english news paper | breaking news | latest today …...2020/04/21  · “the azadpur mandi has...

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T he phase of country’s ‘par- tial exit’ from coronavirus lockdown began on Monday as several States opened up some business activities with caution whereas Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Odisha, Karnataka, Haryana and others decided to continue with the existing restriction. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu joined Telangana and Punjab in not easing the lockdown restrictions till May 3. Telangana, Punjab and Delhi had on Sunday announced they would not give any relax- ations from the lockdown. In many industrial units in several parts of the country, workers are staying on the same premises on resumption of work as a measure of safety. Mostly in rural areas, sev- eral activities, including con- struction and repairing of roads, labour work under the MGNREGA, were restarted with strict enforcement of “social distancing” and provi- sion for labourers to stay back at the site. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the State Government has allowed some industrial activ- ity in the green and orange Covid-19 zones. He added that only those industries that can provide accommodation to their workers during the lock- down period will be given foodgrain supply and will be permitted for raw material from the State. He further said all districts will remain sealed and only essential services movement will be permitted. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said no leniency is to be given in areas that are categorised as coronavirus hotspots and con- tainment zones. “All District Magistrates should decide at the local- level after seeing the circum- stances to give exemption in certain activities during the lockdown, and then inform the State Government in this regard,” a statement released by the UP Government read. The Government has allowed opening up of specified undertakings, banks and other units in the 56 districts that have reported less than 10 coronavirus cases Karnataka has allowed the construction activities for workers with the rider that they will have to stay at the sites. The West Bengal Government has issued guide- lines for medical workers say- ing that those working in hos- pitals, especially Government hospitals, will not go home after they finish their respective duties as they will stay in their work headquarters. The circu- lar said that all necessary arrangements have already been made for providing suit- able boarding and lodging facilities to frontline medical personnel in the vicinity of their work places. Goa which did not report a single positive case also con- tinued with strict regulation of lockdown guidelines, allowing only those activities which have also been certified by the Centre. The Centre also formed six inter-ministerial teams to make assessment in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The two teams each will visit West Bengal and Maharashtra and one each will visit Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan’s most affected Covid-19 spots immediately. A peeved Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ques- tioning the appropriateness of unleashing a Central team on the State for inspecting the alleged “violation” and “dilu- tion” of lock-down guidelines without keeping the Bengal Government in the loop. The letter was written within an hour of the Chief Minister asking the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah on the twitter to explain the Centre’s alleged arbitrary con- duct defying all the federal norms. In the letter, Mamata has drawn attention of the Prime Minister to how the inter-ministerial Central team landed in Kolkata within min- utes of her Government being informed about its coming to the State, sources said, adding how the Chief Minister has reminded the Prime Minister that the Central move is against all established traditions. The Centre’s inter-minis- terial teams will visit Kolkata, Howrah, Medinipur East, 24 Parganas North, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. Already the Union Home Ministry has red- flagged gross lockdown norms violations in the Trinamool Congress-ruled State by open- ing up pan shops, flower shops and even allowing Islamic con- gregations and meat shops. A s many as 53 journalists, including television cam- eramen, reporters, print pho- tographers and web reporters, have been quarantined in a Mumbai hotel after they tested positive for coronavirus. Confirming the develop- ment, TV Journalists’ Association (TVJA) President Vinod Jagdale told The Pioneer that the swab samples of 167 journalists were taken at a camp held near the Mumbai Press Club on April 16 and 17 and the test reports came today. “Of the 167 journalists, 53 have tested positive. They have all been quarantined in a city hotel. All the infected journal- ists are asymptomatic. They will remain in quarantine for the next 14 days. They will undergo two more tests during the period,” Jagdale said. Having cognisance of the fact that two journalists from Thane had tested positive for coronavirus, Jagdale had writ- ten to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urging him to arrange Covid-19 tests for the electronic, web and print media journalists based in Mumbai. Following a request from the TVJA and Mantralaya & Legislature Reporters Association, the CM and Tourism Minister Uddhav Thackeray had directed the Brinhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to conduct the special screening camp for media persons. W ith Kerala exceeding the brief and allowing addi- tional relaxation from the lock- down regulations, the MHA on Monday said States can take stricter action but can’t dilute Centre’s lockdown guidelines. Reacting to Centre’s observa- tion, Kerala has decided to amend the ease rules. The Kerala Government on Monday decided not to allow plying of buses in cities, opening of restaurants an pil- lion riding on two-wheelers even as it asserted that there will not be any compromise on heath safety precautions. The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had with Chief Seretary Tom Jose this morning. Day 1 of the relaxations saw scores of people hitting the roads in their four wheeelers and two wheelers in various parts of the State, including coronavirus hotspots, and there was confusion galore over the easing of nroms. Speaking to reporters Vijayan said there was no con- flict between the Centre and the State over the easing of lockdown protocol and the State Government was dili- gently following the directions of the Union Government. “There was an argument that Kerala has diluted the lockdown protocol. But we had analysed the situation and decided on the lockdown restrictions. There will not be any compromise on health safety. We made certain changes on hotspots based on the situation in Kerala and sought permission from the centre for the same. There will be no public transport. Dine- in facilitywill not be allowed in hotels and restaurants and only parcels services (takeaway) will function,” he said. A s Covid cases cross 2,000- mark in Delhi on Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the city Government won’t relax lock- down as yet, but will allow Azadpur wholesale market to operate round-the-clock. The total number of con- tainment zones in the nation- al Capital increased to 84, up from the 79 notified last evening. Delhi Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai said the Azadpur Mandi in Delhi will remain open for 24 hours from Tuesday. The decision has been taken in the view of ensuring that the social dis- tancing norms are being prac- ticed and to provide relief to the fruit and vegetable traders, he said. Fruits and vegetables will be sold from 6 am till 10 pm, while the truck movement will be permitted from 10 pm to 6 am in and out of the mar- ket. Entry of 1,000 people will be allowed every 4 hours, said officials. “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm- ers across the country. There was a decline in the volume of fruits and vegetables flowing through the market. The arrivals in the market nearly dropped by 50 per cent post- lockdown,” said Rai. A day after the country saw massive spike in cases, the Government said despite rise in the number, the rate of dou- bling has slowed down to 7.4 per cent. The Union Healthy Ministry, however, said the Covid-19 situation was “espe- cially serious” in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur and Kolkata. The Ministry did not men- tion it, but numbers of cases have also soared in Ahmedabad touching 1,252, far higher than Pune (591 cases), Jaipur (578) and Indore (841). The total number of con- firmed cases of novel coron- avirus in India is 17,656, with 559 deaths so far, according to data made available by the Ministry. However, figures col- lected from the States showed 18,450 cases and 586 deaths. Of these 14,810 are active cases of Covid-19, 3,020 per- sons have recovered and dis- charged from hospital, one person migrated to another country and 577 people suc- cumbed to the disease. “The doubling rate of Covid-19 cases calculated using growth over the past seven days indicates that Indiavs doubling rate for the week before lock- down was 3.4 per cent and has improved to 7.5 as on April 19 for the last seven days,” said Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal at a routine presser here. A s the world grapples with Covid-19, numerous cases have come up in South Korea, Japan and India where the patients were infected again after being cured. Scientists are now investigating whether they were re-infected or had a relapse — and so far suspect the latter. Recently two patients after recovering from the disease reported the infection again and had to be admitted in Noida hospital while another case of relapse was reported from Kerala.The Kerala patient died later at hospital. Experts said that if a sec- tion of the patients who are already exposed to the virus continued to be at the risk of getting infected again, it may put extra burden on the already overwhelmed public health system in India. “The reason behind it is that there are studies which have found the virus may repli- cate only within some of the surface cells of the respiratory tract and it may not be severe enough to actually allow the body to develop an immune reaction to it,” Professor John Nicholls of Department of Pathology from Hong Kong University said in a report. Exposure to foreign ele- ments like virus triggers a defence mechanism to fight the disease-causing pathogen. The anti-bodies thus generated remain active in our bodies as they continue to provide a protective shield even after the infection has subsided, thus reducing chances of re- infection. But mild clinical reactions in patients may not induce strong antibody reaction to stop a second bout of disease on being exposed to the virus. O disha reported as many as 13 Covid-19 cases in a sin- gle day on Monday. With this, the total number of corona pos- itive cases in the State jumped to 74. Among the 13 new cases, five are from Jajpur district, five from Bhadrak; two from Baleswar and one from Sundargarh district. Detection of the new cases in Bhadrak took the total in the district to eight. Among the new cases are a 48-year-old man, a 55-year-old man, a 57- year-old man, a 58-year-old man and a 66-year-old man. The district administration sealed five GPs and began con- tact tracing of the positive people. Jajpur Collector Ranjan Kumar Das said the five peo- ple found positive in the district had come in contact with a per- son of Bhadrak district during his return from Kolkata on March 29. All of them are labourers. The district admin- istration sealed three gram panchayats following the detec- tions. With the fresh cases, the total number of infected per- sons rose to seven in the dis- trict. The Health and Family Welfare Department stated that the two found positive in Baleswar district include a two- year-old girl. “The girl is a res- ident of Nilagiri block under the Berhampur police station and her sample was collected on April 16 and the report was received on April 20. Family members of the patient were sent to a quarantine centre,” the department said. Besides, a 32-year-old man tested positive in the district. With the detection of the new cases, the total COVID cases rose to three in the district. The new patient of Sundargarh, who is a resident of the Bisra area, had come in contact with a person of the district who had earlier neen tested positive, sources said. As on Monday, the number of active cases in the State stood at 49. While 24 patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals, one has died. Regarding the testing of sam- ples, 10,641 were examined till Sunday. A total of 10,573 samples have tested negative. But a matter of concern for the State Government is that out of the 74 positive cases so far, 24 are either returnees from West Bengal or have come in contact with persons who returned from the neigh- bouring State in recent past, said State Government COVID-19 Chief Spokesperson Subroto Bagchi. The 10 persons found pos- itive in Bhadrak and Jajpur dis- tricts on the day have a travel history to West Bengal. He further said a one-third of the positive cases have returned from West Bengal. These people would have to spend 14-day quarantine mandatorily at the panchayat level. The district administra- tions have been asked to make ground verification and take action accordingly, Bagchi added. D espite as many as 13 Covid-19 positive cases reported in Odisha on Monday, the State seems in a better posi- tion than national average in terms of doubling rate of the virus. Union Health Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal on Monday hailed two States, Odisha and Kerala, where the spread of COVID-19 has slowed down and the dou- bling rate of infections stands at more than 30 days. While India’s doubling rate before lockdown was 3.4 days, now it has improved to 7.5 days, he said, adding that the rate in 18 States is better than the national average as per the data on April 19. Referring to Odisha and Kerala, Agarwal said, “We have been noticing improvement in performance in these two States in the fight against COVID-19.” I n a twist to the incident of Badachana police station IIC Deepak Kumar Jena forcefully entering into the Jagannath Temple here on Sunday amid the lockdown, it came to light on Monday that Jena had allegedly used a stolen vehicle seized by police earlier for his visit to Puri. The IIC took the SUV after placing a red beacon on it, alleged the vehicle’s owner Sushant Dalei. On Sunday, Dalei had lodged a complaint before the Jajpur SP and Collector that he was yet to get back his vehicle even after a month of its loot. Dalei said unidentified miscreants had looted his vehicle f r o m Chandikhol on March 20, fol- lowing which he registered a case at the Badachana PS next day. “The IIC had assured to hand over the vehicle to me after seizing it from the looters. But I am yet to get it back even though a month has passed. Hence, I approached the SP and the Collector yesterday,” Dalei said. Meanwhile, Central Range DIG Ashish Singh said the IIC had not informed the district SP about his visit to Puri. Earlier on Monday, the DGP placed Jena under sus- pension for his misconduct of barging into the Jagannath Temple along with his family through the shrine’s south gate in the evening though he was opposed by a Havildar on duty at the temple. A case has been registered against Jena at the Singhadwar police station and further investigation is under- way.

