ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full...

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A s the country on Monday entered the “lockdown-4 phase”, State Governments largely reactivated economic activities, including markets, saloons, private taxis, autos, even inter-State movement of passenger buses and vehicles. But malls, metro rails, domes- tic and international flights, colleges, schools, religious political gathering remained in the prohibited list. Different States have given leeway to economic activities in the green and orange zones and narrowed down their enforce- ment of lockdown guidelines to only containment zones. Some States, like Karnataka and West Bengal, have permitted open- ing of salons and barber’s shops where close contacts with the customers is possible. In con- trast Delhi has not allowed bar- ber shops, spas and salons to open yet. Telangana too has allowed salons to open and permitted bus services within the State. Walmart-owned Flipkart said it is awaiting advisories from different States for resum- ing full services, including in red zones, a day after Home Ministry’s guidelines on lock- down 4.0 were released. Parks and sports complex- es will be open with the norms of “social distancing” but step- ping out of homes between 7 pm and 7 am, except for essen- tial services will be prohibited. Taxis and cabs will be allowed but only 2 passengers at a time in a car. The Government and private offices too were allowed to work with restricted staff. Centre has allowed States for inter-State passenger bus and vehicle bus services with the mutual consent. The move will greatly ease public trans- portation and is likely to come to immediate help mitigate the plight of migrant labour on the roads due to the nation-wide lockdown entering 54th day. The night curfew, between 7 pm and 7 am, will continue in all zones. Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, except for the running of can- teens in bus depots, railway sta- tions and airports, will not be allowed. Maharashtra, the worst affected State in the country and particularly its Capital Mumbai with nearly 20 per cent of coronavirus cases in the country, will not experience relaxations in major part of the city. Saying Mumbai is still a Covid-19 red zone, authorities have not eased restrictions and warned people about strong action against violators in the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown. Taking a rather relaxed view of coronavirus situation, Karnataka has allowed major concessions for re-starting eco- nomic activities. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, however, said people from four States — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — will not be allowed entry into the State till May 31. I n the wake of huge move- ment of migrants from across the States, the Indian Council of Medical Council (ICMR) on Monday revised its testing strategy mandating all patients of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) to be tested for the Covid-19 regardless of travel or contact history. Frontline workers involved in containment and mitigation of Covid-19 will also be tested. This comes even as the Government has maintained that there is no community transmission in the country. Testing has been one of the concerns in India’s manage- ment of the Covid-19. Many experts have said India’s testing strategy is too restrictive. According to new strategy, no emergency procedure (including deliveries) should be delayed for the lack of test. But the sample can be sent for test- ing simultaneously if the per- son showed symptoms pre- scribed in the guideline. Beside the earlier cate- gories of individuals fitting the testing criteria, the ICMR said asymptomatic direct and high- risk contacts of confirmed cases be tested once between day 5 and day 10 of coming into contact. “All hospitalised patients who develop ILI (influenza like illness) symptoms, symp- tomatic individuals with his- tory of international travel in the last 14 days, symptomatic contacts of laboratory con- firmed cases, symptomatic healthcare workers, patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), symptomatic ILI within hotspots and con- tainment zones to be tested for the Covid-19,” the ICMR said. ILI case is defined as one with acute respiratory infection with 38 degree Celsius fever or more than that and cough. SARI patients are those with acute respiratory infection and 38 degree Celsius fever or more and requiring hospitali- sation. I ndia crossed a dubious mile- stone in the spread of coro- na cases on Monday when its overall count crossed 1,00,000 cases with 3,155 deaths as the deadly virus continued to spread across the country with alarming speed. With around 4,641 new cases, the country ‘s total stood at 1,00,340 cases. New cases were still coming in from different states and the overall coutn could go up. According to the data from the States, the highest number of confirmed cases in the coun- try are from Maharashtra at 35,086, Gujarat at 11,746, Delhi at 10,054, Rajasthan at 5,505, Madhya Pradesh at 5,326 and Uttar Pradesh at 4,605. Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu were the two top contributors of new cases on Monday. They were followed by Gujarat, , Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in that order. Maharashtra reported 2,033 cases and 51 deaths tak- ing its overall tally to 35,086. They were followed by Tamil Nadu which chipped in with 536 cases and three more death, taking its overall count to 11,760 and 82 deaths. Madhya Pradesh reported 259 new cases and 4 death to take its overall count to 5,236 and 252 deaths. Uttar Pradesh recorded 141 new cases and no death, while West Bengal reported 149 new cases and 6 deaths. Even as India crossed 1 lakh mark on the first day of the Lockdown 4 on Monday, the Government found solace in the fact that at 7.1 cases per lakh, the Coronavirus ratio is lowest in world. “In terms of confirmed cases per lakh population, India has so far about 7.1 cases per lakh population vis a vis approx 60 cases per lakh population for the world as a whole,” said an official from the Union Health Ministry. T he equity market tanked on Monday sending clear sig- nal about the participants’ dis- appointment over the stimulus package announced by the Government even as global investment firm Goldman Sachs saw India slipping into a major recession. The market fell for the third consecutive day, each day responding to the separate tranches of stimulus announced by the Finance Minister. Benchmark Sensex crashed 1,069 points tracking massive selloffs in banking and auto stocks. The 30-share BSE index ended at 30,028.98, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 313.60 points to 8,823.25. IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, cracking around 10 per cent, followed by HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement. On the other hand, TCS, Infosys, ITC and HCL closed with gains. Traders and investors remained on edge as the Home Ministry extended the lock- down for another two weeks till May 31 to contain the spread of coronavirus, said Narendra Solanki, Head Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi. The relief package announcements appeared falling short of meeting market expectations on any demand side reforms, triggering an intense selloff in the domestic market, he noted. The Government, in its first four tranches of the stim- ulus package, focussed on cred- it line to small businesses and new fund creations to be shoul- dered by banks and financial institutions with very little extra budget spending. In the last set of measures, the Centre on Sunday announced plans to privatise PSUs in non-strategic sectors and suspend loan default-trig- gered bankruptcy filings for one year, and also gave a Rs 40,000-crore hike in allocation for the rural employment guar- antee scheme to provide jobs to migrant workers. A s the migrant workers issue has taken a political turn between the Congress and the B J P, the Uttar Pradesh Government has accepted Congress national general sec- retary Priyanka Gandhi’s offer to provide 1,000 buses to trans- port migrant workers. UP Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi said the Government has accepted the Congress pro- posal and asked them to fur- nish details of 1,000 buses. Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’ claimed to have handed over the list of buses they had provided on the bor- ders to ferry the migrant work- ers. But taking a jibe at the Congress, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked Priyanka Gandhi why migrant workers from Congress-ruled States were sent in trucks if the Congress-ruled States had so many buses. Yogi’s tweets were in response to an emotional tweet from Priyanka Gandhi where she had asked the UP Government to allow entry of 1,000 buses which the Congress had arranged to ferry migrant workers to their native districts. D elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the first day of lockdown 4.0 on Monday emphasised on the importance of gradual revival of econom- ic activities with certain relax- ation and a few restrictions amid corona in the national Capital which saw 1,0054 pos- itive cases. The CM announced open- ing of shops in markets on an odd-even basis and running of buses with only 20 passengers, but said Metro services, schools, colleges, cinema halls and saloons will remain closed. Addressing an online media briefing here, Kejriwal said, “We have to gradually move towards opening the economy. We used the lock- down period to make arrangements to deal with Covid-19.” People boarding buses in the city will have to be screened first, he said, adding that four- wheeler vehicles, including taxis, will be allowed with only two passengers. O n the day one of lockdown 4.0, heavy vehicular traffic was witnessed on Monday at the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Noida borders. There were long queues of vehicles at Delhi-Noida border on Monday morning. The Delhi Traffic Police advised people to avoid cross- ing border via Kalindi Kundi and DND without an e-pass as the Uttar Pradesh Police was allowing vehicles only with movement pass. Noida: Thirty-one people test- ed positive for Covid-19 in UP’s Gautam Buddh Nagar on Monday, pushing the total cases to 286 in the district. Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has suspended operations at Noida factory after its six workers were found infected by Covid. H aryana on Monday report- ed 18 more Covid cases and discharged 36 patients from hospitals even as the State' s cumulative Covid tally reached 928, of which 316 cases are active. Haryana has so far report- ed 14 corona virus-related deaths. On Monday, 36 patients have recovered from various hospitals of the State over the last 24 hours. This has increased the recovery rate. Now the state's recovery rate has reached 64.44 percent. Gurugram on Monday reported seven more coron- avirus cases in different areas, adding to the concerns of dis- trict authorities since some cases were reported from new areas. In Gurugram, a total of 211 cases have been reported till date, including 97 active cases admitted in different city hospitals. As many as 114 patients have been cured and discharged. As many as 33 per- sons are under observation of health officials in different quarantine facilities. The Gurugram district adminis- tration has so far drawn 10,007 samples, of which 9,533 tested negative. Reports of 263 sam- ples are still awaited. Gurugram district currently have 35 con- tainment zones, including 34 in Gurugram block. As many as 36 patients walked out of hospital from dif- ferent districts of the State on Monday. So far, 598 patients have been cured and dis- charged from hospitals in Haryana, including the 14 Italian nationals. The majority of the new cases are from NCR districts –Gurugram, Sonepat and Faridabad. The worst affected districts of the State with max- imum number of positive cases are Gurugram (211), Faridabad (150), Sonepat (137), Jhajjar (90), Nuh (65), Ambala (42) and Palwal (39), Panipat (36). According to officials, a total of 36 Covid patients were discharged from various dis- tricts including 18 in Sonepat, 10 in Gurugram, two each in Nuh and Rohtak and four in Mahendragarh. According to the State Government’s health bulletin, 18 fresh cases were reported from Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat, Karnal, Mahendragarh and Hisar. Faridabad district that had so far reported 147 cases a day ago, has added three more now, taking the tally to 150. Sonepat reported three more cases, taking the tally to 137. Karnal reported one more case, taking the tally to 19. Mahendragarh reported one more case, taking the tally to 8. Three more cases report- ed in Hisar, taking the tally to 7. Continued on Page 2 H aryana would allow intra and interstate bus service from Tuesday, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Monday. As the fourth phase of nationwide lockdown due to the global pandemic Covid-19 has been implemented and the scope of relaxations, allowed during lockdown 3, has further been widened in accordance with MHA guidelines, Khattar said in a statement. He said the restrictions will continue especially in the containment zone. Apart from this the areas other than the containment zone will be con- sidered as orange zone and all non-restricted activities will resume in such areas. The Chief Minister said that in a review meeting mea- sures to be taken for smooth power supply during summer season were discussed, adding that work regarding issuance of tubewell connections had been started and around 1,000 new tubewells with five-star motors have been installed while the remaining such 4,000 tube- wells will be installed till June 30. He said that complaints regarding inflated domestic electricity bills will also be taken up and the discrepancies will be corrected. Those who have complaints regarding their domestic electricity bills can lodge their complaints at toll- free number 1912. The Chief Minister further added that if someone has already made the payment for inflated bills then they need not worry as the amount will be adjusted in the next bill. Khattar said works under MGNREGA will be encour- aged by the State Government for providing employment to workers in rural areas in the state, pointing out that Haryana is the first State in the country to give 309 per day as MGN- REGA wages and during this period of the Covid-19 crisis, emphasis will be given to pro- vide work opportunities to more people by increasing the works under the MGNREGA in the coming days.

Transcript of ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full...

Page 1: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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As the country on Mondayentered the “lockdown-4

phase”, State Governmentslargely reactivated economicactivities, including markets,saloons, private taxis, autos,even inter-State movement ofpassenger buses and vehicles.But malls, metro rails, domes-tic and international flights,colleges, schools, religiouspolitical gathering remained inthe prohibited list.

Different States have givenleeway to economic activities inthe green and orange zones andnarrowed down their enforce-ment of lockdown guidelines toonly containment zones. SomeStates, like Karnataka and WestBengal, have permitted open-ing of salons and barber’s shopswhere close contacts with thecustomers is possible. In con-trast Delhi has not allowed bar-ber shops, spas and salons toopen yet.

Telangana too has allowedsalons to open and permittedbus services within the State.

Walmart-owned Flipkartsaid it is awaiting advisoriesfrom different States for resum-ing full services, including inred zones, a day after HomeMinistry’s guidelines on lock-down 4.0 were released.

Parks and sports complex-es will be open with the normsof “social distancing” but step-ping out of homes between 7pm and 7 am, except for essen-tial services will be prohibited.Taxis and cabs will be allowedbut only 2 passengers at a time

in a car. The Government andprivate offices too were allowedto work with restricted staff.

Centre has allowed Statesfor inter-State passenger busand vehicle bus services withthe mutual consent. The movewill greatly ease public trans-portation and is likely to cometo immediate help mitigate theplight of migrant labour on theroads due to the nation-widelockdown entering 54th day.

The night curfew, between7 pm and 7 am, will continuein all zones. Hotels, restaurantsand other hospitality services,except for the running of can-teens in bus depots, railway sta-tions and airports, will not beallowed.

Maharashtra, the worstaffected State in the countryand particularly its CapitalMumbai with nearly 20 percent of coronavirus cases in thecountry, will not experiencerelaxations in major part of thecity. Saying Mumbai is still aCovid-19 red zone, authoritieshave not eased restrictions andwarned people about strongaction against violators in thefourth phase of the nationwidelockdown.

Taking a rather relaxedview of coronavirus situation,Karnataka has allowed majorconcessions for re-starting eco-nomic activities. Chief MinisterBS Yediyurappa, however, saidpeople from four States —Maharashtra, Gujarat, TamilNadu and Kerala — will not beallowed entry into the State tillMay 31.

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In the wake of huge move-ment of migrants from across

the States, the Indian Councilof Medical Council (ICMR) onMonday revised its testingstrategy mandating all patientsof severe acute respiratoryinfection (SARI) to be testedfor the Covid-19 regardless oftravel or contact history.Frontline workers involved incontainment and mitigationof Covid-19 will also be tested.

This comes even as theGovernment has maintainedthat there is no communitytransmission in the country.

Testing has been one of theconcerns in India’s manage-ment of the Covid-19. Manyexperts have said India’s testingstrategy is too restrictive.

According to new strategy,no emergency procedure(including deliveries) should bedelayed for the lack of test. Butthe sample can be sent for test-ing simultaneously if the per-son showed symptoms pre-scribed in the guideline.

Beside the earlier cate-gories of individuals fitting thetesting criteria, the ICMR said

asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of confirmedcases be tested once betweenday 5 and day 10 of cominginto contact.

“All hospitalised patientswho develop ILI (influenzalike illness) symptoms, symp-tomatic individuals with his-tory of international travel inthe last 14 days, symptomaticcontacts of laboratory con-firmed cases, symptomatichealthcare workers, patients ofSevere Acute RespiratoryInfection (SARI), symptomaticILI within hotspots and con-tainment zones to be tested forthe Covid-19,” the ICMR said.

ILI case is defined as onewith acute respiratory infectionwith 38 degree Celsius fever ormore than that and cough.SARI patients are those withacute respiratory infection and38 degree Celsius fever or more and requiring hospitali-sation.

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India crossed a dubious mile-stone in the spread of coro-

na cases on Monday when itsoverall count crossed 1,00,000cases with 3,155 deaths as thedeadly virus continued tospread across the country withalarming speed. With around4,641 new cases, the country ‘stotal stood at 1,00,340 cases.New cases were still coming infrom different states and theoverall coutn could go up.

According to the data fromthe States, the highest numberof confirmed cases in the coun-try are from Maharashtra at35,086, Gujarat at 11,746,Delhi at 10,054, Rajasthan at5,505, Madhya Pradesh at 5,326and Uttar Pradesh at 4,605.

Maharashtra followed byTamil Nadu were the two topcontributors of new cases onMonday.

They were followed byGujarat, , Madhya Pradesh,Delhi, Rajasthan, UttarPradesh, West Bengal, Bihar,Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

in that order. Maharashtra reported

2,033 cases and 51 deaths tak-ing its overall tally to 35,086.They were followed by TamilNadu which chipped in with536 cases and three more death,taking its overall count to11,760 and 82 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh reported259 new cases and 4 death totake its overall count to 5,236and 252 deaths. Uttar Pradeshrecorded 141 new cases and nodeath, while West Bengalreported 149 new cases and 6

deaths.Even as India crossed 1

lakh mark on the first day ofthe Lockdown 4 on Monday,the Government found solacein the fact that at 7.1 cases perlakh, the Coronavirus ratio islowest in world.

“In terms of confirmedcases per lakh population, Indiahas so far about 7.1 cases perlakh population vis a vis approx60 cases per lakh population forthe world as a whole,” said anofficial from the Union HealthMinistry.

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The equity market tanked onMonday sending clear sig-

nal about the participants’ dis-appointment over the stimuluspackage announced by theGovernment even as globalinvestment firm GoldmanSachs saw India slipping into amajor recession. The marketfell for the third consecutiveday, each day responding to theseparate tranches of stimulusannounced by the FinanceMinister.

Benchmark Sensex crashed1,069 points tracking massiveselloffs in banking and autostocks. The 30-share BSE indexended at 30,028.98, while thebroader NSE Nifty plunged313.60 points to 8,823.25.

IndusInd Bank was the

top laggard in the Sensex pack,cracking around 10 per cent,followed by HDFC, MarutiSuzuki, Axis Bank andUltraTech Cement. On theother hand, TCS, Infosys, ITCand HCL closed with gains.

Traders and investorsremained on edge as the HomeMinistry extended the lock-down for another two weeks till

May 31 to contain the spreadof coronavirus, said NarendraSolanki, Head Equity Research(Fundamental), Anand Rathi.

The relief packageannouncements appearedfalling short of meeting marketexpectations on any demandside reforms, triggering anintense selloff in the domesticmarket, he noted.

The Government, in itsfirst four tranches of the stim-ulus package, focussed on cred-it line to small businesses andnew fund creations to be shoul-dered by banks and financialinstitutions with very littleextra budget spending.

In the last set of measures,the Centre on Sundayannounced plans to privatisePSUs in non-strategic sectorsand suspend loan default-trig-gered bankruptcy filings forone year, and also gave a Rs40,000-crore hike in allocationfor the rural employment guar-antee scheme to provide jobs tomigrant workers.

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As the migrant workers issuehas taken a political turn

between the Congress and theBJP, the Uttar PradeshGovernment has acceptedCongress national general sec-retary Priyanka Gandhi’s offerto provide 1,000 buses to trans-port migrant workers.

UP Additional ChiefSecretary Awanish Awasthisaid the Government hasaccepted the Congress pro-posal and asked them to fur-nish details of 1,000 buses.Congress president AjayKumar ‘Lallu’ claimed to havehanded over the list of busesthey had provided on the bor-ders to ferry the migrant work-ers.

But taking a jibe at theCongress, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has asked PriyankaGandhi why migrant workers

from Congress-ruled Stateswere sent in trucks if theCongress-ruled States had somany buses.

Yogi’s tweets were inresponse to an emotional tweetfrom Priyanka Gandhi whereshe had asked the UPGovernment to allow entry of1,000 buses which the Congresshad arranged to ferry migrantworkers to their native districts.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on the first day of

lockdown 4.0 on Mondayemphasised on the importanceof gradual revival of econom-ic activities with certain relax-ation and a few restrictionsamid corona in the nationalCapital which saw 1,0054 pos-itive cases.

The CM announced open-ing of shops in markets on anodd-even basis and running ofbuses with only 20 passengers,but said Metro services,

schools, colleges, cinema hallsand saloons will remain closed.

Addressing an onlinemedia briefing here, Kejriwalsaid, “We have to graduallymove towards opening theeconomy. We used the lock-down period to make arrangements to deal withCovid-19.”

People boarding buses inthe city will have to be screenedfirst, he said, adding that four-wheeler vehicles, includingtaxis, will be allowed with onlytwo passengers.

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On the day one of lockdown4.0, heavy vehicular traffic

was witnessed on Monday atthe Delhi-Gurugram andDelhi-Noida borders. Therewere long queues of vehicles atDelhi-Noida border onMonday morning.

The Delhi Traffic Policeadvised people to avoid cross-ing border via Kalindi Kundiand DND without an e-pass asthe Uttar Pradesh Police wasallowing vehicles only withmovement pass.

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Noida: Thirty-one people test-ed positive for Covid-19 in UP’sGautam Buddh Nagar onMonday, pushing the total casesto 286 in the district. Chinesesmartphone maker Oppo hassuspended operations at Noidafactory after its six workerswere found infected by Covid.

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Haryana on Monday report-ed 18 more Covid cases

and discharged 36 patientsfrom hospitals even as theState' s cumulative Covid tallyreached 928, of which 316cases are active.

Haryana has so far report-ed 14 corona virus-relateddeaths. On Monday, 36 patientshave recovered from varioushospitals of the State over thelast 24 hours. This hasincreased the recovery rate.Now the state's recovery ratehas reached 64.44 percent.

Gurugram on Mondayreported seven more coron-avirus cases in different areas,adding to the concerns of dis-trict authorities since somecases were reported from newareas. In Gurugram, a total of211 cases have been reportedtill date, including 97 activecases admitted in different cityhospitals. As many as 114

patients have been cured anddischarged. As many as 33 per-sons are under observation ofhealth officials in differentquarantine facilities. TheGurugram district adminis-tration has so far drawn 10,007samples, of which 9,533 testednegative. Reports of 263 sam-ples are still awaited. Gurugramdistrict currently have 35 con-tainment zones, including 34 inGurugram block.

As many as 36 patientswalked out of hospital from dif-ferent districts of the State onMonday. So far, 598 patientshave been cured and dis-charged from hospitals inHaryana, including the 14Italian nationals.

The majority of the newcases are from NCR districts–Gurugram, Sonepat andFaridabad. The worst affecteddistricts of the State with max-imum number of positive casesare Gurugram (211), Faridabad(150), Sonepat (137), Jhajjar

(90), Nuh (65), Ambala (42)and Palwal (39), Panipat (36).

According to officials, atotal of 36 Covid patients weredischarged from various dis-tricts including 18 in Sonepat,10 in Gurugram, two each inNuh and Rohtak and four inMahendragarh.

According to the StateGovernment’s health bulletin,18 fresh cases were reportedfrom Gurugram, Faridabad,Sonepat, Karnal,Mahendragarh and Hisar.

Faridabad district that hadso far reported 147 cases a dayago, has added three morenow, taking the tally to 150.Sonepat reported three morecases, taking the tally to 137.Karnal reported one more case,taking the tally to 19.

Mahendragarh reportedone more case, taking the tallyto 8. Three more cases report-ed in Hisar, taking the tally to7.

Continued on Page 2

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Haryana would allow intraand interstate bus service

from Tuesday, Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar said onMonday.

As the fourth phase ofnationwide lockdown due tothe global pandemic Covid-19has been implemented and thescope of relaxations, allowedduring lockdown 3, has furtherbeen widened in accordancewith MHA guidelines, Khattarsaid in a statement.

He said the restrictionswill continue especially in thecontainment zone. Apart fromthis the areas other than thecontainment zone will be con-sidered as orange zone and allnon-restricted activities willresume in such areas.

The Chief Minister saidthat in a review meeting mea-sures to be taken for smoothpower supply during summer

season were discussed, addingthat work regarding issuance oftubewell connections had beenstarted and around 1,000 newtubewells with five-star motorshave been installed while theremaining such 4,000 tube-wells will be installed till June30.

He said that complaintsregarding inflated domestic

electricity bills will also betaken up and the discrepancieswill be corrected. Those whohave complaints regarding theirdomestic electricity bills canlodge their complaints at toll-free number 1912. The ChiefMinister further added that ifsomeone has already made thepayment for inflated bills thenthey need not worry as theamount will be adjusted in thenext bill.

Khattar said works underMGNREGA will be encour-aged by the State Governmentfor providing employment toworkers in rural areas in thestate, pointing out that Haryanais the first State in the countryto give �309 per day as MGN-REGA wages and during thisperiod of the Covid-19 crisis,emphasis will be given to pro-vide work opportunities tomore people by increasing theworks under the MGNREGAin the coming days.

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Punjab on Monday launcheda special, people-friendly

‘RTI Helpline”, paving way toget prompt answers to theirRTI related queries with a sim-ple phone call.

