12
Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy cancelled his scheduled visit to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah at the last minute. The CBI has taken over cases registered by Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau related to Central government departments during the tenure of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who had withdrawn general per- mission to the agency to oper- ate in the state without his nod, officials said Tuesday. After coming to power, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on June 6, 2019 had reversed the November 8, 2018 order of the previous TDP government which had restricted the oper- ations of the agency in the state. The state has now referred six cases regis- tered by its ACB against officials of central government during the period November 8, 2018 to June 6, 2019, they said. Two cases of alleged demand of bribe by officials of Income Tax department, another two pertaining to misappropriation of funds by officials of the Syndicate Bank, and one each related to demand of bribe by officials of CGST department and Naval Dock Yard, they said. The agency has already reg- istered at least one FIR in the matter of bribery in CGST department, they said. The CBI functions under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. Under Section 6 of the Act, a state government "routinely" grants consent to the CBI for exercising its authority in the state and the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government under Naidu, too, had issued relevant orders periodically. Ever since he had snapped ties with the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in March, 2018, Naidu had alleged that the Centre misused agencies like the CBI to target political opponents resulting in withdrawal of gen- eral consent to the agency.A political decision, the withdraw- al of ‘general consent’ meant the CBI had to approach the AP Government and seek its per- mission before entering the State for investigation on a case-by- case basis. Naidu’s decision came after he and the other Opposition parties alleged that the BJP-led NDA government was misusing Central agencies to target leaders in the Opposition and their governments. The 12th meeting of the Krishna River Management Board (KRBM) will be held on June 4, in the backdrop of heightened tensions between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states over the latter’s decision to draw draw an additional 3 tmc ft of water from Srisailam. The KRBM has sent the agenda of the meeting to the governments of both the states, listing five key points — the projects taken up by both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and objections, DPRs and next year’s water distribution and setting up of telemetric machines for water usage. The meeting would also dis- cuss power usage under Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar funds allocation and sugges- tions offered by both the states. Earlier, a letter from the KRMB confirmed the Summary Record of Discussions of the 11th meeting of the Board held on January 29, 2020. The letter said that there were no observations received from either government. On the agenda are discus- sions on technical issues like submission of DPRs of Water Resources Projects in Krishna basin by both the governments for appraisal. The KRMB reminded that the first Apex Council meeting was held on September 21, 2016 on the directions of the Supreme Court on the basis of a writ petition with respect to con- struction of two new projects namely, Palamuru- Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS) and Dindi LIS contem- plated by Telangana. After detailed discussions, it was decided that due to divergent positions taken by both the States on this issue, Apex Council meeting may be con- vened as and when required to resolve the issue. Andhra Pradesh reported 115 Covid-19 cases and no death due to the virus on Tuesday. The latest govern- ment health bulletin said no fresh deaths due to the virus were reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday while 40 patients were dis- charged from hospitals upon recovery. The recovery rate is now 63.49 per cent and mortality rate 1.69 per cent in AP, as per the data released by the government. The overall Covid-19 toll in the state so far is 64. With the 115 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the total number of cases in the State rose to 3,791, including 479 patients from other states and 112 foreign returnees. A total of 12,613 samples were tested in the past 24 hours in Andhra Pradesh. Officials of the Medical and Health Department said that a total of 41 patients have recovered from the virus and dis- charged from the various hos- pitals in the state in the past 24 hours. The total number of those recovered from the virus in the State now stands at 2,414, including 197 people from oth- ers states and one foreign returnee. The number of active Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh is now at 1,313 (920 from Andhra Pradesh, 282 and 111 from other states and for- eign returnees respectively). The Andhra Pradesh govern- ment has given the nod to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to con- duct a trial run of ''darshan'' at the Tirumala temple with TTD employees and local devotees. On a request by the TTD, which manages the affairs of the world’s richest Hindu tem- ple, the state government accorded the permission with the concurrence of the depart- ment of health and family welfare. In a memo issued by JSV Prasad, Special Chief Secretary to the state government, the TTD will hold a “trial run for TTD employees and local public of Tirumala, with lim- ited number of people duly ensuring physical distance of 6 feet at all times and all points”. The order was issued on a request made by the Executive Officer of TTD through a let- ter on May 12. The nod came a day after the Centre began “Unlock Phase-I”. Under the guide- lines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is proposed to allow places of worship to reopen from June 8. The Andhra Pradesh gov- ernment, however, has not yet issued any guidelines to implement Unlock Phase-I. It is still continuing the restric- tions on the inter-state move- ment of people. The nod to TTD, however, indicates that the state govern- ment may allow reopening of places of worship from June 8. The annual public examina- tions for Class X students in Andhra Pradesh will be held from July 10. The examinations, original- ly scheduled to be held in the first week of March, were post- poned due to elections to local bodies and subsequently because of the Covid-19 lock- down. State Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh said on Tuesday that the public exam- inations would now be held from July 10 with all precau- tions for prevention of the Coronavirus spread. "We have identified 4,154 examination centres across the state.Only 10-12 students will be accommodated in each examination room at these centres. We are also readying about eight lakh face masks for the students," the minister said at an official review meeting. SSC examination, with all precautions, from July 10 The State environment author- ity did not send a request for environmental clearance from LG Polymers to Centre, a panel appointed by the National Green Tribunal has said. The panel said that LG Polymers Private Limited applied for environment clear- ance in 2018 to the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) as it falls under Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. It was found that the unit comes under Category A pro- ject and should be considered at the Central level. However, the Ministry of Environment is yet to receive transfer proposal from the AP government’s SEIAA. This was part of observation by the five-member team appointed by the National Green Tribunal. The committee formed by India’s top environmental court has blamed “gross human fail- ure” and lack of basic safety norms for a gas leak in a South Korean-owned chemical factory in Visakhapatnam that killed 12 people and hospi- talised hundreds. Corona puts private hospitals in AP on ventilator support Coronavirus pandemic has deteriorated the financial health of private hospitals that were already struggling to keep themselves afloat due to low financial returns and a host of other reasons. In Andhra Pradesh, more than 500 hospitals, mostly small and medium, closed down in 2019 owing to finan- cial challenges and the rules and regulations clamped by the State Government. Many more may close down in the coming days if they are not bailed out by the government. “With no patients visiting due to the pandemic, revenue generation has is more or less zero and the hospital manage- ments, mostly small and medi- um, are unable to even pay employees their salary or release funds for maintenance,” said Andhra Pradesh State Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association president, Dr. V.S Prasad. India’s government said on Tuesday it has approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s antivi- ral drug remdesivir for emergency use for five doses in treating COVID-19 patients. Remdesivir, which is administered intravenously in hospital, is the first drug to show improvement in COVID-19 patients in for- mal clinical trials and is at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. The drug was granted emergency use authoriza- tion by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month and has received approval by Japanese health regulators. The drug is being administered in some coun- tries under compassionate use rules. The Andhra Pradesh govern- ment filed a special leave peti- tion (SLP) in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking a stay on the state High Court orders reinstating Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as the State Election Commissioner (SEC). The petition was supposed to come up for hearing before the SC on Tuesday, but the SC did not admit the SLP, since it has some mistakes and included it in the defect cases list. The reason, the SLP mentions the AP govern- ment both as a petitioner and respondent. 2, 7,082 CORONA OUTBREAK IN INDIA

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Page 1: *˛+, CORONA 2, 7,082...2020/06/03  · Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old

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Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy cancelledhis scheduled visit to NewDelhi on Tuesday to meetUnion ministers, includingHome Minister Amit Shah atthe last minute.

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The CBI has takenover cases registeredby Andhra PradeshAnti-CorruptionBureau related toCentral governmentdepartments duringthe tenure of formerChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whohad withdrawn general per-mission to the agency to oper-ate in the state without his nod,officials said Tuesday.

After coming to power, ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyon June 6, 2019 had reversed theNovember 8, 2018 order of theprevious TDP governmentwhich had restricted the oper-ations of the agency in thestate.

The state has nowreferred six cases regis-

tered by its ACB against officialsof central government duringthe period November 8, 2018 toJune 6, 2019, they said.

Two cases of al legeddemand of bribe by officials ofIncome Tax department,another two pertaining tomisappropriation of funds byofficials of the SyndicateBank, and one each related todemand of bribe by officials of

CGST department and NavalDock Yard, they said.

The agency has already reg-istered at least one FIR in thematter of bribery in CGSTdepartment, they said.

The CBI functions under theDelhi Special PoliceEstablishment Act.

Under Section 6 of the Act, astate government "routinely"grants consent to the CBI forexercising its authority in thestate and the erstwhile Andhra

Pradesh government underNaidu, too, had issued relevantorders periodically.

Ever since he had snapped tieswith the Narendra Modi-ledNDA government in March,2018, Naidu had alleged that theCentre misused agencies like theCBI to target political opponentsresulting in withdrawal of gen-eral consent to the agency.Apolitical decision, the withdraw-al of ‘general consent’ meant theCBI had to approach the APGovernment and seek its per-mission before entering the Statefor investigation on a case-by-case basis. Naidu’s decision cameafter he and the otherOpposition parties alleged thatthe BJP-led NDA governmentwas misusing Central agencies totarget leaders in the Oppositionand their governments.

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The 12th meeting of theKrishna River ManagementBoard (KRBM) will be held onJune 4, in the backdrop ofheightened tensions betweenTelangana and Andhra Pradeshstates over the latter’s decisionto draw draw an additional 3tmc ft of water from Srisailam.

The KRBM has sent theagenda of the meeting to thegovernments of both the states,listing five key points — theprojects taken up by bothTelangana and Andhra Pradeshand objections, DPRs and next

year’s water distribution andsetting up of telemetricmachines for water usage.

The meeting would also dis-cuss power usage underSrisailam and Nagarjunasagar

funds allocation and sugges-tions offered by both the states.

Earlier, a letter from theKRMB confirmed the SummaryRecord of Discussions of the11th meeting of the Board heldon January 29, 2020.

The letter said that therewere no observations receivedfrom either government.

On the agenda are discus-sions on technical issues likesubmission of DPRs of WaterResources Projects in Krishnabasin by both the governmentsfor appraisal.

The KRMB reminded thatthe first Apex Council meeting

was held on September 21,2016 on the directions of theSupreme

Court on the basis of a writpetition with respect to con-struction of two new projectsnamely, Palamuru- RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme(LIS) and Dindi LIS contem-plated by Telangana. Afterdetailed discussions, it wasdecided that due to divergentpositions taken by both theStates on this issue, ApexCouncil meeting may be con-vened as and when required toresolve the issue.

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Andhra Pradesh reported 115Covid-19 cases and no deathdue to the virus on Tuesday.

The latest govern-ment health bulletinsaid no fresh deathsdue to the viruswere reported inthe last 24 hoursending 9 am onTuesday while 40patients were dis-charged from hospitalsupon recovery. The recoveryrate is now 63.49 per cent andmortality rate 1.69 per cent inAP, as per the data released bythe government.

The overall Covid-19 toll inthe state so far is 64.

With the 115 fresh Covid-19cases in the past 24 hours, thetotal number of cases in theState rose to 3,791, including479 patients from other statesand 112 foreign returnees.

A total of 12,613 sampleswere tested in the past 24 hours

in Andhra Pradesh. Officials of the

Medical and HealthDepartment said

that a total of 41patients have recovered

from the virus and dis-charged from the various hos-pitals in the state in the past 24 hours.

The total number of thoserecovered from the virus in theState now stands at 2,414,including 197 people from oth-ers states and one foreignreturnee. The number of activeCovid-19 cases in AndhraPradesh is now at 1,313 (920from Andhra Pradesh, 282 and111 from other states and for-eign returnees respectively).

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

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment has given the nod toTirumala TirupatiDevasthanam (TTD) to con-duct a trial run of ''darshan'' atthe Tirumala temple withTTD employees and localdevotees.

On a request by the TTD,which manages the affairs ofthe world’s richest Hindu tem-ple, the state governmentaccorded the permission withthe concurrence of the depart-ment of health and familywelfare.

In a memo issued by JSVPrasad, Special Chief Secretaryto the state government, theTTD will hold a “trial run forTTD employees and localpublic of Tirumala, with lim-ited number of people dulyensuring physical distance of6 feet at all times and allpoints”.

The order was issued on arequest made by the ExecutiveOfficer of TTD through a let-ter on May 12.

The nod came a day afterthe Centre began “UnlockPhase-I”. Under the guide-lines issued by the Ministry ofHome Affairs, it is proposed toallow places of worship toreopen from June 8.

The Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment, however, has notyet issued any guidelines toimplement Unlock Phase-I.It is still continuing the restric-tions on the inter-state move-ment of people.

The nod to TTD, however,indicates that the state govern-ment may allow reopening ofplaces of worship from June 8.

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The annual public examina-tions for Class X students inAndhra Pradesh will be heldfrom July 10.

The examinations, original-ly scheduled to be held in thefirst week of March, were post-poned due to elections to localbodies and subsequentlybecause of the Covid-19 lock-down.

State Education MinisterAudimulapu Suresh said onTuesday that the public exam-

inations would now be heldfrom July 10 with all precau-tions for prevention of theCoronavirus spread.

"We have identified 4,154examination centres across thestate.Only 10-12 students willbe accommodated in eachexamination room at thesecentres. We are also readyingabout eight lakh face masks forthe students," the minister saidat an official review meeting.

SSC examination, with allprecautions, from July 10

����� ����-��������

The State environment author-ity did not send a request forenvironmental clearance fromLG Polymers to Centre, a panelappointed by the NationalGreen Tribunal has said.

The panel said that LGPolymers Private Limitedapplied for environment clear-ance in 2018 to the StateEnvironmental ImpactAssessment Authority (SEIAA)as it falls under EnvironmentalImpact AssessmentNotification, 2006.

It was found that the unitcomes under Category A pro-ject and should be considered

at the Central level. However, the Ministry of

Environment is yet to receive

transfer proposal from the APgovernment’s SEIAA.

This was part of observationby the five-member teamappointed by the NationalGreen Tribunal.

The committee formed byIndia’s top environmental courthas blamed “gross human fail-ure” and lack of basic safetynorms for a gas leak in aSouth Korean-owned chemicalfactory in Visakhapatnam thatkilled 12 people and hospi-talised hundreds.

Corona puts private hospitalsin AP on ventilator support ������ ��&�������������������'�%� �������������"������%�&�'�(�� ����-��������

Coronavirus pandemic hasdeteriorated the financialhealth of private hospitals thatwere already struggling tokeep themselves afloat due tolow financial returns and ahost of other reasons.

In Andhra Pradesh, morethan 500 hospitals, mostlysmall and medium, closeddown in 2019 owing to finan-cial challenges and the rulesand regulations clamped by theState Government. Many moremay close down in the comingdays if they are not bailed outby the government.

“With no patients visiting

due to the pandemic, revenuegeneration has is more or lesszero and the hospital manage-ments, mostly small and medi-um, are unable to even payemployees their salary or

release funds for maintenance,”said Andhra Pradesh StatePrivate Hospitals and NursingHomes Association president,Dr. V.S Prasad.

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India’s government said onTuesday it has approvedGilead Sciences Inc’s antivi-ral drug remdesivir foremergency use for five dosesin treating COVID-19patients.

Remdesivir, which isadministered intravenouslyin hospital, is the first drugto show improvement inCOVID-19 patients in for-mal clinical trials and is atthe forefront of the battleagainst COVID-19, whichhas no approved treatmentor vaccine.

The drug was grantedemergency use authoriza-tion by the U.S. Food andDrug Administration lastmonth and has receivedapproval by Japanese healthregulators. The drug is beingadministered in some coun-tries under compassionateuse rules.

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The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment filed a special leave peti-tion (SLP) in the SupremeCourt on Monday seeking astay on the state High Courtorders reinstatingNimmagadda RameshKumar as the State ElectionCommissioner (SEC).

The petition was supposedto come up for hearing beforethe SC on Tuesday, but the SCdid not admit the SLP, sinceit has some mistakes andincluded it in the defect caseslist. The reason, the SLPmentions the AP govern-ment both as a petitioner andrespondent.

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Page 2: *˛+, CORONA 2, 7,082...2020/06/03  · Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old 3-22, Chandra Theatre, Gosala, Penamaluru Mandal, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 521 151, Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

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With both the AP gov-ernment and theState Election

Commissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar refusing tobudge, the issue of theSEC’s tenure seems tohave become a matter ofprestige, with no easyand amicable solutionin sight.

Like all successfulpoliticians, Jagan finds itdifficult to bow down tothreats or unilateral decisions.

Considering the fact that heswept to power with a massivemandate, it is natural thatJagan would expect some sayin the decision makingprocess even from constitu-tional bodies.

Jagan finds himself in asimilar position that NT RamaRao faced in the mid-1980s,after the High Court of thenundivided state took up primafacie seven petitions filedagainst him alleging corruptpractices.

