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T he Government on Friday said the nationwide lock- down was a timely step with- out which the cases would have sky-rocketed to over one lakh by now. Officials also claimed that nearly ten lakh people who have a travel his- tory or were in touch with corona positive patients, are under observation. While maintaining that India has fared better than many countries in the fight against the pandemic on vari- ous parameters, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the virus outbreak is under control in the country and thanks to a robust surveillance network with implementation of the lockdown and other containment measures. Nearly ten lakh people, who have either returned from abroad or were in touch with corona positive patients, are under surveillance. “Had we not taken the decision to impose nationwide lockdown, we would have had around one lakh Covid-19 cases by now. Cases are now doubling in every 10 days and this is a reasonable estimate,” Niti Aayog member VK Paul, who is also the Chairman of the Government’s Empowered Committee-I said at a Press briefing here. “As on March 21, our dou- bling time of cases was three days. Results started showing on March 23, due to travel restrictions imposed earlier. On April 6, further slowing of doubling rate became visible, thanks to the nationwide lock- down,” he added. He said the decision to impose the lockdown was timely and asserted that the curve has begun to flatten. “Nationwide lockdown helped take us away from the exponential growth curve and thereby contain the growth of Covid-19 cases,” he said. “Besides containing the spread, augmenting testing and improving preparedness, the nation has brought about a massive behavioural change through a ‘’Jan Andolan’’ (mass movement),” he said. Vardhan too echoed simi- lar views saying the Government has saved India from going into stage 3 or com- munity transmission stage. “The positive cases are not ris- ing more than 4 per cent...We were all worried if we are in stage 3, but we have been able to save the country largely from going into stage 3,” said Vardhan, adding “we have all the information connected with clusters and hotspots.” Detailing the country’s progress in the past 3.5 months in tackling Covid-19, Vardhan said, “On January 8, we held our first meeting, and today, in comparison with many other countries, India has done very well... We have fewer cases per million percentage. We have a mortality of 3 per cent, which is less. Recovery rate of patients, who contracted viral infec- tion, is better than the world. In March, the doubling rate of coronavirus cases was 3 days; today it is close to 9 days.” Responding to the issue of faulty testing kits, he said, “We will return the testing kits to their country of origin, and we have not paid money yet. Strategies were made to use these kits in hotspots. Paul also cited a study which that there is no spike in utilisation of fever and cold medicines in the country. “Our routine surveillance of pneumonia and fever shows that there is no spike. There is no crowding of ICUs or lines outside the hospitals. A study was done on whether the util- isation of medicine used for fever and cold has increased. It has not,” he said. He pointed out that even after the testing was increased in the country, no proportion- al increase in cases was seen. “No need to fear hidden spikes in cases,” he insisted. M aharashtra and Gujarat, two of the worst affected States, saw a decline in the coronavirus cases on Friday, but Madhya Pradesh recorded a major spike as India record- ed 1,395 cases during the day, taking the total to 24,434 and death count to 780. In the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Friday, the country had reported 1,752 new coro- navirus cases and 37 deaths. As of 10 pm, on Friday, Maharashtra added 390 cases and 18 deaths as against 728 cases on Thursday. Maharashtra total count of positive cases stood at 6,817 and a casualty of 300. Gujarat, which recorded 250 plus cases on Thursday, saw reduction of Friday, adding just 190 cases for total count of 2,815 and death count of 127. Delhi recorded 138 cases and three deaths. Now the nation- al Capital has a total of 2,514 cases and 53 casualty. Rajasthan added 44 new cases, Madhya Pradesh 159 and Tamil Nadu 72. Uttar Pradesh added 11 new cases for total count of 1,621 and 25 deaths. Incidentally, States like Bihar which were virtually out of corona radar till now, have started to report significant number of cases. On Friday the State reported 44 cases, the sin- gle day high, for total ,count of 214. Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that in the last 28 days, 15 districts have had no new case. Till date, there are 80 districts in the country that have report- ed no new cases in last 14 days. “A total of 4,748 people, which is 20.57 per cent of the total number of cases, have been cured so far,” Agarwal said. “As on today, 15 districts in the country which earlier had cases have not reported any fresh cases since the last 28 days. Besides districts already highlighted, three new dis- tricts which got added to this list include: Durg & Rajnandgaon from Chhattisgarh; and Shivpuri from Madhya Pradesh,” said the official at the routine press briefing here. He added, “A total of 80 districts from 23 States/UTs have not reported any new cases since the last 14 days.” However, so far, 432 dis- tricts have confirmed cases in the country. Over the past two days, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipur districts have seen the biggest spike in confirmed cases nationally. These five districts account for 51 per cent of new cases over this period. T he Centre on Friday con- stituted five more inter- ministerial teams (IMCT) for spot assessment of lockdown implementation in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu’s Covid-19 pan- demic affected areas. Two teams will soon land in Ahmedabad and Surat and one team each will visit Thane, Hyderabad and Chennai. Six teams were constituted a few days ago — two teams each for West Bengal and Maharashtra and one team each for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Now in total, Maharashtra is dealing with three Central teams in Mumbai, Pune and latest in Thane. The IMCT will look into the implementation of the lockdown norms and admin- istration of health sector in these areas. “In some of the dis- tricts of the country, a number of violations of the lockdown measures have been reported, posing a serious health hazard and risk for spread of Covid- 19, which is against general interest of public. These viola- tions include incidents ranging from violence on frontline healthcare professionals, attacks on police personnel, violations of social distancing norms in market places and opposition to setting up of quarantine centres and so on,” said the Union Home Ministry in statement issued in relation of the new five teams. These teams would make on-spot assessment of situation and issue necessary directions to State authorities for its redressal and submit their report to the Central Government. A fter successfully bringing back stranded Uttar Pradesh students from Kota, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to prepare a roadmap to bring back tens of thousands of migrant work- ers from the State stranded in other States and have com- pleted 14-day quarantine. “Those labourers of UP who have completed 14-day quarantine in other States will be brought back in a phased manner. The officers should prepare an action plan for the same,” Yogi said while address- ing the lockdown review meet- ing at his official residence here on Friday. The Yogi Government’s decision could create more trouble for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has refused to even bring back his State stu- dents from Kota and is facing strong criticism from Opposition parties. Yogi said a list will be fur- nished having all the details of the labourers followed by screening and testing by con- cerning States to send them to UP border from where they will be dispatched to their respective districts by bus. A t a time when poor migrants who have run out of their sustenance are pulling out all stops to head for their villages, good Samaritans among the police have been successful in per- suading a sizable number of them to stay put in the national Capital. In return, the cops assured them to help provide food and convinced house owners to not insist on demanding rents from their poor tenants. Around 70 labourers who had planned to leave the national Capital amid the lockdown were successfully persuaded to stay put by the police, which also arranged for their meals and assured them of further help, officials said on Friday. New Delhi: The Centre on Friday said the COVID-19sit- uation is especially serious in major or emerging hotspot areasincluding Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai. New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic has taught the coun- try “to be self-reliant and self- sufficient” and not look for solutions abroad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told grassroots leaders on Friday as he stressed that every village, district and State should be able to provide for its basic needs. New Delhi: A tigress died in Delhi Zoo on Wednesday due to “kidney failure” and author- ities have sent her samples for coronavirus testing. The 14- year-old big cat named Kalpana died around on Wednesday evening and the carcass was cremated on Thursday following direction to minimize human-animal interface, an official from the Environment Ministry said. F our districts in Madhya Pradesh — Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain and Khargone — might witness extension of lockdown after May 3. After Chief Minister and Health Minister, now Bhopal Collector has hint- ed in this direction. Indore, after slight reces- sion in number of positive patients yet again exploded with fresh cases as 84 new cases of coronavirus patients were reported on Friday taking up the tally of total positive patients to 1029 including 55 deaths and 79 patients who have recovered completely. Besides Indore, the State capital too has ended up a breeding ground of covid19 cases as the city reported 37 new cases by morning on Friday which led to the overall tally reaching 340. Ujjain is no better as tally of positive cases have reached to 101 here with 11 deaths while Khargone too has been a hotspot of covid19 with 60 cases of infection till now including five deaths. As the country is inching closer to conclusion of second phase of lockdown by May 3, the State Government is wor- ried about several red zones including these four districts where Covid19 is yet to subside. Couple of days ago, talking to a news channel, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had expressed satis- faction over the fact that half the State was corona-free adding districts like Shivpuri have reined in Covid19 spread. Chouhan, however, had added that districts including Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain and Khargone could not get relax- ation after May 3. Health and Minister for Home Narottam Mishra during an interaction with the media in Bhopal on Thursday too had hinted that four worst affected districts could see lockdown extended beyond May 3. Adding that Indore is still the worst affected district in the State, Mishra had feared that the city could see one more surge in positive cases. Bhopal Collector Tarun Pithode on Friday also claimed that administration was con- sidering extension of lock- down in Bhopal where 10,000 samples were taken, report for 6,000 has been received and remaining is pending. C hief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the State Government will bring back the labourers of Madhya Pradesh stranded in other States due to the lock- down. Necessary action will be taken in this connection. Chouhan also discussed the matter in detail with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra labourers. They assured full cooperation. The Chief Minister said that family members of the labourers stranded in other States will be permitted to go from Madhya Pradesh to bring them back. Simultaneously, labour- ers from other States strand- ed in Madhya Pradesh will also be permitted to go back to their States. For this, they will be able to use their own means or those provided by their State Governments. He told that the workers strand- ed within Madhya Pradesh in the districts will be able to travel back to their districts. Instructions are being issued to the officials in this con- nection. Chief Minister Chouhan informed that the safe return of workers will be ensured strictly observing social dis- tancing. Elaborate arrange- ments will be made for screening and testing of labourers returning home at the borders of districts. Movement from con- tainment area and Indore district restricted No labourers will be allowed to move from the infected areas of the State and from Indore district. The Chief Minister directed the officials concerned to com- plete all arrangements in this regard so that the labourers do not face any problem. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

% $0 1 $ %&!˜’ ˆˆ˝! ˚()˜*˝!˙! ˘ · Niti Aayog member VK Paul, ... these kits in hotspots. Paul also cited a study which that there is no spike in ... faction over the fact

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Page 1: % $0 1 $ %&!˜’ ˆˆ˝! ˚()˜*˝!˙! ˘ · Niti Aayog member VK Paul, ... these kits in hotspots. Paul also cited a study which that there is no spike in ... faction over the fact

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The Government on Fridaysaid the nationwide lock-

down was a timely step with-out which the cases wouldhave sky-rocketed to over onelakh by now. Officials alsoclaimed that nearly ten lakhpeople who have a travel his-

tory or were in touch withcorona positive patients, areunder observation.

While maintaining thatIndia has fared better thanmany countries in the fightagainst the pandemic on vari-ous parameters, HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan saidthe virus outbreak is under

control in the country andthanks to a robust surveillancenetwork with implementationof the lockdown and othercontainment measures.

Nearly ten lakh people,who have either returned fromabroad or were in touch withcorona positive patients, areunder surveillance.

“Had we not taken thedecision to impose nationwidelockdown, we would have hadaround one lakh Covid-19cases by now. Cases are nowdoubling in every 10 days andthis is a reasonable estimate,”Niti Aayog member VK Paul,who is also the Chairman of theGovernment’s Empowered

Committee-I said at a Pressbriefing here.

“As on March 21, our dou-bling time of cases was threedays. Results started showingon March 23, due to travelrestrictions imposed earlier.On April 6, further slowing ofdoubling rate became visible,thanks to the nationwide lock-

down,” he added.He said the decision to

impose the lockdown wastimely and asserted that thecurve has begun to flatten.

“Nationwide lockdownhelped take us away from theexponential growth curve andthereby contain the growth ofCovid-19 cases,” he said.

“Besides containing thespread, augmenting testing andimproving preparedness, thenation has brought about amassive behavioural changethrough a ‘’Jan Andolan’’ (massmovement),” he said.

Vardhan too echoed simi-lar views saying theGovernment has saved Indiafrom going into stage 3 or com-munity transmission stage.“The positive cases are not ris-ing more than 4 per cent...Wewere all worried if we are instage 3, but we have been ableto save the country largelyfrom going into stage 3,” saidVardhan, adding “we have all

the information connectedwith clusters and hotspots.”

Detailing the country’sprogress in the past 3.5 monthsin tackling Covid-19, Vardhansaid, “On January 8, we heldour first meeting, and today, incomparison with many othercountries, India has done verywell... We have fewer cases permillion percentage. We have amortality of 3 per cent, whichis less. Recovery rate of patients,who contracted viral infec-tion, is better than the world.In March, the doubling rate ofcoronavirus cases was 3 days;today it is close to 9 days.”

Responding to the issue offaulty testing kits, he said, “Wewill return the testing kits totheir country of origin, and wehave not paid money yet.Strategies were made to usethese kits in hotspots.

Paul also cited a studywhich that there is no spike inutilisation of fever and coldmedicines in the country.

“Our routine surveillanceof pneumonia and fever showsthat there is no spike. There isno crowding of ICUs or linesoutside the hospitals. A studywas done on whether the util-isation of medicine used forfever and cold has increased. Ithas not,” he said.

He pointed out that evenafter the testing was increasedin the country, no proportion-al increase in cases was seen.“No need to fear hidden spikesin cases,” he insisted.

����� 345�467-

Maharashtra and Gujarat,two of the worst affected

States, saw a decline in thecoronavirus cases on Friday,but Madhya Pradesh recordeda major spike as India record-ed 1,395 cases during the day,taking the total to 24,434 anddeath count to 780.

In the last 24 hours ending8 am on Friday, the countryhad reported 1,752 new coro-navirus cases and 37 deaths.

As of 10 pm, on Friday,Maharashtra added 390 casesand 18 deaths as against 728cases on Thursday.Maharashtra total count ofpositive cases stood at 6,817and a casualty of 300.

Gujarat, which recorded250 plus cases on Thursday,saw reduction of Friday, addingjust 190 cases for total count of2,815 and death count of 127.Delhi recorded 138 cases andthree deaths. Now the nation-al Capital has a total of 2,514cases and 53 casualty.

Rajasthan added 44 newcases, Madhya Pradesh 159and Tamil Nadu 72. UttarPradesh added 11 new cases fortotal count of 1,621 and 25deaths.

Incidentally, States likeBihar which were virtually outof corona radar till now, havestarted to report significantnumber of cases. On Friday theState reported 44 cases, the sin-gle day high, for total ,count of214.

Union Health MinistryJoint Secretary Lav Agarwalsaid that in the last 28 days, 15districts have had no new case.Till date, there are 80 districtsin the country that have report-ed no new cases in last 14 days.“A total of 4,748 people, whichis 20.57 per cent of the totalnumber of cases, have beencured so far,” Agarwal said.

“As on today, 15 districts inthe country which earlier hadcases have not reported anyfresh cases since the last 28days. Besides districts alreadyhighlighted, three new dis-tricts which got added to this

list include: Durg &Rajnandgaon fromChhattisgarh; and Shivpurifrom Madhya Pradesh,” saidthe official at the routine pressbriefing here.

He added, “A total of 80districts from 23 States/UTshave not reported any newcases since the last 14 days.”

However, so far, 432 dis-tricts have confirmed cases inthe country. Over the past twodays, Mumbai, Pune,Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipurdistricts have seen the biggestspike in confirmed casesnationally. These five districtsaccount for 51 per cent of newcases over this period.

����� 345�467-

The Centre on Friday con-stituted five more inter-

ministerial teams (IMCT) forspot assessment of lockdownimplementation in Gujarat,Maharashtra, Telangana andTamil Nadu’s Covid-19 pan-demic affected areas. Twoteams will soon land inAhmedabad and Surat andone team each will visit Thane,Hyderabad and Chennai.

Six teams were constituteda few days ago — two teamseach for West Bengal andMaharashtra and one teameach for Rajasthan and MadhyaPradesh. Now in total,Maharashtra is dealing withthree Central teams inMumbai, Pune and latest inThane.

The IMCT will look intothe implementation of thelockdown norms and admin-istration of health sector in

these areas. “In some of the dis-tricts of the country, a numberof violations of the lockdownmeasures have been reported,posing a serious health hazardand risk for spread of Covid-19, which is against generalinterest of public. These viola-tions include incidents rangingfrom violence on frontlinehealthcare professionals,attacks on police personnel,violations of social distancing

norms in market places andopposition to setting up ofquarantine centres and so on,”said the Union Home Ministryin statement issued in relationof the new five teams.

These teams would makeon-spot assessment of situationand issue necessary directionsto State authorities for itsredressal and submit theirreport to the CentralGovernment.

����� 6��8395

After successfully bringingback stranded Uttar

Pradesh students from Kota,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathhas directed officials to preparea roadmap to bring back tensof thousands of migrant work-ers from the State stranded inother States and have com-pleted 14-day quarantine.

“Those labourers of UPwho have completed 14-dayquarantine in other States willbe brought back in a phasedmanner. The officers shouldprepare an action plan for thesame,” Yogi said while address-ing the lockdown review meet-ing at his official residence hereon Friday.

The Yogi Government’sdecision could create moretrouble for Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar, who has refused

to even bring back his State stu-dents from Kota and is facingstrong criticism fromOpposition parties.

Yogi said a list will be fur-nished having all the details ofthe labourers followed byscreening and testing by con-cerning States to send them toUP border from where theywill be dispatched to theirrespective districts by bus.

������� ��� � � 345�467-

At a t ime when poormigrants who have run

out of their sustenance arepulling out all stops to headfor their vi l lages, goodSamaritans among the policehave been successful in per-suading a sizable number ofthem to stay put in thenational Capital. In return,the cops assured them to helpprovide food and convincedhouse owners to not insist ondemanding rents from theirpoor tenants.

Around 70 labourers whohad planned to leave thenational Capital amid thelockdown were successfullypersuaded to stay put by thepolice, which also arrangedfor their meals and assuredthem of further help, officialssaid on Friday.

���������� ������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������������������������������

New Delhi: The Centre onFriday said the COVID-19sit-uation is especially serious inmajor or emerging hotspotareasincluding Ahmedabad,Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai.

New Delhi: The coronaviruspandemic has taught the coun-try “to be self-reliant and self-sufficient” and not look forsolutions abroad, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi toldgrassroots leaders on Friday ashe stressed that every village,district and State should be ableto provide for its basic needs.

New Delhi: A tigress died inDelhi Zoo on Wednesday dueto “kidney failure” and author-ities have sent her samples forcoronavirus testing. The 14-year-old big cat namedKalpana died around onWednesday evening and thecarcass was cremated onThursday following directionto minimize human-animalinterface, an official from theEnvironment Ministry said.

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Four districts in MadhyaPradesh — Indore, Bhopal,

Ujjain and Khargone — mightwitness extension of lockdownafter May 3. After ChiefMinister and Health Minister,now Bhopal Collector has hint-ed in this direction.

Indore, after slight reces-sion in number of positivepatients yet again explodedwith fresh cases as 84 new casesof coronavirus patients werereported on Friday taking upthe tally of total positivepatients to 1029 including 55deaths and 79 patients whohave recovered completely.

Besides Indore, the Statecapital too has ended up abreeding ground of covid19cases as the city reported 37new cases by morning onFriday which led to the overall

tally reaching 340.Ujjain is no better as tally

of positive cases have reachedto 101 here with 11 deathswhile Khargone too has been ahotspot of covid19 with 60cases of infection till nowincluding five deaths.

As the country is inchingcloser to conclusion of secondphase of lockdown by May 3,the State Government is wor-ried about several red zonesincluding these four districtswhere Covid19 is yet to subside.

Couple of days ago, talkingto a news channel, ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan had expressed satis-faction over the fact that halfthe State was corona-freeadding districts like Shivpurihave reined in Covid19 spread.

Chouhan, however, had

added that districts includingIndore, Bhopal, Ujjain andKhargone could not get relax-ation after May 3.

Health and Minister forHome Narottam Mishra duringan interaction with the mediain Bhopal on Thursday too had

hinted that four worst affecteddistricts could see lockdownextended beyond May 3.

Adding that Indore is stillthe worst affected district in theState, Mishra had feared thatthe city could see one moresurge in positive cases.

Bhopal Collector TarunPithode on Friday also claimedthat administration was con-sidering extension of lock-down in Bhopal where 10,000samples were taken, report for6,000 has been received andremaining is pending.

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Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan has said

that the State Governmentwill bring back the labourersof Madhya Pradesh strandedin other States due to the lock-down. Necessary action willbe taken in this connection.

Chouhan also discussedthe matter in detail with theChief Ministers of UttarPradesh, Rajasthan, Gujaratand Maharashtra labourers.They assured full cooperation.

The Chief Minister saidthat family members of thelabourers stranded in otherStates will be permitted to gofrom Madhya Pradesh tobring them back.

Simultaneously, labour-ers from other States strand-ed in Madhya Pradesh willalso be permitted to go backto their States. For this, theywill be able to use their ownmeans or those provided by

their State Governments. Hetold that the workers strand-ed within Madhya Pradesh inthe districts will be able totravel back to their districts.Instructions are being issuedto the officials in this con-nection.

Chief Minister Chouhaninformed that the safe returnof workers will be ensuredstrictly observing social dis-tancing. Elaborate arrange-ments will be made forscreening and testing oflabourers returning home atthe borders of districts.

Movement from con-tainment area and Indoredistrict restricted

No labourers will beallowed to move from theinfected areas of the State andfrom Indore district. TheChief Minister directed theofficials concerned to com-plete all arrangements in thisregard so that the labourersdo not face any problem.

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���'#���!(�)*+,RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

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Bringing together literatureenthusiasts from different

fields, Club Literati onThursday brought WilliamShakespeare back to lifethrough Virtually Yours. Theevent is being marked theinauguration of the four dayonline festival Virtually YoursShakespeare, celebrating thebirth anniversary of the leg-endary laureate on April 23.

On Friday, the online com-petition marked the secondday. On Friday, event Bard onthe Podcast was held. It washeld in two categories, first wasShakespearean Sonnets andsecond was Self-composedSonnets. In this competitionthe participants presented son-nets by Shakespeare and theself composed sonnets as well.

On Saturday, ‘The GlobeTheatre’ will be held. It will beeheld in two categories –Soliloquies and Monologues.On Sunday, other unique com-

petitions like ‘Bard GoesBollywood’ – RecastingShakespeare’s famous playswith Bollywood artists and ‘AWish for William’ Drawingcompetition will be held.Thisunique virtual festival has beencurated observing the presentscenario across the world i.e.the lockdown due toCoronavirus.

William Shakespeare isconsidered as one of the great-est playwrights ever of EnglishLiterature. His plays, alongwith his collection of sonnets,contain unparalleled poeticbeauty and his knowledge ishugely diverse.

Further, in every play ofShakespeare is related to his-tory in some way or the other.His writings are considered asthe best scripts of all times tobe staged.Throughout the 20thand 21st centuries, Shakespeare'sworks have been continuallyadapted and rediscovered bynew movements in scholarshipand performance.