With a dedicated number(+91 172 2864100), the newhelpline will make the RTIAct implementation moreeffective by expeditiouslyaddressing the growing num-ber of RTI queries and clarify-ing all doubts in the minds ofthe citizens.

Describing the initiativeas another step in hisGovernment’s concerted effortsto promote transparency infunctioning and governanceat every level, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh, during the launch, saidthat the helpline would enablethe people to take full advan-tage of their fundamental rightto free speech and expression,unequivocally guaranteed inArticle 19(1)(a) of India’sConstitution.

Launched from the PunjabState Information Commission(PSIC) premises, in pursuanceof the advisories issued by theGovernment of India, Ministryof Personnel, Public Grievancesand Pensions, Department ofPersonnel and Training(DoPT), the helpline will be

accessible to all citizens, includ-ing government officials rep-resenting public authorities,from 10 am to 4 pm on allworking days (Monday toFriday).

“Punjab State InformationCommission, which exclusive-ly deals with RTI matters in thestate, has been receivingincreasing numbers of queriesand inquiries from citizensregarding the RTI Act.

It has generally beenobserved that a large section ofpeople, who wish to seekinformation under the Act,are not adequately conversantwith the provisions and procedures to secure suchinformation,” said thespokesperson.

Those seeking informa-tion, including in matters per-taining to the ‘life and liberty’of citizens, are located acrossPunjab, the state capitalChandigarh and the rest of thecountry, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), saidthe spokesperson, explainingthe rationale behind the launchof the helpline service.

PUNJAB LAUNCHESTELEMEDICINE VENTURE

Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday launched a telemedi-cine programme as part ofgroundbreaking partnership

forged between ChristianMedical College (CMC),Ludhiana, and IMASHealthcare Private Limited(IMAS) — the official facilita-tor of physician-to-physicianvideo consultations forCleveland Clinic (USA) inIndia on a host of medicalproblems, including Covid-19.

Cleveland Clinic is aninternationally recognized andtrusted 6,026-bed adult andpaediatric health system thatincludes a 165-acre main cam-pus in Cleveland, Ohio, with 18hospitals and more than 220outpatient facilities.

Some of the areas oftelemedicine services throughthis initiative would includeCancer, Cardiology, Neurology,Endocrinology, Pulmonologyand general medicine.

Lauding the contributionof CMC Ludhiana in the northwestern region over the past125 years, Capt Amarindersaid, during the launch videoconference, that he was confi-dent that the people of Punjabwould benefit immensely fromthe venture.

He expressed pride thatCMC, under the leadership ofits Director Dr William Bhatti,will be the first academic insti-tution to partner with IMAS forthe Cleveland Clinic videoconsultations in India.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Monday

launched 'One Nation OneRation' card scheme under theInterstate Portability Scheme ofDepartment of Food, CivilSupplies and Consumer Affairsfor all migrant labourers here.

He said this would help theconsumers to take ration fromany fair price shop in the coun-try, adding that this would bedone through NationalPortability Scheme of RationCard.

He said that it would ben-efit about 67 crore people of the

country and lakhs of people ofthe State.

Thakur said that CentralGovernment has decided toprovide free food grain for twomonths to about eight croremigrant labourers of the coun-try and those labourers who donot have ration card would alsobe provided free five kilogramwheat or rice per person andone kilogram pulse per month.

The CM said 2864.46tonne food grains have beenallocated to Himachal Pradeshunder this scheme whichwould go a long way in facili-tating the State Government to

provide this ration to the tar-geted groups at the earliest.

THAKUR MEETS INDUS-TRIAL ASSOCIATIONS

Chief Minister Jai RamThakur said that underMukhya Mantri SwavlambanYojna investment subsidy at 25percent was being provided forprojects having investmentupto �60 lakh for youth and 30percent for projects havinginvestments upto �60 lakh forwomen entrepreneurs.

He said that five percentinterest subsidy would also beprovided for a period of threeyears.

Presiding over a meetingwith various IndustrialAssociations regarding

roadmap for recovery of indus-trial sector in the wake ofcorona pandemic here, Thakursaid the State Government hasalso deferred demand chargesof power by three months andpower bill payment has beendeferred without late fee byHPSEB.

The CM said that MSMEsector has been badly affecteddue to Covid-19 pandemicand about 95 percent of theindustries in the State fallunder MSME categories.

He said that steps shouldbe taken to derive maximumbenefits of this package torevive these units. He assuredthat all the issues raised by theindustrialists would be con-sidered sympathetically.

CM URGES CENTRE FORALLOTTING BULK DRUGPARK

Chief Minister Jai RamThakur on Monday urged theUnion Minister for Chemicalsand Fertilizers D.V. SadanandaGowda for allotting one BulkDrug Park for the State.

In a letter to the UnionMinister, Chief Minister saidthat Himachal Pradesh hasemerged as an important hubfor manufacturing of bulkdrugs and generic medicinesand captured a major portionof market within the countryand outside.

He said that units locatedin the State have shown greatinterest in establishing a BulkDrug Park in the State prefer-ably in Baddi-Barotiwala areaof Solan district which wasalready a pharma hub.

Thakur said if such BulkDrug Park was allotted forHimachal Pradesh, the Statewould surely emerge as themost prominent hub of pro-duction of APIs and DrugIntermediates in the countrycatering to the needs of drugindustry both nationally andinternationally.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Monday said that the Statewas all set to provide 100 per-cent potable piped water con-nections to all rural householdsby 2022, with a whopping 50percent of these householdsalready covered with individualhousehold water connections.

Capt Amarinder, in a videoconference with Union JalShakti Minister Gajendra SinghShekhawat, said that as of April1, 2020, of the 1634 habitationsin which groundwater wasimpacted, 477 had been pro-vided potable water, and theState was committed to cover-ing all rural households withpiped water supply connectionsby March 2022, in line with thePunjab Government’s targeteven before the conceptualiza-tion of Jal Jiwan Mission by theCentral Government.

To further boost the State’sefforts this direction, the ChiefMinister sought reduction inGST on treatment plans aswell as purification media fromthe current 18 to five percentin order to make the Jal JiwanMission (JJM) schemes sus-tainable in the long run. Hepointed out that media in thewater treatment plans need tobe replaced every two to threeyears.

Capt Amarinder also urgedthe Union Minister to recog-nize the 1449 Kandi belt vil-lages as ‘Hill Area’ to reduce the

beneficiary contribution, from10 to five percent for con-struction under the Jal JiwanMission (JJM).

“It is imperative also for theCentral Government to sup-port the State in availingfinance from NABARD andother multilateral agencies toprovide for the State shareunder JJM,” he said.

The Chief Minister alsourged the Union Ministry totake up with DEA the issue ofmultilateral agencies, current-ly providing financing for waterand sanitation sector, to allowcountry specific procurementpractices (like rate contracts) toexpedite procurement insteadof insisting on their own pro-curement procedures.

On the issue of the Kandibelt villages, the Chief Ministersaid that the state governmenthad been repeatedly raising thesubject with the Centre for thepast two years, but no actionhad yet been taken. These vil-lages are akin to neighbouring

villages of Himachal Pradeshwhich are receiving funding ona 90:10 sharing basis, withbeneficiaries residing thererequired to contribute onlyfive percent towards the cost ofthe scheme, he noted.

The Kandi belt villagesshould also be treated at parwith Drought Prone AreasProgramme (DPAP) andDesert DevelopmentProgramme (DDP) areas tofacilitate beneficiaries, partic-ularly in view of the high costof boring tubewells and con-struction schemes, he added.

Regarding the status ofuniversal coverage of pipedwater supply in Punjab, theChief Minister said as of April1, 2020, 17.48 lakh householdshad been covered. Of theremaining 17,59,542 house-holds, 7.60 lakhs are proposedto be covered in 2020-21, andthe remaining in 2021-22.

In terms of habitations,the state has already covered 92percent of the rural habitationswith piped water supply net-work, and 50 percent ruralhouseholds have been provid-ed with individual householdwater connections, he added.

Underlining the state’s con-sistent focus on service deliv-ery parameters for water sup-ply, the Chief Minister said thatthe norm fixed is 70 litres percapita per day and 10 hourssupply per day. However, thereare many villages where theState has been able to achieve24x7 supply also, he added.

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From Page 1Meanwhile, 10 Covid patients have been discharged in

Gurugram while 18 in Sonepat, two in Nuh, two in Rohtak andFour in Mahendragarh.

2 DEATHS, 16 FRESH CASES IN PUNJAB AS TALLY IS 1,980Two more Covid-19 patients succumbed to the infection in

Punjab, taking the death toll to 37, while 16 fresh cases broughtthe virus count to 1,980 in the state.

A 50-year-old coronavirus positive man died on Monday atKapurthala civil hospital while a 35 year-old Hoshiarpur mansuccumbed to the infection on Sunday night, a health official said.

Among fresh cases reported on Monday, six were inLudhiana; three in Hoshiarpur; two each in Jalandhar andFaridkot; and one each in Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala,as per a medical bulletin. Five of the new cases were foreignreturnees, according to the state health department's bulletin.

As many as 181 patients were discharged from different hos-pitals, taking the total figure of cured people to 1,547, the bul-letin said. There are 396 active Covid-19 cases in Punjab, it added.

Sixty-two patients recovered from the infection in Tarn Taran,36 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 26 in Sangrur and 24 in Rupnagar.Amritsar continued to lead the Covid-19 tally in the state with305 cases, followed by 209 in Jalandhar, 155 in Tarn Taran, 150in Ludhiana, 123 in Gurdaspur, 105 in SBS Nagar, 102 in Mohali,101 in Patiala, 95 in Hoshiarpur, 88 in Sangrur, 65 in Muktsar,61 each in Moga and Faridkot, 60 in Rupnagar, 56 in FatehgarhSahib, , 44 each in Fazilka and Ferozepur, 41 in Bathinda, 32 inMansa, 33 in Kapurthala, 29 in Pathankot, and 21 in Barnala, itsaid.

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Due to prolonged lockdown,economic activity across

the Tricity, including Chandigarhhas come to standstill and thereare multiple set of challengesbefore the ChandigarhAdministration, the CII said onMonday.

In a statement, S P S Grewal,Chairman of CII ChandigarhUT said the challenges includes–managing the increase in Covidcases, taking care of poor whohave lost their livelihood oppor-tunities, restarting the econom-ic momentum, supporting trade& commerce, etc.

To deal with these chal-lenges, Grewal suggestedChandigarh Administration tocreate a war chest or EconomicStimulus Package to the tune of

�40 billion, which is about 10 percent of Chandigarh’s GDP. Thismay be used in supporting theentire gamut of the economy likeindustries, service sector, poorand the weaker section of thesociety and help those in distressowing to Covid-19 lockdown.

To deal with the livelihoodchallenges being faced by peopleat the bottom of pyramid, Grewalcalled for special incentives com-prising of monetary as well asnon-monetary support to dailywage earners. He said that focusshould be on the sections of thesociety which requires moreattention of the Administration.

Grewal urged theAdministration to consider pro-viding Wage Subsidy to theextent of 50 per cent of mini-mum wages for all registeredworkers for a period of 3 months.

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To alleviate rural distressduring the Covid-19 lock-

down, Punjab had undertakensignificant labour-intensiveworks in its villages to effec-tively leverage the MahatmaGandhi National RuralEmployment GuaranteeScheme (MGNREGS) evenduring the curfew or lock-down.

At the same time, the stateis getting ready to utilize addi-tional allocation to MNREGSto help the rural poor by cre-ating livelihoods and assets.

“The State Governmentplans to undertake a specialdrive this year, to enroll moreworkers and make new jobcards to bring more familiesunder the ambit of the pro-gramme. This initiative isaimed at creating a sustainableresponse to address rural dis-tress arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic,” announced theChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh.

The lockdown worksincluded engagement of twopersons per village as ‘VanMitras’ to nurture 550 saplingsplanted in each by the ForestDepartment to commemoratethe 550th anniversary of GuruNanak Dev. The State

Government, on May 12, alsolaunched a massive villageponds cleaning and rejuvena-tion drive to cover more than15,000 village ponds, which willnot only help alleviate rural dis-tress but also combat Covid-19by enhancing cleanliness andhygiene in villages.

“These unique initiativesare helping to address the ruraldistress caused by Covid-19pandemic by directly transfer-ring wages in the hands of ruralpoor, many of whom arewomen,” said the ChiefMinister, adding that theseprogrammes are in addition toplethora of measures under-taken by the State to secure theinterests of the poor in thesedifficult times.

During 2019-20, anamount of �767 crore wasspent under MNREGS, whichis the highest ever expenditurein the state. With this, a recordtotal of 2.35 crore man-dayswere generated during the year,of which 1.38 crore were forwomen and 1.57 lakh for elder-ly (over 60 years). During theyear, a total of 7.53 lakh house-holds were provided employ-ment and a total of 1.27 lakhnew job cards were made, cov-ering needy families. The StateGovernment has now set a tar-get of 2.50 crore man-days for

FY 2020-21.Regarding new initiatives,

the Chief Minister said thatponds renovation work,launched in mission mode bythe Rural Development andPanchayats Department, is cov-ering all 13,000 villages of thestate for cleanliness and sani-tation of villages, along withgeneration of employmentopportunities for workers.

The Department has iden-tified around 15,000 ponds inthe State, and is targeting dewa-tering and desilting (ifrequired) of all these ponds.

CAPT ASKS PM TO LETMGNREGS WORKERSWORK ON PUNJAB FARMSIN RABI-KHARIF SEASONS2020-21 AS SPECIAL CASE

Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday asked the Centre forletting labour or cardholdersunder Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme (MGN-REGS) work in farm operationsfor both Kharif and Rabi cropsduring 2020-21 in the state, asa special case, in view of themigrant labour shortage.

The Chief Minister haswritten to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, urging him todirect the Union Ministry of

Rural Development to allowPunjab accordingly.

Capt Amarinder suggestedthat the Union Ministry ofRural Development could, inconsultation with the Ministryof Agriculture and FarmersWelfare, designate a specificnumber of man-days per acre(for paddy and wheat) that maybe allowed under MGNREGS.

The Chief Minister saidthat this initiative would helpto mitigate rising labour costsfor farmers on one hand, andpromote rural employment,and most importantly, help inpreserving food security for thenation in the time of thisunprecedented global crisis onthe other.

Pointing out that both theCentre and States are collec-tively engaged in fightingCovid-19 pandemic, CaptAmarinder noted that theCentre has, in its recent eco-nomic stimulus package, hadannounced additional fundsto the tune of �40,000 croreunder MGNREGS.

“Given the rising spread ofthe disease as well as return ofmigrants to their native States,it is well-nigh unlikely thatPunjab will see any majorreturn of migrant farm labourfor the coming Kharif season,”he added.

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Directing the DistrictAdministrations and the

Police to remain on high alertin the wake of lifting of restric-tions, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday directed the TransportDepartment to draft standardoperation procedures (SOPs) forresumption of local bus move-ment in all but the containmentzones, but ruled out inter-Statebus service till May 31.

Terming the danger ofspread as a result of mixing ofpeople with the start of relax-ations as the real test, the ChiefMinister directed all depart-ments to ensure close moni-toring and strict adherence toall advisories.

The Chief Minister, at avideo conference to review theCovid and lockdown situationin the State, asked the PoliceDepartment to be tough inensuring social distancing andother necessary Covid preven-tion protocols and to challanthose stepping out withoutmasks.

Instructions were given tothe Transport Department to

put in place stringent protocolsfor handling daily passengerstravelling on point-to-pointinter-state buses which willstart moving after May 31.

Making it clear that inter-state movement will be allowedonly on special and Shramiktrains “at least till May 31”, theChief Minister said that buseswill be allowed to ply within thestate in a phased manner.

A list of SOPs, includingdaily disinfection of buses, willbe issued before the resumptionof the bus service in the non-containment zones, he added.

Referring to continuedentry of migrants, NRIs andothers via special trains andflights, the Chief Minister reit-erated his earlier directionsfor strict adherence to theirquarantine rules. So far, 60,000Punjabis had registered forreturn to the State, he said,adding that 20,000 NRIs werealso expected to return.

The Chief Minister saidthat while Punjab was willing-ly sending back people, includ-ing migrants, from other states,spending �7.5 lakh per train,other States were not respond-ing in like and were asking his

Government to arrange forferrying Punjabis back fromthere.

As of date, more than twolakh migrants of the 11 lakhwho had registered on the spe-cial portal created by theGovernment had left Punjab,the Chief Minister said. Asmany as 20 trains are leavingPunjab every day, with 15scheduled for Uttar Pradeshand six for Bihar on Monday.

Capt Amarinder said thatwhile more trains were need-ed for Bihar, the State was notwilling to take in people at thisstage as their quarantine facil-ities were full.

On being informed that theState was receiving requestsfrom migrant labour fromother states like UP and Biharto return to Punjab to work inthe fields during paddy season,the Chief Minister directedthe Chief Secretary to work outthe modalities for the samewith the Centre. All such work-ers shall have to be quarantinedin the villages they would beworking in, he said.

Punjab Food and CivilSupplies Minister BharatBhushan Ashu said that his

Department was collating dataof migrants based on registra-

tions made for travel, in linewith the Government of India’s

directions on distribution ofrations.All those coming inare required to upload a cleanhealth chit on COVA app, withchecking being done at the bor-ders on arrival, the ChiefSecretary Karan Avtar Singhsaid.

Health Advisor to PunjabGovernment Dr KK Talwarsaid that analysis showed thatonly one percent of themigrants leaving Punjab wereturning out to be positive,which was much lower than thefigure of those coming back.

“The rate of increase incases and doubling in Punjabstands at one percent and 70days, as compared with thenational average,” he said,adding that a review of the 35deaths, which includes 11 maleand 24 female, showed that

there was only one case with nocomorbidity, while 16 had asingle comorbidity and remain-ing had multiple comorbidconditions, such as hyperten-sion, diabetes, lung infection,obesity etc.

Regarding testing, it wasinformed that in a week’s time,the State would be able toscale up the number from cur-rent 1400 in Government labsto 4650 per day in just threeGovernment medical colleges.In the next 25 days, four morelabs in the State would beready for testing, with addi-tional 1000 per day capacitywhich would be in addition tothe Central Government andprivate testing capacities.

In addition to testing ofinter-state travellers, the HealthDepartment is now moving

towards testing of all high con-tact Government employeesincluding Police, Health,Revenue, Rural Development,Urban Local Government,Food and Civil Supplies, MandiBoard, Procurement Agencies,high contact persons in agri-culture harvest and sowingoperations, including combineharvester operators, truck dri-vers, loader, unloaders, mandilabour, commission agents andmandi supervisors, as well ashigh risk persons working incongested and high contactareas such as vegetable mandi,fruit mandi, whole sale market,retail stores, banks etc.

High risk travelers exposedto multiple contacts such astruck drivers, bus drivers, con-ductors etc will also be tested inthe days ahead.On the issue ofshortage of doctors, the ChiefSecretary informed the meetingthat DCs were hiring doctorson contract at the local level forthe Covid Care Centres.

Medical colleges and pri-vate hospitals are joining handsto facilitate tertiary care andtreatment as the State getsready for the next phase of thepandemic.

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Facing flak over police lathi-charge on migrant labour-

ers from the opposition leaders,Haryana Home Minister AnilVij on Monday said that hedirected State DGP ManojYadava not to use force (againstthe labourers).

“If any situation of lawand order problem arises,senior officers should visit thespot to try to neutralise the sit-uation,” he added.

Vij, who is also State HealthMinister, said that medical ser-vices in the State have beenimproved. Except BPS Govt.Medical College, KhanpurKalan, Sonepat, OPD(Outpatient department) in allthe Medical Colleges in theState have been reopened as perthe guidelines of Ministry ofHome Affairs, Government ofIndia.

The Home Minister saidthat the States from where themigrants hail need to give a no-objection certificate before theyboard trains and buses foronward journey so that work-ers can send their native placewithout delay.

He said that neighbouringState Governments should nothave forced these labourersinto Haryana. Borders have

been sealed and restricted pub-lic movements are allowed.

Vij said that the necessaryarrangements for the food andstay of the migrants have beenmade and they will soon besent back to their native places.

Reacting on the incident,Vij said that not to repeat suchincident again we have direct-ed state DGP to ask the districtpolice chiefs to depute a seniorofficial to handle the situationif it turns volatile and restrainfrom using force against themigrants.

Earlier, Leader ofOpposition Bhupindra SinghHooda said, “It is inhuman tobeat up poor labourers who arevictims of circumstances. Thegovernment should treat themwith empathy in this difficultperiod”.

Hooda advised theGovernment to ensure thatthe workers don’t flee from thestate and arrangements bemade for their stay and foodand they should be providedwith immediate monetary reliefor alternate employment.

Sources said police resort-ed to lathi charge when thelabourers blocked nationalhighway 344 near Karheda vil-lage of Yamunanagar district onFriday. Many of them wereinjured. Around 300 labourers

who had been staying at a shel-ter home in Yamunanagar dis-trict had come out anddemanded that they be sentback to their homes. Policeresorted to lathi charge sendthem back to the shelter homeafter a few of them allegedlythrew stones at policemendeployed there, they added.

1296 MORE WORKERSLEAVE FOR UP FROMCHANDIGARH

As many as 1296 migrantworkers left for their home state–Uttar Pradesh by a specialshramik train from ChandigarhRailway Station on Monday.

Apart from this, 10 strand-ed persons were sent back totheir hometown Murshidabadin West Bengal through. CTUbus was arranged to take themto Sirhind, Punjab from wherethey left for West Bengalthrough a special shramiktrain.

Till Monday, those whoreturned their homes throughshramik trains from

Chandigarh included 11922migrant labourers belonged toUttar Pradesh, 9152 were fromBihar and 403 from Manipur.

“Till Monday, 21477migrant workers have returnedtheir hometowns through spe-cial shramik trains fromChandigarh. 1932 strandedpeople have been sent to theirhometowns (various states)from the city through buses,”said an official spokesman.

The spokesman said that aspecial shramik train with 1296persons left for Amethi, UttarPradesh on Monday. Anotherspecial shramik train will leavefor district Raebareli in UttarPradesh on Tuesday.

10 stranded workers whowere living at Shelter Home,Maloya were sent back to theirhome at Murshidabad (WestBengal). After their medicalscreening, a special bus ofCTU took them to Sirhind(Punjab) and from there theywere sent through a shramiktrain scheduled for Durgaporefor onward journey, he added.

16 shramik trains have sofar run from Chandigarh totake back the migrant workersto their home states. The firstsuch train started on May 10and accommodated 1188 pas-sengers for a journey to Gondain Uttar Pradesh.

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Six fresh positive cases ofcoronavirus were reported

in Chandigarh on Mondaytaking the total number to197.

The fresh positive caseshave been reported after a gapof four days in the city. All thesepositive cases were from con-tainment zone of Bapu Dhamcolony (BDC), which has so farreported 128 positive cases.

While six fresh cases werereported, three patients fromBDC were declared cured anddischarged from the PostGraduate Institute of MedicalEducation and Research.

The active cases in the cityare now 139 while 54 patientshave been cured ofCoronavirus and dischargedfrom the hospital.

“All new positive cases arefamily contacts of previous

cases and were asymptomatic,”stated the Chandigarh HealthDepartment’s evening bulletin.

“A 10-year old girl fromBapu Dham colony, who is afamily contact of another pos-itive case is found to be posi-tive of coronavirus. A 12 yearsold male child, 26 years oldfemale, 29 years old female, 48years old male and 60 years oldfemale from BDC have beentested positive of coronavirus,”the bulletin stated.

Eight samples from BDCwere tested negative onMonday while the report of 32was awaited till the filing of thisreport. 2892 samples havebeen tested so far in the city.Three deaths related to coron-avirus have been reported, thebulletin added.

The city have six contain-ment zones including BapuDham colony (BDC), part ofSector 30-B, Kacchi Colony,

Dhanas, part of Shastri Nagar(Manimajra), Part of Sector 38and Part of Sector 52.

THREE PATIENTS DIS-CHARGED

Three patients includingtwo males aged 38 and 40 andone female aged 19, all resi-dents of Bapu Dham colonywere declared cured ofCoronavirus and were dis-charged from PGIMER onMonday.

With two consecutive testscoming negative for all three ofthem, a pre-condition todeclare cured for all Covid-19patients, it was decided to dis-charge them.