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Page 1: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

����� ��������

The phase of country’s ‘par-tial exit’ from coronavirus

lockdown began on Monday asseveral States opened up somebusiness activities with cautionwhereas Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Delhi, Odisha,Karnataka, Haryana and othersdecided to continue with theexisting restriction.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadujoined Telangana and Punjab innot easing the lockdownrestrictions till May 3.Telangana, Punjab and Delhihad on Sunday announcedthey would not give any relax-ations from the lockdown.

In many industrial units inseveral parts of the country,workers are staying on thesame premises on resumptionof work as a measure of safety.

Mostly in rural areas, sev-eral activities, including con-struction and repairing ofroads, labour work under theMGNREGA, were restartedwith strict enforcement of“social distancing” and provi-sion for labourers to stay backat the site.

Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraysaid the State Government hasallowed some industrial activ-ity in the green and orangeCovid-19 zones. He added thatonly those industries that canprovide accommodation totheir workers during the lock-down period will be givenfoodgrain supply and will bepermitted for raw materialfrom the State. He further saidall districts will remain sealedand only essential servicesmovement will be permitted.

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath hassaid no leniency is to be givenin areas that are categorised ascoronavirus hotspots and con-tainment zones.

“All District Magistratesshould decide at the local-level after seeing the circum-stances to give exemption incertain activities during thelockdown, and then inform theState Government in thisregard,” a statement released bythe UP Government read.

The Government hasallowed opening up of specifiedundertakings, banks and otherunits in the 56 districts thathave reported less than 10coronavirus cases

Karnataka has allowed theconstruction activities forworkers with the rider that theywill have to stay at the sites.

The West BengalGovernment has issued guide-lines for medical workers say-ing that those working in hos-pitals, especially Government

hospitals, will not go homeafter they finish their respectiveduties as they will stay in their

work headquarters. The circu-lar said that all necessaryarrangements have alreadybeen made for providing suit-able boarding and lodgingfacilities to frontline medicalpersonnel in the vicinity oftheir work places.

Goa which did not reporta single positive case also con-tinued with strict regulation oflockdown guidelines, allowingonly those activities whichhave also been certified by theCentre.

The Centre also formed sixinter-ministerial teams to makeassessment in West Bengal,Maharashtra, Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan. The two teamseach will visit West Bengaland Maharashtra and one eachwill visit Madhya Pradesh and

Rajasthan’s most affectedCovid-19 spots immediately.

A peeved Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Mondayshot off a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ques-tioning the appropriateness ofunleashing a Central team onthe State for inspecting thealleged “violation” and “dilu-tion” of lock-down guidelineswithout keeping the BengalGovernment in the loop. Theletter was written within anhour of the Chief Ministerasking the Prime Minister andHome Minister Amit Shah onthe twitter to explain theCentre’s alleged arbitrary con-duct defying all the federalnorms. In the letter, Mamatahas drawn attention of thePrime Minister to how the

inter-ministerial Central teamlanded in Kolkata within min-utes of her Government beinginformed about its coming tothe State, sources said, addinghow the Chief Minister hasreminded the Prime Ministerthat the Central move is againstall established traditions.

The Centre’s inter-minis-terial teams will visit Kolkata,Howrah, Medinipur East, 24Parganas North, Darjeeling,Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri inWest Bengal. Already theUnion Home Ministry has red-flagged gross lockdown normsviolations in the TrinamoolCongress-ruled State by open-ing up pan shops, flower shopsand even allowing Islamic con-gregations and meat shops.

������������ ��

As many as 53 journalists,including television cam-

eramen, reporters, print pho-tographers and web reporters,have been quarantined in aMumbai hotel after they testedpositive for coronavirus.

Confirming the develop-ment, TV Journalists’Association (TVJA) PresidentVinod Jagdale told The Pioneerthat the swab samples of 167journalists were taken at acamp held near the MumbaiPress Club on April 16 and 17and the test reports came today.

“Of the 167 journalists, 53have tested positive. They haveall been quarantined in a cityhotel. All the infected journal-ists are asymptomatic. They

will remain in quarantine forthe next 14 days. They willundergo two more tests duringthe period,” Jagdale said.

Having cognisance of thefact that two journalists fromThane had tested positive forcoronavirus, Jagdale had writ-ten to Chief Minister UddhavThackeray urging him toarrange Covid-19 tests for theelectronic, web and print mediajournalists based in Mumbai.

Following a request fromthe TVJA and Mantralaya &Legislature ReportersAssociation, the CM andTourism Minister UddhavThackeray had directed theBrinhanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) to conductthe special screening camp formedia persons.

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With Kerala exceeding thebrief and allowing addi-

tional relaxation from the lock-down regulations, the MHA onMonday said States can takestricter action but can’t diluteCentre’s lockdown guidelines.Reacting to Centre’s observa-tion, Kerala has decided toamend the ease rules.

The Kerala Governmenton Monday decided not toallow plying of buses in cities,opening of restaurants an pil-lion riding on two-wheelers

even as it asserted that therewill not be any compromise onheath safety precautions.

The decision in this regardwas taken at a meeting Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hadwith Chief Seretary Tom Josethis morning.

Day 1 of the relaxationssaw scores of people hitting theroads in their four wheeelersand two wheelers in variousparts of the State, includingcoronavirus hotspots, and therewas confusion galore over theeasing of nroms.

Speaking to reportersVijayan said there was no con-flict between the Centre andthe State over the easing oflockdown protocol and theState Government was dili-gently following the directions

of the Union Government.“There was an argument

that Kerala has diluted thelockdown protocol. But wehad analysed the situation anddecided on the lockdownrestrictions. There will not beany compromise on healthsafety. We made certainchanges on hotspots based onthe situation in Kerala andsought permission from thecentre for the same. There willbe no public transport. Dine-in facilitywill not be allowed inhotels and restaurants and onlyparcels services (takeaway) willfunction,” he said.

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As Covid cases cross 2,000-mark in Delhi on Monday,

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said the cityGovernment won’t relax lock-down as yet, but will allowAzadpur wholesale market tooperate round-the-clock.

The total number of con-tainment zones in the nation-al Capital increased to 84, upfrom the 79 notified lastevening.

Delhi Cabinet MinisterGopal Rai said the AzadpurMandi in Delhi will remainopen for 24 hours fromTuesday. The decision hasbeen taken in the view ofensuring that the social dis-

tancing norms are being prac-ticed and to provide relief tothe fruit and vegetable traders,he said.

Fruits and vegetables willbe sold from 6 am till 10 pm,while the truck movementwill be permitted from 10 pmto 6 am in and out of the mar-ket. Entry of 1,000 people willbe allowed every 4 hours, saidofficials.

“The Azadpur Mandi hasbeen catering to the people andprocuring produce from farm-ers across the country. Therewas a decline in the volume offruits and vegetables flowingthrough the market. Thearrivals in the market nearlydropped by 50 per cent post-lockdown,” said Rai.

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Aday after the country sawmassive spike in cases, the

Government said despite rise inthe number, the rate of dou-bling has slowed down to 7.4per cent. The Union HealthyMinistry, however, said theCovid-19 situation was “espe-cially serious” in Mumbai,Pune, Indore, Jaipur andKolkata.

The Ministry did not men-tion it, but numbers of caseshave also soared inAhmedabad touching 1,252, farhigher than Pune (591 cases),Jaipur (578) and Indore (841).

The total number of con-firmed cases of novel coron-avirus in India is 17,656, with559 deaths so far, according todata made available by theMinistry. However, figures col-lected from the States showed18,450 cases and 586 deaths.

Of these 14,810 are active

cases of Covid-19, 3,020 per-sons have recovered and dis-charged from hospital, oneperson migrated to anothercountry and 577 people suc-cumbed to the disease.

“The doubling rate ofCovid-19 cases calculated using

growth over the past seven daysindicates that Indiavs doublingrate for the week before lock-down was 3.4 per cent and hasimproved to 7.5 as on April 19for the last seven days,” saidJoint Secretary Lav Agarwal ata routine presser here.

