PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Friday was a day of major set-backs to the YSRCP govern-ment, with the Andhra PradeshHigh Court issuing three sep-arate directions that are beingseen to be against the rulingparty and the administrationitself.

Not only did the High Courtorder a CBI probe into thealleged manhandling of a sus-pended government doctor bythe police, it also scrappedGO 623 regarding the choice ofcolours to be painted on gov-ernment buildings, and thedeepest cut of all was the revo-cation of suspension of ABVenkateswara Rao, former IBchief.

While the first direction,

ordering a CBI probe into thealleged manhandling andharassment of a suspendedgovernment doctor by policewas not directly against thegovernment per se, the fact thatthe sordid episode was the

culmination of a series ofevents makes it appear to be arap on the administration itself.

The second direction by theHigh Court was more direct,and more critical of the govern-ment and its decision. The

High Court scrapped GO 623,issued to impose the colours ofchoice of the government ongram panchayat and other gov-ernment office buildings acrossthe state.

The High Court sough anexplanation as to why the gov-

ernment issued GO 623 evenafter the Supreme Court andthe High Court clearly deliv-ered judgments on the partycolours to the governmentbuildings.

The court directed the CS,Panchayat Raj department andState Election Commissioner togive clarification by 28 of thismonth.

Ordering initiation of con-tempt of court proceedings, theHC expressed it outrage overwhat it was was an attempt atsubterfuge.

The attempted subterfugeangered the High Court.

The third, and most tellingblow to the government wasthe overturning of the suspen-sion of IPS officer and formerIntelligence chief AB

Venkateswara Rao and hisreinstatement by the HighCourt.

Adding salt to the wound,the High Court also orderedthe government to assign hima post and also pay his salaryfor the entire period of suspen-sion.

The High Court has also setaside the directions given bythe CAT related toVenkateswara Rao's suspen-sion citing misappropriation offunds in purchasing the policedepartment equipment. ABVenkateswara Rao is an IPSofficer of 1996 cadre of AP. Heserved as the Intelligence Chiefduring the Chandrababu Naiduregime.

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VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

5

RBI measures tohelp revive economy, says SBI chairman

8

Bengal sufferedlosses of Rs 1 lakh crore dueto Amphan

4

PM announces Rs 500 cr relief for cyclone-hitOdisha

HC orders send shockwaves in AP govt

AB Venkateswara Rao

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated May 23, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Jyeshtha & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Pratipada: 12:16 amNakshatram: Rohini: 04:52 am

(Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 08:59 am – 10:36 amYamagandam: 01:49 pm – 03:26 pmVarjyam: 08:17 pm – 10:00 pmGulika: 05:45 am - 07:22 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

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VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Mostly SunnyTemp: 44/28Humidity: 16%Sunrise: 05.42Sunset: 06.43

On same day, court revokes ABV suspension, removes YSRCP colours, tells CBI to probe doc manhandling

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Krishna RiverManagement Board (KRMB)has accepted a request by theAndhra Pradesh governmentfor the release of 2 tmc ft ofwater from Nagarjunasagarfor the state’s drinking waterrequirements.

Telangana state, representedby its engineer-in-chiefMuralidhar Rao did not objectto AP’s request when it cameup before the KRMB’s three-member committee that met at

the Jal Souda in Hyderabad onFriday.

KRMB member secretary

Paramesham and AP engi-neer-in-chief Narayana Reddyalso participated in the meet-

ing. In the meeting, the APgovernment requested theBoard to allocate 2 tmc ft ofwater as part of the assuredallocations for the month ofMay. The AP governmentpointed out that this quantumis part of the drinking waterneeds and must be released asthe water year will be complet-ed by the end of the month.

Muralidhar Rao later toldreporters that Telangana gov-ernment responded positivelyto AP’s request.

REPORTS ON PAGE 3

RBI cuts rates,extends loanmoratoriumPNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Friday slashed inter-est rates, extended moratori-um on loan repayments andallowed banks to lend moreto corporates in an effort tosupport the economy whichis likely to contract for thefirst time in over fourdecades.

The benchmark repur-chase (repo) rate was cut by40 basis points to 4 per cent,Governor Shaktikanta Dassaid announcing the deci-sions taken by the centralbank's Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) that metahead of its scheduled meet-ing in early June.

ReStart package launched,power bills of MSMEs waived

Like any other sweet, Tirupati Laddu available across AndhraPNS n TIRUPATI

The famous "Tirupati laddu",the sacred 'prasad' of theancient nearby hill temple ofLord Venkateswara, will beavailable for purchase by devo-tees at subsidised price in theheadquarters of all 13 districtsin Andhra Pradesh fromMonday.

About 10,000 laddus wouldbe made available at the mar-riage halls or information cen-tres of Tirumala TirupatiDevasthanams (TTD), whichadministers the cash-rich tem-

ple at Tirumala, in the districtheadquarter towns or cities, atemple official said on Friday.

The 'laddu', which is pricedat Rs 50 each, would be sold atRs 25 "as a token of gift" to the

devotees during the Covid-19lockdown period, he told PTIhere. Fresh stock would betransported from the holy hillsa day before the existing inven-tory is exhausted at the respec-tive places, he added.

Entry of devotees to themore than 2,000-year old tem-ple, that used to draw thou-sands from across the countryevery day during normal times,has been barred since March 20to check the spread of thedeadly coronavirus.

The devotees of LordVenkateswara in Chennai,

Bengaluru and Hyderabadcould also be able to receive the'laddus' at subsidised pricesoon.

TTD authorities were perus-ing the matter with respectivestate governments for theirnod in view of Covid-19 lock-down, the temple officialadded.

Those who wished to pur-chase large quantity of laddusfor free distribution amongother devotees can contacttoll-free numbers - 18004254141 or"mailto:tmlbulkladdus@gmail.com", he added.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has given the much-needed boost to MSMEs withthe launch of Rs 1,110 croreReStart package and releasingRs 450 crores as the first instal-ment that would benefit near-ly 98,000 units that employmore than 10 lakh people.

During a videocon-ference with districtCollectors and entre-preneurs held hereon Friday, the ChiefMinister released theamount towards thepending industrialincentives toMSME sector,despite thedeep finan-cial crisis.

In addi-tion to this,

all the minimum powerdemand charges of MSMEsduring the months of April,May, and June at an estimatedamount of Rs 188 crores will bewaived and Rs 200 crores aregoing to be provided as inputcapital to the firms at low-interest rates which would putthe MSMEs back on rails.

The Chief Minister statedthat the previous govern-

ment did not pay nearlyRs 828 crore of industri-al incentives between2014-2019. In order tostrengthen the MSME

sector during thisemergency

s i tua t ion ,the Stateg o v e r n -m e n tcame upwith areviving

package to boost up theMSMEs and create employ-ment. MSMEs is one sectorwhich provides employment tolocals, he said.

The Chief Minister furtherannounced that the State gov-ernment has identified around360 items to be purchasedfrom MSMEs and all thosepayments will be cleared in aperiod of 45 days. Of the totalpurchases, almost 25 percent ofthe purchases are to be donefrom micro and small enter-prises, four percent from SC-ST community enterprise, andthree percent from Womenentrepreneurs.

The Chief Minister instruct-ed the district Collectors to layspecial focus on the MSMEsegment and assign a JointCollector exclusively for thedevelopment of MSMEs.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Anticipating that India wouldemerge as an alternative hubto China for investments in thebackdrop of Covid-19 out-break, the Andhra Pradeshgovernment has constituted atask force panel to attractcompanies to the state.

The task force will be head-ed by Mekapati GouthamReddy, Minister for Industriesand IT while senior bureau-crats are members.

"Economic issues and sup-ply chain constraints caused byCovid-19 has resulted in manycountries to rethink theirinvestments in China," aGovernment Order issued onThursday said.

Reports indicate that theUS, South Korea, Japan,Taiwan, Vietnam, Singaporeamong others are likely todiversify their supply chainsfrom China and India couldemerge as an alternativeinvestment destination fordoing business.

"Further, this Task Force willcontinue to act as a forum forattracting investments on along term basis, as well, into

the State," it said.The task force will meet

once every month to reviewthe progress of investmentproposals received and exam-ine the special package ofincentives requested by theinvestors and get it processedin accordance with the policyof the government, amongothers.

Covid-19 claimsone more life in APPNS n VIJAYAWADA

With 62 fresh infections, thetotal number of Covid-19 casesin Andhra Pradesh surged to2,667 while one death wasreported, taking the toll in thestate to 55, the health depart-ment said on Friday. The lonedeath was reported in Krishnadistrict. Of the fresh cases inthe past 24 hours ending 9 amon Friday, 18 were linked to theKoyambedu market inChennai, the health depart-ment bulletin said.

AP to get 2 tmc ft from NagarjunasagarAt KRMB meeting, all parties avoid reference to contentious GO 203

PNS n NEW DELHI

The first two phases of thelockdown led to 14-29 lakhCovid-19 cases being avertedwhile the number of livessaved in that period wasbetween 37,000 and 78,000,the government said onFriday citing various studies,and asserted that theunprecedented shutdown haspaid "rich dividends" in thefight against the pandemic.

The lockdown in India hasbeen a timely, graded, proac-tive and pre-emptive publichealth measure to fight thepandemic and has been partand parcel of the govern-ment's overall strategy, Dr VK Paul, member (health),NITI Aayog, and chairman ofthe Empowered Group 1,told a media briefing on theCovid-19 situation.

Government:Lockdown kept atbay 14-29 L cases

PNS n NEW DELHI

Leaders of 22 opposition par-ties on Friday accused theCentre of unabashedly usurp-ing powers of states anddemanded restoration ofParliament functioning andoversight with immediateeffect.

The opposition parties alsodemanded immediate reversalof all unilateral policy deci-sions, especially on the changesin labour laws, at a meetingconvened by the Congressthrough video conferencing.

Those who attended themeeting discussed the situationarising out of the Covid-19pandemic and put forth an 11-point charter of demandsbefore the central government.

They also accused theCentre of having failed in dis-charging its responsibilities in

a timely, effective and sensitivemanner during the pandemic.

The opposition parties,including the TMC, JD(S) andCPI(M), said the economy has

collapsed and all sections ofsociety face acute distress, withlivelihoods being destroyedand lives lost.

Centre unabashedly usurpingpowers of states: Oppn parties

Declare Cyclone Amphan anational calamity: 22 partiesNEW DELHI: Twenty-twoopposition parties urged theCentre on Friday to immediatelydeclare the devastation causedby Cyclone Amphan inOdisha and WestBengal as a nationalcalamity and calledfor substantiallyhelping the states infacing the impact ofthe disaster. Theleaders of the 22parties, who met

through video-conferencing,passed a resolution in thisregard and said relief andrehabilitation should be thetopmost priority at this juncture."We, the opposition partiesextend our sympathy andsupport to the governmentsand people of West Bengal andOdisha in meeting the impactof the devastation caused by

Cyclone Amphan," theresolution said.

The task force will beheaded by MekapatiGoutham Reddy,Minister for Industriesand IT while seniorbureaucrats aremembers

3

3

3 33

3

3

AP constitutes taskforce to wean bizaway from China

AMAZON TO HIRE 50,000 IN INDIAAS LOCKDOWN BOOSTS DEMAND

PM'S PACKAGE "CRUEL JOKE ONCOUNTRY": SONIA AT OPPN MEETThe government has abandoned any pretence of being democratic, has

no compassion for the poor and has embarked on a "wild adventureof so-called reforms" including a grand clearance sale of public sectorunits, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said today duringthe first online meeting of opposition parties to discussthe coronavirus crisis."All power is now concentrated inone office, the PMO," the Congress president said in asearing critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi andhis government over its Covid response. The spirit offederalism, which is an integral part of ourConstitution, is all but forgotten.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday slashed interest rates, extendedmoratorium on loan repayments and allowed banks to lend more tocorporates in an effort to support the economy which is likely to contract

for the first time in over four decades. The benchmark repurchase (repo) ratewas cut by 40 basis points to 4 per cent, Governor ShaktikantaDas said announcing the decisions taken by the central bank'sMonetary Policy Committee (MPC) that met ahead of itsscheduled meeting in early June. Consequently, the reverserepo rate was reduced to 3.35 per cent from 3.75 per cent.He said the MPC had voted to maintain its accommodativestance, implying more rate cuts in the future if need arises.

RBI RAMPS UP ECONOMIC SUPPORT; CUTSINT RATES, EXTENDS MORATORIUM

NIZAMABAD LOCAL BODIES MLC ELECTION ONCE AGAIN POSTPONED

Amazon.com Inc’s India unit said it would hire 50,000 temporary workers tomeet a surge in online shopping in the country, where customers have been

stuck indoors for two months in a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.E-commerce firms faced massive disruption in the initialdays of the lockdown in India, but a slow easing of thestringent regulations has allowed them to resume largeparts of their operations. "We want to continue helpingcustomers all over India get everything they need sothey can continue to practice social distancing," Amazonsenior executive Akhil Saxena said in a statement on thecompany's blog.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued orders postponing the byeelection to the Telangana legislative council from Nizamabad local Authorities

Constituency 45 days. Dr. Shashank Goel, Chief Electoral officer, Telangana saidin a press release here on Friday that the Election Commission of India on May22, further extended the by elections. On March 5, the Election Commission ofIndia declared schedule for bye election of MLC seat from Nizamabadunder the Local Authorities Constituency to fill in the vacancy. Theelection was supposed to be held on April 7. However theelection was postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak and theresultant lockdown. The vacancy arose because ofdisqualification of R Bhoopathi Reddy on January 16 2019.

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VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020 vijayawada 02

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(IN VIJAYAWADA)

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Stating that there is immenseconfusion among the people indemarcation and announce-ment of Green and OrangeZones in the city, CPI stateleader Ch Babu Rao on Fridaydemanded the governmentclarify on the issue.

Babu Rao, along with otherparty leaders, toured the mainbusiness areas in the city wherethey met businessmen,weavers, street vendors andsought to get to know theirproblems.

Babu Rao said that thoughthe officials have announcedcontainment zones, bufferzones and green zones andreleased a list, there is still con-fusion. The authorities haveeven issued orders to carry outbusiness activities in greenzones from 7 am to 7 pm, how-ever, there is immense confu-sion as the authorities are notallowing businesses in greenzones in the city, he said.

He said that the police, rev-enue and corporation author-ities are not allowing any busi-ness activities beyond 9 am,and that small businesses werefacing a lot of hardship due tolockdown for the last twomonths.

Babu Rao found fault withthe government for not allow-ing cloth stores, footwear andjewellery shops not beingallowed to open while liquorvends were allowed.

He said that the cloths andleather material would wear offif stored for extended periods

of time. Babu Rao said thatthousands of workers havelost their livelihoods with theshops being closed due tolockdown.

Vijayawada does not haveany industries or factories andpeople depend on businessand thousands are facing hard-ship due to lockdown, he said.

On behalf of the CPM, BabuRao appealed to the authoritiesto give specific guidelines togreen zones and accord per-mission to shops to carry outbusiness as per the guidelines.

CPM seeks clarity on green and orange zones

Ch Babu Rao

Babu Rao foundfault with thegovernment fornot allowing clothstores, footwearshops not beingallowed to openwhile liquor vendswere allowed.

Protocol suggested aheadof reopening of schoolsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Commissioner of SchoolEducation VadrevuChinaveerabhadrudu hasreleased a tentative protocol tobe followed for reopening ofschools in the State by givingvarious suggestions to themanagements of the schools.

Once the governmentannounces reopening of theschools, the premises of theschools should be preparedkeeping in mind the health,safety and security of the chil-dren.

The commissioner said thatpriority should be given to pre-pare the school premises start-ing by disinfecting everything,from the gate itself and extend-ing to door handles, switches,windows, bathrooms, wishbasins, hand wash, drinkingwater taps, playground equip-ment and benches.

Every student should bechecked for fever at theentrance where there will betwo automated hand wash sta-tions for 30 children to ensureeveryone washes their handsbefore entering the school.

The children and teacherswould be distributed with

washable cloth masks. Theteachers and the midday mealstaff should mandatorily weargloves and masks.

The headmaster shouldensure hand soaps, sanitisersand disinfectants are availableat school where sufficient wateris available for hand washingand toilets.

The commissioner suggest-ed shift system in schools withone shift for schools with astrength of less than 15 stu-dents per each class from 8 amto 12 noon and two shifts forschools with more than 30 stu-dents from 8 am to 12 noonand 12.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

The schools with thestrength of between 50 and 100shall run alternate day school-

ing wherein first day two shiftsfirst and second batch willcome followed by third andfourth batches in the alternateday. It was suggested that con-tact sports may be avoided andinstead individual exercisesand yoga may be taught.

He suggested fortnightlyhealth checkup may be con-ducted and details of everychild health shall be main-tained at schools.

As per the midday meal, itwas suggested that dry rationshall be given until the situa-tion becomes normal.

While conducting exams,each hall shall have only 10 stu-dents and transportation facil-ities shall be arranged by thedistrict collector in the contain-

ment areas to attend the exam.Separate isolation rooms forstudents are to be marked forthose who show symptoms.

The soft valuation centresshall be arranged at the districtheadquarters or in adjacentdistricts. The lift shall beallowed to be used by two per-sons at a time.

During the lockdown peri-od, to ensure continuity work-sheets will be distributed atschool and detailed instruc-tional videos will be telecastthrough TV. The expert com-mittee will prepare detaileddistance learning modalitiesand a detailed plan of actionwill be prepared for the con-tinuous teaching-learningprocess.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The state government will pro-vide Rs 10,000 as financialassistance for vehicle repairs,insurance and fitness for thosewho own an auto / taxi / maxcab through the YSR VahanaMitra scheme said DeputyTransport Commissioner SVenkateswara Rao.

He said people who pur-chased vehicles before May 16,2020, with ownership transferand other formalities are eligi-ble for the scheme.

The DTC on Friday releasedguidelines issued by the stategovernment for eligible bene-ficiaries to apply afresh for theYSR Vahana Mitra Schemeare the applicant for theScheme must be above 18years.

They should have all thenecessary documents likeAadhaar Card, DrivingLicense, etc. Applicant must bea permanent resident of APstate.

The name of the applicantmust be mentioned on theWhite Ration Card andMeeSeva Integrated Certificate,applicant must belong to thebelow poverty line categoryand the entire applicants apply-ing for the YSR Vahana MitraScheme should own and drivean auto-rickshaw / taxi/cab, hesaid.

Documents required to sub-mit while applying for the

scheme are Aadhaar Card ofan Individual (Aadhar Card ofthe applicant should be linkedwith the Driving License),Driving License, BPL / WhiteRation Card, Vehicle Paperswith the proof that one is theowner of the vehicle/cab/taxi,Income certificate of the appli-cant, bank account details shallbe submitted to the ward vol-unteers, said the DTCVenkateswara Rao.

Guidelines released to applyfor YSR Vahana Mitra scheme

Once the govtannouncesreopening of theschools, thepremises of theschools should beprepared keepingin mind the healthof the children.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Dr Tousif Khan N, faculty,SRM University, is to presenta paper “Laguerre NeuralNetwork Driven AdaptiveControl of DC-DC Step DownConverter” at the renownedInternational Federation forAutomatic Control (IFAC)World Congress to be held inGermany during July 12 to 17,2020.

Dr Khan is AssistantProfessor and Head of theDepartment, Department ofElectrical and ElectronicsEngineering. His research arti-cle is also selected for theprestigious APJ Abdul KalamMemorial International TravelAward by the Automatic

Control and DynamicOptimization Society(ACDOS) chaired by ProfessorRavi Gudi of Indian Institute ofTechnology Bombay.

The research work of Dr

Khan proposes a novelLaguerre neural network esti-mation technique for theapproximation of unknownand uncertain load function,followed by its subsequent

compensation in the adaptivebackstepping controller.

Dr Khan said, “Under theclass of DC-DC converters, thedynamics of DC-DC step downconverter are nonlinear innature and are largely influencedby both parametric and unan-ticipated external perturbations.In its closed loop operation,obtaining a precise output volt-age tracking besides satisfacto-rily inductor current response isa challenging control objective.Hence, in this regard, this arti-cle proposes a solution.”

He added, “The primaryobjective in DC-DC convert-ers is to transfer the energyamong different DC circuitsfunctioning at a specific volt-age and current levels.”

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Launching a diatribe against NChandrababu Naidu, TeluguAcademy Chairperson NLakshmi Parvati on Fridaysaid that the time has come forthe TDP supremo to stop play-ing dirty politics and seekatonement for the sins that hehas committed.

Speaking to the media here,Lakshmi Parvati said it wasthrough the strenuous effortsof Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy andthrough his welfare agendathat the government has suc-cessfully completed a year inthe service of the people.

She said if selfish people

come to power, it is the partythat gains, but if the govern-ment works for people’s wel-fare, it is the people who arebenefitted, which could beseen in the past one year.

Lakshmi Parvati said whatNaidu had achieved throughhis misrule was clearly visiblein the tremendous mandatethat the YSRCP got in the elec-tions last year.

It was quite evident how suc-cessfully Jagan had carried outadministration over the pastone year so successfully, shesaid.

Lakshmi Parvati said it wasunfortunate that Naidu who ispast his prime and has to leada life of piety by seeking atone-

ment for the evils he had com-mitted, was still bent on mud-slinging against the govern-ment.

While the government wasclearing all the debts incurredby the TDP government andfulfilling all promises made tothe people, it was really bad onthe part of Naidu to carry out

a vicious campaign against thegovernment, instead of leadinga peaceful life by playing withhis grandson.

It was only Jagan who hadfulfilled all the promises in justone year and that is an achieve-ment which no other ChiefMinister can claim credit for,she said. This has beenacknowledged by leaders allover the country and theschemes that he brought aboutare being emulated by otherstates, Lakshmi Parvati said.

Chief Ministers of all theneighbouring state are praisingJagan for being a visionary whohas brought about a remark-able change in the governance,she added.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Brahmin CorporationChairman and VijayawadaCentral MLA Malladi Vishnuon Friday alleged that opposi-tion leaders are creating undueconfusion and unnecessarypanic among the people onpower bills.

