12
I ndore, credited with the tag of being the cleanest city in the country, has seen unusual- ly high death rate at 5 per cent of the Covid-19 cases as against the national average of 3.2. Maharashtra with 342 deaths out of 8,068 positive cases and Gujarat with 151 deaths out of 3,301 positive cases have death rate of about four per cent. Delhi has death rate of around 2.5 per cent. The global death rate is around 7 per cent, with 29,40,059 cases and 2,03,803 deaths.Doctors in Indore, which has emerged as the one of the major coronavirus hotspots in the country, fear that virus strain plaguing the city could be deadlier than that in other parts of the country and have decided to send the sam- ples to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) to confirm their apprehension. A strain is a sub-type of a virus characterised by different cell surface proteins, eliciting a different immune response from other strains. “We have a feeling the strain is definitely more virulent in Indore belt. We have discussed this with the NIV and will be sending sam- ples for them to compare by extraction of virus genome,” Dean of Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College Jyoti Bindal said. “There are other factors also for the high fatality rate, like patients turning up at the hospitals late,” she said. “In Indore belt, the testing is con- fined to coronavirus detection only, and not its type, another doctor said. Jitendra Bhargava, director of the State Government-run School of Excellence in Pulmonary Medicine, also shared Bindal’s concern, saying the high mortality rate in Indore needs to be investigated through viral culture and RNA extraction. It is also true that the mor- tality rate is high in patients who had co-morbidities (presence of additional conditions along with the primary condition) like car- diac and renal problems or dia- betes and hypertension besides other immunity-compromis- ing conditions, he said. A t a time when oxygen ther- apy is used as a major treat- ment intervention for patients with severe Covid-19 infection in the country, India’s Government hospitals — run by the States and the Centre — are short of nearly 75,000 med- ical oxygen cylinders. It is against this backdrop that the Government has undertaken a massive exercise of converting industrial oxygen cylinders for medical use. In fact, recently, the Government allowed manufacturers of industrial oxygen to produce the gas for medical use also, a move aimed at ensuring unin- terrupted supply of materials that are required for treatment of people with severe symp- toms of Covid-19. And the good part is that barring seven States and Union Territories, all others have a surplus of industrial oxygen cylinders. Against a requirement of about 1.20 lakh medical oxygen cylinders, the Government hospitals have just around 45,000 cylinders. But as per the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as on April 25, 2020, put together India has 3,00,581 Type D industrial cylinders of which 46,282 cylinders are needed to be diverted for medical use to meet the current need. The Petroleum and Safety Organisation (PESO) has writ- ten to its nodal officers to undertake necessary measures for the conversion of industri- al oxygen cylinders into med- ical ones. Since Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur besides Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli face defi- ciency in industrial oxygen cylinders, they will get these from Assam and Gujarat. The needs of UP, Bihar and Chhattisgarh will be met from the Central pool of 800 cylin- ders. As per letter written on April 18, 2020 by Vandana Gurnani, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, there are about 165 Covid-19 health facilities having cryogenic tanks for storage of medical oxygen and 38 Covid-health facilities with own oxygen generation plant. Covid health centres need to have beds with assured oxy- gen support and similarly ded- icated Covid hospitals beds will need to have fully equipped ICU, ventilators and beds with assured oxygen supply. According to the WHO, oxygen therapy is recom- mended for all severe and crit- ical Covid-19 patients. Majority of people with Covid-19 have mild illness (40 per cent) or moderate illness (40 per cent), but about 15 per cent of them have severe illness requiring oxygen therapy. Five per cent are critically ill requiring inten- sive care unit (ICU) treatment. T he coronavirus spread fol- lowed the familiar growth trajectory on Sunday with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi contributing majority of the new positive case and deaths while bigger number of cases have also started coming from less affect- ed States like West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. However as a good news, Union Health Ministry officials said the recovery rate of coro- navirus patients in the country has jumped to 22 per cent, an increase of 10 percentage points from the rate of 12 per cent recorded till 10 days ago, in a sign that India’s battle against the virus is heading in the right direction. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the coronavirus situation in the country is improving as many hotspot districts (HSD) are moving towards being non- hotspot districts (NHSD). Indian on Sunday record- ed 1,603 new cases raising the total coronavirus cases to 27,886, including 6,523 recov- ered cases and 880 deaths. 55 died on Sunday. However, according to the Health Ministry, India record- ed 1,975 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours till Sunday evening. The Minister had visited All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre in Delhi to take stock of the preparedness to overcome Civid-19, a statement from the Ministry said. After a detailed review, Vardhan appreciated AIIMS for ensuring 24X7 mon- itoring of Covid-19 confirmed and suspected patients using digital platforms, video and voice call technologies. “Through a graded, pre- emptive and pro-active approach, the Government is taking several steps along with the States/UTs for prevention, containment and management of Covid-19. These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level,” the Ministry said. He urged people to observe lockdown in letter and spirit and to treat it as an effec- tive intervention to cut down the spread of Covid-19. V accine major Serum Institute of India on Sunday said it plans to start production of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks and hopes to bring it to the market by October if the human clinical trials are successful. The Pune-based company has partnered with Oxford University as one of the seven global institutions manufac- turing the vaccine. “Our team has been work- ing closely with Dr Hill from Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first 6 months, following which, we hope to scale up production to 10 mil- lion doses per month,” Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said. SII has collaborated with scientists at Oxford University for a malaria vaccine project in the past and can say with cer- tainty that they are some of the best scientists, he added. “We expect the (Covid-19) vaccine to be out in the market by September-October, only if the trials are successful with the requisite safety and assured efficacy. We will be starting trials in India for this vaccine hopeful- ly over the next 2-3 weeks’ time,” Poonawalla said. SII will be manufacturing the vaccine in anticipation of clinical trials succeeding by September-October in the UK, he added. O ne more head constable of the Mumbai Police suc- cumbed to coronavirus at MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, taking the total number of police person- nel who have died of Covid-19 in a span of three days to two. The two deceased policemen were among 96 policemen who have tested positive across the State in recent weeks. On its twitter handle @MumbaiPolice, the Mumbai Police announced the death of two of its head constables due to coronavirus. In a simultaneous tweet, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said, “In the ongoing fight against coron- avirus, we have lost two brave members of the Mumbai Police family — HC Chandrakant Ganapat Pendurkar & HC Sandip Surve. As a mark of respect to the departed souls, there shall be no tweets uploaded from my account today. Only responses will be given.” P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s war against coronavirus was people-driven and urged the country not to lower its guard against the deadly pandemic. Addressing the country through his monthly radio talk — Mann Ki Baat — Modi said Covid-19 crisis has changed how things are viewed and wished that pandemic crisis would end by Eid festival. The PM also appreciated the health, sanitation workers and police personnel for their dedicated service. “Covid-19 has changed how we view things. I am so happy to see the immense appreciation for the working of sanitation workers, our police forces. The appreci- ation for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers is excep- tional,” said Modi. Pointing out that India’s war against coronavirus was people-driven, the PM said today’s Mann Ki Baat took place when the country was in the midst of a ‘Yuddh.’ New Delhi: Covid-19 test kits should be made available urgently at the lowest possi- ble price so that the virus can be controlled and people’s health can be safeguarded at a time when the country was facing an “unprecedented medical crisis”, the Delhi High Court has said. T he number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients in China’s Wuhan, where the virus first emerged before turning out to be a pandemic, on Sunday dropped to zero for the first time, marking yet another mile- stone for the city which was opened up on April 8 after a 76-day lockdown. The result has been achieved with the “hard efforts of medical workers in Wuhan” and those who were dispatched to assist the city in the fight against the virus from across the country, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for China’s National Health Commission (NHC). The last patient in Wuhan was cured on Friday, reducing the number of coro- navirus patients in the city to zero, Mi said, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The health commission of Hubei province said no new cases or new deaths due to Covid-19 were reported. T he Delhi Government has launched an exercise to prepare a detailed plan for students of the city who are stranded abroad due to the coronavirus outbreak, sources said here on Sunday. Accordingly, Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev has asked officials to prepare a list of students stranded abroad and sug- gest measures for screening and quaran- tine among others upon their return to the city, the sources told PTI. “Delhi is also compiling its data of its students strand- ed abroad in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in several counties,” a source said. Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked all States and UTs to furnish data on such students, they said, adding that the Centre would take the final call on a pos- sible evacuation. Earlier this week, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to make arrangements to bring back students stranded overseas. A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the country’s east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye. The satellite photos released by 38 North, a website specialising in North Korea studies, don’t say anything about Kim’s potential health problems, and they echo South Korean Government intelli- gence that Kim is staying outside of the cap- ital, Pyongyang. Seoul has also repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim. That hasn’t stopped growing uncon- firmed rumours and media reports about Kim’s health that have emerged since he missed an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Detailed report onPage 8

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Page 1:  · Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli face defi-ciency in industrial oxygen ... voice call technologies. “Through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach, the Government

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�������

"�� �� �,7�3,8'"

Indore, credited with the tagof being the cleanest city in

the country, has seen unusual-ly high death rate at 5 per centof the Covid-19 cases as againstthe national average of 3.2.

Maharashtra with 342deaths out of 8,068 positivecases and Gujarat with 151deaths out of 3,301 positivecases have death rate of aboutfour per cent. Delhi has deathrate of around 2.5 per cent. Theglobal death rate is around 7 per

cent, with 29,40,059 cases and2,03,803 deaths.Doctors inIndore, which has emerged asthe one of the major coronavirushotspots in the country, fear thatvirus strain plaguing the citycould be deadlier than that inother parts of the country andhave decided to send the sam-ples to the Pune-based NationalInstitute of Virology (NIV) toconfirm their apprehension.

A strain is a sub-type of avirus characterised by differentcell surface proteins, eliciting adifferent immune responsefrom other strains. “We have afeeling the strain is definitelymore virulent in Indore belt. Wehave discussed this with theNIV and will be sending sam-ples for them to compare byextraction of virus genome,”Dean of Government MahatmaGandhi Memorial (MGM)Medical College Jyoti Bindalsaid. “There are other factorsalso for the high fatality rate,like patients turning up at thehospitals late,” she said. “InIndore belt, the testing is con-fined to coronavirus detectiononly, and not its type, anotherdoctor said.

Jitendra Bhargava, directorof the State Government-run

School of Excellence inPulmonary Medicine, alsoshared Bindal’s concern, sayingthe high mortality rate in Indoreneeds to be investigated throughviral culture and RNA extraction.

It is also true that the mor-tality rate is high in patients whohad co-morbidities (presence of

additional conditions along withthe primary condition) like car-diac and renal problems or dia-

betes and hypertension besidesother immunity-compromis-ing conditions, he said.

�������*�!���� �,7�3,8'"

At a time when oxygen ther-apy is used as a major treat-

ment intervention for patientswith severe Covid-19 infectionin the country, India’sGovernment hospitals — runby the States and the Centre —are short of nearly 75,000 med-ical oxygen cylinders.

It is against this backdropthat the Government hasundertaken a massive exerciseof converting industrial oxygencylinders for medical use. Infact, recently, the Governmentallowed manufacturers ofindustrial oxygen to producethe gas for medical use also, amove aimed at ensuring unin-terrupted supply of materialsthat are required for treatmentof people with severe symp-toms of Covid-19.

And the good part is thatbarring seven States and UnionTerritories, all others have asurplus of industrial oxygencylinders.

Against a requirement ofabout 1.20 lakh medical oxygencylinders, the Governmenthospitals have just around45,000 cylinders.

But as per the Departmentfor Promotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT) as on

April 25, 2020, put togetherIndia has 3,00,581 Type Dindustrial cylinders of which46,282 cylinders are needed tobe diverted for medical use tomeet the current need.

The Petroleum and SafetyOrganisation (PESO) has writ-ten to its nodal officers toundertake necessary measuresfor the conversion of industri-al oxygen cylinders into med-ical ones.

Since Meghalaya,Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura,Mizoram and Manipur besidesDaman and Diu and Dadraand Nagar Haveli face defi-ciency in industrial oxygencylinders, they will get thesefrom Assam and Gujarat. Theneeds of UP, Bihar andChhattisgarh will be met fromthe Central pool of 800 cylin-ders.

As per letter written onApril 18, 2020 by Vandana

Gurnani, Joint Secretary in theUnion Health Ministry, thereare about 165 Covid-19 healthfacilities having cryogenic tanksfor storage of medical oxygenand 38 Covid-health facilitieswith own oxygen generationplant.

Covid health centres needto have beds with assured oxy-gen support and similarly ded-icated Covid hospitals bedswill need to have fully equippedICU, ventilators and beds withassured oxygen supply.

According to the WHO,oxygen therapy is recom-mended for all severe and crit-ical Covid-19 patients. Majorityof people with Covid-19 havemild illness (40 per cent) ormoderate illness (40 per cent),but about 15 per cent of themhave severe illness requiringoxygen therapy. Five per centare critically ill requiring inten-sive care unit (ICU) treatment.

�� �� �,7�3,8'"

The coronavirus spread fol-lowed the familiar growth

trajectory on Sunday withMaharashtra, Gujarat, MadhyaPradesh and Delhi contributingmajority of the new positive

case and deaths while biggernumber of cases have alsostarted coming from less affect-ed States like West Bengal,Bihar and Jharkhand.

However as a good news,Union Health Ministry officialssaid the recovery rate of coro-

navirus patients in the countryhas jumped to 22 per cent, anincrease of 10 percentagepoints from the rate of 12 percent recorded till 10 days ago,in a sign that India’s battleagainst the virus is heading inthe right direction.

Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan on Sunday saidthe coronavirus situation in thecountry is improving as manyhotspot districts (HSD) aremoving towards being non-hotspot districts (NHSD).

Indian on Sunday record-ed 1,603 new cases raising thetotal coronavirus cases to27,886, including 6,523 recov-ered cases and 880 deaths. 55died on Sunday.

However, according to theHealth Ministry, India record-ed 1,975 coronavirus cases inthe last 24 hours till Sundayevening.

The Minister had visitedAll India Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS) TraumaCentre in Delhi to take stock ofthe preparedness to overcomeCivid-19, a statement from theMinistry said. After a detailedreview, Vardhan appreciatedAIIMS for ensuring 24X7 mon-itoring of Covid-19 confirmed

and suspected patients usingdigital platforms, video andvoice call technologies.

“Through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-activeapproach, the Government istaking several steps along withthe States/UTs for prevention,containment and managementof Covid-19.

These are being regularlyreviewed and monitored at thehighest level,” the Ministrysaid. He urged people toobserve lockdown in letter andspirit and to treat it as an effec-tive intervention to cut downthe spread of Covid-19.

����� �,7�3,8'"

Vaccine major SerumInstitute of India on

Sunday said it plans to startproduction of the Covid-19vaccine developed by OxfordUniversity in the next two tothree weeks and hopes to bringit to the market by October ifthe human clinical trials aresuccessful.

The Pune-based companyhas partnered with OxfordUniversity as one of the sevenglobal institutions manufac-turing the vaccine.

“Our team has been work-ing closely with Dr Hill fromOxford University, and we areexpecting to initiate productionof the vaccine in 2-3 weeks andproduce 5 million doses permonth for the first 6 months,following which, we hope to

scale up production to 10 mil-lion doses per month,” SerumInstitute India (SII) CEO AdarPoonawalla said.

SII has collaborated withscientists at Oxford Universityfor a malaria vaccine project inthe past and can say with cer-tainty that they are some of thebest scientists, he added.

“We expect the (Covid-19)vaccine to be out in the marketby September-October, only ifthe trials are successful with therequisite safety and assuredefficacy.

We will be starting trials inIndia for this vaccine hopeful-ly over the next 2-3 weeks’time,” Poonawalla said.

SII will be manufacturingthe vaccine in anticipation ofclinical trials succeeding bySeptember-October in the UK,he added.

�������������� �4�#�"

One more head constable ofthe Mumbai Police suc-

cumbed to coronavirus atMGM Hospital in NaviMumbai on Sunday, taking thetotal number of police person-nel who have died of Covid-19in a span of three days to two.The two deceased policemenwere among 96 policemen whohave tested positive across theState in recent weeks.

On its twitter handle@MumbaiPolice, the MumbaiPolice announced the death oftwo of its head constables dueto coronavirus.

In a simultaneous tweet,Mumbai Police CommissionerParam Bir Singh said, “In theongoing fight against coron-

avirus, we have lost two bravemembers of the Mumbai Policefamily — HC ChandrakantGanapat Pendurkar & HCSandip Surve. As a mark ofrespect to the departed souls,there shall be no tweetsuploaded from my accounttoday. Only responses will begiven.”

�� �� �,7�3,8'"

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday said India’s

war against coronavirus waspeople-driven and urged thecountry not to lower its guardagainst the deadly pandemic.

Addressing the countrythrough his monthly radio talk— Mann Ki Baat — Modi saidCovid-19 crisis has changedhow things are viewed andwished that pandemic crisiswould end by Eid festival.

The PM also appreciatedthe health, sanitation workersand police personnel for theirdedicated service. “Covid-19has changed how we viewthings. I am so happy to see theimmense appreciation for the

working of sanitation workers,our police forces. The appreci-ation for doctors, nurses,healthcare workers is excep-tional,” said Modi.

Pointing out that India’swar against coronavirus waspeople-driven, the PM saidtoday’s Mann Ki Baat tookplace when the country was inthe midst of a ‘Yuddh.’

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

�������� ��������������������� !��� ������������� ������� ������ ����������������������������������������

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New Delhi: Covid-19 testkits should be made availableurgently at the lowest possi-ble price so that the virus canbe controlled and people’shealth can be safeguarded ata time when the country wasfacing an “unprecedentedmedical crisis”, the DelhiHigh Court has said.

#�������� �� �� �������'���� ��(�� ���� �)

%������ �������"�������&�'����(������#)�*+� ����������������

��������������� ������������������������������ ������������������������������������������ �������������!��������"���� ����� �����������������������#� ����"������������������������� $%

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The number of hospitalised Covid-19patients in China’s Wuhan, where the

virus first emerged before turning out tobe a pandemic, on Sunday dropped to zerofor the first time, marking yet another mile-stone for the city which was opened up onApril 8 after a 76-day lockdown.

The result has been achieved with the“hard efforts of medical workers in Wuhan”and those who were dispatched to assist thecity in the fight against the virus fromacross the country, said Mi Feng, aspokesperson for China’s National HealthCommission (NHC).

The last patient in Wuhan was curedon Friday, reducing the number of coro-navirus patients in the city to zero, Misaid, state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.

The health commission of Hubeiprovince said no new cases or new deathsdue to Covid-19 were reported.

*���������+������������ ��� ����� ���,� � ���

-�%��(���!� ���� �� ���� ��� �������'����������� �������� �,7�3,8'"

The Delhi Government has launched anexercise to prepare a detailed plan for

students of the city who are strandedabroad due to the coronavirus outbreak,sources said here on Sunday.

Accordingly, Delhi Chief SecretaryVijay Dev has asked officials to prepare alist of students stranded abroad and sug-gest measures for screening and quaran-tine among others upon their return to thecity, the sources told PTI. “Delhi is alsocompiling its data of its students strand-ed abroad in the wake of the coronavirusoutbreak in several counties,” a source said.

Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gaubahas asked all States and UTs to furnish dataon such students, they said, adding that theCentre would take the final call on a pos-sible evacuation.

Earlier this week, senior Congressleader Prithviraj Chavan had askedMaharashtra Chief Minister UddhavThackeray to make arrangements to bringback students stranded overseas.

���� %,)48

Atrain likely belonging to North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un has been parked

at his compound on the country’s east coastsince last week, satellite imagery showed,amid speculation about his health that hasbeen caused, in part, by a long period outof the public eye.

The satellite photos released by 38North, a website specialising in NorthKorea studies, don’t say anything aboutKim’s potential health problems, and theyecho South Korean Government intelli-gence that Kim is staying outside of the cap-ital, Pyongyang.

Seoul has also repeatedly indicated thatthere have been no unusual signs that couldindicate health problems for Kim.

That hasn’t stopped growing uncon-firmed rumours and media reports aboutKim’s health that have emerged since hemissed an April 15 commemoration of the108th birthday of his grandfather, NorthKorea founder Kim Il Sung.

Detailed report onPage 8

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With Odisha registering arise in forest fires,

Director General Forests SanjayKumar has advised the StateGovernment to put in placespecial arrangements to dealwith these threats.

Rise in temperature in theState has created conduciveatmosphere for forest fires andOdisha has registered a suddenjump in forest fires across theState.

More than 5,300 fire spotshave been noticed sinceNovember 1 and duringMarch, there is a spike in for-est fires in the State.

November 1 is the begin-ning of forest fire season and inthe month of March, more than4,400 fire spots were registeredin the State. Incidents of forestfires are more reported inKoraput, Kalahandi,Sundargarh and Sambalpurdistricts.

Similarly, Southern Zonesare reporting more fire spotsand incidents, officials said.

This season also witnesses

increased threat of human-wild animal conflicts, damageto plantations, nurseries, andstress of animals in zoos.

Under this backdrop, DGForests Sanjay Kumar has madethe State Government awareabout the vulnerability offorests to fire incidents.

Satellite based forest firealerts issued by the ForestSurvey of India have revealedthat the country has witnessed

a sharp rise in forest fire lastweek.

The Forest Fire Geo PortalSurvey puts southern Odishaon the red as more fire inci-dents are reported in theseareas.

While the Department ofForest and Environment hasmapped the Forest Divisionsprone to forest fires and wasmaintaining more than 6,000-km-long fireline in different

forests ahead of the fire season,incidents of fires are on the rise.

The Principal ChiefConservator of Forests (PCCF)is monitoring the forest fireincidents and arrangementsare being made at ForestDivision level to contain forestfires.

However, Kumar hasadvised the State Governmentto put in special arrangementsto take care of the fire hazards.

He said that given theextraordinary challenges ofCOVID-19 and hot and dryseason, preparedness in theState, where forest fires are onrise, warrants early action.

The DG Forests hasadvised to notify a senior offi-cial as Nodal Officer for forestfires, who will be in constanttouch with Forest Fire ControlCell of the Union Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change.

While COVID-19 has putenormous stress on theGovernment resources, butprotection of forest and envi-ronment is also one of the pri-orities of the Government.

So exemption of restrictionon movement of forest per-sonnel has been favoured bythe Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA), which is handling thelockdown management in thecountry.

Kumar has also advised toreview situation by the StateForest Fire MonitoringCommittee to ensure collabo-rative mitigation actions in thefield level, said sources.