NTR openly stated that hewould be abide by the ‘people'scourt’. His words created a sen-sation and came handy for theCongress, till then reeling

from two successiveelection losses at thehands of the TDP. NTR’sstatement gave it a polit-ical lifeline. Congress

faced the TDPwith renewed vigour in

the municipal polls in 1987and later stormed into powerin 1989 defeating that strong-man who had looked invinci-ble before his ‘people’s court’comment.

Now Jagan has decided toknock the door of the apexcourt against the AP HighCourt's order setting aside theOrdinance promulgated byhis government to reduce thetenure of SEC, thereby remov-ing Ramesh Kumar from thepost.

It’s common knowledge thatJagan wanted to show thedoor to Ramesh Kumar forpostponing elections to thelocal bodies, citing outbreak ofdreaded Covid-19 in March2020.

Going by Jagan’s reaction, it

can be assumed that hebelieves that a ruler chosen bythe people shouldn’t be held toransom by other organs ofdemocracy despite their statu-tory status.

The Government cited thenearly Rs 4,000 crore from14th Finance Commission if itcomplied and held elections byMarch-end as the reason forinsisting on the polls. RameshKumar refused to play ball, andhis failure to consult the gov-ernment before postponing theelections made matters worse.

Despite his decision beingunilateral, the SEC was hailed

for “saving many lives” as alarge number of people mayhave been infected with votersthronging the polling booths.

However, it was the role ofthe opposition parties in theentire episode that exacerbat-ed the issue.

The ruling party alleges thatthe TDP not only backed theSEC openly, but also providedfinancial assistance to the peti-tioners who filed cases againstthe government in support ofRamesh Kumar.

Senior YSRCP leaders won-dered why the TDP was inter-ested in Ramesh Kumar’s legal

battles and asked if the issueconcerned the SEC or the TDP.

Crores of rupees werepumped in to fund petitionerswho could otherwise find itimpossible to meet the hugelegal expenses.

Incidentally, the court tak-ing up cases related to heads ofelection poll panels are notnew.

TN Seshan, the irrepressibleChief Election Commissioner

of India, announced thereworked election scheduleafter the assassination of for-mer prime minister RajivGandhi in 1991. Seshan’s deci-sion was not challenged offi-cially despite some criticism onhis unilateral approach to dis-charging duties. However, onan earlier occasion, a courtfound fault with Seshan for hisdecisions, which was consid-ered to be a humiliatingmoment for a stubborn char-acter like him. When everyonewas looking for his response tothe court order, he simplysaid that he wouldn't followVirginia Wolf and fight back!(Well known American writerVirginia Wolf committed sui-cide, unable to digest a courtverdict against her).

While Seshan opted not torespond to the court order,Ramesh Kumar challengedthe Ordinance removing himin court and forced the stategovernment to knock the doorof appellate court /SC seeking

reversal of the HC's order. The issue got politicised

following the unusual remarksmade by none other thanJagan, accused of the SEC ofleaning towards TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu, due tothe caste factor.

With the State Governmentreluctant to accept the HCorder reinstating RameshKumar, dozens of supportersof the YSRCP, including someexperienced journalists, madehighly objectionable remarkson social media against it.Naturally, the court issuednotices for contempt, and theyhave been ordered to submitexplanation for their actions.

Interestingly the commentsmade by Law Minister RaviSankar Prasad, in another con-text, came handy for APGovernment.

Prasad said that those wholost elections are now trying toget control over politics byapproaching courts.

Though Prasad was refer-

ring to the issue of migrantlabourers, the AP Governmentwasted no time in trying todraw parallels to the issue athand. Interestingly, BJP leaderand former minister KamineniSrinivas also approached courtagainst the removal of theSEC, that too with prior per-mission of BJP national pres-ident JP Nadda. Ironically,Governor BiswabhushanHarichandan, a former BJPleader, had signed theOrdinance cutting the SEC’stenure short, without seekingexpert opinion.

Naturally, a BJP leader wish-ing to be part of a case that wasgiven the nod by a formerleader of the same party hascreated a buzz. In sharp con-trast, BJP MP GVL NarasimhaRao has criticised the style offunctioning of the SEC.

Ultimately, the only amica-ble solution to the entireepisode seems to be PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’sintervention.

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Seafood lovers in the State willget a relief as the new fishingseason resumed from June 2(midnight) in the State and thesea food lovers will get varietyof fish and prawns from June15 onwards.

The fisherfolk in Vizag,Kakinada, Nellore and a fewother areas in the State offeredspecial prayers to Gangammato resume the new fishingseason expecting a good catchof fish and prawns.

The Union government hasreduced the period of annualdeep sea fishing in East Coastand resume fishing from June2 instead of June 15 followingthe request from Tamil Naduand others States and keepingin view the loss of livelihoodduring the lockdown for thepast two months.

However, only 30 per cent ofover 2,000 mechanised fishingboats in the State will resumethe fishing operations fromJune 2 midnight due to short-

age of ice and workers, saidPresident of Dolphin BoatOperators’ Welfare AssociationCh Satyanarayana Murthy.

Officials of fisheries depart-ment said that they asked thefishermen to ensure socialdistancing for sale of catchbrought to the shore.

“Our long wait (over twomonths) to relish the SilverPromfret (Chanduva inTelugu), Seer Fish (Konam inTelugu) and a variety of

prawns will be ending soon asthe new fishing season is all setto resumed, said D Prasad, asea food lover.

President of AndhraPradesh Mechanised BoatOwners’ Welfare AssociationPC Appa Rao said that fishingactivities in the State are brac-ing up for a setback as amajority of the workersemployed at the fishing boatsand ice plants have gone backto their home towns during

the lockdown and they yet toreturn. “We are expecting only20 to 30 per cent of boats willgo for first voyage and we arealso not expecting good catch,”he added.

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The annual Brahmotsavams ofSri Prasanna VenkateswaraSwamy temple commencedwith Dhwajarohanam onTuesday.

The sacred Garuda flag washoisted on theDwajasthambham amidstchanting of Vedic hymns andMangala Vaidyams and laterAsthanam was performed.

Speaking on the occasion, theTTD Executive Officer AnilKumar Singhal said the annualBrahmotsavams commencedas per Vaikhanasa Agama tra-ditions but all vahana sevasremain cancelled this year inview of Coronavirus restric-tions. However, there would beTiruchi Vahana Seva daily in themorning and in the eveningwithin the temple corridors.

Disclosing about theBrahmotsavams, the TTD EOsaid Srivari ArjitaKalyanotsavam will be held onJune 5 evening and on June 10

Chakra Snanam will be per-formed within temple premis-es in Gangalam.

TTD deputy executive officerof local temples Jhansi Rani,

temple chief priest Surya KumarAcharyulu, Kankana Bhattar,Tippayya Acharyulu and super-intendent Gopalakrishna Reddywere present.

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The TTD is organising a three-day annual festival of‘Jyeshtabhishekam’ from June4 to 6 at Srivari temple as apart of Agama traditions in‘Jyesta Masa’ and ‘JyestaNakshatram’.

In view of Coronavirusguidelines, the festival will beheld in ‘Ekantham’ at theKalyan Mandapam inside theSampangi Prakaram of Srivaritemple.

As per the Agama pundits,the ‘Abhidheyaka Abhisekam’is performed to utsava idolsafter removing the gold/sil-ver/diamond armours in orderto retain the divinity of theidols.

On the first day, the goldencover is removed for perform-ing Snapana Tirumanjanamand later Sri MalayappaSwamy is adorned with RatnaKavacham.

Priests say that pearl coveris adorned to utsava idols onthe second day and on the

third day i.e; on final day, afterSnapana Tirumanjanam, idolsare dressed in the gold cover,which is not removed till theannual Jyestabhishekam nextyear.

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The Indian Railways, whichstarted the manufacturing ofpersonal protection equipments(PPE) at its various productionunits, has developed a processof stitching with hot air seamsealing tape for higher reliabil-ity.

According to railway min-istry officials, the new tech-nique has been developed bythe Central Railway's Parelworkshop, which developed aprocess of PPE coverall stitch-ing with hot air seam sealing

tape."This process has enabled

higher rate of production as thetape application is fully auto-mated. And it has resulted inbetter seam sealing due to

fusion of tape with fabric,which means higher reliabilityin case of long time use bymedicos," an official said.

The official said that samplecoverall was tested at Ordnance

Factory in Muradnagar andpassed for both fabric and seam.

The official also said thatthese PPE garments were to bestitched by the Jagadhari work-shop of Northern Railway. Thework of stitching of PPE wasalso undertaken at the Parelworkshop as per NorthernRailway procedure in whichseam sealing was being done bymanual application of self tape.

"However, during manufac-turing, it was noticed that themanual sealing of seam islabour-intensive and time-con-suming. "Thus, the aspect

regarding seam sealing wasstudied in detail by Parel work-shop and after examining var-ious options, sealing of seamsby hot air tape was found effec-tive and reliable as compared toself adhesive tape. And becauseof automated process, adher-ence of hot air seam sealing tapeto fabric was much better," headded.

The railways also started tomanufacture hand sanitisers,face masks, medical beds, stoolsat the production units andworkshops during the nation-wide lockdown.

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The APSRTC, which com-menced plying of AC buses afterthe lockdow relaxation, is nowplanning to increase the ser-vices, according to sources.Indira AC bus services havealready started from Vijayawadato Visakhapatnam. Due todemand, the APSRTC is con-templating to run a few moreAC buses to Tirupati, Kadapaand Kurnool areas.

Two to three days ago, 200buses plied to different parts ofthe State from the Krishnaregion, increasing the numberto 308. Buses running betweenVisakhapatnam andRajahmundry routes have ahuge demand,accordingto offi-cials.

B u s e sare beingp l i e dbetween 6am and 7 pmafter RTC

bus services are allowed. It islearnt that passengers are not ina mood to board Palle Velugubuses, hence, RTC was incur-ring losses on those buses.However, RTC officials report-edlky kept some Palle Velugubuses ready to ply during emer-gency, but were cancelled due to

less occupancy. RTC KrishnaRegion RM

N a g e n d r aPrasad saidthat frequencyof buses wouldbe increasedon seeingdemand.

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Police arrested 26 employees,including 23 outsourcingstaff, in the scam of Srisailamtemple and recovered Rs 41lakh and a car from theaccused. Based on a com-plaint lodged by templeExecutive Officer KS RamaRao, police formed specialteams and arrested the per-sons involved in the scam.According to police, the fraudwas committed in sale of‘Abhishekam’ and ‘SeeghraDarshan’ tickets, accommo-dation counters and inmaintenance of thepetrol bunk and thetoll gate.

It may be recalledthe scam has beenunearthed atMallikarjuna Swamytemple at Srisailam inKurnool district, withauthorities revealing thatlakhs of rupees has beenswindled from visitors’ dona-tions. Temple ExecutiveOfficer KS Rama Rao earliertold the media that therehave been irregularities inthe amounts collected duringsale of tickets and other ser-vices and inquiry was

ordered.T h e

Srisailam tem-ple is one of the

most popular templesin the State. The temple hasbeen closed to visitors formore than two months nowdue to the Covid-19 lock-down. Earlier, the EO saidthat the software had beentampered with to hide a fewdetails. Calling it a ‘technical’

crime, he said that the sus-pects have been denying theirinvolvement.

“Some people have beenidentified and their names aregiven to the police for furtherinvestigation. It is a criminalcase,” the EO said. TheSrisailam One Town Policeregistered a case of fraud andcyber crime against around 20outsourced staff for their sus-pected involvement

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A 16-year-old boy, addicted toalcohol, killed his grandmoth-er after she refused to give himher pension money atMoinabad.

The deceased was identifiedas 65-year-old KavaliVenkatamma, residing atSriram Nagar of Moinabadwith her daughter-in -law andgrandchildren.

According to police, after thedeath of her son in an accident,her daughter-in-law and chil-dren were living with her since10 years. Woman’s secondgrandson is a school dropoutand is addicted to bad vices,including consuming alcohol.He was aware that she wasdrawing Aasara pension dis-tributed by the government.

On Sunday night, he camehome and demanded moneyfrom her. When Venkatammarefused, he killed by stranglingher with a belt and fled thespot. On Monday, neighboursinformed the police, whorushed to the spot and beganinvestigation.

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Employees of State HousingCorporation Limited havedonated their two day pay forthe Chief Minister ReliefFund (CMRF) for containingCovid-19.

The cheque for Rs 74, 40,112 was handed over to ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy at his camp officehere on Tuesday by Ministerfor Housing Ch SriRangnatha Raju.

Principal Secretary(Housing) Ajay Jain, HousingCorporation MD NavinKumar, Employees UnionJAC Chairman RamachandraReddy, mBhaskar Rao SriRamulu, Mallikarjun Raoand Venkat Reddy were pre-sent on the occasion.

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Tourism Minister MuttamsettiSrinivasa Rao on Tuesday dis-closed an action plan for thedevelopment of tourism indus-try in the State. As there will belockdown relaxations fortourists, he said that hotels inthe State will be open fromJune 8 as per the Central gov-ernment guidelines. He saidthat he would go to otherStates and promote APtourism.

He further stated that theState will announce its newtourism policy post Covid-19lockdown. Soon the govern-ment is planning to arrange aconference to attract invest-ments in tourism industry

through public-private part-nership (PPP) mode. It alsoplans to develop tourism initia-tives at a faster pace.

Visakhapatnam district has125-km long coastline with 19

prominent areas of beachtourism, eco-tourism, theancient Buddhist stupas andother holy places. Last year,drive-in restaurants were start-ed at Araku and Erramatti

Dibbalu. The ministerinformed that restaurants andinfrastructure were developedat Yarada and ErramattiDibbalu with Rs 2 crore.Another Rs 5 crore is beingspent to build cottages atLambasingi. With the Centralgovernment fund of Rs 7.32

crore, Blue-flag certificationworks are underway atRushikonda, he added.

As many as 136 rooms wererefurbished with improvedfacilities in Haritha Hotels atAraku, Srisailam, Gandikota,Nellore, Cuddapah andKurnool.

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MLA TJR Sudhakar Babulashed out at TDP leader VarlaRamaiah over the letters writ-ten by him to the Centre andchallenged him to come for anopen discussion on the imple-mentation of welfare schemesfor Dalits in the TDP andYSRCP governments.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Tuesday,Sudhakar Babu said that theletters written by VarlaRamaiah over Dalit issues haveno value as they are comingfrom the person, who neverstood up for the welfare ofDalits. Ramaiah indeed couldhave had written these lettersto Naidu during the TDPtenure over the atrocities doneby TDP members.

He further stated that VarlaRamaiah dances to the tunes ofNaidu, who insulted the Dalitcommunity many times, andalso made derogatory remarkslike ‘Who would wish to beborn in the SC community?

Speaking over the remarksmade by Varla Ramaiah, MLASudhakar Babu said that theDalit community has bannedRamaiah for supporting Naidu,who humiliated Dalits and

betrayed them with falsepromises. “It is shameful to seeRamaiah working for Naidudespite the latter insultingDalits many a time. Even dur-ing the Rajya Sabha nomina-tions, Naidu used Ramaiah asa scapegoat and nominatedhim despite knowing that thereis no chance for victory. Heshould have nominated Lokeshrather than degrading Dalits.He remained silent over thecheap remarks by AdinarayanaReddy addressing the Dalitcommunity at least he shouldhave demanded Naidu to takeaction against AdinarayanaReddy. But today, he is writingletters accusing the State gov-ernment of false claims.”

He further said that ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy is committed to the wel-fare of Dalits, and thus proved

himself by giving key posts toDalit MLAs. In a span of oneyear, Rs 6,332.44 crore hasbeen spent for Dalits throughvarious welfare schemes where61,26,203 got benefitted.Almost 18 per cent of the totalexpenditure was spent aloneon the Dalit community, hereminded.

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The district administrationhas arranged four swab mobiletesting buses at theGannavaram airport and at therailway station to collect thesamples of flight and train pas-sengers.

Two buses each werearranged at the airport andrailway station, while severalhundred samples were collect-ed on the first day on Tuesday.Medical staff collected swabsamples from the passengersof Konark Express at the rail-way station. Nearly, 300 sam-ples can be collected from twomobile swab testing centres inan hour.

Collector Md Imtiaz inaugu-rated the two centres at the air-port and two centres at the rail-way station. Earlier, each pas-

senger used to wait for fourhours for collection of samplesat the airport or the railway sta-tion. But now, with the inau-guration of mobile swab sam-ple collecting centres, passen-gers can leave the railway sta-tion terminal within 10 min-utes after giving the sample.

Speaking on the occasion,the Collector said passengerscan avail the services of mobileswab collecting centres for 30days. Officials will get resultsof the swab test in a day. If thepassengers arrived at the rail-way station or airport testedpositive for Covid-19, they willbe sent to seven days institu-tional quarantine and 14 dayshome quarantine. The staffcollect the details of theAadhar card and will contactlater if their samples weretested positive.