Addressing the media here,Vishnu said that during lock-down, as people are confinedto their homes, consumptionof power has increased, result-ing in higher power bills.

He lashed out at oppositionleaders for saying that theruling party was not botheredabout the welfare of the peo-ple.

Vishnu clarified that theYSRCP government is a peo-ple-friendly government andwill not burden on the people.He said that for customersconsuming above 500 unitsper month, the tariff wasincreased by Rs 0.90 per unit.

The previous tariff was Rs9.05 and now it has increasedto Rs 9.95 per unit, the MLAsaid. He assured the peoplethat the government is readyto explain the actual fact to thepublic and there is no truthbehind the allegations thatthere is an increase of powertariff.

Vishnu reminded that theprevious TDP governmenthad increased power tariffthrice and RTC ticket pricesthrice.

He recalled that Dr YSRajasekhara Reddy imple-

mented free power to agricul-ture sector a deed that still isfondly recalled by the peopleand YSR remains in the heartsof the people the same way hisson YS Jaganmohan Reddy is.

Vishnu pointed out that theYSRCP government hasimplemented schemes likeAmma-Vodi, Rythu Barosa,Aasara, fee reimbursement,Arogyasri and many others forthe sake of the poor and back-ward and now, the oppositionwas trying to create confusionamong people over power tar-iffs.

He found fault with TDPleader Bonda UmamaheswaraRao and said that last monthhe received Rs 36,000 powerbill and this was as he had con-sumed more than 500 units.

Vishnu further said thatAPSPDCL, DEE, K KoteswaraRao during a press meet gaveclarity on the power bills andsaid that only Rs 0.90 wasincreased for customers withusage above 500 units permonth. YSRCP leaderBoppana Bhava Kumar,APSPDCL, DEE, K KoteswaraRao and others were present.

Telangana cop tests positive for Covid PNS n HYDERABAD

The detective inspector ofBalapur police stationwas tested positivefor Covid-19 onFriday. He wasdown with feverand was on sickleave fromWednesday, officialssaid. According tosources, the official had acough for about five days and

attended duty too. However,on Wednesday when he com-plained of high fever, he was

advised to take leave andgo for a medical check-

up.Doctors tested him

and in the resultswhich were out on

Friday, he was foundto be positive. He was

immediately shifted toGandhi Hospital and his fam-ily members were home quar-

antined.Following this, Rachakonda

Police have got all the prima-ry contacts tested and direct-ed other officials and consta-bles who were primary con-tacts to the infected person tobe under home quarantine.On their part as a protocol,the staff at the Balapur policestation are taking precaution-ary measures such as use ofsanitizers and masks apartfrom physical distancing.

Manipuri group lands up in the wrong train PNS n HYDERABAD

A group of students andemployees from Manipur haveboarded the ‘wrong’ specialtrain following an alleged mis-communication under thedirections of Telangana StatePolice.

The group, which consists offive students and employeesfrom Manipur, alleged thatthey were asked to board thetrain on May 20 under the pre-text that it would go to Jiribam,Manipur. However, a few stopslater, after talking with anoth-er co-passenger, they came toknow that the train is headingtoward Agartala in Tripurastate. Surprised, the group has

been trying to find a solutionto the issue since then.

The announcements weregiven about the special traindestinations, and people aresent only after confirmation,

said the police inspector ofUppal, N. Ch Ranga Swamy.The whole episode came intolight after Jonah Trichao, thechief co-ordinator for theManipur Student Union, tweet-

ed the issue on May 22.According to Jonah, there wasno proper communicationfrom the state officials aboutthe time and availability of thetrains.

"The whole process has beenchaotic, because no communi-cation about travel arrange-ments were done in advance bythe officials. As of now, twotrains have left for Manipur,taking around 650-700 people.Students are informed on theday of travel that there is a trainto their hometown on thesame day. When I asked thenodal officers, they said theyhave no information aboutthis," the co-ordinator said.

Another passenger from

Manipur, Nadeem Khan, whotravelled to Jiribam via the spe-cial train on May 19, alsoalleged that the communica-tion from officials was notproper. "It took around 58hours to reach Jiribam. Around1,200 persons were on thetrain, and it was too crowded.Had I known this before-hand,I would not have boarded it,"he said.

As of now, the Manipuri stu-dents and employees are plan-ning to get down at Badarpurstation in Assam. "We havetried to co-ordinate withManipur state officials.Hopefully, they might arrangetransport for us to Manipurfrom there," said Angam.

UoH extendslast date foradmissionsPNS n HYDERABAD

University of Hyderabad,which has earlier invitedonline applications for itsentrance examinations andadmissions to various cours-es for the Academic year2020-21 from April 3 to May22, has extended the lastdate for applying to June 30.The decision to extend thelast date was taken consider-ing the existing situation inthe country due to theCovid-19, the university saidin a release. A total of 2,456seats are being offered foradmissions to 132 courseswhich include 16 integratedcourses, 41 PG courses, 15 MPhil, 10 M.Tech and 46 Ph.D.programmes. The candidateswere advised to keep watch-ing the website for furtherupdates and more detailscan be had from website:h t t p : / / w w w . a c a d .uohyd.ac.in/

ADMISSIONS FOR 2020-21

The road togenderbalance inworkplacePNS n HYDERABAD

VMware India on Fridaysigned an MoU with WEHub, a Government ofTelangana initiative forwomen entrepreneurs, toextend VMinclusion Taara'supskilling and return towork programme in theState. With this MoU,VMware and WE Hub aimto empower women withthe skills they need to returnto their dormant/ interrupt-ed technology careers.

The aim is also to providea platform for deeper andbetter networking opportu-nities for women in technol-ogy to be a part of the eco-nomic workforce of the State.

WE Hub aims at provid-ing a platform by enablingskill upgradation, network-ing opportunities and thecareer options for womenreturning to workforce inTelangana.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

To facilitate the rail userswith extended serviceahead of the gradualrestoration of train ser-vices, all PRS (Reservation)counters are open fromMay 22, for issuing ofreserved journey tickets.

Accordingly, a total of 90Reservation (PRS) countersat 82 locations are beingoperated across the zone.

However, the refund offare on the previouslybooked journey tickets forthe cancelled trains will bearranged from these PRScounters with effect fromMay 25.

In this regard, it is rele-vant to mention that, inview of the outbreak ofCovid-19 refund rules areliberalised to the most pos-sible extent to make conve-nient for the rail users.Accordingly, a full refundwill be given for the ticketsbooked throughReservation (PRS)Counters for commencingthe journey by regular trainservices which are can-celled from March 21, 2020until further orders can beobtained through PRScounters up to six monthsfrom the date of the jour-ney.

Hence, passengers arerequested not to hurry fortaking the refund and shallmake use the benefit of lib-eralised refund rules andare requested to approachcounters at a convenienttime so that mass contactcan be avoided at the reser-vation counters in the pre-vailing pandemic situa-tion.

Railwaysreservationcounters open

Naidu must atone for his sins: LP

Rare honour for SRM varsity faculty

Oppn creating confusionover power bills: Vishnu

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020 vijayawada 03

HC lifts ABV suspension,overturns CAT order

PNS n AMARAVATI

A Division Bench of theAndhra Pradesh High Courtcomprising Chief JusticeJitendra Kumar Maheswariand Justice Nainala Jayasuryaon Friday cancelled GO No 623issued by the AP governmentlisting colours to be applied togram panchayat buildings.

The division bench directedthe state government to explainwhy it had issued GO 623 evenafter the Supreme Court andthe High Court clearly deliv-ered judgments against paint-ing of government buildings inparty colours.

It may be recalled that MuppaVenkateswara Rao of Pallapaduvillage in Guntur district had

filed a writ petition in the HighCourt challenging the govern-ment to paint the governmentbuildings with YSRCP colourswhich he feared would influencethe voters in the forthcoming

elections to the local bodies.Subsequently, the High

Court suspended the GO onthe party colours and asked thestate government to form acommittee headed by the Chief

Secretary to finalise the coloursto the government buildings.

The High Court also sug-gested to the government toremove the YSRCP coloursfrom the builds and paint thebuildings afresh.

The State Government pre-ferred to move the SupremeCourt which upheld the HighCourt orders. However, the StateGovernment issued GO No 623to include an additional colourto the government buildings. Asper the new GO, the governmentpainted the government build-ings with four colours. AdvocateChintalapati Somayajulu chal-lenged the fresh GO. The stategovernment filing a counteraffidavit stating that the freshcolours were not party colours.

The division bench whichreserved the judgment on May20, gave its ruling on Fridayrejecting the contention of thegovernment that the colours didnot resemble party colours.

The High Court issued noticesto the secretary of Panchayat Raj,the Chief Secretary seekingexplanation as to why the govern-ment issued another GO after ithad delivered the judgment.

The High Court also directedthe Registrar to commence con-tempt of court proceedingsagainst the officials.

Chintalapati Somayajulu saidthat the High Court instructedthe government to take a decisionon the colours by May 28 other-wise, the contempt of the courtproceedings would commence.

YSRCP govt bid to repaintHC orders in own hues foiled PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Friday lifted the sus-pension of IPS officer and for-mer Intelligence chief ABVenkateswara Rao and direct-ed the government to assignhim a post.

The Court also directed thegovernment to payVenkateswara Rao the salaryfor the period of suspension.

The High Court also setaside the CAT ruling onVenkateswara Rao's suspensionciting misappropriation of fundsin purchasing equipment.

Venkateswara Rao is an IPSofficer of 1996 AP cadre. Heserved as the Intelligence Chiefduring Chandrababu Naidu'sregime.

Venkateswara Rao wasplaced under suspension onthe grounds of serious miscon-

duct in the process of procure-ment of security equipment,while he was working asAdditional Director General ofPolice (intelligence).

The Ministry of HomeAffairs had confirmed the sus-pension. The government con-stituted a review committeethat reviewed the suspension

of Venkateswara Rao on April7 and recommended extendingit till August 5.

The Chief Secretary, in theorders extending the suspen-sion, stated that the recom-mendation of the review com-mittee has been accepted bythe competent authority anddirected necessary action.

High Court orders CBI to probemanhandling of doctor by policePNS n AMARAVATI

The AP High Court on Fridayordered a probe by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)into the alleged manhandlingof a government doctor by thepolice in Visakhapatnam lastweek.

Taking serious note of theMay 16 incident, the HighCourt directed that a case bebooked against the policemeninvolved. It asked the CBI tosubmit its report to the courtin eight weeks.

The court delivered its judg-ment after taking into accountthe statement of doctor K.Sudhakar Rao.

The court had on Wednesdaydirected the Visakhapatnamsessions judge to personallyvisit the Government Hospitalfor Mental Health whereSudhakar Rao is admitted andrecord his statement.

The court passed the orderson the Public InterestLitigation (PIL) seeking probeinto inhuman treatment of thedoctor. Opposition TeluguDesam Party (TDP) leader V.Anita had also written a letterto the court seeking a probeinto the doctor's manhandling,arrest and admission to a men-

tal hospital. The court treatedher letter as a petition.

Sudhakar Rao, civil assistantsurgeon, Area Hospital,Narsipatnam, was suspendedtwo months ago after he pub-licly criticised the governmentfor failing to provide N95masks to the doctors treatingCovid-19 patients.

He was arrested by the policein Visakhapatnam on May 16for allegedly creating nuisanceon the road at Akkayapalem.

The policemen allegedlymanhandled the doctor, whowas seen shirtless to the waist,dragged him and bundled himinto an autorickshaw. He wasshifted to the King GeorgeHospital, where doctors foundhim in an inebriated condition.

He was subsequently referred tothe Government Hospital forMental Health, where he wasunder treatment for acute andtransient psychosis.

The police booked the doc-tor under the Indian PenalCode Sections 353 (Assault orcriminal force to deter publicservant from discharge of hisduty) and 427 (Mischief causingdamage to the amount of Rs 50).

Police said the doctorbehaved rudely with a traffichead constable, snatched hismobile phone and threw itaway. He allegedly behavedaggressively with an auto-rick-shaw driver and others andcaused a traffic jam.

Police claimed that as thedoctor could have endangered

his own life, he was taken intocustody and since he was in aninebriated condition, he wasshifted to the KGH for an alco-hol test.

The video clips of policetying the doctor's hands behindhim, dragging and manhandlinghim triggered outrage with theopposition parties, doctors' asso-ciations and Dalit groups con-demning the police action.

Former Chief Minister andleader of opposition N.Chandrababu Naidu allegedthat the YSR Congress Partygovernment treated the doctorwith vengeance for criticisingit over not supplying masks tothe doctors.

Meanwhile, the IndianMedical Association (IMA)has lodged a protest with theAndhra Pradesh governmentover the police inappropriate-ly handling Sudhakar, ananaesthetist.

"There were certainly civilisedways of handling the situationby a civilian government. Thathe was under suspension forallegedly raising safety issues inthe hospital was all the morereason for sensitive handling ofthe issue," the IMA headquar-ters said in a letter to ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

Dr Sudhakarcase is proofthat Govt isunjust: Ex-Min PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Minister KS Jawaharsaid that attacks on Dalits haveincreased in YSRCP rule.Referring to the alleged man-handling of Dr Sudhakar Rao,he said that the government hasstarted playing mind gamesand warned that if justice is notdone to Dr Sudhakar, Dalitswill not keep calm. He said thatthe YSRCP leaders wereattempting to threaten andforce Dalits to surrender alltheir rights.

Jawahar said that ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy was trying to depriveDalits of the benefits guaran-teed to them under theConstitution of India. Healleged that the CM was tryingto distort the Dalits' capital cityAmaravati. Jawahar demandedto know why a Dalit doctor, DrSudhakar Rao, was mistreatedby the YSRCP government.

Jawahar further said that thegovernment was trying todilute the case by gettingMinisters to call Dr Sudhakar’smother and forcing her towithdraw the case.

He warned if injustice wasdone to the doctor, entire Dalitcommunity would revolt.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The BJP on Friday welcomedthe High Court ordering theCBI to probe the alleged man-handling of Dr K SudhakarRao by police personnel.

BJP AP president KannaLakshminarayana said theinhuman behaviour towardsthe doctor by the police was agross violation of humanrights. He demanded the gov-ernment withdraw the suspen-sion orders issued against DrSudhakar.

Kanna wrote to ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy on Friday stating thatdisgusted at the callous negli-gence for failing to providemasks and other safety equip-ment to fight Covid-19, DrSudhakar might have burst outand spoken about the problemsfaced by the Hospital in public.

Kanna pointed out that thehospital in question is a 150bedded institution catering toseveral villages, poor anddowntrodden at Narsipatnam.

He alleged that suspensionof a doctor for asking for

masks is a hasty act and thisled to the doctor becomingmentally disturbed.

The BJP chief said that theway the police handled him inthe public by tying up hishands like a criminal, dragginghim shirtless and beating himwith a lathi was a direct attackon the honour, dignity anddecorum of a doctor.

Kanna said civil society andIMA have been extremely dis-appointed and perturbedabout the undemocratic andinhuman handling of DrSudhakar. He demandedimmediate revocation of hissuspension as well as with-drawal of all cases lodgedagainst him.

Revoke Dr Sudhakar'ssuspension, says Kanna

AP to get 2 tmc ft fromNagarjunasagar

Continued from Page 1

He also said that the meet-ing didn’t discuss any otherissue, including GO No. 203issued recently by the APgovernment to enhance thecapacity of Pothireddypaduhead regulator.

Narayana Reddy broughtto the notice of the Board thatthe two states have been util-ising water up to 510 feet loveand there have been instancesof this level being breached.

The Board accepted that itwill give 2 tmc ft of waterthrough Nagarjunasagar rightbank canal from theTelangana water share as thelatter has still 49 tmc ft.

Narayana Reddy informedthat AP government askedthe Board to keep the pro-posed water census pendingtill May-end to consider thewater loses due to ThummillaLift Irrigation project andother issues.

He said that the 2 tmc ftallocated will be utilised forthe drinking water needs ofGuntur and Prakasam dis-tricts.

ReStart package launched...Continued from Page 1

He stated that over 97,428MSMEs were established in theState which employees about 10lakh workforce. With this sup-portive initiative, over 72,531micro-enterprises, 24,252 smalland 645 medium scale indus-tries will be benefitted.

In addition to these, toboost up the MSME sector, the

State government will allocateRs 200 crores as investmentcapital by providing loans inpartnership with SIDBI at alow-interest rate.

Besides these, the CM fur-ther directed the Collector tomake a skill gap study with theindustries and accordinglyimpart the required skillsamong the youth through SkillDevelopment Colleges.

Covid-19 claims one more life...Continued from Page 1

Samples of 8,415 people weretested and 51 have been dis-charged from various hospitalsafter treatment, taking the

cumulative recoveries to 1,731.The number of active patientsare now 728. Cumulative posi-tive cases from other statesstood at 153 with 128 activecases, it added.

Continued from Page 1

Consequently, the reverserepo rate was reduced to 3.35per cent from 3.75 per cent.

He said the MPC had votedto maintain its accommodativestance, implying more ratecuts in the future if need aris-es.

The RBI supplemented theinterest rate cut by extendingby three months the permis-sion given to all banks to givea three-month moratoriumon payment of monthly instal-ments on all outstanding loans,providing relief to home andauto buyers as well as realestate sector where construc-tion activities are already at astandstill.

The moratorium on intereston working capital was alsoextended by three months.

Also, interest accumulatedfor the six-month moratorium

period can be converted into aterm loan, Das said.

Further, bank exposure tocorporates has been raised to30 per cent of the group's net-worth from the current limit of25 per cent, a move that willallow lenders to give largerloans to companies.

In its first official forecast foreconomic growth, the centralbank has said the gross domes-tic product (GDP) is likely tocontract in FY21 (April 2020to March 2021).

Das said the inflation out-look is highly uncertain due tothe outbreak of the COVID-19pandemic and expressed con-cern over elevated prices ofpulses.

He also said there is a needto review import duties tomoderate prices.

Headline inflation mayremain firm in the first half ofthe year and may ease in the

second half. Inflation may fallbelow 4 per cent in the third orfourth quarter of the currentfiscal, according to theGovernor.

This is the second straightcut in interest rates in twomonths. On March 27, RBIhad cut interest rates by 75basis points.

"After extensive discussions,the MPC voted unanimouslyfor a reduction in policy reporate and for maintaining theaccommodative stance of themonetary policy as long asnecessary to revive growthand to mitigate the impact ofCOVID-19 while ensuring thatinflation remains within thetarget," Das said.

The central bank willremain vigilant and in battlereadiness to address dynamicsof unknown future arisingfrom COVID-19 outbreak, headded.

RBI cuts rates, extends loan moratorium

Continued from Page 1

"Sadly, we have to point outthat the Union government hasfailed in discharging itsresponsibilities in a timely,effective and sensitive manner,"a joint statement from theparties said.

It said grand announce-ments have been made butthey do nothing meaningful toalleviate the sufferings of peo-ple and address the pressingconcerns of farmers and farmlabour, of migrant and otherworkers, of trade and com-merce, and MSMEs.

"In fact, the Union govern-ment has unabashedly usurpedpowers vested in the statesundermining the constitution-ally guaranteed federal democ-racy," the statement said.

The like-minded opposi-tion parties said they believethat this is neither the time forthe government at the Centreto indulge in showmanship norone-upmanship, but this isthe time for a gigantic collec-tive endeavour.

"This is what the people ofIndia need, and this is what thepeople of India demand. It isimportant that the govern-ment of India reaches out andengages in a dialogue with allpolitical parties in a systemat-ic manner, listen seriously tothe suggestions that we have tomake, activate Parliamentaryinstitutions like StandingCommittees and be genuine inhelping the states financiallyand otherwise," the partiessaid in the statement.

They also demanded fromthe Centre direct cash transferof Rs 7,500 per month to fam-ilies outside the Income Taxbracket for six months and saidRs 10,000 should be given tothem immediately along withfree ration.

The parties also demandedthat the Centre provide free

transportation for all migrantworkers to their native placesand make immediate and reli-able arrangements to repatri-ate all Indian students andother citizens stranded over-seas, Congress chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala said ata press conference.

He said that the oppositionparties have also demandedthat the Centre immediatelyprovide a financial package forstates, besides a clear andmeaningful economic strategyfocused on revival and pover-ty alleviation instead of propa-ganda.

"The 22 parties representover 60 to 70 per cent of thecountry's population andhoped that the prime ministerand the government wouldtake a positive view of theirdemands," Surjewala said.

The parties in the state-ment said the Rs 20 lakh croreeconomic package and its con-tents mislead the people ofIndia.

"We demand that the gov-ernment present a revised andcomprehensive package thatwill be a true fiscal stimulus inorder to stimulate demand inthe economy," the statementsaid.

Release substantial funds tothe state governments whoare in the frontline of combat-ing the pandemic, the partiesdemanded.

They also asked the Centreto communicate in clear termsits exit strategy from the lock-down, if any.

The leaders of 22 oppositionparties included West BengalChief Minister and TMCsupremo Mamata Banerjee,Maharashtra Chief Ministerand Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray, Jharkhand ChiefMinister and JMM leaderHemant Soren, NCP supremoSharad Pawar, DMK leader MK Stalin and JD(S) leader HD

Deve Gowda, besides CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and CPI'sD Raja.

Congress leaders RahulGandhi, A K Antony, AhmedPatel, Ghulam Nabi Azad,Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury andMallikarjun Kharge were alsopresent during the video con-ference.

Leaders of some otherregional parties such asSharad Yadav (LJD), OmarAbdullah (NC), TejashwiYadav (RJD), Jitan RamManjhi (HAM), UpendraKushwaha (RLSP), Jose KMani (KC-M), BadruddinAjmal (AIUDF), JayantChaudhary (RLD) and RajuShetty (Swabhimani Paksha)also participated.