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Punjab Government onSunday issued advisory on

maintaining the hygiene andsanitization while carrying outworks under MGNREGA inthe wake of COVID-19.

Despite imposing severerestrictions on free movementof people in larger public inter-est, the Government hasallowed essential activities,including works under MGN-REGA, to continue or start tominimize hardships, whilemaking it clear that “meticu-lous compliance of guidelines”,essential to prevent the spreadof corona virus, shall beensured.

As per the guidelines, thesupervisory Sarpanch, GRS ormate shall meticulously followinstructions with regard topermissible works underMGNREGA as well as areawhere work has been allowedto start. Supervisor may devel-op a comprehensive work-planin a manner that he or she canalter time of reporting for workat work-site as well as day’sstoppage of work of MGNRE-GA workers in a manner that

though they completedaily work-cycle but atthe same time, report-ing or see-off is stag-gered.

Similarly, the work-area shall be allocatedat the work-site in amanner that social dis-tancing norm of at leastone meter is main-tained between theMGNREGA workers.

“All, includingSarpanch or GRSshould wear clothmasks at all times. Themasks shall be worn ina manner that it snugly coversnose as well as mouth. Thecloth mask should be washedwith soap and water daily afteruse,” said the spokepserson.

Regarding the hand wash-ing and sanitization, spokesper-son said that availability ofwater and soap in adequatequantity at work-site should beensured, and MGNREGAworkers should be encouragedto wash hands for at least 40seconds by applying soap gen-tly on the palm and back of thehand including web spacesbetween fingers and space as

well as between the finger andthe thumb and wrist whereverand whenever opportunity towash hands is available.

He said that a MGNREGAworker suffering from highfever, cough, sneezing or diffi-culty in breathing should vol-untarily report the same tosupervisor as well as seekimmediate medical advice fortimely detection and treat-ment. MGNREGA workersshould not share their lunchesor snacks with each other inorder to prevent cross-infec-tion.

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Haryana Government hasappointed nodal officers at

the state and district-level toensure the safety of medicalprofessionals and frontlineworkers in view of COVID-19to prevent any incidents of vio-lence against them.

The nodal officers at stateand district level will always beavailable to redress the safetyissue regarding the functioningof medical professionals, saidan official spokesman.

He said, in compliancewith the Home Secretary,Government of India‘s demiofficial letter, the HaryanaGovernment has alreadyappointed DIG (Law & order)as the state nodal officer (SNO)and all Police Commissioners,Senior Superintendents,Superintendents of Police asdistrict nodal officers.

The spokesman informedthat the district nodal officersshall regularly submit reports tothe state nodal officer. The state

nodal officer shall submitaction taken reports (ATRs) inconsultation with DirectorGeneral of Police to the HomeDepartment accordingly.

The details of the preven-tive measures taken and theappointment of the nodal offi-cers should be widely publi-cized amongst the medical fra-ternity, including the local ordistrict chapter of the IndianMedical Association (IMAs) aswell as to the public at large soas to create a sense of securityand confidence amongst the

health fraternity. Also, themembers of the IMA be keptapprised of the actions takenregularly, he said.

The spokesman furthersaid that the Union Ministry ofLaw and Justice has also passedan ordinance, which is calledEpidemic Diseases(Amendment) Ordinance2020. This ordinance prohibitsviolence against healthcare ser-vice personnel during an epi-demic, which cause or maycause harassment, harm, injury,obstruction or hindrance or

loss or damage to any proper-ty or documents in relation tohealth care service personneldischarging their duties.

Directions have been givento all the State Governmentsand District Administrationsand law enforcement agenciesto take all necessary measuresto ensure adequate protectionto healthcare professionals andfrontline workers, and to pre-vent any incident of violenceagainst them. The instructionsalso stated that strict actionshould be taken against thosewho obstruct the performanceof last rites of the medicalprofessionals or health carepersonnel posted in the front-line who died of COVID-19infection while dischargingtheir services, the spokesmansaid.

He said that the SupremeCourt, in its order pronouncedon April 8, stated that theGovernment of India, therespective States and UnionTerritories and the respectivePolice authorities should pro-

vide necessary police protec-tion to the Doctors and med-ical staff in hospitals and placeswhere patients who have beendiagnosed with COVID -19 orpatients suspected of COVID-19, or those quarantined.

Apart from this, the Courthas also directed to providenecessary police protection todoctors and other medical staffwho visit places to conductscreening of people to find outsymptoms of the disease, thespokesman said.

He also said that the UnionHome Ministry, on the direc-tions of the Supreme Court hasasked all states or UTs orDistrict authorities to takestrict penal action Under theDisaster Management Act,2005 or any other law in force,against the offenders, whoobstruct Government healthofficials, or other health pro-fessionals and/or related per-sons, who are authorized underthe Disaster Management Act,2005, in the discharge of theirlawful services.

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No fresh novel coronaviruscase has been reported in

Himachal Pradesh for the lastthree days, a senior health offi-cial said on Sunday.

Of the 176 samples sent fortesting on Sunday, 38 testednegative while reports of therest are awaited, AdditionalChief Secretary (Health) R DDhiman said.

These tests are being con-ducted at Dr Rajendra PrasadGovernment Medical College(RPGMC) in Tanda, IndiraGandhi Medical College(IGMC) in Shimla and CentralResearch Institute (CRI) inKasauli in Solan district.

Himachal Pradesh has sofar reported 41 coronaviruscases. While 22 patients haverecovered, 13 are undergoingtreatment.

Dhiman said residents ofthe state can take any medical

help by sending messages onWhatsApp helpline number --01792227328.

He also said the thermalscreening of all stranded peo-ple from Himachal Pradeshwho are now returning to thestate will be done at interstateborders and they will be keptunder mandatory surveillancefor at least 14 days.

On Saturday, two moreCOVID-19 patients had recov-ered from the disease, takingthe total number of those curedin the state to 22.

Eleven patients from Unadistrict, four from Chamba,three each from Solan andKangra and one from Sirmaurdistrict have recovered so far,Dhiman added.

So far, 41 coronavirus caseshave been reported in the state.The number of active cases is13.

Five active cases from Una,two each from Solan, Chamba

and Hamirpur, one each fromKangra and Sirmaur are beingtreated at RPGMC in Tanda inKangra, Charitable Hospitalin Bhota in Hamirpur districtand ESIC in Katha in Baddi.

Four patients were shiftedto a private hospital outsideHimachal Pradesh.

Two people have died ofCOVID-19 in the state. Thefatalities include a 70-year-oldDelhi resident who had stayedat a guest house of a factory inBaddi in Solan district and diedat PGIMER, Chandigarh, onApril 2.

HIMACHAL PERMITSSHOPS, EXCEPT SHOP-PING MALLS TO REOPEN

Going by the UnionMinistry of Home Affairsorder, Himachal governmenton Sunday said all shops, exceptthose in shopping malls, inrural areas will reopen.

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Punjab Medical Educationand Research Minister OP

Soni on Sunday said that theGovernment had initiatedpreparations and arrangementsto increase the number of dailytests from current 1050 to3800 in the state’s governmentmedical colleges, which wouldbe completed soon.

The three GovernmentMedical Colleges in state hadconducted more than 10,000COVID-19 tests, of which 217were positive, he said addingthat the College labs started with initialcapacity of 40 tests per day each atAmritsar and Patiala Government MedicalColleges (GMCs) after getting approval ofIndian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) on March 15, 2020.

With the increase in number of

patients of coronavirus, the MedicalEducation Department had immediatelytaken up the matter with the ICMR seek-ing permission to conduct 1050 tests dailyin GMC Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot.Following the approval, the Governmentstarted testing 400 samples each daily at

Amritsar and Patiala GMCsbesides 250 at Baba FaridUniversity of Health Sciences,Faridkot.

“The Government’sprompt action regardingenhancement of capacity from40 to 400 for testing sampleshas immensely benefitted theState to keep the spread ofcoronavirus under check,” hesaid.

The Minister revealed thatwith Punjab Government’sconcerted efforts, Amritsarand Patiala GMCs would soonstart conducting daily 1400

tests each besides testing 1000 samplesdaily at Faridkot thereby conducting a total3800 tests of COVID-19 daily in theseinstitutions. At present, 5346 Extraction(Manual) and 29461 RT-PCR Test kits areavailable, and the pool test capacity is 1050,which is proved very helpful.

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Asharp spike in COVID-19positive cases has been

witnessed in Chandigarh witheight new cases reported in last24 hours.

Father, mother, two sistersand a child, the primary con-tacts of Bapu Dham colonypositive cases have been testedpositive for COVID-19(Coronavirus).

While father was testedpositive on late Saturday night,others turned out to be positivefor Coronavirus on Sunday.The Bapu Dham resident is award boy at GovernmentMedical College and Hospital(GMCH-32). A male residentof Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran,an attendant at GMCH-32,who is a work place contact of

Bapu Dham positive case is alsoturned out to be COVID pos-itive on Saturday night.

Two more nursing staff,one each from PGIMER andGMCH-32 were tested positivefor Coronavirus on Sunday.

“A 26 years old female,living in a Hostel at Sector 12,who is a health worker atPGIMER and a 25 years oldmale resident of Sector 32, ahealth worker at GMCH-32have been tested positive forCoronavirus,” said an officialspokesman.

He said that five familymembers of Bapu DhamCOVID positive case have alsobeen tested positive. Till the fil-ing of this story, report of 48samples was awaited.

“The city has so far record-ed 36 positive cases, out of

which 17 have recovered,” thespokesman said.

The GMCH-32 ward boy(30) from Bapu Dham wasbooked on Saturday for violat-ing curfew norms and othercharges. He had organised aparty to celebrate his weddinganniversary, inviting more than40 people to his house in atriple-storey building in BapuDham Colony-26 includingfamily members, childrenamong them.

Giving details of contacttracing of Bapu Dham positivecase, the spokesman said thatamong 124 community con-tacts identified, two have beensampled for test and results arepending. Among 20 work placecontacts sampled, 19 haveturned out to be negative andone living in Mauli Jagran has

turned out to be positive. The spokesman said that

immediate family members ofMauli Jagran positive case havebeen tested and results areawaited. 44 community con-tacts have been home quaran-tined, he added.

About the fresh cases ofhealth workers at GMCH-32and PGIMER, the spokesmansaid that the contact tracing isongoing.

So far, 756 samples havetested in the city and 677 havebeen found negative.

As a precautionary mea-sure, 2307 residents have so farbeen put under home quaran-tine while 1694 have complet-ed the quarantine period.

SPIKE IN CASES OFHEALTH WORKERS TRIG-

GERS CONCERN

With surge in the cases ofhealth workers from PGIMERand GMCH-32 getting infect-ed from Coronavirus, thedevelopment has sent alarmbell ringing in the UTAdministration.

Four new cases related tohealth workers and other stafffrom hospitals has been report-ed in the city in last 24 hours.

UT Adviser Manoj Paridasaid that the Administrationhas directed the hospitaladministrations to follow theprotocol to stop the spread ofinfection among healthworkersand other staff members in thehospitals.

Only a day before, PunjabGovernor and UTAdministrator VP Singh

Badnore had expressed con-cern about the outbreak of a newpositive case in Bapu DhamColony, particularly because thearea is quite congested and thepatient used to work in GMCH-32. He had also expressed appre-hension that if the major hospi-tals of the Chandigarh becomea hub for infection, then theentire health management sys-tem will get crippled.

C H A N D I G A R H ' SYOUNGEST POSITIVEPATIENT, 11-MONTH OLDBABY CURED

Chandigarh’s youngestCOVID-19 patient, an 11-month-old baby girl, and hermother were cured and dis-charged from PGIMER’s ded-icated COVID Hospital on

Sunday after winning theirhard fought battle against thehighly contagious disease.

With their discharge, thenumber of patients declaredcured and discharged fromPGIMER’s COVID hospitalrose to nine, said an officialspokesman.

The recovered patients thatwere discharged had in all fourmembers of their family testedCOVID -19 positive and wereadmitted in PGIMER on April3. The infant is the NRI couplewho had come from Canada onMarch 13 and was tested pos-itive of Coronavirus on March30. While the father was dis-charged a week earlier after hetested negative and with bothmother and daughter dis-charged, three of the family arealready cured whereas the

grandmother of the child is stilladmitted in PGIMER.

Though discharged fromPGIMER, the mother anddaughter will be home quar-antined for 14 days as per thestandard protocol to be fol-lowed by all COVID-19patients.

Prof. Jagat Ram, DirectorPGIMER was personally pre-sent on the occasion to com-pliment the mother-daughterduo on their successful recov-ery. “There is always a silverlining in the dark clouds. Inthese extremely challengingtimes, this moment, when anypatient gets discharged afterbeing declared cured fromCOVID-19, is a moment of tri-umph and jubilation not onlyfor the patient and his familybut for the entire medical team.

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At least 15 new cases ofCoronavirus infection sur-

faced in State on Sunday.Among the 15 fresh cases,three are nurses who helped awoman from Hindpiri duringher childbirth at Sadar hospi-tal last week. The woman laterwas tested COVID-19 positive.This is highest single day risein cases in Jharkhand since theoutbreak of disease.

The detection of infectionin nurses is the first instance ofmembers of medical fraterni-ty testing positive inJharkhand. Apart from three

nurses, 12 other persons havetested positive. Out of the 12,two are from Lowadih nearKantatoli, eight persons fromHindpiri the hotspot of coro-na infection in State and twofrom Garhwa. With 15 freshcases in Jharkhand, the num-ber of Coronavirus infectedpersons has gone up to 83.

Confirming the develop-ment, state health secretary,Nitin Madan Kulkarni said,“On Sunday 15 corona positivecases were detected. These fif-teen cases include three nurs-es working at Sadar hospital.”Sources said that the materni-ty ward of Sadar hospital hasbeen sealed after a womanfrom Hindpiri who gave birthto a child at ward was later test-ed positive.

After the Hindpiri womanwas tested positive, more than100 staff (nurses and otherparamedics) samples were col-

lected at Sadar Hospital. Whilethe reports of many weredeclared negative, these threenurses’ reports were found topositive.

Out of 83 cases, 56 coronacases are from Ranchi whichhas been declared as red zoneas number of corona positivecases in Ranchi has increasedin past few days. Out of 56cases, number of patients inHindpiri is 50 which is hotspotarea. At the same time, onepositive case each has been

found in Kantatoli and Bariatuand two each in Lowadih andBero respectively.

The fresh cases are alsocause for concern for seniorpolice and administrative staffas one case is from Guru NanakSchool – a sweeper whoworked here. Sources said theemergence of fresh cases iscause of concern as manysenior administrative officialsincluding Ranchi DC and SSP will now have to quaran-tined.

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The sudden weather changecaused by spells of rain

causing temperature fluctua-tions is being observed inDehradun and other parts ofthe state for the past few days.According to the healthexperts, such sudden changesin weather can result in variousillnesses, especially among chil-dren and old people.

The temperature fluctua-tions as being observedpresently create an ideal atmos-phere for viruses to proliferatethat causes various viral infec-tions and illnesses, saidDehradun based consultantphysician Dr Sanjay KumarVarun.

He said that virus general-ly attacks the respiratory tractin humans therefore it isimportant to take precautionsto minimise the risk of infec-tion. Dietician from

Government Doon MedicalCollege (GDMC) hospital DrRicha Kukreti Dobariyal sug-gests several measures toremain healthy and boostimmunity during the fluctuat-ing weather. Dr Dobariyal saidthat in the current constantlyvarying temperature, the par-ents should make sure that chil-

dren wear the clothes coveringtheir whole body so that theydo not catch cold.

The consumption of colddrinks and ice creams shouldalso be avoided.

"Currently, one shouldfocus on increasing the immu-nity of the body. Some productslike warm milk with a pinch of

turmeric powder, green tea,tulsi, vegetables, fruits andfibre-rich items can be used toboost immunity.

If possible, people espe-cially children should con-sume more fruits with peelslike orange and banana thangrapes or strawberries," statedDr Dobariyal.

According to the experts,keeping the body hydrated,maintaining a proper routineduring lockdown and doingregular exercise are also someways of keeping the bodyhealthy in the current sce-nario.

Dr Varun also suggestsavoiding the use of air condi-tioners and cooler as much asone can during the constantlychanging temperature as it cancause cold or other illnesses.

He said that it is alsoimportant to maintain hygieneby washing hands regularlywith soap, using sanitisers andusing masks so that viruses donot reach the respiratory sys-tem and attack it.

According to the experts,considering the current novelcoronavirus pandemic it isimportant more than ever toboost immunity, maintainhygiene and to remain healthy,particularly for old people.

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The weather took a turnwith rain and hail being

experienced in Dehradun,Nainital and other parts of thestate on Sunday.

Similar weather conditionsare forecast to prevail onMonday too with light to mod-erate rain/thunderstorm likelyto occur at most places in thestate.

In Dehradun, people wokeup to a rainy Sunday with hailalso being experienced in someparts. This caused a drop ofnine degrees Celsius in themaximum temperature inDehradun.

Similar conditions wereexperienced in Nainital withthe resulting marked drop intemperature making peoplewear the warm clothing somehad packed considering theadvent of summer. The rainand hail experienced in variousparts of the state has exerted adetrimental effect on the stand-ing crops and the fruits.According to the state meteo-rological centre, the state willexperience partly to generallycloudy sky on Monday. Light tomoderate rainfall/thunder-

storm accompanied with light-ning is likely to occur at mostplaces in Uttarakhand.

The meteorological centrehas warned of the possibility ofhail/lightning likely to occur atisolated places in the state.Thunder squalls of up to 60kmph are likely to occur at iso-lated places in the plains of thestate.

In Dehradun, the meteo-rological centre has forecastpartly to generally cloudy sky.Rain/thunderstorm accompa-nied with gusty winds is likelyto occur in some areas whilethe maximum and minimum

temperatures are likely to bearound 31 degrees Celsius and16 degrees Celsius respective-ly on Monday.

Meanwhile, on Sundaythe maximum and minimumtemperatures recorded in var-ious parts of the state were 24.5degrees Celsius and 16.6degrees Celsius respectively inDehradun, 28 degrees Celsiusand 20.7 degrees Celsius inPantnagar, 14.5 degrees Celsiusand 7.7 degrees Celsius inMukteshwar and 14.2 degreesCelsius and 10.8 degreesCelsius respectively in NewTehri.

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The number of novel coro-navirus (COVID-19)

affected patients inUttarakhand climbed to 51 onSunday after the state healthdepartment reported three newcases of the disease. All thethree patients were reportedfrom Dehradun district. One ofthem is a health worker (nurs-ing staff ) working in theUrology department of the AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS), Rishikeshwhile the other two include apregnant woman and her hus-band from Azadnagar colonyof Dehradun. The healthdepartment and the authoritiesof the AIIMS Rishikesh wereshocked when report of a nurs-

ing officer of AIIMS was foundpositive for the disease. TheAIIMS authorities immediate-ly sealed the entire block of theUrology department and sentall the staff members of thedepartment into quarantine.The dean, hospital affairs ofAIIMS, Rishikesh, Dr U BMishra said that the nursingofficer was working in IPDwing of urology departmentand he developed mild symp-toms on April 24. On April 25,the nursing officer presentedhimself at screening OPDwhere his sample was taken forCOVID-19 test which wasfound positive. Dr Mishraadded said that probably thisnursing officer came into con-tact with some asymptomaticcarrier in the ward. He said that

samples of all the patientsadmitted in the ward and allstaff members who came intocontact with him are beingtaken for test.

The additional secretary,state health department, YugalKishore Pant said that a 32 yearold pregnant woman ofAzadnagar area of Dehradunwas found positive for the dis-ease on Sunday. Later, duringthe night, her husband was alsofound to be COVID-19 posi-tive as per the report receivedfrom the government DoonMedical College lab. Pant saidthat two patients of the diseasewere discharged from Melahospital, Haridwar after theirsecond sample was found neg-ative on the day. He said that sofar 28 patients have recoveredfrom the disease and dis-charged from the hospitals.Pant added that 56 per cent ofthe total positive cases in thestate have recovered from thedisease. He said that rate of col-lecting samples is 455 per mil-lion of population in

Uttarakhand and only 1 per-cent of total of samples testedhave been found positive whichis much less than the nationalaverage. The rate of doubling ofpatients in the state for past oneweek has been 28 days.

Pant said that reports of254 suspected patients werereceived by the departmenton Sunday till 6.00 pm and twoof them were found positive forthe disease. He said that reportsof 348 samples are still await-ed by the department.

Later at 9 PM, the report ofthe pregnant woman’s hus-band also turned out positive.The authorities have so fartaken swab samples of 5277suspected patients for COVID-

19 test. On Sunday, samples of119 suspected patients weretaken and sent to the lab fortest. The authorities have so farprovided psychiatric coun-selling to 22276 migrantslabours kept in different reliefcamps of the state. Pant saidthat seven colonies- BhagatSingh colony, Kargi Grant,Jhabarwala in Doiwala,Keshavpuri Basti, MuslimColony, Azadnagar near ISBTand Bees Bigha colony inRishikesh in Dehradun districthave been declared contain-ment zones. In Haridwar threeareas are declared hotspotswhile one area ( Vanbhoolpura)is hotspot in Haldwani ofNaintal district.

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The shops selling essentialcommodities will be

allowed to remain open from7 AM to 1 PM across the State.Strict enforcement of the lock-down will be continued andaction will be taken againstthose violating it. This wasdecided in a meeting chairedby the Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat toreview the status of COVID-19contagion in the State onSunday.

The Chief Minister saidthat lockdown should beenforced strictly and actionshould be taken against thosefound not observing socialdistancing. Special attentionshould be given to patientcare.

It was also decided in themeeting that permission foropening shops in the ruraland urban areas of the state

should be granted as per theguidelines of the Governmentof India.

Hence, the time of openingshops allowed by the govern-ment will be 7 AM to 1 PM inthe entire state. It will berecalled that earlier onSaturday, the state governmenthad decided to allow shops inthe mountainous districts cat-

egorized in the green zone toremain open from 7 AM to 6PM.

Chief secretary UtpalKumar Singh, director gener-al of police Anil K Raturi, prin-cipal secretary ManishaPanwar, secretaries Amit SinghNegi, Nitesh Jha and RadhikaJha were also present in themeeting.

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The Gangotri and Yamunotrishrines were ritually

opened on the occasion ofAkshay Tritiya on Sunday. Inaccordance with governmentguidelines I view of COVID-19, no devotees or pilgrimswere present with only priestsconducting the rituals at thetwo shrines in Uttarkashi dis-trict. Meanwhile, the palanquinof lord Kedarnath proceeded ina vehicle from his winter abodein Ukhimath.

