaid as the country reportedover 28,000 deaths due to thecoronavirus outbreak as onSaturday.

The interview comes a dayafter his fiancée CarrieSymonds shared a picture on

Instagram with the couple’snewborn son, who they havenamed Wilfred Lawrie NicholasJohnson — with the nameNicholas chosen in a nod to thetwo doctors who saved theBritish premier’s life.

Johnson admitted that hewas “in denial” about how seri-ous his condition was aftertesting positive for coronavirusand that he really did not wantto go to hospital.

“I said I really didn’t wantto go into hospital. It didn’tseem to me to be a good movebut they were pretty adamant.Looking back, they were rightto force me to go,” he said. PTI

New York: Faced with 19,000coronavirus deaths and count-ing, the nation’s nursing homesare pushing back against apotential flood of lawsuits witha sweeping lobbying effort toget states to grant them emer-gency protection from claimsof inadequate care.

At least 15 States haveenacted laws or governors’orders that explicitly or appar-ently provide nursing homesand long-term care facilitiessome protection from lawsuitsarising from the crisis.

And in the case of NewYork, which leads the nation indeaths in such facilities, a lob-bying group wrote the firstdraft of a measure that appar-ently makes it the only state withspecific protection from both

civil lawsuits and criminal pros-ecution. Now the industry isforging ahead with a campaignto get other states on board witha simple argument: This was anunprecedented crisis and nurs-ing homes should not be liablefor events beyond their control,such as shortages of protectiveequipment and testing, shiftingdirectives from authorities, andsicknesses that have decimatedstaffs.

“As our care providers makethese difficult decisions, theyneed to know they will not beprosecuted or persecuted,” reada letter sent this month from sev-eral major hospital and nursinghome groups to their next biggoal, California, where Gov.Gavin Newsom has yet to makea decision. Other states in their

sights include Florida,Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Watchdogs, patient advo-cates and lawyers argue thatimmunity orders are misguided.

At a time when the crisis islaying bare such chronic indus-try problems as staffing short-ages and poor infection control,they say legal liability is the lastsafety net to keep facilitiesaccountable.

They also contend nursinghomes are taking advantage ofthe crisis to protect their bottomlines. Almost 70% of the nation’smore than 15,000 nursinghomes are run by for-profitcompanies, and hundreds havebeen bought and sold in recentyears by private-equity firms.

“What you’re really lookingat is an industry that always

wanted immunity and nowhas the opportunity to ask forit under the cloak of saying,‘Let’s protect our heroes,’” saidMike Dark, an attorney forCalifornia Advocates forNursing Home Reform.

“This has very little to dowith the hard work being doneby health care providers,” hesaid, “and everything to do withprotecting the financial inter-ests of these big operators.”Nowhere have the industry’sefforts played out more stark-ly than in New York, which hasa fifth of the nation’s knownnursing home and long-termcare deaths and has had at leastseven facilities with outbreaksof 40 deaths or more, includingone home in Manhattan thatreported 98. AP

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White House coronaviruscoordinator Dr Deborah

Birx is calling it “devastating-ly worrisome” to see protestersin Michigan and elsewherenot wear masks or practicesocial distancing as theydemonstrate against stay-at-home orders.

Birx was responding tothe hundreds of protesterswho crowded the Michiganstatehouse last week to push fora reopening of businesses.

She tells “Fox NewsSunday” that people “will feelguilty for the rest of our lives”if they pick up the virusbecause they didn’t take pre-cautions and then unwittinglyspread it to family memberswho are especially vulnerableto severe illness due to preex-isting conditions or older age.

Protests took place in sev-eral states over the weekendamid growing frustration overthe economic impact fromstay at home orders during thecoronavirus outbreak.

Houston: Researchers in theUS’ Texas A&M University areasking hundreds of frontlinemedical workers to participatein a late-stage, phase 4, clinicaltrial of a widely-used tubercu-losis vaccine that could helpboost the immune system andblunt the devastating effects ofCovid-19.

Texas A&M is the first USinstitution in the clinical trial tohave federal clearance for test-ing on humans. Researchershope to demonstrate thatBacillus Calmette-Guerin orBCG mitigates the effects of thenovel coronavirus, allowingfewer people to be hospitalised

or to die from COVID-19.The researchers are seeking

to repurpose the vaccine, whichis also used to treat bladder can-cer. BCG could be widely avail-able for use against COVID-19in just six months because it hasalready been proven safe forother uses, the university said.

“This could make a hugedifference in the next two tothree years while the develop-ment of a specific vaccine isdeveloped for COVID-19,” saidDr Jeffrey D Cirillo, a Regent’sProfessor of MicrobialPathogenesis and Immunologyat the Texas A&M HealthScience Center. AP

Moscow: Russia on Sundayrecorded its highest daily risein confirmed coronavirus caseswith 10,633 new cases, bring-ing the total to 134,687, withmore than half of cases anddeaths in Moscow.

But the mortality rate hasslowed in recent days andremains much lower, in rela-tive terms, than many othercountries.

Russia has said its lowermortality rate was because theRussian outbreak occurred laterthan in many other countrieswhich gave the authoritiesmore time to prepare.

Russia’s nationwide deathcount rose to 1,280 on Sundayafter 58 people died in the last24 hours, Russia’s coronaviruscrisis response centre said on itswebsite.

Russia has been in partiallockdown since the end ofMarch to curb the spread of thevirus. People in Moscow canleave home to visit the nearestfood shop or chemist, walktheir dog or throw out rubbishbut need special passes forother activities.

President Vladimir Putinhas ordered the nationwidelockdown to remain in placeuntil May 11 inclusive, whenRussia finishes celebrating itsLabour Day and World WarTwo Victory Day holidays.

Moscow Mayor SergeiSobyanin urged residents on

Saturday to continue to strict-ly self-isolate over the longholidays.Sobyanin said therehad been progress in expand-ing testing, allowing the author-ities to treat those in needmore quickly.

But he said the number ofcritically ill patients was rising,albeit not as steeply as worst-case scenario projections. Hesaid he thought 2 per cent ofMoscow, with a population of12.7 million, had been infect-ed, a much higher figure thanofficial statistics show.

“It is obvious that the threatis growing,” he said on his web-site. He told Rossiya-1 TV sta-tion that the Moscow authoritiesmight cut the number of digitalpermits issued for travel acrossthe city if the situation worsened.

Prime Minister MikhailMishustin, Russia’s second-most senior official after Putin,told the president on Thursdayhe had tested positive for coro-navirus and was temporarilystepping down to recover.

First Deputy PrimeMinister Andrei Belousov isnow serving as acting primeminister in his absence. OnFriday, another Russian cabinetmember, Construction MinisterVladimir Yakushev, announcedhe had been diagnosed with thevirus and would be treated inhospital. Dmitry Volkov, one ofhis deputies, also tested positive,the ministry said. Agency

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:��2�:��2��9���:;*���������������������������� ��������������������������� ���<���(.= Berlin: An international media

rights group said on Sunday thecoronavirus paxndemic is beingused by governments around theworld to increase restrictions onpress freedoms.

In a report issued to coin-cide with World Press FreedomDay 2020, the InternationalPress Institute concluded that inboth democratic and autocrat-ic states the “public health cri-sis has allowed Governments toexercise control over the mediaon the pretext of preventing thespread of disinformation.”

It said authoritarian gov-ernments have been abusingemergency measures to “furtherstifle independent media andcriminalise journalism,” while in

democracies “efforts to controlthe public narrative and restrictaccess to information around thepandemic are on the rise.”

The Vienna-based organi-zation said it has documented162 press freedom violationsrelated to coronavirus coverageover the past two and a halfmonths, almost a third of whichhave involved the arrest, deten-tion or charging of journalists.

The institute’s report camethree days after the InternationalFederation of Journalists pub-lished a survey that found thatthe working conditions of newsreporters around the globe havedeteriorated during the pan-demic amid job losses andattacks on media freedom. AP

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Thousands of desperatemigrants are trapped

in limbo and even at risk ofdeath without food, water orshelter in scorching desertsand at sea, as Governmentsclose off borders and portsamid the coronavirus pan-demic.

Migrants have beendropped by the truckload inthe Sahara Desert or bused toMexico’s desolate border withGuatemala and beyond. Theyare drifting in theMediterranean Sea afterEuropean and Libyan author-ities declared their portsunsafe. And about 100

Rohingya refugees fromMyanmar are believed to havedied in the Bay of Bengal, ascountry after country pushesthem back out to sea.

Many governments havedeclared emergencies, saying apublic health crisis like thecoronavirus pandemicrequires extraordinary mea-sures. However, these mea-sures are just the latest effortsby governments to clampdown on migrants, despitehuman rights laws.

