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In a big relief to shopkeepersand common people as well,

the Government has allowedopening up of all shops in res-idential areas, except malls,urban marketing complexesand liquor and barber shops,but the States have to take afinal call in deciding themodalities.

The shops will functionwith 50 per cent staff and willnot be allowed to open inhotspot zones, which are decid-ed by the State Governments.

In notification, the HomeMinistry said shops, the salespoints defined under Shopsand Establishment Act whichincludes non-essential itemstoo. But e-commerce in non-essential is not allowed.

The officials also pointedout that like liquor, cigarettes,gutka, and pan masala alsocome under the regulated items under the hazardous to

health list. “So these will also be come

under prohibited categoryunder the DisasterManagement Act and otherState Acts,” said officials.

The Home Ministry’s firstnotification, which came out inthe intervening night of Friday-Saturday, a lot of created con-fusion due to separate classifi-cation of rural and urban shopsand its categories. On Sundaymorning came the first clarifi-cation that Liquor shops willnot come under the category ofshops that can be opened.

By afternoon came a sec-ond clarification excluding bar-ber shops or saloons from theambit of relaxation.

“We were facing flood ofqueries from public as well asmedia and also from socialmedia about the opening ofliquor shops, cigarettes, barbershops and saloons,” said asenior official of the MHA.

The officials explained that

as public transport and vehicleplying is not allowed till May 3,public can only walk to nearby

shops. “Hair salons and barbershops render services. Ourorder is applicable on shops

which deal in sale of items.There is no order to open bar-ber shops and hair salons.There is no order to openliquor shops,” said Punya SalilaTripati, MHA spokesperson.

“All shops registered underthe Shops and EstablishmentAct of the respective State/UT,including shops in residential

complexes and market com-plexes, except shops in multi-brand and single-brand malls,outside the limits of municipalcorporations and municipali-ties, with 50 per cent strengthof workers with wearing ofmasks and social distancingbeing mandatory,” reads theMHA order.

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After a day of somewhatsubdued rise in number of

coronavirus cases, Maharashtraand Gujarat, two of the worstaffected States, recorded bigspikes on Saturday that sawIndia’s total count reaching26,277 with a death toll of 825,with 44 dying on Saturday. At11 pm on Saturday night fig-ures tallied from States sawaddition of a record 1,829 casesduring the day, the singlebiggest spike so far in 12 hours.

Maharashtra added 828cases and Gujarat 256, takingtheir respective total of positivecases to 7,628 and 3,071 anddeath toll of 323 and 133respectively. On Friday,Maharashtra had added just390 cases and Gujarat hadadded 188 cases. Delhi added111 new cases, so far a totalcount of 2,625 and 154 deaths.

Uttar Pradesh also saw big

spike adding 172 cases whichtook its overall count to 1,793and death toll of 27.

Rajasthan added 49 newcases, five more than Fridayand Tamil Nadu added 66 newcases. Rajasthan has now 2,083cases, Madhya Pradesh 1,945and Tamil Nadu 1,821.

The Saturday rise came aday after India saw its dailygrowth in number of cases dipdown to 6 per cent, which is low-est daily growth rate recordedsince the country crossed 100cases. The country’s recovery ratehas reached 20.52 per cent whilethe mortality rate is restricted to3 per cent, less than the globalaverage of nearly 7 per cent.

Till Friday, the death ratewas around 3.1 per cent while

the recovery rate was morethan 20 per cent, which arecomparatively better than mostof the countries. TheGovernment feels that this isdue to positive effect of thelockdown in the country, alongwith the cluster managementand containment strategy.

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The Centre on Saturdayasked States and Union

Territories to put on hold theuse of Covid-19 rapid antibodytest kits till their accuracy isrechecked by apex healthresearch body, Indian Councilof Medical Research (ICMR).

According to the sources,teams constituted by ICMR areanalysing the rapid antibodytest kits, procured from twoChinese firms, to check theirefficacy after some Statesreported that they are faulty

and giving inaccurate results.An official said, “After a

meeting the Union HealthMinistry held with States onFriday, they were asked to haltthe use of Covid-19 rapid anti-body test kits for the timebeing till their accuracy is val-idated by the ICMR.”

“Moreover, WHO has alsonot commented on its accura-cy. ICMR is reviewing the effi-cacy of the test and the kits inits own labs and shall come outwith fresh guidelines soon,”said Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan on Friday.

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The spat between the Centreand the West Bengal

Government continued overinspection of implementationof lockdown in the State. OnSaturday, the Centre’s appoint-ed inter-ministerial Centralteam (IMCT) wrote to WestBengal Government and UnionHome Ministry alleging theState did not provide it ade-quate logistical support and

security during their visits toassess the impact of coron-avirus outbreak.

The IMCT has sought toknow details about steps takenby the Mamata Banerjee-leddispensation to identify andquarantine those who returnedfrom the Tablighi Jamaat con-gregation in Delhi’sNizamuddin area. Presently twoCentral teams are visiting theState — one in Kolkata and theother at Siliguri in north Bengal.

In a letter to Bengal ChiefSecretary Rajiv Sinha, theIMCT led by AdditionalSecretary Apurva Chandra saidit is yet to receive a responsefrom the State Government tothe letters it has written to

Sinha since its arrival in the cityon Monday.

In his letter marked also tothe Union Home Secretary,Chandra said he wrote four let-ters to the State Government tillSaturday, but received noresponse.

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Initially dependent onimports, India is now pro-

ducing more than 1 lakh per-sonal protection equipment(PPE) kits and N95 masksdaily in the country itself. Theproduction of indigenous ven-tilators has also started andorders have been placed formore than 59,000 unitsthrough nine companies.

The Union HealthMinistry in a high-level meet-ing of Group of Ministers(GoM) on Covid-19 saiddomestic manufactures, whichwere identified earlier, havealready started the productionof PPE kits, face masks, etc, andadequate quantity of the sameis available now.

“As on date, more than onelakh PPE kits and N95 masksare being manufactured everyday in the country. There are,at present, 104 domestic man-

ufacturers of PPE and three ofN95 masks in the country,” theMinistry said in a statement.

Initially, the Governmenthad to face lots of criticism asthe kits were not sufficient tomeet the increasing demandbecause of the country’s depen-dence on countries such asChina for supplying such items.

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Mosques across the countryremained shut on the first

day of holy month of Ramzanwhich began on a subdued noteon Saturday after imams,Ulema and Muslim leadersgave a call to Muslims not tocongregate in mosques andperform Iftaar and Taraweeh (special prayers) athome to maintain social dis-tancing norms amid coron-avirus outbreak.

Delhi’s Jama Masjid,Mumbai’s Hamidiya Masjid,Kashmir’s Hazratbal Mosque,Kolkata’s Nakhoda masjid andMakkah masjid in Hyderabadwore a deserted look as peopleoffered namaz and performed the sahari rituals attheir homes and refrained frompublic gathering.

Most of the masjids haveput notices on the gates that noprayers will be held during

Ramzan. However, there werereports from some marketshaving brisk shopping andcrowds flouting the social dis-tancing norms.

“This is the first time inmany years we are unable tooffer morning (fajr) or eveningprayers (maghrib) or Iftaar in

mosques due to lockdown andban on gatherings for physicaldistancing,” said KhurramRaza, a scholar from AligarhMuslim University.

Every year the sighting ofthe Ramzan moon brings greatcheer for Muslims as theyscamper to make preparations

for fasting and head tomosques to begin specialTaraweeh prayers, but not thistime.

In Delhi, Shahi imams ofJama Masjid and FatehpuriMasjid in Delhi have appealedto Muslims to offer namazduring the holy month ofRamzan at home and followlockdown guidelines to preventthe spread of coronavirus.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, theShahi Imam of Jama Masjid, ina video message asked peoplenot to venture outside unnec-essarily and remain indoorsduring Ramzan for prayers.“Namaz and Taraweeh (ritualprayer) should be offered athome. Care should be takenthat not more than three-fourpeople read Taraweeh becauselarge numbers can be harmfulfor the families and the societyin view of the pandemic,”Bukhari said.

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Even as the Central gov-ernment issued guidelines

for opening of shops, DistrictMagistrate Abhishek Prakashsaid there would be no relax-ation in the lockdown fornow.

The District Magistratealso held a meeting with seniorofficials of all government andprivate hospitals in the district.He issued directions for Covid-19 training of all the doctorsand paramedical staff in thenext 2-3 days.

■ Details on Page 3

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Directing officials to form dedicated teams tocheck and prevent infection, Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath said that doctors and other med-ical staff should be insulated from coronavirus infec-tion.

Addressing a high-level lockdown review meet-ing at his official residence in Lucknow, Yogi saidthat better and effective efforts were needed to con-tain medical infection.

He directed the Health and Medical Educationdepartments to set up dedicated teams at Lucknowand district headquarters and focus on evolvingways to check medical infection in all governmentand private hospitals.

The chief minister stressed on setting up a seriesof COVID hospitals, ensuring uninterrupted sup-ply of oxygen in hospitals and strengtheningthe training of staff involved in COVID-19 treat-ment.

Yogi also directed officials to set up more Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3 hospitals and prepare an addi-tional community health centre (CHC) in every dis-trict as Level-1 hospital. He said this work be under-taken on a time-bound basis and an officer be nom-inated to coordinate the process.

The chief minister reiterated that lockdown befollowed strictly and social distancing be main-tained. He expressed concern over sensitivity of SantKabir Nagar in terms of coronavirus infection and

directed that divisional commissioner, IG and ahealth official be appointed as nodal officers there.

Yogi said that testing of those engaged in sup-ply chain be done and to maintain social distanc-ing in shelter homes and quarantine centres.

‘’Those labourers who have completed theirquarantine period should be sent back home withfree ration and Rs 1,000 as sustenance allowance,”he ordered.

The chief minister said that works in districts

should be monitored regularly and separate officersshould be appointed for smooth conduct at thatlevel.

“It is also needed that the official machinery bemade more accountable for their works,’’ he said.

Yogi said that the government had set up a com-mittee to create jobs for migrant labourers, a ‘chal-lenging’ task which could only be done with anaction plan.

He said that work on ponds and check dams bestarted so that migrant labourers could be employed.

The chief minister discussed at length the returnof migrant labourers stranded in other states. Hesaid that for these labourers, the number of shel-ter homes be increased and they be equipped withpublic address system, community kitchen and toi-lets. Yogi made it clear that no industry shouldresume its functioning where chances of infectionspread were present.

In this regard, he said that micro, small andmedium enterprise (MSME) units should beencouraged.

The principal secretary (MSME) was asked toramp up PPE kits supply while stressing the needof a supply chain for raw material.

The chief minister also directed the Agriculturedepartment to publicise that there was no shortageof equipment in the state and farmers be encour-aged to come to procurement centres to sell theirproduce. He was apprised that 50 lakh quintals ofwheat was purchased so far.

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Ruling out community spreadof coronavirus in Uttar

Pradesh, the state governmentsaid that cases were now comingfrom hotspots or from people inquarantine and that TablighiJamaat links had been traced.

“All fresh positive casesacross the state are coming from398 hotspots in 234 police stationareas covering 6.35 lakh housesand 35 lakh population, whoare under quarantine. This isan indication that the diseasehas not spread across the com-munity,” Additional ChiefSecretary Awanish Awasthi toldmedia persons in Lucknow onSaturday.

The total number of coron-avirus positive cases in hotspotsis over 1,300 out of 1,548 casesreported so far.

Awasthi said that coron-avirus positive cases in the statehad been contained with allTablighi Jamaat members andtheir contacts being traced andtested.

“The sudden spurt in thenumber of coronavirus positivecases was due to the testing ofpeople in quarantine. Their sam-

ples are now being tested on apriority basis,” he said.

Among the total positivecases, 1,040 are from TablighiJamaat or their contacts.

The additional chief secre-tary said that the team of 54 offi-cials, who were rushed to 19 dis-tricts to control coronavirusspread, had started working.

Earlier, there were 18 districtsbut now Sant Kabir Nagar districthas also been added to it.

Meanwhile, PrincipleSecretary (Health) Amit MohanPrasad said that 10 districts hadcome out of the grip of COVID-19 virus.

“It is an achievement that thepercentage of coronavirus posi-tive cases in the age group of over60 years has come down to 7.93per cent from the previous 10 percent, indicating that peopleare taking care of the elderly” hesaid.

Prasad also said that testingfor COVID-19 had gone up andon Friday a record 4,115 testswere done across the state clear-ing a backlog.

In an important decision, thestate government decided to setup infection prevention teams inall districts headed by an addi-

tional chief medical officers. Itwill check infection protocol ofgovernment and private hospitals.

Prasad said that after reportsof infection in some hospitals,these teams comprising doctors,World Health Organisation rep-resentatives and PollutionControl Board officials wouldaudit the prevention of infectionin hospitals.

Besides, he said, every hos-pital, private and government,would have to set up an infectionprevention committee.

“We will also impart trainingto private doctors for preventionof coronavirus infection in hos-pitals,” Prasad said.

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Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra

doubted the truth behind thenumber of coronavirus positivecases in Uttar Pradesh andadvised the state government tomaintain transparency overtesting.

She also slammed the gov-ernment for slashing dearnessallowance (DA) of employees.

In a tweet on Saturday,Priyanka said, “Many peopleare expressing concerns overtesting in Uttar Pradesh.Transparency is very importantas far as the fight against coro-navirus is concerned. The soci-ety and government cantogether defeat this epidemic.”

Attaching four posters assuggestions in the tweet, sheaverred, “The whole world is ofthe view that maximum andproper testing is the key to pre-venting the virus. The UP gov-ernment has stopped telling thenumber of tests being conduct-ed for the last two days.”

The Congress general sec-retary further said, “Full trans-parency is needed as far as test-ing is concerned so that peopleget information and the soci-ety and administration cantogether fight against this epi-demic. Hiding figures or real-ity will make this problemmore fatal. The UP governmentneeds to understand this assoon as possible.”

Priyanka said that it wasimportant to put out figureslike how many tests were tak-ing place every day, in whichlab of the state and what wasthe per day capacity of testinglabs, including KGMU, in thestate, before the people.

In another tweet, she saidthat it had been said that swabsof several dozen people werebeing collected through one kitfor pool testing in UttarPradesh.

“Health experts have setstrict rules for this process,which, if not followed proper-ly, could cause harm. The gov-ernment should undertake fullcare in pool testing and furnishinformation to the public aboutthe same,” she said.

Priyanka further said thatfollowing guidelines of theWorld Health Organisation inquarantine centres was signif-icant. “A report regarding avail-ability of food and breakfast atthese centres, regular check-upsby health workers and cleanli-ness should be issued. Theplan to re-examine a suspect,even after being sent home fol-lowing the completion of quar-antine, should be made clear tothe public,” she advised.

In another tweet onSaturday, Priyanka expresseddispleasure over the cut in theDA of government employees.“When employees are workingin adverse condition, riskingtheir lives, cutting their wagesis a matter of concern. Thisshould immediately be with-drawn,” the Congress leaderasserted.

Priyanka, however, hailedthe decision of Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on directingofficials to finalise a plan abouthow labourers stranded inother states could be broughtback to Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow (PNS): A sub-inspector was fatally shot by acolleague at Bibinagar police sta-tion of Bulandshahr late onFriday night.

Ironically, instead of ensur-ing timely treatment to his col-league to save his life, theaccused sub-inspector fled thecity but was later arrested fromGhaziabad. As per reports, Sub-Inspector Brajendra Singh wassleeping in his quarters inside

Bibinagar police station whenSub-Inspector Narendra Singhbarged into his room and firedat him with his service revolver,hitting Brajendra on his head.Narendra later rushed the vic-tim to a private hospital in hiscar but fled the hospital afterdoctors said the victim wascritical. In the absence of spe-cialised treatment, Brajendradied some time later. At the hos-pital, the accused sub-inspector

maintained that his revolverwent off while he was cleaningit The accused sub-inspectorlater left Bulandshahr in his carbut since an alert had beensounded, he was intercepted inMasuri police station area ofGhaziabad. Brajendra Singhwas a native of Jalalabad villagein Muradnagar area ofGhaziabad. His body was hand-ed over to his family membersafter registering a case.

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In a sensational incident reported duringlockdown, five members of a family, includ-

ing two women and two children, were founddead under mysterious condition at theirhome in Etah on Saturday morning.

Senior officers along with local policerushed to the spot and forensic experts werepressed into service for collecting evidence thatcould lead to the killers.

As per reports, residents of Shringar NagarColony in Kotwali police station area founda stench emanating from the house of a retiredgovernment employee that was locked fromoutside. Later the police were informed anda team reached there. The police used gas cut-ter to cut the iron door of the house to gainaccess. But as they entered the premises, theywere shocked to see five bodies lying on thefloor.

The neighbours identified the deceasedas house owner Rajeshwar Prasad Pachauri(65), his daughter-in-law Divya (40), heryounger sister Bulbul Upadhyaya (25) andDivya’s 10-year-old son Aarush and Chhotu(10 months).

Bulbul of Mathura had come to stay withher sister a few days back.

Preliminary investigation revealed that allfive could have been murdered as blood strainswere found on the bodies of Rajeshwar andDivya. Divya’s husband, Diwakar Pachauri,was out in Roorkee where he has been work-ing with a pharmaceutical firm.

Rajeshwar had retired from Healthdepartment some years back.

Etah’s Senior Superintendent of PoliceSunil Kumar Singh said that the incident couldalso be a case of suicide as no forced entry wasseen and some blades and sulphas tablets wererecovered from the house. However, he didnot rule out foul play.

A case registered and investigations wereon in this regard.

Reacting to the Etah deaths, UP Congresschief Ajay Kumar Lallu condemned thekilling of Brahmins that too when the nationwas celebrating Parshuram Jayanti on Saturday.“Despite lockdown, the manner in whichcriminals are freely striking and eliminated fiveof a Brahmin family in Etah shows that lawand order has completely gone out of control,”Lallu said.

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Three members of a family werecharred to death in a massive

fire in Mainpuri, while five mem-bers of another family suffered seri-ous burns in a fire in Moradabadon Saturday.

In Mainpuri, Rinki (36) ofBhaturwa hamlet of Kurra was inhome with her two children onSaturday morning while her hus-band Rajkishore Prajapati was awayfor some work.

Some neighbours heard franticscreams from Rajkishore’s houseand rushed there, They foundRinki and her children writhing inpain with critical burns. They wererushed to Saifai PGI in Etawahwhere all three succumbed toburns.

The police rushed to the spotand were trying to find out how thefire broke out.

A case was registered andinvestigation was on.

In Moradabad, a man, his wifeand three children suffered burnswhen a fire broke out in their houseearly Saturday morning.

As per reports, Deshraj Singhof Neta Colony in Majhola policestation area, his wife Sunita, sonsVansh and Lakshya and daughterGauri were critically injured in thefire.

They were rushed to the districthospital from where they werereferred to TMU Hospital aftertheir condition deteriorated.

Meanwhile in Aligarh, a clashbetween two groups led to the deathof an old man at Nagla Thad ham-

let of Civil Lines on Saturdaymorning.

The two groups came to ahead over a dispute in which stoneswere pelted from both sides and anelderly man was among the injured.He was rushed to a hospital wherehe died.

A case was registered and thebody was sent for autopsy.

A heavy police force wasdeployed in the area to avert anyuntoward incident.

In Farrukhabad, a daily wagercommitted suicide due to povertyon Saturday.

However, the local administra-tion denied that he took theextreme step owing to poverty.

Chunnilal Botham (35) ofHaipur area of Farrukhabad used towork as labourer in Varanasi. Afterlockdown, he had returned fromVaranasi. On Saturday morning, hischildren – daughter Saloni (7) andson Ayush (4) — who were playingoutside found his body hangingfrom a tree. They later informedtheir mother Kamla Devi, whocalled the police.

She claimed that her husbandwas depressed due to poverty andhence ended his life.

However, Farrukhabad DistrictMagistrate Manvendra Singhdenied that poor condition forcedthe man to end his life.

He claimed that the victim’sfamily took 35 kg food grains freeof cost and again on April 15, theyhad received 10 kg rice and so theyhad enough to eat.

A case was registered and thebody was sent for autopsy.

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Lucknow (PNS): Samajwadi Party chief AkhileshYadav said that even as the country was united in thefight against coronavirus and everyone was supportinglockdown, confusing statements from the governmentwere causing problems for the people.

Akhilesh said that the model for relief work adopt-ed by UP government was not working up to people’sexpectations and the poor and vulnerable sections hadbeen left to fend for themselves.

“Even as the people are united in the fight and wantto defeat coronavirus, the government, instead of sin-cerely working for people, is more interested in achiev-ing its political ends,” he said.

The SP chief said that instead of pursuing its polit-ical agenda, the government should pay attention for thewelfare of the poor and medical treatment to all.

Akhilesh alleged that relief material collected by non-governmental organisations and other organisations wasbeing distributed to the people as relief work by theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“There is no difference between community kitchensand RSS bhandaras in the state as food items obtainedfrom NGOs and government institutions are being dis-tributed to Bharatiya Janata Party supporters after fill-ing them in ‘Modi packets’,” he alleged.

The SP chief further said that the ‘Agra Model’ ear-lier praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the fightagainst the pandemic was consistently failing becauseof grave carelessness and poor arrangements.

“The helpline of Agra district administration is alsonot effective. Neither is lockdown being fully followedin hotspots of Lucknow and other districts, nor a prop-er supply of essentials and milk to residents of such areasis being made. The much-hyped Team-11 should alsoprovide details about testing of coronavirus suspects,”the SP chief stressed.

“The state government had issued special passes tonumerous shops in Lucknow for distribution of medi-cines, grocery etc. Rather than providing relief to thepeople, several shopkeepers either closed their stores orquoted high prices for items. Now, special passes arebeing used to roam around the city,” he alleged.

Akhilesh flayed the government’s move to suspendpayment of allowances and DA to the state employeesand pensioners.

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BAHRAICH (PTI): A police teamwhich had taken a man to a quarantinefacility here has been quarantined afterhe tested positive for COVID-19, asenior police official said on Saturday.

Additional Superintendent of PoliceAjay Pratap Singh said the man wasquarantined on April 19 and he had nowbeen confirmed to have the coronavirusinfection.

As a precautionary measure, theentire police team, which came in con-tact with him has been quarantined attheir residence, an empty barrack in thePolice Lines and in the police hospital,Singh said.

He added that the man hails fromKushinagar district and was quarantinedupon his arrival from another state.

"The team which had taken this per-son to a quarantine facility consisted ofan inspector, a head constable, eight con-stables, a home guard jawan and aPrantiya Raksha Dal (PRD) jawan," theadditional SP said.

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The Uttar Pradesh government has startedbringing back state's native workers strand-

ed elsewhere in the country amid the COVID-19 lockdown and has ensured the return of2,224 of them in the first phase, a senior offi-cial said on Saturday.

Briefing reporters here, Additional ChiefSecretary (Home and Information) AwanishAwasthi said the first batch of workers wasbrought back in 82 buses from Haryana onSaturday, and 11,000 workers would return bySunday. All the workers will be kept in 14-dayquarantine. "Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath had issued directions to bring backlabourers belonging to UP from other statesin a phased manner.

"In this regard, on Saturday as many as2,224 labourers were brought back in 82 busesfrom Haryana. These labourers hail from 16districts of western UP," Awasthi said.

Orders have been issued to prepare shel-

ter homes in the state in a major way so thatthe returnees can be quarantined there.

"Instructions have been issued to installpublic address system at the shelter homes, andmake arrangements for food and toilets," saidAwasthi. It has also been directed that once thequarantine period of labourers returning fromother states ends, preparations should bemade to provide them employment near theirvillage, the official said. Migrant workers in sev-eral states have demanded that they be sentback to their native places as many, especial-ly daily-wagers, were facing financial hardshipsafter a lockdown was imposed from March 25to check the spread of coronavirus. The addi-tional chief secretary said 4,23,231 unskilledworkers were working in 44,478 schemes in18,823 village panchayats. "Apart from thisaround 10,000 labourers are engaged in con-struction work of three expressways in UP. Asmany as 63 schemes of the Irrigation depart-ment and 173 of the Public Works Departmenthave also started functioning," he said.

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In a late night crackdown inPara, Gosainganj and

Mohanlalganj, the police arrest-ed four persons and recovered40 litres of illicit liquor. All theaccused were arrested whenthey were going to deliver theliquor to customers in ruralparts. Those arrested wereidentified as Hansraj of Unnao,Manohar Singh of Para, andPoornmasi Rawat & Rajesh(both of Gosainganj). Thepolice said Hansraj was arrest-ed near Sai City Bhawan whenhe was going to supply theliquor to customers. The police

seized equipment, used in dis-tilling liquor, from Rajesh.

Sources said bootleggers donot fear police action and con-tinue to manufacture illicitliquor in remote areas of thevillages where they live. “Afterthe police woke up to the men-ace and started keeping a hawkeye on the manufacturing unitsset up in the mango groves inrural parts of the city, thebootleggers shifted base andstarted manufacturing at smallunits set up in remote areasaway from police glare,” thesources said. They said thedemand of liquor is very highthese days due to lockdown. “In

parts of the city, bootleggers areselling bottles at higher cost. Itis a million dollar question asto where they get the bottlesfrom,” they said. They said theHusainganj police had arrestedone Arvind for selling desiliquor bottles at Rs 150 asagainst the actual cost of Rs 75and recovered 60 bottles.“Arvind had confessed that heinvested money after the lock-down was announced and wasselling it higher rates to earnheavy profit. However, his claimdid not sound convincing. It isdifficult to purchase huge num-ber of bottles in the absence oflicence,” the sources said.

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Under the aegis of HigherEducation department,

National Service Scheme‘Muskurayega India’ is reachingout to youths for mental healthproblems in lockdown condi-tions. Officer on special duty(NSS) and state liaison officerAnshumali Sharma said underthis project, telephonic coun-selling is being carried out formental health issues. He saidthat 312 NSS programme offi-cers of all 75 UP districts havebeen trained in telephonic andonline counselling.

“NSS is playing a veryimportant role in this time ofcrisis in reaching out to peoplein need. NSS programme coor-dinators of universities have

selected five programme offi-cers from each district. Thestate unit of NSS coordinatedwith UNICEF and organisedonline training for programmecoordinators and programmeofficers on various issues beingfaced by students during lock-down,” he said.

He said that sessions onmental health were conductedby the professors of LucknowUniversity and experts tooksession on psychological prob-lems. “After the training, a listof 312 train officers and theirmobile numbers was preparedand publicised. Over 2,000 stu-dents and youths have con-tacted them throughout thestate. They are being coun-selled by the programme offi-cers regularly and NSS is try-

ing to generate awarenessthrough social media,” he said.

He said that volunteersare also engaged in help-ing district administrationby distributing ration to poorand migrant labourers.