In a simple ritualistic cer-emony, the portals of Gangotrishrine were opened at 12:35PM while the portals ofYamunotri shrine were openedat 12:41 PM.

Only a few officials werepresent on the occasion apartfrom the priests who main-tained social distancing andother precautions while con-

ducting the rituals. Meanwhile,in Rudraprayag district, a smallprocession carrying thePanchmukhi idol of lordKedarnath departed from theOmkareshwar temple inUkhimath.

Only a few priests andofficials were present with the

palanquin which was carried ina utility vehicle instead of thebearers going ahead on foot.The procession reachedGaurikund on Sunday itself.On Monday, the ritual proces-sion carrying the lord’sPanchmukhi idol will reachLincholi and on Tuesday

evening it will reach Kedarnath.The portals of Kedarnathshrine will be opened for thesummer on Wednesday, April29 at 6:10 AM.

The portals of Badrinathshrine are slated to be reopenedfor the summer on May 15 at4:30 AM. It is pertinent to

mention that though thereopening of Char Dhamshrines has begun on Sunday,in observance of Central gov-ernment directions for con-taining the spread of COVID-19, no pilgrims are beingallowed to visit the shrines atpresent.

The state’s tourism secre-tary Dilip Jawalkar said thatafter the portals of the CharDham shrines are opened, thesituation will be assessed anddecision on conducting theYatra will be taken as per thehigh level directions receivedfor this.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that Uttarakhand CharDham Devsthanam Board haddeputed officials to ensure nec-essary arrangements forreopening of the Gangotri andYamunotri shrines whileadvance teams had been sent toBadrinath and Kedarnath.

As precaution againstCOVID-19, social distancing,wearing of masks and othermeasures are being observed inthe ritual processions whichculminate in reopening of theshrines. The sites where theshrines are located are alsobeing sanitised.

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The Uttarakhand unit ofCongress party has

demanded that the union gov-ernment should provide aneconomic package toUttarakhand to compensatefor Char Dham Yatra loss thisyear. Talking to the media per-sons at the headquarters of thestate unit of the party onSunday, the Pradesh CongressCommittee (PCC) chief PritamSingh said that the Char DhamYatra which operates for sixmonths in a year is the back-bone of the economy of themountainous areas of the stateand this year the Yatra wouldbe affected severely by thethreat posed by the novelCoronavirus (COVID-19). Hesaid that those who are direct-ly linked with Yatra like taxiand maxi operators, drivers,small shopkeepers and hotelowners are staring at uncertainfuture. Similarly the unsea-sonal rains and hailstorms inthe state have ruined the cropscompletely. “The Uttarakhandgovernment should demand

an economic package from theunion government. An eco-nomic package helped in thestate in coming out of the dis-aster in the year 2013,’’ he said.The PCC president alsodemanded that the pendingdues of the sugarcane farmersshould be cleared. He criticizedthe state government for toeingthe guidelines issued by thecentral government blindly onCOVID-19 and not applying itsmind. “It appears that the stategovernment waits for theguidelines of central govern-ment COVID-19 and it does-n’t bother to make any changesin them as per the local require-ments. The state government is

like Kumbhkarn that sleepsfor six months,’’ he quipped. Onthe BJP’s accusation that thePCC president of Uttarakhandhas stuck upon Gujarat, PritamSingh said that he is raising theissue of sending 1800 people ofGujarat back to their homestate during lockdown becauseit shows the selective approachof government. He said that thestate government showed aproactive approach in sendingpeople of Gujarat back buttook no initiative to send peo-ple of other states stranded inUttarakhand to their respectivestates or ensure return of peo-ple of Uttarakhand strandedelsewhere.

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After the intervention of theDelhi high court, the

Ministry of Home Affairs hasgranted permission to bringback the body of Tehri districtnative Kamlesh Bhatt who haddied recently in the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE).

Ministry of Home Affairs,Foreigners Section,Immigration director SumantSingh issued an office memo-randum on Saturday eveningstating that the arrival of thebodies/mortal remains ofIndian nationals/ OCI card-holders is permitted subject tostrict adherence to govern-mental guidelines/instructionsfor containment of COVID-19and other valid documentation.Following this, theUttarakhand government has

facilitated an ambulance andgranted permission to twofamily members and the driverto travel to and receive thebody at the cargo terminal ofIGI airport in Delhi.

If the procedures are com-pleted on time, the body is

expected to arrive late onSunday night from Dubai.

A native of Semwal villageof Saklana Patti in DhanaultiTehsil of Tehri district, 24-year old Kamlesh Bhatt hadexpired due to a heart attack onApril 17 in Abu Dhabi. Withthe efforts of his family mem-bers and help fromUttarakhand native socialworker Roshan Raturi in UAE,his body was sent from UAE toDelhi on April 23.

However, before his fami-ly members could reach theairport, the officials present

there sent the body back toUAE due to some reasons.Bhatt’s younger brotherVimlesh Bhatt and his uncleManish Uniyal sought helpfrom the Central and Stategovernments.

This news also spread onthe social media. Taking cog-nisance of this, Delhi highcourt lawyers -Tehri nativeRituparn Uniyal and AbhishekKumar filed a writ in the highcourt on Saturday seeking thereturn of Bhatt’s body to India.Advocate Uniyal informedthat despite if being a holiday,the high court heard the mat-ter through video conferenc-ing. He said that after hearingthe matter, the court soughtinformation from the addi-tional solicitor general aboutaction taken by the govern-ment.

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The Dehradun districtadministration will take

action against the schools pres-surising parents to deposit theschool fee or raising the feeduring the lockdown. OnSunday, district magistrateAshish Kumar Shrivastavainformed that if the districtadministration receives anycomplaint from the parentsabout any school managementraising school fee or com-pelling them to submit the feeduring the lockdown, actionwill be taken against the schoolfollowing investigation. Hestated that the parents cancomplain about such issues tothe administration through the

district control room number0135-2726066.

Meanwhile, theUttarakhand AbhibhavakSangh (UAS) stated in a letterto the Uttarakhand chief min-ister Trivendra Singh Rawatthat despite of the govern-ment's orders of not forcingparents to submit the fee, somelocal schools are constantlyasking parents to deposit theamount. The Sangh hasrequested the CM to takeaction against such schools.

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With liquor outlets remain-ing shut during the ongo-

ing lockdown, bootleggers aredoing their bit to exploit the sit-uation. On Sunday, theGangnahar police in Roorkeeseized a pick-up vehicle smug-gling 167 cartons of liquor.

The police had receivedinformation about smugglingof illegal liquor in a pick-upvehicle. The police thenformed a team and seized the

vehicle smuggling the liquor.Haridwar superintendent

of police (Rural) SwapanKishore Singh said that accusedMukesh Kumar, a resident ofSaharanpur (Uttar Pradesh)informed that that a mannamed Joginder had told himto deliver this pickup toRoorkee. An FIR has beenlodged against the accusedunder sections 60, 72 of ExciseAct, sections 188, 269, 270 ofIPC and 51B National DisasterManagement Act 2005.

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Page 4:  · Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli face defi-ciency in industrial oxygen ... voice call technologies. “Through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach, the Government

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In an apparent reference tothe Tablighi Jamaat after its

centre in Delhi emerged as amajor coronavirus hotspot,Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) sarsangchalak MohanBhagwat on Sunday cautionedagainst holding grudge againstthe entire community. At thesame time, he raised concernsover the mob lynching of sad-hus in Palghar in Maharashtra.

In his first address, broadcastlive from Sangh’s headquarter inNagpur, since the imposition ofcountrywide lockdown, Bhagwatsaid, "Don't get angry, don't getfired up. We can't harbour ill-willagainst the entire community formistakes of few individuals.”

More than a third of coron-avirus infections in India arelinked to that gathering, as perthe Union Home Ministry."It isour duty to help in this time ofcrisis. All 130 crore Indians areour own. We are one," he said.He was addressing the countryon the "current situation and ourrole" on the occasion of AkshayTritiya, considered an auspi-cious occasion in Hindu mythol-ogy.

Bhagwat also cautionedagainst forces inimical to India''sinterests taking advantage ofthe situation, exhorted all to helpthose affected without any dis-crimination and stressed ondeveloping a self-reliant econo-my.

"We have to be patient andcalm. There should be no fear oranger as people with anti-Indiamindset can use it against thecountry," he said

Sharing his thoughts on thelynching of two saints inMaharashtra's Palghar earlierthis month, he raised questionson the police for failing to pre-vent the incident and the attack-ers for taking the law into theirhands.

“The murder of two sadhus.Should this have happened?Should law and order be takeninto one's hands? What shouldhave Police done? All of this issomething to think about,” hesaid adding the VHP will organ-ise a ceremony for the deceasedreligious persons on March 28.

He called for developing a“new model” of sustainabledevelopment post-coronaviruscrisis with greater emphasis on“Swadeshi” and self-reliance.

Bhagwat also asked all com-munity and religious leaders toguide people in observing lock-down guidelines like maintain-ing physical distancing andputting on face masks for their

own safety as well as that of oth-ers.

The RSS chief said a newsustainable new economic devel-opment model should be workedout with an emphasis on buying“Swadeshi” and minimumdependence on foreign products.

Advocating lifestyle changesin the light of coronavirus pan-demic, he said there were somepositive fall-out of the lock-down with air and river watersturning clean and asked peopleto ensure that these new stan-dards be maintained after the lift-ing of lockdown.

He said pandemic is there tostay for some time and peopleshould be rendering “self-lessservice” to each other. Bhagwatsaid RSS ‘Swayemsewaks’ have,in their own way, been render-ing their service and all other cit-izens should be forthcoming ingreat number to strengthen thehands of administration.

Bhagwat praisedGovernment’s measures to bat-tle-out the pandemic andappealed to all community lead-ers to communicate and createawareness for following the dosand don’ts during the lockdown.

He said India’s “sanskriti” hasalways been that of treating thewhole world as one family andthis has again been proved withIndia providing medicines to for-eign countries even at her owncost.

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The Government decision toadvise the resident doctors

for home quarantine in casethey come into contact with aCovid-19 positive colleaguehas not gone down well withthe Federation of ResidentDoctors’ Association India(FORDA India).

It feels that instead of ask-ing them for home quarantine,the resident doctors shouldhave been provided with sep-arate accommodation till theirhealth status is known so thatthey don’t infect those athome.

Now, the FORDA haswritten to Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan andDelhi Health Minister

Satyendra Jain in this regard,demanding separate accom-modation for the ResidentDoctors of various hospitals,who have been advised forhome quarantine.

The Association statedthat the “provision of separateaccommodation facilities forhome quarantined doctors willbe an important precautionarymeasure to control the spreadof the virus.”

FORDA president doctorShivaji Dev Barman said,“Through this letter we wantto raise a very important issuefaced by doctors. Recently,many doctors have tested pos-itive for COVID-19 and theirprimary contacts which aremostly other resident doctorsand colleagues, are advised for

home quarantine. Many ofthem are anxious regardingthis.”

Barman explained, “Manyresident doctors live in hostelsallotted in the hospital campuswhile others stay in theirhomes. There are family mem-bers in their homes like elder-ly parents and children whoare most vulnerable to this dis-ease. The doctors themselvesmight be the source of infec-tion for their own familymembers.”

He also added that doctorswho are staying in the hostels,share common mess andwashrooms, etc. with otherresidents. Therefore, it is veryimportant to provide a sepa-rate accommodation for theresident doctors who are pri-

mary contacts till they testnegative for the virus.

“There is no separateguideline currently for theaccommodation of the pri-mary contacts, other thanhome quarantine,” saidBarman, adding “we need tosafeguard our healthcareworkforce in the battle againstthis invisible enemy.”

Dr Sunil Arora, GeneralSecretary hoped that the con-cerned authorities will take upthe matter on the urgentbasis. “Doctors are used tosaving lives, and we will con-tinue to do that no matterwhat. But since this time weare dealing altogether differ-ent type of disease, a smallignorance can be fatal for allof us," he said.

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Atropical broom creeper,Cocculus Hirsutus, popu-

lar among tribal communityand already being tested as partof an anti-dengue botanicaldrug development project, mayalso be tested for its efficacyagainst Covid-19 if the DrugController General of India(DGCI) gives its approval.

The Council of Scientificand Industrial Research (CSIR)has sought an approval fromthe DCGI to conduct limitedrandomised trials among 50patients to test its efficacy.According to scientists fromCSIR, the antiviral properties ofthe medicine have been foundto be effective against vector-borne dengue disease as part of

the initial stages of human tri-als.

“We have approachedDCGI for a phytopharmaceu-ticals to do a clinical trial forCocculus-Hirsutus. It is used bytribes in our country. We arealready testing the efficacy ofthis medicine against Dengueand it is in the advanced stagein Phase-II human trials. The

mechanisms of treatment aresimilar,” said Dr Shekhar CMande, director-general, CSIR.

In May 2016, Sun Pharmaand International Centre forGenetic engineering andBiotechnology (ICGEB), Delhi,had signed a pact to develop anovel botanical drug for treat-ment against Dengue. Researchhas been underway on this

drug for the last five years, saidDr Ram Vishwakarma, direc-tor of Indian Institute ofIntegrative Medicine, Jammu.CSIR-IIIM Jammu has helmedthe latest application made toDCGI to conduct trials usingthe botanical medicine.

“It has been found to beeffective against dengue in tri-als. We are thinking of doingscientific experiments to con-firms its efficacy against RNA-viruses, including SARS-CoV-2,” said Vishawakarma. “Boththese viruses (dengue andCoronavirus) have differententry mechanisms but oncethey enter the human body,they grow in similar ways. Wehave seen its efficacy in dengue,chikungunya and encephalitis,”Vishwakarma added.

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The Modi Government onSunday carried out a major

bureaucratic reshuffle involvingaround two-dozen senior IASofficials, including two fromPrime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Arvind Kumar Sharma,Additional Secretary in the PMOand who has been with Modisince his Gujarat Chief Ministerdays, will be the new Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Secretary upon thesuperannuation of incumbentArun Kumar Panda on April 30.Nitin Gadkari, who holds theMSME portfolio, has announceda �1 lakh-crore package for thesector indicating at theGovernment’s seriousness atensuring at reviving key sectorbadly affected by the coronaviruscontagion.

Another AdditionalSecretary in the PMO, TarunBajaj has now been appointed asthe new Department ofEconomic Affairs Secretary.

Amid the Covid-19 pan-demic, Union Health SecretaryPreeti Sudan, who was due tosuperannuate on April 30, hasbeen given a three-month exten-sion. Rural DevelopmentSecretary Rajesh Bhushan hasbeen appointed as the Officer onSpecial Duty (OSD) in theHealth and Family WelfareDepartment in the rank of sec-retary. He is likely to take over asthe secretary of the department

after the expiry of Sudan'sextended tenure of three months.

The AppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinet, head-ed by Prime Minister NarendraModi, cleared the appointments.

While CBSE chairpersonAnita Karwal has been appoint-ed as the Secretary, Departmentof Education and Literacy,Rameshwar Prasad Gupta hasbeen made the Secretary in theEnvironment Ministry. Gupta iscurrently Special Secretary, NITIAayog. Both belong to theGujarat cadre.

Nagendra Nath Sinha will bethe new Rural DevelopmentDepartment Secretary in place ofBhushan. He is at presentSecretary, the Department ofBorder Management in theHome Ministry.

Information andBroadcasting Secretary RaviMittal has been moved out asSecretary, Department of Sports.Amit Khare, Secretary,Department of HigherEducation, has been given addi-tional charge in his place. Kharehas earlier too served as I&BSecretary.

Road Transport andHighways Secretary SanjeevRanjan has been moved out asthe Shipping Secretary uponthe superannuation of incum-bent Gopal Krishna on April 30.Aramane Giridhar, theAdditional Secretary in theCabinet Secretariat, will be theSecretary in the Ministry of

Road Transport and Highways inplace of Ranjan.

While Consumer AffairsSecretary Pawan Kumar Agarwalhas been appointed as SpecialSecretary (Logistics) in theDepartment of Commerce,Leena Nandan, the SpecialSecretary in the Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highwayswill replace Agarwal.

Food and PublicDistribution Secretary Ravi Kanthas been moved out as theSecretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. SudhanshuPanday will replace Kant in theMinistry. Panday is currentlyAdditional Secretary,Department of Commerce.

Secretary, New andRenewable Energy, AnandKumar has been appointed asSecretary, Culture. He is replacedwith Indu Shekhar Chaturvediwho was in the PMO duringManmohan Singh’s tenure.

A total of 10 IAS officershave been given in-situ upgra-dation to the level of SpecialSecretary in the rank and pay ofSecretary of Central govern-ment, as a measure personal tothe them, by temporarilyupgrading the posts held bythem.

They are Jyoti Arora, B.Anand, Neel Kamal Darbari,Bidyut Bihari Swain, ApurvaChandra, Rajiv Bansal, Ali RazaRizvi, Praveen Kr. Srivastava,Arvind Singh and IndevarPandey

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The CBI on Sunday arrestedDHFL promoters Kapil

Wadhawan and DheerajWadhawan in connection withthe probe into the Yes Bankscandal.

The duo was arrested fromMahabaleswar in Satara districtof Maharashtra. The MumbaiSessions Court had earlierissued Non-Bailable Warrantagainst Wadhawans.

Both the accused will beproduced before the Special CBICourt at Mumbai, the CBI said.

The CBI had registered acase March 7 on the allegationsof fraud against Yes Bank, inwhich Kapil Wadhawan, DheerajWadhawan,

Rana Kapoor (the then MDand CEO of Yes Bank) and oth-ers were named as accused.

"Both the accused, Kapil

and Dheeraj Wadhawan wereabsconding since beginning ofthe investigation and evadedjoining investigation.Accordingly, the CBI SpecialCourt, Mumbai had issuedNBW against them on17.03.2020 on a petition filed byCBI. Even after the issuance ofNBW, they have not appearedbefore CBI or the Court," the CBIsaid.

On April 9, the CBI receivedan information that both theaccused were located in Sataraand lodged at a GovernmentInstitutional Quarantine Centreat Panchgani. Thereafter, anemail was sent by the CBI to DMand SP of District Satara(Maharashtra) for not releasingthem without NOC from CBI ororder of the Court and takingother necessary steps to preventthe accused persons fromabsconding.

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Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on

Sunday said that withoutaggressive testing facilities,India cannot conquer chal-lenges posed by Covid-19.

A day before the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi isscheduled to conduct a videoconference meeting with ChiefMinisters to assess the pan-demic and related lockdown,the Congress also hoped thatthe Centre would put out ‘acomprehensive and holisticplan’ to exit the ongoing lock-down

Testing and tracing are thekey to fighting the menace, hesaid in a video released by theCongress which also said thatit believes in dialogue and dis-cussion as the path to findingsolutions.

Testing and Tracing arethe key to fight COVID19.Humanism, protection andfinancial security must driveour approach to dealing withmigrant labourers. This is theonly way ahead,” the Congresssaid while sharing the video.

"There are problems withregard to the inadequacy oftesting facilities and withoutmore aggressive facilities oftesting, we are not going toconquer this menace,”Manmohan Singh said.

The grand old party whichhas been regularly sharing itsviewpoints and ideas to theCentre and other stakeholdersfighting the corona scareexpressed the thoughts of var-ious leaders in the video toresolve the current crisis relat-ing to the coronavirus pan-demic and the lockdown. Theleaders are members of a con-sultative group headed by

Singh and formulate the party’sviews on various matters.

They also stressed on theissue of humanism, protectionand financial security to drivethe approach to dealing withmigrant labourers.

Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi said the partyshould have a broad frameworkfor protection of migrants.

"We must insist thatmigrants are protected. But, wemust also acknowledge thatstate governments are actuallygoing to be responsible fordriving this thing. Differentstate governments mightchoose different methodologiesto solve this problem,” saidRahul.

“Our migrant strategyshould include protection. Theidea that you can tell themigrant that it is his problem,that has to be central.Movement of the migrantshould depend on the twostates and they should have aconversation," he said.

Taking to Twitter, Rahulsaid experts have agreed thatmass random testing is the keyto beating Corona.

"In India, a bottleneck isstopping us from scaling test-ing from the current 40,000per day to 1 lakh tests a day,for which test kits are alreadyin stock. PM needs to act fastand clear the bottleneck,"Gandhi said on Twitter.

Former finance minister PChidambaram suggested thatone must leave it to the statefrom where the migrant orig-

inally came in to find ways totake back the migrants fromother states. “But, the bulk willhave to remain where they are.They have to be immediatelygiven cash and grain,” henoted.

Congress general secre-tary K C Venugopal said “Thegovernment is failing in thisbattle and we have to put pres-sure on the government forthe people of the country.”Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala said thegovernment’s financial actionplan 1 has not really workedand “government needs tostep up”.

Former Union MinisterJairam Ramesh sought scalingup testing facilities and notedthat the country had thecapacity to triple the amountof testing. For reaching athreshold level of coveringone per cent of population,“we have to do something like10 million tests”, he said.

Party spokesperson and aRajya Sabha member ManishTewari said it is incumbentupon the Congress to collec-tively apply our minds andsuggest a smart plan to howdo we transition out of thislockdown due to all the issuesarising out of it, especially theeconomic issue.

Addressing mediathrough video Press confer-ence, Tewari sought to knowthe the comprehensive plan ofthe government to help miti-gate the crisis within thecountry.

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Aday after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi urged

countrymen to become self-reliant in the wake of coron-avirus pandemic and DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh askedthe Services to spend the fundsprudently, Chief of DefenceStaff(CDS) General BipinRawat on Sunday said Indiawill have to be self-reliant inorder to become a regionalpower.

Making this point here, hegave the example of Indianhealth and pharmaceuticalindustry which stepped up in amajor way when the pandemichit the country and was nowindigenously producing ventila-tors and medicines. Rawatasked the defence industry totake a leaf out of the healthindustry’s book. His remarkscome in the backdrop of Indiaimporting more than 70 per centof its military hardware andlisted as one of the biggest buy-ers of weapons in the world.

Rawat said India will have tobe self-reliant to become aregional power and said keylessons thrown up by the crisisinclude the Indian industry ris-ing to the occasion and called formaking the best of the situationafter the pandemic challengerecedes. He also said "disciplineand patience" helped the defenceservices in checking the spread-ing of virus adding the novelcoronavirus has affected Army,Air Force and Navy in a "limit-ed manner".

On the lessons imbibed dur-ing the ongoing challenge, hesaid “the way these scientists,medical agencies involved havecome up with ideas to producethe equipment required in thecountry, which we were so farimporting, has been amazing."