“They just dumped us,”said Fanny Jacqueline Ortiz, a37-year-old Honduran travel-ling with her two daughters,aged 3 and 12.

Ortiz reached the U.S.,

but American authoritiesexpelled her to Mexico. TheMexican government in turnabandoned the family onMarch 26 at the lonely ElCeibo border crossing withGuatemala. Ortiz and othermigrants on the two-bus con-voy were told to avoid theGuatemalan soldiers guardingthe border, which was closeddue to the pandemic.

“They told us to go aroundthrough the mountains, andwe slept in the woods,” sherecalled.

Over the next few weeks,an activist helped Ortiz andothers in her group of 20 finda ride to the next border, inHonduras.

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Jerusalem: In a rare move, theIsraeli High Court on Sundaybegan hearing petitions againstPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu forming aGovernment while facing crim-inal indictments in a sessionbeing broadcast live given its sig-nificance.

The hearing, held by anexceptionally large panel of 11out of the court’s 15 justices,focuses on the issue of whethera politician can form a govern-ment while under indictment.

Israeli law mandates thatcabinet ministers and mayorsresign if indicted, but does notexplicitly prohibit a politicianfrom becoming a PrimeMinister if backed by the major-ity support in the Knesset (Israeliparliament).

Netanyahu, 70, was indict-ed earlier this year on charges ofaccepting bribes, fraud andbreach of trust. He has deniedany wrongdoing.

His trial was postponed dueto restrictions his hand-pickedinterim justice minister placedon the courts after the coron-avirus crisis erupted and isscheduled to commence later

this month. Israel’s AttorneyGeneral Avichai Mandelblit lastweek said that while Netanyahu’sindictments “raise significantproblems,” there was no legalbasis for barring him from serv-ing while facing criminalcharges. Speaking at the open-ing of the High Court hearingon Sunday, Anar Helman, rep-resenting the Attorney General’sOffice, reiterated the same opin-ion saying that there is no legalobstacle despite “serious crimesof personal integrity”.

“The main considerationthat must be taken into accountis the realization of the voters’will. This is the democratic sys-tem,” Helman said, arguing thatthe law differentiates between aPrime Minister and a Minister,who is not allowed to serveunder indictment, due to the factthat the Prime Minister is elect-ed by the people.

“The fact that a person hasbeen indicted for serious crimesof personal integrity does notprevent the Knesset membersfrom recommending him toassemble the government. TheAttorney General’s Officebelieves that there is no imped-

iment that Knesset MemberNetanyahu will form the nextgovernment,” Helman asserted.

The court will address addi-tional petitions concerningNetanyahu’s power-sharing dealwith his main rival, former mil-itary chief Benny Gantz, onMonday. Netanyahu and Gantzsigned the agreement to anational Government lastmonth after an unprecedentedthird round of polls which againdid not give anybody a clear ver-dict to form the government.

The deal allows Netanyahuto serve the first 18 months asPrime Minister after whichGantz would assume power forthe next 18 months.

Israel could plunge into adeep political chaos if the courtdecides against Netanyahuforming a government underindictment. Protesters oppos-ing Netanyahu’s continued rulehave been taking to the streetsdespite the ongoing lockdowndue to the coronavirus pan-demic. Last week saw counter-protests from Netanyahu sup-porters who demonstratedagainst “court’s interference ina democratic process”. PTI

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Cairo: Egyptian police forceskilled 18 militants in a raid onthe restive northern part of theSinai Peninsula, the InteriorMinistry said on Sunday.

The Ministry said securityforces exchanged fire withIslamic militants as they stormeda hideout in the small Sinai townof Bir al-Abed.

No casualties were reportedamong the police. The ministry,which did not say when the raidtook place, said police foundweapons, three explosive devicesand two explosives belts.

The details could not beindependently corroborated asEgyptian authorities heavilyrestrict access to that part ofSinai.

On Thursday, an explosionhit a military armored convoycausing at least 10 casualtiesamong Egyptian soldiers whowere participating in a campaignagainst an Islamic insurgency inthe volatile region.

The military spokesman,Tamer el-Refai, did not specifythe number of soldiers killed bythe improvised explosive device.

But other officials, speaking oncondition of anonymity, said 10soldiers died, including an offi-cer, and three others sufferedshrapnel wounds.

An affiliate of the IslamicState group based in northernSinai claimed responsibility forThursday’s attack, which tookplace during the Islamic holymonth of Ramadan, after sun-down when the faithful breaktheir daily fast.

El-Refai said Friday thatthe military killed two militantswho were hiding in a farm innorthern Sinai.

Egypt has been battling mil-itants in the northern part ofSinai Peninsula for years, but theinsurgency became far moredeadly after the 2013 militaryouster of Mohammed Morsi, anelected but divisive Islamistpresident amid nationwideprotests against his brief rule.

An Islamic State affiliatebased in the Sinai has carried outhigh-profile attacks in recentyears, mainly targeting securityforces and Egypt’s Christianminority. AP

Seoul: North and South Koreantroops exchanged fire alongtheir tense border on Sunday,the South’s military said, blam-ing North Korean soldiers fortargeting a guard post.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff inSeoul said in a statement thatNorth Korean troops fired sev-eral bullets at a South Koreanguard post inside the heavilyfortified border. South Koreafired two rounds in responseafter issuing a warning broad-cast, it said.

South Korea suffered nocasualties, the military said. It’sunknown whether NorthKorea had any casualties. TheNorth’s official Korean CentralNews Agency hasn’t reportedabout the incident.

It comes a day after NorthKorea broadcast images ofleader Kim Jong Un reappear-ing in public after a 20-dayabsence amid intense specula-tion about his health.

KCNA said Kim attendedFriday’s ceremony marking thecompletion of a fertilizer fac-tory near Pyongyang along

with senior officials. State TVshowed Kim smiling and walk-ing around factory facilities.

Kim earlier vanished fromthe public eye after presidingover a Politburo meeting of theruling Workers’ Party on April11 to the coronavirus.

Speculation about hishealth began swirling after hemissed an April 15 event com-memorating the birthday of hisgrandfather and state founder,Kim Il Sung, something he hadnever done since inheritingpower upon his father KimJong Il’s death in late 2011.

The Koreas are split alongthe 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long, 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide border called theDemilitarized Zone that wasoriginally created as a buffer.But unlike its name, the DMZis the world’s most heavily for-tified border. An estimated 2million mines are pepperedinside and near the DMZ,which is also guarded bybarbed wire fences, tank trapsand combat troops on bothsides. AP

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Retailers and traders expectto re-open more shops

from Monday under the newrelaxed guidelines by theGovernment for the extendedlockdown period till May 17,although they are still seekingclarity from local authorities.

Retailers Association ofIndia (RAI) said it will have tobe seen how it works out at theground as there is confusion,and many States are yet tocome up with guidelines to fol-low the Centre’s decision.

It has already stated thatwhat constitutes market placescould be misinterpreted.

Similarly, Confederationof All India Traders (CAIT)also claimed they will be in a

“dilemma” as there is confusionover “what constitutes a neigh-bourhood shop and a stand-alone shop”, while organisedretailers such as Future Groupand V-Mart Retail said they arealso seeking permissions fromlocal authorities.

“Some parts of the busi-nesses will reopen. What we seeis that there is the possibility ofopening of some standalonestores. We will open whereverwe can and we will talk to thelocal authorities to open. Wewill have to see how it worksout.

“In any case individualstates will have to come outwith clear guidelines. Whilesome states have come outwith the guidelines but they arethe same as what Centre hassaid. I think the states are alsoconfused and they are printing

the same thing that Centre issending,” RAI CEO KumarRajagopalan told PTI.

Expressing similar con-cerns, CAIT Secretary GeneralPraveen Khandelwal said, “Thetraders will be in a dilemma”.

When asked whetherthings are expected to changeon the ground with the phase3 of lockdown beginningMonday, he said there is “lackof clarity and confusion overwhat constitutes a neighbour-hood shop and a standaloneshop”. He asserted that the“clarification should come fromthe right quarters. Not only theCentre, it is the duty of the stategovernments to issue that clar-ification because most of theissues are under the domain ofthe state governments, the lawenforcement authorities alsofunction as per their directives”.

National General Secretaryof the Federation of All IndiaVyapar Mandal, V K Bansalsaid, “The biggest problemwith the guidelines is that it alldepends on the states. Thestates frame their own policiesand do not want to take anyresponsibility. The Centrewants relaxation but States arerestrictive”.While wholesalemarkets are not allowed toopen in red zones in Delhi, hesaid, standalone shops canopen but the state govern-ment’s role was crucial inimplementation of the Centre’sguidelines.

