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A head of the resumption of domestic flights from May 25, the Maharashtra Government on Saturday said it will not allow air travel till the end of the month even as the Governments of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Assam, Mizoram and the administra- tion of Jammu & Kashmir have released mandatory quar- antine protocols for the air trav- ellers. Maharashtra’s decision will be big blow to the Centre’s move to resume domestic flight, also because Delhi- Mumbai is considered to be the business route in India. The Maharashtra Government has said the lock- down remains till May 31 and accused the Centre of “arbi- trarily” making the decision to allow domestic flight opera- tions without holding any con- sultation with the State. It said that the State need- ed time to decide on the Standard Operating Protocols (SOP) over air travel. A senior official said that outside airport, everything becomes state gov- ernment’s responsibility, hence we can’t take any risk. Tamil Nadu has also urged the Centre to reconsider the reopening of air travel citing a surge in coronavirus cases in Chennai and non-functioning public transport, which will trouble passengers commuting between the airport and the city — a distance of around 10 kilo- metres. Goa has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to permit coronavirus antibody testing for passengers upon their arrival. Maharashtra is also planning to test all visitors. Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday made it clear that an unnecessary “fuss” was being made over quarantine of domestic air travellers. Puri said he did not understand the need to quarantine domestic air passengers once flight opera- tions start from next week if they have downloaded the Government’s contract-tracing app Aarogya Setu and the sta- tus on it shows green (negative). Turn to Page 4 New Delhi: India will try to restart good percentage of international passenger flights before August, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said, three days after announcing resumption of domestic flights from May 25. While various States like Karnataka and Maharashtra announced their respective quarantine measures for pas- sengers coming there through domestic flights, the Minister said there was no need for quarantine if a passenger is showing green status on Aarogya Setu app. I ndia’s coronavirus tally reached 1,30,658 with over 6,300 new cases and the Government deciding to focus on 11 municipal areas like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Nashik which have report- ed 80 per cent of the total cases in the country. Sikkim reported the first case as a 25-year-old student, who returned from Delhi, test- ed positive. Data from various States registered 6,054 new Covid-19 patients while the death toll stood at 3,720. The Health Ministry has said mortality rate in Covid-19 cases in is 3.06 per cent as against the global rate of 6.65. A total 5,864 new cases were reported from across the coun- try while 2,168 people went to home after being recovered. Meanwhile, Dr JN Pande, Director at the Pulmonology Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, died of coro- navirus on Saturday, just a day after a mess worker succumbed to the infection. Turn to Page 4 T he Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh remains tense with three stand-offs including one in Galwan valley. Local Army commanders from India and China have held at least three rounds of talks in the last one week, but to no avail. Against this backdrop, Army Chief General MM Naravane visited Leh on Friday to take stock of the situation. Efforts are also on to resolve the issue through diplomatic means. Northern Command chief Lt General YK Joshi and 14 Corps chief Lt General Harinder Singh briefed the Army chief about the situation. Turn to Page 4 T hree days after super cyclone Amphan hit Bengal, the Army was called out to assist the State Government to normalise life in Kolkata and neighbouring areas, sources in the State Home Department said. The Army acted within hours and deployed five columns at various places pri- marily to clear off the major thorough fares clogged by uprooted trees. It will, howev- er, help in restoration of other facilities like drinking water and power supply too, sources said. Detailed report on P6 T he Railways has drawn up a schedule to operate 2,600 Shramik Special trains over the next 10 days across the country to ferry around 36 lakh migrant workers, stranded due to the Covid-19 lockdown, to their home States, Chairman of the Railway Board VK Yadav said on Saturday. It has run 2,600 Shramik Special trains in the last 23 days carrying around 36 lakh stranded migrants, he said, adding 1,000 ticket counters have been opened across India and more will be opened soon. Turn to Page 4 H undreds of passengers travelling in Shramik Express staged protest and blocked the busy Delhi- Howrah rail route on Deen Dayal Upadhaya Station (earst- while Mughalsarai) when they realised that the train was diverted to wrong route. Similar protest was witnessed when passengers complained to unhygienic condition in train and non-availability of water and food. The authorities are treating us like animals. They do not know the route and made the train to pass through wrong route,” Manish Rai, a passenger said. Turn to Page 4 I n a significant decision, the Government has allowed the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a preventive med- ication for asymptomatic healthcare workers deployed in non-Covid-19 hospitals, front- line staff on surveillance duty in containment zones, and paramilitary/police personnel involved in coronavirus infec- tion related activities. The revised advisory issued by the ICMR, however, cau- tioned that the intake of the medicine should not instill a sense of false security. Detailed report on P4 D elhi recorded 23 more deaths in past 24 hours due to Covid -19, taking death toll in the national Capital to 231 on Saturday. In a bulletin issued on Saturday, the Delhi Health Department said the death toll from coronavirus has risen to 231 and the total number of cases mounted to 12,910. Turn to Page 4 T he contagion of novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) brought into the State by the returning migrants is now wrecking havoc in the state of Uttarakhand. On Saturday, a staggering 92 new patients of the disease surfaced in the state taking the number of patients affected by the disease to 244. A train which had recent- ly brought returnees from Maharashtra proved to be a Covid-19 train as 55 of its occupants who had come to Haldwani of Nainital district were found positive by the lab of medical college Haldwani on Saturday. The occupants of this train had landed in Haridwar and were taken to Haldwani by buses. In Nainital district, a total of 57 new cases were reported on the day. Ten patients were reported from Dehradun while seven cases were found in Champawat dis- trict. This district till Friday had not even a single patient of the disease. The dept found six new patients in Uttarkashi district while three patients each were found in Rudraprayag and Almora districts. Incidentally, Rudraprayag was the only dis- trict which had no patient of the disease till Saturday after- noon. Two patients of the dis- ease were also reported from Pauri and Pithoragarh districts each on Saturday. The unprece- dented surge of Saturday ensured that all 13 districts of the state are now affected with the pandemic. Incidentally till two weeks ago all the moun- tainous districts were free from the disease. The additional secretary, state health depart- ment, Yugal Kishore Pant said reports of 801 samples were found negative for the disease on Saturday. He added that reports of 2382 samples are still awaited by the department. On Saturday, a total of 1325 samples were collected for COVID -19 testing. The authorities have so far taken swab samples of 19248 sus- pected patients for COVID-19 test. Out of the total samples taken, 1.08 percent samples have been found positive for the disease. On Saturday, the rate of recovery from the COVID-19 in the state slid further to 22.95%. Incidentally the recov- ery rate was about 67 percent few days ago and was 37 per- cent, a day before. In an indi- cation of spread of contagion, the data of the health dept shows that the doubling rate of the disease now stands at 7.75 days. The doubling rate on May 11 was 45 days and after that it steadily declined. A total of 1612805 people have so far downloaded the ‘Aaroggya Setu App’ on their smart phones. A total of 13771 people are in facility quarantine in different parts of the State. Uttarakhand now has 189 active cases of the disease. The Covid-19 train brought the Nainital district on the top of table with 75 active cases. Dehradun with 32 and Udham Singh Nagar with 27 active cases are at second and third positions respectively. Uttarkashi has nine active cases while Champawat and Haridwar districts now have seven active cases each. Almora, Bageshwar and Tehri districts have six active cases each while Pauri has five active cases of the disease. The latest entrant Rudraprayag has three active cases. A Covid-19 affected patient, a 55-year-old female from Bijnore of Uttar Pradesh (UP) died at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Rishikesh on Saturday. This woman was also suffering from the cancer. The AIIMS authorities however said that the cause of dearth of this Covid-19 patient was respiratory fail- ure and not Coronavirus. Incidentally two patients of Covid-19, both of them women have died so far in the state. However in both the cases the authorities have claimed that cause of death was not Covid-19. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AIIMS Rishikesh Harish Thapliyal said that the cancer patient was admitted in gastroenterology depart- ment of the hospital.

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Page 1: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ...€¦ · it will not allow air travel till the ... flight, also because Delhi-Mumbai is considered to be the ... (PRO)

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Ahead of the resumption ofdomestic flights from May

25, the MaharashtraGovernment on Saturday saidit will not allow air travel till theend of the month even as theGovernments of Kerala,Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,Karnataka and Assam,Mizoram and the administra-tion of Jammu & Kashmirhave released mandatory quar-antine protocols for the air trav-ellers.

Maharashtra’s decision willbe big blow to the Centre’smove to resume domesticflight, also because Delhi-Mumbai is considered to be thebusiness route in India.

The MaharashtraGovernment has said the lock-down remains till May 31 andaccused the Centre of “arbi-trarily” making the decision toallow domestic flight opera-tions without holding any con-sultation with the State.

It said that the State need-ed time to decide on the

Standard Operating Protocols(SOP) over air travel. A seniorofficial said that outside airport,everything becomes state gov-ernment’s responsibility, hencewe can’t take any risk.

Tamil Nadu has also urgedthe Centre to reconsider thereopening of air travel citing asurge in coronavirus cases inChennai and non-functioningpublic transport, which willtrouble passengers commutingbetween the airport and the city— a distance of around 10 kilo-metres.

Goa has requested the CivilAviation Ministry to permitcoronavirus antibody testingfor passengers upon theirarrival. Maharashtra is alsoplanning to test all visitors.

Union Civil AviationMinister Hardeep Singh Purion Saturday made it clear thatan unnecessary “fuss” wasbeing made over quarantine ofdomestic air travellers. Purisaid he did not understand theneed to quarantine domestic airpassengers once flight opera-tions start from next week ifthey have downloaded theGovernment’s contract-tracingapp Aarogya Setu and the sta-tus on it shows green (negative).

Turn to Page 4

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New Delhi: India will try torestart good percentage ofinternational passenger flightsbefore August, Civil AviationMinister Hardeep Singh Purion Saturday said, three daysafter announcing resumptionof domestic flights from May25. While various States likeKarnataka and Maharashtraannounced their respectivequarantine measures for pas-sengers coming there throughdomestic flights, the Ministersaid there was no need forquarantine if a passenger isshowing green status onAarogya Setu app.

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India’s coronavirus tallyreached 1,30,658 with over

6,300 new cases and theGovernment deciding to focuson 11 municipal areas likeAhmedabad, Mumbai, Puneand Nashik which have report-ed 80 per cent of the total casesin the country.

Sikkim reported the firstcase as a 25-year-old student,who returned from Delhi, test-ed positive. Data from variousStates registered 6,054 newCovid-19 patients while thedeath toll stood at 3,720.

The Health Ministry hassaid mortality rate in Covid-19cases in is 3.06 per cent asagainst the global rate of 6.65.A total 5,864 new cases werereported from across the coun-try while 2,168 people went tohome after being recovered.

Meanwhile, Dr JN Pande,

Director at the PulmonologyDepartment at the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), Delhi, died of coro-navirus on Saturday, just a dayafter a mess worker succumbedto the infection.

Turn to Page 4

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The Line of Actual Control(LAC) in Ladakh remains

tense with three stand-offsincluding one in Galwan valley.Local Army commanders fromIndia and China have held atleast three rounds of talks in thelast one week, but to no avail.Against this backdrop, ArmyChief General MM Naravanevisited Leh on Friday to takestock of the situation. Effortsare also on to resolve the issuethrough diplomatic means.

Northern Command chiefLt General YK Joshi and 14Corps chief Lt GeneralHarinder Singh briefed theArmy chief about the situation.

Turn to Page 4

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Three days after supercyclone Amphan hit

Bengal, the Army was calledout to assist the StateGovernment to normalise lifein Kolkata and neighbouringareas, sources in the StateHome Department said.

The Army acted withinhours and deployed fivecolumns at various places pri-marily to clear off the majorthorough fares clogged byuprooted trees. It will, howev-er, help in restoration of otherfacilities like drinking waterand power supply too, sourcessaid.

Detailed report on P6

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The Railways has drawn upa schedule to operate 2,600

Shramik Special trains overthe next 10 days across thecountry to ferry around 36 lakhmigrant workers, stranded dueto the Covid-19 lockdown, totheir home States, Chairman ofthe Railway Board VK Yadavsaid on Saturday.

It has run 2,600 ShramikSpecial trains in the last 23 dayscarrying around 36 lakhstranded migrants, he said,adding 1,000 ticket countershave been opened across Indiaand more will be opened soon.

Turn to Page 4

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Hundreds of passengerstravelling in Shramik

Express staged protest andblocked the busy Delhi-Howrah rail route on DeenDayal Upadhaya Station (earst-while Mughalsarai) when theyrealised that the train wasdiverted to wrong route.

Similar protest was witnessedwhen passengers complainedto unhygienic condition intrain and non-availability ofwater and food.

“The authorities are treatingus like animals. They do not

know the route and made thetrain to pass through wrongroute,” Manish Rai, a passengersaid. Turn to Page 4

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In a significant decision, theGovernment has allowed the

use of hydroxychloroquine(HCQ) as a preventive med-ication for asymptomatichealthcare workers deployed innon-Covid-19 hospitals, front-line staff on surveillance dutyin containment zones, andparamilitary/police personnelinvolved in coronavirus infec-tion related activities.

The revised advisory issuedby the ICMR, however, cau-tioned that the intake of themedicine should not instill asense of false security.

Detailed report on P4

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Delhi recorded 23 moredeaths in past 24 hours

due to Covid -19, taking deathtoll in the national Capital to231 on Saturday.

In a bulletin issued onSaturday, the Delhi HealthDepartment said the death tollfrom coronavirus has risen to231 and the total number ofcases mounted to 12,910.

Turn to Page 4

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The contagion of novelCoronavirus (Covid-19)

brought into the State by thereturning migrants is nowwrecking havoc in the state ofUttarakhand. On Saturday, astaggering 92 new patients ofthe disease surfaced in thestate taking the number ofpatients affected by the diseaseto 244.

A train which had recent-ly brought returnees fromMaharashtra proved to be aCovid-19 train as 55 of itsoccupants who had come toHaldwani of Nainital districtwere found positive by the labof medical college Haldwani onSaturday.

The occupants of this trainhad landed in Haridwar andwere taken to Haldwani bybuses. In Nainital district, atotal of 57 new cases werereported on the day. Ten

patients were reported fromDehradun while seven caseswere found in Champawat dis-trict. This district till Friday hadnot even a single patient of thedisease. The dept found six newpatients in Uttarkashi districtwhile three patients each werefound in Rudraprayag andAlmora districts. Incidentally,Rudraprayag was the only dis-trict which had no patient ofthe disease till Saturday after-noon. Two patients of the dis-ease were also reported fromPauri and Pithoragarh districtseach on Saturday. The unprece-dented surge of Saturdayensured that all 13 districts ofthe state are now affected withthe pandemic. Incidentally tilltwo weeks ago all the moun-tainous districts were free fromthe disease. The additionalsecretary, state health depart-ment, Yugal Kishore Pant saidreports of 801 samples werefound negative for the diseaseon Saturday. He added thatreports of 2382 samples are stillawaited by the department.

On Saturday, a total of1325 samples were collected forCOVID -19 testing. Theauthorities have so far takenswab samples of 19248 sus-pected patients for COVID-19test. Out of the total samplestaken, 1.08 percent sampleshave been found positive for

the disease. On Saturday, the rate of

recovery from the COVID-19in the state slid further to22.95%. Incidentally the recov-ery rate was about 67 percentfew days ago and was 37 per-cent, a day before. In an indi-cation of spread of contagion,the data of the health deptshows that the doubling rate ofthe disease now stands at 7.75days. The doubling rate on May11 was 45 days and after that itsteadily declined. A total of1612805 people have so fardownloaded the ‘Aaroggya SetuApp’ on their smart phones. Atotal of 13771 people are infacility quarantine in differentparts of the State.

Uttarakhand now has 189active cases of the disease. TheCovid-19 train brought theNainital district on the top oftable with 75 active cases.Dehradun with 32 and UdhamSingh Nagar with 27 activecases are at second and thirdpositions respectively.Uttarkashi has nine active caseswhile Champawat andHaridwar districts now haveseven active cases each.Almora, Bageshwar and Tehridistricts have six active caseseach while Pauri has five activecases of the disease. The latestentrant Rudraprayag has threeactive cases.

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ACovid-19 affectedpatient, a 55-year-old

female from Bijnore of UttarPradesh (UP) died at AllIndia Institute of MedicalScience (AIIMS), Rishikeshon Saturday. This womanwas also suffering from thecancer.

The AIIMS authoritieshowever said that the cause

of dearth of this Covid-19patient was respiratory fail-ure and not Coronavirus.Incidentally two patients ofCovid-19, both of themwomen have died so far inthe state. However in boththe cases the authorities haveclaimed that cause of deathwas not Covid-19. ThePublic Relations Officer(PRO) of AIIMS RishikeshHarish Thapliyal said that thecancer patient was admittedin gastroenterology depart-ment of the hospital.

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Much before theinfamous gamcha wasbrought in trend by

the Prime Minister NarendraModi to cover the nose andmouth during the COVID-19pandemic, Teeka Ram wasalready flaunting one. A lose t-shirt paired up with a jeans, agamcha and a pair of chappalswith a smirky smile on face,Teeka Ram is among one of thefavourite characters from &TV’smuch loved show Bhabhi JiGhar Par Hai.

Meet Vaibhav Mathur akaTeeka, a born artist who from hisschool days knew that hispassion lies in acting. “I comefrom a kayasth family, whereeducation is of utmostimportance. My father is fromthe agricultural industry and mymother is a lecturer, so I wasexpected to become a scholar,which I did but I was notinclined towards taking theconventional career path. Sincemy childhood, I was intodrawing and painting. Myteachers predicted that I will dosomething different. However, Ididn’t have any idea what will itbe, back then,” Mathur tellsyou.

Mathur’s acting careerstarted as early as he was inschool. “I was in Class XII whenmy father told me that I shouldthink of pursuing my craft. Hetold me that theatre was pickingup pace and I could try myhands in that. I gave it a thoughtand enrolled myself into a dramaacademy. I went on doingtheatres for around 12 years andthen thought of shifting toMumbai to earn a living. There,I had my struggle days and aftersome time I started getting adsand then got a few shows. Thisis how my acting journeystarted,” he tells you.

Mathur, before doingBhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai, was alsoa part of F.I.R. both of which aredirected by Shashank Bali.

“I share a good rapportwith Shashank sir. Though, mypart in F.I.R. was not that big andI entered the show very late butI enjoyed doing it. Once thatshow got over, I told Shashanksir that I would like to be a partof his future projects as well. Heassured me that he would reach

out to for the same. Aftersometime, I got a call from himasking what was I upto thesedays. I told him that I amlooking for work. He asked meto come and meet him for a role.I knew that he was coming upwith something great onceagain.

Once I met him, he told methat I am playing a tantrik andI have to showcase my skills tothe best. I enacted the same andhe was convinced. Then heoffered me to play Teeka, aroadside loafer and I was all setfor it,” Mathur recalls.

He tells you that he neverthought that the character wouldgain such fame. “I had neverimagined that Teeka wouldbecome a household name. I amoverwhelmed with theaudience’s response. The otherday I met a fan who told me thathe had named his childrenTeeka and Malkhan, becausethey are extremely naughty. It feltgreat. It is good to know that

people are respecting you inwhichever way and recognisingyou. I am glad that the characterhelps them have a good laugh,”he says.

An actor is all aboutimprovising and adding minutedetails in his character and thatis what Mathur abides by.“Whatever role I play, I makesure that I give it a twist. I try toadd certain elements in thecharacter. For Teeka, as well,from day one I tried to evolvethe character as much. Also, ourdirector Shashank Bali wasconfident that whatever I will dowith the character will onlyenhance it.