“They are helping indoorstep delivery in many dis-tricts like Jhansi, Aligarh,Shamli and Sitapur. NSS volun-teers are also preparing facemasks in large numbers. Theaim of this initiative is to bringpositivity and well-being inthe lives of youth during lock-down. The department ofHigher Education has decidedthat this initiative, started dur-ing Covid-19 pandemic willcontinue to work for studentseven after the crisis is over,” headded.

%�� &��+��#�� &�� Lucknow (PNS): A team ofGhazipur police on Saturdayarrested a man who was want-ed in a case of his wife’s death fordowry. The accused, identifiedas Sahil Arya aka Danish Zafarworks as a private driver and wasnamed in the case on Friday. Hehad a love marriage with NishaSrivastava of Nishatganj in 2014and both were living at a rent-ed house in Indira Nagar.

The police said Danish wasaccused of forcing his wife toend her life. “The mother of thedeceased had lodged a com-plaint on Friday,” the policesaid. The mother of the deceasedhad accused Danish of keepingNisha in dark about his incomeand forcing her for dowry aftermarriage. “Nisha came to knowabout Danish’s job and hisincome. He worked as a privatedriver. Danish developed greedafter the marriage and he usedto torture Nisha to force her tobring dowry from her house. Itmade Nisha end her life onFriday,” she alleged. Meanwhile,a 28-year-old labourer ended hislife at his house in Mohanlalganj.Reports said the man, identifiedas Rangeele of Uttargaon local-ity, was found hanging at hishouse on Friday evening. Thepolice said the man was hang-ing from the ceiling with a ropetied around his neck.

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The Food Safety and DrugAdministration (FSDA) is

inundated with queries fromresidents regarding self-medica-tion with hydroxychloroquine,a drug which can be usedunder ICMR guidelines as aprophylactic by doctors onCovid-19 duty and by thosewho have come in contact withcoronavirus patients.

Drug inspector BrijeshKumar said he received numer-ous queries from city residentsregarding the use of hydroxy-chloroquine for prevention ofcoronavirus and also regardingits availability. “We strictly warnthem against the use of the drugas a self-medication since it cancause damage to liver, kidneys,lungs and joints. We also cre-ate fear regarding the use of thedrug which should only betaken only on the prescriptionof a doctor,” he said.

He admitted that they hadconcerns that the drug wasbeing misused and that waswhy he was constantly spread-ing awareness on the issue andhad personally visited the drugmarkets and told retailers thatit should not be sold without aprescription. “Just before thestart of the lockdown when wecame to know of the misuse ofthe hydroxychloroquine, theybrought the sale of this partic-ular drug under their control.We broke the chain at theCarrying Forward Agent (CFA)companies whose depots are atTransportnagar, telling themthat they would only supply togovernment organisations. Thesale of the drug is no longer inthe hands of the private retail-ers and can be only procured atgovernment hospitals. If onehas a prescription from aCovid-level hospital, we canalso make it available.Instructions are that the pre-scriptions for this drug shouldbe new and not old,” he said.

He added that the side-effects were extremely harmfuland though one could get curedof corona, it would be difficultto manage the side-effects.

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Medical experts say thatthe Lucknow graph for

coronavirus is rising but is notsteep as a result of severalsteps taken for containment.Vice Chancellor of KingGeorge’s Medical University(KGMU) Dr MLB Bhatt saidthe graph may be continuous-ly rising but the rate of increaseis more or less controlledbecause of the strict enforce-ment of lockdown in the dis-trict.

He said that at thismoment, one cannot say whenLucknow will become coron-avirus-free because there are alarge number of patients whohave tested positive lately.

“First, the number ofCovid-19 patients has to sta-bilise after which it should beon the decline. The curve hasto flatten first,” he said.

The KGMU VC pointedout that the time taken indoubling of the cases is slow-ing down, which means thenumber of days in which thecases double has becomelonger. “In the first week ofApril, the doubling time was 3-4 days because of the suddenspurt, thanks to the TablighiJamaat cases, and now it hasstabilised to 7-8 days. Hence,the decline will come when thedoubling time slows down fur-ther,” he said

The KGMU VC said thatthere was still no evidence ofcommunity transfer inLucknow and the city contin-ues to be in stage 2 of the pan-demic. “There has still notbeen a case which is unac-counted for or has not been apart of a contact in Lucknowand hence it can be said thatthere is no community trans-fer,” he added. State surveillance

officer Vikasendu Agarwal saidthe infection was contained inLucknow but the guard mustnot be lowered. AboutTopkhana Bazaar and Sadarwhich have become thehotspots recently, he said thenumber of cases was few ascompared to the rise in cases inMumbai in similar areas.

“If you look at Mumbai,there are many cases in con-gested areas,” he pointed out.

The officer said that in caseof Tablighi Jamaat, the best

thing is that all those testingpositive are already in quaran-tine. “Uttar Pradesh, with over15,00 cases, is very much incontrol and most of them arecoming from areas wherepatients were detected earlier.Most of the patients testingpositive are already underquarantine, which means sur-veillance has been able to pickup suspects properly and caseswere coming in areas fromwhere we were expecting,” hesaid.

Lucknow (PNS): Two employ-ees of KGMU Trauma Centresuffered injuries after an over-speeding car hit them atPurania crossing in Madiaon.

As per reports, AbhishekAwasthi of Basant ViharColony in the area and his col-league Shobhit were returninghome on a bike. When theyreached Purania crossing

around 2 pm, the car hit theirbike from behind. The errantdriver sped off fearing policeaction. However, some com-muters noted down the regis-tration number of the car andgave it to police.

The injured were rushed toa hospital. Abhishek andShobhit are among the clericalin the accounts section of

Trauma Centre. A fire broke ina house in Itaunja earlySaturday morning. Reportssaid that house ownerShivbalak and his family wereasleep when the fire broke outaround 4 am. Neighbours triedto help Shivbalak in dousingthe fire, but in vain. Police saidthey were estimating the losses.

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Even as the Central govern-ment issued guidelines for

opening of shops, DistrictMagistrate Abhishek Prakashsaid there would be no relax-ation in the lockdown for now.

The District Magistratealso held a meeting with seniorofficials of all government andprivate hospitals in the district.He issued directions for Covid-19 training of all the doctorsand paramedical staff in thenext 2-3 days. He also said thatthey should always be pre-pared for combating the dis-ease. He said they should con-struct a holding area for all thenew patients visiting the hos-pitals. The DM said the infec-tion was spreading at a fast pacein the district and a plan has tobe devised to protect healthworkers from infection.

“Coronavirus has spreaddue of three reasons — first,through people who have comefrom abroad; second, becauseof Tablighi Jamaat members;and third, through medicalstaff coming in contact withpatients. The Central and stategovernments have also issuedguidelines to prevent the spreadof coronavirus amongst themedical staff,” he pointed out.

The DM told the officialsof government and privatehospitals that all new patientsshould be treated as coron-avirus patients until they testnegative, and they may beshifted to normal ward fortreatment only after that. “Ifanyone tests positive, the CMOshould be immediatelyinformed,” he said.

The DM said that PPE kitsand N95 masks should bemade available to all govern-ment and private hospitals andno new patient should be treat-ed without these protectivegears. He also issued directionsfor identification of buildings

where guest houses can be setup. He said these buildingswould be acquired by the dis-

trict administration to be usedas quarantine centres. The DMurged the doctors to use tech-

nology for OPD services andcall the patient only in case ofemergency. He also issued

directions regarding the dailydisposal of biomedical waste,including the food left by coro-navirus patients. He said thatofficials should ensure avail-ability of life-saving drugs at thehospitals and contact the CDOin case of any problems in thisregard. The DM said that look-ing into the manner in whichthe disease is spreading, hospi-tals should ensure availabilityof doctors and paramedicalstaff round the clock. He addedthat santisation work shouldalso be increased at all the hos-pitals.

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Lucknow (PNS):Alarmed over the incidentsinvolving shopowners over-looking social distancing dur-ing business hours, the policelaunched ‘Lucknow Modelof Social Distancing’ onSaturday. A team, led by DCP(Central) Dinesh Singh andADCP CN Sinha, chalked outa layout plan for vegetablevendors in Alambagh veg-etable market. As per plan,two circles have been drawnbefore the box from wherecustomers can purchase theessentials. Also, 100 vegetablevendors have been shortlist-ed and provided hand sanitis-ers and masks.

Sources said the actioncame after the incident inNaveen Galla Mandi where13 shopowners were chal-laned for defying social dis-tancing. “There have alsobeen reports of clashesbetween policemen andshopowners on the issue. Thelayout plan will curb suchincidents to some extent,”the sources said.

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The processes for plasmatherapy began at the King

George’s Medical Universityas doctors extracted plasmafrom two coronavirus sur-vivors on Saturday. Inchargeof Infectious Disease Cell DrD Himanshu said that theyhad carried out screening ofthe blood before extractingplasma and would followthe ICMR protocol.

KGMU has already gotthe nod from drug con-trollers in this regard. He saidthat plasma is taken from arecovered coronaviruspatient 28 days after he orshe is discharged. “There areseveral screenings carriedout for the blood and thenfocus on evaluation of thepatient and it is only afterthat the plasma therapy ispossible,” he said. He point-ed out that there are manyother things which need tobe taken care of, such as

whether the age of thepatient is above 18 and below50 years at the time of donat-ing plasma. “The basis ofusing the plasma of a sur-vivor is that it contains anti-bodies and when this is givento the patients in the processof recovering, it speeds upthe recovery because of thepresence of antibodies inblood,” he explained.

However, Dr Himanshusaid that it is not a simpleprocess. “In India, plasmatherapy has been used oncefor a coronavirus patient inDelhi recently. Plasma ther-apy has been used for manydiseases but for coronavirus,it was used recently for apatient in Delhi,” he added.

He said they were alsocoordinating with the stategovernment so that theyreceive plasma from thepatients who have got curedin nearby districts, districthospitals and other parts ofthe state.

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Taking a cue from theCentre, the Uttar Pradesh

government put six allowancespayable to different categoriesof officers and employees onhold in the current financialyear. Toeing the Central line,the state government alsodecided to freeze dearnessallowance (DA) up to June 30,2021.

These steps were prompt-ed by a decline in state govern-ment’s revenue due to COVID-19 lockdown and the need forfunds to fight the pandemic.These measures would lead toa saving of about Rs 12,000crore till June-end next year.

The six categories ofallowances that have beendeferred from April 1, 2020 toMarch 31, 2021 include citycompensatory allowance, sec-

retariat allowance, specialallowance given to CB-CID,Anti-Corruption Organisation,Economic Offences Wing,Vigilance Establishment,Security and SpecialInvestigation Wing. specialallowance paid to junior engi-neers, research allowance,orderly allowance and designallowance paid in Public WorksDepartment (PWD) along withinvestigation and planning andorderly allowance paid to offi-cers and employees workingwith Irrigation department.

“A sum of about Rs 1,500crore will be saved by the deci-sion to defer payment of six cat-egories of allowances in 2020-2021. A sum of about Rs 7,500crore is likely to be saved byfreezing DA (if calculated onthe basis of 4% increase) in2020-21. If the same rate of DAincrease is calculated for the

remaining months of 2021-2022 (up to June 30, 2021), thetotal saving is likely to cross Rs12,000 crore-mark followingthe decision to freeze DA,”said a Finance department offi-cer. In an order issued on April24, 2020, Additional ChiefSecretary (Finance) SanjivMittal said: “The Uttar Pradeshgovernment’s revenue has comedown following COVID-19lockdown. At the same time inview of the decision to makefunds available to carry outworks to check spread ofCOVID-19 pandemic, I havebeen directed to say that theGovernor is pleased to defer thefollowing allowances approvedby any previous governmentorder for employees of thestate government, teaching andnon-teaching employees of thebasic education board andaided educational institutions

and those working withautonomous bodies.”

In another order withregard to payment of DA tostate government employeesand dearness relief to pen-sioners, Mittal said that noadditional installment of DAand dearness relief will be paidfrom January 1, 2020, July 1,2020 and January 1, 2021. Noarrears of DA or dearness reliefwill be paid from January 1,2020 to June 30, 2021.

Meanwhile, UP StateEmployees’ Joint Councilopposed the state government’smove. Employees’ Councilchairman JN Tiwari said thatthe decision would affect about20 lakh state employees. Heurged the chief minister to cuta day’s salary every month forUP Covid Care fund, instead ofdeferring the payment ofallowances.

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With the arrest of twoaccused — one of whom

son of an ADM — in anencounter on Saturday night,the Lucknow police claimed tohave worked out the loot andattack on KGMU doctor VijaySingh in Sushant Golf City. Theencounter took place inSushant Golf City area wherethe accused holed up afterbeing chased by the cops. Thedoctor was shot at and deprivedof his car, cash and mobilephone on April 20. Those

arrested were identified asYasharth Thakur and his aideAyush Rawat. Yasharth is theson of an ADM presently post-ed in Lucknow. Ayush wassaid to be injured in theencounter.

Dr Singh was admitted tothe KGMU Trauma Centreafter he suffered bullet wounds.ACP Sanjeev Sinha saidYasharth and Ayush had exe-cuted the crime. A constable,Manish, also was injured in theencounter, he said.

The ACP said the policealso recovered the car

(Volkswagen Vento), cash andmobile phone. “The accusedwill be interrogated in a coupleof days,” he said.

Dr Singh was returninghome after visiting his broth-er’s house in Sushant Golf City.When he was passing viaChaudhary Kheda, he sloweddown the car ahead of a speed-breaker. The bike-borne mis-creants overtook his car andone of them shot at Singhwithout any provocation. Theythen collected car’s keys andmobile phone from Singh andsped off.

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With the detection of aCOVID-19 patient from

Madauli area, who is a medi-cine trader of Sapt Sagar, thebiggest wholesale medicinemarket of the entire Purvanchal(eastern UP), Sapt Sagar mar-ket has also been closed forthree days as per the order ofthe District Magistrate (DM)Kaushal Raj Sharma. It wouldbe a big challenge for theadministration to trace out allthose who had come into thecontact of corona patient assoon as possible because if themarket remains close for longit would pose many other seri-ous crisis when the retail med-icine stores would start facingscarcity of drugs.

The retail medicine shop-keepers of almost all the 10 dis-tricts of Varanasi, Vindhyachal(Mirzapur) and Azamgarhdivisions are largely depend onsupply of medicines from SaptSagar. Due to the orders ofadministration, the marketremained closed on Saturdayand massive sanitisation drivewas launched there. Everyclosed shop of the market wassanitised. As all the three divi-sions have been affected fromcoronavirus pandemic, thechances are little that manyrelaxations would be givenexcept a few areas includingfarming. Out of 10 districts ofthese three divisions, only threedistricts remained unaffected asno positive corona cases from

Chandauli, Ballia andSonbhadra have been found sofar.

As many retail medicinesellers of affected coronapatient are his customers fromthese three no-patient districts,they have intensified efforts tokeep watch on all such personswho had come into the contactof that wholesaler in the recenttime. So far, there are 50 posi-tive COVID-19 cases detectedfrom three divisions of this beltof Purvanchal with maximum

number of 37 patients fromVaranasi division, followed bynine from Azamgarh and fourfrom Vindhyachal.

In Varanasi division, themaximum cases of 26 found inVaranasi district followed by sixfrom Ghazipur and five fromJaunpur. There is not a singlepatient in Chandauli. InAzamgarh division, the maxi-mum eight patients are fromAzamgarh district, while onefrom Mau and there is noCOVID-19 patient in Ballia. In

Vindhyachal division, threecases were detected fromMirzapur while one fromBhadohi and no patients haveyet to be found in Sonbhadra.Out of total 50 patients, 20including eight from Varanasi,five from Ghazipur, four fromJaunpur and three fromAzamgarh district have beenrecovered while one inVaranasi has died. So far therest of 39 patients arebeing treated in different divi-sions.

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District Magistrate (DM)Kaushal Raj Sharma has

made it clear that no onewould be allowed to go insideor come outside of the sealednew hotspot Madauli under theManduadih police station. He,along with SeniorSuperintendent of Police (SSP)Prabhakar Chaudhary. inspect-ed the areas in western out-skirts on Varanasi-Allahabadroute here on Saturday. TheDM said that the essentialitems like milk, foodgrain, veg-etables etc. would be availableat the barricades during morn-ing and evening hours and itsinformation would be given tothe residents through loudspeaker. Besides, as theCOVID-19 patient fromMadauli area is a wholesalemedicine trader and owns ashop in Sapt Sagar market, themarket has been closed downfor three days.

During his inspection, hehas instructed the concernedpolice station to make theareas sealed from different cor-ners.

Both DM and SSP walkedin the adjoining areas of thehouse of corona patient andgave some instructions to thepolice. Madauli is seventhhotspot of the city.

Later, DivisionalCommissioner (DC) DeepakAgrawal, along with IG (Range)Vijay Singh Meena, also visit-ed there and inspected thearrangements.

They also visited ShivpurShelter Home after seeing thelockdown situation and givingsome instructions to cops post-ed at different places inMehmoorganj, Sigra,Lahurabir, Nadesar andKutchery areas. At the shelterhome, they distributed bis-cuits and chocolates among thepeople.

Despite starting of

Ramzan, tight security arrange-ments maintained at most sen-sitive Madanpura area fromwhere as many as 13 COVID-19 patients came into the lightso far.

The number may beincreased as sensation pre-vailed a day ago when out ofnew seven patients six werefrom there apart from findingof two suspected patients fromMadanpura and 99 from RavariTalab areas.

Earlier found two COVID-19 patients from Pandey Haveliis also a part from Madanpurabuffer zone and Revari Talab isalso an adjoining localitieswhich are located just a fewhundred yards away fromhearts of the city Godowlia andDashaswamedh.

It is also a place which islocated just a few yards awayfrom Janghambadi Math wherein February this year, the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadtaken part in an event, along

with the chief ministers of UPand Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the DM hasclarified that in Varanasi, noorders for opening of any shopsof new categories were givenand all the shops selling essen-tial items would remain openonly till 10 am as usual.

Earlier, due to confusionssome shops of other categorieswere also opened in some areaswhich were, later on, closeddown.

Besides, no relaxationswere given in any other exist-ing hotspots includingMadanpura, Bajardiha, Lohta,Gangapur, Pitarkunda andNakkhighat. Out of total 26COVID-19 patients, eight havebeen discharged and one hasdied and the rest of 17, maxi-mum number of 16 are beingtreated at Pt. Deen DayalUpadhyay (DDU) Hospital,Pandeypur while one at SirSundarlal Hospital (SSH) inBanaras Hindu University.

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After getting one coron-avirus positive patient

from Shankarghat in Shivkutiarea and two from Kapari vil-lage in Shankargarh, theDistrict Magistrate has declaredShankarghat and Kapari villageas hotspot zones. All the pathleading to these areas havebeen completely sealed.

Officers concerned inspect-ed Shankarghat in Sivakuti, acorona-affected area here onSaturday. During the inspection,Divisional CommissionerPrayagraj R Ramesh Kumar,Inspector General of Police KPSingh, VC PDA, MunicipalCommissioner and AdditionalCommissioner (Administration)were present. The subbordinateofficers were also issued neces-sary instructions.

No shops including ATMswill be opened in the streetsmarked as corona-infected inthese two areas till the next deci-sion. Legal action and arrest willbe initiated against the peoplewho will step out of their homesunnecessarily. Meanwhile, theofficers continued to march inthe locality with the police forcetill late Friday night. And sani-

tisation procedure was alsoundertaken in these areas onSaturday.

Shortly after receiving thetest report for corona positivepatient on Friday, CO SatyendraTiwari and magistrate alongwith the police force reachedShankarghat area in Shivkuti.People of area were shocked tosee such a number of policeforces in the locality. Policemenspread all round in the locality.

SP City Brijesh Srivastavasaid that the roads leading toShankarghat locality have been

closed with mobile barricading.Local corporator RanjanPrajapati said that the policeadministration has closed theroads and streets leading to thisarea. People have also confinedthemselves in their homes.The corporator is also appealingto people to remain indoors toavoid corona infection. DistrictMagistrate Bhanu ChandraGoswami said that Shankarghatand Kapari village have beendeclared hotspots after receivingpositive cases. Lockdown hasalso been strictly enforced in

these areas. There willbe no movement here. Shopswill also be closed in thesestreets, the DM added. After get-ting three corona positive casestogether in the district, thepolice have started strictly fol-lowing the lockdown protocolhere. IG KP Singh said thatalthough the lockdown is beingfollowed continuously, but morestrictness will be ensured now asthe matter has become moregrave now. The police will takea tough stand from now on, theIG added.

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COVID-19-related test havebeen withheld from the kit

at present in the Prayagraj dis-trict after the quality of therapid diagnostic test kit wasquestioned in Rajasthan. Also,teams are being formed tosupervise the students whohave returned here from Kotain Rajasthan. These teams willvisit their home every day toexamine their health. Furthertest will be conducted imme-diately if they show any symp-tom similar to novel COVID-19 virus.

As of now, a total 930 stu-dents have come from Kota inthe district. 804 people cameon the first day while 78 peo-ple arrived in the district onTuesday and 48 on Wednesday.Teams from the Health depart-ment had examined everyonewith a corona-related rapidtest kit in which they were senthome after getting the their testreport negative. But now sud-denly a question in quality ofthe rapid test kit test has beenraised.

Many states of the countryhave complained that peoplewho were found negative bythis kit have found positive in

the second test. Therefore, theHealth department in the dis-trict has decided that now allthose people who have comehere from Kota and were test-ed with rapid kit will be mon-itored.

All their names andaddresses are being fed on theexcel seat. Their locality will bemarked after which, the teamswill go every day to test theirhealth.

Corona test with rapid testkits have currently beenstopped in the district.However, so far only the stu-dents who came here fromKota were tested with this kit.

But now no one will be testedfurther with this kit until ICMRguidelines comes. About 1300kits were brought to Prayagrajdistrict and approximately asmany as 950 kits have beenused.

Dr Rishi Sahay, NodalOfficer of COVID-19, saiduntil the ICMR guidelinecomes, the test with the rapidkit has been stopped. The dataof people who have been test-ed with this kit is being pre-pared.

Teams will actively bemonitoring them and testingwill be done each day, DrSahay pointed out.

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In response to the decisiontaken by state government

and its agreement with IndianPostal department, a meetingwas held between the ChiefPostmaster Officer (Cantt. PostOffice) and DistrictTuberculosis department hereon Friday. It was decided thatafter lockdown, the new systemwould start working by whichthe work of sending samplingof TB patients by post would bestarted. Earlier these sampleswere sent by couriers, whichdelayed the identification andtreatment of the patients. Inthis regard, DistrictTuberculosis Officer Dr RakeshKumar Singh said that UP has

become the first state in thecountry to implement this newsystem.

Earlier, in response to therecent instructions of PrincipalSecretary (Health) AmitMohan Prasad to all the chiefmedical officers (CMOs), treat-ment of TB patients is receiv-ing uninterrupted services evenduring the lockdown. In his let-ters to CMO, Prasad and saidthat it is very important to con-tinue TB prevention so thatcomplications and death fromTB can be controlled. Inresponse of the instruction,District Tuberculosis Officersaid that in view of lockdown,instructions have already beenissued to all the employees ofDistrict Tuberculosis Unit

under National TuberculosisEradication Programme(NTEP).

Dr Singh said that there isno shortage in the availabilityof medicines in the district andall the TB patients have beenprovided with one month ofmedicines apart from keepingthem in contact regularlythrough phone calls /WhatsApp / video calls toensure drug intake and tomonitor drug adversary drugreaction.

Follow-up of treated TBpatients is also being done, headded. Besides, he said that theunit staff is investigating sus-pected TB patients at door-to-door.

Currently, there are three

machines for CB-NAAT testingin the district. In NTEP BSL-2Lab of BHU’s MicrobiologyDepartment, the CB-NAATmachine which used tocheck for TB is at present busyin COVID-19 testing.

He said that as many as 228new TB patients have beenfound since March 22 last andall of them are being treated.Treatment of MDR and XDR of48 patients has been started inthe past.

During treatment, �500per month is being sent to thebank accounts of patientsunder the Nutrition Scheme.From March 22 to April 22,�40.79 lakh have been trans-ferred to the accounts of 4211TB patients.

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Kanpur (City) DistrictMagistrate BR Tiwari on

Saturday directed health offi-cials and workers at commu-nity and primary health centresto carry out door-to-door ther-mal scanning to identify coro-navirus suspects.

This decision has beentaken in view of the suddenspurt in coronavirus positivecases in the district.

The health departmentteams have started visitingevery house for thoroughscreening of the residents, par-ticularly those having cough,cold and fever.

The teams have also beenasked to collect information ifany person had visited or lefthome in the recent past.

The district magistrate saidthat people having any healthproblem could call the controlroom (18001805159) foradvice/assistance. He asked thepeople to wear mask, wash andsanitise hands regularly andmaintain social distancing.

Tiwari said all shops inplaces where large-scale coro-

navirus positive cases hademerged would remain closedand no new shop will beopened in any area for doorstepdelivery of commodities.

He said all magistrates con-cerned had been directed tostrictly enforce lockdown intheir areas and take actionagainst the violators.

The district magistrate saidin a crackdown, legal actionhad been initiated against sev-eral shop owners in Sisamau forviolating lockdown norms. Hesaid similar violations werereported in areas likeCollectorganj, Nayaganj,Express Road, Babupurwa, RailBazaar and action was beingtaken.

Tiwari said AdditionalDistrict Magistrate (Judicial)Sushila had been authorised tosanction letters for local peoplewho were stuck up in other dis-tricts and states due to lock-down.

Meanwhile, the districtmagistrate said as the holymonth of Ramzan began withthe first fast on Saturday,stricter monitoring was beingdone and drone cameras were

keeping an eye in areas like SofaMasjid, Lal Kuan, Gwaltoli,Machaharia, Babupurwa,Kidwainagar, Kalyanpur,Jajmau and surrounding areas.

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The total number ofCOVID-19 cases detected inthe district so far rose to 152with eight more persons testingpositive for coronavirus infec-tion.

Chief Medical Officer DrAK Shukla said that out of thesix new cases, a few were policepersonnel and they all hadbeen sent for treatment.

He said out of the 31 sus-pected coronavirus cases quar-antined in Sarsaul, the reportsof 20 were negative and theywould be sent back home iftheir second report was alsonegative.

Dr Shukla said a 100-bedmakeshift hospital had been setup at Halim College and thestaff and paramedical staffalong with doctors would soonbe deployed there.

He said all the TablighiJamaat members belonging todifferent districts and who hadtested negative for coronavirusand had been in quarantine,would be sent to their respec-tive destinations at the earliest.

Meanwhile, PrincipalSecretary (PWD) NR Gokaran,who is the nodal officer forCOVID-19 infection in thedistrict, held a meeting withsenior officials including DM,DIG and others on Saturday.