Bansal added that unavail-ability of migrant labour was amajor issue faced by shop own-ers, restricting their opera-tions.

According to the leadingretailer Future group, the com-

pany would now start retailingother than non-essential andfood items wherever allowedafter the new notification.“Inside Big Bazar, we would benow able to sell not just foodand essentials only but alsoother items as crockery,kitchenware and general mer-chandise. Even at Big Bazaar, atcertain places we would startselling other products apartfrom food,” said a Future groupofficial.

The Future Group, whichoperates in several formatssuch as large stores Big Bazaarand neighbourhood storeEasyday, said that the compa-ny is in the process of obtain-ing permission to open thestores in the green zone.

“Wherever, we have stand-alone stores in the green zone,we are also figuring out with

the authorities when to startoperating,” the official said.

According to anotherFuture group official, most ofits big format stores like BigBazaar are in malls, whichhave been kept closed evenduring the second phase of thelockdown.”The standalonestores of Big Bazaars werealready operating. Some of ourstores are in non-mall areas andwe have written to the localauthorities seeking permissionfor that,” he said.

Around 80 per cent storesof Big Bazaar are operationalwith several restrictions such astiming, number of visiting andretailing activities limited onlyto essential items, the officialsaid.Value fashion and lifestyleproducts retailer V-Mart Retailalso said it is gearing to openthe stores in the green and

orange zone but reiterated thatthere is a need for clarificationon the difference between mallsand standalone stores, special-ly in small towns.

“We have around 62 storesare in green zone and 98 are inorange, where there are chancesthat the stores would open. Weare in talks with the localadministration to allow thestores to open,” V-Mart RetailChairman and MD LalitAgarwal said.He, however, saidit will be a gradual opening asinitially people would hesitateto come into the store.”Weexpect all our stores to beopened in phased mannersand in the initial month only 20per cent customer would visit,”Agarwal said.

He sought greater clarityfrom the government on thedifferentiation between a mall

and standalone retailers.“In the small towns, there

are no malls and they (localauthorities) misunderstandsmall standalone stores like usfor a mall and prohibit usfrom operating,” Agarwal said.

Under the MHA guide-lines, malls will continue toremain shut in all zones.

In red zone all malls, mar-ket complexes and marketswill remain closed in urbanareas, which are within limitsof municipal corporations andmunicipalities.

However, shops sellingessential goods in markets andmarket complexes are allowed.

All standalone shops,neighbourhood shops andshops in residential complexesare permitted in urban areaswithout any restrictions ofessential and non-essential.

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Drop in production due toCovid-19 pandemic,

nation-wide lockdown, besidesGovernmental restrictions,may lead to a loss of huge for-eign currency earnings as Indiaused to export tea to more than30 countries, experts said.According to economists andexperts, delayed start of variousworks in the tea gardens,including plucking and pro-cessing, besides Governmentenforced restrictions, areamong the key reasons to givea blow to export of tea in over30 countries.

North Eastern TeaAssociation (NETA) adviser

Bidyananda Barkakoty said:“Exports of Indian tea may getaffected. The Out Of Home(OOH) consumption is almostnegligible due to the ongoinglockdown and it would con-tinue even after partial relax-ations of lockdown.”

“There was no harvestingof tea leaves for three weeks fol-lowed by skiffing of more than35 per cent of tea bushes. Andnow, only 50 per cent of theworkforce is allowed to work bythe government due to thecoronavirus pandemic.Therefore the crop loss may bemuch more than what wasestimated,” Barkakoty toldIANS.

In 2019 (January toDecember) India exported

248.29 million kg of tea valuedat �5,610.65 crore with theunit price of �225.97 per kg. In2018, the country sold 256.06million kg tea worth � 5,335.33crore abroad, with unit price of�208.36 per kg.

The NETA adviser saidthat around 18 per cent ofIndia’s tea production is export-ed whereas the rest 82 per centis consumed domestically.

Quoting the Tea Board’srecords, he said that the CIS(Commonwealth ofIndependent States) countries,including Russia, imports about50 million kg of Indian tea fol-lowed by Iran at about 40 mil-lion kg, China about 12 millionkg, USA about 11 million kg,UK about 10 million kg, UAE

about 10 million kg, Germanyabout 8 million kg, followed byother countries.

The NETA has done aSWOT (Strenghts-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats) analy-sis of Assam tea industry dueto the lockdown impact andrelated issues, to study bothpositive and negative attribut-es, determining how best tosustain in this difficult time.

Barkakoty said: “It wouldtake some more time for thesupply chain to stabilize. Hugeliquidity crunch is facing teaproducers. The total revenueloss from March 23 to April 14is to the tune of �1,218 crore.

The crop loss in March andApril would continue till Maybecause of the necessity of

skiffing of overgrown leavesdue to lockdown. The totalcrop loss would be about 80million kg. The tea gardenshave resumed operations fromApril 15 with 50 per cent work-force. Therefore, both the cropand the revenue losses wouldfurther increase.

Tripura Tea DevelopmentCorporation ChairmanSantosh Saha also echoedBarkakoty’s observations.

“Since December 15, prun-ing, tipping, plucking, pro-cessing in 22 factories by andlarge stopped in Tripura due tonumerous reasons, includingthe crisis of coal. From March,owing to Covid-19 pandemicand lockdown, no works weredone.

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The COVID-19 pandemic isexpected to hit Indian

economy with about $320 bil-lion in terms of daily grossdomestic product (GDP) lossafter 40 days of lockdown, saida report.

The daily GDP of India isestimated to be approximately$8 billion.

The impact has been severeon the travel and mobility sec-tor with unicorns such as OYO,Ola, MakeMyTrip seeing mas-sive revenue decline, said thereport from DataLabs by Inc42.

The micro, small and

medium enterprises (MSME)sector, often called the back-bone of the Indian economy,has had to shut small-scale fac-tories, and is working withminimal workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemichas decimated the MSME rev-enue even more, said the“COVID-19 Startup ImpactReport - Threats &Opportunities For The IndianEconomy”.

For some sectors, this pan-demic has sounded the deathknell, but the supply chaindisruption has impacted man-ufacturing everywhere.

However, even amid thesedisruptions, some sectors haverisen to the top owing to thebehavioural changes in con-sumers.

The sudden surge indemand for services like hyper-local deliveries, media andcontent, video conferencingand other enterprise tech appli-cations will further enhancerevenue prospects of someIndian startups in the comingfiscal years, said the report.

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GST officers would have toaudit and assess taxpayers

via video-conferencing insteadof undertaking physical visitsamid the coronavirus pan-demic, and the current guide-lines need to be reviewed forthis, according to experts.

As per the current goodsand services tax (GST) auditguidelines, taxpayers have beenbroadly categorised into threegroups based on their annualturnover — large, medium and small.

While large and mediumunits are compulsorily underpremises-based audits; forsmall units, desk-based audithas been suggested.

However, in the case ofnon-cooperative taxpayers orany inherent weakness of theinternal control system, officerscould shift back to the premis-es-based audit.

Last month, the CentralBoard of Indirect Taxes andCustoms (CBIC) issuedinstructions requiring officersto hold a personal hearing inrespect of customs law, centralexcise and service tax lawsthrough the video-conferenc-ing facility.

Experts said that with theaudit for the financial year2017-18, the first year in theGST regime, yet to begin, thetax officers would need toreview the audit guidelinesand include video conferencefacility along with strengthen-ing the risk management sys-tem to flag risky cases. PwC

India Partner National Leader(Indirect Tax) Pratik Jain saidGST audit and assessment for2017-18 will start soon and thedepartment will have to reviewthe audit guidelines.

“The current guidelinestalk about physical visits topremises of large business forsay 7-8 days and conductingaudit. With social distancingbeing a ‘new normal’ now,GST officials might have toexplore more virtual verifica-tions,” Jain said.

The government will haveto take a re-look at its risk man-agement system and devisebetter ways of assessing tax-payers, he added.

AMRG & AssociatesSenior Partner Rajat Mohansaid one segment of the CBIC,which is Customs, has alreadyembraced the use of technolo-gy, and now it is expected thatGST having more than 1.2crore taxpayers would alsointroduce such facility in all thedepartmental functions includ-ing assessments, adjudications,appeals, and audit.

“Introducing a video-con-ferencing facility in all the taxlaws is imperative to the busi-ness continuity plan of theeconomy, otherwise, this pan-demic will result in inordinatedelay in the delivery of justice,”Mohan added.

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The nationwide lockdownhas had deep ramifications

on economic activity andaccording to a CEO Snap Pollby the (CII), 44.7 per cent ofthe corporate chiefs believethat it would take more than ayear for the Indian economy torecover.