The script is undoubtedlyvery well-written, however wehave got the space to add someextra mirch-masala. Take forexample, when Teeka laughswhile covering his mouth withgamcha. It is all natural. Thereare people that do that. It is likehe is trying not to mocksomeone directly but in a

satirical way. He usually doesthis when Tiwari ji or Vibhuti jigets insulted, so he enjoys that,”he tells you.

When you play such roles— a roadside romeo — therecomes extra responsibility to notgo over the top and hurt theaudience’s sentiments. “Thecharacter Teeka, though a loafer,is written and portrayed withutmost responsibility. There’sdecency in him. This characteris not fictional, it is there in everynook and corner of the society.However, I try my best to notcross the line. For example,when Teeka and Malkhan try toimpress a girl, the girl slaps themand walk away. The two,automatically start singingromantic songs, just to suggestthey are not taking it on theiregos. They are similar to gali’sloafers who can never hurt theirneighbours,” he says.

Mathur says that he hadalready worked with most of theactors in F.I.R and that it did helpto maintain the chemistry in thisshow as well. “I have workedwith Yogesh Tripathi (who playsHappu Singh) and also SaanandVerma (who plays Saxena ji)before. Though we didn’t havetoo many sequences together butyes we know each other well.This helps in building thechemistry and improve thecomic timing,” he says.

He tells you that theatmosphere on the sets caneasily be figured out watchingthem on screen. “The workingenvironment is as lively. Weenjoy as much as we do onscreen. Everyone pour in theiracting skills. There are senioractors too on the sets, so wemaintain mutual respect butwe have a lot of fun. If theworking environment is notgood or as comfortable you willnot be able to do as good oncamera,” Mathur says.

He adds that he will neverturn away a similar role becauseit has earned him all the nameand fame. “This role is close tomy heart. And if in future I willbe offered similar roles, I wouldnever say no. But as an actor, itis my responsibility to explorenew characters and new genres.So my focus will be on tryingdifferent things,” he says.

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2�� ������������������,��(��������.�����.���(������� ����� �������� ����&������3����2���4���(�5�&������������� �/�����,������� � ������6 ��7 �������� 5����������� ,��� �7����&2�-8-�&�&18��/������ ��������7������7� ������������,��(�.�������� ����� ������� How did you cope with the lockdown?

It was good. Spent a lot of timewatching series and movies. Readingbooks and spending time with my wife.When you are on the sets, you don’t getenough time to be with each other. I reada lot of motivational and biographies. I justcompleted reading Tuesdays With Morris.I read The Laws of Spirit World, How toWin Friends and Influence People and ThePower of Positive Thinking. So, yes, a lot ofbooks on mental well-being given that weneed it these days.� From TV to films, how did thathappen?

After Ramayan, I had started gettingfilm offers. But the projects were small.Most actors in a hurry take wrongdecisions. While I wanted to do a film buthad decided that it would be with a bigproduction house. Meanwhile, I continuedto do TV and reality shows many of whichI had won. This gave me name and fame.More people in the industry noticed meand I got Khamoshiyan, a Mahesh Bhattand Mukesh Bhatt produced film inassociation with Vishesh Films.� TV actors don’t always manage tomake it big. Why?

It is difficult to predict thesethings. There are no set rules. This willeither make or break your film career.If one were to say that a big TV actorcan’t make a career in films would bewrong. Shah Rukh Khan is a case inpoint. I just feel it is important towork with good producers. A goodproducer always insists on beingassociated with a good project andpromotes it properly. Whether afilm is a hit or a flop is a differentstory, what is important is thatyour work is appreciated and youprove that you are a good actor.� TV, films or web series, whatwould you prefer?

It has always been my dreamto be a 70 mm screen and bewatched with millions of people.There is a high that comes with it.I love films. But today, OTTplatforms have become popular aswell and are content-driven, thereare plenty of opportunities here too.If a good project comes my way, Iwould take it up.� Has content-driven andentertainment combo opened moreavenues?

Definitely. It is good for the industrythat makers are experimenting. If a filmhas a combination of entertainment andcontent, people will love it. Also, suchmovies are doing well today and making

people come up with better and biggerconcepts which the production houses arewilling to invest it.� Ramayan is being re-telecast onDangal TV, what makes mythologiespopular?

We have to understand that our epicsare extremely popular and teaches us lifelessons. Parents want their child to be amodel citizen. These epics help inculcategood values. In

many households, people read these on aregular basis but some can’t manage.Watching serials is a good option.�What was your reaction when you wereoffered to play Ram?

I was doing a series in the Southplaying a villain. Debina Bonnerjee wasalso in the show. I was young when the rolecame to me; I was 21. People told me thatin order to get good roles, one had to lookmature and older. I had a beard andsported slighted long hair. When theoffer came, I thought I would do a betterjob as a villain. In South, they need well-built men. I was all muscle. To play a hero— Ram, I was not convinced since I wasnot sure how I would look clean-shave. Butwe did a mock shoot, I realised that Iwould fit the role.� Has there been any take away lessonsfrom playing Lord Ram?

I was lucky that it was in my first show.My schooling started from there. It notonly taught me how to act, but also how

to be a good man. Ramayan kept megrounded. Before I got this show, therewere days of struggle. When I got therole, I was humbled. � Did you envision that MaanSingh Khurana would become sopopular?

I never realised that this wouldhappen. Ramayan had given me somuch fame. People would comeand touch my feet and offermoney. Before this, everyone whohad done mythology wastypecast. Once the show got over,I was only getting roles to playGod. But I would refuse. I toldmyself that I was an actor andwanted to do diverse roles. It wasa challenge for me to do a dramaand was hell bent on doingGeet… to get a break. But thechannel would keep rejecting meby saying I was Ram.

The producer insisted. I hadgiven over 10-15 auditions. Then

we decided to give a try and thechannel loved it. The minute theshow went on air, it gave me instant

stardom. The character became sucha rage. The serial helped me getnoticed and I got films due to Maan

Singh Khurana.� What next?

Just before the lockdown, I was doingThe Wife for Zee Studio. Till now, I hadbeen part of projects with two heroes.Here, I play a solo lead. There is a lot ofresponsibility. But due to the lockdown, weare now busy posting small videos onsocial media with a message in them.

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No, the Americansweetheart is nolonger in front of the

camera to guide yourhomecoming through theweb of mystery that hookedyou forever in the last season.But she is producingHomecoming 2, the AmazonSpecial series that returned toviewers with the same net ofsubtle but engaging dramathat come in the list of goodsuspense thrillers.

Julia’s role is consummatelytaken over by a less known butno less impactful Janelle Monaewith expressive eyes and abewitching smile whenever shegets out of the compellingsituation she is in, which is rare.

The 2.0 pace is set right atthe beginning and it takes justthe first shadowy shot of awoman waking up on a boatfloating over a desertedwaterbody clinging to even

more deserted forest land. Shespots a man on the shore buthe scoots the moment she callsfor help. She has no memory ofwho she is and why she hasfound herself in such a diresituation.

That’s enough for you toforget about whining aboutthe absence of Julia Robertswho helmed Season 1 toremarkable consequences. Themystery is so well and tightlyknit that the purposeful intentof drawing the viewer fromepisode to episode comesacross as one of the most subtleslow-moving, almost invisibleploys to keep the desperatecuriosity on.

That it takes over fourepisodes to start stitching theconclusion in your mind,speaks of a good footnote in themystery genre but the fact thatmost would be rearrangingtheir conclusions as the storyunfolds makes Homecoming 2a viable option, even if you hadnot been homebound due tothe dreaded Coronavirus.

Monae finds herself in anunenviable position with no

friends and apparently manyhidden foes as her militarytattoo stares her back from thearm with some suspectinjection marks. Is she really anair force veteran? Is she thevictim of a place called Giestwhere she is being secretly ledto? Or is it altogether a storythat defies calculations? Musttune in to watch, even if it is notan intrigue fueller that thisriveting series is actually anadaptation of a podcast,something that hooked JuliaRoberts to such extent that thebig star of the big screendecided to play thepsychologist on a job to counselmilitary vets.

In Homecoming 1, Geistwas the shady organisationgiving amnesia pills to peopletroubling the Government. InHomecoming 2, it does notlose its status of being thedeadly troublemaker but allthat comes with a twist.

There are side stories too,though very intricately woveninto the main plot. For more,there’s always Amazon Primewaiting for you.

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Recognising growing demand for action-thriller movies inIndia, global content leader Lionsgate Play premiered 2019

hit Primal in India on May 22,2020 under the popular Fridayblockbuster series. Primal, directed by Nick Powell and starringNicolas Cage, Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand and othersreceived positive reviews from cinephiles. Viewers can watch thisfilm on partnered telecom platforms of Lionsgate Play —Vodafone Play, Airtel Xstream, Idea Movies and TV.

The film revolves around Frank Walsh is a skilled big-gamehunter specialising in rare and dangerous species. He has recentlycaught an extremely rare white jaguar in the rain forests of Braziland now expects to sell it to a zoo for a fortune. Frank books aship to deliver the jaguar along with other animals to the U.S.However, authorities also need the ship to transport a notoriouskiller who must be brought to trial, and who, for medical reasons,cannot be transported by plane. On the way to the U.S., thecriminal frees himself and releases dangerous animals andvenomous snakes.

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The Municipal Corporationof Roorkee (MCR) has

been achieving the top rank forthe past three years in thestate in the cleanliness survey.However, the Covid-19pandemic has thrown newchallenges for the corporation.In a conversation with ThePioneer, the MCR assistantmunicipal commissionerChandrakant Bhatt talkedabout the challenges and futureplans of the corporation.

Regarding the Covid-19situation, he said that recentlythree positive cases had beenfound in the municipalcorporation area.

“Due to this sanitisationhas become a regular andimportant task. There are threecontainment zones in Roorkee-Sati Mohalla, Adarshnagar andMohammadpur.

Considering this, we havelaunched two applications-Sanjeevani for medicine andAnnapurna for food. Roorkeeis divided into six zones. Onedoesn’t need to go anywherebut simply install and use theseapps to get medicines and food

at the doorstep. We have alsolaunched a helpline number toprovide door to doorsanitisation facility,” he said.

Regarding technologicalaspects in the efforts, Bhatt saidthat the Indian Institute OfTechnology (IIT) Roorkee hashelped the corporation toimprovise and provide facilitieslike the sample collectionchamber.

“This idea is basicallyfrom South Korea, but littlethings which should be therefor safety were taken care of byIIT. The sample collectionchamber has been so successfulso far that the districtmagistrate ordered us to deploy20 such chambers in differentareas.

After this, we have alsolaunched sanitising footboardwhich sanitises footwear. Weare going to launch expansionand contraction sanitisingmachine which will cost aboutRs two lakh though in otherstates it is costing more than Rs15 lakh,” shared Bhatt.

He further informed thatin the initial stages of thepandemic, MCR understoodthe importance of sodium

hypochlorite disinfectant. Withthe permission of the Haridwardistrict magistrate, thecorporation procured about8,000 litre container of thischemical from Punjab. Soonafter that, the price of thisdisinfectant rose from Rs 12per litre to Rs 32 per litre. Thecorporation has also involvedself help groups in productionof masks and sanitisers so thatthey can also earn whilehelping in the efforts to prevent

spread of Covid-19.Regarding the

performance of MCR insanitation, he said that being ontop for three years is a majorachievement. “Till recently, wedidn’t have solid wastemanagement plant. Now wehave established a solid wastemanagement plant in whichwaste segregation has also beenstarted. We are also facilitatingemployment for garbagepickers in this plant. Due to

this, we have also received theAtal Nirmal Nagar Puraskarworth Rs 1.20 crore.

Our main motto is to workwith team spirit, ensuring thatno one feels pressurised. Wealso focus on good publicdealing while making all effortswith honesty.”

Regarding the situation ofwater in Roorkee, Bhatt saidthat the British made a canalpassing through the middle ofthe city. It may have beensuitable for the time it was builtin but at present it also resultsin problem of water drainage.To resolve this, the MCR boardrecently passed the proposal forcontour mapping.

This development willhelp resolve the issues.Regarding future plans of thecorporation, the assistantmunicipal commissioner saidthat the corporation is planningto erect an auditorium usingpre engineered buildingtechnology.

The MCR is also workingon solar power plant andGeographical InformationSystem (GIS) which willinclude mapping of employeesand infrastructure.

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The Pradesh CongressCommittee (PCC)

president Pritam Singh hasstrongly condemned the UttarPradesh (UP) Government forregistering a FIR against the in-charge of the UttarakhandCongress, Anugrah NarayanSingh in Allahabad. He saidthat on Friday AnugrahNarayan Singh along with his13 associates sat on Dharna toprotest against charging offares from the migrants. Hesaid that the case was registeredagainst Anugrah NarayanSingh for staging a protestwhich is unfortunate andhighly condemnable act. The

PCC president said that BJP isdetermined to crush the voicesof dissent and those who aretalking in favour of labourers.He said that this plan of BJPwould never becomesuccessful. Singh added thatCongress leaders and workerswould not get cowed down bythe oppressive action againstopposition leaders in the BJPruled states. He claimed thatthe action against in charge ofUttarakhand Congress hastriggered a wave of angeramong the Congress partyworkers and many leaders andoffice bearers have expressedtheir anguish on thedevelopment. The leader ofopposition in Uttarakhand

a s s e m b l yI n d i r aHridayesh,d e p u t yleader ofC o n g re s slegislativep a r t y ,K a r a nM a h r a ,general secretary organizationof Uttarakhand Congress VijaySaraswat, vice president SuryaKant Dhasmana, ManishKhanduri, spokespersonGarima Dassauni, former MLARanjit Rawat and many leadershave expressed their anger overthe act of filing a FIR againstthe in -charge of UttarakhandCongress.

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The UttarakhandGovernment could make

changes in its recently releasedschedule of examinations of theuniversities and colleges if thesituation arising out of spreadof novel Coronavirusaggravates further.

The State Minister forhigher education Dhan SinghRawat told the Pioneer thatthough the state governmenthas released the schedule ofexaminations and admissionsfor the universities and collegesof the state, a lot would dependon the condition of thecontagion of Covid-19 in thestate.

“If the situation becomesacute or aggravates further wewould make necessary changesin the schedule. Our firstpriority is the safety of the

students and staff members,’’ hesaid. The minister’s statementassumes significance since thestate government had recentlydirected the universities andcolleges of the state to conductexaminations in the month ofJuly.

The principal secretary,Anand Vardhan in an orderhad also released the scheduleof new admission and nextacademic session for thevarsities and colleges.According to it the newadmissions would start inSeptember and the next sessionfor the old students can start

from August after holdingexaminations in the month ofJuly. The teachers were directedto complete the syllabus beforeJune 7.

Meanwhile the Studentsunion of Doon University hasdemanded that the studentsshould be promoted to nextsemester partly on the basis ofprevious semester record andrest on the basis of assignmentsand internal assessments.

The National StudentsUnion of India (NSUI) has alsodemanded that the studentsshould be promoted to higherclasses without examination.

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Even as the inbound andoutbound movement of

migrants continues, domesticflight operations are slated toresume from May 25.Currently, seven flights areslated to operate to and fromUttarakhand with one-thirdcapacity. Stating this, theUttarakhand State DisasterManagement Authority(USDMA) additional chiefexecutive officer RidhimAgarwal said that clearinstructions have been receivedthat anyone arriving from aRed zone state will beinstitutionally quarantined onarrival in Uttarakhand.Meanwhile, 212 cases of homequarantine violation have beenlodged in the State so far.

Addressing the media, shesaid that about 2.45 lakhpersons have registered forreturning to Uttarakhand. Outof these, about 1.50 lakh havereturned in buses, trains and

private vehicles permitted bythe government. Themaximum number of peoplehave returned from Delhi-about 55,000 while about24,000 each have returnedfrom Uttar Pradesh andHaryana and 9,000 each fromPunjab and Chandigarh. “Atrain is slated to depart fromThiruvananthpuram onSaturday night and arrive inHaridwar on Sunday. Similarly,a train from Chennai is alsoproposed to bring backmigrants. The train sent earlierfrom Uttarakhand to WestBengal is also proposed toreturn with migrants in thecoming days. Meanwhile,Nepal has informed that onMay 29-30 about 600 peoplewill be returning to India viaBanbasa which include 25Uttarakhand residents. Whenit comes to outboundmovement of migrants, about40,000 of the 47,000 who hadregistered have gone back.These include 17,000 to UttarPradesh, 10,000 to Bihar andabout 2,500 each to Jammu andDelhi. The State has also soughtoperation of special trains fromDehradun, Udham Singh

Nagar and Haridwar totransport migrants back toBihar. About 200Uttarakhandis have returned toIndia from various foreignnations. Of these, three havecompleted their institutionalquarantine in Delhi andreturned to the state while 197are under quarantine in Delhi,”said Agarwal.

Regarding the resumptionof domestic flights, she said thatpresently seven flights areslated to operate from the stateon the date. All the flights willoperate at one-third capacity

with strict observance ofstandard operating proceduresand various directions ofagencies concerned and thegovernment. “Passengers arerequired to go to the airportonly after online or tele check-in. The pre-rentals and taxisoperating to and from theairport will be issued permitsby the district administration ina couple of days to transportpassengers. Anyone arriving byair from a Red zone state willbe put under institutionalquarantine,” she stressed.

Referring to some peopleviolating home quarantinemandatory for those returningto the state,

Agarwal said that 212 caseshad been lodged in the state sofar for violation of homequarantine. She warned that anattempt to murder case also beregistered against any personwho ends up infecting anyoneelse after violating homequarantine. Citizens are alsorequested to inform theauthorities immediately if theyfind anyone violatingquarantine.

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The newly appointedsecretary, health and family

welfare, Amit Singh Negi helda video conferencing sessionwith the chief medical officers(CMO) of all districts, chiefmedical superintendents(CMS) and Principals of allgovernment medical collegeson Saturday.

In the meeting Negiemphasised the need of

preparation of a working planin every district based onground situations to tackle anyexigency arising from theCovid-19.

He said that all thereturnees should becompulsorily quarantined intheir homes as per the guidelineof the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR).Negi however added that thedepartment should remainprepared for their facilityquarantine.

He said that the present

situation is also anopportunity to strengthen thehealth system of the state sothat the state is prepared totackle any kind of emergencysituation.

The secretary directed thatthe ICU, ventilator, oxygen,

medicines and other facilitiesshould be strengthened.

He said that vigilance at thelevel of district, block and

village level should be upgradedand the health teams and Ahsaworkers should earmark allthe persons kept in homequarantine.

He also emphasised ondigitisation of all theinformation.

The secretary said thathuman resource should notpose a hindrance in the Covid-19 control measures and saidthat the tenure of the workerskept on outsource for threemonths should be extended tillSeptember.

He also directed theofficials to coordinate with the

private hospitals, and nursinghomes so that their services canbe utilised during emergencysituation.

Negi said that he is readyfor every possible cooperationbut the officials should alsocome forward and ensure timebound completion of theprojects and plans. He alsoassured free hand to the CMOsand said that they should keephim updated.

Negi said that everyresource would be provided toensure that the success isachieved in the war againstCovid-19. The secretary alsodirected the officials to makenecessary preparation to tacklethe menace of Dengue.

The meeting was alsoattended by secretary in chargehealth, Dr Pankaj KumarPandey, additional secretary,Yugal Kishore Pant andDirector General (DG) statehealth services, Dr AmitaUpreti.

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The Uttarakhand Congress hascriticised the State Minister for

higher education and cooperatives,Dhan Singh Rawat for releasing ModiArti in a programme on Friday.Launching a diatribe on the Ministerand Mussoorie MLA, Ganesh Joshi, theCongress spokesperson GarimaDasauni said that the act of theseleaders amounts to denigrating theHindu religion.

She said that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is a human being butin the Arti, he is being equated withHindu gods.