He claimed that every-thing was perfectly in order andthe control room was handlingthe complaints immediatelyand effectively.

He also found that therewas a sharp decline in thecomplaints which were beingreceived at the control room setup in Kanpur Nagar Nigamhall.

The nodal officer inspect-ed the telemedicine serviceand found it satisfactory. Healso expressed happiness overthe food distribution byKanpur DevelopmentAuthority. He stressed on strictmonitoring in coronavirushotspots and more testing.

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In a sudden turn of event, thereport of a one-and-half-

year-old girl from KanpurDehat who had died in thepaediatric department ofChildren’s Hospital of GSVMMedical College and was sus-pected to be infected by coro-navirus, turned out to be neg-ative on Saturday.

On Friday, it was claimedby the hospital authorities thatthe child was found coron-avirus positive but on Saturday,the health authorities claimedthat the girl’s test report wasnegative.

Head of department DrYashwant Rao said that all thedoctors, paramedical staff andattendants who were present onduty on that day had been putin quarantine.

He said the report of thegirl and the medical staff hadcome negative and thus thepaediatric department afterthorough sanitisation had onceagain restarted.

The patients who had been

shifted to other departmentshave been brought back to therespective wards.

Dr Rao said that with thedeceased girl’s report turningnegative, only two persons

have died of COVID-19 in thecity. He said every care wasbeing taken to ensure thatproper screening was carriedout of all patients brought formedical emergencies.

It may be mentioned herethat the UP government has, ina circular sent to governmentand private hospitals and med-ical colleges, declared COVID-19 screeening mandatory for allpatients who report even forany medical emergency serviceto minimise the risk of coron-avirus spread in the healthfacilities. Under the new rules,any patient reporting for anymedical emergency, even if it ismaternity or heart related,trauma or even cancer willhave to undergo mandatoryscreening for COVID-19.

A special seven-point formhas been prepared to be filledup after the testing by thepatient’s kin. It is a precau-tionary measure to avert sud-den closure of the total medicalservices as was witnessed in theChildren’s Hospital of LLR,under the GSVM MedicalCollege. Under the new direc-tive, all doctors, paramedicalstaff and attendants of the hos-pital will mandatorily havePPE kits, N-95 masks andgloves.

�(��&��#��5��&��&��KANPUR (PNS) IG Range Mohit Agarwal said that somepeople were trying to settle their old scores by giving fakeinformation to the police control room without sensing thegravity of the COVID-19 pandemic. He warned that givingfalse/fake information was a legal offence which could attractpenal action against such mischievious element. “In fact, thesepeople are trying to settle old scores with their enemies orneighbours by using the good offices of police and districtadministration,” he added. The IG said giving fake infor-mation to police control room unnecessarily wasted the timeof cops and hampered their other important assignments.He said apart from the calls for genuine problems beingreceived at Dial 112 police control room, cops were com-pelled to attend almost similar number of fake calls daily.He said some of the callers even did not hesitate to informthe cops that their neighbour was infected from coronavirusand on visiting the spot, the information was found to befake.

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Principal GovernmentAllopathic Medical College

(GAMC), Banda, Dr MukeshYadav that the sixth samplereport of second Covid-19 pos-itive patient of Shiv villageunder Bisanda police stationand second consecutive reportof third positive patient (thirdsample) of Macha village underTindwari police station werenegative. Dr Yadav told ThePioneer said that the seventhsample of second coronapatient of Shiv village would besent on Sunday for the test. Ifthis consecutive report wasfound negative this coronapatient would be quarantinedfor 14 days. Principal said that

the first positive patient ofMardan Naka area of Bandacity had become negative. Hewas kept under quarantine atBanda University of Agricultureand Technology. Principal DrYadav said that third coronapositive patient who tested

negative in second and thirdreports consecutively wouldbe quarantinef. Principal saidthat nodal officer BandaMedical College Dr KaranRajput and his team workedround the clock to strengthenthe immunity of these Covid 19positive patients. Principal saidthat 141 Covid-19 samples hadbeen sent to Jhansi MedicalCollege for test and all of themwere negative. Principal saidthat total 390 samples were testto SGPGI and Jhansi MedicalCollege. Out of them 249 sam-ples were sent to SGPGI andthe remaining 141 samples toJhansi Medical College respec-tively. Principal Yadav said thatout of 390 samples, 349 reportstested negative for coronavirus

till Friday. Dr Yadav said thattotal 82 coronavirus suspectswere admitted to the isolationward in Banda Medical Collegetill Friday. Out of them 78patients had been discharged.At present only four patientswere admitted to the isolationward. Dr Yadav said that total168 patients were kept underquarantine. Out of them 141patients had been discharged.At present only 27 patients hadbeen kept under quarantine.Principal said that all dis-charged patients had beenadvised to wear face masks andmaintain social distancing atpublic places. Dr Yadav saidthat nodal officer of BandaMedical College and his teamhad done commendable work.

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One person was arrested inconnection with the mur-

der of a woman committed onApril 12 last. According to areport received here, Bulletalias Abhimanyu, accused ofmurdering Anuradha Yadav,wife of Chandrajit Yadav, a res-ident of Bhaksa village underthe Sahajanwa police stationwas murdered on April 12andthen hiding her body wasarrested by police and sent tojail. It is learnt that the woman,resident of Bhaksa village

under the aforesaid police sta-tion area, had died at her in-laws’ house under suspiciouscircumstances the late on April12 night. The police had regis-tered a case in this connectionfollowing a complaint lodgedby the brother of the deceasedand had launched a search forthe murder accused. Policewas informed that the accusedwas is sitting near Sisai bridge.At this SO Dinesh KumarMishra along with his col-leagues reached the spotimmediately and caught him.During interrogation he dis-

closed his identitity as Bulletalis Abhimanyu Yadav, broth-er-in-law of the deceased, whoconfessed his involvement incrime. Meanwhile a womanfled with her paramour onFriday night after when herhusband asked her not to talkto anyone on phone. Her hus-band alleged that she escapedwith jewellery. On gettinginformation the police reachedthe spot and was investigatingthe matter. Her husband thatshe was pregnant. According toa report received here, Suraj, aresident of Jaipur village under

the Khorabar police station,had complained at the policestation on Friday that sometime at night his wife left witha young man who had comeoutside their house on a motor-bike. He claimed that she hadtaken jewellery too. He saidthat he had inquired about herfrom other family membersand he did not get any clueabout her whereabouts heinformed the personneldeployed on Dial 112 numberabout it. Suraj said that the wifewas pregnant and used to talkto a youngman on phone.

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District Magistrate IndraVikram Singh and

Superintendent of Police DrShivasimpi Channappa visitedGovernment Medical Collegein Sadar tehisl and Varun ArjunMedical College in Kant tehsilin view of Covid-19 outbreakon Friday.

During this period theDistrict Magistrate checkedcleanliness in isolation ward inthe Medical College and foundarrangements satisfactorythere. Singh went to the wards,saw the arrangements for bedsetc and directed the authoritiesconcerned that more emphasis

should be laid on cleanliness inthe wards in view of coron-avirus pandemic. He said thatcleanliness should be ensuredin lavatories. The DM went tothe kitchen there, tasted thequality of food and found the

food satisfactory. He said thatsocial distancing guidelinesshould be followed in letter andspirit and strict action shouldbe taken against those who vio-lated them. He said that laxitywould not be tolerated.

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The intellectuals of the dis-trict have hailed the

appointment of Kapil DevTripathi, a retired IAS officer, asthe secretary in the office ofPresident of India.

Advocate Jagat NarainMishra said that it was a mat-ter of honour for the district.

He said that Tripathi became anIAS officer in the year 1980.The intellectuals thanked thecommittee of the ministerswhich was chaired by the PMwhich selected Tripathi.Reports said an IAS of Assamcadre Tripathi has worked notonly in different capacities inAssam government but at theCentre too. Among those whohave congratulated KD Tripathiwere Dr Daya ShankarTripathi, BalendumaniTripathi, Dr DL Srivastava,Rajesh Bharteey,Shashibhushan Dubey, HariShankar Patel and Ram BhajanParmarth.

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A woman hanged herselffollowing an argument with her

husband on phone here recent-ly. As per the reports receivedhere, Sushma Mishra (35), wifeof Amit Mishra, committedsuicide following a dispute inthe family in her residence atNarghat under the KatraKotwali police station. On get-ting information the policereached the spot, called hermateral family members fromChaturbhujpur village underManda police station,Prayagraj, and completed thelegal formalities. The deceasedwas married eight years agoand she had two children. Asper the SHO Katra Kotwali noFIR was lodged in this con-nection.

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Vindhyachal police arrest-ed one person along with 110gm of intoxicating powder hererecently. As per the reportsreceived here, incharge ofGaipura police outpostRamsinghasan Sharma waspatrolling the area when hesuddenly spotted a suspicious-looking person in Devta villageon the bank of Karnavati river.He immediately caught theman and on during friskinghim recovered 110 gm of intox-icating powder from his pos-session. After completing thelegal formalities the arrestedperson was sent to jail. Theaccused was later identified asSantosh Mali, a resident ofBijapur village under theVindhyachal police station.

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Keeping in mind the novelcoronavirus outbreak the

North Eastern Railway (NER)administration was makng all-round efforts for the preventionof the infection and its employ-ees were engaged in it withcomplete dedication. Necessarymaterials are being transport-ed by ensuring the movement

of goods and parcel trainsbesides various works are beingdone to prevent and check thespread of Covid-19 pandemic.Apart from it the during thelockdown period in force tocheck the spread of coron-avirus railway personnel havebeen distributing face masks,sanitisers and relief materialsamong the needy continu-ously. Railway personnel whohad done commendable workin such a situation are beinghonored by the North EasternRailway administration bybeing declared the ‘CoronaWarriors of the Day’ everyday. Four railwaymen wereselected for the honour onApril 23.

Chief Public RelationsOfficer (CPRO) Pankaj KumarSingh said that ShankarShukla, working as assistantsub- inspector, RailwayProtection Force (RPF),Gorakhpur region, contributedsignificantly in the granting of

permission to railway workersto travel freely to and fromwork place during the ongo-ing nationwide lockdown peri-od by coordinating with thedistrict administration. Forthis Shukla was declared the‘Corona warrior of the Day’ oftheadquarters Gorakhpur byAdditional General Manager(AGM) Amit Kumar Agarwal.

Similarly Rajesh Singh,

working as a junior engineer atLucknow Junction played animportant role in ensuring thefitting of fans, bulbs, tube-lights, switches, sockets, etc. inthe isolation ward made from12 coaches ahead of schedule.In addition he checked 159coaches and got electrical fit-tings completed in them. Thework done by Rajesh Singh insuch a situation was indeedcommendable for which hewas declared the ‘Corona war-rior of the day’ of Lucknowdivision.

Likewise AmarnathUpadhyaya posted as trafficinspector at PrayagrajRambagh station, besidesensuring the movement of par-cel trains and workmen specialtrains during the ongoingnationwide lockdown periodwas also providing face masksto the employees from time totime in order to prevent coro-navirus infection. Apart fromit Upadhyaya has been provid-ing food items to poor and

helpless people at Daraganjstation continuously for threeweeks. He got more than 500packets of ration distributedduring the lockdown perioddue to which he was declaredthe ‘Corona Warrior of the Day’of Varanasi Division.

Sushant Saxena, working ascommercial assistant in thecommercial control room ofIzzatnagar division, was present

at work at this odd time andperformed various importantincome-related tasks, loadingand unloading of goods trainand special parcel train andother major works. Apart fromit Saxena has made a significantcontribution in the distributionof face masks, soaps and fooditems among the helpless andneedy for which he wasadjudged the ‘Corona warriorof the Day’ of Izzatnagar divi-sion. In order to boost themorale of railwaymen the NERadministration would contin-ue to honour them during thelockdown period. The NERadministration was proud ofsuch railwaymen, the CPROadded.

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The period towards theend of the financial year 2019-20 the North Eastern Railwayfollowed the guidelines issuedto prevent novel coronavirus

infection, ensured the move-ment of goods as well as par-cel trains during the nationwidelockdown period in force tocheck its spread as well astransportation of essentialmaterials and serving thehumanity However, in the year2019-20, the North EasternRailway made concerted effortsto ensure protected rail travelwhich yielded the expected

results. From the safety stand-point this year was the best forthe North Eastern Railway andno consequential occurred rail-way accident during this peri-od. CRRO Pankaj KumarSingh stressed on the protec-tion of track for protected railtravel. Protected rail travel wasmost important among thepriorities of NER and all effortswere being made to ensure it.

In the year 2019-20 14pedestrian over bridges wereconstructed for movementfrom one platform to anotherand 65 LHS bridges were built.

For ensuring the safety oftrains 1,692 track km waspainted safety of trains andgreasing work of 2,155 ERCwas done. On the other hand,to ensure the safety of stationyards, deep screening of asmany as 169 turnouts wasdone by T-28 and ballast clean-ing machines. In the samesequence deep screening of216 km normal railway trackwas also completed.

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Ration kits were distributedamong 50 poor and needy

people by Jaspura StationOfficer Alok Singh in Jaspuratown on Friday. SO Alok Singhtold ‘The Pioneer’ said that heobserved during his routinerounds of the town that 50 fam-ilies were facing the problem oflivelihood. He said that there-fore he decided to distributeration kits among these poorand needy. SO Alok Singh saidthat it was their joint respon-sibility to ensure that not a single person in the locality or

neighbourhood remained hun-gry. SO that he had advisedthem to remain at home andfollow lockdown guidelines fortheir own welfare. He said thathe had given them his mobilenumber and told them thatthey could him during emer-gency. On the occasion he saidthat efforts were being made toget guidelines of the ongoinglockdown implemented in thetown. SO Singh said that he wasgiving regular feedback topolice chief Banda about legalaction taken against the peoplewho violated lockdown.

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State Mahila Ayog MemberPrabha Gupta said that she

had distributed 127 ration kitsamong the poor and needypeople at Avas Vikas, AtarraChungi Tiraha, Police Lines,Chhoti Bazar and BalkhandiNaka areas of the city. Whiletalking to The Pioneer Guptasaid that apart from it coronafighters’ safety kits were dis-tributed among corona fightersamong the officers incharge ofAtarra chungi police outpost,Mardan Naka police outpost,Civil Lines police outpost andbank officials. Gupta said thatface masks were also distrib-uted among four dozen peoplewho were seen going withoutmasks on the road. They wereadvised to wear face masks

while coming out of their hous-es to the public places in orderto protect themselves. Thosewho distributed ration kits andmasks were Saurabh Gupta,Shivam Savita, Ravindra Gupta,Vikas Singh, Rajesh Pandey,Vinod Gupta, Ram Sufal Sahuand Ram Babu Gupta.

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Awoman sustained burnsunder suspicious circum-

stances in Bahadurpur villageunder Mughalsarai Kotwali onFriday. According to a reportreceived here, on seeing thesmoke coming out from thehouse the people from thenearby areas reached the spotand extinguished the flames.Her family members rushedher to a hospital for treatmentwhere her condition was stat-ed to be critical. It is learn thatChandni Seth, wife of ShankarSeth, a resident of Bahadurpurvillage under MughalsaraiKotwali, got upset with herfamily members following anargument over some issue onFriday morning. Thereaftershe went to her room. Aftersome time on seeing smokeand screaming from her roomher neighbours and familysomehow saved her. But bythen she was scorched. The

woman was the mother of fourchildren.

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Fed up with domestic dis-cord a teenager ended his lifeby hanging himself in Parorwavillage under the Alinagarpolice station at night. On get-ting information police reachedthe spot, took the body of thedeceased into custody and sentit for the post-mortem exami-nation. According to a report,Gulzar (19), son of ChandMohammed, a resident ofParorwa, was a motor mechan-ic. He was at home due to thelockdown. On Thursday hehad some dispute with hisfamily over some issue. Late inthe evening he went to hisroom where he committed sui-cide by hanging himself withthe help of his belt from theceiling fan. His family memberscame to know about it onFriday morning when he did

not come could from his roomfor very long time. The villagersinformed Alinagar police aboutit following which its person-nel reached the spot, took thebody of the deceased into theircustody and sent it for the post-mortem examination. Whencontacted Zafarpur police out-post incharge Atul Prajapatisaid that the body of thedeceased had been sent for thepost-mortem examination. Thevictim was unmarried. Thematter was being investigated.

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A cyclist died after he washit by a tanker near Alampurvillage under the Alinagarpolice station area here. Thedriver left the tanker on thespot and fled from there. Ongetting information the policereached the spot, took thebody of the deceased into cus-tody and sent it for the post-

mortem examination.According to a report,

Ramachandra (65), resident ofBarhuli village under theAlinagar police station, aretired railway worker wasreturning home on Friday afterdelivering milk to his son,Santosh Yadav, a railwayman, atCentral Colony, Mughalsarai.As soon as he reached theAlampur Canal he wasknocked down by the speedingtanker coming from behind. Asa result he died on the spot. Thedriver left the tanker andescaped from there. On getinginformation police reached thespot, took the body of thedeceased into custody and sentit for the post-mortem exami-nation. When the tragic newsreached his wife Budhana Devi,daughter, Sheela Devi, andsons, Santosh, Vijay andBrijesh, they were shell-shocked. They immediatelyreached the spot and wereinconsolable.

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Ayouth was crushed to deathunder a cane-laden trolley

here recently. According to areport, Manoj (28), son ofPhare Lal, son of former prad-han, a resident of TetarpurWest in Phoolbehand area,had gone to the mill with thesugarcane on a tractor trolley.Jairam, a resident of the village,also went along with him inorder to help him. As Jairamwas exhausted he went to rest

under some trolley. In view ofdarkness suddenly its driverstarted the tractor and he wascrushed under it. On hearingthe screams people rushedthere. The tractor trolley driverfled from there leaving thevehicle behind.

The victim was immedi-ately rushed to the districthospital where he died aftersome time. The police outpostincharge, Parasnath, said thataction in the matter would betaken after getting a complaintin this connection.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)youth leader Swadesh

Gaurav Shivhare Golu visitedthe wheat purchase centreMandi Sthal and distributedmasks, soaps and ORS mixtureamong the farmers. Whilehearing their problems on theoccasion Golu said that it wastheir responsibly to take care ofthose who toiled hard to pro-vide us food. Golu said that thefarmers should be given utmostpriority.

He said that his aim was toserve the farmers in the bestway. BJP youth leader said thathis aim was to make peopleaware about novel coronavirusand advise them on regularbasis. BJP leader advised thefarmers to wear face masks andkeep themselves sanitised atthis critical time. BJP youthleader Golu said that farmerswere the backbone of our econ-omy. We all should come for-ward to facilitate the farmers,he added.

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A 32-year-old woman whohad sustained burns whilecooking food in her house inBachheura village under theTindwari police station suc-cumbed to them.

According to a report

received here, Shanti Devi,wife of Raja Prajapati, got burntwhile preparing meal in herhouse. She was rushed to theDistrict Hospital in Bandawhere she died during thetreatment. She is survived bythree sons. On getting infor-mation the police rushed to thespot, took the body of thedeceased into their custodyand sent it for the post-mortemexamination. The police saidthat the husband of thedeceased was a labourer.

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An 18-year-old girl com-mitted suicide here recent-

ly. Mohani Devi, daughter ofChhedilal Namdev, a residentof Piparahari village underPailani police station, hangedherself with the help of ropefrom the ceiling of her room.The police sent her body for thepost-mortem examination. Herbrother, Lallu Namdev, told thepolice that his sister had com-leted high school and his fatherwas a security guard at Mumbaiand could not come to the vil-lage due to lockdown.

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Banda MLA PrakashDwivedi said that 4,500

lunch packets were distributedamong the poor and needypeople of the city by the BJPparty workers in Civil Lines,Zaraili Kothi, Khutla, GayatriNagar, Roadways bus stand, JailRoad, Karbala, Katra, ChhotiBazar, Nimnipar, Aliganj,Sarvodaya Nagar, ShukulKuwan, Jawahar Nagar,Rahuniya and Khaipar. Thosewho distributed them werePushkar Dwivedi, SantoshRajput, Neeraj Tripathi, VishwaPrakash Srivstava, Rajat Seth,Anurudha Tripathi and AnkitAgnihotri. MLA Dwivedi whiletalking to The Pioneer said

that he had distributed 350ration kits in gram panchayatGanchha, Kahala, Hatetipurwa,Sohana and Paduee villages ofMahuva Mandal among thepoor and needy persons.

Those who accompaniedhim during the distribution ofration kits were Ram KrashnaShukla, Ram Kishore Shukla,Amarmani Tripathi, SudhirMishra,Manmohan Rajput,Awadhesh Acharya, ArunNamdev.

Dwivedi said that he hadresolved that no one should beleft hungry in the entire VidhanSabha area. Dwivedi said thatthe distribution of lunch pack-ets and ration kits would con-tinue during the lockdownperiod.

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During a drive on the direc-tive of Superintendent of

Police, Mahoba Manilal Patidara team constituted by inspec-tor incharge Kabrai UmeshPratap Singh on Saturdaynabbed a accused wanted inconnection with Sections376/406/506 of the IPC,Shivam Singh Parmar, son ofSantosh Singh, belonging toUtia village under the Kabraipolice station and residing atpresent on Pahadi Road underthe Kabrai police station KabriHospital near the canal bridgeon road going towards Utia.

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In a huge spike in the numberof deaths and infections in

Maharashtra, as many as 22persons died of Covid-19 onSaturday, taking the total num-ber of deaths to 323 and arecord 811 people tested posi-tive in a day in the State, evenas the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)prepared itself to undertakePlasma therapy for eligiblecoronavirus patients.

On a day when the infect-ed cases jumped from 6,817 to7,628 triggering considerableanxiety among the health offi-cials in the State, coronavirusclaimed 22 more lives.

With fresh deaths, theCovid-19 death tally mountedto 323 in the deaths. Of thedeaths, Mumbai accounted for13 deaths, 4 in Pune, one eachin Malegaon, Pune rural,Pimpri-Chinchwad, Dhuleand Solapur.

The death toll in Mumbaiclimbed to 191, while therehave so far been 73 deaths inPune.

With a staggering 602cases reported on Saturday,the total number of infectedcases in Mumbai has risen to5049. Similarly in Pune, thetotal number of infected cases

mounted to 1030. Of those dead, 16 were

men, while 6 were women.Eleven of them aged over 60years, eight were from the agegroup 40 to 59 years and threewere under 40 years of age.“Thirteen out of 22 patients(59%) had high-risk co-mor-bidities such as diabetes, hyper-tension, asthma, heart disease,TB etc,” the state health bulletinsaid.

Out of 1,08,972 laboratorysamples tested till Saturday,1,01,162 were negative and7628 have been tested positivefor coronavirus.

There are 555 active con-tainment zones in the state cur-rently. Total 8194 surveillancesquads worked on worked onFriday worked today acrossthe state and surveillance of31.43 lakh population wasdone. 1076 patients have beendischarged till date after fullrecovery. 2.

Currently, 1,25,393 peo-ple are in home quarantine and8,124 people are in institutionalquarantine.”

Meanwhile, the BMC ispoised to start Plasma therapyfor eligible Covid-19 positivepatients. “Three units of plas-ma from recovered patientshave already been collectedfrom eligible donors. The recip-

ient of Plasma Therapy hasbeen identified and will receivePlasma as per Physician'sadvice. Patients’ blood group isgetting matched,” the BMCbulletin said.

According to the bulletin,five more recovered Covid-19patients have been screened todonate plasma. “Other recov-ered Covid-19 patients arebeing contacted, so that morenumber of severely ill patientscan be benefitted from PlasmaTherapy. Plasma pheresismachine is installed at Nairhospital to expedite the plasmaseparation and effective extrac-tion,” the bulletin said.

Considering the vulnera-bility of Senior Citizens toCovid-19 and those with Co-morbid conditions likeDiabetes, Hypertension,Asthma & Heart Disease, theBMC will undertake a house tohouse survey in slums ofMumbai, to identify the seniorcitizens & ensure that they aretaking their medications forchronic diseases regularly. “Theteam will also check theOxygen Saturation with PulseOxymeter on spot and if foundlow such citizens will bereferred to non-CovidPeripheral Hospitals with areferral note for further treat-ment,” the bulletin added.

��&��=)��%�� Chandigarh: Twelve more peo-

ple tested positive for coron-avirus in Haryana on Saturday,taking the number of cases inthe state to 287, according toofficial data.

Sonipat reported the max-imum number of fresh infec-tions at six, followed by four inGurgaon and one each inAmbala and Panipat, the statehealth department said in itsdaily bulletin.

Among the total 287Covid-19 cases in Haryana are24 foreigners — from Italy, SriLanka, Nepal, Thailand, SouthAfrica and Indonesia — and 64people from other states ofIndia, it stated.

According to the bulletin,Haryana has 93 active Covid-19 cases. While 191 patients

have been discharged, threehave died due to coronavirus.

Nuh (57), Gurgaon (51),Faridabad (43), Palwal (34),Sonipat (19) and Panchkula(18) are the state's worst affect-ed districts.

As of Saturday, the state hasa recovery rate of 66.55 percent, fatality rate of 1.04 percent, Covid-19 positive rate(proportion of positive cases tototal tests conducted) of 1.58per cent, the bulletin stated.

The doubling rate of casesin the state is 18 days and testsper million being conductedare 800, it said.

As many as 20,270 sampleshave been tested so far, out ofwhich 17,787 have tested neg-ative. The reports of 2,196samples are awaited. PTI

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Chandigarh: A private labo-ratory which has been underthe Haryana Government'sscanner for alleged discrepan-cies in Covid-19 test results on Saturday assertedthat it stands by its findings andis open to getting these samplesre-tested at any Governmentlab.

The Haryana Governmenthad on Monday ordered aprobe after four samplesreported positive for coron-avirus by SRL Diagnosticstested negative in confirma-tion tests done at differentGovernment labs in the State.

The State Government willgive no samples for testing tothe private lab, pending theoutcome of the probe, HealthMinister Anil Vij had said.

Gurgaon-based SRL

Diagnostics on Saturday saidit re-tested the samples, whichwere first tested on April 18,and the results again cameback positive for coronavirus.

It said it conducted a re-test "using the RNA extractsfrom the same samples whichare stored with the lab underthe recommended guidelinesby ICMR (Indian Council ofMedical Research)."

"The test results are outand once again read positive,"said Dr. Anurag Bansal, tech-nical head for north and eastIndia and lab operations direc-tor for Gurgaon ClinicalReference Laboratory, SRL Ltd.

Bansal and ArindamHaldar, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of SRL Ltd., addressedthe media through a videoconference.

