english news paper | breaking news | latest today news in ...€¦ · block all immigration ports...

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A fter suspending train ser- vices and international flights, the Centre on Monday suspended all domestic flights, effective midnight March 24 to contain the spread of coron- avirus pandemic. The Government also decided to block all immigration ports and seaports. At the same time, Punjab and Maharashtra have decided to impose curfew while sever- al other States have announced lockdown as part of efforts to ensure safety of the citizens. These restrictions will not apply to cargo-carrying flights. Metros, inter-State buses, private and public transport including buses, auto, taxis, e- rickshaws have already been banned, and the cancellation of flights will bring the country to a complete halt. As many as 30 States and Union Territories have announced a complete lock- down. Other States and Union Territories have been placed under partial lockdown to pre- vent the spread of coronavirus pandemic while three have ordered the shutdown of some specific activities. “Airlines have to plan oper- ations so as to land at their des- tination before 11:59 pm on March 24, 2020,” the Ministry said in a statement. Sharing this information, the Delhi Airport tweeted, “Passengers of the last inter- national arriving flight have now exited the airport. Operations at T3 internation- al arrivals will remain sus- pended till 05.31 hours of March 29, 2020.” “We take this opportunity to thank all our airport employ- ees and doctors for their com- mitment. Passengers are requested to get in touch with the airline concerned for updated flight info on interna- tional departing flights. #Coronavirus,” the Delhi Airport said in another tweet. The official said all airlines will have to plan operations in such a way so that they are able to land by 11:59 pm on March 24. On Sunday, the Centre has overturned the Delhi Government decision that no flights would be allowed in or out of the Capital. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had put out a clarifi- cation saying there would be no change in domestic flight oper- ations. The Government’s lat- est decision to suspend domes- tic flights come after several States like Bihar and West Bengal reached out to the Central Government to stop flights to contain the spread of COVID-19. Earlier in the day, aviation sector regulator, Director General of Civil Aviation, said there are no restrictions on domestic and foreign air oper- ators to carry out cargo oper- ations. “Currently, there are no restrictions on domestic or foreign air operators for carry- ing out cargo operations at any airport in India. All stake- holders kindly note,” DGCA tweeted on Monday. While States have shut down inter-State traffic, except carriers of essential commodi- ties and sealed intra-city trans- port services, all private vehi- cles and citizens not engaged in essential services have been strictly asked to stay indoors. Section 144 of the Indian Panel Code has been imposed in several States and UTs. Punjab on Monday became the first in the country to impose curfew, and only exempted essential services to prevent the infection, while Maharshtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray imposed curfew in the entire State from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus. Delhi, Jharkhand, Goa, Assam, J&K, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tripura, Telangana and Nagaland Bihar, Haryana, UP and West Bengal declared lockdown. Chandigarh announced impo- sition of curfew. D eadly coronavirus contin- ue to spread its tentacles taking India’s tally to 468 cases on Monday with new cases being reported from Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. The tally also includes 34 cured cases as well as death toll which rose to nine on Monday. Confirmed coronavirus cases in India have more than doubled in just the last four days. Total number of active coronavirus cases in India stands at 434, as per latest ICMR report. Multiple States and over 100 cities across the country are in lockdown till March 31. According to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 18,383 samples from 17,493 individuals have been tested for COVID-19. Maharashtra is worst hit with 89 confirmed cases. Kerala has the second highest number of cases at 67. Delhi has reported 30 positive cases. Telangana has reported 26 cases. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have reported 28 cases so far. In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners. Apart from these, seven confirmed cases have been reported in West Bengal, three in Uttarakhand, 13 in Ladakh, four in J&K, 5 in Chandigarh, seven in Tamil Nadu including two foreigners, 21 in Punjab, 1 in Puducherry, 2 in Odisha, 6 in Madhya Pradesh, 2 in Himachal Pradesh, 30 in Gujarat, 1 in Chhattisgarh, 2 in Bihar and five in Andhra Pradesh. The deadly coronavirus, which has infected over 3,25,000 people and killed over 14,000 globally. T he National Task force for COVID-19 led by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday gave its nod for the use of anti-malar- ial medicine hydroxylchloro- quine as prophylaxis (pre- ventive drug) for the coron- avirus infection for high risk cases albeit with precautions. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved it for “restricted use in emer- gency situations”. The drug cannot be given for general use and one must not self-administer, said ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava when it was brought to his notice that people are rushing to hoard it. Meanwhile, in the wake of rising cases of coronavirus in the country, the ICMR has also put on fast-track the process of giving approval to kit manufacturers for testing suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. In a press briefing here on Monday, Dr Bhargava said the hydroxyl-chloroquine compound is recommended only for a healthcare worker who is treating a Covid-19 patient. “Secondly, it’s rec- ommended only for persons staying and caring for a house- hold positive patient. They can take that only for pro- phylaxis, only for prevention,” he added. ICMR has, however, cau- tioned the States that placing of healthcare workers under chemoprophylaxis with hydroxy-chloroquine should not instill a sense of false secu- rity and that they should simultaneously follow all pre- scribed public health mea- sures such as frequent wash- ing of hands, respiratory eti- quette, keeping a distance of minimum one metre and use of personal protective equip- ment (wherever applicable). In an advisory issued to the States, the ICMR said that the high risk contacts of a pos- itive case placed under chemo prophylaxis should remain in home quarantine while on prophylactic therapy. As recommended by the task force, the drug should only be given on the pre- scription of a registered med- ical practitioner, it added. A n “end of the world” syn- drome gripped the stock market on Monday, and cur- rency shared the panic. The key indices saw the biggest single day fall in the history even as the Rupee touched a new low, breaching 76 levels for the first time on intra-day basis. The BSE benchmark Sensex sunk 3,935 points or 13. 15 per cent to close at 25,981.24; while the NSE Nifty cracked 1,135.20 points or 12.98% to settle at 7,610.25. By all yardsticks, this was an unprecedented fall even considering the continuing sell-off in the global indices after the outbreak of the dead- ly coronavirus. While the Indian market crashed by near- ly 13 per cent — Sensex shed- ding more than 4000 points one time — the Asian indices were lower by 3 to 7 per cent and Europe traded in the same range. It was obvious that the foreign investors were dumping Indian stocks without consid- ering the relatively cheaper valuations. The absence of any fiscal stimulus by the Government has accented the freefall in the India market, which has come down by nearly 40 per cent from its peak. The banking sector has seen the biggest sell-off amid fear of rising NPA in the com- ing quarters due to the “lock- down”. Take the case of a com- pany like Axis Bank. The share plummeted by as much 29 per cent in a single day, before reg- istering a symbolic recovery. The stock closed at 308, com- pared to 760 it reached six weeks ago. S hivraj Singh Chouhan was on Monday administered oath as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in a small cer- emony at the Governor House. In the wake of coronavirus threat, only a few VVIPs were present at the swearing-in, while the media was not allowed entry at the event. With the oath-taking cer- emony, Chouhan created his- tory in Madhya Pradesh for having become Chief Minister for the fourth term. First, he became CM on November 29, 2005, second time on December 12, 2008 and for third term on December 14, 2013. Earlier, on Monday evening, Chouhan was elected as BJP Legislative Party’s leader at a meeting held at the State BJP headquarters. Having elected as Chief Minister designate, Chouhan called on his partymen saying it is not a time for any celebra- tion but to fight off corona scare. He said he will start working at Mantralaya from Monday night. As the BJP legislative party meet held in Bhopal on Monday evening, senior leader Gopal Bhargav proposed Chouhan’s name and several MLAs, including former Minister Narottam Mishra, seconded his name. Soon after central observers — Vinay Sahastrabuddhe and Arun Singh, attending the meeting through video conferencing announced that Chouhan has been named the leader of BJP Legislative Party. Chouhan in his address straightaway launched a sting- ing assault on outgoing Congress Government claim- ing that the Congress govern- ment completely destroyed the State in 15 months of rule. T he Supreme Court on Monday directed all States and Union Territories to con- stitute high-level committees to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and undertrials for offences entail- ing up to 7-year jail term to decongest prisons in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. The SC said overcrowding of prisons is a matter of serious concern, particularly in the present context of coronavirus. In regard to the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it has become imperative to ensure that the spread of coronavirus within the prisons is controlled, the court said. A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices LN Rao and Surya Kant said the State or UT could consider the release of prisoners who have been con- victed or are undertrial for offences for which prescribed punishment is up to 7 years or less, with or without fine and the prisoner has been convict- ed for a lesser number of years than the maximum. I n the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the Delhi Police on Monday evening sealed its border as the execution of the prohibitory orders in the national Capital was not up to the mark during the day. Police said people associ- ated with essential services will be issued curfew passes. On Sunday, the police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Delhi till March 31 in view of the coronavirus outbreak, ban- ning protests, and other gather- ings. According to the order, persons private sector staff who are engaged in essential services in Delhi, their respective organisations shall seek curfew passes from the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police in which the organisation is located. T he Delhi Assembly passed 65,000-crore Budget for the 2020-21 financial year on Monday, with the Government setting aside 50 crore to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. Presenting the Budget for the sixth consecutive time in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi Government will imple- ment the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Centre in New Delhi. W ith Punjab reporting two more corona positive cases on Monday and amidst reports of people defying lock- down orders from across the State, the Government on Monday imposed a “continu- ous” and “24 hours a day” cur- few with “no relaxations” till further orders — becoming the first state to take an unprece- dented step to deal with the sit- uation arising out of the spread of deadly coronavirus. The Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, after review- ing the situation with the Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh and Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta, announced full curfew with no relaxations “to tackle the pre- vailing war-like situation”. Following this, the Deputy Commissioners issued orders accordingly in their respective districts bringing into effect the imposition of curfew. As per the orders, no relaxation has been provided, and any person required to be given relax- ation will be so allowed specif- ically for a given period and purpose only with the Deputy Commissioner’s permission. The “extreme and excep- tional measure” in the battle against COVID-19 came in the wake of the apprehensions that the fatal virus may infect many people, especially keep- ing in view the reports that some persons contracted the infection at Hola Mohalla cel- ebrations in Sri Anandpur Sahib earlier this month which was also attended by the coro- na-positive Baldev Singh who died on March 18. “After lockdown came into effect, we received reports of people moving freely, not adhering to orders proper- ly...shops were opened at many places and people were busy shopping and even on roads despite repeated requests to stay at home. Flag marches were also held at many places, even police forcibly closed down shops…But, considering this, it was felt that curfew is the only means to keep people indoors,” a senior government official told The Pioneer. Soon as the orders were passed, there was a complete ban on movement. The Deputy Commissioners, in each dis- trict, had been authorized to issue passes, which would be time-specific and destination- specific. Only those with the passes would be allowed to move around, said the official. Even for essential services, including doctors, chemists, and daily goods shops, it was mandatory to apply for per- mission, and they could run their operations only after that. CM, in a video address to the people of Punjab, appealed to them to voluntarily adhere to the curfew imposed “in the larger interest of the state” while also warning of strict action against its any violation. “I am forced to take this extreme step in the interest of the state,” said the CM point- ing that he had received reports that people were moving around normally in towns, mohallas, and cities despite the lockdown that became effective this morning. Appealing to the people for cooperation, CM said that the violation of lockdown by the people was “unacceptable” and it was the responsibility of the Government, and his duty as its head, to “save Punjab”. Continued on Page 2 More reports on P3

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Page 1: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ...€¦ · block all immigration ports and seaports. At the same time, ... An “end of the world” syn-drome gripped the

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After suspending train ser-vices and international

flights, the Centre on Mondaysuspended all domestic flights,effective midnight March 24 tocontain the spread of coron-avirus pandemic. TheGovernment also decided toblock all immigration ports andseaports.

At the same time, Punjaband Maharashtra have decidedto impose curfew while sever-al other States have announcedlockdown as part of efforts toensure safety of the citizens.

These restrictions will notapply to cargo-carrying flights.

Metros, inter-State buses,private and public transportincluding buses, auto, taxis, e-rickshaws have already beenbanned, and the cancellation offlights will bring the country toa complete halt.

As many as 30 States andUnion Territories haveannounced a complete lock-down. Other States and UnionTerritories have been placedunder partial lockdown to pre-vent the spread of coronaviruspandemic while three haveordered the shutdown of somespecific activities.

“Airlines have to plan oper-ations so as to land at their des-tination before 11:59 pm onMarch 24, 2020,” the Ministry

said in a statement.Sharing this information,

the Delhi Airport tweeted,“Passengers of the last inter-national arriving flight havenow exited the airport.Operations at T3 internation-al arrivals will remain sus-pended till 05.31 hours ofMarch 29, 2020.”

“We take this opportunityto thank all our airport employ-ees and doctors for their com-mitment. Passengers are

requested to get in touch withthe airline concerned forupdated flight info on interna-tional departing f lights.#Coronavirus,” the DelhiAirport said in another tweet.

The official said all airlineswill have to plan operations insuch a way so that they are ableto land by 11:59 pm on March24. On Sunday, the Centre hasoverturned the DelhiGovernment decision that noflights would be allowed in or

out of the Capital. TheDirectorate General of CivilAviation had put out a clarifi-cation saying there would be nochange in domestic flight oper-ations. The Government’s lat-est decision to suspend domes-tic flights come after severalStates like Bihar and WestBengal reached out to theCentral Government to stopflights to contain the spread ofCOVID-19.

Earlier in the day, aviation

sector regulator, DirectorGeneral of Civil Aviation, saidthere are no restrictions ondomestic and foreign air oper-ators to carry out cargo oper-ations. “Currently, there are norestrictions on domestic orforeign air operators for carry-ing out cargo operations at anyairport in India. All stake-holders kindly note,” DGCAtweeted on Monday.

While States have shutdown inter-State traffic, exceptcarriers of essential commodi-ties and sealed intra-city trans-port services, all private vehi-cles and citizens not engaged inessential services have beenstrictly asked to stay indoors.Section 144 of the Indian PanelCode has been imposed inseveral States and UTs.

Punjab on Monday becamethe first in the country toimpose curfew, and onlyexempted essential services toprevent the infection, whileMaharshtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray imposedcurfew in the entire State fromMonday midnight as the fightagainst coronavirus.

Delhi, Jharkhand, Goa,Assam, J&K, ArunachalPradesh, Kerala, Tripura,Telangana and Nagaland Bihar,Haryana, UP and West Bengaldeclared lockdown.Chandigarh announced impo-sition of curfew.

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Deadly coronavirus contin-ue to spread its tentacles

taking India’s tally to 468 caseson Monday with new casesbeing reported fromTelangana, Maharashtra,Karnataka, Gujarat, UttarPradesh, Tamil Nadu andBihar. The tally also includes 34cured cases as well as death tollwhich rose to nine on Monday.

Confirmed coronaviruscases in India have more thandoubled in just the last fourdays. Total number of activecoronavirus cases in Indiastands at 434, as per latestICMR report. Multiple Statesand over 100 cities across thecountry are in lockdown tillMarch 31. According to datafrom the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR), atotal of 18,383 samples from17,493 individuals have beentested for COVID-19.

Maharashtra is worst hitwith 89 confirmed cases.Kerala has the second highestnumber of cases at 67. Delhihas reported 30 positive cases.Telangana has reported 26cases. Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan have reported 28cases so far. In Haryana, there

are 17 cases, which include 14foreigners. Apart from these,seven confirmed cases havebeen reported in West Bengal,three in Uttarakhand, 13 inLadakh, four in J&K, 5 inChandigarh, seven in TamilNadu including two foreigners,21 in Punjab, 1 in Puducherry,

2 in Odisha, 6 in MadhyaPradesh, 2 in HimachalPradesh, 30 in Gujarat, 1 inChhattisgarh, 2 in Bihar andfive in Andhra Pradesh.

The deadly coronavirus,which has infected over3,25,000 people and killed over14,000 globally.

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The National Task force forCOVID-19 led by Indian

Council of Medical Research(ICMR) on Monday gave itsnod for the use of anti-malar-ial medicine hydroxylchloro-quine as prophylaxis (pre-ventive drug) for the coron-avirus infection for high riskcases albeit with precautions.The Drug Controller Generalof India (DCGI) has approvedit for “restricted use in emer-gency situations”.

The drug cannot be givenfor general use and one mustnot self-administer, saidICMR Director GeneralBalram Bhargava when it wasbrought to his notice thatpeople are rushing to hoard it.

Meanwhile, in the wake ofrising cases of coronavirus inthe country, the ICMR hasalso put on fast-track theprocess of giving approval tokit manufacturers for testingsuspected coronavirus(COVID-19) cases.

In a press briefing here onMonday, Dr Bhargava saidthe hydroxyl-chloroquinecompound is recommended

only for a healthcare workerwho is treating a Covid-19patient. “Secondly, it’s rec-ommended only for personsstaying and caring for a house-hold positive patient. Theycan take that only for pro-phylaxis, only for prevention,”he added.

ICMR has, however, cau-tioned the States that placingof healthcare workers underchemoprophylaxis withhydroxy-chloroquine shouldnot instill a sense of false secu-rity and that they shouldsimultaneously follow all pre-scribed public health mea-

sures such as frequent wash-ing of hands, respiratory eti-quette, keeping a distance ofminimum one metre and useof personal protective equip-ment (wherever applicable).

In an advisory issued tothe States, the ICMR said thatthe high risk contacts of a pos-itive case placed under chemoprophylaxis should remain inhome quarantine while onprophylactic therapy.

As recommended by thetask force, the drug shouldonly be given on the pre-scription of a registered med-ical practitioner, it added.

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An “end of the world” syn-drome gripped the stock

market on Monday, and cur-rency shared the panic. The keyindices saw the biggest singleday fall in the history even asthe Rupee touched a new low,breaching 76 levels for the firsttime on intra-day basis.

The BSE benchmarkSensex sunk 3,935 points or 13.15 per cent to close at25,981.24; while the NSE Niftycracked 1,135.20 points or12.98% to settle at 7,610.25.

By all yardsticks, this wasan unprecedented fall evenconsidering the continuingsell-off in the global indicesafter the outbreak of the dead-ly coronavirus. While the

Indian market crashed by near-ly 13 per cent — Sensex shed-ding more than 4000 points

one time — the Asian indiceswere lower by 3 to 7 per centand Europe traded in the same

range. It was obvious that theforeign investors were dumpingIndian stocks without consid-ering the relatively cheapervaluations.

The absence of any fiscalstimulus by the Governmenthas accented the freefall in theIndia market, which has comedown by nearly 40 per centfrom its peak.

The banking sector hasseen the biggest sell-off amidfear of rising NPA in the com-ing quarters due to the “lock-down”. Take the case of a com-pany like Axis Bank. The shareplummeted by as much 29 percent in a single day, before reg-istering a symbolic recovery.The stock closed at �308, com-pared to �760 it reached sixweeks ago.

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan wason Monday administered

oath as the Chief Minister ofMadhya Pradesh in a small cer-emony at the Governor House.In the wake of coronavirusthreat, only a few VVIPs werepresent at the swearing-in,while the media was notallowed entry at the event.

With the oath-taking cer-emony, Chouhan created his-tory in Madhya Pradesh forhaving become Chief Ministerfor the fourth term. First, hebecame CM on November 29,2005, second time onDecember 12, 2008 and forthird term on December 14,2013. Earlier, on Mondayevening, Chouhan was elected

as BJP Legislative Party’s leaderat a meeting held at the StateBJP headquarters.

Having elected as ChiefMinister designate, Chouhancalled on his partymen sayingit is not a time for any celebra-tion but to fight off coronascare. He said he will startworking at Mantralaya from

Monday night. As the BJP legislative party

meet held in Bhopal onMonday evening, senior leaderGopal Bhargav proposedChouhan’s name and severalMLAs, including formerMinister Narottam Mishra,seconded his name. Soon aftercentral observers — VinaySahastrabuddhe and ArunSingh, attending the meetingthrough video conferencingannounced that Chouhan hasbeen named the leader of BJPLegislative Party.

Chouhan in his addressstraightaway launched a sting-ing assault on outgoingCongress Government claim-ing that the Congress govern-ment completely destroyed theState in 15 months of rule.

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The Supreme Court onMonday directed all States

and Union Territories to con-stitute high-level committees toconsider releasing on parole orinterim bail prisoners andundertrials for offences entail-ing up to 7-year jail term todecongest prisons in the wakeof coronavirus pandemic.

The SC said overcrowdingof prisons is a matter of seriousconcern, particularly in thepresent context of coronavirus.

In regard to the provisionsof Article 21 of theConstitution of India, it hasbecome imperative to ensurethat the spread of coronaviruswithin the prisons is controlled,the court said.

A bench of Chief Justice SABobde and Justices LN Rao andSurya Kant said the State or UTcould consider the release ofprisoners who have been con-victed or are undertrial foroffences for which prescribedpunishment is up to 7 years orless, with or without fine andthe prisoner has been convict-ed for a lesser number of yearsthan the maximum.

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In the wake of coronavirusoutbreak, the Delhi Police on

Monday evening sealed itsborder as the execution of theprohibitory orders in thenational Capital was not up tothe mark during the day.

Police said people associ-ated with essential serviceswill be issued curfew passes.

On Sunday, the policeimposed prohibitory orders

under Section 144 of the CrPCin Delhi till March 31 in view ofthe coronavirus outbreak, ban-ning protests, and other gather-ings.

According to the order,persons private sector staffwho are engaged in essential services in Delhi,their respective organisationsshall seek curfew passes fromthe office of DeputyCommissioner of Police inwhich the organisation is located.