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A23-year old marriedwoman committed sui-

cide by hanging with the ceil-ing at Kajlikheda under Kolarpolice station late in the nighton Thursday ; reasonremained unknown andpolice have started investiga-tion.

According to the police,Vinita Solanki was foundhanging and was rushed to anearby hospital where shewas declared dead.Police saidthat the deceased was house-wife and married toRamkrishan Solanki a yearago.

The family members werenot aware of any kind of fightor dispute of Vinita with herhusband or with any familymember and in the investiga-tion no suicide note has beenrecovered.After the prelimi-nary investigation the bodywas sent for the post mortem.

The police have registered acase under section 174 of theCrPC and have started furtherinvestigation.The statementsof family members are yet tobe recorded and which wouldhelp in revealing the reasonbehind the suicide.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-oldgirl died after she fell in a wellnear her house inNariyalkheda under GautamNagar police station area;deceased went to fill water andfell accidentally on Thursday.

Police said that thedeceased Shivani Singh wasfound drowned in a well nearher house.In the initial inves-tigation police found that thedeceased had gone to fillwater and while filling watershe fell inside the well.

The police have registereda case under section 174 of theCrPC and started furtherinvestigation.The deceasedwas class 10 student and wasa meritorious student.

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Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan has that

the Government has startedprocuring wheat and otherRabi crops at support pricefrom the farmers at a widescale.

Farmers should reachthe procurement centers tosell their crops at the pro-curement centers on fixeddate only on getting informedthrough SMS. Use masks,sanitiser, frequent washingof hands and follow full socialdistancing, he added.

Chouhan further men-tioned that in this time ofCorona crisis, a facility hasbeen provided to the farmersby the Government to sell

crop through Souda Patrak(Sale Letter) directly to thetraders.

Farmers can sell produceto the registered traders attheir home itself or on privatecenters through Souda Patrak.

Chouhan told the farmersthat if they get correct pricefor their produce, then onlythey should give their consenton the Souda Patrak. Youhave the security cover of thesupport price.

Besides,the ChiefMinister urged the farmers tofollow total lockdown and bevigilant towards their health.

Use Gamchha if mask isnot available. Sell Rabi cropsby maintaining sufficient dis-tance at the procurement cen-ters.

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Special monitoring is donefrom the control room by

‘live’ videography with thehelp of ‘CCTV surveillance’vehicle in the containmentareas.

In order to strictly followthe lockdown, 3 CCTV sur-veillance vehicles in the cityare continuously monitoringday and night in the contain-ment areas under north andsouth Bhopal,

cameras are been movedin CCTV surveillance vehiclesand the person found walkingoutside or sitting outside thehouses are instructed thatrecording is been done andaction will be taken againstthem. After spotting the cam-era in many areas, peoplemove inside the houses on

their own making the jobeasier for police.By using thePublic Announcement (PA)system, people are advised togo inside their houses in thecontainment area by thesevehicles.The operation of thesurveillance vehicle is seenlive in the control roomCCTV surveillance, which

also shows people violatingthe lockdown and on the spotthey are advised and thoseresisting face action which isbeen done by the police sta-tions on the field making thesystem functioning in a coor-dinated manner.

Apart from this, livevideography with video cam-eras is being monitored ofthese containment areas, inwhich the containment areasof Jehangirabad and Jinsi aremonitored live from CCTVsurveillance control roomwhich could help in checkingthe spread of Coronaviruswith strictness.

The results are good as ithas helped the police to mon-itor in a better and efficientway and require less efforts tovigil large areas under con-tainment.

������� ��� � � :79�+6

Due to the lockdown, thefood crisis is increasing

among poor and needy fami-lies. The youngsters of the cityhave pulled up their socks andare reaching out to the poorfamilies.

A Milk Drive is being car-ried out in the city by youthgroups Bhopal Helping Handsand Ansh Happiness Societyfor the small children. Here onFriday, as many as 400 milkpackets were distributed amongpoor and needy families. Thevolunteers of the groups havediatributed milk packets inSanjay Nagar, Khanugaon andBalveer Nagar. While everyoneis in their homes during lock-down, the poor and needy sec-

tion of the society is suffering.Looking at this, the youngstersof the city have pulled up theirsocks to help them.As theCOVID-19 has a serious out-break in the country, 21 daylockdown was announced byGovernment. But, in all this,the most suffered section ispoor and needy people. To helpthem, youngsters of the city aredistributing food packets andration to the needy people.

But, now they have alsobegun the Milk Drive for chil-dren till or under 5 years.Under another initiative ofdistribution of food packets,200 food packets were distrib-uted among the needy andpoor families. The packetswere especially distributedamong daily wagers.

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Amidst rapid increase inCoronavirus infections in

the State capital, in a majorgoof up, authorities allegedlyallowed quarantined eightmembers of two families to gohome without waiting fortheir test reports.

Later, the next day whentheir tests reports werereceived and it was found thatfive of them were positive, theadministration in a tizzysearched for the positivemembers of the family. Theincident was reported fromNawab Colony in AshokaGarden area of Old cityBhopal.Two families residein a rented premise in NawabColony and the owner of thebuilding, a school van driver,had tested posit ive for

covid19. The man initiallyhad reported cough-cold andwas admitted to Shakir Alihospital and later was shiftedto government Hamidia hos-pital where the physiciansadvised covid19 test.

After the man tested pos-itive, he was referred toChirayu hospital and thoseliving in his building werequarantined in a governmentfacility.The eight members ofthese two families were sentback home on Wednesday bythe officials at the quarantinefacility and on Thursday theyreceived phone calls that theyhave been tested positive forcovid19.

Then these persons wereadmitted to Chirayu hospital.These include a media personwhose family of five has beentested positive including afive-year-old daughter.Thesefamilies had alleged that theywere returned to home sim-ply by officers at the quaran-tine facility as they did notexhibit any suspected symp-

toms.Talking to The Pioneer,Chief Medical and HealthOfficer Bhopal Dr PrabhakarTiwari claimed that personsconcerned were not releasedcausally from quarantine andwere advised to remain inhome quarantine. He claimedthat this was done due to lim-ited space available in thequarantine facility.

The physician also reject-ed reports that over 350 coro-na virus samples have failedand the persons concernedhaven’t been informed aboutthis. We are continuously car-rying out tests in the city, DrTiwari added.

The number of fresh pos-itive cases were 37 on Fridayincluding two who had diedin Bhopal. The total positivecases rose to 747 in the city byFriday including nine deaths.

Overall 78 have recoveredfrom the disease in the cityand 75 were expected to bedischarged from two differenthospitals on Friday lateevening.

������� ��� � � :79�+6

Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan in his message

to the Police Officers-Employees said that in thishour of Corona crisis ourpolice personnel are setting anew example of conscien-tiousness.

They are serving the publicday and night by risking

their lives. Along with strict-ly enforcing the lockdown,they are ensuring supply ofessential commodities to thepublic and are helping them inevery possible way.

"Our police personneleven in adverse circumstancesare serving the disabled andelderly people, feeding thehungry by leaving their fami-lies behind and presenting a

unique and commendableexample of human service," he

added.Chouhan said thatsome unfortunate incidentshave made him very upset. Hesaid that he becomes emo-tional when he remembersgreat warriors of Corona lateDevendra Chandravanshi andYashwant Pal. We will neverforget their sacrifice. Chouhansaid that these heroes laid

down their lives in the line ofduty. The government willgive Rs. 50 lakh SammanNidhi to each family, govern-ment job to a member of thefamily, extraordinary pensionto the families (full salary tillthe date of retirement) and willhonour them with Karmaveermedal.

The Chief Minister saidthat we will honour police per-sonnel with Karmveer Medalfor remarkable work. Chouhansaid that our police personnelshould not be under stress, dotheir duty carefully and keepthe atmosphere calm and light.

Also be fully conscious oftheir safety. Use PPE kits whileworking in high risk areas. TheChief Minister told the policepersonnel that your life isvery precious to us.

������� ��� ��� :79�+6

Archdiocese of Bhopal acti-vated ASHADEEP

Counselling centre which wasinaugurated in February 2020.

Archbishop Leo Corneliosaid that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemicis a situation that is affectingpeople of all ages speciallychildren physically as well aspsychologically.

The pandemic has causedstrong feelings such as sad-ness, fear, anxiety, helpless-ness, uncertainty, loss of inter-est and hopelessness he saidto the reporters.

Sitting at home com-pletely without work,withoutouting and without socialisingis a matter of concern for peo-ple today. Mostly elderly peo-ple are depressed in this lock-down as their normal sched-ule is disturbed. Woman is theemotional pillar of the fami-

ly. And they are feeling suf-focated totally at home. Theyare not finding any channel toexpel out out their frustration.Bread earners of the familyare living in anxiety and feartoday. They are worried tofeed their family during andafter lockdown. Depression,anxiety and boredom hesaid.To provide support andaddress mental health con-

cerns of children and adultduring and after COVID-19,Archdiocese of Bhopal haslaunched a new venture ofonline 'Counselling Servicesfor all’ through ASHADEEP,a centre for Wholeness free ofcost through its trained coun-selors.Fr Maria Stephen, thePRO said that ASHADEEP isa group of Psychologists andclinical psychologists to pro-

vide mental fitness to peopleby empowering their mindsand by providing emotionalwellness. The people wishingto seek guidance can get intouch with counselors onwhatsapp, mobile numberand email address providedare:- 1.

Dr Reena Rajput ([email protected]),mobile- 09425080444(Wednesday and Friday 9 amto 11 am), 2. Dr Vinai Mishra( d r v i n ay m i s h r a @ re d i f f -mail .com), mobile-9425648065 (Daily 9 am to 10am), 3. Dr Priya Sonpar([email protected]),mobile- 9425356605 (Daily10 am to 12 pm), 4. GerardP e r e i r a([email protected]),mobile- 9826726967 (Daily 8am to 8 pm), 5. Rhea Pereira([email protected]),mobile- 8962698567 (Daily 8am to 8 pm).

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A60-year-old man diedafter he was attacked by

miscreant over a dispute atNeelbad in the afternoon onFriday; Ratibad police havestarted investigated.

Incharge of Ratibad policestation GP Tripathi said thatno visible injury marks werefound over the body

and in the short postmortem report it was foundthat the deceased died of car-diac arrest after his bloodpressure shot enormouslyhigh.

In the investigation it wasfound that the deceased usedto work with a private con-tractor and was at home dur-ing the lockdown and in theafternoon at around 12. 30 hewas smoking (weed) with theaccused Ram KishoreAhirwar during which thetwo had a heated argument inan inebriated state and laterthey scuffled in

which the deceased whowas fragile fail to face thedeceased and fell over groundand later when he was takento hospital he was declareddead.

Bruises marks were foundover the body and whichwere also found over the bodyof the accused. Tripathidenied of any smashing ofhead by stone of deceased.

Body was sent for thepost mortem after the pre-liminary investigation.

The police have regis-tered a case under section 174of the CrPC and have startedfurther investigation.

Police said that accusedwould be charged with case ofmurder if it is found in theinvestigation and the detailedpost mortem is awaited whichcould help in the investiga-tion.

The details of the accusedhas to be investigated, saidpolice.

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During the lockdown,Banking kiosks are oper-

ated by AISECT, extendingtheir services to the citizens tohelp them with financial crisis.

The kiosks are open to thepublic from 7 am to 7 pm.Direct benefit transfer moneyof various Governmentschemes has also come into theJan Dhan accounts operatedunder it and people can trans-act money easily.

In addition to the kiosks,AISECT is also making efforts toprovide direct financial servicesto households in these difficulttimes, so that people will haveleast trouble and avoid coron-avirus to get maximum financialservice benefits. In this, a vehi-cle has been converted into a cus-

tomer service point, providingfinancial services to homes andstreet neighborhoods. In addi-tion to providing financial ser-vices, banking kiosks are fol-lowing and following theGovernment's instructions withspecial care, in which sanitisationand social distancing are special.Apart from this, various mea-sures are being taken to avoid

corona virus infection at thekiosks, including the use ofmasks and gloves, sanitisation ofkiosk points and machines, dis-infection, maintaining a mini-mum distance of 1 meters.

There are around 3000banking kiosks of AISECTacross the country.

Along with this, variousbanking kiosks of AISECT arealso cooperating in relief workunder which ration and fooditems are being distributed tothe needy people.

It is to be noted thatfinancial services come in thelist of essential services of theGovernment. Due to this,banking kiosks operated byAISECT are also runningfinancial services in variousrural, semi-rural and urbanareas of the city.

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In the past 40 days, Punjabhad witnessed three peaks in

the Covid curve, noted theChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Friday adding that itmay not be possible to lift thelockdown completely for somemore time.

“The State will examine therecommendations of theExpert Committee and theprevailing ground situation,”said the Chief Minister whileadding that the report by theExpert Committee is expectedto be submitted by Saturday.

Capt Amarinder said: “InPunjab, of the 22 districts, fiveare currently in ‘green zone’.The Prime Minister is alsoscheduled to consult with theChief Ministers of all States onthe issue of lifting the lockdownthrough a video conferenceon Monday.” “I would go by theadvice of the ExpertCommittee, set up to formulatePunjab’s lockdown exit strate-

gy in the matter of opening upthe state,” said the ChiefMinister during a webinar withleading industrialists, economicexperts and diplomats orambassadors of various coun-tries. The Chief Minister saidthat any decision on lifting thelockdown or curfew would betaken basis the recommenda-tions of 20-member ExpertCommittee, which is expectedto submit its report onSaturday.

Reiterating that his prior-ity was saving the lives ofPunjabis, the Chief Ministersaid: “The life of my Punjabisis more important…Factoriescan be restarted but we can’t getpeople back.” If the ExpertCommittee, which includesmedical experts and doctors,recommends opening up,either partially or completely,we will do so, he said, inresponse to questions.

“I will go by their advice,”he declared, but made it clearthat the health of the people

was the priority, even thoughthe State Government wasaware that the lockdown couldnot be kept in place indefinitely.

The Chief Minister, duringthe webinar, extended his con-dolences to the Italian ambas-sador, Vincenzo de Luca, forthe large number of lives lost intheir country due to Covidpandemic. The envoy, on hispart, expressed solidarity withthe people of Punjab in theirfight against the coronavirus.

CAPT DIRECTS INDUS-TRIES DEPTT, DCs TOGIVE APPROVAL, CURFEWPASSES FOR REOPENINGTO ELIGIBLE INDUSTRYWITHIN 12 HOURS

Assuring the industry ofhis government’s full support inthese difficult times, PunjabChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Friday directed theDepartment of Industries andDistrict Industries Centresfunctioning under the DeputyCommissioners to provide all

industrial units eligible toreopen with requisiteapprovals, along with requiredcurfew passes, within 12 hoursof applying.

Capt Amarinder alsoassured them that he wouldraise the issue of Central sup-port for industry with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi dur-ing the video conferencingconvened by the latter with allchief ministers on Monday.

At a webinar, participatedby nearly 100 industry stal-warts, foreign ambassadors ordiplomats and others, the ChiefMinister said that he hadalready requested the CentralGovernment to find innovativesolutions to support industry inthis difficult time so that theycould continue to pay labour-ers and workers.

The industry cannot paywages endlessly, he said,responding to the concernexpressed by the participantson this issue. Capt Amarinderlamented that Punjab was not

getting its share from theCentre, which had also reject-ed its request for allowingliquor sales, leading to losses tothe tune of �6200 crore in rev-enue. “The Centre has to com-pensate,” he stressed.

The Chief Minister alsoconveyed to the industry theCentral Government’s clarifi-cation that there would nopenal action against any indus-trial unit if a worker is foundinfected with Covid. He alsoassured the industry that therewas neither any intention nordirection on the part of PunjabGovernment to impose anycriminal liabilities on theindustry and their CEOs forCovid-positive cases in theirworkforce.

However, he urged them tofollow all health and medicalsafety protocols laid down forchecking spread of the coron-avirus. Terming the industry anintegral part of Punjab's fightagainst Covid crisis, the ChiefMinister has directed all depart-

ments to support and facilitatepermitted industries to reopenand commence operations, saidan official spokesperson.

Pointing out that industrycould function as per guide-lines if they provide food andshelter to workers, as per theCentre’s locked-in permissionto operate, he also made it clearthat all orders giving approvalto industrial unit to operatemust be sent to the labour,police and other concerneddepartments so that there is noharassment of industry.

Capt Amarinder urged theindustry to immediately bringto the notice of the concernedDC or the Industry Ministerand senior officers of thedepartment any difficulty facedby them. If due to any supplychain problems, any industri-al unit cannot continue tofunction, they will be permit-ted to shut down operationseven as the Government willmake all efforts to preventsuch problems, he assured.

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To maintain high morale isa challenge for Corona

Warriors of police departmentat the time of pandemic whichhas not been witnessed everand with this aim senior policeare visiting checking pointswhere police officers andemployees are posted in thefield and they are also provid-ing goods to boost immunity.

After the sad demise ofSHO of Nilganga police stationYashwant Pal while shoulder-ing duty to protect citizensfrom corona virus infection, theUjjain police was in shock butstill the police personnel areworking round the clock withfull dedication in the fightagainst Corona.

Despite police are more

prone and a soft target, effortsare being made to increase themorale and immunity of thepolice personnel who are risk-ing lives during their dutyhours.

The SP Sachin Atulkar andIG Rakesh Gupta visited thepoints where police personnelare deployed to boost theirmorale. The deployed policemenare also provided with honeyand Chyawanprash to increaseimmunity.

Divisional CommissionerAnand Sharma, DIG ManishKapoor, Collector ShashankMishra along with Police Officerposted in the containment area toboost morale of RI and employ-ees, they are not only encourag-ing the people but also promot-ing Chiyawanprash and honey toincrease their immunity.

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The Centre on Friday praisedHaryana's Covid-19

response, lauding its perfor-mance on multiple parametersincluding the recovery rateand better-than-national dou-bling rate, State Health MinisterAnil Vij said.

He said that Union HealthMinister Dr Harsh Vardhan,who held a meeting on theCovid-19 situation with StateHealth Ministers over video-conferencing, was appreciativeof the steps taken by Haryana.

“He appreciated the wayHaryana has handled the situ-ation. He was impressed whenwe informed him that ourState's recovery rate was 67.63per cent. He said it was a goodsign. I also informed him thatas of today, the state has 86active Covid patients, the rateof doubling of infections hasnow increased from 13.5 daysto 17 days, while tests per mil-lion being conducted were 743,and fatality rate was 1.09 percent,” Vij said.

The national doubling ratestood at 10 days as on Friday.

Vij said that none of thepatients admitted in hospitalsin the state is in ICU or hasneeded ventilator support,adding early detection of cases

has helped. He appreciated therole of doctors, nurses andparamedics in taking care ofthe patients and praised thepolice force for effectivelyimplementing the lockdown.

The Haryana HealthMinister said that during themeeting, the state was told notto use rapid testing kits, as hasalready been advised by theIndia Council of MedicalResearch, the country’s apexmedical research body.

Vij said he brought to theHealth Ministry's notice thatHaryana had procured 25,000rapid test kits from a SouthKorean company and it was notusing the Chinese ones, but thestate was asked to put these alsoon hold for the time being.

He said over 46 lakh peo-ple have been screened for thevirus in the state. As many as9,997 people have complainedof some symptoms like diffi-culty in breathing and the statewanted to use the rapid test kitsof the South Korean companyfor screening them, he said.

Vij said he apprised theUnion Health Minister thatthe Haryana Government onMonday ordered a probe afterfour samples reported positivefor corona virus by a privatelaboratory tested negative inconfirmation tests done at gov-ernment centres.

“I said the results of this labwere found not correct whensamples of the four patientsfrom Ambala district camenegative in confirmation testsdone at different governmentlabs. I told the minister that itcan create havoc in the state ifpeople who are negative turnpositive in this manner,” saidVij.

He said Harsh Vardhanhas assured that the ICMRwill look into the issue and dothe needful. As fallout of theincident, Vij said that a com-mittee has been constituted toinspect all the five ICMR-approved private labs in thestate. “This committee mayvisit the premises of the privatelabs once in 10 days to have on-the-spot assessment. This com-mittee will report to theDirector of Health Services,” anofficial order said.

Meanwhile, Vij said that acentral team visited some hos-pitals and containment zones inthe State.

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Punjabis have a reason to keepup their spirits. A day after

Centre’s decision against allow-ing liquor sale in the State, ChiefMinister Capt Amarinder Singhhas resolved to once again dis-cuss the issue of “prohibition”with the Prime Minister Modion Monday for enabling thepeople of the State to raise atoast in the days of low feeling.

Unhappy with the Centre’sdenial, Capt Amarinder onFriday said that he would againraise the issue with the Prime

Minister during the scheduledvideo conferencing on Monday.

At the same time, he ques-tioned the connection betweenthe spread of the novel coron-avirus and the sale of liquor —which the state has beendemanding to generate revenueamidst fiscal crunch.

“I will again raise the issueof reopening alcohol business togenerate revenue duringMonday’s video conference withthe Prime Minister,” said theChief Minister during a webinarwith nearly 100 industrialistsand senior executives, foreign

envoys and others on Friday.Pointing out that Punjab

was a small state, he asked howthe Centre expected it to copewith the current crisis withoutGST (Goods and Services Tax)and without liquor sales.

Punjab had made a formalrequest after the UnionMinistry of Home Affairs, in itsconsolidated revised guide-lines on April 15 for the secondphase of lockdown that runs tillMay 3, categorically stated thatno liquor shop will be permit-ted to open anywhere in thecountry. Only a day before,

Punjab’s plea to resume sale ofliquor in the state amidst thelockdown was rejected by theUnion Ministry.

The guidelines stated, therewill be a strict “ban” on sale ofliquor, gutka and tobacco dur-ing the lockdown, and no per-mission was either given to barsto remain open during thelockdown period.

After the guidelines, twonortheastern states — Assamand Meghalaya — which hadearlier allowed sale of liquor inthe first phase of lockdownfrom March 25 to April 14, also

ordered them to shut downstarting April 15.

Questioning the logicbehind closing liquor shops,Capt Amarinder said: “What’sthe connection between coro-navirus and liquor sale?Coronavirus spreads throughmucus. You have allowed veg-etables to be sold in the open.But, what’s the logic behindbanning the sale of liquor insealed bottles? This is affectingstate revenue.”

Capt Amarinder pointedthat Punjab has incurred rev-enue losses of �6,200 crore

because of the ban on liquorsales during the lockdown peri-od, while Centre is also notready to assist us and releasingstate’s pending GST arrears.

Punjab’s GST compensationof approximately �4,400 crore forthe last four months – fromDecember 2019 to March 2020– was pending for disburse-ment by the Union Government.