Centre unabashedly usurpingpowers of states: Oppn parties

Declare CycloneAmphan a nationalcalamity, say 22 parties

Continued from Page 1

It said a natural calami-ty like Cyclone Amphanhas come as a doubleblow amid the coron-avirus pandemic, break-ing the spirits of people.

"Opposition Partiestherefore urge the centralgovernment to immedi-ately declare this as anational calamity andsubstantially help thestates in facing the impactof this disaster," the reso-lution said.

The meeting of oppo-sition parties called byCongress chief SoniaGandhi was attended bythe leaders of the TMC,NCP, DMK and Left par-ties, among others.

Continued from Page 1

The government imposed thenationwide lockdown fromMarch 25 to prevent the spreadof the novel coronavirus and it iscurrently in its fourth phase.

Like the number of cases, thegrowth rate of number of Covid-19 deaths too has fallen signifi-cantly due to the lockdown,marking a notable differencebetween pre and post lockdownsituations, Paul said.

At the briefing, PravinSrivastava, Secretary in theMinistry of Statistics andProgramme Implementation,gave model-based estimates onCovid-19 cases and deaths whichhave been prevented due to thelockdown.

As per Boston ConsultingGroup's model, the lockdownsaved between 1.2 lakh and 2.1lakh lives, while the number ofCovid-19 cases averted isbetween 36 lakh and 70 lakh, hesaid.

According to Public HealthFoundation of India, nearly78,000 lives have been saved dueto the lockdown, Srivastava said.

Citing a model by two inde-

pendent economists, he saidthat around 23 lakh Covid-19cases and 68,000 deaths havebeen averted due to the lock-down.

Some independent experts,including retired scientists, havecalculated that around 15.9 lakhcases and 51,000 deaths havebeen averted due to the lock-down, Srivastava said.

A joint study by the Ministryof Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation and the IndianStatistical Institute found thataround 20 lakh Covid-19 casesand 54,000 deaths were averteddue to lockdown, he said.

Taking all these into account,the number of Covid-19 casesaverted due to the lockdown is inthe range of 14-29 lakh, while thenumber of lives saved is between37,000 and 78,000, the officialsaid.

"We are fully confident that thelockdown, with full public coop-eration, has reaped rich divi-dends," Srivastava said.

The strong defence of thelockdown, comes a day after thehealth ministry said the periodof lockdown has been gainfullyutilised to ramp up the health

infrastructure. The announce-ment on Thursday came aftersome media reports questionedthe country's preparedness todeal with the highly infectiousdisease.

"There are reports in a sectionof the media about some deci-sions of the government regard-ing the lockdown implementa-tion and response to Covid-19management. The period of thelockdown has been gainfullyutilised to ramp up the healthinfrastructure in the country," theministry had said.

The death toll in the countrydue to Covid-19 rose to 3,583and the number of cases climbedto 11,8447 registering an increaseof 148 deaths and a record jumpof 6,088 cases in a 24-hour spantill Friday 8 AM, according to theUnion Health Ministry.

Elaborating on the gains of thelockdown till May 15, Paul saidthe virus has a nature of spread-ing exponentially and till April 3,the cases were increasing at a fastpace.

However, after April 4 therewas a steep decline for the next15-20 days and the case growthper cent came down to 5.5 till

May 13 from 15-22 per cent ear-lier as the lockdown put a brakeon the speed of increase of cases,Paul said.

The number of Covid-19 caseswould have risen exponentiallyhad the lockdown not beenimplemented, he said, addingthat the doubling time of thenovel coronavirus cases nowstands at 13.3 days as against 3.4days since the lockdown wasimposed.

Despite being such a largenation, due to lockdown, the out-break of the infection hasremained confined to limitedareas, Paul said.

Around 80 per cent of activecases reported till Thursday arein just five states -- Maharashtra,Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi andMadhya Pradesh. Over 90 percent are in 10 states, he saidstressing that in the last twomonths the number of cases haverisen in large numbers in othercountries.

As far as fatalities are con-cerned, over 80 per cent of thedeaths are in five states --Maharashtra, Gujarat, MadhyaPradesh, West Bengal and Delhiand around 95 per cent of the

deaths are in 10 states."The confinement of Covid-19

to certain areas has been due tothe actions taken during lock-down, it enabled us to be moreprepared for the future," Paulsaid, highlighting how the healthinfrastructure was ramped up inless than two months.

As many as 1,093 dedicatedCovid facilities and around1,85,306 beds have been preparedfor treatment of such patients.Also 2,403 dedicated Covid-19health centres with oxygen facil-ities having a capacity 1,38,652isolation beds have been readied.

Besides, 30 lakh PPEs weregiven to states, 109 domesticmanufacturers have been enlist-ed, with 3 lakh per day domes-tic PPE manufacturing capacity.

Guidelines on variousaspects of Covid-19 manage-ment have been prepared expe-ditiously, scientifically andseven companies are producingtesting kits, and vaccine devel-opment is going on after virusculturing by ICMR, he saidadding there has been a mas-sive response to deal with thechallenge of Covid-19 duringthis lockdown period.

Government: Lockdown kept 14-29 L cases at bay

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020 nation 04SHORT READS

CISCE to conductpending class 10, 12exams from July 1-14NEW DELHI: The Council forthe Indian School CertificateExaminations (CISCE) willconduct pending class 10 and12 examination from July 1 to14, it announced on Friday. Theexams were postponed in viewof the nationwide lockdownimposed to contain the spreadof COVID-19. "While the examsfor class 12 students will beheld from July 2 to 12, class 10students will appear for examsfrom July 1 to 14. It will bemandatory for candidates tocarry their sanitiser bottles andwear masks while gloves will beoptional," said Gerry Arathoon,Chief Executive and Secretary,CISCE. The schools have alsobeen asked to ensurecandidates' entry and exit in astaggered manner to ensuresocial distancing norms arefollowed at examination centres.

5 more test positive,U’khand COVID-19tally reaches 151

Major fire at chemicalfactory in Punedistrict; none hurtPUNE: A major fire broke out ata chemical manufacturing unitin Pune district on Fridaymorning, officials said. Nocasualty was reported in theincident as the plant, located inKurkumbh MIDC on Pune-Solapur Road, was closed, afire brigade official said. "Theblaze erupted around 10.30 am.Water tankers were rushed tothe site and the fire wasdoused. Cooling operation isunderway now," the officialsaid. He added that drumscontaining acetone and ethanolwere kept at the plant. "As thefire spread, those drumscaught fire and exploded. Ablanket of thick black smokeengulfed the area after theblaze. Nobody was injured inthe incident as the plant wasshut," the official said.

DEHRADUN: Five people testedpositive for COVID-19 inUttarakhand on Friday, bringingthe number of cases to 151 inthe state, according to a statehealth department bulletin.Three fresh cases werereported from Dehradun andtwo from Udham Singh Nagardistrict, the bulletin said. A totalof 56 patients have so farrecovered from the infection,leaving 94 active COVID-19cases in the state, it said. Onecoronavirus patient had diedsome weeks ago at AIIMS,Rishikesh.

Bengal suffered losses of Rs 1 lakh crore due to AmphanPNS n KOLKATA

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Friday said thatWest Bengal has suffered loss-es to the tune of Rs 1 lakh croredue to cyclone Amphan thathas devastated the state.

After conducting an aerialsurvey of some of the affectedareas and attending a reviewmeeting along with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inBasirhat, she said that there isa need to work together at thishour of crisis.

Banerjee said she has briefedthe prime minister in detailabout the post-cyclone situa-tion in the state.

At least 77 people have beenreported killed so far in thestate due to the extremely

severe cyclone.Large-scale damage to infra-

structure, public and private

property was reported fromNorth and South 24 Parganas,East and West Midnapore,

Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghlydistricts.

The prime minister hasannounced an advance inter-im assistance of Rs 1,000 crorefor the state after the meeting.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Railways has ferried over31 lakh migrant workers onboard 2,317 Shramik Specialtrains since May 1, almostseven lakh more than the ini-tial projection of 24 lakh,according to official data.

The initial estimation ofmigrant workers to be trans-ported back to their hometowns were based on detailsprovided by various state gov-ernments to the zonal officesof the Railways in late Aprilwhen it was deciding on pro-tocols to run the special trains,officials said.

However, the national trans-porter said that it does not havecurrent details of the totalnumbers of stranded migrantlabourers who want to returnto their homes and are operat-

ing trains based on the require-ments of the states.

The Shramik Special trainsare being operated primarilyon the requests of the stateswhich want to send themigrant workers to their homestates. The Railways is bearing85 per cent of the total cost ofrunning each of the trains

while the share of the states is15 per cent. "The Railways isspending an estimated Rs 80lakh on each of these trains onan average," an official said.

The coronavirus lockdownhas had a devastating impacton the economy as well as onthe livelihoods of lakhs ofmigrant workers.

Rly ferries 31 lakh migrantson board 2,317 Special trains

PNS n NEW DELHI

With the Narendra Modi gov-ernment set to complete thefirst year of its second term laterthis month, a think tank asso-ciated with the ruling BJP willlaunch a five-day online coursein good governance, where sev-eral serving and retired officialsare expected to address the par-ticipants on a variety of topics.

BJP vice president and MPVinay Sahasrabuddhe, whoheads the Public PolicyResearch Centre, said the coursewill be open for all and aboveany partisan politics, whileasserting that it is aimed atexpanding "good governanceliteracy".

Interacting with reportersthrough video conference, hesaid the Modi government hasworked to deliver on good gov-ernance since it first came topower in 2014, and its empha-sis on last-mile delivery, efficient

execution of schemes and use oftechnology to this effect playeda key role in its return to powerin 2019.

With the Modi government'ssecond term completing itsfirst year on May 30, the dayPPRC will start its course aswell, Sahasrabuddhe said imple-mentation of BJP's promises,including the nullification ofArticle 370 provisions, timelyand coordinated actions usingtechnology as "seen" in combat-

ing COVID-19, and call for self-reliance have been the hall-marks of the first year. Aboutthe course, he said it will be firstof its kind and innovative.

PPRC Director SumeetBhasin said the HealthMinistry Joint Secretary LavAgarwal, who has been the faceof the government's briefingson the coronavirus crisis, andNITI Aayog CEO AmitabhKant may speak to participantsof the course, which will also

highlight the government'sefforts to combat COVID-19.Asked about the coronaviruscrisis' impact on political cam-paigns for upcoming elections,Sahasrabuddhe said it is too early to say how this willplay out.

Think tank comes up with governancecourse as Modi 2.0 approaches 1st anniv

Chouhan held 81 virtualmeetings amid COVID-19PNS n BHOPAL

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan has held at least 81virtual meetings ever since hetook oath to the office amidthe COVID-19 pandemic, astate official said on Friday.

Not just the Chief Minister,but even the state's ChiefSecretary Iqbal Singh Bainshas held online meetings withofficials for 53 hours through38 video-conferencing ses-sions, the official said.

Other state governmentdepartments have also beenfunctioning through the video-conferences and virtual meet-ings in times of lockdown andsocial distancing, he said.

Chouhan, who took reignsof the state a night before thenationwide lockdown wasimposed on March 24, hasheld meetings for a total of 149hours through 81 video- con-ferences, the official said.

According to data releasedby the state government,Chouhan used social mediaextensively to communicatewith the general public.

"The Chief Minister hasposted 58 videos on his Twitteraccount and 108 videos onFacebook since March 23 andheld direct discussion with thepeople of Madhya Pradeshthrough 22 live events," theofficial said.

The senior BJP leader'sFacebook account registered 8crore views since the lock-down, while his Twitter handlereceived 23 lakh views, he said.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Friday arrived at the BijuPatnaik International Airporthere to undertake an aerialsurvey of four cyclone-ravageddistricts in Odisha.

The prime minister wasreceived by Odisha GovernorGaneshi lal, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik, Union minis-ters Dharmendra Pradhan,Pratap Sarangi, Chief SecretaryA K Tripathy, DGP Anhay andothers at the airport.

Senior BJP leaders were alsopresent there. There was noflower bouquet and hand shakeby leaders at the airport as theyapparently adhered to social dis-tancing norms in the wake ofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

The prime minister, accom-panied by the Odisha governorand the chief minister, left forthe aerial survey by a special airforce chopper.

He is scheduled to fly over the

districts of Jagatsinghpur,Kendrapara, Bhadrak andBalasore adjoining West Bengal,sources said.

Union ministers Pradhanand Sarangi flew in a separatechopper for the survey.

After his return from the aer-ial survey, Modi is scheduled toreview the cyclone situationand measures taken for restora-tion and relief in the affectedareas.

Cyclone Amphan, whichrolled past the Odisha coast and

made a landfall in theSunderbans on Wednesday, hascaused damage to houses,power infrastructure, agricul-tural crops and horticulturesector in four coastal districtsand parts of northernMayurbhanj.

Modi is expected to conductthe aerial survey for over anhour. Earlier, Modi conductedan aerial survey of cyclone-hitareas of West Bengal and tookstock of the situation in theneighbouring state.

PNS n NEW DELHI

From providing protectivegear like face shields andgowns to cabin crew to deepcleaning of aircraft every 24hours, airlines are taking var-ious measures as they plan torestart curtailed domesticoperations from Mondayonwards amid the coron-avirus pandemic. Full-ser-vice carrier Vistara on Fridaysaid it will operate a "reducednetwork" for the next fewweeks connecting 24 citiesacross the country.

All employees will wearpersonal protective equip-ment (PPE) at all times,including cabin crew that willwear protective gowns, masksand face shields, it said.

"The airline will also ensuredisinfectant cleaning of all air-craft at the turn-around ofevery single flight and deepcleaning of all aircraft every24 hours with approved dis-

infectant cleaners," Vistarasaid in a statement.

Except GoAir, all otherIndian airlines have openedbookings for their domesticflights that will start operat-ing from May 25.

AirAsia India said pilotswill have access to an ampleamount of PPE like masksand sanitisers to upkeeptheir safety and hygiene."Our well trained (cabin)crew will be operating withadequate PPE, includingmasks, face shields, protec-tive gowns and gloves andhave been trained to assistwith and manage medicalsituations in-flight," AirAsiaIndia said in a statement.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The coronavirus death toll inDelhi has mounted to 208, while660 fresh cases of COVID-19were reported on Friday, thebiggest single-day spike here,authorities said.

The total number of cases inthe city now stands at 12,319

The previous highest spike infresh cases — 571 — was record-ed on May 21. This is the firsttime in Delhi that over 600COVID-19 cases have beenreported in a day. Thursday wasthe third consecutive day, when500 or more fresh cases wererecorded in a day in the nation-al capital. In a bulletin issued onFriday, the Delhi health depart-ment said, the death toll fromcoronavirus infection has risen to208, and the total number ofcases mounted to 12,319.

It, however, added the cumu-lative death figures refers tofatalities where primary cause ofdeath was found to be COVID-19, as per the report of theDeath Audit Committee on the

basis of case sheets receivedfrom various hospitals.

On Thursday, the the totalnumber of cases stood at 11,659,including 194 deaths. With 660fresh cases, the total number ofcoronavirus cases in Delhi hasclimbed to 12,319. Facing criticismfor “under reporting” COVID-19deaths, the Delhi governmentrecently had issued a standardoperating procedure (SOP) forhospitals and other health facili-ties in the city on reporting fatal-ities due to coronavirus.

As many as 5,897 patients haverecovered, been discharged or

migrated so far, while there are6,214 active cases, the Delhihealth department said. A totalof 1,60,255 COVID-19 tests havebeen conducted till date, it said.Total number of COVID-19positive patients under home iso-lation stands at 2881, it said.

According to the Delhi HealthDepartment bulletin, out of thetotal 12,319 cases recorded so far,at least 1,835 are admitted at var-ious hospitals like LNJP Hospital,RML Hospital, SafdarjungHospital and RGSSH and AIIMSJhajjhar, adding 169 of them arein ICU and 27 on ventilators.

Death toll in Delhi climbs to208; highest spike of 660 cases

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Directorate of RevenueIntelligence (DRI) has sound-ed an alert to different customsformations across the countryto check smuggling of infraredthermometers into the countryfrom China, officials said onFriday.

The move assumes signifi-cance as the demand of suchthermometers have spiked inthe country due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

"The DRI has sent an alert toinland container depots andthe cargo airport in Delhi andother places across the coun-try, dealing with the importand export of commoditiesfrom abroad, among othersasking them to be vigilantabout such smuggling," anofficial said.

He said there is informationto suggest that smugglers mayunder-value or mis-declarethese thermometers to illegal-ly import them to India.

A good being brought intothe country can be under-invoiced with an intention toevade customs duty to defraudthe government exchequer.

In this method, the invoicebeing filed with authorities forthe import of the goods is fal-sified to show that the price ofgoods being imported is lowerthan the actual price beingpaid by an importer abroad.

India had lost a staggeringUSD 13 billion, over Rs 90,000crore, to trade mis-invoicing(that includes under and over

invoicing), equivalent to 5.5 percent of the value of the coun-try's total revenue collectionsin 2016, according to a 2019report by the US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity.

A non-contact infrared/thermal thermometer of areputed manufacturing firmmay cost anywhere between Rs3,500 and Rs 8,000, accordingto the websites selling them.

The officials also suspectthat the smugglers may exploitthe free trade zone of Dubaiport to route the goods for

sending them to India."A strict vigilance is main-

tained to thwart such attemptsto cause damage to the Indianeconomy and the local manu-facturers," the official said,referring to the DRI alertissued recently.

The DRI is a federal eco-nomic intelligence agencyunder the Finance Ministrymandated to check commercialfrauds among others.

The customs formations areon alert to thwart any attemptsof smuggling. About 2,500 kgof raw material for masks wasintercepted by air cargo exporthere on May 13.

In addition to these, thecustoms officials had intercept-ed multiple shipments contain-ing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres ofsanitiser in 950 bottles and 952PPE kits at the courier termi-nal in New Delhi.

These were attempted to besmuggled out of the country tothe US, UK and the UAEamong others, they said.

PNS n BENGALURU

Intra-state passenger train ser-vices resumed in the countryon Friday, nearly two monthsafter being suspended due toCOVID-19 lockdown, withthe operation of three trains inKarnataka, the South WesternRailway said.

While the Bengaluru-Belagavi triweeekly super-fast special was the first andleft here at 8 am, a pair ofdaily special trains was oper-ated between the city andMysuru, the South WesternRailway said.

"First intra-state passengertrain in India after March 22started in South WesternRailway. We are back to nor-mal," it said in a statement.

The train to Mysuru left hereat 9.20 am and reached the des-tination at 12.15 pm. In thereturn direction, the train fromMysuru left at 1.45 pm, it said.

The passengers wereallowed to board the trainswith face masks while ensur-ing social distancing and otherprecautions, it said addingthese trains will have stoppageat important stations.

After Karnataka ChiefMinister B S Yediyurappa rec-ommended resumption ofintra-state services in the state,the Railways approved runningof four trains - two each fromBengaluru to Belagavi and

Mysuru, the statement said."We have opened reserva-

tion counters at major stationsacross Bengaluru. Ticket book-ing can be done from thesebooking offices now. All areadvised to ensure social dis-tancing and wearing of mask,"it said. Minister of State forRailways Suresh Angadi wasinstrumental in resumptionof trains in a graded manner inKarnataka, the railway state-ment said.

Intra-state train services afterlockdown resume in Karnataka

PNS n MIRZAPUR (UP)

Three migrant workers werekilled while another was seri-ously injured when their vehi-cle was hit by a truck nearBasahi village under the Lalganjpolice station here on Friday.

UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath expressed grief overthe incident and announced anex-gratia payment of Rs twolakh each to the families of thedeceased.

The accident occurred in themorning when a hired vehiclein which seven persons hailingfrom Bihar's Gopalganj werereturning home from Mumbaiwere hit by a truck, MirzapurSuperintendent of Police (SP)Dharamvir Singh said.

At the time of the accident,the migrants were sleeping inthe vehicle, which was parkedaround 40 feet away from theroad, he added.

3 migrantworkers killed,in roadaccident in UP

DRI sounds alert over smuggling of infraredthermometers into India from China

Large-scaledamage to infra-structure, publicand private prope-rty was reportedfrom North andSouth 24 Parganas,East and WestMidnapore, Kolkata,Howrah andHooghly districts

PM Modi arrives in Odisha;maintains social distance

Interacting withreporters through videoconference, he said theModi government hasworked to deliver ongood governance sinceit first came to powerin 2014, and itsemphasis on last-miledelivery, efficientexecution of schemesand use of technologyto this effect played akey role in its return topower in 2019

Spl gear for crew toaircraft deep cleaning

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

INS Sunayna returnsto port after anti-piracy deploymentKOCHI: INS Sunayna, anoffshore patrol vessel of theIndian Navy, successfullycompleted her anti-piracydeployment in the Gulf of Adenand arrived here early Fridaymorning, a Defence spokesmansaid. The ship, based under theSouthern Naval Commandhere, had to sustain herselfwithout entering any port for 80days due to COVID-19pandemic, he said. She wasfuelled and resupplied bytankers of the Indian Navy andUS Navy, the spokesman said."Such an unbroken andsustained deployment at seaspeaks of very high crewproficiency and morale of theship", he said. The ship wasreceived by senior officers ofthe Southern Naval Command,who welcomed the crew backhome and congratulated theship on her sterlingperformance. INS Sunayna isthe second Saryu-class patrolvessel of the Indian Navy,designed and constructedindigenously by the GoaShipyard Limited.

Karna govt to bearShramik train travelcost till May 31: CM

Senior railway officialtests positive forcoronavirusNEW DELHI: A senior officerworking at Rail Bhavan hastested positive for coronavirus,becoming the third such case inthe building which is theheadquarters of the IndianRailways. The officer wasworking on the cadrerestructuring of the RailwayProtection Force Service. Shehad last come to work on May13, following which Rail Bhavanwas shut down for sanitisationpurposes for two days after anRPF staffer tested positive forthe disease, officials said. Therailway officer stays atCommonwealth Games Villageapartments, where many seniorofficers of the railways reside,they said. The officials said thata joint secretary-level officerworking closely with her hasbeen sent to 14-day homequarantine, while some juniorstaffers have been asked toisolate themselves.