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The Delhi Assembly passed�65,000-crore Budget for

the 2020-21 financial year onMonday, with the Governmentsetting aside �50 crore to dealwith the coronavirus outbreak.

Presenting the Budget forthe sixth consecutive time in theAssembly, Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia said theDelhi Government will imple-ment the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Centre inNew Delhi.

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With Punjab reporting twomore corona positive

cases on Monday and amidstreports of people defying lock-down orders from across theState, the Government onMonday imposed a “continu-ous” and “24 hours a day” cur-few with “no relaxations” tillfurther orders — becoming thefirst state to take an unprece-dented step to deal with the sit-uation arising out of the spreadof deadly coronavirus.

The Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh, after review-ing the situation with the ChiefSecretary Karan Avtar Singhand Director General of Police(DGP) Dinkar Gupta,announced full curfew with norelaxations “to tackle the pre-vailing war-like situation”.

Following this, the DeputyCommissioners issued orders

accordingly in their respectivedistricts bringing into effect theimposition of curfew. As perthe orders, no relaxation hasbeen provided, and any personrequired to be given relax-ation will be so allowed specif-ically for a given period andpurpose only with the DeputyCommissioner’s permission.

The “extreme and excep-tional measure” in the battleagainst COVID-19 came inthe wake of the apprehensionsthat the fatal virus may infectmany people, especially keep-ing in view the reports thatsome persons contracted theinfection at Hola Mohalla cel-ebrations in Sri AnandpurSahib earlier this month whichwas also attended by the coro-na-positive Baldev Singh whodied on March 18.

“After lockdown came intoeffect, we received reports ofpeople moving freely, not

adhering to orders proper-ly...shops were opened at manyplaces and people were busyshopping and even on roadsdespite repeated requests tostay at home. Flag marcheswere also held at many places,even police forcibly closeddown shops…But, consideringthis, it was felt that curfew is theonly means to keep peopleindoors,” a senior governmentofficial told The Pioneer.

Soon as the orders werepassed, there was a completeban on movement. The DeputyCommissioners, in each dis-trict, had been authorized toissue passes, which would betime-specific and destination-specific. Only those with thepasses would be allowed tomove around, said the official.

Even for essential services,including doctors, chemists,and daily goods shops, it wasmandatory to apply for per-

mission, and they could runtheir operations only after that.

CM, in a video address tothe people of Punjab, appealedto them to voluntarily adhereto the curfew imposed “in thelarger interest of the state”while also warning of strictaction against its any violation.

“I am forced to take thisextreme step in the interest ofthe state,” said the CM point-ing that he had received reportsthat people were movingaround normally in towns,mohallas, and cities despitethe lockdown that becameeffective this morning.

Appealing to the people forcooperation, CM said that theviolation of lockdown by thepeople was “unacceptable” andit was the responsibility of theGovernment, and his duty as itshead, to “save Punjab”.

Continued on Page 2More reports on P3

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Chandigarh Administrationon Monday decided to

close its offices except thosetasked with emergency ser-vices due to COVID-19 epi-demic.

All Governmentoffices/Board/Corporationsshall remain close except pub-lic offices tasked with emer-gency, law and order and essen-tial functions, stated an order issued by UTAdministration.

Health Department, police,DC office, Fire, MunicipalCorporation among others willcontinue to function as usual.

The contractual/outsourcesstaff/daily wage/workcharged/consultants etc shall bepaid salary or honorariumwithout any deduction for theirabsence from work till March31, the order stated.

Meanwhile, theAdministration has appointeda four members team underJangsher Singh, XEN(Horticulture, MC) to ensuresupply of fruits, vegetables andessential supplies inChandigarh and to supervisefunctioning of main Mandi in

Sector 26 here.The Administration has

also appointed Rajinder Singh,XEN (SBM) as nodal supervi-sory officer to ensure supply ofgarbage collection bags, dailycollection of household garbagethrough dedicated vehicles andalso to ensure proper disposalof collected garbage from allhouses which are under homeisolation/quarantine

MP SANCTIONS �1CRFROM MPLADS

Chandigarh MP KirronKher has sanctioned �1crorefrom her MPLADS for pur-chase of essential items espe-cially ventilators forGovernment Medical Collegeand Hospital, Sector 32 here. Inher letter to DeputyCommissioner Mandip SinghBrar, she stated that this workmay be treated as urgent andfunds for already recommend-ed works may not be releasedfor the time being. As there isepidemic of COVID-19 in the

country, it is requested to divertMPLADS funds for purchase ofessential items, she stated in herletter.

LAST DATE FOR BILL PAY-MENT NOW APRIL 15

Keeping in view the cur-rent situation, the ChandigarhAdministration has decidedthat the last date of payment ofdues for electricity bills, waterbills and property tax has beenextended till April 15, stated anorder of Administration.

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Himachal PradeshGovernment on Monday

announced shutdown in theentire state except essentialservices in the backdrop ofspread of two COVID-19 casesin Kangra district.

The entire State was placedunder lockdown till furtherorders, Chief Minister Jai RamThakur informed theAssembly, whose ongoingBudget session was curtailed tillMonday.

As per lockdown order, allpublic transport and privatevehicles will be suspended evenwithin the State, except inemergency cases. However,carriage vehicles carryingessential items like milk,uncooked food and grocerieswill be allowed.

A spokesperson of the StateGovernment said all interstate

and intrastate movement ofpublic and private stage and con-tract carriages including taxies,autorickshaws etc has been pro-hibited. There would be totalprohibition on movement orplying of trains and commercialaircrafts. The private vehicleswould be plied only if essential-ly required for visiting hospitalsand for availing or maintenanceof essential services. Goods car-riage vehicles would however beallowed to ply.

He said that all shops,

commercial establishments,factories , workshops, godownsetc would close their operationsexcept for shops or stores sell-ing groceries, milk, bread, fruit,vegetable, meat, fish and otheruncooked food items and theirtransportation related activitiesand warehousing. He said thathospitals, chemist stores, opti-cal stores, pharmaceuticals andsoap manufacturing units andtheir ancillaries together withtransportation related activitieswould remain operational.

Besides, petrol pumps, LPGgas, oil agencies, their godownsand their transportation relat-ed activities would also beoperational. E-commerce(delivery) of all essential goodsincluding food, pharmaceuti-cals and medical equipmentswould also be operational.

He said that productionand manufacturing units,which require continuousprocess, may continue to func-tion, after obtaining requiredpermission from the Deputy

Commissioner and followingall precautionary protocols, asnotified by Health Departmentfrom time to time.

He said that strict homequarantine would be observedby all foreign returnees, wholanded in India on or afterMarch 9. All such foreignreturnees would mandatorilynotify the district SurvillenceOfficer of the concerned districtand 104 toll free number andregister themselves for homequarantine, failing which theywould be liable for legal action.

The spokesperson said thatpeople are required to stay athome and come out only forbasic purposes, like visit to gro-cery, vegetable shops, chemists,etc and for essential and per-mitted work related travel onlyand that too while strictly fol-lowing social distancing guide-lines issued from time to time.

He said that all the estab-lishments which are allowed tobe kept open, would alsoensure social distancing with-in and outside their premises.

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From Page 1Making it clear that the

curfew would be continuous,spanning 24 hours a day, theChief Minister said that onlythose with emergent needswould be allowed to go out,after taking due permissionfrom their respective DCs,whose mobile numbers wouldbe shared with the public.

“Difficult decisions need tobe taken in difficult times,” saidthe Chief Minister, adding thatit had become necessary toimpose and enforce the curfewto survive these tough times.“Please listen to me, and bearwith me,” he appealed to thepeople, emphasizing, “We mustwork shoulder to shoulder tofend off the crisis we are all fac-ing”.

The State Government, ina revised order, further scaled-down the staff in governmentoffices. The orders applied tothe state headquarters and thedistrict level offices. The headsof departments have beenasked to keep skeleton staff asper the requirement.

Earlier the StateGovernment had decided toadopt fortnightly duty rosterfor employees with 50 percentstaff in one shift.

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With people defying lock-down orders in the city,

the Chandigarh Administrationon Monday imposed curfewfrom midnight till furtherorders to combat the spread ofCOVID-19 (Coronavirus).

The development comesafter neighboring PunjabGovernment also imposed acurfew to ensure social dis-tancing and fight the deadly dis-ease.

Chandigarh reported onemore positive case of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on Mondaytaking the total number ofcases to seven till the filing ofthis report. More than 400people are under home quar-antine in the city.

The Administration hadon Sunday announced a lock-down restricting movement ofdenizens. However, the orderfailed to stop the residentsfrom thronging the markersand parks.

Punjab Governor and UTAdministrator VP SinghBadnore on Monday held ameeting with senior UT officersto review the situation anddecided to impose curfew in

Chandigarh starting fromMonday midnight till furtherorders.

“With the imposition ofcurfew all the residents will berequired to stay indoors. TheDGP has been given strictdirections to enforce the curfewwithout any relaxation what-soever,” said UT Adviser ManojParida.

The Adviser said that theindividuals engaged in essentialservices including Police,Medical, Municipal etc will begiven curfew passes. Employeesof Punjab, Haryana and CentralGovernment will request forpasses through their Chief

Secretaries only. The Deputy Commissioner

will take the decision on issu-ing curfew passes. Moreover,the relaxation in curfew hourswill be given for purchase ofessential items in due course, hesaid.

Parida further said that theAdministration has tied upwith neighboring states ofPunjab and Haryana for con-tinuous supply of essential com-modities including Oxygencylinders, LPG, petroleumproducts etc.

It has also been decided torequisition Sood Dharamshalawhere 125 isolated rooms with

toilets are available to functionas isolated ward, if necessary. Aseparate block of PGIMER(Nehru Block) has been desig-nated as COVID place forexclusively housing and treatingCorona affected patients, hesaid.

The newspaper distributorsand hawkers have also beenadvised to follow hygiene stan-dards and use protective gearsfor distribution of newspapers,he added.

INSTRUCTIONS UNDERCURFEW

District Magistrate MandipSingh Brar issued order under

section 144 of the CrPC toimpose curfew in the city whichstated, “No person shall leavetheir homes or shall move onfoot, or by vehicle or travel orstand or roam around on anyroad or public place, except foremergency medical aid. Anyassembly of five or more per-sons shall not be allowed any-where in the city.”

The order does not apply tothose tasked with law and orderor emergency and municipalservices/duties including exec-utive magistrates, police per-sonnel, military, CAPF per-sonnel in uniform, health, elec-tricity, fire, media and govern-

ment machinery tasked withCOVID-19 related duties, anyother category exempted byorder of DM and those espe-cially issued permit by the DM,ADM or SDM or other officerauthorized in this behalf.

The compliance of theseorders shall be ensured by theexecutive magistrates (includ-ing those especially appointed)and police officers/officials.Violation of the curfew orderswill be dealt with strictly underrelevant provisions of IPC, theorder.

BORDERS SEALEDKeeping in view the lock-

down and curfew, all 38 outerborder nakas(manned/unmanned) havebeen made operational onround the clock basis, whereinvehicles working for essentialservice, vehicles carryingpatients, ambulance, govern-ment vehicles of Haryana,Punjab are allowed to come.

A spokesman said, “Onreceiving any call ofCoronavirus case in the city,beat staff of concerned area aswell as one PCR vehicle are vis-iting with health team to assistthem in quarantine or testing of

suspect case. Further, specialduty has also been deployed tocurtail access to the area whereCoronavirus suspect or positivecases have come to notice.

Announcements are beingmade in all area through con-cerned SHOs and PCR toremain inside the house duringthe curfew period he said.

In addition to routine dutyof all Police Stations, PCR andTraffic, all SDPOs, all SHOs andapproximately NGO/ORs-500have been deployed at differentplaces, outer barriers and asreserve force in the city, headded.

SEVEN CASES IN CHD SOFAR

A 21-year male, resident ofSector 38 here was tested pos-itive for COVID-19 on Mondaybecoming the seventh personaffected due to the virus in thecity. He is a contact of a posi-tive case and is under treatmentat GMCH-32 here. He has fivefamily members which includeparents, grandparents andbrother. His brother is testednegative while rest of the fam-ily members are asymptomaticat the moment and after screen-

ing has been referred toGMCH-32 for testing.

In regard to the positivecase, the Health Departmenthas traced driver along with hisother three family membersand maid also in Sector 25. Allof them are asymptomatic andhave been home quarantined,said a senior UT officer.

The 25 years old boy, resi-dent of Sector 19, who is son ofa senior UT officer was testedpositive for COVID-19 onSunday and is in isolation wardat GMCH-32 for treatment.All his family members includ-ing father (senior UT officer),mother and sister are testednegative and his residence hasbeen sanitized, he said.

The patient had come incontact with the first positivecase of COVID-19 in the city.Three more contacts of thepatient have been traced. Theseare 30 years old sweeper inSector 26, 40 years old garden-er in Kishangarh and 52 yearsold maid residing inMaulijagran. All of them areasymptomatic and put underhome quarantine.

The condition of all theseven positive patients is stable,the officer added.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Monday announced a specialfinancial package to help thoseliving Below Poverty Line (BPL)and people of Low IncomeGroups like daily wage workers,labourers, street vendors andconstruction workers so thatthey do not face any difficulty tomeet their day-to-day require-ments during the period of lock-down.

Addressing a Digital PressConference here, Khattar saidthat all BPL families would beprovided their monthly rationsfor the month of April free ofcost. This would include rice orwheat as per their entitlement,mustard oil and 1 kg sugar. Allschool children enrolled inGovernment schools and allchildren in anganwadis would beprovided dry rations for theperiod the schools and angan-wadis are closed.

He said families registeredunder Mukhyamantri ParivarSamriddhi Yojana (MMPSY)are being provided Rs 4000with contributions to the differ-ent insurance and pensionschemes. As on date around12.38 lakh families have regis-tered under MMPSY. The bal-ance amount of Rs 2000 per fam-ily would be released beforeMarch 31 to all the registeredfamilies whose verification hasbeen completed. A further sumof Rs 6000 would be provided tosuch families in the month ofApril, he added.

Khattar said those who havebeen registered with the HaryanaBoard of Construction Workersbut have not registered underMMPSY would be provided asum of Rs 4500 per month on

weekly basis starting March 30.The sum would be paid direct-ly into their bank account. Hesaid that all BPL families whohave not registered underMMPSY would also be provid-ed a sum of Rs 4500 per monthon weekly basis starting March 30.

He said poor persons whowere earning on daily basis suchas mazdoors, street vendors etc.may register with the DeputyCommissioner of the district ona portal that would be establishedby March 27. All such personswho are found eligible and havea bank account would be direct-ly provided an assistance of Rs1000 per week. All positive coro-navirus patients, if requiringhospitalisation, would be giventhe benefit of free hospitalisation,irrespective of whether the treat-ment is in a private or govern-ment hospital, he further added.

He said that all health work-ers and frontline workersinvolved in combating the pan-demic would be provided acci-dent insurance (ex-gratia) of Rs10 lakhs. Government wouldensure that all contractual work-ers with Government wouldreceive their wages even if theywere unable to perform theirwork during the period of lock-down.

"All industries and com-mercial establishments are beingadvised that they would notretrench or remove any employ-ee for their absence during theperiod of lockdown," he said. Incase any domestic, commercialor small industrial consumer isunable to pay electricity bills intime, then no surcharge or inter-est on delayed payment would becharged till April 15.

Khattar said that in case of

delay in payment of water orsewerage bills by the due date,then no surcharge or interestwould be charged till April 15.Similarly, the due date of all taxesunder the Haryana MotorVehicle Taxation Act would beextended by one month to April30. Also, stage and contract car-riage vehicles would be given 100per cent exemption from theMotor Vehicle Taxation for theperiod they are not allowed to plyin view of the lockdown, he saidadding that no penalty would becharged for any delay withrespect to the vehicles, whichbecome due for renewal/passingfrom March 15 to April 30.

The CM said a special pack-age for agriculture and farmersshall be announced by theGovernment by March 28.

HARRYANA COVID RELIEFFUND SET UP

Khattar also announced set-ting up “Haryana COVID ReliefFund” for providing assistanceto all those who are economicallyaffected by the present situation.The Chief Minister announcedthe initial contribution of Rs 5lakh from his personal savingstowards the Fund. The Fundswill be invited from contribu-tions from all those who arecapable of supporting those eco-nomically affected.

He said all MLAs will con-tribute one month’s salary to theFund. All India Services Officerswill be contributing 20 per centof their salary to the Fund as aninitial contribution.Contributions are being made byall Government employees otherthan Group D employees whoshall contribute 10 per cent oftheir salary to the Fund. He alsourged the people of the State tovoluntarily contribute in this.

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Punjab reported two moreconfirmed coronavirus

(COVID-19) cases — one eachfrom Mohali and Nawanshahr— on Monday, taking the totaltally to 23. Both had acquiredthe virus after coming in con-tact with the positive casesreported from the two districtsearlier.

The person found positivein Nawanshahr (ShaheedBhagat Singh Nagar) is thegrandson of the 70-year-oldBaldev Singh, who died of car-diac arrest on March 18 andlater found to be corona posi-tive.

In second case, the 80-year-old woman, who was thelandlady of the 27-year-oldwoman who was earlier testedpositive, if Mohali’s Phase-Vresident.

With this, Nawanshahrreported the highest number ofcases (15) in the state, follow-ing by five in Mohali, two inHoshiarpur, and one inAmritsar.

In all, 251 suspected caseshave been reported from thestate, and out of these 183 sam-ples were tested negative forCOVID-19, while the result of45 samples is awaited as 23samples have already been test-ed positive.

The state, which has regis-tered one death due to thedeadly virus, has put around30,000 persons under homequarantine. “The 22 patientsare in isolation wards and arestable. Punjab’s 18 districtshave not reported any positivecoronavirus case till now,” saidIAS officer Rahul Tewari,appointed head of the StateControl Room set up atChandigarh to give authenti-

cated real-time informationabout COVID-19 in Punjab.

Moga has, till date, report-ed no positive case of coron-avirus even as a total of 1,384NRIs had arrived in the districttill Sunday during the pastseven weeks. The DistrictAdministration has been ableto trace 1,199 of them, and putthem under isolation, effortswere on to trace the others.

Mohali woman KulwantKaur, found coronavirus-pos-itive, has been admitted to theisolation ward of Kharar CivilHospital. She came into contactwith the 27-year-old womanemployee and friend of aMohali-based showroomowner’s 23-year-old daughter,who was the first to be declaredpositive in Chandigarh. The27-year-old had gone toAmritsar airport to pick herfriend after her return from theUK.

Mohali DeputyCommissioner Girish Dayalansaid that the DistrictAdministration is taking allpossible measures to providetop-notch medical care to theaffected people. “Anyone whocomes into contact with coro-navirus positive or sympto-matic persons would have toundergo precautionary quar-antine,” said the DC whilemaking it clear that homequarantine doesn't mean that aperson is symptomatic to or iscoronavirus positive, but it isjust a precautionary measure.

Tewari said that the StateGovernment is keeping a con-stant vigil on the situationwhich due to its dynamicnature is changing rapidly.“The Chief Minister is in con-stant touch with ChiefMinisters of other states andwith the national authorities

including the PMO withregards to major issues like theclosing of inter-state move-ment, relaxing due dates relat-ed to financial compliancesand the like,” he said.

He said that in case anyonefeels the symptoms of this dis-ease which broadly are cough,fever, difficulty in breathing,body ache, etc, she or he may,as a responsible citizen, isolateherself or himself in their

house and contact at the near-est health facility immediatelyand call 104 simultaneously.

“If you have any problemsof any type, you can contact24x7 Operational Helpline 104or you can contact your localDistrict helpline details ofwhich are given at homepage ofwebsite www.pbhealth.gov.in,”said Tewari in the video mes-sage.

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As the state grapples with thecoronavirus outbreak,

Punjab Cabinet Ministers,Congress MLAs, ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) MPs andMLAs, IAS, IPS and PPS cadreofficers on Monday announcedto donate their one monthsalary to the Chief Minister’sRelief Fund.

All the Ministers, led by theChief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh, will con-tribute their one-month salaryon account of donationtowards the ‘Corona VirusDisaster Management andRelief Fund’.

Announcing the decision,the state Parliamentary AffairsMinister Brahm Mohindra saidthat this was a goodwill gestureof the Punjab Ministers toexpress their solidarity with thepeople of the state in their fightagainst the Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19).

“The government is pro-active in discharging its duty toprovide the medical care andtreatment of the people and toprovide all essential services

and amenities to the people inthis crucial time,” he said.

He said that the StateGovernment is also workingshoulder to shoulder with all theworkforce, which comprisesPolice Personnel, district admin-istration, doctor, nurses, healthworkers, who are working at theground zero to check the spreadof COVID-19 in the State.

Maintaining that the ChiefMinister has entrusted himthe task of talking to all theMinisters in this regard toseek their approval to donatetheir one month salary intoChief Minister’s Relief Fund,Mohindra said that he hastalked with all the Ministersand they have given their con-sent in this regard.

In a similar move, to helpthose whose livelihood isaffected as a result of the state-wide lockdown, all IAS (IndianAdministrative Services) offi-cers of Punjab cadre will con-tribute one-day salary to theChief Minister Relief Fund.