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As the world grapples withCovid-19, numerous cases

have come up in South Korea,Japan and India where thepatients were infected againafter being cured. Scientists arenow investigating whether theywere re-infected or had arelapse — and so far suspectthe latter.

Recently two patients afterrecovering from the diseasereported the infection againand had to be admitted inNoida hospital while anothercase of relapse was reportedfrom Kerala.The Kerala patientdied later at hospital.

Experts said that if a sec-tion of the patients who arealready exposed to the virus

continued to be at the risk ofgetting infected again, it mayput extra burden on the alreadyoverwhelmed public healthsystem in India.

“The reason behind it isthat there are studies whichhave found the virus may repli-cate only within some of thesurface cells of the respiratorytract and it may not be severe

enough to actually allow thebody to develop an immunereaction to it,” Professor JohnNicholls of Department ofPathology from Hong KongUniversity said in a report.

Exposure to foreign ele-ments like virus triggers adefence mechanism to fight thedisease-causing pathogen. Theanti-bodies thus generatedremain active in our bodies asthey continue to provide aprotective shield even afterthe infection has subsided,thus reducing chances of re-infection.

But mild clinical reactionsin patients may not inducestrong antibody reaction tostop a second bout of diseaseon being exposed to the virus.

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Odisha reported as many as13 Covid-19 cases in a sin-

gle day on Monday. With this,the total number of corona pos-itive cases in the State jumpedto 74.

Among the 13 new cases,five are from Jajpur district, fivefrom Bhadrak; two fromBaleswar and one fromSundargarh district.

Detection of the new cases

in Bhadrak took the total in thedistrict to eight. Among thenew cases are a 48-year-oldman, a 55-year-old man, a 57-year-old man, a 58-year-oldman and a 66-year-old man.The district administrationsealed five GPs and began con-tact tracing of the positivepeople.

Jajpur Collector RanjanKumar Das said the five peo-ple found positive in the districthad come in contact with a per-son of Bhadrak district duringhis return from Kolkata onMarch 29. All of them arelabourers. The district admin-istration sealed three grampanchayats following the detec-tions. With the fresh cases, thetotal number of infected per-sons rose to seven in the dis-trict.

The Health and FamilyWelfare Department stated thatthe two found positive inBaleswar district include a two-

year-old girl. “The girl is a res-ident of Nilagiri block underthe Berhampur police stationand her sample was collectedon April 16 and the report wasreceived on April 20. Familymembers of the patient weresent to a quarantine centre,” thedepartment said.

Besides, a 32-year-old mantested positive in the district.With the detection of the newcases, the total COVID casesrose to three in the district.

The new patient ofSundargarh, who is a residentof the Bisra area, had come incontact with a person of thedistrict who had earlier neentested positive, sources said.

As on Monday, the numberof active cases in the State stoodat 49. While 24 patients havebeen cured and dischargedfrom hospitals, one has died.Regarding the testing of sam-ples, 10,641 were examined

till Sunday. A total of 10,573samples have tested negative.

But a matter of concern forthe State Government is thatout of the 74 positive cases sofar, 24 are either returneesfrom West Bengal or havecome in contact with personswho returned from the neigh-bouring State in recent past,said State GovernmentCOVID-19 ChiefSpokesperson Subroto Bagchi.

The 10 persons found pos-itive in Bhadrak and Jajpur dis-tricts on the day have a travelhistory to West Bengal.

He further said a one-thirdof the positive cases havereturned from West Bengal.These people would have tospend 14-day quarantinemandatorily at the panchayatlevel. The district administra-tions have been asked to makeground verification and takeaction accordingly, Bagchiadded.

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Despite as many as 13Covid-19 positive cases

reported in Odisha on Monday,the State seems in a better posi-tion than national average interms of doubling rate of thevirus. Union Health JointSecretary Lav Agarwal onMonday hailed two States,Odisha and Kerala, where thespread of COVID-19 hasslowed down and the dou-bling rate of infections standsat more than 30 days.

While India’s doubling ratebefore lockdown was 3.4 days,now it has improved to 7.5days, he said, adding that therate in 18 States is better thanthe national average as per thedata on April 19.

Referring to Odisha andKerala, Agarwal said, “We havebeen noticing improvement inperformance in these two Statesin the fight against COVID-19.”

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In a twist to the incident ofBadachana police station IIC

Deepak Kumar Jena forcefullyentering into the JagannathTemple here on Sunday amidthe lockdown, it came to lighton Monday that Jena hadallegedly used a stolen vehicleseized by police earlier for hisvisit to Puri.

The IIC took the SUVafter placing a red beacon on it,alleged the vehicle’s ownerSushant Dalei. On Sunday,Dalei had lodged a complaintbefore the Jajpur SP andCollector that he was yet to get

back his vehicleeven after amonth of its loot.

Dalei saidu n i d e n t i f i e dmiscreants hadlooted his vehiclef r o mChandikhol onMarch 20, fol-lowing which heregistered a caseat the BadachanaPS next day.

“The IIChad assured tohand over the vehicle to meafter seizing it from the looters.But I am yet to get it back eventhough a month has passed.Hence, I approached the SPand the Collector yesterday,”Dalei said.

Meanwhile, Central RangeDIG Ashish Singh said the IIChad not informed the districtSP about his visit to Puri.

Earlier on Monday, the

DGP placed Jena under sus-pension for his misconduct ofbarging into the JagannathTemple along with his familythrough the shrine’s south gatein the evening though he wasopposed by a Havildar on dutyat the temple. A case has beenregistered against Jena at theSinghadwar police station andfurther investigation is under-way.

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The State Government onMonday directed all pub-

lic and private universities toresume functioning amid thecoronavirus lockdown.

However at the samet ime, the Governmentimposed several restrictionson the activities of universi-ties during the period. In aletter to the Vice-Chancellorsof universit ies , theGovernment mentioned thefollowing restrictions:

(1) Classes (theory or

practical) shall not be held inphysical mode. However,onl ine teaching/eLearning/Distance learningis permitted.

(2) Examinations (theoryor practical) shall not beconducted. However, the uni-versities must remain in fullpreparedness to conductexaminations whenever per-mitted by the Governmentwith short notice.

(3) No student shall beallowed to stay in hostel. Nostudent or public shall beallowed to enter the univer-sity office/department with-out valid permission of theconcerned authority. Urgentnecessities of students andpublic, if any (like issue ofcertificates, etc.), must betried to be met by electronicmeans. (‘Students’ includeResearch Scholars).

(4) Conferences, semi-nars, workshops, interviews,

field work/visits/trips, etc.,shal l not be held.Conferences, seminars, etc.,may, however, be held inonline mode if required.

(5) Evaluation of answersheets pertaining to exami-nations already conducted ispermitted. However, zonalvaluation is not permitted.PhD viva-voce examinationand PhD pre-submission pre-sentation in online mode isalso permitted.

(6) While all Group-A(teaching and nonteaching)employees, which includesall faculties, have to attend totheir official duties on a dailybasis, only one-third ofGroup B, Group C and GroupD employees shal l berequired to attend to theirofficial duties as will bedecided by the competentauthorities of the universitieswith or without rotationbasis. A copy of the university

office order to this effectshould be sent to local policeand civil administration witha request to allow movementof permitted employees toand from the university.Employees must carry a copyof this order of the HEDepartment, a copy of theuniversity office order and I-Card while commuting tothe university.

(7) If an employee, who isrequired to attend to duty,fails to do so due to any rea-son, he/she has to apply foradmissible leave to her/hisleave sanctioning authority.

(8) During functioning ofthe universities, all COVID-19 prevention measures suchas social distancing, handwashing, sanitisation, com-pulsory use of mask, routinedisinfection, suspension ofbiometric attendance system,etc., must be followed scrupu-lously.

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The Entrepreneurs andFinancia l Customers

Association of India (EFCAI)has urged Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanto provide exclusive reliefpackages to MSMEs so thatthey can make up losses suf-fered by them due to theCOVID-19 lockdown.

In a letter, EFCAI work-ing president Harendra NMahapatra mentioned thatmost of the problems of theMSMEs are finance relatedand the banks are averse tofunding MEMEs. By funding

the SIDBI or other banks, itwill never help the MSMEsunless an innovative systemof directly infusion of fundsto their accounts is intro-duced as a one-time measureto make good COVID-19losses.

Mahapatra demandedthat the EMIs shifted to oneyear from March 1, 2020 toFebruary-end 2021. Theinterest on working capital orOD limit or on Term Loanswaived for six months. Torestart the operations, at least50 per cent of the existinglimits of all MSMEs regis-tered under the GST to beenhanced suo moto and cred-ited to their accounts auto-matically.

The relaxat ion forProvident Fund, ESIC, GSTand Income

Tax filing date and othercompliances ect should beshif ted by one year toFebruary-end 2021. The

CIBIL and other CICs shouldbe advised not to treat themoratorium period as defaultand the NPA norms shouldbe shifted to 180 days.

Mahapatra urgedSitharaman to provide thereliefs by April 30.

In another letter to theSmal l Industr iesDevelopment Bank of India(SIDBI) CMD, Mahapatraurged that the loan extendedby the SIDBI under SAFE(SIDBI Assistance toFaci l itate Emergencyresponse against coronavirus)up to Rs 2 crore may kindlybe extended to all MSMEmanufacturing units regis-tered under the GST. Thisloan should have no otherconditions attached and atleast 50% of the existing sanc-t ioned l imit must beenhanced and disbursedthrough their respectivebankers suo moto, urgedMahapatra.

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In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases, advisories have

been issued to medicine shopsand pharmacists in the State tokeep a record of phone num-ber and address of customers,who buy medicines for fever,cough and cold, symptomsakin to coronavirus.

The authorities suspectthat these people might betrying to suppress the symp-toms to skip the tests for thevirus.

The State Drugs Controller

has asked pharmacists to notethe address or at least telephonenumber of the persons buyingmedicines for flu like symp-toms.

“We have been collectingdata in order to ascertain theratio of population vulnerableto cold and fever. There is noreason to be worried about.The data may be used inextreme case in future,” said anofficial.

The official said chemistshops are sending the requireddata to the Drug Inspectors oftheir areas.