Dasauni said that this act hasinfused anger among the followers ofHindusim and they are feeling that theirreligious sentiments have got hurt.

Terming the Arti and act of releasing itas an epitome of sycophancy, theCongress spokesperson said that thosewho used to label the Congress partywith promoting the dynastic politicshave now limited themselves withworshiping one person. She added thatthese people have shown that they canstoop down to any level in sycophancyand person worship. Dasaunidemanded that the chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat should takeimmediate cognizance of the incidentand take action against these twoleaders.

She added that the launch of ModiChalisa on the lines of HanumanChalisa is a desperate attempt to hidethe failures of Modi Government intackling Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Dhan Singh Rawat had

attended a programme organised bythe Mussoorie MLA, Ganesh Joshiin his assembly constituency.

The programme was organisedto felicitate the people who areorganising ‘Modi Kitchen’ fromlast 60 days to provide cooked foodto the poor during lockdown.

In the programme, the duo alsoreleased a booklet ( Modi Arti) inwhich praises were heaped over PMModi and he was equated withgods.

It gave an opportunity to theCongress party to go balletic onthese leaders.

When contacted, Dhan SinghRawat said that the Congress hasdeveloped a habit of criticising. Headded that the sentiment of partyworkers should also be respected.

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Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat handed over

a cheque for �10 lakh from theCM relief fund to the wife ofdeceased police constableSanjay Gurjar. Whiledischarging his duty, the policeconstable who was posted inthe Premnagar police station,had died in a road accident inDehradun on May 5.

On the directions of theChief Minister, somerelaxations had been made inthe standards for ex-gratia incase of demise of a coronawarrior. As a result, provisionwas made for �10 lakh ex-gratiain case of the demise of acorona warrior whiledischarging duty related toCovid-19. Presenting the � 10

lakh cheque to Gurjar’s wife,Priyanka, the CM said that theState Government will provideall possible assistance to thefamily. He also directed theDehradun deputy inspectorgeneral Arun MohanJoshi to

expedite the process ofappointing Priyanka to a postin the police department.Gurjar’s daughter Anushkawho is a class III student wasalso present on the occasion.The Dehradun DIG Arun

Mohan Joshi, superintendent ofpolice (City) Shweta Choubey,Mussoorie circle officerNarendra Pant and Premnagarstation officer DharmendraRautela were also among thosepresent on the occasion.

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Even as the fourth phase ofthe lockdown continues

with more relaxations, a fewtourists have started to visitNainital. On Saturday, a smallnumber of local tourists fromnearby towns visited the lakecity. Though this is being seenas a positive sign by some,others are questioning touristmovement and also pointingout the lack of social distancingand risk involved if necessaryprecautions are not observedeffectively.

With the temperaturessoaring in the plains, somepeople arrive in Nainitalseeking some relief from theheat. The visitors who reachedhere with their families enjoyedthe comparatively lower

temperatures but weredisappointed at not being ableto go boating in Naini lake.When this correspondent

talked to the visitors, they saidthat they had spent their timewell with their families at homeduring the lockdown. However,

they travelled to Nainital withtheir family members includingchildren to seek some relieffrom the heat in the Teraieven if for some hours.

However, concerned localspoint out that the number ofCovid-19 positive cases is risingby the day at an alarming ratewith the return of migrantsfrom different states.

This has also created anatmosphere of anxiety inNainital. Stating that there is aban on the entry of tourists inNainital at present, theyquestioned how some peoplewere violating the lockdownand arriving in Nainital astourists. The districtadministration should takestern action against suchpeople, the concerned localsopined.

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The Himachal Cabinet in itsmeeting on Saturday

decided that due to lockdown,private schools in the Statewould be allowed to chargeonly tuition fee.

The meeting, held underthe chairmanship of ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakurexpressed grief over theuntimely death of former MLAfrom Theog assemblyconstituency Rakesh Vermaand observed two minutessilence as a mark of respect tothe departed soul.

Amongst other itemsdiscussed, it was decided toimplement therecommendations of 15thCentral Finance Commissionin the State, under which out ofthe total grants received fromit, 70 percent would beprovided to Gram Panchyats,15 percent to Panchayat Samitisand 15 percent would beallocated to Zila Parishads forundertaking variousdevelopmental works.

The Cabinet decided toupgrade Veterinary Hospital atNagrota Bagwan in Kangradistrict to Zonal VeterinaryHospital alongwith creationand filling up of seven posts ofdifferent categories to manthis hospital.

The Cabinet also gave its

nod to start scheme for‘Rehabilitation of Stray Cattle’in Himachal Pradesh to solvethe problems of stray cattle,encourage individuals andorganizations to adopt straycattle, provide assistance forrunning of cow sanctuariesand gau sadans in the State. Inthe initial phase, it was decidedto provide Rs. 500 per cow forcows in gausadans/gaushalasand cow sanctuaries. TheAnimal HusbandryDepartment was advised tocomplete tagging underInformation Network forAnimal Productivity andHealth (INAPH) Scheme as perGovernment of India’sguidelines at the earliest.

The Cabinet also decidedto establish three Fast TrackSpecial Courts at Shimla,

Rampur for Kinnaur districtand at Nahan, district Sirmaurto deal with the rape/POCSOcases for a period of one year.

The Cabinet decided toamend the ‘Mukhya MantriSwavlamban Yojna-2019’ tomake it more lucrative. Nowunits sanctioned under thisscheme should come intocommercial production withinone year from the date ofdisbursement of firstinstallment of loan by the bankunder the Scheme for bothmanufacturing and serviceenterprises. Besides, in casesuch units have been set up bywidows who are bonafideHimachali and having age upto45 years, amount of eligiblesubsidy has been enhancedfrom 30 percent to 35 percent.

PROPOSALS OF 11PROJECTS WORTH RS.332.50 CRORE CLEAREDBY SSWC&MA

The 12th meeting of theState Level Single WindowClearance and MonitoringAuthority (SSWC&MA) heldhere under the Chairmanshipof Chief Minister Jai RamThakur approved 11 projectproposals for setting up newindustrial enterprisers andexpansion of existing unitsinvolving a total proposedinvestment of approximatelyRs. 332.50 crore andemployment potential of about1000 persons which showsthat the State continues toattract investment despite ofoverall slowdown in theeconomy.

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Haryana on Saturdayreported 64 new cases of

corona virus, taking the State'scase tally to 1131 even as 44patients recovered from varioushospitals of the State over thelast 24 hours.

The state saw a suddenspurt in Covid- 19 cases onSaturday as 22 out of 76Haryana natives who cameback from the US testedpositive for corona virusinfection, said the healthdepartment officials. Seventy-six Haryana people were part ofa group of over 160 Indianswho had arrived at Amritsar inPunjab by a special charteredflight earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the totalnumber of active COVID-19cases in Haryana is 365 whilethe number patients who havebeen discharged are 750. TheState has a recovery rate of66.31 per cent, fatality rate at1.41 per cent while tests permillion being conducted are3,709. The doubling rate in theState is 17 days.

While Gurugram has 262cases, Faridabad 195, Sonipat154 and Jhajjar has reported 91COVID-19 infections, makingit a total of 702 cases in thesefour districts which fall in the

National Capital Region. As perthe bulletin, 16 deaths havebeen reported so far in theState. Yamunanagar is coronafree district of the State as eightpersons tested positive forCOVID-19 have beendischarged from the hospitals,as per the state health bulletin.

According to the Stategovernment’s health bulletin,64 fresh cases were reportedfrom Gurugram, Faridabad,Sonepat, Palwal, Panipat, Jind,Karnal, Bhiwani, Hisar andForeign returnee Haryananative. Gurugram reported 12new cases of the deadly disease,taking the total in the districtto 262. Faridabad reported 10new case of the deadly disease,taking the total in the districtto 195. Sonepat reported threemore corona virus cases, takingtotal to 154.

Karnal and Palwal reportedone more case each, taking thetally to 24 and 41 respectively.Hisar and Jind reported threemore cases each, taking thetally to 12 and 26 respectively.Panipat reported seven morecase, taking total to 53. Bihwanireported two more cases,taking count to 8.

As many as 44 patientswalked out of hospital fromdifferent districts of the State onSaturday. So far, 750 patientshave been cured anddischarged from hospitals inHaryana, including the 14Italian nationals. According toofficials, a total of 44 Covidpatients were discharged from

various districts including ninein Gurugram, 11 each inFaridabad and Sonepat, one inJhajjar, five in Nuh, three inJind, two each in Fatehabad andRohtak.

22 OF 76 HARYANARESIDENTS FROM US TESTPOSITIVE

Twenty-two of 76 Haryananatives deported back fromthe US have tested positive forcoronavirus infection, stateHealth Minister Anil Vij saidon Saturday.

Seventy-six Haryanapeople were part of a group ofover 160 Indians who hadarrived at Amritsar in Punjabby a special chartered flightearlier this week.

“Twenty two of these 76have been found havingCOVID-19,” Vij told reporters.

After they were deported

from the US and arrived inIndia earlier this week, Vij hadsaid all will undergo COVID-19 tests before they arequarantined in their homedistricts.

Most of the deportedIndians had entered the USfrom its southern border withMexico and had exhausted alllegal options to stay in the US.They were arrested by the USImmigration and CustomsEnforcement sleuths whiletrying to enter Americaillegally.

The 76 Haryana nativeswere later brought toPanchkula where theyunderwent the COVID-19 andother medical tests. Whilethose found COVID negativewill be quarantined in theirhome districts, the 22 COVID-19 patients will undergotreatment at a dedicatedhospital in Panchkula.

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Ruling out any complacencydespite Punjab posting the

highest recovery rate of 90 percent in the country, PunjabChief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Saturdaysaid all those coming to thestate, including via domesticflights, trains and buses, wouldhave to undergo compulsoryhome quarantine for 14 days.

Screening of those enteringthe state would be done at allstate and district border entrypoints, as well as railwaystations and airports, and thosefound symptomatic would besent into institutionalquarantine, while the otherswould have to undergomandatory 2-week homequarantine, the Chief Ministersaid in his FB Live programme`#AskCaptain’.

Rapid testing teams wouldcheck on the home quarantined

persons while those foundsymptomatic would have toundergo thorough testing inhospitals/isolation centres, saidCapt Amarinder, making itclear that his governmentwould not rely on anycertificates of testing from anypart of the country or theworld. He cited Punjab’sexperience with those whocame from Maharashtra andRajasthan, as well as the morerecent case of Dubai, fromwhere Punjabis coming backhad tested positive despitecarrying medical certificatesshowing them to be negative.

Those returning to Indiavia special international flightsare already required to undergoinstitutional quarantine, as perthe Central Government’sguidelines.

With a large number ofPunjabis coming home, andmore and more investors alsoshowing keenness to resume

business in the state, the ChiefMinister underlined the needfor strict caution, assertingthat “we will not let thepandemic spread further inPunjab, which has so farmanaged to keep the situationunder excellent control.”

In response to a question,the Chief Minister said there islikelihood of infection cominghere from Punjabis returning

from other countries and states,but the state is taking nochances and has madeelaborate arrangements fortheir testing and quarantine.Five flights have come today,and a total of 20000 people areexpected to come from othercountries on 88 flights, while60000 are expected from otherstates. “I will not let thisinfection spread any further in

Punjab,” he asserted. The Chief Minister

thanked labourers who hadchosen to stay back andcontribute to Punjab'seconomic strength, adding that“this is your state and you arepart of it.” It is vital for industryto function for ensuringlivelihood, he said, urging all tokeep following socialdistancing norms stringently at

work places to beat the virus atevery step. “Given the way wehave controlled the situation,we will not need a strictlockdown again,” he said, inresponse to a question.

Of those migrants whohad applied for onlineregistration, nearly half hadwillingly decided to stay backand had also started working inthe industry, revealed the ChiefMinister, adding that of thetotal 2.56 lakh industries in thestate, 1.5 lakh have alreadyresumed operations.

On the issue ofarrangements fortransportation of migrantswanting to leave the state, hesaid his government had beenfacilitating the return ofmigrants through special trains,along with 607 buses sent toBihar, Jharkhand, UP andOrissa. “Around 3.25 lakh ofthe 13 lakh migrants havereturned so far through trains

organised by us while another17,000 have gone throughbuses,” he added.

Capt Amarinder said thesuccess of Punjab’s strategy ofcontaining the disease isevident from its slowestdoubling rate of 86 days againstthe national average of 14 days.

Of the total 2028confirmed cases in the state,1819 had fully recovered, hesaid, expressing the confidencethat the 200 patients undertreatment would also be finesoon. “There is no patient whois on oxygen support with onlyone patient on ventilatorsupport,” he disclosed.

As far as high recovery rateis concerned, he said it hadbeen possible only by strictdiscipline by Punjabis infollowing all social distancingnorms. It was unfortunate,however, that 39 people haddied in the state, with manymore deaths reported

nationwide.The Chief Minister warned

that social distancing andcompulsory wearing of maskswould need to be strictlyfollowed to keep the situationunder control. He said he haddirected the police to takestringent action against suchoffenders.

The Chief Minister said thedecision on opening of gymswould be taken after May 31,in line with the Government ofIndia’s guidelines.

Responding to a question,the Chief Minister said`Mission Fateh,’ as the state’sbattle against Covid is called,“reflects our spirit of resiliencein the face of war.” We willachieve 'Fateh' in this battle bymaintaining social distancingnorms against this deadly virus,he said, adding that it was anational war that could bewon with collective resilience.“We will win,” he declared.

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From page 1“If you have taken a test

and your test report is negative,following which you don’t haveany symptoms, I believe thereshould be no need forquarantine. The Aarogya Setuapp is like a passport, if yourstatus on the app is green.Why should anyone want anyquarantine?” he asked.

The State Governments’decision over quarantine beingmandatory for air passengersmay hamper the domestic flightoperations as well as economicactivities across India. TheGovernment has decided toopen flight operations to speedup economy activates amidcoronavirus pandemic. Besides,except Shramik Special trainpassengers, States do not put allmigrants or arriving in theStates to quarantine. In someStates, they asked people to filla form and allow them to gohome.

Karnataka Governmenthas mandated 14-dayquarantine for all passengerscoming to the State via flights.As per the protocol, returneesfrom high prevalence Statescoming via road, rail, airshould be kept in institutionalquarantine for seven days andafter negative coronavirus test,they should be sent foranother seven day homequarantine.

As of May 22, KarnatakaGovernment has includedMaharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi,Tamil Nadu, R ajasthan,Madhya Pradesh in highpre va lence St ates .“Retur nees f rom lowprevalence States should beasked to follow 14 days ofhome quarantine,” the StateGovernment said.

In a tweet, the Jammu &Kashmir administration alsodecided to put all people underquarantine on their arrival inthe Union Territory (UT).

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From page 1With over 47,190 cases

and death toll to 1,577,Maharashtra continues to earnthe tag of worst-affected Stateand capital Mumbai has over27,000 cases alone. Cities, likePune and Nashik, are the otherhotspots in Maharashtra. Sixtydeaths were reported onSaturday.

With 396 new patients,tally of coronavirus cases inGujarat rose to 13,669 with 27deaths. Death toll due topandemic reached 829 whilewith 277 new coronaviruscases, tally rises to 10,001 inAhmedabad. Twenty-fourpeople succumbed topandemic taking death toll indistrict to 669. In Tamil Nadu,5 more Covid-19 fatalitiespushed death toll to 103 whilenumber of cases stand at15,512 with 759 freshinfections.

Delhi reported record 591new cases taking the totalcases to 12,190. Two hundredand thirty one people havesuccumbed to the virus in thenational Capital while MadhyaPradesh saw surge in numberto 6,371 with 201 new cases.Uttar Pradesh reported 5,735while West Bengal which isfacing double whammy ofAmphan cyclone andcoronavirus registered new157 cases taking the total to3,459.Karnataka too recordedits biggest single day spike onSaturday with over 200 newcases of Covid-19, along witha death, taking the totalnumber of infections to 1,959and the death toll to 42.

The State reported 216fresh infections of coronavirus,of which 187 were returneesfrom neighbouringMaharashtra. As of May 23evening, cumulatively 1,959Covid-19 positive cases havebeen confirmed in the state,which includes 42 deaths and608 discharges.

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From page 1Around 1,200 passengers

were travelling in a ShramikExpress from Vishakhapatnam(Andhra Pradesh) toMuzzafarpur (Bihar). On May21 mid-night the train wasstopped at the outer signal ofthe Pt Deen Dayal Upadhaya(PDDU) station. When it didnot move for six hours, thepassengers realised there issome mistake.

“Actually the train wasdiverted to a wrong track. Asthe train was to go toMuzaffarpur it should havebeen diverted to Varanasiinstead it was diverted towardsPDDU station in Chandaulidistrict,” Manish said. “As it wasnight, passengers did not realisethe mistake and thought that itwas stopped at the outerbecause of non-availability ofplatform. In the morning werealised what actually hadhappened,” he said.Thepassengers lost cool. Theyblocked the adjacent rail trackby putting boulders on thetrack disrupting the movementof trains completely. Due tothis, several other trainsincluding Rajdhani Expressand Special Shramik trainswere delayed for hours.

Later, RPF personnel andsenior Railway officers reachedthere and pacified thepassengers and then the trainwas moved towards itsdestination. It was second suchmistake which came to lightwithin two days. On Fridayevening a Shramik Expressfrom Panvel in Maharashtra toJaunpur in Uttar Pradesh washeld up at Vysnagar Halt - arailway station betweenVaranasi and PDDU junction.

“We waited for almost 10hours. We asked the stationmaster but he said he cannotallow the movement of trainunless asked by the highofficials. There is no movementof trains and still the shramikexpresses are stalled. Why?,”asks Dhananjay.

The piqued passengerswent on rampage damagingwindowpanes of severalcoaches. Later they squatted onthe railway tracks refusing tomove. They left only after therailway police intervened andeveryone on board was given ameal. The train later resumedits journey.At the sameVyasnagar station, anotherShramik Express train comingfrom Bhiwandi (Maharashtra)to Varanasi was also stoppedfor hours. Early this weekanother train scheduled to goto Jaunpur was also divertedtowards PDDU instead ofVaranasi Junction.

A few days back migrantworkers from Gujarat to Biharthrew away the food served atKanpur junction saying it wasrotten. They said pooris servedto them were hard “as if theywere cooked 3-4 days back”complained the passengers.

Another incident wasreported in Unnao, wherepassengers heading fromBengaluru to Bihar smashedwindowpanes at a platformcomplaining about lack of foodand water arrangements afterthe train made an unscheduledstop at the station. DistrictMagistrate Unnao RavindraKumar said that directionshave been given to stationmaster to make adequaterequirements for water at allplatforms.

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From page 1His visit came at a time

when the Indian side hasbolstered its troop strength atall the face-off points after theChinese did so, sources saidhere on Saturday.

Naravane’s trip to Leh tookplace a day after New Delhirejected Beijing’s claim thatthe Indian Army wasresponsible for escalatingtension at the LAC in Sikkimand Ladakh.

Rebutting this, India said itwas the other way round andthe Chinese were proving ahindrance in the Indian Army’spatrolling in Ladakh.

The latest face-offs are nowon in Galwan valley where the

Chinese have pitched 90 to 100tents and have increased itstroop strength to nearly 500.They charge the Indians withbuilding a road close to theLAC thereby violating treaties.However, India maintains thatthe road is well within itsterritory and the Chinese areescalating tension byundertaking constructionactivities like barracks.Moreover, they have deployedmore vehicles besidesmaintaining aerial vigilthrough helicopters. The stand-off at this point is spread overthree to four kms and locatedat a height of more than 4,000feet.