With the discharge of thesethree persons from Bapu Dhamcluster, PGIMER’s CovidHospital has to its credit thesuccessful recovery of 56 per-sons, said an official spokesmanof PGIMER.

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Haryana government onMonday decided to pro-

vide superior quality PPE kits,N-95 masks and hand sanitiz-ers to private doctors at thegovernment rates.

The decision was taken ata virtual meeting chaired byChief Minister Manohar LalKhattar and attended by districtrepresentatives of the IndianMedical Association (IMA)and civil surgeons.

It was also decided that pri-vate health clinics, nursinghomes and dental clinics wouldbe included in the special eco-nomic package announced bythe Central Government micro,small and medium scale enter-prises (MSMEs).

If a private doctor getsinfected with Covid-19, histreatment will be carried out at

the Government expense.The Chief Minister said

Arogya Setu app could beeffective in dealing with thepandemic. Over 50 lakh peo-ple in Haryana have down-loaded the app.

Health Minister Anij Vijsaid with the cooperation of allprivate doctors, the state wouldsoon become a coronavirusfree state. The corona warriorshad done remarkable job inproviding security cover to 2.5crore people of the State, headded.

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Punjab Government onMonday relaxed restric-

tions imposed on the plying ofpublic transport in the State. Asper new guidelines, the StateTransport Undertaking buseswill be allowed to ply on selectroutes from point to pointbetween major cities and dis-trict headquarter with 50 per-cent occupancy of its full capac-ity from Wednesday onwards.

“The move is aimed ateasing out hardships beingfaced by the citizen of the stateso that they can commute todischarge their duties,” saidthe state Transport MinisterRazia Sultana while chairingthe Department’s high levelmeeting.

Razia Sultana said that thedecision to relax restrictions onplying of public transport hasbeen taken in consonance with

the latest guidelines issued bythe Government of India.

The Minister said that ithas been decided that STUbuses from Wednesdayonwards will be allowed to plyon select routes from point topoint between major cities anddistrict headquarter with 50percent occupancy of its fullcapacity.

“These buses will embarkfrom bus stands only, where allpassengers will be screenedbefore they are allowed toboard the buses,” said theMinister adding that theTransport Department wouldensure that health and hygieneprotocol pertaining to Covid-19 is completely adhered towhile plying of buses and othertransport.

She said that it would beensured that all the passengersare maintaining social dis-tancing in the public transport,wearing masks and their hands

are sanitized with sanitizerprovided by the drivers.

These relaxations areapplicable within the state ofPunjab and shall not extend tothe containment zones notifiedby the State Government, sheclarified.

“The new restrictions onnumber of persons plying aTaxi, four-wheelers and cabaggregator, it shall be limited toone driver and two passengers.Likewise, for rickshaw andauto rickshaws, which areproperly registered and payingtax regularly, it shall be limit-ed to one driver or puller andtwo passengers,” said theMinister.

Similarly for two wheelersand bicycles, it shall be limit-ed to one rider or wife and hus-band or rider with one minorchild, said the Minister addingthat detailed guidelines in thisregard will soon be issued bythe Transport Department.

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After a gap of nearly twomonths, public transport

including autos, buses and taxiswill resume in Chandigarh fromTuesday onwards with limitedcapacity. Along with that shopsin City Centre Sector 17, Sector34 market and shops on sectordividing roads have been allowedto open from 11 am to 6 pm.

The congested marketssuch as Sector 46 Rehri market,Sector 22 Shastri market, Sector15 Patel Market, Sec 41 Krishnamarket, Sec 19 Sadar Bazar andPallika Bazar, Sec 18 Gandhimarket, Sec 27 Janta market isalso allowed to open on anodd-even basis from 10:30 am

to 6 pm.However, the city will

remain under lockdown fornext two weeks and the move-ment of individuals will remainprohibited between 7 pm to 7am except for essential services.

A day after the CentralGovernment issued guidelinesfor lockdown 4.0 to stem thespread of Coronavirus, theChandigarh Administration onMonday issued an order allow-ing a series of relaxations in thecity in line with the Centre’sorder. The decisions to resumepublic transport, start publicdealings in government officesand opening of shops in allmarkets among others weretaken during the meeting heldby Punjab Governor and UT

Administrator VP SinghBadnore on Monday.

All shops in internal sectormarkets (neighbourhood mar-kets), which were earlier allowedto be open on odd-even basiswill now be allowed to openfrom 10 am to 6 pm on all daysexcept the usual weekly off day.

With 197 positive cases ofcoronavirus till Mondayevening, the union territory ofChandigarh will continue to bein coronavirus red-zone tillfurther orders as declared bythe Central Government.

The city will continue tohave six containment zonesincluding Bapu Dham colony(BDC), part of Sector 30-B,Kacchi Colony, Dhanas, part ofShastri Nagar (Manimajra), Part

of Sector 38 and Part of Sector52, where relaxations will not bepermitted and only, essentialservices would be allowed.

Chandigarh, which is ajoint capital of Punjab andHaryana on Monday recordedsix fresh positive cases fromBDC, which has till nowreported 128 positive cases.

Manoj Parida, Adviser toUT Administrator said thatthe fresh guidelines forChandigarh have been issuedin line with CentralGovernment’s order. The cityresidents are requested to con-tinue follow the mandatorypractice of wearing masks atpublic places and maintainsocial distancing, he said.

The fresh guidelines issued

by the UT Administration stat-ed, “All non-AC buses will beoperated in tri-city with theconsent of the neighbouringstates. There will be a flat rateof �20 per ticket. The buseswill run with 50 percent capac-ity only and necessary socialdistancing norms will be fol-lowed. Inter-state buses (out-side tri-city) will also beresumed after obtaining nec-essary consent from the receiv-ing states.”

“The passenger vehiclessuch as cars and taxies will beallowed. There will be maxi-mum three persons in a vehi-cle. The auto-rickshaws arepermitted to ply in the city onthe condition that only onepassenger is carried. The two

wheelers can ply without apillion rider. The pedal or cyclerickshaws will be allowed withonly one passenger,” the orderstated.

Allowing the public deal-ings in the government offices,the UT order said, “The pub-lic dealing offices such asSampark Centres, RLA, Sub-Registrar office etc. shallremain open. All UTAdministration offices willfunction from 10 am to 5:30pm. 50 percent of the govern-ment officials below the rank ofDeputy Secretary will be calledto office. However, Defenceand Security Services, Healthand Family Welfare, Police,Prisons, Home Guards, CivilDefence, Fire and Emergency

Services, Disaster Managementand related services, NIC,Customs, FCI, NCC, NYK andMunicipal services shall func-tion without any restrictions.”

The Central Governmentoffices, offices of neighbouringstates, banks etc. will have dif-ferent office timings to avoidsimultaneous travel by office-goers and congestion on roads,the order added.

On functioning of privatesector, it stated “The privateoffices are advised to operatewith 50 percent of their staffand encourage their employeesto work from home.”

All malls such as ElanteMall, DLF Mall, Centra Malland Multiplexes will continueto remain closed, including

essential shops, eateries andoffices located in the Malls.Salons, spa centres, swimmingpools, gymnasium, communi-ty centres will also remainclosed while the sports complexwill be opened.

The order however men-tioned that salons will remainclosed till a formal standardoperating procedure is finalizedand announced in consultationwith medical experts.

The restaurants in the cityhave been permitted to operateonly for home delivery ofcooked food. Sweet shops andBakeries are also permitted toopen from Tuesday onwardsbut they will not be allowed toprovide any dining facilitywithin their premises.

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Page 4: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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The Congress on Mondaysaid the fiscal stimulus

package announced by theGovernment is “hopelesslyinadequate” given the gravity ofthe economic crisis as itamounts to only �1.86 lakhcrore, which is 0.91 per cent ofthe GDP.

The party sought a revisedand comprehensive packageof 10 per cent of the GDP.

Senior Congress leader andformer Finance Minister PChidambaram said the stimu-lus package has left several sec-tions like the poor, migrants,farmers, labourers, workers,small shopkeepers and middleclass high and dry.

"In our view, a fiscal stim-ulus of �1,86,650 croreamounting to barely 0.91 percent of GDP will be totallyinadequate given the gravity ofthe economic crisis and the diresituation in which people findthemselves," he said.

Chidambaram said mostanalysts, rating agencies andbanks have placed the size ofthe fiscal stimulus between 0.8to 1.5 per cent.

On Sunday, former UnionMinister and Congress leaderAnand Sharma accused thegovernment of misleading peo-ple with its "trickery, fakery,quackery" and said the eco-nomic measures announcedby the Centre amounted toonly 1.6 per cent of India''sGDP, i.e. worth �3.22 lakhcrore instead of �20 lakh croreas claimed by the prime min-ister.

"We express our thoroughdisappointment and requestthe government to reconsiderthe stimulus package andannounce a revised and com-prehensive fiscal stimulus pack-age of not less than �10 lakhcrore of real additional expen-diture equivalent to 10 percent of GDP," Chidambaramsaid at a press conference

through video-conferencing.He also accused the

Government of being oppor-tunistic by pushing reforms. Itis bypassing stakeholer con-sultation, legislation and dis-cussion in Parliament on thepackage and this will be strong-ly resisted and challenged in theHouse, he added.

"I think the Government isdeliberately sideliningParliament. A meeting of theParliamentary Committeeshould at least be held to dis-cuss the fiscal stimulus pack-age," the Congress leader said.

"If there is a genuinereform that takes economyforward, we will support it butwe will have to read the fineprint," he said.

"The Government is beingopportunistic. They are justannouncing what one personor one group of persons thinkis right without thinkingthrough the consequences.Editorials and articles todaypoint out downside of some ofthe announcements,"Chidambaram noted.

"You can''t fool all the peo-ple all the time. This fiscal stim-ulus package is inadequate," hesaid.

The former finance min-ister said "we note with deepregret" that the fiscal stimuluspackage has left several sec-tions high and dry, includingthe bottom half of the popula-tion (13 crore families),migrant workers, farmers,landless agricultural labour,daily-wage non-agriculturallabour, workers who have beenlaid off or retrenched andthose in unorganised or unreg-istered businesses or units whohave lost their jobs.

He said the self-employed,who have no work, seven croreshopkeepers, lower middleclass families, who have runout of cash and are forced toborrow, and the 5.8 croreMSMEs have also been left outin the package.

He said the Congress hasanalysed the contents of thefive tranches and in its con-sidered opinion except for 1.86lakh crore of additional expen-diture, the rest of theannouncements are includedalready in budget expendi-ture, front loading of somebudgeted expenditure, regula-tory measures, a number of liq-uidity measures, medium tolong term plans or schemesand proposed reforms.

Chidambaram said therecan be no fiscal stimulus to theeconomy without additionalexpenditure over and above thebudgeted expenditure and thishas been acknowledged by thefinance minister.

Thus the true value of fis-cal stimulus package will beknown when we know what isthe additional borrowing in2020-21, he said.

"The truth cannot be hid-den for long." To a question onfear of rating agencies down-grading India, the formerfinance minister said he doesnot think rating agencies runthe country.

"Every country in theworld is in distress, practical-ly every country in Europe isfacing a recession. If ratingagencies downgrade us, theywill have to downgrade everyEuropean country too.

"This is an unnecessaryfear. We will have to face thatsituation. As long as our for-eign exchange reserves arehigh, inflation is under control,we are on the right path,demand grows and GDP picksup, why would a rating agencydowngrade us," he asked?

Chidambaram also notedthat it is not the time to worryabout fiscal deficit and if addi-tional expenditure turns out tobe another �10 lakh crore andadditional borrowing is Rs 10lakh crore.

Obviously fiscal deficit willgo up but that should not be amatter of worry, he added.

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Vice President and RajyaSabha Chairman Venkaiah

Naidu on Monday underlinedthe need to adopt new ways ofliving in corona times andsuggested a 12-point frame-work for this new normal todeal with the virus by learningform the lessons so far taughtby the pandemic. He stressedon the need for new attitudestowards life and humanityamidst indications of the viruslikely to stay for longer thanearlier expected.

“Live differently and livesafe,” he put forth his mantra ina lengthy Facebook post hoursafter the announcement of lock-down 4.0 with restrictions sub-stantially relaxed.

He dealt with the philo-sophical and moral issuesthrown by the COVID-19 con-tagion saying life can’t be livedin isolation and the virus out-break highlighted the inter-connectedness of lives. He said,“What affects one person any-where affects everyone every-where, be it the disease or econ-omy.”

Giving an account of thenature of life ‘Before Corona’,Naidu stated that man emergeda loner in his quest for happinessand material advancementreducing the family and thesociety to being mere adjunctsand his confidence bordering onarrogance made him believethat he can live alone and all byhimself, unmindful of the livesof others.

“Stacked with better tools tofight the epidemics than whenthe pestilence struck humanityearlier and empowered withgene editing, ArtificialIntelligence, big data etc, manwas seeking to play God,” he

stated.On the life ‘After Corona’,

Naidu noted that it has shakenthe fundamentals of living byoneself and highlighted theneed for living in harmonywith nature and fellow humans.“The invisible microbe onceagain proved that life can changevery quickly. It brought into fullplay the uncertainty that can co-sail with life,” he pointed out.

“Uncertainty continues tohaunt the people. Uncertainty isthe known source of anxietywhich can lead to psychologicalissues,” he said even as he sug-gested adopting a new normalof life by staying calm and con-fident.

Naidu stressed that thecorona challenge is more a civ-ilizational issue than that of indi-vidual lives and new norms andethos of living should be evolvedto save the present civilization.

Noting that life can’t be livedfor long in confinement, he wel-comed the new relaxations forlockdown 4.0 even as he recalledhow people living with HIVvirus had no vaccine for longtime and had to change habits.Similarly, Naidu urged the peo-ple to learn to cope with coro-na virus by changing the habitsand attitudes towards life andfellow humans.

He suggested a 12-pointnew normal of living duringcorona times that includesamong others living in harmony with the nature andfellow beings; knowing thatsafety and security of lives areinterconnected, rationally analysing the impact of everymovement or action on thespread of virus, not responding impulsively to the situation,strictly adherence to the behavioral changes ushered inso far like wearing mask, main-taining physical distance andensuring hygiene besides preventing stigmatisation andreplacing the sense of collective helplessness by the spirit of thevirtue of living interconnectedwith shared destiny.

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The Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission

(KVIC) is going to get a bigpush after Union HomeMinister Amit Shah’s direc-tion to buy only swadeshiproducts in all canteens ofcentral paramilitary forces.This decision will also impactthe production and sales ofKVIC which will be fulfillingthe majority of supplies atthese stores, apart from lot ofjob opportunities to peopleacross the country, said VinaiKumar Saxena, Chairman,KVIC.

“India has taken the firstbig step towards becomingAatmanirbhar (self-reliant).Immediately after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s callfor encouraging local products,the Home Minister Amit Shahhas taken a lead and has madeit mandatory for all canteensand stores of paramilitaryforces to sell only “Swadeshi”products through Khadi andVillage Industries Commission(KVIC). The move will opengreat employment opportuni-ties for farmers, unemployedyouths and lakhs of peoplealready engaged with cottageand village industries,” saidKVIC in a statement.

Saxena lauded the decisionof the Home Minister sayingthis would provide a big boostto the cottage and villageindustries sector apart from theMSMEs units. “This decisionwill directly benefit lakhs ofpeople engaged with manu-facturing of various villageindustries products. With thisorder over 10 lakh personnel ofthe various paramilitary forceswill be added to KVIC’s con-sumer base. As a goodwillgesture, the KVIC has alsoimmediately decided to supplyproducts to the CAPF canteensat a small margin of 3% only asagainst the 20% margin inother cases,” Saxena said.

Notably, there are 20 mas-ter bhandars of these forces

across the country with annu-al turnover of over �1,800crore. The KVIC is likely to getmajor share of the totalturnover. At present, KVIC hasregistered 17 products for thesupply to CAPF canteens.These include Khadi NationalFlag, eatables like honey, pick-les, edible oils, agarbatti, papad,

amla products and cotton tow-els etc Further, a list of 63 newproducts like Khadi clothes,woolens, cosmetics like herbaloils, shampoo, soaps, facewash, tea and coffee and oth-ers has been submitted to theCAPF canteens by KVIC to beincluded in supply list at thesestores.

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Country's liquor manufac-turers have welcomed the

Indian Army’s decision to pur-chase only India-made productsin the Canteen Stores includingIndian alcoholic beverages.

In a letter to the head ofCanteen Stores Department(CSD), the Confederation ofIndian Alcoholic BeverageCompanies (CIABC), the apexbody of the Indian alcoholic bev-erage industry, stated: “ArmedForces have been among the firstto respond to the PrimeMinister’s appeal to go local andhave decided to purchase onlyIndia-made products in CanteenStores. We compliment ArmedForces for this step as this willhelp India create world class

products, so vital for it to becomea global economic force."

CIABC Director GeneralVinod Giri said that Indianalcoholic beverage industry iscoming of age with internation-ally acclaimed single maltwhiskies like Amrut, Paul John,Rampur etc. “However, thesebrands need support andencouragement from theGovernment to become globalhousehold names. Hence, adecision by CSD, the largestpurchaser of alcoholic productsin India, to sell only Indian-made products is truly a water-shed moment for the Indianindustry. This will give themscale to compete globally, andspur them to innovate and pro-duce even better products,” headded.

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HRD Minister RameshPokhriyal 'Nishank' on

Monday released the reviseddatesheet for the pendingCBSE exams for both classes10 and 12, which will now beheld from July 1-15 with strictdistancing norms in place.

The exams were post-poned due to the nationwide lockdownimposed on March 25 to con-tain the spread of COVID-19.

While class 12 exams willbe conducted across thecountry, the class 10 examsare only pending in NorthEast Delhi, where they couldnot be held due to the law andorder situation in the wake ofprotests against the amendedcitizenship act.

The schedule has beendecided in order to ensurethat the board exams arecompleted before competitive examinationssuch as engineering entranceJEE-Mains, which is sched-uled from July 18-23, andmedical entrance exam NEET,which is scheduled on July 26.

"The class 10 exams willbe staggered on four dates,starting July 1. The first paper will be ofSocial Sciences, while thenext day students will berequired to appear in Scienceexam," CBSE Controller ofExamination SanyamBhardwaj said.

"On July 10, exams will beconducted for both courses ofHindi, and on July 15 for bothcourses of English," he said.

On health guidelines forstudents, Bhardwaj said, theywill be required to carry own sanitiser bottles and wearmask to their examinationcentres.

"Parents will have toensure their ward is not sick

and candidates will have tostrictly follow physical-dis-tancing norms," he said.

The class 12 date sheethas two sections - one forexams in Northeast Delhiand the other for examsacross the country.

In North East Delhi,Physics exam will be held onJuly 3, Accountancy (July 4),Chemistry (July 6), English(July 8) and Political Science(July 14).

On July 15, four class 12exams have been scheduled inNorth East Delhi --Mathematics, Economics,History and Biology.

For class 12 exams acrossthe countr y, the HomeScience exam will be held onJuly 1, followed by bothcourses of Hindi the nextday.

The class 12 BusinessStudies exam has been scheduled for July 9 followedby Biotechnology on July 10,and Geography on July 11.Sociology exam will be heldon July 13.

The board was not able toconduct class 10 and 12exams on eight examinationdays due to the coronavirusoutbreak.

The board had last monthannounced that it will onlyconduct pending exams in 29subjects which are crucial forpromotion and admission tohigher educational institutions.

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Apart of Krishi Bhawanbuilding in Central Delhi

has been sealed after an officialin the Ministry of Fisheries,Animal Husbandry andDairying tested positive forCOVID-19. The official worksas a personal secretary in theDepartment of AnimalHusbandry and Dairying.

"The entire office premis-es will be thoroughly sanitisedas per extant guidelines in thisregard on May 19 and May 20,apart from the daily sanitisationthat takes place," according toan official memorandum. Theofficers have been asked towork from home for the nexttwo days. The office will reopenon May 21, it said.

All those who had come indirect contact with the

COVID-19 patient have beenadvised to get themselves homequarantined and to also getthemselves tested after fivedays. They will be allowed toattend office only after beingtested negative for COVID-19,it added. The remaining staffwill be called from May 21 onrotation as per the instructions

of the Ministry of HomeAffairs.

Besides the Fishery,Animal Husbandry andDairying Ministry, KrishiBhawan also houses severalother ministries including agri-culture, food and consumeraffairs, rural development andpanchayati raj.

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Why the NovelCoronavirus is more fatal

to men than women? Is thereany link between prostratecancer in men and Covid-19?Is a protein receptor abnor-mally grown in prostrate can-cer patients is being used by thevirus to enter the lungs andattack lung tissue of men?

These are some of the per-tinent questions that a team ofresearchers from UniversityCalifornia Los Angles HealthSciences is exploring to helpimprove better clinical out-comes for men afflicted withCoronavirus.

In the UCLA-led clinicaltrial, researchers will suppressmale hormones using theFDA-approved medicationknown as degarelix, to tem-porarily shut down the pro-duction of TMPRSS2 andblock the virus from enteringlung tissue.

The decision came afterresearchers noted that the pro-tein receptor called TMPRSS2which is abnormal in abouthalf of all prostate cancerpatients plays a role in the

development and progressionof prostate cancer.

The UCLA researchersbelieve that the virus uses thissame receptor to enter thelungs and attack lung tissue.The receptor is regulated bymale hormones in prostatecancer, and researchers believeit may also be regulated in lungtissue by male hormones.

The phase 2 trial will assessif temporarily suppressingmale hormones will reduce theseverity of COVID-19 illnessby helping patients get out ofthe hospital faster, decrease theneed for intubation andimprove mortality.

The UCLA-led study isbeing conducted at theVeterans Affairs Greater LosAngeles Healthcare Systemand other VA sites across thecountry.

"It's becoming pretty clearthat men are more likely thanwomen to die from COVID-19and we think there is a con-nection between prostate can-cer research and our under-standing of COVID-19research," said principal inves-tigator Matthew Rettig, pro-fessor of medicine and urolo-

gy at the David Geffen Schoolof Medicine at UCLA andmember of the UCLA JonssonComprehensive Cancer Center.

"It's kind of like a lock andkey," explained Rettig, who isalso the chief of hematol-ogy/oncology at the VeteransAffairs Greater Los AngelesHealthcare System.

"If the virus was the keyand its receptor is the lock,then the virus inserts into thelock and can gain entry intothe lung while the male hor-mones makes that lock moreaccessible to the virus. By sup-pressing the male hormones,it's kind of like putting a pieceof masking tape over the lockso that the key won't fit in."

"We're hoping this (theresearch) will not only helpmen with COVID-19 get outof the hospital faster, but ulti-mately, see less men dyingfrom the virus," said Rettig.

Recent data from NewYork City, the epicenter ofinfections in the United States,show that men are not onlyinfected in greater numbers, but they are alsodying at nearly twice the rateof women.

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Veterans of 1972 batch ofGroup A CRPF Cadre offi-

cers have written to HomeMinister Amit Shah seekingaction against IPS officer andInspector General of Jammuand Kashmir Police VijayKumar for making casualcomments about CRPF's role inthe Valley.

During a recent reviewmeeting held by Jammu andKashmir Police DirectorGeneral, Kumar had said thatCRPF is not working well in theUnion Territory.

At the meeting for reviewof the local police, armed forcesand CAPFs collaborating inanti-terror operations in J&Kon April 29, Kumar hadallegedly said “CRPF is notworking well.”

“Here (In J&K), JKP gen-

erates intelligence,Army/Rashtriya Rifles carryout the operations and CRPF’sname is inserted just likethat...This I know, I have beenin CRPF,” the letter quotesKumar to have asserted duringthe meeting.

“This statement is not onlycontrary to the facts, but alsobelies the valorous sacrificesmade by the Force, a consis-tent track record of excep-tional performance, and lau-rels earned by the Force in themost difficult anti-terror oper-ations in Jammu and Kashmir.76 gallantry medals given atthe Republic Day of 2020 area testament to the sweat, bloodand martyrdom of brave menand women of CRPF,” the vet-erans said stated to buttress theparamilitary’s role in anti-ter-ror operations in the Valley.