On the other hand, thestate’s committed expenditure —including debt servicing, pen-sions, salaries, relief measures forCovid-19, healthcare and infra-structure — is budgeted at

� 7,301 crore for April 2020.As Capt Amarinder would

raise the issue with the PrimeMinister during the video con-ference meeting, he is expect-ed to be joined by the ChiefMinisters of other states tooincluding Delhi and Kerala.Even Haryana too is keen tostart the liquor business.

Liquor sales are a signifi-cant source of revenue forPunjab, which is currently fac-ing a severe financial situationwithout the Centre’s assistance.

In fact, instances of liquorsmuggling are being reported

from different parts of thestate. Only a day before, an ille-gal liquor distillation plant inKhanna was busted, with thearrest of five men and seizureof 1,857 cartons of illicit liquoralong with machines, vehicles,and �5.8 lakh cash.

Several states are keen theCentre allows sale of liquor.BJP-ruled Assam andMeghalaya had ordered open-ing of distilleries and liquorsales to resume when a three-week lockdown was about toend on April 14 but wasextended till May 3.

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Chief Minister HemantSoren today started trans-

fer of Rs 1000 through DBT tostranded Jharkhandi work-ers, who had registered in theCM Special Assistance Applaunched by the StateGovernment. During thelaunch the CM said that today1,11,568 labourers have beenprovided assistance of Rs 1000directly through DBT in theirbank account. It is the goal ofthe government to help themfinancially, he said.

The CM said that due toCoronavirus, the labourers ofJharkhand are trapped in largenumbers in various states ofthe country. Right from theinitial phase of lockdown, theState government had coor-dinated with the governmentofficials of various states of thecountry to provide ration or

food grains for the migrantlabourers. In this episode,today, the assistance of Rs1000 has been made availableto the migrant labourersthrough the Chief Minister'sSpecial Assistance Schememobile App.

He further said that tilldate, 2,47,0 25 migrantlabourers of the State have reg-istered for financial helpthrough the Chief Minister'sSpecial Assistance MobileApp. Various districts ofJharkhand have so farapproved the registration of2,10,464 labourers.

He said that soon financialassistance will be made avail-able to all the verified benefi-ciaries. He said that under theInternet banking system, theprocess of checking banksand accounts takes two tothree days.

The State governmentmachinery is involved in car-rying out these tasks withfull commitment. As soon asthe account verification ofthe beneficiaries is completed,the amount of financial sup-port will be given immedi-ately.The CM said that thegovernment has made provi-

sion to provide ration to thosefamilies, who do not haveration cards. “The earlierprocess of providing rationhas been changed today. Nowthe families who do not haveration card will be able to takeration directly from the near-est PDS dealer. Such familiesor people will no longer needto go elsewhere to get ration.The nearest dealers will pro-vide ration by personally iden-tifying such families, this willgive them a lot of conve-nience,” he said.

The CM said that somedisturbances and complaintshave also been detectedthrough MLAs, public repre-sentatives or media of thestate regarding Chief MinisterDidi Kitchen, GrainDistribution etc. The govern-ment is taking cognizance ofall these disturbances andcomplaints.

Soren said that inJharkhand, the State govern-ment is carrying out the workof providing relief material tothe people in many ways withregard to social security sincethe initial time of Covid-19.The State government isabsolutely serious that the

people of the State do not havefood problems during thelockdown period. It is thegovernment's priority toensure that no person fallsasleep in the State.The CMsaid that on Friday, Rs8,30,15,000 have been givenby the police officers and per-sonnel of the State to fight thecoronavirus and Rs 51,000has been provided by the den-tist tutors of RIMS, Ranchi.

“I thank them whole-heartedly. We all believe thatwe will win this battle togeth-

er,” he said. On this occasion,Ministers Rameshwar Oraon,Satyanand Bhokta, ChampaiSoren, Banna Gupta, ChiefSecretary Sukhdev Singh,

Additional ChiefSecretary Arun Kumar Singh,Principal Secretary to ChiefMinister Rajiv Arun Ekka,Principal Secretary, AP Singh,Vinay Choubey, Director ofIPRD Rajiv Lochan Bakshi,Press Adviser to CM AbhishekPrasad, Sr Pvt Secretary toCM Sunil Srivastava were pre-sent.

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The Ranchi district admin-istration as per the direc-

tives issued by UnionGovernment has urged mem-bers from Muslim communityto offer prayers and break theirfast during the Holy month ofRamzan inside their homesinstead of gathering at mosquesor any other places in view ofcoronavirus outbreak. TheHoly month of Ramzan set tobegin from started on April 25(Saturday).

Also as there is lockdownin place till May 3 across thecountry and restrictions havebeen imposed on celebratingfestivals and offering prayers atpublic places by followers of allreligions during this period.

Ranchi deputy commis-sioner (DC) Rai MahimapatRay in this connection hasissued guidelines for Muslimcommunity in view of coron-avirus outbreak. As per theDC’s directions, religious headsand imminent personalities ofthe community have beeninformed that during Ramzanthere will be no gathering foroffering Namaz or breaking fast(Iftar).

Also it is observed thatduring this pious month mem-bers from Muslim communitygo for shopping, but the districtadministration guidelines statethat at markets social distanc-ing has to be made. The Stategovernment in this connectionhas also prepared a task forcefor successful implementationof directives.

As per the directives, theminimum distance betweentwo shops should be around fif-teen feet and the it is duty ofconcerned shopkeepers tomake a circle outside his shopat the distance of six feet so thatsocial distancing is maintain.

The Ranchi district admin-istration during the holy monthhas also banned plying of twowheelers and four wheelers,however during emergency sit-uation the district administra-tion has allowed plying of twowheelers and four wheelerscarrying riders.

Only one person is allowedon two wheelers while on fourwheelers two persons includinga driver is allowed. The districtadministration also states thatwearing masks is mandatorywhile coming out of homes.

Moreover, complying with

the directives of UnionGovernment the Ranchi dis-trict administration too hasstarted creating awareness

about Suraksha Stores so thatas many as grocery shops andgeneral stores goes for normsas per Suraksha Stores.

Starting April 28, Indiawill see the roll-out of as manyas 10 lakh Suraksha Storesover 45 days, which will bedesigned as per the COVID-19safety regulations laid by theMinistry of Consumer Affairs.

The Suraksha Store couldbe your nearby grocer orchemist, whose store will bemanaged by leading FMCGcompanies. Suraksha Store willhave a poster at the entrance,

so that the consumer is awarethat she is entering a sanitisedstore along with social dis-tancing norms.

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Wearing masks has beenmade compulsory for

those going outside by Ranchidistrict administration.

As per district administrationguidelines those violating the

norms will be penalized underDisaster Management Act2005 and provisions underIndian Penal Code. The

Ranchi district administrationstates that triple layer masks orhome made three layer masksis permitted. Also home mademasks must be washed daily,sprayed with sanitizers.

The Ranchi Districtadministration also urges peo-ple to follow hygiene habitssuch as washing hands withsoap or alcohol based sanitiz-ers.

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Along with the increasingoutbreak of coronavirus, the

concerns of people are alsoincreasing. Corona is an infec-tious disease which spreads veryfast from one person to anoth-er not only in India but thewhole world. Efforts are beingmade at war level to prevent thispandemic. The economic con-ditions of the entire worldincluding India are in a state ofconfusion, due to which the stan-dard of living is affected.

In the midst of this epi-demic, the Prime Minister ofIndia, while addressing the coun-try from time to time, alsoappealed to the entire country-men to follow the lockdown pro-tocols seriously to prevent thespread of this pandemic Therewas also a call to propagate anddisseminate methods to moreand more people.

Dr. B.R AmbedkarUniversity of Social Sciences,Mhow is determined to work onthe ideas and philosophy of Dr.Ambedkar. The Vice Chancellorof the University, Professor AshaShukla, is leading the facultymembers, all staff members andstudents to discharge their socialresponsibility by spreading social

awareness against the Coronaepidemic through all possiblesocial media platforms.

Concerning the health of thecommon people along with thestudents, they are working to dis-seminate the message related topublic awareness by becomingaware about the preventive mea-sures. The Vice Chancellor hasinformed that the university hassent 203667 awareness messagesto the students and researchersof the university as well as to thegeneral public through socialmedia platforms like what-sapp/facebook/email and s.m.s.and the varsity will continue tobroadcast such messages.

Under the guidance of ViceChancellor Professor AshaShukla, various messages arebeing circulated through socialmedia for Prevention and aware-ness of the epidemic. Awarenessrelated messages are constantlybeing broadcasted by the team ofteachers, officers and employeesof the university. Only the aware-ness messages issued by thehealth department and autho-rized by the government admin-istration are being circulated. Theuniversity's registrar, ManojKumar Tiwari, is constantlykeeping an eye on the work beingdone by the university.

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The Chief Minister ofUttarakhand, Trivendra

Singh Rawat has congratulatedthe public representatives andvillagers of three villagePanchayats of the state that havebeen selected for Panchayati Raj

awards by the unionGovernment. On Thursday, theBelpadav gram panchayat ofKotabagh block of Nainital dis-trict was awarded with the‘Child friendly gram panchay-at award’. Similarly the NanajiDeshmukh Rashtriya GauravGram Sabha award, 2020 was

awarded to Kheldi villagePanchayat of Bhadarabad blockof Hardiwar district. TheKedarwala gram panchayat ofVikasnagar, Dehradun wasselected for ‘Gram Panchayatdevelopment plan award, 2020.On the occasion of RashtriyaPanchayat Diwas-2020.

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The Inter-Ministerial CentralTeam (IMCT), which

inspected healthcare facilities attwo dedicated Covid hospitalsin Kolkata, has found majoranomalies in the existing systemlike waiting time of five days ormore for test results of patientsin isolation wards putting evennegative ones at risk; bodieslying on the beds of the ward forfour long hours while a deathcertificate is being prepared; andno social distancing being main-tained during “chaotic” patientadmission process thus increas-ing the risk of spread of theinfection among others.

The IMCT has also soughtexplanation on the methodolo-gy used by State-appointed‘Committee of Doctors’ to ascer-tain deaths due to Covid-19amid suspicions over WestBengal’s coronavirus data. Ithas written two separate lettersto the West Bengal ChiefSecretary in this regard and alsoapprised the Ministry of HomeAffairs of the situation.

In his letters, ApurvaChandra, head of the IMCT,sought the State government’sclarification on these observa-tions and further details on itstesting capability besideswhether all those persons whoreturned to Kolkata fromabroad till March 8 were testedand were found negative.

The team had visited CNCI(Chitranjan National CancerInstitute) and M R Bangur hos-pitals in Kolkata on Thursday.

“There were a large numberof patients in isolation wards ofCNCI as well as Bangur hospi-tal awaiting Covid-19 test resultsfor five days or longer. It is notclear why the test results shouldtake such a long time and thereis a danger of Covid-19 negativepatient acquiring the infectionin the hospital while awaitinghis test result.

“The patient admission atBangur hospital appears to bechaotic. There was no social dis-

tancing in the waiting area.Two patients appear to be invery poor health but there wasno medical support available,”he said.

Though patients fromother hospitals are referred tothe Bangur facility, the IMCThead noted, “However, it seemsthe patients are left on theirown to report to the hospitaland are not escorted. Thiswould always leave scope forsome patients not turning upor delaying reporting to thehospital”.

The team noted that therewere only 12 ventilators atBangur hospital while it catersto 354 serious Covid-19patients. To this, the hospitalauthorities informed the teamthat in case a ventilator is notavailable and ventilator sup-port is required for a patient,

the patient is transferred tosome other facilities.

Following social mediareports that dead bodies werelying on beds in a ward, theIMCT enquired about the mat-ter and found that “it is possi-ble that dead bodies were lyingon bed in a ward as it takes atleast four hours to issue adeath certificate, after whichthe body is shifted to a mor-tuary”. The State Governmenthas been asked to furnishrecords in this regard.

On the State Government’sclaim that number of testshaving gone up from around400 per day to 900 per day, theIMCT sought details like howmany of these are repeat testsand how many are first timepatients. It suggested the Stateto conduct 2,500 to 5,000 testsa day.

In a separate letter regard-ing the methodology, theIMCT asked the State chiefsecretary to explain themethodology used by aCommittee of Doctorsappointed by the West Bengalgovernment to ascertainwhether the deaths beingreported are due to coron-avirus.

The IMCT asked whetherthe methodology adopted bythe state panel is in line withwhat has been laid down by theICMR and sought an interac-tion with the Committee ofDoctors to understand theirmethodology. It also asked ifsuch a committee exists for anyother disease in the state. Theteam further asked about thetime taken by the Committeeto reach a conclusion whethera patient died of the virus.

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To prevent the spread ofcoronavirus, the Union

Rural Development Ministryhas banned smoking cigarettesor beedis, chewing tobaccoand spitting at the work sitesunder the MNREGA scheme.

Rajesh Bhushan, Secretaryof the Rural DevelopmentMinistry during a video con-ference a few days ago asked allthe states to follow the directivesto prevent the spread of coro-navirus among the MNREGAworkers.

“Precautions need to betaken while performing tasksunder MGNREGA, PradhanMantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY), Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (Rural) andNational Livelihood Mission innon containment zones,” saidthe Secretary.

He said that it was impor-tant for all states and union ter-ritories to develop a standard

plan for each workplace. As perthe directives issued by theofficial, smoking at the work-place has to be completely for-bidden while no person shouldbe found eating tobacco, etc.and spitting to be completelyprohibited where the work isgoing on.

The Secretary also said thatif anyone has health problems,then he should be taken to thenearest health centre.

The Ministry of RuralDevelopment has asked all thestates to follow the April 15guidelines of the Union HomeMinistry which states that “spit-ting in public places shall bepunishable with fine” and “thereshall be strict ban on sale ofliquor, gutka, tobacco, etc andspitting should be strictly pro-hibited.”

The Union Health Ministryhas also asked the States toensure that spitting is banned asit could spread the infectiousCoronavirous.

It had cited the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) appeal which notedthat the harmful effects oftobacco use are well estab-lished and accepted globally.Also the role of tobaccouse/spitting in public place inspreading infectious diseaseslike Coronavirus. Chewing ofsmokeless tobacco products(gutkha, zarda, khaini and otherchewing tobacco products andpaan masala) and areca nut(supari) increases the produc-tion of saliva followed by a verystrong urge to spit.

Spitting in public placesincreases the dangers of spreadof Coronavirus/Covid-19.

States like Bihar, Jharkhand,Telangana, Uttar Pradesh,Uttarkhand, Maharashtra,Haryana, Nagaland and Assamhave already issued orders onthe ban of use of smokelesstobacco products and spitting inpublic places during the Covidepidemic.

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The Congress on Fridayslammed the Government

for freezing the DearnessAllowance (DA) of CentralGovernment employees andpensioners and demandedscrapping of the bullet trainand central vista projects tosave 30 per cent from theGovernment expenditure.

Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi tweeted:"Cutting the expenditure ondearness allowance is inhu-man."

"It is an insensitive andinhumane decision of theGovernment to cut DA ofcentral employees, pensionersand jawans who are servingthe public while fighting coro-navirus, instead of suspendingthe bullet train project andthe Central Vista beautifica-tion project of lakhs of crores(of rupees)," he said in atweet in Hindi.

Addressing a Press con-ference on the issue, partychief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala too asked theGovernment to curtail 30 percent of its own expenses andshelve the Central Vista rede-velopment and bullet trainprojects to save money to beused to fight the coronavirusoutbreak.

"The Government ofIndia, instead of helping peo-ple by giving them financialsupport in this crisis, is hurt-ing them. Instead of curtail-ing its own wasteful expendi-tures, the Government is cut-ting the money of the middleclass people," he told an videopress conference.

The Government shouldscrap their pet projects andsave �1,30,000 crore anddivert the money to fightCOVID-19, added Surjewala.

The Congress said thatthe decision of theGovernment will adverselyimpact the morale of thearmed forces.

As part of the austeritydrive, the Centre on Thursdayannounced suspension of DA

hike for the central employeestill July 2021. Moreover, min-istries and departments havealso been categorised for fix-ing a cap on their quarterlyexpenditure, limiting it to15-20 per cent of the annualbudget expenditure for FY21in the first quarter.

"Only one month ago, onMarch 23 , 2020, the Centre

passed a budget of Rs. 30.42Lakh crores. It is, but, pre-sumed that budget is a correctaccounting of expected rev-enue as also expected expen-diture. In case, ever, theexpected revenue was to fall,the first thing that you willproceed to do, is to cut downwasteful and vanity expendi-ture rather than hitting at the

income of people of India,"said the party in a statement.

"This is not the first timein the last 30 days that theyhave proceeded to do so,please remember that onlyrecently in March 2020, theGovernment had proceededto reduce the interest acrossthe board of 1-1.5 percent onall national savings schemes.Not only that, the State Bankof India had reduced its inter-est rate on savings bankaccounts from �3.25 to 3 per-cent and on fixed deposit byhalf percent. By these twosteps alone, Government ofIndia from national savingsschemes had deducted �19,000 crore annually fromthe 30 crore depositors andthe national savings schemeand of the 44 crore 51 lakhdepositors in State Bank ofIndia by reduction of interestson FDs and on savingaccounts, they have lost annu-ally interest component of �9,429 crore," Surjewala said.

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The BJP on Friday hit out atthe Congress for not sup-

porting the Government whenthe whole country is standingtogether against COVID-19.

"When the whole countryis fighting a war againstCOVID-19, Congress is onlyfighting against the Centralgovernment. Nobody else, butRahul Gandhi and his gang areopposing the Government.They are battling against theCentre, not COVID-19,"Union Minister andsenior BJPleader Prakash Javadekar said.

He alleged that theCongress leader never comesup with a 'constructive sug-gestion' rather he advises oth-

ers to oppose the government.Referring to Rahul's latesttweet on the Centre's decisionto stop the hike in DearnessAllowance (DA) and DearnessRelief (DR) to all governmentemployees and pensioners inview of the country's financialsituation, Javadekar said "Thepeople of India will not toler-ate this type of behaviour."

"Today's tweet of RahulGandhi falls in the same cate-gory of opposing the govern-ment. This behaviour ofCongress at this time will bequestioned someday and theywill have to explain it then," hesaid. Taking to Twitter, Rahulcriticised the Centre for its"inhuman and insensitive deci-sion" on DA and DR and

reminded the government thatcrores of rupees could berecouped by suspending theambitious bullet train projectand the Central Vista beauti-fication scheme.

On Thursday, CongressPresident Sonia Gandhicharged the ruling party with“spreading communal preju-dice and hatred”, to that theBJP described former’s com-ment as “cheap politics” anddemanded that she tendersan apology.

"We are not creating com-munal divisions. We are unit-edly fighting COVID-19. Werequest them to not do cheappolitics. They must not indulgein small politics," Javadekarhad retorted.

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HRD Minister RameshPokhriyal 'Nishank' on

Friday felicitated the team ofscientists from IIT Delhiinvolved in the developmentof COVID 19 probe - freeReal-time PCR DiagnosticKit.

This is the first probe-free assay for COVID-19approved by ICMR and itwill be useful for specific andaffordable high throughputtesting. This assay can beeasily scaled up as it does notrequire fluorescent probes.The team is targeting largescale deployment of the kit ataffordable prices with suit-able industrial partners assoon as possible.

Speaking on the occasionthe HRD Minister said thatour Pr ime Minis terNarendra Modi has invitedScientists , students andresearchers to come forwardto combat COVID 19 and inresponse to this clarion call,

all the premier institutionsunder HRD Ministry cameto the forefront and have done acommendable work and arecontributing to their best inorder to combat the situa-tion arising of COVID-19.

HRD Secretary AmitKhare, IIT Delhi DirectorRamgopal Rao and a team ofScientists of IIT Delhi led byProf. Vivekananad Perumaland Prof. Manoj Menon werepresent in the meeting.

The Minister appreciatedthe efforts of IIT Delhi indeveloping a testing kit at avery low cost for the people

of India. The kit will not onlyempower healthcare servicesbut also support the govern-ment in the time of crisis.

He congratulated theResearchers of IIT DelhiKusuma School of BiologicalSciences (KSBS), who havedeveloped a detection assayfor COVID-19 which hasnow b een approved byICMR.

He was del ighted toknow that the assay has beenvalidated at ICMR with asensitivity and specificity of100 percent.

This makes IITD the firstacademic institute to haveobtained ICMR approval fora real-time PCR-based diag-nostic assay.

Pokhriyal highlightedthat the Ministry of HRDwill provide all possible tothe institutions for theirresearch initiatives.

He said that the projectlike these are in line withMake in India initiative ofthe Government.

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The Ministry of AYUSH onFriday announced a

mechanism to support short-term research projects forevaluating the impact ofAYUSH interventions/ med-icines in the prophylaxis andclinical management ofCOVID-19.

Hospitals/Institutionsinvolved in the managementof COVID-19 cases have beeninvited to participate in thisscheme which falls under theextramural (for those fromoutside the AYUSH Ministryestablishment) research cate-gory. The proposals should berelated to evaluating the roleand impact of AYUSH inter-ventions/medicines in theprophylaxis and clinical man-agement of SARS-CoV-2infection and COVID-19 dis-ease, a release issued by theAYUSH Ministry said.

Project proposals of a

maximum of six monthsduration with InstitutionalEthics Committee (IEC) clear-ance will be considered forsupport up to �10 lakh tomeet the expenditure onengaging AYUSH clinicians,technical manpower, labora-tory investigations and relat-ed contingencies.

The details including eli-gibility criteria, mode forsubmission of application,application form are uploadedon Ministry of AYUSH web-site ayush.gov.in.

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The BJP on Friday accusedthe State Government of

playing with facts regarding theextent of corona infections inBengal saying it took twostrong letters from the InterMinisterial Central Team(IMCT) for the StateGovernment to cough up thetruth about the exact numberof infected people and realnumber of deaths due to thedreaded virus in the State.

Referring to the objectionsbeing raised by his party on ear-lier occasions on “how thenumbers are being fudged”,State BJP president Dilip Ghoshsaid that the Governmentshould have been honestenough to come out with thegenuine numbers (of deathsand infection) instead of sup-pressing the facts.

The BJP was referring tothe two letters of inquirydashed off by the visiting IMCT

to State Chief Secretary RajivaSinha asking the Governmentto explain the total number ofvictims that had corona infec-tions.

The Government later saidthat the total number of deathsdue to corona infection stoodat 18 that included three deathsin the past 24 hours. However,it also said that there were 39other deaths where the patientshad corona infections along-with comorbidity.

“This means that the totalnumber of deaths should betaken as 57 instead of 18,” asenior CPI(M) leader and a for-mer MP said adding “our lead-ers like Biman Bose andSuryakanto Mishra were arrest-ed a few days ago when theywere protesting against sup-pression of facts.”

Incidentally theGovernment had filed an FIRagainst CPI(M) central com-mittee member SujanChakrabarty for reporting false

cases in the social media.The Chief Secretary on

Friday said that the total num-ber of deaths due to coronawere 18 while the total numberof active infected patients were385. This figure included thenew 57 cases in the past 24hours.