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Five more post-graduatemedicos of Osmania MedicalCollege (OMC) in Hyderabadon Tuesday tested positive forCovid-19, taking the totalnumber of affected medicos to12. The fresh cases werereported after all 296 medicosstaying in OMC hostels werescreened for Covid-19.

Sources said that the results ofsamples of only 100 studentshave come while the test resultsof the remaining medicos wereexpected on Wednesday. TheOMC authorities have shutdown reading room as a precau-tionary measure and asked themedicos to use PersonalProtection Equipment (PPE)kits while examining the patients.

The Covid-19 cases havesent panic among students at atime when they were preparingfor PG examinations.Authorities have assured themthat special arrangements wouldbe made for the students testedpositive to write the exams.

Medicos suspect that Covid-

19 might have spread in thehostels as they had been inter-acting with each other whilepreparing for PG examinationsscheduled from June 28. TheTelangana Junior Doctors'Association (TJUDA) hasdemanded that the examina-tions be postponed.

There are 180 femalemedicos and 116 male medicosin the two hostels in OMCcampus. They provide ser-vices in 10 hospitals whichcome under OMC. Threestudents had tested positive onMonday. Personnel from theHealth Department andGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) swunginto action to take up disinfec-

tion of hostels.A woman PG medico was

infected five days ago whiledischarging duties atGovernment MaternityHospital in Petlaburj and othermedicos were suspected tohave picked up the virus fromher. Her roommate was amongthose tested positive. All the12 medicos have been admit-ted to King Koti and GandhiHospital for treatment.

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The house site pattas distrib-ution programme will goahead as per schedule on July8 coinciding with the birthanniversary of former ChiefMinister Dr YS RajasekharaReddy, disclosed ChiefMinister YS JaganmohaanReddy.

He instructed officials hereon Tuesday to clear all housingdues to the poor uncleared bythe previous government. Hetold officials to clear the duesof the previous government tothe tune of Rs 1,323 croretowards 3,38,144 houses. Thedecision was taken during areview meeting on housinghere on Tuesday.

The previous governmenthas asked the poor to go aheadwith the construction of hous-es and the amount will bereimbursed but had failed tofulfil its promise. The amountaggregating to Rs 1,323 corewas spent by the poor on theprevious government’s assur-ance and they did not get anyreimbursement from the pre-vious government, he pointedout.

The Chief Minister told offi-cials that the due amountshould be cleared and thehousing scheme should betaken on a large scale to ben-efit the poorer sections. Whilethe house site pattas will be dis-

tributed on July 8 as scheduled,in the first phase over 15 lakhhouses would be taken up forconstruction in Vizag, Kurnooland Nellore districts.

The Chief Minister askedthe officials to increase thenumber of houses and main-tain quality in construction. Healso spoke about the design ofhouses and reiterated that thestandards should be main-tained at any cost. The hous-es would have a living room,kitchen, bedroom, toilet and averanda. He insisted that thepoor should not have anyfinancial burden for gettingtheir house.

“Our mega housing pro-gramme should be transparentand of high quality and stan-dards. Other infrastructureshould also be taken intoaccount in the colonies thatwould emerge with the build-ing of houses,” he said.

On July 8, the house site dis-tribution will be taking placeand the registration papers, in

the name of woman of thehousehold, should be ready bythat date, he said. Minister forHousing Ch Sri RanganadhaRaju, Principal Secretary AjayJain and other officials werepresent at the meeting.

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As a part of ongoing annual floatfestival, Sri Padmavati AmmavariTeppotsavam, abhisekam wasperformed to Sri SundarajaSwamy inside the temple corri-dors in view of Covid-19 restric-tions. The TTD is also conduct-ing daily abhisekam to Ammavariutsava idols from June 3 to 5 as apart of Teppotsavam festival.Deputy executive officer JhansiRani, AEO Subramanyam andother officials participated.

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The death toll remained 64 inthe state with no new deathswere reported in the past 24hours in the state.

Kurnool district has reported25 Covid-19 deaths (highest inthe state) followed by Krishnadistrict with 18 and Guntur dis-trict with eight deaths.

Nellore and Anantapur dis-tricts have reported four Covid-

19 deaths each while EastGodavari and Chittoor districtsreported two deaths each.Visakhapatnam district report-ed one death.

Andhra Pradesh continues tolead the table among the statesin the conduct of Covid-19 testsper million. So far, a total of 3.95lakh tests were conducted in thestate at the rate of 7,410 per mil-lion population and a positivityrate of 0.96 per cent.

Meanwhile, the governmentstarted Covid-19 tests for itsSecretariat employees inAmaravati after two stafferswere found infected with the dis-ease on Monday.

On Tuesday, employees ofHome and other departments inthe Secretariat Block-2 weretested and the process is expect-ed to continue for three days,sources in the Medical andHealth Department said.

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Continued from Page 1

Official sources said therewas a sudden change in theschedule of Amit Shah, forc-ing Jagan to cancel his visit toDelhi. Jagan was scheduled tomeet Amit Shah and briefhim about the latest develop-ments in the state. The CMwanted to raise the issue of theimpact of lockdown on thestate finances and reiterate theAP Government's request forrelease of funds due to thestate with the UnionMinisters. He was also sched-uled to meet Union Jal ShaktiMinister Gajendra Shekawatto discuss on pending projectsincluding the Polavaram pro-ject, release of funds for theproject and also for Relief andRehabilitation (R&R) packagefrom the Centre.

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Continued from Page 1

While sanitisers would be kept ready at all exam-ination centres, the invigilators would be suppliedhand gloves as part of coronavirus prevention mea-sures. Also, 4,500 thermal scanners would be keptready at the exam centres. The minister said therewould not be any exam centres in the identified con-tainment zones. “If any new cases are found any-where and a particular area is earmarked as (new)containment zone, we will shift the examination cen-tre to an alternative location. Officials have beendirected to identify such alternative locations andkeep them ready," Suresh said. The minister saidexaminations for 'AP Open School' would also beconducted in a similar fashion with all necessary pre-cautions.

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Continued from Page 1

As a result, the Jagan government is now forcedto file a revised SLP in the Supreme Court, afterrectifying the mistakes, in a day or two. Till suchtime, the fate of Nimmagadda hangs in balance.Interestingly, it was only on Tuesday that the stategovernment withdrew its review petition in thehigh court, seeking stay on the court’s earlierorder. The government told the court that sinceit has already moved the Supreme Court for astay. The Jagan government challenged the highcourt’s order striking down the ordinance pro-mulgated last month which sought to reduce thetenure of the SEC from five years to three yearsand appointing a judicial officer of the rank ofa high court judge as the SEC.

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Continued from Page 1

TTD Chairman Y.V. SubbaReddy had said on May 20that resumption of Srivaridarshan to devotees dependson the Central governmentdecision to lift the lockdown.

“We have been receivingemails and phones on whenwe would resume darshan.But it all depends on the gov-ernment’s decision on liftingof lockdown,” Subba Reddyhad said. Closed for devoteesfor darshan since March 19,the hill shrine is losingalmost Rs 200 crore in rev-enue every month. With rev-enues reaching rock bottom,TTD is struggling to paysalaries to its employees andmake other paymentstowards maintenance andsecurity of the temple.

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Continued from Page 1

The committee said thetanks from which the gasleaked on 7 May at the LGPolymers plant inVisakhapatnam were out-dated and lacked temperaturesensors.

Workers at the factorywere slow to respond to theleak and the chemical com-pany lacked experience inmonitoring and maintainingtanks full of chemicals that satidle for weeks due to India’sCoronavirus lockdown, saidthe committee's report.

TBC, an inhibitor of thepolymerisation reaction, wasnot effective after liquidstyrene temperature roseabove 52 degree Celsius.

The committee also sug-gested establishment of dis-trict crisis group, led by theDistrict Collector, to preventrecurrence of such incidentsin the future.

The group should meetonce in every 45 days toreview the safety and hazardsof each and every industry.Lack of proper safetyresponse preparedness at theplant had impacted earlystages of operations. Besides,the public siren system couldnot be activated. Otherwise,many lives could have beensaved, it said.

The exothermic reactioncaused the styrene’s autopolymerisation and led torapid reaction and heating.As the temperature rose,styrene started vaporising.

Following increase inpressure in the tank, fivesafety valves on the M6tank rooftop opened andstarted emitting vapour.The report said the emis-sion started at 2:42 am. Noalarm generated whenvapour leakage occurredand auto sensor of styrenefailed to detect it.

2�/��*�,,��� �'�&�����3�(#���Continued from Page 1

In a subsequent meetingheld on February 15, 2018, theMinistry of Water Resourcesadvised both the States tosubmit the DPRs of all newprojects in the Krishna basinto the KRMB,

for appraisal and clearancefrom Apex Council as per theAP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

During the eighth meetingof the Board held on June 6,2018, both the states agreed tofurnish the DPRs of the newprojects for appraisal and tech-nical clearance by KRMB.However, no DPRs have beenreceived in KRMB so far.

During the meeting held onJanuary 21, 2020 to discussvarious issues of KRMB, it wasdecided that the matter of sub-mission

of DPRs would be placedbefore the Apex Council fordecision in this regard duly

mentioning the views of boththe States and the views of theCentre.

On May 12, 2020, theTelangana State governmentwrote to the KRMB inform-ing that the AP governmenthas accorded administrativesanction vide GO 203 datedMay 5, 2020 for taking up ofa new pumping scheme todraw additional 3 tmc ft ofwater from SrisailamReservoir in contraventionof Section 84 of the APReorganisation Act, 2014,since any such project can beinitiated or taken up only withprior approval of the ApexCouncil and has requested theBoard to prevent AP fromgoing ahead with its plans,including calling and award-ing tenders for the proposedRayalaseema lift irrigationscheme and enhancement ofdiversion capacity of PRPHR to 80,000 cusecs.

�������%� �%���� ��'�%� �������333Continued from Page 1

The situation is no differentfor corporate hospitals, butYSRCP government releasingthe Aarogyasri bills pendingwith the previous governmenthas kept them afloat, he added.

Managements of privatehospitals would submit a rep-resentation to the AP HealthMinister Alla Kali KrishnaSrinivas on June 4 withdemands such as includingsmaller hospitals in Aarogyasrinetwork, interest-free loansand relaxation from power billamong others, said Dr VSPrasad.

He also highlighted thathow people from rural areasdepend on small hospitals andincluding them in the StateGovernment’s health scheme,Aarogyasri, would benefit notonly the hospitals but thepatients too.

“The state exchequer couldalso be saved drastically as thefees is less in the small andmedium hospitals compared tothe big and corporate ones,”asserted the private hospitalassociation president.

Managements of privatehospitals argue that they wouldhave to take permissions andmake renewals from 22 gov-ernment organisations everyyear. The rule to follow safetynorms for small and mediumhospitals is seen as a majorfinancial burden as each man-agement has to invest at least?25 lakh on equipment alone.

Round-the-clock availabili-ty of doctors, nurses and otherstaff is mandatory for 50-bedhospitals and that come upwith a huge bill.

While many private hospi-tals turning away patients, afew of the hospitals are seeingnon-Covid patients, due to

inherent reasons.The clinics which have to

spend extra money now tocomply the Covid-19 protocolincluding PPE and sanitisationare wondering how much theycould charge from the patientsas consultation or other treat-ment.

“Some conditions fall into agrey zone of medical risk.While they may not be emer-gencies, many of these illness-es could become life threaten-ing, or if not quickly treated,leave the patient with perma-nent disability,” Dr K Ravi, acardiothoracic surgeon of acorporate hospital, said.

Another senior doctor whovisits number of hospitals inVisakhapatnam said non-Covid admissions are restrict-ed by many hospitals topatients who are regulars.

Even this, the doctor said, isa “risk” that had to be taken to

keep the hospital running.That is, some hospitals admitthis minimum number ofpatients to ensure someamount of cash flow. “How elsecan they pay their staff?” hesaid.

Many doctors opined thatdue financial distress accen-tuated by Covid-19 lock-down has forced severalstandalone and small nursinghomes in tier II and III citiesto shut down.

“Many others are at high riskof closing down soon sincetheir cash flows have dried up,”an Orthopaedic doctor said.Hospital owners and doctors inseveral cities confirmed thistrend. The cash crunch was sosevere, said the owner of a pri-vate hospital who did not wantto be identified, that many hos-pitals in the city have alreadycut salaries for their staff by 50per cent.

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The UP Congress on Tuesdaysaid that it will move highcourt against rejection of thebail plea of jailed PCC chiefAjay Kumar Lallu in a case ofalleged forgery of documentsof buses to ferry migrant work-ers.

Lallu, 41, is a sittingCongress MLA from TamukhiRaj assembly constituency ofKushinagar district of UttarPradesh. On Monday, he failedto get any reprieve as a specialMP-MLA court rejected hisbail plea in connection withthe alleged forgery of docu-ments of buses his partyarranged for ferrying strandedmigrant workers.

"We will move high court inconnection with the bail caseof UP Congress chief AjayKumar Lallu. We are likely tomove the HC tomorrow, as weare waiting for the copy of theorder pertaining to rejection ofhis bail," UP Congress mediaconvenor Lalan Kumar toldPTI on Tuesday.

In his order on Monday,special judge P K Rai said theoffences are serious in nature

and adequate material hasbeen collected against Lalluand prima facie his complici-ty is apparent.

"At this state, when probe isstill going on, there is no rea-son to enlarge him on bail," thejudge said.

Earlier, moving the bail pleaon behalf of Lallu, his lawyerhad argued that there was nodirect evidence against hisclient and that he was harasseddue to political vendetta.

Vehemently opposing theplea, District GovernmentCounsel (Criminal) ManojTripathi argued that there wasdirect involvement of Lallu inthe case.

Tripathi claimed Lallu him-self wrote a letter to the statehome secretary after Congressgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi offered 1,000 buses tothe Adityanath government.

"Lallu along with his accom-plices sent a forged list ofbuses in a planned way inorder to endanger the life ofthousands of migrant workers,"argued Tripathi.

"Thus, he not only he creat-ed a disturbance in the func-tioning of the governmentofficials and that too in thetime of coronavirus pandem-ic, but also tried to malign theimage of the state govern-ment," he added.

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The National Green Tribunal(NGT) will conduct proceed-ings from the dais of the courtrooms in the NGT complexfrom June 8, a notice issued onTuesday said.

According to the communi-cation, the hearings, heldthrough video conferencingonly, would be held whilemaintaining all social distanc-ing norms and protocols.

"It is notified for all con-cerned that decision has beentaken by the competent author-ity to the effect that from June8 onwards and till furtherorders all the benches of theNGT shall conduct court pro-ceedings from the dais of thecourt rooms in the NGT com-plex, while maintaining allsocial distancing norms andprotocols.

“The hearings shall howev-er continue to be continuedthrough video conferencing

only," a notice issued by NGTsaid.

In view of the fresh guide-lines issued by the Union homeministry on nationwide lock-down due to coronavirus, theNGT on Sunday had said thatthe entire staff will physicallyattend the office from June 1.

The home ministry onSaturday said 'Unlock-1' will beinitiated in the country from

June 8 under which the nation-wide lockdown effectuated onMarch 25 will be relaxed to agreat extent, including openingof shopping malls, restaurantsand religious places, even asstrict restrictions will remain inplace till June 30 in the coun-try's worst-hit areas.

According to a circularissued by NGT on Sunday , allthe guidelines issued by the

government with respect topreventive measures will bestrictly followed at workplace.

"In the light of the Order ofthe Ministry of Home Affairsand modified guidelines there-in, and in continuation of thecircular dated May 30, theCompetent Authority has beenpleased to direct that witheffect from June 1, entire staffshall physically attend the

Office, the circular issued byNGT said.

"All the guidelines/direc-tions/-instructions/protocolsissued by the Governmentfrom time to time, with respectto preventive measures to befollowed at workplace, bestrictly followed without show-ing any laxity or negligence.Previous directions withrespect to physical marking ofattendance (till the time bio-metric attendance system issuspended) be followed byentire staff," it had said.

While announcing theextension of the lockdown incontainment zones across thecountry, the home ministry onSaturday had said temples,mosques, churches and otherreligious places and shoppingmalls will be allowed to openin a phased manner from June8 while a decision on the open-ing of schools and colleges willbe taken in July in consultationwith the states.

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The Supreme CourtA d v o c a t e s - o n - R e c o r dAssociation (SCAORA)Tuesday requested ChiefJustice of India S A Bobde andother apex court judges toresume physical court hearingsfrom July, while pointing outthe "practical difficulties" facedby lawyers in effectively pre-senting their cases throughvirtual hearings.

The apex court, which hasrestricted its functioning sinceMarch 25 amid spread ofCOVID-19 pandemic, ispresently hearing mattersthrough video-conferencingonly.