The IPS and PPS officers ofthe State have also announcedto donate a day’s salary for thewelfare of police personnelinvolved in combating the

deadly virus.DGP Dinkar Gupta said all

the Indian Police Service andPunjab Police Service officershave volunteered to contributeone day’s salary to the PoliceWelfare Fund towards welfareactivities for the police per-sonnel battling Coronaviruspandemic across the state.

A sum of nearly Rs. 33.2lakhs is likely to be contributedas one day’s salary componentof 121 IPS and 809 PPS officersin the State, said Gupta, addingthat the said contributionwould be utilized in makingarrangements and initiatingother welfare measures for thevaliant police personnel, whoare solely dedicated to supple-ment the efforts of the state forthe containment of COVID-19with firm commitment andzeal.

Not only those in power,but the opposition parties havealso chipped in to contributetheir one month salary. Aamaadmi party (AAP) MLA fromSunam Aman Arora alsodonated his salary to CM relieffund “to fight out COVID-19”.

Besides, SAD parliamen-tarians and well as legislators

have also announced to donateone month’s salary to the ReliefFund to assist the PunjabGovernment’s efforts to pro-vide treatment and succor toCOVID-19 patients as well astake preventive steps to stop thespread of the pandemic.

The decision was takenafter SAD president SukhbirSingh Badal held discussionswith MPs MLAs on this issue.“Following a suggestion by theSAD president to lead therelief effort, all party MPs andlegislators unanimously agreedto donate one month’s salaryfor this noble cause,” said theparty’s official release.

At the same time, Sukhbiralso issued an appeal to allparty leaders and workers tocontribute their might to com-bat the pandemic while urgingthe SAD district presidents toassist the DistrictAdministration in this taskwhile reaching out to the doc-tors and patients in hospital byproviding them much neededmasks, ventilators and medi-cines or simply by ensuring free‘langar’ service to the needy.

SAD MP Balwinder SinghBhunder also announced Rs 50

lakh from his MPLAD fund forupgrading medical infrastruc-ture in Mansa. For the same, hehas written to the MansaDeputy Commissioner.

SCREENING EVERY FOR-EIGN-RETURN ONLY WAYTO SAVE FROM COVID:MINISTER

Chandigarh: Punjab Healthand Family Welfare MinisterBalbir Singh Sidhu on Mondaysaid that the state HealthDepartment is working on warfooting to screen every foreignreturn passenger as screening isone of the way to save our peo-ple from COVID-19.

“As India has reached insecond stage, there is need toquarantine all the foreign pas-sengers following strict instruc-tion laid by the Centre,” he said.

Besides such initiatives,the stamping of hands as wellas marking of houses of quar-antined persons is being madeby the Health Department sothat they can easily identify ifthey violate the instructions.

“It’s our collective respon-sibility to ensure cent percentcompliance of Government’sinstructions for the safety of liv-

ing beings,” he added.The Minister said that in

the present scenario, anyonecoming from any countryabroad has to undergo manda-tory isolation or quarantine for14 days, if symptoms appear,confirmation tests are done freeof cost to rule out COVID-19infection.

Maintaining that Punjabhas been on its toes ever tobreak the chain of transmissionsince the spread of COVID-19,Sidhu said: “The departmenthas been taking series of pre-ventive measures to make surethat the virus does not spreadwithin the community.Intensive screening of foreignreturn passengers is being doneby the frontline fighters ofHealth Department with thehelp of police and other depart-ments across the State.”

“Massive, informationeducation and communica-tion (IEC) campaign has beenlaunched by the department aspart of which series of aware-ness campaign is being donethrough print, social and elec-tronic media for educatingpeople regarding mode ofspread, symptoms,” he said.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Monday

said that after complete lock-down, the Government wasensuring that people of theState, especially poor labourersand workers in non govern-ment sector do not face anyproblem.

Talking to reporters,Thakur said that keeping inview the situation ofCoronavirus in the HimachalPradesh, the State Governmenthas lockdown the state to pre-vent the spread of this epi-demic.

Thakur said to providerelief assistance to the needyand poor, the StateGovernment has decided toprovide several relief measures,with an expenditure of approx-imately Rs. 500 crore.

He said about 5.34 lakhsocial security pension holdersof the state would be issued firstquarter pension in the firstweek of April, 2020, whichincludes about 1.25 lakh wid-

ows and disability pensionholders, for whom monthlypension has been increasedfrom Rs. 850 to Rs. 1000.

He said that theDepartment for theEmpowerment of ScheduleCastes, Other BackwardClasses, Minorities andSpecially Abled has also beendirected to take immediatesteps to provided pension to 50thousand new eligible personssoon.

The Chief Minister saidthat increased honorariumwould be released from 1stApril 2020 to workers workingin various government depart-ments in the state.

Thakur said that it hasalso been decided to provideone-time relief of Rupees twothousand to nearly one lakhfifty thousand workers regis-tered with the Building andConstruction Workers Board.He said that two months offlour and rice would be givento targeted public distributionsystem card holders, simulta-neously.

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Haryana government onMonday decided to

extend the anti-coronavirusmeasure to the remaining 15districts of the state, lockingdown the entire state.

The lockdown for the newdistricts would be effectivefrom March 24 midnight i.e.the night intervening Mondayand Tuesday.

“We had ordered lock-down in seven districts as partof the containment measures.We have now decid-ed that in addition, this lock-down will be enforced in theremaining 15 districts of thestate also from March 24,”Haryana chief ministerManohar Lal Khattar said in adigital press conference.

He said the inter-state bor-ders will remain sealed and theinter-state bus services toowill remain suspended, thoughall essential and emergencyservices will stay operational.He said section144 of the Cr P C has beenimposed in the state prohibit-ing the assembly of five ormore persons at any place.

Those violating the lock-down will invite punishmentunder law, he warned. Theentire state will be in lockdownmode till the end of this month,said Khattar, adding the situa-tion will be reviewed on M a r c h31.

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An anguished PrimeMinister Narendra Modi

on Monday rued that somepeople are not taking the lock-down in the country serious-ly in the wake of Coronaviruspandemic and appealed to thepeople to save their familymembers and themselves bystrictly adhering to the direc-tions being given by the Stateand Central Governments. Healso requested the StateGovernments to make peopleadhere to the lockdown.

“Many people are still nottaking the lockdown serious-ly. Please save yourself bydoing this, save your family,follow the instructions seri-ously. I request the StateGovernments to get the rulesand laws followed,” ModiTweeted in the morning.

Later, Prime Ministerinteracted with industry rep-resentatives via video confer-ence from ASSOCHAM,FICCI, CII and several localChambers from 18 cities acrossthe country.

He appealed to the corpo-rate to be united in dealing theeconomic and social issues inthe current chaotic situationeven as he reiterated that thecompanies should not go forretrenchments or salary cuts.Modi asked the corporatehouses to be passionate totheir manpower and provideall sorts of help to them as wellas to the society in upholdingthe corporate social responsi-bility.

Soon after the PrimeMinister’s meeting, MukeshAmbani-led RelianceIndustries declared that theyhave geared up the productionof one lakh masks per day andincreased the production ofother hospital related materi-als. They also offered supportto free meal schemes across thecountry and fuel supply.Industrialist Anand Mahindratoo pitched in for productionof ventilators.

The Prime Minister saidthat while the government wasworking on giving a fillip to thepace of growth in the country,an unforeseen hurdle in theform of COVID-19 came infront of the economy. He saidthat the challenge posed by thepandemic is graver than eventhat posed by the World Warsand we need to be on constantvigil to prevent its spread.Modi told the barons that thefulcrum of the economy istrust.

“Trust has a unique yard-stick - it is earned or lost in dif-ficult and challenging times.The parameters of trust are ata critical juncture in various

sectors of the economy. Severalsectors like tourism, construc-tion, hospitality and daily lifeengagements including theinformal sector have been hitdue to COVID-19. The impacton the economy will be felt forsome time to come,” said Modito the industrialists.

The industry representa-tives thanked the PrimeMinister for leading from thefront and taking swift, front-footed action to counter thethreat. They informed thePrime Minister about the stepsbeing taken by them to main-tain supply lines of essentialitems and medical equipmentincluding ventilators, assis-tance in creation of isolationwards, utilisation of CSR fundsfor combating COVID-19 andprovision of assistance tomigrant labour.

“They discussed the spe-cific issues being faced by sec-tors like banking, finance, hos-pitality, tourism, infrastruc-ture and requested for help toovercome these challengesthrough financial and fiscalassistance. Industry represen-tatives also appreciated theimportance of instituting alockdown, irrespective of eco-nomic losses, to prevent thespread of the virus. PrimeMinister thanked the industryrepresentatives for speakingin one voice on the needs of theunorganised sector and saidthat this marks a new dawn ofeconomic integration. Heasked them to allow employeesto work from home whereverdoing so is feasible throughusing technology. He exhortedthem to adopt a humanitarianapproach and not to cut downon workforce in spite of thenegative impact on their busi-nesses,” said the PMO in astatement.

Modi reiterated about theimportance of ‘swachhta’ andfollowing medical advice toprevent the spread of COVID-19 at factories, offices andworkplace. He added that socialdistancing remains our biggestweapon in our fight againstpreventing the spread of the

virus. He also requested themto use their CSR funding forhumanitarian causes relatedto the pandemic at this criticaljuncture. Principal Secretary,Cabinet Secretary andSecretary, Department forPromotion of Industry andInternal Trade also participat-ed in the interaction.

Later, Prime Minister alsoconvened separate meetingwith Pharma company owners

and TV channels’ editors. Hepraised the media for theirwork during the crisis periodand asked the editors to ensurethe health and welfare ofreporters and cameramanworking whole day and nightin the field.

He also thanked the AirIndia crew for their courageouswork in airlifting people fromCovid-19 affected countries.

He also thanked the heads

of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka andBangladesh for offering initialfunds to the Covid Fund cre-ated by SAARC nations. Indiahas donated 10 million dollarsin the fund. Si Lanka hasdonated five million dollarsand Maldives donated twomillion dollars. Bangladeshdonated 1.5 million dollarsand Afghanistan donated onemillion dollars for the Covid-19 Fund.

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Concerned about likely joblosses and pay cuts due to

the coronavirus crisis, theMinistry of Labour &Employment on Mondayasked all the employers ofpublic/private establishmentsto not cut salaries or resort tolayoffs of their employees.

The move has come daysafter the televised address byPrime Minister NarendraModi on the outbreak onThursday when he urged thebusiness community not to cutstaff salaries.

The Ministry in its advi-sory said the Employees’ StateInsurance Corporation (ESIC)requests all employers not tocut salaries of employees whoare unable to work.

The advisory asks employ-ers not to terminate theiremployees, particularly casualor contractual employees, fromtheir jobs or reduce theirwages. The letter states that thecatastrophic situation due tothe outbreak of coronavirus isa challenge to the society and

these challenges can only beneutralised by the coordinat-ed efforts of all.

The advisory further statesthat in view of the coronaviruspandemic and the consistentefforts of the governmentrequesting the citizen toremain at home and not ven-ture out, will constraint theworker or the employee toreport for work.

There may be instancesthat on this pretext, theemployer may dispense withthe services of the employeesor may force them to go onleave without wages orsalaries.

As per the advisory, ifany worker takes leave, he orshe should be deemed to beon duty without any conse-quential deduction in wagesfor this period. Further, ifthe place of employment isto be made non-operationaldue to coronavirus pan-demic, the employees ofsuch unit will be deemed tobe on duty.

The advisory also realis-es that the termination of the

employee from the job orreduction in wages in thisscenario will further deepenthe crises and will not onlyweaken the financial condi-tion of the employee but alsohamper their morale to com-bat their fight with this epi-demic.

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Having airlifted 170 Indiancitizens from Wuhan and

Iran since the cornoaviruspandemic outbreak, the IAFhas decided not to allowCOVID-19 suspects to boardthe aircraft and directed thepilots and other crew toremain in the cockpit at thetime of escorting passengersfrom outside the country as aprecautionary measure.

In the latest set of advi-sories, the IAF also asked itscrew to brief passengers aboutsocial distancing, cough eti-quettes, refrain from touchingaircraft surfaces and person-al hygiene.

As per the drill, the board-ing passengers will go throughthermal screening and anysymptomatic person will notbe allowed to board the plane,officials said here on Monday.

After going through ther-mal screening, the passengers

will have to disinfect theirhands by using sanitisers beforeboarding the plane. Moreover,the support staff and crew ofthe IAF planes will not come inclose contact with the passen-gers as a safety measure. TheIAF had deployed its giant C-17 transport aircraft to bringback Indians from Iran andChina and the plane canaccommodate more than 400passengers. The procedureafter landing in India entailsthe ground staff maintainingdistance from the incomingcrew and passengers. Also, allwaste items left over by pas-sengers will have to be tightlysealed in bags on board anddisposed of by biohazard vehi-cles, they said.

Besides this, the IAF isalso working on a contin-gency plan to allow its per-sonnel to work from home.The Army has already imple-mented such a scheme with35 per cent officers and 50

per cent other ranks workingfrom home at the ArmyHeadquarters here fromMonday. These personnelwill work from home tillMarch 31 and then the sec-ond batch will do the same.

The IAF plan comprisesworking with 50 per centmanpower in case of coron-avirus spread in the service.The remaining workforcewill work from home, offi-cials said.

The plan also says whiledeciding the roster for thefirst week, addressees areadvise to include personnelwho are involved in coreactivities, residing in closeproximity of their office andwho may use their owntransport to travel to workplaces. The IAF has directedthe Director General MedicalServices (Air) to work out adisinfection plan for all officecomplexes of Air headquar-ters and common areas.

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Parliament was adjournedsine die on Monday, near-

ly two weeks ahead of itsschedule, due to theCoronavirus scare with LokSabha passing the Finance Bill,2020, without a discussioneven as the Opposition want-ed an announcement fromUnion Finance MinisterNirmala Sitaraman for a finan-cial package to tackle COVID-19. The Minister did notaddress the issue.

The two-part budget ses-sion was scheduled to concludeon April 03.

The decision to shortenthe session was taken beforethe House convened at 2 pmafter a meeting was held bySpeaker Om Birla with floorleaders of various parties.

The Rajya Sabha whichpassed budget for union terri-tory of Jammu and Kashmir,too was adjourned after itcompleted its business in theevening.

Besides passing the financebill, the lower house intro-duced two bills and the pro-ceedings the concluded withthe address of the SpeakerOm Birla who touched on theongoing coronavirus scare inthe country and people’s strongresolve to cope with the epi-demic.

Earlier, as the FinanceMinister presented amend-

ments to the Bill for passing,Congress legislative partyleader Adhir RanjanChoudhary said theOpposition was ready to passthe Finance Bill but wanted anannouncement fromSitharaman for a financialpackage that would help mit-igate the economic hardshipsgenerated by the pandemic.DMK member T.R. Baalu alsomade the demand.

The finance minister,how-ever, did not speak on theissue. After the passage of theBill, two more Bills for aNational Security Universitywas introduced by Minister ofState for Home G. KishenReddy. “We are ready to passthe Finance Bill but we need tohear some announcement ofan economic package fromthe Finance Minister,” saidChoudhary.

Choudhary had alsomoved an adjournment for-putting on hold the exercise ofNational Population Registerin the country.

Before the house wasadjourned Prime MinisterNarendra Modi arrived in theHouse. On the appeal of thespeaker members gave a stand-ing ovation to the first respon-ders, medical professionals,essential services workers andmedia for being at the forefrontin the fight against the pan-demic coronovirus.

The Speaker also men-

tioned the success of the ‘JanataCurfew.’ He said that as MPs goback to their constituencies,they would be joining thefight too. As Choudharysought to press for hisdemands, Birla also mentionedthat opposition leader’s daugh-ter too banged the ‘thali’ onSunday in solidarity with thedoctors and health workerswho are securing the countryfrom the epidemic.

Birla said apart from pass-ing thegeneral budget , 13 billswere passed by the house.

“As we go back to our con-stituencies, we need to take onthe challenge of this pandem-ic and turn a negative atmos-phere into a positive one,” hesaid.

The Rajya sabha lastedlonger than the Lok Sabha asit approved the Bill for the bud-get of �1-lakh crore for theUnion Territory of Jammuand Kashmir for 2020-21. Theupper house too wasadjourned by its Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu, in theevening.

It also approved andreturned to Lok Sabha anoth-er Bill for the budget ofLadakh, as required underrules for money bills.

The Bills were approvedwith voice vote after a debateof over two hours. The Jammuand Kashmir AppropriationBills were passed by Lok Sabhaon March 19.

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The over �1 lakh croreBudget for Jammu and

Kashmir and Ladakh for 2020-21 — approved by the RajyaSabha on Monday throughseparate Bills— laid emphasison the development of newlycarved-out Union Territorieswith effect from October 31,2019.

The Bills were subse-quently returned to the LokSabha, as required under rulesfor money bills.

The total Budget estimatesfor the fiscal is �1,01,428 crore,of which developmental expen-diture is of the order of �38,764crore, an increase of 27 percent. The Government alsopresented a separate expendi-ture plan of � 55,317.81 crorefor the last five months of the

current fiscal.With regard to the Union

territory of Ladakh carved outof the erstwhile state of Jammuand Kashmir, the total BudgetEstimates for the past 5 monthshave been pegged at �5,754crore. Of this, capital expendi-ture would be � 4,618.35 croreand revenue expenditure wouldbe � 1,135.65 crore.

Leader of Opposition

Ghulam Nabi Azad allegedthat Jammu and Kashmir wason “ventilator” after theGovernment put it under a“political quarantine” for thelast seven months and a half,saying the situation there wasworse than what it was even 30years ago.

MoS Finance AnuragSingh Thakur, however, saidunder the current Government

there has been a growth in GST,excise duty, stamp duty, bank-ing transactions in Jammu andKashmir.

“No loss has been evidentin micro-terms,” he said onbehalf of his senior colleagueFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman.

On the occasion, Thakurrecalled how in 2011 he wasprevented from unfurling theIndian flag at Kashmir’s LalChowk, which is somethinganyone from any corner of thecountry can do now in the val-ley.

Initiating the debate, Azadhoped that the next budget forJammu and Kashmir would bepassed in the Assembly thereand all political detaineeswould be released immediate-ly to help revive political activ-ity in the State.

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Left parties and its tradeunions on Monday urged

Centre, State Governmentsand Corporate Houses toadopt compassionateapproach to employees work-ing in private sector and unor-ganised sectors. CPI (M) gen-eral secretary Sitaram Yechuryin a letter to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi demandedannouncement of economicrelief packages to the workersand employers. He also saidthat no private companieswould be allowed to go forretrenchment or salary cut inthe wake of Cornoanviruspandemic situation.

Yechury suggested thatthere should be moratoriumof bank loan repayments toSME, retail traders and EMIpayments to employees.

“Many countries in the worldhave announced that the gov-ernment will guarantee thepayment of at least 80 per centof the salaries being drawn byworkers who are now unableto attend work. Governmentof India should do likewise.Alongside there should be amoratorium on bank loans fora year for SMEs and retailtraders as well as on EMIs.Now that the

Finance Bill has beenapproved by the Parliament,the Central government mustset aside separate funds for asubstantial package to save thelives and livelihood of croresof people. This is the time touse our resources for savinglives and not be preoccupiedby concerns to maintain fiscaldiscipline,” said Yechury.

CPI’s trade union AITUCurged Government to

strengthen the grass root levelhealth administration andeconomic relief packages tothe workers and employees. “The government should havecome out with financial assis-tance to working people andbusinesses in case of shutdown due to govt. decision toensure job security and to safeguard the poor, vulnerableneedy sections of the societyspecially those who are daily/casual/contract/migrantworkers. The migrant labouris worst hit, nothing to fallback upon. The financialpackage to them for the peri-ods of lockdown is must.There should be distributionof food packets and drinkingwater to all these worst hitpeople during the lockdown,”said Amar Jeet Kaur, AITUCgeneral secretary

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Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu on

Monday asserted that membershave no right to disrupt theHouse as claimed by somebodywhile they have a certain rightto debate and discuss any issuein the House. He expressedconcern over the loss of 24 per-cent of the time of the Houseduring the Budget Session thatconcluded ahead of the sched-ule amidst rising concerns overthe spread of Corona virus.

The day also saw severalmembers including MotilalVohra, Prabhat Jha, RajivGowda, BK Hariprasad and DrSatyanarayan Jatiya retiringfrom the house.

Naidu in his valedictoryobservations in the House

informed that as against the 31sittings of the House scheduledin two parts between January31st and April 3rd, the Housewas constrained to concludeafter 23 sittings.

The Chairman stated thatas against the total scheduledduration of 118 hours 52 min-utes during the 23 sittings, theHouse functioned for a dura-tion of 90 hours and 30 min-utes resulting in 76.13 percentproductivity of Rajya Sabhaduring the Budget Session.

A total functional time of38 hours 23 minutes of theHouse has been lost due to dis-ruptions including 32 hours 51minutes so lost during the sec-ond part of the Session. TheHouse, however, sat beyond thescheduled time on 9 days for atotal of 9 hours 59 minutes.

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Following the Ministryof Labour’s advisory, the

Ministry of Finance onMonday issued order that allcasual, contractual and out-sourced staff working withthe Ministries/ departmentsand order organisations ofthe Government of Indiawould be treated ‘on duty’during stay at home in viewof lockdown order regard-ing coronavirus prevention,and pay and wages would bepaid accordingly.

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Amidst the coronavirusscare, the Centre seems to

have forgotten the peoplewith disabilities (PwDs) as itis yet to make all its informa-tion and circulars/advisoriesrelated to Covid-19 in a for-mat that is easily accessible tothem.