“We know fever, cold andcough are seasonal disease.The people should cooperateand open up,” she said addingurban local bodies help is alsobeing taken to make medicine

shops aware about coronavirus.Besides, the Drug

Controller administration hasalready restricted sale of med-icines like Hydroxychloroquineand Azithromycin. Thechemist outlets are directed notto sell such medicines withoutdoctor’s prescription.

The Government hasalready stopped supply of suchmedicines to outlets.

This is done to discouragepeople from using such medi-cines as they have side effectsand therefore should be con-sumed only on prescription ofdoctors.

The anti-malarial drugHydroxychloroquine is inmuch demand for manage-ment of COVID-19 cases.

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The economic conditions ofthe tribal community in

particular and the poor andmarginalised in general inOdisha are deteriorating day byday.

The minor forest produce(MFP) /non-timber forest pro-duce (NTFP) which largelysupport them economically areeither left unsold or go for dis-tress sale due to various restric-tions for the COVID-19 crisis.

This is the peak season forcollection and harvest ofMFP/NTFP. But the tribalscannot sell their forest producesdue to COVID 19 restrictions.As per a Union Tribal Ministrycommunication, Rs 4,621.17lakh is presently available withthe Odisha Government underthe Pradhan Mantri Ban DhanYojana (PMBDY) for procure-ment of MFP/NTFP. But pro-curement is affected due toCOVID-19.

Social activist and TeamLeader of the Foundation forEcological Security SwapnaSarangi has urged the StateGovernment to seriously comeforward to rescue the tribalcommunity at this juncture byassisting them in selling anddisposing of the non-timberminor forest produce under the

Minimum Support Price(MSP) , failing which it willlead to a crisis for economicdeprivation of tribals.

The tribals in Odishamostly are landless and pri-marily dependent on minorforest produces and its mar-keting for their livelihood.Almost 70 percent income offorest dwellers depends on col-

lection and sale ofMFP. But due tothe utter incom-petence of theconcerned imple-menting agen-cies includingTDCCOL, theCentral supportmeant for MSPcould not beutilised fully sincelong.

Lakhs of tribal peoplemigrated to the urban andindustrial areas, primarily towork in unorganized sectors.As COVID-19 destroyseconomies, in absence of job,home and food, these tribalmigrant workers are all set toreturn. However, due to expen-sive and also nonavailability oftesting facilities in remote

rural areas, these migrantworkers' health risk is more.Reverse migration, carryingthe COVID 19 disease, canhave devastating impact onindigenous communities,Sarangi cautioned.

While lakhs of tribalmigrant workers have beenstranded without home andfood in urban areas , there fam-ily members who are at theirhome in rural areas have lostthere traditional livelihood inthis harvest season of minorforest produces. This has led tofood crisis among the indige-nous communities.

Purusottam Singh Thakur,a journalist-activist told, "Nowmost of the Hats", which are lifeline of the poor people areclosed and the tribals could notsail there forest produces. The

middle man could not come tothe village to collct MFP. Assuch there is no cash flow andincreasing malnutrition amongtribal people. "

In this peck season of col-lecting MFP, the tribals couldnot sail there MFP due tolockdown. The StateGovernment has closed villagehaats to avoid crowding mak-ing the tribals unable to selltheir forest produce.

Restrictions of movement,lack of livelihood sources, andreturning of migrant workers,have aggravated the scrisis.

Keeping in mind the issue,Arjun Munda, in a a letter toCM Naveen Patnaik stressedon utilising the availableCentral fund to procure MFPat short notice.

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The Odisha StateCommission for

Protection of Child Rights(OSCPCR) should take nec-essary steps to ensure safety ofchildren of seasonal hostels ofNuapda and Balangir districts,which have been closed afterthe declaration of nationallockdown to fight COVID-19.

In a letter to the OSCPCR,activist Yudhisthir Panigrahihas pointed out that to ensurethe education of children ofmigrants workers left out athome, every year seasonalhostels are opened in migrantprone district. This year 62seasonal hostels were openedin Nuapada and Balangir dis-tricts and there were a total of

5,348 students (2848 ofBalangir district and 2,500 ofNuapada district ) this year.

After the closure of sea-sonal hostels, due to Covid19pandemic, these children wereeither kept in distant relative'shouses or in neighborhood.

The Juvenile Justice Act of2005 says it would be the dutyof the State to ensure safetyand security of children. Asthese children’s parents arelikely to return after June,their rights need to be pro-tected. Hence ,in view of theabove situation, Panigrahiurged the OSCPCR to takesteps ensure the rights of thesechildren are not violated in thelockdown period and there isno lapse in their safety andcare.

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The Indian Navy, through itsab-initio training establish-

ment at INS Chilka and underthe aegis of Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha), distributedfood packets to daily wagersand fishing community peoplein villages around Chilika lakeduring the ongoing COVID-19lockdown.

Navy personnel visited thenearby villages of Banpur andBarkul and fishing villages nearBalugaon and distributed about100 packets of rations.

In addition, a consolidatedration package was also hand-ed over by the Naval Team onbehalf of the Naval WivesWelfare Association, Chilka tothe Nehru Seva SanghOrphanage at Banpur.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Monday inau-

gurated five more COVID-19Hospitals in separate districtstaking the State’s total numberof these designated hospitals to27.

Patnaik dedicated the facil-ities located in Angul, Bargarh,Jagatsinghpur, Nabarangpurand Sundargarh districtsthough a videoconference inthe presence of UnionPetroleum & Natural GasMinister DharmendraPradhan, Union Minister of

Parliamentary Affairs, Coaland Mines Prahlad Joshi andState Health Minister NabaKishore Das.

The Union Ministersassured to extend all kinds ofsupport to the State in its bat-tle against the coronavirus,said Das. Besides, as per theState Government’s direction,doctors and health workersengaged in the COVID-19Hospitals would be providedwith PPEs (personal protectiveequipments), food, accommo-dation and transportation facil-ities. All districts would haveCOVID-19 Hospital in nextfew days, he added.

“With the right kind ofroadmap prepared by CMNaveen Patnaik and supportfrom the public, Odisha willsoon get past this COVID-19crisis,” said Das.

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Senior officials of the StateGovernment joined their

offices on Monday, nearly amonth after restrictions wereimposed in the wake of thecoronavirus outbreak.

While Class-I officersresumed work from theiroffices, including StateSecretariat Lok Seva Bhavan,subordinate staffs began work-ing on a roster basis. As per theroster system, 33 per cent of thejunior staffs of different depart-ments would be working on arotational basis.

The offices, barring thoseof some crucial departments,remained closed due to thelockdown imposed sinceMarch 22. The StateGovernment has classified 11

departments in the emergencycategory, senior officers ofwhich continued to attendoffices while the junior staffswere asked to stay at home.

The Government relaxedthe lockdown norms in someparts of the State, but there wasno such breather for the resi-dents of Bhubaneswar, Cuttackand other areas that reportedCOVID-19 cases as strictrestrictions continued.

COVID-19 cases have beenreported from 10 of the State’s30 districts. The affected dis-tricts are Khordha (46 coronacases), Bhadrak (8), Baleswar(3), Kendrapada, Jajpur,Kalahandi and Sundargarh(two each) and one each fromCuttack, Dhenkanal and Puri.

Chief Secretary AsitKTripathy on Sunday had said

that while the agriculture sec-tor is being cautiously openedup, there would be not muchchange in Bhubaneswar andCuttack as the twin cities wouldcontinue to be under lockdownrestrictions.

The Government relaxedcertain restrictions in the agri-culture, construction and alliedsectors from Monday as per theCentre’s guidelines and the sit-uation would ill be reviewedfrom time to time, Tripathysaid.

Bhubaneswar-CuttackCommissioner of PoliceSudhansu Sarangi also reiter-ated that there won’t be anyrelaxations in the twin cities.“The situation is under review.We request citizens for theircontinued cooperation, headded.

The BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC)has also issued a notificationinforming people that the lock-down restrictions would con-tinue in its jurisdiction.

Sarangi said the employeesof IT & ITES companies inBhubaneswar would continueto work under home arrange-ment and function with a max-imum of 25 per cent staffs intheir offices. They would beallowed movement on showingcompany identity cards andemails that say they are part ofthe 25-per cent workforceasked to attend offices.

For the CentralGovernment employees inBhubaneswar, officers abovethe rank of Deputy Secretaryresumed attending offices onMonday.

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Despite strict restrictionsbeing in place for the

COVID-19 lockdown, severalcases of violation of regulationsare being registered every dayin the State.

Police have registered 54cases in the last 24 hours.

These cases were regis-tered under Section 188 ofIPC which refers to ‘disobedi-ence to order duly promulgat-ed by public servant’.

Out of 54 cases, 50 caseswere registered for violation ofCOVID-19 lockdown, threecases for rumour-mongeringand one case for other relatedissues from April 19 morningto April 20 morning.

Notably, in the 24 hoursbetween April 18 and April 19morning police had registered43 cases for lockdown normviolations. Out of 43 cases, 42cases were registered for viola-tion of lockdown and one casefor violation of home quaran-tine.

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Amid the COVID-19 pan-demic, the State

Government on Mondayapproved investment propos-als worth over Rs 9,000 crorethat would create employ-ments for 6,525 people.

The 22nd High LevelClearance Authority (HLCA)meeting held under the chair-manship of Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik approved twoinvestment proposals worthRs 8,850.19 crore.

Dhunseri VenturesLimited’s proposal for settingup a maleic anhydride unitwith an annual capacity of60,000MT at Paradip with aninvestment of Rs 1,013.29 crorewould provide jobs to 350people.

Another proposal ofRungta Mines Limited (RML)for setting up an expansion of

its integrated steel plant projectcapacity from 0.9 MTPA to2.85 MTPA with a CPP of 385MW and a 1.69-MTPA cementplant (in two phases) atJharbandh of Dhenkanal dis-trict with an investment of Rs7,836.90 crore was approved.This would provide employ-ment to 4,900 people.