In a letter addressed to theCJI and other judges of theSupreme Court, the SCAORAhas said that as per the feed-back received from the mem-bers of the Bar almost 95 percent lawyers are "not comfort-able with the virtual courthearings".

"The common feedbackseems to be that the lawyers are

unable to present their caseseffectively in the virtual medi-um and the same is acting asa major deterrent for lawyers toconsent for such virtual hear-ings," the lawyers' body said.

"In view of such practicaldifficulties, I, on behalf ofSCAORA and thousands oflawyers, request the court toresume physical court hearingsupon re-opening in July 2020after summer vacations.Moreso, in light of theannouncement of the unlock1.0 and measures to be under-taken to resume normalcy in aphased manner," SCAORA

President Shivaji M Jadhavsaid in the letter.

In the letter, the SCAORAhas mentioned about the feed-back received from the mem-bers of Bar which included theproblems with audio and videoquality of the hearing whichresults in the lawyers not beingable to effectively put forththeir arguments.

It said that most lawyers arefacing "severe financial prob-lems" during this pandemicdue to the staggered workingof the courts and "unless thenormal functioning of courts isresumed, the said concern will

not abate".While requesting for

resumption of physical courthearings from July, the SCAO-RA has said that the apexcourt may consider imposingother conditions for safety of allconcerned such as allowinglimited number of lawyers formatters.

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Three Uttarakhand police con-stables were suspended forallegedly extorting Rs 20,000from a taxi driver by threaten-ing to frame him in a contra-band case, officials said onTuesday.

The incident took place onMay 19 and the taxi driver,Abhinav Roy, lodged a com-plaint against the constables onthe next day. The accusedconstables were suspended fol-lowing a probe, they said.

The constables, Ajay Bisht,Pushpendra Kumar andVineet, deployed at Jollygrantpolice post under Rani Pokhripolice station were suspendedwith immediate effect onMonday by Dehradun SSPArun Mohan Joshi,Superintendent of Police(Rural) Pramendra Dobhalsaid. They will be arrestedsoon, he said.

According to the complaintlodged by Roy, the three con-

stables intercepted him atJollygrant police barricade andasked him to pay them Rs

20,000, Dobhal said.The policemen, who were not

on duty at the time of the inci-dent, threatened to frame Roy ina case for transporting a bannedsubstance in his taxi if he did notpay the money, he said.

Roy paid the policemen ashe was scared but approachedSSP Joshi the next day toreport the incident, the policesaid.

Joshi immediately ordered aprobe into the matter, follow-ing which the constables weresuspended, they said.

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Thirty-three NDRF teams havebeen deployed in the coastaldistricts of Maharashtra andGujarat in view of the impend-ing Cyclone Nisarga, the chiefof the federal contingencyforce said on Tuesday.

In a video message, NDRFDirector General (DG) S NPradhan said, "Gujarat andMaharashtra have 11 and 10teams respectively and they arebeing deployed in the coastaldistricts facing the ArabianSea". On Gujarat's request, fivemore teams are being airliftedto the state from Punjab, hesaid.

Gujarat will have a total of 17NDRF teams, including two on

standby, and neighbouringMaharashtra 16 teams, includ-ing six on standby, he said.

"This will constitute a totalof 33 teams in the two states,"

the officer said.An NDRF team has a

strength of about 45 personneland each unit is equipped withtree and pole cutters, commu-

nication gadgets, inflatableboats and a small basic med-ical unit. Pradhan said theteams on ground have begunthe process of evacuation andhave launched an awarenessdrive among the locals.

"Although this is not anextremely severe cyclone, allprecautions are being takenwith the basic principle inmind that while we expect thebest, we must prepare for theworst," he said.

Cyclonic storm 'Nisarga' isexpected to hit Gujarat andMaharashtra on Wednesday.

The Indian MeteorologicalDepartment had said that thecyclone is expected to crossnorth Maharashtra and southGujarat coasts on June 3.

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The Supreme Court Tuesdaysought response from civil rightsactivist Gautam Navlakha onNIA plea challenging DelhiHigh Court order seekingrecords of judicial proceedingsbefore special courts in thenational capital and Mumbai inthe Bhima Koregaon case.

A bench of Justices ArunMishra, S A Nazeer and IndiraBanerjee issued notice toNavlakha, who has been recent-ly taken to Mumbai fromDelhi's Tihar Jail. The top courtposted the matter for hearingafter two weeks.

The bench took note of thesubmission of Solicitor General

Tushar Mehta, that the HighCourt order of May 27, seekingproduction of the records of trialcourt was patently without juris-diction. The high court hadpulled up the NationalInvestigation Agency for actingin “unseemly haste” in takingaway Navlakha, from thenational capital to Mumbaieven when his interim bail pleawas pending here.

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Nearly 700 Indians, mostlyhailing from Tamil Naduarrived here on Tuesday bynaval warship 'INS Jalashwa'from Sri Lanka, where theywere stranded due to COVID-19 linked international travelrestrictions.

As soon as the passengersdisembarked, they were ther-mal screened and their bag-gage disinfected by healthworkers in protective gear, V OChidambaranar Port Trust anddistrict police authorities said.

According to VOC PortTrust, nearly 700 peopleincluding crew arrived here asper schedule and 675 passen-gers belong to Tamil Nadu,and10 others belong to statesincluding neighbouring Kerala.A total of 685 passengers-- 553men, 125 women and sevenchildren arrived according todefence sources.

A chunk of the returneeswere stranded tourists, somefishermen and workers andthere were others under cate-gories like "... short term visaholders faced with expiry ofvisas," according to the port.

A senior police official saidreturnees were being sent totheir respective districts inTamil Nadu through speciallyarranged government buses

and they have been advised toremain in home quarantinefor two weeks.

Respective district healthauthorities will take swab sam-ples from returnees from theirhouses as per protocol, hesaid.

Only if returnees had symp-toms on arrival, they will bereferred to hospitals here, headded.

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Karnataka Chief Minister B SYediyurappa on Tuesdaydirected district authoritiesincluding the DeputyCommissioners andSuperintendents of Police tocamp at taluk centres andwork towards curbing thespread of COVID-19.

Calling for strengthening ofvigilance mechanism on thosein home quarantine at wardand village level, he said, FIRshould be booked against thoseviolating quarantine norms.

Yediyurappa held a video-conference with DCs, ZPCEOs and SPs of Kalaburagi,Vijayapura, Udupi, Yadgir,Raichur and Belagavi districtsthat have seen spike in cases.

Asking DCs, ZP CEOs andSPs to divide taluks of respec-tive district among themselvesand camp there to supervise

the control of COVID-19 fromthere, the Chief Minister saidall precautions should beensured before easing the lock-down restrictions on June 8and the guidelines issued bythe central government has tobe followed.

Pointing out that COVID-19cases were increasing in thestate because of returnees fromMaharashtra, he asked officialsto take all necessary measures

to check it, his office said in arelease.

Instructing district adminis-trations to be vigilant aboutthose under home quarantine,Yediyurappa said, policedepartment should appoint aconstable near the house ofthose under home quarantine,also at gram pancyat level taskforce has to be constituted forsurveillance.

Noting that booth level

teams should be asked to sub-mit reports regarding this on adaily basis, he said, adding "atevery village and ward (incities) vigilance committeeshave to be set up and they haveto work efficiently.

If home quarantine is violat-ed FIR has to be registered."

Asking border districts to beextra vigilant at the bordersaimed at controlling unautho-rized entries in to the state,Yediyurappa said, bodiesshould not be allowed to bebrought into the state at anycost.

He also instructed to con-duct the SSLC (class 10) andPUC (class 12) that have beenscheduled later this monthsmoothly.

Home Minister BasavarajBommai, Revenue Minister RAshoka, Chief Secretary T MVijay Bhaskar among otherswere present at the meeting.

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The deep depression in theArabian Sea has intensifiedinto a cyclonic storm and willcross the north Maharashtraand south Gujarat coasts onJune 3, the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) said onTuesday. "Deep depressionintensified into a cyclonic stormaround noon today," IMDDirector General MrutunjayMohapatra said. The cyclonehas been named 'Nisarga'. Thename has been proposed byBangladesh, Mohapatra said. Itis likely to turn into a 'severecyclonic storm' by Tuesdaynight, the Cyclone WarningDivision of the IMD said.

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Rajkumari, a resident of UttarPradesh's Gonda has arrived atthe New Delhi railway stationalong with all the belongings ofher rented house to go back toher native place. She says shewill never return as there is nowork here.

However, Rajkumari's woesdon't end here, as she has awaiting ticket for the trainleaving for Varanasi.

Speaking to IANS, she said,"We don't have any work here.And as there is no income weare unable to pay the rent."

"We are not going to comeback to Delhi and it is the rea-son why we are going back toour village with all our belong-ings," she said. She said that herhusband works as a dailylabourer and now as they don'thave any work so there is noneed to stay back here.

She said that she will go back

to her village and will do farm-ing in the fields as the seasonof sowing rice is coming.

Rajkumari is travelling backto her village along with herhusband and two children andhave booked the ticket onTuesday morning from theNew Delhi passenger reserva-tion counter.

Similar is the condition ofMukesh a resident of UttarPradesh's Deoria. He said that

he wil not return to Delhi forat least one and half years.

Speaking to IANS, he said, "Ihave to go to Deoria with mybelongings, and I have beenrunning to ticket counters tobook a ticket. But I am unableto get a ticket."

He said that he was tired ofrunning from one counter toanother counter. "I am gettingtired as the heat is unbearableand we are sitting on the main

road," he said.When asked where he

worked before the nationwidelockdown was announced tocombat the spread of novelcoronavirus (Covid-19), hesaid, "I used to work in asewing factory and as the workis shut I have no option ratherthan to return to my home.

"I am living here with threeof my family members, so it istough for me to feed themwithout any work," Mukeshadded.

The Indian Railways haspartially started the services of200 more trains from Mondaybesides the 15 pairs of air con-

ditioned trains.Even the norms of the social

distancing outside the New Delhirailway station went for a toss asthe people entering the stationpremises were standing justinches away from each other.

The railways has suspendedthe passenger, mail and expresstrain services on March 25.However, it started running theShramik Special trains to trans-port the stranded migrantworkers, pilgrims, students andtourists across the country.Since May 1, the railways hastransported over 56 lakhmigrant workers across thecountry in over 4,000 Shramik

Special trains.The railways also started to

run 15 pairs of Special trainsfrom New Delhi to differentparts of the country.

According to railway min-istry officials, by 10 a.m. onTuesday over 1.77 lakh passen-gers booked tickets for the200 special time tabled trains.

Jagdish, a reisdent of Gaya inBihar, who used to work in a sun-mica factory said that he was alsoreturning back to his home as heis unable to meet the demands ofhis family with the wage cut.

Speaking to IANS, he said,"We are getting very less salaryand the landlords in whosehome we reisded here didn'twaive the rent. So that is thereason why I am going back tomy native place."

When asked if he shallreturn back, he said, "First Iwant to reach home then onlywe can decide if we will comeback or not."

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Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati on Tuesday saidprotests in the US after thedeath of George Floyd, anAfrican-American man, are aclear message to the world thata common man's life has value.

She said this is also guaran-teed by the India Constitution,but the governments don't fol-low it, resulting in the currentplight of migrants workers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old restau-rant worker from Houston,died in Minneapolis onMonday after a white policeofficer pinned him to theground. Video footage showedthe officer kneeling on Floyd'sneck as he gasped for breath,sparking widespread protestsacross the US.

"Floyd's killing by policeand the 'Black lives matter' agi-tation in the US have given aclear message to the world thata common man's life has value

and it should not be taken forgranted," Mayawati said in atweet in Hindi.

"India's constitution guar-antees independence, security,self-respect and pride and gov-ernments should give specialattention to it. If it was followed,crores of migrants labourerswould not have to witness suchbad days," she added.

She also demanded bettercoordination between states to

check the spread of coron-avirus and said the Centreshould intervene.

"While coronavirus patientsare rising, there is a lack of coor-dination between states andwith the Centre, and allegationand counter allegations aregoing on. The sealing of stateborders is unjustified and it isweakening the fight against thevirus. The Centre should inter-vene," she said in separate tweet.

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Trains may be getting back ontrack but not the lives of railporters, scrambling for workafter the lockdown in Marchslammed the brakes on theirlivelihoods and derailed theiralready precarious existence.

Imprinted in middle classIndia's institutional memorywith their red shirts and cop-per armbands, the band ofmostly men who carry heavybags on their heads and shoul-ders as they nimbly navigatesteep staircases and crowdedstations is teetering on thebrink of poverty and hunger.

Their lives were once thestuff of tinsel romanticism –remember the 1983 AmitabhBachchan film “Coolie” – butthose days have faded awaymuch like the trademark red oftheir uniforms now dulled toash brick, said Sube Singh, whohas been working as a porterfor four decades.

“We have been surviving

on chutney-roti or sometimessalt and roti. The landlord didnot waive the rent. I do nothave a ration card and I am liv-ing on borrowed money but forhow long?” a despairing Singhasked.

“I have never seen suchtimes in my entire 40 years asa coolie,” the 60-year-old, wholives in a rented room near theNew Delhi Railway Stationwith a family of five, told PTI.

Several porters outside the

station said they have notearned a rupee since the trainsstopped on March 24, a daybefore the lockdown to curtailthe spread of COVID-19 start-ed on March 25.

They were the first to losetheir livelihoods and have nohopes of earning enough evenafter the railways on Mondayresumed services on keyroutes. The railways had start-ed Shramik Special trains anda few other special trains last

month.Though many porters have

bought sanitisers and gloveswith their own money, the fearof contracting COVID-29 iskeeping people away, they said.And many passengers wouldrather just wheel their strolleysand bags, making a porter's jobredundant.

During the lockdown, sever-al porters left the city, walking,cycling or bussing it to theirhomes, and some were strand-ed in Delhi without any help.

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Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Tuesday launchedan app named ''Delhi Corona''that will give information topatients about the availabilityof beds in private and govern-ment hospitals. Kejriwal saidthe app would fill the informa-tion gap that exists regardingavailability of facilities fornovel coronavirus patients.

"There are many placeswhere coronavirus has spreadin a big way. There were short-age of beds, ventilators andICU, leading to a large numberof deaths," he said in an onlinebriefing.

"In Delhi, cases are increas-ing, but we have made suffi-cient arrangements," the chiefminister said.

According to Kejriwal, 6,731beds are available in privateand government hospitals, outof which 4,100 are vacant.

"People are not aware aboutit," he said. "We are launchingan app today and it has detailsof all the beds available at pri-vate and government hospi-tals."

It will be updated updatedtwice during the day at 10 amand 6 pm, he added.

Kejriwal said if the appshowed that a bed was avail-able at a hospital but the facil-ity refuses admission, the

patient could call the govern-ment helpline number 1031and register a complaint.

The Health Departmentspecial secretary will ensurethat a person gets a bed,Kejriwal said.

"Only 2,600 people neededto be admitted at hospital outof more than 20,000 patients,"he said. "If the hospital tells youthat can be treated at home,please listen to them."

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The Uttarakhand governmenton Tuesday launched a websiteof the Mukhya MantriSwarojgar Yojana to make iteasier for enterprising youthsand migrants returning to thestate to apply online for thescheme.

The website msy.uk.gov.inhas been hosted in the statedata centre located at IT Park,chief minister's IT adviserRavindra Dutt said.

Applicants will have to reg-ister themselves on the websiteand create a log in ID to beable to apply online for theself-employment scheme, hesaid.

They need to give personaldetails like their names, edu-cational qualification, skillsand the sector in which theywould like to invest, on thewebsite.

The scheme was launched

by Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat on May 28 toencourage enterprising youthsand migrants returning to thestate in the wake of the coro-navirus pandemic for self-employment.

Loans will be given to eligi-ble applicants under thescheme for projects worth Rs25 lakh in the manufacturingsector and worth Rs 10 lakh inthe service sector.

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The West Bengal StateBeverages Corporation Ltd(WBSBCL) is looking to part-ner with companies, includingstart-ups, to strengthen itsonline liquor sale channel, anofficial said on Tuesday.

It has already floated anexpression of interest for han-dling online sales and homedelivery of alcoholic liquor,and convened a pre-bid meet-ing on Wednesday.

The WBSBCL, the onlywholesaler of liquor in thestate, has already introduced e-retail and home delivery byenlisted off-shops to ensuresocial distancing and min-imising footfall at outlets dur-ing the lockdown.

"But, to use the channel forhome delivery of liquor in amore focused and effectivemanner, the West Bengal StateBeverages Corporation Ltdhas invited EoI from reputed

online ordering and deliveryplatforms including start-upsand stake holders associationfor handling electronic order-ing, purchase, sale and homedelivery of alcoholic liquorsfrom licenced retail outlets," anotice said.

The corporation plannedto create a panel of such onlineordering and delivery plat-forms, the official said.

The Supreme Court hadrecently asked states to consid-er non-direct contact or onlinesales and home delivery ofliquor during the lockdownperiod to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus.