"In a short span of four to sixweeks, we started manufacturingventilators in the country. There

are some key lessons for us in thedefence services. We have beenimporting ammunition fromabroad... but if this challenge isthrown to academia, we canmake it in the country. The timehas now come to be self-reliant.In times of crisis, countries willhave to be self-dependent," hetold ANI.

"If we are looking at becom-ing a regional power, India willhave to support other nations.The manner in which the healthindustry has come forth, I amsure that the defence sector cancome forward at the same pace,"Rawat asserted.

Modi, in his video confer-ence interaction with thesarpanch on Friday, exhorted theyouth to be self-reliant and said"Coronavirus has sent so manychallenges our way, but we mustalways learn from the situationwe are in in life. It has given usa lot to think about and taughtabout the way we act. It has madeit absolutely clear that we have todepend only on ourselves for oursurvival."

On the role of the armedforces in the present times, Rawatsaid defence services must oper-ate beyond the mandate to sup-port the people and government.He also stressed the need to firstensure the well-being of the per-sonnel “because if our own sailors,soldiers and airmen get affectedby this virus, how are we going tosupport our people. That is whywe have issued very strict direc-tions on social distancing, wear-ing of masks and ensuring thatpeople who require to be inquarantine remain in quarantine."

This note of caution by theCDS came at a time when theArmy has nearly 15 cases of pos-itive coronavirus while the Navyhas 26. Rawat said the pandemichas affected the Army, Air Forceand Navy in a limited numberadding patience and disciplinehelped the forces in checking thespread of virus.

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In a relief to students and par-ents, the Indian Institutes of

Technology (IITs) and IndianInstitutes of InformationTechnology (IIITs) will notincrease the tuition fee for anycourse for academic year 2020-21.

"After consultation withthe chairman of the StandingCommittee of the IIT Counciland directors of IITs, it hasbeen decided that these insti-tutes will not increase thetuition fee for academic year2020-21 for any course," , HRDMinister Ramesh Pokhriyal"Nishank" said here on Sunday.

"In case of the IIITs, it hasbeen decided that for thosewhich are centrally-funded,the standard 10-per cent hikein the tuition fee for under-graduate programmes will notbe implemented this year. I

have also requested them not toincrease the fee for other cours-es.

"On similar lines, I haverequested the IIITs run in thepublic-private partnershipmode not to increase thetuition fee for the coming aca-demic year for any of theircourses," he added.

The HRD Minister hadearlier urged private schools toreconsider their annual feehike given that theCoronavirus lockdown hashad an impact on the financialresources of parents. Chargingmonthly fee or for a quartercombined has been a bone ofcontention between schoolmanagements and parentsacross the country.

In the meantime, an UGC-appointed panel has recom-mended that the academicsession in universities andhigher educational institutions

can be started from Septemberinstead of July in view of theCOVID-19 situation in thecountry.

Two committees were con-stituted by the UGC to lookinto the issues of academic lossand online education in thewake of the lockdown in thecountry due to the coron-avirus pandemic. "One panelhas recommended that theacademic session be startedfrom September than July.

The second panel has sug-gested that universities shouldconduct online exams if theyhave the infrastructure andmeans or wait for the lock-down to get over and thendecide a date for pen-and-paper examinations," a sourcessaid adding the two reportswill now be studied and offi-cial guidelines in this regardare expected to be notified bynext week.

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The CRPF has reported 16more cases of Covid-19,

taking the total number of pos-itive cases in the paramilitaryranks to 28 till so far.

The 15 new corona positivecases were identified from 31Battalion that had earlier report-ed 10 positive cases for coronavirus. The 31 Battalion isdeployed here and 47 personnelwere sent to the CRPF quaran-tine centre at Narela after a nurs-ing assistant of the battalion hadtested positive for the disease.

Besides the 15 new cases,one case was reported fromanother battalion deployed inthe national capital.

The 15 were tested positivefor the disease after samples of

24 men were investigated onFriday and the reports came thenext day. Earlier, out of 11investigated for Covid-19, ninewere reported positive.

The 16 new cases include aprivate person (plumber) and 14personnel of 31 Battalion com-prising one Assistant SubInspector, four Head Constablesand nine constables.

Meanwhile, the DG StaffCamp Hospital, RK Puram herehas been closed temporarilydue to contact of the doctor andparamedical staff with a patientwho subsequently turned out tobe Covid-19 positive. Themedical and paramedical staffhas been quarantined at thefacility in Narela. As a result ofunavailability of medical andparamedical staff at the camp

hospital, the hospital has beenclosed. The patients have beenadvised to visit DetachmentHospital in the locality till theCamp Hospital is closed as partof proactive measures initiatedby the paramilitary to check thespread of Covid-19, officialssaid.

The CRPF has also beendeployed across the country inCovid-19 relief operations andalso to check the spread of thepandemic in certain areasincluding the national capital.

With strength of 3.25 lakh,the CRPF is the biggest para-military in the world and is thelead agency for operationsagainst Naxals in affected States,terrorists in Jammu andKashmir besides the insurgentsin the Northeast.

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There is no sign of any let upin the coronavirus pandem-

ic in Tamil Nadu as Sunday saw64 persons testing positive forcovid-19. Total number of per-sons tested positive in the Statetill Sunday reached 1,885,according to Dr C Vijaya Baskar,health minister, Tamil Nadu.

Sources in Fort Saint George(Tamil Nadu secretariat) toldThe Pioneer on Sunday that thelock down in the State may beextended beyond May 3, whenthe second phase of lock downcomes to an end. Chennai andsurrounding regions, districtsof Madurai, Salem, Tirupur,Coimbatore were shut downtotally from Sunday 6 am for thenext four days. The capital citywore the look of a ghost townwith deserted thoroughfare,closed down shops and businessestablishments. Except for ambu-lances, government cars, policeand media crew vehicles, noteven personal vehicles were to beseen in Mount Road and otherarterial roads.

The number of persons dieddue to coronavirus related issuesreached 24 on Sunday with onemore person succumbing in acity hospital. The day also saw 60persons undergoing treatment

getting discharged from varioushospitals following their recov-ery. Till date 1,020 persons havebeen cured of coronavirus allover Tamil Nadu. The ministeralso said there were only 838active cases in the State.

The number of testing facil-ities in the State too went up to41 which would hasten up theprocess of testing and evaluation,said Dr Baskar.

Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy said in a releasethat criminal proceedings wouldbe initiated against those whoobject the burial/cremation ofpersons succumbing to covid-19.“They will be charged under var-ious sections of the IPC makingthem liable for prison sentenceup to three years,” said the ChiefMinister.

The State was shocked whenhundreds of believers stoodguard in front of the Kilpaukcemetery to prevent the burial ofDr Simon Hercules, managingdirector and neuro surgeon ofthe New Hope Hospitals Ltdwho passed away last Sunday fol-lowing coronavirus attack.

Police and corporation offi-cials were forced to take the mor-tal remains of D’ Hercules to apublic crematorium followingthe violent resistance from themob at Kilpauk cemetery.

Hyderabad: Some coronaviruspatients, undergoing treatmentat the government-run GandhiHospital, here, are observingRamzan fast. Asymptomaticpatients in the Covid-19 des-ignated hospital began observ-ing the fast from Saturday,hospital sources said.

The Telangana governmenthas asked the hospital author-ities to make arrangements for'seher' (pre-dawn meals) and'Iftar' (post-dusk meals) forthem.

As the majority of patientsare asymptomatic, they soughtpermission from doctors toobserve the fast. But only thosewithout no history of other ail-ments were allowed to fast.Similarly, people kept in isola-tion with suspected symptomsare also fasting.

Health Minister EatalaRajender has asked the hospi-tal officials to ensure extra-nutritious food for those hold-ing the fast.

They are being providedroti, rice, vegetable curry, curdand tea at 3.30 a.m. for 'seher',fruits and dry fruits for break-ing the fast, followed by mealscomrising egg at 7.30 p.m.They are also being given tea at8.30 p.m. On alternate days,they are being served muttonor chicken.

The patients, majority from

the Tablighi Jamaat, thankedthe state government and hos-pital authorities for makingspecial arrangements. Hailingfrom various parts of GreaterHyderabad and other districtsin Telangana, these patientshave been regularly offeringprayers.

"We are grateful to you formaking these arrangementsduring Ramadan for ourfriends who are still at the hos-pital. There are no words tothank you for this gesture," aman who was discharged onSaturday told the hospital offi-cials.

Majority of 658 Covid-19patients are undergoing treat-ment at the Gandhi Hospital.According to officials, 80 percent of them are asympto-matic. IANS

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Panic gripped Kharpora areaof Anantnag district on

Sunday after test reports of apregnant woman, who diedduring stillbirth of two babieson Saturday, confirmed shewas Covid-19 positive.Apparently the Covid-19 pro-tocol was compromised as thewoman arrived in the hospitalfrom a red-zone and her bodywas handed over to her rela-tives for last rites without wait-ing for the test reports.

Meanwhile, with 27 freshcases, all from Kashmir divi-sion the total number ofCovid19 positive cases crossedthe 500 mark on Sunday. In lastfive days 143 cases have beenadded in the list.

According to the dailyMedia Bulletin, out of 523positive cases, 380 are ActivePositive, 137 have recoveredand 06 have died.

Moreover, 25 moreCOVID-19 patients haverecovered and discharged, 10

from SKIMS Bemina, 05 fromJLNM Hospital Srinagar, 02CHC Kupwara and 08 fromChest Disease Hospital Jammu.

The Bulletin further saidthat out of 13959 test resultsavailable, 13436 samples havetested as negative till April 26,2020.

One of the hot spot districtof Bandipora has so far record-ed 124 positive cases wherein100 are Active Positive, 23recovered and 01 has died,Srinagar recorded 85 positivecases with 47 Active Positive, 37recovered and 01 died;Shopian has 63 positive caseswith 52 Active Positive, 11recovered; Baramulla 62 posi-tive cases with 42 ActivePositive, 17 recovered, and 03died; Kupwara has 47 positivecases with 39 Active Positiveand 08 recovered; Anantnagdistrict has 48 positive case andall are Active Positive;Ganderbal has 14 positive caseswith 12 Active positive and 02have recovered; Budgam 14positive cases of which 05 are

Active Positive with 09 recov-ered cases; Kulgam has 06cases and all are Active Positive;Pulwama 03 positive cases whoall have recovered.

Similarly, Jammu has 26positive cases of whom 12 areActive Positive and 14 haverecovered, Udhampur 20 pos-itive cases of which 10 areActive Positive, 09 recoveredand 01 died, while as Sambadistrict has 04 positive casesand all are Active Positive;Rajouri has 04 positive cases, 01active positive and 03 haverecovered; Kathua has 01 pos-itive case who is active positive;Ramban has 01 positive casewho is Active Positive.Meanwhile, Kishtwar had only01 positive case who has recov-ered.

Meanwhile, the door-to-door health survey in all areasnotified as red zones in J&K isnearing completion and nowthe district authorities inJammu and Srinagar havedecided to cover the entire pop-ulation.

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Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) president Sharad

Pawar has made for a strongcase for the additional grant of“untied nature” to the tune of �1lakh crore to the MaharashtraGovernment to tide over thefinancial crisis faced by it in thewake of Coronavirus crisis.

In one of the two lettersthat he wrote to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Saturday,Pawar said: “It is imperative thatin these testing times, theGovernment of India shouldoffer suitable financial assis-tance to the states also. TheGovernment of Maharashtrarequests additional grants ofuntied nature to the tune of Rs1 lakh crore for the financialyear 2020-21”.

While appreciating theCentre for releasing packagesfor the poor, vulnerable finan-cial institutions, businesses andothers, Pawar urged the Centreto extend similar packages tothe states.

“In the eventual recoveryof Indian economy, the stateswill play a major role and if leftout without any help, the stateswill not be in a position to sup-plement the required nationalgovernment efforts. Thereshould not be much a problemin the central governmentresorting to deficit financing. Itis felt that borrowing by centralgovernment will be much moreefficient and cheaper comparedto borrowing by the states,” theNCP chief said.

Dwelling upon theCoronavirus-triggered situationin Maharashtra, Pawar said:“Mumbai is the hardest hit cityin the Covid-19 outbreak andthe prolonged lockdown con-ditions. It has severely impact-ed the economy of Maharashtraand may have detrimental con-sequences on Indian economyif not addressed urgently,” Pawarwrote.

Drawing the PrimeMinister’s attention to the eco-nomic indicators and strategyneeded to overcome the state

crisis, the NCP chief said thatthe Maharashtra governmenthad in its budget for 2020-21projected receipts to the tune ofRs 3,47,000 crore. He said thatsince the economic activitymight not pick up in the shortrun but improve in the longrun, the shortfall in the revenuereceipts woul+d Rs 1,40,000crore. “This is around 40 percent of the expected revenuesand will leave a huge hole in thestate finances,” he said.

“As per the present bor-rowing limits ( 3 per cent ofGDP), the state can borrow upto Rs 92,000 crore, of which Rs54,000 crore has been plannedfor meeting capital expenditurerequirements for the year 2020-21. So it is clear that the state isgoing to face a shortfall of Rs1,00,000 crore to sustain theprojected expenditure,” Pawarsaid.

“Our strategy could be toenhance the FiscalResponsibility and BudgetManagement (FRBM) borrow-ing limit and borrow more.However, covering entire short-fall only through borrowing willpush the state towards debt trap.

The other strategy could be cutpublic spending. However thatwould be counter-productive.In fact there will be additionalexpenditure requirements inthe area of public health andmedical education and otherpublic services,” he said.

Among other things, theNCP chief urged the Centre toextend two-year moratoriumon repayment of NSSF loangiven by the Union govern-ment. “The State makes arepayment of Rs 10500 croreevery year on account NSSFloan. The moratorium will helpbridge the likely budgetarygap,” he said.

In another letter that hewrote to the Prime Minister,Pawar urged Modi to boost e-commerce and home-deliveryto salvage the economy badlybattered by the Covid-19 pan-demic.

“Conventional shops andstores will be at a disadvantagein view of various restrictionsand social distancing normswhich may acquire perma-nence. This (promotion of e-commerce) will lead to creationof jobs and ease the problem of

unemployment,” he said. “All businesses unable to

handle ‘social distancing’ willsuffer heavily. Sizeable numbersof businesses are not likely tosurvive and many will losejobs. They will need to bereskilled for alternate employ-ment and alternative business-es will have to be actively pro-moted,” Pawar said.

Pawar said that opportuni-ties lay in the field of tele-med-icine, which was still in itsinfancy, but out of necessityremote visits will become morepopular.

“While theaters and mallswill continue to suffer, onlineentertainment platforms willexpand and become more prof-itable, and similarly gyms willsuffer but online workout ses-sions will be in great demand,though it will be difficult forbeauty parlours and spas to sur-vive,” the NCP chief said.

“Consequently, the house-hold demand for health, well-ness and beauty products willsee a major spike. Paralelly, thecommercial demand for suchproducts may nosedive,” Pawarsaid.

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With one more patienttesting positive in the

last 18 hours, the number ofCovid-19 cases in Karnatakacrossed the 500-mark, an offi-cial said on Sunday.

"A woman tested positiveat Mangaluru in DakishnaKannada district. She is acontact person of anotherpatient in the same districtand has been admitted to adesignated hospital for treat-ment," said the health officialin a statement here.

Mangaluru is 360 kmsouthwest of Bengaluru inthe southern state.

"The case takes the totalnumber across the State to501, including 177 who have been discharged and 18dead.

The state's tally touched500 on Saturday evening, with26 fresh cases, including 13from Bengaluru and 9 fromBelagavi in the state's north-west region.

Of the 13 cases in the techcity, 10 were contacts of the55-year-old migrant workerfrom Bihar staying atHongasandra, which has beendeclared as a containmentzone and sealed off.

Srinagar: For the third day insuccession, a joint team ofsecurity forces on Sunday elim-inated two more terrorists nearAsthal area of Kulgam in a briefencounter.

Five terrorists were killedby the security forces in twoseparate encounters in KashmirValley.

Sharing initial details ofthe encounter, Kashmir zonepolice tweeted late sundayevening, "Encounter has start-ed at Asthal, Kulgam. Police andsecurity forces are on the job.Further details shall follow".Shortly after, two terrorists wereeliminated while one of the

security personnel too receivedinjuries during the briefencounter,official sources said.

The area was cordoned offby the security forces after a tipoff about the presence of ter-rorists in the area. The securi-ty forces were searching thearea till the time of filing thereport.

"An Army officer sustainedinjury in the operation. He hasbeen shifted to hospital fortreatment.

"Exact identities of theslain terrorists are being ascer-tained. One of them has so farbeen identified as a local",police said.

After receiving specificinformation about a group ofterrorists hiding in Guddarvillage, security forces includ-ing the Rashtriya Rifles (RR),special operations group (SOG)of local police and the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)had launched a cordon andsearch operation in the villagein Kulgam district.

As the security forcesclosed in on the hiding terror-ists, they came under heavyautomatic gunfire after whichan encounter broke out whichhas now ended, but searchesare still going on in the area,police said. ����

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There was no end to the warof words between the

Trinamool Congress and theBJP which continued to attackthe ruling party for its partisanways allowing its own leadersto go out in their constituencieswhile stopping the Oppositionworkers from coming out oftheir houses.

This even as the Bengal lostits first medical officer an addi-tional director level officialapparently to the dreaded dis-ease though the StateGovernment’s “death auditcommittee” had yet not givenits final seal over the real causeof senior officer’s death. TheState BJP leadership includingits president Dilip Ghosh on

Sunday staged “Maun dharna”(silent demonstration) at theirrespective houses complain-ing that they were not beingallowed by the police to go outof their houses to distributerelief materials. “We have beenblockaded away by the police ina bid to create a pressure on us,”Union Minister DebashreeChowdhury said adding howshe was not being allowed tocome out of her house to dis-tribute relief materials in herconstituency.

“They installed police post-ing in front of our houses andwe have completely been block-aded away,” said BJP MP ArjunSingh while his State partychief said “the TrinamoolCongress will have to pay dear-ly for what it is doing.”

Accusing Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee of playing tothe gallery by roaming theKolkata streets with micro-phones, and distributing mate-rials herself Ghosh wondered“is this the task of a ChiefMinister to tell people how they

should wear masks and howthey should wash their hands… is it the duty of a ChiefMinister to go out on streetsasking the people to stayindoors. If she has to do thisthen what the police is doing.”

The Government wasdoing nothing but fudging thefacts, he said wondering theefficacy of a “death audit com-mittee. People are watchingher and they will not spare herin future.” The TrinamoolCongress hit back hard withsenior Minister Firhad Hakimadvising the BJP leadership tostay back home. “Let themprotest from their homes andlet the TMC workers work onthe streets. Here the TMC meninspired by the Chief Ministerare distributing relief materialsand doing service to the peo-ple and there they are organiz-ing false protests to drawbrownie points.” A murkyscene was further sullied by thecold and uneasy transactionbetween the State Governmentand the visiting Inter

Ministerial Central Team —which much to the chagrin ofthe ruling outfit continued tocriss-cross parts of Bengal tomeasure the magnitude ofcorona outbreak and allegeddilution in imposing lockdownprotocols.

Minister RabindranathGhosh slammed the IMCTsaying the “central officialswho are engaging coronatourism should first be testedfor their infections… and thensent to quarantine homes …who knows whether they arecarrying infection from Delhior not.”

The grudging IMCT onSunday toured different parts ofKolkata without any policebackup, sources said adding theofficials toured parts ofKhidderpore, Behala and pho-tographed the crowded streetswith a security team of BorderSecurity Force in tow.

The State Government hadearlier withdrawn the policeteam provided to them sayingthe officials were busy in other

important works and had notime to tow the central team.

Meanwhile, Bengal lost itsfirst medical officer anAdditional Director of HealthBK Dasgupta in the night inter-vening Saturday and Sunday,sources said adding he hadcontracted the virus and wasundergoing treatment at theAMRI Hospital at Salt Lake.Another person, a 35-year-oldyouth from Garden Reach areatoo died on the same day.

The Government’s “deathaudit committee” is yet todeclare their reasons of death,sources said adding both thepatients had been sufferingfrom other ailments also.

Expressing her condolenceChief Minister MamataBanerjee tweeted, “his sacrificefor the cause of ailing human-ity will ever be in our heartsand will make our COVIDwarriors fight the deadly virurswith even greater determina-tion.” Bengal had about 18deaths and more than 500cases sources said.

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Abook highlighting thegoings on in the world of

pharmaceutical industry hascaused an information earth-quake in all the continents.

This is the first of its kindeffort by a celebrated inves-tigative journalist to enter thesecret chambers of the world’spharma companies hithertoaccessible only to a select fewanywhere in the universe.

When we switch on theTV news channels, the reportthat welcome us to yet anoth-

er day is about the fresh casesof coronavirus related pan-demic and the increasing num-ber of causalities. To spice upthe reports, there are newsitems about the mad rush bymedical researchers to findout a vaccine which they claimcould annihilate the virus caus-ing covid 19.

“It is not because of theirlove for humanity that theywork overtime to come outwith this so called medicine. It’sthe amount of money involvedin it,” said Prof BM Hegde ,renowned cardiologist andmedical scientist whom thenation had honoured withPadma Bhushan.

The contention of ProfHegde has been proved to thedot by Gerald Posner, theattorney turned investigativejournalist who in the past hadshocked the world with detailsabout the not so sacred histo-ry of money and power at theVaticam through his work“God’s Bankers”.

This time, the youngattorney chose yet another lesstravelled route filled with allkind of dangerous trenchesand death traps set by a cabalof greedy industrialists andbrought out the happenings inthe corporate war rooms andlaboratories of pharma giantsmanufacturing medicines anddrugs for diseases which tooare of their contribution. Thebook Pharma that has hit theshelves across USA earlyMarch and is expected to reachIndian book stores is anaccount of “Greed, Lies andPoisoning of America”, accord-ing to Jordan Rodman,spokesperson, Simon &

Schuster, the publishers.“Posner brings to life the

heroes and villains of the phar-maceutical industry andreveals how a business meantto save lives is steeped in cor-ruption and reckless profi-teering—with deadly conse-quences,” said Rodman.

The 817 page book fea-tures how pharmaceuticalcompanies hid the safety risksof estrogen replacement andearly contraceptive pills, bothwith levels of hormones up to10 times greater than neces-sary; the result was signifi-cantly higher cancer ratesamong the millions of femalepatients.