The retired officials ofCRPF who have put in 35-40

years of service further said,“Singular lack of leadershipand maturity demonstratedby IGP Vijay Kumar, and hisfactually incorrect and hurtfulcomments, have caused con-sternation in the Force per-sonnel. Ignoring this incidentto let it pass would be evenmore hurtful and memories ofdisrespect will never fadeaway.”

“..a visible action fromyou would go a long way inrestoring the morale and con-fidence of the Force, repair thedamage caused by immatureand disrespectful commentsby Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir.It will also be a powerfulreminder to all to work togeth-er as a cohesive, collaborative,respectful and unified team towipe out the virus of terror-ism,” the group 35 veteranswho are signatories to the let-ter asserted.

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The Centre on Mondayundertook in the Delhi

High Court that it will followits standard operating proce-dure (SOP), including givingpriority to pregnant women,while repatriating Indiannationals stranded in SaudiArabia since the COVID-19outbreak.

The undertaking was givenbefore Justice Vibhu Bakhru byAdditional

Solicitor General ManinderAcharya and central govern-ment standing counsel JasmeetSingh who appeared for theMinistry of Home Affairs.

The high court noted theundertaking and bound thegovernment to the statementmade by it. The order camewhile disposing of a PIL by theUnited Nurses Associationseeking directions to the Centreto bring back 56 pregnantnurses stranded in SaudiArabia due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

With regard to the associ-ation's plea for bringing backthe pregnant nurses by via

special chartered flights, thehigh court said it was not giv-ing any such direction "as stepshave been The high court said,"It is expected that theGovernment would take

all necessary steps, withinthe limitation of the resourcesavailable, to operate flights tobring back Indian citizens whoare stranded overseas."

It also observed that "it isnecessary to ensure within the

category of persons who are tobe accorded priority, a higherpriority be accorded to personswho are in medical distress vis-à-vis persons who are other-wise hale and hearty but arestranded due to the expiry oftheir visa or other reasons".

The United NursesAssociation, represented byadvocate Subhash Chandran,

had also sought a directionto the MHA to "strictly follow"its SOP which states that pri-ority has to be given to peoplewith medical emergencies,including pregnant women.

The association claimedthat many of the pregnantnurses are in their thirdtrimester and therefore, require"medical and psycho-socio sup-port".

The petition had alsoclaimed that these women arestaying alone in Saudi Arabia asfamily status visa was not pro-vided to staff nurses like them.

The association had soughta direction to the Centre tobring back the stranded preg-nant nurses in the secondphase of 'Vande Bharat Mission'between May 19 and May 23.

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Page 5: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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As part of the initiative to put astop to the spread of coron-

avirus cases in Chennai,TamilNadu's major hotspot, authoritieshave switched over to a new phe-nomenon by name Herd Masking.A group of officials led by Dr JRadhakrishnan, former secretaryto the department of health whohas been appointed recently as thespecial officer for tackling Covid-19 in Chennai are on a mission tomask the unmasked.

Those in containment areas inChennai who come out of theirhouses without wearing face masksare issued masks byRadhakrishnan and his team ofofficials. “Our aim is to reduce thenumber of persons who areexposed to the virus spreading thispandemic. Over the last few daysmy team of officials have distrib-uted more than two lakh face

masks,” said Radhakrishnan.Radhakrishnan, who is a vet-

eran in fighting natural disastersand experienced in rescuing andrehabilitation of persons affectedby tsunami, cyclones and floodswant the wearing of mask to bemade compulsory in the State. “Itis possible for a coronavirus afflict-ed person to infect 10 persons andhence we should make it manda-tory to wear face masks,” saidRadhakrishnan.

Meanwhile political TamilNadu saw the fighting between theruling AIADMK and theOpposition DMK reaching newheights. MK Stalin, president,DMK, alleged that Tamil Nadu

Government has been left cluelessin controlling the coronaviruspandemic.

“The Government hasannounced that the 10th Standardexamination will be held from June1. How is it possible to have theexamination at this critical junc-ture? What is the need for con-ducting examination during thetime of Covid-19,” asked Stalin ina release on Monday.

T R Balu, MP and DMK’s NewDelhi face , said that the trancheof announcements made by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andFinance Minister NirmalaSithraman will not help in address-ing the problems faced by the poorin the country.

“The announcements weremeant for the rich and powerfulstrata of society. The Centre hasmailed miserably in handling thecoronavirus pandemic,” said Baluat Chennai.

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On the first day of the fourthphase of lockdown,

Karnataka has announcedmany relaxations but said theState will not allow peoplefrom four Covid -19 hit Statesto enter Karnataka. Further theState also announced ease oflockdown norms and lifts sev-eral restrictions.

In a press conference inBengaluru on Monday, ChiefMinister BS Yediyurappa hasannounced that Karnatakawill not allow entry of peoplefrom Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Kerala and Tamil Nadu tillMay 31 as a precautionarymeasure to contain the spreadof the deadly coronavirus.

He announced easing ofmany restrictions whichinclude operation of cabs,buses, opening of shops andallowing trains withinKarnataka from Tuesday.

According to Governmentsources Chief Minister hastaken this decision to give aboost to the economy of theState which has taken a beatingat the time of Covid-19 lock-down. Yediyurappa said trainsand state corporation buses willrun within Karnataka andshops will be allowed to open.

“Strict lockdown measureswill be followed in containmentzones and economic activitieswill be permitted in otherareas. Sundays will be totallockdown across the State,” he

said. Yediyurappa announcedthat strict lockdown measureswill be in place in containmentzones. He said all economicactivities will be permitted inthe State except for red zones.

According to ChiefMinister only 30 people wouldbe allowed to travel in the busesand wearing of face masks andmaintaining physical distanc-ing are mandatory. He said busfares will not be increased andinter-state transport would notbe allowed, except in emer-gency cases.

Auto and taxis were alsogiven green signal to get on toroads, but there should be onlythree passengers, including thedriver. In maxi-cabs, the max-imum number should be fourpassengers, including driver.

The State has also allowedparks to open up for the pub-lic, though gyms and golf

course will remain shut. Allshops that are standalone, inde-pendent shops can open acrossthe city, except for the ones inmalls. Salons will be allowed tooperate from Tuesday withfresh guidelines on their oper-ations.

The Centre on Sundayextended the nation-wide lock-down for another 14 days tillMay 31 and warned of strictaction under the DisasterManagement Act and IndianPenal Code if the fresh guide-lines are not followed. This isthe fourth time the lockdownhas been imposed in the coun-try.

The nationwide lockdownwas first imposed for 21 daysstarting March 25 and thenextended on April 15 and lateron May 4 with an aim to haltthe spread of novel coron-avirus.

8�����!������ �38�0*

More than 200 farmers,most of them in loin-

cloth, the traditional wear ofTamil Nadu farmers, stageda demonstration in front ofthe district collector’s officeat Tiruchirappalli onMonday to give vent to theirdisappointment and dismayover the tranche ofannouncements worth �20lakh crore made by UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSithraman during the lastfour days to rejuvenate theeconomy.

Disregarding theGovernment order onassembly of people and socialdistancing norms, the farm-ers singing folk songs high-lighting their woes and wor-ries assembled under thescorching sun and shoutedslogans against the State andcentral Governments. “Theseries of announcements

made by the FinanceMinister are mere hog-wash. It is not going to savethe farmers from theimpending disaster. Youplease wait for some moretime and you will see manyfarmers committing suicidein Tamil Nadu,” AyyakkannuPonnusamy, president ofSouth Indian River InterLinking Association who ledthe agitation told ThePioneer.

“Considering the factthat 85 crore people in Indiaare dependent on agriculture,the Government should have

allocated a compensation of�20,000 per acre for the losscaused due to the nationwidelockdown. This means thatan amount of �14 lakh croreshould have been set apart tocompensate for the loss suf-fered by the farmers. Butwhatever allocation theFinance Minister has made isfar below the expectation,”said Ayyakkannu.

He said the FinanceMinister should consider allfarmers (small, medium andbig) as one irrespective of

the size of the farm theyown and provide

�20,000 per acre as com-pensation for the loss suf-fered by the farmers due tolockdown.

“The agitation was atotal success as many peopletook part in it irrespective ofthe weather and the fear ofcoronavirus. We will sittogether later this week todecide about the futurecourse of action,” saidAyyakkannu.

But KattumamnnarkoilKannan, vice president,Cauvery Delta Farmers

Association, said that themeasures announced by theFinance Minister would go along way in resolving theproblems faced by the farm-ers.

“The important thingabout the announcementsby the Finance Minister isthat only real farmers wouldbe eligible for farm loansnow. What was happening inTamil Nadu till now was thehijacking of farm loans byprivate financiers. Theywould usurp all loans meantfor farmers at the rate ofseven per cent interest andoffer loans to farmers at therate of 20 per cent interest.

This system will go withthe reforms ordered by thefinance minister,” saidKannan. But he expressed hisreservations against disbur-sal of more loans because it would end upmaking the farmers moredebt-ridden.

8�����!������ � 38�0*

Though the coronaviruscases in Tamil Nadu regis-

tered an increase on Mondayand took the total number ofpersons tested positive in theState till date to 11,760, therewas a sense of relief on the faceof Dr C Vijaya Baskar ,Minister of Health who briefedthe media late evening.

“We have tested 11,760coronavirus positive cases inthe State till Monday. Today536 persons were tested posi-tive across the State. Out ofthis, 46 persons were those whoreturned to the State fromMaharashtra. Chennai alonetested 364 coronavirus caseswhich took the total number ofcases in the capital city to7,270,” said the Minister. Hesaid the death toll was 81 withthree more persons succumb-

ing to the pandemic tillMonday evening.

Dr Baskar said that 3,37,841 samples have been testedand 61 laboratories are func-tioning on a round-the-clock-basis in the State.

“This is the highest num-ber of samples tested anywherein the country and we have thelargest number of labs,” said theMinister.

The day also saw the dis-charge of 234 persons from var-ious hospitals in the State mak-ing the total number of dis-charges in the State 4,406.“This means that there are7,270 active coronavirus casesunder treatment in the State.Our mortality rate is the low-est in the country and these fac-tors are encouraging,” said DrBaskar.

He also said that the lastten days saw an average of

12,536 samples being tested inthe State. “This is also thehighest number in the countrywhich further proves that theState is tackling the situationeffectively,” he said.

Dr J Radhakrishnan, vet-eran IAS officer, who is incharge of entire Chennai regionas the special officer for tack-ling Covid-19 pandemic saidthat aggressive testing was onin Greater Chennai. “We havetested almost one per cent ofthe population in the metrop-olis which is an achievement.

The spike in the number ofcases is due to the massive test-ing undertaken by my team ofhealth professionals and rev-enue officials who are helpingthem,” Dr Radhakrishnan toldThe Pioneer. He said he wasconfident of bringing down thenumbers to naught in comingdays.

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Jammu & Kashmirpolice personnel,

playing a crucial role incontaining spread ofcoronavirus, have beenadversely affected espe-cially in Kashmir valley.

In the last two days, at least55 police personnel includinga top ranking officer have test-ed positive only in Anantnagdistrict.

On Monday, 3 morepatients admitted in the ChestDisease hospital died taking thetotal tally of deaths due toCovid-19 to 16 while 106 freshcases of coronavirus weredetected, 12 from Jammu divi-sion and 94 from Kashmir val-ley.

The highest number of 59cases were detected inAnantnag on Monday. Out ofthese, 36 were police personnel.19 cops were tested positive inAnantnag on Sunday.Meanwhile, 12 cases each test-ed positive in Srinagar andKulgam. Among them fivedoctors also tested positive inSrinagar.

According to media bul-letin on novel coronavirus,“two patients, died at Chest dis-ease hospital in Srinagar while106 fresh cases were detectedtaking the total tally of positive

cases to 1,289 inJammu &Kashmir”. Outof 1289, 665cases are activepositive while atotal number of609 cases haverecovered inJammu &

Kashmir.According to official

sources, a 65-year-old femalefrom Kulgam, admitted inSMHS Hospital, tested positiveon Monday morning and soonafter she was admitted to CDHospital she died after suffer-ing a major cardiac arrest.

Another 70-year-old manfrom Hillar Anantnag died atCD Hospital Srinagar, follow-ing his multiple proceduresand comorbidities includingCovid-19 at SMHSHospital.Another cancerpatient, tested positive, died inChest disease hospital Mondayevening, official sources said.

In Jammu division, Poonchdistrict reported two cases ofcoronavirus. One of them wasidentified as governmentemployee of the health depart-ment. Meanwhile, 10 othercases detected in Jammu divi-sion were stranded passengerswho were screened atLakhampur and tested positivewhile they were kept underadministrative quarantine.

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Thiruvananthapuram: KeralaChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,here on Monday, said 29 newcoronavirus cases in the statehad raised the number of peo-ple under treatment to 130. “Ofthese, 21 came from abroad, 7from other states,” Vijayan said.

Stating that 630 peoplehave tested coronavirus positivein the state, the Chief Ministersaid 67,316 people were underobservation in homes and 473in hospitals. The total hotspotareas have risen to 29.

On lockdown easing,Vijayan said, “The public trans-port will be allowed within thedistrict and in buses only 50 percent seating capacity will bepermitted. IANS

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Eighty-four new Covid-19cases, majority of them

with travel history to Mumbai,emerged in the past 19 hours inKarnataka, which is the high-est single day rise, taking thestate's tally to 1,231, accordingto an official, here on Monday.

In addition to 54 patientswho visited Mumbai, two hadtravelled to Solapur and one toRaigad in Maharashtra. Totalcases with Maharashtra contactwere 57 out of 84. Of all thecases, 58 were men and 26women.

Of the 1,231 cases, 672 areactive, 521 got discharged and37 died from Covid-19.

Nowadays, Karnataka isregularly posting the highestsingle-day rises, beating earli-er maximums.

On Monday, cases spikedin Raichur, Bengaluru Urban,Gadag, Yadagiri, UttaraKannada and Mandya. UntilSunday, Raichur was a greenzone without a case.

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Ending the long wait, theJammu & Kashmir

Government on Monday noti-fied Jammu & Kashmir Grantof Domicile Certificate(Procedure) Rules, 2020.

These Rules prescribe theprocedure for issuance ofDomicile Certificate whichhas been made the basic eligi-bility condition for appoint-ment to any post under theUnion Territory of Jammu &Kashmir following amend-ments in the Jammu &Kashmir Civil Services(Decentralization andRecruitment) Act, 2010.

Under the Domicile Rules,Permanent Residents of theerstwhile State of J&K in whosefavour Permanent ResidentCertificate (PRC) has beenissued by the competentauthority before 31.10.2019shall be eligible for receivingtheir Domicile Certificates onthe basis of PRCs alone and noother additional documentshall be required for such res-idents.

Kashmiri migrants canalso get the Domicile certificateon production of either a PRCor Certificate of registration ofmigrant. Further there may bebonafide migrants andbonafide displaced personswho have migrated but havenot registered with the reliefdepartment. In order to facil-itate such persons, the ReliefDepartment shall be making aspecial limited provision to

apply before the Relief &Rehabilitation Commissioner(Migrant), for registration forthe purpose of issuance of adomicile certificate only, withany one of the many docu-ments, such as 1951/1988 elec-toral roll, proof of employ-ment, ownership of property,proof of registration in otherstates/UTs as a migrant or adisplaced person or any otherdocumentation which wouldhave made him/her eligible forgrant of PRC before 06-08-2019.

As a result of the new rulesand procedure, West PakistanRefugees (WPRs), SafaiKaramcharis and Children ofWomen married outsideJammu and Kashmir who wereearlier deprived shall also benow eligible for DomicileCertificate. West PakistaniRefugees were part of theParliamentary electoral rollbut not that erstwhile stateelectoral roll. They will now becovered under the 15 year res-idence rule or their childrenunder the 7 year/ class 10/12rule.

In addition, all those per-sons and their children whohave resided for 15 years inJammu & Kashmir or havestudied for seven years andappeared in class 10th or 12thexamination in an education-al institution in the UT are eli-gible for grant of domicile.Children of CentralGovernment officials, All Indiaservice Officers, officials ofPSUs and Autonomous body

of Central Government, PublicSector Banks, Officials ofStatutory bodies, Officials ofCentral Universities and rec-ognized research institutes ofthe Central Government, whohave served in the Union ter-ritory of Jammu & Kashmir fora total period of ten years willalso be eligible for Domicilestatus in the UT.

Besides, all those migrantsand their children who are reg-istered with Relief andRehabilitation Commissionerwill be granted Domicile cer-tificate. Children of those res-idents of Jammu & Kashmirwho reside outside the UnionTerritory in connection withtheir employment of businessor other professional or voca-tional reasons have alsobecome eligible for grant ofdomicile status.

The rules provide a simpleand time bound procedurefor the issuance of theDomicile certificate so that noone is put to any inconve-nience. There shall be a time-line of 15 days for issuance ofthe certificate after which theapplicant shall be free toapproach an AppellateAuthority.

The decision of theAppellate Authority shall bebinding upon the issuingauthority and the orders of theAppellate Authority are to becomplied within seven days,failing which the defaultingofficer shall be liable for apenalty of ��50,000 out of hissalary.

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In a bid to effect a micro-surveillance of the corona-

hit areas and at the same timeafford a thin life line to agasping economy BengalGovernment has sliced thecontainment zones into threesub-divisions.

Announcing the deci-sion Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Monday saidthat the containment zoneswould henceforward bedivided into ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’sub-zones.

Declaring that Bengalwill not impose curfew buttoo will continue the lock-down till May 31, the Chief

Minister said “the contain-ment zones in Bengal will besub-divided into three zones:Zone A- which will be theaffected zones, Zone B- orthe buffer zones, and Zone Cthat are - clean zones,” adding“we are however not infavour of imposing curfew aswe don’t want to use thatword for our state.”

While in A zones therewill be complete shutdownwith no activity the zone Bswill have partial relaxations.Zone C will get completerelaxations, she said addingeven in such zones the peo-ple will have to maintainsocial distancing and all otherprotocols they are required tofollow.

The State which alreadyhad allowed opening of road-side food stalls, mobile shops,electronic shops etc would let

big shops open from May 21she said adding the vendorsmarket too will be allowed toopen from May 27 --- “butwith some restrictions andprotocols.” She said the streetvendors would be allowed toopen their shops on “odd-even basis so as to avoidcrowding” of the sidewalks.Hotels too would be allowedto function with social dis-tancing norms but restau-rants would remain shut tillfurther orders, she said.

On the migrant workers’issue she said the State gov-ernment was handling thecrisis with utmost sensitivitypaying for the fares or arrang-ing for their travel back homeadding “about 2-3 lakh peo-ple had been brought back inbuses and trains,” Banerjeesaid referring apparently tothe allegations brought by the

BJP that the StateGovernment was not doingenough to bring back themigrants.

Swelling on the issueState BJP president Dilip saidthat “the State Government isignoring the plight of themigrant workers. They arenot bringing them backthough the Centre is readywith trains.”

He asked, “when UttarPradesh can requisition 400trains, Bihar, Jharkhand andother States too can takeback their workers in hugenumbers why should Bengalshirk its responsibility?”

Earlier senior leaderRahul Sinha demanded atleast 1000 trains to bringback the workers. “The ChiefMinister has said that she hasrequisitioned 105 trains thatwill bring back workers till

June 15. This means thatthese workers will have toremain stranded for anotherone month or so. Besides howmany people can be broughtback in 105 trains. There is aneed of at least 1000 to 1200trains to evacuate the haplessworkers,” he said.

Attacking TrinamoolCongress for dismissing thecentral package as a lip-ser-vice, Ghosh said that “theChief Minister and her partyhad wanted cash in theirhands so that the State canparty with that fund as theydid with the funds sent forAila and Bulbul cyclones…This time Modiji (PrimeMinister) was cautious aboutseeing the money go into thepocket of the people whoneed it. This is the reasonwhy this government is angryon the Centre.”

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With cyclone Ampan crystallisinginto a super cyclonic storm

threatening large parts of coastalBengal the State Government went ona high alert suspending ferry servicesin all districts and transporting vul-nerable villagers to safer areas, sourcesaid.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeewho called an emergency meeting oftop officials said the “Government istaking all necessary precautions likeit did on earlier occasions to minimisethe damage.”

Bengal Home Secretary AlaponBandopadhyay said “the entire statemachinery is prepared to deal with thesituation” adding disaster manage-ment teams were being sent to thehigh risk areas like North and South24 Parganas and East Midnaporeincluding the coastal town of Digha

a much sought after tourist destina-tion. The Government had arrangedfor shelters following social distanc-ing norms the Home Secretary saidadding National Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) teams hadbeen put on high alert to con-duct rescue and relief opera-tions

High alert had been issued in two24 Parganas, particularly theSundreban areas and East Midnapore,he said adding senior officials werecamping in the stated areas.

Super cyclonic storm Amphan ishurtling towards Digha at a highspeed of about 180 kmph weatheroffice said adding during landfallsometime on Wednesday the windspeed could be around 140-160 kmph.In fact a day before on Tuesday thewind speed could be around 60-80kmph, weather office sources said.

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The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) onMonday predicted heavyrains in Kerala on account of

the extremely severecyclonic storm'Amphan' over westcentral and adjoining

central parts of South Bay ofBengal moving north-northwestwards, following whichthe State DisasterManagement Authority(SDMA) placed 13 of the 14districts under yellow alert.

Yellow alert means peo-ple and authorities have to becautious as heavy rainfallcan be expected. Only thecapital district has been leftout from the yellow alert onMonday.

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In two major developmentsthat would help the State

Government tackle the coron-avirus situation in the State dur-ing the lockdown-four period,the State-run MMRDA onMonday handed over the 1026-bed Covid Care Centre-2(CCC-2) facility created on theMMRDA ground at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) here,even as eight companies ofCentral Armed Police Forces(CAPF) arrived in Maharashtrato help the State police inenforcing the lockdown-4strictly in the coming days.

Mumbai MetropolitanRegion Development Authority(MMRDA) Commissioner R ARajeev handed over the newCCC-2 with quarantine and iso-lation facility with treatment fornon-critical Covid-19 patients atBKC exhibition ground in north-central Mumbai toBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation’s CommissionerIqbal Singh Chahal in the pres-ence of chief minister UddhavThackeray, deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar, seniorCongress minister BalasahebThorat and other senior minis-ters and bureaucrats on Monday.

At the new facility, there arein all 1,026 beds. In each of the18 wards created at this facility,

there are in all 504 cots (28 cotsin each ward) with Oxygen sup-ply facility to the patients. In nineother wards, there are in all 522cots ( 58 cots in each ward). Inaddition, there are 10 ICUmobile beds.

The BMC has appointed 13doctors, eight nurses and 14ward to manage this CCC-2facility at MMRDA ground.

Spread over 1 lakh sq feet,the Covid Care Centre-2 hasbeen created at the MMRDAground in a record 14 days. Thework, which started on May 2,was completed on May 16.

Jupiter Hospital, Thane as apart of its CSR activity has pro-vided the design and technicalguidance for the construction ofthis hospital, while MMRDA hasborne the cost of constructingthe hospital. It will be a full-fledged hospital with the facili-ties of pathology labs to conductgeneral blood tests of patients.

Meanwhile, eight compa-nies of the Central ArmedPolice Forces (CAPF) arrived inMaharashtra on Monday toassist the state police with theCovid-19 duties

Announcing this, HomeMinister Anil Deshmukh saidhere: “While 5 companies –each with 1 20 highly-trainedpersonnel - will be deployed infrom tomorrow, five others shallbe spread across the State.”

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Page 6: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

It may take some more time for theCOVID-19 pandemic to be broughtfully under control in our country andto be eventually eliminated but one thingis clear, Coronavirus is certain to result

in a re-ordering of India’s federal structure andrelations between the Union and the States.While a united national effort is on to tack-le the virus, there are a few discordant voic-es here and there that question the UnionGovernment’s right to issue directions to theStates. The nation has never witnessed sucha national health crisis ever before and, there-fore, Constitutional and other legal provisionsthat exist to deal with an emergency of thiskind will, inevitably, have to be deployed. Thismeans that the “unitary tilt” that is there inthe Constitution becomes rather pronouncedin circumstances such as these.