"We would like to reiterateour testing lab in Gurgaon isICMR-approved and is alsoNABL (National AccreditationBoard for Testing andCalibration Laboratories)accredited.... And is run byhighly professional, qualifiedand experienced doctors. Withreference to Covid-19 testing,we are only using ICMR-approved kits and testing tech-nique - RT PCR," Haldar said.

Bansal said it is critical tounderstand that there are mul-tiple reasons which can influ-ence a test result.

"When we got the noticefrom them (health depart-ment) stating that there is (a)discrepancy in these fourresults, we again ran these testsand again these came positive,"Bansal said. PTI

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Bhopal: With 103 more peopletesting positive till Saturdayafternoon, 56 of them in Indore,the number of coronavirus casesin Madhya Pradesh climbed to1,945, health officials said.

Seven deaths were alsoreported since Friday evening,taking the Covid-19 death tollin the state to 99.

Four deaths were reportedin Ujjain, two in Indore and onein Hoshangabad, officials said.

Indore, the worst affecteddistrict, alone now accountsfor 57 deaths.

Since Friday night, Indorerecorded 56 new infection cases,followed by Bhopal at 28,Jabalpur at 12, Hoshangabad atfour and one each in Ujjain and

Khandwa.Indore has the highest tally

of Covid-19 cases at 1,085 fol-lowed by Bhopal (388) andUjjain (103).

The number of coronaviruscases in Jabalpur has nowclimbed to 43. Hoshangabad has30 cases, Khandwa 36 andChhindwara five.

Number of cases in otherdistricts is: Barwani 24, Raisen26, Morena and Vidisha 13each, Ratlam 12, Mandsaureight, Shajapur six, Sagar five,four each in Gwalior andSheopur, three in Alirajpur,two each in Shivpuri andTikamgarh and one each inBetul and Dindori. No freshcases were found in these dis-

tricts on Saturday.Two patients hail from

other states.Apart from Indore where

the death toll has reached 57, 15patients have died in Ujjain,nine in Bhopal, six each inDewas and Khargone and oneeach in Jabalpur, Chhindwara,Mandsaur, Agar Malwa, Dharand Hoshangabad.

So far, 281 patients haverecovered and returned home.499 containment areas havebeen set up in affected cities.

Coronavirus figures inMadhya Pradesh, thus, are asfollows: Positive cases 1,945,deaths 99, discharged 281, activepatients 1,565, number of peo-ple tested so far 36,887. PTI

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Dehradun: Covid-19 cases inUttarakhand will now be treat-ed only in the hospitals desig-nated for the purpose, ChiefMinister Trivendra Singh Rawatsaid on Saturday.

The hospitals where onlyCovid-19 cases will be treatednow are Mela Hospital(Haridwar), Doon Hospital(Dehradun), Medical College(Rudrapur) and Sushila TiwariGovernment Hospital(Haldwani), he added.

The rest of the hospitals inthe state will function as earli-er, Rawat said.

Earlier, Covid-19 cases werealso being treated at other healthfacilities. Hospitals in nine dis-

tricts, where there are no posi-tive coronavirus cases, havebeen opened now and will func-tion from Sunday as earlier, thechief minister said. In a separatemessage on the start of the holymonth of Ramzan, Rawat greet-ed people and appealed to themto do "ibadat" at home, main-taining social distancing. "Withmutual cooperation alone wecan defeat the coronavirus pan-demic," he said.

Uttarakhand has reported48 positive coronavirus cases sofar, of which 25 have recovered.There are 11 containment zonesor hotspots in the state — sevenin Dehradun, three in Haridwarand one in Nainital. PTI

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From Page 1The IMCT was given half-

hour notice for a visit to CNCIHospital and Bangur Hospitalon April 23 and Damurjolaquarantine centre and SanjivanHospital in Uluberia sub divi-sion of Howrah district onApril 24. The Chief Secretaryof West Bengal has been wide-ly reported in the media tohave stated that the IMCT isfree to visit anywhere, and theState Government cannotwaste its time by accompany-ing them, Chandra wrote.

“The above stand is a vio-lation of the order by theUnion Home Ministry and theState Government is expectedto provide logistics supportand facilitate all field visits,”Chandra said in the letter.

“The stand of the StateGovernment on facilitatingthe visits of the IMCT andensuring the safety and secu-rity of the team members asalso providing informationand records may be madeclear through a written com-munication rather thanthrough media so that furthersteps can be taken by theIMCT,” the letter read.

Chandra has also soughtto know from the StateGovernment that in theabsence of police escort, if itwould take responsibility forthe safety and security of theIMCT if it ventures out on itsown. “Whether the BSF

accompanying the IMCT onbehalf of the Government isfree to take action to ensuresafety and security of theIMCT in absence of policesupport,” the letter asked.

It said no senior State offi-cial accompanies them on vis-its and their only expectationis that doctors and officers atthe venue should meet andprovide information to theteam. “Whether it is a fact thata DCP of Bengal Policeinformed Bengal officers atBSF guest house on April 21that the IMCT cannot leavethe campus without the per-mission of the StateGovernment as lockdown is inforce and if it leaves it is onlypermitted to go to the airport,”the letter read, seeking toknow if there is truth to thisstatement.

It said the StateGovernment is expected toprovide ‘accommodation,transportation, PPE andextend all cooperation fortheir visits to local areas, pro-duction of records as request-ed’, according to the MHAorder.

In another letter to BengalCS and Home Secretary,another IMCT led by VineetJoshi, in north Bengal, saidmore field officers are requiredto monitor and provide feed-back about the effectiveness ofvarious measures undertakenby the Government.

From Page 1Ramzan marked by fasting

by followers of Islam startedfrom Saturday as per the lunarcalendar. Shahi Imam ofFatehpuri Masjid MuftiMukarram Ahmed said thosewho are under quarantine andunable to observe ‘Roza” (fast)can compensate for it through‘Qaza’ or feeding one person.

In Kolkata, the apex body ofimams in West Bengal askedMuslims to offer namaz at home,and advised them not to assem-

ble at mosques because of thecoronavirus outbreak. “Allmosque committees have beenasked to communicate to themembers of Muslim communi-ty that they should not crowd themosques and offer daily namazat home,” Chairman of BengalImams Association MohammedYahia said.

Kochi’s PadivattomMahallu Muslim Jama-athmosque’s Imam remains insidethe mosque while it is shut forthe general public. Posters have

been put up outside themosque that masjid is shut tillfurther order. “This year, wehave directed the faithful toprepare food at home andbreak the fast with their fami-lies. Muslim organisations havestrictly directed the people toobserve all Ramzan relatedprayers and rituals at home.These instructions must befollowed,” he added.

Meanwhile, the prominentMuslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind had, appealed to Muslims

to adhere to the lockdownguidelines and perform all reli-gious rituals during Ramzan bystaying at their respective homes.

President Maulana ArshanMadani said, “In view of dead-ly COVID-19 that has causeddeath and destruction all overthe world, medical experts havesuggested that social distancingis the only option to break thechain of the spread of this dan-gerous virus.” All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin

Owaisi, also had appealed to theMuslims of the country duringRamzan not to go out of theirhomes to offer Ramadanprayers.

Ramzan is the ninth monthof the Islamic calendar duringwhich Muslims worldwiderefrain from eating and drink-ing from dawn to dusk and endtheir fast in the evening. As perthe Islamic beliefs, God forgivesthe past sins of the devotees whoprays and fasts with faithfulintentions.

From Page 1In view of inadequate sup-

ply from China and otherimporters, the Governmenthas ramped up domestic man-ufacturing of personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) andmedical equipment, includingventilators, to meet theincreasing demand, amidserious concerns over short-age of PPE for health workers.

The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisationhas collaborated with localmanufacturers to produce20,000 N99 masks per day,while Bengaluru-based BharatElectronics Ltd will providesupport for manufacturing30,000 ventilators.

“The domestic manufac-tures which have been identi-fied earlier have already start-ed the production of PPEs,masks etc., and adequatequantity of the same is avail-

able,” the Ministry said today.“As on date, more than 1 lakhPPEs and N95 masks arebeing manufactured every-day in the country.”

PPE kits, including gloves,coveralls and N95 masks, arenot meant for re-use. Nurses,doctors and other medicalpersonnel who tend to sus-pected and confirmedCOVID-19 patients mustchange these after every shift.

The GOM was alsobriefed on state-wise details ofdedicated COVID-19 hospi-tals, along with the adequacyof isolation beds and wards,PPE kits, N95 masks, drugs,ventilators and oxygen cylin-ders, among others, the healthministry said.

Given that there are wellabove 10 lakh people withsuspected Covid-19 in quar-antine and over 18,000 con-firmed cases under treat-ment at hospitals, the per-dayrequirement of these kits andmasks already likely to beabove 1 lakh.

The GoM had a detaileddeliberation on the measurestaken as on date by the Centreand various states and Unionterritories for prevention, con-tainment and management ofcoronavirus and all the dis-tricts were asked to follow andfurther strengthen their con-tingency plans to combatCovid-19, the Ministry said.

The GoM also deliberatedon the various tasks assignedto several empowered com-mittees and it was informedthat around 92,000 NGOs,self-help groups (SHGs) andcivil society organisationswere working and contribut-ing by providing food tomigrant workers across thecountry.

It was also informed thatthe national level meta-data ofhealth workers, NSS, NYK,NCC, doctors etc. has beenshared with all the States, dis-tricts and other officials tomobilise resources and vol-unteers (Covid warriors) tomuch-needed locations.

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Under its operationSHIELD, the Delhi

Government on Saturdaysealed three more areas tak-ing the total containmentzone count to 95.

Entire street no - 9,Shalimar Village , Entire galiNo -3, Shalimar village ,Blockno X, from HN 303/6, GaliNo 1 to HN-289, Gali no-3,Yadav villa areas have beensealed in the wake up of ris-ing corona cases.

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Mumbai: A special court hereon Saturday remanded activistAnand Teltumbde to judicialcustody in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case and rejected hisplea for temporary bail, whichhe sought in view of theCOVID-19 outbreak.

The National InvestigationAgency had arrested the Dalitscholar on April 14 after he sur-rendered before it following theSupreme Court's directives.

Teltumbde, the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr BRAmbedkar, was produced beforespecial NIA court judge A TWankehede, who remandedhim to judicial custody.

The activist then soughttemporary bail citing the

COVID-19 pandemic.In his bail application,

Teltumbde said he was sufferingfrom respiratory problems andwas at risk of contracting thedeadly infection while in prison.

The court, however, reject-ed his plea.

Teltumbde, civil rightsactivist Gautam Navlakha andnine others, have been bookedunder stringent provisions ofthe Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Act (UAPA) forallegedly having Maoist linksand conspiring to overthrow theBJP-led government. Theactivists were initially booked bythe Pune police following vio-lence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima in the district. PTI

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Guwahati: Veteran Congressleader Devanand Konwar diedof old age ailments at hisGuwahati residence onSaturday. He was 86.

The politician is survived byhis wife, two daughters and ason. The body of Knowar wastaken from here to his home dis-trict Sivasagar for the last rites,his family members said.

He was Governor of Biharfrom July 24, 2009 to March 8,

2013 and of Tripura betweenMarch 25, 2013 and June 29,2014. He had also served as gov-ernor (additional charge) ofWest Bengal from December2009 to January 2010.

Konwar had joined theCongress in 1955 as a studentleader. He became a Cabinetminister in the Governments ofAssam headed by HiteswarSaikia and later by Tarun Gogoi.

Assam Governor Jagdish

Mukhi, Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal and oth-ers condoled the death ofKonwar who was also an emi-nent advocate. In his condo-lence message, Governor Mukhidescribed Konwar as a dedicat-ed leader and worker who con-tributed immensely to the gen-eral welfare of the people at largeby serving the state with deepcommitment, compassion andlove for them. PTI

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New York: A 45-year-oldIndian-origin man has becomethe first person to face criminalcharges in the US under thecountry's Defence ProductionAct for allegedly hoarding thescarce personal protectiveequipment and selling it athuge markups during theCOVID-19 pandemic, author-ities said.

Amardeep Singh stockpiledtonnes of respirators, surgicalgowns, hand sanitisers andother personal protectiveequipment (PPE) at a LongIsland warehouse and sold itonline through various websitesand Nassau County storefrontsat “unconscionably excessiveprices,” Prosecutors from theUS Attorney's Office inBrooklyn said in a statement onFriday.

A criminal complaint wasfiled on Friday in a federal courtin Central Islip charging Singhwith violating the DefenceProduction Act (DPA) of 1950by hoarding PPE at a warehousein Brentwood, New York, amidthe COVID-19 pandemic, andprice-gouging customers of hisretail store in Plainview, NewYork, the statement said.

If convicted under theDPA, which is a misdemeanourcharge, Singh faces up to one

year in prison. He will self-sur-render to authorities next week,the US Attorney's Office said.

"As charged in the com-plaint, Singh's amassing of crit-ical PPE during a public healthcrisis and reselling at hugemarkups places him squarely inthe cross-hairs of law enforce-ment armed with the DefenceProduction Act,” said RichardP Donoghue, United StatesAttorney for the EasternDistrict of New York.

"This Office is workingtirelessly in coordination withthe COVID-19 Hoarding andPrice Gouging Task Force toprevent a pandemic of greed byprofiteers."

"The criminal complaintdescribes a defendant whoallegedly saw the devastatingCOVID-19 pandemic as anopportunity to make illegalprofits on needed personal pro-tective equipment,” said CraigCarpenito, head of theDepartment of Justice's nation-wide COVID-19 Hoarding andPrice Gouging Task Force.

There has been a massivescarcity of PPE in the US dur-ing the coronavirus outbreak.The US grapples with criticalshortages of supplies andcoronavirus cases continueto soar. PTI

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Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal on

Saturday asked the animal hus-bandry and veterinary depart-ment to conduct an inquiryinto swine flu cases in thestate and take remedial mea-sures at the earliest.

During a meeting with topofficials and scientists of thedepartment, Sonowal directedit to send samples of the affect-ed pigs to the National Instituteof High Security AnimalDiseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal,for detection of swine flu.

The flu has recently hitsome parts of the state this year.

Agriculture Minister AtulBora added that sale and dis-tribution of pork meat hasbeen banned in Assam.

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From Page 1“The average doubling rate

of the country is 9.1 days as ofnow,” the Union HealthMinistry said.

A group of Ministers head-ed by Health Minister HarshVardhan on Saturday reviewedthe testing strategy and avail-ability of testing kits across thecountry, along with the strate-gy for hotspots and clustermanagement.

The GOM was briefedabout the number of public andprivate laboratories presentlytesting for Covid-19, alongwith the number of tests thatare being conducted every daythrough this network of labo-ratories.

A detailed presentation onthe Covid-19 status in thecountry, along with theresponse and management ofthe disease, was made for theMinisters.

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Dharamshala (HP): TheCentral Tibetan Administrationhas announced a three-weekcampaign in support of the11th Panchen Lama, taken intocustody by Chinese authorities25 years ago and not seen inpublic since then.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima,who was recognised by theDalai Lama as the reincarnationof the 10th Panchen Lama whenhe was six-year-old, turned 31on Saturday.

China did not recognisehis reincarnation and arrangedthe installation of another con-tender as Panchen Lama, thesecond-highest spiritual title inTibetan Buddhism.

China has earlier saidGedhun Choekyi Nyima and hisfamily are leading life as ordi-nary citizens in the country.

Tibetans worldwide, how-ever, been demanding his releaseover the years. “As we celebrate

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima's birth-day, we also remember his dis-appearance for the last 25 years,”Central Tibetan Administrationpresident Lobsang Sangay saidin a statement here.

He said the CTA — thebody is unofficially known asTibetan government-in-exile —has launched global campaigndemanding his immediaterelease by China.

“Unfortunately, because ofthe coronavirus pandemic,which originated in Wuhan, weare not able to do the physicallobbying but we are doing vir-tual lobbying all over the world,”he said. He urged UnitedNations to hold a hearing on theissue. “I hope the Chinese gov-ernment will pay heed to theglobal appeal and at least allowGedhun Choekyi Nyima to bewith his family members, to bewith the Tibetan community inTibet.” PTI

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Over 177 persons tested positive for coron-avirus in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, taking

the total count to 1,793 spread over 57 districts.Agra leads with 371 cases, followed by

Lucknow (193), Kanpur (152) and Noida(113).Among the 177 patients detected onSaturday, 19 were from Sant Kabir Nagar.

State Surveillance Officer VikasenduAggarwal said that 35 patients had recovered andwere discharged from hospital on Saturday tak-

ing the total number to recovered patients to261.

He said COVID-19 had claimed 27 lives inthe state so far — 8 in Agra, 6 in Moradabad, 4in Meerut, 3 in Kanpur and one each in Basti,Varanasi, Bulandshahar, Lucknow, Firozabadand Aligarh.

Meanwhile, Lucknow’s Chief MedicalOfficer Dr Narendra Aggarwal said that 166samples had been sent to King George’s MedicalUniversity for testing on Saturday and they werewaiting for the results.

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Nine CRPF men of the 11investigated for

Coronavirus so far have testedpositive for Covid-19, trigger-ing a contact-tracing exerciseacross the Force’s formationsthroughout the country. Thosefound positive belonged to agroup of 47 CRPF personnelquarantined at its facility hereat Narela.

All the positive cases havebeen isolated at the quarantinecentre or transferred to desig-nated hospitals for manage-ment of the viral disease. Withthis, 12 CRPF personnelincluding a CMO and a RAFHead Constable have testedpositive for the pandemic.

Following the outbreak,the paramilitary headquarters

has asked all formations acrossthe country to furnish data ofthe personnel deployed inhotspots and other operationalareas in the last 20 days and ifanyone in these areas had test-ed positive for Covid-19 as partof a larger contact tracing exer-cise for taking effective mea-sures.

The 47 personnel quaran-tined earlier belong to the 31Battalion of the CRPF deployedin the national Capital. Themove to quarantine them wastaken after aConstable/Nursing AssistantRajesh Sharma, who rejoinedduty on April 7 after availingleave, tested positive for theviral disease.

Those found to be positivefor the viral disease include aSub Inspector, a HeadConstable and seven consta-

bles. All their contacts arebeing quarantined/isolated tocheck the spread of the disease,officials said.

According to a circularsent across all the formationson Thursday, a proforma forseeking information of thepersonnel regarding regularand additional deployment of troops inhotspot areas during the last20 days has been sought.

Through the circular, theparamilitary has also soughtdetails of personnel as alsocivilians who worked withthe troops during deployment in

hotspots in the last 20 daysand if anyone tested positivefor Covid-19.

Insiders in the Force saiddespite the outbreak of thedisease, location sharing of thepersonnel deployed at theparamilitary headquarters andthe Northern Sector here hasnot been initiated.

They said a number ofpersonnel hailing from theadjoining States visit theirhometowns during the week-ends despite there being a pro-hibition to leave station without due authorisationfrom the superiors to checkthe spread of the disease.

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The Goblet and Ciliated cellsin the human nasal passage

have high levels of entry pro-teins that the COVID-19 virususes to get into our body,according to researchers.

In two studies, published inNature Medicine and in thejournal Cell, the researchersindicated that goblet cells high-ly express a receptor enzymecalled ACE2 that binds to thespikes covering the outer sur-face of SARS-CoV-2, the virusthat causes the COVID-19 dis-ease.

"These studies largelyagree with each other andprovide new insights into thespecific type of cells targetedby the SARS-CoV-2 infec-tion," said Dr. NicholasBanovich, a TGen AssistantProfessor and member of theLung Biological Network ofthe Human Cell Atlas, aninternational effort to createcomprehensive referencemaps of all human cells as abasis for diagnosing, moni-toring and treating disease.

In both studies, Gobletcells - which produce mucusin the nasal passages - werefound to overly expressa n g i o t e n s i n - c o nv e r t i n genzyme 2 (ACE2), whichserves as the entry point intocells for some coronaviruses.This could help explain thehigh rate of transmission ofthe virus.

"A lot of information wasknown about the path ofinfect ion from previous studies of SARS-CoV, includ-ing the fact that the first step

in viral entr y into the human body is the binding ofthe coronavirus spike proteinto the ACE2 human receptor and an associatedgene called TMPRSS2, whichhelps activate the coronavirusspike protein, enabling it toenter the cell," Dr. Banovich

said.Using data sets from the

Human Cell Atlas, the NatureMedicine study used single-cell profiling of healthy sam-ples to examine cells exclu-sively in the human airways,including nasal passages,lower airways and the lungs.

The study revealed that twotypes of cells in the nasal pas-sage -goblet and ciliated cells-most highly expressed ACE2and TMPRSS2.

In addition, it found thatACE2 also is expressed inAT2 cells in the lungs.

"The results of these stud-

ies suggest that these cells inthe nasal passage may serve asa viral reservoir, helping todisseminate the virus withinan individual and spread thedisease between individuals,"Dr. Banovich said.

Using existing and newdata, the Cell study looked atmultiple human, primate and

mouse tissues. This study alsofound that nasal goblet cellshighly express ACE2. In addi-t ion, researchers foundexpression of ACE2 inabsorptive enterocytes within the gut, which couldhelp explain why manyCOVID-19 patients have GIsymptoms.

The most significant find-ing in this study, however, isthat ACE2 is stimulated byinterferon, which is releasedby the body's immune systemin response to viral infections.

"The body's own immunesystem may be causing neigh-boring cells to become targetsof the virus," Dr. Banovich

explained. "A patient's ownimmune response may becreating new shots on goal forthe virus' target."

"These two studies reallydemonstrate the power of theHuman Cel l At las community and of single cellRNA sequencing. Pullingtogether this large group ofresearchers and data setsal lowed the science to move at incrediblespeed," Dr. Banovich said.

The study with HumanCell Atlas Lung BiologicalNetwork found that cells inthe eye and some other organsalso contain the viral-entryproteins.

The identification of thesecells by researchers from theWellcome Sanger Institute,University Medical CentreGroningen, University Coted'Azur and CNRS, Nice andtheir collaborators in theirstudy further shows that cellsin the eye and some otherorgans also contain the viral-entry proteins.

The study also predictshow a key entry protein isregulated with other immunesystem genes and revealspotential targets for the development of treatmentsto reduce transmission.

The two key entry pro-teins ACE2 and TMPRSS2were also found in cells in thecornea of the eye and in thelining of the intestine.

This suggests anotherpossible route of infectionvia the eye and tear-ducts, andalso revealed a potential forfaecal-oral transmission, asper the study.

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Days after developing alco-hol-based herbal sanitis-

er, scientists at the CSIR-National Botanical ResearchInstitute (NBRI), Lucknow,have prepared a herbal decon-gestant spray for those findingdifficulties in breathing andcongestion in the respiratorysystem due to wearing of maskfor a long time. The aim is tohelp the netizens to fight coro-navirus.

The herbal-based formu-lation helps in clearing thewind pipe and congestion byremoving the mucus or coughleading to ease of breathing. Italso reduces stress due toexcessive use of mask anddecongestion. This spray hasbeen prepared as per guide-lines of the Union AyushMinistry.

“The main reasons behindthis problem include the accu-mulation of carbon dioxide

and humidity in the inner cav-ity of the mask. When a per-son breathes in, this goes backto the lungs again. Repetitionof this process over a period oftime causes discomfort inbreathing and congestion”, saidDr. Sharad Srivastava, SeniorPrincipal Scientist, CSIR-NBRI, who led the team ofresearchers for this study.

“Herbal decongestantspray is a fine blend of fourplant-based oils, but the namesof these plants cannot be dis-closed right now because ofissues related to intellectualproperty. This product isdeveloped based on the prin-ciples of Ayurveda and con-tains ingredients reported intraditional scriptures”,explained Dr. Srivastava. Theinitial results of this NBRI'sherbal spray have beenextremely impressive. Peoplewearing masks for a long timeare getting a lot of relief fromthis, say researchers.

The Institute plans to

transfer the technology ofthis inhaler for commercialproduction so that it can beproduced on a large scale andsent to the frontline worriersfighting against COVID-19pandemic.

About the herbal sanitis-er that contains Tulsi essentialoil as herbal constituent whichis strong natural antimicrobialagent and 60 percent of iso-propyl alcohol for killinggerms, Director NBRI, Dr SKBarik said, it has been clini-cally tested and found to behighly-effective against sur-face microbes.

He said, its impact lastsfor about 25 minutes and itprevents skin from dehydrat-ing. The product will be avail-able in the market very soonunder the brand name of‘Clean Hand Gel’. The tech-nology of the herbal hand san-itizer has been transferred toLucknow based companySadguru Biologicals PrivatedLimited.

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In an initiative to make thecountry self-reliant in raw

materials for drugs, particularlythose used in fight against theCovid-19, CSIR-IndianInstitute of ChemicalTechnology (IICT),Hyderabad, has joined handswith LAXAI Life Sciences, aHyderabad-based integratedpharmaceutical company, todevelop and manufactureActive PharmaceuticalIngredients (APIs) and drugintermediates, the key compo-nents of any drug that pro-duces the intended effects.

The collaboration will pri-marily focus on Umifenovir,Remdesivir and a key inter-mediate ofHydroxychloroquine (HCQ)used in fight against theCoronavirus that has takentoll on around 750 people inthe country.

So far, India has heavilyrelied on China for supply of

APIs and drug intermediates.The initiative may help inreducing the dependency ofthe Indian pharmaceutical sec-tor on Chinese imports ofthese ingredients, said aGovernment statement here.

IICT, a laboratory underthe Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research (CSIR), isalready working with LAXAIfor synthesis of drugs beingused in the fight against theCorona Virus.

India, one of the largestproducers of anti-malarialdrug HCQ, has seen a spurt indemand in the recent weeks. Ithas sent HCQ to over 50countries over the last fewdays, including the UnitedStates.

The collaboration willresult in a cost-effectiveprocess with minimal depen-dency on China for key rawmaterials. In addition,Remdesivir, which has beenpreviously administered toEbola virus patients, is cur-

rently under clinical trials toevaluate efficacy and safetyagainst COVID -19.

Realising that drug secu-rity and undisrupted access toessential medicines are criticalfor public health, UnionCabinet chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, hasapproved a special package forpromotion of bulk drug man-ufacturing in India and reduc-tion of our dependence onChina.

The collaboration will usethe know-how for commercialmanufacturing of the prod-ucts. LAXAI Life Sciencesshall be one of the first few tocommercialize these products.The manufacturing of theseAPIs and intermediates will betaken up at U.S. Food andDrug Administration(USFDA)/Good manufactur-ing practice (GMP) approvedplants held by LAXAI throughits subsidiary, TherapivaPrivate Limited, said the state-ment here.

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Congress president SoniaGandhi on Saturday wrote to

Prime Minister Narendra Modidrawing his urgent attention tothe financial crisis in the MSMESector by announcing a �1 lakhcrore wage protection packagefor it besides setting up a �1 lakhcrore credit guarantee fund. Shealso called for an extension of theRBI's moratorium on payment ofloans for the MSMEs beyond thestipulated three months.