The other two stand-offs

are in the Daulat Beg Oldiesector of Ladakh where theChinese have moved forwardtowards the LAC with morethan 300 to 400 soldiers eachon the two locations. Theretoo, the Chinese are objectingto construction activitiesundertaken by India toimprove its infrastructureincluding roads and airfieldsto ensure logistical linesthroughout the area.

Incidentally, the Galwanvalley has seen such situationsin the past too and the twoarmies fought a battle in the1962 war here. Given thestrategic importance of theGalwan valley and nullah, theIndian Army too has

strengthened its positions,sources said.

The LAC has become “hot”in terms of transgressions inthe last two weeks or so with atleast two face-offs in Naku Lain Sikkim and Pangong TsoLake in Ladakh turning violentwith personnel from both sidesindulging in fisticuffs. Someofficers and soldiers of twoarmies were also injured in thefracas. While the situation onboth these two locations hasnow somewhat normalised,three new flashpoints havenow emerged in easternLadakh. Sources also said theIndian Army has not let itsguard down in Sikkim andLadakh.

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From page 1“We have operated 260

Shramik Special trains everyday on an average for the lastfour days, carrying three lakhpassengers daily,” Yadav said.

To a question on fares ofthe special trains to be operatedfrom June 1, the Railway Boardchairman said the railways wascharging pre-lockdown normalfares only.

He reiterated that 85 percent of the expense of ShramikSpecial trains is being borne bythe Centre and the states areonly paying 15 pc in the formof fares.

Responding to a letter sentby the West Bengal governmentseeking stalling of all migranttrains to the state till May 26due to Cyclone Amphan, Yadavsaid it was due to a naturalcalamity and things will be

back to normal soon.“The West Bengal chief

secretary wrote to me thatrestoration work is underwayand they’ll tell us soon whenthey will be able to receive thetrains. As soon as they give usclearance, we’ll run trains toWest Bengal,” he said.

Responding to a questionon why certain trains werebeing diverted to longer routes,Yadav said since most of themigrant special trains wereterminating in Uttar Pradeshand Bihar, the railways hasdecided to take decongestedalbeit longer routes to operatethese trains.

“This method is employedeven during normal times toavoid congested routes,” hesaid. The Railways will run 100pairs of special trains from June1.

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From page 1Five hundred and ninety

one fresh cases of Covid-19were reported on Saturday,authorities said.The cityrecorded the highest spike infresh cases -- 660 -- on Friday.This is the fifth consecutive day,when 500 or more fresh caseshave been recorded in a day inthe national Capital.Thebulletin said the cumulativedeath figures refer to fatalitieswhere primary cause of deathwas found to be Covid-19, asper the report of the DeathAudit Committee on the basisof case sheets received fromvarious hospitals.

On Friday, the totalnumber of cases stood at12,319, including 208 deaths.

As many as 6,267 patientshave recovered, beendischarged or migrated so far,while there are 6,412 active

cases, the Delhi HealthDepartment said.

A total of 1,65,047 Covid-19 tests have been conductedtill date, it said. The totalnumber of positive patientsunder home isolation stands at3,086, it said.According to theDelhi Health Departmentbulletin, out of the total 12,910cases recorded so far, at least1,886 are admitted at varioushospitals like LNJP Hospital,RML Hospital, SafdarjungHospital and Rajiv GandhiSuper Speciality Hospital(RGSSH) and AIIMS Jhajjhar,adding 184 of them are in ICUand 27 on ventilators. Thenumber of containment zonesin Delhi has been increased to86, from 79 till Friday.DelhiHealth Minister Satyender Jainsaid, "We will be comfortablewhen the doubling rate goes upto 20 days."

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The Congress on Saturdayreleased a video of an inter-

action between former partychief Rahul Gandhi and agroup of migrant workerswalking back to a village inUttar Pradesh from Haryanaamid the nationwide Covid-19lockdown.

In his introduction to thevideo, Rahul said Covid-19has hit a lot of people but theworst affected are migrantworkers walking thousands ofkilometres back to their homes,without food and water anddespite being beaten up andthreatened.

“But they did not stop andcontinued to walk back to theirhomes. I want to give you aglimpse of their thinking, fears,dreams, aspirations and theirfuture,” he said.

The migrant crisis has trig-gered a political slugfestbetween the oppositionCongress and the ruling BJP,with both sides accusing eachother of playing politics on theissue.

The former party chiefalso demanded that the gov-ernment should immediatelyensure a direct cash transfer of�7,500 to each of 13 crorefamilies.

The Congress said Rahulhas been extremely active onsocial media for many yearsnow, becoming one of the 10most followed politicians in theworld on Twitter with 14.2 mil-lion followers.

Over the past few weeks, hehas been regularly releasinglonger format videos of hisconversations with notedexperts, such as former ReserveBank of India (RBI) governorRaghuram Rajan and NobelLaureate Abhijit Banerjee.

In the pipeline are a num-ber of new video formats andinnovative communicationapproaches that he will use totake his message to the widestpossible audience in India andabroad, the party said.

The video interactionreleased took place on May 16near Sukhdev Vihar flyover inNew Delhi. The migrant work-ers were on their way fromAmbala in Haryana to Uttar

Pradesh’s Jhansi, a distance ofabout 600 km.

Rahul met them whenthey stopped to rest after walk-ing more than 100 km.

In the 17-minute video,the Gandhi scion is seen sittingon a footpath with themigrants and interacting withthem.

For almost an hour, he lis-tened to their story and hard-ships, the discrimination theyfaced, their reasons for decid-ing to flee their workplace, andwhy they were forced to walkback to their homes, theirfears, dreams and aspirations,the Congress said.

At the request of thegroup, Rahul and Congressvolunteers organised trans-port and necessary permis-sions to get them back safely

to their village, the party said.On arrival, they were screenedby local health authorities andput into 21-day home quar-antine.

Soon after the interactionon May 16, the party allegedthat Delhi Police had detainedthe workers.

In a shot in the video,Mahesh Kumar, a migrantworker of Jhansi, tells Rahul heand the other workers hadbeen walking 120 km andstopping at regular intervals.“We are helpless. What can wedo? We have to walk,” he says.

Another constructionworker and his family tells himthey would have left for theirhomes had information aboutthe lockdown been providedfour days before it wasimposed.

The workers remainednon-committal about return-ing to their workplaces, insist-ing it is important to save theirlives.

They claimed they hadnot received any monetaryhelp from the government.

The migrants said morethan the Coronavirus, hungeris hurting them and that iswhy they were not afraid ofgetting killed on the roads.

Rahul concluded the videowith a message to migrantworkers: “My brother and sis-ters, you are the strength ofthis country, you carry theweight of this country on yourshoulders. The entire countrywants there should be justice(nyay) with you. It is our dutyto empower this strength ofthe country.”

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The BJP on Saturday hitout at Congress leader

Rahul Gandhi over his videoon his interaction with themigrant labourers saying hewas out to spread “politicalpollution”. The party alsolashed out at the opposition forplaying “negative politics” evenat the time of global pandem-ic

Senior BJP leader andUnion Minister MukhtarAbbas Naqvi said that Rahul isspreading political pollutioninstead of offering any solutionto the problems. “This is a timeof unprecedented crisis withCoronavirus, Amphan Cycloneand Visakhapatanam gastragedy all happening at onceand the Congress must helpthe government,” he said.

For his part, another seniorBJP leader and Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar alleged thatthe Congress and other partieswere engaged in an exercise ofhypocrisy and making contra-dictory comments on the strat-egy to be adopted to battle outCoronavirus pandemic.

Javadekar said, at a timewhen the entire country shouldunitedly fight against this pan-demic, the Opposition is con-tinuously playing negative pol-itics and their meeting calledby Congress reflects it. Healleged that the Congress andother Opposition parties are

commenting on 20 lakh crorerupees package without under-standing its benefits. He saidModi-government has organ-ised a single ration card whichcan be used anywhere in thecountry and also arranged for“free grain” for those whohave no ration card.

The BJP leader said con-gress and other oppositionwere initially asking why lock-down was not being extendedby now same parties werequestioning its extension bythe government. Similarly, hesaid at first opposition saidwhy government was notallowing stranded migrants totravel to their native places butnow since 50 lakh of them havereached their places, same par-ties were playing by “organis-ing few buses”.

He said on the one handopposition parties talking loudabout cooperative federalismon the other the sameCongress and otherOpposition-ruled states arenot giving permission to run asmany trains needed formigrant workers.

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In a series of tweets, BSPsupremo Mayawati attacked

Rahul Gandhi saying his videolooks less like an act of sym-pathy and more like drama.She also said that hadCongress given jobs to labour-ers in the last 70 years, this sit-uation wouldn't have risen.She slammed BJP too for"walking in the footsteps ofCongress".

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Healthcare professionalstreating coronavirus

patients in designated hospi-tals are up in arms against theUnion Health Ministry’s newguideline which asks them tovacate quarantine facilities ifthey are not showing anysymptoms of the disease.

Under the previous guide-line, all doctors, nurses, tech-nicians and sanitation workersin the Covid-19 wards had towork 14 days in a row andremain in quarantine for thenext 14 days to ensure thatthey did not take the infectionback home.

However, the revisedguideline from the Ministry onmanagement of manpower inthe hospitals issued on May 15said that there was no need forquarantine of healthcare work-ers after Covid-19 duty, unlessthere had been a breach in thepersonal protective equipmentor any other form of high-riskexposure.

The clauses in the latestguideline, however, has notgone down well with theFederation of ResidentDoctors’ Association(FORDA) which observed ablack ribbon protest on Fridaydemanding proper quaran-tine for all healthcare workerson Covid-19 duty.

Dr Shivaji Dev Barman,President of FORDA, said thatwe have requested theMinistry to amend the guide-lines and allow us 14 daysquarantine as well as testing sothat we can go home withoutany tension. The Coronaviruscan show its effect by two to 14days.

Non-symptomatic health-care workers have been foundto be coronavirus positive inmany cases even after wearingPPE kits.

A circular from Delhi’sLady Hardinge MedicalCollege issued on Thursdaysaid, “Hotel facility duringpost-duty period in Covid-19and suspected Covid-19 zonesprovided to healthcare work-ers is hereby withdrawn andthe occupants are directed toplease vacate their roomsimmediately. If any overstay isnoticed, charges paid for the

overstay will have to be recov-ered from their salaries.”

The accommodation willbe available to those still onCovid-19 duties at the hospi-tal. A similar demand was atDr Ram Manohar Lohia(RML) hospital in Delhi.

Dr Ekta Yadav, presidentof the RDA at RML hospital,however, said that they werehoping that the health min-istry takes back these guide-lines by the time the next shiftends.

Doctors at Safdarjung hos-pital have negotiated a five-dayquarantine for healthcareworkers in the Covid-19 wards,so that they can be tested oncebefore they go back home.

“At the hospital level, ourmedical superintendent hasallowed five-day quarantinefor healthcare workers fromthe Covid-19 wards, so theycan stay in the hotel till theyare tested once,” said DrManish Kumar, president ofthe RDA of Safdarjung hospi-tal.

The All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS) isproviding quarantine to onlythose who are recommendedby the hospital infection con-trol committee.

The dharamshalas of thehospital, which are used by therelatives of the patients usual-ly, were being provided to thehealthcare workers from thehospital.

“We are following thehealth ministry guidelines,”said Dr DK Sharma, medicalsuperintendent of the hospital.

The guidelines define“high risk exposure” as ahealthcare worker treatingCovid-19 patient or handlingtheir samples without properpersonal protective equipment(PPE) or probable breach ofthe PPE.

It will also be required if ahealthcare worker is in contactwith a positive person at a dis-tance of less than 1 metre formore than 15 minutes withoutmasks, face-shields or goggles.

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Due to the outbreak ofCoronavirus, ‘Hunar Haat’,

an income and employmentgenerating platform providingan opportunity to artisans andcraftsmen from across thecountry to showcase theirhandmade and indigenousproducts, would reopen after agap of five months, fromSeptember 25.

Despite the pandemic, aschedule is planned to organ-ise the artisan fair in 25 citiesuntil early next year. This time,Hunar Haat will also use thedigital medium to sell productsonline.

Minority Affairs MinisterMukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the‘Hunar Haat’ will witness larg-er participation of artists andcraftsmen this year with thetheme of “local to global”.

He said ‘Hunar Hat’, whichhas provided employment andemployment opportunities tomore than 5 lakh Indian arti-sans, craftsmen, culinaryexperts and other people associated with them in the last5 years, have become popularamong the people.

It provides market andopportunity to master artisansand craftsmen from remoteareas of the country and hasbecome a credible brand of rareexquisite indigenous handmadeproducts, said the Minister.

In February this year, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadvisited Hunar Haat, which wasorganised at India Gate. He hadencouraged and lauded indige-nous handmade products of

artisans and craftsmen.The ‘Hunar Hat’ may

receive further boost withPrime Minister stressing use oflocal in a bid to become self-reliant in the wake of globalpandemic.

Appreciating the artisansand craftsmen and their prod-ucts in Mann Ki Baat pro-gramme, Prime Minister Modihad said "I witnessed hues ofour country's diverse expanse,cultures, traditions, cuisinesand the warmth of emotions”

According to the statementissued by Ministry of MinorityAffairs, craftsmen have utilisedlockdown period to preparerare indigenous exquisite prod-ucts at large scale.

They will bring them fordisplay and sale in the nextHunar Haat, which is beginningfrom September 25.

Social distancing, hygiene,sanitisation and use of maskswill be ensured at "Hunar Haat".There will be a special "Jaan Bhi,Jahaan Bhi" (Lives and liveli-hoods, both) pavilion to createhealth awareness among thepeople with the theme of "Sayno to panic, yes to precautions".

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The Border Security Force(BSF) has reported 21

new cases of Covid-19 infec-tion in its ranks in the last 24hours. The Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) report-ed six new cases during theperiod.

The BSF has a tally of 120active cases whereas 286infected personnel haverecovered and dischargedfrom hospitals.

As many has 406 personshave been infected due to thecoronavirus in the BSF (120active plus 286 recoveries)which was the highest num-ber among the Central para-military forces.

All of the infected BSFmen are under treatment atdesignated Covid- 19 health-care hospitals , a BSFspokesperson said.

Nine personnel (Kolkata:5, Tripura: 4) recovered fromthe infection during the last24 hours. They have been putunder quarantine as per theprotocol.

With six new cases, theCRPF has total count of 129infected persons.

As many as 219 infectedpersonnel have recoveredfrom the pandemic and twoothers succumbed to the dis-ease.

A total of 350 persons hadcontracted the disease included those who haverecovered or died.

The positive cases in theCRPF were detected fromGuwahati and they have beenadmitted in Gauhati MedicalCollege and Hospital(GMCH).

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Covid-19 in itself may notbe virulent for the kids

but travel restrictions, deliv-ery delays and parents’ fear ofleaving home amidCoronavirus outbreak havethrown in disarray the glob-al immunisation programme-putting approximately 80 mil-lion children under the age ofone, both in rich and poorcountries alike, at risk of dis-eases like diphtheria, measles,and polio.

These are the observationof the World HealthOrganisation, UNICEF, Gaviand the Sabin VaccineInstitute.

The reasons for disruptedservices vary. Some parentsare reluctant to leave homebecause of restrictions onmovement, lack of informa-tion or because they fearinfection with the ovid-19virus.

Other than that, manyhealth workers are a lsounavailable because of restric-t ions on travel , or redeployment to Covidresponse duties, as well as alack of protective equipment.

"Disruption to immunisation programmesfrom the Covid-19 pandem-ic threatens to unwinddecades of progress againstvaccine-preventable diseaseslike measles, said WHODirector General Dr TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus.

Measles and polio vacci-nation campaigns, in partic-ular, have been badly hit,with measles campaigns sus-pended in 27 countries andpolio campaigns put on holdin 38 countries.

At least 24 million peoplein 21 Gavi-supported lower-income countries are at risk ofmissing out on vaccinesagainst polio, measles,typhoid, yellow fever, cholera,rotavirus, HPV, meningitisand rubella due to postponedcampaigns and introductionsof new vaccines.

India has recently issuedadvisory, asking the states tocontinue with the vaccine

immunisation programmeirrespective of the categori-sation of coronavirus diseasecontainment zone but main-taining physical distancingnorms.

The world organisationsnoted that since March 2020,routine childhood immuni-sation services have beendisrupted on a global scalethat may be unprecedenteds ince the incept ion ofexpanded programs onimmunisation (EPI) in the

1970s. More than half (53per cent) of the 129 countrieswhere data were availabler e p o r t e dmoderate-to-severe disrup-tions, or a total suspension ofvaccination services duringMarch-April 2020.

Gavi CEO Dr. S ethBerkley said: "Due to Covid-19 this immense progress isnow under threat, risking theresurgence of diseases likemeasles and polio. Not onlywill maintaining immunisa-

tion programmes preventmore outbreaks, it will alsoensure we have the infra-structure we need to rollout an eventual Covid-19vaccine on a global scale."

Transport delays of vac-cines are exacerbating thes ituat ion. UNICEF hasreported a substantial delayin planned vaccine deliveriesdue to the lockdown mea-

sures and the ensuing declinein commercial flights andlimited availability of char-ters.

"We cannot let our fightagainst one disease come at

the expense of long-termprogress in our fight againstother d iseases , " saidHenrietta Fore, UNICEFExecutive Director.

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If your mask is leaving youirritated, speech-distorted

and causing fogging on glass-es, then you can opt for thecup-shaped mask developed byresearchers from Centre forNano and Soft Matter Sciences(CeNS), Bangalore. They say ithelps to create enough space infront of the mouth whilespeaking. This snug-fit maskcauses no speech distortion, nofogging on glasses, and indeed,packs well all around, leavingpractically no room for leakagewhile breathing.

The product from theCeNS which is an autonomousinstitute of the Department ofScience and Technology alsohelps to create enough space infront of the mouth whilespeaking. The innovation hasbeen transferred to a Bangalorebased company CamelliaClothing Ltd for mass pro-duction.

“Another importantadvantage is its high breatha-bility allowing one to wear itwithout any discomfort.Further, the researchers havechosen the fabric layers suchthat there is a possibility of

deactivating pathogens sheer-ly by the electric charges thatmay prevail under mild fric-tion due to the triboelectricnature of the fabric. Theseadvanced-level tests are beingcarried out.

"While an ergonomicdesign for COVID-19 protec-tion mask is essential for itsease of use for long hours, it isoften not paid much attentionbeyond a few standard designs.A good design should mini-mize the feeling of intrusionand leakage around the edges,but maximize the ease ofbreathing and talking whileholding its place," said ProfAshutosh Sharma, Secretary,DST.

With the increase of activeCOVID cases in India andother countries, usage of facemasks has been advised for thegeneral public. While thehealthcare professionals canuse the special and high tech-nical quality medical masks,for the general public, a maskwith moderate filtering effi-ciency should suffice. It shouldbe comfortable to wear toencourage public to wear it forlong hours.

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Scientists from Palampur-based Institute of

Himalayan Bio-resourceTechnology (IHBT), a lab ofthe CSIR, have claimed that thechemicals in Kangra tea couldbe effective in boosting immu-nity as they can block theCoronavirus’ activity betterthan anti-HIV drugs.Incidentally, ICMR is planningto introduce anti-HIV drugs totreat Covid-19 patients.

Dr Sanjay Kumar,Director, IHBT, during a webi-nar at the institute on theInternational Tea Day recent-ly said, “Using computer-basedmodels, our scientists screened65 bioactive chemicals orpolyphenols, particularly threethat could bind to a specificviral protein more efficientlythan commercially availableanti-HIV drugs approved fortreating COVID-19 patients.These chemicals might blockthe activity of the viral proteinthat helps the virus to thriveinside human cells.”