BENGALURU: The Karnatakagovernment on Friday said itwould bear the travel cost ofmigrant workers and strandedpeople to their respective statesby Shramik trains upto May 31.Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa,in a series of tweets, said thegovernment has considered theplea of migrant workers whowere unable to bear the travelexpenditure to go back to theirhome towns. "The governmentconsiders migrant workers,who have come from far flungparts of our country, as ourown people and it is my firmbelief that they too must besupported by the State," hesaid. Shramik trains are beingoperated by sharing the fare ona 85-15 ratio between theRailways and the state govern-ments. According to reports,some states had refused to paythe fare for migrant workers,resulting in the labourerspaying for the trips.

Dalai Lama writes to Naveen,Mamata; expresses sympathyPNS n BHUBANESWAR

Tibetan spiritual leader theDalai Lama has written toMamata Banerjee and NaveenPatnaik, chief ministers of WestBengal and Odisha respective-ly, expressing his sympathy forthe loss of lives and property inthe two states ravaged bycyclone Amphan.

In his letters to the two chiefministers, the Buddhist leadersaid he is making a donationfrom the Dalai Lama Trust forthe relief and rebuilding efforts"as a mark of solidarity with thepeople of West Bengal andOdisha."

However, the amount ofdonation was not mentioned inthe statement issued by hisoffice on Thursday.

"This morning His Holinessthe Dalai Lama wrote toMamata Banerjee and NaveenPatnaik, the Chief Ministers of

West Bengal and Odisha respec-tively to express his sadness overthe loss of life, the devastationof property, as well as the hard-ship caused to so many peopledue to Cyclone Amphan," saidthe statement on Thursday.

Cyclone Amphan hasclaimed 77 lives in West Bengaland Banerjee said the state suf-fered losses to the tune of Rs 1lakh crore because of it.

There has been no confirma-

tion of any loss of human life inOdisha due to the cyclone,though it affected nearly 45 lakhpeople and damaged a largenumber of houses in the coastaldistricts.

The Dalai Lama also con-veyed his condolences to thefamilies who have lost lovedones, and to all those affected bythe storm. "I appreciate theprior preparations that weremade to respond to this natur-al disaster, and the efforts thatare underway to provide reliefand assistance to those affected,"the Dalai Lama wrote to eachchief ministers.

To the West Bengal chiefminister, he said, "In addition toour profound respect for Indiaas a sacred land, which has alsobeen home to many Tibetansover the last 61 years, we havea special regard for Bengal"mainly because of two great per-sonalities who hailed from it.

HC declines to stayconviction of former CMMadhu Koda in coal scamPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Fridaydeclined to stay the convic-tion of former Jharkhandchief minister Madhu Kodain a coal scam saying it willnot be apt to facilitate him tocontest polls for any publicoffice, till he is finally acquit-ted.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru saidthe wider opinion was thatpersons charged with crimesought to be disqualified fromcontesting elections to publicoffices and therefore, it wouldnot be apt to stay Koda's con-viction to overcome the dis-qualification incurred byhim.

Koda had moved the pleafor stay of conviction to con-test in the 2019 Jharkhandstate assembly polls and thehigh court had reserved itsverdict on his application onMarch 19.

"It would not be apposite tofacilitate the appellant to con-

test elections for any publicoffice, till he is finally acquit-ted," the court said.

Koda was held guilty ofcorruption and conspiracy, bya trial court in 2017, in allo-cation of a Jharkhand-basedcoal block to Kolkata-basedcompany Vini Iron and SteelUdyog Ltd (VISUL).

Senior advocate R SCheema and advocateTarannum Cheema, appear-ing for CBI, had opposed hisplea for stay of conviction.

PNS n LUCKNOW

BSP chief Mayawati on Fridaycriticised the Congress govern-ment in Rajasthan for raisinga bill of over Rs 36 lakh for itsbuses used for ferrying stu-dents back to Uttar Pradeshfrom Kota and said this showsits “inhumanity”.

The bill was cleared by theYogi Adityananth governmenton Friday, a day after it was sentby Rajasthan for facilitating thestudents' return from coachinghub Kota amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

In a series of tweets,Mayawati said, “The demandof Rs 36.36 lakhs that theRajasthan government hasgiven as expenditure of send-ing about 12,000 young menand women back from Kota totheir homes shows their inhu-manity. Such disgusting politicsbetween two neighbouringstates is extremely saddening."

"But how appropriate andhow humane is the politicalgame being played by theCongress government of

Rajasthan, on one side charg-ing arbitrary fare for sendingUP students in their busesfrom Kota and on the othernow talking about buses tosend migrant labourers to theirhomes in UP,” Mayawati said.

Rajasthan government rais-ing the bill comes amid thecontroversy over Congressgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi's offer to provide 1,000buses to ferry migrant labour-ers in Uttar Pradesh.

"In mid-April, the UttarPradesh government haddecided to bring students ofUP stranded in Kota due to

lockdown back home. UttarPradesh State Road TransportCorporation (UPSRTC) buseswere deployed for bringingthem back, but the number ofstudents there was more thanour estimate and we neededadditional buses," UPSRTCmanaging director Raj Shekharsaid.

"The buses of RajasthanRoadways available in Kotawere used for ferrying studentstill Agra and Mathura. The billfor the same was raised by theRajasthan Roadways whichhas been cleared by theUPSRTC," he added.

PM says country stands withBengal, announces Rs 1K cr aidPNS n BHUBANESWAR

After conducting an aerial sur-vey of the cyclone-hit areas ofWest Bengal on Friday, PrimeMinister Narendra Modiannounced a Rs 1,000 crorerelief package for the state, say-ing the nation stood withBengal in this hour of crisis.

"I assure my brothers andsisters of West Bengal that theentire country stands with youin these difficult times," Modisaid.

The Prime Minister alsosaid that Rs 2 lakh would begiven to the next of kin of thedeceased persons while thosewho suffered serious injurieswill get Rs 50,000 each.

Severe cyclone Amphanmade its landfall in WestBengal on Wednesday after-

noon and caused severe dam-ages in various parts of the statewith a wind speed rangingfrom 155 kmph to 185 kmph,accompanied by heavy rainfall.At least 80 people have losttheir lives due to the cyclone,as per sources.

Modi said that a Central

team will be sent to the statesoon to conduct a detailed sur-vey of the damages caused byAmphan, adding that allaspects related to rehabilitationand reconstruction will beaddressed. "We all want WestBengal to move ahead," he said.

Earlier, as the Prime

Minister landed in Bengal totake stock of the trail ofdestruction left behind by thesevere cyclonic storm, ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee andGovernor Jagdeep Dhankharcame to receive him alongwith the senior state BJP lead-ership.

Different Ramzan for different folks: Mosquesshut, poor Muslims struggle for food in lockdownPNS n NEW DELHI

The month of Ramzan hascome as a boon, says Shabana.Not because it's a holy month orbecause it leads up to Eid butbecause her children don't askher for three meals a day whenthey are fasting.

The distraught mother, apart-time domestic worker insouth Delhi, echoes thousandsof devout Muslims scramblingto feed their families in anextended lockdown that hasrendered them jobless and onthe verge of penury.

A large number of daily wageworkers, including rickshawpullers and construction labour-ers, and their families depend onneighbourhood mosques fortheir two main meals duringRamzan – sehri, the pre-dawnmeal at the beginning of a dayof fasting, and iftaar, at the end

of day.But with mosques shut, they

are left to fend for themselves,underscoring once again themagnitude of the crisis of unem-ployment and poverty triggeredby the lockdown, which beganon March 25 to stem the spreadof the coronavirus.

Many continued to fastthrough Ramzan, which is near-

ing its end, hoping their prayerswill help them pull through dif-ficult times and looking at thefasting month as a blessing indisguise as they don't have toarrange for three meals a day.

"Ramzan is a boon in suchdifficult times as my childrenfast and don't ask for threemeals in a day," said 28-year-old Shabana, who goes by

only one name.Her husband is stranded in

Jharkhand and she lives in theJohri Farm locality in Okhlawith her out-of-work brotherand two children -- a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-olddaughter.

"I was employed in threehomes, but my employers askedme not to come once the lock-

down began. Only one of themhas paid me for these last twomonths when I was not work-ing, " she told PTI.

"At least, during Ramzan, Ijust have to arrange for twomeals. For sehri, we just makedo with tea. And for iftaar, wemanage with whatever littlefood we can arrange,” she added.

"I can't bear to see my chil-dren's faces when they go outduring iftaar time and returndejected seeing others buyingdelicious food which we can'tafford," she said.

Shabana is not alone in hermisery. Sitara, a 40-year-oldout-of-work domestic help inNoor Nagar, said all her fourchildren fast during Ramzan. IfShabana and her family man-age with tea during sehri, herchildren and she just drinkwater. Iftaar is also about justmaking do.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Domestic flyers arriving inKerala must undergo strict homequarantine as per the lockdownguidelines, in view of increasingCOVID-19 cases in the state,Health Minister K K Shailaja saidon Friday.

"Even if the domestic flightservices resume, those coming inmust remain under strict homequarantine as per the guidelines.

There is no change in that.Most people will be coming fromthe major hotspots of the coun-try," she said. Announcing theresumption of domestic flightservices from May 25, the CivilAviation Ministry had indicatedon Thursday that it was not infavour of quarantining passen-gers on short-haul flights.

However, the Assam govern-ment has made it mandatory forall air passengers coming tothat state to stay in quarantine for14 days.

Apart from the health depart-

ment and the local self govern-ment institutions, Shailaja saidthe people of Kerala must alsoensure that every returnee to thestate remained under strict homequarantine in order to curb thespread of the disease.

"We need to strictly keepunder observation all those whocome fromoutside the state andmake sure that they do notcome into contact with othersincluding their family mem-bers.

They should be effectivelyremain under room quarantine

at their residence," she said. Thestate reported 690 cases after 24more tested positive for coron-avirus on Thursday. As of nowover 80,000 people are underobservation across the state.

On the death of a 73-year-oldwoman, who came fromMumbai, on Thursday, the min-ister said, "Khadijakuttycamefrom Mumbai along with threeothers. She alighted atChavakkad. Her son who pickedher up from there took her to thegovt hospital as she was tired. Shewas given good care."

Quarantine must for domesticair travellers: Kerala govt

PNS n NAGPUR

Senior government officials inNagpur on Friday informed theBombay High Court thatCOVID-19 tests on police andmedical staff deployed in twocontainment zones in the cityshall be conducted only if thenumber of coronavirus positivecases in each of these areas isabove 15.

The submission was made bythe Nagpur district collectorand the city's police commission-er. The COVID-19 containmentzones they were referring to areSatranjipura and Mominpura.

The Nagpur bench of the HChad earlier this week directed thetwo senior officials to considerconducting COVID-19 tests onall medical and police personneldischarging duty in these twoareas as a pilot project.

The Nagpur district collectorand police commissioner onFriday submitted their report toa division bench of Justices Ravi

Deshpande and Amit Borkar inwhich they said a joint meetingwas convened along with seniormedical officials to consider thesuggestion made by the court.

COVID-19 tests of medicaland police personnel working ordischarging duty in the twocontainment zones ofMominpura and Satranjipuraare proposed to be conducted ifthere are more than 15 positivecases (in each of them), thereport said.

As per the report, a total of798 police personnel havebeen deployed in Satranjipuraand Mominpura areas ofNagpur. Besides, 296 medicaldoctors, nurses and otherhealthcare workers are render-ing their services to personsfrom these areas.

Out of the 295 medical staffworkers, 42 have been alreadytested for COVID-19 and theirresults turned out to be negativefor the infection, the report said.

Haryana sees 3-fold increase inCOVID-19 cases during MayPNS n CHANDIGARH

Haryana has recorded a three-fold increase in coronaviruscases this month, majority ofthem being reported from fourdistricts falling in the NationalCapital Region. The cases havejumped from 339 as on April 30to 1,031 on May 21.

The coronavirus cases inGurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipatand Jhajjar, which fall in theNCR, jumped from 54, 53, 25and 24, respectively, as on April30 to 239, 181, 150 and 91 byMay 21, according to data putout by the state health depart-ment in its daily bulletins.

Eleven of the 15 COVID-19deaths which the state hasreported so far took place dur-ing the month of May.

On May 4, Haryana hadrecorded the highest single-dayjump in coronavirus cases when75 infections were reported and

a day earlier the state had report-ed 66 infections, most of thesefrom the NCR districts.

The number of active cases inthe state have gone up from 100on April 30 to 335 on May 21.

Commenting on the spurt inCOVID-19 cases in the NCR,Health Minister Anil Vij said thepeople living in districts whichare closer to Delhi have also beenaffected. There are a total of

12,319 coronavirus cases in thenational capital, according toauthorities. Haryana has main-tained that several cases report-ed from Sonipat, Jhajjar,Gurgaon, Faridabad and evenPanipat have their origins ininfections emanating from thenational capital, following whichauthorities had put strict regula-tion on borders with Delhi tocheck the spread of infection.

Officials submit report in HC

on testing COVID-19 warriorsHC seeks NIAreply onNavlakha'sinterim bail pleaPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Fridaysought NIA's response toactivist Gautam Navlakha'sinterim bail plea in BhimaKoregaon violence case onmedical grounds. Navlakha,67, has sought bail saying he isaged and particularly vulnera-ble to catching any infections/virus, especially in a crowdedenvironment like prison. He ispresently lodged in Tihar jail.The petition also claimed thathe was diagnosed with highblood pressure during NIAcustody by the doctor at Safdar-jung Hospital, which increas-es the risk of his morbidity.

The Prime Ministeralso said that Rs 2lakh would begiven to the nextof kin of thedeceased personswhile those whosuffered seriousinjuries will get Rs50,000 each.

Rs 36 lakh bill for students fromKota shows inhumanity: Maya

"I was employed inthree homes, but myemployers asked menot to come oncethe lockdown beg-an. Only one of themhas paid me for the-se last two monthswhen I was notworking," she said

Health workers protest againstnew quarantine guidelines

PNS n NEW DELHI

Healthcare workers at severalCentral and city governmenthospitals sported black armbands on Friday to protest thegovernment's decision to end theneed for their quarantine afterCOVID-19 duty unless there hasbeen any form of high-riskexposure. Several hospitals inthe last few days have asked theirhealthcare workers staying inhotels during the quarantineperiod to vacate rooms imme-diately failing which the chargespaid for their overstay would bededucted from their salaries.

As per the Union health min-istry guidelines issued on May15, healthcare workers servingin COVID-19 areas do notneed to undergo quarantineunless there has been violation

in the use of PPE or any otherform of high-risk exposure orthey have symptoms suggestiveof coronavirus infection.

However, healthcare workerson the frontline have raisedobjections to the new guidelines.

The Federation of ResidentDoctors' Association (FORDA)has called for the black ribbonprotest to demand proper quar-antine and testing for all health-care workers on COVID-19duty. The FORDA had alsowritten to Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan seekinga revision of the guidelines stat-ing the virus has an incubationperiod of 2-14 days followingexposure and there are multipleinstances of doctors testing pos-itive for the disease following asecond test or subsequentlyafter that.

Ignorance is like knowledge, it has nolimits. The colossal movement of theblue-collar migrant workers back totheir home districts has exposed ourignorance about this segment. How

could the Centre not anticipate its possibil-ity when it shut down everything on mini-mal notice, drawing a lakshman rekhaaround houses on March 25? A plannedevacuation, like in the case of a naturalcalamity, would have helped. This could havealso prevented many deaths that the migrantworkers are facing almost on a daily basis onthe highways and railway tracks.

However, we choose to be wise only whentragedy strikes. After beating around the bushinitially, branding the upsurge in COVID-19cases as a conspiracy by certain ChiefMinisters or a political party, the Centre couldno longer overlook the elephant in thedrawing room. Commendably, the Ministryof Railways brought the wheels back on track.The Shramik special trains were started toferry the stranded workers back to their homedistricts. Post this, the Union Government hasbeen proactive in combating the COVID-19pandemic and providing relief materials.However, it chose to be wise only in hindsightwhen it came to migrant workers.

In a recent article, Mark Tully attributedthis crisis to the class divide. Since none ofour policy-makers comes from the class ofthe migrant workers, the mandarins ofRaisina Hill could not think about their fate.One would like to cite another factor that canbe termed as “dereliction of political duty.”Problems of the agriculture sector andfarmer suicides have rocked the Parliamentmany times. Some members have alsocalled for convening a separate session to dis-cuss agrarian issues and formulating a sep-arate agriculture Budget. It is another thingthat those suggestions have never been pur-sued.

However, this writer believes that theplight of the migrant workers in urban India,a bulk of whom belong to the unorganisedsector, is actually grimmer. Agrarian suicidesconstitute seven to 12 per cent of all suicidesin the country. Year-on-year figures areavailable in Accidental Deaths and Suicidesin India, an annual publication of theNational Crime Records Bureau (Ministry ofHome Affairs). The figures are low in percent-age terms if one considers that close to halfof India’s population remains dependent onprimary sectors like agriculture and forestryamong others. The law of probability entailsthat half of the suicides in India should comefrom that sector as well. However, merciful-ly, this is not the case. Agriculture is in thegreen zone as far as suicidal deaths are con-cerned. Which sector is in the red zone then?

To cite an example, in 2018, 22.4 per centof those who committed suicide were dailywage earners; 9.8 per cent were self-employed;9.6 per cent were unemployed; and other per-sons (a grey area) were 16.2 per cent.Comparatively, 7.7 per cent of the people

engaged in the farming sectorcommitted suicide. More peoplecoming from the salaried andprofessional class (8.9 per cent)committed suicide in 2018 in thecountry than those engaged inthe farming sector.

The exact situation of themigrant workers might fallthrough these statistics. However,a little application of the mind willreveal their plight. A person inthe farm sector at least lives in hisown home/native place. Amigrant worker, however, is sur-rounded by professional uncer-tainties and mental insecurities.These gnaw him to the core.

But why did the plight of thepeople in the urban unorganisedsector, many of whom aremigrant workers, never capturethe attention of the politicalclass? This is possibly becausenobody is sure where they havetheir votes. In a lecture deliveredby OP Rawat, IAS (Retd), the for-mer Chief ElectionCommissioner, at Jigyasa Forum,New Delhi, earlier this year, hehad said that nearly five crore ofthe migrant workers have neverbeen registered as voters. TheElection Commission of Indiamight have bridged that gaplately. But with a registered elec-torate of 91 crore out of India’sestimated population of 137 core,the saturation limit of above 18years voters seems to have beenreached in 2019 (discounting forsome duplication in electoralrolls, which is likely to be stream-lined in near future).

While farmers are “settled”voters, migrant workers are oftennot. While some of them remain

voters in their native place, oth-ers change their address to theplace of usual residency. Thisoften leads political parties, bothin the home and resident State,to turn a blind eye to their con-dition. Thus, their fate is less like-ly to be discussed in the legisla-ture. It is only in the wake of thelockdown that we have beenreminded of a 40-year progres-sive piece of legislation (formu-lated by the then Janata PartyGovernment) viz, the Inter-StateMigrant Workmen (Regulationof Employment and Conditionsof Service) Act, 1979, which hasbeen more honoured in breachthan in observance.

A migrant worker doesn’thave the dignity associated witha farmer. As the share of agricul-ture contracted in the GDP bas-ket of India, it implied more peo-ple had shifted out of that sectorto become wage earners. Now,the COVID scourge has inflict-ed heavy damage upon the man-ufacturing and service sectors. Itis anticipated that the unem-ployed migrant labour popula-tion will fall back upon agricul-ture for the time being. A situa-tion close to that happened whenfollowing the destruction ofindustries, during the onset of theBritish rule, people fell back onagriculture, leading to over-crowding.

Apparently, this overcrowd-ing was never fully outlived.Nearly a century of industrialisa-tion failed to bring down India’sagricultural dependency in termsof employment substantially.Notwithstanding, the share ofagriculture has been reduced

drastically in the GDP basket. It is a pity that States do not

have approximate figures aboutthe number of migrant workers.Since it is the fundamental rightof any citizen to move andresettle in any part of the coun-try, the State is not willing tointervene, despite the 1979 law.However, during a reply to aquestion in the Lok Sabharecently (Vide unstarred ques-tion 4747 dated March 23), fig-ures (as of 2016) were estimat-ed to be over 100 million (10crore). Indian Post moneyorders booked in Karnataka(paradoxically India’s IT State)amounted to ̀ 3,259 crore out ofIndia’s total figure of ̀ 5,065 crorefor the year 2018-19. The otherleading States are Kerala (`900crore), Tamil Nadu (`198 crore)and Maharashtra (`185 crore),referring to a strong elementfrom the migrant worker com-munity. A recent digital wallet adon television (Phone Pe) choseto break away from elitism andfeatured a migrant worker. It isan indication that the digital wal-let economy is now giving chal-lenge to “money order econo-my” of the migrant workers.

Economies often demon-strate great resilience in the faceof tough challenges. They oftenrecover sooner than predicted byexperts. As the economy settlesdown post-COVID, there will befresh demands for migrant work-ers. It remains to be seen whetherthey retake the flight of fancyback to the same place or explorelocal options.

(The writer is an independentauthor based in New Delhi. )

In a move that will change the higher edu-cation scenario in India forever, the UniversityGrants Commission (UGC) has green-light-

ed a proposal to allow students to take up twodegree courses simultaneously. What is clearat the moment is that only one of the cours-es can be pursued in the regular format whilethe other can be followed online. A student canpursue two degrees in different streams as wellas from different institutions. Though this movewas being mulled for a long time, the UGC tookit up seriously only last year. Dual degrees

empower a student with a higher skill set and improve his/her job prospects,particularly relevant when the world is staring at a recessionary economy. In theWest, universities routinely offer students double majors, which essentially comeas a single degree from a single university but with combined honours, such asa degree in two different streams like English Literature and Computing, givinggraduates the option of pursuing a career in either.