Pointing out that the Micro,Small and Medium ScaleEnterprises (MSMEs) con-tributes one-third to the nation’seconomy, Sonia wrote to PMdemanding a package to give liq-uidity and confidence to the sec-tor.

"The last five weeks havebrought our nation face to facewith several challenges. As wecontinue our fight against Covid-19, I felt it essential to highlightan economic concern that needsimmediate attention and inter-vention. If ignored, this issue hasthe potential of having a devas-tating and expansive ripple effecton our economy," Sonia said.

She wrote the MSMEs con-

tributed close to one third of thenation'’s gross domestic product(GDP), accounted for almost 50per cent of exports and employedover 11 crore people.

"At this moment, withoutappropriate support, more than6.3 crore MSMEs stand on theverge of economic ruin," she said.

Stating that every single dayof the lockdown is costing Rs30,000 crore to the sector, theCongress leader said nearly allMSMEs had lost sales orders,seen complete cessation of work,and had revenue negativelyimpacted.

"Most worrying of all, 11crore employees are at the risk oflosing jobs as MSMEs struggle topay wages and salaries. Thegovernment needs to introducea series of measures to meet thiscrisis head-on or risk a muchlarge economic crisis down theroad," she said.

She said the actions taken bythe Reserve Bank of India (RBI)must get reflected in banks''measures to ensure adequate,easy and timely credit supply toMSMEs.

"These measures need to besupported by an expansion andextension of the RBI''s morato-

rium on payment of loans for theMSMEs beyond the stipulated

three months," she said.

��

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwatwill deliver an online

address on Sunday on the cur-rent situation in wake of theCoronavirus pandemic andneed for a united response tothe crisis.

This is for the first timethat such an address of its headis being held by the RSSthrough a virtual platform,said the RSS.

The RSS said, Bhagwat willaddress on 'Current Situationand Our Role' on April 26 at 5pm.

"All of you are invited tojoin this session along withfamily members and well-wishers," the Sangh said.

Bhagwat is expected togive his organisation’s view onthe present scenario, nationalresponse, future challenges andopportunities.

The Sangh chief addressesonly twice a year - once on`Vijaydashmi`, which sets the

agenda and gives direction toRSS workers for the upcomingyear and in the first week ofJune on the conclusion of theannual training session of theRSS for its workers.

The Sangh said the focuswill be on suggesting the wayout from this crisis and anation-wide united response tothe crisis. And at the same timewhat changes are required inthe aftermath of this crisis, the

sources said.The address comes after

the RSS chief urged all‘Swayaemsevaks’ to activelyjoin the national fight againstcorona pandemic.

“While situation is grim ,the response of the country’sleadership and the entire soci-ety has been wonderful”, saysthe Sangh invite.

RSS said ‘Swayemsevaks’are themselves making theirown contribution to mitigatethe situation created by theCoronavirus pandemic.According to the Sangh, it hasdeployed over two lakh work-ers across the country to“serve” those affected by thepandemic.

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Parliament and Assemblies ofsome States have opened up

control rooms to help MPs andMLAs to facilitate real-timeinformation on Covid-19 reha-bilitation works.

Rajasthan, Haryana,Odisha, Delhi, Uttarakhandand Madhya PradeshAssemblies have become firstStates to start control rooms.These control rooms are con-nected with each other to shareinformation on inter-stateissues especially regarding theissues related to migrant labour,supply chains etc, said LokSabha Speaker Om Birla.

Parliament control roomnumbers are +911123035160,+911123035163. The controlrooms will help to alert theMPs and MLAs about theissues faced in their con-stituencies and also act to alertthe local administration aboutthe need of the area and peo-ple. Speakers will only dailybasis monitor the control roomand grievances settlement. LokSabha Speaker said that thismechanism would be a quick-er interface in settling publicgrievances and make works ofMPs and MLAs effective.

Birla said that theParliament and StateLegislatures stand firmly withthe Executive, and theMembers of Parliament andMLAs/MLCs shall remain atthe forefront in our nationaleffort to contain its spread.

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Undeterred by the possibil-ity of contracting coron-

avirus and harsh weather con-ditions, the Border RoadsOrganisation(BRO) onSaturday threw open theRohtang pass at 13,500 feetnear Manali, HimachalPradesh, for traffic three weeksin advance. This road is thealternate strategic route toLadakh and the BRO hasalready opened the Srinagar-Leh road two weeks back there-by connecting the region withthe rest of the country.

The Rohtang pass sawHimachal Pradesh agricultureminister Ram Lal Markandaleading a convoy of vehiclescarrying essential supplies andapproximately 150 farmers toLahaul and Spiti districts,sources said here. With theopening of the pass, the much-needed essential supplies tofight the pandemic besidesreviving agriculture activitieswill begin in the right earnestin the region.

Giving the details of themeasures taken to clear the passof heavy snow, they said theclearance opening is carried outevery year as it remains snowbound for almost six monthsfrom mid-November to mid-May thereby cutting off Lahauland Spiti districts besides

Ladakh from the rest of thenation. Ladakh and Lahaul andSpiti districts apart from otherregions of Himachal Pradeshare then sustained by air dur-ing winter months.

Last year, the Rohtangpass was kept open ti l lDecember 12. The StateGovernment on April 11 thisyear approached the BRO toexpedite the snow clearanceto facilitate return of farmersto start cult ivat ion andmovement of essential sup-plies and relief material toLahaul Valley in wake ofCOVID-19.

Following this, the BROinducted hi-tech machineryfrom both Manali andKhoksar side, the Army saidadding snow blizzards, freez-ing temperatures and fre-quent triggering of avalanch-es at Rahala Fall, Beas Nallahand Rani Nallah delayed theoperations but the snow clear-ance teams kept workinground the clock with allCOVID-19 precautions.

Meanwhile, the ongoingconstruction of the 8.8 kmlong Atal tunnel below theRohtang pass connecting thenation with Lahaul through-out the year and other partsof the state and Ladakh wasalso stalled when the lock-down came into force.However, work on all critical

activities of Atal Tunnel havecommenced with all neces-sary COVID-19 precautionsin place to ensure its com-pletion in September 2020 asplanned, official said.

Responsible for con-structing and maintainingstrategic roads all over thecountry, the BRO recentlycompleted a bridge inArunachal Pradesh therebyensuring all weather logisticalsupport to the troopsdeployed on the Line ofActual Control(LAC) facingChina besides local popula-tion. The bridge was con-structed despite the lock-down over Subansiri river.

The BRO also managed toclear the 450-km longSrinagar-Leh highway ofsnow a fortnight back andconnected Ladakh with theentire country. The BROteams had to face the toughchallenge of clearing snowreported to be heaviest in thelast six decades.

Similarly, the agencymanaged to construct a per-manent bridge on River Raviin Punjab thereby providingthe much-needed relief tofarmers in the region.Personnel of the BRO havealso collectively contributedRs One Crore to the PMCARES Fund over and aboveOne Day Salary, they said.

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The Congress on Saturdayurged the Government to

formulate a national plan forhandling the coronavirus cri-sis under the DisasterManagement Act and allegedthat bureaucrats, who do nothave any idea about groundrealities, were formulating pol-icy for the Centre during thelockdown.

At a Press conference,senior Congress leader KapilSibal said, "You cannot have alockdown of people, and alockout of the economy. Thatis not the way to formulate pol-icy. We are not criticising, weare only saying it is time torethink, we will support thegovernment in every possible

way."“Bureaucrats sitting in

North Block are formulatingpolicies. I am sorry to say theyhave no capacity to do that asthey do not know what ishappening on the ground.This top-down approachwould not work, it has to be abottoms-up approach," theCongress leader said.

"Our Prime Minister'slimited role, so far as we cansee, is addressing the nationfrom time to time. TheNational DisasterManagement Authority(NDMA) made no prepara-tions to put in place a plandespite the WHO declaringthe virus to be a public healthemergency towards the end ofJanuary,” Sibal alleged.

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The CISF has developedvarious IT applications for

distinct functional streamssuch as Administrative (e-Vetan, Legal, TIMS-TechnicalInventory ManagementSystem, Operational(WARRoom and Bio-MetricKote Management System),Welfare (e-Leave, e-Grievance,Securitypedia etc),Tr a i n i ng ( TM S - Tr ai n i ngManagement System) andmany more to count at zerocost to state exchequer.

"In the present situation oflockdown, movement of phys-

ical system of file handling hasbeen temporarily delayed.Because of this, operations areliterally dragging and havecreated towering hump of filesin every office. Non-essentialservices may wait but there arevarious essential services,which need to be first taken outof this towering hump and beattended immediately. CISFIT wing is here again with itsIn-House developed web appli-cation “e-Karyalay”," a CISFofficial said. This is an appli-cation, which mimics eachand every function of tradi-tional file movement in CISF.

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Hundreds of inmates inprisons across Jammu and

Kashmir have volunteered andjoined efforts to fight the coro-navirus pandemic with massproduction of face masks in jailpremises, officials said onSaturday.

They said the prisonersstarted manufacturing the highquality polypropylene maskslast month after the prisonsdepartment's proposal got thenod of the Lt Governor G CMurmu administration whichhas called for universal usage offace covers to contain thespread of the contagious dis-ease in the Union Territory.

Jammu and Kashmir hasrecorded six coronavirus deathsso far – four in the Valley andone each in Udhampur andBaramulla districts with near-ly 450 others infected in theunion territory.

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Chennai: The Tamil NaduGovernment on Saturday turneddown the request of the familyof neurosurgeon SimonHercules who died of Covid-19to bury his body at a cemeteryin Kilpauk locality.

The wife of Hercules hadearlier appealed to ChiefMinister K. Palaniswami to per-mit the casket containing herhusband's body to be taken outfrom a different cemetery andbury it at a cemetery as per hislast wish.

The Greater ChennaiCorporation has decided to turndown the family's request basedon an expert committee's deci-sion.

The Corporation said it isunsafe to take out the body and

bury it elsewhere after it wasburied safely first.

The 55-year old Herculesdied here recently at a privatehospital and his mortal remainswere taken to Kilpauk cemetery,but the locals protested againstthe burial fearing spread ofvirus.

His body was then taken toa different cemetery where a

large crowd gathered andattacked the ambulance and itsoccupants protesting against theburial there.

However, the body wasburied after police intervened.The police have arrested 20persons in this connection.

On Wednesday ChiefMinister K. Palaniswami spoketo Hercules' wife AnandhiSimon and consoled her.

In a video message, sheappealed to Palaniswami to shiftthe casket containing his mor-tal remains to the Kilpauk ceme-tery as per his last wish.

She said her husband beforebeing put on the ventilator hadexpressed his wish to be buriedas per the family ritual. IANS

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On day one of the holymonth of Ramzan,

Kashmir valley reportedhighest ever spike in totalnumber of cases as 42patients tested positive andone more death was report-ed due to Covid-19 onSaturday.

With this death, thenumber of casualties due tothe novel coronavirus hasreached to six in J&K. Sofar, three deaths have beenreported from Baramulla,one each from Srinagar,Bandipora and Udhampurdistricts.

According to officialsources, a 72 year oldpatient, suffering fromhypertension and other ill-nesses, was admitted in theSKIMS since April 13 andwas undergoing treatmentafter he tested positive forCovid-19.

According to RohitKansal, spokesman of theJammu & KashmirGovernment, "a total num-ber of 40 new cases weretested positive fromKashmir division on satur-day,taking the total tally to494". Two more casesadmitted in Chest diseaseshospital tested positive lateSaturday evening. Out of42 cases, highest number of14 cases tested positivefrom Kharpora area ofAnantnag.

He said, J&K hasenhanced its testing capac-ity and at present testingmore than 1000 samples aday. He said, three patientsrecovered, two fromJammu and one fromKashmir,taking the totaltally of recovered patientsto 112. The two patients,who were discharged fromJammu included a retiredpolice officer and his ser-vant.

The total number ofcases in the most affecteddistrict of Bandipora sat-urday rose to 116 whileSrinagar stood at numbertwo slot with 83 positivecases and Shopian at num-ber three position with 63coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, majority ofmosques across Kashmirvalley wore a deserted lookand no where 'iftaar' wasorganised at the end of theday long fasting.Worshippers offeredprayers inside their homesor on the rooftops beforebreaking their fast.

Giving partial relief toresidents located in some ofthe red-zones in Jammu,Deputy CommissionerSusham Chauhan informedfour localities of Janipur,Gujjar Nagar, Bhatindi andSunjwan have been kept inOrange zone now. In astatement she said, "thetransition from Red zone to

orange has been permittedin Janipur, Gujjar nagar,Bhatindi & Sunjwan, keep-ing in view the guidelinesfor the same".

She said that further,transition from orange togreen will take place as perprocedure, in due course oftime (second week of May,if situation remains as it istoday).

The District Magistratesaid that the order/ notifi-cation of withdrawal shallbe issued when the transi-tion from Red zone togreen zone is complete.

The district authori-ties in Rajouri and Poonchhave also sealed entry andexit points along theMughal road to preventmovement of people viaShopian.

Large number of vil-lagers have tested positivein Heerpora,one of thelocalities declared as red-zones in South Kashmir.

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The MVA Government has written to theGovernments of Rajasthan and Punjab

expressing their readiness to bring backnearly 2000-odd students and people strand-ed in these two states.

In two separate communications sent onSaturday, Maharashtra’s director for DisasterManagement Abhay Yawalkar requested theHome Secretaries of the two states to conveyto the respective institutions where the stu-dents and people are stranded and direct thestudents and people to act as per the existingprotocols issued for Covid-19 issued by thetwo Governments.

Anywhere 1800 to 2000 people fromMaharashtra are stranded at Kota inRajasthan. Through its communication, theMaharashtra Government has requested theAshok Gehlot dispensation to ensure the “safepassage” of stranded students and people fromits state.

According to the communication, the stu-dents and people will be returning from Kotaby road via Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat

states. “The State Governments of MadhyaPradesh and Gujarat and their district author-ities are requested to co-operate with thereturn journey of the students and people,”Yawalkar wrote.

On their return from Rajasthan, the stu-dents and people would be screened andhome-quarantined for 14 days in Maharashtra.

In Punjan, “80 to 90” students are strand-ed on Lovely University campus. Like in thecase of Rajasthan, the State DisasterManagement director has requested thePunjab government to ensure the “safe pas-sage” of stranded students and people fromits state.

The students from Lovely University willbe returning to Maharashtra by road by viaRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. ThePunjab Government has requested the gov-ernments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat and their district authorities arerequested to co-operate with the return jour-ney of the students.

On their return from Punjab, the studentswould be screened and home-quarantined for14 days in Maharashtra.

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The number of coronavirus casestested positive in Tamil Nadu

reached 1,821 with 66 persons testingpositive for covid-19 all over the Stateon Saturday. This was disclosed by DrC Vijaya Baskar, Tamil Nadu Ministerfor Health during a media briefing onSaturday.

The Minister said though thenumber of coronavirus cases showedan upward march, there were someencouraging information from thefield. “Saturday saw thedischarge of 94 persons who had beenadmitted to various hospitals in theState and who were cured of the pan-demic. Till date 960 persons who havebeen admitted to various hospitals inthe State have been cured completelyand discharged,” said theMinister.

He said Tamil Nadu topped thetable of States with good recovery rate.“ As on Saturday, the recovery rate in

Tamil Nadu is 52 per cent and we areleading the table,” he said.

With the passing away of a 34-year-old man in a Chennai hospital, 23persons have died in Tamil Nadu sincethe outbreak of the pandemic, the min-ister said.

The next four days will see allmajor cities in the State observing totallockdown as per the order issued by theState Government.

The lockdown order has beenissued following the recommendationby the expert committee appointed bythe chief minister to study the patternof spread of the coronavirus and withan eye to prevent community trans-mission.

The Government has ordered thatAmma Restaurants, a concept eaterylaunched by the former chief ministerlate J Jayalalithaa would function tillMay 3 despite the lockdown orders andserve free food to all workers andlaborers who have been thrown out ofwork.

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Though a section of the medicalfraternity and media are agog

with expectations of a major break-through in developing a vaccine tofight and neutralise the dreadedcoronavirus, veteran medical scien-tists and doctors (both modern andIndian systems) are of the view thatit is doomed to fail.

What is shocking is that MikeAdams, popularly known as HealthRanger, has said in his medical jour-nal that coronavirus vaccine wouldnot work and might actually createmore new viruses through recombi-nation in human hosts.

“Any vaccine for the Wuhancoronavirus would actually createmore viruses inside people’s bodies,making the situation worse than italready is,” says Adams in his researchreport.

A team of researchers led byHelena Jane Maier of PirbrightInstitute, UK had said in a scientif-ic paper published in the journalCoronaviruses (of the NaturePublishing Group) in 2015 itselfthat attempts to develop a vaccine forcoronavirus would end up in failure.

“Over the past 50 years the emer-gence of many different coron-aviruses that cause a wide variety ofhuman and veterinary diseases hasoccurred. It is likely that these virus-es will continue to emerge and toevolve and cause both human andveterinary outbreaks owing to theirability to recombine, mutate, andinfect multiple species and cell types,”said Jane Maier and her team.

This was also substantiated bythe 15 year long research by DrRemya Krishna and Dr Raj Kumar,associate professors at Rajiv GandhiAyurveda Medical College, Mahe,Government of Puducherry. DrRemya told The Pioneer on Saturdaythat it would not be an easy task todevelop a vaccine for coronavirus.“We have found from our researchthat a vaccine may succeed in neu-tralising the virus which case pan-demics but the same virus wouldreappear in more virulent form inanother name to claim more lives.Results of our studies prove that anykind of pandemic, let it be fever orother contagious disease, could becured by finding the root cause of thedisease and prescribing the medicineas per the protocol mentioned in the

great Indian books Charaka Samhita,Aashtamga Samgraham , SusruthaSamhita etc,” said Dr Remya, anative of Thalassery in Kerala.

Dr Raj Kumar has authored abook by name Unveiling The Truthsin Ayurveda based on the researchheld by the husband-wife duo.According to Dr Kumar, all varietiesof pandemic, swine flu, bird flu orcovid-19 break out in the bodywhen the host person loses thepower of immunity. “It is by address-ing this weakness and strengtheningthe immunity power of the body wecan fortify a person against coronavirus or any other disease,” said DrRaj Kumar.

Dr B Rajeeve, Perumbavoorbased Ayurvedic physician who hasbeen collaborating with Remya-RajKumar duo in their research said thatit was possible to identify any kindof fever in the initial stage itself basedon Ayurvedic principles and decidethe treatment protocol. “Till date wehave not encountered any failure,”said Dr Rajeeve.

The Pioneer had reported earli-er that the Union Government hasbeen cold shouldering the Ayurvedabranch of medicine in its fight

against coronavirus. Prof BM Hegdeand Dr C V Krishnaswamy hasexpressed their agony over the step-motherly treatment of Ayurveda bypowers that be. “The vaccine whichthey claim to be on the verge of mar-keting is nothing new but anotherversion of Ebola vaccine which hadfailed. I do not think it is going to bea success. What happened to earliervaccines and tablets like Tamiflu?Cochrane Review which analyses andstudies medical research findings hadruled that Tamiflu and Oseltamvirwere not advisable because of sideeffects,” said Dr Krishnaswamy.

Both Prof Hegde andKrishnaswamy said that 55 per centof the companies manufacturingvaccines are owned by a billionairebusinessman. “This philanthropisthad approached me while I was thechairman of the Bihar State HealthSociety’s Expert Committee with anoffer to donate hundreds of milliondollars to treat the kala-azar disease.“I told this man that Kala-azar couldbe eradicated by a neat house with-out crevices to prevent the carriersand fly from breeding during therains and better nutrition. Hence welost the money,” said Prof Hegde.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan onSaturday said seven more individuals have tested positive for thenovel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state, taking the total num-ber of people presently under treatment to 116. In all, those present-ly affected and cured cases stands at 457.

"A total of 20,580 people are under observation at homes and464 others are being observed at various hospitals in the state," saidVijayan.

"One fresh positive case is of a lady health professional at Kollam.Besides, an 84-year old-M. Abubacker who was positive and undertreatment at Kozhikode Medical College hospital has now recov-ered and is a commendable achievement of our health officials,there," said Vijayan.

"The Centre is seeing our work against COVID-19 in a veryappreciate manner... especially the arrangements we have made inadvance to receive the Kerala diaspora and it can be taken as a modelfor other states. This was told to our chief secretary by the centralCabinet secretary," said Vijayan. IANS

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In the last 24 hours, 'hot pur-suit' approach adopted by the

security forces resulted in thekilling of five terrorists in twodifferent operations in Kulgamand Pulwama districts ofKashmir valley.

In the absence of any truceon account of Ramzan, securi-ty forces Saturday eliminatedtwo more terrorists and onehardcore associate in anencounter in Goripora area ofAwantipora in South Kashmir'sPulwama district.

Earlier, two terrorists werekilled in Kulgam while rescu-ing a kidnapped jawan of rail-way protection force on Fridayevening. Kashmir zone policein a tweet said, "two unidenti-fied terrorists and 1 hardcoreassociate of terrorists killed inAwantipora encounter on

Saturday". The security forceswere carrying out searches inthe area to rule out the possi-bility of presence of someexplosives at the encountersite.

Meanwhile, the policeteams lifted DNA samples ofslain terrorists and opted forsilent burial far away from theoriginal place of residence oflocal terrorists.

The police authorities haddecided not to handover thedead bodies of terrorists to theirfamilies as they were antici-pating large assembly of peopleat the burial site. The healthauthorities had also put theirfoot down as in the past assem-bly of people in pockets ofSouth Kashmir had clearlyresulted in spread ofCoronavirus in parts ofKashmir valley during funeralprocessions of slain terrorists.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh'sCovid-19 tally crossed the1000-mark on Saturday morn-ing. With 61 new cases detect-ed during the course of testingdone between 10 a.m. onFriday and 10 a.m. on Saturday,the number of coronaviruscases in the state touched 1016,while the death toll reached 31.Srikakulam which did not havea single case till date, hasreported 3 cases.

The latest surge in the stateis from Krishan district with 25cases, followed by Kurnoolwith 14 new cases. Anantapurdistrict reported 5 cases,Kadapa and Nellore districtsreported 4 cases each, whileEast Godavari, Guntur andSrikakulam districts reported 3cases each.

This is the first time thatCovid-19 cases have beendetected in Srikakulam districtwhich along withVizianagaram district had notreported a single case till date.

The state nodal officerinformed that of the 6928 sam-ples tested during this period,61 tested positive. With thetesting stepped up over the past

three days, Andhra Pradesh hasbeen reporting a relativelyhigher number of Covid-19positive cases.

On Thursday, the state hadconducted 6306 tests, of which,62 cases tested positive.Similarly, on Wednesday, 6520tests were conducted and 81cases were reported from thestate.

With two more deathsreported in the past 24 hours,the death toll in the state standsat 31. Incidentally, the death tollin the state is the highest

among southern states, eventhough the tally is higher insome of the other states in theregion.

While neighbouringTelangana has reported 25deaths till Friday, the death tollin Tamil Nadu is 25, and 18 inKarnataka, while Kerala hasreported 4 deaths so far.

The AP Government istaking note of the high deathrate in the state and officialssaid that a clinical audit of thedeaths is underway to study theissue. IANS

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Maharashtra HealthMinister Rajesh Tope on

Saturday indicated that thelockdown in the containmentzones of Mumbai and Punemay be extended till May 18, inview of the rapid increase in thenumber of coronavirus cases inthese two cities.

Tope said that the mainobjective of the lockdown wasto arrest the spread of the coro-navirus and if the spread wasbeing contained, the StateGovernment would not haveany alternative but to extend thelockdown in areas where pan-demic is not contained, foranother fortnight after the endof lockdown on May 3.

“At present, the issue isonly with the slums where pos-itive cases are increasing rapid-ly. We have to ensure that all thecontainment zones are com-pletely cordoned off. If required,we will extend the lockdown for15 more days after 3 May onlyfor the containment zones, ifnot for the entire Mumbai andPune," Tope said, while inter-acting with “Mint” newspaper.

There are 512 active con-tainment zones in the statecurrently. In Mumbai, the

Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) has iden-tified 31 areas containmentzones in Mumbai, while thereare seven containment zones inPune.

As on Friday evening, therewere as many as 191 Covid-19triggered deaths, while the totalnumber of infected cases hasmounted to 4870. In Pune,there have so far been 73 deathsand 1030 infected cases.

Tope said that his ministryhad asked the state governmentto enforce lockdown restric-tions on schools, colleges andpublic gatherings acrossMaharashtra till May 18. “ForMumbai and Pune, all non-essential services will not beallowed to operate in thehotspot areas for at least anoth-er 15 days after 3 May,” Topesaid.

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As many as 21 more personstest positive for coron-

avirus in Mumbai’s Dharavi onSaturday, taking the total num-ber of cases to 241 in Asia’slargest slum where there havebeen as many as 14 Covid-19deaths so far.

A day after six infectedcases and one death werereported from Dharavi, theauthorities recorded 21 infect-ed more cases on Saturday,resulting in the total Covid-19tally in this densely populat-ed slum to 241.

The new infected caseswere reported from the areas ofKoliwada, Mukund Nagar, M60 feet road, Shanti Shivanhousing society, Kanchi KarveNagar, Indira Nagar, Kalpataruhousing society, Kalyanwadi,Social Nagar, Rajiv GandhiNagar and Matunga Labourcamp.

Among those who testedpositive were ten women and11 men. There are two teenagegirls among the infected.Those infected were in the age

group of 13 to 66 years. What has caused anxiety

among the city health author-ities is that infected cases havebeen reported from most partsof Dharavi, which is spreadover 240 hectare area

Dharavi, which is home to4 lakh people, is one of theCovid-19 hotspots in Mumbai.

Ever since first few cases ofCovid-19 were reported in theearly first week of April, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) is closelymonitoring the situation inDharavi where the healthauthorities have clamped atotal lockdown.

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The Rotary Club of Delhi Heritagehanded over 5,000 reusable masks

each to the Kendriya Bhandar and theDelhi Police on Saturday.

According to a statement, the club issupplying around 50,000 reusable masksfor distribution, in coordination with thePIB, responding to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi''s call to help the peopleby donating relief material during theCovid-19 crisis.

It stated that the face masks have beenmade by women tailors working fromhome during the ongoing lockdown.

The statement said that KuldeepSingh Dhatwalia, Principal DirectorGeneral of PIB, and Rajeev Jain, ADG ofPIB, handed over 5,000 masks each toNew Delhi DCP Eish Singhal andKendriya Bhandar CMD Mukesh Kumarat the National Media Centre.

Jain handed over the masks on behalfof the Rotary Club of Delhi Heritage.Rakesh Jain, president of Rotary Heritage,was present on the occasion, it added.