Tea catechins productionprocess which has been trans-ferred to Baijnath

Pharmaceuticals, and Ready toServe Teas and Tea winescould be game changer forKangra tea, added Dr Kumar.Catechins are natural antioxidants that help preventcell damage and provide otherbenefits.

At the event, Tea vinegartechnology was transferred toa Dharamshala-based com-pany. Tea vinegar has anti-obesity properties.

Also herbal green andblack teas blended withAYUSH-recommended herbswere also launched. These

products could be very usefulfor boosting immunity againstCOVID-19, he said.

Dr RK Sud, ChiefScientist, IHBT said that onthe recommendations ofIndia, the United Nations(UN) recognized the tea'smedicinal properties and cul-t u r a limportance and declared May21 as International Tea Day.

President of Kangra TeaPlanters’ Association, ArunThakur and ChairmanPalampur Cooperative TeaFactory, Rajinder Thakur

talked about the issues con-fronting the Kangra tea indus-try. They said that while teamechanisation which wasintroduced by the institute ispaying dividends, its afford-ability is

“Similarly, the tea planta-tion needs to be extended inthe State by replacing pinetrees which give nothing butforest fires. Whereas tea plan-tation being environmentfriendly conserve soil mois-ture and prevent soil erosionand generates livelihood to themasses,” they opined.

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Dr JN Pande, Director at thePulmonology department

at the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS),Delhi, died of coronavirus onSaturday, just a day after a messworker succumbed to theinfection.

Sangita Reddy, a seniorDelhi doctor and the Joint

Managing Director ofApollo HospitalsEnterprises, shared thenews in a tweet.

"Deeply saddenedto hear that todayCovid-19 claimed itsmost illustrious victim,Dr JN Pande, Directorand Prof ofPulmonolog y at AIIMS,Delhi. A stalwart of the med-

ical world his work in pulmonology will continue to

ensure better health for many.My Condolences to his fam-ily," she tweeted.

Pulmonology is a medicalspecialty that deals with dis-eases involving the respiratory tract.

Hundreds of doctors andhealth workers across thecountry are being infectedwith coronavirus since itsoutbreak.

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Beijing: China is preparing toset up national security agenciesin Hong Kong to deal with pro-democracy agitators, the statemedia reported on Saturday, aday after Beijing introduced acontroversial national securitylaw to firm up control over theformer British colony.

Currently, a ChineseMilitary garrison comprisingover 10,000 troops — mainly asymbolic presence for externaldefence — is stationed in HongKong. The public order is main-tained by the Hong KongSpecial Administrative Region(HKSAR) government.

The draft bill on establish-ing and improving the legal sys-tem and enforcement mecha-nisms for the Hong KongSpecial Administrative Region(HKSAR) to safeguard nation-al security was submitted to theNational People’s Congress(NPC) during its week-long

session here and is expected tobe passed on May 28.

The bill is a political bomb-shell for the former Britishcolony as China has decided tobypass the local legislative coun-cil to bring about a new nation-al security law, tailor-made tocontrol Hong Kong after thepro-Beijing local administrationheaded by Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam failed to controlmonths of mass protests bypro-democracy groupsdemanding autonomy and free-dom from China.

The Chinese central gov-ernment is preparing to set upnational security agencies inHong Kong to enhance infor-mation collection and evidence-based dealing against acts of‘splitting the country, subvertingstate power, organising andperpetrating terrorist activities’as it accelerated efforts to for-mulate the national security

legislation, state-run GlobalTimes reported on Saturday.

“As far as I know, the legis-lation is ready, which will bepassed in the next meeting ofthe NPC Standing Committee,”Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, amember of the NationalCommittee of Chinese People’sPolitical ConsultativeConference (CPPCC) and solic-itor in the Supreme Court ofHong Kong, told the tabloid.

The bill was moved in theNPC by the government whichwas denounced by pro-democ-racy parties as a death knell forHong Kong’s autonomy.

After the lawmakers vote onthe draft Hong Kong NationalSecurity Law on May 28, theNPC Standing Committee canhold interim meetings to signthe bill into law, Wong said.

The Standing Committeerefers to a small group of pow-erful legislators who meet

round-the-year. The near 3,000-member NPC, regarded as arubber-stamp Parliament forroutine approvals of the rulingCommunist Party’s decisions,holds a full session only ones ayear.

“National security mattersare tackled in a highly profes-sional scope, and ordinarypolice officers or governmentofficials do not have specificmeans, for example, investiga-tion measures,” Wong said, not-ing that the central govern-ment’s special agencies to safe-guard national security are like-ly to set up branches in HongKong.

Lam, whose ExtraditionBill in the local assemblysparked seven months of mas-sive protests, defended the newdraft legislation tabled in theNPC.

Hong Kong was rocked byunprecedented, pro-democracy

protests last year which beganover the proposed extraditionlaw, which sparked fears thatlocals would be prosecuted inthe Chinese mainland.

It later turned into a majorpro-democracy movement withdemands to elect local officialswithout Chinese interference.

Lam told the media inHong Kong that business con-fidence in the former Britishcolony will improve as the placewill be safer after its legal sys-tem and enforcement mecha-nisms to safeguard nationalsecurity are established andimproved.

The new legislation willnot damage the interests of for-eign investors, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.

Lam said national securityis the top priority of everycountry and region, which isthe foundation for the citizens’well-being. PTI

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Ninety-seven people, includ-ing nine children, were

killed and two passengers mirac-ulously survived a fiery crashwhen a Pakistan InternationalAirlines plane with 99 trav-ellers on board plunged into adensely populated residentialarea near the airport here, theArmy said on Saturday.

Flight PK-8303 from

Lahore crashed at the JinnahGarden area near ModelColony in Malir on Fridayafternoon, minutes before itslanding in Karachi’s JinnahInternational Airport. Elevenpeople on the ground wereinjured.

The Pakistan Army, lead-ing the rescue and relief efforts,said 97 bodies have been recov-ered and two passengers sur-vived the crash.

Rio De Janeiro: Brazil report-ed more than 3,30,000 con-firmed cases of the novel coro-navirus as of Friday, surpassingRussia to become the nationwith the second-highest num-ber of infections, behind onlythe US, according to a tally keptby Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil’s health ministry saidFriday there were 3,30,890 con-firmed COVID-19 cases.

The Latin American alsohas recorded more than 21,000deaths, though experts believethe true numbers are higher.

Brazil reported 1,001 deathsover the previous 24 hours,bringing its total death toll tomore than 21,000. It is the hard-

est hit nation in Latin America.The news came as states

and cities across Brazil debatewhether to loosen restrictivemeasures introduced to limitthe spread of the virus, orimplement stricter lockdowns.

While the mayor of Rio deJaneiro said he wants to gradu-ally reopen non-essential shopsin the next few days, newspaperFolha de S. Paulo reportedFriday that Sao Paulo was reeval-uating its previously announcedplans to reopen commerce andinstead may enter lockdown.

A surging coronavirus isravaging parts of LatinAmerica, setting records forcases and deaths Friday insome countries in the world’smost unequal region even asthe pandemic’s march slows inmuch of Europe, Asia and theUnited States. AP

London: British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson isunder pressure to sack his topaide after reports that hebreached the coronavirus stay-at-home lockdown rules bytravelling to his parents’ home.

Dominic Cummings, whois Johnson’s Chief StrategyAdviser at No. 10 DowningStreet, had developed coron-avirus symptoms around thesame time the UK prime min-ister tested positive for thedeadly virus at the end ofMarch. According to UKmedia reports, he and his wifetravelled from London over 260miles to his parents’ home inDurham, north-east England,during that time.

In a statement, DowningStreet on Saturday saidCummings believed he“behaved reasonably and legal-ly” and that his actions were in

line with the coronavirusguidelines.

The government’s strictsocial distancing rules in placeat the time called on people notto travel as part of measures tocontain the spread of COVID-19. And, the advice for anyonewith coronavirus symptomsremains to self-isolate at homeand not leave – even for essen-tial supplies – for seven days.

A member of the public isunderstood to have seenCummings and made a com-plaint to the local Durhampolice, a joint investigation bythe ‘Guardian’ and ‘Mirror’newspapers revealed.

“On Tuesday, March 31,our officers were made awareof reports that an individualhad travelled from London toDurham and was present at anaddress in the city,” aspokesperson for Durham

Constabulary said.“Officers made contact

with the owners of that addresswho confirmed that the indi-vidual in question was presentand was self-isolating in part ofthe house. In line with nation-al policing guidance, officersexplained to the family theguidelines around self-isolationand reiterated the appropriateadvice around essential travel,”the spokesperson said.

Opposition partiesdemanded a “clear explanation”from Downing Street forCummings’ actions.

“Owing to his wife beinginfected with suspected coro-navirus and the high likelihoodthat he would himself becomeunwell, it was essential forDominic Cummings to ensurehis young child could be prop-erly cared for,” a DowningStreet spokesperson said. PTI

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Apowerful Muslim body inSouth Africa has cautioned

the community members aboutEid turning into a “super-spreader” of the deadly coron-avirus, urging them to foregothe traditional ways of cele-brating the festival.

The Muslim JudicialCouncil of South Africa(MJCSA) issued a statement onFriday, calling on Muslims tonot to engage in the tradition-al ceremonies and prayers asso-ciated with Eid. The commu-nity members will have toforego their usual practice ofmeeting for communal prayersat open spaces or visits tocemeteries, friends and family

on the festival due to theCOVID-19 restrictions.

“Eid can potentially becomea super-spreading event, whichresults in many more peopledying, especially if people dis-obey lockdown regulations andstart visiting family (as) it willlose its effect if people start vis-iting each other at home.

“Please avoid physicallygetting together as it puts your-self and your family at risk,” thestatement said.

The country has beenunder a nationwide lockdownsince March 27. The presidenthad last month announced afive-phase plan to graduallyease the lockdown imposed tocombat the spread of the coro-navirus in the country.

For over a century,Muslims in the country’s firstcolonised city, Cape Town,have gathered in large numberson the beach front to eagerlyawait the sighting of the newcrescent moon to signal the endof Ramzan and the advent ofEid the following day.

This would also have beenthe case this Saturday, but nowthe MJCSA has called onMuslims to stay away, appar-ently for only the second timesince the tradition started.Elders recall that the only timethere had been a break was dur-ing the Second World War.

Cape Town is in theWestern Cape Province, whichhas become the epicentre of thecoronavirus in the country.

Washington: President DonaldTrump’s administration hasdiscussed holding the first USnuclear test since 1992 as apotential warning to Russia andChina, the Washington Postreported on Friday.

Such a test would be a sig-nificant departure from USdefense policy and dramatical-ly up the ante for other nuclear-armed nations. One analysttold the newspaper that if it wereto go ahead it would be seen asthe “starting gun to an unprece-dented nuclear arms race”.

The report, citing onesenior administration official

and two former officials, allwho spoke anonymously, saidthe discussion had taken placeat a meeting on May 15.

It came after some USofficials reportedly claimedthat Russia and China wereconducting their own low-yield tests. Moscow andBeijing have denied the claims,

and the US has not offered evi-dence for them.

The senior administrationofficial said that demonstrat-ing Washington’s ability to“rapid test” would be a usefulnegotiating tactic as the USseeks a trilateral agreementwith Russia and China overnuclear weapons.

The meeting did not con-clude with any agreement, andthe sources were divided overwhether discussions were stillongoing. Nuclear non-prolif-eration activists were quick tocondemn the idea. “It would bethe starting gun to an unprece-dented nuclear arms race,”Daryl Kimball, executive direc-tor of the Arms ControlAssociation, told the Post.

He added that it would alsolikely “disrupt” negotiationswith North Korean leader KimJong-Un, “who may no longerfeel compelled to honour hismoratorium on nuclear test-ing.” Beatrice Fihn of theInternational Campaign toAbolish Nuclear Weapons(ICAN), the group that won the2017 Nobel Peace Prize,warned a Trump nuclear testcould “plunge us back into anew Cold War”. AFP

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Washington: President DonaldTrump has labeled churchesand other houses of worship as“essential” and called on gov-ernors nationwide to let themreopen this weekend eventhough some areas remainunder coronavirus lockdown.

The president threatenedFriday to “override” governorswho defy him, but it wasunclear what authority he hasto do so.

“Governors need to dothe right thing and allow thesevery important essential placesof faith to open right now —for this weekend,” Trump saidat a hastily arranged press con-ference at the White House.Asked what authority Trumpmight have to supersede gov-ernors, White House press sec-retary Kayleigh McEnany saidshe wouldn’t answer a theoret-ical question. PTI

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Gaza City: The crowded GazaStrip recorded its first deathfrom the coronavirus onSaturday, officials said, amidfears an outbreak could para-lyze the territory’s already over-stretched health care system.

The Palestinian healthministry said the deceased wasa 77-year-old woman who hadunderlying health problemsand had been placed at a spe-

cial field hospital near theRafah border crossing pointupon arriving from Egypt.

Gaza’s authorities, led bythe militant group Hamas,reported 35 confirmed newcases this week, bringing thetotal to 55. All of the infectedhave been in designated quar-antine and isolation facilitieshosting returnees from abroad.There were no reports of com-

munity transmission of thevirus. Gaza’s health care systemis fraying under the weight ofan Israeli-Egyptian blockade,internal Palestinian divisionand repeated wars and skir-mishes between Israel andPalestinian militant groups.

Home to 2 million people,the Gaza Strip has only a littleover 60 ventilators and a chron-ic shortage of medication. AP

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Washington: A bipartisangroup of lawmakers have forthe first time introduced alegislation in both the cham-bers of the US Congressproposing major reforms in theH-1B work visas by givingpriority to the best and bright-est US-educated foreignyouths, a move that couldbenefit Indian students alreadyin the country.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical ortechnical expertise. Companiesdepend on it to hire tens ofthousands of employees eachyear from countries like Indiaand China.

On April 1, the USCitizenship and ImmigrationServices (USCIS) said that theUS received nearly 275,000unique registration requests forthe Congressional mandated85,000 H-1B visas for foreigntechnology professionals, ofwhich more than 67 per centare from India.

As far as the students areconcerned, India accounts forthe second largest number offoreign students in the USafter China. There are morethan 200,000 Indian studentsin the US. PTI

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London: David Waugh isputting down barrier tape andspraying yellow lines on theground outside the main doorof his school near Manchester.

Waugh, who oversees fiveschools in northwesternEngland, already has paintedyellow arrows to ensure thatchildren follow a one-way patharound the building when theyreturn next month from anextended break due to the coro-navirus pandemic.

Soft furniture and playequipment have been cordonedoff, and desks have been spreadapart. Waugh has stocked up on7,500 face masks, hundreds ofpairs of gloves, hand sanitiserand other supplies. AP

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday

said banks have been asked toextend loans automatically toeligible borrowers without fearof 3Cs - CBI, CVC and CAG.

She said clear instructionshave been given in a meetingwith CEOs and MDs of publicsector banks and financialinstitutions on Friday that thebanks should not be scared toextend loans as 100 per centguarantee is being given by theGovernment.

In case of default, the indi-vidual bank or official will behauled up, she said in a con-versation with BJP leader NalinKohli uploaded on the party’ssocial media platforms.“Yesterday, I reiterated that bysaying, if a decision goeswrong, and if there is a loss, the

Government has given 100 percent guarantee now.

It is not at all going to beon the individual official andon the bank, and thereforewithout fear they should takethis automatic route in thesense, everybody eligible foradditional term loan and addi-tional working capital shouldbe given,” she said.

As part of the �20.97 lakhcrore comprehensive econom-ic package, the Governmentannounced the EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) worth �3-lakh crorefor the MSME sector, hit hardby the coronavirus crisis.

It is being said that the gen-uine bonafide decisions in thebanking sector are beingimpacted because of the worryof undue harassment by 3Cs-Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), Central Vigilance

Commission (CVC) andComptroller and Audit General(CAG).

The Finance Ministry hastaken several steps to allaythose fears including with-drawing some of the notifica-tions which were causing fearsamong bankers, she said.

“...Concerns these banks havehad in their minds earlier, andmay have even now areabsolutely well founded. Infact, through my last 7-8months, I have spent at leastthree different times with thebanks to say that the fear of the3Cs as they refer to the CBI,CVC, and also the CAG shouldnot be in their minds,” she said.

When asked about criti-cism about leaving many crit-ical sectors including hospital-ity, auto and civil aviation in theeconomic package, Sitharamansaid the Government has nottaken a sectoral approach buta holistic approach. “ E x c e p tagriculture and the power sec-tors where reforms would beundertaken, other than that Ihave not come up with any sec-toral reference. What has nowbecome to be called as MSMEpackage, it includes MSME,

and also aims at touching oth-ers (sectors) too,..So the sectorsthat you are referring to canalso benefit through this,” shesaid. It is based on theunderstanding that any enter-prise “with a certain exposureto the bank and with a certaininvested capital, or with a cer-tain turnover if they need addi-tional term loan, additionalworking capital in order to buytheir own material to restart, inorder to be able to pay somefixed cost, it can take thatroute,” she said. She expressedhope that from June 1, liquid-ity would start flowing frombanks without any new collat-eral. During the meetingwith bankers, the FinanceMinister said it was emphasisedthat the loans should be sanc-tioned in a simple mannerand if possible digitally toavoid any physical contact.

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State-run Bank of Baroda onSaturday said it can offer up

to �12,000 crore in loans toMSMEs under the �3 lakhcrore Emergency Credit LineGuarantee Scheme (ECLGS)announced by theGovernment.

Last week, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhad announced a 100 per centcredit guarantee scheme worthRs 3 lakh crore to support themedium, small and microenterprises (MSMEs) whichhave been adversely affected bythe coronavirus crisis.

All existing MSME bor-rowers with outstanding cred-it of up to �25 crore as onFebruary 29 and with an annu-al turnover of up to �100 crorewould be eligible for fundingunder the scheme.

“In our case, that particu-lar portfolio amounts to be�58,000 crore.

So, 20 per cent of thatwould be around �10,000 c

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Aday after the RBI project-ed economic contraction

in 2020-21, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onSaturday said future fiscal pol-icy actions to stimulate theeconomy will depend on howCOVID-19 pandemic pansout. The government hasalready announced a �20.97lakh crore economic package,which includes Reserve Bank’s�8.01 lakh crore worth of liq-uidity measures till May 17.Sitharaman said making a“realistic assessment” of eco-

nomic growth would be diffi-cult at this point of time asthere is no clarity on when thepandemic would retreat.“I’m not closing the door at all.I want to keep getting inputsfrom industry, implementwhat we have announced anddepending on how things panout we have to respondaccordingly. We are only 2-month old in this year, we have10 months to go,” Sitharamansaid in a conversation with BJPleader Nalin Kohli.The Reserve Bank on Fridayhad said the impact ofCOVID-19 is more severe

than anticipated and the GDPgrowth during 2020-21 is like-ly to remain in the negativeterritory.

It projected some pick-up in growth impulses fromsecond half (October-March)of 2020-21 onwards.Last week, the minister hadannounced an economic pack-ages five tranches, whichincluded a �3.70 lakh croresupport for MSMEs, �75,000crore for NBFCs and �90,000crore for Power distributioncompanies, free foodgrains tomigrant workers, increasedallocation for MGNREGS.

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Air India pilot unions IPGand ICPA on Saturday

threatened they might not beable to extend support to theairline’s “normal operations”and in the matter of flight dutyand time limitations (FDTL),alleging that financial and otherissues of employees remainunresolved.

The two unions, whichrepresent the pilots operatingBoeing and Airbus aircraft ofthe airline, in a joint letter tothe personnel department, alsosought to know the outcome ofthe various cost-cutting mea-sures which the carrier initiat-ed in March to deal with itsprecarious finances in the wakeof the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indian Pilots Guild(IPG) and the IndianCommercial Pilots Association(ICPA) letter comes ahead ofthe resumption of commercialpassenger services on domes-tic routes from May 25, whichwere suspended about twomonths ago along with inter-national services in the wake ofCOVID-19 and subsequent

lockdown imposed by the gov-ernment on March 25.