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The gesture of a Pune-basedauto-rickshaw driver to use themoney saved for his wedding tofeed migrant labourers hasmoved people across the coun-try, many of whom have openedtheir purses to offer monetaryhelp to him. In turn, AkshayKothawale (30) is again using themonetary help he has receivedto provide food and ration kitsto the needy and poor peoplehere in Maharashtra.

Talking to PTI, Kothawalesaid is grateful for the over-whelming support he has gotand is encouraged to keep help-ing those whom he finds in needon Pune streets.

Kothawale had saved Rs 2

lakh for his wedding, which wasearlier scheduled on May 25 butgot postponed due to the coro-navirus-enforced lockdown.

Pained to see poor people,specially migrant workers, fac-ing hardships due to no workand no income, he along withsome of his friends set up akitchen with the money he hadto prepare food, and also distrib-uted it at several places here.

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Maharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari insisted onholding the final year exams ofdegree students in the currentsituation, but Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray rejectedthe demand showing "the spineThackerays are known for", theShiv Sena said on Tuesday.

The ruling Shiv Sena alsosaid it is not possible to holdexaminations in the currentsituation, triggered by theCOVID-19 crisis.

Referring to the lockdown,imposed in March to containthe spread of the novel coron-avirus, an editorial in Shiv Senamouthpiece 'Saamana' saidpeople faced strict imprison-ment (due to movementrestrictions) for two-oddmonths. The Thackeray gov-ernment in the state has easedlockdown to a certain extent,but asked people to observerestraint to ensure the diseaseis contained, it said.

The direction of life standscompletely altered now andthere will be restrictions on the

undisciplined behaviour ofmany, the Marathi daily said,adding that not observing dis-cipline can cost life.

Governor Koshyari insistedon holding the final year exam-inations of degree courses.The chief minister rejectedthe demand showing the spineThackerays are known for. It isnot possible to hold the final

year examinations of universi-ties in the current situation, theShiv Sena said. Students can beconsidered as having passed onthe basis of semester examina-tions held in colleges, it said.

The chief minister has madeit clear that the academic yearwill begin from June itself."This means schools willreopen in districts where thereis no transmission of coron-avirus, the Thackeray-led partysaid. Shops will be reopened inphases, while temples willremain closed, it said.

The Shiv Sena also suggest-ed the people to use bicycleswhile going to markets orshops. The coronavirus crisisis not yet over. Therefore,Prime Minister (Narendra)Modi too has said that (people)cannot afford to behave irre-sponsibly, the Sena said, citinga spike in COVID-19 deaths incountries like the US.

It said the US governmenthad eased restrictions to boosteconomic activities there andpeople moved out, but thestep proved detrimental (withrise in COVID-19 cases).

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With Gujarat bracing for theapproaching cyclonic storm'Nisarg', the Valsad and Navsaridistrict administrations havestarted evacuating nearly20,000 people from 47 villageslocated close to the state coast-line, officials said on Tuesday.

Besides, in a relief to peopleliving near the shore, the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) on Tuesday indicatedthe cyclone may not make alandfall on the Gujarat coast.

However, it will have animpact in the form of gustywinds coupled with heavyrainfall in the coastal belt,state MeT centre directorJayanta Sarkar said.

As a precautionary mea-sure, the district administra-tions of Valsad and Navsarihave started shifting people liv-ing near the coast to saferplaces.

In all, nearly 20,000 peoplewill be shifted from both thedistricts.

"We have deployed ourteams to shift nearly 10,000people living in 35 coastal vil-lages. We have already identi-fied shelter homes and startedthe evacuation process," ValsadCollector R R Raval said.

In adjoining Navsari district

also, the administration hasinitiated the process of shiftingsome 10,200 people from 12villages, Collector ArdraAgarwal said.

As per an IMD release, thedeep depression over east-central Arabian Sea is current-ly around 670 km from Suratand it may intensify into acclonic storm in next six hours.

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Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijalhas approved the prematurerelease of Jessica Lal Murdercase convict Manu Sharma,who is serving life sentence,according to an official order.

The Delhi SentenceReview Board (SRB) whichcomes under the Delhi gov-ernment had recommendedSharma's premature releaselast month.

The sources said the rec-ommendation was made at ameeting of the SRB chairedby Delhi Home MinisterSatyendar Jain on May 11.

Sharma, son of formerUnion minister VenodSharma, was convicted andsentenced to life imprison-ment by the Delhi HighCourt in December 2006 forkilling Jessica Lal in 1999.

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Page 6: *˛+, CORONA 2, 7,082...2020/06/03  · Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old

As the Narendra ModiGovernment 2.0 completed itsfirst year in office after hisspectacular return to power inthe 2019 Lok Sabha election,

there has been much debate about its bal-ance sheet since it first assumed office in2014. While Prime Minister NarendraModi’s political enemies relentlessly bom-bard the social media with criticism of hisGovernment’s performance, recent sur-veys have shown that they have not beenable to make a dent in his public image.Instead, his popularity is soaring with hisapproval ratings crossing 80 per cent afterthe lockdown steps he took to tackle theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Some nations, including the mostdeveloped, fumbled and stumbled as theywaded through the human tragedy unfold-ing in their communities. Others likeBrazil, Sweden and the US (initially) madeterrible choices that led to a huge loss of lifeand lack of preparedness with regard tohealthcare. On the other hand, India, theworld’s second-most populous nation,decided to confront the problem head-on.Prime Minister Modi took the lead andenforced a nation-wide lockdown fromMarch 25, persisted with this mode of “treat-ment” for nine weeks and extended it byanother four weeks. Meanwhile, he had ahands-on approach towards energising thehealthcare system, tackling pharma-relatedissues and coordinating with various ChiefMinisters through fortnightly meetings.

For those of us who grew up in an Indiawhose leaders lacked the nerve to call aspade a spade (slogans such as Hindi ChiniBhai Bhai in 1962 even as the Chinese weremarching in), Modi’s resoluteness is in con-trast to the vacillation of the Nehru era. Thishas indeed been the running theme duringhis six years in office and has resulted in asea change in the way the world views India.It has also resulted in major initiatives withrespect to domestic policies. For example,former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi hadraised the slogan of Garibi Hatao (banishpoverty) at public meetings during the1970s. But concrete steps towards povertyalleviation — for example the Jan DhanYojana (JDY) enabling direct cash transfer;a scheme to issue free cooking gas connec-tions to the poorest of the poor; and the con-struction of toilets and electrification of theirhomes — were visible only after Modi tookcharge. Within a year of the launch, 330 mil-lion new bank accounts (the current pop-ulation of the US) were opened under theJDY in the country. Similarly, theGovernment provided free gas connectionsto 80 million poor households in a strictlymonitored time-bound programme. Theseare mind-boggling numbers which Westernminds find difficult to comprehend.

Two other big-ticket issues, which havehad a major social and economic impact,are the banning of triple talaq and the

introduction of the Goods andServices Tax (GST). With 42political parties governing 28States, few leaders would havecontemplated GST, the singletax regime, and fewer stillwould have had the gumptionto pull it off. As regards nation-al security, the surgical strikesand the no-nonsense approachto the Kashmir issue are furtherexamples of toughness. AfterCOVID-19 disrupted our lives,the Prime Minister announceda �20 lakh crore package toprovide some relief to those ingreat distress. The central ideaof this package is to makeIndia self-reliant (AtmanirbharBharat).

Over the last six years,frustration has, therefore, beengrowing in “TheEstablishment” in New Delhi,comprising Nehruvians, withthe Marxists riding piggy-backon them. Together, they consti-tute a cosy club which spreadsits wings across politics,bureaucracy, media, academiaand all national institutions. Infact, the stranglehold of theMarxists over our nationalaffairs is wholly illegitimatebecause people never gavethem the mandate to do so (inthe 2019 Lok Sabha poll, thetwo main communist parties— the CPI and the CPM —garnered just 2.36 per cent ofthe vote).

The fate of the Congress issimilar. Its voteshare hasslumped from 45 per cent in

the 1970s to 19.70 per cent lastyear. Therefore, 2014 waswatershed because it put an endto the illegitimate hold of theNehruvians and the Marxistson the nation’s administration.The Lutyens’ club, which hadhollowed out the Indian Statewith its doublespeak and pusil-lanimity, suddenly found itselfdisplaced. Members of thisclub were aghast when thefinal tally of the 2014 electionemerged, giving Modi’s BJP aclear majority in the Lok Sabha.

They live in an echo cham-ber and as the 2019 Lok Sabhapoll drew nearer, they were allperked up as they shared opin-ions among themselves, givingModi just 160-180 seats in thenew House. In view of thedefeat of the BJP in theAssembly polls in Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh, they believed thathe would not be able to recov-er ground, forgetting that overthe last three decades, there issubstantial evidence to showthat the voters think different-ly in State and national elec-tions.

When the results startedpouring in on May 23, 2019,and the BJP on its own crossedthe 300 mark, there was deaf-ening silence in this echo cham-ber. One could have heard a pindrop. As is his wont, Modidecided to carry forward hisagenda without any loss oftime and within months of hisreturn, he decided to undo

Nehru’s decision of according aspecial status to Jammu &Kashmir. He executed the oper-ation with such precision thatit left his opponents and theinternational communityabsolutely stunned. Then camethe Supreme Court’s verdict inthe Ram Janmabhoomi caseand the Union Government’sdecision to pass the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA).

Modi’s opponents may nothave seen merit in anything hehas done so far. Theirs is just alitany of complaints and, there-fore, they suffer from a majorcredibility deficit. They standguilty of consistent unreason-ableness and that is why theyare unable to sell their wares.The reason: Their intentions aresuspected.

As far as Modi is con-cerned, the only explanation isthat for the large mass of peo-ple, his intentions (neeyat) seemunquestionable and successesare many. As everyone knows,no one is infallible. Modi him-self drew the peoples’ attentionto this truism in his open let-ter the other day when he said,“I may have some deficiencybut the country does not haveany.” In other words, the verdictof the majority is neeyat saaf hai(his intentions are good). Solong as this is the case, there isnothing his opponents can doto unsettle him.

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

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Sir — Many children keep devel-oping irreversible back deformi-ties because of the weight oftheir school bags which theycarry to their classes every day.Despite the Children’s SchoolbagAct, 2006, which states thatsatchels should not weigh morethan 10 per cent of the bodyweight of the student, many stu-dents regularly carry heavy bagsto school. Experts say these cancause muscle soreness as well asback and neck pain.

Children gradually lose inter-est in going to school due to thestress caused and their attentionspan also gets reduced. As text-books constitute a major propor-tion of the weight of the bag andthe teachers take up only a partof the textbook in a month, thepublishers could separate the bigtextbook into thin booklets,which will make the load lighterfor the children. Schools canprovide lockers where the stu-dents can keep their books so thatthey don’t have to carry themhome daily and bring them backthe next day.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

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Sir — Mahatma Gandhi had oncesaid, “The best way to find your-self is to lose yourself in the ser-vice of others.” Employers andworkers often work hand-in-hand

to accomplish greater results. Inview of this, it is sad that rational-ising labour laws has been on pol-icy agenda for decades. Yet, labourreforms haven’t taken off even dur-ing the pandemic. A number ofStates have now embarked on thispolitically contentious course

again. Such reforms, coming at atime of acute economic distressand labour insecurity, must striveto build adequate safety nets forthem and provide them withfixed-term employment.

Kashish MulaniUjjain

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Sir — In his letter to the nation tomark his first year of the secondterm in office, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi wrote: “This day(May 30) last year began a gold-en chapter in the history of Indiandemocracy. It was after severaldecades that the people of thecountry voted back a full-termGovernment with a full majority.”Undoubtedly, among those whovoted for the Modi Government,many are innocent and not soeducated people, who look toother crooked politicians for guid-ance with false hope.

This is a fact. The most glar-ing example of this was whenPrime Minister Modi said about70 days back, “Mahabharata waswon in 18 days we shall winCorona war in 21 days”. But onthe 67th day of the country’s lock-down, not only has India’sCoronavirus death toll overtakenthat of China but the country nowranks seventh in the global tallyof COVID-19 cases.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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After the extended lockdown necessitated bythe need to contain the spread of the dead-ly Coronavirus in the country, the process

of kick-starting the economy has now commencedin a phased manner. As it is the Indian economywas in the doldrums even before the pandemichit the nation, making the lockdown that com-menced from March 25 a hard choice for theNarendra Modi-led BJP Government at theCentre, which was caught between a rock and ahard place. Now, as various sectors of the econ-omy are slowly opened up to save livelihoods, thelogistics supply chain, which was in a suspend-ed state for most of the commodities for morethan 60 days, needs to gear up to function again.

However, given the fact that we have beenunable to flatten the COVID curve as yet andinstead have seen a surge in Coronavirus casesand deaths across the country, which has corre-sponded with the opening up of the economy, wehave to rethink our operating processes.

The mode of operation of the supply chainsmay need to be tweaked now as cargo transportersmay have to bypass normal or the shortest routesthey usually take as they may be out of bound dueto their location in containment zones, a placewhere all activities are disallowed. Moreover, theentire logistics operation now has to be under-taken while adhering to the new norms of socialdistancing.

As it is, the logistics sector in India is not toowell-developed. Inefficiencies have grown over theyears from a combination factors, like a non-con-ducive policy environment, extensive industryfragmentation and lack of good basic infrastruc-ture. India’s indirect tax regime discouraged largecentralised warehouses and over a period of timethis has led to the fragmentation of the warehous-ing sector.

Of course with the introduction of theGoods and Services Tax (GST), there has been amove towards a centralised warehouse hub.However the pace has been slow as modern ware-houses cost much more and the logistics stake-holders are yet to recover their investment fromthe scattered warehouses across the country.However, in the present scenario caused by thepandemic, this is indeed a boon to the logisticssector.

Fragmented warehouse distribution impliesthat logistic operations will be affected only in aregion where the storehouses fall in a containmentarea. It may be possible to move cargo from otherregions to the desired destinations. Thus, a frag-mented warehouse regime is probably more cost-effective in this situation than a centralised ware-house. While one can find a way to bypass dis-tribution hurdles when finished goods are instock, the issue is more serious in respect of pro-duction activities as a modern production unitsources inputs from different parts of the coun-try and the world.

As the COVID-19 map of India shows, theprincipal industrial States of the country, name-ly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, the National Capital Region(NCR) and so on, where most of the industrialclusters are located, are also the States most affect-ed by the Coronavirus. The majority of contain-ment zones, a place where all activities are non-operational, are also located there.

In this scenario, even though the unlockingof economic activity is commencing, relaxationin non-containment zones continues to be a hin-

drance to supply chains, transportationand logistics.

A firm may have to close operationsif right inputs/raw materials cannot besourced if suppliers are located in a con-tainment zone. In India, industrial clus-ters have developed around big indus-tries in the metros, both of which nowhappen to be located in Coronavirus-hitregions. North-east India, which ispractically unaffected by the Corona,does not figure in the industrial map ofthe country. There is no way that inputscan be sourced from there to carry outproduction. Thus, unless the entiresupply chain is unlocked (or the num-ber of containment zones declines), theimpact of improved economic activitywill be subdued.

A lockdown effectively increases thelogistic cost of transporting goods inmultiple ways. The shortage of labourat the point of origin and destination andnew norms of social distancing may leadto increased time in loading/unloadingactivities, causing in effect lower efficien-cy and higher cost. Though the inter-State movement of goods has nowbeen allowed (barring containmentzones) putting up of traffic barricadesalong the highways, diversions to avoidcontainment zones and multiple check-points put up by law enforcement agen-cies would invariably lead to increasedfuel consumption, costly delays andmore time on the road.

Even in normal circumstances, theproblem of harassment faced by thetruck drivers at the hands of theRegional Transport Office personneland policemen is a serious issue acrossevery route. With multiple barricadesand officials on the road during the pan-demic, harassment of drivers will sure-ly rise manifold. All these factorsamount to a fall in transportation effi-ciency and thereby higher transporta-tion costs.

In effect, the economy will have to

live with higher logistics costs now,which will have major economic reper-cussions. As per the NCAER’s recently-released Quarterly Review of theEconomy, a five per cent fall in efficien-cy in shipping in India translates to a 1.3per cent loss in the Gross DomesticProduct.

Thankfully, unlike transportation byroad, freightage by rail is less hinderedas there are no barricades on the railwaylines. Moreover, in the absence of nor-mal train services, there is less conges-tion on railway lines too. This is the timethat the logistics supply chains couldshift majorly towards freight transportby rail. As it is, the movement of cargoby rail turns out to be cheaper for dis-tances over 500 kilometres.

However, if we compare cargomovement across major trunk routes(NCR-Mumbai, NCR-Guwahati, NCR-Chennai, NCR- Kolkata) where bothmodes — rail and road — operate,everywhere we see that the share of roadtransport is more than that of rail. Thisis the time to reverse the trend by ensur-ing timely delivery of consignment bythe Railways.