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Two apex industry bodiesICEA and Confederation of

All India Traders (CAIT) havejointly written to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, seekingpermission for sale of mobilephones by pleading that suchhandsets are pivotal for com-munications during the lock-down.

The India Cellular andElectronics Association (ICEA)— whose members includeApple, Foxconn, Wistron,Flextronics, Xiaomi, Vivo,Oppo, Lava, among others —in its earlier communications togovernment authorities hadsaid that mobile phones are atthe heart of this ecosystem andtheir non-availability can be lifethreatening.

In a joint letter to Shah onApril 22, the industry bodiesmentioned that a very largenumber of citizens don’t haveaccess to basic mobile phoneseven during these extraordi-nary circumstances.

“Therefore, there is anurgent requirement and des-peration amongst citizens to atleast have access to basic featurephones or entry-level smart

phones which can cater totheir varied needs relating tocommunication, children edu-cation, entertainment, med-ical and business require-ments,” the letter said.

According to industry esti-mates, around 2.5 crore peoplein the country may be havinga non-functional or damagedphones leading to tough timefor them in accessing essentialservices during the ongoinglockdown which has enteredinto 5th week.

In a separate letter toHome Scretary Ajay Bhalla, theICEA has said that more than10 crore senior citizens at thebottom of pyramid do nothave access to even featurephones and are being deniedaccess. The government hasallowed opening of standaloneof shops but not shops in themalls or shopping complexthat house most of the mobiledevices retailers.

The Ministry of Electronicsand IT has also recommendedinclusion of mobile devices,personal computers and relat-ed accessories in list of essen-tial goods to support workfrom home and access otheressential services.

The Home Ministry hadearlier allowed e-commercecompanies to sell non-essentialitems during the second leg ofthe coronavirus lockdown butafter protest from various sec-tions including traders’ bodythe Confederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT), the decisionwas withdrawn.

The joint letter by theICEA and CAIT said that shopsproviding retail sales and ser-vices of mobile devices number only 2.5 lakhs,which is just a small subset ofthe 10-15 lakh telecom servicesestablishments spread acrossthe country which providetelecom services which includesale of recharge, SIM card, etc.

“India Cellular andElectronics Association andConfederation of All IndiaTraders jointly recommendallowing the sale and service ofmobile devices and its acces-sories without any furtherdelay. The operationalisation ofthese shops shall be done instrict compliance to the definedSOPs (standard operating pro-cedures) and preventive mea-sures notified by the govern-ment from time to time,” theletter said.

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Rome: Italy will start distrib-uting free protective masks tonursing homes, many of whichhave been devastated by coro-navirus infections and deaths.

Domenico Arcuri, the gov-ernment’s commissioner forthe pandemic, says doing so isa “ gesture of solidarity andnearness and support to theseplaces ever more at the epi-center of this great crisis.”

Arcuri says free masks alsowill be distributed to publicofficials, transport workers and

police. Millions of Italians willbe allowed to return to work-places starting on May 4, whenlockdown restrictions will beconsiderably eased.

Italy, with some 26,000reported deaths, most of themof elderly persons, has Europe’shighest toll from COVID-19.In Lombardy, Italy’s moststricken region, prosecutorsare investigating about twodozen homes, including one inMilan where some 200 resi-dents died. AP

Gaza City: For the first time inyears, sewing factories in theGaza Strip are back to workingat full capacity — producingmasks, gloves and protectivegowns, some of which arebound for Israel.

It’s a rare economic lifelinein the coastal territory, whichhas been blockaded by Israeland Egypt since the Hamas mil-itant group seized power fromrival Palestinian forces in thestrip in 2007. The blockade, andthree wars between Hamas andIsrael, have devastated the localeconomy, with unemploymenthovering around 50 per cent.

But the sudden opportu-nity also shows how Gaza’seconomy is at the mercy ofthose enforcing the blockade —and how depressed wages havebecome. Workers earn as littleas USD 8 a day.

So far, Gaza appears to

have been largely spared fromthe coronavirus pandemic,with only 17 cases detected, allwithin quarantine facilities setup for those returning fromabroad. Many still fear an out-break in the impoverished ter-ritory, which is home to 2 mil-lion people and where the

health care system has beenbattered by years of conflict.But for now, authorities arecautiously allowing most busi-nesses to stay open.

Rizq al-Madhoun, owner ofthe Bahaa garment company,said he has produced more than1 million masks in the past

three weeks, “ all for the Israelimarket.” Gaza may not havethe advanced machinery seenin other places, but he said res-idents’ sewing skills areunmatched. “ Gaza workersare distinguished in handiworkand they are better than work-ers in China or Turkey,” he said.

Another factory, Unipal2000, is able to employ 800workers across two shifts toproduce protective equipmentaround the clock.

Both factories import fab-ric and other materials fromcustomers in Israel and thenproduce items like masks,gloves and surgical gowns.Unipal makes about 150,000pieces a day, and demand ishigh as countries around theworld grapple with shortages.

Asked about doing busi-ness with Israeli customers,both factory owners said they

did not want to discuss politicsand framed their work interms of business and human-itarian needs.

“ Despite the siege in Gaza,we export these masks and pro-tective clothes to the wholeworld without exception,”Bashir Bawab, the owner ofUnipal 2000, said.

“ We feel we are doing ahumanitarian duty.” In recentyears, Tamer Emad, a skilledtextile worker, was able towork one week per month atbest. But over the past month,he has been on the Unipal fac-tory floor every day, earningaround USD 8 per shift.

“ This has provided uswith a good opportunity aheadof Ramadan,” he said, referringto the Muslim holy month,which began Thursday, whenfamilies traditionally splurge onfood and shopping.

Such wages are typical inthe depressed Gazan economy,but would barely keep a fami-ly afloat. It costs around USD250 a month to rent a two-bed-room apartment.

Omar Shaban, an econo-mist who heads a local thinktank, said the conditions cre-ated by the blockade allow for“ exploitation,” but that low-wage jobs still provide incomefor many people.

Unipal 2000 first openedin an industrial zone along thefrontier in 1998, when thepeace process was in fullswing. But like many otherGaza businesses, it was forcedto shut down after the Hamastakeover and the blockade.Israel says the blockade isneeded to prevent Hamas, anIslamic militant group thatopposes Israel’s existence, fromarming itself. AP

London: Downing Street onSaturday went into strong denialmode after a political row brokeout over a UK media reportclaiming that British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson’s topaide had attended secret meet-ings of the scientific groupadvising the government on itsCovid-19 response strategy.

‘The Guardian’ claimed thatDominic Cummings, Johnson’schief strategic adviser, and anofficial associated with the Brexitcampaign were part of the meet-ings of the Scientific AdvisoryGroup for Emergencies (SAGE).This triggered Opposition angeras it implies government influ-ence over what is pegged as anindependent advisory body, the

membership of which has notbeen made public.

“ The scientists on SAGEare among the most eminent intheir fields. It is factually wrongand damaging to sensible pub-lic debate to imply their adviceis affected by governmentadvisers listening to discus-sions,” a Downing Streetspokesperson said.

“ Public confidence in themedia has collapsed during thisemergency partly because ofludicrous stories such as this,”the spokesperson said.

Johnson’s office stresses thatCummings and Ben Warner, adata scientist associated with theVote Leave campaign for theUK’s exit from the European

Union (EU), are not members ofthe group and had only listenedin to SAGE meetings in order tobetter understand the scientificdebate around coronavirus.

They “ occasionally” askedquestions or offered help withreaching out to civil servants atWhitehall when required.

SAGE is a panel of medicaland scientific experts, chaired bythe UK’s Chief Scientific Officer,Sir Patrick Vallance, that pro-vides independent advice to thegovernment during any crisisand has been leading on crucialdecisions such as the length andnature of the Covid-19 lock-down. Its advice feeds into min-isters’ decision-making processand is not made public. PTI

Washington: The United Statesis working with other countriesto make sure they understandthat coronavirus originated inWuhan, China, Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo has said.

Stressing that the burden ison Beijing to explain where thevirus came from, Pompeo toldThe Ben Shapiro Show in aninterview on Friday that Chinaknew about the virus byDecember, 2019.

“ We need to hold account-able the parties responsible forthe deaths here in the UnitedStates and the enormous eco-nomic costs that have beenposed on the US,” he said.

Pompeo said that the entireglobal economic system hasbeen decimated.

“ Diplomatically, we’rereaching out to countries allacross the world to help them dothe right thing, to help theireconomies get started back up,to make sure that when the timeis right we can get internation-al travel kicked back up so thatglobal commerce can recom-mence, he said.

“ If you get demand back up,that will matter an awful lot toworkers right here in the UnitedStates of America,” he said.

“ We are also working withthose countries to make surethey understand that this was infact a virus that originated inWuhan, China, that the ChineseGovernment knew about this

certainly by December of 2019,”he said.

“ ... And that they (China)failed to comply with their mostfundamental obligations as anation, and importantly, too,failed to comply with the inter-national health regulations of the

World Health Organization andthen did a lot of things — andwe can talk about them at greatlength — to cover that up,”Pompeo added.

Those are the kinds ofthings that the US needs toaddress, he said.

Pompeo alleged that theWorld Health Organisationfailed in its mission to protect theworld from the pandemic.

“ We’re not going to let thathappen again, and we’re going toset up something, a system,which delivers an outcomewhich reduces the risk that any-thing like this can ever happenagain, from China or from any-place else,” he said. PTI

Washington: Trying to wrig-gle out of the backlash hereceived for his outlandishsuggestions, US PresidentDonald Trump has said that hewas being “ sarcastic” when hetold his medical experts thatthey should consider usingUV light, heat, or injecting disinfectants into the

COVID-19 patients as apotential treatment.

Trump faced intenserebuke on Thursday for his far-fetched suggestion from health

experts who urged people notto listen to the President’s “dangerous” advice.

Doctors and the companythat makes Lysol and Dettolwarned that injecting oringesting disinfectants wasdangerous.

When Trump was askedabout his comments during abill signing on Friday, he said:“ I was asking a question sar-castically to reporters like youjust to see what would happen”.

“ I was asking a sarcastic —

and a very sarcastic question —to the reporters in the roomabout disinfectant on theinside,” he said.

Trump suggested he wastalking about disinfectants thatcan safely be rubbed on peo-ple’s hands.

“ But it does kill it, and itwould kill it on the hands andthat would make things muchbetter. That was done in theform of a sarcastic question tothe reporters,” The Hill quot-ed Trump as saying. PTI

Beijing: China has approved itsthird coronavirus vaccine forthe second phase of clinical tri-als as it reported 12 newCOVID-19 cases, taking thetotal number of infections inthe country to 82,816.

China has approved threecoronavirus vaccines, includingthe one developed by Chinesemilitary, the People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) for clinical trials.

An “ inactivated” vaccinedeveloped by Wuhan Instituteof Biological Products underthe China NationalPharmaceutical Group(Sinopharm) and the WuhanInstitute of Virology (WIV)started its clinical trials, state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.

An “ inactivated” vaccineconsists of virus particles, bac-teria, or other pathogens thathave been grown in culture andthen lose disease producingcapacity. In contrast, live vac-cines use pathogens that arestill alive.

WIV has been in the eye ofthe storm in recent weeks as USPresident Donald Trump andtop American officials allegedthat the coronavirus may haveescaped from there anddemanded a probe into it. Anofficial of the WIV denied it,terming the allegation “ entire-ly based on speculation” .

A total of 96 persons inthree age groups have receivedthe vaccine in the first phase ofclinical trial as of April 23. PTI

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Washington: The global coro-navirus has claimed at least200,568 on Saturday as theUnited Nations launched aninternational push for a vaccineto defeat the pandemic.Governments around the worldare struggling to limit the eco-nomic devastation unleashedby the virus, which has infect-ed nearly 2.8 million peopleand left half of humanity undersome form of lockdown.

The United States is thehardest-hit country by far inthe pandemic, recording52,869 deaths and more than930,171 infections.

The virus has killed over120,00 people in Europe withmore than three quarters ofthose fatalities in Italy, France,Spain and Britain, according toan AFP tally on Saturday usingofficial figures.

With 120,140 deaths and1,344,172 cases, Europe is the

continent hardest hit by thepandemic that emerged latelast year. Italy has the mostdeaths with 26,384 followed bySpain with 22,902, France with22,245 and Britain with20,319.

The scale of the pandem-ic has forced medical researchon the virus to move atunprecedented speed, buteffective treatments are still faraway and the United Nationschief said the effort willrequire cooperation on a glob-al scale.

“ We face a global publicenemy like no other,”Secretary-General AntonioGuterres told a virtual briefingon Friday, asking for interna-tional organisations, worldleaders and the private sectorto join hands.

“ A world free of COVID-19 requires the most massivepublic health effort in history.”

The vaccine should besafe, affordable and available toall, Guterres stressed at themeeting, which was alsoattended by the leaders of

Germany and France.But notably absent from

the meeting were the leadersof China, where the virus firstemerged late last year, and the

United States, which hasaccused the UN’s WorldHealth Organization of notwarning quickly enough aboutthe original outbreak. AFP

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London: The number ofdeaths in the UK hospitalsfrom the novel coronaviruscrossed the grim milestone of20,000 on Saturday, up by813 over the previous day –among the highest daily deathtolls recorded this week.

These official figuresreleased daily by the UK’sDepartment of Health andSocial Care do not account fordeaths that occur elsewhere inthe community, which means

the overall number ofCOVID-19 deaths in thecountry is much higher.

Last month, in response toa question at the dailyDowning Street briefings,Stephen Powis, the MedicalDirector of National HealthService (NHS) England, saida total number of deathsunder 20,000 “ would be agood outcome” .

However, that figure hasnow been crossed within 51

days of the first UK deathrecorded from the coron-avirus.

The government’s ChiefScientific Adviser, Sir PatrickValance, had also said it wasthe “ hope” that the death tollwould be kept below 20,000.

The UK’s death toll nowmakes it just one of a numberof countries to have crossedthe 20,000 fatalities mark,after France, Spain, Italy andthe US. PTI

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For the first time, PresidentDonald Trump cut off his

daily coronavirus task forcebriefing on Friday without tak-ing any questions from reporters.It may not be the last time.

There have been discus-sions within the White Houseabout changing the format ofthe briefings to curtail thepresident’s role, according tofour White House officials andRepublicans close to the WhiteHouse who spoke on conditionof anonymity because theywere not authorised to discuss

the matter publicly.The briefings often stretch

well beyond an hour and fea-ture combative exchangesbetween Trump and reporters.

Trump was angry after aday of punishing headlines onFriday, largely about his com-ment at the previous evening’sbriefing wondering if it wouldbe helpful to inject disinfec-tant into people to fight thecoronavirus.

That idea drew loud warn-ings from health experts whosaid the idea was dangerousand sharp criticism fromDemocrats.

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Colombo: Nearly 4,000 SriLankan Navy personnel andtheir families have been quar-antined at a major naval facil-ity after 60 COVID-19 caseswere confirmed in two days, amedia report said on Saturday.

The move came as 30 Navypersonnel tested positive forthe COVID-19 virus each onFriday and Saturday at thecountry’s Welisara Naval camp,the state-run Daily Newsreported.

“ Today 30 Navy personnelhave tested positive for theCOVID-19 virus. Another 30had tested positive for thevirus yesterday,” ArmyCommander LieutenantGeneral Shavendra Silva wasquoted as saying by the paper

during his media briefing ofthe National Operation Centrefor the Prevention of COVID-19 here.

Following the new cases,nearly 4,000 naval personneland their families at the navalbase have been isolated with-in the camp, the paper report-ed, citing an order issued bythe Sri Lankan Navy.

The spurt in new casescame amidst Sri Lanka decid-ing to lift the nationwide cur-few imposed to stem thespread of the coronavirus onMonday.

Sri Lanka has been undera strict curfew since March 20to combat the COVID-19 thathas claimed seven lives andinfected 420 people. PTI

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Berlin: The World HealthOrganisation is cautioningagainst the idea of “ immuni-ty passports.” It says there iscurrently no evidence that peo-ple who have recovered fromCOVID-19 and have antibod-ies are protected against a sec-ond infection.

The concept of “ immuni-ty passports” or “ risk-free cer-tificates” has been floated as away of allowing people pro-tected against reinfection toreturn to work.

But the Geneva-based UNhealth agency says in a scien-tific brief released Saturdaythat more research is needed.It says that “ at this point in thepandemic, there is not enough

evidence about the effective-ness of antibody-mediatedimmunity to guarantee theaccuracy of an ‘immunity pass-port’ or ‘risk-free certificate.’”

It argues that people whoassume they are immune toreinfection may ignore publichealth advice, and such cer-tificates could raise the risks ofcontinued virus transmission.

WHO adds that tests forantibodies of the new coron-avirus also “ need further val-idation to determine theiraccuracy and reliability.” AP

Washington: Asserting thatChina’s CommunistGovernment needs to be heldaccountable for “ lying” aboutthe coronavirus pandemic, topIndian-American Republicanpolitician Nikki Haley haslaunched an online petitionurging the US Congress to act.

More than 40,000 peoplehave signed the ‘StopCommunist China’ petition byFriday night, hours after beinglaunched by the former gover-nor of South Carolina who has

set a goal of getting 100,000 sig-natures. “ China’s Communistgovernment needs to be heldaccountable for their role in lyingabout the Coronavirus pan-demic, and the US Congressneeds to respond – now,” said48-year-old Haley, a former USAmbassador to the UnitedNations. “ Join us in our fight tostop China from gaining influ-ence in America and around theworld. Sign this petition andplease share with your friends,”she added. PTI

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Lahore: The number ofPakistani doctors infected withthe coronavirus has reached160 with three deaths even asthe protest by the medicsagainst the lack of PersonalProtective Equipment (PPE)entered the ninth day onSaturday.

Dr Muhammad JavedIqbal, who contracted the virusover a week ago, died inPeshwar. Earlier, one doctoreach from Gilgit-Biltistan andKarachi lost their lives due toCOVID-19.

According to the PakistanMedical Association, some 250medics including 160 doctorshave been infected with thecoronavirus so far.

The Grand Health Allianceof doctors and nurses’ hunger

camp outside the Punjab healthdepartment entered the ninthday for paying no attention tothe medics falling victim to thedeadly virus due to the non-availability of adequate pro-tective medical kits.

“ We will continue holdingthe protest till the governmentmeets our legitimate demands,”Grand Health Alliance chair-man Dr Salman Haseeb toldPTI.

Primarily, the alliancewants the government to takecare of the doctors and otherstaff serving in the testing timeof COVID-19 and providethem with a complete protec-tive gear, he said, adding thatthe protest would continuethroughout the month ofRamzan. PTI

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Madrid: Spain’s health authori-ties say 2,944 new COVID-19infections were confirmed in theprevious 24 hours, taking thetotal to nearly 206,000 cases.

Authorities say the dailyfigure is a 1.5 per cent increasefrom Friday, compared to over20 per cent from a month before.There were 378 reported deathsin the last 24 hours, taking thedeath toll since the start of thepandemic in Spain to nearly23,000. “ The recent tendency ofthe evolution of the pandemicappears to hold true, each dayimproving a bit, but it is impor-tant to not fall into excessiveeuphoria,” Spanish health offi-cial Fernando Simón said. AFP

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The lockdown has left us allhomebound. This can be a little

stressful especially for the kids who are ina habit to go out once in a while, if notmore. During these times of crisis, theOTT platforms are like a silver linning inthe grey cloud, which are offering variedcontent. From movies, to cult classics tothe modern day web series, there issomething for everyone. Now that the kidsare at home too, without having to watchthe new episodes of their favouritecartoons, the OTT platforms is here totheir rescue.

A lot of digital platforms are turningkids-friendly lately. All thanks to theincreased usage and demand of theseplatforms.

These shows will lift your child’smood immediately and will make themstay indoors and roll on the floor as theyhold their bellies while learn a thing or two.There are a series of entertaining showsthat can keep your child entertained, butthese shows stand out and are sure to takeyour kids on a joyride and enhance theircreative side.

Here is a list of a few kids-friendlyshows that you along with your little onescan binge watch.

��-��/��(�Don’t miss out on this one! Golmaal

Junior is an adaptation of the legendarycomedy movie series — Golmaal whichcenters on the adventures of Gopal andMadhav — the two mischievous rivals,who encourage their gangs to plays prankson the other which often results in fun,drama and chaos. Watch their pranks,quarrels and allthings fun on theVoot Kids app.

0��00'�A show that

will make adultsgo awestruckwhile kids mayhave started theirown Baby Corpalready. BossBaby is about anew baby’s arrival

and how it impacts a family. But before youknow it, this adorable baby wearing a suitis a spy on a secret mission, that involvesprotecting baby love in the world. Watchthis adorable baby and his gang on Netflix.

-(�0��-��(��The classic show, Mr. Bean is

everyone’s favorite bumbler. While theoriginal series is hilarious, tune in to theanimated series with brand new stories andhis moronic decisions. Whether it is a tubfull of tadpoles or teddy's birthday party,he never fails to make you laugh. Let yourkids enjoy this legendary show in ananimated format on Voot Kids andAmazon Prime Video.

��-��Funny and Simpsons go together.

Another legendary show that will glue theentire family together to watch the show.Simpsons — the ultimate nuclear familywhere Homer — the father, Marge - themother and children Maggie and Bart aresure to give you family goals. Theirquarrels, fun, laughter and all familydrama are encircled with love. Watch thisold classic newly released onDisney+Hostar.

�-��-0Timon and Pumbaa are the most

beloved best friend duo. The popularcharacters from the classic movie — TheLion King are a pair of meerkat and awarthog. Living with their motto —

Hakuna Matata which means there are notroubles, this inseparable duo will makeyou go crazy with their problem-solvingskills. Watch this wise cracking Pumbaasteal all Timon’s idea as his own onDisney+Hotstar.

��(��A��(�(�Are you having a trouble finding

something? Do not worry. We have Dorato save the day with her lovely friend Boots.Experience the numerous adventures inthe wilderness with her friend Boots, amonkey, and a variety of fun and usefultools while she finds your things for you.Watch her journey of findings on VootKids.

��Peppa believes in true family love as

this adorable piggie participates in manyenergetic activities with her friends andfamily and enjoys it all leaving with ameaningful message. She learns somethingnew every day and has a lot of fun withher family and friends. Watch her happymoments on Voot Kids.

(B��&�While your kids are all stuck at home

and do not know what to do next? Engagetheir creative side with Artzooka as itfeatures entertaining creative activitiesperformed by children with a broad rangeof tools, technologies, and materials at theirdisposal. Kids are sure to love this one, helpthem develop their creative skills on VootKids.

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� This is the eighth time you areplaying Lord Shiva. What attractsyou to the role?

The main reason for me to sayyes to Devi — Aadi Parashakti wasthe fact that yet again I got anopportunity to essay the role of lordShiva. I have portrayed thecharacter numerous times butthose stories were focused on othermythological characters. However,in this show, I finally got a chanceto be the lead opposite the centralcharacter which is essayed by RatiPandey.� Does this pose any challenges?

Yes, it is very challenging toplay the same role again and again.I make it more interesting byadding something more to thecharacter. And to keep adding on,I read as much as possible fromwherever I can on Mahadev. It givesme inspiration.� From Kabhi Aaye Na Judaai toDevi Aadi Parashakti, how has thejourney been?

It has been one roller coasterof a journey. One moment I am atthe top then again it goes down andeverything seems like a big struggle.I feel I haven’t achieved even 10 percent of what I have in my mind. Istill feel like a newcomer.� You have played varied roles.How did that transition happen?

When I started out, I wasoffered a lot of negative charactersand I took them to run my kitchen.Then I found out that I wasenjoying those roles. But the gamechanger was when I played kingVikramaditya in Vikram Aur Betalon Colors. After that people startednoticing me. They thought that Ihad the physique and languageskills to play historical andmythological characters. I wasthen offered the role of Ravan inDevo Ke Dev Mahadev whichestablished me in this genre.�A role that you would say no to.

I would never want to portraya negative character wherein Ihave to physically torture childrenor women

� Was acting always on yourcards?

No, acting wasn’t always on mymind. When I started as a model,I always dreamt of earning enoughto buy a car. In the bargain, Imanaged a few extra things too.� Was there a moment when youfelt like quitting?

There was a phase when Iwasn’t getting the kind of roles orrather any roles that I wanted. ButI didn’t know anything else, so I justwaited for an opportunity. AndGod has been very kind to bless mewith tremendous opportunities. � What are your upcomingprojects?

Currently, I am doing Devi AdiParashakti on Dangal TV. It’s thejourney of the goddess in all heravataars.� What is keeping you busyduring the lockdown?

I am watching performances ofmy fellow industry friends becausethat is the best way to learn andgrow. To keep myself fit, I amworking out regularly and ensuringthat I spend good quality time withmy family.

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Your phone beepsand there’s a mes-sage on the familyWhatsApp group. Nose andMouth are declared as private

parts till further orders. Keep them coveredin public. A moment later, another messagepops in with a video tutorial of how to makeice soup during lockdown. Take a glass of waterin a pan, stir it, now add five-six ice cubes andmix them together. Your ice soup is ready toserve.

Laughing on COVID-19 jokes all day is ourguilty pleasure. But from where does thishumour comes from? Does it appear out of thinair? The fact of the matter is that humans havelearnt the art of laughing all the worries away.Be it a deadly virus that is affecting people allover the globe or a nationwide lockdown or eventhe falling economy, we can just laugh it away.

Kartik Verma, a 22-year-old sound produc-tion student, who is actively coming up withjokes and videos tells you that it is a matter ofcreativity and a way to help those in distress.“There is so much of negativity around us thesedays. Switch on the TV and what one see is head-lines flashing of so many deaths related toCOVID-19 and the rising cases. This is dis-turbing. We, young adults can infact find a wayto relax and chat with our friends but our par-ents and grandparents, they are exposed to thenegativity all day. It affects them. These videosare just a way of helping them having a goodlaugh and erasing all the distressing news foratleast sometime,” he tells you.

Such has been the frenzy for these jokes, thatpeople of all age are taking to social media toshare their kind of jokes. It is the only thing aftercooking that is keeping them busy and givinggood dose of laughter. One such joke that isdoing rounds is: “Tera nash jaye China, teri wajahse bar ki jagah vim bar aur scotch ki jagah scotchbrite haathon mein aa gayi hai.”

It only shows how distressed people havebecome with having to do ghar ka kaam auroffice ka kaam all day.

Dr Sneha Karamani, consultant psychiatrist,Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, Pune says thathumour is nothing but a way discovered to dealwith anxiety and stress.

“Humour helps us deal with tragic times andstress in a lighter, healthier way. It helps over-come psychological anxiety and is a mature egodefence mechanism. We have seen a lot ofhumorous WhatsApp and social media memesbeing forwarded in this pandemic and there isa lot of creativity around it. These are times ofexistential crises, and one definitely needs a dashof humour,” she says.