Air India had announced ahost of measures to reducecosts, including withdrawingspecial allowances for pilotsand other facilities for its offi-cials, a 10 per cent deductionin allowances (excluding basicpay, HRA and variable dearnessallowance) in respect of allemployees, except cabin crew,for a period of three monthseffective from March.

It had also announcedundertaking negotiations toreview all agreements withlessors and hotels to reducetheir rates.

“We have communicatedour precarious financial situa-tion to your office with suffi-cient notice and clarity. Since ithas fallen on deaf ears, wewould like to inform you, wemay not be in a position toextend FDTL and support fornormal operations if the man-agement does not take care ofthe frontline workers cate-gories and move forcefully togenerate revenue for Air India,”the two unions said in a jointletter on Saturday.

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Several Union Ministers,including Piyush Goyal,

Nitin Gadkari and NarendraSingh Tomar, on Saturdayinteracted with stakeholdersof some key industries like foodprocessing, marine and autoparts.

Besides commerce minis-ter Goyal, MSME ministerGadkari and agriculture min-ister Tomar, Minister of AnimalHusbandry, Dairying andFisheries Giriraj Singh andFood Processing MinisterHarsimrat Kaur Badal alsotook part in the virtual inter-action.

The Ministers also helddiscussions on ways to boostdomestic competitiveness andincrease India’s share of globalexports in food processing,marine and auto parts. Had ameeting with food and marineprocessing, ready to eat seg-ment and auto parts stake-holders.

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Engineering firm TataProjects on Saturday said it

is augmenting hospital infra-structure with 2,304 beds atmultiple locations across Indiato treat COVID-19 patients. “As one of the fastest growingand most admired infrastruc-ture companies in India, we feltthe need to use our expertise inexecuting large and complexurban and industrial infra-

structure projects towardsaugmenting, upgrading thenation’s hospital network,” TataProjects Chief Strategy OfficerHimanshu Chaturvedi said ina statement.

Today, the company isproud that its teams of engi-neers, technicians and workersare working tirelessly towardsstrengthening the fight againstCOVID-19, he added.

“We believe that our sup-port in the fight against

COVID-19 will further help inonce again accelerating India’sprogress at the earliest,”Chaturvedi said. Recently,at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital,Tata Projects transformed twowards encompassing 65 bedsand specialised medical equip-ment so that it can handle moreserious coronavirus cases. In addition, Tata Projects is alsoturning a large section of KEMHospital’s orthopaedic centreinto a 115-bed isolation centre.

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DCB Bank on Saturdayreported a 28 per cent

decline in net profit at �69 crorefor the March quarter, impact-ed by the coronavirus crisis.

The private sector lenderhad posted a net profit of �96crore in the same period of2018-19. Income during theJanuary-March quarter of FY20rose by 8.5 per cent to �434crore, as against � 400 crore inthe same period of the preced-ing fiscal, DCB Bank said in arelease.

The bank’s profit after taxin FY20 stood at �338 crore, up4 per cent from �325 crore in2018-19. Income during theyear grew 10.5 per cent to�1,656 crore as against � 1,499crore in the preceding fiscal.

“Both FY 2020 and Q42020 Profit Before Tax wasimpacted by �63 crore Covid-19 Regulatory PackageProvision. The bank conserv-atively made more provisionthan required as per guide-lines,” it said.

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Abhas Jha, an Indian econ-omist, has been appointed

by the World Bank to a keyposition on climate changeand disaster management inSouth Asia, the global lendersaid. Jha’s appointmentcomes at a time when CycloneAmphan has badly hit WestBengal, Orissa in India andBangladesh.

In his capacity as WorldBank’s Practice Manager forClimate Change and DisasterRisk Management for SouthAsia, one of the top prioritiesof Jha will be to encourage andhelp the South Asia region(SAR) Disaster RiskManagement and ClimateChange team to connect andcollaborate across GlobalPractice boundaries, the banksaid in a statement on Friday.

And also to the WorldBank to conceive and deliverinnovative and high-qualitydevelopment solutions to

respond to client demands andstrengthen disaster risk man-agement and climate action inthe region, the statement said.

Based out of Singapore, Jhawill also work closely withother Practice Managers,Global Leads and GlobalSolutions Groups to incubate,pilot and scale-up innovativeand high-quality developmentsolutions, and to promote thegeneration and flow of globalknowledge to serve these coun-tries, the bank said.According to the bank, Jha’smandate is to nurture, lead,inspire and deploy a team ofhighly qualified professionals todeliver the best solutions forthese countries. Jha, anIndian national, joined theBank in 2001 in the office of theExecutive Director forBangladesh, Bhutan, India andSri Lanka and has since workedin Latin America and theCaribbean, Europe and CentralAsia, and East Asia and thePacific regions.

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The Finance Ministry is notconsidering imposition of

calamity cess on the GST asbusinesses are grappling withlow sales and decliningdemand, sources said.

Reports had earlier saidthat the Central Government isconsidering a calamity cess onthe Goods and Services Tax,similar to flood cess imposedby Kerala in June last year.Ministry sources said that inthe present economic scenarioduring the COVID-19 pan-demic, any purported propos-al of introducing a calamity cesswould be nothing less than anadversity itself.This wouldprove to be counter-productive,as sales are already at low vol-ume and the industry is facinga deep crisis for want ofdemand and likely labour chal-lenges, a source said. “Any suchmeasure would further damp-en the consumers’ sentimentand could weaken markets’strength, especially when thegovernment is endeavouring itsbest to boost the consumption,”the source said.

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� � The Indian PremierLeague has helped English crick-et grow, feels Jos Buttler, admit-ting that the cash-rich T20 tour-nament is the best in the worldafter the ICC World Cups.

Butler said he was desperateto be a part of this year’s IPL,which now has been indefinite-ly suspended.

The World Cup-winningEngland wicketkeeper batsman,has been a part of two franchis-es in the IPL. After playing forMumbai Indians in the 2016-17season, Buttler moved toRajasthan Royals in 2018.

“There’s no doubt that it(IPL) has helped English crick-et grow and the numbers ofplayers who were involved in thelast few years,” Buttler said in theBBC Podcast — The Doosra.

“It was something I was des-perate to play. For me it’s the besttournament in the world, takingout the World Cups,” he added.

Buttler, who made massivestrides as a white ball player aftera few seasons of IPL, said theleague is like the fantasy crick-et he aspired to play as kid, withthe top stars of the game rubbingshoulders together.

“Some of the match ups youget to see in the IPL are great.Bangalore has been amongst thetop three teams with (Virat))Kohli, AB and Gayle coming upand then to see them up againsta (Jasprit) Bumrah or a DaleSteyn or (Lasith) Malinga.

“As a kid growing up that iswhat you want to play — fanta-sy cricket. Mix all the teamstogether what it will be like ifKohli and de Villiers play togeth-er,” he added.

Buttler credited KevinPietersen, who advocated for thecreation of a separate windowfor the IPL, paving the way forEnglish players to be a part of thecash-rich tournament.

“English cricket has gotquite an interesting history withthe IPL. The documentary aboutKevin Pietersen and how hewanted to get involved and theroad blocks he faced,” he said.

“He really paved the way fora lot of us to go and now play inthe IPL with more blessingfrom English cricket. He is a pio-neer in building the steps inplace to realise just how impor-tant the IPL is for developingcricketers,” Buttler added. PTI

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Australia’s premier pacer PatCummins is well aware ofChesteshwar Pujara’s capa-

bilities, insisting that they willneed to “take their medicine” tooutlast the Indian middle-ordermainstay in the home series thissummer.

Pujara’s exploits with the batin India’s series win in 2018-19 isstill fresh in Cummins’ mind andhe would like to avoid a repeat ofthe same in the upcoming tour.

Pujara was the star of India’sbreakthrough 2-1 series win overAustralia, amassing 521 runsfrom four Tests at an average of74.42 with three centuries andone fifty.

“He (Pujara) had a mam-moth series for them (in 2018-19). He’s one of those playersthat’ll take his time, he’s in hisown little bubble and he doesn’tget disturbed by too much,”Cummins told cricket.Com.Au.

“We’ve got to find a way tooutlast him if he bats the way hedid last time. There wasn’t toomuch in the pitch so you could-n’t manufacture anything. So Ithink (we need to) take our med-icine a bit more and try and out-last him.”

Cummins hopes the condi-tions this time would be inAustralia’s favour, saying theywould need to get the likes ofPujara out of his comfort zone tostop India.

“But we’ll wait and see.Hopefully the wickets are a bitbouncier (and) we’ve got a fewmore options,” he added.

The 27-year-old believes thathe has evolved as a bowler fromthe 2018-19 tour.

“I think each Test I play, Ilearn a little bit about my ownbowling. I’ve probably played 10or 15 Tests since that series andI feel like with each series I get alittle bit better,” he said.

“There were a few lessons; thefirst lesson I learnt was how bru-tal Test cricket is. They might batall of day one and there’s nothingthat’ll stop them batting all of day

two unless we take wickets, whichthey did a few times.

“They showed us what youhave to be, what level you have tobe at, to be the best team in theworld.”

Overall, Cummins, current-ly world No 1 Test bowler, feelsAustralia is far better equipped tohandle the Indians now than lasttime.

“I think we’ll be ready forthem this time,” he said.

“Everyone’s a little more expe-rienced this time because obvi-ously we’ve got a couple of classbatters back in the side andsomeone like Marnus(Labuschagne) has played a bitmore and done brilliantly.

“So I feel like we’re in a bet-ter position.”

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The wait for bowlers looking toresume Test cricket after the

coronavirus hiatus will be longerthan others as the ICC has set apreparation time of up to two tothree months for them to avoid get-ting injured.

“Test cricket would require aminimum of 8-12 week preparationperiod (for bowlers), the final 4-5-week period would involve matchintensity bowling.

“Bowlers are at a particularlyhigh risk of injury on return to playafter a period of enforced time-out,”the sport’s world governing body saidin its ‘back-to-cricket’ guidelines.

Under the subhead cricket spe-cific risks, the ICC mentioned about“safe and effective return of players

to strength and conditioning (partic-ularly bowlers).”

“Limited preparation maycause higher injury levels,” itsaid.

“When looking attimescales, considerationneeds to be given to the ageand physical preparednessas this will influencethe risk and lengthof time required todevelop appropri-ate bowling loadsthat will allow asafe and effec-tive return tointernationalcricket.”

The ICCsaid a return to T20Internationals for bowlers

would require a minimumfive-six week preparationperiod, the last three-week

involving match intensi-ty bowling.

The minimumpreparation timefor ODIs has beenset at six weeks,with the finalthree weeks involv-

ing match intensitybowling.

The ICC alsoadvised teams to use

larger squads and exer-cise caution overbowlers’ workloads andstated that Test cricketwould require a mini-mum of eight to 12week preparation.

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England all-rounder ChrisWoakes feels banning the

use of saliva on balls will notbe an issue as bowlers willeventually find other ways toshine the ball.

Woakes feels appying sali-va on the ball is a habit and itwill take some practice to getrid of it when cricket resumes.

“Moving forward you’regoing to have remind yourselfthat you can’t use those thingsto shine the ball,” Woakeswas quoted as saying byWisden.

The 31-year-old said thebowlers’ job will become hard-er without the use of saliva onthe ball.

“Don’t get me wrong, youcan shine the ball without sali-va and sweat, it probably justdoesn’t have the same effect.You might have to work a lit-tle bit harder on rubbing onthe trousers,” he said.

“We will find ways toshine the ball, whether that’sbeing a little bit more aggres-sive on the shining side ofthings.

I’m sure we will find a wayof getting some shine into thatball and making sure it doesmove off the straight,” headded.

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Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju onSaturday said India will not host

any international event in immediatefuture and fans will have to learn tolive with the new normal of sportingactivities happening behind closeddoors in the post Covid-19 world.

Rijiju’s statement gain greatersignificance in the context of the sus-pended IPL, which the BCCI wantsto host in October-November incase the ICC T20 World Cup inAustralia is postponed.

“We have been working for quitesome time now to resume sportingactivities but before that we have tothink about practice and training. Weare not going to have a tournamentkind of situation immediately,” Rijijuwas quoted as saying by India Today.

“We have to learn to live with thesituation where sporting events will

have to be carried forward withoutspectators in stadiums and sportsvenues,” he added.

Talking specifically about the13th edition of IPL, which has beenput on hold for an indefinite perioddue to the pandemic, Rijiju said it isthe Government’s prerogative to takea call on conducting any tournamentin the country.

“In India, the Government has totake a call and it will take a calldepending on the situation. We can-not put health at risk just because wewant to have a sporting event.

“Our focus is fighting Covid-19and at the same time we will have towork a mechanism to get back tonormalcy. It is difficult to confirmdates but I am sure we will have somekind of sporting events this year,” hesaid.

Asked about the prospect of theTokyo Games that were scheduled for

this year but were postponed to 2021due to the pandemic, the SportsMinister said he is hopeful of thequadrennial event taking place on therevised dates.

“Olympics is still far away and wehave full confidence in the JapaneseGovernment and IOC and everycountry will support that the conductof Tokyo 2021 will not be postponed.There are too many stakes inOlympics, so it is difficult to evenforesee that Olympics can be post-poned,” he said.

“As far as India’s preparationgoes, we are at the best stage of ourpreparation of any Olympics so farin history. This is going to be India’sbiggest contingent so far and havemedal-winning prospects. But I amnot saying we are so prepared to fin-ish in the top 10 or 5 but our longterm target is that India will be in thetop 10 in 2028.”

�0��0� Former Australiaspinner Brad Hogg haspicked four Indians in hiscurrent world Test XI.

Mayank Agarwal, RohitSharma, Ajinkya Rahaneand Mohammad Shami werethe players from Team Indiawho made a cut in Hogg’steam. However, it wassuprising to see that neitherVirat Kohli nor CheteshwarPujara could find a spot inthe team.

“Everyone will ask whyis Virat Kohli not in thisteam?” Hogg said in a videoposted in his YouTube chan-nel. “But if you look at his

last 15 Test innings, only four times he has gone over 31 (runs).That’s why Virat Kohli is not my Test team this year.”

“Rohit Sharma’s a bit lucky to find a place in this XI. He’saveraged over 90 but has played Test cricket only in India. ButI love the way that he’s so relaxed, just pushes the ball throughthe off side and also works the ball off his legs,” he added whilespeaking about Rohit.

The former left-arm chinaman picked Proteas wicketkeep-er-batsman Quinton de Kock as captain of the team.

Apart from the four Indians, the other players who founda spot in the team are Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, BabarAzam, Pat Cummins, Neil Wagner and Nathan Lyon. IANS

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Pacer Shardul Thakur onSaturday became the first

India cricketer to resume out-door training after a two-month coronavirus-forcedbreak.

Thakur, who has fea-tured in one Test, 11 ODIs and15 T20s, hit a local ground atBoisar in Maharashtra’s Palghardistrict along with somedomestic players.

The Maharashtra Govt hasallowed opening of stadiumsfor individual training in greenand orange zones without spec-tators. This was after the HomeMinistry offered relaxation inrestrictions for the fourth phaseof the lockdown.

“Yes, we practised today. It was goodand definitely pleasing to practice aftertwo months,” Thakur said. An official

said that that the Palghar DahanuTaluka Sports Association started

the net sessions at Boisar, whichis around 110 kms away fromMumbai.

Strict safety protocols werefollowed, with each bowler get-

ting his own set of disinfected balls.“All the safety measures were

followed. The bowlers got their ownballs which were disinfected and

temperatures of the players whocame for practise were also checked,”the official said.

Mumbai batsman HardikTamore, who made his Ranji debutfor the domestic giants last season,was also seen training at the same

ground.

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The ICC has advised its member nations to exercisecaution while resuming cricket activities, fearing

a spurt in local transmission with many countries stillstruggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Safety first is one of the primary considerations ofthe ICC’s back-to-cricket guidelines and involving theGovernments at all stages is a must.

“The resumption of cricket activities shouldbegin only if there is no perceived or known risk thatdoing so might result in an increase in the local trans-mission rate,” the ICC said in its guidelines.

While England remains one of the most affectedcountries, major cricket-playing nations such as Indiaand Pakistan have seen a spike in the number of coro-navirus positive cases in recent weeks.

The world governing body of the sport added:“Every effort should be made to ensure that risks asso-ciated with the cricket environment — field of play,training venue, changing rooms, equipment, manage-ment of the ball have been mitigated before any train-ing session or match.”

Under the subhead Government advice, the apexbody guidelines stated, “ICC Members (and their owncricket communities) should be guided by the adviceof their respective Governments in relation to whensporting activity is resumed.

“Where sporting activities has been expressly for-bidden by Governments, no cricket activity shouldcommence until approval to do so has been obtainedfrom the Government.”

Government advice should also be sought in rela-tion to “travel restrictions (domestic and internation-al) and quarantine requirements”.

The ICC has also called for the need to educateplayers and all other stakeholders on the updated safe-ty protocols in what is going to be a vastly differentworld. Sharing of equipment will become a thing ofthe past.

“Wherever possible, items of cricket equipmentshould not be shared with anyone else unless an appro-priate cleaning protocol is followed.

“Players should be advised to minimise the use ofchanging rooms, shower facilities and other commu-nal areas. “Where possible, players should be encour-aged to shower and change at home instead of at matchand training venues.”

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The legendary Shane Warnebelieves Cricket Australia

should force the states to pick aspinner in every first class game toimprove the quality of spin bowl-ing in the country which is current-ly “going downhill fast” due to theincrease in drop-in wickets.

“A spinner should play everysingle game, no matter what theconditions are like, so that partic-ular spinners can learn how to bowlon day one or day four. At themoment, they (states) only pickthem when the conditions suit,”Warne was quoted as saying by TheWest Australian.

“How are they going to learnif you don’t allow them to play statecricket? There has to be a respon-sibility on the states to pick one spe-

cialist spinner in every game. Andif they don’t, well maybe CricketAustralia has to step in. Otherwisespin bowling will go downhill,and is going downhill fast.”

Warne, one of the greatest leg-

spinners the game has produced,said there is a dearth of quality spin-ner who can fill in the shoes ofNathan Lyon and urged CA toensure that states include a spinnerin every Sheffield Shield game.

“Nathan Lyon is one of the bestspinners in the world, and we’re solucky to have a great spinner inLyon. If something happened tohim, we’ve got a spinner with verylittle first class experience thatcould be up against some of the bestplayers in the world of spin,” he saidduring the launch of Advanced HairStudio’s new website.

“We have some good spinnersin Australia, but they’re not gettingthe opportunities. Cricket Australiashould maybe put some pressureon the states and say, ‘You have topick one specialist spinner in yourteam every time.’”

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Need to find way to outlast Pujara: Cummins�������� ����������������!����%%���������$��� ��������9�7����� ! /��� Australia’s limitedover captain Aaron Finch believescricket boards across the worldwill have to compromise andmake “one big effort” to get thesport back on track following thecoronavirus hiatus.There are spec-ulations that the 13th IPL, whichwas suspended indefinitely, mightbe conducted in October-November at the expense of theT20 World Cup in Australia.

Finch, who is on the board ofplayers’ union, said it is not onlyabout the IPL and all stakehold-ers have to make compromises toget cricket to thrive again.

“It will get to a point, not justfor IPL but for all cricket, there’llbe a compromise from a lot of dif-ferent stakeholders — organisa-tions, countries, players, the ICC— to get cricket back and coun-tries thriving again,” Finch wasquoted as saying by SydneyMorning Herald.