According to the snap pollon the ‘Impact of COVID-19on Economy and Industry’, asa majority of the firms contin-ue to anticipate a significantdecline in their revenues, theynow foresee a delay in eco-nomic revival and demandrecovery.

“The survey results reveal

that the country may experi-ence a protracted slowdown ineconomic activity as a majorproportion of the respondents,around 45 per cent feel it willtake more than a year toachieve economic normalcyonce the lockdown ends,” a CIIstatement said.

Around 36.5 per cent of thecorporate bosses feel that eco-nomic recovery of the countrymay be achieved in 6-12months. Around 17 per cent ofthe respondents were of theview that recovery would beachieved in 3-6 months, fol-lowed by 1.8 per cent who feltthat it would require a three-month period.

With respect to their own

companies, the respondentsanticipate a slightly quickerrecovery, with 34 per cent of therespondents indicating a 6-12month period for recovery oftheir companies, the surveyshowed.

Further, a major propor-tion of the respondents antic-ipate normalcy in domesticdemand conditions within 6-12months, post lockdown.

The survey saw the partic-ipation of more than 300 CEOs,of which nearly two-thirdsbelonged to MSMEs.”The lock-down brought economic activ-ity to a grinding halt and thesurvey findings indicate that asignificant majority of the firms(65 per cent) expect revenues

to fall more than 40 per cent inthe current quarter (Apr-Jun2020),” it said.

For financial year 2020-21,the expectations of a fall in rev-enue are staggered, with 33 percent of the firms anticipating arevenue fall of more than 40per cent, closely followed by 32per cent of firms expecting arevenue contraction rangingbetween 20-40 per cent.

The survey revealed thatwhile three out of four firmshave identified that a completeshutdown of operations was amajor constraint being faced bybusinesses, more than half ofthem have also indicated lackof demand for products as ahindrance to business activity.

���� ! 1�� 2��

The domestic automobileindustry might resort to

cuts in spending on researchand development (R&D) andalso exit unprofitable busi-nesses and segments with thecoronavirus pandemic taking atoll on companies’ revenuesand cash flows, according to areport by Deloitte.

The reduction in R&Dactivities may impact progressmade in the alternative fueltechnologies till now, the reportnoted. “The COVID-19 lock-down has had a multipliereffect — the industry has beenat a complete standstill sinceMarch 24. A prolonged trun-cation of consumer demand

due to the lockdown is signif-icantly affecting auto sectorrevenues and cash flows,”Deloitte India Partner andAutomotive Sector Lead RajeevSingh said.

In response, companiesmay resort to starving theirR&D funding in order to sus-tain core operations, andpotentially set back theprogress made on alternativefuel and mobility technologiesby 2-4 quarters, he added.

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Punjab Food & Civil SuppliesMinister Bharat Bhushan

Ashu on Sunday said thatdespite several challenges aris-ing out of lockdown/curfewamid COVID-19 restrictions,the State has successfully procured more than 90 lakhmetric tonne of wheat in 19days, out of a total expected 135 LMT.

Congratulating the State’sfarmers, Arthiyas, labour andother stakeholders for smoothconduct of ongoing procure-ment operations across thestate, Ashu informed thatPunjab Government led by theChief Minister Captain

Amarinder Singh was strictlymaintaining social distancingin all more than 4000 purchasecentres for the health safety andwell-being of those involved inthis gigantic task. He said that

it was a matter of great satis-faction that in just 19 days thestate has successfully procuredover 90 LMT of wheat despiteseveral obstacles includingshortage of labour and closureof jute mills.

Reiterating the resolve ofthe state Government to ensurepurchase of every single grainof state farmers produce in ahassle-free manner, theMinister also pointed out thatin these difficult times morethan 4000 purchase centreshad been established as com-pared to over 1800 in 2019 withsame strength of employees forthe facilitation of farmers.Besides, the State Governmenthas also made elaborate

arrangements includingissuance of tokens to farmers,requisite sanitizers, masks, footoperated water tanks etc.

Nevertheless, the scarcity oflabour amid lockdown and cur-few, Punjab Government hasloaded a record 25.77 LMT ofwheat and rice through 1031special trains so far in order toensure food security of thenation besides assisting the otherstates said the Minister addingthat it was 44% of the total food-grains supplied, nation-wide.

On the lifting front, Mr.Ashu mentioned that the Statewas also lifting more than 5LMT daily in order to ensurethat no farmer had to wait dueto space crunch in mandis.

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Non-performing assets ofBank of Baroda soared

more than six-fold to �73,140crore while those of IndianBank surged four-times to �32,561.26 crore in six years,according to a Right toInformation reply.

The NPA of Bank ofBaroda (BoB) rose from �11,876 crore at March-end2014 to �73,140 crore atDecember-end 2019, the RTIreply showed.

The number of NPAaccounts rose from 2,08,035 ason March 31, 2014, to 6,17,306as of December 2019.

The NPAs of Indian Banksurged from �8,068.05 crore ason March 31, 2014, to�32,561.26 crore as on March31, 2020.

The NPA accounts rose to5,64,816 as on March 31, 2020,from 2,48,921 as on March 31,2014, according to reply toRight to Information (RTI)queries on number of NPAaccounts and the total amountfiled by Kota-based activistSujeet Swami.

The RTI data also showedthe state-run lenders earnedhuge amount from SMS alertservice fees, minimum bal-ance charges, locker charges,debit-credit cards servicecharges, outward, inward,ledger follow charges, amongothers.

According to the reply,Bank of Baroda collected �107.7 crore through SMS alertfee during April 1, 2018 toFebruary 29, 2020.

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Office space demand fell 3per cent during the first

quarter of this calendar yearbut rents increased by up to 8per cent across five major cities— Bengaluru, Hyderabad,Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata,according to US-based prop-erty consultant Vestian.

The consultant expectsdecline in demand for officespace in the short-to-mediumterm. The growth in rental val-ues would also slow due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

According to the data, theweighted average rental valuesof the five cities moved mod-erately, on a year-on-year basis,in the range of 0-8 per cent.The monthly average rent roseby 8 per cent in both Bengaluruand Hyderabad at Rs 75.5 andRs 62 per sq ft, respectively.

Chennai saw a 5 per centrise in rental value at Rs 60 persq ft a month, while Mumbaiwitnessed a modest rise of 2 percent at Rs 125 per sq ft.

The average rental value ofoffice space in Kolkataremained stable at Rs 48 per sqft per month.

“The five major cities ofBengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai,Hyderabad and Kolkata sawabsorption of approximately9.18 million sq ft office spaceduring Q1 2020, depicting adecline of just 3 per cent over

the absorption observedin the corresponding period inthe previous year,” Vestian saidin a report.

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The Association of MutualFunds in India (AMFI) on

Sunday said that net redemp-tions under credit risk fundsdropped 81.5 per cent after theReserve Bank of India (RBI)announced a special liquidityfacility of �50,000 crore for themutual fund industry.

Credit risk fund is a debtmutual fund scheme category,which constitutes less than 5per cent of total debt mutualfund AUM.In a statement,AMFI said net redemptionsunder credit risk funds stood at�2,949.49 crore as on April 24,and peaked at � 4,294.36 croreas on April 27, 2020.

���� ! 1�� 2��

Industry body COAI hasurged the telecom depart-

ment to consider extending thetimelines for minimum roll-outobligation by at least 6 to 9months, saying it would be dif-ficult to complete many of the“complex” activities due to thelockdown triggered by thecoronavirus pandemic.

The Cellular Operators’Association of India (COAI)said it would be unfair if thetelecom operators were to suf-fer from any of stipulatedpenalties “for a situation thatcan at best be described asForce Majeure”.

“We request the DoT tokindly consider extending the

currently specified timelines forminimum roll-out obligationby a period of at least 6 to 9months so that relief is afford-ed to all forthcoming mini-mum roll-out obligation time-lines and not just to those duefor testing at this present pointin time,” COAI said in a recentletter to Department ofTelecommunications (DoT).

Noting that the DoT cir-culars suspending the regis-tration and testing related toroll-out obligation of telcos(initially till March 31, April 30and subsequently till May 31),the association said the indus-try had. However, requested forrelaxation and extension formeeting all forthcoming min-imum roll-out obligation

(MRO) timelines by further 6-9 months as it would be diffi-cult to complete many activitiesleading to registration and test-ing, due to the lockdown.

The entire process ofMRO entails multiple criticaland complex activities.

The fulfilment of MROtesting itself requires goingthrough multiple steps wheretime is of essence, including siteacquisition and approvalsrequired from various localbodies, arranging maps, whichrequires interaction with stateG o v e r n m e nt / mu n i c i p a lauthorities, coordinating withvarious partners for drive-tests/self-testing, preparationof exhaustive test reports, andsubmission of reports.