As it is, the country’s unemployment rate at the moment is a scary 24 percent. So the UGC’s decision will help urban job-seekers become more employ-able. Being flexible in a dismal job market will mean better chances of gettinghired in a cut-throat economic environment. However, as we celebrate this move,we must not ignore some of the stark realities of the Indian education system.A whopping 47 per cent of the graduates being churned out by our universitiesand professional colleges are not employable for any industry role. A 2019 sur-vey reveals that close to 90.92 per cent of graduating engineers lack the requiredprogramming and algorithm skills required to work in IT product companies.Software engineers have a very low employability rate, with only 16.25 per centbeing employable in IT services and 3.4 per cent in IT product companies. So,if this is the level of our education and this is the kind of knowledge, or lack ofit, that our students are imparted, then how does it matter if they can do one ormore degrees? They will still be unemployable and feel the worse for it becausethey would have worked that much harder. It is better we overhaul the educa-tion system and make it more research-based with practical industry knowledge.We must encourage innovation, higher-order thinking and improve our youths’cognitive skills. In short, we must adopt global standards of education so thatwhen our students graduate, their degrees can be put to good use.

The trouble with facts and figures is thatthey are good enough for comparativedata analysis, historicity and references

but fall short of mapping the extent of humantragedy, the loss of human settlements and thedeath of man-made legacies. So though thesuper-cyclone of 1999 claimed over 10,000lives, compared to the 80-odd caused byAmphan at a time when early warning sys-tems and disaster preparedness haveimproved, the latter has left a rampaging trailof destruction unseen in the last two decades.

Although 500,000 people had been evacuated, the wind speed of 185 kmph ham-mering in with brute and unsparing force from the Bay of Bengal meant that itdisfigured the iconic face of Kolkata as we knew it. The city has lost over 9,000big trees that lined its avenues and wrapped around its colonial splendour. Thehowling storm tore through the facades of a cultural entity called Park Street,crumbled heritage ruins down to their last bones and shattered the egoism ofmodern-day highrises which couldn’t hold their glass showcase as they splin-tered wildly. Even at the time of writing this, cellphone towers and power sup-plies are out in many areas. Kolkata airport looked like a sea with untold dam-age to infrastructure. Mangled heaps of metal, cars that had turned turtle or tele-scoped into houses, debris and uprooted trees and poles have buried lives, liveli-hoods and identities. The official cost of destruction may be estimated to be at`1 lakh crore but rebuilding an emotion and culture that had held out for hun-dreds of years is quite something else. For Kolkata has never been about inan-imate structures, each of them had a life force of its own. That moral invincibil-ity, a sense of being really, has taken a big hit. Not only that, Amphan’s rage hascaused irreparable damage to the ecologically fragile Sundarbans region and itspeople. Mud embankments in the delta, a UNESCO site, were breached as thehungry tide whipped up by the churner flooded large swathes of the islands andsubmerged them into oblivion. With sea water entering agricultural land, officialsnow fear that more than two lakh rice farmers could be severely affected. Nobodyknows if the tigers, numbering around 100, are safe or not. The marine ecosys-tem has also shape-shifted overnight, the mangroves reduced to clumps. Almostthe same part of the Sundarbans was devastated last November by Cyclone Bulbuland the State Government had asked for a financial relief package worth ̀ 23,000crore from the Union government. Political wrangling on the package was stillgoing on when Amphan pummelled Bengal further. Besides the State makes up15 per cent of India’s food supplies, so the nation has a broken conduit. That’sthe reason why Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for an end to politicisa-tion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly responded by doing an aerial tourbesides announcing a `1,000 crore package. And although media coverage ofthe crisis smelt of bias despite the scale of devastation, any kind of politicisa-tion over relief and rehabilitation should be avoided by either side. For given theCOVID-19 pandemic, nobody would want Bengal to become an uncontrollablehotspot with thousands displaced and forced to seek shelter in crowded camps.

Although the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had done mass evac-uations in both Bengal and Odisha, its teams now have the dual task of rehabil-itation and disease control. It is being helped by the State police and firemen butsaving lives is still a humongous task. Lessons learnt from Fani have, however,helped NDRF deploy tree-pole cutters in the areas which were expected to beworst-hit. Which is why the State could resume some patchy bursts of powersupply in 24 hours. But it is relocating the displaced and evacuees that is caus-ing a bigger problem. Due to social-distancing protocols in place, the cyclonerescue centres, which could hold about 1,000 people, can now shelter only 400-500 locals. With a lot of physical handling in relief and rescue efforts, they alsohave an additional responsibility of ensuring that locals who moved into shelterhomes do not contract the disease. Apart from routine medical assistance tothe injured and hurt, there is a simultaneous need for testing given the high infec-tivity of the disease. Let us not forget that returnee migrants also form a part ofthe evacuees. Clearly, Amphan has been an epic humanitarian disaster for EastIndia. And a precursor to what a rough monsoon could do to coastal states amidthe pandemic. So for once, the Centre versus State war or ruling party versusOpposition won’t make sense to anybody, not even the politicians.

Teachers’ plight

Sir — Private school teachers areamong the worst hit due to theCOVID pandemic. Many teach-ers and lecturers in private insti-tutions are facing the repercus-sions of pending dues andsalaries. Left with no option,some have been forced to take upagricultural works in their vil-lages. Many have turned as man-ual labourers and some havebeen seeking work under theMahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Schemebecause they did not get theirsalary for the last two months andthere is no certainty as to whenthey might receive their dues.

They are facing terminationthreats, too, even after providingonline classes to pupils. Someteachers, who moved to the urbanareas from the villages, do not haveration cards. This makes themineligible to receive Governmentassistance, including foodgrains.The payment of salaries, job secu-rity and addressing other problemsof private teachers and lecturersshould be a priority area for theadministration.

The Government shoulddirect private schools and other

institutions to pay salaries for theentire month. Education depart-ments of all States should do theirbest to ensure that no teacher goesunpaid.

Ravi Teja Kathuripalli Hyderabad

Tap grassroot talent

Sir — The story of Jyoti Kumari,a 15-year-old native of Bihar’sDarbhanga, who travelled on abicycle carrying her wounded

father and covered more than1,200 km from Gurgaon inHaryana to her village is one ofindomitable courage and persis-tence. Cycling down more than1,200 km is not a mean job. Thisis why, impressed by her physical

endurance, the Indian CyclingFederation has decided to inviteher for trials next month. This isa life-changing opportunity forher. Jyoti has proved that talentexists in small villages. Due to alack of guidance, infrastructureand opportunity, those talentedfail to deliver. The StateGovernment must provide allsupport and help her tap talent.

MN UllahSaharanpur

Back to playing games

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “The dragon’s grip” (May 22).When the focus of the entireworld is on trying to get rid of theCOVID pandemic, China is backto playing old games and ispreparing strategies to destabiliseIndia’s development by creatingdisturbances along the Line ofActual Control. India should beextra careful in guarding its bor-ders more than in wartime asChina is creating problems via theNepal tri-junction, too.

Manisha Via email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionVIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020

06

Without a roadmap

PRIYADARSHI DUTTA

The long march of migrant workers back to their home States took the Government by surprise. It is time we have a consistent policy on this diligent segment of society

The Government was uncertain about the criteriafor lockdowns. Nor does ithave an exit strategy.Successive lockdowns haveyielded diminishing returns.

Congress president—Sonia Gandhi

Oh! I am hale and hearty.Main abhi zinda hoon. I amglad someone called to checkofficially. I don’t know whysomeone is deliberately doingthis. Is it some kind of a joke?

Actor—Mumtaz

We urge the Indian side to worktogether with us, abide by ourleadership’s consensus, complywith the agreements signed,refrain from unilateral actionscomplicating the situation.

Chinese official —Zhao Lijian

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

A callous response to emerging crisis

The Indian Railways has been a source of both hopeand anguish for millions of Indians. But it appearsthat the migrants, who are desirous of returning to

their native places, are in for a long and miserable wait.Despite the Railways having introduced a number of“Shramik” special trains to carry them back to their homeStates, it is surprising that thousands of labourers, with-out a valid ticket, thronged outside railway stations in sev-eral parts of the country. In some places, the police hada tough time in tackling the situation. This certainly laysbare the truth behind the administration’s claims of hav-ing an efficient system in place to ensure that the entireprocess of transporting the migrants back home is car-ried out methodically and in accordance with the guide-lines prescribed vis-à-vis the COVID pandemic. Reportsof stranded migrant labourers giving vent to their annoy-ance indicate a complete failure or a marked reluctanceon the part of the Government to come to terms with theenormity of the situation. With no vaccines or cure in sightto contain the virus, social distancing norms and the wear-ing of face masks continue to be the most reliable meth-ods to ward off the dangers of the pandemic.

This is why the blatant disregard shown by themigrants on the need to maintain social distancing is a

cause for alarm. One can well understand their plight.They are seemingly at their wit’s end as they try to getaccustomed to the circumstances arising out of the pan-demic. Apparently, there has been a communication gapbetween the “facilitator” and the “migrants.” This hasresulted in unmanageable crowds becoming the orderof the day around most “departure” points. How doesthe Government propose to tackle this issue?

Pachu MenonMargao

WHILE FARMERSARE SETTLED

VOTERS, MIGRANTWORKERS ARE

OFTEN NOT. WHILESOME OF THEM

REMAIN VOTERSIN THEIR NATIVEPLACE, OTHERSCHANGE THEIR

ADDRESS TO THEPLACE OF USUALRESIDENCY. THIS

OFTEN LEADSPOLITICAL

PARTIES, BOTH INTHE HOME AND

RESIDENT STATE,TO TURN A BLIND

EYE TO THEIRCONDITION

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Double degreesI don’t think KL Rahul is along-term option. He shouldalways be the back-up wick-et-keeper. If a keeper getsinjured then Rahul shouldkeep wickets.

Former India cricketer —Mohammad Kaif

With the face of Kolkata and Sundarbans changed foreverby Amphan, the Centre vs State war should stop now

While this will increase employability, the question is aboutthe quality of college courses and industry-ready orientation

Bengal battered

The art of survival

LIKE IT WAS WITH VIJAY SHANKAR OR WHOEVER GOTPICKED IN THE WORLD CUP. SOME OF THE DECISIONS

WERE ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING.—CRICKETER

GAUTAM GAMBHIR

AT THE TOP, EVERYONE WAS A BATSMAN. AND VIJAYSHANKAR, WHO BATS AT THE TOP ORDER, COULD BEHELPFUL WITH THE BALL IN ENGLISH CONDITIONS.—FORMER CHAIRMAN OF SELECTORSMSK PRASAD

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The current pandemic is an unprecedentedcalamity and its economic and social pain isimmense. The worst affected are the popula-

tions who subsist on daily wage or seasonal income.Barring agriculture, which is still functional, the ruraleconomy is groaning in distress. Since the deeperbehavioural changes and social restrictions that thepandemic has imposed are expected to become —and remain — the new normal for a long time, wewill have to recalibrate our economic and social pat-terns so that the hardship of daily subsistence doesnot further compound problems created by the loom-ing health crisis.

Almost 90 per cent of the workers in India arepart of the informal economy and thrive on dailywork, with little provision for employment protec-tion. The pandemic has required governmentsaround the world to introduce social distancing andlockdowns in unprecedented ways. These measureshave impacted economies and jobs worldwide andin India, too.

One of the vulnerable communities affected bythe crisis are folk artistes/craftspersons. With incomesdrying up, daily subsistence is becoming a challengefor them. But there is also an overlooked opportu-nity in this pandemic for both the Government andthese communities. The battle against the virus isbeing fought on two fronts: Prevention and cure.While health workers are making brave efforts to han-dle the contagion, the preventive part involves deepbehavioural changes, which are more effectivelyachieved through multiple approaches of social mes-saging that can make people aware. Folkartistes/craftspersons can play an influential role indissemination of information about COVID-19 ina language that rural India understands and bringabout the desired behavioural changes in society. Folkart is the most powerful medium of communicationin the hinterland.

To adapt to the new norms of social distancing,we can have smaller troupes. Village heads havebecome highly mature in handling calamities and weknow how Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across the coun-try are responding to the pandemic creatively. Often,responses look to established or well-known systemsto relay accurate information and solutions to peo-ple. For example, trusted community leaders,artistes/craftspersons can influence the behaviour ofpeople and ensure that accurate and culturally-sen-sitive health messages are conveyed and that assis-tance reaches those who need it most.

Folk arts are built on time-honoured wisdomdocumented through centuries. Much of India’s ruraland tribal social structure is built around practicescarried forward through folk wisdom. The role of folkart in this entire ecosystem is rather important becauseit incorporates valuable lessons from folk mytholo-gy. Though many fear that the impact of COVID-19 may be the end of artistes/craftspeople, the factremains that their creativity and resilience can savethem. Several organisations and guilds led by not-for-profit Dastkar are in the forefront of efforts to keepthe morale of the artistes/craftspersons intact. Thesepeople know that while lives are important, livelihoodsare no less critical.

India’s folk artistes/craftspersons have long usedtraditional storytelling for social messaging. It is wide-ly recognised as one of the most powerful tools ofcommunication and documentation of their culture.

Many grassroots organisations have alreadylaunched several innovative campaigns bychannelising the creativity of these people.However, countrywide efforts will berequired to protect the physical and finan-cial health of these marginalised commu-nities who have no fallback in these tenu-ous times.

NGOs have already channelised thecreativity of these artistes/craftspersons ina way that ensures their financial sustenanceand also reinforces the outreach of the pub-lic education campaign about the pandem-ic and the new social norms it has imposed.The initiative has caught the attention ofthe world. Working during the lockdown,which has crossed two months, a group ofcraftspersons across India produced illus-trations and paintings in traditional stylesthat depict the behavioural practices beingadvised by health advisories.

Since March, craftspersons have pro-duced artwork underlining the importanceof social distancing, wearing face masks,washing hands with soap, other hygiene eti-quette and avoiding group travel. There arealso scenes depicting hospitals treatingCOVID-19 patients. Traditionally, manyfolk art forms in India were made on largescrolls or as murals to share informationwith the community. Artists would hold upscrolls in village squares and share messagesfor creating awareness and eliciting com-munity responses. Ambika Devi is an artistfrom Rashidpur village in Bihar. Shemakes Madhubani paintings which showpeople wearing face masks and maintain-ing social distancing in village markets.

Bhilwara in Rajasthan is considered agreat success story in reversing the tide ofinfections. It was an early hotspot before

the virus was contained through creativeapproaches. Kalyan Joshi is a Phad artistfrom Bhilwara. His paintings carry mes-sages in the local language about social dis-tancing and face masks. Joshi’s artworkshave become extremely popular with thelocal people as they relate the idea to theirown traditions. Bhilwara is a prime exam-ple of innovative strategies in promotingnew behavioural patterns.

Apindra Swain, a Patachitra artist inOdisha, was quite discouraged as he hadlost his creativity. Yet when he created a clas-sic Patachitra artwork depicting the newnormal, people were interested.

It is the responsibility of all citizens, notjust NGOs, to ensure that the creative juicesof artistes/craftspeople keep flowing, so thatthe traditions they preserve don’t die out.There are several enterprising ways inwhich we can support these people. Forinstance, community stitching of masks,table mats, garden umbrellas, lampshadesand so on can be undertaken using folk andtribal art signages. This can be donethrough prior contracts with buy-backarrangements. The sponsor organisationscan arrange for supply of raw materials andsewing machines.

Tribal tours can be organised for cityfolk and foreigners and attractive productdiscounts can be offered. This can be fac-tored into the ticket/tour cost. Instead ofbringing artistes/craftspeople to the city forthe usual folk festivals, tourists can be takento the villages, where they can perform intheir natural setting. This will give touristsa better insight into their culture and be anovel experience for them as well.

Pre-sale of products can be organisedwith prepaid tour tickets for a group of 10-

15 people as per social distancing norms. In case of musicians, drama troupes,

dancers and singers, a large village centrecan be identified and made into a sort ofkala gram (art village) and artistes can per-form there. The number of performers pergroup can be restricted for the purpose ofsocial distancing.

The Companies Act, 2013, allows forpromotion and development of tradition-al arts and handicrafts to be counted as acorporate social responsibility (CSR), giv-ing businesses an effective cause to supportfolk artistes/craftspersons. The large avail-ability of space, the presence of vast cor-puses dedicated to CSR funding and thebusiness expertise of organising events allcome together to make corporations idealpatrons of folk art in these uncertain times.We all can inspire and encourage not onlyfolk artistes/craftspersons but all individ-uals to use their creativity to adapt to thenew normal.

These are people who believe in hardwork and a life of dignity. They are the oneswho will not die of starvation but from lossof dignity. We must remember that whileCOVID-19 can be lethal, mental or finan-cial illnesses can be no less fatal.

It is too early to tell if the pandemic willproduce an artistic legacy like the greatplague of the early 20th century did, but thisvirus and its fallout have already garnereda huge response. The work produced bytoday’s craftspersons in response to theCoronavirus has been to either raisemorale or money for sustenance. It is alsoa time-honoured way of documenting ourhistory.

(The writer is a well-known development professional)

Working during the lockdown, craftspersons across India produced illustrations and paintings

in traditional styles that depict the behavioural practices being advised by health advisories

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Why don’t weget it?

GWYNNE DYER

A point will come when the local environmentwill no longer be compatible with a normal

human lifestyle

INDIA’S FOLKARTISTES AND

CRAFTSPERSONSHAVE LONG USED

TRADITIONALSTORYTELLING

FOR SOCIALMESSAGING.IT IS WIDELY

RECOGNISED ASONE OF THE MOSTPOWERFUL TOOLS

OF COMMUNICATIONAND

DOCUMENTATION OF THEIR CULTURE.

NGOS HAVEALREADY

LAUNCHED SEVERALINNOVATIVE

CAMPAIGNS BYCHANNELING THE

CREATIVITY OFTHESE PEOPLE.

HOWEVER,COUNTRYWIDE

EFFORTS WILL BEREQUIRED TOPROTECT THE

PHYSICAL ANDFINANCIAL HEALTH

OF THESEMARGINALISEDCOMMUNITIESWHO HAVE NO

FALLBACK IN THESETENUOUS TIMES

Ihave never really believed the story climate crusaders tell to explainwhy so many people don’t get the message. You know, the onewhere if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water it will hop right

out, whereas if you just turn the heat up slowly it won’t notice. Itwill stay there and boil to death. I have never actually tried the exper-iment but surely not even frogs are that stupid. And I’m pretty surehuman beings aren’t. So why didn’t the good people of Houstonstart campaigning against global heating after Hurricane Harvey in2017 left a third of their city under water? Why didn’t the citizensof the Philippines demand that their country end its heavy relianceon burning coal for power after Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 6,300of them in 2013? Why weren’t the survivors in the State of Odishaup in arms about India’s greenhouse gas emissions after the mostintense cyclone in history killed 15,000 of them in 1999?

Well, partly because there were no data proving that the warm-ing was making the tropical storms worse. Pretty well everybodyin the meteorological trade and a great many lay people assumedthat to be the case. But the evidence just wasn’t there. Until now— and as if to celebrate its belated arrival, here comes another mon-ster storm.

On Sunday and Monday super-cyclone Amphan spun up quick-ly over the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal, going from nothingmuch to a Category Five tropical storm and adding 175 kmph toits sustained wind speed in only 36 hours. When it hit on Wednesday,Amphan left at least 80 people dead in West Bengal while two deathswere reported from Odisha and neighbouring Bangladesh saw 22casualties. There are fears the cyclone could exacerbate the spreadof the Coronavirus in overcrowded emergency shelters. In an ini-tial assessment, officials in Bangladesh said the cyclone causedabout £106 million in damage to infrastructure, housing, fisheries,livestock, water resources and agriculture. And the full extent of thedamage along India’s eastern coast was not immediately known.Authorities in both countries managed to evacuate more than threemillion people before Amphan struck.

Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes (all the same phenome-non, just in different oceans) are capricious. Their winds drop rapid-ly over land and they are most destructive if they move slowly andloiter just off the coast. People living around the Bay of Bengal knowthat the storms are getting worse: 140,000 people died when CycloneNargis struck the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma (Myanmar) in May 2008.So do people living around the Caribbean, on the US eastern seaboard,and at the western end of “typhoon alley” (the Philippines, China,Korea and Japan). But they needed hard evidence, and now theyhave it. A study by researchers at the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration and the University of Wisconsin atMadison published on Monday confirms that there is a direct linkbetween warmer oceans, more water vapour in the air and biggerstorms. Not more storms, but much bigger.

In fact, the likelihood that any given tropical storm will growinto a Category Three or higher hurricane (or the equivalent in termsof cyclones and typhoons) is rising by eight per cent per decade.Could it just be natural variation? James Kossin, lead author of thenew study, doesn’t think so: “We have high confidence that thereis a human fingerprint on these changes.” The data extend over fourdecades, which means the number of Category Three-plus hurri-canes has grown by a third since 1980.

It can only get worse, as will almost every other climate impact.The average global temperature now is 1.1°C above the pre-indus-trial average, but there is already enough carbon dioxide in the airto give us another half degree C of warming when it delivers its finalload. Never mind all the extra carbon dioxide that will be dumpedinto the atmosphere next month, next year, next decade. What willjust the amount that we have already put there do to the tropicalstorms? The point will come, as with most of the other climatechanges, when the local environment will no longer be compatiblewith a normal human lifestyle.

For the 500 million people who live around the Bay of Bengal,the world’s biggest bay, the breaking point may be massive cyclonesand floods that are made worse by sea level rise. For others it maybe intense heat and permanent drought. In some places, it will befamine. But at least a quarter of the world’s population is going tohave to move in the next 50 years. Where to? No idea. With almosteight billion people, the world is pretty full up already. Interviewinga couple of climate scientists recently, I saw for the first time a graph,modelling the future of a runaway warming world, that explicitly includ-ed a “death” term. Mass death, that is. It made me feel a bit frog-like.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work.’)