BR Ambedkar, the Chairman of the draft-ing committee of the Constitution, dwelt onthe nature of the Indian federation vis-à-visother bodies, especially in emergencies, in hisconcluding remarks on November 25, 1949,in the Constituent Assembly. He said thatthere was an allegation that there was toomuch centralisation and that the States hadbeen reduced to municipalities. He said thisview was not only an exaggeration but wasalso founded on a misunderstanding of whatthe Constitution sought to achieve.

The basic principle of federalism is thatthe legislative and the executive authority ispartitioned between the Centre and the States,not by any law to be made by the former butby the Constitution itself. This principle isembodied in the Constitution. Therefore, hesaid, the charge that centralisation is defeat-ing federalism must fail. The second chargewas that the Centre had been given the powerto override the States. Ambedkar said he“admitted” to this charge and explained thatthe overriding powers do not form the nor-mal features of the Constitution. He said,“their use and operations are expressly con-fined to emergencies only.”

He obviously had in mind not only thearticles in the Constitution regarding theproclamation of an emergency among otherthings but also the powers vested in the Centrein the Union List and the Concurrent List inthe Seventh Schedule to make laws to dealwith emergency situations. For example, item23 under the Concurrent List in the SeventhSchedule gives the Union Government thepower to make law with respect to “preven-tion of the extension from one State to anoth-er of infectious and contagious diseases orpests affecting men, animals and plants.”

In the light of this epidemic and the coor-dinated national effort that is on, one can seethe Disaster Management Act (DMA) as onewhich enables the Centre to evolve a nation-al policy and a plan of action to handle thecurrent COVID-19 crisis.

This Act defines a disaster as “a catastro-phe, mishap, calamity or grave occur-rence…..” Several of its provisions, includingSections 6, 10 and 35, empower the Centre

to take charge when a disasterstrikes, issue directions andensure compliance.

The orders issued by theUnion Home Secretary, who isalso the chairperson of theNational Executive Committee,regarding the lockdown and themeasures to be taken to imple-ment the same, flow from theseprovisions of the DMA. Forexample, in his March 29 order,the Home Secretary referred tothe movement of a large numberof migrants in different parts ofthe country and violation oflockdown measures on maintain-ing social distance and said thatin case of any violation of thesedirections, the States and UnionTerritories should take necessaryaction. The order also made itexplicitly clear that the districtmagistrates and the superinten-dents of police in the districts“will be personally liable for theimplementation of these direc-tions and lockdown measuresissued under the above-men-tioned orders.”

This, to ensure that theorders are not flouted becausegenerally, the district magistratesand superintendents of police aredrawn from the Central servicesand they are well acquainted withthe consequences of non-compli-ance in these matters. Apartfrom the provisions in theConcurrent List and the DMA,the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897,also arms the Centre with pow-ers to handle such epidemics.

However, the State of WestBengal took objection to the

Centre’s decision to send inter-ministerial Central teams toassess the situation on theground in some districts thatwere suspected to be COVID-19hotspots in the State. Somepolitical parties, too, joined themurmur and complained aboutthe Union Government’s atti-tude. However, the Centre’sdecision to take charge of theoverall operations vis-à-visCOVID-19 is in line with theConstitutional scheme devisedby Ambedkar and his colleaguesseven decades ago.

The Constitution vestsresiduary power with the UnionGovernment as also the powerto override the States in anemergency. According to KCWheare, a noted Constitutionalauthority, the IndianConstitution establishes a systemof Government which is quasi-federal. It is “a unitary State withsubsidiary federal features ratherthan a federal state with sub-sidiary unitary features.” IvorJennings, too, concluded that theIndian Constitution “is a feder-ation with a strong centralisingtendency.”

In his concluding remarks,Ambedkar was emphatic withregard to the tilt towards astrong Centre in certain contin-gencies. He said that in the opin-ion of the vast majority of thepeople, the residual loyalty of thecitizen in an emergency must beto the Centre and not to the con-stituent States. For, it is only theCentre that can work for acommon end and for the gen-

eral interests of the country as awhole. Herein lies the justifica-tion for giving to the Centre cer-tain overriding powers to beused in an emergency. “After all,what is the obligation imposedupon the constituent States bythese emergency powers? Nomore than this that in an emer-gency, they should take into con-sideration alongside their ownlocal interests, the opinions andinterests of the nation as awhole. Only those, who have notunderstood the problem, cancomplain against it.”

When one reads theseobservations of Ambedkar, onerealises the depth of his under-standing and his foresight. Heknew his country and his peo-ple very well. He could anticipatethe problems that could arise ina national emergency in a coun-try that is as diverse as India.Currently, 42 political partiesrun the States and UnionTerritories and are tugging indifferent directions with regardto the plans to fight this epidem-ic. Only a strong centralisingforce with adequate consulta-tions (the Prime Minister hasheld several rounds of discus-sions with the Chief Ministers)between the Union and theStates can help tackle this prob-lem. We owe it to our foundingfathers for creating theConstitutional mechanism tocope with this pandemic andnational emergency.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)

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Sir — The COVID-19 pandem-ic has led to the dilemma of lifevs livelihood for Governments,Central and States, as well as thecitizens. The problem is exacer-bated due to the absence of basicincome and food security facili-ties for migrant workers. Withmost workers taking a trainhome, the migrant crisis willcome to haunt the country’sdevelopment paradigm as theseworkers are the wheels of theurban economy.

Moreover, according to the2011 census, there were 45 croreinternal migrants, who account-ed for 37 per cent of the popula-tion. In this context, the Centre’splan to roll out the one nation, oneration card scheme is welcome.This programme is meant for thewelfare of migrant workers. Butloopholes remain. The packageprovides for the distribution offoodgrains only. It does little toaddress the plight of those worstaffected. And it’s not just a mat-ter of losing livelihoods. Workershave lost lives in an attempt toreunite with their family.

Gautam SR Bhopal

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Sir — The Union Governmenthas taken the right decision tovest greater powers with the

States by allowing them to decideon the reopening of all commer-cial activities. The onus is now onthe State Governments to preparea roadmap for a safe resumptionof the economy on the one hand

and devising COVID-19 manage-ment strategies on the other.

It’s a do-or-die situation notonly for the Central and StateGovernments but also for thepeople of this country. Citizens

must exercise voluntary safety tokeep the spread of the disease incheck. They must venture out oftheir homes only when necessary.

The succour is that awarenessregarding the need to maintainsocial distancing has grown. Sincethere is no cure for the virus andthe economy, too, cannot be keptin limbo, people must cooperatewith the Government by follow-ing all safety protocols. In theabsence of any cure or vaccine, wewill be living a dangerous life. Anylaxity on our part and we willhave to pay a huge penalty.

Katuru Durga Prasad RaoHyderabad

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Sir — It will be good if the Statesagree to open up public transport.The general public needs publictransport, including buses, metro,cabs and auto rickshaws. But atthe same time, the safety of thecitizens, too, will have to beensured through social distancingand other guidelines.

SwetaVia email

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Page 7: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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The pandemic and the resultant lockdowns puta temporary stop to economic activitiesacross the globe, impacting millions of peo-

ple and their livelihoods. The Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) estimates this loss to be around $4 tril-lion, which is nearly five per cent of the global GrossDomestic Product (GDP). As a young, developingnation with 65.97 per cent of the population stillresiding in the villages, the pandemic not only test-ed India’s economic resilience but also exposed thegrowing urban-rural divide and income inequali-ty. As we continue to step up our fight against theCoronavirus, we are certain that the post-pandem-ic world would be different from what we left behind.The rebuilding exercise should, therefore, begin withrural India — where, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “Thesoul of India lives.”

Rural India has always found it challenging tounleash its economic potential due to a variety offiscal and social factors. A major reason among themis the continued unavailability of reliable power. Percapita electricity consumption in rural areas stillremains significantly low due to erratic power sup-ply. Research data show that there is a strong pos-itive correlation between economic development andelectricity consumption. For example, China start-ed growing at double digit when the demand andconsumption of power in rural areas doubled andthe small-scale businesses expanded rapidly.Similarly, rural India, too, has a growing demandfor reliable electricity but due to supply side con-straints, this demand remains partially unfulfilled.

How do we address the challenge and ensurereliable power for all? We must strengthen the last-mile power delivery system, which is largely dom-inated by State-run Distribution Companies (DIS-COMS). But as DISCOMS continue to remaintrapped in mounting losses and operational ineffi-ciencies, last-mile power delivery has taken a back-seat. The DISCOMs, therefore, need to streamlineand strengthen their distribution networks withgreater focus on enhancing customer satisfaction,timely complaint redressal, regularised billingprocesses and transparency in finances at all levels.Addressing challenges such as power theft and billinginadequacies can help DISCOMS enhance theirdelivery efficiency.

In addition, the proposed amendments to theElectricity Act, 2003, particularly the unlicenced sub-distribution and payment security mechanism, willboost private sector investments in the distributionsector, reduce their losses and strengthen operationalefficiencies of DISCOMS. Private investments willnot only help DISCOMS deal with financial stressbut will enhance the quality of services and healthycompetition. This will ultimately have a transfor-mative impact on last-mile power delivery andensure access to reliable power for rural households.

India is home to abundant non-conventionalenergy sources such as solar, water and wind thatcan be effectively harnessed to supply reliable elec-tricity to rural households and micro-enterprises.Renewable energy provides low-cost power mod-els and can be deployed even in remote areas despitethe geographical barriers. Expansion of renewableenergy-based mini-grids in rural India can be fur-ther incentivised and be provided additional poli-cy support for generation and distribution of elec-tricity at affordable rates to rural households.

Mini-grids serve as the primary source of elec-

tricity in regions where grid-connectedpower has not found its way yet. A recentsurvey on the impact of COVID-19 inmini-grid villages of Uttar Pradesh (UP)and Bihar revealed that 90 per cent of therural households trust mini-grids for reli-able power supply. However, despitemini-grids becoming a trusted source ofreliable electricity for rural India, theyoften run the risk of reverse migration ofcustomers to centralised grids when thenecessary infrastructure is available.

This concern, however, can beaddressed by integrating mini-grids withcentralised ones to provide enhancedaccess to electricity supply. A fully-inte-grated power system is an optimal solu-tion for electrifying un-electrified villageswith reliable power. Integrated power sup-ply models can minimise the cost by intro-ducing efficient planning, investmentand operation of assets with significanteconomies of scale. Ghana, for example,built an integrated grid, providing powerto 85 per cent of its urban population and41 per cent of the rural population.Integrated power systems can speed up therural electrification process and ensurereliable supply.

The health and economic crises trig-gered by the pandemic clearly underlinethe significance of providing reliablepower for all critical rural infrastructuresuch as health centres, micro-enterprisesand schools. Productive uses of energysuch as for irrigation, small businesses, tai-loring, food storage and so on will furtherensure adequate livelihood options forrural communities with greater econom-ic resilience.

How will reliable electricity helprural India rebuild its economy?

Rural healthcare: This is a key areathat will lead to a new economic revolu-

tion in the post-pandemic world. India’shealthcare preparedness was found to beinadequate during our fight against theCOVID-19 pandemic. Primary healthcentres, which approximately serve 65 percent of the rural populations, need to bemodernised with state-of-the-art infra-structure, especially uninterrupted powersupply. Reliable supply can provide cru-cial support to critical functions of thesehealth centres, especially during medicalemergencies. The survey also revealed thata majority of the rural households dependon community health centres for theirmedical needs. Inadequate and irregularsupply of electricity may affect theirfunctioning with critical implications forrural populations. Electrifying and mod-ernising the health centres will, therefore,be a key step towards rebuilding the econ-omy and reshaping the lifestyle of ruralpopulations. Millions of dollars can besaved if rural populations have access tohigh quality healthcare services. This willnot only have a lasting economic impacton health delivery but will lead to bettersocial outcomes such as improved healthand hygiene.

Modernising agriculture: Farmingremains the primary source of livelihoodfor nearly 65 per cent of Indians. Yet, agri-culture productivity is significantly low inIndia and accounts for only 15.4 per centof the GDP. The growth in agriculture hasbeen moderate in the past decade at near-ly three per cent per annum. Critical func-tions such as irrigation, harvesting, post-harvest handling and storage, all requirereliable power supply. In regions whererainfall is scanty, groundwater is themain source of irrigation. Electricitydemand in rural India is majorly drivenby irrigation. Villages with access to elec-tricity have seen an uptick in agricultur-

al productivity with availability of low-costirrigation technologies. For example,rural households that would sell paddy ata low price earlier sell hulled rice as thereis an electricity-powered rice huller in thevillage. These are few of the examples ofthe transformative impact of reliableelectricity supply. Modernising agriculturewill unlock myriad employment andbusiness opportunities for rural India.

Big push to micro and small busi-nesses: Formalisation of the rural econ-omy is an essential step in providing nec-essary infrastructural support to buddingmicro and small businesses. Reliableelectricity supply encourages creationand expansion of new businesses in ruralareas and can potentially open the doorfor greater economic activity and invest-ments. Villages with access to reliable elec-tricity have already seen the emergence ofmicro enterprises such as training centresfor computer skills, coaching institutes andtravel agencies. The income levels ofhouseholds engaged in small business havewitnessed a steady increase, too. These arereplicable models that can be extended toother villages and reliable power can helprural India unleash its economic poten-tial.

As we seek to rebuild the rural econ-omy, reliable electricity will play a crucialrole in promoting micro-enterprises,doubling farmer incomes and creating sus-tainable job opportunities. The cumula-tive impact of improved healthcare, mod-ernised agriculture practices and rise inrural enterprises will be significant and willenable rural India’s transformation into ahub of economic activity. A new India iswaiting to be born out of the COVID-19pandemic.

(The writer is Chief Executive Officerof Smart Power India)

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In the last week of April, the ForeignMinisters of Brazil, Russia, India,China, and South Africa (BRICS)

held a video-conference to discussBRICS’ handling of COVID-19.Around a week later, the UnitedNations Security Council (UNSC)Chair, Estonia, criticised the council’sapproach to COVID-19. The criticismcomes at a time when the US andChina have stalled any contagion res-olution to be passed. BRICS membersRussia and South Africa backedChina’s bid to block discussions in theUNSC in late March. The events in theUNSC and the discussions in theBRICS are a mismatch. BRICS repre-sents 43 per cent of the world’s popu-

lation while the UNSC is the premierforum for all discussions and collec-tive action against threats to peace andsecurity around the world. COVID-19has not spared any country, developedor developing, which begs the ques-tion, does China truly support multi-lateralism on the world stage?

In October 2019, US PresidentDonald Trump in the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA) said: “Thefuture doesn’t belong to globalists. Thefuture belongs to patriots.” The state-ment echoed what he said a year ear-lier while addressing the UNGA: “Wereject the ideology of globalism and weembrace the doctrine of patriotism.”The US, under the Trump administra-tion, has had a mixed history of aver-sion towards multilateralism, whichstarted with Trump’s election campaignbased on the notion of “AmericaFirst” (also his campaign slogan).

The US has more than one mil-lion COVID-19 cases, which is thehighest in the world. Trump has notshied away from criticising China, andalso the World Health Organisation,(WHO) going as far as calling it “…China’s PR agency.” The statement

came after the US decided to put onhold all funding for the WHO. Themove has raised questions regardingUS priorities in the competitionagainst Beijing: America First vs mul-tilateral cooperation. Critics of theTrump administration do agree thatthe WHO was deferential to China atthe start of the crisis but holding outon the funding seems to defeat the pur-pose, as it gives China more sway inglobal multilateral forums. The sus-pension of funds might or might notbe removed later but the Trumpadministration’s proposed budget for2021 calls for voluntary contributionsto be reduced by half for the WHO.

The US’ reason for stalling theUNSC resolution is that it wants“transparency” added into the Frenchand Tunisian “compromise” resolutionon COVID-19. The other way the USis considering for passing the resolu-tion is a refashioned language forma-tion on transparency along with drop-ping any reference to the WHO.China is using this opportunity toblock any resolution on COVID-19.The US and Chinese Ambassadors tothe UN were involved in a twitter spat

accusing each other of irresponsiblehandling of the pandemic.

The Trump administration hasquestioned its global commitments, asmentioned above, which has led toChina taking the lead. China has start-ed contributing more to the UN andhas used this to put its top CommunistParty officials to fill its leadership posts.Chinese nationals now head a quarterof the UN’s specialised agencies. TheUS backing out of the Human RightsCouncil, suspending funding to theWHO, might lead to ceding ground tothe Chinese. Although there is lowconfidence in China’s role as a globalleader but in the future, a clash of lib-eral values with the Communist Partyof China’s interest and values cannotbe ruled out.

Can BRICS fill the void left by theUS? There are two reasons as to whyBRICS cannot fill the US’ shoes. Thefirst one is, BRICS when it was formu-lated was seen as an intersection ofSouth-South cooperation. The group-ing was perceived to bring aboutnoticeable changes to the existingsecurity paradigm and bring notablechanges to the world order. A group-

ing like BRICS fuelled hopes for a mul-tipolar world, but it is not what meetsthe eye when it comes to China’s per-ception of a multipolar world.

China’s strategies and motivationare inspired by its rich history of inter-nal warfare, strife, and foreign occu-pation. The Stratagems of WarringStates (an ancient Chinese text ofmanipulation and warfare) explainsthat the natural world is hierarchical,and systems without a rule are tran-sitional. This is the opposite of whatBeijing claims when they say that theylook forward to a multipolar worldwhere the US is the first amongequals. Chinese officials in the UN andother public forums since 2005 havespoken a lot about da tong, which hasbeen translated as a “commonwealth”or “an era of hierarchy” but, the bet-ter translation of da tong is “an era ofunipolar dominance.”

The second reason is the tensionson the India-China border. Multiplesoldiers on both sides have beeninjured during a skirmish along theboundary in North Sikkim near theNaku La sector. Added to this, in lateMarch, it was reported that China had

deployed underwater drones and shipsin the Indian Ocean Region (IOR),which are capable of conducting sub-marine and anti-submarine operations.The takeaway from this particular inci-dent is China’s increasing capabilitieswhen it is looking to expand its pres-ence in the IOR. In both cases, theIndian Army and the Navy respective-ly declined to comment to the press.

China’s credibility has been underthe scanner as a future global leaderdue to the accusations of mismanage-ment of handling COVID-19. Theaggressiveness on the Line of ActualControl and the IOR and the US aver-sion to multilateralism put India in atight spot. During the G-20 video con-ference in March, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi called for structuralreform of the WHO. India has beenapproached by Taiwan to support itsbid to participate in the World HealthAssembly, which is the WHO’s parentorganisation. China is not in favour ofTaiwan’s participation in the WHOmeeting in Geneva on May 18. The cri-sis created by COVID-19 has pushedliberal values to its limits and has ledto an anti-globalisation wave world-

wide. Taiwan has been able to pushback against COVID-19 effectively.The methods and practices could beused globally but it might not be pos-sible as China intervenes in globalforums and opposes its inclusion.

The New Development Bank ofBRICS has loaned $15 billion to boostthe grouping’s economies. Furtheron, a Vaccine Research andDevelopment Centre is being consid-ered by the grouping to find a cure forCOVID-19. The initiatives by BRICSare commendable but the problemsbetween India and China, along withBeijing’s ambitions and interventionsin global forums, curtail its effective-ness to provide alternate solutions,especially when BRICS is supposed tofacilitate the Global SouthCooperation. India should start con-sidering BRICS just as an economicinterest group, in light of recent eventson the border and the IOR, while notallowing China to use the grouping asa strategic device to promote retool-ing of global fora like the UN.

(The writer is a Research Associateat the VIF. The views expressed are per-sonal)

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Europe reopened more wide-ly on Monday, allowing

people into the Acropolis inAthens, high-fashion boutiquesin Italy, museums in Belgium,golf courses in Ireland andbeer gardens in Bavaria. Chinaannounced it will give $2 bil-lion to the fight against thecoronavirus.

As nations carved out anew normal amid the pan-demic, Chinese President XiJinping told the World HealthOrganization’s annual meet-ing that the money will be paidout over two years to helprespond to Covid-19, whichhas killed hundreds of thou-sands and devastated nationaleconomies. He said the fundswill especially support efforts indeveloping countries.

Xi’s address came amidsharp tensions between Beijingand President Donald Trump,who has suspended U.S. fund-ing to WHO and accused it offailing to stop the virus fromspreading when it first surfacedin China. Health and HumanServices Secretary Alex Azarrepresented the US at the meet-ing, held online this year.

WHO announced it willevaluate the response to theoutbreak “at the earliest appro-priate moment,” after a watch-dog body found possible short-comings in the UN agency’shandling of the crisis.

New infections and deathshave slowed considerably inEurope, where some countriesstarted easing lockdowns amonth ago. Many nations arepreparing to open their bordersnext month, trying to sketchout the rules for a highlyunusual summer tourist season.

Germany’s foreign ministerwas discussing the options withcolleagues from 10 largelysouthern European countries.

More than 4.7 million peo-ple worldwide have tested pos-itive for the coronavirus andover 3,15,000 deaths have beenreported, according to a tally byJohns Hopkins University.Those figures are believed tounderstate the true dimen-sions of the outbreak becauseof limited testing, differences incounting the dead and con-cealment by someGovernments.

The US has reported almost90,000 deaths, and Europe hasseen over 1,60,000 dead.

Greece reopened theAcropolis and other ancientsites, along with high schools,shopping malls and mainlandtravel. Paving stickers wereused to keep visitors apart.Tourists were local, for thecountry still has a 14-day quar-antine for arrivals, and travel toGreek islands remains broad-ly restricted.

Authorities are keen toreopen Greece’s vital tourismsector, following a warning thatthe country is likely to suffer theworst recession in the 27-nationEuropean Union this year.

Greece’s beaches reopenedover the weekend during aheat wave with strict social dis-tancing, but buses from Athensto the coast were crowded.

In Belgium, more studentsreturned to school, hairdressersbegan clipping locks again,and museums and zoosreopened, all with strict reser-vation systems to avoid over-crowding. Hoping to make themost of the sunny weather,open-air markets started sellingspring fruit and vegetables.

Golf courses and gardenstores reopened in Ireland, butHealth Minister Simon Harrissaid he is nervous because the

virus hasn’t gone away. If Ireland can get the next

three weeks right, “we as acountry will find a way to livesafely alongside the virus,”Harris told RTE radio.

Churches in Italy and at theVatican resumed public Masses.Guards in hazmat suits took thetemperatures of the faithfulentering St. Peter’s Basilica,where Pope Francis celebratedan early morning Mass in a sidechapel to commemorate the100th anniversary of the birthof St. John Paul II.

Across town, the Rev. JoseMaria Galvan snapped on latexgloves and a face mask beforedistributing Communion to adozen parishioners at hisSant’Eugenio parish.

In Milan, theMontenapoleone district ofluxury boutiques reopened,but few if any shoppers were insight. The area is home tosuch fashion houses as Armani,Versace, Ferragamo, Fendi andBottega Veneta, but its cus-tomers are mostly foreigners,and travel to Italy remainsseverely restricted.

At Milan’s City Hall, hun-dreds of open-air vendorsprotested the failure of the city

to come up with rules for non-food stands to reopen.

Portuguese Prime MinisterAntonio Costa took his morn-ing coffee at a Lisbon cafe andwas having lunch at a restau-rant with the speaker of par-liament as officials encour-aged people to support localbusinesses. Costa told reporters“we can’t return to our old lifeas long as the virus is around”but said the economy mustcome back to life.

In France, authorities wereconcerned after about 70 infec-tions popped up in the coun-try’s schools since they startedreopening last week. Francereopened about 40,000preschools and primary schoolslast week, with classes cappedat 15 students.

The WHO has been drawninto a blame game between theUS and China over the spreadof the virus. Trump claimsChina mishandled the out-break early on, but China hasdefended its record.

The EU and other coun-tries have called for an inde-pendent evaluation of theWHO’s response to the pan-demic “to review experiencegained and lessons learned.”

Xi said that China hadprovided all relevant outbreakdata to WHO and other coun-tries, including the virus’sgenetic sequence, “in a mosttimely fashion.”

“We have shared controland treatment experience withthe world without reservation,”Xi said. “We have done every-thing in our power to supportand assist countries in need.”

Xi said he also supports theidea of a comprehensive reviewof the global response toCOVID-19, which “should bebased on science and profes-sionalism, led by WHO andconducted in objective andimpartial manner.”