Among the seven districtsfrom where reports of coronainfections were coming areKolkata, Howrah, East andWest Midnapore, Hooghly andEast Burdwan, he said.

The State had conducted atotal number of 8,933 testswith 930 tests being conduct-ed in the past one day, theGovernment said.

Meanwhile, the IMCT onFriday visited a large part ofKolkata and Howrah to gatherreports of the extent of coronainfections. The team visitedNew Town, MR BangurHospital and Salkia andDumurjala in Howrah, sourcessaid.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday said the

prevailing global contagion hastaught the country to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. “It isthe biggest lesson leant fromcorona pandemic,” the PrimeMinister said as he addressed‘sarpanches’ and ‘GramPanchayats’ on Friday observedannually as National Panchayat

Day.He launched a unified e-

GramSwaraj portal and amobile app on this occasion aspart of a new initiative aimedat providing Gram Panchayatswith a single interface to pre-pare and implement gram pan-chayat development plan(GPDP).

The Prime Minister, whointeracted with the ‘Sarpanchs’across the country via video-

conferencing, said ''Villages,districts and States should beindependent for the fulfilmentof their own needs.''

The e-GramSwaraj portaland app will help in simplify-ing accounting application forPanchayati raj and will serve asa single platform to account forgram Panchayat's day to dayactivities. This app will ensuretransparency in gramPanchayat's day to day working,efficient record keeping as theGramSwaraj app will be acces-sible to every villager.

Another major project isthe ‘Swamitva Yojana’ launchedby the Central Government.Under this project, householdareas will be mapped viadrones. Title deed will be givento property owners post map-ping. Swamitva Yojana isalready in its trial phase instates like Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and MadhyaPradesh.

"There was a time when lessthan 100 hundred panchayatsacross the country were con-nected to broadband. Today,broadband has reached morethan 1.25 lakh panchayats”, hesaid.

"Indian villages havebecome a subject of research forinternational scientists as wellas scientists and researchersback home. You have given the'Do Gaj doori' mantra to theworld to combat COVID-19without using lofty words likesocial distancing and lock-down.

“It is because of you that theworld is discussing how Indiahas managed to combatCOVID-19," said Prime

Minister on the new normsmandated by the one-month-long lockdown across thecountry.

“It is true that we are facedwith obstacles and problems butresolve to keep moving forwardwith new energy, finding newways to work, saving the coun-try and advancing the countryis strong,” Modi said andassured that the country wouldemerge stronger through thecrisis.

Modi suggested that thereshould be a sanitisation cam-paign in villages to ensure min-imal spread of coronavirus.The Prime Minister also urgedthe gram panchayats to makequarantine centres for peoplecoming from cities and to helppeople with essential needs.

"Fake news aroundCOVID-19 needs to be avoid-ed and we need to be alert whileposting anything on socialmedia platforms. I am shockedto see that misinformationaround what and what not toeat during this time is beingspread at an unprecedentedpace," said the Prime Minister.

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In view of the financial impli-cations arising due to COVID-

19 and the lockdown, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onFriday asked the three Servicesto use resources prudently andavoid wastage while maintainingoperational readiness. He alsoasked the commanders to iden-tify and prioritise tasks andassist in the revival of the econ-omy after the lockdown is lifted.

The Minister’s directive tothe Services chiefs came in thebackdrop of the impact of thelockdown on the economy onthe whole and likely setback forsome months in procurement ofweapons systems. The armedforces were asked a few days backto avoid inking new deals in thefirst quarter of the current fiscaldue to economic factors.

Moreover, with the possi-bility of budgetary constraints orcuts in the near future, the threeServices were also asked to puton hold their acquisition process-es to buy new weapon systems.The Department of MilitaryAffairs in a letter also asked theforces to put on hold their cap-ital acquisition processes till the

time the COVID-19 situationcontinues in the country, sourcessaid.

Faced with global slow-down, the delivery schedule of 36Rafale fighter jets is likely to getdelayed by some weeks now. Thefirst four jets were scheduled tocome to India from France nextmonth. The deal is worth overRs 59,000 crores.

Similarly, the S-400 missileshield system deal worth over Rs45,000 crore with Russia may getdelayed too though the Russianshave assured of timely deliveryschedule.

Some other procurementtime lines pertaining to tanks,artillery guns and assault riflesfrom different countries may alsoget affected besides the Navy’srecent deal with the US for 24multi-role helicopters.

Given this backdrop, thedefence minister in a video-con-ference here with the comman-ders of the three Services direct-ed them to initiate measures tospend the financial resources,avoiding wastage in view of theeconomic burden imposed byCOVID-19.

In his address, Singh said heexpected the forces to ensure

their operational preparedness,“while they are battling COVID-19 and the adversary should notbe allowed to exploit the currentsituation,” defence ministry offi-cials said later.

“Stressing on the require-ment of jointness of the armedforces, the Defence Ministerasked the Commanders in Chiefto identify and prioritise tasksthat could be accomplishedquickly and assist in revival of theeconomy after the lockdown islifted,” the Ministry stated.

The Service Commandersappreciated the recent devolutionof emergency financial powersby the Ministry that has ensuredtimely procurement of necessarymedical supplies, to bolster thehealth infrastructure of the hos-pitals.

The conference was attend-ed by the three Service Chiefsincluding General M MNaravane, Admiral KarambirSingh, Air Chief Marshal R K SBhadauria, Chief of DefenceStaff General BipinRawat(CDS),Defence SecretaryAjay Kumar and Secretary(Defence Finance) Gargi Kaulbesides other senior officials ofthe ministry.

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Mumbai’s Dharavi slumcontinued to be in the

grip of coronavirus on Friday,as the pandemic claimed onemore life taking the number ofdeaths to 14 and left six morepersons infected contributingto the rise in Covid-19 cases to220 in Asia’s largest slum.

Though there was a drop inthe number of cases fromThursday’s count of 25 to six onFriday, there was no let up inthe incidence of the pandemic.

A-60 year-old woman diedof Covid at Dharavi’s GopinathColony on Friday. With the lat-est death, the total number ofdeaths in this densely populat-ed slum has risen to 14.

On Friday, fresh infectedcases were reported from theareas of Kalyanwadi, JantaNagar, Banwari compoundgully and Maluna Azad Nagar.Among the newly infected per-sons, five were women, while

one was a 36-year-old man.Those infected were in the agegroup of 36 to 43 years.

On Thursday, as many as25 infected cases and one deathhad been reported fromDharavi.

Spread over 240 hectarearea, Dharavi is one of theCovid-19 hotspots in Mumbai.

Ever since first few cases ofCoronavirus were reported inthe early first week of April, theBrihanmumbai Municipal

Corporation (BMC) is closelymonitoring the situation inDharavi where the healthauthorities have clamped atotal lockdown.

The pandemic cases havebeen reported from most partsof Dharavi, a fact that has trig-gered considerable anxietyamong the health authoritieswho are taking all measures toensure against the communityspread of the pandemic in thisdensely populated slum.

On its part, local doctors aswell the ones from the BMChave held several fever clinicsin this slum.

Apart from enforcing strictsocial distancing norms, thepolice and health authoritieshave been using drones tomonitor the activities inDharavi. Located betweenWestern Railway’s Bandra-Matunga and Central Railway’sSion-Matunga stations innorth-central Mumbai,Dharavi is home to more than4 lakh people.

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The ongoing war of words degen-erated into a grimy war of letters

with Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar casting a 13-page memoat Mamata Banerjee accusing theChief Minister of “minority appease-ment” “cover up her monumentalfailures in tackling” the coronapandemic in the State.

With daggers drawn from bothsides over their mutual claim of mas-tery as corona warriors Banerjee hadon Thursday shot off a stringent let-ter to Dhankhar questioning the“tone, tenor of your languages andmessages to me” and wonderinghow a ‘nominated functionary’could humiliate an elected office.

On Friday the Governor —who had for the past a few days beenrebuking the Government for belowpar performance and not keepinghim informed about the pandemicsituation — slapped a blunt replyaccusing the Chief Minister for heralleged minority politics.

He wrote, “your appeasement ofthe minority community was soexplicit and awkward on the

Nizamuddin Markaz incident. Thisis most unfortunate and cannot beappreciated,” in an apparent refer-ence to how the Chief Minister hadduring a press conference repri-manded a journalist for askingcommunal questions when he askedher to comment on the whereaboutsof the Tablighi Jamaat attendees whomight have come to Bengal fromDelhi’s Nizamuddin area.

Though the Left and Congresshad earlier blamed the ChiefMinister for minority communalismthat created by default, a ground forthe BJP’s Hindutva politics inBengal, “no Chief Minister let aloneMamata Banerjee had ever receiveda similar official admonition froma constitutional office,” critics said.

Referring to the Chief Minister’sletter he further wrote, “your con-stant refrain of Governor being'nominated' is lamentable and can beascribed only to elementary igno-rance of the Constitution.”

As the Governor he could not beexpected to be in “sleep mode” whenthe State was in a “stressful condi-tion” or work as a post office or arubber stamp he iterated alerting theChief Minister about another letter

from him with vivid details to fol-low in future saying, “this responsebe taken as initial one and a thor-ough one will be imparted to youtomorrow with complete docu-mentation so that people of the state,as you say, are made aware and cometo know the series of acts of indig-nities and indiscretions heaped byyou, your ministers on the Governorall through.”

Urging the Chief Minister to“disable your political antenna” andshun confrontational politics whichwould only increase miseries of thepeople of the State the Governor said“your communication is part of thealibi strategy that emanates from ascript that seeks to cover up mon-umental failures in these challeng-ing times by a series of blunders.”

Among the blunders theGovernor underscored the allegedsuppression of facts regarding thenumber of corona infections anddeaths in the State apart from large-scale mismanagement in public dis-tribution system that led to a police-public clash at Baduria in North 24Parganas leaving several men in uni-form injured. The Baduria incidentwas just a “tip of the iceberg,” he said.

������%����%�� � 0�0:+-

The Union Health Ministryon Friday gave a go-ahead

to the MaharashtraGovernment to undertake“Pool testing” for suspectedCovid-19 patients and “Plasmatherapy” to treat coronaviruspatients in the State.

While interacting withState Health Ministers andSecretaries across the country,Union Health Minister DrHarsha Varshan accepted theMaharashtra Government’srequest to undertake “PoolTesting” and “Plama Therapy”to deal with the coronavirussituation in the State.

Announcing this, StateHealth Minister Rajesh Tope

said: “Some days back, we hadrequested the Centre to permitus to undertake “Pool Testing”and “Plama Therapy” to dealCovid-19 patients in the state.Today, the Union HealthMinister gave us a formal goahead to us in this regard”.

In view of the fact that theCovid-19 cases are rising expo-nentially in India, the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) has favoured the “PoolTesting” . “It is critical toincrease the number of testsconducted by laboratories.Positivity rate in cases is stilllow. Hence, it may help to usethe pooled samples for screen-ing,” ICMR has said in one ofits advisories.

A pooled testing algorithm

involves the PCR screening ofa specimen pool comprisingmultiple individual patientspecimens, followed by indi-vidual testing (pool deconvo-lution) only if a pool screenspositive. As all individual sam-ples in a negative pool areregarded as negative, it resultsin substantial cost savings whena large proportion of pools testsnegative.

“Pool testing” is very use-ful for Maharashtra can beevidenced from the fact that itis the worst Coronavirus-affect-ed state in the country. TillThursday evening, there wereas many as 283 deaths and analarming 6427 cases.

Till Thursday evening, asmany as 96,369 samples had

been clinically tested, while89561 cases had turned out tobe negative and 6427 personshad tested positive.

Given the gravity ofCoronavirus situation in thestate, “Plasma therapy” mayprove to be boon forMaharashtra. The convales-cent “plasma therapy” aims atusing antibodies from theblood of a recovered Covid-19patient to treat those criticallyaffected by the virus. The ther-apy can also used to immunisethose at a high risk of con-tracting the virus -- such ashealth workers, families ofpatients and other high-riskcontacts.

This therapy's concept issimple and is based on the

premise that the blood of apatient who has recovered fromCovid-19 contains antibodieswith the specific ability offighting novel coronavirus. Thetheory is that the recoveredpatient's antibodies, onceingested into somebody undertreatment, will begin targettingand fighting the novel coron-avirus in the second patient.

Till Thursday evening, asmany as 840 Covid-19 patientshave fully recovered and beendischarged from various hos-pitals across the state.

The Delhi government,which had earlier been per-mission by the Centre toundertake limited “Plasmatherapy” trials on the serious-ly ill patients, has got “encour-

aging results”. So much so thatDelhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal has urged recoveredcoronavirus patients to donatetheir blood plasma so that itcould be used to treat theCovid-19 patients in thenational capital.

Meanwhile, the UnionHealth Minister -- who tookstock of the coronavirus situa-tion in various states across thecountry -- has appreciated thesuggestions made by theMaharashtra government that"Portable Pulse Oxymeter" and"X Ray diagnosis " could beused effectively to treat Covid-19 patients and that thePersona Protection Equipment(PPE) could be re-usedthrough sterilisation.

Kozhikode (Kerala): A four-month-old coron-avirus positive baby girl passed away at the state-run Medical College hospital here on account ofheart failure. This is after a six-month old died inChandigarh a day ago.

The baby was under treatment at a private hos-pital from April 17 to 21, at Manjeri in Malappuramdistrict. Later she developed breathing problemsand other issues when she was moved to the state-run hospital here early on Tuesday.

It was on Wednesday that the baby tested pos-itive for Covid-19. It is not yet clear how she con-tracted the disease. The test results of her parentsare expected later in the day.

A very distant relative of the baby was positive,but there has been no reports of any contacts withthe family of the baby.

The baby was on ventilator support right fromthe time she was brought to the hospital here.

According to the doctors, this baby had con-genital issues and this was confirmed by StateHigher Education Minister K.T.Jaleel, who hailsfrom Malappuram district.

With this the total number of deaths on accountof Covid-19 in the state has gone up to 4. IANS

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The district administrationon Friday evening con-

firmed six new Covid-19 pos-itive cases, taking Agra's tally to341.

From double, the figurenow has come down to singledigit as UP police have con-tinued to strictly enforce lock-down restrictions in the 86hotspot zones of the city.

According to the Agra zonepolice headquarters, around4,000 cases have been regis-tered against violators underIPC sections. Some six thou-sand people have been arrest-ed in the districts of Agra,Mathura, Aligarh, Mainpuri,Firozabad, Etah, Kasganj,Hathras for violating lockdownrestrictions.

In Agra 14 persons havebeen lodged in a temporary jailin the last two days.

District health departmentofficials said round 1,229 peo-ple were under home quaran-tine.

Meanwhile, the state gov-ernment has sent senior IASofficial Alok Kumar as thenodal official to oversee andcoordinate strategies beingoperationalised by variousdepartments.

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It became clear on Friday thatall is not well in Tamil Nadu

as coronavirus continued itsupward march unbated anduncontrolled. A special meet-ing convened by ChiefMinister EdappadiPalaniswami on Friday whichwas attended among others bytop bureaucrats, police officialsand health professionals dis-cussed and analysed the pre-vailing situation in the State.

After the meeting theChief Minister in a statementdeclared that the city corpo-ration limits of Chennai,Coimbatore and Maduraiwould be shutdown completelyfor four days from April 26.The shutdown or lockdownwould be in operation from 6am on April 26 to 9 pm onApril 29.

Similarly, the city corpo-ration limits of Salem and

Toruppur would be shut downtotally for three days fromApril 26.

The Chief Minister saidthat the decision for lock downwas taken after the govern-ment was convinced that thespread of coronavirus wassevere in urban areas. Evenbusiness and commercialestablishments which wereallowed to function followingthe relaxation of lock downrules has been asked to downthe shutters from April 26 forfour days.

Only essential wings of theGovernment would be allowedto function and that too withminimum staff, said the state-ment issued by the chief min-ister.

Sale of vegetables andfruits would only be permittedin mobile carts. All shops areto remain closed. Hotels candeliver parcels on orders madethrough phones.

Madurai experiencedtense moments on Fridaymorning as hundreds gatheredin front of the CityCorporation office flouting allprecautions to the winds. Thepeople were given wronginformation that only vehiclescarrying new passes issued bythe corporation would beallowed on the roads fromMonday.

This created panic amongdaily wage earners and selfemployed persons for whomtwo-wheelers are the onlyavenue of transport.

It took the police hours toconvince the crowd that therewas no such plans and theyhave been taken for a ride byunknown elements.

For two hours, the crowdforgot social distancing andother precautions associatedwith the spread of Covid 19 asthey argued with the localbody officials.

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There was no let up in TamilNadu in the number of per-

sons tested positive for coron-avirus on Friday. According toa medical bulletin issued by thedepartment of health, govern-ment of Tamil Nadu, 72 per-sons were tested positive forcoronavirus in the State till 5pm on Friday. Chennai alonesaw 52 persons testing positivefor the pandemic.

The total number of per-sons tested positive for coron-avirus all over Tamil Nadureached 1,755 by Fridayevening, said the release.

The number of personssuccumbing to the dreadeddisease reached 22 by Friday asthe day saw two more deaths inthe State.

The State which had 1,242coronavirus patients on April15 saw the number increasing

by 513 in just nine days. Theonly consolation is the newsthat 114 persons have beencured of Covid on Friday.

Dr CV Krishnaswamy, vet-eran medical scientist andphysician of repute told therewas no cause for panic as far asthe coronavirus situation in thecountry is concerned.

“India’s fatality rate is justtwo per cent compared to thatof US which is above five percent. Moreover we have toundertake a thorough auditingof the deaths recorded in thecountry allegedly due to coro-na virus. Even newspapersreport that those who suc-cumbed to coronavirus weresuffering from cardio vascularailments, malfunctioning ofkidneys or other medical dis-orders. My request to the mediais to be extra careful whilereporting about causalities,”said Dr Krishnaswamy.

Bengaluru: Karnataka regis-tered 29 new coronaviruscases, raising the State's tallyto 474, said an official onFriday.

"As of 5 p.m. Friday,cumulatively 474 positivecases have been confirmed inthe state. It includes 18 deathsand 152 discharges," said ahealth official.

In the past 24 hours, sevenpatients got discharged, takingthe number of cured peoplefrom 145 to 152.

Among the places withhigh case-load, Vijayapuraand Mandya are yet to record

a discharge.Of the 304 active cases,

299 patients, including a preg-nant woman, are isolated atdesignated hospitals and arestable, except five in ICU.

Among the 29 new cases,Bengaluru Urban accountedfor 19, followed by Bagalkot,3, Raibagh, Belagavi, andVijayapura, two each andChikkaballapura, Tumakuruand Mandya, one each.

On Friday, 11 more con-tacts of the Hongasandra case,a 55-year-old man, designat-ed as 419th positive case,have tested positive. IANS

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Ahead of the beginning ofthe holy month of

Ramzan, 20 fresh cases ofcoronavirus were reportedfrom different districts ofKashmir valley on Fridaywhile no case was reportedfrom across Jammu division.

Bandipora district, classi-fied as one of the hotspots,reported nine fresh cases, tak-ing the district tally to 108.

According to the mediabulletin, the total number ofpositive cases in Jammu &Kashmir stood at 454, 397from Kashmir and 57 fromJammu. 109 patients haverecovered so far, 92 fromKashmir and 17 from Jammuregion.

During Ramzan, the focusof the various Governmentagencies involved in contain-ment drive is on restrictingassembly of worshipers acrossdifferent places of worship.

Muslim religious bodiesand prominent scholars havebeen roped in by the govern-

ment to convince local resi-dents to strictly follow theGovernment''s guidelines andavoid assembling at mosquesfor prayers five times a dayincluding the ''Tarawih'' orextra nightly prayer usuallyheld during Ramzan.

Historic places of wor-ship across Kashmir valleyand main markets continue towore a deserted look.

To reach out to the impov-erished families duringRamzan, the Srinagar admin-istration has prepared 50,000food kits for distributionamong them.

The distribution of freefood kits amongst the saidfamilies is being made to sup-port them during the month ofRamadan in view of the pre-vailing situation due to Covid-19 outbreak.

Deputy CommissionerSrinagar Dr Shahid IqbalChoudhary who is also theChairman District DisasterManagement AuthoritySrinagar visited the site wherethese kits were prepared toinspect theirpreparation.

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Ayouth in Bhilwara has hadto "quarantine" himself on

a tree after being refused entryto his village recently.

The 24-year-old KamleshMeena walked all the way fromAjmer to reach his villageSherpura in Bhilwara, howev-er, was stopped by villagerswhile entering into his villagefearing corona spread.

He was advised to go todistrict hospital first and gethimself tested. However,Kamlesh refused to go out of

his village. As the tensiongripped the village, a medicalteam soon reached the spot andcollected the samples of youth.Other medical tests were alsodone.

Meanwhile, the medicalteam to sort out the issue,asked Kamlesh to come alongto Bhilwara quarantine centre.However one of the section ofvillagers did not allow them todo the same.

After a long debate, it wasdecided to quarantine theyouth 3 kms far off the villageon a tree.

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The first test for coronavirusdetection in any Uttar

Pradesh private lab will comefor a maximum of �2,500, theYogi Adityanath Governmenthas given its approval. earlierthe labs were charging over�4,000.

Principal Secretary HealthAmit Mohan Prasad, in anorder, said: "The infection canbe confirmed in a single steptest. In such a situation, thosewho are not coronavirus posi-tive will have to give only�2,500."

He said that the ICMRdid not set the fee for the sin-gle step test from the kit, so allthe private labs were charging� 4,500.

So far, even if a person isnot infected with coronavirus,he had to pay a fee of �4,500 forthe initial test. Now the personwill get a single step check andif the coronavirus is not con-firmed, then he will not have to

go for the second step check.The Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) had not yet

determined the single step testfee from the kit.

He informed that privatelabs have to send their reportsonline to the ICMR and theCMO of the district concerned.Strict action will be taken ifthere is a complaint of over-charging.

After deliberations, thegovernment has fixed a single-phase check of �2,500.

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Coronavirus appeared to bein no mood to relent, as it

claimed 18 more lives on Fridaytaking the total number ofdeaths in the state to 301 andleft as many as 394 othersinfected in various parts of thestate.

On a day when the totalnumber infected cases rose to6,817, another 18 persons diedof Covid-19. Mumbai account-ed for a maximum of 11, whilethere were five deaths in Puneand two in Malegaon in northMaharashtra.

With the latest deaths, thetotal number of deaths crossed300 mark (301). Of the deaths,Mumbai accounted for 178deaths. Pune with 63 deathsand Malegaon with 11 deathsare two places where have beensizeable number of deaths.