Posner also reveals how acouple of drug companiessecretly funded a doctorresponsible for a revolution inmarketing estrogen drugs towomen as the pharmaceuticalsolution to staying “feminineforever”, and discloses howthat doctor and the pharmafirms hid news of his wife’s fatalestrogen-linked breast cancer.

The book has to be read inthe backdrop of findings by themedical warriors of India, ProfB M Hedge and Dr C VKrishnaswami that AdverseDrug Reaction and over med-ication constituted the thirdcause for number of deaths inUSA, the other being heartattacks and cancer. Dr Hegdequotes from a study under-taken by the Institute ofMedicine in the US whichfound that doctors and hospi-tals are the third most impor-tant cause of death with onlyheart attacks and cancers pre-ceding doctors in that order ofimportance.

Mumbai: Singer Kanika Kapoor,who was the first Bollywoodcelebrity to have tested positivefor Covid-19 in India, has bro-ken silence on her travel histo-ry, diagnosis and treatment.

Kanika was admitted onMarch 20 when her tests revealedthat she was Coronavirus posi-tive. She was discharged from theSanjay Gandhi Post Graduateinstitute of Medical Sciences(SGPGIMS) in Lucknow earlierthis month. She has now issueda statement on Twitter in whichshe has revealed why she choseto be silent all this while.

"Every person that I havecome in contact with, be it inUK, Mumbai or Lucknow, hasshown no symptoms of Covid-19. In fact all those tested havebeen negative," she said in herstatement.

"I travelled from UK toMumbai on March 10 and wasduly screened at the internationalairport. I travelled to Lucknowthe following day on March 11to see my family. There was no

screening set up for domesticflights. On March 14 and 15, Iattended a friend's lunch anddinner. There was no party host-ed by me and I was in absolutenormal health. I had symptomson March 17 and 18, so I request-ed to be tested."

The singer also mentionedthat she has been at home for 21days now and also thanked doc-tors and medical staff for "takingcare of her during a very emo-tionally testing time".

She concluded the state-ment by saying: "Negativitythrown at a person does notchange the reality."

A case had been registeredagainst the singer, last month, forhiding her travel history andattending parties after returningfrom London.

She was charged under IPCSection 269 (a negligent actlikely to spread infection of dis-ease dangerous to life) andSection 270 (malignant act like-ly to spread infection of diseasedangerous to life). Agencies

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While the coronaviruspandemic is taking its

toll humankind, the suddenchange in weather conditionsleading to rainfall and highvelocity winds in several partsof the country is adding to thewoes, especially, of farmers.

Untimely rains and windscaused damage to 20-25 per-cent paddy, wheat, mustardand chickpea crops in severalparts of the country besidesaffecting the harvesting ofpotato.

As per the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) prediction, the situationseems to be worrisome espe-cially at coastal areas due toformation of low pressure in

the Bay of Bengal. The IMD onSunday maintained its watchfor the first pre-monsoon low-pressure area over the SouthAndaman Sea around April 30and its intensification duringthe subsequent two days. Itmay initially move north-northwest and later north-north-east along and off theAndaman & Nicobar Islandsuntil May 3.

Meanwhile, the formationof a pre-monsoon trough fromEast to West and associatedconvergence of winds andmoisture from the ArabianSea and the Bay of Bengalalong the plains in the Northwill sustain the fairly wide-spread to widespread rainfallover East and North-East Indiaduring next two days with

peak activity over Odisha,Jharkhand, and plains of WestBengal. In a separate release,the IMD had said that isolat-ed places over Agra, Bahraich,Shravasti, Balrampur,Siddharth Nagar, Gonda,Maharajganj, Jhansi, Mahoba,Hamirpur, Fatehpur,Pratapgarh, Banda,Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, SantRavidas Nagar districts, andadjoining areas, are most like-ly to receive rains and experi-ence thunderstorms.

According to VinodPandey of All India KisanMahasangthan, unseasonalrains and heavy winds havecaused damage to rabi crops inUP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab,Haryana, Andhra Pradesh andHimachal Pradesh.

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More than 2,500 years ago,Gautam Buddha preachedthe four noble truths. Dukh(suffering) was central to allof his teachings but he also

found a path that led to the end of dukh.COVID-19, which emanated from theChinese city of Wuhan last year, has boughtimmense dukh to the human species. Thepain may not be over anytime soon. Whilethe outbreak of the disease has been a tragedyfor many of us on planet earth, it has alsobrought sukh (happiness) to the environment— the rivers, flora, fauna …and even somehuman beings. Here, a pertinent questionarises: Will we, the humans, learn somethingfrom the blow or will everything resume asbefore?

Human confinement has forced many ofus to spend quality time with our dear andnear ones. This was something that was for-gotten for years. Planetary developments ofthe last few weeks have strangely brought bothsukh and dukh; though a post-confinementera may bring hard times for hundreds andmillions of people. But at present, WhatsAppgroups and software like Zoom have becomepopular (in the latter’s case, India took theright decision to ban its use in Governmentoffices when it was found that some of the traf-fic was discretely transiting via China).

I personally joined one of these groupswith my French family with whom I hardlycommunicated in normal times. In thecourse of an exchange, a six-year-old nephewwas asked if the confinement was not too hardfor him; he took no time to answer, “I wouldlike it to last 1,000 years.”

For the first time in his life (with theexception of holidays), he had both his par-ents with him from morning till evening. Ofcourse, he had to do some homework buthis teacher was his own mom. What a delighteven to do homework! And his father washere, too, to play, watch cartoon with himand help put on a disguise. He will certain-ly remember the “good days” of the confine-ment all his life. This does not mean thatthere is no hardship around and that toremain stuck in a small flat is pure sukh. Itis here that we must realise why this tragedyis so special. It has struck the humanspecies deeply, infecting so far more than twoand half million people and killing nearly twolakh individuals. Can humans realise that weare, perhaps, the most fragile (and the mostfoolish) species on planet earth?

Comparatively, many other species aredoing well, not only the wildlife, which wereonce sold on the wet market in Wuhan andwho may now survive, but also all kinds ofanimals seen in viral videos exploring thegreat empty cities of the humans. Many riversare doing well, too. Some scientists havenoted that the water quality of river Gangahas gone through such a change that in somecases, it is fit for drinking. It was reportedthat the water of this holy river had becomegood for achaman (ritual sipping) in

Haridwar. In both Haridwarand Rishikesh, water qualityhas seen tremendous improve-ments as industries remainclosed, people are confined totheir homes and there are notourists. The main reason forthis is a 500 per cent decrease intotal dissolved solids (TDS),industrial effluents, sewage fromdharamshalas, hotels and lodges.We had conveniently forgottenthat religious tourism pollutes,too.

The South Asia Networkon Dams, Rivers & People, anNGO doing remarkable work onthe environment, suggested thatthis may be the way forward forpollution control mechanisms inthe country. To do so, studies willhave to be undertaken in a num-ber of States, including Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, Delhi,Maharashtra and Karnataka,among others. The rivers mustinclude the Sutlej, BuddhaNullah, Cauvery, Ulhas,Waldhuni, besides the Ganga andthe Yamuna.

Another question that comesto one’s mind, again and again, is:When the virus is dead and gone,will the human species startdestroying the planet again? Willwe be able to analyse the tragedyand identify the cause of dukhand find the way to a greater sukh,just like the Buddha did morethan two millennia ago?

Another small improvementCOVID-19 has brought is that

the constant nasty political fightsbetween the majorityGovernment and the Oppositionhave somehow got subdued (thisis valid for all nations). Instead ofplaying a constructive role tobuild the nation, the Oppositionusually plays a shooting game,arguing black when theGovernment says white and viceversa. On its part, theGovernment is more often thannot interested in the Oppositionas it has the mandate to governfor the next few years.Nevertheless, the virus seems tohave brought a relative truceamong our leaders and this is apositive development. Will therebe a day when the only objectiveof our political leaders will be toensure the well-being of the cit-izens, more particularly the lessprivileged sections?

Coronavirus seems to be anatheist, too. Several religiouscongregations thought theirrespective gods or messiahs wereprotecting them but this was notthe case — whether inNizamuddin, which sent thevirus spreading throughout thecountry, or in Mulhouse, wherea religious congregation has beenthe main hotspot in France, orsome Jewish temples in Israelwhere the priests thought thatthey were invincible.

Many other cases could becited like a Christian preacher inLouisiana, the US, defying right-ly worried authorities or those in

Pakistan, who held a gathering ofnearly a quarter of a million inlate February, despite warnings ofcoronavirus; they all became“super-spreaders.” Does thismean that the COVID-19 doesnot like religious extremism orexclusivism? Nobody can answerthis question today but the factremains that nobody has beenspared. The ultimate question is:Will humans be able to becomemore human? The time has, per-haps, come for us to think of ourpast deeds. This is also vital forthe future of the planet.

Meanwhile, since January,the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) has engaged in a majorpropaganda campaign. It is doingeverything it can to possiblycover up how Coronavirusbecame a global pandemic. TheCCP Central PropagandaDepartment is aggressivelyattempting to avoid getting theblame for what it has done. Buta backlash has already started.Julian Reichel, the editor of thepopular German Bild magazine,wrote an open letter to PresidentXi Jinping saying, “China isknown as a surveillance State thatinfected the world with a dead-ly disease. That is your politicallegacy.” China has to realise thatthe time is not for aggressivenessbut for introspection. Today, thevirus has raised the question ofsurvival of our peculiar species.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

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Sir — As India completes onemonth of the nationwide lock-down, the Centre claimed that thecountry has achieved a lot in itsfight against the novelCoronavirus. A member of one ofthe empowered groups constitut-ed by the Government inresponse to COVID-19, CKMishra, listed the three majorthings that the country hasachieved in the last 30 days — cuttransmission and increased thedoubling rate of COVID-19 pos-itive cases; second, ramped uptesting; and third, prepared forthe future if the virus spreads fur-ther. I hope what Mishra is say-ing is the truth and we are able towin the battle against the virus.

Mufti NB QasmiDelhi

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Jiobook” (April 23). The edi-torial has rightly argued that thebig handshake between MarkZuckerberg and Mukesh Ambanipromises business opportunitiesfor both and a good fortune for

the country. But at the sametime, this deal must not beallowed to skew the market. Witha single firm dominating themarket, conflicts of interest couldarise, which can make fair com-petition difficult.

Already, social media giantFacebook controls platforms suchas Instagram. Messaging appWhatsApp, too, is now attemptingto foray into payments. Less saidabout Jio, the better. It is a majorprovider of digital access. Ensuring

fair competition in such a scenariowill be difficult. It is up for otherregulators to press upon theGovernment to come up withstrict rules to avoid monopoly.

Yugal Kishore SharmaFaridabad

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Sir —US President DonaldTrump has issued an officialorder banning immigration for 60days. America has been badlyaffected by Coronavirus. Nearly20 million people have becomeunemployed there with the num-ber of infected and dead increas-ing continuously. Trump believesthis step will help his unemployedcitizens get work.

It is now feared that othercountries, too, will take suchaction to save businesses. Tillnow, several nations have been try-ing to resolve grievances throughagreements and negotiations. Butdue to the spread of Coronavirusand measures to prevent it, mostnations have been forced to stopforeign travel. In this situation,conservatism is bound to rise.Every country will face the chal-lenge of maintaining a balancebetween protecting itself and wel-coming others. India should startpreparing for any such eventual-ity now.

Bhupendra Kuldeep SinghSonepat

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The Coronavirus has taken the world bystorm and its severity has exposed the gapsin the global public healthcare systems,

making it one of the hardest pandemics to copewith. No matter how developed a country is, truedevelopment only comes when there are amplestrategies to safeguard citizens from such mal-adies. Effective governance during pandemicsoften includes preparedness, efficient responseand effective recovery on a national and inter-national level. In this context it will be pertinentto mention the Global Health Security Index thatmeasures the pandemic preparedness of nationson a score of one to 100, based on their abilityto prevent, detect, mitigate and cure diseases.

The 2019 index ranks India at 57 out of 195countries, indicating that we may be more vul-nerable than China (at 51) and Italy (at 31), whichhave seen the highest number of Coronavirusrelated deaths till now.

The time has come for India to embrace thisglobal pandemic as nothing more than a wake-up call. With thousands affected in the countryand globally, it is time that we upgrade our health-care standards, research and so on for a health-ier tomorrow. In fact, global healthcare expen-diture is also assumed to increase from $7.7 tril-lion to an approximate $10 trillion, by the endof this year.

India has been a forerunner in multipleeconomies and yet, today we see that our doc-tors are ill-equipped to handle the pandemic dueto a lack of facilities and other provisions.

If a flawed public healthcare strategy is onereason for the country’s vulnerability, the lack ofresources is another major one that needs to berectified. At 3.6 per cent of the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP), India’s overall health spendingis among the lowest compared with othernations in the neighbourhood. We can’t evenbegin to compare ourselves with developednations. Of this, Government spending onhealth accounts for a paltry one per cent.Consequently, out-of-pocket health expenditurefor households is extraordinarily high in India.About 65 per cent of all health expenditure inthe country, which comes to around 2.5 per centof the GDP, is borne by households.

Hence, life after this pandemic should notbe the same as this calls for a dire need to changepriorities, especially where national healthcarefacilities and expenditure are concerned.Hopefully this is one of the lessons that theGovernment has learnt from the current pan-demic.

But we don’t always have to look at othernations to learn our healthcare and pandemichandling lessons. We have enough examples tolearn from within the country. Take Kerala forinstance. The State, which ranked second for themost COVID-19 casualties reported initially, hasnow reached the stage where its recovery rate ishigher than the mortality rate. This proves thatensuring the safety of citizens is being accord-ed a higher priority than anything else at themoment. The authorities have simply flattenedthe curve by creating a contagion route map,

which they had developed while bat-tling the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak.Moreover, what worked for Kerala is theextensive testing of symptomatic cases,followed by a diligent method of con-tact tracking and then investigating theroot cause of where the person con-tracted the disease.

In another scenario, the easternState of Odisha was the first to imposea full lockdown and also the first toextend this shutdown to April 30.Being one of the most natural-disasterprone areas in the country, crisis man-agement drills were already in place asthey had declared the COVID-19 a dis-aster like the 1999 super-cyclone thathit them. Moreover, exclusive hospitalsto treat COVID-19 affected patientsand also free medical treatment result-ed in its quick and professionaldemeanour to tackle and contain thevirus.

While these States have resulted ina big win for the country, the big fightagainst the contagion and recovery, liesahead. The economy of the nation isslowing and it is only fair that we over-come this pandemic at the earliest tosave it. We are in the third phase of thelockdown and we have devised a “clus-ter containment strategy.” It is imper-ative that we implement this strategy assoon as possible.

Till now, India has the upper handin tackling this pandemic but thecountry needs to pick up pace. This out-break is a lesson as to why theGovernment can no longer ignore theimportance of medical research anddevelopment. As a member and repre-

sentative of the Indian healthcare sec-tor, most importantly as a citizen ofIndia, I am overwhelmed by all thatremains to be done.

If one were to look back on earli-er times, infectious diseases were moreor less a burden in developed countriestill the mid-20th century. While thisgradually declined due to higher andimproved standards of living along withproper sanitation and hygiene, thedawn of antibiotics further lowered thisthreat in the years between the 1940s-1950s. Growing awareness that germscaused disease and the consequentinvestments in public health systemsinvolving disease surveillance played abigger role in improving life expectan-cy than gains in income.

Yet, the improvements in healthcaresystems were not uniform with somedeveloping countries like India laggingbehind others in improving their pub-lic health systems.

Also, poor hygiene, antibiotic resis-tance, poor nutrition and awareness aresome of the major reasons why devel-oping nations like ours are sufferingfrom an increased disease burdentoday. In fact, the cost of such inactionwas quite high even before we werestruck by the Coronavirus. Deathsfrom contagious diseases in India aremuch higher than the global average,as data from the Global Burden ofDisease Study shows.

Apart from this, the acceptance ofglobalisation and the resultant “braindrain” is one of the other major reasonswhy our country is struggling at pre-sent. Research is one of the only

aspects that can bring this country for-ward, in any field. Unfortunately this isa highly neglected sphere. One of thelessons that COVID-19 has taught usis that we need to rectify this error asfast as possible.

If we had the facilities for cutting-edge research like the ones Israel andthe US invest in, we would have beenahead in our fight against the pandem-ic as Indians are some of the bestresearchers on the planet.

This pandemic has not onlyalarmed people globally but has alsoopened our eyes as to why the fight forsurvival is the only fight we need to befocussing on now and beyond this time.Better healthcare facilities and medicalresearch have once again proven to bethe need of the hour as they determineour tomorrow. And for a country likeIndia, there is no better opportunitythan now.

We have always thought of thefuture but the future is only made if thepresent is strong. The Indian healthcareindustry has a long way to go when itcomes to matters regarding researchand technological progress. Apart fromthis, bureaucratic red-tapism and poli-cies are all against progress. This has tochange. What was once predicted to bethe era of bio-economy in 2030 has nowmagnified our present scenario, mak-ing it the only essential need globally.Working towards developing a bio-economy will be the only factor for sur-vival of mankind in the near future.

(The writer is a Padma Sri awardeeand cardiothoracic surgeon creditedwith India’s first bypass)

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On April 10, a woman policeofficer was attacked by amob in Karachi’s Orangi

Town area. The incident took placewhen the officer was admonishinga group of people for breaching theSindh Government’s directiveagainst congregating for Fridayprayers in mosques, fearing thatlarge gatherings at mosques couldhasten the spread of COVID-19.

The order was issued on March26, after a number of Muslim-majority countries, including SaudiArabia, closed down mosques whenthe dreaded Coronavirus reachedalarming proportions. The SindhGovernment’s lead was soon fol-lowed by other provincial set-upsand the federal Government.However, so far only the SindhGovernment has exhibited any seri-

ousness in enforcing this decree.There have been other similar

incidents in Karachi in which policeofficers have come under attack byenraged mobs trying to entermosques. Even though there aresome religious parties and clericswho have supported the SindhGovernment’s intentions in thisregard, Sindh Chief Minister MuradAli Shah more than alluded that thedecision to restrict people fromgoing to mosques, especially onFridays, was one of the toughest thathis Government has had to take andimplement.

The stated pluralistic and “Left-liberal” ideological disposition ofSindh’s ruling party, the PPP, can bethe reason why the SindhGovernment was able to take thelead in this context. But, ironically,this is exactly the reason why it wastougher for Shah to sign such adecree. Let me explain.

Despite the fact that it was thesame “Left-liberal” PPP whose firstGovernment at the Centre — in the1970s — found itself continuouslyconceding ground to religiousforces, those same forces led to theGovernment’s downfall after accus-ing it of being “atheistic” and “anti-

Islam.” This downfall, in 1977 andthen the unprecedented manner inwhich religious outfits were provid-ed political and social influence dur-ing the reactionary General Zia-ul-Haq dictatorship in the 1980s, set aprecedent in which non-religiousparties, even when in power, wereobliged to involve religious figuresin various religion-related policymatters.

This may seem the “natural”thing to do. But PrincetonUniversity’s Professor MuhammadQasim Zaman writes in his 2018book Islam in Pakistan that, till theearly 1970s, the State and govern-ments in the country did not findit necessary to include religiousgroups in matters of policy; thoughthey were not entirely ignoredeither. Zaman adds that the narra-tive behind this was that the “ulemawere deadening the true spirit ofIslam and impeding progress.”

This narrative came into fullfruition during the first half of theAyub Khan dictatorship in the1960s, when religious groups wereconsciously kept from exercising anypolitical or social influence on thepolity. Things changed when reli-gious parties managed to make

their way into the Parliament after1971 and then went on to describethe separation of East Pakistan as theresult of the State’s “misguidedmodernist policies” and “undermin-ing of Islam.” Even though theever-changing nature of the 1973Constitution and the many ordi-nances issued during the Zia dicta-torship, strengthened a particularMuslim majority sect in the coun-try, why do we often see membersof the same majority sect attackingpolice personnel, as they did inOrangi Town earlier this month?What is it that they find more threat-ening than the spread of a virus thathas so far killed 1,97,412 peoplearound the world?

Is this a case of a majoritybehaving like a besieged minority?According to an April 14, 2018 arti-cle in The Economist, over thedecades, “South Asia’s majoritieshave often acted like persecutedminorities.” It gives the examples ofPakistan’s Sunni Muslim majority,Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhistmajority, India’s Hindu majorityand also how Muslim-majorityBangladesh has behaved towards thetiny non-Muslim minority of trib-al people in the country’s hills.

The article quotes the Indianhistorian Mukul Kesavan as sayingthat “every post-colonial State inSouth Asia paid lip-service to plu-ralistic principles in the first decadeof its existence before reconstitutingitself as a kind of sole proprietorship run by its dominantcommunity.”

Kesavan is of the view that, afterthe first or second decades of theirpost-colonial existence, there hasbeen a constant tension in SouthAsian countries between a constitu-tionally-bound State founded onequal citizenship and pluralism anda nationalist narrative informed bythe logic of an ethnic or religiousnationalism. But how does this ten-sion contribute to making sectionsof a dominant community behavelike a persecuted minority? In India,such sections within the country’sHindu majority see the Muslimminority as a threat that was givenundue relevance by Indian secular-ism at the expense of Hinduism. InSri Lanka, the Sinhalese Buddhiststhought the same about the coun-try’s Hindu Tamil minority. InPakistan, “Sunni fundamentalists”complained that they were treatedas outcasts by the country’s

founders, whereas minority and“heretical” Muslim sects were pro-vided plum positions of power.

The State and governments inSouth Asia, instead of addressingsuch misgivings from within theparameters of their original plural-istic and inclusive foundational pre-cepts, decided to exploit these sen-timents to meet some rather cyni-cal political ends. Thus was born,what Kesavan calls, “second-handnationalism”, based on ethnic and/orreligious majoritarianism.

Such majorities or sections oftenreact violently when they sense theState or the Government is trying toeven slightly shift from the afore-mentioned faith-based majoritariannationalist narrative. We saw howdocuments such as the NationalAction Plan in Pakistan, whichadvocates religious reform, receivedthreatening responses by religiouslobbies. Defying the Government’sban on visiting mosques, too, is partof the same sentiment. It is under-stood as a sly move to underminefaith by forces of secularism andmodernism, no matter how manyulema the Government gets onboard to endorse the decree.