With COVID-19 bringing theshutters down on schoolsand colleges in the country,

over one crore teachers are adaptingto new ways of instruction to ensureminimal disruptions to education.Schools are finding innovative ways toimpart lessons, right from gettingtheir teachers to use WhatsApp to cor-rect assessments, recording classes orlive-streaming lectures.

In every effort, be it home visitsto check on students, travelling milesin search of internet connectivity toaccess online training material orcontributions from retired faculty,

the teachers truly remain the frontlinewarriors of education. Yet they areundervalued and unappreciated. Thetypical job description of a teacherinvolves expectations around strongcontent knowledge, 21st-century learn-ing experiences, effective learningenvironment as well as the need to belife-long learners, growing and evolv-ing in their professions.

But beyond what meets the eye,teachers also have to be passionate andthoughtful, encouraging studentengagement. They have to be respon-sive and empathetic to the needs of stu-dents from myriad backgrounds; pro-mote collaborative learning and team-work; inculcate strong values andsocial cohesion; conduct assessmentsand continuously use insights to drive,modify and bolster instruction.Educators must collaborate and con-sistently engage with parents and thelarger community; be role models,holding themselves to the highestprofessional standards and serve asmentors, bringing out the best in eachstudent, facilitating their transition to

higher levels of education or work.While expectations are galore, teach-ers function in a system that is crip-pled with challenges, including poortraining and inadequate resources.Teachers in India are often burdenedwith administrative responsibilities— election duties, maintaining mul-tiple student rosters and so on. Teacherdistribution is also poor and conse-quently, a single teacher could beteaching students from different class-es or at various learning levels, at thesame time. Despite overarching chal-lenges and constrained work environ-ment, teachers are disproportionate-ly faulted for poor learning outcomesand painted as culprits.

As standardised tests outweigh ateacher’s personal observation of a stu-dent’s progress; as people outside ofeducation are more prized as teachersthan those who have honed the craft;as technology threatens to replaceteachers; or as policies are set withoutfactoring in the opinions of teachers,we witness a collective failure — a mas-sive undermining of the profession. It

marks a systemic failure to recogniseand value teachers as experts in thefield.

Standardised models of practiceand training, evidence-based strategiesthat advocate a one-size-fits-allapproach tend to overshadow theunimaginable unpredictability andingenuity of working with and shap-ing young individuals. What makes ateacher’s work unique is that at theheart of it is emotional labour. Itrequires establishing connections withstudents first and teaching, after. Fora teacher, the most joyous memoriesstem from seemingly little momentslike a restless child settling down in theclassroom, a slow-learner inculcatingstrong foundational skills, watchingstudents embody values of sharing andkindness, witnessing the shy studentask questions or listening to first-gen-eration school-goers teach their par-ents the alphabet. This kind of workseldom gets accurately captured in pro-ductivity or efficiency metrics.

Though the metrics can’t possiblyaccount for it all, they do offer inter-

esting insights. Today, with an increas-ing body of research, there is greaterclarity and evidence on key drivers oflearning. Teachers are paramount.No other initiative — such as reduc-ing class size, revamping curriculum,investing in technology and buildingbetter infrastructure comes close tohaving as much of an impact as a goodteacher.

Drawing from a Harvard-Columbia Study, which tracked 2.5million students over two decades, onecan safely conclude that elementaryand middle school teachers have a last-ing impact beyond academics, includ-ing greater matriculation and higheradult earnings. Even students withgood kindergarten teachers end upmaking more money in the long run.Another study from Stanford showsthat an effective teacher can raise learn-ing levels each year. These impactsattenuate over time and with 70 percent of these gains retained in the longrun, a student with a learning achieve-ment, that is one standard deviationabove average, can expect 10-15 per

cent higher earnings each year. Thereis symmetry in these estimates, too.The impact, as multiplied by thenumber of students taught, means thatthe economic value of a good teachergrows with larger classes.

While the majority of teachersmay be effective and hard-working, thesymmetry also suggests lower returnsfrom ineffective or poor-quality teach-ers. Simply put, better teachers havegreater potential.

A 2013 study estimated thatreplacing an ineffective teacher in thebottom five per cent with an averageteacher could boost one student’searnings in the US by $2,50,000.Extrapolating from this, a 2016 reportfrom Washington anticipated anincrease of more than $11 billion inearnings of students by improvingteacher quality for a million publicschool students.

Implications for policy in theIndian context are clear — there mustbe concerted efforts to recognise thevalue of teachers and improve theirquality/effectiveness. A roadmap to

improve teacher quality should includetransparent and merit-based recruit-ment policies to ensure that only themost-deserving individuals get select-ed. Training should be rigorous andcustomised, delivered to suit the needsof each teacher as opposed to cascad-ed standardised training workshops ormodules. Performance-based evalua-tion and promotion mechanisms mustbe implemented to drive better learn-ing outcomes. There must be a focuson reducing the administrative load onteachers; providing greater support andaccess to requisite resources; rational-ising the distribution of teachers, andcreating a fostering environment,which acknowledges their work andencourages professional growth.

It is time we valued teachers, per-haps as we did in the ancient days. Sowhile we “reimagine” the educationsystem post-COVID, let us begin byplacing the teacher at the centre, forevery child deserves a good educator.

(The writer is a young profession-al at the Niti Aayog. Views expressed arepersonal.)

Learn to appreciate good teachersA roadmap to improve teacher quality should include transparent and merit-based recruitment policies to ensure that only the most-deserving

individuals get selected. Training should be rigorous and customised as opposed to standardised modules

SARAH IYPE

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

MOIN QAZI

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

India's garmentexports to decline30-35 pc in FY21:Crisil Research

New Delhi: Drug firm Lupinon Friday said it has receivedapproval from the US healthregulator to market genericTrientine Hydrochloridecapsules used for treatment ofWilson's disease. Thecompany has receivedapproval to market itsTrientine Hydrochloridecapsules USP, 250 mg, fromthe United States Food andDrug Administration (USFDA),Lupin said in a statement. Theproduct is a generic version ofBausch Health US LLC'sSyprine capsules in the samestrength, it added. Thecapsules will be manufacturedat Lupin's Nagpur (Unit 1)facility, Lupin said. As perIQVIA MAT March 2020 data,Trientine Hydrochloridecapsules USP had an annualsales of approximately USD 86million in the US, it added.The product is indicated in thetreatment of patients sufferingfrom Wilson's disease who areintolerant of penicillamine, thestatement said. Shares ofLupin Ltd were trading at Rs894.85 per scrip on the BSE,up 1.03 per cent over previousclose.

Lupin gets USFDAnod to marketgeneric capsules forWilson's treatment

Mumbai: India's garmentexports are likely to decline by30-35 per cent this financialyear due to COVID-19pandemic, which has renderedmany people jobless in majorexport destinations, includingthe US and Europe, accordingto Crisil Research. The US andthe European Union, whichtogether account for 64 percent of India's readymadegarment (RMG) exports, arestaring at a recession, CrisilResearch said in a report,adding that the US is theworst-infected country now,and the pandemic-drivenlockdown has ripped manyapparel retailers there.Besides, a spike inunemployment and fall inpersonal incomes would cutspending on apparel, it said.In March quarter, India'sgarment exports slipped 16per cent, while the fall was adrastic 91 per cent in April, itsaid. "We expect readymadegarments exports to dive 30-35 per cent this fiscal," thereport added. Indianmerchandise exports fell 13per cent (in dollar terms) inthe quarter ended March, anda steep 60 per cent in April asthe COVID-19 pandemic andshutdown of national bordersslammed global trade, it said.Exports of textiles and cottonyarn, which were comingapart even before thepandemic struck because ofcompetition from Vietnam,Chinese stock liquidation andlack of free trade pact support,have been shred, it added.

RBI measures to help reviveeconomy, says SBI chairmanPNS n MUMBAI

The steps announced by theReserve Bank of India includ-ing reduction in repo rate andextension of moratorium onterm loans for another threemonths will help in quickrevival of the economy, StateBank of India chairmanRajnish Kumar said.

The RBI on Friday slashedrepo rate by 40 basis points to4 per cent.

The central bank extendedthe moratorium period forthe repayment of loans byanother three months tillAugust 31, 2020, and alsoincreased bank exposure tocorporates to 30 per cent of thegroup's net worth from thecurrent limit of 25 per cent.

"The entire effort of thegovernment and the RBI is torevive the growth in the econ-omy and at the same timerecognising the difficultiesthat industries are fac-ing. All the mea-sures aroundreduction inrepo rate,moratoriumand increasein the limit ongroup expo-sures will behelpful inrevival of thee c o n o m y , "Kumar toldreporters througha video call onFriday.

The measures are acalibrated response tothe situation which isemerging on account

to the disruptions caused dueto COVID-19, he said. Kumarsaid, so far, 20 per cent of theSBI borrowers have opted forthe three-month moratorium.

He said the extension ofmoratorium on repayment ofloans will be helpful to theindustry.

Also, with the extension ofmoratorium, there is no urgentneed for a dispensation fromthe RBI.

"Right now, the moratoriumwill take care of the situationaround the cash flow disrup-tions. I would not be obsessedwith one-time restructuring atthis particular point of timewhen we have time till August31," he said.

Kumar, however, said bankscan still go for restructuring ofstressed accounts, if required,as per the June 7 circular ofRBI. When asked

about extending morato-rium to

N B F C sa n d

housing finance companies,Kumar said that it would begiven on a case to case basis.

“We would decide on a case

to case basis. We will have tolook at their (NBFCs/HFCs)cash flows and take a decision,”he said.

Textile bodies welcome RBI measuresPNSn COIMBATORE

Indian Texpreneurs Federation(ITF) on Fridaythanked the RBIfor extendingloan moratori-um to sixmonths whichwould help tex-tile industriesmanage cashflow towards re-starting busi-nesses during the post-COVID-19 times. Conversion ofdeferred interest as a one-yearterm loan would also help thecompanies manage the liquid-ity and speed up the revivalprocess because every rupee isimportant now to streamlinepost-COVID business opera-tions, ITF convenor PrabhuDhamodaran said in a state-ment here. Stating that theindustry expected the samelevel of repo rate reduction, hesaid, "With the announcementby the RBI, our entire energyshould be on talking with banks

to get the practical benefit ofall rate cuts." Prabhu

thanked the FinanceMinistry and RBI forthe timely interven-

tion, even as theRBI governor

had mentioned about its vigi-lance and battle-readiness,which was giving confidence to

industry players.M e a n w h i l e ,

Tirupur ExportersAssociation (TEA)also thanked RBIfor reduction of thepolicy repo rate by40 basis points (0.4per cent) from 4.40

per cent to 4 per cent withimmediate effect.

He said this was the secondreduction RBI has done afterreducing from 5.15 per cent to4.40 per cent on March 27 dur-ing the COVID-19 environ-ment. Thanking RBI for themeasures to improve the func-tioning of markets, TEA presi-dent Raja M Shanmughamhailed the decision to increasethe maximum permissible peri-od of pre- shipment and post-shipment export credit sanc-tioned by banks from the exist-ing one year to 15 months fordisbursements made uptoJuly 31.

He said this measure is ben-eficial to Tirupur knitwear gar-menting units, as they haveresumed operations and func-tioning partially from the sec-ond week of May.

RBIextended the

moratoriumperiod for

repayment ofloans byanother threemonths tillAugust 31,

2020

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark BSESensex tumbled 260 pointson Friday, dragged by lossesin banking and financialstocks as RBI's rate cut andother measures to prop upthe economy failed to meetmarket expectations.

After falling over 450points during the day, the 30-share index ended 260.31points or 0.84 per cent lowerat 30,672.59.

The broader NSE Niftytoo settled 67 points or 0.74per cent down at 9,039.25.

Axis Bank was the top lag-gard in the Sensex pack,plunging more than 5 percent, followed by HDFC,Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank,Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, HDFCBank and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, M&M,Infosys , Asian Paints ,UltraTech Cement and TechMahindra were among thegainers.

Earlier in the day, theReserve Bank of India (RBI)unexpectedly slashed bench-mark interest rates to theirlowest levels since 2000 in aeffort the revive the econo-my.

The repo rate was cut by40 basis points to 4 per centand the reverse repo rate wasdecreased to 3.35 per centfrom 3.75 per cent.

The central bank alsoextended the three-monthmoratorium on loan repay-ments till August 31 andraised the limit on banks'group exposure to compa-nies.

"However, RBI has not

announced any relief on therestructuring of loans toaddress the risk of risingasset quality issues in thebanking sector which hascome as a disappointment forthe equity markets," saidGaurav Dua, Sr VP, HeadCapital Market Strategy &Investments, Sharekhan byBNP Paribas.

Along with adverse impactof COVID-19 pandemic, theadditional concerns relatedto US-China brinkmanship iscreating uncertainties andaccordingly, equities areexpected to remain volatilewith negative bias in theimmediate term, he added.

India witnessed the biggestsingle-day spike with 6,088COVID-19 cases, taking thetally to 1.18 lakh. The deathtoll rose to 3,583, according

to the health ministry.Globally, the number of

cases linked to the diseasehas crossed 51 lakh and thedeath toll has topped 3.32lakh.

Hong Kong led a sell-offacross Asian equities afterChina introduced proposalsto enact a national securitylaw for the city.

B ourses in Shanghai ,Tokyo and Seoul ended sig-nificantly lower.

Stock exchanges in Europewere trading on a negativenote in early deals.

International oil bench-mark Brent crude futuresslipped 4.38 per cent to USD34.48 per barrel.

On the currency front, therupee depreciated 34 paise toprovisionally close at 75.95against the US dollar.

After falling over 450 points duringthe day, the 30-share index ended260.31 points or 0.84 per cent lowerat 30,672.59

Tomato prices fall 3-year low at Rs 3-10/kg in DelhiPNS n NEW DELHI

Tomato prices in consumingcentres of Delhi, Bengaluruand Hyderabad fell belowthree-year lows, in the rangeof Rs 4-10 per kg on Friday inthe wholesale markets onhigher arrival, according toofficial data.

The prices had ruled at Rs14.30 per kg on May 22 lastyear at the Azadpur wholesalemandi in the national capital,while above Rs 30 per kg inHyderabad and Bengalure.

The steep fall in prices oftomatoes was due to highersupply of the commodity amidsluggish demand and lack ofsmooth movement of perish-able commodities in thisCOVID-19 crisis, experts said.

According to data main-tained by the food processingministry, "In Azadpur, the

current modal prices are trad-ing near Rs 440 per quintal ascompared to Rs 1,258 perquintal last year." In Delhi, thetomato crop is coming fromHaryana, Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh andRajasthan, it said. InHyderabad's Bowenpallywholesale market, tomatoprices were ruling at around

Rs 5 per kg on Friday, com-pared with Rs 34 per kg a yearago.

Similarly, in the Bengaluruwholesale market, tomatoprices were ruling at Rs 10 perkg as against above Rs 30 perkg in the year-ago period.

In tomato-producing areasalso, the wholesale rates havefallen below three-year's sea-

sonal average in 40 districtsout of 52 tracked by the foodprocessing ministry for thepurpose of extending market-ing linkages. Even in 12 clus-ters identified for linkingdirectly to markets, prices oftomatoes are ruling belowthree-year's average low.

For instance in five tomatoclusters located in the Kolardistrict of Karnataka, pricesdeclined to the level of Rs 3-8 per kg depending on thequality and varieties whencompared with Rs 14-35 perkg in the year-ago, the datashowed.

In Andhra Pradesh, five

clusters located in Chittoordistrict as well as in two clus-ters in Odisha showed a sim-ilar declining trend in prices.

Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka are the top-twomajor tomato-producingstates in India. The combinedproduction of the two states isestimated at 42 lakh tonne thisyear. India's annual tomatoproduction is enough to meetthe domestic demand of about111 lakh tonnes.

The government has peggedtotal tomato output at 193.28lakh tonne for 2019-20 cropyear (July-June), according tothe ministry's data.

The prices had ruled at Rs 14.30 per kgon May 22 last year at the Azadpurwholesale mandi in the national capital

Spain sayslockdown puthotel occupancyat 'nil'PNS n MADRID

The latest report fromSpain's National StatisticsInstitute makes grim read-ing for the countr y 'stourism sector.

The report publishedFriday said that in Aprilhotel occupancy was “nil,” asestablishments locked downdue to the new coronavirusoutbreak.

The institute, which is agovernment body, publishedcolumns of zeros forovernight stays, averagelength of stays and occupan-cy rates. Spain is Europe'ssecond most popular touristdestination, after France.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Edelweiss Asset Managementon Friday said it will launchthe second tranche of BharatBond ETF in July, with twonew series, to raise up to Rs14,000 crore.

This comes after the suc-cessful launch of the initialser ies of the ETF inDecember 2019.

Through the launch of thetwo new ETF ser ies ,Edelweiss Mutual Fund pro-poses to raise an initialamount of Rs 3,000 crorewith a green shoe option ofRs 11,000 crore based onmarket demand, the fundhouse said in a statement.

The two new series willhave maturities of April 2025and April 2031.

The Bharat Bond ETF pro-gram is a government initia-tive and Edelweiss AMC hasbeen given the mandate todesign and manage the prod-

uct. "The launch is in line with

our vision to create a ladderof Bharat Bond ETFs acrossvarious maturities on theyield curve. This will providemore options for investors tomatch their investment needs

with different time horizons,”Radhika Gupta, CEO ofEdelweiss Mutual Fund said.

"In the current environ-ment, investors need safe,liquid, and tax efficientoptions for their debt invest-ments, and Bharat Bond ETF

meets this need effectively.We are happy that investorsin the first series of BharatBond ETF have had a goodexperience and the AUM ofthese ser ies has a lsoincreased organically afterthe launch,” she added.

The ETF will invest inconstituents of the NiftyBharat Bond Indices, con-sisting of AAA-rated publicsector companies.

Bharat Bond Funds ofFunds (FOF) with similarmaturit ies wi l l a lso belaunched for investors, whodo not have demat accounts,the fund house said.

The first tranche of BharatBond ETF raised over Rs12,400 crore, from a diverseset of investors.

Further, after the new fundoffer (NFO), the Bharat BondETF program continued tosee healthy investor partici-pation and good liquidity onthe exchanges.

Bharat Bond ETF's second tranche coming in July

This comes after the successful launchof the initial series of the ETF inDecember 2019

Sensex drops 260 pts as RBImeasures fail to cheer investors

Major ports see 21 pc volume contraction in April PNS n NEW DELHI

Impacted by COVID-19, majorports in India witnessed asteep 21 per cent volume con-traction in April and bulkcargo throughput may shrinkup to 8 per cent in the currentfiscal, ratings agency Icra saidon Friday.

It said the container segmentmay witness a decline of 12-15per cent during the currentfinancial year.

"The Indian port sector hasbeen adversely impacted due tothe COVID-19 outbreak and

the subsequent lockdownintroduced by India and othermajor economies.

"Although, the sector has

been classified under essentialservices and has remainedoperational during the lock-down, the impact on domes-

tic economic activity as well asslowdown in global trade hasresulted in steep contractionin cargo volumes at the major

ports in April 2020, withthroughput decline of 21 percent," Icra said in a statement.

While the decline wasacross major cargo categories,petroleum, oil and lubricant(POL), thermal coal and con-tainer segment witnessed sig-nificant contraction. The out-look for the port sectorremains negative in the nearto medium term, it added.While all cargo segments arevulnerable, Icra said the con-tainer segment is expected tobe more adversely impacted.

Rs 1,160 crreleased toNafedPNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre has released Rs1,160 crore to cooperativeNafed for undertaking pro-curement of rabi pulsesgrown in the crop year 2019-20, directly from farmers forbuilding a buffer stock ofonion and pulses, a seniorgovernment official said onFriday.

The fund has been madeavailable through the PriceStabilisation Fund (PSF)operated by the consumeraffairs ministry. Under thePSF, commodities are pur-chased at market prices.

The government has set aprocurement target of50,000 tonnes of onion, 5.5lakh tonnes of tur dal and1.5 lakh tonnes of masoordal for the buffer stock pur-pose.

RITES signs pactfor acquiring 24 pcin IRSDCPNS n NEW DELHI

Infrastructure consultancy andengineering company RITESon Friday said it has signed anagreement for acquiring 24 percent stake in Indian RailwayStations DevelopmentCorporation (IRSDC) for Rs48 crore.

The company has signedshareholders' agreement foracquiring 24 per cent stake inIRSDC for Rs 48 crore withRail Land DevelopmentAuthority and IRCONInternational being the otherequity partners, the companysaid in a statement.

The company further saidthat it has resumed operationsat most of its offices and pro-ject sites after the coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictionswere eased.

The Miniratna public sectorenterprise said that duringthis lockdown period, apartfrom concluding negotiationsfor a major export deal withCFM Mozambique enhancedto Rs 700 crore on account ofincrease in quantity, it hasbeen able to successfully deliv-er the 188 RKM Vijaypur-Pachore Road-Maksi sectionrailway electrification projectin Madhya Pradesh.

Prime Minister NarendraModi imposed a nationwidelockdown to control thespread of coronavirus onMarch 25. It has been extend-ed thrice, with the fourthphase set to expire on May 31.

"During the lockdown

RITES continued to focus onkey business deals like exportsto Africa, signing of IRSDCshareholders' agreement etcand now we have hit theground running as we resumemost of our operations with-in the guidelines issued by thegovernment," RITES LtdChairman & ManagingDirector Rajeev Mehrotra said.

The company has resumedbusiness activities adheringto necessary safety protocolsand has implemented aStandard Operating Procedure(SOP) to guide its employeesabout precautions and safetymeasures at work, he said.

Income Tax deptissues refunds of Rs26,242 cr since AprilPNS n NEW DELHI

The tax department on Fridaysaid it has issued I-T refundsof Rs 26,242 crore to 16.84lakh taxpayers since April aspart of efforts to hasten refundprocess for making liquidityavailable with people andfirms to deal with COVID-19crisis.

The Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) said 16,84,298tax assesses have receivedrefunds between April 1 andMay 21.