“I think the ICC aremeeting next week to startdiscussing the FTP (FutureTours Program) again.The next couple ofweeks we’ll have moreidea what that lookslike, what compro-mises will be madefor different tourna-ments and coun-tries.”

Stakes arehigh forAustralia asIndia is also

scheduled to tour Down Underfor a Test and ODI series with$300 million riding on it.

Finch said things always won’tbe in favour of Australia but com-promises will have to be made.

“Everyone working togetherto get the best result for everyone...Some situations where it’s notideal for Australia we have tocompromise and give. It will beone big effort, I think,” the 33-year-old said.

“With India coming out herethis summer, Kevin Roberts (CACEO Roberts) said it was a nineout of 10 (chance). I think therewill be give and take in a lot of dif-ferent things like that.”

Australia is likely to resumecricket with a limited-over seriesin England after the BangladeshTest tour was postponed due tothe global health crisis.

However, Finch said he hasno concerns about playing inthe UK as they would be stay-ing in a bio-secure environ-ment and would be able totrain during the 14-day quar-

antine period.“I’d be super excited

to get any cricket back -if it’s internationalcricket all the better,”Finch said. “If it’s done

really well with thequarantine bubble and reg-ular testing, I don’t see itbeing an issue. I’d be keento get back playing as soonas possible.” PTI

�+�&"+�2�#2<+��6&��;,$-�#4��+�+�#��,;��#�<�;4��5&���#,$;2�$����,�"#��#;,7�11

'�-�!�����������������!��%�������$���������%&$��������;&�%;;�����#,#,/

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�+C$$�4#,%�"+��;%���;���#,+�6�$$�?#��;&����$#@�7��;�<+�<8�C� ������� ��� �����������,�������"��� ��� Former Australiapacer Brett Lee feels the latestICC guidelines, instructingagainst the usage of saliva onthe balls in the post Covid-19scenario, will be difficult toimplement.

“When you have donesomething your whole lifefrom 8,9,10 years of age whereyou lick your fingers and youput on the ball, it’s very hard tochange that overnight too,”Lee said on Star Sports showCricket Connected.

Lee, who played 76 Testsand 221 ODIs, however expectssome leniency from the worldcricket body in this regard.

“So, I think there’s going tobe a couple of occasions, orthere’s going to be some lenien-cy from the ICC, where there

may be warnings. It’s a greatinitiative, it’s going to be veryhard to implement, becausecricketers have done this fortheir whole life,” added Lee.

Even veteran SouthAfrican cricketer Faf Du Plessisagreed with Lee, saying thesame applied to fielders too.

Giving his own example,Du Plessis, said he is used to thehabit of taking a bit of his spiton his fingers before catchingthe ball in the slips.

“For the fielders, it’s thesame. As Brett (Lee) men-tions, I’m used to taking a bitof spit on my fingers before Icatch the ball at slip. If you lookat someone like Ricky Ponting,he has a big spit on his handsevery time he tried to catch aball,” Du Plessis said. PNS

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My experience…convinced me that tea was bet-ter than brandy, and during the last six monthsin Africa I took no brandy, even when sick, tak-ing tea instead.

— Theodore Roosevelt

Tea deserves all the preference itreceives from those who relish it.The beverage not only has a highsustenance value, but has also beenproven to endow several positive

effects on health. In a world of progressive sci-entific research, the biological composition ofthe tea plant has come under study because ofthe correlation of longevity and health in manyancient tea drinking cultures like China andJapan.

In its everyday aspect, tea is considered abeneficial agent for relieving fatigue and aidingclarity of thought, besides being favourable fordigestion. Although its stimulating effects arederived from its caffeine content, unlike coffee,drinking tea in large quantities does not causehyperactivity, insomnia, or stomach irritation,as this compound is present in a ratio that ishalf the level of caffeine in coffee. A 190 mlcup of tea contains approximately 40-50 mg ofcaffeine, while full flavour coffees average 110-120 mg per cup.

Green, oolong, white and pu-erh tea infu-sions contain even less caffeine than black teas.Not only do they undergo lesser oxidation, butit is so because such teas are made with multi-ple infusions: since water is added more thanonce, and as the liquor gets poured off, itreduces the content of caffeine. Caffeine isconsidered safe when it is consumed at a doseof 400 mg or less per day which would includethe intake of soft drinks such as colas. Hence,be it black or green tea, whichever it may be, itis safer to enjoy several cups of tea rather thanmultiple cups of coffee.

����������������� �����In all, this exhilarating beverage ranks as a

useful component of nature’s health repository.The leaves of the Camellia Sinensis, especiallythe buds and tender shoots contain catechinsand polyphenols. These are part of the molec-ular family of flavonoids that are beneficiarycompounds made by plants.

Tea gains much of its refreshing pungencyfrom its secondary ingredient, polyphenols TFand TR which are derived from a precursormagic compound Epi-gallo-catechin-gallate(EGCG) that is found in green tea leaves.

Its content is a little higher in green tea, ascompared to the fully fermented black teas,because during the oxidation process, most ofthe catechins are converted into complexpolyphenols, thearubigins and theaflavins.Oolong tea contains a mix of catechins andpolyphenols, as it is semi-fermented. Instantand iced teas, on the other hand, do not havethe same amount of polyphenols as an equalvolume of brewed tea. Instant teas are general-ly derived from low grade source material.

All these different types of catechins andpolyphenols have great value as they serve asantioxidants that neutralise the damage causedby an excess of free radicals in the body. Thelatter, in simple terms, are the by-product ofthe normal process by which oxygen is com-bined with glucose in our body cells, to makeenergy; they are not in themselves harmful. Infact, the immune system may itself producefree radicals to neutralise viruses and bacteria.It is only when they are produced in excessthat they begin to attack the cell membranes

and tissues and pave the way for cancer,besides perpetuating blockage that plays a rolein heart disease and accelerates the ageingprocess.

Antioxidants act as vital scavengers thatmop up the damage caused by rogue free radi-cals by neutralising them and consequentlypreventing cell and tissue damage.

Although antioxidants in the form of cate-chins and flavonoids are found to some extentin red wine and in green leafy vegetables likebroccoli and spinach, and fruits such as applesand berries as well as in dark chocolate, tearemains one of the most important sources ofantioxidants.

A study at the Antioxidant ResearchCentre in London published in Free RadicalResearch in February 1999, put forth the fol-lowing formula: 2 cups of black tea = 1 glass ofred wine = 7 glasses of orange juice = 20 glassesof apple juice.

Tea, therefore, with its high content ofantioxidants, is a potential agent for fightingcancer. Similarly, biological research alsoreveals that the antioxidants in tea can counterthe artery-damaging potential of the reactivefree radicals. According to TNO, a Dutchinnovation organisation, quercetin, a valuablepolyphenol found in tea and other vegetablesand fruits, has anti-oxidative properties andprevents the formation of plaque.

In this manner, it helps the endothelial lay-ers of the arteries to remain flexible for goodcirculation and makes the blood cells lessprone to clotting and is a good preventive forheart disease and strokes. Although these dis-eases are attributed in great part to genetic andlifestyle factors, health studies do show somepositive insights into the antioxidant benefitsof this beverage.

Moreover, the catechins in tea offer theadvantage of being an aid for killing infectionas they block viruses and bacteria from hook-ing on to cell walls. Therefore they can helpprotect against diseases like influenza, foodpoisoning, dysentery and cholera. By the same

measure, they can kill mouth bacteria that areharmful for teeth and gums and lead to peri-odontal disease.

Tea also improves the functioning of theintestines by blocking the growth of bad bacte-ria and enhancing good bacteria and is there-fore a good digestive. It is said to be detoxify-ing as the catechins can scavenge harmfulheavy metals like lead, chromium, mercury,which may get ingested with food.

����������������� �����In itself tea has no calories at all, and it is

merely the addition of sugar in each cup of teathat leads to weight gain. Milk however, is notobjectionable, as long as it is just a dash.

There is also the belief that green tea helps

in slimming. While it can by no means be con-strued as a miracle drink, green tea is knownto give a metabolic boost that may shed off afew extra calories by about four per cent. Byvirtue of its antioxidant qualities that help fightageing and skin damage, tea extracts with theirrefreshing aromas are also used in facialcreams, skin packs and perfumes.

The comforting qualities of the beverageare no old wives tale either. There is a naturalbioflavonoid found in tea that has been foundto significantly increase endorphin levels,which in turn reduce pain and anxiety so thatin cases of shock and stress, a cup of teasoothes the nerves.

�������������������������The tea plant has the natural ability to

absorb fluoride from the soil and so a tea infu-sion readily releases this mineral into thewater, making it a beneficial drink for healthyteeth. It is estimated that a single cup provides0.1 mg of fluoride and can provide forty-fiveper cent of the body’s daily requirement.Studies have also shown that there are someestrogenic compounds in tea, together withelements of manganese that help in increasingbone mass by five per cent, thereby reducingfracture risk. It also contains potassium, a min-eral vital for maintaining body fluid levels. Thebeverage acts as a diuretic. This benign brew isalso known to have Vitamin C, zinc and folicacid, and is therefore regularly recommendedfor pregnant women.

Finally, it is not to be forgotten that duringthe days of its discovery in China, the beveragewas recognised at first for its remedial worth.Modern health research still continues to reit-erate this fact.

Excerpted with permission from Chai: TheExperience of Indian Tea, by Rekha Sarin &

Rajan Kapoor, Niyogi Books, �1995. The book was awarded the Best in the World

— Gourmand Cookbook Awards in theBeverages Category (2015)

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The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things inthe world most of which are going to stay. At least fora considerable period. Not only did it ensure that the

wheels of globalisation come a full circle, it also brought sev-eral realisations on the part of the humanity at large. Themost important was that conservation and not consump-tion be the model for a sustainable growth and viable econ-omy. In all this turmoil Gandhi stands vindicated. His ide-ologies, which could better be termed as practices, and alsohis economic thought. We are back to the basics and, moreimportantly, understand why it makes a lot of sense. If allthe effects of pollution that we callously inflicted on moth-er earth in the last 50 years could be undone in 50 days, wemust have become much wiser in this lockdown period.Gandhi had always been emphasising swadeshi and self-reliance. His swadeshi movement that caught the imagina-tion of the masses during the Indian National Movement wasin a way a game changer. It proved a very effective strategyaimed at weakening the British Empire and was a powerfultool in the hands of the Indian National Congress which wasspearheading the movement. A few details of the SwadeshiMovement may help in understanding what it was all about.Gandhi had given a clarion call to boycott British productswhile advocating Indian products and production process.Though Swadeshi as a slogan had been a part of the overallstrategy of the nationalists before Gandhi’s advent on thescene, it was the entry of Gandhi that gave the movementa shot in the arm and resulted in making it a mass move-ment. Incidentally, the first few Industrial Policy Resolutionsof independent India had emphasised self-reliance and importsubstitution as the major goals. How we digressed is a dif-ferent story all together, but this is a time to rethink and redo.What Gandhi exhorted and advocated some 100 years agohas once again become the mantra for India’s rise in the postCovid world. Gandhi had given a complete prescription forsustainable development of India and it included a self suf-ficient village economy and focused on local production ofgoods for local needs. As things unfold in the pandemic, wenow see reason in what Gandhi had championed then. It isa grim economic scenario. Jobs and opportunities are dwin-dling and millions of migrant workers working in differentparts of the country are forced to return to their respectivevillages. It is imperative to strengthen the village economyand start the process of revival. There cannot be a better strat-egy than making the villages self-sustaining units of Indianeconomy. As the former President of India Abdul Kalam hadsuggested in his PURA philosophy, that is, Providing UrbanFacilities in Rural Areas. That is the essential first step. Therural infrastructure must support the strategies of growthand provide a conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurshipdevelopment. Rural entrepreneurship has played a crucialrole in development of many European and Asian economies.It is India’s turn now. Gandhi said that India’s soul lived invillages. We must now try to enrich the soul.

��������������%�����%�!����!������������� ���������!� ���$����������=�6�����$�������� �����������=�!>�!���=��!

This is the underlying principle ofthe creation. By our acts both, thatis, we and the world should ben-

efit. We can understand this from anexample of a head of a joint family. Whatoccupies his mind mostly? That notonly himself but the whole familyshould prosper. His all acts are direct-ed that way.

Similarly, God is the head of the cre-ation. It is His responsibility to see thatthe world runs as smoothly as possible.As we all have free will, which the Lordnever withdraws from us, He has a verytough task. But being God, the omnipo-tent, He manages till it is time for dis-solution of the creation. Fortunately, itis not that time yet. He has intervenedbecause the world was moving in thewrong direction and at great speed.More persons were getting addicted tounlimited sense gratification. In theprocess, the climate was gettingbutchered. In spite of many youngactivists like Greta Thunberg, not manyin the position of power were listening.God had to act to save the world froma certain disaster. This coronavirus —never mind how it started — is a medi-um to reset the world and this is hap-pening quite effectively at this time. Fuelguzzlers are off the roads mostly as areairplanes from air, etc. Crude price istouching rock bottom and the climatehas improved trementously. Couldanyone have imagined this scenario? Weare breathing clean air in Delhi, prob-ably the most polluted city in theworld.

God somewhat like the head oflarge joint family wishes all of us to pro-mote ourselves as well as contributewhatever we can for the betterment ofthe rest of the mankind. God desiresthat His devotees should disseminateHis instructions among His devotees.

(The Bhagavad Gita 18.67-68) They aremost dear to Him. I am citing the exam-ple of Goswami Tulsidas in this connec-tion. The next example is of personsengaged in public welfare. God assuresthat doers of welfare activities do notend up badly. (6.40) Bill Gates is a greatexample for it.

The third example is of climateactivists, who are mostly young, whowish to save the world for their future.They are clamouring for control on car-bon emission and not cutting more treesto do farming. We could eat a little lessmeat in order not to grow so muchgrains. The fourth example is of a leaderlike Mahatma Gandhi, who left such amark. The last example is of all thoseparents, who bring up children verynicely doing many sacrifices in theprocess. They benefit themselves andthe rest of world by their efforts.

Generally, God insists on surrenderto Him (18.62), because such personsare most likely to be useful to the cre-ation. They will not sin and harm selvesor the creation. This is not unfairbecause it is God’s responsibility to man-

age the creation the best way possible.We are aware how those who are busyin lustily enjoying themselves are cre-ating negative forces around them.They are using more than their share ofthe bounties of the world. Despots areworse. They cause damage to the cre-ation by their sinful acts. And those par-ents who do not fulfil their parentalduties are not great favourites of theLord. When we become narrowly self-ish, we hurt ourselves as well as theworld around us.

In the end, I must mention manysaints, who are praying for the welfareof the world. I consider myself most for-tunate to be born in India and livinghere. And I try to fulfil all my dutiesincluding towards myself, my family, myjoint family, devotees and others. Thisdoes not go unnoticed by the Master ofthe universe. He rewards me in manyways, especially by giving peace, blissand security. The best part is God’s reg-ular communications to me guiding mein my eternal journey. #�������������������������� ����$��������

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The corona phobia is spread-ing all over the world morerapidly than coronavirus. Itis the subject discussedeverywhere. Transactions

have reached an impasse. Almosteveryone has self-quarantined them-selves in their respective places. Roadsappear derelict. The future is uncer-tain. Many people all over the worldare dying due to the deadly virus. Theeerie statistics make for the newsheadlines. Scientists are racing againsttime to find the vaccine. Governmentsare implementing lockdowns in theircountry to restrict the spread of thepandemic. The atmosphere is sombreeverywhere!

Nobody wants to die. That is thefact of life. Every living entity strug-gles hard to keep himself alive in thisworld. But death is forced upon us bythe cruel nature. Why? Why Natureis so cruel? I want to live forever butI am forced to die. Why such dichoto-my? An intelligent being will under-stand something is notoriously wronghere. Actually, we don’t belong to thisworld. This is not our real home. Weare not in our natural environmentnow. When we are in exotic environ-

ment like water or air, we are afraidbut when we land on land, we feel safeas that is our natural environment.Similarly, leaving our natural environ-ment, the spiritual world we came toalien environment that is the mater-ial world thus inviting monumentalanxiety.

If you just turn back the pages ofprevious newspapers you will getspooked. Before coronavirus out-break there were other calamitieskeeping us engaged constantly. Indiaand Pakistan were on the brink of war,there was Dokhlam standoff, commu-nal violence over CAA, rising rapecases, economic slump, heavy floodsdue to torrential rains, Cyclone Fani,Cylone Bulbul, etc.

You may think this was only forIndia. But for rest of the world too, listis endless — Massive fire in Amazonforest, melting of ice caps due to glob-al warming, US Iran War, two major737 MAX flight crashes in Indonesiaand Ethiopia, bomb blasts in SriLanka, rising gun violence in the US,US-China trade war, Australian bushfire, rising cases of cancer patients,Swine flu outbreak, and many more.These are few amongst many hitting

us like the constant tides in an ocean.But Coronavirus outbreak is a

Pandemic! It is declared global emer-gency by WHO. It is not a measlyproblem of some one country! OK.Accepted the fact that it is a pandem-ic affecting the whole globe and weneed to follow proper precautions andguidelines laid by the government. ButLord Krishna has already declared inthe Gita (8.15) that this world is aplace of misery. Birth, Death, old ageand disease (Janma-måtyu-jarä-vyäd-hi) are constantly haunting and daunt-ing us. For a given individual any-where, he has some or the other prob-lem in his life making him miserable.Whether it is a small epidemic or pan-demic. He is in anxiety most of thetime.

The pain in the body is a goodnatural mechanism to alert us to takethe treatment. In COVID-19 case thepatient has flu like symptoms offever, cold, cough, and so on. Whenhe gets the symptoms, he can rush tothe hospital to take treatment intime. Many are getting cured andbeing discharged from hospitals. So,the point is pain in the body coercesus to go to doctor and take treatment.

Similarly, the constant miseries inflict-ed upon us by nature are indicationthat we need treatment. And the besttreatment recommended in this age ischanting the Holy names of God.

Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaKrishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare

Chanting will make us peaceful inthis world and next too. That is theimmense power of Holy Name. It ismore powerful than Coronavirusalso.

Also, if one understands theteachings of Bhagavad Gita that oneis not this body but spirit soul (2.22)he will be peaceful. Just as we changeclothes daily while the person remainsthe same, the soul keeps changingbodies according to his karma. Thesoul is unaffected by the miseries ofthis world. The body is subjected tothe change but the soul is unchange-able. The moon although appearingwith the clouds is not affected by thejittery movements of the clouds, itremains steady as it exists at differentlevel than the clouds. Similarly, thesoul remains unchangeable in thischangeable world.

Bhagavad Gita also speaks aboutlaw of Karma. The laws of Karma areextremely stringent. One may escapethe laws of government but one can-not escape the laws of nature. Natureawards exactly the reactions to the liv-ing entity according to what he desiresand deserves. Nothing more or less.

Sometimes, nature divulges massKarmic reaction in form of Tsunami,earthquakes, volcanoes, massivefloods, severe drought, etc. So manypeople get affected. It may seemNature acting blindly. Material Naturemay act in mass but not blindly.

Only they will die who are sup-posed to get the Karmic reaction oth-ers won’t even though in the epicen-ter of the calamity. And we have wit-nessed many cases of people or smallchildren surviving massive earth-quakes buried under debris for dayswhile those staying in their safe andaffluent houses are killed. Nature’s lawpunishes the sinful and awards thepious without a doubt.