Of those dead on Friday, 12were men while six werewomen. Nine of them wereaged over 60 years, six werefrom the age group 40 to 59years and three were under 40years of age. “Twelve out of 18patients (67%) had high-riskco-morbidities such as dia-betes, hypertension, asthmaand heart disease,” the statehealth bulletin said.

With Friday’s tally of infec-tions, the total number ofinfected cases in Mumbai hasmounted to 4447, while Puneaccounted 848 total confirmedinfected cases.

The Mortality rate in thestate due to Covid-19 is 4.4 percent currently. An analysis of269 Covid-19 triggered deathsreveals that the mortality rateamong patients below 50 yearsold is comparatively less.

“It is 0.64% in the agegroup 21-30 years and it riseswith increasing age beyondthis age group. It is highest(17.78%) in the age-group 61-70 years. This underpins theincreased possibility of com-plications in patients above 50years of age and with high-riskcomorbidities,” the bulletinsaid.

Out of 1,02,189 laboratorysamples tested so far, 94,485were negative and 6817 havebeen tested positive for coron-avirus until Friday.

According to health bul-letin, there are 512 active con-tainment zones in the state cur-rently. Total 7702 surveillancesquads worked today across thestate and surveillance of 28.88lakh population was done.

In a related development,

957 patients have been dis-charged till date after full recov-ery. “Currently, 1,19,161 peopleare in home quarantine and8,814 people are in institutionalquarantine,” the health bul-letin said.

Meanwhile, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) in a med-ical bulletin released on Fridaysaid that as many as 168patients had tested positive invarious lab between April 21and 22.

“The patients are alreadyadmitted in isolation wardsand under treatment,” therelease said

Out of the total cases inMumbai, 1795 cases have beendetected as a result of contacttracing, containment measures,fever clinics etc.

The BMC held 184 specialscreening clinics from April 5to 24. “During these clinics,7203 persons were screenedand 2494 swab samples werecollected from suspected cases.

As part of the sanitationmeasures, the BMC has sani-tised 53,386 premises(Govt/semi govt premises,MCGM premises, Home quar-antine premises, Covid-19 pos-itive patient premises, otherpremises) till Friday.

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Security doctrines and threat percep-tions are constantly evolving and itinvariably takes a deliberate or aninadvertent incident/accident towiden the scope of the full spectrum

of possible security threats. Beyond the con-ventional and nuclear dimensions of “threat”perceptions, to which most militaries are con-versant with, the nature of threat angulari-ties is increasingly veering towards the“unconventional” or the “asymmetric” realm.The commonly understood dimensions ofthe asymmetric threat-entailed phenomenon,like slow-bleed insurgency, chemical warfare,cyberwarfare or even economic permuta-tions, act like sanctions.

By definition, asymmetric warfare is “abroad and unpredictable spectrum of mili-tary, paramilitary and information operations,conducted by nations, organisations, individ-uals or by indigenous or surrogate forcesunder their control. It specifically targets theweaknesses and vulnerabilities within anenemy Government or the armed forces.” Inthe same light, the debilitating COVID-19 cri-sis and its impacts are getting posited as a pos-sible “asymmetric” security mutation; thoughthis is still in the realm of unverified specu-lation.

The ragtag militia of the Yemeni Houthirebels had made a mockery of convention-al weaponry when the American Patriot mis-sile system, procured for almost $6 billion,failed miserably against modified civilian-made drones (these could have cost $15,000each), which flew through 500 km of landand attacked the world’s largest oil process-ing facility in Saudi Arabia. The state-of-the-art defence “shield” was hopelessly piercedby a substantially lower technology assem-blage that was deployed as an unconvention-al tactic against the combined might of amuch larger Saudi military, which wasbacked by the US’ wherewithal.

Just a month ago, the powerful nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS TheodoreRoosevelt, was leading a deadly flotilla of heav-ily armed warships under the nose of theChinese waters. Today, that $20 billion bat-tle platform, packed with up to 90 fighter air-craft, helicopters, missiles and weaponry, hasembarrassingly “run aground” and suc-cumbed hopelessly to what the Commander-in-Chief of the US military, Donald Trump,calls the “Chinese virus.” Even though the the-ory of a bioweapon has been dialled downby the Pentagon’s top General, Mark Milley,who stated that the preponderant “weight ofevidence” pointed towards “natural” originsas opposed to laboratory manufactured,nonetheless, a new threat dimension hasunmistakably emerged. This needs to beaccounted for in the national security calcu-lus.

The concept of a “dirty bomb” or radi-ological dispersal device (RDD), which aimsto contaminate the area with radioactivematerial, has existed for long. However, acrude rendition of the same, using biologi-

cal elements (bioterrorism), willhaunt the security experts goingforward. The usage of biologi-cal warfare entailing infectiousagents like viruses and bacteriaamong others, which comeunder the Biological WeaponsConvention (BWC) andChemical Weapons Convention(CWC), is explicitly prohibited.The deployment of the same istantamount to war crimes.

By its nature, biologicalagents (like in the case ofCoronavirus) are transmittedfrom person to person andaerosolised respiratory droplets.Hence, they are uncontrollable toa restricted population. However,the deliberate or unintentional“escape” of its “weaponable” ele-ments cannot be ruled out as thatis subject to human handling,intentions and infrastructuralcontrols.

Weaponisation of biologicalelements is an established factwith the US, the Soviet Union,the UK, France, Japan and Chinaamong others. They have estab-lished dedicated facilities andresearch centres to undertake thesame. Be it plague, tularemia,vaccinia viruses, brucellosis orencephalomyelitis — all havebeen successfully weaponisedunder these covert programmes.However, given its inherently“evil” nature and uncontrolledspread, almost 182 countrieshave ratified a ban on biologicalweapons. Though some, likeChina, are suspected to have per-sisted with the research anddevelopment on it.

Among the foremostresearch institutions in Chinathat are involved in the pro-

gramme is the Wuhan Instituteof Virology, the epicentre of theCoronavirus. However, giventhe considered view of most apo-litical and functional experts onthis subject, as also the “cost”China paid to Coronavirus, itseems highly unlikely to be adeliberate case of deployment ofa biological weapon.

The real fear is more fromthe domain of reckless terrorism,wherein relative affordability,undetectability and ease to“spread” mechanism of a poten-tial bioweapon could make itescape the current levels of secu-rity and safety protocols in exist-ing laboratories and researchcentres. While access to allsophisticated elements and deliv-ery systems may still be a chal-lenge for rogue elements, a crud-er contraption of bacteria-based(example anthrax) weapon canbe assembled with regular labo-ratory equipment and materials.Terror organisations like the AlQaeda and the Islamic State(IS) are known to have partak-en interest in the related sphereof ricin and cyanide attacks. Buta possible assembly of a “dirtybioweapon”, given the estab-lished havoc achieved by theCoronavirus, can trigger mali-cious interest in the domain.

Governments will have toreview their security-relatedbudgetary allocations in linewith the evolving threats. TheTrump administration had badlyundermined itself by slashingfunds and headcount towardsthe Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), part ofwhich was team-based withChina overlooking global health

threats. The US administration’sobvious disinterest had led to adomino effect of ill-preparationof the medical infrastructure,reaction and administration incontaining the Coronavirus cri-sis.

Countering this new threatwill necessitate the conjoining ofvarious military and non-mili-tary specialists to jointly addressthe technical, scientific and oper-ational counters.

The Chinese have a robustintermingling of civil-militarycompetencies. The recenttakeover of the Wuhan Instituteof Virology by Maj GeneralChen Wei of the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) isindicative of the same. Chen isamong the foremost specialists ingenetic engineering vaccinesand comes with a reputation asthe “terminator of Ebola” afterleading a team to create acounter-vaccine to the fatal virus.However, Governments mustimmediately enforce strictrestraints against “dual usage” ofchemicals, materials and equip-ment to deter a do-it-yourselfattempt to create a “dirtybioweapon” by any rogue ele-ment. It was the free availabilityof “dual utility” technology thatincubated the Yemeni-Houthidrone contraptions to outsmartthe top-of-the-line defence shieldin Saudi deserts. The sight of ahopelessly impoverished andanchored USS TheodoreRoosevelt was another grimreminder of the latest mutationin security threats.

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

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Sir — It is encouraging that indi-viduals and civil society groupshave been doing their bit by pro-viding ration/cooked food to thehave-nots, destitute and labour-ers who are out of livelihood dueto the spread of Coronavirus. Butwhy do they need to advertise thiskindness to the world throughsocial media?

Self-promotion following anyact of kindness robs the grace andbeauty behind the noble deed ofthe individual. Hadn’t LordBuddha treated a half-eatenmango, offered by an old femalebeggar, as the “greatest gift” byrejecting the treasures offered bythe royal and rich merchants? Thebeggar had offered him her onlypossession — the half-eatenmango, thereby giving the mes-sage that the worth of any contri-bution should not be judged by itsface value but through the sacri-fice rendered by the contributor.In this hour of crisis, we shouldcome forward to render assistancein whatever way possible. But let’sbe a bit selfless and perform ourhumanitarian work silently.

Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata

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Sir — The plight of the strandedmigrant workers across the coun-try gives us enough idea about thewidespread human rights viola-

tions of the helpless people. Fromthe very beginning when thelockdown was imposed, migrantworkers were asked not to moveanywhere. But nobody took theresponsibility to provide themwith food and shelter.

Consequently, we have witnessedthe pathetic death of a 12-year-oldgirl who died after walking forthree days from Telangana toreach her home in Chhattisgarh.

Now the question runningthrough everybody’s mind is:

What will claim more lives —COVID-19 or starvation orunemployment and the conse-quent diseases such as depressionand mental illness among others?The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) must opena 24X 7 help centre that can pro-vide assistance and guidance tothe people and, thus, protect thehuman rights of suffering people.

Tapas Kumar RayKolkata

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Sir — The nationwide lockdownimposed due to the spread ofCOVID-19 can be a blessing indisguise for India if we can boostour manufacturing industry.Goods manufactured in India areconsidered better than China’s inthe international market. This isthe time to strike at the iron as theinternational community is look-ing for an alternative source.India can grab the opportunity asit has a big labour force and thebest brains in the world.

Shashank Via email

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Bengalis and fish and how can this classical odeto joy fall apart? No way! Bengalis and mishti(sweets). How can they ever be brutally sep-

arated, even in a nationwide lockdown, even whilediabetes is itself an epidemic in Bengal, especiallyKolkata?

Indeed, it’s like saying how can the average mid-dle class Bengali bhodrolok (genteel folk) survivewithout his daily dose of Boroline, Digene/Gelusiland Ananda Bazaar Patrika, to use a hackneyedcliché once again. But, clichés, despite being repet-itive, are life-affirming too. They tell you that theworld has not changed and what Bengal thinks today,India thinks tomorrow. Not even Kerala, though theylove Bengal out there, I tell you.

Starting the working day for a working Bengaliis a precious ritual. Going out with a jhola (bag) tothe fish market early morning is a favourite daily one.Haggling is an eternal joy. A thin fish curry withblack cumin and rice and the whole day is made.Only jhaal moori at lunch time might break this dailyfulfillment.

It is fulfilling truly and nourishing, too. And thefood has nothing to do with calories hereafter. Oftenit is kachori (crispy savoury snack) in the morningfrom the nearest Sharma loochir dukaan, oftenstuffed with motor shooti (green peas) and a thinpotato curry. As it is phoochka in the night, espe-cially for women.

So, at least, two things have not changed in theeternally outgoing “City of Joy”, where “ghore-baire”is a beautiful obsession and a routine dilemma. One,the fish markets are open in many places. And I amtold by reliable sources that the mishti shops, nowopen from 12 noon to four in the evening, mightget a four hour additional bonus.

If Kolkata is the microcosm of the unfinishedpainting of the Bengali canvas, it seemingly hatesthe lockdown. Who does not? The urge to go outis as tangible as the crowd in the fish markets, evennow, which are reportedly not so sanitised or fol-lowing the highest of health standards. And, yet, thedeath toll is just about seven. How come?

And that, too, is a kind of hidden and expressedcontroversy. Unlike, surprisingly, in Uttar Pradesh(UP), (where the graph might seem to be flatten-ing like Kerala, where they have literally blocked thevirus now, especially in Thrissur, Kottayam andIdukki). There is a lack of testing, health infrastruc-ture, poor safety condition of doctors, nurses andhealth workers, abysmal hospitals in UP, too, but apartially totalitarian regime calls the disciplinaryshots. Nobody even knows what the tens of thou-sands of workers are going through in the smalltowns or the rural hinterland of UP, or, if the dead-ly virus is spreading out there.

However, in Kolkata, or Bengal, the graph onthe death toll, as much as selective or mass testingis too low. Sources say that Chief Minister MamataBanerjee has been efficient, on the spot, on the dot,and she started early, even though not as early asPinarayi Vijayan in Kerala. That she has no faith inthe Central laboratories with their “bureaucraticparaphernalia”, not in the unfulfilled promises of helpfrom Delhi. For long, her Government has com-plained of lack of testing kits and medical equipmentfor doctors and nurses, saying that Delhi simplyseemed too reluctant or late in response.

It is no wonder then that the Union HomeMinistry sending a Central team to Bengal, amongother States, to make “on-the-spot assessments” onthe COVID-19 crisis has not gone down well with

the fiercely independent leader. In hercharacteristic manner, Mamata has strong-ly protested against this unilateral movewhich goes against the federal spirit, evenas the graph in Bengal just cannot be com-pared to the serious situation in manyother States.

In a letter to Prime Minister NarendraModi, the Chief Minister has reiteratedthat the Inter-Ministerial Central Team’s(IMCT) visit to several districts — Kolkata,Howrah, 24 Parganas North, MedinipurEast, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling— amounted to a “unilateral action” byModi and Union Home Minister AmitShah.

“I am sure you will kindly agree thatsuch unilateral action on the part of theCentral Government is not desirable at all,especially in the backdrop when bothCentral and State Governments are work-ing together relentlessly round-the-clockto contain the COVID-19 crisis,” Mamatasaid in the letter.

Meanwhile, the the Calcutta HighCourt last week asked the West BengalGovernment to go on a “war footing onthe COVID-19 tests” and that it should fol-low the Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR and World HealthOrganisation (WHO) guidelines.

Till now, in this entire process,Mamata’s total focus has been on the pres-tigious Calcutta Medical College and otherState and private institutions, for medicalcare. Besides, she has been fast in her cri-sis management. A stadium in Howrahwas converted into a fully-equipped hos-pital with 1,000 beds. A private high-risebuilding in post-modern Rajarhaat wasturned into another makeshift hospital.Private hospitals were asked to cooperate.And the lockdown, sensitively done, wasfully implemented.

There was no migrant workers’ cri-

sis in Kolkata, in the industrial areas, orin the rest of Bengal, which has beenpeaceful unlike the Hindi heartland. Sheannounced quickly that no one will gohungry till September. There was no massmigration nor starvation on the streets andslums. Food rations were given and isbeing given, to all those who seek it witha ration card, for free and with dignity.Those who don’t have ration cards or offi-cial documents can also avail of it with atemporary slip. Cooked food is being givento those who can’t cook food. Even policestations are being organised to cook foodand distribute to people who are goinghungry.

An activist, who works in the red lightarea in Kolkata, told this reporter that notone among the 10,000 residents in the areais going hungry. Those who can’t cook arebeing given cooked food. Even in poor vil-lages of Purulia, Midnapore and so on, theproblem of hunger has been taken care ofwith local official networks. “No one isreally going hungry in Kolkata andBengal, that I can assure you,” he said andhe is no Mamata supporter.

There are reports of hunger stalkingin the eternally-starving tea gardens ofNorth Bengal, which have seen starkunemployment, destitution and starvationdeaths in the past. Civil society initiativesare desperately working on the ground anda lot of food distribution is happeningthrough the Trinamool Congress local net-works. “It’s a difficult and tragic situationout here. The problem is not only peren-nial out here, it is kind of become inten-sified after the lockdown,” said a JadavpurUniversity student from Cooch Behar onthe border of Bangladesh, where the“chitmahals”, too, are facing longstandingproblems.

“Chitmahals” are villages which livedin a twilight zone after Partition in East

Pakistan and India and later after the for-mation of Bangladesh. They were citizensof no man’s land and had no rights, noidentity, no citizenship of any country.Recently, many of them have gone over toBangladesh and others have been allocat-ed to India, though the borderlines are thinand blurring. And, yet, their economic andsocial condition remains abysmal.

There have been recent reports of newhotspots of the epidemic in Kolkata,including in the slums. Kolkata, Howrah,East Medinipur and the North 24 Parganashave been declared sensitive zones. Eightdistricts have been declared as possiblehotspots: Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Hooghly,Nadia, West Burdwan, West Medinipur,the South 24 Parganas and Darjeeling.New areas are being marked.

Meanwhile, civil society groups, espe-cially students, have been working on theground with great commitment. Students,research scholars and the alumni ofJadavpur University, for instance, are dis-tributing sanitisers, rations and cookedfood, which they themselves cook in thecampus. They distribute it all over Kolkata,to cops, health workers, doctors, shop-keepers, vegetable vendors and slums.

“We are short of money, almostalways. The alumni is helping. But we needmore help,” said a research scholar.

However, life is like this only, as thestory goes. Kolkata and Bengal are observ-ing the lockdown with discipline andpatience. The Government is in control.And while Rabindra Sangeet (music)and Western music still floats in thebylanes, people are waiting for a new lifeafter the lockdown ends.

Tomaar holo shuru, aamar holoshaara, (it’s your beginning, it’s myend...) as the eternally beautiful RobiThakur song goes.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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The Coronavirus has brought theworld to a standstill and doctorsand scientists are working over-

time to develop vaccines/drugs andnew treatment strategies to curepatients. Two such potential treatmentand testing procedures which havecome to light are Convalescent Plasma(CP) therapy and Rapid DiagnosticTesting (RDT).

In order to understand CP it isessential to grasp the concept of anti-gen-antibody. If any thief tries tocome inside your house, your defencemechanism will kick in and you willeither stop him or he will be success-ful in robbing you. However, in theprocess of defending the house, there

is bound to be some damage to it.Then, you will call the police in orderto get the thief arrested. In the long-term you will get a burglar alarm sys-tem or CCTV camera installed. Thiswill burglar-proof your house.

Now, apply this allegory to thehuman body. The thief is the Antigenand your response is what the bodydoes to these Antigens with the aid ofantibodies. There are various types ofantibodies, like IgM, IgG, IgE, IgA, IgD.Your initial response is similar to theIgM which is the first antibody torespond to any antigen. The long-termmeasures you have taken is IgG and thecollateral damage to your house is akinto inflammation that manifests asfever, swelling, redness and pain.

Just like you don’t react adverselyto everyone who enters the house, thesame way your body does not reactadversely to self-Antigens. But if youspot the same thief you become vigi-lant and try to take evasive actionbefore he harms your home further.The body reacts in the same way to anyAntigen that has already been con-tained by it by producing anti-bodies.

If the Antigen is re-introduced into thebody, its response is intensified. Thisis why if you have chicken pox once,you don’t get it again. This principle isused in creating an “active” vaccine,where a small quantity of infection(Antigen) is introduced into the bodyso that antibodies are produced andprovide protection to the individualagainst the infection.

However, there is also a “passive”type of vaccine under which pre-pre-pared antibodies are given to a person.However, the immunity acquired bythis vaccine is not life-long and oncethese antibodies given from outside areused up, they no longer provide pro-tection. Since the antibodies were notproduced by the body originally, thenumber of antibodies in the body is notadequate to neutralise any antigenwhich enters it in the future. This is thereason people need to get tetanus injec-tions repeatedly. The CP therapy is aprocess in which the antibodies fromthe plasma (the largest part of blood,which when separated from the bloodis a light yellow liquid) of a recoveredpatient of COVID-19 is transferred to

a patient who has an activeCoronavirus infection, with chances ofit worsening. This is a type of passiveimmunity only, in which a patient bat-tling the infection is assisted by some-one. CP therapy had been previouslyused for SARS and influenza and hasshown positive results. However, theresults of CP therapy in Coronavirusare variable and still evolving. Trialsconducted on 10 COVID-19 patientsgiven CP therapy in China showed pos-itive results. A task force created byKerala has got permission from theIndian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) to conduct further research onit. The ICMR is also not planning toconduct it for all patients but select onesand this will not be a treatment per sebut a clinical trial. However, if approvedand successful, it will be scaled up toa treatment.

The antibodies are proteins formedby B-Lymphocytes and they are part ofHumoral Immunity. There is anothersystem called Cell-Mediated Immunity,in which major work is done by TLymphocytes. However, CP therapyrequires further research (it has been

approved by the US FDA) and alsorequires monitoring while transfusionof the plasma into another patient asthere can be life-threatening reac-tions. Hence, careful monitoring anda due call needs to be taken by doctorsand the researchers on the use of CPtherapy. RDT has become a veryimportant strategy to contain thespread of the Coronavirus. In this, con-firmatory testing is by RT-PCR (reversetranscriptase Polymerase ChainReaction) in which absolute confirma-tion is provided as the presence of RNAof the virus is demonstrated in thenasopharyngeal and oropharyngealswabs. However, this is costly and time-consuming and hence there is need fordevelopment of RDTs. These RDTswork in two ways. One is the demon-stration of the protein (antigen) of thevirus from the respiratory tract of theindividual and second is demonstrationof antibodies in the blood of the per-son suspected to be infected by theCoronavirus.

In the first type there are special-ly made paper strips on which antibod-ies to the Coronavirus are affixed and

this is enclosed in a plastic casing. So,if a person’s respiratory tract sample hasthe antigen of the Coronavirus thenthere will be a detectable signal in 30minutes. These antigens, which aredetected are only expressed when thevirus is replicating i.e it is in the activestage of infection. However, these fac-tors depend on many other factors. TheWorld Health Organisation (WHO)says, “How well the tests work dependson several factors, including the timefrom onset of illness, the concentrationof virus in the specimen, the quality ofthe specimen collected from a person,how it is processed and the precise for-mulation of the reagents in the test kits.”Based on experience with antigen-based RDTs for other respiratory dis-eases such as influenza, in whichaffected patients have comparableconcentrations of influenza virus in res-piratory samples as seen in COVID-19,the sensitivity of these tests might beexpected to vary from 34 per cent to80 per cent. These then will show “falsenegative” results which mean that theindividual is positive to COVID-19 butis not detected due to the above rea-

sons. There may also be “false positive”results as the antibodies on the paperstrips may attach to the antigen ofanother common influenza viruswhich gives us the common cold.

The second type includes demon-strating (by detectable signals) antibod-ies to the Coronavirus antigen in theblood sample of an individual suspect-ed to have COVID-19. However, theissue with this technique is that thepatient may develop antibody responsea few weeks after the onset of symp-toms, i.e in recovery phase whenchances of clinical intervention wouldhave passed. Further, the WHO statesthat, “The strength of antibodyresponse depends on several factors,including age, nutritional status, sever-ity of disease and certain medicationsor infections like HIV that suppress theimmune system.”