This is about an influential

majority developing the persecutioncomplex that is often found in his-torically- oppressed minorities. Butthis actually stretches beyond SouthAsia. In her book The Myth ofChristian Persecution, British schol-ar Camdita Moss, writes that a largesections of America’s Christianmajority behave like a persecutedcommunity. She writes that thismindset was developed by “a falsememory” hardwired into AmericanChristians about the historical per-secution of their faith in AncientRome. Moss writes that this perse-cution was largely due to politicalreasons, more than religious.

She says that the act of a reli-gious majority behaving like a per-secuted minority is mostly about apowerful community casting itselfas victims and justifying its polem-ical and vitriolic attacks on others.So it can be concluded that, when-ever clerics in Pakistan throw uptheir hands claiming Islam is underattack, they are doing nothing morethan safeguarding their own powerand their tendency to denounce oth-ers as anti-religion — a powerfulperpetrator of influence playingthe wounded victim.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

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Atrain likely belonging toNorth Korean leader Kim

Jong Un has been parked at hiscompound on the country’seast coast since last week, satel-lite imagery showed, amid spec-ulation about his health that hasbeen caused, in part, by a longperiod out of the public eye.

The satellite photosreleased by 38 North, a websitespecialising in North Koreastudies, don’t say anythingabout Kim’s potential healthproblems, and they echo SouthKorean Government intelli-gence that Kim is staying out-side of the capital, Pyongyang.Seoul has also repeatedly indi-cated that there have been nounusual signs that could indi-cate health problems for Kim.

That hasn’t stopped grow-ing unconfirmed rumors andmedia reports about Kim’shealth that have emerged sincehe missed the April 15 com-memoration of the 108th birth-day of his grandfather, NorthKorea founder Kim Il Sung.

Kim Jong Un is the thirdgeneration of his family torule North Korea, and he had-n’t missed the April 15 event,

one of the year’s most impor-tant for the North, since assum-ing power after his father KimJong Il’s death in late 2011.

Kim’s health is of crucial

importance because of worriesthat the serious illness or deathof a leader venerated with neargodlike passion by millions ofNorth Koreans could cause

instability in the impoverished,nuclear-armed country.

Many experts in SouthKorea downplayed speculationthat Kim is seriously ill. They

also said North Korea won’tlikely face a serious immediateturmoil even if Kim is inca-pacitated or dies because some-one else like his influentialsister Kim Yo Jong will quick-ly step in, though the prospectfor the North’s long-term polit-ical future would be unclear.

Kim Jong Un’s train hasbeen parked at the LeadershipRailway Station servicing hisWonsan compound since atleast April 21, the 38 Northwebsite said Saturday, citing ananalysis of recent satellite pho-tos of the area. The website saidthe approximately 250-metre-long train wasn’t present onApril 15 but was present onboth April 21 and 23.

“The train’s presence does

not prove the whereabouts ofthe North Korean leader orindicate anything about hishealth, but it does lend weightto reports that Kim is stayingat an elite area on the country’seastern coast,” it said.

The photos indicate thetrain arrived before April 21and was still present on April23, when it appeared to berepositioned for departure.However, there was no indica-tion when that departure mighttake place, 38 North said.

North Korea exerts extreme-ly tight control on informationabout its leadership, making itvirtually impossible for out-siders to find out what’s going onat those senior levels. Even SouthKorea’s main spy agency has amixed record on confirmingdevelopments in North Korea.When Kim Jong Il died inDecember 2011, for instance, fewoutsiders knew it until it wasreported by North Korea’s statemedia two days later.

A US official, speaking oncondition of anonymitybecause he wasn’t authorised totalk to the media, said the lat-est rumors about Kim’s healthhad not changed the U.S.assessment of the information

as “speculation.”White House counselor

Kellyanne Conway wouldn’tcomment on Kim’s status. “Thepresident will make anyannouncement about a head ofstate,” she said Saturday nighton Fox News Channel’s “JusticeWith Judge Jeannine.”

Danny Russel, a formerNational Security Councildirector and assistant secretaryof state for Asia who has dealtwith North Korea in the past,cautioned that rumors haveabounded for years about Kim,his father, Kim Jong Il, and hisgrandfather, Kim Il Sung, and most turned out to havebeen false.

“While serving in govern-ment I was on the receiving endof multiple intelligence reportsabout alleged accidents, ill-nesses and assassinationattempts against North Koreanleaders — only to have themreappear in public,” he said.

South Korea’s presidentialoffice said last week that Kimappeared to be handling stateaffairs normally and that therehad been no suspicious activities,such as an emergency readinessorder issued by the North’s mil-itary or the ruling Workers’

Party. The South Korean gov-ernment has since maintained itsassessment that Kim’s healthremains the same. Some SouthKorean media outlets, citingunidentified government offi-cials, have reported that Kim wasstaying at Wonsan.

North Korea’s state mediahave been silent about the spec-ulation on Kim’s health. OnSaturday, the North’s officialKorean Central News Agencyreported that Kim had receiveda message of greetings from thechairman of the CentralCommittee of the CommunistParty of the Russian Federationon the occasion of the firstanniversary of Kim’s summitwith Russian President VladimirPutin. The message wished Kim“good health and happiness,”KCNA said.

It’s not the first time thatKim has vanished from thepublic eye, and past absences instate media dispatches havealso triggered speculationabout his health. In 2014, statemedia didn’t report any publicactivities for Kim for about sixweeks, before he reappearedwith a cane. South Korea’s spyagency said later that he had acyst removed from his ankle.

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Alull in boat traffic and afishing ban in Istanbul

forced by the coronavirus pan-demic has proved good newsfor some of the city’s most-loved inhabitants — the dol-phins that swim in the fish-richwaters of the Bosphorus Straitbetween Europe and Asia.

The Turkish city of 16 mil-lion has been under lockdownsince Thursday as part of gov-ernment measures to stem thespread of the coronavirus, fol-lowing two successive week-ends where it was also shutdown.

The latest confinementperiod is due to expire onSunday midnight.

Spotting dolphins in theBosphorus — a usually verybusy narrow waterway con-necting the Mediterranean tothe Black Sea right through theheart of Istanbul — is often asource of joy for the city’s res-idents.

But the lockdown hasmeant fewer ships and morefish in the water, encouragingthe mammals to come closer toshore and prompting morefrequent sightings.

“A decrease in boat andhuman traffic across the

Bosphorus has a big impact,”said Erol Orkcu, head of theamateur and sports fishingassociation in Istanbul.

“Terrestrial and aquaticliving things can remain freewithout human beings. Thatenables dolphins to come clos-er to the shoreline,” he told AFP.Before the pandemic, fishingwas a daily ritual in Istanbulwith hundreds lighting fires orbringing samovars for makingtea as they prepared for longangling stints along the shore.

The sight of thousands ofamateur fishers on the GalataBridge and on the banks of theBosphorus is one of the city’siconic images. But they are nowalmost deserted.

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$ ��������������� ������'���� ��(����������"������ �������������&#Washington: As the coron-avirus pandemic has dealt a bigblow to China’s credibility inthe world, Beijing has sensedthe mounting pressure andfast-tracked its attempts to putHong Kong under its directcontrol.

Whether it was the arrest of15 prominent pro-democracypoliticians with the help ofHong Kong police or proclaim-ing authorities to represent the

central government to exerciseoversight, China has taken sev-eral major steps in a week or soto achieve its goal to impose‘complete-control governance’in the financial hub of Asia.

Yi-Zheng Lian, the formerchief editor of the Hong KongEconomic Journal, wrote inNew York Times that theCOVID-19 pandemic hasforced China to act fastly as thevirus, which first originated in

its territory, has changed theway the world looks at Beijing.

“Sensing mounting inter-national opprobrium and fear-ing economic decoupling withmajor Western powers, theChinese government appears tobelieve that it must act, and fast,to once again turn Hong Konginto its window onto the rest ofthe world,” wrote Lian.

Some of the draconian stepsthat China has taken in recent

days in regard with Hong Kongare — Thee Central LiaisonOffice, China’s leading agency inHong Kong, has recentlydeclared that it had “the author-ity to represent the central gov-ernment to exercise oversight, beconcerned about and expressstern views on important mattersinvolving the relationshipbetween the centre and the spe-cial administrative region,”among other things. Agencies

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Millions of children are indanger of missing life-

saving vaccines against measles,diphtheria and polio due to dis-ruptions in immunisation ser-vice amid the spread of Covid-19, the UNICEF has warned.

Even before the coron-avirus pandemic, measles, polioand other vaccines were out ofreach for 20 million childrenbelow the age of one every year,the UN Children’s Fund said onSaturday.

Given the current disrup-tions, the UNICEF warnedthat this could create pathwaysto disastrous outbreaks in 2020and well beyond.

Over 13 million childrenreceived no vaccines at all in2018, it said. Making its call atthe start of the 2020 edition ofWorld Immunisation Week,the UNICEF said that millionsof children are in danger ofmissing life-saving vaccinesagainst measles, diphtheria andpolio due to disruptions inimmunisation service as theworld rushes to slow the spreadof Covid-19.

“The stakes have neverbeen higher. As Covid-19 con-tinues to spread globally, ourlife-saving work to providechildren with vaccines is crit-ical,” UNICEF PrincipalAdviser and Chief ofImmunisation Robin Nandysaid. With disruptions inimmunisation services due tothe Covid-19 pandemic, shestressed that the fates of mil-lions of young lives “hang in thebalance.” The UNICEF esti-mates that 182 million childrenmissed out on the first dose ofthe measles vaccine between2010 and 2018, or 20.3 millionchildren a year on average. Thisis because the global coverageof the first dose of measlesstands only at 86 per cent, wellbelow the 95 per cent neededto prevent measles outbreaks.

Widening pockets of unvac-cinated children led to alarmingmeasles outbreaks in 2019,including in high-income coun-tries like the US, the UK andFrance. Meanwhile, among low-income countries, gaps inmeasles coverage before Covid-19 were already alarming.

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More than 2,05,000 peoplehave died from Covid-19,

the disease caused by the coro-navirus, while almost 2,965,711infections have been confirmedin at least 185 countries andterritories. More than 8,71,000people have recovered to date.

US: With limited suppliesof coronavirus tests available,the Pentagon is focusing firston testing those performingduties deemed most vital tonational security. Atop the listare the men and women whooperate the nation’s nuclearforces, some counterterrorismforces, and the crew of a soon-to-deploy aircraft carrier.

Defence leaders hope toincrease testing from the cur-rent rate of about 7,000 a dayto 60,000 by June. This willenable them to test those show-ing symptoms as well as those

who do not.The current tight supply

forced the Pentagon to take aphased approach, whichincludes testing sailors aboardthe USS Nimitz, theBremerton, Washington-basedNavy carrier next in line tohead to the Pacific. Officialshope to avoid a repeat of prob-lems that plagued the virus-stricken USS TheodoreRoosevelt. On Friday the Navydisclosed a virus outbreakaboard another ship at sea, theUSS Kidd.

The United States record-ed 2,494 more coronavirusdeaths in the past 24 hours,according to figures reportedSaturday night by JohnsHopkins University.

The country now has anoverall death toll of 53,511,with 936,293 confirmed infec-tions, according to a tally by theBaltimore-based university at8:30 pm.

The United States is by farthe hardest-hit country in theglobal pandemic, in terms ofboth confirmed infections anddeaths.

UK: Britain’s stand-inleader resisted pressure onSunday to explain how thegovernment plans to ease acoronavirus lockdown that hasbeen in place for a month,warning that hasty action couldresult in a second peak ofinfections.

Foreign Secretary DominicRaab has been deputising forPrime Minister Boris Johnsonfor three weeks, since he wastaken to hospital with a seriouscase of COVID-19. Johnson,who has been recovering in thecountryside since April 12,will resume full-time work onMonday and is “raring to go”,Raab said.

Appearing on political TVshows in his last day at the

helm, Raab said the govern-ment was working privately onhow to move out of the lock-down, but that speculating inpublic might dilute the currentguidance to stay at home.

“We are at a delicate anddangerous stage and we need tomake sure that the next stepsare sure-footed,” Raab told SkyNews.

Britain’s death toll from thecoronavirus rose to by 413 to20,732, farming and environ-ment minister George Eusticesaid during a news conference.Eustice said a total of 152,840people had tested positive for thevirus, an increase of 4,463 fromthe previous day.

Spain: Spain has reported itslowest daily death count forcoronavirus infections in fiveweeks as its strict lockdownrestrictions begin to pay divi-dends. Spanish health authori-ties said Sunday that 288 people

died from Covid-19 in the pre-vious 24 hours, taking the totalto 23,190 since the start of theoutbreak. It is the first time thedaily death toll has fallen below300 fatalities since March 20.

The daily number of con-firmed new infections alsodropped. Spain counts 207,634confirmed cases overall, butauthorities said the true num-ber of infections is unknowndue to limits on testing.

Italy: As Italy prepares toemerge from the West’s firstand most extensive coron-avirus lockdown, it is increas-ingly clear that something wentterribly wrong in Lombardy,the hardest-hit region inEurope’s hardest-hit country.

Italy had the bad luck ofbeing the first Western nationto be slammed by the outbreak,and its total of 26,000 fatalitieslags behind only the US in theglobal death toll. Italy’sfirst homegrown case wasrecorded Feb 21, at a time whenthe World Health Organisationwas still insisting the virus

was “containable” and not near-ly as infectious as the flu.

But there’s also evidencethat demographics and healthcare deficiencies combinedwith political and businessinterests to expose Lombardy’s10 million people in waysunseen anywhere else, partic-ularly the most vulnerable innursing homes.

Iran: The death toll fromthe new coronavirus outbreakin Iran rose by 60 in the past 24hours to 5,710, Health Ministryspokesman Kianush Jahanpursaid on Sunday. The total num-ber of diagnosed cases of thenew coronavirus in Iran hasreached 90,481, he said in astatement on state TV.

Russia: Russia reported6,361 new cases of the novelcoronavirus on Sunday, push-ing its national tally to 80,949.Sixty-six people succumbed tothe virus in the previous day,bringing the death toll to 747,Russia’s official crisis responsecentre said.

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US President Donald Trumphas said that his daily

coronavirus press briefings arenot worth his “time and effort”as the “lamestream” media asksnothing but “hostile” ques-tions, days after he facedintense rebuke for suggestingthe possibility of treatingCovid-19 patients by UV lightor disinfectant injections.

Trump faced scathing crit-icism on Thursday for his out-landish suggestion, with healthexperts urging people not to lis-ten to the President’s “danger-ous” advice.

After more than a monthof daily coronavirus press brief-ings, Trump stayed behindclosed doors on Saturday, hint-ing that he was consideringhalting the White House brief-ings. Trump took to Twitterabout 45 minutes later, address-ing the topic of his briefings.

“What is the purpose ofhaving White House NewsConferences when the

Lamestream Media asks noth-ing but hostile questions, &then refuses to report the truthor facts accurately,” the presi-dent tweeted.

“They get record ratings, &the American people get noth-ing but Fake News. Not worththe time & effort!” he said.

Trump’s remarks cameafter the president’s controver-sial comments on Thursdayduring a press conferencewhere he suggested the possi-bility of treating coronavirus patients by hittingtheir bodies with light or dis-infectant injections.

The comments garnerednational attention and Trumpcame under heavy fire fromhealth experts, elected offi-cials and private companieswho warned Americans not toingest chemicals.

Former Food and DrugAdministration head ScottGottlieb said there was “no cir-cumstance” in which an indi-vidual should inject themselveswith a disinfectant.

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The SAARC countries haverolled out a raft of stimulus

packages to boost investments,buffer private businesses andbolster growth in response tothe Covid-19 pandemic thathas upended life and disrupt-ed economic activity in a regioninhabited by over 1.8 billionpeople.

The World Bank recentlywarned that South Asia faces itsworst economic performancein 40 years due to the deadlycoronavirus pandemic whichhas been wreaking havocworldwide.

It advised the Governmentsto “ramp up action to curb thehealth emergency, protect theirpeople, especially the poorestand most vulnerable, and setthe stage now for fast econom-ic recovery”.

India, a USD 2.9 trillion

economy — the biggest in the8-member SAARC grouping,responded by unveiling a �1.7lakh crore (USD 22.6 billion)economic stimulus plan, pro-viding direct cash transfer topoor senior citizens andwomen and free foodgrain andcooking gas to give relief tomillions hit by the lockdown.

The central bank cut thekey interest rate by 75 basispoints to make loans cheaperand provided �1 lakh crore ofliquidity to the market. Also, amoratorium on repayment ofloans for three months hasbeen provided.

The Government has sus-pended the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code for 6 to 12months to give breathing spaceto companies trying to securethe necessary financing, renegotiating loans, andattempting to secure otherreliefs from banks.

In Pakistan, when PrimeMinister Imran Khanannounced the lockdown lastmonth, there was little resis-tance initially from the privatesector. But, as it prolonged,unrest slowly started brewingamong small businesses andshopkeepers who feared thatthey may not sustain the pro-longed closure.

To pacify their concerns,the government announced a�1.2 lakh crore rescue packageto help businesses and vulner-able people. Separately, theGovernment has decided toallocate �7,500 crore for smalland medium enterprises.

“We have given �20,000crore in tax refund to variousbusinessmen so that they havemoney with them,” Khan said.Pakistan’s central bank hasreduced the interest rate from13.25 to 9 per cent since lateMarch in response to the

demand from the private sec-tor. It has also agreed to giveconcessional loans at 4-5 percent to businesses.

Bangladesh has announceda USD 11.6 billion stimuluspackage to support the econo-my, with a primary focus onsupporting the manufacturingand service sectors, agricultureand social safety nets.

“This support package isequivalent to 3.5 per cent of ourGDP,” Prime Minister SheikhHasina said on Friday.

The Bangladesh GarmentsManufacturers and ExportersAssociation has said that ordersworth about USD 3.2 billionwere cancelled or suspended,affecting over 2.3 million work-ers. The textile sector, a majorforex earner, directly employsmore than 4.5 million people,mostly women.

Sri Lanka’s economy, hit bythe Covid-19, is struggling to

overcome the crisis.On March 31, the central

bank announced a USD 250million refinancing facility forbanks, enabling them toexpand their lending capacityby �40,000 crore to businesses,offer loan repayment morato-riums and provide workingcapital at 4 per cent interest.

Sri Lanka is also planningto enter into an agreementwith the Reserve Bank of Indiafor a currency swap worthUSD 400 million to boost theforeign reserves and ensurefinancial stability.

Nepal’s business sector isexpected to suffer a loss ofaround USD 1.25 billion due tothe halting of economic activ-ities during the lockdown, saysUmesh Lal Shrestha, VicePresident Associate, Federationof Nepalese Chamber ofCommerce and Industries.

New Delhi: The CBDT onSunday said an enquiry isbeing initiated against 50 IRSofficers of the I-T departmentwho have penned an unso-licited report on revenuemobilisation to fund Covid-19relief measures and made itpublic without permission.

In a statement, the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT),which is the apex policy mak-ing body for direct tax policies,said it has never asked IRS

Association or these officers toprepare such a report and nopermission was sought by thembefore making the report pub-lic. “It is unequivocally statedthat CBDT never asked IRSAssociation or these officers toprepare such a report.

“No permission was soughtby the officers before goingpublic with their personal viewsand suggestions on official mat-ters, which is a violation ofextant Conduct Rules. Necessary

inquiry is being initiated in thismatter,” the CBDT said.

It added the “impugnedreport” does not reflect the offi-cial views of CBDT/Ministry ofFinance in any manner.

These 50 officers from theIndian Revenue Service (IRS)Association in a report titled‘FORCE (Fiscal Options &Response to the COVID-19Epidemic’) suggested raisingtax rate to 40 per cent for thosewith income above �1 crore,

from 30 per cent at present, andlevy of wealth tax for those withover �5 crore annual income.

They also suggested levy ofa Covid Relief Cess of 4 percent on those with taxableincome of more than �10 lakhto help mobilise revenue forfunding Covid relief work.

Earlier, Finance Ministrysources had said the report bythese officers is “ill-conceived”and an act of indiscipline andviolation of service conduct

rules. “It was not even part oftheir duty to prepare such areport. Therefore, it is prima-facie an act of indiscipline andviolation of conduct ruleswhich specifically prohibitsofficers to go to media withtheir personal views on officialmatters without taking priorsanction or the permission ofthe government. The con-cerned officers will have toexplain their misconduct,” asource said. PTI

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Agroup of tax officers hassuggested hiking tax on

super-rich to 40 per cent, levy-ing pandemic cess and impos-ing higher tax on foreign com-panies to ensure theGovernment’s cash till runslong enough to meet the finan-cial exigencies arising out of thecoronavirus situation.

In its ten suggestions forgenerating more revenues, theIndian Revenue Service (IRS)Association has also mootedre-introduction of wealth tax,raising the Google tax andinheritance tax, among others.

A 44-page paper titled‘Force’ which stands for ‘FiscalOptions & Response toCOVID-19 Epidemic’, datedApril 23, has been sent to the

CBDT (Central Board of DirectTaxes) chairman P C Mody andthe board members.

The paper, accessed byPTI, has suggested that taxrelief should be restricted toonly honest and compliant tax-payers, especially those filingreturns on time as there havebeen many instances of non-fil-ing of returns, hike in non-deductions and TDS with-holding apart from risingunder-reporting of tax throughbogus loss claims.

A ‘give it up campaign’like that was done for LPG sub-sidies has also been proposed.As per the suggestion, the taxdepartment can encourage thesuper-rich and those willing togive up at least one tax subsidy/tax deduction/ tax concessionfor a year, it added.

The paper has been pre-pared by 50 senior tax officersafter CBDT sought ideas fromfield officers on ways to revivethe economy and improve rev-enue collection.

Some of the short termmeasures suggested in thepaper include a super-rich taxby raising the highest slab rateto 40 per cent for those with anincome above �1 crore from 30per cent, and re-introduction ofwealth tax for those with over�5 crore annual income.

It noted that the surchargeintroduced in the Budget 2021on the super-rich may generateonly �2,700 crore and hence thecall to up it on the super-rich.Individuals having a taxableincome of �1 crore are consid-ered super-rich.

The revenue gain associat-

ed with both options should beworked out to see whether thegains attached with the latteroption score better in terms ofa cost-benefit analysis, saysthe paper, adding this waygovernment can collect anadditional �50,000 crore.

For the medium term, thepaper has suggested raisingadditional revenue from foreigncompanies operating in thecountry. This can be done byhiking surcharge from 2 per centon a Multi-National Company’s(MNC) income ranging �1-10crore and to levy 5 per cent sur-charge on income exceeding �10crore, it added.

“The surcharge has notbeen revised (for) long time. Soit is time that a flourishing mar-ket like India, with its hugeprospects, flexes its customerbase muscle”.