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We lost two great Bollywoodactors this week. One of

them brought back memories oflunchboxes.

Irrfan Khan played the lead ina film by the same name — TheLunchbox. In the film, like manyother office-goers in the city ofMumbai, he’d consume foodcooked and delivered to his officeby the famous dabbawalas. Forhim, it used to be an everyday,monotonous meal, packed by alocal chef until the lunchbox getsmixed up by delivery person,which changes everything. It con-nected his tastebuds and his des-tiny to a lady homemaker who’drecently begun cooking lunch forher husband with some tips fromher neighbour, and of course,dollops of love. It was then thatIrrfan ji’s character started wait-ing for his lunchbox to arrive andopens it with excitement whileexpecting something new every-day.

The film took me back to mychildhood days when other kidsand I would carry our lunchbox-es to school, unsure of what trea-sure was hidden inside them.Lunch was a time for discovery.Sometimes, it was joyful, some-times disappointing. But the fun

of opening the box in the compa-ny of friends was thrilling.

As we grew up and a busylifestyle took precedence, thehumble lunchbox disappearedfrom our lives. So when I came toIndia, I was pleasantly surprisedto see many of my Indian col-leagues carrying a personal lunch-box to office, taking it to the cafe-teria during the lunch-hour, heat-ing up the food in the smart ovensand serving themselves. I wouldoften be reminded of the taste ofthe food, which my mothercooked — and all the secretrecipes that made it so delicious.

Like many of our colleaguesfrom Korea, I would also wonderabout the hundreds of lunchbox-es of different shapes, sizes andcolours, that lined the walls of theoffice building as their ownerswent out for a quick walk postlunch, especially during the win-ter months. We were intrigued asmuch as we were touched by thisact of love in Indian families.

When someone recommend-ed this film as a “must-watch,” ourKorean colleagues decided to acton the tip. Some went to the the-atres, some watched it at home,while some others organised spe-cial screenings for groups of

friends. It was one of the mostamazing films I had watched andcertainly the best Bollywood one.I also introduced it to my wifewhen she joined me in Delhiafter a few months and several ofour friends.

As life’s biggest secrets arealways unveiled at the theatre, myfirst Indian film, The Lunchboxshowed me how an Indian tiffin isprepared at home — with love —handed over to the dabbawalas,transported on local trains to far-off offices, and delivered in an effi-

cient manner. The journey ofthose lunchboxes and peoplearound them taught me how lifemoves here and reaches its desti-nation — through the beautifulchaos of the metros.

South Korea and India sharesimilar family values. Maybe thatis why we love watchingBollywood films, while Koreanmovies, K-serials and K-pop aregaining popularity with millenni-als here. While watching the film,we were also reminded of ourloved ones back home and ourparents. We could understand theethos and the bonding that existin Indian families. We also got toknow more about the interestingIndian cuisine and its range ofmasalas (spices).

The characters in the filmwere very real and the actorsplayed them efficiently. I remem-ber how Irrfan ji’s character wouldwait for his lunchbox and laterclean it up. He was so natural!

Hearing the news of hisdemise was shocking. I was verysad. I have watched Irrfan ji’s per-formances in Hollywood filmslike Slumdog Millionaire and Lifeof Pi. He was not just a great actorbut also a great example of the“genius Indian” and the “globalIndian”.

His films will remain etched inmy memory. What The Lunchboxtaught me was that the box carriesthe same ingredients of care andexpectation whether it’s made inIndia or Korea. The only differ-ence is — in India, your lunchboxwill find you.

(The author been working inSamsung, India for more than fiveyears now. He loves walking thestreets of Delhi to learn moreabout the flavours of India and tounderstand life and people here. Hestill can’t speak in Hindi or anyother local language, though he cansay “theek hai” (alright) easily.)

Working from home has becomethe new normal. And it haschanged our routine drastical-

ly in many ways. Our work patterns haveundergone a major transformation dueto the current circumstances posed bythe global Coronavirus pandemic. Theneed to adapt to new methods of work-ing around technology has become a cru-cial component for us to achieve ourmilestones. However, work from homecan prove challenging with the changedsurroundings.

Considering the uncertainty loom-ing in our lives, this time, I have adapt-ed to it with many permutations andcombinations. Here are some pointswhich are helping me navigate and con-duct my business and personal transac-tions through the lockdown phase, eas-ily:

Optimise your daily task listI like to start my work day early by

organising and planning my task list onpriority. This is followed by pre-sched-uled calls with the management team,

connecting with our dealer partners anda daily exchange of learning with myteams to refresh our business awareness,among other tasks. We are utilising thistime to evaluate, conceptualise and pre-pare for the changes that we foresee asessential in our customer engagementand approach, especially post lockdown.

I have found it useful and worthwhileto assign a place to work in my houseduring the lockdown as it supportsconsistency and discipline while alsoassisting with productivity.

Re-create the changing wheelEverything around us will be rede-

fined after COVID-19, wherein the roleof digital and adaptation of the existingset up to the changed times would haveto be taken into consideration. It is essen-tial to utilise the current period effective-ly to write the new norms for the busi-ness.

We need to understand and strive toengage with our customers despite chal-lenges and should be open to adaptingwith the changing norms and take

informed decisions keeping them inmind. Therefore, we are undertaking var-ious steps to sanitise our workshops andcars, re-shaping and defining our back-end tasks, planning progressive digitallaunches for forthcoming vehicles andrevamping the test drive experience forcustomers. Businesses are already oper-ating on a new tangent and hence,adaptation is paramount in the currentglobal economic scenario.

Prioritise your roles at homeMy time at home during lockdown

has inspired me to engage more with myfamily. Take this opportunity to helpthem with tasks around the house andtake on a more active and supportive rolein everyday chores. It is like being in theoffice where despite your work, youengage in conversations with your col-leagues and visitors and help them to findsolutions for issues that may not bedirectly related to the task at hand.

Work from home certainly has itsadvantages like saving the time of com-mute, to engage more with your family

at home, friends and your extended fam-ily through various forms of digital com-munication. The lockdown has made mefind my passion for cooking and learn-ing yoga. I also look forward to veryengaging and intellectual conversationswith my daughters.

Upgrade your skills and acumen Even though lockdown 3.0 has come

with new restrictions and allowances, butas we prepare ourselves to enter a newworld post complete freedom fromlockdown, one must make all the effortsto upskill and upgrade themselves.

Invest your time in harnessing yourskills, which may help you in your lineof work or if you have mastered that,learn something new. There are numer-ous digital courses offered by reputedplatforms and universities that onecould register and pursue.

With respect to work, office teamscan start focussing on individual areasof self-development. Share and discussyour daily learnings over a team call andparticipating in daily quizzes on variousaspects of business is a great team activ-ity for skill upgradation.

Set aside personal time For many of us, apart from office,

working from home may mean addedworkload with the responsibility ofmanaging household chores. It is crucialthat we utilise our time effectively by set-ting out tasks for the day and allocatingtime for each accordingly. Finding those30 or more minutes of personal timeamid all of this is very important. Andit could be anything that helps you tofind your inner calm — reading a book,meditating, exercising, catching up on aweb series, conversing with your friendor family member, listening to music,practicing any art form and so on. Itallows you to connect with yourself andkeeps the emotion of feeling over-whelmed in check.

Future ready In our fast-paced lifestyle, we forget

to stop and think about our lives atlength. We constantly keep working toreach our goals but never pause to rejoicein current moments. Well, now is thetime.

Make living in the present andempowering yourself for future your toppriorities. Renowned psychologistAbraham Maslow had rightly acknowl-edged, “The ability to be in the presentmoment is a major component of men-tal wellness.” However, it is also neces-sary that we stay focussed on our goalsand our dreams for the future during thistime. Therefore, take the time to createthe wishlist you want to prioritise, andwork on them post the lockdown. Giveyourself free reign to plan for your futureas it is the positive route to establishinga firm hold on your aspirations.

One could also consider collaborat-ing with ongoing local and communityinitiatives, helping people in need of sup-port during the lockdown to not only beconducive towards personal growth butalso spread positivity around yourself.

Striking a reasonable balancebetween your work and personal life willaid in making this period productive.Stay focussed on positivity and take goodcare of your health, while you prepare fora reformed world when the lockdown issuspended.

(The author is the head of AutomobiliLamborghini, India.)

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driver who mowed down her husband befriends aneccentric optimist who isn’t quite what she seems.Starring Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini and JamesMarsden, season 2 releases on May 8 on Netflix.

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return to work while navigating kids, bosses, love and lifein modern-day Toronto. Starring Catherine Reitman, DaniKind and Juno Rinaldi, the series releases on May 6 on Netflix.