However, Indian Railways needs amajor policy correction in respect offreight. With the fall in economicgrowth, the overall demand for cargomovement will be low. Thus theRailways’ policy of operating a full length(52 wagon) cargo train does not syncwith the current low demand. It makessense to operate shorter cargo trains. But,most importantly, the Railways needs tostick to timely delivery to attract cus-tomers. There is no other reason why aconsignment of pharmaceutical exportsfrom Hyderabad via the JawaharlalNehru Port, for a distance of about 700km, would be moved by road and notby rail.

According to the NCAER’s study onIndia’s Logistics Costs, more than 90 percent of the cargo is moved by road on

this route. A key message that is current-ly being played is go local to make anAtma Nirbhar Bharat.

This does not augur well for thelogistics sector as it is highly capitalintensive. If all entrepreneurs go local,the logistics investment will unlikely flowin as it would take a long time to gen-erate the return from the investment. Abasic problem with the Indian logisticssector is that it has developed locallywithout following global standards.Most logistic players agree that the set-ting of standards and their voluntaryadoption is an avenue for reducing logis-tics costs.

This encompasses the following:Standardisation of truck bodies andloading/unloading docks for increasingoperational efficiencies.

Second, standardisation of palletsizes for achieving faster turnaroundtimes. Third, standardisation of ware-house design and layout and a commonstandard across India in respect ofother logistics facilities at airports,riverboats, sea ports, Inland ContainerDepots, Container Freight Stations,Multi-Modal Logistics Hubs and ware-housing clusters.

In the absence of a national blue-print on logistics infrastructure and stan-dards, we observe no uniformity acrossIndia in these facilities. This is essentialto reduce India’s logistics cost. Of late,a move has been made to modernise ourlogistics facilities by benchmarkingthem against international standards.One can only hope that our plan to golocal does not hamper that process. If weare short of funds to adopt internation-al norms of logistics facilities, it is bestto go for a synergy in standard withinIndia. The Government may interactwith logistics stakeholders on this front.Else, it will cost India in the long run interms of competitiveness.

(The writer is a Professor at theNCAER)

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COVID-19 has changed thedynamics of almost every-thing in the world, includ-

ing politics, and poses challengesfor all walks of life and all kindsof institutions. This is true ofdemocracy, civil liberties andpolitical parties, too.

Now that health experts saythat we have to learn to live withthe virus, how will the politicalsystem in India change and willit be for the better? Since theCoronavirus outbreak, most

political activities have taken aback seat and the pandemic hasbecome the only focus of peopleand politicians alike. There maybe fundamental change in thesubstance of politics and how itwill cope with the new normalnow that it is clear that some ofthe measures like social distanc-ing, wearing of masks, washingand sanitising hands often, avoid-ing crowded places and congre-gating in large numbers, are like-ly to continue. Gone are the daysof party supporters boasting oflakhs of people coming to listento their netas.

So how are political partiesstrategising for the future? Theyhave already found some newinterfaces like digital platforms,videoconferencing and so on.Ever since the pandemic beganthey have swiftly moved awayfrom traditional methods of

communication like putting upposters, distributing pamphletsand flyers, holding door-to-doorcampaigns and have shifted theirpolitical wars to cyber space.Virtual platforms have replacedactual meetings in most of theparties and in Governmentoffices, too.

The BJP is already adept inusing the digital platform and hasbeen using it since 2014. Even the2019 elections were fought morein the digital world. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadused videoconferencing facili-ties and 3D holographic projec-tions to address the public inlarge numbers during the polls.The party has used the newmedium to its advantage and hasprepared digital files of voters andtheir mobile numbers and so on,that makes it easier to reach outto them. The party has data on all

the 543 Lok Sabha seats. In the changed circum-

stances, the BJP is planning forsmaller meetings and digitalinteraction with the voters. Biharelections are scheduled forNovember and next summer,State elections are due in TamilNadu, Kerala, West Bengal andAssam. BJP chief JP Nadda toldthis columnist that the partywas getting ready to face the newsituation. “We are already usingthe digital platform. In view of thepandemic we have to think ofnew ideas for our campaigns andwe will hold virtual rallies.”

The Congress Party, too, isnot lagging behind and is catch-ing up with the BJP where digi-tal reach is concerned. Accordingto the Congress media headRandeep Surjewala, the party hadthe biggest-ever virtual contact ofalmost 10 crore in one day dur-

ing the May 28 ‘Speak Up India’campaign led by Sonia Gandhiand Rahul Gandhi to raise pub-lic support for people suffering asa result of the lockdown. “This isindeed a world record. We haveadapted ourselves to the new sit-uation,” he claims.

The party has involved itsleaders, functionaries, AICCoffice-bearers, district and booth-level workers numbering around50 lakh. The Congress is using theZoom app for holding virtualpress conferences and Rahul’sconversations with economists.He admits that social media anddigital platforms will play a bigrole in the forthcoming polls.

Other parties, too, agree thatdigital interaction is the future ofpolitics now. CPI-M GeneralSecretary Sitaram Yechuri pointsout that today almost every partyhas a firm online presence. The

Left is also reaching out to thepeople through their cadres andmass organisations. TrinamoolCongress leader Dinesh Trivedi,too, thinks that future campaignswill largely be on social mediaand digital platforms.

Former External AffairsMinister Yashwant Sinha notesthat “politically there will be a lotmore reliance on digital commu-nication.” Most parties now havepolitical strategists and IT unitsthat are responsible for theirdigital strategy.

The Election Commission(EC), which has announced pollsfor 24 Rajya Sabha seats on June19, seems ready to deal with thenew normal. However, the realtest for the EC will be the Biharpolls. CEC Sunil Arora whileadmitting that it is too early tothink about the timing of theBihar polls, points out that even

during the 2019 Lok Sabha pollsthe EC had made arrangementsfor those above 80 and the armedforces to vote through postal bal-lot.

However, the immediatechallenge for all political partiesis to convince the people that theyare concerned about their welfare.This is where the good old GramPanchayats and booth-level com-mittees come in.

Parties could go back to thebasics and use their block andbooth committees to spread themessage through the digital plat-form, particularly as India isexpected to reach 859 millionmobile users by 2022. In short,politics was already movingtowards a virtual world and thepandemic has only hastened thattransition.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said that hisgovernment will ensure morepolicy reforms to speed up eco-nomic growth and removestructural bottlenecks in theIndian economy.

Accordingly, the countrywill also implement steps toreduce import-dependenceand strengthen domestic sup-ply chains.

Furthermore, Modi exudedthe confidence that Indiawould get its GDP growthback very soon.

In an online address at the125th AGM of industry bodyCII, he said that the countryhas entered into the 'UnlockPhase 1' which focuses on get-ting the economy back ontrack and that the Centre willtake every possible step torevive economic growth.

Besides, the Prime Ministerpointed out, the Centre hadprovided immediate relief tothe disadvantaged sections ofsociety via the 'PrimeMinister's Garib Kalyan Yojana'in the wake of the Covid-19crisis. This scheme helps pro-vide free rations to 74 crorebeneficiaries. He said that theCentre has provided financialassistance of Rs 53,000 croreand over 8 crore cooking gascylinders to the poor.

Additionally, over 50 lakhbeneficiaries of the EmployeesProvident Fund Organisationsaw the government deposit 24

per cent of their EPF contribu-tions in their accounts, the PMsaid. Modi claimed that IndiaInc has the ability to bounceback and said that attaining ahigher growth level shouldnot be difficult.

In his address, the PrimeMinister said that the conceptof an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'rested on '5 I's of Intent,Inclusion, Investment,Infrastructure, and Innovation'.

He said that while announc-ing the relief package duringthe coronavirus crisis, his gov-ernment took a long-term viewof the economy and

announced far-reaching mea-sures to reform the economy.

The reforms announcedhave been systematic, planned,integrated, interconnected, and

futuristic and are all about cre-ating strong enterprises, gen-erating employment, androbust supply chains, the PrimeMinister said.

Highlighting the role ofMSMEs in the economy, thePrime Minister pointed outthat the definition of MSMEshad been changed to fostergrowth in this sector.

The Centre will not floatglobal tenders for procure-ment up to Rs 200 crore. This,according to him, would enablemore MSMEs to participate inthese tenders and promote an'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

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Reliance Industries mega Rs53,124 crore rights issue is thelargest in the world by a non-financial issuer in the last 10years, an analyst said.

Oil-to-telecom conglomer-ate Reliance Industries Ltd'srights issue opened for thesubscription of shareholderson May 20 and will close onWednesday.

According to data fromDealogic, the issue is thebiggest in the world by anon-financial issuer in thelast 10 years.

The only other non-finan-cial issuer close to the issuesize is USD 7.002 billion issueby Bayer AG in June 2018.

Billionaire MukeshAmbani's firm had on April30 announced fund raising ofRs 53,125 crore by way of a1:15 rights issue -- India'sbiggest and the first suchissue by the firm in nearlythree decades.

One share will be offeredfor every 15 shares held at Rs1,257, a 14 per cent discountto the closing price for April30.

The issue had been over-subscribed 1.1 times as ofMonday, according to stockexchange data.

The biggest rights issuesince the global financial cri-sis of 2008 is the USD 19.57billion issue by HSBCHoldings Plc in April 2009,according to Dealogic.Deutsche Bank's USD 13.96billion issue in October 2010is the second biggest closelyfollowed by USD 13.69 billionissue by UniCredit.

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In a major restructuring exer-cise, State Bank of India hascreated a separate FinancialInclusion and Micro Market(FI&MM) vertical with a focuson rural and semi urban areasto improve customer experi-ence. Under this newlylaunched vertical, the bankwill offer loans mainly foragriculture as well as alliedactivities, and micro and smallenterprises, SBI said in a state-ment on Tuesday. About 8,000branches in rural and semiurban areas have been identi-fied for providing specialisedservices to micro segment,including micro credit for smallbusinesses and farmers, it said.

The thrust is also to improveservice quality and availabilityof banking services through thebank's vast network of over63,000 customer service points

in rural, semi urban, urban andmetro areas, it said, adding thenew vertical will provide aboost to the micro-financesector. "Today is an importantday in our resolve to ensurethat SBI stands with the citizensof the country, across all seg-ments. The key elements of cre-ating the FI&MM vertical areto bring sharper focus to differ-ent business lines and improvethe quality of interaction withcustomers at the branch," SBIChairman Rajnish Kumar said.

This is an initiative by SBI to

cater to financial requirementsof people residing in the hin-terland of the country, as partof its financial inclusion jour-ney, he added.

"The new FI&MM verticalwill provide an opportunity toserve the small business, Agri& allied segment so that theycan run their businessessmoothly, especially in the cur-rent times of uncertainty. Thecreation of the FI&MMVertical was conceived, creat-ed and implemented fully inhouse," Kumar said.

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The average power tariff in thereal-time market trade atIndia Energy Exchange (IEX)on the first day of operation onMonday stood at Rs 1.55 perunit, 42 per cent cheaper thanthe day ahead market, officialdata showed.

Real-time market (RTM)enables consumers, includingdistribution companies (dis-coms) and captive users, to buypower on exchanges just anhour before delivery.

The average price discoveredon day one was Rs 1.55 perunit, the auctions saw the pricego as low as Rs 0.10 per unit onthe platform, IEX said in astatement. According to theIEX data, the average price ofpower in the day ahead market(DAM) trade on May 31 fordelivery on June 1, was Rs 2.68per unit. Similarly the averagetariff of power at DAM tradeon June 1 for delivery on June2 was Rs 2.2 per unit.

The new market segment

was operationalised at the IEXplatform at 10:45 PM on May31, 2020 for delivery at 12:00AM on June 01 (Sunday mid-night), 2020.

The real-time market trad-ed 3.41 MU (million unitsvolume in 48 auction sessionson day one of the launch.

However, the trade volumein DAM was 163 MU fordelivery on June 1 and 119 MUfor delivery on June 2.

The platform witnessed asignificant sell side liquidity atabout 10 times of the total buyvolume leading to very attrac-tive prices for the buyers, the

IEX statement said. IEX said, "this (availability of

power and low price) reinforcesIEX's belief that real-time trad-ing of electricity would signif-icantly help utilities and openaccess consumers managepower demand-supply varia-tion and meet 24x7 power

supply aspirations in the mostflexible, efficient, and dynam-ic way.

The real-time market willsupport the utilities in reduc-ing dependence on grid devi-ation framework, reducingpenalties and enable a safeand secure grid, it noted.

The real-time market willmake the power market moredynamic by enabling trade inelectricity through 48 half-hourly closed double-sidedauctions during the day, withdelivery of power within onehour of closure of the bid ses-sion, it added.

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Suzuki Motorcycle India PvtLtd (SMIPL) on Tuesdaylaunched its online sales andservice platform through'Suzuki at your doorstep' pro-gramme to meet customerdemand during and postCOVID-19 lockdown.

Suzuki at your doorstepprogramme will be integrat-ed within SMIPL's officialwebsite to enable customersto buy, test-ride and opt forafter sales services at theclick of a button, the compa-ny said in a statement.

Through this programmecustomers can also bookSuzuki two-wheeler productthrough a toll-free numberalong with an option of con-necting the call to the near-est dealership, in case the cus-tomer wants to visit the deal-ership, it added.

"The online booking,doorstep delivery and serviceof Suzuki vehicles has beenintroduced keeping the safe-ty and wellbeing of our cus-tomers and employees at thecore of the initiative.

"With our online salessolution, we look forward tobring in positivity in two-wheeler segment and theoverall industry postCOVID-19," SMIPLManaging Director KoichiroHirao said.

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Infosys CEO Salil Parekh sawhis pay package growing about39 per cent to Rs 34.27 crorein 2019-20, according to thecompany's annual report.

Parekh's compensation wasat Rs 24.67 crore in 2018-19.

The company's annualreport for 2019-20 showedthat his compensation includ-ed Rs 16.85 crore in salary, Rs17.04 crore in stock optionsand Rs 38 lakh (others).

Infosys chairman NandanNilekani voluntarily chose notto receive any remunerationfor his services, the report said.

Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao's compensationrose 17.1 per cent to Rs 10.6crore in FY20 from Rs 9.05crore in the previous fiscal.

Interestingly, TCS CEO andMD Rajesh Gopinathan hadseen his pay package shrink-ing more than 16 per cent toRs 13.3 crore in 2019-20 com-pared to the previous fiscal.

While Wipro CEO Abidali

Z Neemuchwala saw his com-pensation rise 11.8 per cent toUSD 4.42 million (about Rs33.38 crore) in fiscal 2020from the previous year.

In his note to shareholdersin the annual report, InfosysCEO Parekh said the compa-ny will closely monitor theimpact of the pandemic as themarket and client activityevolve.

"We can already see sever-al European countries and USstates starting to re-open. Wesee stability and expansion inour work in the globaltelecommunications, hightechnology and life sciencesindustries," he said.

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With the labour cost forcrop transplantation dou-bling due to the exodus ofmigrant workers amid thecoronavirus crisis, Punjabis expecting about ten-foldjump in paddy area sownwith the direct seeding ricemethod, a low labour-inten-sive option. Punjab has pro-posed to bring about fivelakh hectares, out of total 27lakh hectares of expectedpaddy area this year, underthe direct seeding rice(DSR), officials said here.

Last year, 50,000 hectaresof paddy area was broughtunder the DSR, they said.The government is encour-aging paddy growers toadopt the DSR for crop sow-ing instead of the tradition-al method of transplantation.

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State-owned HindustanCopper on Tuesday said itsboard has approved theincrease in borrowing limit ofthe company from consor-tium and other banks fromexisting Rs 850 crore to Rs1,350 crore.

The approval was grantedduring the board meetingheld on Monday, HindustanCopper said in a filing to BSE.

"The board of directors ofHindustan Copper... has interalia considered and approvedincrease in borrowing limit ofthe company from consor-tium /other Banks from exist-ing Rs 850 crore to Rs 1,350crore by way of cashcredit/working capitalarrangements, etc," the PSUsaid. Hindustan Copper is avertically integrated copperproducing company thatmanufactures copper rightfrom the stage of mining tobeneficiation, smelting, refin-ing and casting of refined cop-per metal into downstreamsaleable products.

The company's mines andplants are spread across fiveoperating units, one each inRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Jharkhand, Maharashtra andGujarat.

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With further relaxations inCOVID-19 lockdown rules,sugar demand in India, theworld's second largest produc-er of the sweetener, has start-ed picking up and will furtherimprove with opening ofhotels and restaurants, indus-try body ISMA said onTuesday.

The government hasextended the nationwide lock-down till June 30 with aphased plan to unlock India.Malls, hotels, restaurants andplaces of worship can open onJune 8 except in areas with themost number of coronaviruscases.

According to the IndianSugar Mills Association(ISMA), the demand for sugarhas started picking up fromthe beginning of May with thelockdown rules gettingrelaxed.