Income-tax refund of Rs14,632 crore to 15,81,906assesses and corporate taxrefund amounting to Rs

11,610 crore to 1,02,392 assess-es have been processed duringthis period, the CBDT said ina statement.

The refund process hasbeen further expedited at agreater pace since FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman'sannouncement made in the'Atamanirbhar BharatAbhiyan' last week.

The firm furthersaid that it hasresumed ops atmost of its officesand project sitesafter the corona-induced lockdownrestrictions wereeased

SaturdayMay 23, 2020

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SITCOMS TOBINGE INLOCKDOWN 4.0

Due to the increasing COVID19 crisis, the country has gone

under the 4th stage oflockdown. Life under lockdown

might be getting very boringand difficult and we cannotwait for this to end and go

outside to socialize again. Butsadly it's going to take a littlemore time for that to happen. SIDDHESH SUMAN comes to

your rescue to help you killthis cloud of boredom

itcoms have been an integral source of familyentertainment for quite some time now. They'veonly gotten more popular among the Indian audi-ence than ever. Here is our list of top 5 popularSitcoms to binge in lockdown 4.0.

1. THE OFFICE (2005-2013) - (AMAZON PRIME)The Office is an American mockumentarysitcom starring Steve Carell, John Krasinski,Rain Wilson & Jenna Fischer. The seriesportrays the everyday lives of 'DunderMifflin' employees and their notorious bossplayed by Steve Carell, who gets himselfand his employees into all sorts ofmisadventures. The show humorouslydepicts how much love and friendship officeworkers share among themselves and careabout their office family. The show ishilarious, emotional and there is somethingin every character we all can genuinely

relate to. A great show for people who miss going to theiroffices amid this lockdown.

2. FRIENDS (1994-2004) - (NETFLIX)Friends created by David Crane & MartaKauffman is a television sitcom starringJennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, LisaKudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc &David Schwimmer. The series revolvesaround 6 friends living in New York gettinginto all kinds of trouble going throughmassive family issues, romance, fights,laughter, and tears only to find the truemeaning of friendship. The show lasted 10seasons and is considered among the mostpopular TV sitcoms of all time. The showbeautifully portrays friendship and makes

you laugh and cry. A great show to watch and talk about, withyour friends.

3. MODERN FAMILY (2009-2020) - (DISNEY PLUS HOTSTAR)Modern Family created by ChristopherLloyd & Steven Levitan is a mockumentaryfamily sitcom. The story revolves around 3modern families related to each other andfaces everyday family problems and solvesthem in their own comedic way. The showis best known for its quirky depiction of amodern family drama and distinctcharacters each different from the other.The show takes us on a roller coaster rideof how a family grows in this modernworld. The show successfully ran for 11seasons and stars Ty Burell, Julie Bowen,

Sofía Vergara, Ed O'Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse TylerFerguson, and many more. A great show to binge on with yourown modern family.

4. THE BIG BANG THEORY (2007-2019) - (AMAZON PRIME/NETFLIX)The Big Bang Theory created by Chuck Lorre& Bill Prady is an American Televisionsitcom. The series when premieredoriginally revolved around 4 geeky scientistfriends Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Rajand how their lives change when fun spirtedPenny moves next door and introduces themto the fun side of the world, lateraccompanied by 2 more female leadcharacter neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler,and microbiologist BernadetteRostenkowski. The series is romantic,emotional, clever and wildly funny and is

also the longest-running multi-camera sitcom ever made with12 seasons. The show stars Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, JohnnyGalecki, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Mayim Bialik, andMelissa Rauch. An extremely binge-worthy show to lift spirits inquarantine.

5. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (2005-2014) - (DISNEY PLUS HOTSTAR)How I Met Your Mother created by CraigThomas & Carter Bays follows the leadcharacter, Ted Mosby, telling a story to hischildren in the future of how he met theirmother. The story revolves around 5friends and the quest of Ted Mosby tryingto find the one woman he's meant to bewith, which gets him and his friends into alot of adventure and drama. The show ranfor a total of 9 seasons which lead up toTed finally meeting witAAAh "The One".The show has romance, drama, andcomedy accompanied by great characters.

The show stars Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Neil PatrickHarris, Jason Segel & Alyson Hannigan. A great TV show tobinge for people who love classic romantic comedy.

S

Don’t delay blood cancer treatment, even for a pandemiclood cancer, alsocalled cute Leukemia,is the most dangerousand life-threateningcancer, where early

initiation of treatmentmakes a huge difference inthe patient’s outcome.Clinical Presentation ofBlood cancer varies rangingfrom Incidental detectionon blood tests to breathingdifficulty and fever. Thesesymptoms trigger COVID-19 testing and Isolation.

With the fear of COVID-19, a lot of patients tend towait at home until symp-toms worsen. In addition tothe delay in diagnosis, mostpatients may suffer fromthe postponement ofchemotherapy, due to ashortage of isolation bedsand blood products or the

wish to avoid immunosup-pressive treatments. Delayin chemotherapy initiationmay negatively affect prog-nosis and miss a chance ofcure particularly in youngpatients. Leukemia patientscould progress to high-riskdisease due to the acquisi-tion of additional geneticanomalies, and complica-tions due to a very highwhite cell count calledhyperleukocytosis.

Patients with blood-relat-ed cancers who havesteroids as part of theirtreatment mainly MyelomaCancer patients can havehigh chances of severe lunginfections and pneumoniawith COVID19. For thisreason, Myeloma autolo-gous bone marrow trans-plants are being deferred

until Corona pandemic set-tles. In Lymphoma andLeukaemia, patients’need for Transplanthas to be discussedon an individualbasis based onrisk and benefitas delay in treat-ment can risktheir life.

Delay intransplant resultsin the reappear-ance of a signifi-cant minimal resid-ual disease (MRD), anegative impact onoverall survival post-trans-plant is another concern.

Blood products’ shortageespecially platelet shortageis the biggest concern dur-ing Blood cancer treatment.Volunteer donors are

decreasing due to self-isola-tion, travel restriction, andfear of virus transmission.Currently, Red blood cellstocks are reasonable in

most blood banks afterendorsement by popularcelebrities and other politi-cal leaders.

By donating Platelets, adonor saves life imme-diately as platelets aregiven within 3-4 daysafter donation due totheir short shelf lifeunlike in Blood dona-tion they are notstored for a long dura-

tion.No doubt there is all

time need for more regu-lar voluntary donors forplatelets. We need morecoordinated programmesfor blood donors and end-users. Treating Hospitalsshould have dedicated unitswith good Isolation rooms,separation of COVIDpatients, and strict screen-

ing protocols. The risk ofCOVID 19 infection in hos-pitalised patients is very low.

Leukemia treatmentshould be initiated withoutdelay and continued evenduring the Corona pan-demic as the price to pay ondelay in treatment couldmean disease relapse andloss of life. The decision totreat is made on an individ-ual basis after discussingwith their treating physicianbased on their risk and ben-efits and on the local inci-dence of Coronavirus.

(The author, Dr. PadmajaLokireddy, is a member ofthe Consultant Haemato-

oncology and Stem cellTransplant department of

Apollo Hospitals, JubileeHills, Hyderabad.)

B

he Coronaviruspandemic hasput the globaleconomy into atailspin. Severalcountries are

already heading towards afull-fledged recession,which experts predictwould be akin to the GreatDepression, while othereconomic disruptions seeminevitable. While the pre-sent crisis has short-termimpact on all organisations,its effect on small business-es and start-ups is turningout to be far-reaching andlong-lasting. It has left vari-ous industries and marketsjittery about their future.

The start-up ecosystem isdesperately attempting tocope with the unprecedent-ed circumstances. There area plethora of challengesright from continuing oper-ations to tackling supplychain issues to managingcash flow. Besides these,raising fresh funds hasturned out to be a majorchallenge for the communi-ty. Dr Apoorva RanjanSharma, Co-founder,Venture Catalysts, andManaging Director of9Unicorns AcceleratorFund, says that the fall inpublic markets has directlyimpacted venture capitalistsand angel investors which,in turn, has slowed downinvestments.

According to VentureIntelligence, start-up fund-ing in India for Marchdropped by 22 per cent ascompared to the same peri-od in the previous year. Thestartup data tracker alsoreports that Indian startupsonly secured $354 millionin March, down from $714million in February —more than 50 per centdecline. These numbersindicate that start-upinvestors are tighteningtheir purse strings and onlyfocussing on their existingportfolio companies. When

we move beyond the statis-tics, we face another grimreality. A slowdown infunding activities hasresulted in a severe liquiditycrunch, rendering manystart-ups on the verge ofbankruptcy. Moreover,start-up valuations havealso declined in the wake ofthe crisis.

Under such circum-stances how are the startupssurviving? As per

NASSCOM’s recent state-ment, the start-up sector isfacing grave cash flowissues as 70 per cent ofthem have cash reservesthat will last less than threemonths. The e-survey, titledReviving the Indian start-up engine during COVID-19, showed that about 90per cent of Indian start-upssaw a decline in revenues,while 30-40 per cent havehalted their businesses tem-porarily.

Shilpa Lalit, founder,Artyshills, a company relat-ed to artworks, says, “Non-sale of products in the redzones is a problem. Anothermajor challenge is that weare running out of stock ofa lot of our supplies. Andthere are no labourers torun the factory. Thisdemand-supply gap will

take time to be bridged andstocks to revive.”

While Jitendra Chouksey,Founder of Fittr, an onlinefitness platform, feels thatthere’s no such thing as“disaster-proof ” industry,he says: “There has been aslowdown in business, thereis uncertainty and peopleare prioritising what theyspend their money on.” Ifstart-ups want to survive,they need to accept this

new normal and figure outwhat the rules of doingbusiness are going to be.

There are many start-upsthat have lowered the ratesof their services to surviveduring these times of crisis.Aarnav Kalra, ChiefOperations Officer, Beforv,a digital start-up says thathis business has incurredprofits, though he had toreduce the price of his ser-vices in order to createmore demand during thelockdown.

An independent artistand DIY expert, Shilpi, whowas planning to set up astart-up but couldn’taccomplish her aim becauseof the pandemic, says thatthe lockdown has affectedher craft immensely. “I haveto confine my ideas to theproducts that I already have

at home. I can’t step out tobuy things to keep myselfgoing,” she adds.

Of course, the aboveincident would make onewonder about the freshstart-ups who had startedtheir operations before thelockdown. What aboutthem? Jitendra says, “I don’tthink anyone could havepredicted this crisis. Forthose who’ve just startedoperations, the silver lining

is that they have little tolose. Invest this time to goback to the drawing boardand rejig the business planand systems for a post-COVID scenario. Thisvirus is here to stay for along time and has disrupt-ed how business is done ortaken forward. I have onepiece of advice: “thinklean!”

The situation has affect-ed people in every possiblemanner. While for some itis proving to be the worstnightmare, for others it hasalso proved to be a boon —the tech-based and digitalstart-ups as they have got aboost. Jitendra says thattheir biggest strength istheir business model. Rightfrom inception, they havebeen an online fitness plat-form with no offline foot-

print. “Since the beginning,our primary source of rev-enue has been client enroll-ments with Fittr coaches.These enrollments havecontinued despite the lock-down. Our business modelis such that the client andcoach don’t meet in person.All coaching is carried outonline through our app.That’s why we have man-aged to seamlessly adapt tothe remote work culture,”

says he and goes on to add,“Mainstream businessestend to invest heavily ininfrastructure. As we’veseen with other players inthe fitness industry,unmanageable overheadcosts was a major reasonbehind their financial woespost lockdown. This is alean start-up and we’veconcentrated more onbuilding a strong IT infra-structure and robust inter-nal systems. These havehelped us and saved usfrom hitting a trough.”

Shilpa says that thoughher stocks are hangingmid-way but she hasreceived positive responsesonline. “People have a lot offree time to explore andscroll through the paintingsand other artworks rightnow. They also have the

time to pursue their lostpassion in arts and craft,which was not possiblebefore due to busy sched-ules. This has also led to anincrease in the viewershipof my online art tutorials,”she adds.

It has resulted in rise ofnew online businesses. AB2B edtech startup NextEducation has come upwith several new features toadapt to the need of thehour. Beas DevRalhan,CEO and Co-Founder, says:“Being stuck at home doesnot necessarily mean thatstudents cannot continue tolearn. Advancements intechnology, both computa-tional and telecommunica-tion have enabled remotelearning opportunities andhelped us gain profits.”

While the start-ups havebeen impacted by COVID-19, they are more likely toregain lost ground after thelockdown gets over.Apoorva says, “This isbecause they have low-riskinvestment options.”

It goes without sayingthat the COVID-19 pan-demic has seriously dis-rupted India’s start-upecosystem, which was oncethriving and booming.Apoorva says that theexpectations from 2020 arelow, but start-ups may pickup in the last quarter of thisyear. Of course, it will taketime for it to go back intothe pre-COVID state, but itis the early-stage start-upsthat will take the lead.

Jitendra says that thefounders should try to havea lean start-up, stay debt-free, invest in people andtechnology. “Also, keep anear to the ground and beprepared to respond swiftlyto market movements,” headds.

The start-up Davids,who are able to ride out thevirus, would emerge as theGoliaths of the businessworld post pandemic.

TDAVID vs VIRUS

From continuing operations totackling supply chain issues and

managing cash flow, there is aplethora of challenges that the

start-up ecosystem is facingcurrently. However, the

uncertainty has also acted as aboon for various tech and online

firms, says Sakshi Sharma

10

Vijayawada Saturday May 23 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

mitabh Bachchanis spending ample

time during thelockdown workingout with grandson

Agastya Nanda,and he has shared a snapshot

capturing the experience onhis social media.

The actor took toInstagram to share a post-

workout selfie with Agastyafrom his gym at his resi-

dence.In the monochrome pic-

ture, Big B is seen taking amirror selfie with Agastya.Both are all smiles even as

they strike a cool pose for thepicture. They are seen hold-

ing a dumbbell each.Sharing the picture on

Instagram, Amitabh wrote:“Fight .. fight the fit .. fit the

fight .. reflective mirrors , lat-erally inverted imagery .. and

the inspiration withGrandson ..”

Agastya is Big B and JayaBachchan’s grandson from

Shweta Bachchan Nanda andNikhil Nanda.

A

Big Bsweats itout with

grandsonAgastya

Nanda

Actor Prithviraj,others return fromJordan after 50 days

ifty days afterbeing stuck inJordan, topKerala actorPrithviraj andaward win-

ning director Blessy onFriday morning landedhere.

The 58 member crewwas stuck in Wadi Rum, adesert in Jordan, as theywere shootingAadujeevitham based onthe award winningeponymous Malayalamnovel by Benyamin.

In the first week ofApril, the film shoot wascalled off, after restric-tions came in the wake ofthe coronavirus crisis inJordan, and since then thecrew was seeking toreturn home.

The crew arrived fromDelhi on Friday morningand actor Prithviraj afterthe health checkup at theairport came out anddrove away in his car.

According to the healthauthorities, all the 58 haveto be in isolation in theirhomes for 14 days, fol-lowing which based on acheck up, further proto-

cols will be decided.After finishing the

shoot, the crew was tryingto return, but was told towait for the appropriatetime.

Following the greensignal by the authorities,the crew flew in fromJordan to Delhi and fromthere they reached Kochi.

Billed as one of thecostliest Malayalam filmAadujeevitham tells thetale of the life of a manending up in shamblesafter reaching the MiddleEast and finds himselftending goats in extremedesert temperatures.

When they left fromhere to Jordan, their planwas to go to Algeria afterfinishing the Jordan leg inthe first week of April, butCovid spoiled all theirplans and the crew wasstuck in a plush resortnear Rum Wadi inJordan.

Blessy’s past films,including his debut filmin 2004 Kaazcha,Thanmathra Pranayam toname a few, occupy aplace of pride in theMalayalam film industry.

F

RICHA SHARMA: Artistes atvirtual concerts should be paid

ith social distancingbeing need of thehour, virtual concertshave become the lat-est trend. SingerRicha Sharma is all

for it, but says such concertsshould not be held for free.

Right from the legendaryAsha Bhosle to Grammywinner Ricky Kej to the pro-lific Shreya Ghoshal, everysinger seems to be boardingthe virtual concert bandwag-on, but not all the artists getpaid for singing live fromtheir homes.

“If times like these go onfor long, then there is noother option (but virtual con-

certs). We have to go withthe flow. The only thing isthat people need to under-stand that artistes also haveto pay their bills,” Richa toldIANS.

She shared that when thefirst phase of lockdown start-ed in March, many artistestook part in such concertswithout thinking aboutmoney.

“People didn’t know andthey also sang for free on dif-ferent platforms. But now ifwe talk about concerts, itshould be paid so that ourmusicians, who don’t havemuch earnings, get help. Ifsuch concerts are paid, it will

be helpful to all,” said theSajdaa hitmaker.

Like her colleagues, shewill also be a part of a digitalshow soon. She is one of thesingers of the fundraisingconcert Ek Desh, Ek Raag,which will celebrate 25 yearsof Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Ek Desh, Ek Raag is a 25-hour digital music marathonthat starts on May 23. The25-year milestone gala willculminate in an Ek Desh, EkRaag concert on May 24across 19 ZEE channels withsome of the popular faces of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa singingfrom the confines of theirhomes.

Whe production onJames Cameron’smuch-awaitedAvatar sequels isexpected torestart in New

Zealand next week.Producer Jon Landau took

to Instagram on Thursday toshare that he and the rest ofthe Avatar cast and crew willbe returning to New Zealand nextweek, reports variety.com.

“Our Avatar sets are ready. —and we couldn’t be more excitedto be headed back to New Zealandnext week,” Landau wrote whilesharing a photograph of two watervessels used in the films.

“Check out the Matador, a highspeed forward command vessel(bottom) and the Picador jetboat

(top) - can't wait to share more,”he added.

The work on the Avatar sequelscame to a halt in March with lock-down orders by the New Zealandgovernment due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

Earlier in an interview withEmpire for the new Celebration OfCinema issue, Cameron sharedthat he is confident that his much-

awaited Avatar 2 will releaseas planned.

Avatar 2 is currently slatedfor a release on December17, 2021.

“I want to get back to workon Avatar, which right nowwe’re not allowed to dounder state emergency lawsor rules. So it’s all on holdright now,” Cameron said.

The filmmaker had shared thathe was scheduled to take the film-ing to New Zealand before thelockdown.

“We were about to shoot downin New Zealand, so that gotpushed. We’re trying to get backto it as quick as we can,” he said.

It is being believed that Avatar 2takes place 12 years after theevents of the first movie.

T

Avatar sequels to resumeproduction next week in NZ

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2020

PTI n NEW DELHI

The BCCI has not made “anycommitment” to tour SouthAfrica in August and there

have only been discussions aboutsuch a possibility, Board treasur-er Arun Dhumal said on Friday,denying Cricket South Africa’sclaims of a confirmation.

CSA Director of CricketGraeme Smith and Chief ExecutiveJacques Faul on Thursday said thatIndia has agreed to tour the rain-bow nation for three T20Internationals in August, signallingresumption of cricket in the postCovid-19 world. But Dhumal dis-agreed.

“When South Africa’s tour ofIndia got cancelled due to coron-avirus, we had discussions that ifthere is a possibility, we will makean effort to tour South Africa. Butat no point have we made anycommitment to Cricket SouthAfrica about touring in August,”Dhumal said.

The senior BCCI office-bear-er then said that unless theGovernment clears internationaltravel, BCCI won’t be in a positionto make a commitment to anycountry.

“Right now, we can’t evencommit that we can tour Sri Lankain July followed by (short T20series) in Zimbabwe. Both thesetours are part of the FTP pro-gramme and we are still not surewhat the situation will be in twomonths, so how can we commit onSouth Africa tour?” Dhumal asked.

On a different note, whenasked about CSA Director ofCricket Graeme Smith’s supprt toSourav Ganguly’s candidature forthe ICC chairmanship, Dhumalsaid it would be good for globalcricket if an Indian is at the helm.

“There has been no formaldiscussion in BCCI about ICCchairmanship. Graeme Smith obvi-ously spoke in his personal capac-ity which is not CSA’s stand,” hesaid.

CSA President Chris Nenzanirefused to endorse Smith’s supportfor Ganguly in a statement issuedon Friday.

“As far as the BCCI is con-cerned we would certainly like anIndian to lead the global body andour President has credentials obvi-ously. But again we haven’t yet dis-cussed it,” Dhumal said.

However, a BCCI veteran whohas interacted with Nenzani, saidthat the cash-strapped Proteasshould only get a commitment ifit backs the BCCI view on ICCpolicies.

“We will definitely play SA

series but there should be riders.Is CSA with India on ICC policymatters? With Chris (Nenzani),you would want a full commitmenton paper and then proceed.

“It’s CSA which is desperate fora three-match T20. So they have todecide how they want to play it atthe ICC,” the veteran official said.

While the support to have anIPL in October-November win-dow instead of the T20 World Cupis growing, Dhumal said BCCIwon’t push for a postponement ofthe global event but at the sametime, it needs to be seen that inthese times, whether an event ofthat magnitude can be held inAustralia.

“T20 World Cup is a globalevent. Why should we push forpostponement of global event? Yes,what we need to check is that an

event of such magnitude with somany teams and all the health safe-ty norms, empty stadiums, can itbe held?

“These are calls that ICC andCricket Australia wil have to take,”Dhumal said.

Dharamsala ooption ffor ccampWith the civil aviation min-

istry announcing that domesticflights will be starting from May25, Dhumal said the Board couldexplore safe zone options for anational camp in case it can’t beheld at the National CricketAcademy in Bengaluru.

Will it make Dharamsala anoption considering that HPCAnow has a state of the art indoorstadium?

“Since it’s my state association,I would never, from my end, push

it but if after exploring options,BCCI finds that Dharamsala canhave a camp, I am more than readyto make all the arrangements.Even the hotel where the Indianteam stays Pavilion is HPCA prop-erty,” he said.