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Health is wealth, an old maxim, is relevant evenin this modern age. It’s a fact that health is very

essential for a happy and natural living. Today,nobody wants to be sick and physically distressedto spend their hard-earned money on doctors andexpensive medicines. This is the reason why peo-ple all over the world have become more health con-scious than they were a few years back.

According to World Health Organisation(WHO), health is physical, mental and social well-being rather than merely the absence of disease.Since there is an intimate connection between mindand body, many a times a physical diseases causesome symptoms of ailment in the mind and viceversa. To treat it, there are many systems or pathiesas we call them. Usually, the doctors give medicineso that the symptoms of the disease disappear.However, there are only afew systems which areconcerned with therestoration of health. Infact, various systemsdefine ‘disease’ and itscauses differently. Theirphilosophy of health anddisease is very differentfrom that of the others.For example, theAllopathic system ofmedicine is based on thephilosophy that it is thevirus which causes a dis-ease and hence, allopaths consider virus as livingmicro-organisms. They also think that there aremany diseases which are caused by bacteria, if notby viruses. So their system attempts to kill theseviruses or bacteria to help the body to recover fromtheir attack. But the hygienist school of thought orthe nature curists say that viruses are not living enti-ties. They consider viruses as the proteinaciousdebris of spent cells that create a condition of intox-ication, called toxemia or toxicosis. They say thatbacteria have always been with us because they areour symbiotic partners. According to the naturecurists, the real culprit is the accumulated toxic mat-ter. Hence, they consider a disease not to be a resultof attack by virus or bacteria but the result of thetoxic matter, generated within or adopted from out-side. They say all diseases are toxemiac in originand most diseases are a remedial effort by the bodyto purify or repair itself.

Now, if we consider disease as the manifesta-tion of a signal concerning the accumulated debris,waste or toxic matter, then we will have to say thatpurification of the body is the mother of health. Inthis purification, purity of mind plays a very greatrole. Purification of the body requires fasting or eat-ing healthy, avoiding toxic food and having controlover sensual pleasures that lead to waste of body-vitality. It also means control over our behaviourand emotions, for these also lead to debility,ennervation and unhealthy functioning of our ner-vous or glandular system. Even if we believe in theexistence of virus, bacteria or other micro organ-isms as the cause of our disease, it would be hardto deny the fact that the main culprit is the accu-mulated toxic matter in our body as it provides asuitable breeding ground to the virus.

Summing up, it would be correct to say thatspiritual and physical purity is the factor that pro-motes natural health. Hence, without positiveemotions of love and enthusiasm, one cannot havethe vitality to maintain normal functions of all body-parts. The negative emotions cause a great drain onone’s vitality and debilitate the whole organism. Itwould, therefore, be proper to emphasise that puri-ty is the main ingredient to achieve good health.So while doctors talk of holistic health, hyperten-sion, psychosomatic diseases, drug addiction, wewish that due attention is also paid to the turmoilcaused by one’s negative thoughts, which are mak-ing the atmosphere of the society polluted andunhealthy.

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As summer’s arrival coin-cides with government stay-

at-home orders, the itch to getoutside has turned gardens intoa getaway for the mind in chaot-ic times. Gardeners, who alreadyknow that working with soil isa way to connect with nature, sayit helps take away their worries,at least temporarily.

“I love to see things grow,”Lindsay Waldrop said. “It’sincredibly therapeutic.” Nowmore than ever. Waldrop, a res-ident of Anaheim, California,has an anxiety disorder. Exerciseis supposed to help but her newjob as a college biology profes-sor had prevented her from get-ting into a routine. Her grand-father, who introduced her togardening by showing her howto plant seeds, died about a yearago. “Sometimes I just like to sitand dig holes in the quiet withmy own thoughts,” she said.“Outside, it takes my mind off.It gives something for my handsto do. It gives you a separateproblem to think about thanwhatever else is going on. It getsyou off of social media.”

Waldrop and her husbandmoved last summer from NewMexico, where she didn’t havemuch luck gardening in ascorching climate. At her newhome, she got rid of the lawn,installed an irrigation system,and recently planted dozens oftomatoes, eggplant, peppers andother vegetables. Over the years,

Waldrop converted her skepticalhusband, who initially won-dered why digging in the dirtand moving things around wasconsidered fun. After tasting hisfirst home-grown tomatoes, hewas converted.

Families, too, are discover-ing that gardening gives cooped-up kids something to do, buildstheir self-esteem and bringsvariety to what has suddenlybecome a lot of time spenttogether.

In Miami, Annika Bolanosisn’t a fan of the south Floridaheat and mosquitoes. But goingoutdoors lately has been a life-line. Bolanos works at homemaking cakes and doing book-keeping with her husband’s golfcart business. Her three youngchildren add an extra layer ofbusy, and together they’ve seed-ed a variety of vegetables andherbs. “We have always loved theidea of growing our own food,”Bolanos said. “It feels good to eatsomething that you grew your-self too. It also helps my kids eatmore fruits and veggies sincethey find it cool to eat what they

have grown.”Her children water the

plants daily and concentrate onwhat’s growing. “You’re feelingthe sun and the breeze anddon’t have to worry about any-thing in the moment,” Bolanossaid.

In Britain and Germany,

there’s a premium on allotments— popular parcels of land rent-ed for growing food crops.“Those with a garden are thelucky ones,” said HeidiSchaletzky, standing on the lawnbeneath a cherry tree in thenorth of Berlin.

Schaletzky and her husband

have been cultivating a plot inthe “Free Country” communitygarden for the past eight years,growing strawberries, saladgreens and kohlrabi. So far,access to garden plots remainsexempt from restrictions intend-ed to stop the spread of the virusin Germany. “We’ll be able to seeother people, too,” she said. “Aslong as they stay on their side ofthe fence.”

As the weather warms, gar-den shops are bustling as otherbusinesses shut during the out-break. At the Almaden ValleyNursery in San Jose, California,rose expert John Harp has seena mix of new gardeners and reg-ulars. Customers can’t comeinto the shop, so their onlineorders are brought to their vehi-cles in the parking lot. “Aroundtown everyone is gardeningright now,” Harp said. “They’relooking to be a little bit moreself-sufficient.”

This home-grown attitudegoes back to World War II,when millions of people cultivat-ed victory gardens to protectagainst potential food short-ages while boosting patriotismand morale.

Hollie Niblett, who livesnear Kansas City, Kansas, hopesthe victory gardens come back.Niblett, who has a degree in hor-ticultural therapy, tends to akitchen garden near her back-door, perennial flowers, flower-ing trees and shrubs, and upper

and lower grassy yards con-nected by a path through an arealeft in its natural condition.

“There are so many thingsabout it that feed my soul,” she said.“Right now, more than anything,my garden gives me hope, givesme purpose and provides a senseof connection to something biggerthan myself.”

For beginners, wondermentawaits. Just south of Atlanta, 10-year-old Ezra Gandy’s love forplaying baseball has been paused.He and his grandmother, MelanieNunnally, recently started an out-door garden, planting strawberries,cabbage, broccoli, kale and aspara-gus. “I like digging in the dirtbecause I like to see all the bugsand stuff that’s in the ground,” hesaid.

The nonprofit groupKidsGardening.org suggests thatchildren grow their own salads ordo other activities.

The virus scare could evenusher in a new crop of gardenerswho start from seed rather thanrisk the crowds buying starterplants.

Kendra Schilling of ScottDepot, West Virginia, doesn’t havespace for a sprawling garden, soshe’s planting potatoes in a buck-et and trying to figure out with herteenage daughter what to do withother vegetable seeds. “I usually gobuy the plants and stick them inthe dirt. But this year we’re goingto try to do the seeds,” she says.

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The warmer weather bringshope for the inhabitants ofLadakh, the land of high

passes, significant cultural heritageand extreme cold weather. This isthe time when inhabitants of thissnow desert let go of the winter andstart planning for summer. Peoplestart preparing to resume theirwork after the long hibernation justlike Marmots. But this year was dif-ferent for people of Leh, just like therest of the world. As the rays of sunstarted filtering in from the winterclouds, people of this cold desertlearnt about the spread of novelCoronavirus.

India became one of the coun-tries where COVID-19 made itspresence felt. On January 30, thefirst case of was confirmed in thesouthern state of Kerala. In March,the number of confirmed casesfrom all over the country increased.In Ladakh’s Leh district, the first twocases of Coronavirus were con-firmed on March 7 with bothpatients having a travel history toIran.