Sadly, there are a lot of negative, unauthenticpieces of information streaming around. Oneneeds to be cautious not to spread fake news andnegativity. “While sharing information availableto us is a way of staying connected with our sig-nificant others and the world around us, it servesour need for validation to a certain extent. We

m u s talso be mind-ful of whatinformation weconsume andwhether it comesfrom a valid source,before levitating itthrough various chan-nels,” she advises.

YouTuber Harsh Beniwal, whorecently posted a video pertaining to the cur-rent lockdown scenarios — Bhai, Behen AndLockdown says that he just followed the trend.

The 18-minute long video begins with alight-hearted narration on how the earth is reju-venating itself after years of suffering manmadechaos and goes on to talk about the brother-sis-ter banters during the lockdown. The hilariousvideo strikes the right chord in the hearts of theaudience who is more or less going through thesame situation, with siblings not in a habit ofstaying 24/7 together without fighting.

“Memes and jokes are all fine until they arenot hurting the sentiments of others. I am enjoy-ing all these funny forwards in the frazzled sce-nario. It helps in reducing tension and have agood laugh. So is the case with my video thattalks about what happens when a brother andsister are left homebound during the lockdown.In one of the scenes, I ask my sister for her cholibecause I want to make TikTok videos, while sheis on call with her boss wearing my blazer. I tellher: Mera blazer kisse puch kar pehna, tere baapka hai kya, utar isey,” Beniwal tells you, whosefavourite meme is: Time Traveller: Which yearis this? Me: 2020. Time Traveller: Oh! First yearof quarantine. Me: Eeee, what!

Pulkit Sharma, clinical pyshologist andauthor of When The Soul Heals tells youthat he himself has come across certain videosand jokes that deals such a heavy subject withan extremely light approach and it is a healthytrend unless it is spreading rumours. “Humouris a healthy defence mechanism psychology.When you laugh, you are able to turn your eyesaway from the grim reality for sometime.Biologically speaking, when you laugh certainneurotransmitters are secreted that can upliftyour mood instantly. In fact it also boost yourimmunity. At the end of the day, we have to lookfor something that can make us laugh. It is a nat-ural way for people to cope with reality,” he says.

It is out of constant frustration and anxietythat people have started to joke about the issue.“First trigger was definitely coronavirus. Second

trig-ger to

t h e s ememes was

l o c k d o w n ,which was aresult of thep a n d e m i c .

Now peopleare left with no

option but to dealwith it on a lighter

note. It is the constantfrustration that is com-

ing out in the form of thishumour. It is not only relieving but it also givesa sense of satisfaction that all is not lost. We stillhave to something to laugh about and that waywe can just laugh all our worries away,” Sharmatells you.

It is the teens who are taking the lockdownseriously and taking a dig on their parents. “Inan unsettling reversal of my teenage years, I amnow yelling at my parents for going out,” says onefrustrated teen.

Amit Pandey, senior scriptwriter at CosmosMaya, who writes scripts for cartoon shows likesSelfie with Bajrangi, Tik Tak Tail and Eena MeenaDeeka which airs on major channels includingDisney and Cartoon Network, who is activelyposting jokes around coronavirus lately tells youthat it is just a matter of spending and utilisingtime during the ongoing lockdown.

“As we all are stuck inside our house fol-lowing the COVID-19 lockdown protocols,everyone is finding their own way to utilise orpass their time during this crisis. While manyof us are busy cooking, painting, writing anddoing other stuffs; social media has turned outto be a good supporting platform for everyoneduring this tough time. People are enjoying var-ious social media challenges l ike#Saree_Challenge, #Quarantine_Look,No_Makeup challenge, #Me_at_20 challenge,memes have emerged as the winner during thistime brining a smile to everyone’s face. I am alsoenjoying posting memes unlike never before andfriends are loving them,” he says.

Pandey was always good with passing wittycomments and this was just the right time toshowcase his skills. “I was always good with pass-ing witty comments and one-liners since child-hood (as my friends used to say) and now beinga scriptwriter of comedy cartoon shows, it is eas-ier for me to create these funny posts. I am justkeeping up with the trends of social media. I amgetting more responses on my such posts as com-pared to others. For example, I saw everyonemaking Dalgona Coffee at home and posting thephotos on Facebook. One day, while I was peel-ing potatoes, the idea strike my mind and I post-

ed the photo of a half-peeled potatowith the caption “Dalgona Aaloo”.The post garnered a lot of attentionfrom people. Few days later, I post-

ed a photo of burnt rice with a cap-tion “Choco Lava Rice — the experi-mental dish”. It too received some

hilarious reactions from family andfriends. I’m glad that my posts are bring-

ing a smile on people’s face during this stress-ful time. My job is to make kids laugh with thekind of scripts I write but I am fortunate that Ican utilise this creativity to make people of allage have a good laugh,” Pandey says.

All this is fine but then some memes go over-board and end up insulting a person or coun-try. Making fun is alright but then it should notcross the line where it ends up spreading a false-hood about someone. There have been somegood memes also but gradually it is ending upgoing extreme with targeting communities orcountries. Problem lies in the fact that some peo-ple with vested interests are using such memesto spread the misconception.

The need is to understand that not every-body with access to social media is educatedenough to take it lightly. Some memes thoughare really targeted to educate people and this isbeing used by authorities to bring home theimportance of steps that the Government is tak-ing. One such instance is when helpline depart-ment of Uttar Pradesh Police, Call 112, posteda meme “Dur se dekha toh...phir main paas gayahi nahi. Aakhir physical distancing chal rahi haibhai. Unlike the ‘in your face’ memes, suchresponsible ones also leave the readers in splitsand are a glaring example of how making some-one laugh can be informative and be used tospread positive messages.

A case in point is the memes related to DIYmasks. People are going to such lengths and havemade the process so bizarre — masks made ofbra cups and sanitary napkins — that at timesit becomes difficult to differentiate who is seri-ous and who is not.

Another one that can sit well for some whilestands out as offensive for others: “Coronaviruswon’t last long because it was made in China.”

To add to the list: “When someone sneezesat a Chinese airport...Warp to the grave-yard?OK...No.”

The not so common query now is whetherit is right to poke fun at a pandemic that is claim-ing lives worldwide and sees no stopping.However, turning to comedy is what humans havebeen doing since the historical era.

Humour can relieve anxiety; it can also stokeracial tensions or spread misinformation. So, theanswer isn’t simple. But until and unless, thesememes stick to the purpose — that of enter-taining people without hurting the sentiments ofanyone — and is all in good spirits, we can enjoya few without letting them get on our heads.

Now, one for everyone that sits well in thecurrent scenario. “Dear Tummy, kya tumhein alagse samjhana padega, lockdown mein bahar

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��@ Cricket WestIndies have said they are“flexible” about rearrangingtheir tour of England butwill not risk their players’health just to complete athree-Test series.

The fixtures were alldue to take place in June butFriday saw the ECB extendthe delay to the start of itsseason until July 1.

English officials remainhopeful they can resched-ule all international fix-tures in a programme thatalso includes three moreTests against Pakistan andwhite-ball matches againstAustralia and Ireland, fromJuly until September.

CWI chief executiveJohnny Grave insisted whilethe West Indies were opento a change of dates, play-er safety remained priority.

“Clearly playing in Juneis now not possible and wewill continue our discus-sions with the ECB andother international boardson trying to find new dates,”said Grave.

“Our respective med-ical teams are beginning todiscuss how this (England)series could be playedwhilst guaranteeing thehealth and safety of ourplayers and support team.

“We will be as flexibleas we can without compro-mising the safety of ourteam,” Grave, himself anEnglishman, added.

Even if the two boardsfind mutually acceptabledates, Britain’s lockdownrestrictions would have toease for the series to takeplace in England and evenrules banning mass gather-ings would likely still be inforce, meaning matches

would have to take placebehind closed doors.

ECB chief executiveTom Harrison said theboard had received “multi-ple offers” from other coun-tries to help them completethe domestic season.

His comments cameafter Surrey chairmanRichard Thompson earliersaid Abu Dhabi hadoffered to host games.

But Harrison,while still aiming forEngland to stage afull home 2020international season,warned: “We’reprobably getting tothe point now whereany further delays beyondwhere we’ve already start-ed planning for will involvelosing cricket rather thanrescheduling again.” AFP

�� -*-?'

Star India batsman KL Rahul saidthe heartbreaking World Cupsemifinal loss to New Zealand,

after a near-perfect show in thegroup stages, “continues to haunt”him and his teammates.

In a chat show The Mind Behind,Rahul said if he was given a chanceto change the result of any onematch in the past, it would be the2019 World Cup semifinal.

“It has to be the World Cup semi-final. I think most of us are still notover that loss, it is still haunts ussometimes,” he said.

“I can’t imagine what the seniorplayers must have felt but you knowin a World Cup it just becomes evenharder knowing that we played sowell in the entire tournament. I stillwake up to that nightmare some-times.”

India were perhaps the mostdominant side in the group stage ofthe tournament, winning each oftheir matches except the one againsthosts England.

The Virat Kohli-led side was thefavourite going into the semifinalagainst eventual runner-up NewZealand but lost the contest by 18runs.

Asked if he had to pick one crick-eter to bat for his life, Rahul said: “I’llgo with Virat (Kohli) because Iknow, everybody knows he is a great

player. We share a great friendshipand he will give it all to save my life.”

Going back to his formativeyears, Rahul was asked to describe his

exact moment where he scored a phe-nomenal 100 in Sydney.

“I think that innings, that seriesjust changed the way I looked at

myself, the confidence that I got frombouncing back so quickly and at aninternational stage, where, you knowit’s a dream for every player, was

incredible. I realized that, you know,if I put my mind to it, there are thingsthat I can achieve, that even I hadnever thought I could. So that inningsdid give me a great deal of confidenceand it just changed who I was as aperson and as a cricketer.”

��KL Rahul has auctioned the bat

he used in the 2019 World Cup for�2,64,228. He also auctioned a slewof other equipment with his brandGully with the proceeds going to theAware Foundation to help vulnerablechildren during the ongoing coron-avirus pandemic.

Among other memorabilia thatwere auctioned were his helmet,which he sold for �1,22,677, his padsfor �33,028, his ODI jersey for�1,13,240, his T20 jersey for�1,04,824, his Test jersey for �1,32,774and his gloves for �28,782.

The auction was done in collab-oration with Bharat Army, the fanclub of the Indian team.

“I have decided to donate mycricket pads, my gloves, helmets andsome of my jerseys to our collabora-tion partner Bharat Army. They aregoing to auction these things out andthe funds will go towards the AwareFoundation. It’s a foundation that looktowards helping children. It is veryspecial and I couldn’t pick a better dayto do this,” said Rahul according toTimes of India.

�� 2��2�

Sachin Tendulkar says he was“clueless” on his Test debut and

almost cried thinking it was allover for him.

When he walked out for thelast time 24 years later, Tendulkarwould do so as a batting greatwith a record 200 Test appear-ances to his name.

“I was clueless, I have toadmit that. I played the first Testas if I was playing a schoolmatch,” Sachin told NasserHussain during the Nasser meetsSachin episode on Skysports.

In his first Test in 1989,Tendulkar was up against aPakistan pace attack comprisingImran Khan, Wasim Akram andWaqar Younis.

Recalling the outing, he said,“Wasim and Waqar were bowlingquick, and they were deliveringshort balls and all sorts of intim-idating things they could do. I hadnever experienced anything likethat, so the first outing wasn’t apleasant one.

“Occasionally, I got beaten bytheir pace and bounce, and whenI got out on 15, I felt embarrassedwhen I walked back to the dress-ing room.

“I was like ‘what have youdone, why did you play like this’and then when I reached thedressing room, I went straight tothe bathroom, and I was almostin tears.”

Now the owner of innumer-able batting records, Tendulkar, atthat point in time, felt he was notgood enough for internationalcricket.

“I felt I was completely out ofplace. I looked at myself and ques-tioned myself and said: ‘looks likethis is gonna be your first and thelast outing’. I felt that I’m not goodenough to play at this level. I wasupset and feeling low,” Tendulkarsaid.

He said a conversation withRavi Shastri, now the coach of theIndian team, helped.

“I still remember the conver-sation I had with Ravi Shastri.Ravi said, ‘you played as if it wasa school match. You are playingagainst the best bowlers; youneed to respect their ability andtheir skill’.

“Then I told Ravi that I gotbeaten by their (Pakistan bowlers)pace. To which Ravi said: ‘Thathappens to quite a few, you don’tworry. You just look to go out andspend half an hour in the middleand then you will get adjusted totheir pace, and everything will fallinto place after that’.”

Tendulkar was picked for thesecond Test and showed he hadit in him with a gritty half-centu-ry.

“When I was picked to play inthe second Test at Faisalabad, theonly thing on my mind was, I’mnot gonna look at the score-board. I will only look at the clockand not worry about scoringruns.

“I batted for half an hour, andI felt really comfortable and Iscored 59 runs in that match andafter that things started changing,”Tendulkar, whose favourite all-rounders are Kapil Dev, ImranKhan, Richard Hadlee, MalcolmMarshall and Ian Botham, said.

��@ Saliva and sweatare components that cannot beentirely done away with, insista few distinguished Indiacricketers, as the ICC contem-plates legalising ball tamperingpost Covid-19 by using artifi-cial substances to prevent virusspread.

Former India pacer AshishNehra and spinner HarbhajanSingh feel that saliva’s use inshining the ball is a “must”.

While discussions are atnascent stage, questions arealready being asked aboutwhat external substances couldbe used if ball tamperingbecomes legal?

Is it going to be bottle capin pocket to scuff up one sideof the ball, vaseline to shine(made famous by John Lever)or chain zipper?

“Get one thing clear at theonset. The ball will not swingif you don’t apply sweat or sali-va on the ball. That’s basicnecessity of swing bowling.The moment ball gets scuffedup from one side, sweat andsaliva must be applied on theother side,” Nehra, who com-pletely shot down the idea ofusing external substances said.

He went on to explain whyvaseline alone can’t help apacer.

“Now let’s understand whydo you need saliva? Sweat is

heavier than saliva but both areheavy enough to make oneside of the ball heavier forreverse swing. Vaseline comesinto the picture only aftersweat and saliva, not beforethat.

“It is lighter and doesn’teven ensure conventionalswing. It can keep the shine butdoesn’t make the ball heavy,”the World Cup-winning for-mer pacer said.

Nehra then gave theexample of Englishman Leverwho created a furore during histeam’s 1976 tour of India byapplying vaseline during aTest match.

“I can bet Lever usedsweat and saliva and thenapplied vaseline. Vaseline onlyhelps the ball to skid andnothing more. You apply vase-line only, the ball will just gostraight. You can check thatwith any fast bowler,” he said.

Harbhajan also agreed thatsaliva if one has alreadychewed mint, which has sugarin it, makes it heavier. Butwhen it comes to using exter-nal substance, he wants toknow what can be the options.

“It’s not that murray mintcan be used without putting itin your mouth. The coat ofsugar on the saliva makes itheavier after one side getsscuffed. A scuffed up ball isalso good for spinners as itensures a better grip than ashiny new ball. But my ques-tion is, if you allow, what’s thelimit?

“Suppose you legalise balltampering and let people usebottle cap. Now the ball startsreversing from the fifth over.Is it fair? Or may be umpirescome into play and they tellyou now is the time when youcan use external substance.

“I mean, in any case, tak-ing saliva out of equationmeans taking swing out whichmay not be good idea,” said theowner of 700-plus internation-al wickets. PTI

��-��?2*>��

The Australian governmentmight make travel exemp-

tions for the Indian team’s tourDown Under later this year tosave the cricket board from los-ing a staggering 300 millionAustralian dollars in the wake ofCovid-19 pandemic.

Cricket Australia is underhuge financial pressure due toglobal lockdown and has laid off80 percent of its staff. India’s four-Test tour in December-Januarycould provide a relief to thestruggling bldy

As of now, Australia’s bordersare sealed till September 30 buttheir could be an extension oftravel sanctions.

According to a report in

ESPNCricinfo,”internationalexemptions to allow an Indiatouring party to arrive inAustralia next summer would be

seriously considered by the fed-eral government in the event ofwider travel bans, strongly sug-gesting that Cricket Australia

will be able to avoid losing up toA$ 300 million in revenue in thewake of the coronavirus pandem-ic.”

The website also reportedthat CA has received a positiveresponse from its government.

“...The governing body isunderstood to have receivedhighly encouraging news abouttheir outlook, at least as far as thelucrative India tour is concerned,”the report stated.

Cricket Australia was expect-ing revenue of A$ 500 millionfrom this financial cycle, primar-ily from broadcast rights. Even ifspectators are not allowed andcricket becomes a TV only event,they happen to lose A$ 50 mil-lion.

But if India fail to tour, the

repercussions will be of giganticproportions.

“Such a scenario (only liveTV coverage) would likely leaveCA with a hole of around A$ 50million in its annual revenue ofnearly A$ 500 million, butnowhere near the sort of blowthey could have expected withoutbeing able to welcome India fora series of Test and limited oversmatches due to pull the organi-sation out of the low point of itsfour-year revenue cycle,” thereport stated.

Meanwhile in other update aBCCI official said that a decisionon that playing an extra Test dur-ing the scheduled tour can betaken at the right time and anyplanning at this stage would betoo early in wake of pandemic.

�� @ Reopening ofschools and colleges onceCovid-19 pandemic is undercontrol is more important forthe younger generation thanresumption of sport which cantake a back-seat for the timebeing, feels Kapil Dev.

The world has come to astandstill with no immediatesigns of resumption of sport ofany kind. But sport can wait,feels the 61-year-old formerIndia captain.

“I am looking at the larg-

er picture. Do you think crick-et is the only issue we can talkabout? I am rather worriedabout the children who are notbeing able to go to schools andcolleges because that is ouryoung generation,” Kapil toldSports Tak.

“So, I want schools toreopen first. Cricket, footballwill happen eventually,” Kapilsaid. The legendary all-rounderalso reiterated he is not infavour of a bilateral seriesbetween arch-rivals India and

Pakistan and said if Pakistan isso desperate to resume bilater-al cricket with India then thecountry first stop anti-Indiaactivities at the border andinstead spent that money innoble causes.

“You could be emotionaland say that yes, India andPakistan should play matches.Playing matches is not a prior-ity at the moment. If you needthe money, then you shouldstop the activities at the border,”he said. PTI

��

Former Australia speedsterBrett Lee believes Virat

Kohli can surpass the extraor-dinary feat of “god” SachinTendulkar.

“We are talking about phe-nomenal numbers here, so youmentioned seven to eight yearsof cricket and at the rate he(Virat Kohli) is going, yes, hecan definitely knock it off,” Leesaid while speaking on StarSports Cricket Connected show.

Lee, who played 76 Tests,221 ODIs and 25 T20Is forAustralia, however added thatit still will not be easy to breakTendulkar’s massive record.

“But, how can you saysomeone can go past SachinTendulkar — this is God here,

can someone go better thanGod, we will wait and see,” the43-year-old said.

Tendulkar made his debutagainst Pakistan at Karachi in1989 as a 16-year old. The mas-ter batsman went on to play 200Tests for India, scoring 100 cen-turies across Tests and ODIs. In463 ODIs, Tendulkar scored18,426 runs including 49 tonsand in Tests, he has 15,921 runsto his name including 51 cen-turies.

Kohli, on the other hand,has scored 44 ODI hundredsand 27 Test tons so far in hiscareer, and is just 29 centuriesaway from equallingTendulkar’s feat.

According to Lee, threefactors work in favour of thecurrent India captain in sur-passing Tendulkar’s cricketingfeats.

“It comes down to threethings, there is one thing Iwould like to eliminate — so,you talk about talent as a bats-man, he’s definitely got that tal-ent, eliminate that first and fore-most,” he said.

“Then fitness — ViratKohli has got that fitness, so forme it is all about fitness at theage of 30 and also that mentalstrength, the mental capacity toget through those hard times,being away from home, fromhis wife, or when they will havechildren.

“He will do it easily with histalent, it comes down to hismental strength and if he staysfit enough and I believe hehas got all those threecomponents to gopast Sachin”? theformer fastbowler added.

��@England fast bowler Jofra Archeron Saturday said he’d “gone mad” look-ing for his World Cup winner’s medal afterlosing the prized piece of silverwarewhile moving house.

Last year saw the Sussex quick estab-lish himself on the global stage as hehelped England win their first men’s 50-over global title.

The 25-year-old, who only made hisinternational debut in 2019, was also giventhe daunting responsibility of bowling theSuper Over in the final at Lord’s.

Archer, however, held his nerve bril-liantly as England edged out New Zealandin a thrilling finish decided on boundarycountback after the teams’ scores werelevel after both regulation play and crick-et’s answer to ‘extra time’.

But the Barbados-born quick, askedon Saturday about where his medal wasnow, told BBC Radio: “I had it hangingoff a portrait someone did for me and sentto me, I had my medal hanging on that.

“I moved flat and the picture is on thenew wall but there’s no medal. I turnedthe house upside down for about a weekbut I still haven’t managed to find it.

“I know it should be in thehouse so I will keep eyes out forit but I’ve gone mad looking forit already.”

Archer, who returned tothe United Kingdom fromBarbados last month, said

the fact all majorcricket world-wide, includingthe start of the

English season,was suspended

because of the pan-demic at least gave himtime to continue search-ing for the medal.

“There’s nothingelse to do in isolation. It’sall hands on deck.” AFP

�� @ Indian spinnerKuldeep Yadav spoke aboutthe influence that GautamGambhir and Wasim Akramhad on him in his early daysat the Kolkata Knight Riders.Kuldeep said that Gambhir,who captained KKR to twotitles in 2012 and 2014, gavehim confidence by assuringhim of a place in the teamwhile Akram prepared him onthe mental aspects of thegame.

Kuldeep says thatGambhir continues to talk tohim even after the end of thelatter’s stint at KKR and hisplaying career itself.

“Gauti bhai had a hugeinfluence on me from the startof my stint at KKR,” Kuldeeptold the franchise’s officialwebsite www.kkr.in. “Healways spoke to me a lot. Notonly during the time he wasat KKR, but even after that,over these last two years.

“He always kept me moti-vated. Before the 2014 CLT20,he gave me a lot of confidenceby telling me ‘You’ll play everygame, just keep putting in thekind of effort you have shown.’When you get that kind ofconfidence from your captain,it becomes a huge plus pointfor any player. It helps you

remain confident, and thattranslates into good perfor-mances.”

Kuldeep said that he usedto talk to Akram, a formerPakistan captain and one ofthe most successful fastbowlers of all time, duringgames in the dug-out and pickhis brain.

“Wasim sir used to likeme a lot too. He didn’t speakmuch about bowling, but heprepared me a lot in terms ofmentally taking on the game.He prepared me to take ondifferent situations in differentways, and taught me how toreact when batsmen put you

under pressure,” said Kuldeep.“When he was at KKR, I

used to sit with him and pickhis brain a lot. I used to sit nextto him in the dugout duringmatches and ask questionsabout real-time situations. Iused to ask him what hewould have done in certainsituations, and he would testme by asking me what myapproach would have been.

“So apart from Gauti bhai,he was someone who had abig influence on me duringthose early years. He also hasa very good sense of humour,so it was great having himaround.” IANS

&(%��@Pakistan women’s cricket team’sformer captain Sana Mir on Saturdayannounced her decision to retire frominternational cricket, bringing downcurtains on a 15-year-long successfulcareer. During a successful career, 34-year-old Mir, played 226 internationals,including 137 as captain from 2009 to2017.

The off-spinner is her country’s lead-ing ODI wicket-taker with 151 scalps in120 matches at an average of 24.27, whileher 89 T20Is wickets from 106 matchesare only behind Nida Dar’s 98.

Mir is also Pakistan’s third-highest run-scorer in ODIs

(1,630), and isamong a select

group of players tohave the double of 1000

runs and 100 wicketsin ODIs. She has therare achievement ofhaving played 100T20Is. PTI

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The Dutch football federation(KNVB) called an end to

the 2019-20 season on Friday,as the Eredivisie became thefirst top European league calledoff due to the coronavirus pan-demic.

No team will be declaredchampions after Ajax and AZAlkmaar were left level onpoints at the top of the tablewith nine games still to play.

“Unfortunately, given themeasures (banning large-scalegatherings) taken by the gov-ernment, it became impossibleto finish the 2019-2020 season,”the KNVB said in a statement.

“Public health alwayscomes first. It’s not just a foot-ball problem here given whatthe coronavirus is doing tosociety. Nonetheless, the profes-sional football committee isaware that today’s decisionsare going to cause great disap-pointment for some,” it added.

Leaders Ajax, above AZon goal difference, will qualifyfor next season’s ChampionsLeague, according to theKNVB, which will await adefinitive verdict from UEFAon May 25.

AZ will likely enter thecompetition’s preliminaryrounds, with Feyenoord, PSVEindhoven and Willem II set tocompete in the Europa Leaguebased on the final standings.

It marks the first time since1945 the Dutch season has fin-ished without a league champi-on.

“As a player and as a club

you naturally want to becomechampion,” Ajax chief executiveEdwin van der Sar told the club’swebsite.

“You want to show it on the

field and we have been at thetop all year round.

“It is a pity that you are notdeclared champion, but in thissituation that may be under-

standable. There are moreimportant things at the momentthan football."� ��

The KNVB announced itsintention to scrap the season onTuesday following the Dutchgovernment’s decision to extenda ban on mass gatherings untilSeptember 1.

Matches behind closeddoors were said not to be anoption as they are consideredevents which require a permitand police presence.

The final decision wasmade following a meeting withthe clubs on Friday. Next sea-son will begin with the same 18teams that started the abortedEredivisie campaign.

“There will be no relega-tion, nor promotion,” said theKNVB, which is expected toface legal action from SCCambuur and De Graafschap— the top two clubs in the sec-ond division.

“This feels like the biggestdisgrace in the history of Dutchsports,” Cambuur managerHenk De Jong told Dutchbroadcaster NOS. His side was11 points clear of the play-offplaces when the league washalted.

The Belgian Pro League isexpected to take a similar deci-sion to that of their neighboursnext week, with Club Brugge tobe awarded the title.

.� � �2��2�

The English Premier Leagueare eyeing a resumption of

the season on June 8, behindclosed doors due to the coro-navirus pandemic, and reach-ing a climax on July 27, accord-ing to The Times.

The paper claims footballchiefs, along with other sportsgoverning bodies, have beenholding talks with the Britishgovernment about when theycan resume and at only“approved grounds”.

The Premier League has 92games remaining since it sus-pended the season on March 13with Liverpool agonisinglyclose to their first ever EPL title.

The Times says PremierLeague bosses shared theiridea ‘Project Restart’ with theshareholders last week.