Waking up to this need ofthe sector, the Union SocialJustice and EmpowermentMinistry has now written tothe Department of Personneland Training (DoPT) to makethe awareness material inbraille for blind people and insign language video/tapes fordeaf and dumb people.

The Ministry has alsoasked the Union HealthMinistry to ensure medicaltreatment on priority basis tothe sector, in case they areinflicted with the virus, asenvisaged under the Rule 25of the Rights of People with

Disabilities Act 2016.In a letter to all the State

Chief Secretaries recently,Shakuntala Doley Gamlin,Union secretary (Social Justiceand Empowerment Ministry)drew their attention statingthat the information in regardto the Coronavirus that hasinfected over 3,0000 andkilled over 14,000 is veryoften not accessible by thePwDs.

As such they remainunaware of the safety mea-sures to be taken by them todeal with the situation eventhough it has been proven thatthey face increased risk of get-ting infected and developingmore severe cases of COVID-19.

The virus can be kept atbay by following simplehygiene measures like wash-ing hands with soaps andusage of hand sanitisers.

Taking stringent view ofthe gaps, Gamlin reminded

the States about the RPwDsAct 2016 that envisages dis-semination of all informationin accessible format both printand electronically.

Rule 15 of the Rights ofthe PWD rules clearly man-date that all the websites mustbe made accessible in accor-dance with guidelines for gov-ernments websites as adopt-ed by the Department ofAdministrative Reforms andPublic Grievances and allpublic domain documents tobe uploaded in the websiteeither in the OCR (OpticalCharacter Recognition) orePUB (ebook file format)format, she said.

Gamlin asserted thatimmediate steps need to betaken to make all the public-ity material related to COVID19 accessible in print mater-ial in braille and audio tapes,videographic material withsub titles and sign languageinterpretation for the sector.

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The World HealthOrganisation on Monday

allayed fear that Coronavirus(Covid-19) spread throughair also besides contaminat-ed objects.

Dr Poonam KhetrapalSingh, Regional DirectorWHO South Asia tweetedthat based on the informationreceived so far and our expe-rience with other coron-aviruses COVID-19 apppearsmostly through respiratorydroplets )(for instance pro-duced when a sick personcoughs) and close contact.

This is why the WHO rec-ommends hand washing andmaintaining hygiene.

The WHO also tweeted,“Airborne spread has notbeen reported for #COVID-19 #coronavirus. Chineseauthorities reported possi-bility of aerosol transmis-sion in a relatively closedenvironment with prolongedexposure like ICUs & CCUsin hospitals, but more epiddata analysis is needed tounderstand this.” Her clarifi-cation came amidst reportsand a few studies that thedeadly virus can be spreadthrough air also.

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Amid scarcity of medicalequipment and protective

gear for health workers, theCongress has demanded sack-ing of Union CommerceMinister and CommerceSecretary for allowing export ofventilators, surgical and facemasks, raw material formasks/coveralls till March 19.

Congress leader RahulGandhi termed the export ofmasks and ventilators till March19 as a criminal conspiracy. Heraised the issue soon after theCongress sought sacking of theUnion Commerce MinisterPiyush Goyal.

He tweeted in Hindi,“Respected Prime Minister, onthe suggestion of the WHO thegovernment was advised tokeep stock of ventilators andmasks, but the opposite hasbeen done and these itemshave been exported. At whosebehest has this been done?”

Earlier, the party objectedto the permission given tocompanies to export masksand ventilators alleging that this was allowed tillMarch 19. Surjewala termed itas a “criminal conspiracy”.

Why was it allowed whenthe country is facing a shortageof such items?” asked Surjewala.

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Thrissur(Ker)/Chennai: Ascoronavirus cases in the coun-try surge past 400, a priest inKerala who conducted a mass ata church defying a Governmentorder against public gatheringswas arrested on Monday.

Priest Pauly Padayatti,Vicar of the Lady of PerpetualHelp church at Koodapuzha inChalakudy, conducted themass on Monday morning inwhich at least 100 people hadparticipated, police said. Thepriest was arrested and later letoff on bail.

A case under sections 269IPC (Negligent act likely tospread infection of diseasesdangerous to life) and 118e ofthe Kerala Police Act (causingdanger to public) has been reg-istered against the priest and the100-odd faithful. The totalnumber of COVID-19 cases inthe country surged to 415, aspike from the figure of 360 thenight before. PTI

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The entire State of TamilNadu is being shut down

from Tuesday evening tillMarch 31 in view of theCOVID-19 coronavirus attack.By Monday evening, the num-ber of persons admitted tohospitals in the State rose to 9.

“Those tested positive werepersons who came to TamilNadu from outside the State.But there are hundreds of peo-ple who have been quarantinedin the State and we are expect-ing the results of their tests,”said Dr Vijaya Baskar, TamilNadu Minister of Health andFamily Welfare.

The decision taken by theGovernment to bring the entireState under shut down wasannounced by Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswamy in theAssembly on Monday. Thoughthe Chief Minister was presentin the House, he took out timeto preside over the high level

meeting which was attendedamong others by top govern-ment officials including thechief secretary.

Barring shops that sellessential commodities likemilk, meat, groceries and phar-ma products, all business estab-lishments will down their shut-ters till March 31. “All con-struction works throughoutthe State would remain sus-pended till then. But the Statehas made arrangements to takecare of the needs of workerswho would be affected by theshut down,” said the chief min-ister.

The chief minister furtherstated that all district bordersacross the State would besealed. “District collector andsuperintendents of police havebeen authorised to issue ordersunder Section 144. Public orprivate transport buses wouldnot be operated. All eaterieshave been told to suspend ser-vices till March 31 thoughthey could sell packed foods,”

he said. The general public inthe State would be serviced byAmma Restaurants that sellsubsidized idlis, pooris, Pongal,curd rice and lemon rice.

All government officesexcept district collectortates,police stations, fire and rescueservices are being shut downfrom Tuesday evening. Privatecompanies which are into theproduction of goods meantfor esports would be allowed tooperate with minimum staff.Employees of private firmsincluding IT, telecom and othertechnological sectors are towork from home while privatemedical facilities can continueto operate.

The chief minister told theassembly that the governmenthas set apart an additionalamount of Rs500 crore for pre-ventive measures againstCorona virus. Palaniswamysaid the hospitals in the Stateare fully equipped to meet anyemergency arising out of theCOVID-19 attack.

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Opulence, that’s how peopledescribe marriages in Tamil

Nadu. Whether the bride andgroom hail from the rich andpowerful families or from thelower middle class strata, mar-riages in Tamil Nadu are knownfor their extravaganzas, mindboggling entertainments andunique and exquisite spread oflunch and dinner tables. Thenumber of persons attendingthe marriage reception and thekind of swanky cars in whichthe guests arrive are an indica-tion of the social stand of thehosts.

Though the Dravidianmovements in the State claimthat they have revolutionisedTamil society with self-respectmarriages, touted as simpleevents sans Vedic scholars forsolemnising the most importantevent in the lives of youths, it is

all for public consumption. Youmay not see Brahmin punditsofficiating as “God’sRepresentative” during the cer-emony. But there are newavatars of EV RamasamyNaicker (founder of Dravidianmovement who propoundedthe idea of self-respect mar-riages) playing the role of thepundit. The marriages contin-ued to be glittering events wheremusic concerts and westerndance events by the stars ofKollywood played major role.

Not any more. The coron-avirus, which struck TamilNadu early this month, hastaken the glamour and crowdoff the marriages. The last fourdays saw people hailing fromupper middle class familiesdoing away with all opulence,high-end celebrations and theunique spreads during lunchand dinner. Gone are the glit-terati and chauffer driven lim-ousines. And above all, the

venues have been shifted to thesanctum sanctorum of tem-ples! The priest of the templeblesses the couple, whoexchange the garlands (madeout of minimum number offlowers) which are sanitised.The minimum number ofguests who grace the occasionare welcomed not with the tra-ditional sandal waters and pastesbut with sanitisers with whichthey could clean their hands!

The amount of loss sufferedby the catering agents becauseof the corona virus attack isbeyond comprehension.“Usually there would be a min-imum of 6,000 guests for a mar-riage. The coronavirus hasbrought it down. We serve 14 to20 course meals during lunchwhich include vegetablebiriyani, fried rice, parothas,puris, vegetable curries andsweet delicacies,” saidManikandan , a lead catererfrom Ambur near Velore.

Monday saw a youthbelonging to the political outfitled by film star Vijayakanthtying nuptial note in Chennai.He was forced to do away withall celebrations because of theSection 144 but he shifted thevenue to the actor’s residence sothat his “God” could grace theoccasion. A wheel chair boundVijayakanth, who is keepingindifferent health for the last twoyears attended the marriagecovering his face with mask andblessed the couple.

Elsewhere in the State, thebride, groom and their imme-diate relations constitute the listof guests. The same is the casein Kerala with parents of soonto be married youngsters decid-ing to do away with the air-con-ditioned wedding halls, lavishfeasts, and related rituals whichwould help them save a fewlakhs.

COVID virus too has itsadvantages !

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Even as all the Oppositionparties including BJP, Left

and the Congress hailed ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee forher “impressive performance”in containing the proliferationof the dreaded virus, the State,reported its first corona-infect-ed death with a 57-year-oldRailway employee from DumDum succumbing to his ail-ments late on Monday noon.At least three other relatives ofthe victim, including his wifeand mother, were under obser-vation at a different hospital ofKolkata, Health Departmentsources.

Though any foreign trav-el history of the victim was stillnot established as his wife saidthat they had not visited anycorona-affected country in therecent past, authorities weretrying to find out whether hisinfection had anything to dowith his US-based son.

The relatives of the victimsaid he had recently back trav-elled back from Bilaspur inChhattisgarh by Pune-HowrahAzad Hind Express wonderingwhether he had contacted thedisease while travelling intrain.

“If he did not pick it upfrom his son or if his son hadnot visited India in the pastcouple of months then he couldbe the first such patient whocontacted the virus from thecommunity,” a Governmentofficial said.

There are seven moreCorona-infected patientsundergoing treatment at theBeleghata ID Hospital, sourcessaid adding no new infectionwas reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, even as theurban parts of the State wentinto a complete lockdown theopposition leaders of Bengalon Monday hailed the ChiefMinister for her “impressiveperformance” in containingthe outbreak.

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Two Indians and 10Kyrgyzstan nationals were

held in preventive custodyhere on Monday in the wake ofthe coronavirus outbreak andsent to the All India Instituteof Medical Sciences (AIIMS) inthe city for tests, police said.

Acting on a complaint bythe locals, police picked themup from a mosque in Kurji areaof the Bihar capital. The for-eigners were Islamic preachers,Digha police station SHOManoj Kumar said.

The two guides are resi-dents of Uttar Pradesh, hesaid.

Six of them were testednegative for COVID-19 whilereports of the others are await-ed, the police officer said.

Six persons whose reportsare awaited have been quar-antined at a city hotel.

"Initially, we detained themfor medical examination butlater set six of them free," theofficer said, adding all hadvalid travel documents.

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Guwahati: The leader of theopposition in AssamLegislative Assembly,Debabrata Saikia, on Mondaywrote to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah expressingconcern over the targeting ofpeople from the north-east fol-lowing the coronavirus out-break.

The Congress leader, in hisletter to Shah, said that he was

bringing to his notice the factthat at a time when the coun-try was struggling to copewith the threat posed by coro-navirus, certain racist ele-ments in some parts of Indiawere abusing and vilifyingpeople with Mongoloid fea-tures who hail from the north-eastern states.

"I have already receivedinformation about several such

incidents, where persons fromthe north-east have beenabused as chinkis, bat-eatingtribe etc," Saikia said.

He said that at a shoppingmall in Pune, a middle-agedwoman abused a young girlfrom the north-east ostensiblybecause she suspected the vic-tim of being a Chinese nation-al, and therefore, responsiblefor spreading the coronavirus.

"Other incidents includeanother young woman fromthe north-east being spat uponby a scooterist in New Delhifor apparently the same rea-son.

A woman named AngelicaAribam was so appallinglyabused on social media that shewas compelled to lodge an FIRwith the Delhi Police against theculprits," he said. PTI

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Jammu: The Army on Mondayannounced the postponement ofits 10-day major recruitmentrally slated to take place inRajouri district of Jammu &Kashmir next month in view ofthe coronavirus outbreak. Therally was meant for eligible can-didates of all the 10 districts ofJammu province. "In view ofCOVID-19, Army RecruitmentRally scheduled to be held atALG, Rajouri from April 20 to29 for eligible candidates ofDoda, Kishtwar, Kathua, Jammu,Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, Reasi,Samba and Udhampur districtsof J&K has been postponed tillfurther order," the defencespokesman said. PTI

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After locking down fourmost-affected districts in

Jammu & Kashmir andLadakh, the administrators onMonday decided to seal inter-state borders with Punjab,Himanchal Pradesh, andLadakh to effectively deal withthe outbreak of COVID-19. Italso ordered release of an addi-tional �40 crore to all deputycommissioners to support theircorona-mitigation effortsbesides two months' advanceration to eligible consumers.

The gateway of Jammu &Kashmir at Lakhanpur was

declared out of bounds byplacing concertina wires on thehistoric bridge connectingJammu & Kashmir withMadhopur in Punjab.

To check movement ofpeople in their personal vehi-cles, the Government alsodecided to restrict inter districtmovement of vehicles but onlypermitted movement of vehi-cles ferrying essential supplies.

A Government advisoryurged public to stay at hometo slow the spread of thenovel coronavirus disease(Covid-19) and advised not toventure out unless it isabsolutely essential.

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Patna: Leader of Opposition inthe Bihar Assembly, TejashwiPrasad Yadav, on Mondayoffered his 1, Polo road officialbungalow to the Governmentfor turning it into a makeshiftquarantine camp or a testingcentre for Covid-19.

Taking to Twitter, the RJDleader also said that he woulddonate a month's salary to thechief minister's relief fund tohelp those in need in the wakeof the crisis.

As per the State HealthSocietys bulletin, of the 143samples collected till Sunday, twohave tested positive for Covid-19.

One of them, a 38-year-old man,died at AIIMS, Patna, onSaturday, while the other patientwas undergoing treatment. "Asthe leader of opposition, I havebeen allotted the 1, Polo roadgovernment bungalow. I wouldlike to put it (bungalow) to bet-ter use," Yadav tweeted.

"The bungalow could beused as a quarantine camp or atesting centre, or for setting upisolation wards and increasingthe number of beds. It can alsobe used in any other manner tofight against the coronavirusoutbreak," he wrote on themicroblogging site. PTI

Alipurduar: Over 100 sex work-ers in West Bengal's Alipurduardistrict will not be working forthe next two weeks in the wakeof the coronavirus outbreak,they said on Monday.

People from several places,including neighbouring dis-tricts, visit the red light arealocated in the central part of thedistrict town.

They said that the step wastaken to prevent the spread ofthe deadly virus. A local NGOthat works for the welfare of thesex workers said it would pro-vide financial assistance to thesewomen during the period. "Thisis a very good decision and wewill provide them some assis-tance so that they can sustainthemselves during this period,"said Larry Bose, a member of theNGO. Terming the decisionexemplary, the district's chiefmedical officer Puran Sharmaappreciated the efforts of the sexworkers and said that the movewas much needed. PTI

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In an extreme measure tocheck the alarming spread of

COVID-19, Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Mondayordered lockdown in entireMaharashtra till March 31 andsealing of all State borders and25 coronavirus-free district bor-ders, even as the pandemicclaimed one more life and thetotal number of confirmedCOVID-19 cas es shot up to 89in the State.

An overnight after theMaharashtra Governmentextended the Prime Minister-called “Janata Curfew” from 9pm till 5 am, the Chief Ministerannounced a slew of measuresunder the Epidemic DiseasesAct, 1897, including lockdownin the entire State, sealing of allState borders and 25 coron-avirs-free district borders andpenal action against those whoare not complying with “homequarantine”.

“As a precautionary mea-sure to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus, we have sealedthe various borders ofMaharashtra. We have also thecollectors of 25 coronavirus-freedistricts to issue orders pro-hibiting any vehicular move-ments into their districts. Themovement of essential and per-ishable commodities have beenspared from the lockdown of

State borders, the district bor-der sealing orders do not applyto medical emergencies,” theChief Minister said.

Meanwhile, theCoronavirus toll in the Staterose to three as a 68-year oldPhilippine citizen man, whoinitially tested positive andlater tested negative after appar-ently after some recovery, diedat a private hospital late onSunday night.

The patient had been admit-ted to the Kasturba Hospital inMumbai ten days ago and post-recovery when he tested nega-tive, moved to a private hospi-tal where he succumbed late onSunday. “The patient was a caseof diabetes mellitus and asthma.He was admitted on March 13.He had developed acute renalfailure and respiratory distress,”a statement issued by the pub-lic health department of theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) said.

After the latest death, thetotal number coronavirus-relat-ed deaths rose to three. Earlier,a 63-year-old disease-infectedhad died at the Kasurba Hospitalon March 17, while another 63-year-old male patient, who hadbeen admitted to private hospi-tal in Mumbai on March 19.

With 15 more fresh cases,the total number of confirmedcoronavirus cases in the statejumped to 79 on Monday. “Of

the 15 fresh cases, 14 are fromMumbai and one case is fromPune. The fresh cases include 8close contacts or family mem-bers of earlier positive cases and4 with travel history to affectedcountries,” State Health MinisterRajesh Tope said.

Of the total infected cases inthe state, Mumbai accounted fora maximum of 38 cases, whilePune and Pimpri-chinchwadcities reported 16 and 12 casesrespectively. Nagpur, Yavatmal,Kalyan and Navi Mumbairecorded four infected caseseach, while Ahmednagar districtaccounted for two cases. Panvel,Thane, Ulhasnagar, Aurangabadand Ratnagiri registered oneconfirmed coronavirus caseeach. The State Health Ministersaid that the state stood on thethreshold of a 'multiplicationstage' of the virus and empha-sized the need for people tomaintain ‘social distancing’.

"This is the stage to exerciseextreme precautions since wedon't want to enter from PhaseII to Phase III at any cost," Topesaid, as he appealed to people tostay indoors as such a measurewould help check the spread ofCOVID-19.

After 22-hour-long curfew,including the 14-hour-long“Janata Curfew” called by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, peo-ple ventured out of their homesin Mumbai and other parts of

Maharashtra on Monday topurchase essential commoditiesand drugs. Though there werereasonably large crowds aroundgrocery and medical stops, thepolice chose not to enforce sec-tion 144 of CrPc banning five ormore persons understandably tohelp the harried citizens.

Addressing the peopleacross the state live throughsocial media, Uddhav said:“Essential commodities, drugs.Drug manufacturing compa-nies, agricultural goods andproducts, banks/ATMSe relatedactivities, print and electronicmedia, IT, telecom, postal, inter-net and data services, supplychain and transport of essentialcommodities have been sparedfrom the lockdown,” the ChiefMinister said.

Under the lockdown notifi-cation issued by the Maharashtralater in the evening, all publictransport services includinginter-city MSRTC buses andMetro rail will not be permitted.

Significantly enough, taxieswith not more than two personsbesides drivers, autorickshawswith not more than one pas-senger besides driver are per-mitted only for purposes spec-ified in the notification.“However, transport of passen-gers for accessing emergencymedical services shall be per-mitted. Plying of private vehiclesshall be restricted to the extent

of procuring essential com-modities, health services andactivities permitted under theorder and with only one personbesides the driver.

In a restriction that stipu-lates a penal against those notcomplying with “home quaran-tine”, the relevant portion of thenotification read thus: “Everyperson who is required to homequarantine shall strictly observethe same failing which he/shewill be liable for penal action andshifted to Government quaran-tine”.

Under the lockdown order,any congregation of more thanfive persons is prohibited in pub-lic places. “All shops, includingcommercial establishments,offices and factories, workshops,godowns etc shall close theiroperation. However, manufac-turing units engaged in pro-duction of essential commodi-ties like dal, rice mill, relatedunits, dairy units, feed and fod-der units, will be permitted tooperate,” the order stated.

The coronavirus free dis-tricts where borders have beenordered to be sealed are:Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia,Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Satara,Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur,Buldhana, Amravati, Akola,Washim, Nashik, Dhule,Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Beed, Jalna,Osmanabad, Parbhani, Hingoli,Latur, Nanded and Sindhudurg.

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Page 6: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ...€¦ · block all immigration ports and seaports. At the same time, ... An “end of the world” syn-drome gripped the

This Sunday, on March 22, sharpat 5 pm, we witnessed a rare trystwhen the entire nation gatheredon their balconies and rooftopsto applaud the valorous brave-

hearts who have been endangering theirlives to serve the rest. The clamour of gongsreverberated like a celebration, reminiscentof some medieval time in history. Exceptthat this solemn and collective chiming ofbells and conch shells was happening in awar-like situation of utter morbidity to fightback the black swan, COVID-19, which hasstruck lives and livelihoods with unprece-dented ferocity.

The Armageddon of 2020 is more per-ilous than the localised terrorist strikes of26/11, the Great Depression of 1929, thefinancial apocalypse of 2008 or any other one-time shocker, devastating human lives andfinancial resources. The spread of the pan-demic has left the medical fraternity and pol-icy-makers confounded on how to deal withthe crisis because the contour of this upheavalis a biological beast and has nothing to dowith the principles of economics. Yes, we areall together and, hopefully, six months fromnow, this, too, shall pass.