As naïve as children are, manyexpressed happiness about the lock-

down that was implemented toensure ‘physical distancing’. Whilesome, who really were looking for-ward to returning to college afterwinter slumber, felt disappointed.However, with time, as cases ofCorona grew, the happiness sub-sided and everyone started prayingfor the recovery of those affected.Local administration, following theorders of the Central Government,implemented a strict lockdown inthe region. Many students and vol-unteers supported the efforts ofadministration by reaching out tothe public with detailed informationabout the virus — the symptomsand the precautions they must fol-low for the safety of their familiesand society.

The real challenge for us,Ladakhis, is the crucial timingwhen this virus entered our lives.During summer season, the expec-tations were to prepare better mealsto compensate for the nutrient lossthat our community faces in thewinter season. People survive win-ter by having pulses and dry vegeta-bles.

This is the time we look for-

ward to resuming with our normallives. People who run small busi-nesses like shops were caught com-pletely off guard and had no idea ofhow to manage their lives. Theywere worried about how would theyfind the means to feed their fami-lies. During winter, the shops areshut and they don’t earn anythingand whatever money they hadearned last summer, they hadalready spent it on the winter stock.

Migrants are the worst affect-ed by the lockdown. People fromother states like Bihar, Jammu andKashmir, Jharkhand, who comehere to work, have been left with nofood, money or proper shelter. Thetourism industry — the fuel ofLadakh’s local economy — is severe-ly affected due to stay-at-homeorders and so is the life of theseworkers who depend on theseresources for their survival. Bothlocal and central administration ishelping the migrant population byproviding them food. People ofLadakh have also contributed to theefforts of the administration.

In these tough times, those whohave the privilege to survive andstay safe inside their houses shouldutilise this opportunity to work onthemselves. Ladakh, which isalready less polluted compared toother places, is now witnessingeven clearer skies and fresher airdue to temporary shutdown of a lotof industries, factories and smallcompanies. Families are spendingtime together, especially with thegrandparents. Interaction withneighbours has increased. One ofthe most important changes thathave taken place is that people aredoing their own work without

being dependent on labourers. The lockdown days have turned

out to be a nostalgic trip down thememory lane of my childhood. I amreminiscing about things that I havenot done since childhood as I havestarted engaging in them again.Along with my family, I am work-ing in the garden and field, spend-ing time with animals and sharingour thoughts. We are utilising thedays by learning new things likecooking different dishes, playingboard games, watching films andexploring world through the eyes ofour elders. Grandparents share sto-ries of their childhood, making usrealise how different their timeswere. During night, while sittingnear the bonfire, we sing, dance andsolve riddles.

Every day, I sit near the Indus.Everything around this mightyriver looks so calm and peaceful.And I ask myself, how quickly willthis go back to being polluted oncethe lockdown is lifted? The riverand its environs will be flooded withplastic and all sorts of other wastefrom our houses, hotels and restau-rants. This is the time to introspect,change our habits and continuepracticing them once the lock-down is lifted. Undoubtedly,COVID-19 has made us realise theimportance of things that we alwaystook for granted. Many lives havebeen lost in our country and aroundthe globe. The times are tough butwe should not give up yet. Weshould be hopeful of a bright futurewhere all of us will play our rolesmore responsibly. This is the timeto prepare ourselves to become bet-ter human beings.

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Former India openerGautam Gambhir feels thatRohit Sharma has been

able to make more impact inwhite ball cricket compared toVirat Kohli despite Indian skip-per’s staggering statistics inshorter formats.

Gambhir, however, believesthat Kohli will end up scoringmore runs than Rohit.

“... For me white-ball crick-et is all about impact. Kohli willend up getting many more runsthan Rohit, and Kohli is amongthe greatest right now, but Rohithas an edge over Kohli becauseof the impact he has,” Gambhirtold Sports Tak, according toIndia Today website.

“I think he (Rohit) is thebest white-ball cricketer in theworld right now. He is not thegreatest overall but at themoment he is the best. He is theonly player to have hit 3 ODIdouble hundreds, 5 World Cuphundreds (in one edition) andhe is also the only player, whoonce gets past 100-run mark,people say that he missed a dou-ble century.”

Talking further about Kohliand Rohit, the 2011 World Cupwinner said, “It is very difficultto compare both of them. ViratKohli is unbelievable. His statsprove that.

"But when your reputationis such that when you get outafter a hundred, people say hehas missed out on double hun-dred, that speaks volumes aboutyou.”

The 33-year-old Rohit has

scored 9115 runs from 224ODIs at an average of 49.27 at astrike rate of 88.92. He has 29hundreds and 43 fifties to hisname. In T20Is, Rohit has scored2273 runs from 108 matches atan average of 32.62 and a strikerate of 138.78.

The 31-year-old Kohli, onthe other hand, has scored11867 runs from 248 ODIs at anaverage of 59.33 at a strike rateof 93.25. He has scored 43 cen-turies and 58 half centuries.Kohli has also scored 2794 runsfrom 82 T20Is at an average of50.80 and a strike rate of 138.24.

The 38-year-old Gambhir,now a BJP Member ofParliament, gave credit toMahendra Singh Dhoni forRohit’s successful career.

“Where Rohit is today, it isbecause of MS Dhoni. Onegood thing about MS was thathe always kept Rohit in the talks,even if was not part of the team,he was always part of the group.He never let him get sidelined,”Gambhir said.

It’s the backing of captainthat makes or breaks a player,Gambhir said.

“You can talk about theselection committee and teammanagement, but if you do nothave the backing from your cap-tain than it is all useless.Everything is in the hands of thecaptain. How MS Dhoni hadbacked Rohit Sharma over aperiod of time, I do not thinkany player has been given suchsupport.”

���� ! 1�� 2��

The thought of standingup to Brett Lee’s thunder-bolts had taken Rohit

Sharma’s “sleep away” when hefirst started out but among thecurrent lot, Josh Hazlewood isone speedster the India swash-buckler “doesn’t want to face”in Tests.

Rohit said he will have tobe mentally prepared to faceHazlewood when India tourAustralia for a Test series laterthis year, provided the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Asked to name the tough-est pacers he has faced so far,Rohit said, “One bowler isBrett Lee because he didn’t letme sleep the previous night onmy first tour to Australia in2007, as I was thinking how toplay this bowler who bowls inexcess of 150 kmph.”

“In 2007, Brett Lee was athis peak. I used to watch himclosely and noticed that he wasconsistently bowling at thespeed of around 150-155kmph. The thought of a young-ster like me facing that kind ofspeed took away my sleep,”Rohit said of the formerAustralian speed merchant onStar Sports’ ‘CricketConnected’.

Since making his debut in2007 as a precocious talent,Rohit has gone on to becomeone of the world’s most prolif-ic batsmen, and his exploits inlimited overs cricket are secondto none.

Rohit has racked up 29ODI hundreds and six cen-turies in Test cricket, besides

four three-figure mark in theT20 Internationals.

“Currently, someone whomI don’t want to face in Test crick-et would be Josh Hazlewoodbecause he’s disciplined anddoes not move away from thatlength. He does not give youloose balls,” he said.

Among the retired lot,Rohit said South African pacegreat Dale Steyn has also givenhim nightmares because of hisability to swing the ball at greatspeed.

“I have two retired favouritebowlers who I never wanted toface, one was Brett Lee and theother was Dale Steyn. I neverwanted to face Steyn becauseplaying pace and swing at thesame time was a nightmare, itwas just unreal.”

Rohit said he continues toface quality bowlers in the pre-sent day with Hazlewood beingamong the best .

“I have watched himenough to understand that. Iknow for a fact that if I have togo to Australia to play a Test,then I have to be mentally pre-pared to be disciplined whilefacing Josh,” said the scorer ofthree double hundreds in ODIs.

���� ! 1�� 2��

Big-hitting West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell says

playing for Kolkata KnightRiders in the IPL is where hegets the “most goosebumps”and wants to remain in thatside till his very last game in theleague.

The 32-year-old was speak-ing to KKR’s official ‘KnightsUnplugged’ online show. TheJamaican is currently at homeas the IPL has been suspendedindefinitely owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

“Let me confess something,IPL is where I get the mostgoosebumps. I get that in CPL(Caribbean Premier League) aswell but when it comes toplaying in IPL, especially EdenGardens, there is no compari-son,” Russell said referring tohis team’s home ground inKolkata.

“...The welcome I get, that’slove. It puts pressure on me butit’s good pressure,” he added.

Russell said the Edencrowd has been supportivetowards him even when he has-

n't exactly delivered and that’swhy it’s the one place, he wouldlike to call it quits as and when

he does.“I would love to be at KKR

until that moment when I say

that this will be my last IPL. Ihave been at KKR for six sea-sons and I enjoyed every bit ofit,” he said.

“I know even if I fail twogames straight, when I comeout to bat for the third game,it is the same deafening reac-tion I will get from the crowd.It’s always a welcoming thing,”he said.