“In case, the situation inHimachal is under control and it’s

considered to be a safe zone as perGovernment protocols, the HPCAwill then do everything to make ita bio-secure environment. It alldepends on what is best availableoption,” he added.

HP has more than 100 casesand has recorded 4 Covid-19deaths so far.

PTI n MELBOURNE

There is a 9 out of 10 chance that India will makethe trip Down Under for a four-Test series later

this year, Cricket Australia chief executive KevinRoberts said trying to downplay the uncertaintytriggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I guess there’s no such thing as certainty intoday’s world so I can’t say 10 (out of 10), but I’mgoing to say nine out of 10,” Roberts told NewsCorp.

“With the variable being, who would knowwhether we can have crowds … I’d be really sur-prised if we can’t get the Indian tour away.

“But I wouldn’t, hand on heart suggest we’llhave full crowds from the start. We’ll just have tosee how that goes,” the under-pressure chief exec-utive said.

However, when it comes to away tours,Roberts wants a bio-secure environment whichmight prompt Cricket Australia to explore optionsof sending a team for a white ball series in England.

But before that, the CA would wait and watchhow the Pakistan and the West Indies tours ofEngland pan out in terms of health safety mea-sures.

“I think there’s some chance we could send ateam over,” Roberts said.

“Obviously we won’t jeopardise the safety ofthe players, but the best test of that is that the WestIndian and Pakistan tours of England before we’redue to tour. We hope they go off without a hitch,”Roberts said.

While the India tour is a lucrative one, it isunlikely that Australia would host Afghanistan fora one-off Test, which is not a part of the WorldTest Championship schedule.

KARACHI: Pakistan is keen to tourEngland this summer but the cricketboard does not plan to use the seriesas “leverage” to cut a deal for a recip-rocal tour in 2022, PCB chief execu-tive Wasim Khan said.

The England and Wales CricketBoard (ECB), which is estimated to loseas much as £380 million if the entireseason is wiped out due, hopes toresume cricket by rescheduling theseries postponed due to the coron-avirus outbreak, including the homeseries against Pakistan.

It seems to be an opportunemoment for the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) to cut a deal for a returntour with England, who like severalcountries hasn’t toured Pakistan citingsecurity concerns.

“There is a lot of cricket to beplayed between now and 2022, I’ve hadthat question raised a few times; hasthere been a deal cut? Is somethinggoing to happen?” Khan said on SkySports — Cricket Show.

“But the simple fact is and it’s agenuine answer we need to get crick-et back on again and now is probably

not the time to try and leverage any-thing. Naturally things will take theircourse over the next two years,” headded.

Khan said Pakistan will haveample opportunities to prove teams likeEngland and Australia that it is safe totravel to, adding that right now thefocus is on trying to resume cricket,which has come to a halt due to thepandemic.

“We’ve got a lot of home seriesbetween now and then, which hope-fully will all go successfully, and we’llgive more confidence to the likes ofAustralia and England, who are due totour in 2022.

“But this is about getting cricketback on again. The cricketers want toplay and I think it’s important for theglobal game as well that we start tobring a level of normalcy to playingcricket again — whatever that may looklike — over the next six to 12 months,”he added.

Pakistan are scheduled to playthree Tests against England in Augustfollowed by thee T20s with the gamesto be played closed doors.

“We need a 14-day quarantineperiod when we get to England andenough time to practice for the guysso they can be ready,” Khan said.

“That’s a bit of a challenge, so we’relooking at an extended squad. We’relooking at bringing around 25 players— more than normal. We are planningto get them together to train for thetour. We’re probably about a week awayfrom that ,” he added. PTI

NEW DELHI: The Olympic-qual-ifying India Open badmintontournament, which was post-poned due to the Covid-19pandemic, will now be held herefrom December 8 to 13 after theBWF unveiled a revised calen-dar to salvage the disruption-hitseason.

The World Tour Super 500tournament, originally sched-uled to be held in New Delhifrom March 24-29, will now takeplace from December 8 to 13,the BWF said in a release.

The all-important event willbe preceded by the HyderabadOpen (August 11 to 16) and theSyed Modi International(November 17 to 22).

The BWF announcementcomes a day after India’s singlesplayers were allowed access toindoor courts with badmintonin the list of 11 sports whichhave been permitted to resumetraining.

As many as eight tourna-ments were rescheduled fromtheir original dates, includingimportant events such as NewZealand Open Super 300 (Oct

20-25), Indonesia Open Super1000 (Nov 17-22), MalaysiaOpen Super 750 (Nov 24-29),Thailand Open Super 500 (Dec1-6) and season-ending WorldTour Finals (Dec 16-20) inGuangzhou, China.

Four tournaments —German Open (March 3-8),Swiss Open (March 17-22),European Championships (April21-26) and Australian Open(June 2-7) remained suspendedwith BWF saying that “suitablereplacement dates are still beingfinalised.”

As many as 10 tourna-ments, including SingaporeOpen Super 500 (April 7-12),Badminton Asia C’ships (April21-26) — which fell within theApril 28 Olympic qualificationdeadline — were cancelled.

According to the revised cal-ender, the HSBC BWF WorldTour will return with the TaipeiOpen Super 300 fromSeptember 1-6, while theThomas and Uber Cup Finals inAarhus, Denmark will take placeon the rescheduled dates ofOctober 3-11. PTI

AFP n BIRMINGHAM

England paceman Chris Woakes isglad to be suffering the “normal-

ity” of familiar aches and pains fol-lowing his first bowling net prac-tice since the coronavirus lock-down.

Warwickshire’s Woakes wasback at his Edgbaston homeground in Birmingham onThursday for an hour-long stintafter being chosen for an individ-ual session.

The players are seeking tobuild up their fitness ahead of athree-Test series at home againstthe West Indies, which looks set tobe rescheduled for July behindclosed doors.

“It’s what we know, it’s what wedo,” Woakes told a conference callon Friday. “Obviously it’s the job, soit was nice to have some form ofnormality going back to sometraining.”

England have selected 18 bowlersto take part in individual training ses-sions across seven grounds, with justa physiotherapist in attendance.

Under strict health mea-sures they are not allowed touse changing rooms and mustwork with a set of balls theyalone can pick up.

“It looks a lot different towhat we’re used to,” said the 31-year-old Woakes, an allrounderand veteran of 33 Tests.

“But at the same time, withwhat’s everyone’s been through,it was quite nice to be out thereand do a bit of training and getthe ball back in hand,” the

World Cup-winner added.“Obviously not having

bowled for two months, there’sa few things that are sore. Thesides definitely woke up thismorning knowing I’d had abowl yesterday but it was niceto be back out there.”

AFP nMÖNCHENGLADBACH

Nearly 13,000 cardboardcut-outs of Borussia

Moenchengladbach support-ers are set to welcome theteam for Saturday’sBundesliga match againstBayer Leverkusen behindclosed doors.

Gladbach hosted the firstBundesliga game ever playedwithout fans on March 11,shortly before the Germanseason was put on holdbecause of the coronavirusoutbreak.

One of the club’s support-ers’ groups, FanprojektMoenchengladbach, subse-

quently came up with the ideaof allowing fans to print life-sized images of themselves tobe placed inside the ground.

The cut-outs line the sta-dium’s otherwise emptystands, with season ticket

holders able to have theircardboard lookalike allocat-ed to their regular spot.

“We’re arranging closeto 13,000 cut-outs, but almost20,000 have been orderedalready,” Thomas Ludwig,

head of the supporters' group,told SID.

“It’s a nice operation,which creates an atmospherein the stadium,” saidGladbach sporting directorMax Eberl. “Even if at thesame time it’s a reminder thatfootball without supporters isnot the same.”

“It’s fantastic. We reallyhave the impression that we’renot alone when we’re trainingin the stadium,” addedGladbach coach Marco Rose.

Gladbach are third inthe table and six pointsbehind leaders BayernMunich. They won 3-1 atEintracht Frankfurt last week.

AFP n BERLIN

Borussia Dortmund willagain be without Belgium

midfielder Axel Witsel whenthey travel to Wolfsburg onSaturday on the Bundesliga’ssecond week of action since itrestarted, coach Lucien Favresaid.

Witsel has not recoveredfrom muscular problems he

suffered trying to regain fitnessbefore last weekend’s resump-tion of matches.

But former Liverpool mid-fielder Emre Can is fit again andavailable for selection asDortmund aim to keep theirpursuit of leaders BayernMunich on track with a victo-ry.

Favre also said he was stillhopeful German internationalMarco Reus, who injured groinmuscles in February beforematches were suspendedbecause of the coronavirus pan-demic, could return to actionbefore the end of the season.

“He still hasn’t trained withthe team. We hope he’ll be ableto return as quickly as possibleand help us,” Favre said.Dortmund trail Bayern by fourpoints but face the reigningchampions at home on Tuesday

in a match that could prove cru-cial in deciding the outcome ofthe title race.

AFP n MILAN

Milan’s San Siro stadium iscloser to being demol-

ished after Italy’s heritageauthority found that the iconicstadium cannot be protected forcultural or historic reasons.

“The property namedGiuseppe Meazza Stadium (SanSiro) has no cultural interest andas such is excluded from theprotection provisions,” theLombardy region of Italy’s cul-tural heritage ministry wrote in

a report.AC Milan and Inter Milan,

who share the stadium to thewest of the city, have launchedtheir bid to knock down the SanSiro and build a new 60,000-capacity home on the samesite.

City authorities have beendivided over the project andrequested the opinion of Italy’sheritage authorities.

The report found that as theSan Siro has undergone contin-uous transformation since being

built in 1926, with only a smallpart of the original stadiumremaining, it would not be sub-ject to protection.

Although approval fromItaly’s heritage body is not thefinal decision, it could be animportant step towards bothteams’ hope of redevelopingthe site.

The clubs want to build anew ground adjacent to the cur-rent San Siro, while the old sta-dium would make way for anarea “dedicated to sports, enter-tainment, and shopping”.

Milan Mayor Guiseppe Salainsists he wants to renovate theexisting stadium so that it couldcelebrate its centenary in 2026by hosting the opening ceremo-ny of the Winter Olympics thatyear.

Both clubs are formerEuropean giants with AC Milanhaving won the ChampionsLeague seven times while Interwere the last Italian team to winthe European title, when theylifted the trophy for the thirdtime in 2010.

Neither have won the SerieA title since AC Milan tri-umphed in 2011.

LAHORE: Former Pakistan speedster ShoaibAkhtar and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif havetorn into Babar Azam saying that if hewants to lead like Imran Khan, then heshould also develop his personality to matchthe current Prime Minister of the country.

“Babar Azam wants to be a captain likeImran Khan but this does not mean thatit will only be related to playing cricket. Heneeds to take a leaf out of PM Imran’s bookwith regards to personality as well,” Akhtarsaid in a YouTube show WAJI’s Sports.

“Please don’t speak about things whichwe already know from the past 10 years. Wewon’t buy this argument. Babar has tosharpen up his communication skills, hispersonality, ability to lead from the front,fitness level etc. I think he has a lot to prove.”

Echoing the sentiments, Latif said:“When captain is sitting in a press confer-ence, he gives insight about his vision butthis was clearly lacking. Our captain is giv-ing headlines about the language barrierand things we already know.

“Babar should have made a strongstatement rather than just following thescript given to him. You have already show-cased that your mental attitude andapproach is not up to the mark.”

The whole debate over the languagestarted when former pacer Tanvir Ahmedsaid that Babar will have to improve hispersonality, his dressing sense and hisEnglish. IANS

BARCELONA: Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal wantsto stay at Camp Nou despite transfer rumours linkinghim away from Spain.

The Chilean also stated that he is looking to end theseason with couple of trophies in the bag.

“I am very happy and comfortable in Barcelona andof course I want to stay here. I am also feeling in bet-ter shape than ever. This is a good group and I have gotgreat friends in the dressing room,” Vidal told MarioVelasco during an Instagram Live session.

“Physically I feel better than ever. I have never hadso much time to prepare myself. We have a special (train-

ing) plan that helps me lengthen mycareer for as long as possible.

“I am ready for what’s to comeboth in the Champions Leagueand in LaLiga. We are top of the

league and we have a greatchance of going through in

the Champions League,” headded.

“There are two monthsof football left to be playedand in that time we have to

give everything.” IANS

PCB won’t use Eng tour as leverage for a return trip

India most likelytravel to Aus: CA

BCCI made no commitment on SA tour: DhumalPlayers not allowed loo breaksduring training: ICC guidelinesPTI n DUBAI

There will neither be loo breaksduring training nor the play-

ers will be allowed to hand overtheir caps or sunglasses to the on-field umpires as internationalcricketers will be required to letgo of some of their intrinsichabits when play resumes in thepost-Covid-19 world.

In its “back to cricket” guide-lines issued for resumption of thegame, ICC has effectively barredplayers from handing over theirpersonal equipments (cap, towel,sunglasses, jumpers) to theumpire or his teammates as partof maintaining social distance.

“Players and umpires shouldmaintain social distancing onthe cricket field and that includesno handing over of player items(cap, towels, sunglasses, jumpers)to the umpire or teammates,” readthe ICC playing guidelines.

However there was no clari-ty on who will keep the players’items?

“Consider adopting a processthat will assist the bowler in man-aging his/her items. Umpiresmay also be encouraged to usegloves when handling the ball,”

says the governing body.The players are unlikely to

keep their cap or sunglasses in thefield of play as it would attractpenalty runs just like in the caseof a helmet. The ICC also wantsthem to minimise their “timespent in the changing roombefore and after a match”.

The ICC Cricket Committeehas already recommended ban onusing the saliva on the ball andnow players have been advisednot to “touch eyes, nose, andmouth after making contact withthe ball” and sanitise their handsafter they come in contact withthe ball.

Life might get even tougherfor them when they are trainingfor the game with no loo andshower breaks encouraged.

“All participants should adopta ‘ready to train’ approach wherepossible i.E. Come to trainingprepared without the need to useany communal facilities such aschanging rooms or showeringfacilities,” read one of the train-ing guidelines.

“Personal equipment shouldbe sanitised before and after use(training and competition),” readanother one.

India Open from Dec 8-13

Woakes glad oftraining normality

Babar has a lotto prove: AkhtarSan Siro moves closer to demolition

Milan’s iconic San Siro stadium that is home venue to AC Milan and Inter in Serie A

Witsel missing but Can back for Dortmund

Emre Can trains during practice session

13K cut-outs to attend Gladbach game

Vidal wants Barca stay

s India is openingup slowly andsteadily with thephased easing oflockdown restric-tions, Superstar

Mahesh Babu on Fridayemphasised the need of tak-ing precautionary measuresto netizens while steppingout, especially with Covid-19threat still looming large.

“We are opening up.Slowly, but surely. In a timelike this, masks are mandato-ry. Make it a point to wear amask every time you stepout, that’s least we can do toprotect ourselves and others.It may seem odd, but it is theneed of the hour and wemust get used to it. One stepat a time! Let’s adapt to thenew normal and get life backon track. It’s cool to bemasked. I am. Are you?” theactor, who is chilling withfamily at his home inHyderabad, wrote onInstagram.

Mahesh has been at theforefront when itcomes to askinghis followers topractice socialdistancing andfear distanc-ing as wellfrom thepast manyweeks.

“Besidessocial dis-tancing andmaintaining

good hygiene, there is some-thing as important thatneeds our attention-#FearDistancing — Keepingourselves away from peopleand news that creates panicand fear. Fake news is a realissue! Stay away from mis-guided information,” he hadposted on Twitter a fewweeks ago.

On the work front, theactor’s next with Parasuramwill have a formal launch onhis dad Krishna’s birthday

this May31st.

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Vijayawada Saturday May 23 2020tollywood

Revisiting old cricket ties,binge-watching shows is

Vishnu's lockdown routineIn the past I couldn't watch many shows dueto my schedule as an actor but the lockdownhelped me to complete some of them, SreeVishnu tells NAGARAJ GOUD

enerally a socialrecluse, the lockdownhasn’t had mucheffect on Sree Vishnu,who hardly steppedout of his apartment

for almost two months. The onlyone time he had to venture outwas to distribute some essentialneeds to the disadvantaged. So,what did he do all this while?He tells us in a conversation, “Inthe past I couldn’t watch manyshows due to my schedule as anactor but the lockdown helpedme to complete some of them.I’m through with Money Heist(four seasons) and I’ve complet-ed Breaking Bad as well. I had tostop the latter midway sometimeback. I’ve just started Dark andI’m glued to it. You can’t catego-rize it into one particular genreas it metamorphosis from beinga thriller to a horror withoutyour notice. It’s pure rivetingstuff.”

A cricket player and anardent follower of the game, headmits to be “blown away” byThe Test-a docu-series whichnarrates Australia men’s cricketteam’s path to redemption last

year in England under the cap-taincy of Tim Paine after theinfamous ball-tampering scan-dal in March 2018- streamingon Amazon Prime. Plus, heexults, “You won’t believe that10 days ago I’ve even watchedsome ‘complete’ matches ofsome famous India versusPakistan world cup encounters,matches between Australia andSouth Africa and 2003 Ashes aswell.”

With people consuming a lotof content on OTT platformsdue to lockdown restrictions, hebelieves the industry will churnout better films in the comingdays. “The different and absorb-ing the content is the better isthe reception of the viewers-this is what I’ve noticed in thepast couple of months. The old-clichéd stuff will cease to existin Telugu cinema. I’ve evenwatched Iranian films like ASeparation and The Salesmanand I’m sure that if our audi-ences get used to drama, we willgo back to the golden period of’70s where dramas shone,” theactor, who will be next seen inRaja Raja Chora, concludes.

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Sam and Chay's funny banteraga Chaitanyaand Samantha,one of the mostloved celebritycouples, gracedthe roka ceremo-

ny of Rana Daggubati andMiheeka in Hyderabad onWednesday. While Chaykept it simple — donning acheckered shirt and trousers— Samantha chose to wear

an ethnic yellow colouredsalwar kameez for the gath-ering.

On Friday, Sam, aftersharing a group picture withthe family and wishing thesoon-to-be-wed couple,posted a single picture ofher husband on Instagramand wrote, “After sendingmommy, aunties, sister,friends, very straight male

friends it’s now Instagram’sturn .. ‘See eee my husbandlooks so handsome no ????(husband is somewhere dig-ging a large pit to jump intoright now) (sic).” Reactingto this, Chay wrote, “Okaynow .. this looks like one ofthose paid partnership posts(sic).” The fun banterthough was loved by theirfollowers.

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ilmmaker SudheerVarma has hired the ser-vices of senior writer GopiMohan to punch up thescript of his next, a remake

of 2017 South Korean action comedyfilm Midnight Runners. One of the topemergency rescue script doctors inTelugu cinema who is on the speed dialof many directors and producers, Gopihas done unaccredited fix-it work onmany films. While the untitled film’s dia-logues have been written by someone else,Gopi is providing the screenplay. “Sudheerhas decided to concentrate on the makingof his film this time around. Nonetheless,his inputs are still going into the creativeside of the film. The writing team is revertingto him,” said a source.

The remake, spearheaded by ReginaCassandra, Nivetha Thomas and NaveenChandra, was to roll early last month but thelockdown has put the brakes on Sudheer’splans. He is waiting for the industry to giveconsent to shootings. A joint venturebetween Suresh Productions, Guru Filmsand Kross Pictures, the film is anaction-comedy and will see the lead-ing ladies police academy cadets.

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Mahesh appealsto ‘MASK UP'

Pilates and abalanced nutritionalplan is Seerat'sfitness regimen

ctress SeeratKapoor, who will benext seen in Krishnaand his Leela,directed byKshanam fame

Ravikanth Perepu, knows howto achieve healthy weight losswithout losing the glow on herface.

Due to the COVID-19 lock-down, the actress is workingout at home and is makingsure to maintain her fitness.

“My fitness regime is anamalgamation of Pilates and abalanced nutritional plan. Ialso train with EMS (ElectroMuscle Stimulation) which is a20-minute workout sessiontwice a week. It is believed thatone 20-minute session of EMSis almost equivalent to 3 ses-sions of strength training,” shesays.

For her hourglass figure, shealso gave credit to her trainerSamir Purohit and nutritionistAnjali Peswani who have“stood by me through thickand thin, as my army”.

“Prior to the lockdown,Samir sent me a guidewith all the vital exercis-es, tailor made for mybody type due to which Ihave been able to main-tain the years of efforts,despite working outfrom home. I oscillatebetween his videos anddigital workout classeswith Namrata Purohit,”she said.

Apart from this, theactress, who has also fin-ished shooting for MaaVinthagadha Vinumaalongside SidduJonnalagadda, believesthat taking to housecleaning is a great sourceof functional training.

A DUE TO THE COVID-19LOCKDOWN, THEACTRESS ISWORKING OUT ATHOME AND ISMAKING SURE TOMAINTAIN HERFITNESS

esponding positively to therequests of industry veteranslike Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna,Allu Aravind and SureshBabu among others,

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao directed officialsto prepare guidelines so that the filmindustry can get back to its feet. The

noted cine personalities met KCR atPragathi Bhavan on Friday. With

livelihoods of thousandsdepending on the film indus-try’s functioning, the resump-tion of shootings and re-opening of cinema halls in aphased manner is ofimportance, KCR felt. Headvised the filmmakers tocommence pre-produc-tion works indoors tobegin with immediate-

ly, while simultaneously asking themto commence production works inJune. He informed the industry con-tingent that after only assessing theground situation, the government willconsider giving consent to lift the banon theatres. The industry should thriveand at the same time coronavirusshouldn’t spread, he told. He furtherappealed to the industry to work withlimited crew and practice social dis-tancing measures.

Ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav,Niranjan Reddy and principal secre-tary Somesh Kumar too attended themeeting.

Post the successful meeting, megas-tar Chiranjeevi tweeted, “I wholeheart-edly thank Hon’ble CM #KCR garu onbehalf of the Film, TV & Digital Mediaindustries for granting a patient hear-ing & his kind reassurance (sic).”

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‘Govt will consider to liftthe ban on theatres’

Gopi Mohan'stouch toSudheerVarma's next