We stand at that moment in time whenwe have been compelled to self-reflect andre-strategise from the confines of individualisolation: How do we cope by rebuildingfrom the free-fall of economies; insulate our-selves from being afflicted by the disease; theshock of ensuing job losses; and worst, theemotional aftermath of feeling vulnerableand so close to death? The $87 trillion glob-al economy propels on the simple principleof “one person’s spending being the otherperson’s income” as the underlying driver ofany business activity. With the world in shut-down mode, the economic impact of socialdistancing is at present unquantifiable as therisks to life cascade into financial risks thatwill reverberate for at least a year until a med-ical solution is found.

Restricting physical movement hasdamaged the demand-supply economicsmuch beyond what a cyclic slowdown or arecession could erode, lowering forecasts ofglobal growth to 1.25 per cent. Prolongedgrowth below two per cent is classified as“recession” by the International MonetaryFund (IMF) with shrinkage in every para-meter: From lowered industrialist produc-tion to a slowdown in trade to tighter cap-ital flows, less of oil consumption, heightenedunemployment rates and lowered per capi-ta investment and consumption.

The only light at the end of the tunnelis for the healthcare and pharmaceuticalindustry, e-commerce platforms and any dig-ital business that delivers products and ser-vices online to the customer confined at homeas has been the case for video streaming ser-vices like Netflix, online grocery stores, Ed-tech, e-health and fintech, among others.While other sectors such as the real estate,airlines and telecom were gasping for life

much before the COVID-19pandemic struck, even the fewerstwhile profitable sectors havenow been pushed to the brink.This will all precipitate India’sbanking crisis even deeper witha likelihood of turning evenpositive net-worth firms intonon-performing assets (NPAs).

India’s response is in syncwith the rest of the world in hav-ing to resort to fiscal expansionwhile simultaneously loweringrevenue target expectations toperhaps the lowest ever. Theanticipated shortfall cannot benow made up through disinvest-ment targets but will have todepend on the deficit beingmade up through the windfallgains of roughly $50 billionthrough oil arbitrage. If the 2008financial crisis eroded a decade’sglobal growth and earnings,COVID-19 will globally regressnational and individual gainseven deeper and longer, elevat-ing sovereign and corporate debtto even higher levels than theystood historically.

But who put the world intomass quarantine? Once the chaossettles and a cure is found, Chinamust be held accountable by theWorld Health Organisation(WHO) and international tradebodies for keeping the outbreakunder wraps, which squan-dered precious five weeks thatcould have alerted the world totake proactive measures.According to a Supreme CourtAdvocate, GV Rao, “In interna-

tional/domestic environmentallaws, there is a ‘polluter pays prin-ciple.’ Similarly, China must beforced to provide free medical aidand economic reimbursementsto all countries affected by thevirus.” Especially as China prof-itted the most through globaltrade in the comity of nations. Asthe culprit nation, it deservesinternational sanction and eco-nomic isolation. Because evenacts of genocide or terrorismstand pale in comparison to thehavoc wrought by Corona’s con-tagion and contagiousness.

This is serious and re-readthis point please: I state thatChina’s wilful opacity on thisissue is tantamount to massmurder. Because near-fatal out-breaks can originate from anycountry. But the host nation hasa moral obligation to not wilful-ly obfuscate facts that can jeop-ardise the very survival ofhumanity. As the Chinese econ-omy will be the first to recoverand rise, thereby having the leadin redefining its predominance inthe world order, we need todiminish our over-dependencefor supplies of intermediategoods for pharmaceutical andelectronics from it or any singlenation. Ideally, the culprit mustbe ostracised economically for anear war-like crime.

These are testing times forthe Indian Government to dis-play how it will deliver on easeof living and ease of doing busi-ness, in line with the best prac-

tices being pursued by Canadaand the US among others, asmost nations are movingtowards offering a universalbasic income. Exceeding fiscaldeficits no longer matters as pol-icy-makers now need to tear upconventional theories of eco-nomics that are outdated andsalvage livelihoods by offeringfinancial relief commensuratewith the economic costs of thecrisis. The downside is thateven when the most developedeconomy like the US disburses$1,000 to all adults, people willspend it only on necessities andconserve the rest. This will notspur the demand cycle.

The Government’s task forceunder the Finance Ministry will,of course, address sectoral con-cerns of the largest afflictedunorganised sector, hospitalityand tourism, which employs 40million people. Restaurantsaccount for 7.3 million jobs,aviation has more than 3,50,000employees, ride hailing serviceshave five million driving part-ners, cinema and entertainmentcover eight million and onlinefood delivery companies employ5,00,000. Real estate, the secondbiggest employer after agricul-ture, is expected to take a hit of35 per cent.

But the essence for theGovernment is in speeding upthe response time to effect pay-outs to businesses; to ease liquid-ity for the crippled NBFC andMSME sectors; provide cash

payments for hawkers, vendorsand daily wagers; and food dis-tribution and emergency sheltersto the unorganised and vulner-able sections in need of financialaid with immediacy.

Aside from ensuring freerflow of working capital, theGovernment is now expected totake its fiduciary duties serious-ly by under taking the role of astanding guarantor for a portionof the wages for businessesaffected by the crisis and thoseunable to operate, offering a life-line to citizens by loweringtaxes as also the rates of utilities;extending loan tenors and relax-ing bad-debt norms for smallfirms; and speeding up directcash transfers to eligible JanDhan holders and for MNRE-GA wagers dependent on con-struction activity that hasslowed down.

This is a moment in historythat will test national leadershipby gauging how efficientlyGovernments react with compas-sion, speed and scale. This is nota moment to lose in our attemptto recalibrate and resurrect fromground zero, as it were. We haveto ride it out individually and col-lectively till we inch back to pre-crisis levels, reminding ourselveswith optimism that even war-time losses never precludedstrong economic bounce-backs.

(The writer is an author,columnist, Chairperson of theNational Committee for FinancialInclusion at Niti Aayog)

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Sir — Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan doesn’t believe inrhetoric like many other leaders,who sound much like empty ves-sels. Rather, he has silently engagedhimself in a concrete job. He andhis Government have announceda �20,000 crore revival package forthose economically weak to help them tide over the fallout ofCOVID-19 that has shut down all income-generating opportuni-ties for them.

The package includes�140,000 crore to clear variousdues the Government owes toindividuals and institutions,�2,000 crore in consumer loans,�1,320 crore to disburse two-month welfare pension inadvance and a health package of�500 crore. Be it the handling ofthe Nipah virus, the rehabilitationafter the floods or local gover-nance, Kerala has been way aheadof the curve. Through his human-itarian moves, Vijayan has provedthat his ideology, which is a mixof strategic thinking, communi-cation and coordination, havebeen much better.

Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Govt must go out of the way tofight corona”( March 22). We allhave seen disasters like the tsuna-mi, floods, epidemics such ascholera and other infectious dis-eases like swine flu, bird flu andSARS among others. In all such

situations, we have displayedimmense courage. But never havewe experienced such fear andanxiety as we are witnessing rightnow due to the spread ofCoronavirus.

The Prime Minster’s move toimpose janta curfew was success-ful in bringing the people togeth-er. Other measures such as theshutdown of shops, suspension of

all passenger trains and the impo-sition of air travel restrictions willgo a long way in limiting thespread of the disease. But beyondthis, it is essential to sustain themomentum.

The number of cases beingtested and those found positivecould be the tip of the iceberg.India has very few testing centreswhen compared to its population

size. More intensive measuresmust be taken. At the same time,it is important for theGovernment to take care of thedaily wage earners and ensurethat there is no shortage of essen-tial commodities.

Yugal Kishore SharmaFaridabad

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Sir — It is a fact that the pandem-ic has wreaked havoc all over theworld. In addition to this, manyof us have had to contend with arise in the prices of essentialitems. Using the excuse of ashortage of essential commodi-ties, there are instances of pricesbeing raised even though there isno shortage of goods in reality. Ithas been made worse by all sortsof forwards on social media. Oneis unable to understand whypeople are hoarding items. TheGovernment must make it clearthat shopkeepers, who are sellinggoods at a higher price, will beprosecuted.

Abdul Malik QasmiMumbai

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Much before the crisis at the beleagueredYes Bank reached a flashpoint [when theReserve Bank of India (RBI) on March

5, 2020, superseded its Board, appointed ex-ChiefFinance Officer (CFO) of the State Bank of India(SBI) as its administrator and imposed a mora-torium for a month on critical operations suchas sanction of fresh loan, renewal of existingloans, �50,000 ceiling on withdrawal of moneyper account] some depositors had alreadysensed it coming.

They withdrew about �18,000 crore duringthe first six months of the current year (depositsdeclined from �2,27,000 crore as on March 31,2019 to �2,09,000 crore as on September 30,2019); of this, �16,000 crore were withdrawn dur-ing July–September, 2019 alone. Thereafter, thewithdrawals leapfrogged to �72,000 crore till themoratorium came into effect on March 5, 2020,the current level of deposits being �1,37,000crore.

At the core of the crisis is the surge in non-performing assets (NPAs) — a jargon for theloans that have turned bad raising seriousdoubt about their recovery. As per results for thethird quarter of current year, the NPAs are�40,000 crore. At this level, the bank was on thebrink of collapse. Had things continued as usual,each one of the remaining depositors would haverushed to withdraw his/her money lying in thebank. Given the mammoth shortfall in availablecapital, this would have led to utter chaos. TheRBI intervention averted it.

Meanwhile, the Union Government hasapproved a scheme for the ‘Reconstruction of YesBank — 2020’ under which the SBI has commit-ted to invest �6,050 crore for 49 per cent share-holding and private sector banks viz. HDFCBank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank andso on, promising to put in about �3,950 crore tak-ing the total capital infusion to about �10,000crore. With this, the moratorium was lifted onMarch 18 when the new Board took over. Underthe new ownership and management control,whether or not, the bank will be able to stem theexodus of depositors, restore confidence and startnormal operations, one time will tell.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to analyse as tohow the Yes Bank came to such a pass; in fact,look at the big picture as to how in a span of twoyears, three other financial entities viz. Punjaband Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank,Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services(IL&FC) and Dewan Housing FinanceCorporation Limited (DHFL) were pushedtowards bankruptcy. At a fundamental level, weneed to look at the manner in which the banksanctions a loan and to whom it is given name-ly, the borrower.

Let us consider three possible scenarios viz.First, the bank has conducted due diligence, care-fully assessed the viability of the project/venturefor which loan is to be given, convinced itselfabout the credibility of the borrower and takenadequate security/collateral against the loan.Second, it has granted loan in a cavalier fashionwithout conducting due diligence and assessingproject viability, at best seeing in some cases,whether or not the borrower has a licence. Third,while, granting the loan, the management onlylooks at the gain that will accrue to it at person-al level under what is termed as “quid pro quo.”

A loan given under category one could go

bad under an external environmentbecoming adverse. For instance, dump-ing of steel by Chinese producers in theIndian market a couple of years back orwithdrawal of the Generalized Schemeof Preferences or the global economicslump accentuated by the Coronavirusand so on. These are all factors beyondthe control of the borrower which couldchange for the better and with policysupport from the Government, thestress on loan can be eased.

The loan given under the secondcategory is potentially vulnerable as atthe time of sanctioning it, the bank sim-ply did not bother to conduct due dili-gence and determine whether theunderlying project is viable. Still, therecould be an unusual chance it is able togenerate adequate cash flows to amor-tise the loan — possibly based on animplicit assumption that there was nomalafide intent.

Coming to category three, a loangiven by the bank top brass with anintent of self-aggrandisement is boundto go junk as the person taking it hasno intent of returning it. The probe cur-rently underway by the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) points to severalloans given by the Yes Bank in this cat-egory. Two such cases that have beenwidely reported include a loan of�3,700 crore extended to DHFL in lieuof the latter returning the favour by giv-ing �600 crore to shell companiesowned by daughters of the ex-Chairman of the bank. Second is theloan of �1,900 crore extended to theAvantha group in lieu of the benefit ofover �300 crore given by the latter tothe wife of the ex-Chairman for pur-chase of a posh bungalow in New Delhi.

The agencies have reportedlyunravelled 78 shell companies owned

and controlled by the kin of the ex-chairman and used for laundering theproceeds of corruption. From thisalone, one gets an idea of the magni-tude of bribe money in the deals, man-ifold gain to the borrower (in the citedcases, the ratio is 6:1) and correspond-ing loss to the bank in NPAs. There isno way any loss being the result of a“quid pro quo” arrangement betweenthe bank top brass and borrower, couldbe recovered.

Add to this, NPAs due to loansgiven to Reliance CommunicationsLimited (RCL), Jet Airways, Cox &Kings and so on. The capital loss onboth these counts may well be inexcess of �30,000 crore.

The project ‘Reconstruction of YesBank — 2020’ is an attempt to plug thisbig hole created in the bank’s balancesheet by the dubious actions of the pro-moter and irregularities at the manage-ment level. To the extent, it remainsunplugged (so far, the total commit-ment is just about �10,000 crore; whichconsortium members are forced to keepinvested for three years, the SBI’s wholecontribution and private investors 75per cent), even after reconstruction, thebank will remain vulnerable.

Here, we need to recognise that theproblem is systemic. All other entities(having gone bankrupt) had givenloan under the third category. Forinstance, �6,500 crore loan given byPMC to Housing Development andInfrastructure Limited; tens of thou-sands of crores in dubious loans givenby IL&FS which landed in dozens ofshell companies owned by the top brassof the former and so on.

There is a lurking fear that thiscould be the tip of the iceberg. In thatscenario, we could be staring at a big

jolt to the financial system. The RBI andthe Government need to change gears.Instead of bolting the stable after thehorses have fled, they need to beproactive and focus more on “preven-tive” measures.

They should use surveillance pow-ers to actually see things happening andpre-empt the chances of dubious loansbeing sanctioned — instead of waitingfor the balance sheet and audit reportto be finalised. If need be, the BankingRegulation Act should be amended.The Yes Bank episode clearly demon-strates that proactive regulatory inter-vention on “real time” basis is far morecrucial than even governance reformsin banks. It also shows that lowering ofGovernment shareholding in publicsector banks to below 50 per cent or pri-vatisation in plain words is not apanacea for the latter’s ills. Irrespectiveof whether a bank is owned by a Stateor private entity, the managements areprone to playing with public money.This attitude is propelled by lack oftimely supervision on one hand andabsence of punishment commensuratewith the crime on the other.

The bailout given and that, too,using public money (resurrection of YesBank involves 60 per cent of capitalinfusion by the SBI which is majority-owned by the Government) emboldensthem to continue with their gameplan. It is, therefore, incumbent uponthe Government and the RBI to do allthat is necessary to give a body blow tothis attitude. Otherwise, the bankswill continue to remain vulnerable tomanipulation by the top managementincluding by the founder/owner foradding to personal riches.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

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At a time when the COVID-19outbreak has forced most peo-ple around the world to hun-

ker down and go into self-isolation,distancing themselves from everyonesocially and professionally, there arepeople who are putting themselves atrisk and who are pulling out all stopsto fight the pandemic and stall itsdeathly march across the globe.These soldiers in the war againstCoronavirus are the doctors, nurses,paramedics and other healthcareworkers who are putting their ownlives at risk and fulfilling their dutyand moral obligation like true profes-

sionals. Acknowledgement of theselfless service that the medical com-munity is providing to people aroundthe world and in India by world lead-ers and citizens alike, helps to bolstertheir confidence and motivates themto work with greater zeal.

It was heart-warming to hear allthe clapping and ringing of bells andbeating of drums and thalis by peo-ple across the country on March 22at the behest of the Prime Ministerto acknowledge the yeoman’s servicebeing provided by the media, police,doctors, nurses, other healthcareworkers, and so on.

In times like this, when social dis-tancing is becoming imperative, therole of doctors has again come to thefore and it is vital that doctorsremain closer than ever before to theirpatients. Their professional com-mitment demands that doctorsremain at the beck and call ofpatients.

So, what defines a doctor in thesesituations? No doubt it is a mix of

skills such as leadership, managinguncertainty, problem-solving, risk-taking, professional judgment and agrasp of clinical situations based ona deep understanding of the area ofpractice. Most importantly, theirmuch-required confidence and assur-ance of survival to the patients is themost important element.

During the last few decades, wehave witnessed many disease out-breaks such as Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS),Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS), H1N1 flu virus (Swine Flu)and Nipah virus among others. Allthese required quick responses fromhealthcare providers and the wholeworld have seen how Indian doctorshave proved their professionalism, beit on the ground in India or playinga critical role abroad. OurGovernment places huge faith in itshealthcare professionals and keepssending medical teams abroad as well.Doctors are among the first toobserve patients suffering from the

attack of a deadly disease, especiallyas initial signs and symptoms may besubtle or mimic common disorders,prompting victims to contact theirprimary care physicians.

In its initial stages, a contagionlike COVID-19 may not be obviousas healthcare systems sometimes arenot fool proof enough due to theirlimitations and may not always detectsuspicious patterns. In the majorityof cases, early symptoms are vagueand readily mistaken for more com-mon upper respiratory infectionssuch as influenza and staphylococcalenterotoxin B or viral gastroenteritis,which take a heavy toll on a nation’shealth.

Depending on the agent and itsmode of transmission, the populationdensity and access to healthcare, it canbe days or even weeks before anyonecan recognise the problem. As earlyresponse may be crucial in contain-ing the problem and minimisingresultant morbidity and mortality,doctors play a vital role in recording

data and developing the response sys-tem for later reference. The doctors,therefore, are first to become awareof a problem and are pivotal in ini-tiating and guiding the public healthresponse. It is they, who have toremain vigilant about general trendsand patient flow in their clinics andcommunicate the same to the healthauthorities to formulate the rightstrategy at the national level.

In an emergency situation doc-tors are required to go beyond theirroutine responsibilities. They have tocarry out exhaustive jobs in a stress-ful environment as witnessed inChina, Italy and France which arenow the epicentres of disease spread.Despite the potential hazards, health-care professionals always maintain astate of calm and readiness for fulfill-ing the planned emergency tasks inthese situations without being con-cerned for their own safety or well-being. Early responders, doctors,nurses and other healthcare profes-sionals during these times require

protection as well. Since they care forboth patients who are suffering fromCoronavirus as well as the regularpatients, they could inadvertentlyspread communicable agents ratherquickly, especially to vulnerablemembers of the population.Therefore, in the interest of thenation, it is essential that healthcareprofessionals adequately protectthemselves. In fact, all hospital per-sonnel, including regular employees,volunteers and temporary staff,should follow the highest level of per-sonal protection from infection andother risks to their safety and thesame degree of access to occupation-al health services.

Anxiety among staff confrontedwith a crisis involving the COVID-19, a highly contagious infectious dis-ease, is to be expected and requiresactive management through per-sonal protective procedures and psy-cho-social support.

There is also a chance that theefficiency and effectiveness of hospi-

tal staff may be adversely affected bycircumstances not necessarily or notdirectly related to the crisis, such asan illness or a conflict between fam-ily and work commitments. Duringan emergency of this scale, therecould also be the need for addition-al personnel for providing specialisedcare to meet the likely increase innumbers of patients seeking admis-sion to the hospital. Arrangementsmust be made to meet such eventu-alities so that there is enough time forthe healthcare professionals to restand re-energise. Provisions for req-uisitions have to be made to thearmed forces for getting their person-nel to meet emergency situations.

In these trying times when mostof us want to stay within our comfortzones to beat the Coronavirus, healthprofessionals are putting their armouron and attacking it with full force. Letus give more power to these heroeswho will eventually save the world.

(The writer is Chief ClinicalOfficer, Clove Dental)

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The coronavirus death toll inSpain surged to 2,182 after

462 people died within 24hours, the health ministry saidon Monday.

The death rate showed a27-per cent increase on the fig-ures released a day earlier,with the number of confirmedcases of COVID-19 rising to33,089 in Spain, one of theworst-hit countries in the worldafter China and Italy.

Despite an unprecedentednational lockdown which wasput in place on March 14, thenumber of deaths and infec-tions have spiralled in Spain,with the figures growing as thecountry steps up its capacity fortesting. And the lockdown,which was initially put in placefor two weeks, will be extend-ed until April 11 to try to curbthe spread, Prime MinisterPedro Sanchez said — in ameasure which will be put toparliament on Tuesday.

The rise in infections inthis country of 46 million peo-ple has brought Spain’s health-care system to the brink of col-lapse, particularly in Madrid,the worst-hit area, which hasregistered 10,575 cases, andwhere 1,263 people have died— accounting for 58 per centof the national death toll.

Some 3,910 healthcareworkers have tested positive forthe virus, or around 12 per centof those infected, the healthministry’s emergencies coor-dinator Fernando Simon said.

Officials have repeatedly

warned that the number ofdeaths and infections wouldcontinue to rise this week and that the worst was yet tocome.

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Italy banned travel and shutdown a range of industries

Monday in a last-ditch push tostem the spread of a coron-avirus that has killed nearly5,500 people in a month.

The latest wave of restric-tions is designed to get theMediterranean countrythrough a vital 10-day stretchin which the rate of deaths andinfections is supposed to final-ly drop.

Italy’s health officialssounded notes of guarded hopeafter reporting another 651fatalities on Sunday.

The figure was the second-highest recorded during thecrisis and above that officiallyregistered anywhere else in theworld in a day.