The 11-page review of theWHO’s response by an inde-pendent oversight body raisedquestions of whether its warn-ing system for alerting theworld to outbreaks was ade-quate, and it suggested mem-ber states might need to“reassess” WHO’s role in pro-viding travel advice to coun-tries.

China reported just sevennew cases on Monday but kepttighter social-distancing rulesin parts of the northeasternprovince of Jilin after a cluster

of cases of unknown originturned up.

Moscow health officialssaid 77 people died of thevirus in the Russian capital inthe past 24 hours, the highestdaily total so far. With over290,000 infections, Russia issecond only to the U.S. in thenumber of cases, but interna-tional health officials questionRussia’s low official death toll ofabout 2,700.

In India, people trickledoutdoors after the governmentextended a nationwide lock-down to May 31 but easedmany restrictions. Small shopsand other businesses reopenedin places, including the capital,New Delhi. At the same time,India recorded its biggest sin-gle-day coronavirus surge withover 5,200 new cases, alongwith 157 deaths.

In Brazil, President JairBolsonaro greeted hundredsof supporters — and joinedsome in performing push-ups— who gathered to back hisopen-the-economy drive.Bolsonaro has played down thevirus even as it has sweptthrough Latin America’s mostpopulous country, leaving over16,000 dead.

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Clashes broke out in HongKong’s legislature Monday

for a second time this month asa pro-Beijing lawmaker waselected as chair of a key com-mittee that scrutinizes bills,ending a prolonged struggle forcontrol with the pro-democra-cy camp.

The legislature’s HouseCommittee, which vets billsand decides when to presentthem for a final vote, had beenwithout a chairperson for morethan six months. The centralgovernment in Beijing criti-cized deputy chairperson andpro-democracy lawmakerDennis Kwok for deliberatelydelaying matters and causing a

backlog of bills that affect pub-lic interest.

Kwok was replaced Fridayby Chan Kin-por, who wasappointed by the legislature’spresident to preside overMonday’s election. After scufflesand shouting matches led toChan ejecting most of the pro-democracy lawmakers, the elec-tion took place, with pro-Beijinglawmaker Starry Lee winningeasily. Her election will likelyspeed up the passing of a con-troversial bill that would crim-inalise abuse of the Chinesenational anthem. Hong Kong’sleader, Carrie Lam, said lastweek that passing the bill was apriority for the government, andthe bill will be presented to thecommittee on May 27.

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The gunman in a deadlyattack at a military base in

Pensacola, Florida, lastDecember was meticulous in hisplanning and had been radical-ized overseas for at least fiveyears, US officials said nMonday.

The FBI learned of the con-tacts between the gunman,Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani,

and an al-Qaeda operative afterbreaking the encryption on cell-phones that had previously beenlocked.

Attorney General WilliamBarr and FBI Director ChrisWray held a news conference toannounce the developments inthe shooting late last year at thePensacola Naval Air Station, inwhich a Saudi Air Force officerkilled three US sailors andinjured eight other people.

Alshamrani, who was killedby a sheriff ’s deputy during therampage at a classroom building,was undergoing flight training atPensacola, where members offoreign militaries routinelyreceive instruction.

The Justice Department hadpreviously asked Apple to helpextract data from two iPhonesthat belonged to the gunman,including one that authoritiessay Alshamrani damaged with a

bullet after being confronted bylaw enforcement. Wray said FBIagents were able to break the encryption without the helpof Apple.

Law enforcement officialsleft no doubt that Alshamraniwas motivated by jihadist ide-ology, saying he visited a NewYork City memorial to theattacks of Sept. 11, 2001, over theThanksgiving holiday weekendand posted anti-American and

anti-Israeli messages on socialmedia just two hours before theshooting.

Separately, al-Qaeda’sbranch in Yemen, released avideo claiming the attack.

The branch, al-Qaeda in theArabian Peninsula, or AQAP,has long been considered theglobal network’s most dangerousbranch and has attempted tocarry out attacks on the USmainland.

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The WHO is “irreplaceable”and needs enhanced

resources especially to providesupport to the developingcountries facing the “devastat-ing” impact of Covid-19, UNchief Antonio Guterres said onMonday, amid criticism of theglobal health agency’s han-dling of the pandemic.

The Secretary-General saidthe entire United Nations fam-ily “stands” with thousands ofits colleagues at the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)who are working around theworld to support the memberstates in saving lives and pro-tecting the vulnerable, withguidance, training and essen-tial testing, treatment and pro-tective equipment.

Guterres also voiced concernover the “devastating” impact theoutbreak will have as it spreadsacross the developing nations.“The WHO is irreplaceable. Itneeds enhanced resources, par-ticularly to provide support todeveloping countries, whichmust be our greatest concern. We

are as strong as the weakesthealth systems,” Guterres saidwhile addressing a virtual eventof the opening of the 73rd WorldHealth Assembly, which super-vises the WHO.

The US has strongly criti-cised the WHO for its handlingof the pandemic, with PresidentDonald Trump halting fundingto the WHO. Trump hadlaunched a scathing attack onthe Geneva-based WHO, say-ing it has been “China-centric”and has been “wrong” on a lotof things about the virus.

Guterres reiterated his com-ments made last month follow-ing Trump’s attack and saidthere will be a time, once thepandemic has been controlled,to look back fully to understandhow such a disease emerged andspread its devastation so quick-ly across the globe, and how allthose involved reacted to the cri-sis. The UN Chief emphasisedthat “now is not that time” andnow is the time for unity, for theinternational community towork together in solidarity tostop this virus and its shatteringconsequences.”

�����"����������� �����2�"�#����������� �������������� ���������������2��� �������#����4 �(� ��#""������"��������(��9�������� !�

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An antibody from a patientwho recovered from SARS

has been shown to blockCovid-19 infection in a labo-ratory setting, researchers saidon Monday in another poten-tial breakthrough in the searchfor coronavirus treatment.

Scientists based inSwitzerland and the UnitedStates previously isolated theantibodies from the patient in2003, following the SARS out-break that killed 774 people.

They experimented with25 different types of antibod-ies — which target specific pro-tein spikes on viruses - to seeif they could prevent cellsbecoming infected with Covid-19. Both SARS and thepathogen which causes Covid-19 are coronaviruses, thoughtto have come from animals,and so their structures aresimilar.

The researchers identifiedeight antibodies that couldbind to both Covid-19 and theinfected cells.

One candidate, known asS309, was shown to have “par-ticularly strong neutralisingactivity” against Covid-19.

By combining S309 withother less potent antibodiesthey were able to target differ-ent sites on the virus’ proteinspike, thus reducing its poten-tial to mutate.

The Covid-19 pandemichas seen hundreds of trials foreffective treatment launched,including some involving theuse of antibodies from recov-ered patients.

While there were no exper-iments on humans in the study,published in the journalNature, its authors said theirfindings represent “proof-of-concept” that antibodies fromSARS can prevent severeCovid-19 infection and spread.

“These results pave theway for using S309- and S309-containing antibody cocktailsfor prophylaxis in individualsat high risk of exposure or as apost-exposure therapy to limitor treat severe disease,” they wrote.

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The global coronavirus pan-demic has created a huge

need for health care in the US, but it also is deliveringa devastating financial blow tothat sector.

Covid-19 worries have keptpatients away from doctors’offices and forced the post-ponement and cancellation ofnon-urgent surgeries. The pan-demic also has shut down largeportions of the American econ-omy, leaving many would-bepatients without insurance orin a financial pinch that makesthem curb spending.

All of this has forced hos-pitals, health systems and doc-tors to lay off staff, cut costs and hope a return to normalarrives soon.

“You couldn’t ask for aworse situation, really,” said JoeAntos, an economist with theAmerican Enterprise Institute.

Health care provided thebiggest drag on the US econo-my in the first quarter.Spending on care fell at anannual rate of 18 per cent, thelargest drop for that sector among records goingback to 1959.

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ACommission of the IranianParliament on Monday

tasked the government to cre-ate a “virtual embassy” inPalestine.

Parliament’s NationalSecurity and Foreign PolicyCommission approved a pre-viously drafted motion bill,which obliges the IranianForeign Ministry to lay thegroundwork for the creation of“the Islamic Republic’s VirtualEmbassy in Palestine” withinsix months and submit theresults for approval to the cab-inet, reports Xinhua news

agency.On May 12, Iranian law-

makers approved “a double-urgency motion” which, incase of turning into law, wouldoblige the Iranian Government to take certainmeasures against “hostile mea-sures” of Israel.

One of the articles of themotion endorsed by theCommission states that “thehistoric land of Palestinebelongs to the originalPalestinian people”.

The approvals of theCommission should be turnedinto a law by Parliament for itsenforcement.

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The UK’s “historic” newstrategy for visas and immi-

gration, which is pitched as apoints-based system estab-lished on skills rather than thecountry of origin, returned tothe House of Commons onMonday.

The Immigration andSocial Security Co-ordination(EU Withdrawal) Bill 2020,which was tabled in March buthad its progress slowed downdue to the coronavirus crisis,forms the basis for the UK’s

post-Brexit plans once theEuropean Union (EU) freemovement rules come to aclose at the end of the year.

“This historic piece of leg-islation gives the UK full con-trol of our immigration systemfor the first time in decades andthe power to determine whocomes to this country,” said UKHome Secretary Priti Patel,who is leading the charge onthe new strategy.

“Our new points-based sys-tem is firmer, fairer, and simpler.It will attract the people we needto drive our economy forward

and lay the foundation for ahigh wage, high skill, high pro-ductivity economy,” the Indian-origin minister said.

Under the new system, tobe enforced from January 1next year, the magic number ofpoints required to apply towork and stay in the UK will be70. These will accrue in incre-ments of 20 or 10 based on pro-fessional skills, English lan-guage proficiency, a job offerfrom an approved sponsor andsalary levels between GBP20,480 and GBP 25,600 orabove.

Kabul: A suicide bomber in astolen military Humvee target-ed a base in eastern Afghanistanbelonging to the country’s intel-ligence service early on Monday,killing at least nine members ofthe force, Afghan officials said.The Taliban claimed responsi-bility for the attack.

At least 40 members of theforce were wounded in theattack near the city of Ghazni,the provincial capital ofGhazni, according to ArifNoori, the spokesman for theprovincial governor. Eight ofthe wounded were in criticalcondition and were transferredto the capital, Kabul, for furthertreatment, Noori added.

Earlier reports had sevendead but Tariq Arian,spokesman for the Afghan inte-rior minister, confirmed the lat-est casualty tolls. According toNoori, the bomber used a stolenmilitary Humvee full of explo-sives, detonating it as heapproached the main entrancegate to the base. Talibanspokesman Zabihullah Mujahidsaid the insurgents were behindthe attack in Ghazni province,where the Taliban control mostof the countryside and therural areas. AP

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Page 9: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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China’s commerce Ministrysays it will take “all neces-

sary measures” in response tonew U.S. restrictions onChinese tech giant Huawei’sability to use American tech-nology, calling the measures anabuse of state power and a vio-lation of market principles.

An unidentified spokesper-son quoted Sunday in a state-ment on the Ministry’s websitesaid the regulations also threat-ened the security of the “glob-al industrial and supply chain.”

“The U.S. uses State power,under the so-called excuse ofnational security, and abusesexport control measures tocontinuously oppress and con-tain specific enterprises of

other countries,” the statementsaid. China will “take all nec-essary measures to resolutelysafeguard the legitimate rightsand interests of Chinese enter-prises,” it said.

Under the new rules, for-eign semiconductor makerswho use American technologymust obtain a U.S. license toship Huawei-designed semi-conductors to the Chinesecompany.

Chip design and manufac-turing equipment used in theworld’s semiconductor plants ismostly U.S.-made, so new ruleaffects foreign producers thatsell to Huawei and affiliatesincluding HiSilicon, whichmainly designs chipsets used insmartphones and wireless base stations.

������ 4�5�6�+0*

India’s largest sugarcane grow-er, UP, has achieved record

output of 122.28 lakh tonnes ofsugar in the current sugar sea-son 2019-20 (October-September), as on May 15while 46 mills are still operat-ing. On the other side, pro-duction has declined over 43per cent in Maha, till May 15,as compared to the corre-sponding period of the previ-ous year. India’s sugar produc-tion has declined by nearly 19per cent as on May 15, while 63mills are still in operation, theIndian Sugar Mills Association(ISMA) said on Monday.

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Aviation stocks on Mondayfell up to 7.3 per cent after

regulator DGCA said all sched-uled commercial passengerflights have been suspended tillMay 31 midnight.

Shares of InterGlobeAviation dropped 7.27 per cent and those of SpiceJet fell 4.92 per cent on the BSE.

The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) said“foreign and domestic airlinesshall be suitably informedabout the opening of their operations whether inter-national to or from India ordomestic, respectively, in due course”.

All commercial passengerflights have been suspended inIndia since March 25, when thelockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the novelcoronavirus.

The National DisasterManagement Authority(NDMA), the nodal depart-ment, has announced lock-down 4.0 till May 31 to checkthe spread of the novel coronavirus.

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Shares of multiplex and hoteloperators on Monday

cracked up to 14.5 per centafter the countrywide lock-down was further extendedtill May 31.

Shares of INOX Leisuretumbled 14.49 per cent and

those of PVR tanked 12.54 percent on the BSE.

Besides, Chalet Hotelsplummeted 13.38 per cent,Indian Hotels CompanyLimited plunged 8.04 per cent,EIH Associated Hotels 5.83per cent, Wonderla Holidays4.91 per cent and Lemon TreeHotels 4.78 per cent.

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Bank stocks were the worsthit among the BSE sectoral

indices on Monday in a weakbroader market where the BSEbenchmark crashed 1,069points. IndusInd Bank was thetop laggard in the Sensex pack,cracking 10 per cent, RBLBank dropped 9.55 per cent,Federal Bank 9.47 per cent,City Union Bank 8.41 per cent,Axis Bank 7.55 per cent, ICICIBank 7.44 per cent, SBI 6.61 percent, HDFC Bank 5.83 percent and Kotak Mahindra Bank5.47 per cent.

The BSE bankex index fell6.69 per cent. “With the stim-ulus package announced by theGovernment, not seen as ade-quate considering the need ofthe hour and with infectionscontinuing unabated, the mar-kets ended down by around 3.4per cent, in spite of positiveglobal cues.

“Most measures may beseen as a long term positive and

markets were more worriedabout the immediate impact ofthese measures. With concernsabout rising NPAs, financialswere most affected,” said VinodNair, head of research at GeojitFinancial Services.

The BSE benchmark closed1,068.75 points, or 3.44 per centlower at 30,028.98. Banks werethe biggest contributors in themarket crash on Monday.

“Banking stock witnessedselling pressure on the back ofsuspension of new bankruptcycases for one year, declared ina stimulus package by theFinance Minister,” said VishalWagh, Research Head, BonanzaPortfolio Ltd. Seeking to pro-vide relief for the coronaviruspandemic-hit economy.

The Government will pro-vide various relaxations underthe insolvency law, includingsuspending fresh proceedingsfor up to one year, exemptingCOVID-19-related debt andcoming out with a specialframework for MSMEs.

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Sending out a strong message,Union Minister Nitin

Gadkari has said theGovernment will considerremoval or demotion of offi-cials whose indecisiveness isobstructing highway works asmany such projects have alsobeen impacted by the coron-avirus-induced lockdown.

“Enough of warning hasbeen given to officials sitting onfiles and not taking decisions.A large number of our highwayprojects are suffering due tothis.

It is time that such officialswho despite being promotedand empowered to take deci-sions be demoted or removedand give chance to those whowant to perform,” Gadkari toldPTI in an interview.

To make up for the losses incurred in terms ofhighways projects and to bringthem on track, the RoadTransport, Highways andMSME Minister Gadkari hasalready fixed a target to buildroads worth �15 lakh crore inthe next two years.

Earlier, the Minister, hadreviewed 740 highway pro-jects totalling 28,304 km from16 states and has asked officialsand stakeholders to fast-trackthese.

The projects were worthabout �5 lakh crore. “Despite

cautioning repeatedly.I have found that a large

number of officials speciallyproject directors and regionalofficers of National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI)who have been empowered totake decisions on projects up to�50 crore on the spot, keepflooding the head office withqueries obstructing work,”Gadkari said.

He said though he was notin a position to provide the exact number of suchqueries, but said the number is“huge”.

“I have come to a conclu-sion that it is time to take actionagainst these officials andremove them or demote them.Project Directors and RegionalOfficers were given rights.

They are afraid of takingdecisions... Taking responsi-bility and sending each andevery query to us. Those whodo not exercise their rights,have no right to continue...There is no justification forthem to hold the position,” theMinister said.

NHAI has about 175 pro-ject directors and 25 regionalofficers across the country.

The Minister said theNHAI has resumed 95 percent of work on war-footingnow with permission to startconstruction activities whileadhering to guidelines.

On the NHAI arbitration

conciliation, he said: “In 22 out24 ongoing cases adjournmentwas sought by NHAI officialsand I have directed theChairman to expedite it.Hopefully things will be fast-tracked now. “Performanceaudit of each and every officialwill be done.

Those found not perform-ing up to the mark will beshown the exit through com-pulsory retirement as also saidby the Prime Minister.However, good work willequally be rewarded.”

The Minister said hisMinistry was conducting per-formance audit and termed itmore important than financialaudit.

The Minister had earliersaid in case of stalling of pro-jects on account of court or tri-bunal orders, NHAI and theHighways Ministry will puthoardings and banners inform-ing people behind the reasonsfor delays.

The issue of timelyapproval of Extension of Time(EOT) and change of scope(COS) was particularly raisedby the Contractors/Concessionaire during a recentmeeting saying timelyapprovals would help in facil-itating lending by banks.

An online portal “GATI”was also launched to fast-trackdecision making and make theprocess transparent.

������ 4�5�6�+0*

The demand for personalcare products and kitchen

appliances saw a meteoric riseon ecommerce platforms as theGovernment allowed sale ofnon-essential items acrosszones (barring containmentspots) from Monday.

Paytm Mall saw a 50 percent surge in sales for groom-ing products from tier II and IIItowns. There was almost a 50per cent jump in the sale ofshavers, trimmers, epilators,hair straighteners and stylingproducts and hair dryers,among other products.

“We think the demand forthese products is set to rise fur-ther over the next few weeksand post that it would remainconsistently high,” said SrinivasMothey, Senior Vice President,Paytm Mall.According to AnujSingh, Chief MerchandisingOfficer, Best Price, WalmartIndia, when the lockdown wasimposed, they saw a spike incategories like sanitizers, per-sonal wash, staples, and homecleaning products.

“With non-essential cate-gories opening up, we expectsome pent up demand in smallkitchen and home applianceslike irons, kettles, pressurecookers, and fans,” said Singh.

The new guidelines forlockdown 4.0 have paved theway for a broader resumptionof economic activities acrossmost parts of the country.”AtSnapdeal, we are ready andequipped to now start servingcustomers all across India.

New Delhi: Under AtmaNirbhar Bharat package,Government of India hasdecided that food grains will beprovided free of cost at the rateof 5 Kg per month for twomonths i.e. May and June 2020,to about 8 Crore migrant

labour who are not coveredunder NFSA or State schemePDS cards.

The total estimated cost ofabout �3,500 Crore for imple-mentation of this scheme willbe fully borne by Governmentof India.

All India Allocation offood grains under this schemeis 8 Lakh Metric Tonnes(LMT).

Delivery of food grainsunder this scheme has alreadystarted by Food Corporation ofIndia (FCI).

������ 4�5�6�+0*

Joining arch rival Zomato,food delivery platform

Swiggy on Monday announcedto lay off 1,100 employees,nearly 14 per cent of its work-force, spanning across gradesand functions in the cities andhead office over the next fewdays as Covid-19 continues tohurt its business across verticals.

All impacted employeeswill receive at least threemonths of salary, irrespective oftheir notice period or tenure,

Sriharsha Majety, Co-founderand CEO, Swiggy, told employ-ees in a virtual town hall meet-ing.”For every year they havespent with us, we will be offer-ing an extra month of ex-gra-tia in addition to their noticeperiod pay, working out tobetween 3-8 months of salary depending on thetenure,” said Majety.

Swiggy said if someone’snotice period is three monthsand they’ve spent five yearswith the company, they will geteight months of salary.

The company will inform

those being laid off in one-to-one video calls.

Swiggy said it is also goingto scale down or shut downadjacent businesses that areeither going to be highlyvolatile or will not be highly rel-evant for the next 18 months.

“The biggest impact here ison the Cloud kitchens business,with many unknowns aboutvolumes through the year.Since the onset of Covid-19, wehave already begun the processof shutting down our kitchenfacilities temporarily or per-manently.

������ 4�5�6�+0*

Registering its displeasureover no stimulus for the

trading community, theConfederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) has askedFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman to reconsider theeconomic package andannounce measures to sup-port the trading community.

In a statement, the traders’body said that it has resentedwith deep regret that one of thelargest and most committedsegments of the trading com-munity in the country hasbeen omitted in wide reachingannouncements of the eco-nomic package.

The traders’ body has writ-ten to Sitharaman to come upwith measures for aroundseven crore retail traders in thecountry.

It has also sent similarcommunication to HomeMinister Amit Shah, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh,Commerce Minister PiyushGoyal and Textile MinisterSmriti Irani.

In the letter, CAIT hassaid that the traders of Indiahave stood firmly with theGovernment and the people ofIndia in these troubled times toensure continuous supply ofessential commodities but nowthe traders feel that the Centrehas let them down.

It reiterated that at thetime of lifting of lockdown, thetraders will have to meet vari-ous financial obligations likepayment of salary to employ-ees, payment of GST, IncomeTax and other levies, EMIs,bank interest on loans andvarious other incidentalexpenses among others.

“All such circumstanceswill land the traders in turbu-lent time of financial crisisand it is expected that inabsence of any handholding ofthe traders by the traders.

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Cautioning that movementof goods and essential sup-

plies will be impacted if theGovernment fails to announceimmediate relief for trans-porters, AIMTC on Mondaysaid that on the ground, the sit-uation is deteriorating withevery passing day and it isgoing to result in another majorcrisis. The All India MotorTransport Congress (AIMTC)is the apex body of trans-porters and represents about 95lakh truckers and entities.

The coronavirus turmoil

and the nationwide lockdownhave taken the road transportecosystem to dreadful levels,AIMTC said pointing out thatabout 30 per cent vehicles seenon the roads, those engaged intransporting essential suppliesand delivering loaded stock, arebeing run majorly by owner-drivers and small operators.

“The movement of trucks,containers and other freightvehicles will not only affect themovement of goods from oneState to another, will also affectimport-export. This will affectthe supply of both essential andnon-essential items. TheCentral Govt has announcedan economic relief package forvarious sectors in 5 phases torevive the slowing economydue to the coronavirus epi-demic. However, the CentralGovernment did not take careof this sector while announcingthe relief package,” AIMTCPresident Kultaran Singh Atwalsaid.

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Walmart-owned Flipkarton Monday said it is

awaiting advisories from dif-ferent states for resuming fullservices, including in red zones,a day after Home Ministry’sguidelines on lockdown 4.0were released.

According to Union HomeMinistry’s order on Sunday, “allother activities will be permit-ted, except those which arespecifically prohibited” underthe fourth phase of the lock-down that ends on May 31.

However, in containmentzones, only essential activitieswill be allowed.

States and union territo-ries, based on their assessmentof the situation, may prohibitcertain other activities in var-ious zones or impose suchrestrictions as deemed neces-

sary, the order had added.”Postthe Government of India’sguidelines last evening, we areawaiting the advisories fromdifferent states. We will con-tinue to work in accordancewith the directives from theGovernment and local author-ities while serving customers,sellers through our safe supplychain,” a Flipkart Groupspokesperson said.

The spokesperson addedthat the company is workingwith lakhs of MSMEs and sell-ers across India to providethem with constant counseland help with their businessreadiness, and is followingsafety and health procedures atits facilities and for supplychain and delivery staff.“Our seller support team is pro-viding on-ground support tosellers to help them resumeoperations swiftly.

� ��� �,��2*

American brokerageGoldman Sachs expects

the Indian economy to contractby 5 per cent in FY21, makingit the worst performance by thecountry ever. The brokeragesaid the GDP will contract bya mind-boggling 45 per cent inthe June quarter as comparedto the January-March periodon an annualised basis, becauseof the continuing lockdownwhich is chilling economicactivity, before recovering later.