"Now that the country is

entering the unlocking phase,and restaurants and malls arealso being allowed to open,demand for sugar will furthergo up in June, as compared toMay 2020," it said in a state-ment.

Therefore, along with thesummer demand, it can beexpected that sugar mills maybe able to sell the entire Junequota, along with the carryforward from May, it added.

The government hasallowed mills to sell 17,00,000tonnes of sugar in May and18,50,000 tonnes in June. Thegovernment has also extend-ed the sale period of Mayquota for a month.

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The Southern IndiaMills Association(SIMA) welcomed theincrease of MSP oncotton as it wouldbenefit cotton farmers,while saying it was nota sustainable solutionand called for bringingback the Technology Mission

on Cotton. The minimum sup-port price for seed cotton

(kapas) for medium sta-ple has been increasedfrom Rs 5,255 to Rs5,515 per quintal (by4.75 per cent) and forlong staple, it has beenincreased from Rs 5,502to Rs 5,825 per quintal(4.95 percent) on

Monday.

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The rupee on Tuesdayrebounded by 18 paise toclose at 75.36 (provisional)against the US dollar afterPrime Minister NarendraModi asserted that thecountry will get back itseconomic growth.

Forex traders said posi-tive domestic equities, weakAmerican dollar and for-eign fund inflows also sup-ported investor sentiments.

The rupee opened lowerat 75.57 at the interbankforeign exchange marketand moved between 75.62and 75.36 during the daytrade.

The currency finally set-tled at 75.36 against the USdollar, registering a rise of18 paise over its previousclose of 75.54.

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Zydus Wellness on Tuesdayreported a 10.89 per centrise in consolidated net prof-it to Rs 69.10 crore for thequarter ended on March 31,2020. The company hadposted a net profit of Rs62.31 crore for the corre-sponding period of 2018-19,Zydus Wellness said in aBSE filing.

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Motherson Sumi Systems Ltdon Tuesday reported a 68.4per cent decline in consoli-dated net profit to Rs 135.66crore for the fourth quarterended March 31.The compa-ny had posted a consolidat-ed net profit of Rs 429.31crore in the correspondingperiod of the previous year.

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WednesdayJune 3, 2020

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����������#�������# I was always inter-ested in acting andmodeling rightsince my child-

hood. During my engineeringdays, I started taking up mod-eling projects, and after mygraduation. I got an opportu-nity to act in a Star Vijaya TVserial and after a year, I got acall from Surya Krishna sirthat he was working on a seri-al called Jyoti in Star Maa. I

didn’t know Teluguback then but Surya

sir gave me the

hope that I can do it. I gotthrough the audition andthat’s how I entered theTelugu small screen industry.After Jyoti, I auditioned foranother serial in Zee Teluguand got through.

Growing up, although Iwanted to get into acting, Ihad no idea about the craft ingeneral. I just gave it a try in aTamil serial which gave methe training and confidence Ineeded, because up until then,I only had modeling experi-ence. Acting is somethingvery different. But I wanted tochallenge myself, I worked onmy skills and got better each

day.

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My father works forthe Tamil Nadu elec-tricity board. None ofmy family was intoArts. My family’s sup-port is a huge pluspoint. When I told

them that I wanted to get intoacting, they were supportivebut wanted me to finish mygraduation first, as they wereworried about my career.Making a good career here isuncertain. Once I finished mygraduation, my family sup-ported me immensely.

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After my debut into theTelugu industry, I have beenlearning something or theother, every single day. Ireceived a lot of love from thepeople. It increased my inter-est to learn the language andgave me the urge to entertainthe people here more. Theyshowered me with immenselove, and that pushed me todo more projects in Telugunow. I'm now more comfort-able doing Telugu projects. Ithas become one of my lan-guages.

Once the shootingbegins, I majorly speak inTelugu. It has been one-and-a-half-years since Ijoined the industry. Iunderstand the lan-guage very well andcan even reply mosttimes. Soon I will be fluentin the language.

�2������#���������FMy current character is one

of my most favourite roles Ihave played so far. My direc-tor pushes me to do more andexplores different shades ofme, that even I didn’t know Ihad. My character has somany shades in the serial — I

play a bad boy with othersbut also am a sweet soul,kind, and responsiblewhen I meet my loveinterest. My director is myguru who brought out thebest in me through the seri-al. I explored so much aboutmyself through this charac-ter.

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I played a negative role inmy first project in Tamil. Iwas supposed to playthe lead butsince I sport-ed a beard,mydirectorfelt I

would fit a nega-tive role better. Iwanted to give ita try even thoughI wasn't very sure. I'mwilling to do any rolethat comes my way ifthe story is good. Anartist should be readyto play any character.

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5#�������1��SHIKHA DUGGAL

woman’speriod cycleis no more ahush-hushaffair. It’s agirl’s transi-

tion into womanhoodthat calls for celebration.Promoting the sameattitude is GoodUniverse, an NGO thatseeks to celebrate peri-ods and brings in themuch-needed changethe country needs. Thecampaign with an out-reach of more than6,00,000 entries acrossthree global countries,was a massive success.Notable personalitiesfrom the city ofHyderabad suchAnasuya Bhardwaj,Jhansi, NamrataBhagtani, ManjulathaKalanidhi, ViiveckVerma, etc. also joinedthe campaign.

What is#MyPeriodStory? Usersacross the world cametogether to share uniquestories centered aroundthe menstrual cycle. Theforte of the campaign

took a toll when entriesfilled in from the strataof men too. Videosranging from how menfirst got to know aboutperiods, how they didtheir best to help thewomen around themduring such a time and,how they’re challengingthe society in destigma-tising taboos aroundmenstruation, etc. werethe kind of responsesthe campaign received.

“Gender inequality isone of the reasons men-strual hygiene has beenregarded as a culturaltaboo, with a stigmaattached to it, and asubject that is centeredaround a feeling ofshame and/or disgust.

Men can supportwomen and girls, speakout loud about men-struation effectivelyacross different socialmedia platforms.Initiating a dialoguearound menstrualhygiene like#MyPeriodStory is thefirst step towards it,”believes Kamal Nayak,director of the NGO.

Engaging in conver-sations around men-strual hygiene is a stridetowards womenempowerment. It’s notjust about access to san-itary pads anymore, it’sabout building an envi-ronment that supportsand values menstrua-tion with dignity.

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irtual experiencesare the new trend-ing topics. Therealm of the virtu-al world is grow-ing in popularity

while the world is dealingwith the novel Coronavirus.‘Virtual Foodies Meetup’organised by Atul Maharaj,recipient of Best Blogger,Telangana Award, Rida Khan,a food columnist, andHarshit, an international foodblogger, better known asHyderabad Foodie. Withmembers like Dr. AndrewFleming and NamrataSadhvani taking an activepart in it and plating theirextravagant dishes, the eventwas trending on twitter.

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A bunch of local foodiesfrom Hyderabad cametogether to have fun and haveconversations around food.The foodie club known for itsunity loved engaging in thissocial activity amid the lock-down. Sending in pictures oftheir favourite cuisines from

across the city, many of themsaid they couldn’t wait to res-ume food blogging affairs.

.�����������������HAtul saw many people

turning self-proclaimedMasterChefs in their respec-tive homes trying brilliantrecipes. Apart from this, theextension of the lockdowndid not go well withRamadan not having Iftarparties. Hence, along withRida and The HyderabadFoodie, he decided to hostthis online event that's allabout food.

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The session was planned at

2 pm on a Saturday, with AtulMaharaj indulging in graph-ics for the event along withRida and Harshit preparingthe questionnaire. Peoplewere joining in from UAE,Australia, and others acrossthe globe that steadily keptbreaking the trends on twit-ter.

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From Mamta SweetHouse’s Jalebi Fafda, NimrahCafe’s Irani Chai, SproutChaat masala, Upma, specialAndhra Avakaya, Aloo Tikkiin the form of a birds nest toHaleem, Thai curry,Gurugram’s chole kulche,Zaiqa-e-Hyderabad’s Biryani,Steamed fish in South EastAsian style and the list is end-less.

The whole food bloggingcommunity of Hyderabadbelieves that the joy of foodisn’t just about the mechanicsof eating. It’s the amalgama-tion of innovations, ideas,and inventions with a pinchof homeliness.

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Vijayawada Wednesday June 3 2020 ���������� ��

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

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Yesterday’s solution

he ongoinghealth crisis hasturned lifeupside down,and pets feel itto. They may be

getting some extra affectionas pet parents stay home,but their activity time,especially outdoors, hastaken a turn for the worse.As a pet parent, you caneasily make up for this bydevising fun games to keepthem playful and active,suggests Anushka Iyer, whospearheads Wiggles.in, a pethealthcare brand.

)��������Get a bubble maker from

the local store, if possible orturn a wire into a bubblering. Take some soapywater and blow bubbles

into your pet’s direction.Watch the fun as your furrygoofball will either try tochase them. Capture this inslow motion with yourmobile. This one is sure toget a lot of giggles out ofyou when you play it againlater. If your pets happen tocelebrate their birthdayamidst the lockdown, get adozen balloons, blow themup and let your pet boopthem while you enjoy thefun.

>��������All pets love to fetch

almost anything and every-thing. You can have funthrowing a tennis ball, abundled-up rag cloth, afrisbee or even a football.Your furry friends willshow agility and prowess

and get it back to you foranother round, all happy tomake you throw it onceagain. The running aroundwill give them the muchneeded physical exerciseand keep them alert andactive.

6������#���+�All pets love their walks

where they get to sniff thedifferent smells and marktheir territory. Go for shortwalks twice in a day if pos-sible but closer to yourhome. Choose walk timeswhen you come across afew people, so early morn-ings or late evenings workjust fine.

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Pets love to jump over

any obstacles in their path.You can set up householditems like bottles, or boxesor even toilet paper as hur-dles and keep adding levelsto check their agility. If youhave treats on the otherend, your pets will try allthings possible to gobblethem up and, in the bar-gain, have fun jumping.

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Splashing in the pool isfun for your pets as long asthey have you to cheerthem and play with!Besides, it is a good work-out for both of you in thesummer. If the pool hasregular chlorine levels, thenit is absolutely safe for yourpet or you could use aninflatable pool. Just ensure

that your pets drink plentyof water after they get outof the pool. Don’t forget togive them a bath once theyare out and dry their coatthoroughly. Swimminghelps with muscle trainingand is also an excellent car-dio workout for your dogs.

�3����������CC���Get your hands on a chew

toy from an online pet storeor even a pet shop closerhome. A kong is a toy inwhich you can put in treatsand give it to your pets tokeep them engaged by try-ing to reach those tastytreats inside them. PeanutButter or cold pressedcoconut oil are good optionsto freeze and fill in. You canalso make DIY toys at homewith old t-shirts. Take an

old cloth or t-shirt and con-vert it into a ball by tyingthe ends into a loose knot.Put your pet's favouritetreats in them and watchthem spend hours trying tofind their treats. Takeunused ice trays, freezetreats inside them. Watchyour pets being patient tolick off the water and eat thehidden treat inside. You canalso hide treats in the houseand let them sniff their wayto it. Pets love games thatare challenging and suchgames heighten their senseof smell and stimulate themmentally.

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The lockdown is the besttime to teach them simpletricks like giving a paw five

or even learning basictraining commands like sit,stay, pawshake etc. Keep atreat as a reward or some-times even your constantencouragement to them isreward enough with lots ofpetting and cuddles. Thisstrengthens the bondbetween you and your pet.

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Avoid giving your petshuman foods like icecream, sugar candies, bis-cuits, chocolates or cakes.Most baked goods containxylitol which is harmful forpets. It is better to givethem homemade food thatis free from artificial fillersor preservatives. Cats canbe given boiled fish andchicken while dogs can

even be given boiled paneerand chicken. Just make surethat there are no bones inthe meat. Speak to your vetabout the portions to begiven. Fruits like watermel-on, apple, mango and veg-etables like cucumber, car-rot can be given but inmoderation. If your pets eata healthy, nutritious andbalanced diet, chances ofthem being playful andalert are more. Let yourpets get their beauty sleepafter a meal. Most pets loveto snooze all day, but it’s upto you to engage them insome playful activity tokeep them from becomingsluggish and inactive.

Be patient, engage yourpets and have a great time

bonding with them!

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RB Leipzig returned to thirdplace in the Bundesliga with anentertaining 4-2 victory at

Köln on Monday.Jhon Cordoba claimed the early

advantage for the home side butLeipzig scored four in 37 minutes,including Timo Werner’s 31st in allcompetitions, to climb back aboveBorussia Moenchengladbach andBayer Leverkusen in the hunt for aChampions League place.

“We wanted the three points, wesucceeded. But it is annoying that wefell behind early and wasted a fewchances,” Leipzig’s managing direc-tor Oliver Mintzlaff told broadcast-er DAZN.

“We are back on course for theChampions League which is ourgoal, but the pressure is great.Everyone has to go all in, be totallyfocused and focused,” he added.

The hosts’ boss Markus Gisdolmade four changes fromWednesday’s loss at Hoffenheim,starting Rafael Czichos in place ofsuspended Sebastian Bournaauw,red carded in the defeat.

Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmannswitched both his wing-backs fromWednesday’s draw to Hertha Berlinas Angelino, on loan fromManchester City, and French youthinternational Nordi Mukiele started.

The home side took the earlylead as Cordoba poached for his 10thhome goal of the campaign.

Midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj’s

effort deflected onto the far post andthe Colombian finishedfrom the rebound afterseven minutes.

The sides were level 13minutes later as Schickheaded home Angelino’scross to start the flutter ofgoals.

Things went from badto worse for Gisdol’s men four min-utes later as Cordoba was forced offwith an injury and replaced byAnthony Modeste.

Leipzig’s took the lead eightminutes from the break as

Christopher Nkunku claimed hisfirst goal since January.

Austria midfielderKonrad Laimer played aclever ball into the boxand former Paris Saint-Germain attackerNkunku dinked his finishover the onrushing TimoHorn.

�����������������Leipzig went further ahead three

minutes into the second-half asWerner, who has been linked with amove to Premier League leaders

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The curtailed Formula Oneseason will start with two

races behind closed doors inAustria on July 5 and July 12followed by six other GrandsPrix in Europe, the organiserssaid on Tuesday.

Formula One said it hopedto have between 15 and 18races in total, with the seasonbeing completed in December.

The Hungarian Grand Prixwill be brought forward toJuly 19 before a two-weekbreak, followed by consecutiveraces in Britain and events inSpain, Italy and Belgium. Allwill likely be run without spec-tators while participants mustadhere to strict safety protocols.

Regular health tests will beconducted with the number ofteam members and race staff atthe venue also reduced.

“While we currently expectthe season to commence with-out fans at our races we hopethat over the coming monthsthe situation will allow us towelcome them back once it is

safe to do,” said F1 chief exec-utive Chase Carey.

“But we know the return ofFormula 1 will be a welcomeboost to sports fans around theworld.”

Silverstone will host tworaces in Britain on August 2and 9, with the Spanish GrandPrix set for Barcelona onAugust 16.

The Belgian and ItalianGrands Prix will take place ontheir original dates of August30 and September 6, complet-ing the European part of the

season. Each event will alsoinclude the Formula 2 andFormula 3 categories.

The blueprint for therehashed season features fur-ther races in Asia and theAmericas in September,October and November beforefinishing in the Gulf in Bahrainand Abu Dhabi in December.

The 2020 season was tohave featured a record 22 races,now it is set to be the shortestcampaign since 2009 with racesin Australia, Monaco, Franceand the Netherlands cancelled.

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Serie A will return after athree-month coronavirus-

enforced absence on June 20with Torino hosting Parma inthe first of four postponedmatches on the opening week-end, the Italian league con-firmed.

The championship willresume with fixtures which werecalled off when Italian sports wassuspended on March 9 becauseof the coronavirus.

The first match will be15th-placed Torino versusninth-ranked Parma at 7.30 pm(1730GMT) on June 20 followedby Hellas Verona, in eighth, ver-sus Cagliari, in 12th, at 9.45pm.

The following day fourth-placed Atalanta will host mid-table Sassuolo at 7.30 pm whileInter Milan, in third, will be athome against relegation-threat-ened Sampdoria at 9.45 pm.

Most teams have 12 gamesleft to play with 124 matchesremaining, to be played in 43days from June 20 to August 2.

After the four catch-upgames, the 27th round of actionwill be played with matchesscheduled from Monday, June22 through to Wednesday, June24.

Maurizio Sarri’s Juventuswho are bidding for a ninth con-secutive title, travel to Bolognafor their first game back onMonday with second-placeLazio at Atalanta on Wednesday.

Juventus will host Lazio onJuly 20 at 9.45pm.

The league has not yet con-firmed the dates for the ItalianCup, which is expected to becompleted the week beforeSerie A restarts, with thefinal on June 17.