But it was still lower thanthe record 793 deaths healthofficials announced onSaturday. The number of newinfections also rose Sunday bya relatively modest 10.4 per-cent. The chief health officer ofnorthern Italy’s devastatedLombardy region soundeduncharacteristically upbeatSunday.

“These figures are always amatter of either seeing theglass as half full or half empty,”Giulio Gallera wrote onFacebook.

“Today, the glass is halffull.”

Italy has sacrificed its econ-omy and liberties by shuttingdown and banning almosteverything to halt the spread ofa virus the government viewsas an existential threat.

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The number of deathsaround the world from the

novel coronavirus cases stoodat 15,189, according to a tallycompiled by AFP on Mondayfrom official sources.

More than 341,300declared cases have been reg-istered in 174 countries and ter-ritories since the epidemic firstemerged in China inDecember.

The tallies, using data col-lected by AFP offices fromnational authorities and infor-mation from the World HealthOrganization (WHO), likelyreflect only a fraction of theactual number of infections.

Many countries are nowonly testing cases that requirehospitalisation. Italy, whichrecorded its first coronavirusdeath in February, now hasmore fatalities than China with5,476, as well as having 59,138declared infections with 7,024recoveries.

China -- excluding HongKong and Macau -- has to datedeclared 81,093 cases, includ-ing 3,270 deaths, with 72,703people recovered. It reported 39new cases and nine new fatal-ities since Sunday.

The third worst hit coun-try is Spain with 2,182 fatalitiesand 33,089 cases, followed byIran with 1,812 fatalities and23,049 cases, France with 674deaths and 16,018 cases, andthe United States with 471

deaths and 35,224 cases.Since 1900 GMT Sunday,

the Czech Republic, Nigeriaand Montenegro announcedtheir first deaths. Papua NewGuinea and Syria reportedtheir first cases.

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More than one billion peo-ple have been asked to

stay home in more than 50countries and territories aroundthe world as governments bat-tle the coronavirus pandemicsweeping the globe, accordingto an AFP tally Monday.

Some countries imposedmandatory lockdown mea-sures, while others have issuedstay-at-home recommenda-tions to stem the spread of thevirus. At least 34 countries orterritories has establishedmandatory lockdown measuresordering people to stay in theirhomes, accounting for some659 million people. Thisincludes France, Italy,

Argentina, the US state ofCalifornia, Iraq and Rwanda.

Greece is the most recentcountry to impose mandatoryconfinement measures, whichcame into effect on Mondaymorning. Colombia willenforce an obligatory lock-down on Tuesday and NewZealand will follow suitWednesday. In most cases it isstill possible to leave the houseto go to work, buy essentials orseek medical care.

At least four countries witha collective population of morethan 228 million people,including Iran, Germany andBritain, have urged their pop-ulations to stay indoors andlimit contact with other peopleas much as possible.

Berlin: Chancellor AngelaMerkel was on Sunday in quar-antine after meeting a doctorwho tested positive for thenovel coronavirus, as Germanyfurther tightens rules on pub-lic gatherings and plots ataboo-breaking package of sup-port for Europe’s top economy.

News of Merkel’s potentialexposure to the virus cameminutes after she announced aban on public gatherings ofmore than two people andfurther infection control mea-sures.

“The Chancellor has decid-ed to quarantine herself imme-diately at home. She will betested regularly in the comingdays... (and) fulfil her officialbusiness from home,”spokesman Steffen Seibert saidin a statement.

Merkel had been slated tolead a cabinet meeting Mondayto sign off on a 822-billion-euro($882 billion) slew of measuresto support Europe’s top econ-omy through the shutdowns ofpublic life designed to slow theinfection’s spread. AFP

Islamabad: Pakistan said onMonday that the total numberof coronavirus cases in thecountry rose to 803, even as theArmy scrambled to put togeth-er all resources to tackle theinfection which has claimedmore than 15,000 lives world-wide.

At least six people havedied, while six others recoveredfrom COVID-19 so far, accord-ing to the country’s NationalDisaster Management

Authority. Of the total 803cases, Sindh province account-ed for with 352 cases, Punjab246, Balochistan 108, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 32, Islamabad15 and Gilgit-Baltistan 72 and1 in Pakistan-occupiedKashmir.

Sindh Education MinisterSaeed Ghani in a video messageon Monday confirmed that hehad tested positive for coron-avirus and was now in isolationat his home. PTI

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Iran on Monday announced127 new deaths from the

novel coronavirus, raising theofficial toll to 1,812 in one ofthe worst hit countries alongwith Italy, Spain and China.

Health ministryspokesman KianoucheJahanpour said 1,411 new caseshad been recorded in Iran overthe past 24 hours, bringing thetotal of those infected to 23,049.

Jahanpour, who was speak-ing during his daily news con-ference devoted to the pan-demic, said he would no longergive a breakdown of cases byprovince.

This was necessary, he said,to avoid sparking undue con-cern among residents of themost stricken areas and ensurethat those in less affected zones

remained cautious.All of Iran’s 31 provinces

have been hit by the novel coro-navirus outbreak. Tolls pro-vided by the health ministry inrecent days indicated that thespread of the virus has wors-ened especially in northernand central regions of Iran.Jahanpour renewed a call byauthorities for people to stay athome until “the virus is con-quered”.

That call has come as theIslamic republic is celebratingthe Iranian New Year, a time when people usuallytravel far and wide across thecountry for holidays and fam-ily reunions.

Authorities, however, havenot imposed any travel ban orlockdown on Iran where theNowruz holiday continues untilApril 3.

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US President Donald Trump has said heis “a little upset” with China over its late

sharing of information on the outbreak ofthe deadly coronavirus and refusing toaccept a visit by American medical expertsto the country “out of pride”. “They shouldhave told us about this,” Trump toldreporters at a Press conference in the WhiteHouse on Sunday during a briefing on hisadministration’s coronavirus response.

“I’m a little upset with China. I’ll behonest with you, because as much as I like(Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) and asmuch as I respect and admire the coun-try,” he said. There are now 31,057 con-firmed cases across the US, with 390deaths. New York state has become the epi-centre of the outbreak in the US andaccounts for almost half of the country’scases. Trump said soon after he receivedinformation about the spread of thedeadly viral infection in China, he want-ed to send US medical team there.However, China did not allow.

United Nations: United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres on Monday called for an “imme-diate global ceasefire” in all corners of the world,emphasising that it is time to put armed conflict inlockdown and focus on the fight against the rapidly-spreading coronavirus pandemic. His appeal came asthe total number of deaths due to coronaviruscrossed 15,000 globally. Over 341,300 cases have beenregistered in 174 countries and territories since theepidemic first emerged in China in December.

Addressing UN correspondents in a virtual brief-ing, Guterres said: “Our world faces a common enemy:COVID-19. The virus does not care about national-ity or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relent-lessly”. He voiced concern that as coronavirus spreadsacross the world, armed conflict rages on around theworld and the most vulnerable — women and chil-dren, people with disabilities, the marginalised andthe displaced — pay the highest price. Noting that these people are also at the highest riskof suffering devastating losses from COVID-19, he saidthat health systems have collapsed in war-ravagedcountries.

“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.That is why today, I am calling for an immediate glob-al ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to putarmed conflict on lockdown and focus together on thetrue fight of our lives,” the UN chief said. PTI

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Zagreb: Croatia has experi-enced a series of aftershocks aday after a strong earthquakecaused widespread damage andinjured at least 27 people amida partial coronavirus lockdownof the capital.

Seismologists said Mondayat least 38 weaker temblorswere felt in Zagreb since a 5.5magnitude quake struck thecapital early Sunday, triggeringpanic, the evacuation of hos-pitals and structural damage,including the city’s iconiccathedral and other historicbuildings.

The strongest aftershockwas around noon, measuring3.7. AP

KABUL: US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo was in Kabul onan urgent visit Monday to try tomove forward a US peace dealsigned last month with theTaliban, a trip that comes despitethe coronavirus pandemic, at atime when world leaders andstatesmen are curtailing officialtravel. Since the signing of thedeal, the peace process hasstalled amid political turmoil inAfghanistan, with the country’sleaders squabbling over who waselected president.

President Ashraf Ghani andhis main rival in last September’spresidential polls, AbdullahAbdullah, have both declaredthemselves the country’s presi-dent in dueling inauguration

ceremonies earlier this month. Pompeo met separately

with Ghani and was meetingwith Abdullah before going tomeet together with bothAfghan leaders. His schedulealso has Ghani and Abdullahcoming together for a one-on-one meeting, presumably todiscuss a possible compromise.

The United States pays bil-lions every year toward theAfghan budget, including thecountry’s defence forces.Afghanistan barely raises aquarter of the revenue it needsto run the country, givingPompeo considerable finan-cial leverage to force the twosquabbling leaders to over-come the impasse. AP

Jerusalem: Israel’s SupremeCourt on Monday ordered thecountry’s parliament to recon-vene for the selection of a newspeaker, dealing a blow toPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu as he tries to steerthe country through the coro-navirus crisis and fend off alooming corruption trial.

The current speaker, YuliEdelstein of Netanyahu’s Likudparty, suspended the parlia-ment’s activities last week, cit-ing procedural issues andrestrictions on large gatheringsdue to the virus.

But the opposition Blueand White party, which isbacked by a slim majority in thenewly elected Knesset, said the

country’s legislature must con-tinue to function at such a crit-ical time. The party accusedEdelstein of shuttering the hallsof the legislature in order tokeep his job and shield hisbeleaguered party leader.

Blue and White is expectedto choose a new speaker and useits parliamentary majority topush through legislation thatcould prevent Netanyahu fromserving as prime minister in thefuture. The Likud party hasaccused Blue and White of rely-ing on the votes of “terrorist-sympathizing” Arab members ofparliament to “trample democ-racy” amid a national state ofemergency and vowed to boycotta vote for a new speaker. AP

���� *(*,*>*

The Industries andCommerce Department of

Andhra Pradesh on Mondayissued a set of guidelines forindustrial units in the state tocheck the spread of coronavirus.E-commerce establishments likeWalmart and Amazon would beallowed to supply food, gro-ceries, milk, bread, fruits, veg-etables, meat, fish and also carryout other transport-related activ-ities, logistics, warehousing anddelivery facilities.

The firms could also con-tinue e-commerce services thatare essential to the public,according to Special ChiefSecretary (Industries andCommerce) Rajat Bhargava.

All essential factories andindustries across the state pro-ducing pharmaceuticals, masks,sanitizers, ventilators, COVIDkits and essential food productscould operate duly following thesocial distancing norms andother guidelines issued fromtime to time, the Special ChiefSecretary said.

The district Collectors havebeen directed to permit indus-trial units engaged in continu-ous production (steel plants,cement, fertilisers, textiles, elec-tronics and IT units) to workwith curtailed capacities,reduced shifts and skeletal staff.Bhargava said the lockdownperiod announced by the gov-ernment would not be treated asbreak in production and allindustries should mandatorilypay full salaries and wages toemployees and workers, includ-ing those under contract andoutsourcing.

New Delhi: State-owned shipmaker Cochin Shipyard Ltd(CSL) on Monday said it hasdecided to stop building andrepairing ships as part of itsmeasures to contain the spreadof deadly coronavirus.

The company has alreadybeen taking a series of mea-sures in view of the COVID-19pandemic to ensure safety andhealth of all employees besidescomplying with governmentdirectives, CSL said in a BSE fil-ing. “The company has decid-ed to stop shipbuilding andship repair operations witheffect from (wef) March 23,2020 till further order, to ensuresafety of the employees and tocontain the spread of the coro-navirus (COVID-19),” it said.

PTI

New Delhi: The Centre hasrequested chief secretaries of allstates to exempt services ofSebi-regulated stock marketentities as well as related workforce from the purview oflockdown imposed to curb spreading of coronavirusinfections.

The move comes againstthe backdrop of allegedinstances of brokers, deposito-ry participants and other per-sonnel related to stock marketsfacing difficulties in commut-ing to their workplaces.

In a letter, CabinetSecretary Rajiv Gauba hasrequested that services of Sebi-regulated stock market entitiesbe exempted from the purview

of lockdown.“Further, essential staff

related to these agents shouldbe allowed to commute so as toensure that these establish-ments function smoothly,” asper the letter addressed toChief Secretaries of States andAdministrators of UTs.

Domestic stock market suf-fered its worst-ever single-daycrash on Monday, with thebenchmark indices plummet-ing as much as 13.15 per centas sell-off continued amid ris-ing coronavirus cases.

In the wake of the coron-avirus outbreak, many stateshave announced partial orcomplete lockdown, to curbspreading of infections. PTI

���� (3(4*

The Reserve Bank onMonday said bank credit to

registered NBFCs towards agri-culture, MSEs and housingsector up to prescribed limitswill be treated as priority sec-tor loans during the next fiscalstarting April.

The move will help boostcredit disbursement in the targeted segment likeagriculture, MSME and hous-ing sector.

After undertaking a review,it has been decided to extend

the priority sector classificationfor bank loans to NBFCs foron-lending for 2020-21, RBIsaid in a statement.

Further, it said, the existingloans disbursed under the on-lending model will continue tobe classified under PrioritySector till the date of repay-ment/maturity.

“Bank credit to registeredNBFCs (other than MFIs) andHFCs for on-lending will beallowed up to an overall limitof five per cent of individualbank’s total priority sector lend-ing cap,” it said.

���� (3(4*

As part of its continuedeffort to provide liquidity,

the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Monday said it willconduct �1 lakh crore of short-term variable repo auction.The repo auctions will be con-ducted in two tranches. Thefirst repo auction of �50,000crore was held on Monday.

“As a pre-emptive mea-sure to tide over any frictionalliquidity requirements onaccount of dislocations due toCovid-19, the RBI has decidedto conduct the fine-tuningvariable rate repo auctions for�1 lakh crore in two tranches,“ the central bank said in arelease.

The RBI is offering fundsto banks for 16 days through

both the auctions. In the firstrepo auction, the RBI received�31,585 crore of bids. It accept-ed all the bids at a cut off rateof 5.16 per cent.

The second tranche of�50,000 crore of repo auctionwill be conducted on March 24.

As a special measure, theRBI has also allowed stand-alone primary dealers to par-ticipate in these repo auctions.

The RBI added it is monitoringthe evolving financial marketconditions.

“We will calibrate our oper-ations to meet any need foradditional liquidity support, ifwarranted, to ensure normalfunctioning of markets, pro-mote staff welfare and preservefinancial stability,” the centralbank said.

Earlier on Monday, the

RBI said it has advanced thesecond tranche of open market operation (OMO)purchase to March 26 fromMarch 30.

It will buy �15,000 crore offour government securitiesunder OMO purchase auctionon March 26.

The first tranche of OMOpurchase worth �15,000 crorewill be conducted on March 24.

New Delhi: Website andmobile app of online groceryseller BigBasket on Mondayfaced breakdown due to surgein demand amid the coron-avirus outbreak. Following theload, the company restrictedaccess of service only for exist-ing customers. “We are cur-rently experiencing unprece-dented demand. In light of this,we are restricting access toour website to existing cus-tomers only. Please try again ina few hours,” it said. PTI

New Delhi: Markets regulatorSebi on Monday put in place aframework for invocation aswell as encumbrance on unitsof real estate and infrastructureinvestment trusts.

In a separate circular, Sebihas also extended the regulato-ry due date for filing and com-pliance for real estate investmenttrusts (REITs) and infrastruc-ture investment trusts (InVITs)for the financial year endingMarch 31, by one month over

and above the timeline in thewake of coronavirus pandemic.

In view of developmentssurrounding the spread ofCOVID-19, “a need for tem-porary relaxation in compliancerequirements for REIT andInvIT is warranted”, it added.With regard to encumbrance,Sebi said entities required tohold units of REITs and InvITsmay create encumbrance onsuch units during the manda-tory holding period wherein

encumbrance will includepledge, lien, negative lien, non-disposal undertaking or anyother covenant, transaction,condition or arrangement in thenature of encumbrance.

This is subject to the con-ditions that for creation andinvocation of encumbrance arealso included in the agree-ment executed for the purposeof creation of such encum-brance, the Sebi said in two cir-culars. PTI

New Delhi: General Motors(GM) on Monday said it hassuspended production at itsTalegaon manufacturing facil-ity in Maharashtra, in supportof government efforts to pre-vent the spread of COVID-19(coronavirus).

The company, which hasceased to sell products in theIndian market and utilises theplant for export purposes, saidsuspension of production beganon March 21 and will run untilMarch 31, 2020. PTI

���� ��������

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday asked

captains of India Inc to ensurethat production of essentialitems is not impacted in thewake of the coronavirus out-break and there is no hoardingand black marketing.

During his interaction withleaders of India Inc, the PrimeMinister also asked them toallow employees to work fromhome, said an official release.

“The impact on economywill be felt for some time tocome,” said PM as he exhortedIndia Inc to adopt a humanitar-ian approach and not to cutdown on workforce in spite ofthe COVID-19 negative impacton their businesses. “The PMsaid that while the Governmentwas working on giving fillip tothe pace of growth in the coun-try, an unforeseen hurdle in theform of COVID-19 came infront of the economy.

“He said the challengeposed by the pandemic isgraver than even that posed bythe World Wars and we need tobe on constant vigil to preventits spread,” the release said.

Industry representativesfrom Assocham, FICCI, CIIand several local chambers from18 cities across the country par-ticipated in the interaction withthe PM through video-confer-encing. Modi asked the indus-try “to allow employees to workfrom home” wherever doing sois feasible through using tech-nology, the release said.

He exhorted them to adopta humanitarian approach andnot to cut down on workforcein spite of the negative impacton their businesses. The PMstressed that while theGovernment was working ongiving fillip to the pace ofgrowth in the country, anunforeseen hurdle in the formof COVID-19 came in front ofthe economy.

����� ��������

The spread of coronavirus inIndia is rapidly increasing

with eachpassing day, theMinistry of Electronics andInformation Technology reiter-ated advisory to all social mediaintermediaries — Facebook,YouTube, TikTok, ShareChatand Twitter to control the spreadof misinformation on coron-avirus pandemic.

Showing their sense ofresponsibility, such intermedi-aries have been showing ontheir platforms the links to theWHO’s dos and don’ts regardingthe virus, and how to contain itsspread. As per a statementreleased by the ministry, socialmedia platforms are intermedi-aries as defined under section2(1)(w) of the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 and arerequired to follow due diligenceas prescribed in the InformationTechnology (IntermediaryGuidelines) Rules notified undersection 79 of the IT Act.”Socialmedia platforms must informtheir users not to host, display,upload, modify, publish, trans-mit, update or share any infor-mation that may affect publicorder in any way,” the statementread.

���� 4�1�5

China on Monday “applaud-ed” the aid sent by India dur-

ing the height of Beijing’s battleagainst the deadly coronavirusand said it would like to share itsexperience in handling theCOVID-19 with New Delhi andprovide necessary assistance inpreventing its spread.

India sent about 15 tonnesof medical assistance compris-

ing masks, gloves and otheremergency medical equipmentto the coronavirus-hit Wuhancity on February 26 by a mili-tary plane, which also evacu-ated 112 Indians and severalforeign nationals.

In his media briefing here,Foreign Ministry spokesmanGeng Shuang said China isextending assistance and aid tolocal Governments in 19 coun-tries which have extended assis-tance to it when the coronavirusoutbreak struck the country.

Asked about the conspicu-ous absence of India in the 19countries listed by him, Geng said India and Chinahave an “unimpeded channel ofexchanges and the exchange is close.” “After the outbreak ofCOVID-19, China and Indiahave been in communicationand there is cooperationbetween the two. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi senta letter of sympathies with theChinese side and the IndianForeign Minister also spoke

with the Chinese side overphone,” he said.

“We have received assis-tance from the Indian sideand we applaud that. We havea mechanism of exchanges andChina has been notifying theinformation to India in a time-ly manner,” he said.

“We have also been pro-viding assistance and neces-sary convenience to the Indiansin China. We have been pro-tecting their health and safety,”he said. “As the pandemic

spreads, we have also noted thesituation in India. China andIndia are the only two countrieswith a population of over onebillion. The virus is a challengeto all and we would like to shareour experience with the Indianside and further provide neces-sary assistance to the Indianside,” he said.

Geng also pointed out Indiawas part of a video conferenceconducted by the Chinese offi-cials to share their COVID-19experience with Eurasia and

South Asian countries recently.South Asian countries

including India, Sri Lanka,Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan,Maldives, Bangladesh partici-pated in it, he said. Officialsincluded those from healthauthorities, diplomatic ser-vices, national defence, customscivil aviation etc. The WorldHealth Organisation delegatesin the relevant countries alsoparticipated in the video con-ference, he said.

The conference was a plat-

form to share China’s experiencein epidemic prevention, diag-nosis and control, treatment,supply guarantee, Geng said,adding that Chinese officialsanswered around 80 questions.Geng said the conference lastedfor four hours and around 2,000representatives participated in it.The participants think it is time-ly and necessary to learn fromChina’s experience, he said.

China, which is battling thecoronavirus since January 23, hasreported no new domestic cases

of the COVID-19 on Sunday butreported nine deaths taking thedeath toll to 3,270 as it rampedup measures to strictly quaran-tine people coming from abroad.

The overall confirmedcases on the Chinese mainlandhas reached 81,093 by the endof Sunday. It included 3,270people who died of the disease,5,120 patients still undergoingtreatment, 72,703 patients dis-charged after recovery, accord-ing to China’s National HealthCommission.