However, the ICMR has developeda protocol to use these rapid tests andapproved kits. Only time will tell if itis the right strategy.

(The writer is a doctor-turned-CivilServant. Working as an Indian RailwayTraffic Service officer)

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Washington: President DonaldTrump will hold a signing cer-emony Friday for a bill pro-viding a nearly $500 billioninfusion of coronavirus spend-ing, rushing new relief toemployers and hospitals buck-ling under the strain of a pan-demic that has claimed almost50,000 American lives and 1 in6 US jobs.

The measure passedCongress almost unanimouslyThursday, but the lopsidedtally belies a potentially bumpi-er path ahead as battle lines arebeing formed for much moreambitious future legislationthat may prove far more diffi-cult to maneuver throughCongress.

The bipartisan measurepassed as lawmakers gatheredin Washington as a group forthe first time since March 27,adopting stricter social dis-tancing rules while seeking toprove they can do their workdespite the COVID-19 crisis.

Lawmakers' face masks andbandannas added a sombertone to their effort to aid anation staggered by the healthcrisis and devastating eco-nomic costs of the pandemic.

“Millions of people out ofwork,” said House SpeakerNancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “This isreally a very, very, very sad day.We come to the floor withnearly 50,000 deaths, a huge

number of people impacted,and the uncertainty of it all.”

Anchoring the bill is theTrump administration's $250billion funding request toreplenish a fund to help small-and medium-size businesseswith payroll, rent and otherexpenses.

The payroll programmeprovides forgivable loans sobusinesses can continue payingworkers while forced to stayclosed for social distancingand stay-at-home orders.

It also contains $100 billiondemanded by Democrats forhospitals and a nationwidetesting program, along with a$60 billion set-aside for smallbanks and an alternative net-work of community develop-ment banks that focus ondevelopment in urban neigh-bourhoods and rural areasignored by many lenders.There's also $60 billion forsmall-business loans and grantsdelivered through the SmallBusiness Administration'sexisting disaster aid pro-gramme.

Trump celebrated the bill'spassage at his daily WhiteHouse briefing Thursday. “At atime when many Americansare enduring significant eco-nomic challenges, this bill willhelp small businesses to keepmillions of workers on thepayroll,” he said. AFP

Madrid: Spain recorded 367people deaths from novel coro-navirus over the past 24 hours,the lowest daily number offatalities in four weeks, thegovernment said on Friday.

It is the smallest number ofnew coronavirus deaths sinceMarch 22 when 394 deathswere recorded.

The number brought thecountry's total deaths to 22,524.More people were diagnosed asrecovered than as infected over24 hours for the first time sincethe start of the pandemic, theHealth Ministry's emergenciescoordinator Fernando Simontold a news conference. Therewere 2,796 new infections con-firmed using polymerase chainreaction (PCR) tests, or swabtests, over the past 24 hours,while 3,105 people overcamethe infection, he said. AFP

New York: After two monthsand more than 11,000 deathsthat have made the nation'snursing homes some of themost terrifying places to beduring the coronavirus crisis,most of them still don't haveaccess to enough tests to helpcontrol outbreaks among theirfrail, elderly residents.

Neither the federal gov-ernment nor the leader innursing home deaths, NewYork, has mandated testing forall residents and staff.

An industry group says onlyabout a third of the 15,000nursing homes in the US haveready access to tests that can helpisolate the sick and stop thespread. And homes that domanage to get a hold of testsoften rely on luck and contacts.

“It just shows that the longerthat states lapse in universal test-ing of all residents and staff,we're going to see these kinds ofstories for a very long time,” saidBrian Lee of the advocacy groupFamilies for Better Care.

“Once it's in, there's nostopping it and by the timeyou're aware with testing, toomany people have it. And bod-ies keep piling up.”

That became clear in someof the nation's biggest nursinghome outbreaks. After a homein Brooklyn reported 55 coro-navirus deaths last week, itsCEO acknowledged it wasbased entirely on symptomsand educated guesses the deadhad COVID-19 because theywere unable to actually test any

of the residents or staff.At a nursing home in sub-

urban Richmond, Virginia, thathas so far seen 49 deaths, themedical director said testing ofall residents was delayed near-ly two weeks because of a short-age of testing supplies andbureaucratic requirements. Bythe time they did, the spreadwas out of control, with 92 res-idents positive. Mark Parkinson,CEO of the American HealthCare Association, which repre-sents long-term care facilities,

says “only a very small per-centage” of residents and staffhave been tested because thefederal and state governmentshave not made nursing homesthe top priority.

“We feel like we've beenignored,” Parkinson said.

“Certainly now that theemphasis has gone away fromhospitals to where the real bat-tle is taking place in nursinghomes, we should be at a prior-ity level one.” Two-thirds of U.S.Nursing homes still don't have

“easy access to test kits” and arestruggling to obtain sufficientresources, said Chris Laxton,executive director of The Societyfor Post-Acute and Long-TermCare Medicine.

“Those nursing home lead-ers who have developed goodrelationships with their localhospitals and health depart-ments seem to have betterluck,” said Laxton, whoseorganisation represents morethan 50,000 long-term careprofessionals. AP

Canberra: Australia's PrimeMinister says his Governmentwill cooperate with like-mind-ed countries to change theWorld Health Organisation.

Australian agrees with theUnited States that the UnitedNation's agency needs to bereviewed, but Australia contin-ues to support the agency'svaluable work in the Pacific.

Trump has directed hisadministration to freeze WHOfunding, claiming it didn't deliv-er adequate early reports on thecoronavirus. Prime MinisterScott Morrison told reporters onFriday: “What happens at theupper echelons of these organ-isations, and how they operate,I think is in need of change.”“Australia will continue to advo-cate for that change with like-minded countries who share ourconcerns,” Morrison said. PTI

London: Scientists have iden-tified two specific cell types inthe nose as likely initial infec-tion points for the novel coro-navirus that causes COVID-19.

The researchers, includingthose from the WellcomeSanger Institute in the UK andUniversity Medical CentreGroningen in the Netherlands,discovered that goblet and cil-iated cells in the nose havehigh levels of the entry pro-teins that the COVID-19 virususes to get into our cells.

The identification of thesecells could help explain thehigh transmission rate ofCOVID-19, they said.

The finding, published inthe journal Nature Medicine,shows that cells in the eye andsome other organs also containthe viral-entry proteins.

The study also predictshow a key entry protein is reg-

ulated with other immunesystem genes and revealspotential targets for the devel-opment of treatments toreduce transmission.

While it is known that thevirus that causes COVID-19disease, known as SARS-CoV-2, uses a similar mechanism toinfect our cells as a relatedcoronavirus that caused the2003 SARS epidemic, the exact cell types involved in thenose had not previously beenpinpointed, the researcherssaid.

To discover which cellscould be involved in COVID-19 transmission, they analyseddatasets of single cell RNAsequencing, from more than20 different tissues of non-infected people. These includ-ed cells from the lung, nasalcavity, eye, gut, heart, kidneyand liver. PTI

Cape Town: One of the hardlessons the World HealthOrganisation learned duringthe Ebola outbreak in WestAfrica was this: Other diseasescan be forgotten and take adeadlier toll.

The WHO is now warningthat the battle against malariain sub-Saharan Africa, whereit already kills hundreds ofthousands of people a year,could be set back by 20 yearsas countries focus energy andresources on containing thecoronavirus.

The WHO said new pro-jections indicate that in aworst-case scenario, 769,000people could die of malaria insub-Saharan Africa this year ascampaigns to combat it areinterrupted.

That's more than doublethe deaths in the last detailed

count two years ago, whenmore than 360,000 peopledied, and would be the worstfigures for the region since2000.

"We must not turn backthe clock,” Matshidiso Moeti,WHO regional director forAfrica, said Thursday.

While health expertsexpress fears that the coron-avirus pandemic could erodethe global fight against manydiseases, sub-Saharan Africa isby far the worst affected bymalaria. It had 93% of theworld's cases and 94% ofdeaths in 2018, the WHO said.The deaths were mainly chil-dren under the age of 5.

There have already been“severe disruptions” to anti-malaria campaigns and accessto anti-malaria medication inAfrica, WHO said. AP

London: The UK's OppositionLabour Party on Fridayannounced a review into the dis-proportionate impact of thecoronavirus pandemic on thecountry's minority ethnic pop-ulations, including those ofIndian-origin.

Labour Party Leader KeirStarmer hosted a digital round-table alongside ministers fromhis shadow cabinet and repre-sentatives from Britain's minori-ties communities to kick-startthe process of analysing thefactors behind black, Asian andminority ethnic (BAME) groupsbeing more likely to be admit-ted for intensive care and diefrom Covid-19.

“It is extremely concerningto see the disproportionate toll

coronavirus is taking on ourBAME communities. We cannotafford to treat this as an issue toinvestigate once the crisis isover. We must address it now,”said Starmer. “In the face of thisnational emergency, Labour willcontinue to work constructive-ly with the government. Thatincludes shining a light on issueswhere it is clear more detailedunderstanding is needed,” hesaid. The Opposition's reviewfollows the UK government'sannouncement that PublicHealth England would be lead-ing an investigation into the fac-tors behind the higher deathrates and more severe symptomsof the coronavirus among Indianand other ethnic minority com-munities in the country. PTI

Washington: Blaming Chinafor the coronavirus pandemic,US Secretary of State MikePompeo said it has caused a"huge challenge" for the globalas well as the US economy bynot sharing the informationthey had and the rulingCommunist Party "will pay aprice" for it.

China has come underincreasing pressure fromnations across the world,including the US, over the lackof transparency in its handlingof the coronavirus pandemic,which has so far claimed morethan 190,870 lives globally,with America leading the tallywith nearly 50,000 deaths.

President Donald Trumphad said his administrationwas looking into reports that

the novel coronavirus "escaped"from a Wuhan virology labo-ratory before it spread to theworld.

"I am very confident thatthe Chinese Communist Partywill pay a price for what theydid here, certainly from theUnited States. I don't knowexactly what form that willtake," Pompeo told Fox News inan interview on Thursday night.

However, he underlinedthat the focus was not onChina now but the US admin-istration's goal is to control thevirus and revive the Americaneconomy. "It's on making surewe keep Americans safe, takedown the health risk, keeppeople healthy as we can, andget this economy going back,"he said. PTI

Geneva: The UN on Fridayjoined forces with world lead-ers and the private sector on aninitiative to speed up develop-ment of COVID-19 vaccinesand treatments, and ensureequal access for all.

"This is a landmark col-laboration to accelerate thedevelopment, production andequitable distribution of vac-cines, diagnostics, and thera-peutics for COVID-19," WorldHealth Organisation chiefTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesustold a virtual briefing.

"Our shared commitmentis to ensure all people have

access to all the tools to defeatCOVID-19," he said.

The event was co-hosted byFrench President EmmanuelMacron, EuropeanCommission chief Ursula vonder Leyen and Melinda Gates

of the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation.

It included UN chiefAntonio Guterres as a speaker,as well as global leaders likeGerman Chancellor AngelaMerkel and South AfricanPresident Cyril Ramaphosa.

Conspicuously absent wereleaders from China, where thenovel coronavirus first sur-faced late last year, and fromthe United States — the coun-try currently hardest-hit bythe pandemic, with nearly50,000 dead and close to900,000 infected.

Worldwide, more than

190,000 people have died in thepandemic and more than 2.7million have been infected.

"We face a global publicenemy like no other," Guterrestold the briefing. "A world freeof COVID-19 requires themost massive public healtheffort in history."

He stressed the need toensure that any diagnostic testsdeveloped to detect the newvirus, any drugs produced totreat it, and any vaccine madeto prevent it should be provid-ed to all of those in need.

"The world needs thedevelopment, production and

equitable delivery of safe andeffective COVID-19 vaccine,therapeutics and diagnostics,"Guterres said.

"Not a vaccine or treat-ments for one country or oneregion or one-half of the world,but a vaccine and treatmentthat are affordable, safe, effec-tive, easily-administered anduniversally available, for every-one, everywhere," he said.

"None of us is safe until allof us are safe.

"COVID-19 respects noborders. COVID-19 anywhereis a threat to people every-where." AFP

��)3��#4�"�")��")&�2�56�666Paris: The worldwide deathtoll from the coronavirus pan-demic crossed 1,90,000 onFriday, with nearly two-thirdsof the fatalities in Europe,according to an AFP tallycompiled from official sources.

A total of 1,93,217 peoplehave died and 27,61,967 beeninfected since the virusemerged in China inDecember. The hardest hitcontinent is Europe, with1,16,221 deaths and 1,296,248cases.

The country with themost deaths is the UnitedStates with 50,403, followed byItaly with 25,549, Spain with22,524, France with 21,856and Britain 19,506. AP

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The US is still trying to get an"actual sample" of the novel

coronavirus from China as sev-eral questions related to theinfection remains unanswered,Secretary of State Mike Pompeohas said.

"Frankly we are still tryingto get an actual sample of thevirus (from China). They havegiven us the breakdown of it,"Pompeo said during the LarryO'Connor show on Thursday.

Pompeo said there still weremany questions about the coro-navirus that remain unanswered.

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Washington: President DonaldTrump has suggested the possi-bility of studying injecting dis-infectants into COVID-19patients or bringing UV light"inside" their bodies to kill thedeadly virus, drawing immedi-ate flak from American healthexperts who urged people not tolisten to such "dangerous" advice.

Launching a new scientificstudy conducted by his depart-ment, Homeland Security forScience and Technology UnderSecretary Bill Bryan onThursday said the coronavirusdies at a much more rapid pacewhen exposed to sunlight andhumidity.

"The virus dies the quickestin direct sunlight. Isopropylalcohol will kill the virus in 30

seconds," he told White Housereporters in the presence ofPresident Trump at his dailybriefing on the COVID-19 sit-uation in the country.

Bryan's remarks left Trumpwondering if there was a possi-bility of injecting the chemicalinto a person infected withvirus as a deterrent to the virus.

"I see the disinfectant thatknocks it out in a minute, oneminute...And is there a way wecan do something like that byinjection inside, or almost acleaning? Because you see itgets inside the lungs and it doesa tremendous number on thelungs, so it would be interest-ing to check that," the US pres-ident told reporters at the pressbriefing. PTI

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Islamabad: Pakistan on Fridayextended the partial lockdownimposed in the country byanother two weeks as the num-ber of people affected by thedeadly virus rose to over 11,000.

About 79 per cent of thetotal coronavirus cases inPakistan are now locally trans-mitted, health authorities said.

According to the Ministryof National Health Services, 13more patients died due to thenovel coronavirus, taking thetoll to 237 and another 2,527recovered.

In the last 24 hours, 642new cases were reported, takingthe tally to 11,155 in the coun-try, health officials said.

Punjab reported 4,767patients, Sindh 3,671, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,541,Balochistan 607, Gilgit-Baltistan300, Islamabad 214 and

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 55patients.

So far, 13,365 tests have beendone in the country, including6,839 in the last 24 hours.

The confirmed cases aresteadily increasing and the offi-cials have warned that the peakwould reach by the end of Mayor beginning of June.

Addressing the media inIslamabad, Planning MinisterAsad Umar said, "It has beendecided that the ongoing restric-tions will continue till May 9."

He said the decision wastaken in a meeting of theNational CoordinationCommittee, which was chairedby Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The National Commandand Operation Centre (NCOC)on Friday said that 79 per centof all cases in the country weredue to local transmissions. PTI

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Tehran: Iran's Health Ministrysaid on Friday that the virus-hitcountry was no longer at "red"status as it announced another93 deaths from its COVID-19outbreak. Ministry spokesmanKianoush Jahanpour said thenovel coronavirus fatalitiesrecorded in the past 24 hourstook Iran's overall death toll to5,574. Jahanpour alsoannounced 1,168 new cases ofcoronavirus infection, takingthe country's total to 88,194.But he said that 66,596 patientshad been released from hospi-tal after recovering from the ill-ness. "None of our provinces arein the red, but warnings remain,and the situation will not beconsidered normal at all," hetweeted. AFP

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Page 9: % $0 1 $ %&!˜’ ˆˆ˝! ˚()˜*˝!˙! ˘ · Niti Aayog member VK Paul, ... these kits in hotspots. Paul also cited a study which that there is no spike in ... faction over the fact

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Investor wealth on Friday fellby �2,00,006.26 crore as mar-

kets snapped a two-day rally,with the BSE benchmark tum-bling 536 points.

“On the domestic front,Franklin Templeton MutualFund announced winding up ofsix debt schemes due toredemption pressure and lackof liquidity in bond marketsamid the Covid-19 crisis, whichadded to the selling pressure,”said Siddhartha Khemka, Head— Retail Research, MotilalOswal Financial Services Ltd.

The 30-share BSE Sensexsettled 535.86 points or 1.68 percent down at 31,327.22.

Led by the weak trend inthe equity market, the marketcapitalisation of BSE-listedcompanies plunged�2,00,006.26 crore to�1,21,73,452.47 crore.

Franklin TempletonMutual Fund late on Thursdayannounced winding up of sixdebt schemes, with assets undermanagement of over �25,000

crore, due to redemption pres-sures and lack of liquidity inbond markets amid theCOVID-19 crisis.

The biggest drag in theSensex pack were bank andfinance stocks, led by BajajFinance which was the worsthit among the 30-share com-ponents, falling 9.14 per cent,followed by IndusInd Bank(6.58 per cent), Axis Bank(5.96 per cent), ICICI Bank(5.09 per cent) and HDFC (5per cent).

In the broader market, theBSE midcap and smallcapindices fell up to 1.77 per cent.On the BSE 1,617 companiesdeclined, while 746 advancedand 155 remained unchanged.

“Today, Nifty opened witha sharp gap-down due to neg-ative global cues and news ofFranklin Templeton AMC’sdecision to close six debt funds.As a result, NBFC and bankingstocks were under pressure,”Vishal Wagh, Research Head,BONANZA PORTFOLIO said.

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Global shares extended loss-es Friday as hopes faded

for a quick turnaround for theglobal coronavirus pandemic.

France’s CAC 40 dropped1.9% in early trading to4,368.03, while Germany’sDAX fell 1.8% to 10,321.87.Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.5% to5,741.36. U.S. Shares werepoised for losses, with thefuture for the Dow industrialsdown 0.3% at 23,272.50. Thefuture contract for the S&P 500lost 0.4% to 2,771.12.

Investor sentiment wasagain fragile as attention shift-ed to the economic damage theworld is likely to suffer becauseof the pandemic, says PrakashSakpal and Nicholas Mapa,economists at ING.

A report from the FinancialTimes that said an antiviraldrug failed to improve condi-tions in patients in a Chineseclinical trial cast a shadowover hopes it might turn out tobe a potential treatment forcoronavirus patients.

The report cited docu-ments published accidentally

by the World HealthOrganization. Researchers saidthe sample size was too smallto draw scientifically valid con-clusions and the trial endedearly.

The Foster City, Calif.-based company behind thedrug, Gilead Sciences, said thedata represented “inappropri-ate characterizations” of theChina study.

“Investors will continue tobe monitoring developmentson the Covid-19 front with asetback on clinical testing for atreatment to the virus.Meanwhile, the U.S. Passed a

fresh round of stimulus whileoil prices continued to inch upslightly,” they said in a com-mentary.

Market players are alsofocusing on upcoming policymeetings at the Bank of Japan,the Federal Reserve and theEuropean Central Bank forsigns of what they may sayabout the state of globaleconomies that appear on thebrink of collapse.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei225 slipped 0.9% to finish at19,262.00. South Korea’s Kospilost 1.3% to 1,889.01, whileAustralia’s S&P/ASX 200

climbed 0.5% to 5,242.60.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell0.6% to 23,831.33, while theShanghai Composite lost 1.1%to 2,808.53.

In India, the Sensex lost0.5% to 31,689.62. Shares fell inTaiwan and Southeast Asia.

Toyota shares slipped 0.4%in Tokyo after the Japaneseautomaker said vehicle pro-duction will be graduallyramped up in North Americafrom May 4. Toyota MotorCorp., like many otherautomakers, have halted pro-duction around the world.

US Benchmark crude shed69 cents to $15.76 a barrel inelectronic trading on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange. Itrose 19.7% to settle at $16.50 abarrel. It has recovered afterfalling below $12 Monday,though it remains well belowthe roughly $60 level where itbegan the year. Brent crude, theinternational standard, gaveup 51 cents to $24.28 a barrel.

The dollar inched up to107.71 Japanese yen from107.50 yen Thursday. The euroinched down to $1.0747 from$1.0777.

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The coronavirus outbreakand the subsequent lock-

down in the country will leadto a major shift in the shoppingbehaviour of people, says a sur-vey foreseeing consumers’appetite for online shoppingrising to 64 per cent from 46per cent over the next 6-9months.

According to the surveyreport published by IT com-pany Capgemini, with lock-down measures in place acrossIndia, there has been a surge inthe use of online channels andthe trend will continue evenafter the lockdown is lifted.

The survey, conducted inthe first two weeks of April, fur-ther said, “Over 46 per cent ofIndian consumers will shop atphysical retail stores comparedto 59 per cent who shopped atphysical retail stores beforethe pandemic. 72 per cent ofIndian consumers will prefer topurchase from retailers whichwill offer delivery assurance aswell as assurance of compen-

sation for future cancellationsin next 6-9 month.”

Most consumers, it said,would like the practices adopt-ed by leading e-commercecompanies.

About 74 per cent Indianconsumers surveyed said theywill prefer to purchase fromretailers offering delivery atflexible timing in the next 6-9months and 89 per cent cus-tomers said they will be morecautious about issues of clean-liness, health and safety postCovid-19 pandemic.

Post coronavirus crisis, 78per cent of Indian consumerssaid they will prefer to increaseusage of digital payments goingahead. Around 65 per cent ofconsumers in the survey saidthey will increase the purchaseof groceries and householdsupplies during the course ofnext 6-9 months.

The survey also revealedthat 75 per cent Indian con-sumers are highly optimistic,about recovery in the next 6months, compared to 48 percent of consumers worldwide.

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The rupee on Friday depre-ciated by 40 paise to settle

at 76.46 against the US dollardue to fears of capital outflowsafter Franklin TempletonMutual Fund suddenly closedits six debt fund schemes.

Weak domestic equitiesand a strengthening green-back overseas also weighed onthe local currency.

Forex traders said marketsentiment weakened after apotential antiviral drug forcoronavirus reportedly failed itsfirst trial. The rupee openedlower at 76.30 at the interbankforex market and then fell fur-ther to 76.47 before closing at76.46, down 40 paise over itslast close.

The rupee had settled at76.06 against the US dollar onThursday.

The rupee witnessed strongfallout again due to likely over-seas outflows from local stocksamid some uncertainty afterFranklin Templeton Fundclosed six schemes, JateenTrivedi, Senior ResearchAnalyst (Commodity &Currency) at LKP Securitiessaid.