During the 91st State LevelSingle Window ClearanceAuthority (SLSWCA) meet-ing chaired by Chief SecretaryAsit Tripathy, four more invest-ment proposals worth Rs251.09 crore were approved.

These proposals spreadacross sectors like metal andmetal downstream, textile andapparel and logistics and infra-structure and are likely to gen-erate employment for 1,275people. This also includes aninvestment from a Chinesesports shoe manufacturingcompany.

The proposal of NirenKumar Anand for setting upfootwear manufacturing unitof a capacity of 1 millionpieces with an investment of Rs62.44 crore and employing620 people was also approvedby the SLSWCA.

The proposal of KashviInternational (P) Ltd to set upan addition of 1.2 MTPA ironore beneficiation plant with aninvestment of Rs 55.23croreand providing employment toabout 50 people also got theapproval.

The meeting also gave itsnod to the proposal ofPurosteel India Pvt Ltd to setup a manufacturing unit suchas tubes and pipes PVD coat-ing, furniture fabrication, fin-ished sheets and profiles,trimes plant with an invest-ment of Rs 53.42 crore andproviding employment for 200people.

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Amid the lockdown, theCentral Electricity Supply

Utility of Odisha (Cesu)enhanced the capacity of its 24x7 Consumer Call Centre hereto ensure better consumer sat-isfaction.

In a statement, the Cesusaid the call centre’s capacityhas been augmented from fivelines to 13 lines.

The Discom said it hasasked its consumers to registertheir grievances relating topower supply or electricity billswith the new consumer callcentre by dialling a toll-freenumber 1912 or 1800-345-7122.

The call centre would helpin registering the consumers’complaints on power supplyand coordinating with fieldoffices for resolving them.

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Five places in the State onMonday recorded maxi-

mum day temperature 40degree Celsius or above.Balangir was the hottest at41.5 degree, said the RegionalMeteorological Centre here.

Balangir was followed byBoudh and Titilagarh at 40.8degree and 40.5 degree, respec-tively. Malkangiri recorded 40.2degree and Talcher 40.1 degreeCelsius.

There was some respitefor denizens of the twin citiesas the temperatures atBhubaneswar and Cuttack wereat 37.5 degree and 36.5 degree,respectively.

The RegionalMeteorological Centre fore-cast that the State’s interior dis-tricts would record an increaseof 2 to 3 degree above-normaltemperature in next two days.

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Hoteliers of Odisha havesought a slew of relief

measures including waiver oftaxes from the StateGovernment to tide over theircrisis in the wake of thenationwide lockdown.

Hotel and RestaurantAssociation of Odisha (HRAO)chairman JK Mohanty said theReserve Bank of India’s (RBI)announcement for a three-month moratorium on loanrepayments is “not at all ade-quate” for the State’s hospital-ity sector,

He said the hoteliers havesubmitted a memorandum tothe State Government seekinga number of measures for sur-vival of the hospitality andtravel sectors. TourismSecretary Vishal Dev has alsoheld a teleconference with hote-liers.

“Our industry needs mora-

torium on repayments of allworking capital loans and over-drafts for at least one year,” hesaid, adding, “There should becollateral and interest-freeloans up to five years for SMEsin the tourism sector which willhelp them sustain and rebuild.”

The State FinanceDepartment is expected towrite to all banks for extendingrelief urgently to the sector. Thehoteliers have also urged theGovernment to waive StateGST until the situationbecomes normal. “We want acomplete GST holiday for thetourism, travel and hospitalityindustry for the next twelvemonths,” Mohanty said.

There should also be waiv-er of fees for licences orrenewals for the hospitalityand travel industry for thetime being, he said.

The HRAO’s petition alsosaid the Urban DevelopmentDepartment should provide a50% discount in payment of allstatutory fees for gettingapproval of the tourism pro-jects from the planning author-ities. The taxes, which havebeen collected or yet to belevied during the COVID-19period, bar licence, ground-

water and electricity feesshould be waived for threemonths, it said.

The HRAO said the billsfor salary payments to staffsaccount for 25%-30% of therevenue of a hotel while theGovernment has “requested” tohoteliers to ensure that thereshould be “no salary cut or noretrenchment”.

Under such circumstances,the HRAO urged theGovernment to considerextending interest-free finan-cial assistance to the stake-holders for payment of salary,wages and ESIC from theOdisha Labour Welfare Fundfor at least six months.

The hoteliers also demand-ed a comprehensive marketingplan for revival of the sector.There should be short- andlong-term plans with a thruston domestic travellers andIndian corporates with properguidelines and various incen-tives for meetings, conferencesand exhibitions, the HRAOsaid.

Besides, Mohanty said theGovernment should declare atourism policy with incentivesto boost the State’s infrastruc-ture.

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Bharatiya Bikash ParishadState president Surendra

Panigrahi on Friday submitteda memorandum to theGovernor urging theGovernment to check theunwarranted and extravagantexpenditure to revive economyin the State, which has been hithard due to the lockdown.

The extraordinary health-emergency situation has notonly an adverse impact onbusiness, but also necessitatedtax reforms in the country,Panigrahi said.

To put the economicgrowth of the State in righttrack and for its revival, theParishad suggested eleven-point reforms to the StateGovernor for consideration.

Among other things, thesuggestions include: industrieswhich have signed MoUs withthe Government to provideinfrastructure for runningCovid-19 Hospitals should be

asked to provide 100% free ser-vice to the corona patients; stopexpenditures on study toursand foreign tours of allGovernment officers; ban useof charted planes and heli-copters by officers to visit dis-trict headquarters; leaders reha-bilitated in corporations beremoved and asked to surren-der Government bungalowsand vehicles to save crores ofrupees; stop revised rate ofpayment of salary, pension,and allowances paid to MLAsand former MLAs and pay thesame as per the old rate; dis-solve the State Planning Boardand withdraw facilities pro-vided to its Members since nota single meeting has been con-ducted by the board in last 15years; cut 50% of the salary ofGovernment employees; stopsalaries and allowances of theemployees working inGovernment organisationswhich remain closed duringlockdown; and withdraw addi-tional vehicles, drivers, andpersonal staffs like peons, gar-deners, cooks attached toIAS/IPS officers and Ministersto prevent their misuse andunwanted expenditure.

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Three labourers were killedand nine others injured

when a pickup van, by whichthey were travelling, over-turned on the Khandideuli-Birudigada road in Ganjamdistrict early on Monday morn-ing.

The injured were admittedto the MKCG Medical CollegeHospital, Brahmapur. Thedeceased were identified asSarat Chandra Nahak,Suprasanna Nahak of Diandeinvillage under the Rambhapolice limits and Kabi Nahak ofthe B Nuagaon area.

They all were going towork in a stone crusher unit atBhabandha when the accidentoccurred.

While the exact reasonbehind the incident was yet tobe known, it was suspected thatthe mishap took place as thedriver lost the control of thevehicle due to drowsiness.

Being informed, policereached the spot and started aninvestigation.

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BALANGIR: One need notworry about home confinementat least in Balangir in the lock-down period as a team of police-man has been formed under theleadership of SP SandeepSampat to guide the youthsabout their career problem.

A 12-member police teamhas been formed and eachmember has been given a spe-cific area to deal with.

While Balangir SP Sampatwould take questions on UPSC,another DeputySuperintendent of Police,Suman Ranjitha would lookafter query on OPSC.

All the officials have giventheir phone numbers and emailid to contact with them andshare their view.

This initiative has beenlaunched with a view to ensurecreative engagement of people,especially youths, SP Sampatsaid in a tweet. PNS

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The administration onMonday declared five gram

panchayats (GPs) in Bhadrakdistrict as containment zoneswhen five persons of the dis-trict tested positive forCOVID-19.

A total of 17 places inKharida Binayakpur GP, MelakSahi in Padampur GP andMatpaka in Laxmidaspur GPunder Basudevpur block aswell as 24 revenue villages inRahania and Tesinga GPsunder Bhandaripokhari blockwere declared as containmentareas and sealed.

As part of preventive mea-sures, the restrictions wereimposed in five panchayatsunder Basudevpur andBhandaripokhari blocks. Theauthorities also sealed thoseareas to contain the spread of

coronavirus.“With the restrictions in

place, the distribution of foodgrains under PDS and otherbenefits provided by theGovernment will remain sus-pended in five GPs under twoblocks during containmentperiod,” said Bhadrak CollectorGyana Das.

Among the five positivecases detected, three cases weredetected in Basudevpur blockand two in Bhandaripokhariblock. Earlier on Sunday, theauthorities had lifted contain-ment restrictions fromCharampa and Erein followingthe recovery of two personsfrom the disease.

However, the first positivecase in the district was detect-ed from Puruna Bazar, wherea 29-year-old youth with atravel history to Dubai wasinfected with the virus.

ROURKELA: At a time wheneverybody is worried about thecoronavirus outbreak, a 45-year-old married man alleged-ly raped a minor girl in ahouse he was staying on rent atMadhusudanpali here onSunday. The Plant Site policearrested accused Ramesh Dason Monday.

Sources said Ramesh wasstaying alone in a rented housewhile his family in his village.He called the 10-year-old girlof a neighboring house afterluring her with chocolates.When she came, he raped her.

After the girl narrated herordeal before her parents, thelatter lodged a complaint withthe Plant Site police on Sundaynight.

Acting on the complaint,the police arrested Rameshand forwarded him to thecourt. PNS

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Fortunately, no COVID-19positive case has yet been

detected in the entire district ofRayagada.

Rayagada cops under theleadership of SP Dr SaravanaVivek M have gone beyond therole of maintaining law andorder. In the interior villagesnamely Jambu, Perigaon,Natama, Tadama which areinhabited by poor tribal house-holds, they are renderinghumanitarian services.

Rayagada IIC NiharRanjan Pradhan led a policeteam to the non-descript vil-lages to distribute dry rations.While these poor tribal vil-lagers along with brick kilnworkers from neighbouringdistricts and outside States likeChhattisgarh and AP are notable to organise two squaremeals during the lockdown, thepolice are staying in theirhomes and temporary sheds

near the klins anddistributing reliefmaterials.