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The trial of three Russians anda Ukrainian charged with

multiple murder for their allegedroles in shooting down MalaysiaAirlines Flight 17 in 2014resumed briefly Monday as thepresiding judge read out a num-ber of preliminary decisions.

Courtroom was almostempty due to restrictions aimedat slowing spread of coron-avirus. Decisions on severalrequests by prosecutors forfurther investigations weredelayed to give defense lawyersfor one of defendants moretime to prepare.

Among decisions taken bythe court since the trial openedon March 9, Presiding JudgeHendrik Steenhuis authorisedprosecutors to give lawyers forfamily members of the 298 vic-tims access to limited parts ofthe investigation dossier.

After a hearing of just under45 minutes, the case wasadjourned until June 8, whendefense lawyers for one of thesuspects will be allowed to makepreliminary objections such aschallenging the Dutch court’sjurisdiction to stage the trial.

None of the suspects isattending the trial and only one— Russian Oleg Pulatov — has

appointed defense lawyers torepresent him. When the trialopened earlier this month, thecourtroom was packed withlawyers, judges, family mem-bers of victims and media.

But on Monday judges satseparated from one another byan empty seat, the number ofprosecutors, lawyers and otherstaff was reduced and family andmedia were not allowed toattend. The flight, known asMH17, was shot down July 17,2014, by a Buk missile fired fromterritory in eastern Ukraine con-trolled by pro-Russian separatistrebels as it flew from Amsterdamto Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

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Since New Year eve, China has reported a cluster of cases ofpneumonia from Wuhan associated with seafood, which was

later diagnosed to be associated with novel coronavirus. Around10,000 persons were reported to be infectious which includes 17healthcare professionals and the casualties have been reportedto be over 200 within a month.

While the virus is common in different species of animals,it has now spread to humans through close contacts via respi-ratory droplets generated through sneezing or coughing. Whilethere is a misconception that the virus only spreads throughsymptomatic infectants, many such cases have been recordedwhere the virus has been transmitted through asymptomaticinfectants also. It is thus the foremost priority to seek primaryprevention through keeping self-hygiene. Always wash your handswith soap or alcohol-based rub and seek immediate medicaladvice in case of flu-like symptoms for ruling out the condition.Though Indians usually do not prefer to consume under cookedor raw meat/ animal products, still avoid any type of animal prod-uct.

Vitamin C as a immunity booster: Vitamin C is an immu-nity booster. Along with the supplements, it also advisable to do

warm saline gargles regularly,because the coronavirus tries toremain in the throat for aroundtwo-three days, so if you arecleaning your throat regularly ,your things are going to be on abetter side. While there are noproven treatment modules avail-able, and hence every possiblepreventive measure will act as aweapon.

Regular consumption of hotwater and green tea is alsopreferable. Include nuts likealmonds, walnuts and seeds likeflax and pumpkin in your diet.

It’s a medical proven factthat our immune system is thefirst line of defence against analien microorganism enteringour body. Stronger your immunesystem, lesser is the chance offalling ill.

Turmeric: It has powerfulanti–inflammatory effects and is

very strong antioxidant. Turmeric is a natural way to help boostthe immune system by increasing the immune modulating capac-ity of the body.

Ginger: Ginger is antibacterial and it helps support theimmune system and it can help to prevent nausea and soothestomach. Ginger helps decreases inflammation, which can helpreduce a sore throat.

Garlic: Garlic helps and prevents the severity of illness likethe flu and common cold. Garlic contains antioxidants that sup-port the body’s protective mechanisms against oxidative dam-age. Garlic can fight infectious diseases especially for the elder-ly or people with dysfunctional immune systems.

Lemon: Lemon is a powerful source of vitamin c that helpsbuild up the immune system. Vitamin C helps in the produc-tion of white blood cells and the key to fighting infections.

Spinach: Spinach is packed with abundant nutrients whichhelp build the immune system. It is packed with anti-oxidantsincluding Vitamin C and Vitamin E which increase the infec-tion-fighting ability of our immune system.

Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are not just great in taste butalso bundled with immunity boosting vitamins. It comes withour daily requirement of 30 per cent of Vitamin C and 120 percent of the daily value of Vitamin A. They are fat and choles-terol free with all the vitamins along with healthy portion of fibre.

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�������� ������ Coconutwater is not only a tastyalternative to water but isalso packed with manyhealth benefits.

This perfect thirstquencher aids inweight loss. It sup-presses the appetiteand makes you feelfull because of itsrich nature.

In the scorching sum-mer heat, it helps keepthe body hydrated at alltimes. In wake of recentcoronavirus outbreak,when certain doctors aresuggesting to keep thebody as hydrated as pos-sible, coconut water makesfor a good option.

The fibre content incoconut water is high and there-

fore it helps in aiding digestion.It is also rich in electrolytes andhelp keep the blood pressureunder control.

It also help in achieving thatpicture perfect skin by keep-

ing it moisturised andhydrated.

� � � � � � � � � � � � There is panic and right-ly so since we are not fol-lowing the Government’

advisory of social distancing.There is also fear and anxietythe minute we get a cold or flu.One has to realise thatnot every flu, coughand cold is

COVID-19and thes a m ecan betreat-ed by

takinga few simplei n g re d i e nt sfound in ourkitchen.

Lemon is full ofVitamin C. Cut three-fourslices of lemon and pour boil-ing water in a cup. Sip this. itis not only boost immunity, itcan also prevent normal coughand cold.

Ginger not only has helps

in digestion, it has anti-oxidantproperties as well. Take atea-spoon of ginger juice, addhoney and luke warm water.Drink this two-three times aday to soothe a soar throat.

Turmeric isfound in all

kitchens. It hasanti-inflam-

m a t o r y ,antiviral ,a n dantibacter-ial proper-ties. Haldihas cur-

cumin isand is best

absorbed in theblood stream when

taken with black pep-per. Add a teaspoon of turmer-ic and one-eighth teaspoon ofblack pepper in any drink ofyour choice like orange juice.One can also add warm waterand drink it.

These are testing times. Thereis need to keep oneself healthy

and strong to keep infectionsaway. ROSHNI DEVI tells

you how some home remediescan help to fight viral

and flu

����������

At a time like this, with the threat of coron-avirus disrupting our lives, it is very impor-

tant that the elderly keep themselves safe, as theyare easily targeted as their immunity is impaired.

The following precautions need to be taken:� They should wash their hands frequently:Old people tend to hold things a lot more thanyoung people like grabbing railings for support,holding people’s hands to help them climb upand down stairs, or to walk, to sit down andsometimes even go to the bathroom. It is veryimportant that they wash their hands with soapfor 20 second.If they are unable to wash theirhands themselves, they must be washed by some-one at all times, especially if they have returnedfrom the doctor or a hospital.

Sometimes old people tend to forget to washtheir hands, in that case, they need to be remind-ed to do so by either the nurses or the maidslooking after them as they do not havechildren/relatives around.

The staff must also be trained to wash theirown hands frequently as they are looking aftersomeone who is vulnerable and prone to theCoronavirus.� They must be dissuaded from going out ofthe house: Some geriatrics want to go meet theirfriends in the garden or go out to houses offriends. This has to be discouraged by the stafflooking after him/her. The only place they shouldbe allowed to go to, are doctors and only if it'san emergency.

In case they do need to go out, they mustbe made to wash their hands with soap as soonas they return. Unfortunately, many of the elder-ly suffer from diabetes or hypertension and thisattracts the virus to these diseases.� Medication given on time: All medication tothe elderly must be given on time, especially themedications for diabetes and hypertension asthese diseases make the old people far more vul-nerable to the virus as the coronavirus tends toattack people with these diseases even more thanothers.� Hydration and nutrition: Geriatrics must begiven anything form of hot water, like soup, teaor coffee from time to time as their respiratorysystem needs to be unclogged and free so thatthe Corona Virus does not affect them.

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S P E C I A L C A R EFOR ELDERLY

Amidst the recent coron-avirus outbreak, there are alot of myths doing rounds

among people. It is important toclear all the misconceptions andgo by the facts to fight the pan-demic.

Here are a few myths andfacts.

All infected patients need tobe admitted.

Home management is appro-priate for patients with mild infec-tion who can be adequately isolat-ed in the outpatient setting.

Management of such patientsshould focus on prevention oftransmission to others and mon-itoring for clinical deterioration,which should prompt hospitalisa-tion.

Outpatients with COVID-19should stay at home and try toseparate themselves from otherpeople and animals in the house-hold. They should wear a face-mask when in the same room (orvehicle) as other people and whenpresenting to health care settings.Disinfection of frequently touchedsurfaces is also important.

There is no definition of“how close is too close”.

The US CDC recommendskeeping a distance of six feetfrom other people to minimize thepossibility of infection. (A usefulway to think about six feet is thatit’s roughly twice the length of theaverage person’s extended arm.)

Three feet is the distance theW.H.O. emphasises as particular-ly risky when standing near a per-son who is coughing or sneezing.

Still, other public healthexperts say that at this crucialmoment, when the world stillhas an opportunity to slow thetransmission of the coronavirus,any number of feet is too close. Bycutting out all but essential in-per-son interactions, we can help flat-ten the curve, they say, keeping the

number of sick people to levelsthat medical providers can man-age.

Prolonged contact isrequired with an infected person

It’s not yet clear, but mostexperts agree that more timeequals more risk.

The virus cannot last on a buspole, a touch screen

After numerous people whoattended a Buddhist temple inHong Kong fell ill, the city’sCenter for Health Protection col-lected samples from the site.Restroom faucets and the clothcovers over Buddhist texts testedpositive for the coronavirus.

A recent study found that itcould live for three days on plas-tic and steel. If you are orderinglots of supplies online, you may berelieved to know that the virus didpoorly on cardboard — it disinte-grated over the course of a day. Itsurvived for about four hours oncopper

Dirty surfaces are more like-ly to keep the virus.

No, whether a surface looksdirty or clean is irrelevant. If aninfected person sneezed and a

droplet landed on a surface, a per-son who then touched that surfacecould pick it up. How much isrequired to infect a person isunclear.

But as long as you wash yourhands before touching your face,you should be ok, because viraldroplets don’t pass through skin.

Buy a good brand soap.No, the brand or type of soap

does not matter.My coughing neighbour

cannot cause infection in me.No. An infected neighbor

might sneeze on a railing and ifyou touched it, you would get it.

Virus particles can cross theglasses.

No. There is no evidence thatviral particles can go throughwalls or glass as suggested by adoctor.

AC is dangerous.We are more concerned about

the dangers posed by commonspaces than those posed by vents,provided there is good air circu-lation in a room.

Dog or cat cannot join me inquarantine.

Professor Whittaker, who has

studied the spread of coronavirus-es in animals and humans, saidthat he had seen no evidence thatpeople who have the virus couldbe a danger to their pets

Sex is safe.Kissing could spread it. Though

coronaviruses are not typically sex-ually transmitted, it’s too soon toknow.

Virus can move freely.A naked virus can’t go any-

where unless it’s hitching a ride witha droplet of mucus or saliva, saidKin-on Kwok, a professor at theJockey Club School of PublicHealth and Primary Care at theChinese University of Hong Kong.

These mucus and salivadroplets are ejected from the mouthor the nose as we cough, sneeze,laugh, sing, breathe and talk. If theydon’t hit something along the way,they typically land on the floor orthe ground. When the virusbecomes suspended in dropletssmaller than five micrometres —known as aerosols — it can stay sus-pended for about a half-hour.

Face to face eating is safe.No, to gain access to your

cells, the viral droplets must enterthrough the eyes, the nose or themouth. Sneezing and coughingare most likely the primary formsof transmission. Talking loudlyface-to-face or sharing a meal withsomeone could pose a risk.

If you can smell what someonehad for lunch — you are inhalingwhat they are breathing out, includ-ing any virus in their breath.

The virus is smart, it makes thenose loose the small, so to experi-ence the smell you inhale deeply.

There are no predictors oftransmission

There are four factors thatlikely play a role: how close you get;how long you are near the person;whether that person projects viraldroplets on you; and how much youtouch your face.

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Forty-year-old Sunandita Dasgupta, aGovernment servant in Delhi, has

been freaking out about the novel coron-avirus (COVID-19) since last few days. “Ihave Early Onset Parkinson’s Diseasewhich makes me prone to anxiety, but itis manageable. However, in the last fewdays it was going out of control, affectingmy daily activities and worsening my phys-ical condition. Moreover, I was feeling ner-vous with the flood of information on allmedia platforms,” she says.

It started with panic and before deep-er anxiety set in, she decided to take pro-fessional help.

“I sought help of a counsellor who sug-gested a few methods to control mythoughts. Now, I am taking recourse toyoga, progressive muscle relaxation andother such techniques to reduce anxiety,”she says adding that she’s much settled now.

Sunandita’s is not the lone case of fearpsychosis amidst the coronavirus scare inIndia. With cities after cities underunprecedented lockdown, and a major partof the earth’s population being in self-iso-lation, whether with families or individ-ually, health professionals feel that a largenumber of people can go through mentalhealth issues, mainly caused by fear and

uncertainty. So far COVID-19 has infect-ed over 2,22,000 people and claimedmore than 13,000 lives.

Experts say that generally, the cause ofa medical condition isn’t relevant, whatmatters is the condition itself. It’s likely thatmost people won’t require doctor’s helpunder these circumstances; but thosewho are mentally finding tough to dealwith the situation because of stress, thenthey must seek professional help likeSunandita did.

Dr RC Jiloha, Professor of Psychiatry,Hamdard Institute of Medical sciences &Research, Delhi opines that pandemics arenot just a medical phenomenon. Theyaffect individuals and society on many lev-els, causing disruptions such as panic andstress. As concerns over the perceivedthreat grow, people may start to collect(and hoard) masks and other medical sup-plies. This is often followed by anxiety-related behaviours, sleep disturbances,and overall lower perceived state of health.Individuals with mental illness may be par-ticularly vulnerable to the effects of wide-spread panic and threat.

He says, social distancing and self-quarantine, especially for the children andelderly may bring a feeling of ostracism,

abandonment and being neglected. Thiscan make an already challenging situationfar more difficult for the elderly people,particularly for those who have co-mor-bidity conditions, are victims of depressionor other mental health problems.

However, there are ways to tackle therise in panic accompanying COVID-19,the disease caused by the novel coron-avirus. For instance, says Dr SmithaPande, Professor of Psychiatry at Dr RMLhospital, Delhi, one should take break fromwatching TV, reading or listening to newsitems, including social media. “Go for thefacts. But don’t overdo it. Eat healthy food,maintain regular routine and try to dowhat you like or planning to do for a longtime but were not getting time. Talk to peo-ple you trust about your concerns and feel-ings.”

She asserts that meditation and yogacan help people come out of such negativethoughts in this crucial time. She cautionspeople not to take any anti-depressantmedicines without doctors’ recommenda-tions.

“Those already on medication, shouldcontinue taking medicine as situations willcertainly improve with the passage of time,”she tells you.

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� Eat healthy to boost yourimmune system.

� Limit alcohol and sugary drinks.� Don’t smoke. It can exacerbate

COVID-19 symptoms andincrease your risk of gettingseriously sick.

� Exercise for at least 30 minutesa day for adults and an hour aday for kids.

� If you’re allowed to go outside,go for a walk, run or bike ridewhile keeping a safe distancefrom others.

� If you can’t leave the house,dance, do some yoga or walk upand down the stairs.

� People working from homeshouldn’t sit too long in thesame position.

� Take a three-minute break every30 minutes.

� Get your mind off the crisis.Listen to music, read a book orplay a game.

� Get your information fromreliable sources once or twice aday.

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Maximum City”, “The CityThat Never Sleeps” aresome of the descriptions

that Mumbai attracts. In popularimagination, the metro is synony-mous with the film industry which,by default, also gets imbued withthe qualities of the city. But withboth being intertwined, it is not sur-prising that with the shutdown inplace due to the Coronavirus orCOVID-19 pandemic, Bollywoodsits at home — quarantined andongoing productions have cometo an untimely and infinite halt.

However, the people who pop-ulate the industry are as tensile assome of the characters that theyportray on screen. So when thestars can’t step out of their homesto shoot another blockbuster, whatdo they do? They’ve fallen back ontechnology to catch up. And thanksto social media we also get aglimpse into how they are goingabout keeping social distance attheir respective homes.

PRIYANKA-NICK’s SOCIALMEDIA MUSH

Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas,along with her husband Nick,posted a mushy picture on socialmedia while emphasising on thefact that self-isolation is the needof the hour. The actress can beseen sleeping with her head onNick’s lap. Their pet dog is sittingand relaxing next to the couple.She captioned the photo, “Stay athome.” On the other hand, Nickshared a video in which the twourged people to stay at home and

maintain social distancing.

DEEPIKA’s PRODUCTIVITYEPISODES

Bollywood actor DeepikaPadukone is utilising her time athome productively in a time ofCOVID-19 pandemic. She took tosocial media and shared a photo-graph of her wardrobe and said thatshe is busy cleaning it. “Productivityin the time of COVID-19!? #clean-ing #wardrobe,” she captioned it.

Post this, it was time for some“self love” for the actor. A photo-graph in which she was seen pos-ing with a face roller popped upnext on her account. “Season 1:Episode 2, Productivity in the timeof COVID-19! #selflove #selfcare,”she wrote.

She later posted her third pro-ductivity episode where she can beseen drinking fruit juice in hernightwear.

ALIA’s “ME TIME”Actor Alia Bhatt took to

Instagram to share various picturesof how staying at home at this timeis important and can be utilised forcompleting important chores. Oneof them was reading a book, whichshe captioned, “stay home andfinish a book.” Alia was reading abook on musician Nitin Sawhney.With the post, she urged her fansto finish the book they have beenwanting to for a long time.

She later posted an image ofherself looking at the sunset.Utilising the quarantine time to themaximum, she also posted an

image of herself which was cap-tioned, “Stay home and take self-ies (be)cause a little vanity neverhurt anybody.”

KAREENA ENJOYING HERNEWLY-JOINED INSTAGRAM

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan,who recently made her debut onInstagram, said that there couldhave been no better timing thanthis as she is able utilise her timeto the maximum on social media.

She had earlier shared aglimpse of what the couple’s weekahead would look like. Kareenarevealed what the couple would doduring their self-isolation period:“Looks like he is ‘booked’ for theweek... While I Instagram.” She alsoshared two photos — one of Saif

reading a book peacefully in a can-dle-lit study room and the otherone of the opposite end of theroom, where she can be seen usingher phone while sitting on a sofachair.

Her next post was a cheekyselfie with a bookshelf. She can beseen with a French dictionary byCollins Robert among others andwrote dreaming of everybody’sfavourite junk, “I just love Frenchfries.”

Kareena and Saif Ali Khanknow how to keep Taimur enter-tained while abiding by JanataCurfew on Sunday, and stayingindoors in the wake of coronavirusoutbreak. In Kareena’s latest post,she shared a few photographs inwhich we can see Saif and Taimurplanting saplings in their balcony.The father-son duo is dressed inwhite kurta-pyjama. “My boysdoing their bit,” Kareena captionedthe photos. The actor also urgedpeople to “make the world a bet-ter place” and “play their part”. “StayHome...Stay Safe. #JanataCurfew,”she added.

BOLLYWOOD CLAPS FORCOVID-19 WARRIORS

Bollywood biggies likeAmitabh Bachchan, AkshayKumar, Hrithik Roshan, AishwaryaRai Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, VarunDhawan, Karan Johar, KiaraAdvani and Hema Malini wereseen participating in PM NarendraModi’s Janata Curfew ‘taali bajao’or clapping initiative to pay tributeto all those who are working round

the clock to eradicate COVID-19from India.

RANVEER’s “OUT OF QUAR-ANTINE” LOOK

Bollywood’s livewire starRanveer Singh shared his “out ofquarantine” look. In a photographthat he posted of himself onInstagram, the actor carried dread-locks and had an intense look. Hecaptioned it, “Me coming out ofquarantine.”

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE BYSURIYA

Tamil actor Suriya also took tosocial media to explain to fans theimportance and necessity of socialdistancing. In a brief video, theactor talked about how theCoronavirus is spreading fasterthan we thought and we can spreadawareness about it. Referencing tothe Jallikattu and Marina protests,he asked people to stay indoors andtake part in this war againstCorona. He also said that thedeath toll in Italy is higher than inChina because of the ignorance ofpeople living outside. The actorinsisted that we should follow theprecautions such as keeping safedistance from one another andwashing hands, so that India does-n’t become another Italy.

He also explained that when aperson, who carries the virus, trav-els by train or goes to a public eventinstead of isolating himself, he pass-es the virus to everyone around,and they suffer. He added that doc-tors, government officials have

been risking their lives, so wehave to be at home to stay healthy.Suriya then quoted a few wordsfrom Valluvar’s classic TamilLanguage text, The Thirukkural,which says, “Anjuvathu anjamaipethamai (It is foolish to say no tofear).”

SIDHARTH COOKS PRAWNSActor Sidharth Malhotra is

trying his hands at something new— cooking prawns. Sidharth shareda video on Twitter in which we cansee him cooking. He captions it,“Well, it’s never too late to try some-thing new! Here’s #MyAttempt atcooking butter garlic prawns for thefirst time, which surprisinglyturned out pretty well.”