Franklin TempletonMutual Fund voluntarily decid-ed to wind up its six debtschemes citing redemptionpressure and lack of liquidity inbond markets due to coron-avirus pandemic. This is thefirst instance when a fundhouse is shutting its schemesbecause of coronavirus-relatedsituation.

Market participants arealso concerned that a sharp risein coronavirus cases couldweigh on the global as well asthe domestic economy.

The number of coronaviruscases around the world has

crossed 27 lakh. In India, over23,000 cases have been report-ed so far.

“Any piece of bad newsregarding coronavirus, rattlesthe risky assets including rupeeand we see it breaching freshrecord lows,” Emkay GlobalFinancial Services Head ofResearch — Currency RahulGupta said.

Gupta further noted that“all this while, investors werehoping on flattening coron-avirus cases and progress of avaccine, but now there aredoubts in the development ofdrugs. This uncertainty will

continue to fickle the forexmarket”.

In USD/INR spot 75.70-75.75 has been acting as crucialsupport, and will remain thesame, going ahead we may seeprices breach 77-77.15 level, hefurther noted.

On a weekly basis, theIndian unit lost 7 paise or 0.09per cent against the US dollar.

On the domestic marketfront, the 30-share BSE Sensexsettled 535.86 points or 1.68 percent down at 31,327.22, whilethe NSE Nifty declined 159.50points, or 1.71 per cent, to9,154.40.

Foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) were net sellersin the capital markets as theyoffloaded shares worth Rs114.58 crore on Thursday,according to provisional data.

Meanwhile, Brent crude,the global oil benchmark, fell0.33 per cent to $21.26 per bar-rel. The Financial BenchmarkIndia Private Ltd (FBIL) set thereference rate for therupee/dollar at 76.0635 and forrupee/euro at 82.3129. Thereference rate for rupee/Britishpound was fixed at 93.9886 andfor rupee/100 Japanese yen at70.55.

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Area sown to rice increasedby 37.70 per cent to 34.73

lakh hectare so far in the kharif(summer) season of the 2020-21 crop year, according toAgriculture Ministry datareleased on Friday.

Farmers had planted rice in25.22 lakh hectare area in theyear-ago period in the sameseason.

Rice iain rain-fed kharifcrop besides maize, bajragreengram blackgram,groundnut and sesame seeds inthe category of foodgrains bas-ket. The Met Department hasforecast a normal southwestmonsoon during June-September period.

With regard to rice plant-ing, the ministry has advisedstates to promote Direct SeededRice (DSR) which require lesslabour and tend to maturefaster than transplanted crops.It has also asked them to pro-mote cultivation of hybrid rice.

Currently, 8 per cent farm-ers use this method especially

in states like Jharkhand,Odisha, Chhattisgarh andMadhya Pradesh, it said.

The government is target-ing 102.6 million tonne of riceproduction in the kharif seasonof the 2020-21 crop year (July-June).

As per the ministry’s data,area sown to pulses hasincreased to 5.07 lakh hectareso far in the kharif season thisyear from 3.82 lakh hectare inthe year-ago.

In case of pulses, the min-istry has advised states to pro-mote intercropping of pulseswith oilseeds, sugarcane, maizeand cotton. It has also asked touse bunds for cultivation ofarhar or tur dal besides weedmanagement and application offertilizers based on soil headcard.

Similarly, area sown tocoarse cereals has increased to8.55 lakh hectare from 5.47lakh hectare, while that ofoilseeds acreage increased to8.73 lakh hectare from 6.80lakh hectare in the said period,the data showed.

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The country’s foreignexchange reserves surged

by $3.09 billion to $479.57 bil-lion in the week to April 17,due to an increase in foreigncurrency assets, according tothe latest data from the ReserveBank of India.

In the previous week, thereserves had increased by $1.81billion to $476.47 billion.

The reserves had toucheda life-time high of $487.23 bil-lion in the week to March 6,after it rose by $5.69 billion.

During 2020-21, the coun-try’s foreign exchange reserveshad risen by almost $62 billion.

In the reporting weekended April 17, foreign cur-rency assets (FCA), a majorcomponent of the overallreserves, rose $1.55 billion to$441.88 billion.

Expressed in dollar terms,the foreign currency assetsinclude the effect of apprecia-tion or depreciation of non-USunits like the euro, pound andyen held in the foreignexchange reserves.

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Bank of Baroda on Fridaysaid its board has approved

raising up to �13,500 crore by2020-21.

“Board of Directors of ourBank in its meeting held todayi.E. 24 April 2020...Consideredand approved raising of addi-tional capital fund up to�13,500 crore up to March 31,

2021 and beyond if foundexpedient,” it said in a regula-tory filing. The capital raise willcomprise �9,000 crore by wayof common equity capital byvarious modes including QIP,etc in suitable stages and �4,500crore by way of additional tierI and tier II capital instrumentswith an inter-changeabilityoption, issued in India/overseasin suitable tranches, it added.

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The Centre is working on ascheme to address the issue

of delayed payments to MSMEswherein a �1-lakh crore dedi-cated fund will be created toreimburse outstanding pay-ments owed by Central andState Government undertak-ings as well as major industries,Union Minister Nitin Gadkarisaid on Friday.

The minister said he isdevising the scheme to set upthe fund and the proposal willbe placed before the Cabinet forapproval once the FinanceMinistry gives its go-ahead.

“We have decided to set upa fund of �1 lakh crore. We willinsure this fund with the gov-ernment paying the premium.We will come up with a for-mula for sharing of the inter-est burden between the paying

entity, payment-receiving enti-ty and banks against this fund,for the payments due toMSMEs that are stuck with thePSUs, central and StateGovernments, and majorindustries,” Gadkari said.

The Minister for MSMEand Road Transport andHighways said the fund willimpart relief to the micro,small and medium enterprises(MSMEs) sector to a certainextent.

He said the corpus will bea mobile fund that will helpincrease liquidity in the market.

While commenting ondelayed payments to MSMEs,Gadkari said all efforts shouldbe made to make paymentsimmediately, and allGovernment departments havebeen given directions in thisregard.

Addressing a webinar,

Gadkari also said he has moot-ed a proposal to LabourMinister Santosh Gangwar tomake use of �80,000 crorelying with the ESIC to tide overthe immediate crisis faced bythe MSMEs, as the pressure forApril salaries and wages ismounting.

The proposal will have tobe examined by the financeministry and the PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO), hesaid.

Besides, the minister saidall national highways have beenre-opened.

“We have informed stategovernments and collectorsthat we have opened up allnational highways and till yes-terday (Thursday), about 55-60per cent transport movementhad started. I hope we wouldsoon be able to normalise it,” headded.

����� 345�467-

The Ministry of ConsumerAffairs has finally man-

aged to dispose of 35,857 tonneof onion, imported fromTurkey, Egypt, European Unionand other countries in 2019 tocheck spiralling domesticprices. In its latest report, theministry said it has completedthe disposal of imported onionsby the end of March. Total of35,857 tonnes of importedonion has been sold to differ-ent states. Presently, onionprice in the wholesale markethas touched �8-10 a kg. In theretail market, onion is beingsold at �15-20 a kg dependingon the quality and areas.

According to the Ministry,imported onions were dis-patched to States such as

Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,Telangana, Chandigarh, UttarPradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh, WestBengal, and Goa among others.

The Government wasgrappling to find a way to dis-pose of huge quantity of onionsit imported from Turkey, Egypt

and Iran. The States haverefused to accept the importedonions because they don’texcite the domestic taste buds.The Modi government hadapproached Maldives,Bangladesh, Nepal and SriLanka to sell these onions at“no profit no loss” basis. A dropin the price of the desi varianthas also posed a challenge toimported onions.

To contain onion prices,the Government had inNovember 2019 decided toimport 1.2 lakh tonnes of onionthrough the Metals andMinerals Trading Corporationof India (MMTC). Since then,it purchased 35,857 tonne ofonion from the overseas mar-ket under the Price StabilisationFund (PSF). Much of the onion(about 29,836 tonne) was dis-

posed of during February whenthere was an increase in offtakefor the imported onions, itsaid.

Some quantity of onionwas sold through auction.Agencies such as Mother Dairy,Kendriya Bhandar and NAFEDwere advised to retail import-ed onions to cool down theirprices, the report added.

The Government wasforced to import onions in a bidto contain prices that hadtouched the peak of�160/kg in second half of2019. The damagein the kharif onioncrop due to latemonsoon rainsand later excessrainfall had ledto supplyconstraint

and sharp rise in prices.The ministry has also

directed the NationalAgricultural Co-operativeMarketing Federation of India(Nafed) to commence pro-curement of 40,000-50,000tonne of summer onionstowards the creation of bufferstock. Last year, too, the Centrehad procured 57,000 tonne ofonions through Nafed tocreate a

buffer stock. Earlier, the targetwas 50,000 tonne, but Nafedhad made additional procure-ment as per instructions fromthe central government. Ofthe total 57,000 tonne pro-cured, around 48,000 tonne ofonions were procured fromdifferent pockets ofMaharashtra, while the remain-ing 9,000 tonne were boughtfrom Gujarat.

����� 345�467-

The National StatisticalOffice (NSO) of Ministry of

Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation on Fridayreleased a report saying that theEmployee State InsuranceCorporation (ESIC) schemehas got around 11.56 lakh newmembers in February 2020against 12.19 lakh members inthe previous month.

According to the report,similarly, the EPFO Employees’Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) has enrolled 10.34 lakhnew members in February ascompared to 10.71 lakh in thepreceding month. The new jobsare just before the corona pan-demic aggravated and struck allsectors. March onwards datawould actually reveal the blow

the disease has struck onemployments in India.

The NSO report titled‘Payroll Reporting in India:An Employment Perspective -February 2020’, is based on thepayroll data of new subscribersof various social securityschemes run by ESIC, retire-ment fund body EPFO andpension fund regulatorPFRDA. It has been releasingsuch data of these bodies sinceApril 2018, covering a periodstarting from September 2017.

The report said grossenrolments of new subscriberswith ESIC were 1.49 crore dur-ing 2018-19. It also showed thatduring the period fromSeptember 2017 to February2020, around 3.75 crore newsubscribers joined the ESICscheme.

The report noted that grossnew enrolments with ESIC dur-ing the September 2017-March2018 period were 83.35 lakh.According to NSO, around10.34 lakh new enrolments withthe EPFO were recorded inFebruary 2020, compared with10.71 lakh in the precedingmonth. However, during theApril-February period in 2019-20, the number of net new sub-scribers rose to 76.53 lakh com-pared to 61.12 lakh recorded bythe EPFO in entire 2018-19.The net new enrolments were15.52 lakh during September2017-March 2018.

The latest data showed thatduring September 2017-February 2020, around 3.29crore (gross) new subscribersjoined the Employees’Provident Fund Scheme.

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�You were the first and onlychoice of filmmaker Rob Marshallfor Mary Poppins Returns. Howdid it happen?

I have been friends with RobMarshall for a while. He called meone day and I knew that there wassome sort of a different energybehind that phone call. He was socharged up and excited to tell methe news. I thought for a secondthat he is going to ask me to marryhim (laughs). He said, “Emily, wehave been looking for somethingto do. Now we know, we are goingto do the remake of Mary Poppins.I know It’s been more than 50 yearssince the original film was releasedbut we are doing it.” I just felt myhair sort of like blow back. I wascompletely shocked but immense-ly happy. It was such a ceremoni-ous phone call. Later, I realized thiswas such an iconic character. Howmuch impact she had made onpeople in the first film. Now I wasgoing to be her, so I was slightly ter-rified.

�First will always remain first.No matter for how many days youshoot. Even now, whenever youremember your first day, it sure-ly brings back all the memories.

How would you describe it?It was full of music and joy. My

first day on the set was the animat-ed sequence. I think I really like thecharacter. She just doesn’t care.And Rob Marshall is such anamazing man. He sorts of trans-ports you into the character withsuch ease. He blares the music so

loudly from the speakers thateveryone feels it. The whole crewhad real fun.

�How did you feel in this classicpresence of Disney films on set?How was the aura of it?

Honestly, the whole atmos-phere on the set was completely

bewitching. We all knew we weretaking on something completelyiconic. But I think Rob has thiswonderful way of creating sort ofan exquisite intimacy that it did-n’t feel overwhelming or biggerthan me. Or something that Icouldn’t do. He’s very embalmingin that way. Every day was imbuedwith a sense that we were makingsomething very special, uniqueand important.

�What did you tap into when youwere going through hard times?

I listen to music. Wheneveryou hear a piece of music, you arealways transported back to thatparticular moment. It’s like step-ping into a time machine. You canfeel everything as if you wereactually there. I feel everythingcomes into perspective.

(The film premiers on April 26at 1 pm on Star Movies.)

Indian-American rapper-songwriterRaja Kumari has come out with a

new single N.R.I. She says the songstems from the duality of being fromtwo different cultures. Recently, Rajabecame the first female rapper to besigned with the label Mass AppealIndia. N.R.I is her first track off MassAppeal India.

Raja said, “This single stemsfrom the duality of being from twodifferent cultures, while being toldyou don’t quite belong in either ofthem. N.R.I stands for non-residentof India, and is used as a derogatoryterm for ‘not really Indian’ for peopleborn outside of India, in the diaspo-ra.”

“In America, I was asked to leavebehind my culture and assimilate. InIndia, I was told I didn’t belong to myculture because I wasn’t born here. Idecided to re-claim this term andmake it my own. My forthcoming EPThe Bridge is about symbolisingbridging the east and the west, theancient and the modern, and connect-ing us from the old world to the new,”she added.

Talking about working on the sin-gle, the Grammy-nominated song-writer-rapper said, “The EP wasmostly recorded in Mumbai but thissong in particular was written in Los

Angeles. We shot the video for thisjust as the borders were closing forIndia, the morning of my flight.We’ve been able to edit the video whilewe’ve been in quarantine. I knewN.R.I would never be complete with-out both sides — my American andIndian story. I hope you’ll share your#mynristory with the world as well.”

The track offers a look into herupbringing, highlighting the dualityof growing up in two different cul-tures and being made to feel alien inboth. She throws some sarcastic punsin the song. Produced by Americanrecord producer and songwriter RobKnox and co-written by Grammy-Award winning American hip hoprecording artist Sirah, the track waspenned in Los Angeles whilst thevideo was shot in India right beforethe country declared the lockdown tofight the ongoing global pandemic.

Rob Knox said, “We wanted tomake something that felt internation-al, bringing together western pop andhip-hop while calling to Raja’s Indianroots and my Egyptian background.”

C2'+�

For anyone who grew up watchingDoordarshan and the mandatoryChitrahaar, Sanjay Khan bounding

about wearing an impish grin while teas-ing Mumtaz with the song, Gori ke haathme jaise ye challa is hard to forget. It wasaided, of course, in ample measure by thefact that he was easy on the eye in Mela(no resemblance to the horror starringAamir Khan which masqueraded by thesame name). Having made his debut inChetan Anand’s 1964 war film, Haqeeqatin a small role as a soldier, he went onto play a pivotal supporting role in theblockbuster Dosti. He starred in hits likeDus Lakh (1966), Ek Phool Do Mali(1969), Intaqam (1969), Shart (1969),Mela (1971), Upaasna (1971), Dhund(1973) and Nagin (1976). In 1977, hemade his directorial debut with ChandiSona starring himself, Parveen Babi andRaj Kapoor. In 1980, he directed andstarred in Abdullah alongside Raj Kapoorand Zeenat Aman. He made his last filmappearance in the 1986 film Kala DhandaGoray Log, which was his third and lastfilm as a director.

He burst upon the small screen withthe big-budget historical series TheSword of Tipu Sultan, which was nothingshort of Khan’s labour of love. Not evena fire that broke out on the sets that killedmore than 40 crew members and inflict-ed 65 per cent burns on Khan could deterhim from its completion. After severalsurgeries, he swung back into action. Hedirected the series jointly with his broth-er, Akbar Khan and also played the lead.The series first aired on DD Nationalfrom 1990 to 1991 and lasted 60 episodes.He produced and directed other popu-lar television series like The GreatMaratha, Jai Hanuman and 1857 Kranti.

Khan has turned his hand to writingand his second book, AssalamualaikumWatan, talks about his journey andmore.

�What is the reason behind naming thebook Assalamualaikum Watan?

An author in principal will alwayslook for a pertinent title which advocatesthe content with a flair.

�What prompted you to write thisbook? In days when Islamophobia isrife, when Muslim bashing on socialmedia and news has become the norm,what is the reason why we have cometo this? And what can be done to

thwart it?This is most

unfortunate. TheW h a t s A p pUniversity isfilled to the brimwith mischiefmongering sec-tions of mis-guided people.This shouldnot be takenfor granted.The good andwise people ofIndia do notappreciate thisas it tars theimage of ourDemocraticRepublic ofIndia in theeyes of theentire worldand also willdevastate theeconomic para-meters and pros-perity of this coun-try. Only a peacefulcountry can be suc-cessful. This is theresponsibility of all goodthinking Indian citizens tochallenge this attempt at sabo-tage. We must take a lesson fromFinland where, I’m told, everycitizen respects the other creat-ing a bond which is invisible butthe strength, mutual love andrespect is the underlying factorfor peace and tranquility of thecountry. This small country is therichest in the world. I would likethe reader to think about this.

�You speak about the role ofMuslims in fighting forIndependence in the book butnow the narrative has changedcompletely...

It’s not difficult to see howpeople of diverse faiths and regionshave come together and stitched thefabric of India. It’s always best toread history backed by facts, basedon documented evidence writtenand accepted by world-renownedhistorians and researchers and notWhatsApp forwards, where people

often share false information to suit theirown bias. It will only be fair to warn thefuture generations of the effect theabsence of a factual and fascinating his-tory of this great land will have if it is hid-den and reconstructed to benefit an ide-ology. It will deprive them of this wealthof knowledge. Real history has an uncan-ny knack of emerging from the labyrinthsof the earth.

�You talk about setting up the IndianMuslim Socio Economic Trust. Whatexactly is its role? How many people areinvolved with it?

The IMSET will be a non-profitorganisation in the form of a digital appli-cation. A trained team of youngsters withcomplete knowledge and functioning of

the digital app will guide it. Thisteam will be monitored by an

expert and eminent commit-tee from the community

who will offer their ser-vices. It will engage pre-eminently successfulMuslims in today’sIndia from each state,which will includecaptains of industryand tycoons in theirrespective fields ofexpertise. TheIMSET app will bedefined by a collab-orative spirit andgenuine empathy,as all the mem-bers will be invit-ed to serve basedon their seminala c h i e v e m e nt sand inclinationfor volunteerismand social

responsibility viavideo webinar,online meetings,training, and sup-port. These posi-tions will be high-ly prestigious, notdue to the tradi-tional business

perks of compen-sation, rather due

to the substantiallyimpactful work. Theywill leave their indelible

imprints on the sands oftime and their heroic

deeds will inspire gener-ations to come. Theorganisations’ operatingbudget will invite like-minded people to partic-ipate in this venture.There are many anx-iously waiting to partic-ipate. It will be inap-propriate to mentionany names at this time.We cannot proceedwith our plans cur-rently due to theunfortunate COVID-19 in which Indiaand the entire worldis embroiled in.

�You’ve also dweltupon another pop-ularly propagatedmyth thatMughals lootedIndia...

The Mughals

came to India as conquerors but lived inthe subcontinent as Indians and not ascolonisers. They merged their identity aswell as that of their group with India andthe two became inseparable, giving riseto an enduring culture and history.Mughals being seen as foreigners wasnever a point of discussion till quiterecently, so well had they integrated andassimilated into the country that theymade their own. There was no reason forit either, since Akbar onwards, allMughals were born in India with manyhaving Rajput mothers and their ‘Indian-ness’ was complete. As I have explained,Muslims have selflessly contributed animmense amount to India, from thestandpoint of art, architecture, science,technology and governance, makingIndia the richest country in the world.These timeless, priceless and permanentcontributions make India just as muchours as anyone else’s.

�You’ve dwelt at length on the prescrip-tive qualities of Islam. Are IndianMuslims particularly adhering to it?

Islam is a casteless and egalitarianreligion. The essence of it is equality andhumanity. The reading and understand-ing of Islam worldwide as per the tenantsof holy Quran are equally adhered toeverywhere. Its message to the people isto be loyal to their motherland.Theheart of an Indian Muslim is truly patri-otic as their history is replete withnumerous sacrifices for the countrywhich they will continue with. IndianMuslims represent 200 million of thecountry’s population who profoundlycontribute to the cultural vitality anddemographic vibrancy of India on a dailybasis. This number represents the secondlargest critical mass of Muslims in anynation in the world. First and foremost,as Indian Muslims, we should feeltremendous pride, a sense of empower-ment and responsibility because weserve as the trajectory to the compass ofachievement for Muslims worldwide.The age old saying of safety in numbersis only partially true as there is also aninspiration in numbers. The socialresponsibility should serve as the sparkfor the guiding light that is ingrained inthe mentality of all Indian Muslims. Ifgiven proper opportunity of education,

they can contribute heavily to the GDPof our country.

�You’ve had your share of ups anddowns. The fire during the shooting ofThe Sword of Tipu Sultan being one.How do you bounce back?

I have answered this question manya times, I would like to quote the greatgenius Albert Einstein in which you willfind my answer and the readers would berefreshed by this beautiful messageunder the present Covid 19 circum-stances. “Love multiplied by the speed oflight squared, we arrive at the conclusionthat love is the most powerful force thereis, because it has no limits. Love is light,that enlightens those who give andreceive it. Love is gravity, because itmakes some people feel attracted to oth-ers. Love is power, because it multipliesthe best we have and allows humanity notto be extinguished in their blind selfish-ness. Love unfolds and reveals. For lovewe live and die. Love is God and God isLove.”

�While the films of your time talkedabout the beauty of diversity, the onescurrently border on jingoism. What doyou attribute the change to?

This is a temporary phenomenon. Letus look at it as a passing shower. Theindustry is highly sensitive, intelligentand knows it’s way. The power of goodstories and the sweet melody of the songswill soon return.

�The film industry has become muchmore politicised than it was before.What is your take?

I don’t believe it. The film industryis untouched. But there is always a jokerin a pack.

�You look upon Tipu Sultan as a hero.But he has become a contentious figurein today’s time. What do you have to sayto this?

My tryst with history is one of thestrong pillars of my personality. I havealways been a flag-bearer of peace andharmony. I’ve delved deep in the researchfrom Bhagwan Gidwani’s best seller,The Sword Of Tipu Sultan to bring fewimportant aspects which have beenswept under the carpet from publicview and I strongly feel it is a threat toour nation’s fabric to do so. As many his-torians would like to agree with me that‘bad history’ affects our youth and devel-opment. Several Kannada folk songs(lavanis) lamenting his death were in cir-culation in the 19th century, the earliestdating back to 1800, the year after he diedin the battlefield. This is a very specialfact since folk songs do not exist for anyof the kings of Karnataka. They exist foronly tragic heroes like Tipu Sultan andother local chieftains who were martyredat the hands of the British. As an Indian,I felt it was my duty to place these factsof history for the greater understandingof our people as this would cure theminds of faulty judgements.