Till April 14, 69cases were registeredagainst 69 accusedpersons by seizing840 litres of illicitlydistilled (ID) liquor,56 litres of Out-still(OS) liquors, 125litres of foreignliquor(IMFL), 70litres of Salap Tadiand several contain-ers. This provesalong with humani-tarian aid, the policehave also tightened noose onthe illegal liquor mafia.

The 4th Battalion ofCentral Reserve PoliceForce(CRPF) has not laggedbehind. The jawans under theleadership of CommandantYatendra Kumar Rajput havetaken the prime responsibilityof feeding the poor at variousslums beside Rayagada Railway

Station, Mamkadajhola,Gayatri Nagar, attendants inDistrict Headquarters Hospital,temple premises, NagabaliChowk, Ghasi Sahi, Relli Sahi,Aravind Nagar, Forest Lane,backside of AbhinandanCommunity hall, , Chekaguda,Ontariguda, CooperativeColony, etc. This initiative hasstarted since the beginning of

the lockdown. Recently, thejawans have visited an old agehome and not only createdawareness on COVID-19among the inmates but alsodonated a TV set to the seniorcitizens in the home to keepthem abreast of the situation inthe country and abroad. Masks,medicines and fruits were alsodistributed.

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The Ansuman MemorialTrust, which has played a

pivotal role in promoting sportsin rural areas by organisingState-level and district levelevents, has also showed itssocial commitments duringthe Covid-19 lockdown.

The organisation led by itssecretary Himansu SekharSahoo has undertaken massivecharity activity in several vil-lages. So far, it has organised 39charity camps where dry foods,masks, personal protectionequipment and other essential

items were distributed to thepoor.

Ansuman Memorial,which has organised severalblood donation camps in thepast, also distributed medi-cines to the poor.

“We always believe in thephilosophy of live and let oth-ers live. Smiles on faces of thepoor and deprived inspire us toundertake philanthropic activ-ities,” said Himansu.

He added that the trust wasalso feeding animals, includingmonkeys and dogs, and wouldcarry out the charity works tillthe end of lockdown.

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During thelockdown,

Paradip CustomsDivision hastaken special ini-tiatives under thesupervision ofD e p u t yCommissionerHarsh Raj.

Paradip cus-toms officers areattending to theport duty roundthe clock toensure clearance. CBIC hasintroduced electronic commu-nication of PDF based gate passand electronic out of charge,copy of bill of entry to Customsto promote social distancing inthe time of COVID-19 pan-demic. An Awareness pro-

gramme has been conductedon April 17.

Besides, the division hasalso taken relief measures forthe service of the needy andpoor people through the dis-tribution of fresh cooked foodas well as food packets, potable

water and essential rations.In addition, N95 masks,

sanitisers and hand washerswere also distributed among allcontingent staffs, drivers andcustoms house agents for main-tenance of safety and precau-tionary measures.

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The Paralakhemundi TownCongress on Monday

alleged that massive irregular-ities were committed in tem-porary appointment of healthworkers and other staffs by theGajapati district health depart-ment recently.

Town Congress president

Basant Kumar Panda said pri-ority was not given for selectionof candidates from Gajapatidistrict rather applicants fromcoronavirus-infected Bhadrakdistrict were appointed withouthealth checkups.

He has written to the ChiefMinister, the Chief Secretaryand the district Collector in thisregard.

He mentioned that inter-view and scrutiny for appoint-ment of posts like Biologist,both men and women HealthWorkers, LaboratoryTechnician and Pharmacistwere done on March 11. A can-didate from Bhadrak wasappointed as Biologist.

However, no medical check updone on him.

"The district administra-tion has violated rules. Withappointment of a Biologistfrom coronavirus-infectedBhadrak district, it is nowapprehend that the deadly viruswill spread in Gajapati district,"alleged Panda.

He threatened that hisparty would take to the streetif action is not take against theerrant.

When contacted, CDMODr Gunurani Patnaik said thewas no need for a medicalcheckup for the recruited oneand no irregularity was com-mitted.

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An active surveillance pro-gramme was initiated on

Sunday for conduct of houseto house survey and collec-tion of health information ofindividuals regarding identi-fication of symptomatic casesof possible Covid-19 patients.

As many as 63 slum areashave been earmarked in thepilgrim city where around25,000 households wouldundergo health checkup bythe administration.

Around 125 teams com-promising 125 school teach-ers, 32 urban ASHAs, 79AWWs, 56 ANMs besides 90Mahila Arogya Samiti mem-bers would be engaged inhouse to house health sur-veillance programmes.

The zones include the

Kamala Devi Matrumangal,Dolabedi, Chandan Hajuriand Swargadwar areas. Thethree-day orientation train-ings which started on April 16continued till April 19. Eachteam headed by a schoolteacher would operate alongwith 3 ASHAs, AWWs,ANMs and 1 member fromMahila Arogya Samiti toascertain the health status.

The team would toucheach family thrice withininterval of 5 days and coun-sel geriatric persons and oldpeople regarding safety ofhealth and how to keep awayfrom infection.

Teachers special lyengaged in this purposewould also track families overphone. For this, 200 teachershave been assigned responsi-bility.

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Page 4: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

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GLIMPSES OF LOCKDOWN 2.0 RELAXATIONS

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In order to facilitate food andbeverages through dhabas,

and other requirements likemechanics for truck operatorsat certain intervals on highwaysand roads during the extendedlockdown period, the Centrehas roped in various organisa-tions like road making agencyNHAI, State Governmentestablishments and the oil mar-keting companies.

Beginning Monday, theHome Ministry has grantedseveral relaxations like truckand cargo operations across thecountry even as the countryremains under complete lock-down till May 3.

The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways(MoRTH) has created a dash-board link on its website forproviding list and details ofDhabas and Truck repair shopsavailable across the country byvarious organisations certainnominated agencies.

"The list can be accessedthrough the Road Ministrywebsite. This is intended tofacilitate the truck and cargodrivers and cleaners in thiermovement while travelingbetween different places of thecountry for delivering requiredgoods in the present challeng-ing times of lockdownannounced to curb Covid-19pandemic," a MoRTH official

said when asked about how willthe essential need of truckoperators be met in the com-plete lockdown period.

NHAI official said a cen-tralised call number 1033 hasalso been enabled to answercalls and help drivers/cleanersto find information about thedhabaas and repair shops alongNational Highways.

"These dhabas and repairshops, drivers, cleaners or anyother person in the chain ofmovement of goods, shall fol-low all the necessary precau-tions and healthcare protocolsof social distancing, use ofmasks, hygiene, etc," said theofficial.

A regular contact is beingmaintained with various stakeholders particularly States/UTs,Oil MarketingCompanies(OMCs), etc in pro-viding information which isthen updated on

the dashboard link onMoRTH website.

Last week, the MoRTHcame forward to take care ofthe journey requirements interms of shelter and food of themigrants who took to roadsafter the unfortunate Mumbairailway station chaos early thisweek where they had gatheredto board a train which howev-er was a rumour. The largegathering was dispersed bypolice lathicharge and thenpeople from Mumbai took toroad and highways on theirway to far flung areas of Rajay,

Bihar, UP, West Bengal and NEStates.

MoRTH has taken up thesocial responsibility of helpingpeople on the roads during thenationwide lockdown due toCOVID-19. Soon after theannouncement by the PrimeMinister, the field units of theMinistry across the length andbreadth of the country wereurged to extend necessary helpto their workers/ labours andthe common people.

All the field units andoffices of the Ministry, as wellas the associated organisationsNHAI and NHIDCL are coor-dinating to help mitigate thedifficulties of the people onroad network.

"Food, water, hand washfacilities are being provided toroad and highway users on reg-ular basis while taking care ofsocial distancing and sanita-tion," added the official.

The Home Ministry hasalso granted permission toNHAI to resume toll collectionMonday onwards. TheGovernment had on March 25announced temporarily sus-pending toll collection onnational highways to easeemergency services in view ofthe coronavirus outbreak.

The Government had onMarch 25 announced tem-porarily suspending toll col-lection on national highways toease emergency services inview of the coronavirus out-break.

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In order to comply with theguidelines during the

extended lockdown, theArmy on Monday issued freshdirectives for its personnel setto rejoin duty after leave,reporting for temporary dutyand courses. Priority will begiven to personnel bound forthe northern and easterncommands, responsible forthe Line of Control (LOC)facing Pakistan and the Lineof Actual Control(LAC) fac-ing China respectively.

All personnel in the Armywill be classified as Green,Yellow and Red. Those whohave completed 14 days ofquarantine would be classifiedGreen, those who need toundergo 14-day quarantineclassified Yellow and thosesymptomatic requiring isola-tion and further treatment inCOVID-19 hospitals wouldbe classified Red.

Moreover, all personnelfrom Nepal and presently onleave were ordered to remainat their home stations tillCOVID-19 situation stabilis-es there and the governmentopens the border for move-ment of people.

Giving this informationhere, army sources said req-uisite instructions will bepassed to such personnelfrom their parent units, head-quarters or establishmentsregarding the movement ofpersonnel from Nepal.

In a related development,

the Unified CommandersConference, scheduled to beheld for two days from April22 now stands postponed,they said. This conference isan annual event chaired bythe Defence Minister andattended by the chiefs of thethree Services, Chief ofDefence Staff and NationalSecurity Advisor.

The Army commanderswhich was to be held lastweek was also postponed dueto the pandemic.

As regards fresh ordersfor personnel about to rejoinduties, sources said theprocess has been planned ina phased manner consideringthe number of individualsrejoining and the require-

ment for smooth reporting,quarantine and onward dis-persal of units.

The instructions stipulatepersonnel will rejoin only onreceipt of specific instructionsfrom unit, formation or estab-lishment that has granted leaveor temporary duty. Any indi-vidual whose leave station iswithin 500 km of the unit orduty station is allowed todirectly report to unit usingprivate transport only while

individuals who are beyondthe 500 km’ criteria will reportto nearest unit, station head-quarter in private vehicle only.