By chanting and reading Gitadaily we will fully get cured and goback home back to Godhead wherethere is no — birth, old age, diseaseand death and no Corona but onlyKaruna (mercy) of God. Everythingis within the plan of God although itmay not be exactly the plan of God.If we remain alive through this pan-demic, we will serve God here and ifwe die, we will go to Kingdom of Godand serve Him there. The eternalnature of Soul is to serve God always.��������������������������������������������������%���8�������������?��8�<@A

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It is after decades that great things arehappening to our environment. As aresult of the clear air, for the first time

in three decades, the snow capped peaksof Gangotri became visible from UP’sSaharanpur. It was a pleasant surprise.These are the same mountains which canotherwise be seen from Mussouri, reportsVK Jain, conservator Saharanpur district.

The spring has been markedly differ-ent. There has been rejoicing about returnof blue skies, sparkling rivers, new crop ofleaves on Cycas palms. Each of them has aglassy new foliage. The flora and faunahave been getting back to normal.Marigold, Jasmine, Lilies and roses havegrown in abundance. The nature is boun-tiful reads another report from Jind.

Noise pollution levels have completelygone down which allows you to hear birdsmore clearly. Birds, whose chirpingsounds have been heard the loudest in theNCR during the lockdown include, thebrown rack, Chat, Indian robin, orientalmagpie robin, refocus, tropic, commonhawk Cuckoo, Asian Koel, barbets rosystarlings, and even the golden orlola — abird which migrated from the hills of theHimalayas, sums up Jasjeev Gandhlok.

Gandhiji, would have been pleased tonote that consequentially surgence ofnature to reiterate that the resources ofEarth needs to be exploited minimal asthis earth has sufficient for every humansneed and that simple way of life, he advo-cated is best. To save the planet, our mis-sion must be preventing global warmingand the climate crisis, close wet marketsand wild life trade undeniably, Gandhiji’sideals are beneficial ecologically.

But Gandhiji’s ideals can be disastrouseconomically retorts Rashmi Dasguptaand raised the big question before thehumans decide to use their formidablebrains to recalibrate ‘Progress’ so that it

benefits all not just us.Notwithstanding that doubts persists

about origin of Coronavirus. BramahChallanye argues that Chinese cover up ofthe spread of the first deadly diseaseSARS, in 2002-2003 triggered in theworld of this century’s pandemic and nowthat Beijing opposes an independentinquiry leaves margin of doubt.

However WHO Emergencies DirectorMichael Ryan believes that killer virusjumped from animals to humans in amarket of China late last year, possiblyfrom a market in Wuhan selling the exoticanimals for meat.

Mahatma Gandhi’s ecological intelli-gence of making cult of materialism thatwill recoil on itself and have what we con-sume, consume us. This is staring us inthe face says Gopal Krishan Gandhi.Greed, market created, market driven,market manipulated cares little for thehygiene. The Wuhan market is where it is.

Blaming it in isolation is absured, forthere is a Wuhan market in every city,town and thoroughfare. There is a Wuhanmarket in every one of us.

We may recall, the world has wit-nessed two world wars in the 20th centu-ry in its quest for the trade markets in theEast. A poet then reminded the belliger-ent Germany:

“Geya hai bhool German Aasmanibaap ko apne; Khuda Science ko samjahahai, munkre-zat-e-khuda ho kar”

(The Germany has forgotten theHeavenly father; And believes Science theGod, in denial of the existence ofProvidence.)

Allama Dr. Mohd Iqbal’s propheticutterance hold good both for the West asalso for the East.

“Dyar-e-maghrab ke rehne walo;Khuda ki basti, Dukaan nahi hai”

(O, ye, the inhabitants of the West;God’s abode is not a trader shop).

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The strength and unity of thehistoric European Union

(EU) may be history soon.With the Covid-19 pandemic,many of its member nationswould find it difficult to beeven in the union itself. It’s notonly the current crisis, butalso a sustained economicdownturn since the setback of2009 that could finally push thesurvival of the EU to the brink.

The coronavirus pandem-ic has pitted the members ofthe EU against one another. Forexample, by early March,Germany, one of the fewnations in Europe to manufac-ture medical masks, immedi-ately cancelled plans to exportthese protective gears to fellowcountries. This badly affectedItaly which was then in themidst of Covid-19 attack. Thenthe worst was the fightingbetween two regions of Spaini.e. Barcelona and Madrid. Theautonomous and nationalistGovernment of Cataloniawanted to close the borderbetween the region and the restof Spain. But it could not do asMadrid came armed withemergency authority.

By May, when the virusalmost swept Spain and manyparts of Europe, many EUnations like Germany, France,Austria and Italy reestablishedtheir almost forgotten bordercheckpoints. Alas! At a timelike this, since the SecondWorld War, surely the EU as aunit is performing very poor-ly. Sadly, Brussels, the EUheadquarters, is aimlessly look-ing for a strategy. It has notbeen successful in bringing itsflocks together. It looks like asif the Union is on the verge ofbankruptcy and collapse.

By mid-2019, some ana-lysts rightly pointed out thatfalling production in verymany Eurozone manufacturingunits, surveys portrayingincreasing gloominess amongsome top business leaders, andlastly, an increasing contractionin world trade had a directimpact on the already totteringeconomic structure of the con-tinent. Therefore, the perilousstate of the Eurozone economywas very much clear even inthe last year itself and many ofits leaders such as GermanChancellor Angela Merkel andPresident of France EmmanuelMacron knew about it.

At the moment, a quaran-tined and partly openingEurope is learning that all themajor countries of WesternEurope, except Germany, couldhardly offer any realistic solu-tion to Covid-19 and its imme-diate fallout. On other hand,the European leaders are ner-vous about the way USPresident Donald Trump istrying to change the course ofaction of the existing globalorder. Many strategic experts in

Europe strongly believe thatWashington is all out to destroythe EU. In the beginning of thelast year, Mike Pompeo, theSecretary of State’s wooing ofsome of the East Europeannations was considered anattack on the Union’s exis-tence. In fact, it’s a hard ideo-logical battle for the EU toencounter in the coming days.This also sharpened an East-West division within the EU.This was preceded by Trump’s2017 Warsaw Speech, infusedwith nativist nationalism.Again in the year 2018, hisstrong measures to imposetariff on EU goods, and histearing up of critical globalagreements wherein the EU hasserious stakes was the IranNuclear Deal, the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces Treaty(INF), etc. Further, his openencouragement to Brexiteersand a warning to withdrawfrom Syria was once again a callto threaten the very identity ofthe EU. When John Bolton wasTrump’s National SecurityAdviser, his anti-EU narrativewas on full display whenPompeo paid visit to Budapest,

Bratislava and Warsaw. AfterTrump’s coming to power,America is giving warm wel-come to the rightwing populistgovernments that the EU hasput on notice for long for theirdemocratic backsliding.Another significant aspect ofPompeo’s visit to EasternEurope was that these countrieswere formerly a part of the IronCurtain. All these moves couldbe rightly calculated as insultsthrown at old allies like that ofthe Union. Also such diplo-matic overtures from the UScould be read as a new powergame that Washington wantedto unleash so as to mar the uni-fying efforts of the EU. Suchpolicies would only exasperatethe EU nations as this wouldonly embolden the dema-gogues in Europe.

Is it so that Germany canalone save the EU? It’s not pos-sible for Merkel alone at themoment. But, Germany has theEurozone’s biggest economythat accounts for more than aquarter of the bloc’s output. Ithas the largest number of peo-ple and the most workers whoindeed set the course of the

continent’s economic engine.Many of the EU countries likeFrance, Italy, Belgium, Slovakia,Sweden and the Netherlands,all of them count Germany astheir top business partner.

EU’s decline is no more acock and bull story anymore.As the US is withdrawing fromsome of the key global summitsand treaties, the last exit pointmaybe the World TradeOrganization (WTO), the EUwould find it equally difficultto bear the heat from Chinaand Russia. Trump’s theatricsare simply bunkum. Simplytaking on China and on glob-al institutions at a time Covid-19 is engulfed the world ishighly deplorable. Yes, it is well-understood that these invec-tives towards China are allabout winning the next termfor the White House. But thenderailing a liberal order whichthe US itself has been pio-neering and guarding foralmost more than sevendecades is inconceivable. Whyan America of the 21st centu-ry is trying to push itself to self-isolation? Why Washington isnot partnering with Brussels to

set the stage for a multi-polarworld order? America’s grandconfusion at global stage andcurrent chaos, emanating fromthe Covid-19, is seriouslyimpairing the stability of theliberal world order wherein theEU’s stake is certainly too high.

Further, the trade warbetween America and Chinamay also affect the EU as well.Trump’s tariffs on a number ofChinese imports and on steeland aluminum from Europehave already disrupted the sup-ply chains across Europe. Thisalso has unsettled the plans ofmany top management hous-es who readily take early deci-sions in regard to their invest-ments for new factory spacesand the number of workers tobe hired around the year.

Needless to say that strut-ting the EU project to its mem-bers and to the world couldinvite serious challenges at thismoment. Even then, it wouldbe completely wrong to con-clude that the EU may evanescesoon from the seat of globalleadership. With the devasta-tion of the Covid-19, massmigration, right-wing upsurge,

record low growth, Brexit,emergence of Russian subver-sion, anemic defence spending,and finally lack of unity amongthe members, one can easilypoint a finger at the grand signsof disarray. In the fight betweenthe US and China, the role ofthe EU is definitely secondaryand declining. If the world isnot unipolar today, in a multi-polar world order with thestrength and growing eco-nomic might of emergingnations like India and China,the EU has very little relevanceto put forward.

Beyond all these negativenarratives, Europe alwaysremains relevant. Its transcon-tinental presence of soft power,military and economic mightcan hardly be matched by theUS or China. To conclude, wecan safely say that Europe is the“invisible superpower”. TheCovid-19 crisis may take longerand surely hamper in rechris-tening the EU. But it is a tem-porary phase. Europe had seenmany such disasters in thepast. And these advancednations with their superiorhealth, administration and

leadership would stage a come-back at the global stage. It’s amisnomer to advocate that theEU can’t act as a superpower.It’s a fact that Europe is not asovereign state like India or theUS, but when it comes to anypoint of crisis, it always acts asa single entity. After Russianinvasion of Ukraine, manyinternational pundits opinedthat Moscow might turntowards the east i.e. Chinabecause of its economic might.But these experts were provedwrong. In mid-2015, China’strade accounts for only 14 percent of Russia’s trade whereasonly three European countriescombined i.e. Germany, theNetherlands and Italy account-ed for more than 20 per cent ofRussia’s trade. Thus Kremlinlooked again towards Europe,not Beijing. And the miscon-ception that China has becomemore important in Russianpower calculus was justbrushed aside.

The Covid-19 poses a newthreat to European unity. Manyof the members of the EU aremulling over self-imposed pro-tectionist policies in regard to

migration as their systems arealready too overburdened. Thisand the post-Covid Europewill definitely witness the riseof more nationalist narratives.But this is not a new trend. TheEU is too resilient to handlesuch roadblocks in remainingunited and strong. Despitesuch tremors, its core formalinstitutions such as single mar-ket, environmental and otherpublic regulations, the com-mon trade policy, agriculturalpolicy, foreign aid, and com-mon border control mecha-nisms have still stooduntouched. What Dani Rodrikadvocated should stay not onlyas an evergreen theme, but asa working spirit to both theEuropean leaders and to itspeople at this moment ofCovid-19 crisis: “From Europecame democratic values, socialsolidarity and for all its currentproblems, the most impressivefeat of institutional engineeringof the century, the EuropeanUnion”. Hope it does. Long livethe European unity.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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The globe is facing anunprecedented health cri-

sis at present and India is noexception. There is no denyingthe fact that recession andunemployment are beginningto hit nations across the globe.Besides, we are also facing theproblems of fake news andcommunal hatred along withCovid-19.

The coronavirus crisis hasraised serious questions aboutthe appropriateness of the cap-italist structure of society.There is a vigorous debate onthe mortality rates due to thepandemic and starvation indeveloping and developednations. It seems that Covid-19will outpace hunger on thedeath toll but the debate itselfshows the failure of the market-oriented economy in India. Itis feared that in the currenteconomic system a huge num-ber of the poor will lose theirlives to starvation due to theeconomic impact of the pan-

demic. The ruthless capitalist mar-

ket offers no free lunch. Thestate is also indifferent to peo-ple’s plight, but we, as a society,can pressurise the Governmentto help the vulnerable sectionsof society. Chances are we maysucceed. There are many whoendorse the argument that“higher choices for consump-tion means higher welfare”.

It might be true in somecases, but the vast majority ofIndians do not benefit fromeconomic growth; rather, theystruggle to buy even the essen-tial goods for survival. Forexample, some people arespending the lockdown in theirfarmhouses with plenty of foodand facilities, while others arebarely managing to get onesquare meal per day. Just imag-ine a situation in which peoplebehave only in their self-inter-est, not thinking about otherswhile making decisions duringsuch a crisis. What will be the

outcome? Probably, you knowthe answer. The neoliberal ideology encourages suchbehaviour.

As a set of economic prac-tices, neoliberalism representsan advanced form of capitalismwith several indicators thatprivilege widespread econom-ic activities over all otheraspects of human life. Theproponents of neoliberal econ-omy hold that the highesthuman good can be achievedthrough liberal entrepreneur-ship aided by private propertyrights, free markets, and freetrade. They also advocate thatthe state must serve to safe-guard the interests of the mar-ket by creating and maintain-ing support systems such asinfrastructures, legislating mar-ket-friendly laws, and practic-ing non-interference in markets.

Endorsed by most politicalestablishments around theworld, neoliberalism today

greatly influences not onlyinternational institutions suchas the International MonetaryFund (IMF), the World Bank,the World Trade Organization,but also the way in whichindividual nations conceptu-alise and run their economies.

However, the pandemicunleashed on the world by thenovel coronavirus has broughtneoliberalism’s triumphantmarch to a grinding halt. Thesudden and indefinite shut-down of all economic activitiesat both the national and glob-al levels has adversely affectedmany Third-World countries.India has suffered from theeconomic downturn, caused bythe nationwide lockdown sinceMarch 24. Unfortunately, thosehardest hit are the daily-wagers,the migrant labourers, ownersof MSMEs and the small farm-ers. Abruptly deprived of theirlivelihood during the lock-down, they are staring in theface of a grave economic crisis.

To its credit, the Governmenthas announced a 1.7 trillion-rupee financial package andurged the State Governmentsto provide the basic necessitiesto the poor during the lock-down, but our economic poli-cy seems to have victimised thepoor. India’s neoliberal-capi-talist model of economy hasfailed to uplift the poorest ofthe poor. The Covid-19 crisishas only exposed this sad real-ity.

People need entertainmentthrough socialisation. We arenot saying that people arehappy at their homes, con-suming essential goods andservices only. But the coronapandemic has once again com-pelled the world to find astrong alternative to the neolib-eral model of economy thatoffers better opportunities tothe rich than the poor. In theIndian context, the Gandhianmodel of economy needs seri-ous consideration as a better

alternative. Mainstream economics

tends to overlook theGandhian model based on lim-iting the wants of the peoplebecause it hampers the GDPgrowth. This model primarilydepends upon three ideas:Gram Swaraj, Decentralisation,and Sarvodaya. The concept ofGram Swaraj is associated withself-efficient villages that havethe minimum facilities to livea decent life. The magnitude ofmigrant workers and studentsin the cities indicates the fail-ure of necessary facilities inrural India. Decentralisation ofpolitical and economic poweris needed to give Swaraj to vil-lages. In India, the Centremust provide more rights tolocal governments, urban localbodies and panchayati raj insti-tutions to develop their regions.

Sarvodaya means “uplift-ment of all”. Gandhiji coinedthis term from Ruskin’s famousbook “Unto This Last”. This

ideal is based on the followingthree principles: the good of anindividual dwells in the good ofall (First law of Sarvodaya), noinequalities in remunerationbetween physical and mentalwork (Second law ofSarvodaya), and the life of afarmer (creative production) isworth living (Third law ofSarvodaya). We may not agreewith all the ideas propoundedby Gandhiji and it may notgenerate the magical 7-8 percent growth rate a year, butthey certainly have the capac-ity and vision to empowerIndia’s poor, especially those inthe BPL category. It can alsoengender a more sustainableand equitable economic growthand promote peace and non-violence in society.

(Atman Shah is lecturer,Department of Economics, andSunil Macwan is lecturerDepartment of English; both atSt Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad)

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Pursuing Dhyana, we have alreadyseen how mind becomes free fromall thought imprints, thus becom-

ing free from all limitations and precon-ditioning thereto. Full landscape of mindthen becomes accessible, offering itswholesome powers. Also, it makes onelook at options in hand with an openmind, whereby one could see things inthe right perspective due. You could thenmake right choices in life. It is importantto note here that mind is just an instru-ment, which can’t move on its own. It hasto have its defining principles to perceiveany subject matter in perspective, which,in turn, makes us take initiatives or reactand respond to external stimuli. Theparadox, however, is that a purified mindis free from any thought impression.What then would drive the mind?

Well, Dhyana process doesn’t end upby attaining its optimal level. You thenneed to explore the realities of life afresh.In the process you first turn your atten-tion to the laws of nature that holds thekey to our life cycle. Following which,you explore the living world around withall its diversity and complexities. Sincepursuing Dhyana, one’s level of intelli-gence gets sharpened enough to smartly

engage with those around with ease andcomfort.

What would one realise exploringthe realities of life? Well, pursuingDhyana, you eventually strike at the rootof our existence — the eternal element ofconsciousness, equally available to all.You then realise that all live existenceshave a common root. So, there remainsunity underlying all diverse existences. Itimplies that the world is a unified organ-ism, where no individual existence has areality independent of the whole. Waterflowing down a snow bound mountaincreates ground for live existence allthrough its run till it meets the sea.Water evaporates, turns into cloud andthen rains back to recharge our waterresources. This way, life keeps running insuccession. Trees and plants regulate ourweather cycle. The animals and otherspecies too keep discharging theirassigned role towards sustained run ofthe life cycle. And, it is the collectiveeffort of all that keeps life cycle going on.

The above concept has been beauti-fully explained in Kathopanisada andBhagavad Gita through the simile of aninverted Asvata (Banyan) tree. The rootis directed towards unseen domain in the

higher realms of the cosmos. It impliesthat life mechanism is rooted to anincomprehensible eternal primal source,but for which no existence is possible.The trunk of that huge tree, with all itsbranches, twigs, and leaves, turneddownward in perceptible domain repre-sent the living world. Leaves dry up peri-odically making way for emergence offresh leaves. Similarly, life cycle keepsrunning in succession. If ever you pluckthe leaves, break a twig or branch of thetree, they will become lifeless. Theyremain live so long as they are a part ofthe main tree.

Even modern science carries similarperception, as would the observation ofan acclaimed Australian physicist, PaulDavies mean: “For a naïve realist, theworld is a collection of objects. For aquantum physicist, it is an inseparableweb of vibrating energy patterns, whereno single component has a reality inde-pendent of the entirety, included in theentirety is the observer.” If you look atthe energy principles of creation, youmay realise that all existences with nameand form have come into being throughplay and interplay of energies sourced tothe nature. Even a human being withsolid body frame, when seen at the sub-

atomic level is nothing but a web of ener-gy patterns. Here, I wish to add anotherscientifically established fact: Energy par-ticles having a common source are inimmediate and intimate connect witheach other no matter how distant theyare. And since the energies manifestinginto the living world are all sourced to a‘Singularity’, as both the Vedic andScientific perception stand, all existencesare interconnected at the energy level.The obvious implication is that if there issome disturbance at one end of theworld, its resonance will be felt far andwide. No wonder, the coronavirus thaterupted in Wuhan in China, has beenmocking at the financial and scientificmight of the so called modern world oftoday, with no end immediately in sight.The present pandemic has shown itsrepeat pattern after 100 years to remindus once again, that we need to remainconscious about our collective obliga-tions even while pursuing our individu-alistic aspirational urges.

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