�How long did you take to write thebook?

It took seven years of deep and accu-rate research and two years to completeit.

�Any more in pipeline? Future plans?Presently, I am finishing a script

based on a true story of an Indian warhero, after which I intend to produce anddirect the film.

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Sitting down is part of near-ly everyone’s workplacetoday, whether at a desk orin a car. Unfortunately for

many of us, sitting incorrectly iscausing stress and pain in our bod-ies. By improving the way you sit,whether at a desk or in a car, yourworkday can be improved andyour body will thank you. Sittingcorrectly involves not only yourability to align your body, but isalso dependent on the workspaceyou create for yourself. Adjustingyour seat or rearranging yourdesk may be the key to your com-fort in the workplace and car. Yoursitting posture may be the key tobeing pain-free and to start enjoy-ing more activities in your life.

Good posture is essential tothe proper alignment of bones,joints, muscles, tendons, liga-ments, and nerves, which is essen-tial to ensuring their ability towork together smoothly and effi-ciently. Smooth, efficient motion– known as good body mechanics– ensures that stress is distributedproperly as a person sits, stands,walks, lifts, twists, pushes, orpulls, reducing wear and tear onthe body – particularly the joints,muscles, and connective tissues.

How important is posture toyour work? Very important, infact, no matter what type of workit is, in terms of preventing work-place injuries. Poor posture is acontributing factor in many mus-culoskeletal injuries – which rankhigh on the list of the most com-mon disabling job-related injuries.These include back pain, sprains,strains as well as various overuseand repetitive stress injuries, all ofwhich are common in all types ofworkplaces, ranging from officesto more strenuous work environ-ments such as construction sites,health care facilities, or ware-house work or manufacturingjobs.

Poor posture, on the otherhand, disturbs that natural, healthyalignment, placing the bones,joints, muscles, connective tis-sues, and nerves in positions thatrender them unable to work asintended. This can place unduestress on certain areas of the body,increasing wear and tear damagein those areas, which is the issueat the root of many strains, sprains,and back problems as well as a

wide range of overuse and repet-itive stress injuries.

Poor workplace posture is amajor cause of back pain andworkplace stress which can lead torepetitive strain injuries. This canresult in poor employee health andlow morale which will ultimatelylead to reduced productivity, losttime and higher business costs.

Our bones hold us up, ourjoints link our bones, our musclesmove the bones around the jointsand our nerves facilitate control ofthe whole. The key to good pos-ture is correct joint alignment; butmuscle activity, balance and nervesare all part of the picture.

Posture is the position inwhich you hold your body uprightagainst the forces of gravity whilestanding or sitting. The key togood posture is training yourbody to sit, stand and walk in posi-tions where the least strain isplaced on supporting muscles andligaments during weight-bearingactivities.

Despite best efforts, we have allcome under extra work load andgeneral life stress where remember-ing to maintain good posture canbe the last thing on our mind.Physiotherapy can help to facilitatenormal alignment through stretch-ing of joint and muscle tissuealong with ensuring nerve mobil-ity. Home exercise programmescan be designed specifically for youto work on any weak areas you mayhave, helping you get back to a cor-rect posture that you can maintainas quickly as possible.

Physiotherapists specialise inthe treatment of back, neck, andpostural pain as well as workstationadvice and injury rehabilitation.

Prevention can be better thanthe cure, but if you are alreadyexperiencing muscle fatigue, backand neck pain, joint soreness, ortightness in your lower back itmight be time to see yourPhysiotherapist.

As your workload at the officeincreases, so do repetitive actions,such as typing, using your comput-er mouse and talking on the phone.These routine tasks seem simple,but they can add a level of physi-cal stress to the emotional andmental stress of getting the jobdone. In fact, repetitive straininjuries have skyrocketedin the last 20 years due

to the increasing reliance on work-place technology.

Buy an ergonomic chair thathas adjustable seat height, tilt, andarmrests. There are very importantand must be adjustable. Make sureyou position your seat high enoughso your legs and knees are paral-lel to your hips or slightly lower.You never want your knees high-er than your hips.

Once sitting, make sure you aresitting on your sit bones and yourfeet are on the floor. Try not tocross the ankles or place your feeton the base of the chair. It is bet-ter to sit with your legs spread apartthan crossed, even spreading thelegs to the outer edge of the chairwill give your pelvis and spinemore support.

If your chair has armrests,adjust them to be low enough soyour forearm is parallel to the arm-rest and your shoulders remainrelaxed. If the armrests are toohigh, it will push the shoulders upand create tension. Ideally, armrestsshould only be used when you arepausing to type or reading.

When you use the mouse orkeypad, allow your wrist to berelaxed and use your whole arm tomove the mouse rather than justyour hand and wrist. Refrain fromonly using your wrist while keep-ing your arm quiet. This will leadto strain and possibly carpel tun-nel syndrome.

Make sure your knees areslightly bent so you are not overreaching with your right foot/legand pulling the right side of yourpelvis forward. Also make sure theseat is level if possible and avoidleaning your elbows on anything inthe car. Often if you have devel-oped a leaning habit at work youcontinue the habit in your car. Anykind of leaning can create tensionin your neck and shoulders.

Have a relaxed grip on thesteering wheel; avoid clenching orgripping the wheel. Gripping the

steering wheel will create tensionall the way up the arms.

Take frequent breaks ifyour going on a road trip or doany kind of distance driving.Sitting for too long in the carwill make it more difficult tomaintain proper postureand you will likely returnto old habits of slouchingor leaning.

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$������ � The International HockeyFederation (FIH) on Friday extended thesecond edition of its prestigious ProLeague by one year till June 2021 after aslew of matches were postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The Season 2 was set to run fromJanuary to June 2020 and around one thirdof the matches were completed by earlyMarch before the competition was broughtto a standstill.

The FIH said the decision was reachedafter agreement with 11 participatingcountries, including India.

India are currently fourth on the tablewith 10 points from two wins and as manynumber of losses and draws behindBelgium, Australia and the Netherlands.

“Due to ongoing uncertainties sur-rounding the COVID-19 global health pan-demic, and in agreement with the 11 par-ticipating National Associations (NAs), thesecond edition of the FIH Hockey ProLeague is being extended through to June2021,” the FIH said in a release.

The FIH was forced to suspend the ProLeague twice earlier. It had first postponedall matches scheduled before April 15 andlater extended the deferment till May 17because of the novel coronavirus.

The world hockey body was planningto hold the ties in July and August, provid-ed the current situation improves.

In agreement with all participatingcountries, the FIH also announced that thewindow for Season 3 of the FIH HockeyPro League will be from September 2021to June 2022.

“The decision to spread the Pro Leagueseason over a longer time period will allowfor greater flexibility in terms of thescheduling, reducing match congestion inthe first half of the year whilst also help-ing to ensure that international hockeyremains highly visible via broadcast formuch of the year.” PTI

����� �+.-(

The organisers of theFrench Open, who were

criticised for unilaterallymoving the tournament to aSeptember start without con-sulting other tennis federa-tions, could delay the eventby another week, accordingto a report on Friday.

The claycourt GrandSlam could now start onSeptember 27 instead ofSeptember 20, preceded bya week of qualificationmatches, Le Parisiennewspaper said.

The FrenchTennis Federation(FFT) declined toconfirm thereport, but said ina statement: “The

FFT is in contact with theinternational bodies, the AFP,WTA and ITF, and is waitingfor the calendar to be con-firmed by them.”

The FFT caused surprisein the tennis world byannouncing in mid-March,just as France was going intolockdown because of the

pandemic outbreak, that itwas moving from itsoriginal May 24-June 7slot to the Septemberdate.

If the tournament isdelayed untilSeptember 27, itwould give a two-week pause after

the US Open,which is currently

scheduled to finish onSeptember 13.

����� 0+�.-�

Real Madrid star GarethBale says there should be

no rush to restart La Ligaduring the coronavirus lock-down as the Spanishfootball federationplans tests and areturn to training.

Testing players isbeing discussed witha view to completingthe Liga season andthereby avoiding financialdisaster, a source cose to LaLiga said on Thursday.

Bale said he wanted toget back into action but feltit wise to wait and see.

“Everyone wants to playfootball, but the mostimportant thing is everyonestays safe, we don’t want tocome back too early. Weneed to make sure every-thing is done safely so weavoid the second wave ofthis virus,” Bale told BTSports.

The Bundesliga inGermany, where there havebeen far fewer coronavirusdeaths, said on Thursdaythey are “ready” to restart onMay 9 but needed govern-

ment approval.Rafael Ramos of

the SpanishAssociation ofFootball TeamPhysicians said LaLiga is planning toreturn to action in a

series of stages.“The idea according to

La Liga is to test everyoneon April 28 and 29,” Ramossaid on Spanish radio onThursday.

He added that the testswould be repeated everythree or four days.

La Liga president JavierTebas said several alterna-tives for a return to actionwere being mulled with May4 slated for the return totraining.

“The scenarios we are

looking at could see La Ligarestart as early as 28-29May, but could also be 6-7June or even as late as June28,” Tebas said, calculatingthat the move could saveSpanish clubs a billion eurosin revenue if they completeLa Liga and the European

competitions.Whatever Tebas wants,

Spain is under a severe lock-down quarantine and is reel-ing after 22,000 deaths fromcoronavirus in the countryso far.

The Spanish playersunion (AFE) agree withWelsh winger Bale in his callfor prudence.

“Ask yourself if this isreally a good idea. Is it safe?isn’t our main concerneverybody’s safety?” DiegoLopez the Espanyol goal-keeper said.

Eight Espanyol playersare sick with Covid-19.

Barcelona and Spainmidfielder Sergio Busquetswas also sceptical on theproposed dates.

“I suppose it’s work-able, to train without get-ting too close to the otherguys, showering at home,but meetings and travellingto a match would be diffi-cult,” said Busquets.

������ .-9�4/+3-4.9

Gabriel Jesus has described hisbattle with Sergio Aguero for a

place in Manchester City’s startingline-up as “thankless” and describedthe Argentinian as the best player inthe Premier League club’s history.

Despite having scored 63 goalsin 138 matches for City, the 23-year-old Brazilian has struggled to securea regular berth in Pep Guardiola’spreferred 11, which has mostly fea-tured Aguero in the No 9 role.

“He is the biggest idol that hasever played for the club,” Jesus said

in an Instagram Live ses-sion on Thursday.

“I know I’m notgoing to be a guaran-teed starter. But I believe

I’m improving andI’ll contin-ue toimprove. I

think myg r e a t e s tquality is

my mindset.”

����� 0-6+3

Italian football chiefs onThursday announced that

the end of the Serie A sea-son will be pushed backfrom June 30 to August 2 tofinish the season suspend-ed amid the coronaviruspandemic.

Federation president

Gabriele Gravina said theFIGC would “adopt a reso-lution in the coming hoursto postpone the end of the

2019/2020 sports sea-son to August 2”.

No sport has beenplayed in Italy sinceMarch 9.

“The world of foot-ball is working incessantlyand responsibly to find con-crete and sustainable solu-tions to the crisis generat-ed by Covid-19 includingthose necessary and indis-pensable to safeguard 2020-21 competitions,” Gravinasaid.

Serie A’s 20 clubs onTuesday voted unanimous-ly to complete the leagueseason, but the final deci-sion will be down to theItalian government.

The federation alsohopes clubs can start train-ing again from May 4, thedate on which the govern-ment plans to start easingthe containment measures.

����� :4.6-3

The German FAannounced on

Friday that the nation-al cup final, plannedfor May 23 at Berlin’sOlympic Stadium, hasbeen postponed, but said it hopes itcan still take place this season behindclosed doors.

The semi-finals of the Cup, whichhad been scheduled for this week,were postponed when the season washalted in mid March due to the coro-navirus pandemic.

Holders Bayern Munich, BayerLeverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt andfourth division side FC Saarbruecken had all reached the last four.

Fritz Keller, president of the German Football Association(DFB), hopes the semi-finals and final can still be played, albeitwithout spectators..

“It is extremely regrettable that this special match (the final)will in all probability also have to take place without spectators,”Keller said in a statement.

“Provided that the match is approved, we can then look for-ward to watching the final in our living rooms for the first timein the cup’s history.”

����� 345�467-

The love and loyalty of thefans will never let himleave Royal Challengers

Bangalore till the time he is play-ing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli saidon Friday.

RCB have reached the IPLfinal thrice but have not gone onto win the trophy.

During a live session onInstagram with former SouthAfrican captain and RCB team-mate AB de Villiers, Kohli saidwinning the tournamentremains the goal but he wouldnot leave the team irrespectiveof the results.

“It has been such an amaz-ing journey. It is always going tobe our dream, winning the IPLtogether. There is no scenariowhere I could think of leavingthe team ever.

“You can feel emotionalabout the season not going wellbut till the time I am playing IPL,I am never leaving this team.The fans, their loyalty has beenamazing,” said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli’s feel-ings towards RCB, De Villierstoo acknowledged the support offans over the past nine years.Kohli, on the other hand, hasbeen with RCB since 2008.

“Same for me. I never wantto leave RCB but to do that I gotto keep scoring runs. I am notthe captain you see,” said theSouth African in jest.

Both recalled their earlydays in international cricketand their growth as cricketers

and friends.Kohli said at times, the

youngsters coming in have toomuch regard for the “system”and he wants to see them breakthe norm.

“I want to see youngsterscoming in scoring 500-600runs. I want people to break thenorm. Sometimes I feel peoplehave too much regard for thesystem in sport. When youbreak the shackles, you dosomething special.”

Kohli also acknowledgedcontribution of Mark Boucher,

Gary Kirsten and DuncanFletcher early on in his interna-tional career.

“Gary always gave me pos-itive feedback. Boucher toldme in 2008 to improve my gameagainst the short ball. He hadthe vision. Then Fletcher, he hada keen eye for the game. Somany people who have con-tributed (to my growth),” saidKohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 atWankhede in the 2015 seriesdecider as his best knock againstIndia. Kohli picked the 119 he

scored in Johannesburg Test in2013.

“I was always really moti-vated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated todo something special,” deVilliers said.

They also picked their com-bined South Africa and IndiaODI team. It included SachinTendulkar, Rohit Sharma, ViratKohli, Ab de Villiers, JacquesKallis, M S Dhoni (captain),Yuvraj Singh, YuzvendraChahal, Dale Steyn, JaspritBumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

����� 345�467-

Sunrisers Hyderbad captainDavid Warner believes his

side’s death bowling is “proba-bly the best” in the IndianPremier League.

The 2016 champions boastof a fine combination of pacersand spinners with India’sBhuvneshwar Kumar andAfghan leg-spinner RashidKhan being the prominentnames.

“We’ve got a verygood squad. One of thebest things about oursquad is we have greatdepths in our bowling,”Warner said in anInstagram Live ses-sion with Sunrisersteammate JonnyBairstow.

“We havegot got goodupfront swingbowling and ourdeath bowling isprobably the bestin the competi-tion,” he added.

While Warnerhas been in theside since 2014,Bairstow joinedthe Sunrisers lastseason. Theyshared somebrilliant open-ing partner-ships includinga 185 stand

against the Royal ChallengersBangalore.

Asked about what theyliked most about batting witheach other, both said runningbetween the wickets was amajor contributing factor intheir successful partnership.

“I love running betweenwickets and I think our energyrunning between the wickets isoutstanding,” Warner said.

“I know how fast your abil-ity and game awareness is. It’s

one of my favourite thingsto do and a strong point forus,” he added.

While Warner scored692 runs from 12 games,

Bairstow notched up445 runs from 10

matches last sea-son.

“Yes defi-nitely there isan understand-

ing between us.We can bothgauge if it’s 2

runs we don’thave to look, it’s

just touch and go,”Bairstow said.

“And that startedreally early on, wewere getting twoswhen we had noright to get them.You put pressure onopposition like thatand then it easesoff pressure on us,”

the wicketkeeper added.

����� 0�0:+-

Coming back after injury is achallenge but the road could

be smooth if teammates are sup-portive, feels senior India pacerBhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bhuvneshwar's career hasbeen riddled with injuries andthe last one was a surgery forsports hernia and he was set tocome back during South AfricaODIs which got cancelled.

Prior to that, he had suf-fered a groin injury during tourof West Indies last year.

“You always need supportfrom the management and theteam and (I’m) lucky to havesupport from the management,”Bhubaneswar, who has played21 Tests and 114 ODIs apartfrom 43 T20s, told SunrisersHyderabad teammate DavidWarner during an Instagram

chat.Playing three formats as a

fast bowler makes it difficult attimes to maintain peak fitness.

“It is very difficult being afast bowler especially when youplay all the three formats. It getsdifficult at times. Injury is some-thing which is always associat-ed with fast bowler,” he said.

The difficult part is to getback the pre-injury rhythm.

“But what’s more difficult isto come back with the samerhythm that you were in. Andespecially in India there are somany players, so many first classteams and so many talentedplayers, they are always in lineto play.

“So when you comeback,you have things in mind like youhave to be in rhythm like whatwere you in (earlier), so it getsdifficult,” he elaborated.

����� 345�467-

The society needs to recon-sider the concept of win-

ning at all costs, India’s chiefnational badminton coachPullela Gopichand empha-sised on Friday, suggesting thatcoaches should work in a waythat the players realise theirfull potential.

Gopichand was speakingon the LIVE with SAI sessionon Sports Authority of India’s(SAI) Facebook page.

“Winning at all cost is notnecessary as a society. Itshould be more about goodcharacter than good features.If you are in a position ofpower it should be about jus-tice to everybody and as acelebrity to be about being agood role model,” Gopichandsaid.

“In money vs relation-ships, we should be able to

choose good relationships andthat is what matters,” he said.

Gopichand reflected onhis own life as a player andthen as a coach, saying weshould aim at realising our fullpotential.

“Coaches should givetheir 100% and not only think

of success in terms of winninga competition but as some-thing their ward sets out to doand then achieve. Each indi-vidual is talented and haspotential but only one athleteat a time can represent thecountry at a particularOlympics,” he said.

He gave examples ofAbhinav Bindra, Sania Nehwaland PV Sindhu and said thereason they were able to winmedals at the Olympics wasbecause they gave their all.

“As a society, we need tostop being goal-oriented andrather become process-ori-ented because that is what willhelp all of us grow.”

He also took the opportu-nity to thank his parents andcoaches for helping him reachwhere he is today and special-ly, legendary PrakashPadukone for being an inspi-ration to many.

������ �7433+-

Former Chennai Super Kingsteammates Suresh Raina and

Ravichandran Ashwin spoke atlength about what sets ChennaiSuper Kings apart from otherfranchises in the Indian PremierLeague. With no cricket beingplayed due to coronavirus pan-demic, former and current play-ers are engaging with fans onsocial media to keep themselvesentertained.

Raina joined Ashwin for aLive video chat session on pop-ular social media platformInstagram and the duo spokeabout various things duringtheir time together at CSK.

The Chennai-based fran-chise is one of the most success-ful teams in the history of thecash-rich league. Apart from

winning the title three times,they have also entered the play-offs in every edition of the tour-nament thay they have partici-pated in.

Ashwin feels the presence ofskipper Mahendra Singh Dhonitakes a lot of pressure away fromthe other players while Rainaclaimed the the franchise treatsevery player like family and that

has helped them play consisten-cy over the years.

“At CSK most of the pres-sure is taken way by the presenceof Mahi bhai and because of thevictories that we had... the one-ness of the team,” Ashwin said.

“The franchise also looksafter each and every aspect of theplayer. They also look after theirfamilies... that is what I felt when

we came back after two yearsand won the title. Our familieswere there, kids were playing.You know how things are... weplay a lot of matches and travela lot and the presence of kidshelp us remain calm,” Rainachipped in.

Over the years, CSK havedrawn flak from pundits andsocial media for focussing toomuch on older players in theauction but Ashwin believesexperience is what wins youmatches in the shortest format.

“Initially people talkedabout how T20 is a young man’ssport. But over the years I havefelt it can be dealt only by expe-rienced people. People whohave the experience of playingfor years are the one’s who havebeen delivering for years,”Ashwin said.

����� 693�93

The Indian women team’stour of England, starting

June 25, has been postponedtemporarily as ECB on Fridaysuspended all forms of profes-sional cricket in the countryuntil atleast July 1 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Indian women were sup-posed to play four ODIs and twoT20Is during their short two-week trip that would have endedon July 9.

India were supposed to playT20Is at Taunton and Bristolapart from four ODIs inWorcester, Chelmsford,Canterbury and Hove.

International cricket, featur-

ing England men’s and women’steams, will look to be scheduledfrom July until the end ofSeptember, with the West IndiesTest Series and the wholewomen’s series against India(Vitality IT20s and RoyalLondon ODIs) both movingfrom their original slots.

����� ������������ �����)=D����4��� �6:�����������/����"�"���� � � $%�� India skipperVirat Kohli and former SouthAfrica batsman AB de Villierswill auction their cricketinggears, including the bats withwhich they scored hundredsfor Royal ChallengersBangalore during an IPLmatch in 2016, to raise fundsfor the fight against Covid-19pandemic.

The items to be auc-tioned also include theirrespective gloves and shirtsfrom that particular gamewhere both of them hadscored centuries to powerRCB to a challenging 248 forthree against Gujarat Lions.

RCB had won the matchby 144 runs.

“We had a few niceknocks together. There is aparticular one in 2016 IPLagainst Gujarat Lions. I got129 and you also got 100right at the end, that doesn’thappen always when twobatters get 100s. It is a specialmemory for me,” De Villierssaid during an InstagramLive chat.

“I was thinking how wecan make a difference, that’swhy I told you to get hold ofthat bat from that game andI still got that shirt from thatgame, which I got you signed,

I also signed my shirt. So Igot my shirt and my bat, Igonna get hold of your bat,my bat, your gloves, mygloves. That’s quite a bigpackage.

“The plan is to get it onan online auction platform(bidorbuy.Co.Za). It could bea nice collector's item. Weboth can share a picture ofthat game. People can goand bid and all the proceedscan go for the Covid-19 causeboth in India and SouthAfrica, particularly, for thecause of getting meals onpeople’s table. We can makeit 50-50 and support thecause in memory of thatday.”

RCB skipper Kohli, whohad scored 109 in that match,said he would give away any-thing for the cause.

“It sounds amazing. Thefact that you want to share apart of it with India whereyou have a massive fan, Ithink it is quite special, it isan amazing gesture fromyou,” he said.

“I don’t think I will beable to score that many runsin a single season. I have keptmost of the things from thatseason. For this cause I willgive anything away.” PTI

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