The Army has also statedthat orders for reporting donot apply to ‘hotspots’ and‘containment zones’.Individuals in hotspots andcontainment zones will followstrict 'No Movement' till theareas are de-notified as con-tainment zones, sourcesadded.

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Despite the tough circum-stances arising out of the

coronavirus pandemic andongoing nationwide lock-down, the Border RoadsOrganisation (BRO managedto construct the strategicallyimportant Daporijo Bridgeover Subansiri River inArunachal Pradesh. Thebridge will cater to local pop-

ulation in the forward areaand maintain strategic line ofcommunication for the troopsdeployed on the LAC facingChina. The repair work onthe bridge started on March17.

The Old Bridge haddeveloped cracks and couldhave led to a major catastro-phe like on July 26, 1992when a passenger bus fell offthe bridge leaving no sur-vivors.

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Committed to ensure seam-less and timely delivery of

essentials in the nation’s effortto fight coronavirus, the IAF

has so far airlifted more than450 tonnes of cargo includingmedicines, PPE, testing kits,sanitisation material and asso-ciated equipment along withthe movement by air of med-ical personnel.

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The CRPF has decided thatall the personnel reporting

back from leave once the lock-down restrictions are liftedwill have to undergo quaran-tine before joining duty.

All personnel reportingfrom leave, irrespective of rank,shall be quarantined, Propersocial distancing shall beobserved, reads the latest cir-cular issued by the CRPF head-quarters here and sent to all theformations across the country.

Preliminary medicalcheck-ups of symptoms andcontact with anysuspects/infected patientsshould be done at the initialpoint of reporting. The officesshall quarantine their offi-

cers/personnel reporting backfrom leave in quarantine cen-tres in a prioritised manner.

If a unit/office has thespace/s\resources to create aquarantine centre at its ownheadquarter location, suchquarantine centres be createdkeeping social distancing inconsideration.

The CRPF has also creat-ed quarantine centres at vari-ous locations for around 1,800people where those returningfrom leave can be accommodated. In addition,quarantine centres notified bythe State Local authorities canbe used by liaisoning withthem.

The paramilitary head-quarters has also advised thelower formations that any of

the nearby locations to theUnit headquarter like com-munity centres/schools/col-lege/stadium or vacant build-ing/flats can be arranged/con-verted into quarantine centreswith the help of State/localauthorities.

The option of using tent-ed accommodation as quar-antine centres can also bethought of if there is not avail-ability other types of facilities.

"Since most our deploy-ment is in J&K, LWE (LeftWing Extremism) and NE(Northeast) theatre, it may beworked out if quarantine cen-tres can be created at region-al hubs in major reportingbases like Jammu, Raipur,Guwahati etc," the letter further highlighted.

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The presence of high level oftoxic nitrogen dioxide in

the air can be linked with a highnumber of mortality fromCovid-19, researchers have saidas they found that areas withpermanently high levels of pol-lution have significantly moredeaths than other regions.

The results published in thelatest issue of journal ‘Scienceof the Total Environment’inferred that persistent air pol-lution in the affected regionscould have led to overall poor-er health in the people livingthere, making them particular-ly susceptible to the virus whichhas infected over 24 lakhs peo-ple and claimed 1.65 lakhs livesso far.

It is known that nitrogendioxide is an air pollutant thatdamages the human respirato-ry tract causing many types ofrespiratory and cardiovasculardiseases in humans.

"Since the novel coron-avirus also affects the respira-tory tract, it is reasonable toassume that there might be acorrelation between air pollu-tion and the number of deathsfrom Covid-19," said Dr YaronOgen from the Institute ofGeosciences and Geography atMartin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).

He combined three sets ofdata. This included the levels ofregional nitrogen dioxide pol-lution measured by theEuropean Space Agency's(ESA) Sentinel 5P satellite,

which continuously monitorsair pollution on earth.

Based on this data, he pro-duced a global overview forregions with high and pro-longed amounts of nitrogendioxide pollution.

"I looked at the values forJanuary and February of thisyear, before the corona out-breaks in Europe began,"explained Ogen. He combinedthis data with statistics from theUS weather agency NOAA onvertical air flows.

His premise: If air is inmotion, the pollutants near theground are also more dissemi-nated. However, if the air tendsto stay near the ground, this willalso apply to the pollutants inthe air, which are then morelikely be inhaled by humans in

greater amounts and thus leadto health problems.

Using this data, theresearcher was able to identifyhotspots around the world withhigh levels of air pollution andsimultaneously low levels of airmovement.

He then compared thesewith the data on deaths relatedto Covid-19, specificallyanalysing the data from Italy,France, Spain and Germany.

It turned out that theregions with a high number ofdeaths also had particularly high levels of nitro-gen dioxide and a particularlylow amount of vertical airexchange.

"When we look at NorthernItaly, the area around Madrid,and Hubei Provence in China,

for example, they all have some-thing in common: they aresurrounded by mountains.

“This makes it even morelikely that the air in theseregions is stable and pollutionlevels are higher," Ogen added.

"However, my research onthe topic is only an initial indi-cation that there might be a cor-relation between the level of airpollution, air movement andthe severity of the course of thecorona outbreaks," he said.

Earlier, researchers atHarvard University in the USfound that even a small increasein long-term exposure toPM2.5, or particulate matterwith a diameter of 2.5 microm-eters or less, can lead to a largeincrease in the death rate fromCovid-19.

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Page 5: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

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Apeeved Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Monday shot off a letter toPrime Minister Narendra Modiquestioning the appropriate-ness of unleashing a Centralteam on the State for inspect-ing the alleged “violation” and“dilution” of lock-down guide-lines without keeping theBengal Government in theloop.

The letter was writtenwithin an hour of the ChiefMinister asking the PrimeMinister and Home MinisterAmit Shah on the twitter toexplain the Centre’s allegedarbitrary conduct defying allthe federal norms.

In the letter Banerjee hasdrawn attention of the PrimeMinister to how the Inter

Ministerial Central Team land-ed in Kolkata within minutes ofher Government beinginformed about its coming tothe State, sources said, addinghow the Chief Minister hasreminded the Prime Ministerthat the central move is againstall established traditions.

Banerjee is also known tohave told Modi how Shahspoke to her at 1 PM about theCentre’s decision to send thedesignated team which hadalready arrived in Kolkata bythen. Hours before writing theletter Banerjee exploded ontwitter questioning the lack ofclarity over the IMCTs’ (InterMinisterial Central Teams) visitto various districts of the coun-try.

She wrote: “We welcome allconstructive support and sug-gestions, especially from the

Central Government” in han-dling the corona crisis.“However, the basis on whichcentre is proposing to deployIMCTs in select districts acrossIndia, including a few in WestBengal is unclear.”

Asserting that her govern-ment will not be able to coop-erate with the Centre on thegiven issue if things are notexplained in the manner itshould be she urged “bothPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Home Minister Amit Shahto share the criterion used forthis. Until then, I am afraid, wewould not be able to moveahead on this as without validreasons this might not be con-sistent with the spirit of feder-alism.”

Two IMCT teams arrivedin Bengal on Monday. Whilethe first team would visit

Kolkata, Howrah, EastMidnapore and North 24Parganas the second team thathad landed at Baghdogra inSiliguri will visit Jalpaiguri,Darjeeling and Kalimpong dis-tricts. The teams will assess thesituation on the ground, issuenecessary directions for reme-dy and submit a report to thecentral government, officialssaid. They will also take stockof the supply of essential com-modities, health infrastructurepreparedness, hospital facilitiesand sample statistics, safety ofhealth professionals and testkits. The Mamata Banerjeegovernment’s expression of

protest assumed unprecedent-ed scales with the State’s seniormost bureaucrat Rajiva Sinhamaking adverse statementsagainst the central action won-dering why Delhi was behavingin a manner “as if we are hid-ing something.”

The Chief Secretary whosummoned the central teamhours after it arrived in Kolkatato meet him at the Nabanna(State secretariat) even went tothe extent of saying that thegovernment will “not allowthem to move about like this ifwe are not convinced by theirpurpose of the visit.”

Questioning the manner inwhich the IMCTs have come tostate, Sinha said, “We were told,not asked, about the visit of theCentral teams. Two teams land-ed within 15 minutes of usbeing informed about their

visits. One team landed inJalpaiguri, another inKolkata… They are behaving asif we are hiding something.

He said the “the State gov-ernment is supposed to providethe logistics and other supportsto enable the central team tovisit the areas but here they arebeing escorted by the SSB andthe BSF. We have said comeand talk to us then decide if youneed to go into the field… Wewill not let them roam aroundin the state.

The Monday’s develop-ment takes shape against thebackdrop of continuous war ofwords between the StateGovernment one side andGovernor Jagdeep Dhankharand State BJP leadership ---which had been complaining ofdilution of lockdown normsand corruption in distribution

of essentials --- on the other.BJP State president Dilip

Ghosh however welcomed theIMCTs’ visit to Bengal sayinghe had information how “thelockdown norms are beingviolated in select areas (readminority belts)” and how “theessential food grains are beingstolen by the TMC leaders atthe ground level.”

He said “the local pan-chayat at Kalaikunda com-plained me today howunknown truckers came fromnowhere and carried away ricethat was ferried in by goodswagons at the local railwayyard.” He also alleged that thetrucks carrying food materialswere being half unloaded at theTMC party offices and misap-propriated by their local lead-ers.

Meanwhile, in what con-

tinued to paint a grim pictureof Bengal the State on Mondayrecorded a steep hike in thenumber of corona cases whichwent up by 54 in the past oneday taking the total number oftotal cases to 245.

State Chief Secretary RajivaSinha said that the State hadwitnessed 54 new cases in thepast one day adding the totalnumber of deaths reportedwere 12 till date. He also saidthat 5,469 people have beenkept in government quarantinewhereas about 34,964 peoplehave been kept in home isola-tion. Among the infected per-sons are four doctors and twoother officials of CalcuttaMedical College Hospital. TheMonday’s infection takes theto-tal number of doctors gettinginfected in the CMCH to 7 intwo days, sources said.