The matches would beplayed behind closed doors —a maximum of 400 people

would be pemitted to attendincluding media though only ifthey tested negative for thevirus — and at selected stadiato limit stretching the limitedresources of the medical ser-vices.

Extra changing facilitieswould be introduced to ensuresocial distancing measureswere in place whilst playerswould be required to turn up

for training individually andalready in their kit.

They have also suggestedAugust 22 as the date for thestart of the 2020/21 campaign.

The main sticking point,though, remains the lack oftests available.

Should the season beunable to resume — it wouldbe a financial nightmare for theclubs.

.�� ('>�

Footballers in France’stop flight will return to

their clubs the week start-ing May 11 to undergo“full medical checkups”with a view to restartingLigue 1 in June pendinggovernment clearance, theFrench league (LFP) saidon Friday.

The LFP board met toreview the main points ofa draft document on med-ical and health protocolspresented by the league’srepresentative for clubdoctors, it said in a state-ment.

The document “fore-sees a return of players totraining centres the weekof May 11 to carry out fullmedical checkups, as wellas swab tests, followed by

daily monitoring, whichwill be detailed ... betweennow and the end of April,”it said.

The LFP has also indi-cated its preferred optionremains a “resumption ofleagues in mid-June sub-ject to knowing the termsof easing confinementmeasures which will bepresented by the govern-ment in the coming days”.

Meanwhile, Frenchfootball federation presi-dent Noel Le Graet hopesboth the French Cup andLeague Cup finals can beplayed before the leagueseason restarts.

Paris Saint-Germainare due to meet Saint-Etienne in the French Cup,while Thomas Tuchel’s sideare scheduled to face Lyonin the League Cup.

.��-'�,��+�>

Manchester United executivevice-chairman Ed

Woodward has said talk ofmega-money football transfermoves “ignore the realities thatface the sport” because of thecoronavirus outbreak.

United have been linkedwith a £200 million ($247 mil-lion, 228 million euros) bid tolure England captain HarryKane away from TottenhamHotspur.

But Woodward’s commentssuggest any such deal is unlike-ly in the current climate.

It is six weeks since thePremier League suspended allmatches and, with no certain-ty as to when or if the sea-son can resume, clubfinances are under strain atall levels.

United, one of worldfootball’s commer-cial powerhouses,are better off thanmost, however,with Woodwardtelling a fans’forum late Fridaythe club weredetermined toplay their part inaiding thoseaffected by thevirus.

“We havealways believed

that our commercial modelgives us greater resilience thanmost clubs and we are gratefulfor the enduring support of ourcommercial partners in helpingus achieve that,” he said.

“However, nobody shouldbe under any illusions about thescale of challenge facing every-one in football and it may not be‘business as usual’ for any clubs,including ourselves, in the trans-fer market this summer.”

Woodward added: “On thisbasis, I cannot help feelingthat speculation around trans-fers of individual players forhundreds of millions of poundsthis summer seems to ignorethe realities that face the sport.”

Looking ahead, Woodwardsaid he hoped “a seasonwhich still held so muchpromise for us in thePremier League, the Europa

League and the FA Cupwhen it was suspend-ed” could resume.

“And while itmay be that gamesneed to be played

behind closeddoors in theshorter term,we all recog-nise that foot-ball will not

be fully backto normal until support-ers are once again inattendance.”

�� ?�>��

Bayern Munich midfielderPhilippe Coutinho has

undergone surgery to removeloose fragments from his rightankle and will be sidelined for atleast two weeks, the club said.

The Brazil international ison a season-long loan fromBarcelona and has scored eightgoals in 22 Bundesliga appear-ances for Bayern.

“Philippe Coutinho under-went an operation on his rightankle, during which loose jointfragments were removed,” theclub said in a statement.

“The operation was a suc-cess. The Brazilian will begin hisrecovery program in around 14days.”

France midfielder CorentinTolisso also had an operationearlier in the week on his ankleand will miss the league’s poten-tial restart date on May 9.

(��/��(@Football may be goingthrough its richest phase right nowfinancially but Brazilian footballlegend Pele feels that we are current-ly not in a golden age as far as thequality of players is concerned.

The three-time World Cup win-ner, widely regarded as the greatestplayer of all time, said that there arenot as many truly great players incountries that are strong in thesport.

“Once, you found two or threein every country with a great foot-ball culture,” Pelé told SportStar.“Eusébio, (António) Simões, (Johan)Cruyff, (Franz) Beckenbauer,(Diego) Maradona, Garrincha, Didi.How many did I say? There were somany.”

“Today, we have two or three inall. (Lionel) Messi, CristianoRonaldo, I would say Neymar —who in Brazil has not yet managedto become a great figure.”

Neymar was considered as the

player who would take over as thebest in the world after Messi andRonaldo phase out. The Brazilianeven finished third in the race to theBallon d’Or in 2015. However sincehis word record transfer fromBarcelona to Paris Saint-Germain,injuries have led to the 28-year-oldnot attaining that heights that wereexpected off him.

Pele however believes thatNeymar is an excellent player andhopes that he comes good at the 2022Qatar World Cup. “I hope that at thenext World Cup he is in good phys-ical condition,” he added. “Peoplecriticise him, I even did it a few times,but we forget that he is a product ofours, of Santos.

“We always want the best forhim. I talk about him often with hisfather. Technically, he is an excellentplayer.”

Both Messi and Ronaldo are intheir 30’s but continue to dominatefootball. Pele said that he considersMessi as the most complete playerand that he would have loved to playalongside him.

“He (Messi) is a skilled player,gives assists, passes, scores, dribbleswell,” he said. “If we were in the teamtogether, the opponents shouldworry about two players, not justone! Today, Messi is the most com-plete player.” IANS

��

Star shuttler P V Sindhusays she was desperate to

win the WorldChampionships title lastyear after a string of runner-up finishes as people start-ed call ing her “SilverSindhu”.

Sindhu, who also won aSilver medal in the 2016 RioOlympics, admitted that shefelt bad when people saidshe has a “final phobia”.

“In the WorldChampionships (last year),it was my third final, I havealso won two Bronze. Ithought I have to win this atany cost. I was so desperateto win the title. I did notwant people to say she lostin final again,” Sindhu said.

“I thought no matterwhat happens, I will give 100per cent and I have to justwin this title. There weretimes people say ‘SilverSindhu’ about me.Sometimes these thingscomes to my mind,” shetold Indian women crick-eters Smriti Mandhana and

Jemimah Rodrigues on thetalk show Double Trouble.

Talking about that dayof final when she beat hernemesis Nozomi Okuhara ofJapan 21-7, 21-7, Sindhusaid, “Even if we say we arefine and cool, we have a bitof pressure. But I thought Iwill just focus on my game.I gave my best and won thefinal.”

Asked how she copedwith the constant criticismof faltering in the final hur-dle, she said, “After the 2016Olympics, I have seven toeight Silvers in a row in2017. People started tellingme that ‘you have a finalphobia’ and you always losein the final.

“It is not easy to come tothe semifinal and final, butpeople do not know that.They are like ‘she lost in thefinal again’. But winningand losing is part of life.”

The 24-year-old Sindhusaid after every loss, herfocus automatically used toshift to her next outing.

“My thinking was ‘allright, I can win this final’.You should not bother peo-ple criticising you. For me,it is like ‘all right I can do itthis time’. Just come back,rectify your mistakes and dobetter.”

She said she did notexpect to win the Silver inthe 2016 Olympics as it washer first Olympics. Sindhulost to Spain’s CarolinaMarin in the summit clashin Rio.

“I thought I will need togive my best and I just wentout there with that thought.”

Sindhu said the turningpoint of her career waswhen she beat then reigning(2012) Olympic championLi Xuerui of China in a tour-nament in 2012 (ChinaOpen Super Series).

0(��0��@ Staying fit and training with thesame intensity as would normally be thecase is “tricky” during the shutdown,World No1 Ashleigh Barty said. Barty isin her hometown Brisbane and like othertennis players, is waiting out the uniqueperiod where the sport has come to a haltdue to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s kind of tricky to train with thesame intensity as always,” the 24-year-oldtold the Sunday Herald Sun. “Obviously,we’re still not sure when we’ll go back.

“Now, it’s about maintaining for if andwhen we get an opportunity to play againthis year, you can kinda flick that switchand go from there.”

Barty would have been in the thick ofher preparations to defend her FrenchOpen crown at this time of the year. Theclay court Grand Slam was to be heldfrom May 24 to June 7 but it has sincebeen postponed to September 20 toOctober 4, making it the last Grand Slamof the year.

“Just kind of sitting back, this is real-ly bizarre,” she said. “You’re preparing for

that (hardcourt) swing and then you’re ona plane back to Australia. “It’s different foreveryone. For tennis players, there’s thatuncertainty. We need for pretty much thewhole world to be clear before we canstart our tour again. IANS

��

Sports Minister KirenRijiju on Saturday said thegovernments policy wouldbe conditioned according tothe needs of the sports com-munity. “We want to create abig sports culture in the coun-try so that we can improveour presence in world sport.It is our obligation to raise thelevel of sport in India,” hesaid.

Speaking at the inaugur-al session of the six-day onlinetechnical officials' seminarjointly conducted by theSouth Asian AthleticsFederation (SAFF) and theAthletics Federation of India(AFI), Rijiju said the govern-ment would frame athlete-centric and sports-centricpolicies .

“Athletics is the heart andsoul of the Olympic Gamesand we need to raise the levelof our athletics,” he said.

“I want to give the youngathletes the opportunity to

realise their dreams.”World Athletics President

Sebastian Coe complimentedSAAF and AFI for conceivingthe six-day seminar.

“Our sport simply doesnot function at any level with-out the contribution of thetechnical officials,” he said.

“It would be unrecognis-able without one of our sport'smost endearing aspects, theenshrining of the volunteer

contribution 24x7.”Coe said World Athletics'

major task in the time aheadwas to keep as many of itscompetitions intact.

“We owe it to the athletesand the member federationsto maintain a structure thatwe can optimistically lookforward to so that we can givethe athletes the chance to getback to competition as soonas is possible, but in a fairway,” he said.

Referring to WorldAthletics decision to suspendthe Olympic qualification tillDecember 1 this year, he saidthe structure would have to bedesigned so that the athletesreturn to the competition in afair way.

“We need to ensure thatour athletes get back to com-petition safely and securelyand in a way that does notdamage the integrity of all ourcompetitions.

“I know the IndianFederation has embracedtechnology in a big way not

only to reach larger audi-ences but also to meet the sus-tainability challenge by gettingrid of paper,” he said.

In his opening remarks,AFI President Adille JSumariwalla said the federa-tion had been at the forefrontof using technology for sever-al years now.

“AFI is the first nationalfederation to host onlinecourses for coaches and tech-nical officials. We also plan onhaving our annual generalmeeting on May 2 and all oursub-committee meetingsonline,” he said.

Asian AthleticsAssociation President Gen.Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamadcomplimented SAAF and AFIfor the initiative to enhancethe knowledge of the SouthAsian region’s technical offi-cials.

SAFF President Lalit KBhanot said the seminar wasa true reflection of the grit,resolve, sportsmanship andlove for athletics in the region.

.� � �2��2�

Chelsea have said they won’timpose a pay cut on their

first-team squad in response to thecoronavirus outbreak.

But the Premier League sideadded Saturday they had askedplayers to continue donating tocharities during the ongoing pan-demic.

It has been reported the westLondon club have been in talkswith their players about a salaryreduction of around 10 percent ina bid to reduce costs at a timewhen football has been suspend-ed because of the virus.

That figure, however, is signif-icantly lower than the PremierLeague’s suggestion of 30 percentfor all clubs.

But that has not stopped theStamford Bridge side from takingtheir own course of action as theyhighlighted the #PlayersTogetherinitiative launched by PremierLeague players earlier this month,

which aims to raise and distributefunds for charities supportingBritain’s National Health Service(NHS).

“Representatives of theChelsea board have recently heldextensive talks with the men’s firstteam to discuss how they can con-tribute financially to the clubduring the coronavirus crisis,”

said a club statement.“The objective of these talks

has been to find a meaningfulpartnership around ensuring wepreserve jobs for staff, compensatefans and participate in activitiesfor good causes.

“We are grateful to the teamfor having played their role inassisting the club with communi-ty activities as well as all the char-itable causes they have been sup-porting in their respective homecountries and through the PlayersTogether initiative supporting theNHS.”

The statement added: “At thistime, the men’s first team will notbe contributing towards the clubfinancially and instead the boardhave directed the team to focustheir efforts on further support-ing other charitable causes.

“As this crisis develops theclub will continue to have conver-sations with the men’s first teamregarding financial contributionsto the club’s activities.”

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The string of good outings by theIndian women’s hockey team

last year has helped keep theentire group motivated as theycontinue working hard despiteCovid-19 lockdown, feels forwardNavjot Kaur.

The year gone by was fruitfulone for the Indian women, whichsaw them produce some outstand-ing performances across tourna-ments. They won the FIH Women’sSeries Finals Hiroshima 2019,Olympic Test Event in Japan, andthe FIH Hockey OlympicQualifiers Odisha, along with vic-tories in their tours of Spain,Malaysia, Republic of Korea andEngland. “I think the kind of per-formances we produced in 2019,especially at the FIH Women’sSeries Finals and FIH HockeyOlympic Qualifiers, has reallyhelped us to stay motivated andcontinue putting in the hard yardsin whatever way we can,” Kaur said.

The coronavirus outbreak has

forced the sporting world to cometo a standstill. And in this testingtime, the 25-year-old says theteam is focussing on maintainingfitness and staying in touch withthe sport as much as possible.

“There’s no doubt that it’sbeen difficult for everyone acrossthe globe, but we have to stay pos-itive and continue moving for-ward. All of us here are workingvery hard on our fitness and stick-work drills in our rooms.”

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With the lockdown beingextended till May 3 and theuncertainty of when and

how things will be back to being whatthey were, turning to digital tech-nologies has become the next big thing.

From food delivery apps likeZomato and Dominos turning todeliver essentials to digital giftingbecoming the new norm, brands areleaving no stone unturned in keepingpace with the changing market demanddue to the lockdown.

What is grabbing eyeballs though,is the idea of digital gifting. The quiteand isolated birthdays and anniver-saries can upsetting if it is a mile stonenumber lije the 16th birthday or even25th wedding anniversary. The goinggets tougher, if the loved one is awayfrom home in another city. Thethought of getting no gifts can add tothe quarantine blues. While physicalgifts is a big no-no, it doesn’t mean nogifts at all.

To beat the quarantine blues,Ferns N Petals has introduced digitalgifting options like guitarist on videocall, personalised video message andpersonalised e-story books. The tech-nology enabled gifting options aredesigned to make not just birthdaysand anniversaries, but everyday of theirloved ones more special and memo-rable while practicing social distanc-ing.

Pawan Gadia, CEO, online andretail, Ferns N Petals, India, UAE &Singapore, tells you that the concept isnew but it already has many takers. “Atpresent, we all are in midst of anunprecedented crisis and staying athome is the only way to flatten thecurve. In order to spread positiv-ity in the current situation, thenewly launched digital giftingoptions is a great way to cheer upand gift happiness to your lovedones even when they are milesapart. Though, it has been only amonth since we have launched it, butpeople are already loving it. Requestsare pouring in from almost every cityfor these digital gifts,” he says.

Music, he says, is a magical rem-edy to fight tough times with ease andthat is the reason the digital giftingoptions are enabled with melodiousmusic of customer’s choice. As a brandit is an initiative to keep gifting aliveand engage our customers with inno-vative heart whelming gifting ideas in

quarantine.The most loved of them all is the

guitarist on video call. One can sim-ply book an musical evening for 10 ton30 minutes with the songs of theirchoice. The guitarist or someone fromthe team will video call you and the onefor whom the gift is meant for and you

are all set to hear themelodies that will instant-ly touch your heart. It is

not just the music that will keep youengaged, but the guitarist too who willput in all the extra efforts to make theday just as special — be it wishing youfirst and foremost or even asking youto sing along or just having a casual chitchat all through the call. The experi-ence will be extremely personalised.

“The plan is to get going with thedigital gifting options even after thelockdown is lifted, with some advance-ments,” Gadia tells you. The cost of

these gifts starts from �500.Another brand that went a step

ahead and came up with a similar ini-tiative to cope with the current timesis Rapid Delivery, a courier deliverycompany. The company has come upwith an ecommerce site for deliveringessentials when the courier market isfeeling the heat of the moment.

“We are the first courier companyto start an ecommerce website fordelivering essentials, mainly because wealready have the workforce, theprocesses and systems required andwanted to utilise our capacities in a lotof areas, which were not receivingessential products due to the lockdown.We realised the need for the deliveryof the COVID-19 gear to all medicalpractitioners as well as citizens. As acourier company we wanted to lever-age our strengths in this time of crisis.So we decided to launchessential.rapidd.co as a brand underour existing brand. We launched thiswebsite on April 14, 2020,” AaqylChagla, director of Rapid Delivery, tellsyou.

Unlike other major delivery sta-tions, the website has no minimumorder concept. “We decided to go forno minimum order approach to avoidhoarding of essentials. We were clearin our understanding that expectinglarge quantities to be ordered wouldadd to the hoarding of products,thereby leading to shortages and con-sequently, rising prices. OurGovernment has taken the necessarysteps to ensure that there is enoughsupply coming in. Hence we want ourbuyers to order only what they need.Many consumers are complying withthis policy,” he says.

In such time of crisis, even a smallstep feels like a huge help. More so,when certain stocks are running out farand wide, this website is like the silverlining in a grey cloud. “We havereceived good response. We look for-ward to continue this initiative evenafter the lockdown gets lifted. We feelthat people’s trust in our brand due tothe quality of products and timelydelivery are two factors that will playa key role in gaining consumer loyal-ty in future too when everything willcome back to normal, Chagla says andtells you that the company will keep onadding an extensive variety of productsso that there is something for everyoneeven during the hardest of times.

�How did your acting journey begin?I had just completed Class X and

at a function Asha Parekh had comeas a chief guest. Her manager was thereand got talking and suddenly said I

wanted to be an actor. At the functionI had a Kathak dance and was told that

pans would be made for a film keep-ing in mind me and my performance.

I graduated in dance but never went tocollege. I auditioned and got my first film.

� Was acting never on the radar then?I was not the kind of person who was

spotted at a coffee shop. I hung aroundthose enough but never got noticed. I hadto get a portfolio done and started giv-ing it out. I got rejected a lot. Then came1920. I went to meet the team who saidI didn’t fit the look but still gave the audi-tion which they liked and hence cameon board.� What is the best and worst part ofbeing an actor?

The best part is that I get to play allthese characters. The worst is proba-

bly the uncertainty — when onewould get the first movie. One

can’t make any mistakes sinceyou are not from the industryand you get only one chance.I knew that I had only oneshot with my first project andhad to give a performance asif it was not my first film.� You have been in the

industry for over a decadenow. How has it treated you till

now?I would say I have been in the

industry for a century. I have beenthere since 1920 (laughs). I made a hash-

tag on social media — #100yearso-

fadahsharma. The first thing about thisjourney, I have not aged one bit. Second,it has been an awesome so far. I am try-ing to figure it out as I move along. I havebeen lucky that I met people who trustmy talent. I was fortunate that my firstfilm was a horror because nobodydoubted my acting potential.� You have done varied roles andgenres. Has it been tough to switch?

Actually, the easiest part is to switchfrom one character to another. The toughpart is how to get the next project.Probably, pray. In between projects,hone skills and be ready even if the rolesfar and between. One must be readywhen opportunity comes knocking. In1920, there were 30 action scenes —climbing up the wall and levitating.When Commando came, I was ready. Ihad even been training on my accentbefore I got the role.� How did you come to do BhavanaReddy?

I had just completed a Telugu filmand came back to Mumbai to auditionfor part II for a role of a Haryanvi cop.I got a call after two months and met theteam. I love mimicry and as a joke I didan accent. The next day I was called andwas told that instead of a Haryanvi cop,they would go with a Telugu cop sinceBollywood has not done it before. Theyrewrote the lines and Bhavana Reddy wasborn.�You were there in part II as well. Howdid that happen?

I am fortunate that as a woman Ihave been repeated in a franchise. It hasnow become my franchise. The series isincomplete without Bhavana Reddy. It is

also interesting that a woman has got todo as much action as the male lead andnot be just a damsel in distress. It is alsogreat that I get to bring in humour to therole.� It is an action movie. Indians are nottoo keen on watching them. Were thereany apprehensions?

There is a huge audience for horrorand action. A good film is a good film.Genre doesn’t matter. Action has manytakers. It is just that most action filmshave sub-standard action. But it was dif-ferent with the series.� You are also doing Man to Man.What is it about?

I am excited about the role. It is yourusual rom-com where a man meets awoman, falls in love with her and mar-ries her. Only then he comes to knowthat the woman he married is actually aman. I am the man. It is a lot of fun andpeople will enjoy it.�We find that newer films are findingtheir way into TV. How does that workfor actors like yourself?

It is nice that films are now beingreleased legally instead of piracy. Giventhat we are under a lockdown now, manymore people will get to watch it and enjoyit sitting at home and being safe.

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�How did your musical journey start?I used to sing even when I was in Class VI-VIII. Apart from

my parents nobody knew I could sing well. I come a business classfamily and it was till I was in Cardiff Metropolitan University, UKthat I started singing at open mics. People started coming for showssince they liked my voice. I performing there and realised I couldtake up seriously. I came back to India and decided to take up musicmore seriously and started training in Hindustani classical music. �Why not pursue a career as a Hindustani Classical singer?

I have been training in classical music for the last two years. Ihave always had an ear for music, even when I was teenager, notthat I am master of it. But I understand the subject and work onit. I want to raise the bar of my music and do bigger things in thisfield. The reason why I have not taken up Hindustani classical pro-fessionally is because there isn’t a much feel people market for it.Not that I care for it but I want to establish myself in the Pop space.I have knack for singing such songs. Once I am established, I cando my stuff and people will follow.�Why pursue Sports Management?

I have always been passionate about sport. I used to play forCricket Association of Bengal. I wanted to play the game profes-sionally. But then I went to a hostel and the game took a backseat.I am still passionate about sport. But music and singing is keep-ing me busy at present. I was just not confident that I could singprofessionally.�When did you realise that music was your calling?

Music has become thing now in India. Back then making acareer in music was not so easy. The confidence came much later.It was in the UK that I decided to get into the English scene sinceI used to sing English songs. So, yes, the confidence came in theUK.�I understand that you are mentoring with Kumar Mukherjee.What are you learning?

He is my mentor and have been training with him since 2018in classical music. He teaches me ragas and paltas. He is from theKasur Patiala Gharana. The gharana is about training in music ina manner where one can use the vocals in any genre of music. Iam able to sing all kinds of genres due to the exercises he is giv-ing me. I train for seven-eight hours a day. Of course, not at a stretch.�Do you still perform with your band — The BombayGramophone Company?

Yes, I do. I recently performed in Kolkata but due toCoronavirus it didn’t have large gathering. I started my career fromstage with four friends. My band is very Kolkata-oriented but I want-ed to explore my music and wanted to do different things. I want-ed to do my kind of stuff.�Is it tough to make a place for yourself in the independent space?

It has been. When we formed the band, we became popularwithin a year. But when it came to indie space it was different. Buttime has been on my side. People started noticing me and knowmy name now. I can compose but writing songs is a challenge sinceI have never written it.�How did you tie-up with Zee Music Company?

I tied-up up a project — Yaadein — and it had done very well.It garnered a million views and has been growing. My initial planwas to work with Sony but then Zee came and happy working withthem. I have not tied-up with them but we have an understand-ing — my next single will be released through them. �Any Bollywood plans?

Initially, when I came to Mumbai I wanted to playback. But Igot a feedback that I needed to do my stuff since I have a good voiceand Bollywood would notice me automatically. If I get a chance,I would take it up. I am waiting for my time. I would love to do asong like Abhi mujh me kahin by Sonu Nigam I would take up ina jiffy. I look up to him. He is a beautiful singer.�What next?

I am working on another English song. Billboard had taken itup and put it on upcoming artists. I wanted to be on the main list.But I don’t have a list of many songs. If I had that I would be some-where on the main list. Once the lockdown opens, I will shoot thesong. I want to do more English songs and work with internationalmarket.�Is there scope of English songs in India?

Millennials are growing and their vison is international. Whathappens in the US comes to India 10 years down the line like rap.Now everyone is rapping. I look up to John Meyers and see myselfand want to make music of that level. I see English music grow-ing in India.

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With everyone’s life goinghaywire this past month,

your pet has been affectedtoo. Here are some problematicbehaviour issues that maydevelop as a result of your dogbeing cooped up with you athome.

Attention seeking:Staying home means a lotmore attention for your dog.You’re bored, there’s less workfor you so more play-time forman’s best friend. While thelockdown is a great opportu-nity us all to reconnect withour pets, I suggest you don’tgive in to everything your dogasks for. He may ask for some-thing by barking, pawing youor it might even start of withjust a look. You know thosepuppy eyes are irresistible,don’t you? Ensure that you are

always the one initiating gamesand deciding when you’regoing to pet him. What startsoff as something reallyadorable like nudging you toget a pat on the head can turninto extremely annoyingbehaviour like barking whenhe wants it.

Fear of going out: If yourdog is already fearful of theoutside world (noises, peoplescare him), you may havenoticed he would have takentime to get used to outsidewalks in the first place. Withthis change of fewer peoplebeing out and outings kept toa minimum. It would onceagain be a task to get him to becomfortable going out oncethings are back to normal.You can't really prevent this,but what you can do is build

his confidence in you and thatwould help him overcomethose barriers faster.

Toilet training gone bad:Lots of toilet training faux pasare being seen during lock-

down. Some of your pets mightbe soiling the carpet, due toanxiety or tension that theymight be picking up aroundthe house. Some might beconfused if they’re not allowedout of the house anymore andare suddenly expected to pee inthe bathroom or on a puppytraining mat, which they aren'tused to. Some pets may not beused to relieving themselves inthe building compound, andprefer to go outside. To preventmore issues, consistency iskey. Try to stick to the sametimings that you used to takethem out. When they do pee inthe correct place, please rewardwith a lot of praise. You caneven start training them to peeon command. Say the com-mand ‘hurry up’ just as theystart bending or lifting up

their leg to go. Once they startassociating the command withthe action, toilet training ismade much easier on com-mand.

Separation anxiety: Allthis quality time with your petmight lead to an unhealthyrelationship between you two,which can cause trouble lateron. Ensure that you spendsome time in another roomevery single day, so that hestays in the habit of being byhimself. You can make beingalone more fun for him by giv-ing him a chewy, a bone or aninteractive toy stuffed withfood. That way when youleave, he looks forward to itinstead of getting worriedabout it.

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