Further, the paper hascalled for imposing a Covid-19cess to help mobilise addition-al revenues. The one-time cessof 4 per cent can help financecapital investment, it said.

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The Central Board ofIndirect Taxes (CBIC) has

cleared over �10,700 croreworth refunds in GST andcustoms duty between April 8-23. In the ‘Special Refund andDrawback Disposal Drive’, theCBIC officers have clearedover 1.07 lakh Goods andServices Tax and IGST refundclaims worth �9,818.12 crore.

Over 1.86 lakh customsand duty drawback refund wasprocessed totalling �915.56crore, the CBIC said in a tweet.

“CBIC is committed tohelp GST Taxpayers/EximTrade during #COVID19.Expeditious sanction of refundsduring Special Refund Driveprovide relief to trade, espe-cially MSMEs,” it said.

The Finance Ministry hadon April 8 said that to providerelief during COVID-19, it hasbeen decided to issue all pend-ing GST and custom refundswhich would benefit around 1lakh business entities, includ-ing MSME.

The total refund grantedwill be approximately �18,000crore, it had said. The CBIChad earlier asked its field offi-cers to avoid asking for physi-cal submission of documentsfrom entities who are claimingGST and customs refunds andinstead use official email for allcommunication.

The CBIC had said that thedecision to process pendingrefund claims has been takenwith a view to provide imme-diate relief to taxpayers inthese difficult times eventhough the GST Law provides15 days for issuing acknowl-edgement or deficiency memoand total 60 days for disposingoff refund claims without anyliability to pay interest.

New Delhi: Leading retailersFuture Retail, Walmart andMetro Cash & Carry have wit-nessed a spike in their privatelabels as supply lines from othermanufacturers are disruptedamid the lockdown. The retail-ers said their in-house brands inessential categories such as sta-ples and food have witnessedover two-fold jump in sales dur-ing the period of lockdown.

The retailers have pushedtheir private labels to fill the gapsin supply chain due to produc-tion shortage and transportationfrom other manufacturers, andeven introduced new productsunder their private labels duringthe crisis. Encouraged by thecustomers response, retailersare also now extending their pri-vate labels in categories such aspacked foods and beverages, asegment which is largely dom-inated by the leading FMCGcompanies. PTI

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The jewellery industry, whichhas come to a standstill due

to the lockdown following theCovid-19 pandemic, is expect-ing complete sales washout onthe day of Akshaya Tritiya onSunday as compared to lastyear, even as many retailers aredoling out innovative offers toattract customers.

“This year Akshaya Tritiyahas fallen within the lockdown2.0, which will result in com-plete shutdown of jewellery

shops. Whatever sales will takeplace will be on the digital plat-form only,” All India Gems andJewellery Domestic CouncilChairman AnanthaPadmanabhan told PTI here.

“We are expecting 97-98per cent decline in business thisyear on the day of the festivalcompared to last year,” headded. He said jewellers havecome out with innovative offersto attract customers for digitalpurchases, including locking ofprices, gold ownership certifi-cates, among others.

“Any physical delivery orpurchase will happen after thelockdown. We expect theindustry will gradually limp

back to normalcy with Mayand June being extremely slow.We expect the demand to peakduring Diwali,” he added.

Akshaya Tritiya, alsoknown as Akha Teej, is anannual spring time festival con-sidered auspicious in manyregions (especially in the southand the west) for beginning newventures, marriages, expensiveinvestments such as in gold.

PNG Jewellers Chairmanand Managing DirectorSaurabh Gadgil said that for thefirst time ever, gold buying onAkshaya Tritiya will be com-pletely online.

“The turnout will not belike last year and jewellers are

doing business by offering e-vouchers, e-certificates as phys-ical buying and delivery atpresent is not possible due tothe lockdown,” he said.

Jewellers are also offeringa price-lock as gold is ruling ataround �48,000 per 10 grams,and will go up further as stockswill dwindle due to absence ofimports on account of lock-down. Kalyan JewellersChairman and ManagingDirector TS Kalyanaraman saidthis year’s sales cannot be com-pared to regular sales duringAkshaya Tritiya.

Unlike in the past years,Kalyan Jewellers does not havea full-fledged Akshaya Tritiya

campaign this year, he said.“Over the past 25 odd

years, Akshaya Tritiya hasalways been about buying goldat the showroom. However,this year, owing to a change instatus quo with the lockdown,we have launched the ‘GoldOwnership Certificate’ to keepthe annual gold purchase tra-dition going,” he added.

However, considering thelimited time since theannouncement of KalyanJeweller’s Akshaya Tritiya offer-ing and given the current cir-cumstances, the company isexpecting to clock about 10 percent of its usual Akshaya Tritiyasales this year, he said.

Chittaranjan: 25-4-20;Chittaranjan LocomotiveWorks (CLW) built 9000HP,WAG-9HH electric loco (locono-90002) has successfullypassed the Oscillation and EBDtrial by Research Design &

Standard Organisation. RDSO has issued final

speed certificate for operationof WAG-9HH class of loco-motives upto maximum speedof 100kmph on IndianRailways track. Now, after

obtaining statutory CRS sanc-tion, will be put in service.CLW produced this high powerlocomotive on 21.12.2019 andtrials were conducted between31.1.2020 to 26.02.2020 onNorthern Railways.

New Delhi: Union Minister ofState for Shipping (I/C) ShriMansukh Mandaviya interactedwith the representative ofMaritime industry of Indiathrough video conferencing.Objective was to discuss and pre-pare for meeting the post -Covid-19 challenges withBusiness continuity strategies .

Industry leaders appreciatedthe proactive and timely inter-ventions of the Ministry ofShipping in this critical time andensuring smooth running ofthe ports. They also laudedmany reliefs and extensionsgranted to the industry whichinter-alia included not chargingany port charges, demurrages,penalties for the lockdown peri-od as it has proven to be greatrelief for the industries at large.

Interaction with industryleaders provided the quickoverview for the Covid-19 situ-ation in the maritime sector.Stakeholders highlighted thechallenges like supply chainissues- the movement of cargoand trucks, requested the policyinterventions.

They also made sugges-tions for increasing the CoastalShipping and increasing theIndia’s share in global ship-building. Mansukh Mandaviyaassured the Maritime sectorindustry stakeholders that theIndian Ports are ready in thefull capacity to start the oper-ation as usual but there are afew challenges due to Covid-19which will be solved with pol-icy decisions and their sincereimplementation.

New Delhi: Considering the ris-ing number of cases of theCoronavirus Pandemic in India,the prevention, containmentand management of the deadlyCovid-19 are being monitoredat very high level & variousactions have been suitablyreviewed by the Centre.

Doctors and healthcareworkers are our frontline war-riors in this fight against theCoronavirus and to fight thisbattle effectively PersonalProtective Equipments (PPE)have become most essential. Inview of the large requirementsof PPEs in Railway Hospitals,Indian Railways Workshopsand Production Units have beenput to the task to manufacturePPEs for medical personnel.

In continuation to this,

Western Railway’s Lower ParelWorkshop have put its best footforward by making over 1050PPE coveralls till now, along withshoe covers for the medical fra-ternity of WR’s Jagjivan RamHospital situated at Mumbai

Central, which is treating manyCoronavirus patients.

According to a Pressrelease issued by RavinderBhakar — Chief PublicRelations Officer of WesternRailway, these PPEs arerequired in large quantities bymedical personnel working inWestern Railway’s 172 bedJagjivan Ram Hospital (JRH),Mumbai Central, which is theonly Railway Hospital han-dling COVID-19 patients inIndia to protect them fromacquiring infections. WesternRailway’s Lower ParelWorkshop have tirelessly man-ufactured more than 1000 PPEcoveralls with shoe covers forthe medical team workinground the clock at JagjivanRam Hospital.

New Delhi: Reopening ofstores in the wake of relaxationin guidelines from Centre,allowing neighbourhood andstandalone shops to be open,will depend on members get-ting clarity from StateGovernments, according to theRetailers Association of India.

The retailers body lament-ed that a series of circulars fromthe Centre has only “compli-cated” the situation and hasbecome “very difficult to inter-pret”. “Members can’t open ituntil and unless the states allow.Until states come up with a clar-ity, they can’t open but thestates are equally confused withthis. It is the prerogative of statesto allow stores to open, Centreis the guiding principle. Sadly,states have not got enough ofclarity,” RAI CEO KumarRajagopalan told PTI.

He was responding to a

query on whether RAI mem-bers will be reopening storesafter the Home Ministry issuedcirculars relaxing guidelinesfor the lockdown.

“RAI has told its membersto get clarity from the statesbefore they reopen,”Rajagopalan added. Referringto the series of circulars issuedby the Centre, he said, “It hasgot complicated...It is very dif-ficult to interpret it. While it isa welcome sign from the gov-ernment that they want toopen up stores...(but) the wholething is sounding more com-plicated than it was before.”

Arguing his point,Rajagopalan asked, “Will adepartmental store in neigh-bourhood be allowed to open ornot? Will states allow it? If(will) somebody on a highstreet be allowed to open or not?Clarity is not there.” PTI

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In view of the coronaviruspandemic and persistent

concerns, the share of Indianconsumers preferring onlineshopping over physical shopsmay rise to 64 per cent in thenext 6-9 months, according toa survey by CapgeminiResearch Institute.

The report said prior to thepandemic, around 57 per centpeople preferred online shop-ping and the rate in the currentlockdown situation stands at 46 per cent.

Further, in next 6-9months, consumers in thecountry would decrease theirshopping at physical retailstores and around 46 per centof Indian will shop at physicalretail stores compared to 59 per cent who did before thepandemic.

Around 72 per cent ofIndian consumers will prefer topurchase from retailers whichwill offer delivery assurance aswell as assurance of compen-sation for future cancellationsand 74 per cent of Indian con-sumers will prefer to purchasefrom retailers offering deliveryat flexible timing, it said.

Globally, the survey foundthat 59 per cent of consumershad high levels of interactionwith physical stores beforeCovid-19, but today less thana quarter see themselves in thathigh-interaction category. Innext 6-9 months, 39 per cent ofconsumers expect a high level of interaction with phys-ical stores.

The report said that theCovid-19 pandemic has forcedthe consumer products andretail industry to review its core markets and operatingmodel.

The sector has had toreassess consumer preferencesand behaviour in an era of greatuncertainty and consumer ner-vousness about the economyand their own future.

“We are seeing a patternshift in the way we consumeand think about consumption,leading to a change in buyingbehaviour. And, many of thesebehavioral changes may turnout to be permanent. At thesame time, supply chains havereceived a significant shock andwe have seen unprecedenteddemand for - and mass stock-outs of - essential items,” saidthe report.

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US stocks declined in theweek featuring bizarre

moves in oil prices and an eco-nomic aid package amid theCovid-19 crisis.

For the week ending April24, the Dow fell 1.9 per cent,the S&P 500 lost 1.3 per centand the Nasdaq retreated 0.2 per cent.

The declines were the firstlosing week for the bench-marks in the past three weeks.

Wall Street finished theweek on an upbeat note onFriday with the Dow closing up260 points as market sentimentwas lifted by the progress in aUS coronavirus stimulus.

US President DonaldTrump on Friday signed intolaw a US $484 billion reliefpackage to boost funding forsmall businesses, hospitals andvirus testing. The coronavirus

continued to sweep the nation, with the economydevastated and the death tollstill rising.

US initial jobless claims, arough way to measure layoffs,registered 4.427 million in theweek ending April 18, theDepartment of Labor reportedon Thursday. That brought thetotal number of claimants inthe past five weeks to morethan 26 million amid theCovid-19 fallout.

“With so many millionsout of work for a month andstill waiting for the safety net tokick in, household spendingpower is severely constrained,”which is likely to take a big biteout of April consumption,Chris Low, chief economist atFHN Financial, said in a note.

Private sector firms in theUnited States signalled anunprecedented decline in busi-ness activity in April, with

manufacturing and service sec-tor companies registeringmarked contractions of outputamid the coronavirus pan-demic, according to a report byLondon-based global infor-mation provider IHS Markit onThursday.

The IHS Markit Flash USmanufacturing PurchasingManagers’ Index (PMI) fell to36.9 in April from 48.5 inMarch, while the Flash USservices PMI plunged to 27 this month from the Marchreading of 39.8.

More than 919,000 con-firmed Covid-19 cases havebeen reported in the UnitedStates, with 52,100 deaths, as ofmidday Saturday, according tothe Center for Systems Scienceand Engineering at JohnsHopkins University.

Investors also grappledwith the extreme volatility onthe energy market.

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World’s leading journalists andhistorians have been writingabout current pandemic woes

and are comparing it with similar eventsand consequences of the past.

In the past two centuries, millionshave been killed by flu, plague and sim-ilar pandemics. If you notice you will seethat they all coincided with the post-industrialisation era which also led tomassive urbanisation. Textile industryand market are prime examples of indus-trialisation and urbanisation. And dur-ing a pandemic, the huge assembly linesare the first ones to be locked down.Millions of workers are thrown out oftheir jobs and it is the densely populat-ed urban centres that succumb to theruthless spread of the virus. This is aprime example of what sustainable devel-opment is not.

It is unfortunate that we need to reit-erate the values associated with Khadi, ahand-spun hand-woven fabric made ofnatural fibres. We also need to re-emphasise how it is a symbol of sustain-ability in terms of economy, resilience topandemics and health and hygiene.

The heritage model of Khadi produc-tion is to use small clusters of artisans, setin a rural environment. This, in itself, isa deterrent to the spread of pandemic,unlike in the urban and industrial con-text. And Khadi, since it is hand craftedand not produced in excess like other tex-tiles, does not collapse under a lockdownsituation. The artisans continue to workin small numbers in rural settings andtheir income is not compromised by thedeep economic slowdown, which mayhappen as a consequence of long lock-downs of industry or mega markets.

Its production is also distributednationwide unlike a few productionnuclei of the textile or other industries.What acts in its favour is that the prod-uct is locally available, it doesn’t requirean enormous network or movementand above all, it is affordable in thesetimes of crisis. Since its production clus-ters are widely distributed and notarranged as urban centres, it intrinsical-ly works in line with social distancingduring times of pandemic

Another notable point is that varioustextile industry expose its workers to anarray of chemicals, thereby compromis-ing their health and affecting theirimmune system. Khadi being chemical-free, carbon neutral and completely nat-ural in both its ingredients and the pro-duction process, doesn’t lead to chemi-cal exposure of individuals or harms theenvironment. People who wear Khadialso gain from it as it has health andhygiene benefits.

Two weeks ago, under the severeimpact of Coronavirus that has killedthousands of people in America, CottonIncorporated, a US based research organ-isation, conducted a survey amongAmericans. It was regarding benefits ofwearing cotton and natural fibres duringthis time. Over 84 per cent of the peopleresponded that they are browsing inter-net for textiles and clothing made from

natural fibres. Even when questionedabout the most comfortable attire theywish to wear, over 55 per cent looked forcotton. This survey has helped the USgovernment to re-prioritise their supportto natural fibres sector, realising that thelong-term sustainable development ofcommunities is only possible when westay close to nature and natural ways oflife.

India is endowed with timeless tra-dition of making Khadi, which hasweathered challenges of time and histo-ry to remain stable and strong.Pandemics, economic upheavals, histor-ical events, climate change, politicalmovements, natural disasters are a fewprime factors that have destroyed manyindustries and made many vulnerable.Khadi has never altered its course of life.

This enormous in-built resilience ofKhadi in terms of its composition,process, community and market, makesit an exemplary example of sustainabledevelopment.

(The writer is the chairman, Khadiand Village Industries Commission,Government of India.)

Alot can change in a month. Noone knows this better than

Indian users, whose online searchpriorities changed enormouslythrough the COVID-19 lockdownwhich began in our country onMarch 24. Yahoo todayannounced Search in theLockdown, which chronicles andcompares what users heresearched right before the lock-down. New search priorities haveemerged since then. These trendsare based on users’ daily searchhabits in the last one month andan editorial selection of what theyread, recommended and sharedmost on Yahoo.

� COVID-19 searches recordmassive jump

Before COVID-19 began torule the search bar, the top searchkeywords online (for news)included ‘Delhi election results,’‘Delhi riots / Delhi violence’ and‘JNU violence’. The top searchedkeywords (people) included (USPresident) ‘Donald Trump’, (DelhiCM) ‘Arvind Kejriwal’ and (politi-cian) ‘Jyotiraditya Scindia’.

Through the lockdown,Coronavirus related searches roseby a whopping 427 per cent. Thetop five COVID-19 keywordswere ‘COVID-19 updates’,‘Symptoms of COVID-19’,‘COVID-19 treatment’, ‘COVID-19 death toll’ and ‘Live COVID-19tracker.’

Top searches related toCoronavirus included ‘Lockdownin India,’ ‘Vaccine for coronavirus,’‘Social distancing’ — a new termfor most Indians andHydroxychloroquine forCoronavirus — the anti-malarialdrug that India is a leading pro-ducer of, described by USPresident Donald Trump as “one

of the biggest game changers in thehistory of medicine” and a possi-ble treatment for COVID-19.

� Netizens scramble for pro-ductivity tools online

From pre-lockdown naviga-tional searches for ‘WhatsAppweb’ and ‘YouTube,’ Indians, whohad to overnight work and learnfrom home, searched for a newclass of products and tools to stayproductive. The ‘Top 5 MostSearched Tools for TeamCommunication,’ that enabledstudents to learn and profession-als to work together remotelythrough the lockdown were:Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts,Microsoft Teams andGoToMeeting.

� Kanika Kapoor replacesPriyanka Chopra from the top

Social media favouritePriyanka Chopra was the ‘MostSearched Female Celebrity’ onlinein pre-lockdown India. She wasfollowed by Katrina Kaif andDeepika Padukone respectively.

However, that changed whensinger Kanika Kapoor pippedthese superstars to take the topspot on the list after she testedpositive for COVID-19. (The UPpolice booked the singer for neg-ligence for attending three social

gatherings in Lucknow, after herreturn from London and beinginstructed by the authorities toself-isolate.) Curiosity was at an alltime high about the singer, thechronology of her illness and herrecovery online. In fact, Kanika,known for her hits Babydoll andChittiyaan Kalaiyaan, wasn’t justthe ‘Most Searched FemaleCelebrity,’ she was the mostsearched among both male andfemale celebrities.

Lockdown celebs stayed inthe news for their philanthropy,commitment to support COVID-19 causes and awareness, besidesspreading cheer and rocking lock-down fashion for fans on socialmedia.

� Amitabh Bachchan rises torule

Superstars Rajinikanth (afterDarbar), Salman Khan and AamirKhan were top three in the ‘MostSearched Male Celebrity’ catego-ry before the lockdown wasannounced. Post-lockdown,superstars Amitabh Bachchan andRajinikanth, active voices urgingfans to stay safe through thisperiod (and with some controver-sial tweets) took the Number oneand two spots on the list of ‘MostSearched Male Celebs.’ SalmanKhan slid to the third position.

From public ser viceannouncements to generous dona-tions and offering a glimpse of lifein a lockdown, celebrities stayedin the public eye and accessible onsocial media. Actors AkshayKumar and Tiger Shroff roundedoff the Top five ‘Most SearchedMale Celebs’ through the lock-down.

� The Resurgence of RamayanaIt was entertainment as usual

pre-lockdown, with netizens search-ing for Big Boss, Drive, Tanhaji,Housefull 4 and Good Newwz astheir top entertainment searches.After the lockdown, Ramayanabroke through overnight to becomethe top entertainment search afterit was re-telecast on Doordarshan —a demand that sprung up on socialmedia, with users requestingmythological programmes to bebrought back for people at homeduring the quarantine. Pandemicfilm Contagion also jumped into thetop five.

� Amazon Prime Video ahead ofNetflix

As demand for OTT servicesspiked, searches for OTT servicesrose by 59 per cent with userssearching for streaming choicesonline. The top five searches forOTT Services were: Amazon PrimeVideo, Netflix, Hotstar, Voot andZee5.

� Dalgona coffee craze hits Indiatoo

With restaurants shut and fooddelivery services interrupted,Indians searched online for ways tomake their meals more interesting.Dalgona coffee was trending acrossthe world after going viral on socialmedia and India was no exception.The recipe for this frothy caffeinecup rose to number one on the listof ‘Top Recipe Searches’ during thelockdown. Indians experimenting inthe kitchen also searched for cake,paneer and chicken recipes. Withstaples like bread off the shelf forparts of the lockdown, users alsosearched for breakfast recipes.

�������������������After a traumatic year, all an Indian-American teen

wants is to go from Pariah to popular — but friends,family and feelings won’t make it easy for her. StarringMaitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan and RichaMoorjani, season 1 releases on April 27 on Netflix.

�� ��������� ������In 2033, people who are near death can be uploaded

into virtual reality hotels run by six tech firms. The sc-fiseries is created by Greg Daniels. Season 1 releases onMay 1 on Amazon Prime Original.

��������������������When a doctor gets jailed for a string of shocking mur-

ders, his loyal wife sets out to commit a copycat crime toprove his innocence. Starring Jacqueline Fernandez,Manoj Bajpayee and Mohit Raina the film releases on May1 on Netflix. It is directed by Shirish Kunder.

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DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS VITAL TO FIGHT COVID-19 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAKES HEART PATIENTS FEEL BETTER

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Human mind has an extraordinary capacity tocreate, remember and evoke memories. It lets

you travel into the past and future at free will. Notmany of us know that everything that is visible tous through our physical eyes and every particle ofmatter that we can touch first had its blueprint inhuman mind. In other words, everything outside isa physical manifestation of what is inside. Therefore,everything in the universe was first born as athought, a tiny sentient point or dot. This has nolength, breadthor width, but ithas immensepower and con-tains a lot.

When athought expands,depending uponits nature andquality, it cansoothe one withpeace and pros-perity or disturbthe self and oth-ers. Each thoughtbrings along achain of otherthoughts of asimilar nature.When put together, they can gain momentum to cre-ate desirable or undesirable results. While slow, lightand positive thoughts can create a peaceful and pros-perous world; chaotic, fast and negative thoughts canbe destructive like a hurricane and blow away every-thing that had been nurtured for years. Hence, weshould realise that a thought gives birth to an ideathat may spread like wild fire or bring about a rev-olution. It is the mother of all changes, maybe forthe better or for the worse. That is why the saying:Think of the devil and the devil appears. It is appro-priate because as soon as you create the devil in themind, its arrival is inevitable.