A slew of watchers areexpecting a contraction in theIndian economy in FY21, someeven after the �20 lakh crorestimulus announced by theGovernment. Goldman wasearlier expecting a 0.4 per centcontraction before revising itdown to a level it shares withJapanese brokerage Nomura.

“The -5 per cent growth weforecast for FY21 would bedeeper compared to all ‘reces-

sions’ India has ever experi-enced,” its analysts wrote in the note.

The virus continues tospread in India, resulting in thepushing of the nationwidelockdown with gradual relax-ation of restrictions, while con-cerns among consumers andbusinesses continue, it said. Therebound from a quarterly per-spective will be very strong inthe September quarter, it said,expecting a 20 per cent growthin GDP over the level of June-end, but added that the samewill be gradual from then on.

Joining its peers, the bro-kerage also said that the reformmeasures announced by theGovt will help growth only overthe medium term and are notexpected to have any benefit inthe near-term. In line with itspeers, the brokerage also saidthat the fiscal impact of thestimulus measures announcedby the Govt is very small at 1.3per cent of GDP.

� ��� �,��2*

The rupee plummeted by 33paise to close at 75.91

against the US dollar onMonday, tracking weak domes-tic equities and foreign fundoutflows.Forex traders said ris-ing crude oil prices and con-cerns about the effectiveness ofthe fiscal stimulus packageweighed on investor sentiment.

“India’s rupee led lossesamong emerging-market cur-rencies in Asia on disappoint-ment over the Government’sstimulus announcements. Spot

USDINR is expected to findresistance around 76.50 onexpectation of foreign fundinflows at lower equity levels,”said Devarsh Vakil, HeadAdvisory, HDFC securities.

Market participants alsosaid that the extension of thenationwide lockdown couldweigh on the economic outlookof the country.

The Government onSunday extended the coron-avirus lockdown for two moreweeks with the fourth phaseproviding more relaxationsoutside the containment zones.

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Page 10: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

Even though the desire to look beau-tiful is as old as history, the last few

decades have witnessed a raging obses-sion with appearances. Millennials arebecoming increasingly dissatisfied withthe way they look, and they are desper-ate to acquire a ‘designer body’ with per-fect looks. Most of these people look finebut they are deeply convinced thatsomething is wrong with their appear-ance and consequently, they sufferfrom social anxiety, depression, andpoor self-confidence. Exasperatingworkouts, measly diets and cosmeticsurgeries are fast becoming a norm asthis sizeable population works hard tofix its imagined ugliness and feel good.

What could have caused so manypeople to despise their normal bodies?Blame it on the prevalent global cultureof body shaming. We get multiplemessages everyday telling us that thereis something terribly wrong with ourbody: friends and family bantering usto lose some pounds of weight, actorsand models flaunting their specimenfigures and thousands of advertisementspersuading us to utilise their services inliving up to the most unrealistic stan-

dards of body image. Even small chil-dren are exposed to these bizarre stan-dards.

All this creates a vicious circle wherewe despise our appearance, criticiseother people for their physical imper-fections and then as a reaction, they starthating some aspect of their appearanceand mock at us for not being pictureperfect. Ultimately, we end up perpet-uating cycles of self-loathing and body

shaming. To break free, we need to ques-tion these bizarre standards of bodilyperfection. Physical beauty is short-lived— our bodies change over time and sodoes the perception of other peopleabout our physical appeal. Besides,there are many individual, societal andcultural variations in the standards usedto determine physical beauty.

More often than not, we think thatby changing our body and turning it

into a certain type will end all our wor-ries but, experience and research showsthat even those few who manage toattain such unreachable targets contin-ue to reel under fear and pain. Theanswer lies in changing how we look atour body, shoving off all the dysfunc-tional perceptions and beliefs we haveinternalised over the years aroundwhat constitutes a beautiful body.

Begin this healing journey by bold-ly rejecting messages that tell you todespise your body and look for ideas,words and stories around body accep-tance and love. It also includes identi-fying and silencing your inner criticwhich tells you time and again toberate your body. You must also edu-cate your family, friends, and acquain-tances in clear words that body sham-ing in any form is cruel and encouragethem to coalesce in bringing a changein your close circle. Going further, makea resolve to love your body as it is andframe some strong body positive mes-sages which you can repeat to yourselfevery day.

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!��������2&,'.3 4������COVID-19 continues to spread in India. As of May 17, more than

88,000 cases have been diagnosed, and over 2,800 people havedied. To combat it, the Government is rapidly ramping up testing:the number of laboratories performing COVID-19 tests hasincreased from 19 in March, to 520 today. More than two milliontests have been performed across the country since the pandem-ic began.

Why is testing such an essential part of our country’s defencestrategy? One critical reason is that it is actionable now. And whilea vaccine may be over a year away, testing will continue to becrucial to the roll out of both treatments and vaccines once theyare available.

Testing allows infected people to be identified and isolatedquickly, so they can receive care and the chain of transmissioncan be broken. It also provides essential information to our pub-lic health decision makers.

The majority of confirmatory testing in India and across theworld has, to date, been performed using molecular tests. Theselook for genetic material from SARS-CoV-2 — the virus respon-sible for COVID-19 — in a sample from a person’s nose or throat.If it is present, they make millions of copies until the concen-tration is high enough to detect. The chemical reaction that dri-ves the copying process is called polymerase chain reaction, andso this type of test is known as a PCR test.

As the most accurate, gold standard frontline test, molecu-lar tests are most commonly used to confirm diagnosis of

COVID-19 in an individual.But they need to be performedin a laboratory by trained tech-nicians, as they need specialequipment and infrastructure.This limits the number of teststhat can be performed each day,and results are not immediate-ly available.

Rapid tests that can be per-formed outside of a laboratorywould enable us to reach morepeople, more quickly. Thesetests rely on our immune system:when we have a viral infection,our immune system recognisescertain molecules on the surfaceof the virus, known as antigens,and mounts an immuneresponse by producing antibod-ies to destroy it.

Antigen tests detect the anti-gens in a patient sample, but

development of an antigen test accurate enough for diagnosis ischallenging. Right now there are several antigen tests under eval-uation, but none yet in general use.

Antibody tests detect the antibodies that have been producedduring an infection. Due to uncertainties over how long it takesfor the antibodies to be produced and for how long they con-tinue to circulate after the infection is over, these tests cannotconfirm if the person is currently infected by SARS-CoV-2.

However, antibody tests are crucially important to find outhow many people in a particular population have already hadthe disease. Data from these tests can tell us how well our pub-lic health measures, like social distancing, are working. They alsotell us about the intensity and longevity of the pandemic, to helpguide public health decisions. A number of rapid antibody testshave been validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research(several of which are manufactured locally), and are already beingrolled out across 75 districts. In future, these tests could be usedto help inform deployment of vaccines.

Clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and drugs also relyon testing, using molecular tests to check whether vaccines haveprotected people from the virus or whether new treatments havehelped infected people recover.

Testing is central to many aspects of the pandemic response,and countries that are implementing robust testing strategies areshowing how this vital tool can save millions of lives.

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"� ������� Watermelon isa refreshing and low caloriessummer fruit. It is made up ofaround 90 per cent water,which makes the fruit usefulfor staying hydrated in thesummer. It can also satisfy asweet tooth with its naturalsugars.

It also contains antioxi-dants. These substances canhelp remove molecules knownas free radicals, or reactivespecies, from the body. Thebody produces free radicalsduring naturalprocesses, such asmetabolism. Theycan also developthrough smoking,air pollution, stress,and other environmen-tal pressures.

The high water content inwatermelon and the othernutrients help promote ahealthy gut by preventing con-stipation and promoting regu-larity of bowel movements.

Watermelon juice may alsoreduce muscle soreness andimprove recovery time follow-ing exercise in athletes.

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Hypertension is one of themajor public health prob-lems in our country and its

prevalence is steadily increasingamong both urban and rural popu-lations. Given the fact that hyperten-sive patients often lack pronouncedexternal symptoms, the condition isconsidered a 'silent killer.' It is a sig-nificant risk factor for potentially dan-gerous conditions such as stroke, heartattack, heart failure, encephalopathy,and kidney failure.

High blood pressure is oftenmismanaged, and the approach totreating it as a disease rather than asa symptom of underlying problems isthe main reason. Modern medicineseeks to control high blood pressurethrough medications such as ACEinhibitors, Diuretics, Beta-blockers,Calcium channel blockers, amongothers. While these drugs do help incontrolling blood pressure and there-by lower the risk of heart attacks andstrokes, they do not address theunderlying cause of high blood pres-sure.

The naturopathic approachfocuses on ascertaining the character-istics of hypertension — vascularrelaxation, sodium sensitivity, auto-nomic dysfunction, arteriosclerosis,and addressing the underlying causevia lifestyle and dietary modifications,stress management and herbal sup-plementation. If you visit a natur-opath, they will order tests to checkyour kidney function, thyroid func-tion, or look for inflammatory mark-ers in the blood. Your cardiovascularrisk factors will also be assessed in-depth as they are usually associatedwith hypertension. Adiposity, insulinresistance, sleep apnea, and systemicinflammation are all considered in theworkup.

Dietary interventions: Dietarymodifications are among the most

commonly prescribed interventionsfor most lifestyle diseases, and hyper-tension is no different. Specific nutri-tional systems like the DASH diet andthe Mediterranean diet are among thefundamental strategies to controlhigh blood pressure and associatedconditions like Type II Diabetes,insulin resistance, and obesity. TheMediterranean diet comprises offresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains,nuts and legumes, with minimaldairy intake. The diet has a favorableeffect on hypertensive patients. Anumber of large scale studies haveshown significant reductions in boththe systolic and diastolic blood pres-sure measurements. The DASH dietpromotes a balanced nutritional sys-tem that supports a heart-friendlylifestyle. It focuses on a diet rich inwhole foods with an abundance offruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy

products, whole grains, nuts, beans,and vegetable oils. The programrestricts the consumption of foodsrich in saturated fats, including full-fat dairy and palm. Additionally,sodas, desserts, and foods with arti-ficial sweeteners are to be avoided.Compared to other dietary systemslike low carb diet, paleo diet, low fatand others, the DASH diet has provento have the most positive impact onblood pressure.

Stress management: Since stressand over-stimulation of the sympa-thetic nervous system play a signifi-cant role in hypertension, it is imper-ative to keep it in check. High-stresslevels can boost your blood pressureby stimulating your sympathetic ner-vous system, which leads to a seriesof cascading physiological effects,causing the constriction of blood ves-sels. Fortunately, it is possible to man-

age stress through a set of non-phar-macological interventions like med-itation, acupuncture, and biofeedback,all of which help bring down highblood pressure. Regular exercise alsohelps keep stress under check. Itreduces the level of stress hormoneslike adrenaline and cortisol, andstimulates endorphin production,elevating the mood and promotinganalgesic effects. Staying active canbring down your systolic blood pres-sure by up to eight millimeters of mer-cury.

Botanical supplements: Severalherbs can help promote healthyblood pressure. Hawthorn extractshave proven cardiovascular benefits,including anti-inflammatory andantioxidant properties. It also sup-ports healthy lipid metabolism,increases vasodilation and protects thelining of blood vessels in the body.Garlic is another herb that can regu-late the level of nitric oxide, reduceinflammation and act as an ACEinhibitor.

Indian snakeroot, also known asserpentine wood, has several anti-hypertensive effects. According to astudy published as early as in 1949,40 out of 50 participants who wereadministered the herb experienced anoticeable drop in blood pressure.Moreover, the herb's hypotensiveaction was perceptible for two weeksafter discontinuation in over 90 percent of the participants.

Although there are a number ofnatural treatments available to man-age blood pressure, the exact combi-nation of treatments is best decidedby a licensed and trained naturopath.A proper diagnostic work-up includesa physical exam, a complete medicalhistory, lipid profile, and lab testingto uncover the cause of hypertension.

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The world has come to a standstillbecause of the current pandemic. While

there might be partial relaxation in someareas, but in most of the areas, the lockdownhas extended. It definitely is crucial to pre-vent the further spread of the virus, butsomehow staying inside has played a toll onour mental and physical health — with nogyms to work out or a limited supply of foodresources — managing optimum health canbe tough, but with few tips and tricks, weall can maintain a healthy lifestyle.

It might be easy to run out of motiva-tion when you are preparing all the mealsat home that too with limited options. But,planning meals in advance can help youovercome the dilemma of what to cook andalso will prevent food wastage. Here aresome tips for stay-at-home diet:

Early morning: Start your day with aglass of lukewarm water, you can soak chia/flaxseeds/fenugreek seeds in the waterovernight. Refrain from having tea/coffeeon an empty stomach

Breakfast: A protein-rich breakfastwill keep you energised throughout the day.Consider eating eggs in the form ofomelette or sandwich. You can also have ragipaneer cheela, besan cheela, oats pancake,or cottage cheese toast. For extra doses ofvitamins, top your breakfast with somefreshly cut fruit slices.

Mid-meal: Sitting entire day at homecan be tough on your appetite and youmight feel really hungry at sometimes whilemight feel fuller at other. Keep fruitshandy for mid-morning cravings- say anapple orange, banana, or some grapes. Youcan also have a glass of vegetable juice

Lunch: Aim to consuming a whole-some lunch with aq balance of all foodgroups. You can have chapatis, rice, pulaoor khichdi as per your liking. Just keep acheck on the portion size. Include legumesor pulses in lunchtime along with raita/plain curd.

Evening snack: Snacking is the timewhere most of us go wrong by giving up tocravings and succumbing to unhealthyfoods. It's the best time to fix your eveningbinge with healthier options like a handfulof walnuts. Walnuts are not only crunchyand palatable, they house a whole packageof nutrients — from brain-boosting Omega-3 fatty acids to immunity-boosting vitaminE. You can also have roasted chana chaat,three-four pieces of paneer or roastedmakhana. Just sprinkle some crushed wal-nuts over these to add an extra flavour.Other options can be — trail mix, vegetablesticks, fruit smoothie, or baked vegetablecutlets.

Dinner: Keep your dinners light andfinish off early, say by 8 pm. You can havea bowl of vegetable soup (unstrained) witha wheat tortilla/chapatti. Paneer stuffedwheat roll is another great option.

Post dinner: You can have a cup oflukewarm milk with a pinch of turmeric andpepper. This golden drink will help boostimmunity and increase your body’s abilityto fight off infections.

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D������������$Practising yoga nidra: It is

best advised to maintain sleephygiene. An average adult shouldget at least seven to nine hours ofsleep. A proper sleep schedulestimulates balanced metabolism,hormonal balance, avoids palpita-tions, chronic diseases which aredirectly proportional to balancedblood pressure. It has been proventhat a 30 minutes session of yoganidra is equivalent to two hours ofquality sleep. yoga nidra helps torelax and rejuvenate. People whostruggle with sound sleep at night,stress or anxiety because of work,can indulge in the practice ofyoga nidra. Certain apps haveguided meditation and/or yoganidra as a part of guided medita-tion and promises to make your

experience worthwhile and prodi-gious. Yoga nidra thus releasesstress and hence keeps you fromhaving high blood pressure.

Measure your health parame-ters regularly: The symptoms ofhypertension are not often visible.Hypertension develops over a peri-od of time. And when you cannotnotice the symptoms clearly youuse certain IoT devices that canhelp in easily monitoring yourhealth. And monitoring yourhealth regularly gives you the cur-rent status that will help you makeamends, and move in the rightdirection. Because ignorance is notalways bliss!

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This year’s college graduateswon’t get to take their tri-

umphant walk across the stage.They won’t get to toss their capsamid a sea of classmates. Instead,they have to settle for online cer-emonies while their diplomas aremailed home. But at least oneaspect of the traditional gradu-ation ceremony is being salvagedfor the class of 2020: the celebri-ty keynote address.

As scores of colleges host vir-tual graduation ceremonies amidthe Coronavirus pandemic,many are recruiting famous fig-ures to give commencementspeeches over their laptopsinstead of the lectern. In the firstweeks of graduation season,schools have landed speechesfrom big names including TomHanks, Pharrell Williams andTom Brady. Others are promis-ing appearances from comedi-ans, authors, civil rights leadersand politicians.

At the same time, a growingnumber of companies are step-ping in with their own star-stud-ded events celebrating collegegraduates across the nation.

Facebook recently hosted a“Graduation 2020” event withcommencement speeches fromOprah Winfrey, Awkwafina, LilNas X and Simone Biles, amongothers. YouTube is offering a“Dear Class of 2020” celebrationheadlined by Barack andMichelle Obama, with addition-al speeches from Lady Gaga,Nobel Prize winner MalalaYousafzai and the K-Pop super-group BTS.

A separate online event willcelebrate graduates at historical-ly black colleges, with speechesfrom Barack Obama and a host

of other stars.It’s all meant to take the sting

out of losing such a memorablemoment. Schools started can-celling or postponing tradition-al ceremonies in March, to thedismay of graduates who hadhoped to celebrate years of hardwork. In their addresses, somespeakers have used the momentto offer a lesson on life’s curveballs and the need to adapt.

In a video message for TexasA&M University’s law school,actor Rainn Wilson told gradu-ates he was sorry they couldn’tshare “big group hugs and highfives and kisses on the cheek.” Buthe also said students can learnfrom that disappointment.

“It may also teach a veryvaluable life lesson not to takeanything for granted. To knowthat things can and will changeall the time,” Wilson said. “Theworld out there can be incredi-bly difficult and fraught, andplans change all the time.”

Tom Hanks, who survivedCOVID-19, told graduates atWright State University thattheir lives will forever be divid-ed into time before and after theCoronavirus pandemic, in thesame way that past generationshad their lives marked by wars.

“You have finished Wright

State during the great reset, thegreat reboot,” Hanks said in avideo message. “You chosenones are going to form the newstructures and define the newrealities, and make the newworld — the world after all thatwe have been through.”

Hanks’ message was deliv-ered as a surprise to graduates atthe Ohio school. Other collegeshave similarly kept quiet abouttheir celebrity speeches untilthey were shared online, includ-ing at Virginia’s Norfolk StateUniversity, which tapped singerand producer Pharrell Williamsto give a virtual address. “Evenif this is not the norm, you guysand girls still deserve all thepraise,” Williams said in hismessage. “You stuck it through,you made it and today’s your day.And man, you made it at a real-ly crazy time in life.”

Some colleges are keepingthe same speakers they previous-ly lined up for campus cere-monies, including at HarvardUniversity, which will offer amessage from Marty Baron, edi-tor of The Washington Post, andat Ohio State University, whichbroadcast a virtual address fromApple CEO Tim Cook.

The virtual celebrations havea different look from school to

school, with some preparingvideos that are recorded inadvance and then shared online.Others are holding live eventsover video conference, in somecases produced by companiespromising to replicate the tradi-tional graduation experience.

Some are passing up oncelebrity speeches, though, say-ing the online events aren’tmeant to be an exact replica ofthe campus event. At RiceUniversity, officials are hostingan online event with no guestspeaker. Instead, the schoolhopes to bring graduates back fora belated ceremony on campuswith the previously announcedkeynote speaker, New York Timescolumnist Nicholas Kristof. Andsome others are skipping onlineevents entirely. Officials at theUniversity of California,Berkeley, say they surveyed stu-dents and found it was their“clear preference” to pass on avirtual celebration and aim for acampus celebration later. A mes-sage from the university said it’s“too early at this stage of the pan-demic to finalise when and howwe will mark this milestone.”

Recently, a university inTokyo, Japan, used remote-con-trolled robots to hold a virtualgraduation. D!�

Just five months ago, on the NewYears’, we were making ourtravel plans for this year. While,

for some, it was their first solo tripto Vietnam or Japan, for others, itwas a honeymoon trip to Santorinithat they had on the cards. Forsome others, it was a fully spon-sored vacation by their work com-pany to Moscow, a part of theirincentive. Others were just lookingforward to a long-awaited mini get-away to Pondicherry or a girls’vacation to Goa. Everyone wasdreaming of taking time off of fromtheir busy schedules and flauntingphotographs on social media. Well,people did get some time off fromtheir offices but not in the manneranyone had imagined. An unimag-inable, total lockdown, where onecould not even venture out beyondone’s home, is what we got.

Now, with the Coronavirushaving stolen the limelight this year,changing our life entirely, we are leftwondering as to what is the futureof travel post this pandemic. Untila reliable vaccine is developed, thereis no assurance of reopening of theborders or travel allowances. Sohow long will it take for interna-tional travel bans to be eliminated?Will we be able to travel as freelyas we did earlier? Will onlinebookings be as hassle-free? Sincesocial distancing is here to stay, willairfares rise because of lesser num-ber of bookings per flight? Willdomestic travel see a spike? Evenif airlines start functioning again,how would the safety be ensured?

Experts suggest the followingchanges, which are set to becomea new normal in the world of trav-el:

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Experts suggest that since theindustry is currently on a completestandstill, to boost travel again postthe pandemic, a lot of emphasis onhealth, hygiene and safety will berequired. “Hotels, cruise compa-nies, airlines, attractions and morewill have to cater to these practicesand maintain social distancing insome ways. I don’t see it in full prac-tice (that is, six-feet apart), but con-sumers and companies will have tobe conscious of this,” says VarunChadha, CEO, TIRUN (RoyalCaribbean Cruises).

The industry will have to pri-oritise safety and hygiene at everystep to rebuild consumers’ confi-dence in travelling again. So howwill it be ensured?

Vikram Lalvani, Chief Officer,Revenue Management and Sales,Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited,suggests three things that travelcompanies should consider —what should we do for i) Guests; ii)Employees; iii) Suppliers/vendors?

He says, “We require a 360-degree ‘clinically’ hygiene pro-gramme, regularly, for the allemployees and guests. It shouldbegin with a well-designed proto-col for hygiene and sanitisation forgoing in-and-out of work for theemployees. All services or facilitiesshould be opened gradually — onestage after another while consider-ing all norms of hygiene and dis-

tancing for everyone involved.Hospitality brands, for a long time,should indulge in contact-less ser-vices or consider only organisingpre-planned/combo meals for cus-tomers to avoid contact with otherstaff members in the chain. Lastand most important, it is crucial toprove the efforts to customers to re-establish their trust. Customersbelieve what they see as they are justas humans as us and hence, com-panies should be transparent abouttheir hygiene protocols. Moreover,travel companies have an edge overhotels and can make stricter guide-lines for the guests and staff toadhere to the norms of social dis-tancing even during travelling.”

Since travel is not just limitedto commuting to and fro from aplace to another, how can visa andpassport application services ensurehealth safety and social distancing?

As per the guidelines pre-scribed by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), as well aslocal authorities, both customersand employees at Visa ApplicationCentres will be subject to bodytemperature checks, face masks andgloves for protection. Centres arealso maintaining preventive mea-sures such as disinfecting high-con-tact surfaces, use of hand sanitis-ers, and social distancing practices.The ‘Visa At Your Doorstep’ is setto be the new normal.

Experts from VFS Global tellus that they are working on the fea-ture and post lockdowns, their staffwill visit the customer’s location of

choice (home, office, etc) to com-plete the visa application processand/or biometric enrolment ifneeded, while maintaining neces-sary health precautions.

���� ���� ������������� ��!���� ����

The journey from airports tohotel check-ins will see the mostimmediate and crucial transforma-tion — touchless travel, suggestexperts.

Since hygiene is the first prior-ity, Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-founder, EaseMyTrip, suggests thatthe use of high-end digital optionswill become the “new normal.” Headds, “There will be more empha-sis on booking everything online,including more web check-ins,instead of standing in a queue to getthe boarding pass. Airports will alsohave to change their systems of col-lecting the luggage and checking aperson before immigration.”

Other changes in automationwould be biometrics, which havealready become a widely-acceptedsolution for identity verification

and will now become more wide-spread as physical fingerprint andhand scanners will be phased out.Touchless options like contactlessfingerprint, as well as iris and facerecognition, will come into play.There will be technology for touch-less data-entry such as gesturecontrol, touchless document-scan-ning and voice commands, some ofwhich are already being tested.Seating configurations in airplaneswill also have to change to ensuresafety and distancing.