The return legs of thesemi-finals remain to beplayed with Juventus facingAC Milan and Napoli playingInter Milan.

Most of the matches will beplayed at 7.30pm and 9.45pm,because of the summer heat inItaly, with only ten games sched-uled earlier at 5.15pm, in thenorth of the country.

Games will be playedbehind closed doors and adher-ing to a strict health protocol,whereby the entire group mustgo into a training camp retreat

for two weeks in the case of apositive test for Covid-19.

Italian football federationpresident Gabriele Gravina saidhe hoped that a small number of

fans will be able to attendmatches before the seasonfinishes.

“It is my heartfelt wishto be able to see a smallpresence in stadium for

the end of the championship,”said Gravina.

“It seems unthinkable thatin a stadium with 60,000 seats,there is no space for a minimalpercentage of spectators who canattend the match with all neces-sary precautions.

“Certainly it is prematuretoday but with the resumptionof the championship, there couldbe a new little signal of hope forour country.”

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England will play three Testsat home to the West Indies

in July, subject to BritishGovernment clearance to returnbehind closed doors, theEngland and Wales CricketBoard announced on Tuesday.

The first Test will take placeat Hampshire’s Ageas Bowlground from July 8-12, with thesecond and third Tests at OldTrafford in Manchester on July16-20 and July 24-28.

The West Indies, whoagreed in principle to take partin the series last week, are dueto arrive in England on June 9and will then be based at OldTrafford for a three-week peri-od of quarantine and trainingbefore travelling down toSouthampton.

ECB director of events SteveElworthy said: “Our main objec-tive is to deliver a safe environ-ment for all stakeholders includ-ing players, match officials,operational staff, essential venuestaff, broadcasters and media.

“We are in daily dialoguewith Government and our med-ical team, who have been incred-ibly supportive during this peri-od. These are our proposeddates and they remain subject toUK Government approval.

“We would like to thankCricket West Indies for their co-operation and dedication inmaking this tour a reality, and weall look forward to the prospectof cricket returning in the com-ing weeks.”

The series should have start-ed at The Oval in south Londonon Thursday, with the secondand third Tests originally sched-uled for Edgbaston and Lord’s.

But the fixtures — nowbehind closed doors matches —were moved to the Ageas Bowland Old Trafford for reasons ofbio-security, with both groundshaving on-site hotels whereplayers and officials can beclosely monitored.

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India’s fielding coach R Sridhar says a four-phased training module is being prepared

for the country’s elite cricketers, who canattain peak match fitness with four to sixweeks of training once the camp gets the go-ahead to start.

“I think if you have a camp for 4-6weeks, we can bring them to peak matchreadiness...Fast bowler needs around 6weeks, batsmen might take a bit less time,”Sridhar said.

“Once we get a date (on start of nation-al camp) from the BCCI and approved bythe Government, we can start working back-wards (starting from scratch). The challengeis to proceed in right phases as players canget excited when they play after 14 or 15weeks.

“It’s pertinent that we move in rightmanner forward. Don’t want to look toomuch ahead,” he explained.

Sridhar stressed on workload manage-ment and warned that pushing too hardwould only cause injuries.

“Initially, we have to give them progres-sive workload. You can’t have a sudden spikein workload which could lead to injuries,”said the former Hyderabad left-arm spin-ner.

The coach then explained how they cango about it.

“First phase, it will be ‘low volume-lowintensity’, followed by ‘moderate volume-lowintensity’, ‘high volume-moderate intensity’and then starts ‘high volume-high intensi-ty’ training. This is how we will go,” he said.

And what will constitute low-volume-low intensity training? Sridhar said it wouldvary.

“May be the fast bowlers will bowl twoovers from half or quarter run-up. The deliv-eries will be bowled at 20 or 30 percentintensity. For a fielder, it will be at the max-imum, six throws over 10 metres or 6 throwsover 20 metres at 40 to 50 per cent intensi-ty.

“For a batsman, it will start with five tosix minutes of batting against moderate pacebowling,” he explained.

“For catchers, it will start with semi-softballs, intensity will be slow and volumes willbe less. Then we can slowly pick it up as we

cross one phase after another,” he said.It will be around the fourth week that

match-intensity training will start and then

slowly, the players will enter the zonewhere they get match ready.

“We can’t do same training every day aswe start with low volume-low intensity train-ing. Once we get to the fourth week whenhigh volume-high intensity training starts,the hands will get used to hard balls com-ing at 140km an hour, 130km an hour, that’swhen match-training will start.

“The sharpest minds will take sixweeks to get into Test match mode,” the 49-year-old opined.

He agreed that duration of getting intopeak match readiness physically and men-tally will vary from player to player but theaim for the coaches will be to have every-one on the same page when the camp ends.

“Definitely, there would be differentintensity level, (it will vary) from player toplayer. That’s what the sport is all about. Eachplayer has to be different. We understandthat. Each one will take slightly different timeto get into the peak readiness.

“Someone will do it 4 weeks and someone will take 3 to 4 days more or there maybe someone who may take 3-4 sessionsmore. We respect that. As coaches, our jobis to get everybody on the same page at theend of the camp.”

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Hockey India on Tuesdaynominated national

women’s team captain Ranifor the prestigious RajivGandhi Khel Ratna Awardwhile Vandana Kataria,Monika and HarmanpreetSingh were recommendedfor the Arjuna Award.

The period of consider-ation for the Rajiv GandhiKhel Ratna Award, India’shighest sporting honour, isbetween January 1, 2016 toDecember 31, 2019.

During this period, Raniled the team to historic vic-tories in the Women’s AsiaCup in 2017, Silver at the2018 Asian Games andplayed a critical role in the

FIH Olympic Qualifiers in2019 by scoring the decidinggoal that helped India qual-ify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The team also climbedto a career-best ninth theFIH world rankings.

Also joining Ranifor top honour isstar wrestler VineshPhogat, while herfellow colleaguesW o r l dChampionshipm e d a l l i s t sRahul Awareand Olympic-bound DeepakPunia werenominated for theArjuna award along-side Sakshi Malik andtwo others by the

wrestling federation.Meanwhile, TTFI rec-

ommended star paddlerManika Batra name for thesame.

Manika, who missedout on India’s highest sport-ing honour last year, is the

first woman paddlerfrom her countryto win a singlesGold medal at theCommonwealthGames. Sheachieved the feat inthe 2018 edition in

which she won asmany four medals

including two Goldmedal.

The federation hasrecommended veteranMadhurika Patkar,

Manav Thakkar andSuthirtha Mukherjee forthe Arjuna Award.

Mukherjee recentlybroke into the top-100 ofthe ITTF world rankings.

A panel formed by theSports Ministry will short-list the nominationsreceived from variousnational federations withthe awards to be presentedon National Sports Day,August 29.

India’s top men’s dou-bles pair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and ChiragShetty and men’s singlesplayer Sameer Verma pro-file was also put forward forthe Arjuna award by theBadminton Association ofIndia (BAI).

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Catalan radio station RAC1reported on Tuesday that

five players from FC Barcelonaand two members of the coach-ing staff tested positive for theCovid-19 in tests carried out bythe Spanish football league(LaLiga) at the start of May.

The radio station, whichhas close linksto the club,did not nameany of theplayers or staffwho couldhave beeninfected, buthighlights that they have allovercome the virus and gener-ated antibodies.

The news comes the dayafter Spain’s football clubs werefinally allowed to begin train-ing with their full squads asthey put the finishing touchesto return to action next week asthe Liga Santander and LigaSmartBank (first and seconddivisions) come back after abreak of over 3 months.

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Out of favour batsman SureshRaina has revealed that

unlike previous editions, formerIndia captain MS Dhoni waspreparing in a different way forthis year’s edition of the IndianPremier League which current-ly stands indefinitely postponed.

Dhoni and Raina had start-ed their preparations for IPL 13from March 3 for the tourna-ment earlier slated to standfrom March 29.

“The first few days he tookit lightly and just focused ongoing to the gym but he wasplaying the shots beautifullyand his fitness level was greatand he was not getting tired,”Raina said while speaking onStar Sports show CricketConnected .

“His preparations were dif-ferent this time, I have playedwith him over the years with thenational side and IPL gettingready but it was different thistime, so I just hope the match-es can start quickly then every-one can see how well preparedhe is and see what I saw myselfLIVE in the two months of campthat we had,” he added.

The 2020 IPL is supposed tosee return of Dhoni to cricket-ing action as the wicket-keeperis on a break since playing in thesemi-final of the 2019 World

Cup where India lost to NewZealand.

“When someone workshard, then the prayers and bless-ings find their way to them,” saidRaina.

“The best thing was,(Ambati) Rayudu, myself, Mahibhai and Murali (Vijay) werebatting in a group and Mahi bhaibats for long hours when he isin Chennai for about 2-4 hours.

“But this time he was justnot getting tired of batting. Hewas doing his gym in the morn-ing, followed by batting forthree hours in the evening,” headded.

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Liverpool, raced clear ina rapid counter-attackand beat Horn with aside-footed finish.

Köln hit back fourminutes later as Leipzigfailed to clear outsidetheir area and Modestecurled home a shot.

Leipzig’s two-goallead was re-establishedless than two minuteslater as Spain midfield-er Dani Olmo scoredhis first goal since join-ing Leipzig in Januarywith a curling shot of

his own from the edgeof the box.

Substitute Modesteseemed to have wonthe chance to reduce theadvantage with 18 min-utes left but was denieda penalty by VAR afterLucas Klostermann’stackle.

With two minutesremaining Modestethen wasted a one-on-one with Peter Gulasciand Nagelsmann’sLeipzig held on for threepoints.

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� ���80��11�1/���1�2���0���1 �00� �/� �����8��0������09������������79�<�Senior cricketerTamim Iqbal has noqualms in admitting thatBangladesh closely fol-lowed Indian cricket, andsaid the Tigers’ change inattitude towards fitness wasinfluenced by Virat Kohliand his men.

“I think because Indiais our neighbour country,we follow a lot of thingsabout what’s happening inIndia. Indian cricket’schange in approachtowards fitness influencedBangladesh cricket themost,” the left-handedopener said in a

ESPNcricinfo podcast.The 31-year-old said

he was in awe of Kohli’sfocus towards fitnessdespite both cricketersbeing on the same side of

age. “I have no shame to tellyou this. I think this shouldbe out. 2-3 years back,when I sometimes used tosee Virat Kohli doing allthose gym things, runningaround, I honestly used tofeel ashamed myself.

“The guy of my age istraining so much despiteattaining success whereas Iam not even doing half ofwhat he is doing,” he said.

“I, maybe, not doinghalf of what he is doing. Atleast, if I can’t match hislevel, try to follow his path.Maybe I can reach 50-60per cent.” PTI

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0�# $�*!"���.���$�-!���%�(�.�!""!��$"!��7'��'�<�Veteran England fastbowler James Anderson reck-ons the coronavirus enforcedbreak from the game couldextend his career “by a year ortwo”. English record Test wick-et taker, who is in the twilightof his career, said the breakcould lead to something goodfor him.

“It (the break) could justadd on a year or two at the endof my career,” Anderson saidon the BBC podcast Tailenders.

The 37-year-old, who lastplayed in January before suffer-ing an injury, is part of the 55-member group that has beenasked by the England CricketBoard (ECB) to return totraining, ahead of the WestIndies Test series.

“I’ve really enjoyed beingback and as odd as it is justbowling into a net, with notmany people around, it’s stillnice to be back and playingcricket,” Anderson said. PTI

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Page 12: *˛+, CORONA 2, 7,082...2020/06/03  · Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old

onsidered a guru to filmmakersVV Vinayak and Sreenu Vaitla,senior director Sagar is staging acomeback with an action-enter-tainer, Nakshatra Poratam 2,which he is also producing. The

film will tell the tale of an honest cop whofights against injustice in the society. Suman,Bhanuchander, Aamani and J Babu are play-ing lead roles, while Koti will render music.Once the government gives its go-ahead forthe shooting, Sagar is planning to take thefilm to floors. It would be predominantlyshot in AP and Kerala. Kota Sreenivas Rao,Naseer and Brahmanandam will be seenin supporting roles.

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Vijayawada Wednesday June 3 2020���������

peaking tous lastmonth,Krishnaand hisLeela direc-

tor Ravikanth Perepuconfirmed that thefilm’s producers are indeliberations torelease it on an OTTplatform. Now we’velearnt from reliablesources that the dealhas been inked.Netflix has snatchedthe streaming rights ofthe film in a non-exclusive deal. This istheir second big catchin the past one monthas they’ve alreadyfinalised a deal tostream C/OKancharapalemfame VenkateshMaha’s Uma

Maheswara UgraRoopasya, fea-

turingSatyadev.

Asource

closetothe

development tells us,“Krishna and his Leelastory pitch impressedNetflix India and theyoffered to buy it out-right. However, SureshBabu wasn’t willing todo so, due to his OTTplans. The deal wasadjusted betweenNetflix and Aha. Aweek or 10 days afterit first drops onNetflix, the film willstart streaming onAha as well.”

Krishna and hisLeela, which isPerepu’s second direc-torial effort after thesuccessful Kshanam,features SidduJonnalagadda,Shraddha Srinath,Seerat Kapoor andShalini Vadnikatti inthe lead roles. It is aromantic comedy andSiddu plays a guy whois in love with multi-ple women at thesame time. “He isthere in every singleboy. He is an averageJoe who is cute, sweetand girls like him. Hegets emotional andgets carried away atplaces but there is thisconstant want offalling in love. Butgenerally one doesn’tget 100 per cent withtheir relationship andit's a way of life. Thatis when he startslooking elsewhere. Itis the same here inthe film,” Sid toldus about his role inthe film lastmonth.

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andamuriBalakrishna offeredno comment toNaga Babu’s recentstatement, sayingthat the whole

industry is rallying behindhim and he doesn’t see a pointreacting to Naga Babu.

Balayya’s statement — thatactors are trying to grab landsand distribute among them byholding meetings withTalasani Srinivas Yadav — onhis father’s 97th birth anniver-sary last week drew the ire ofNaga Babu who asked Balayyato apologise to both industry

and Telangana government.Speaking to Yoyo TV,

Balayya also said that he wasn’tinvited to the fundraisingevent in US to help build abuilding for MAA.“Chiranjeevi garu and otherswent to Dallas to raise Rs 5crore. The government (ofTelangana) is supportivebecause of the industry stayingin Hyderabad. Can’t theauthorities give two-threeacres of land for free to con-struct a new building? Thegovernment is rushing to giveconsent to start shootingssidelining the Covid-19 scare,

because they need taxes. Weare the highest paying taxindustry in the society. Thebuilding hasn’t been construct-ed yet while the funds havedwindled,” the actor said.

Balayya added that he isopen to a multi-starrer withother Nandamuri heroes. “Ifwe get a good story we will doit. I can crack a story idea in acouple of minutes. Sometimeback, Singeetham Srinivas Raogaru and writer Satyanandgaru sat with me to discussAditya 999 Max. They spokeabout an apsara from heavenvisiting the Earth, only for me

to interrupt them andtell that my film is notJagadeka VeeruduAthiloka Sundari.Rather, it’s abouttime machine. Thenext day I told thema story idea andthey were spell-bound. If I want todo a multi-starrer itshould be on thestandards of Sholayin terms of grandeur.Two-three heroes approachedme in the past but they wentincommunicado after initialproposals,” he noted.

risha Krishnan hasdiscovered a quirkyway for home workout of biceps andtriceps.

In a video sheposted on Instagram Stories,Trisha plays with her dogZorro using a toy rope. Theclip shows Trisha holding thetoy, while her dog is seenpulling it.

She wrote, “Home workout

for triceps and biceps.”The actress then cuddles her

furry friend.She captioned the video,

“Bestest quarantine partner.”Recently, Trisha had shared a

picture of homemade pav bhajiamid lockdown.

The actress took toInstagram Stories, where sheshared a photograph of theyummy dish and wrote,“Homemade pav bhaji”.

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ovid-19 outbreak seems to have put aspanner in the works of producer DilRaju and director Anil Ravipudi in tak-ing F3 forward. According to the latestbuzz, Victory Venkatesh, who is themain face of the film, is believed to have

developed cold feet to start the project anytime this year. The 59-year-old has reportedlytold Ravipudi to not to initiate pre-produc-tion, with government set to give officialconsent for film shootings shortly.Apparently, he has asked the director towait till the end of the year. The actor, inthe meanwhile, wants to wrap upNaarappa. With the film being hisbrother Suresh Babu’s production, hecan take his own sweet time toresume work on it. Staying healthy isVenkatesh’s priority right now andone can’t blame it, says a source.

So, with Venky’s decision topush F3 next year, Ravipudistands to lose much, especiallyafter delivering a super hit likeSarileru Neekevvaru earlier thisyear. It is the reason why he is

working on another script that fitsNandamuri Balakrishna, another source

chips in.

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