Today we all are experiencing how the presentera, dominated by vices and wickedness, is promot-ing devilish tendencies. Hence, the speed and inten-sity of negative thoughts is much greater than thepositive ones. The major part of these positivethoughts fritters away before implementation dueto a greater momentum of internal weak thoughtsand force of external environment presently con-ducive for unrighteousness. Under such circum-stances, meditation lends power to our positivethoughts.

It helps us to realise our pure intentions byreinforcing them into our mind. By wiping the filmof body-consciousness or human weaknesses, ithelps in the emerging of our original, eternal spir-itual qualities of knowledge, peace, power, love andpurity. It unleashes the vast positive capacity of ourthoughts — the infinite power to visualise the mostbeautiful. It helps us to create an internal positiveenvironment which is independent of the exter-nal vicious world. The capacity is so much that inits most powerful stage, our mind could eventransform the negative situations outside into pos-itive ones. So pause to check what kind ofthoughts are birthed in your mind for these willdecide the degree of your happiness and satisfac-tion. And these will shape the kind of world youare creating for yourself every moment. Monitoryour thoughts to see what you are creating andwhat is being destroyed; what are the tendenciesthat are being encouraged and which are the onesthat are being allowed to wilt.Take charge to con-sciously create positive thoughts and destroy theevil ones.

One good thing: Inspirationalmessages bloom amid the

Coronavirus pandemic. It hasbrought an outpouring of mes-sages from stranger to stranger— in windows, on front doors,across walls and coloured ontodriveways and sidewalks. Somemessages offer encouragement:“Strong Together”, “Always Lookat the Bright Side of Life.” Othersare spiritual: “Have Faith”, “JesusLoves You Always.” Some offerhumor: “United We Stand — 6Feet Apart”, “Send Toilet Paper.”And there are rainbows. So manyrainbows.

“I saw all the chalk art peo-ple were creating all over socialmedia and wanted to give it ashot, but wasn’t sure what todraw,” Mallory said by text mes-sage. She was checking Instagramand saw a chalk message on thepage of Allie Clifton, who playedbasketball at University of Toledoand is a TV sportscaster in LosAngeles. It said: “April DistanceBrings May Existence.”

Mallory drew a map ofKentucky with that messagebelow it, followed by hashtags:“TeamKy” and “TogetherKY.”Soon, people were stopping tosnap cellphone photos of it toshare with their friends.Neighbours smiled. “I think itbrightened their day just a littlebit,” Mallory said.

In Homewood, Alabama,professional sign painter ShawnFitzwater wanted to use his tal-ents to lift spirits, and spent 10hours covering a building wallwith “We Are All In ThisTogether.”

People were soon parkingacross the street from the sign totake photos and post them onsocial media, and an apparelcompany owned by friends putFitzwater’s message on a T-shirt.Shirts were sold to raise money

for BHMcares, a startup nonprof-it group that’s assisting healthcare workers by providing themwith meals purchased fromstruggling local restaurants.

“It’s kind of turned intosomething bigger than I everexpected,” he said.

The mayor of Dayton, Ohio,saw countless DaytonStrongmessages during a turbulent2019 in which the city endureda tense Ku Klux Klan rally, dev-astating tornadoes, a mass shoot-ing in which 10 people died, andthe fatal shooting of a policedetective.

Nan Whaley said the slogans

“Dayton United Against Hate”and “DaytonStrong” were moreplanned and organised than thepersonalised messages she’s seenthat seem to be sprouting near-ly spontaneously, such as “HopeWill Arise” in chalk and a win-dow rainbow with “God Is InControl.” “These are deeper,reaching out for connectivity,”Whaley said.

“This thing is particularlylonely and so it’s almost a shoutof ‘Look, I’m putting myself outhere and that makes me connect-ed, and someone else will stum-ble upon it, and it will be mean-ingful to them.’”< C$%

Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, has animmensely vibrant community.It’s a place where adversity meets

optimism. Nearly every household firm-ly believes in working, recycling andrefurbishing. Perhaps, the most distinc-tive characteristic of this area is theextremely close work-home relationship— every square inch of land is used toproduce something. However, this defin-ing feature of Dharavi has made ithighly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pan-demic.

The Coronavirus has struckDharavi’s pulsating nerve and poses athreat to its million plus population, theirlivelihood and survival. The housesbordering its crowded and dark laneshave little or no ventilation and sanita-tion. It’s, hence, easier to get infected inthese cramped localities. Realising thedisastrous situation it can lead to, theestablishment has put all safeguards inplace. The BrihanMumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) has set up severalcontainment zones with door-to-doordelivery of essentials to ‘break the chain’in the slum.

The rapid spread of the novelCoronavirus has made practices likephysical distancing and regular hand-washing an integral part of our daily life.However, these measures can be excep-tionally difficult to put into practice indensely populated, informal urban set-tlements like Dharavi. In such places,overcrowding makes the two-metre sep-aration rule almost impossible to uphold.With lack of access to basic services likewater and sanitation, how can oneexpect inhabitants of this slum to regu-larly wash hands and maintain cleanli-ness in and around their houses?

“I have been out of work since theoutbreak of the virus. This epidemic haspushed thousands workers, daily wageearners and artisans to penury. Morethan the Coronavirus, it’s the loss oflivelihood that is breaking the residents,”shares Mohammad, a tourist guide andresident of Dharavi who fears for his

future. Mohammad is not alone. Due tothe virus, all activities have been bannedin Dharavi, which is ideally touted as the‘go-to place’ for slum tourism. Thisunprecedented silence in its crunchedlanes has put all the ‘Slumdog’ touristguides out of work.

A number of non-profit organisa-tions, religious institutions and con-cerned citizen groups have stepped in toprovide food and essentials to peoplewho have lost their livelihood due to thelockdown. “You will not see such efforts

as the headline of a newspaper or as thetop story of a news channel. Themedia houses today are only interest-ed in knowing how the other half dies— they are not interested in knowinghow the other half lives. The dailyordeals of the citizens are beyondtheir understanding,” rues Raju Neware,a social worker from Dharavi.

During the 1960s, the area was lit-tle known and for the mainstreammedia it almost didn’t exist. It wasn’t ahot topic that it has become in therecent decades. Even though the main-stream media has mostly depicted thedark side of this otherwise vibrantslum, its inhabitants have always beenat the forefront of showing the worldits other ‘quaint’ side.

For example, its vast Tamil commu-nity has been producing VanakkamMumbai — the only weekly, edited andpublished by the local residents.Contrary to the gruesome stories pub-lished about Dharavi in mainstreampress, Vanakkam, a mirror of the com-munity, reports on real lives, which arefull of challenges as well as goodtimes. Today, due to Coronavirus out-break, these Tamilians are returning totheir native place and the existence ofthe weekly is at stake. As per a reportpublished in a national daily, “Morethan 10,000 people from Tamil Nadu,who settled down in Dharavi a fewdecades ago, are returning in a hurryafter the pandemic threatens to over-whelm the sprawling slum with sevenlakh residents in an area of just over2.10 sq km.”

As Dharavi emerges as a newhotspot for Coronavirus in Mumbai,with over 180 cases on April 22 as 12lives were lost, many other slums of thecity are waiting to join in. It is the poorliving standards in these slum areas thatdo not allow its residents to protectthemselves from the virus. If they arenot safe inside their homes, where canthey go?

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Arsenal’s squad will be allowed back totheir training ground from next week,

although the club stressed they would stillhave to maintain British government guide-lines designed to combat the spread of thecoronavirus.

The Premier League side’s players willhave access to training pitches but on a strictrotational basis that will see them upholdsocial distancing measures.

“Players will be permitted access to ourLondon Colney training grounds next week,”said a club spokesperson.

“Access will be limited, carefully managedand social distancing will be maintained atall times.

“All Colney buildings remain closed.Players will travel alone, do their individualworkout and return home.”

This week saw Arsenal become the firstPremier League club to agree a coronaviruspay cut with their players as manager MikelArteta and his stars slashed their wages by12.5 percent.

There are reports Arsenal, whose yearlywage bill is around £230 million ($286 mil-lion), will give players their money back inthe event that they bridge an eight-point gapand qualify for the Champions League whenfootball restarts.

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Australia’s world numberone pacer Pat Cummins

finds India’s middle-ordermainstay Cheteshwar Pujarathe toughest batsman to bowlat in Test cricket and calledhim a “pain in the back” forhis team.

With his solid batting atnumber three, Pujara hadplayed an influential rolein India’s historic tri-umph Down Under in2018-19.

Cummins heldPujara in high esteemwhen asked whichbatsman he foundtoughest to bowl toduring a Question &Answer session thatwas arranged bythe AustralianC r i c k e t e r sA s s o c i a t i o n(ACA).

“There area lot of themout there, unfor-tunately. But I amgoing to go withsomeone dif-ferent, and he is

(Cheteshwar) Pujara fromIndia. He was a real pain inthe back for us,” Cumminssaid.

The unassuming Pujarahad helped India claim theirmaiden Test series victory inAustralia last year by amass-ing a staggering 521 runs at anaverage of over 74 with threehundreds and a half-century.

Cummins recalled thedifficulty the Australianbowlers faced in dislodg-ing Pujara.

“He (Pujara) was anabsolute rock for them

in that series. (Hewas) really hard toget out. Just ultraconcentration allday, day after day.He is the hardest

one in Test crick-et so far, I

t h i n k , ”C u m m i n sadded.

Pujarawas named

the Man ofthe Series for his stel-lar showing, provingto be the player thatmade all the difference.

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He has played most of his cricketunder Mahendra Singh Dhoni and

pacer Mohit Sharma says the revered for-mer India skipper is a true leader who doesnot back off when it comes to taking

responsibility in challenging times.The 31-year-old pacer has played

under Dhoni both at Chennai SuperKings and the Indian team. He wasto play for Delhi Capitals this sea-son but the lockdown has post-poned the league indefinitely.

“His humility and sense ofgratitude is what sets him apartfrom other players I haveplayed with. In sport, there’s adifference between a captainand a leader — I believe he’s

a true leader,” Sharma saidduring an Instagram sessionorganised by the Delhi fran-chise.

“When the team wins,you’ll never find him any-where prominently, butwhen the team loses, he’salways right in front, takingresponsibility — that’s the

sign of a leader and why Iadmire him so much.”

The coronavirus-forcedlockdown has delayed his return

to competitive cricket after a backsurgery but Sharma says whenever

the IPL is played, his side will be astrong contender for the title.

Sharma was out of action for about 10months due to a back injury, which trou-bled him for two years.

“I finally decided to get myself oper-ated, and after completing the rehab in thepast three months, I was really looking for-

ward to playing for the Delhi Capitals thisseason,” he said.

“I think it is a huge opportunity for ourteam. We have a fantastic group of play-ers with a very strong Indian core, and Ibelieve our team has the right players inall departments who can help us in chal-lenging for the trophy. So I feel our fanscan expect huge things from the team.”

Sharma said he was not sure if hewould be able to return to competitivecricket because of the surgery and is nowlooking forward to learn a few things fromAustralian legend Ricky Ponting, who is thecoach of Delhi franchise.

“I’m still excited to represent the fran-chise. I feel it’s a young team with a solidIndian core, and I know most of the play-ers here — like Shikhar Dhawan, IshantSharma, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel —both on and off the field very well.

“It would also be a golden opportuni-ty to work and learn from Ricky Ponting— all the players only have praises for him.I hope the team does exceedingly wellwhen the IPL happens, and we can give theDelhi fans great joy,” Sharma added.

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Pakistan spin great SaqlainMushtaq fails to understand howa proven performer like

Ravichandran Ashwin has been keptout of India’s limited-overs set-up,saying a successful Test bowler isbound to succeed in the shorter for-mats.

Ashwin, a regular in the IPL, hasbeen kept out of the shorter formatssince July 2017. Same was the case withRavindra Jadeja but he is back playingall three formats, largely because of hisall-round abilities.

“Class is permanent whether youare a finger-spinner or wrist-spinner.Your skills, game reading abilities mat-ter a lot. I was surprised when Ashwinwas sidelined from one-day cricket,”Saqlain, the inventor of Doosra, said.

“He knows how to get batsman outin the five-day game, which is muchtougher than limited overs cricket.Anyone can do the containment job butsomeone who knows how to take wick-ets can contain also. He knows both.How can you keep him out? You haveto back your best players.”

Seeking more variety, the selectorshad opted for wrist-spinners KuldeepYadav and Yuzvendra Chahal after the2017 Champions Trophy. They both

have established themselves in limitedovers cricket but have not featured inthe eleven together since the 2019World Cup.

Though Ashwin remains India’snumber one spinner at home, he is nota sure starter in overseas Tests. He wasbenched for the two-Test series in theWest Indies last year, drawing a lot ofattention and more recently, played aTest in New Zealand in the two-matchseries with Jadeja playing the other one.

“They sidelined Bhajji (HarbhajanSingh) at the expense of Ashiwn backthen. After Ashwin, you have triedmany off-spinners but none of them hasbeen of his class.

“In fact, I was surprised when a agreat like Bhajji was dropped. BothAshwin and Bhajji have different stylesand could have easily played togetherin the playing eleven. If two right-handpacers can play regularly, why not spin-

ners?” asked Saqlain.“Such was Bhajji’s class that he

could have easily taken 700 Test wick-ets (ended at 413 wickets in 103Tests,” he said referring toHarbhajan, who is in the twi-light of his career and playsonly the IPL.

Saqlain was part of aworld-class bowling attackbut now Pakistan doesn’thave spinners of his pedi-gree. The 43-year-oldfeels India, who are muchstronger than Pakistan atthe moment unlike histimes, still possess qualityspinners despite thedeparture of Anil Kumbleand Harbhajan.

“The spinners youhave are pretty goodactually. Kuldeep hasbeen impressive, Ashwinand Jadeja have beendoing well consistently.They are world-class bowlers.In fact Pakistan is struggling a bit onthat front. Yasir Shah has done well buthis form has dipped recently. Shadabis still a work in progress.

“I am pretty confident that Ashwinand Jadeja will end up playing 100Tests each,” said Saqlain.

�"������The idea of having a full-fledged women’s IPL is in a “progres-sion stage” and a World Cup title forIndia can actually help in turning thatinto a reality sooner than later, saysformer captain Anjum Chopra.

Under the leadership ofHarmanpreet Kaur, the Indian teamsailed into the final of the lastwomen’s T20 World Cup, but wasthrashed by Australia when it mat-tered the most.

Chopra, one of the country’smost decorated women cricketers,said a World Cup title triumphwould have brought about a gener-ational shift to the women’s game incricket-mad India.

“Women’s IPL in the progressionstages. From one game at the start wehad four last year in the Women’s T20Challenge, and this time it was sup-posed to be seven. It has progressed,”Chopra said.

“If the women’s team had wonthe World Cup this year, the num-ber of matches would have beenmore. There is a big differencebetween winners and runners up.”

Chopra had a successful careerspanning over 17 years during whichshe represented India in six WorldCups while becoming the firstwoman to appear in 100 ODIs.

She added, “A victory (in final of

last T20 World Cup) would havebeen a complete generational shift ina much more progressional manner.”

Referring to the rapid strides thewomen’s game has made the worldover, she praised ICC for “conscious-ly building it up”. “ICC has bifurcat-ed viewership numbers also very wellfor Indian audience.”

The icing on the cake was a near-packed MCG for the World Cup finalbetween India and Australia, and thatwas not lost on Chopra, who is nowa respected analyst and sportscaster.

“To have 80,000 people watch-ing the final that’s commendable.That definitely a boost,” said Chopra,who holds the distinction of leading

India to their first ever Test series win.A World Cup triumph and the

“mind set would have gone to differ-ent level altogether”, she believed.

Asked about the chatter aroundpay disparity in Indian cricket, hersimple message was win more to earnmore.

“There is already pay parity inAustralia. Because both teams havewon the World Cups more than anyother nations.

“If you start winning, then I amsure things will be different. It’s alsoabout how much you are able to gen-erate as a team.

“I would say sky is the limit forthem.” PTI

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India spinner KuldeepYadav says he was “lack-

ing in the basics” last sea-son owing to playing onetoo many games, leading toan IPL that could havebeen better than how itturned out.

He said he didn’t planenough last time and hav-ing learned his lesson, thechinaman bowler was “100percent sure of success” inIPL 2020 whose fate hangsin balance because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

“I was fully preparedfor this IPL 2020 and I hadplanned a lot. I was 100percent sure that this IPLwould be a success,”Kuldeep was quoted as say-ing in Kolkata KnightRiders website.

Asked about last sea-son, Kuldeep spoke aboutwhy he struggled to getgoing.

“When I came intoIPL, I didn’t give myselfenough time to train. The

biggest learning from 2019was that I did not plan forthe season.

“There was a lot ofcricket in 2019, especiallyinternational cricket. I

joined the team just threedays before the IPL started.So the planning wasn’tgood. The involvementwasn’t good either. Andthat is very important,” hesaid.

“I don’t think the lastIPL was all that bad for me.I bowled very well. But aleg-spinner’s success isbased on the number ofwickets he picks. I didn’tmanage to pick many wick-ets, but my economy wasgood.”

The lack of wicketsdented his confidence, thespinner said.

“When you don’t pickwickets your confidencedrops a bit. Then there wasa game where I went for alot of runs. So my confi-dence level dropped,”Kuldeep admitted.

“I was lacking in thebasics. Playing a lot ofcricket affects your basics.

“If you are in regulartouch with your coach thenyour basics won’t be affect-ed.”

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India skipper Virat Kohli’s prepa-ration ahead of a game and work

ethic are the two takeaways for Testbatsman Hanuma Vihari, he said onSunday.

“The best part of Kohli’s game ishis preparation. I have learnt thatfrom him. His work ethic is alsoamazing,” Vihari, 26, said during anInstagram chat. Vihari, who scoreda gritty 55 in the second Test in NewZealand, is a regular when India playsabroad. But in home conditions, theNo 6 batsman misses out moreoften than not when the teamdecides to go with an extra bowler.

Asked about that, he said: “I amready to do anything for my team. Ialways tried to score runs, dig deepand play long innings whenever Iplay abroad. I always try to do my

best so that team can’t drop me.”On being labelled as a Test spe-

cialist, the technically sound right-hander said while he cannot change

perception, he knows he has it in himto be an all-format batter. “See I can’tchange what people think about you.I have to score runs consistently andthose are the thoughts that come tomy mind.

“I believe I have the ability to playall formats. So that’s good enough forme, this knowledge. Once I getright the opportunity, I can do it.”

A year after he was bought byDelhi Capitals for �2 crore, Vihari,who had kept his base price at �50lakh, found himself in the unsoldbracket of the Indian Premier Leagueauctions.

“I realised that when things arenot in your control, you can’t domuch about it. No regrets. I am notgutted about IPL (snub). My focusalways was on Tests from an early ageand I am happy I could achieve what-ever I did.”

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It won’t be easy for formerworld No 1 Andy Murray to

add to his three Grand Slamtitles, feels former British num-ber one Greg Rusedski.

Murray is making the mostof the extended lockdown oftennis to return from his injury.

“The good news for him isthat he’s had more of a rest at thispoint,” Rusedski told Sky Sportson Sunday. “Hopefully his bodycomes back, but to challengeweek in week out with Nadal,Federer, Djokovic, (Stefanos)Tsitsipas is going to be hard.”

“Can he win matches. Canhe possibly win a Tour event, yeshe can do so. But to win Slams,that’s three out of five sets,seven matches, that’s a little bitdifficult. It’s possible he can getto a quarter-final, fourth round,

but to go all the way with thesurgeries he’s had, that’s a big ask.But I hope he proves me wrong,like he’s done on several occa-sions.”

The 32-year-old Murray hasnot played a competitive matchthis year due to bone bruisingnear the site of his surgery.

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England women’s cricket cap-tain Heather Knight revealed

on Sunday her “worry” that allwomen’s sport could get leftbehind once the coronaviruspandemic ends.

Sport around the world hasbeen left in limbo by Covid-19and now there are concerns thatcash-strapped governing bodies,desperate to regain lost income,will prioritise money-spinningmen’s events over generally lesslucrative women’s fixtures whenlive action resumes.

Asked if she feared women’scricket might now be less of aconcern in the current climate,Knight told Britain’s PressAssociation: “That’s the worry inwomen’s sport across the board,

not just in cricket.“We’ve obviously got to

accept that the most commer-cially viable parts of the gamewill be given priority.

“But we’re making sure thatthe women’s game gets a bigger

voice and we’re given the samesort of chance to get back play-ing as the men are.”

Women’s cricket has madehuge strides in recent years, withmore than 86,000 spectatorsattending the MelbourneCricket Ground to see Women’s T20 World Cup finalin March — a match that tookplace shortly before sport wasbrought to a standstill by thevirus.

“I’ve only ever seen it likethat for a Test match, that waspretty cool knowing it was fora women’s game,” said Knight.

“I just hope it was not justa one-off event and that supportcontinues and the people thatcame to watch and enjoyed willcontinue to do so, not just inAustralia but all over the place.”

��+�!!�� Everton saidthey are “appalled” at one oftheir players widely report-ed to be Italian internation-al Moise Kean hosting ahouse party contraveningthe social distancing mea-sures recommended by theBritish government due tothe coronavirus pandemic.

The 20-year-old strikerfilmed himself hosting theparty, the Daily Mirrorreported.

The Mirror says Keansent video clips to a privateSnapchat group, with thefootage showing femaleguests giving lap dances.

The caption on one pic-ture was labelled ‘quarantineclean’.

Everton issued a state-ment expressing their furyat the player’s actions —they did not name Kean —

on a day when the death tollin hospitals in the UnitedKingdom passed the 20,000mark.

“Everton are appalled tolearn of an incident in whicha first-team player ignoredgovernment guidance andclub policy in relation to thecoronavirus crisis,” read theclub statement.

“The club has stronglyexpressed its disappoint-ment to the player andmade it clear that suchactions are completely unac-ceptable.”

The club added that alltheir staff had beeninformed of the govern-ment guidelines, whichinclude one piece of exercise

a day and to restrict oneselfto social interaction withjust those of the household.

Kean, signed for £24million ($29.7 million) fromJuventus last year, is one ofseveral Premier Leagueplayers to be held to accountfor breaking the guidelines.

Man City defender KyleWalker reportedly brokelockdown rules by hostinga party involving two sexworkers.

Tottenham’s SergeAurier and Moussa Sissokoapologised for trainingtogether despite the coron-avirus restrictions.

Their manager JoseMourinho “accepted hisactions were not in linewith protocol” after beingpictured holding a one-on-one training session in apark with Ndombele. AFP

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