��������������8� �����

Given that the travel industrycontributes about nine per cent toIndia’s GDP and generates employ-ment for more than 12 per cent ofthe total workforce, an absolute halton its services is certainly a hugeloss for it. As per an analysis by theConfederation of Indian Industry(CII), the tourism industry is star-ing at an overall loss of �5 lakhcrore and job cuts impacting up tofive crore people. And the aviationsector, as Rikant Pitti, COO and

Co-founder, EaseMyTrip, suggestsis hit the hardest. This brings usback to our question — Will air-fares rise?

Rikant says, “The airlines oper-ate on thin margins and the currentsituation — lesser demand, socialdistancing within flights — can leadto a decrease in the load factor ofaircrafts, resulting in a naturalincrease in average break, evenfares. In addition, with more checksin place and frequent sanitisation,the turn-around time of flights willalso increase. The airlines willhave to forgo additional revenuethat they earned from beverage andsnack services. Considering allthese factors, the airfares are expect-ed to rise in order to compensatefor lower revenue generation andincreased costs. This should changeonly under the condition if govern-ment announces some relief pack-age for the travel sector and sup-port them in recovery.”

So what about personal finan-cial statements? How will the twobe balanced out?

Varesh Chopra, RegionalDirector, South Asia and MiddleEast, Cosmos Vacations, says,“There might be some permanentcutbacks and rationalisation onbusiness travel as it can find a vir-tual connect for a long time andcome back later. Leisure travelmay see temporary stress ondemand due to changed personalfinancial dynamics as well, but itwill never go out of vogue ordemand.”

��"��� ����� ��� �����Given the widespread reach of

the virus in Europe and America,Varesh points out that they will bethe first to bounce back and will notget preference over long haul trav-el but “only for a while.” He adds,“There will be a shift from so-called‘hot or bucket list’ destinations as

tourism businesses are going torethink strategies and travellers willhave to settle for spots with fewercrowds.”

A spokesperson fromMakeMyTrip also earlier suggest-ed that domestic travel is the firstarea, that they foresee, whichwill likely “show green shoots ofrecovery and could prove to be aforce multiplier for the industryto survive and recover from theimpact of the Coronavirus pan-demic.”

Nishant adds that travellerswould avoid visiting internation-al destinations, especially, theones which were heavily impact-ed by COVID-19 in short-termeven post recovery. He adds,“Instead, they would prefer smalldomestic destinations or prefertravelling through their own vehi-cle to nearby locations to avoidcrowds. The weekend and near-by hill station getaways are likelyto gain popularity. People arelikely to prefer homestay or smallresorts to ensure that they comein contact with fewer people.”

!��#���! ���� �Varesh lists some points,

which, in the longer run, willprove to be beneficial for theworld:��Over-tourism will no longer bea problem for some time. And itwill lead to more responsible andsustainable travel practices.��With pollution levels evident-ly reducing over cities across theworld, destinations will hopefullybecome cleaner, purer and green-er once again, having some perma-nency to it. This, in turn, would bean added travel incentive for globetrotters.�� It will give an opportunity tohitherto unknown or underratedbut good destinations and attrac-tions which will come to the foreand receive footfalls.��People will look for pristine andlesser-visited places with naturalbeauty, which are away from localcivilisation and commercialisa-tion.�� And overall, this will bring amuch-desired balancing effect ofthe tourism industry footprint onthe world and hopefully, keepemission levels down.

Considering all these points,even though the recovery willsurely take some time, especiallywith the international travel expe-riences, experts definitely see a sil-ver lining here as people are boundto get out of their homes after lock-down with a renewed desire to travel.

Ahead of InternationalTransphobia and Homophobia

Day, Arunabh Kumar, founder ofTVF, has a surprising anecdote forhis admirers. Many would notknow that he did one small cameoin Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om asa transgender. He was closely asso-ciated with Farah for a long time asan assistant for the film.

“A song shoot was going on andFarah has a habit of making veryinteresting and inclusive cameos inthe film. She asked if anyone was upto play the role of a transgender per-son in a scene for the film but thewhole set refused and there werealso people who made fun of theentire affair,” recollects Arunabh.

He took a strong stand againstthe on-going jokes of playing thecameo for the film and decided tostep in and played the role himself.He says, “I went up to Farahand gladly volunteered to playthe role. She thought I wasbrave and encouraged me. Iwent and did a proper makeup and costume and evenconnected with a friend ofmine who is a transgenderfor some small tips.”

Taking usthrough the shot,he adds, “I gotdressed andwalked onto theset. While therewere few gigglesthere was sud-denly the faintsound of anapplause startingfollowed bymore. I felthappy and confi-dent which helpedme to do the sceneconfidently aidedby Farahma’am’s bril-

liant direction”. Apparently, thescene was for one of the most pop-ular dialogues from the iconic film‘Ek chutki sindoor ki keemat tum kyajaano...’

Currently busy with his comicbook, Indusverse series and also forworking towards helping migrantsin India who are suffering due tolockdown, Arunabh feels thathumanity comes first.

Coming from a small town herecollects how his homosexualfriends were scared about disclos-ing their sexual preferences due tosocial structure. “I was taken abackas I have homosexual friends sinceI was in a hostel in my school days.I have seen how it has been verytough for them to get out of thecloset for the fear of beingridiculed,” says Arunabh.

He feels that as a society weneed to change our perspec-tive before we expect othersto change. “I have always

felt that the LGBTQIAcommunity has beenmarginalised and madeto feel alien. But on thecontrary, they are exactly

people like us and it’s abouttime that this taboo shouldvanish from the society. I

have had the fortune ofhaving friends from thiscommunity since schooland college days and itwas this proximity withthem in an everydayenvironment that mademe think of them just asany other human beingwith their own prefer-ences. I wish that the daymakes the communityfeel more inclusive in ourculture, art and lives.That is when we will beable to stop needing thisday,” he shares.

DOESN’T STOP=�����1�����������������$��������� ��� ����������1��������������������� �������"����������������� ������������������������������1������"����������"������$����������������������� �����#>E.���!0:$�#)9)96 �.--9C

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Page 12: ˆ ˛# # ˛ $ ˝ ˛ ˛˚˘˜ ! ˆ · 1 ˇ ˘ " ˇˇ ˙ ... from different States for resum-ing full services, including in red zones, ... Congress president Ajay Kumar ‘Lallu’

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Premier League clubs willreturn to training in smallgroups from Tuesday

after the latest stage of ProjectRestart was approved onMonday.

Clubs unanimously votedto allow players to start social-ly distanced training in a bid tomeet the Premier League’s mid-June date to resume the season.

Contact training is notpermitted at this stage andcorner flags, balls, cones, goal-posts, playing surfaces andother equipment will be disin-

fected after each session.Testing for the coronavirus

has taken place at PremierLeague clubs over the last fewdays and will continuethroughout the training period.

“Strict medical protocols ofthe highest standard will ensureeveryone returns to training inthe safest environment possi-ble,” a Premier League state-ment said.

“The health and well-beingof all participants is the PremierLeague’s priority, and the safereturn to training is a step-by-step process.

“Full consultation will now

continue with players, man-agers, clubs, the PFA and LMAas protocols for full-contacttraining are developed.”

The training proto-cols were presented toplayers and managerslast week before beingrubber-stamped duringMonday’s video confer-ence call.

Other rules in phaseone include players not travel-ling with anyone to or fromtraining, while the use of pub-lic transport and team vehiclesis banned.

Newcastle were one of thefirst top-flight teams to issue

confirmation that players hadbeen tested at their trainingground.

The club said playerswould return on Tuesday,by which time all testresults would be known.

Players will be askedto use an app on a dailybasis to record any symp-toms.

“It’s been a really dif-ficult time, but I hope with thenews that phase one is about tostart,” Newcastle manager SteveBruce said.

“I must stress that phaseone looks as if it’s as safe as itcan be. I’m sure everyone will

be delighted that we’re tryingto make that effort.

“In phase one we’reallowed to train four to fivepeople on one pitch, so basical-ly a player has a quarter of apitch to work within, so socialdistancing is not a problem.We’ll train with eight to 10 ata time on two separate pitch-es. “Everything is in place inthe safety aspect. I’ve got noissues and I can tell the sup-porters the players and the staffare as safe as we possibly canbe.”

‘MAKING GOOD PROGRESS’The resumption of

Germany’s Bundesliga overthe weekend has raised expec-tations that the Premier Leaguecan follow suit.

But some Premier Leagueplayers remain concerned overreturning to work while thevirus is still uncontained, withBritain one of the countriesworst hit by the crisis.

Speaking to Good MorningBritain on Monday, Watfordcaptain Troy Deeney said:“Phase one is social distancingindividual training with acoach. That’s no problem, that’slike going to the park.

“Phase two will be nextweek six days of training, threeto six people training togetherwith contact and then six daysafter that you’re going into 11versus 11 and you can’t socialdistance with 11 verus 11.

“I would say 98 per cent (ofplayers) are very much awarethat phase one is very good, Iwould say 65-70 per cent ofpeople are concerned withphase two. I’d say even higherafter that.”

�� ���3��������������������� ����� !"�#$#$

��!�����#���� BatsmanAiden Markram on Mondayexpressed his desire to leadProteas in Tests but at thesame time insisted that it willnot be the end of the world forhim if he isn’t given top job.

After veteran batsman Fafdu Plessis resigned from cap-taincy across all three formats,Cricket South Africa (CSA)has been in a lurch, trying tofind a suitable leader for thelongest format of the game.

Quinton de Kock washanded the reins in bothwhite-ball formats but SouthAfrica’s director of cricket,Graeme Smith, ruled out thewicketkeeper-batsman for Testcaptaincy, prompting severalplayers to throw their hats into

the ring. “I’ve never given cap-taining my country too muchthought. It’s always been a shotin the dark for me. But now

that my name is the hat forpeople who are writing newsso to speak, it’s nice to be con-sidered. I’d love to do it and I’dprobably even give an arm anda leg to do it,” Markam wasquoted as saying by Sport24.

“I’ve said it before thoughthat it’s not the be-all and end-all for me. I don’t want tobecome desperate about it. I’dbe honoured and excited, butI’m not looking too much intoit,” he added.

The 25-year-old, who suc-cessfully led South Africa’sunder-19 team to World Cupglory in Dubai in 2014, hasemerged as one of the frontrunners to succeed du Plessisas the Proteas’ next Test cap-tain. “From a personal per-

spective, I really enjoy captain-cy and the responsibility asso-ciated with it,” said Markram.

“I’ve been able to watchand learn from various fran-chise captains as well as some-one like Faf. If it were to hap-pen (being named captain) itwould be great, but if not,there are plenty of strongleaders in the group thatwould definitely take the teamforward.”

Markram has featured in20 Tests for South Africa, butspent most of the 2019-20 sea-son sidelined with an injury,and he now is focussed oncementing his place in theside. “My main focus is to getback into the team and staythere,” he said. PTI

����� �26=*6

Spanish clubs began trainingin groups of 10 players on

Monday, in line with healthprotocols, as La Liga takesanother step towards theplanned resumption of thecoronavirus-hit season nextmonth.

Barcelona confirmed thattheir squad was back on thetraining ground at 9:30am(0730 GMT), with picturespublished on their Twitteraccount showing several play-ers including Gerard Piqueand Sergio Busquets takingpart in the session.

Real Madrid players alsotrained at the club’s base on theoutskirts of the Spanish capital,as clubs begin the last steptowards being able to workwith their full squadstogether.

Spanish Governmentprotocol allows trainingsessions to be expanded byall clubs, even thosebelonging to areas thatare further behind in thecountry’s programme of de-escalation from a strict lock-down.

That means teams likeReal, Barcelona and AleticoMadrid are able to train ingroups of 10, despite bothMadrid and Catalonia remain-ing in phase 0 as two of Spain’s

worst-hit regions.“It is a ministerial decision.

It was very important that allteams could train in the sameway,” said Javier Tebas, thepresident of La Liga.

Tebas reiterated LaLiga’s desire to finishthe remaining 11rounds of matches in aseason that has beensuspended since mid-March.

He has circled June12 as the ideal date for match-es to return but admitted theexact timing will depend on thehealth authorities in Spain andthe trajectory of the virus.

“We are working so that(the return of La Liga) will takeplace from June 11-12, but weare working to be ready regard-

less of the date,” Tebas toldMovistar TV.

“It is the health authoritieswho will say when we start.

“I would like it to happenas soon as possible, but thetruth is that we do not have anideal date. We have to wait forthe green light from the healthauthorities.”

According to an officialstatement by the Governmenton Saturday, professional sportsclubs “may carry out completetraining sessions” while “com-plying with the correspondingprevention and hygiene mea-sures”.

The statement put themaximum number at 14 forgroup training but La Ligainformed clubs the limit wouldbe 10 on Monday.

��#������Australia’s two-time WorldCup winning captain Ricky Ponting sayssenior batsman Usman Khawaja wasaxed from the national team due to hisinconsistency but he is not willing towrite him off yet.

The 33-year-old Khawaja wasrecently left out of the Australia’s annu-al list of contracted players after he wasdropped midway through last year’sAshes. “I honestly think now he’s goingto find it difficult (to get back into theAustralian team) and I feel for him,”Ponting, who was recently involved withthe Australian team as a batting consul-tant, told ABC Grandstand.

“I’ve always felt he’s a very goodplayer and we probably never saw theabsolute best of him at internationalcricket. We saw glimpses of it, and dribsand drabs, but not the consistently goodplayer I thought he could have been forAustralia.”

Ponting, however, hoped thatKhawaja can score loads of runs in thedomestic cirucit and make an interna-tional comeback.

“One thing I know, you never writegreat players off. He’s got every oppor-tunity once domestic cricket does startthis summer, and all he can do is rep-resent Queensland, get a truck load ofruns under his belt and wait for anoth-er opportunity to come along.

“If it does I’m sure he wouldn’t letanyone down if he gets a chance to playagain.” PTI

��"���!�� Former Australian captain IanChappell feels India skipper Virat Kohli’spenchant for playing copybook cricketingshots and his incredible fitness make himthe world’s best batsman across formatsamong the current generation of cricketers.

“Of that group (including Steve Smith,Kane Williamson, Joe Root), Kohli is thebest in all three forms. That’s unquestion-able,” Chappell said on The RK Show, whichis hosted by Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan onYouTube.

“His record in all three forms is quiteunbelievable, particularly his record in theshorter forms.”

Chappell’s comments come after former

England batsman Kevin Pietersen said thatAustralia’s batting mainstay Smith wasnowhere close to Kohli.

Kohli, who has scored 70 internation-al hundreds and more than 20,000 runs,averages more than 50 in all three formats.

Explaining his reasons on why he feelsKohli is the best, Chappell said: “I like hisapproach to batting. We did an interviewwith him last time India were in Australia,and one of the things he talked about waswhy he didn’t play the fancy shots, the inno-vative shots of particularly T20 cricket.

“He said he didn’t want those to creepin his batting in the longer form of the game.

The best short-form player in the time Iplayed was Viv Richards, and he justplayed normal cricket shots but he placedthe ball so well he was able to score at a veryfast rate. And Kohli’s the same. He plays tra-ditional cricket shots, and he plays themreally well.”

Chappell also expressed his admirationfor Kohli’s captaincy.

“The one thing that stands out to meis that Kohli is the one (captain) that does-n’t fear defeat. He’s prepared to lose a gamein trying to win it. You’ve got to be that wayas a captain in my opinion. I like thatapproach,” the legendary skipper said. PTI

� ��� 4�5�6�+0*

Senior India pacer Ishant Sharma says fastbowlers will have to get used to the “new

normal” if the ICC decides to ban theuse of saliva to shine the ball owingto the Covid-19 pandemic.

The International Cricket Council(ICC) is reportedly considering the useof artificial substances on the ballinstead of saliva in the post Covid-19scenario, effectively legalising ball-tam-pering.

“We know there are talks of somechanges and adjustments in cricket, butI feel cricketers will have to get usedto the new normal, whatever thatis” said Ishant during anInstagram Live with his IPLfranchise Delhi Capitals.

“The ball may not shine asper your liking if you are notallowed to use saliva, or you mayhave to go and fetch the ballyourself during nets — but there

is no option but to get used to these things.“But honestly I don’t like to think about

these things too much. I feel it is importantto stay in the present and not look too farahead,” said the lanky pacer.

During the chat, Ishant also said he hasnot met a better coach than Ricky Ponting asthe Australian great made him feel wantedfrom the word go in his IPL comeback lastyear.

Ishant was bought by Delhi Capitalsahead of the 2019 IPL after he went unsold

in the previous auction.“He’s the best coach I’ve ever

met. I was very nervous when I wasmaking a return to the IPL last sea-

son. I was almost feeling like a debu-tante walking into the camp the firstday, but he gave me a lot of confidence

since the first day I arrived at the camp.“He just told me, ‘You’re a senior

player and you should help the youngsters.Just don’t worry about anything — you’remy first choice.’ And I think that bit of con-

versation really helped me,” Ishant recalled.

����!� Thomas Mueller expects BayernMunich’s showdown behind closed doors atclosest rivals Borussia Dortmund in a week’stime to decide who wins the Bundesliga title.

Goals by Robert Lewandowski andBenjamin Pavard sealed a 2-0 win for Bayernat Union Berlin on Sunday.

The result in Berlin maintained Bayern’sfour-point lead at the top of the table.Dortmund host Bayern on May 26 and Muellerexpects the potential top-of-the-table clash tobe a key factor in determining whetherMunich will go on to clinch an eighth straightleague crown.

“The match in Dortmund will decide howexciting and close it will be in the next fewweeks, that’s for sure,” said Mueller. FormerDortmund strikerLewandowski netted afirst-half penalty forBayern on Sunday forhis 26th league goalthis season, takinghim one closer toGerd Mueller'srecord of 40 in the1971-1972 season.

Aked if the Polecould overtake Mueller’s48-year-old record, Bayerncoach Hansi Flick said: “Itwon’t be easy, but he(Lewandowski) has the qual-ity. “If anyone can do it, he’sthe one.” AFP

����� �*4(2-8=�

Singapore F1 organiserson Monday said it was

“not feasible” to hold therace behind closed doors,threatening further prob-lems for the coronavirus-ravaged season.

After 10 races werecancelled or postponed,Formula One bosses areaiming to begin the sea-son with two races inAustria in July, both with-out fans. Races in othercountries are also expect-ed to go ahead in closedvenues.

But the SingaporeGrand Prix, scheduledfor September, is a night-time street race aroundthe city-state’s waterfront,where it would be chal-lenging to keep spectatorsaway.

Organisers said theyhave been in talks withFormula One, theSingapore Governmentand others involved “toassess different possibili-ties” for holding the race.

But a spokespersonadded that “as theSingapore F1 race is astreet circuit, it is notfeasible to conduct therace behind closed doors”.

Ferrari’s SebastianVettel won last year’s race,which drew 268,000 spec-tators over three days, asubstantial portion ofthem coming from over-seas.

�!�8�� Bangladesh’s bowlingcoach Ottis Gibson has urgedMashrafe Mortaza to bid adieu tointernational cricket as he doesn’tsee the 36-year-old fast bowler inthe scheme of things for the 2023World Cup slated to be played inIndia.

Gibson, who joinedBangladesh in January this year,said that head coach RussellDomingo has to look at severalyounger bowlers to build a teamin the next three years.

“I think he (Mortaza) hashad an outstanding internationalcareer,” ESPNcricinfo quotedGibson as telling Bengali dailyProthom Alo on Monday.

“He has done himself and hiscountry proud. With the nextWorld Cup in 2023, any interna-

tional coach will now start to builda team. I am quite sure that’s whatRussell will be thinking.

“So he would want to see play-ers like young Hasan Mahmud,(Mohammad) Saifuddin, Shafiul(Islam) and Ebadot (Hossain.)We haven’t seen Ebadot in white-ball cricket yet. There’s Taskin(Ahmed) and Khaled (Ahmed)gets fit again. We have Hasan and(Mehedi Hasan) Rana. So there’sa lot of young cricketers in thecountry,” Gibson added.

According to Gibson,Domingo is now trying to build ateam for the future and that’s whyMortaza should now move on andcan advise country’s young fastbowlers in a different capacity.

“I think if Russell is now try-ing to build a team for the future,then I don’t know what partMashrafe will have to play in that.Perhaps now is his time, with allthat’s going on in the world, tomove on,” Gibson said.

“He (Mortaza) can find otherways to pass on his vast knowledgeand experience to the young guys.I don’t think he has to be on thefield to be able to pass on what hehas learned over his career. Heneeds to find other ways to pass onthat message,” he added. PTI

����� (+2�(85

Celtic were crowned champions for arecord-equalling ninth consecutive

season as the Scottish Premiership cam-paign was declared over on Monday.

Neil Lennon’s men were 13 pointsclear at the top of the table when the sea-son was stopped due to the coronaviruspandemic in March with eight gamesremaining for the majority of clubs.

Second-placed Rangers had a game inhand to try and cut that gap and were dueto face Celtic twice more before the end

of the season.“It is, of course, a real shame that we

were not able to see out the league in frontof our fans. However, no one can deny howdeserved this title is,” said Celtic chief exec-utive Peter Lawwell.

A ninth consecutive title matches therecord set by Celtic’s European Cup-win-ning side of the sixties and seventies andRangers’ dominant team that won nine ina row between 1988 and 1997.

“To be sitting here now as the man-ager of the nine in a row, and having playeda huge part in that, fills me with so muchpride,” said Lennon, who has been incharge for five of the nine straight titles.

“It feels wonderful and I’m so proudof the players. It’s an incredible record andto be part of that is something very spe-cial, and I think it’s thoroughly deservedas well.”

A points-per-game formula for deter-mining final league placings also sees bot-tom club Hearts relegated unless there isany progress in talks over league recon-struction.

Premiership clubs have previouslyrejected proposals for reconstruction, butHearts said they will put forward a newresolution and warned they may take legalaction if it is rejected.

�����������$��������������������������������"�����������

��"���!��The Sports Ministry onMonday gave its go ahead to theresumption of training in all sportscomplexes and stadia with imme-diate effect after the Governmenteased restrictions for the fourthphase of the coronavirus-forcedlockdown.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijijusaid activities can now be conduct-ed in all sports complexes and sta-dia, including those managed byprivate players, but only in accor-dance with the Ministry of HomeAffairs guidelines.

“I’m happy to informsportspersons and all concernedthat sports activities will be con-ducted in sports complexes andstadia strictly in accordance withMHA guidelines and that of theStates in which they are situated,”Rijiju tweeted.

“However, use of gyms andswimming pools are still prohib-ited,” he added.

According to ministry sources,sporting activities can resume infacilities and academies across thecountry, including those man-

aged by private entities likeTransStadia and JSW Group.

“Sporting activities can nowstart across the country, includ-ing in private facilities and thosemanaged by states but in com-plete adherence to MHA guide-lines,” the source said.

“There is no time frame onwhen to start. It entirely dependson individual players and NSFs.For example, our hockey teamsare based in SAI Bengalurusince the start of lockdown, soif Hockey India wants to startonfield training from tomorrow,they can do so,” he said.

The source, however, saidthat sportspersons joining thenational camps or SAI centresafresh will have to go throughmedical checkups and a manda-tory 14-day quarantine period.

“Not just SAI facilities, allprivate facilities and academieswill have to ensure medicalcheck ups of those wanting toresume training.” PTI

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=�������*������� ���C��������9����B� ��������������������������� ,�5����8���!�� Pakistan’s topbatsman Babar Azam onMonday played down com-parisons with Indian run-machine Virat Kohli, sayingit is not wise to do so asboth are “different” kind ofplayers.

“I think it’s better if youare not comparing. I havesaid that he is a differentkind of a player, and I ama different player,” Azamsaid a during a press con-ference.

“I am only striving tobat well and help my teamto victory every time I taketo the field.”

With consistent perfor-mances across three for-mats, the 25-year-old Azamhas been steadily rising upthe ranks in recent years,while the Indian captainKohli has already estab-lished himself as one of thegreats of the game.

Asked about the possi-bility of playing cricket

behind closed doors, Azamsaid they are already usedto it having played most oftheir homes series in near-empty stands in thegrounds of UAE for morethan 10 years.

“We know better thanother teams how it feels toplay without crowd havingplayed most of our cricketin Dubai in last 10 years.

“It’s not a great feelingfor fans and it’s not great forus also.” PTI

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