SOURCES OF ENTERTAIN-MENT

When you were closeted withyour cousins and friends in aroom or during a long train jour-ney, Antakshari, the quintessentialIndian past time came to the res-cue. Bollywood has taken to it a leafout of that book but tweaked it topresent times. Actors AparshaktiKhurrana, Parineeti Chopra,Nupur Sanon, Bhumi Pednekar,and singers Vishal Dadlani,Harshdeep Kaur, Jonita Gandhi,Armaan Malik and Aditya Narainare some who have posted videosof themselves singing song takingoff from the last alphabet of thesinger who had tagged them wherethey are playing#QuarantineAntakshari.

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Photography is perhaps the onlyart form that captures the pre-

sent and seals it forever in history.Travel photographer Sanjay Das haschosen to lay particular emphasison the visual storytelling of differ-ent parts of India since more thantwo decades. It has always been aneffort to discover the known andunknown facets about this country,he says. However, to do this, oneneeds to walk off the beaten trackwhich the photographer has done.His objective is to create an imagerythat tells a story in texture, and inlight and shadow to form a uniqueblend, which is spiritually as well asmentally rewarding.

Bengal has deeply inspired himtime and again. For almost nineyears now,since his firstvisit, he keepsgoing back tothe region.Taking localboats and ani-mal carts toreach thenooks andcrevices of thefasc inat ingland thatholds manysurprises, he says that he alwaysprefers to travel by road. Be it land-scapes, water, people, dialects,architecture, interiors, crafts, folkpaintings, cuisine, textiles or festi-vals — Bengal is one place whereculture is a way of life.

His photographic journey ofthe State is an endeavour to bringforth the ‘spirit of Bengal’ found inthe blend of its land, people, cultureand heritage. “It is mesmerisingwith its long history, cultural lega-cy and ancient architectural sitesand above all, its amiable peopleand natural beauty. Every place Ihave visited is a witness to how thelocals organically weave their spir-itual practices within their every-day activities. The people, their life,occupation, skills, art and craft,tribes, festivals, fairs and rituals,depict the lyrical quality of life, spir-it and the pulse of Bengal,” he says.

The state was the richest partof Medieval India and has a longtradition of popular literature,music and drama largely based onBengali folklore and Hindu epicsand Puranas. He tells us, “RuralBengal takes the lead in keeping the

old customs and the associated songand dance forms alive in the mod-ern era. The folk songs and dancesdeal with a variety of themes.While some are associated with reli-gion, prayers, festivals and rituals,others talk about society at large,and yet others bring religious epicsto life.”

His focus as a photographer isto search and document uniqueimages that present the State as apulsating tapestry of life, interwo-ven together with different ethnic-ity, culture, religion, languages anda diverse landscape — flanked bythe Himalayas in the North, thelush Gangetic plains in the centralpart and the deltas and beaches inthe South before the myriad trib-

utaries and distributaries of Gangafinally drain into the Bay of Bengalforming a unique biosphere, theSunderbans.

“Many of my images havedepicted how devotion and spiritu-ality exist as a way of life in Bengal,in its lanes and by-lanes, throughits sublime culture, inherently reli-gious people and rituals that are inharmony with nature. Be it the dif-ferent religions all-assimilating intoone or the lovely cultural events thatseem to make up the glorious statethat it is. The images of Bengal’sArchitectural influences from dif-ferent eras are seen in its varioustemples, mosques, churches,rajbaris (home of the aristocraticpeople in the olden times) metic-

ulously documented by me,” hesays.

“The water line forms an inte-gral part of Bengal with its manyrivers, Ganga delta and Bay ofBengal. The Hooghly, the lifeline ofmillions of people who live alongits bank, dramatically changes thelandscape, with wonderful lushgreen fertile flood plains of thegolden Bengal. I have capturedmany moments of this fascinatingriver that flows into the Bay ofBengal from the Himalayas whereit is alive with people bathing on itsbanks, pounding their clothes onflat rocks to launder them, fishingfrom boats, towing passengersacross or swimming,” adds Das.

He feels that Kolkata is, indeed,a unique blend of past and thethrobbing vitality of a metropolis ofteeming millions. “The city, with itscenturies-old heritage buildings, isbrimming with life and looks likea medley of colours and sounds.Roads are thickly populated withyellow taxis, the rickshaw-pullers,trams, buses, cars, cycles and peo-ple. Here, life never comes to astandstill, except for the noisyimpasse created by the traffic jams,”Das tells us.

The photographs have beentaken in monochrome as he feelsthat it gives them a nostalgic feel ofthe yesteryears. However, in a spanof nine years, “during the time I wasdoing my survey and research onBengal, I have witnessed thechanges the State has undergone,”he says and adds, “In a few years,many of these facets will be reducedto dust, and with that we lose anessential part of our pristine glory.Therefore, as a photographer, whowants to keep alive the stories andunique elements for posterity, it ismy effort to preserve through visu-al archiving the remains of a glori-ous past and components of ourplush ethnicity. As much as wehope not, this may cease to exist inthe years to come. And that is whenthese archives may help amelioratethe memories of those genera-tions, who may never get to seethese images and memories again.

(Presented by Gallery ArtExposure and curated by Ina Puri,the exhibition, Aparajito — TheUnvanquished, has been put on holddue to the Coronavirus pandemic. Itshall be rescheduled and the gallerywill notify the new updates.)

Daily tasks such as cut-ting, tearing or twisting

open plastic bottles, choco-late packaging and contain-ers at home also generatesmall amounts of microplas-tics — pieces of plastic thatpollute the environment andmay risk humans, warnresearchers.

Microplastics are gener-ally believed to originatedirectly from industry. Forexample, as cosmetic exfoli-ates, or indirectly from thebreakdown of larger plasticitems over time.

Researchers at theUniversity of Newcastle inAustralia monitored the gen-eration of microplastics dur-ing the tearing open ofchocolate packaging, cut-ting of sealing tapes andopening of plastic bottlecaps.

The generation ofmicroplastics during theseprocesses was confirmedusing chemical tests andmicroscopy, said the studypublished in the journalScientific Reports.

The researchers foundthat different shapes andsizes of microplastics weregenerated during tearing or

cutting. These includedfibres, fragments or triangles,ranging from nanometresto millimetres in size.Fragments and fibres weregenerated most often.

They estimated that 10to 30 nanograms (0.00001-0.00003 milligrams) ofmicroplastics may be gener-ated per 300 centimetres ofplastic during cutting ortwisting, depending on theopening approach and con-ditions of the plastic, such asstiffness, thickness or densi-ty. “Everyday activities suchas opening plastic bags andbottles could be additionalsources of small quantities ofmicroplastics,” theresearchers noted.

However, their risk, pos-sible toxicity and how theymay be ingested are not yetresolved and further researchinto human exposure isneeded, the study said.

The finding sends animportant warning that wemust be careful when open-ing plastic packaging, if weare concerned aboutmicroplastics and care aboutreducing microplastics con-tamination.

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Canadian Olympic offi-cials on Sunday urgedpostponement of the

Tokyo Games, saying that inview of the coronavirus pan-demic they won’t send a teamin the summer of 2020.

“The Canadian OlympicCommittee (COC) andCanadian ParalympicCommittee (CPC), backed bytheir Athletes’ Commissions,National Sports Organizationsand the Government ofCanada, have made the diffi-cult decision to not sendCanadian teams to theOlympic and ParalympicGames in the summer of2020,” the COC said in a state-ment that ratchets up the pres-sure on the InternationalOlympic Committee to post-pone the Games scheduled tostart on July 24.

IOC president ThomasBach said a decision on whenthe Games would take placewould be made “within thenext four weeks.”

Canadian Olympic andParalympic authorities, howev-er, said they wouldn’t waitthat long, urging the IOC topostpone the Games for oneyear while offering “our fullsupport in helping navigate allthe complexities that resched-uling the Games will bring.

“While we recognize theinherent complexities arounda postponement, nothing is

more important than thehealth and safety of our athletesand the world community,” theCOC and CPC said.

“This is not solely aboutathlete health — it is aboutpublic health,” their statementadded. “With COVID-19 andthe associated risks, it is notsafe for our athletes, and thehealth and safety of their fam-ilies and the broader Canadiancommunity for athletes tocontinue training towardsthese Games.

“In fact, it runs counter tothe public health advice whichwe urge all Canadians to fol-low.”

Bach said the IOC wasconsidering “different scenar-ios,” adding that complete can-cellation of the games was notamong them.

“We are thankful to theIOC for its assurance that it willnot be cancelling the Tokyo2020 Games and appreciativethat it understands the impor-tance of accelerating its deci-sion-making regarding a pos-sible postponement,” theCanadian statement said.

“We also applaud the IOCfor acknowledging that safe-guarding the health and well-ness of nations.

“We remain hopeful thatthe IOC and IPC will agreewith the decision to postponethe Games as a part of our col-lective responsibility to protectour communities and work tocontain the spread of the virus.”

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Postponing the Olympicsover the coronavirus pan-demic may become

“inevitable”, Japan’s prime min-ister conceded on Monday, afterthe International OlympicCommittee said a delay wasbeing considered as pressuregrows from athletes and sportsbodies.

The comments from ShinzoAbe were his first acknowledge-ment that the 2020 Games maynot open as scheduled on July24.

For weeks, Japan andOlympic officials have held theline that preparations are mov-ing ahead to hold the Games asscheduled, but there has beenincreasing pressure from sportsfederations and athletes whosetraining has been thrown intoturmoil.

On Monday, Abe told par-liament that Japan was stillcommitted to hosting a “com-plete” Games, but added: “If thatbecomes difficult, in light ofconsidering athletes first, it maybecome inevitable that we makea decision to postpone.”

“Cancellation is not anoption,” Abe said, echoing com-ments from IOC chief ThomasBach, who ruled out scrappingthe Games, saying it “would notsolve any problem and wouldhelp nobody”.

The IOC has also shifted itsposition on the Games, issuinga statement on Sunday saying itwas stepping up planning fordifferent scenarios, includingpostponement.

It said it would hold“detailed discussions” on the“worldwide health situation andits impact on the OlympicGames, including the scenarioof postponement”. A decisionshould come “within the nextfour weeks”, the body added.

“Human lives take prece-dence over everything, includ-ing the staging of the Games,”Bach wrote in an open letter toathletes.

But the IOC warned thatthe logistics of postponing theGames were extremely compli-cated, with venues potentiallyunavailable, millions of hotelnights already booked and a

packed international sports cal-endar.

“These are just a few ofmany, many more challenges.”

The IOC is responsible formaking any final decision on the

Games, and has come underincreasing pressure as the coro-navirus crisis grows.

The idea of holding theGames on schedule has drawna swelling chorus of objections.

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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar saysyoung batsman K L Rahul is most suitable for

the number five position in the batting order inthe ODIs but suggested that the team manage-ment must look for batsmen like Suresh Raina andYuvraj Singh.

KL Rahul had batted in the middle-order inthe home ODIs against Australia in January ear-lier this year with success. He later continued hisfine form in the limited-overs series in NewZealand. Of late, the Karnataka player has alsobeen keeping wickets in the 50-over games.

Manjrekar, who played 37 tests and 74 ODIs,was responding to questions from fans after heasked them “talk cricket” with him on hisTwitter page.

He was asked whether India should stickwith Rahul at number five in ODIs and doeshe find other batsmen other than Rahul to bein that position.

To which, Manjrekar, also aknown commentator, tweeted,“For the moment he is the rightfit. But we must keep looking fora Raina and Yuvi kind of bats-man when Rahul eventuallymoves to the top.”

Yuvraj, who played 304ODIs for India, scored 8,701runs while Raina amassed 5,615runs from 226 ODIs.

The former Mumbai bats-man was also asked who hethinks was the right choice fornumber four and all-rounder’s spot in the T20World Cup to be held inAustralia. Manjrekar pickedShreyas Iyer and HardikPandya respectively.

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Professional football inSpain will remain sus-

pended until furthernotice to limit thespread of coronavirus,La Liga and theSpanish FootballFederation (RFEF)announced onMonday.

La Liga and theRFEF said matches

in the top two divisions willonly resume when theSpanish government decide

there is no longer anyhealth risk.

Fixtures had pre-viously been sus-pended for twoweeks from March12 but there was no

expectation theywould restart this

weekend, with the crisiscontinuing to escalate.

A joint statement from LaLiga and the RFEF read: “TheMonitoring Commissionestablished by the currentRFEF-La Liga CoordinationAgreement agrees the suspen-sion of professional footballcompetitions until the author-ities of the Government ofSpain and the GeneralAdministration of the Stateconsider they can be resumedwithout creating any healthrisk.”

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The Athletics Federationof India (AFI) on

Monday officiallyannounced the postpone-ment of the FederationCup National SeniorChampionships to be heldnext month in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The postponement ofthe championships, as wellas the cancellation of sea-son-opening Indian Grand

Prix series, was reported onThursday and AFI madethe official announcementon Monday.

“The competitioncommittee of AFI onMonday decided to post-pone the 24th FederationCup National SeniorAthletics Championships2020 due to the outbreak ofcoronavirus (COVID-19)pandemic,” the AFI said ina release.

The Federation Cup,

which was to serve as aqualifying event of theTokyo Olympics, wasscheduled to be held fromApril 10-13 at NIS Patiala.

AFI President AdilleSumariwalla said, “Lookingat the present situation inthe country and around theworld, hosting any compe-tition is difficult. Healthand safety of everyonecomes first and we canresume the competitionsonce things start getting

better.“As of now, we have not

discussed what will be thenew dates for Indian GrandPrix competitions andFederation Cup.”

Earlier, AFI had topostpone its season-open-er Indian Grand Prixseries which was sched-uled to be held at three dif-ferent venues — Patiala(March 20), Sangrur(March 25) and New Delhi(March 29).

��2�� The Azerbaijan Grand Prixwas postponed on Monday becauseof the coronavirus outbreak, delay-ing the start of the Formula Oneseason until the middle of Juneat the earliest.

The first eight races of the2020 season have now been eitherpostponed or canceled.

The race at the Baku CityCircuit was scheduled for June 7 buthas been called off after discussionsbetween governing body FIA andthe local government.

“This comes as a direct result ofthe ongoing global COVID-19 pan-demic and has been based entirelyon the expert guidance provided tous by the relevant authorities,”organizers said in a statement.

They said a new race date

would be announced for later in theseason.

F1 races have been staged inAzerbaijan since 2017.

The next race scheduled afterAzerbaijan is in Canada on June 14.

The season is scheduled to endwith the Abu Dhabi GP on Nov 29,but could be extended to fit somepostponed races in.

A total of eight races with 12cars must be completed for thechampionship to be validated, FIAhas said. AP

���&�� The future of footballcould be fewer games and fewertop competitions to help avoid afinancial crisis, FIFA presidentGianni Infantino said in a news-paper interview published onMonday.

With football around theworld in near-total shutdown andno end in sight because of thecoronavirus pandemic, Infantinosaid the sport risked going intorecession.

“Maybe we can reform worldfootball by taking a step back,”Infantino said in the interviewwith Italian daily Gazzetta delloSport published on his 50th birth-day.

“There needs to be an evalu-ation of the global impact,” the

FIFA president said. “Let’s alltogether save football from a cri-sis that risks becoming irre-versible.”

Infantino said different for-mats could be an answer, with“fewer, but more interesting tour-naments. Maybe fewer squads, butmore balance. Fewer, but morecompetitive, matches to safeguardthe health of the players.”

Before the pandemic,Infantino added to the congestedfootball calendar by expanding theWorld Cup from 32 to 48 teams forthe 2026 edition, and by trying tolaunch a 24-team Club World Cupnext year.

The inaugural edition of thelatter tournament in China wasdelayed last week after UEFA and

South American football bodyCONMEBOL postponed theirchampionships by one year to2021. That was to give domesticleagues time to try to finish theirseasons.

The shutdown means there

are already too few dates in theFIFA-managed calendar to com-plete the scheduled qualificationpaths for the 2022 World Cup inQatar.

The pressure now on footballstakeholders — many with con-flicting interests — is likely to forcea debate on the squeezed sched-ule that the pandemic has exposed.

Some influential clubs inEurope are pushing to get moreguaranteed games in a biggerChampions League, and 20-teamtop leagues could be under pres-sure to make cuts. Those includeleagues in England, Spain and Italy.

“It’s not science fiction. Let’sdiscuss it,” Infantino said about thepossibility of changing football cal-endars. AP

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Australian Olympic officials said on Monday “it was clear”the Tokyo Games could not go ahead as scheduled this

year and told its athletes to instead prepare for the event in2021.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) convened aboard meeting on Monday and unanimously decided a Gamesstarting in July was not possible given the uncertainty aroundthe pandemic.

“It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July,” Australian chefde mission Ian Chesterman said.

“Our athletes have been magnificent in their positive atti-tude to training and preparing, but the stress and uncertain-ty has been extremely challenging for them.”

AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said athletes neededcertainty, and they must also prioritise their health and thatof their families.

The board meeting decided an Australian team “could notbe assembled in the changing circumstances at home andabroad” and they should now plan for an Olympics in thenorthern hemisphere summer next year.

“We have athletes based overseas, training at central loca-tions around Australia as teams and managing their own pro-grammes. With travel and other restrictions this becomes anuntenable situation,” he said.

“The IOC had adopted the key principles of putting ath-lete health first and ensuring it acted in their best interestsand the interests of sport. This decision reflects those prin-ciples.

“We are now in a position where we can plan with greatercertainty.”

Chesterman said postponing the Games until next year“will allow athletes from around the world to properly pre-pare with the hope the coronavirus crisis will be under con-trol”.

“We are aware that for many such a postponement willpresent a range of new issues. But when the world does cometogether at the Tokyo Olympic Games they can be a true cel-ebration of sport and humanity,” he said.

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The Indian OlympicAssociation on

Monday said it will “waitand watch” for at least amonth before taking anycall on Tokyo Olympicsparticipation.

“Being the head ofIOA, the health and wellbeing of our athletes andofficials are of prime con-cern to me,” IOA PresidentNarinder Batra said.

“Whatever decisionsthe IOA takes will be forthe welfare of our athletes.But right now we are justwaiting and monitoringthe situation on a dailybasis.

“I assure the peoplethat we won’t let anyonedown and our decisionswill be in the best interestof our athletes,” he added.

IOA Secretary GeneralRajeev Mehta put a time-line to this wait and watchapproach, saying it wouldbe at least a month beforeanything is decided.

“We will wait andwatch for 4 to 5 weeks andthen come to any decisionafter consultation with theInternational OlympicCommittee and the sportsministry,” Mehta said.

“The situation is notthat bad in our country ascompared to othernations,” he added.

When contacted and

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Indian Olympic AssociationPresident Narinder Batra on

Monday said the IOC hasasked all members to furnishupdates on health and prepa-rations of their Olympic-bound athletes this week as itdeliberates on the fate of theTokyo Games.

The International OlympicCommittee (IOC), has askedNational Olympic Committees(NOCs) to detail the impact ofthe coronavirus crisis on ath-

letes’ preparation. “I am personally in touch

on regular and continuousbasis with Sports Ministry,Sports Authority of India, IOC,NSFs, with athletes throughthe NSFs and all stake holdersregarding the 2020 Olympicsand preparations forOlympics,” Batra said.

“All NOCs have to getback to IOC this week ontheir preparations and thehealth of athletes in theirrespective countries,” headded.

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British track cyclist Callum Skinner haslabelled International Olympic Committee

president Thomas Bach “arrogant” and “stub-born” over the organisation’s approach to thecoronavirus pandemic.

Skinner, who won Gold and Silver medalsat the 2016 Olympics and is a member of theBritish Olympic Association’s (BOA) athletes’commission, was scathing about Bach in asocial media post on Monday.

“IOC president Thomas Bach’s stubborn-ness and arrogance has spectacularly failed inthis instance and he has weakened theOlympic movement,” Skinner wrote onTwitter.

“This isn’t the first time he has put his ownmotives above the athletes and the move-ment.”

British sprint star Dina Asher-Smith, whowon the 200 metres world title last year, saidthe IOC’s delay created further uncertainty forcompetitors.

“So wait... Does this mean that athletesface up to another FOUR weeks of findingways to fit in training — whilst potentiallyputting ourselves, coaches, support staff andloved ones at risk just to find out they were

going to be postponed anyway!!!"Meanwhile a spokesman for Boris Johnson,

the British Prime Minister, urged the IOC toresolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“Athletes are facing significant uncertain-ty in the current environment... We want theInternational Olympic Committee to make adefinitive decision soon, to bring clarity to allof those involved,” the spokesman said.

“The sports minister, Nigel Huddleston,set out yesterday (Sunday) that the IOC shouldbe seriously considering postponing thegames.”

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The Olympic torch relay,due to begin on Thursday

from a symbolic site inFukushima, will proceed asscheduled but organisers saidthey would re-assess in thecoming days given the “wors-ening” coronavirus situation.

“The torch relay will starton March 26 in Fukushima,the plan has not changed,”Tokyo 2020 CEO ToshiroMuto toldreporters.

“The situ-ation is get-ting worse andworse,” admit-ted Muto, buthe added: “Fornow, the deci-sion made oneweek ago (to pro-ceed as planned)is still appropri-ate.”

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asked if India is also contem-plating acting on the lines ofCanada, Sports SecretaryRadhey Shyam Julaniya said theministry is not in consultationwith anyone at the moment.

“Your question is hypothet-

ical and the govt cannot reactto hypothetical questions,” hesaid.

“We are not in consultationwith anyone right now. Theministry can’t keep giving advi-sories,” Julaniya added.