Hopeful of playing in theIPL some time this year, Russellalso spoke about dealing withbeing away from his new-borndaughter and wife. Both werein Miami when the coron-avirus-forced travel restric-tions came into force globally.

“She (his daughter) andJassym, they are both in Miami.I stay connected to them andtalk to them. I wish I couldhave them here, but with allthese travel restric”

“It’s not really a situationanyone would want to be in.This is affecting the world, it’saffecting me, preventing mefrom hitting sixes. Hope thisthing calms down in a monthor two and we can go back tonormal life again.”

���� ! 1�� 2��

There is a raging debate on whether theuse of sweat and saliva should be

banned once cricket resumes after theCOVID-19 pandemic but seamer JaydevUnadkat feels that these components won’tmake much of a difference with white ball.

“I think white ball won’t be a problemas a whole. Even in ODIs, you will be usingtwo new balls 25 overs each. Reverseswing has never been a big factor in white-ball cricket. Even the new ball doesn’trequire any sweat or saliva as far as whiteball is concerned,” Unadkat told PTI dur-ing an interaction.

The Ranji Trophy-winning Saurashtracaptain said the reason behind that is thatthe quote of white lacquer requires little orno sweat or saliva for swing.

“White lacquer remains shiny even ifyou just rub it on your trousers while forred ball, the red lacquer and the redleather demands that we shine it more withsaliva and sweat,” the left-arm seamersaid.

That’s the reason, he feels, that in lim-ited over contests, it will be a lesser risk forbowlers and can be started before one getsto the Test and first-class games.

“If we are starting with white-ballcontests, we will surely have an advantageas saliva and sweat are as big a factor as itcould be in red-ball cricket.”

Even for red-ball cricket, Unadkatfeels that precautions will be necessary onlyif cricket starts before the pandemic havesubsided completely.

“If we start closed doors, then proba-bly certain precautions will be mandatory.”

Unadkat says that a prolonged breakalso means that he will be on even keel with

some of the other bowlers who would bevying for their places in the Indian team forthe World T20.

In fact, had the IPL started on March29, Unadkat would have barely got threeweeks rest after a gruelling domestic sea-son where he carried the burden ofSaurashtra bowling.

“To be honest, the big break evens outa lot of things as far as team selection is con-cerned. A lot will depend on can carry theform through the break and who can cancome out sooner.

“You can’t really judge now as you dontknow how big the break will be. Even if Idon’t get match time sooner, if we get prac-tice time sooner, it won’t take much timeto get back the rhythm.”

While remaining fit has been a require-ment, Unadkat has taken time out to pur-sue another vocation, which is learning gui-tar.

It was his fiancee Rinny who encour-aged him to take up online guitar classesalong with her.

“I had done a a few classes in the pastbut then lost touch a couple of years back.Luckily my fiancee is also a guitar fan andhas taken lessons in the past and both of ofus decided to enrol for online classes.

���� ��2��� ��

West Indies fast bowlinggreat Michael Holding

has termed the World TestChampionship’s points sys-tem as “ridiculous”, wheresome of the Tests will be ren-dered inconsequential onceteams realise that they can'tfinish in top two in thepoints table.

As per the current pointssystem, the value for eachTest match win in a two-match series is 60 points agame. However, if it’s a five-

match series, the value of aTest match win is reduced to24. So basically, a team cangain up to 120 points from aseries, regardless of the num-ber of matches.

The top two then quali-fy for the final.

The Test Championship,which is scheduled to finishwith a final at Lord’s in June2021, was introduced by theICC last year in a bid torevive bilateral Test cricket.

“It doesn’t work,”Holding told Wisden CricketMonthly during a round

table when asked if the Testchampionship was achievingwhat it was designed for.

“First of all the pointssystem is ridiculous. Youcan’t play five Test matchesand get the same amount ofpoints if you play two Testmatches.

“And secondly, at somepoint you’re going to haveteams who know they can-not get to the final and sothose Test matches aren’tgoing to be all that entertain-ing. People know it’s justanother game.”

���� 2:!�:!

Manchester Unitedmidfielder Paul

Pogba is using the coro-navirus lockdown to stepup his return to fitnessafter an injury-plaguedseason.

Pogba had made justeight appearances forUnited this season beforethe health crisis forcedthe suspension of thePremier League inMarch.

The French WorldCup winner hasn;tplayed a single match in2020 due to his persistentankle problems.

His last appearancecame in a December 26win over Newcastle, butPogba has been keepingfit during the virus break

and hopes to be ready ifthe Premier League canreturn in the summer.

“I have a little home

gym in my house,” Pogbatold United’s website.

“I can do some train-ing, some running, somebike, go outside and dosome things with theball. I am just keepingbusy and keepinghealthy.

“We have got to staymotivated, there is noother choice. It is a peri-od and we don’t knowuntil when it will be likethis, but I still have goalsin my head and one dayhopefully this (pandem-ic) will stop.

“And then we have toget back on the pitch, sowe have to be ready.

“For myself, I havebeen out for a long timeas well, so for me I justwant to come back play-ing football.”

���� 3�/�� 2�

Manchester City midfielderKevin De Bruyne believes

the Premier League season willbe finished despite the coron-avirus pandemic "because thefinancial aspect is far too impor-tant”.

“My feeling is that we maybe able to train again within twoweeks. The government wants torestart football as soon as pos-sible to give people something.I think this season will be fin-ished,” De Bruyne told Belgiandaily Het Laatste Nieuws.

“The financial aspect is fartoo important in the PremierLeague. If the season is not fin-ished, it will cause serious prob-lems,” he added.

Clubs were presented withthe league's “Project Restart”plans at a meeting on Friday andwere told the remaining 92matches of the 2019-2020 seasonmust be played at neutral venues.

De Bruyne also said he wasoptimistic about City's participa-tion in next season’s ChampionsLeague. UEFA has banned theclub from European competitionfor the next two years for “seri-

ous breaches" of financial fair-play rules.

“The club told us they’regoing to appeal and that they’realmost certain to get their way.I’m waiting to see what happens,but I trust my club,” said DeBruyne.

The 28-year-old Belgiuminternational admitted he wouldbe forced to consider his Cityfuture if the ban was upheld.

“Once we know more, I willmake a decision. Two yearswithout playing in Europe wouldbe long but in the case of oneyear I might see,” he said.

���� �� �

Italy offered Serie A clubs a glimmer of hopeon Sunday after it said footballers could take

part in individual training sessions as thestrictest coronavirus lockdown measures beginto ease.

The interior ministry’s go-ahead for play-ers to attend their club’s training facilities offeredfans in the football mad country the first signthat the 2019-20 season might yet be saved.

Some of the bigger clubs with title aspira-tions from the less affected regions have beentalking about going back to training for weeks.

But Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte onlyallowed teams to resume organised activitieson May 18 — a date that might push back thisseason’s completion into the start of the next.

Several regions that have avoided theworst of the pandemic have taken mattersinto their own hands and allowed clubs to

open their facilities for players to train ontheir own.

Teams such as Napoli and Parma havefollowed the lead of Lazio — trailing lead-ers Juventus by just a point — and gave thenod for players to return.

They insisted that they were not break-ing the rules because Conte has allowed allItalians to start exercising in open publicplaces starting Monday.

The interior ministry bowed to theseemingly inevitable on Sunday and agreedthat teams can open their facilities to play-ers for training.

“Athletes, professional or otherwise, ofnon-individual sports are allowed — just asevery citizen — to exercise in public or pri-vate areas,” the interior ministry said.

But players must “respect social distanc-ing rules of at least two metres and the banon public gatherings.”

���� ! 1�� 2��

Sports Minister Kiren Rijijuon Sunday said his min-

istry is devising a plan forphase-wise resumption ofnational camps for Olympic-bound athletes by the end ofthis month.

Rijiju said the coron-avirus-forced nationwidelockdown, which has beenextended till May 17, forcedhis ministry to delay theresumption of the trainingcamps at Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI) centres. The lock-down was earlier meant toend on May 3.

“The camps will start ina phase-wise manner. First wewill start training in NISPatiala and SAI, Bengaluruwhere athletes are based cur-rently...By the end of thismonth training is expected tostart in Bengaluru andPatiala,” Rijiju said at FICCI'swebinar titled 'Corona &Sports: The ChampionsSpeak’.

“The camps will be forthose sports which have qual-ified for Olympics or thesports whose Olympic qual-ification is in future,” hesaid...We will relax thingspartially looking at theOlympics," he added.

The national camps weresuspended in mid-Marchwhen the COVID-19 casesbegan rising in the country.

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Thought of facing Lee took my sleep: Rohit