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Trained in modern warfaretechniques around 700 sol-

diers of the Indian Armyarrived in Jammu via militaryspecial train from Bangalurubefore heading to their respec-tive units located along the lineof control.

These soldiers were rushedto their unit headquarters tofurther boost the strength ofunits and improve their oper-ational readiness in the wake ofheightened tensions betweenIndia and Pakistan.

Defence PRO in Jammu,Lt-Col Devender Anand in apress statement said, "Militaryspecial train with approxi-mately 700 army personnel onboard which started fromBangaluru on 17 April 2020arrived at Jammu Railway sta-tion Monday morning".

Referring to reasonsbehind rushing these troopsamid nation wide lockdown tocontain the spread of coron-avirus, Lt-Col Anand said, "Inthe prevailing security sce-nario along the Line of Controlin J&K, it has been a necessityto boost the strength of per-sonnel required for enhancingoperational readiness of unitsdeployed in operational areasin North India".

He said all necessaryarrangements at the JammuRailway station with respect toreception, segregation, disin-fection and transportation tillplace of duty were thoroughlyorganised by the TigerDivision.

The special train journeyfor these army personnel wasorganised as they had com-pleted their professional cours-es at Army Training establish-ments and were expected toreach their units deployed inoperational areas.

Lt-Col Anand said, "armyensured that all personnel hadundergone the mandated quar-antine period as also social dis-tancing was adhered tothroughout the journey, as also

during detraining and screen-ing at Jammu Railway station".

Soldiers were screened ontheir arrival at Jammu railway

station and thereafter ensuringall necessary guidelines, trans-ported to their respective unitsdeployed in J&K", Defencespokesman added.

On the other hand, Kathuapolice and district administra-tion won many hearts on thesocial media for making specialarrangements for about 1200residents, who had completedtheir quarantine period atPathankot, before entering thegateway of Jammu Kashmir atLakhanpur .

DGP Dilbag Singh also

complimented Kathua Policeand civil administration forexcellent social distancing &allied arrangements for com-mon people.

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Even as the wide fluctuation in the num-ber of persons tested positive for coro-

navirus in Tamil Nadu has dumbfoundedmedical experts in the State, two eminentdoctors who are veteran medicalresearchers has charged the UnionGovernment of being indifferent to theIndian system of medicine, especiallyAyurveda, which have the capability tocure Covid-19. Tamil Nadu which had1,075 coronavirus patients till April 12 sawthe number shooting up to 1,520 byMonday evening, according to Dr CVijaya Baskar, Minister of health .

The State saw 98 persons testing pos-itive for coronavirus on April 13. The num-ber came down to 31 on April 14 andincreased slightly to 38 on ythe next day.On April 16, the State recorded only 25positive cases and a visibly relaxed chiefminister Edappadi Palanisami toldreporters on Thursday that the worst wasover for Tamil Nadu.

But the joy seemed to be short-livedas the number of persons tested positiveon April 17 shot back to 56. Though onApril 18 the figure came down to 49, onSunday the State registered 105 positivecases. On Monday, 43 persons testedpositive for coronavirus.

The death toll in Tamil Nadu is 16 andthis continues to be in the safer zone. Butthe vast fluctuation in the number of

patients testing positive for the virus hassurprised the State Government.

Though it was expected that theTamil Nadu government may announcesome relaxation on Monday, it did notmaterialize. The Chief Minister had alengthy meeting with the top bureaucratsand health experts on Monday morningand it was decided to continue the lock-down till May 3.

Meanwhile Prof B M Hegde (who hadscientifically proved that the medicine forcoronavirus lies in the Indian system ofknowledge) said on Monday that the cen-tre was not doing enough in encouragingAyurveda research. “I am sorry to tell thatthe government is not at all serious aboutthe potential and possibilities offered byAyurveda and other system of medicine.We are not going to succeed with theoverdependence on allopathic branch ofmedicine which has failed in all rounds,”Prof Hegde told The Pioneer.

Dr C V Krishnaswamy, Tamil Nadu’sleading physician, who is also the advisorto the high powered committee ofAyurvedic physicians appointed by theCentre to develop a cure for coronavirussaid the regulatory bodies like ICMR weresitting on the findings submitted by thecommittee members about the potentialof Ayurveda. “There is enough scope forus to make use of Ayurveda to come outwith a holistic approach in curing coro-navirus cases,” said Dr Krishnaswamy.

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Around 40,000 womenbelonging to self-help

groups in Andhra Pradesh areearning ��500 per day by mak-ing face masks for the StateGovernment's programme todistribute 16 crore free masksamong people across the stateto curb the spread of COVID-19.

The Government's pro-gramme to provide three masksto every citizen has givenemployment to the women ata time when the families arereeling under the impact ofoutbreak of coronavirus andthe resultant lockdown.

The self-help groups aremaking the masks at the rate of�3.5 per mask, with each of the40,000 women tailors earning�500 a day.

Instead of giving the maskorders to contractors, ChiefMinister Y. S. Jagan MohanReddy entrusted the job towomen's groups to give theman opportunity to earn somemoney and thus help theirfamilies, says the Government.

It is procuring the requiredcloth for the making of masksfrom APCO, the cooperativesociety of handloom weavers.According to officials, 1.50crore meter cloth is required formaking 16 crore masks. Theyhave already procured over 20lakh meter cloth.

Officials said 7.28 lakhmasks were readied by Sunday.They plan to increase the out-put to 30 lakh per day in fourto five days.

The distribution of maskshas started in red zones and itwill be soon taken in otherareas.

Officials said the chief min-ister's programme for maskdistribution is not onlystrengthening the steps tocheck the spread of coron-avirus but is also providingemployment to women in thetime of pandemic.

Mission for Elimination ofPoverty in Municipal Areas(MEPMA) officials supervisingmask production showed thechief minister, who appreciat-ed the work being done bywomen groups.

Patna: With three new coron-avirus positive cases reported inMonghyr, the number of coro-na infected patients in Biharwent up to 96.

Health DepartmentPrincipal Secretary SanjayKumar said three people fromJamalpur in Monghyr testedpositive for coronavirus onSunday evening.

He said all the threepatients are men and were incontact with the coronavirusinfected people. A coronainfected patient from Monghyrdied in Patna AIIMS in Marchwhile a patient from Vaishali

died on Friday.Of the total number of

cases from 14 districts of Bihar,29 are from Siwan, 20 fromMunger, 11 from Nalanda,seven from Patna, five fromGaya, nine from Begusarai,three from Gopalganj, fourfrom Buxar, three fromNalanda and one each fromBhojpur, Saran, Lakhisarai,Vaishali and Bhagalpur.

A total of 11,401 tests havebeen done in Bihar as of nowof which 96 are positive while42 have recovered whereasresults of 490 samples areawaited. IANS

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Andhra Pradesh has con-firmed three more Covid-

19 fatalities during the last 24hours, taking the toll in thestate to 20, officials said onMonday.

The state also reported 75fresh coronavirus positive casessince Sunday, taking the totaltally to 722. One death eachwas reported from Anantapur,

Krishna and Kurnool districts,the health officials added.

According to the healthdepartment, 27 patients weredischarged from hospitals sinceSunday. With this, 92 patientshave recovered. The number ofactive cases now stands at 610.

Authorities have said 3,775samples were tested during thelast 24 hours ending 9 a.m.Monday and out of them 75have tested positive.

Jaipur: A total of 43 new Covid-19 caseswere registered in Jaipur on Monday tak-ing the tally in the city to 578 out of 1,535patients in Rajasthan, said AdditionalChief Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh.

Till date, 13 deaths have been report-ed due to Covid-19 in Jaipur out of 25deaths reported in the State. Jodhpurstands second in the list with 234 cases outof which six tested positive on Monday.Two deaths have been reported in this dis-trict till date.

Bharatpur and Kota are third positionwith 102 cases each, Tonk is fourth with95 cases, Ajmer-24, Alwar-7, Banswara-61,Bhilwara-28, Bikaner-37, Churu-14,Dausa-13, Dholpur-1, Dungarpur-5,Jaisalmer-32, Jhunjhunu-39, Karauli, 3,Pali-2, Sikar-2, Udaipur, 4, Pratapgarh-2,Nagaur-59, Jhalawar-20, Barmer-1,Hanumangarh-3, and Sawai Madhopurwith 5.

A total of 57,290 samples have beencollected in the state out of which 8,098 areunder process, he said adding 205 havebeen recovered while 97 have been dis-charged, he added. IANS

Kanpur: After Azamgarh, theKanpur Police have nowannounced a reward for thoseproviding information aboutTablighi Jamaat memberswho may be in hiding in thedistrict.

The Kanpur Policeannounced on Monday thatthose who give informationabout the Jamaatis will berewarded �10,000 each. IG(Kanpur Police) MohitAgarwal said that the identi-ty of those giving informationwould be kept secret.

"The number of cases inKanpur is rising, which meansthat the Jamaatis are still hid-ing and are not coming out,"the IG said.

Tablighi Jamaat membershave emerged as the prime

suspects among potentialcoronavirus carriers in Indiaand in Uttar Pradesh after itorganized a large gathering inDelhi's Nizamuddin area lastmonth.

Kanpur, which has beenmarked as a Covid-19 hotspotin the state, has reported 74positive cases.

As many as 17 new caseswere reported in the past 24hours.

Earlier, Azamgarh SPTriveni Singh had announceda reward of �5,000 for thosewho give information aboutJamaat attendees in the district.

����� � � 7

The Congress, here onMonday, cautioned the

State Government againstdeclaring Goa Covid-19 free ina hurry as the health agencieshad only tested 0.4 per cent ofthe 15 lakh population.

"Testing is the only effectiveway to determine whether Goais really in safe zone fromCovid-19 pandemic. We urgethe Government to take stepsto expedite community testingand set up facilities to quaran-tine likely suspects who mayemerge from it," Goa Congresschief Girish Chodankar said.

Terming such a little test-ing till April 19 as shocking,Chodankar said, of the 780samples tested in Goa, seventurned out Covid-19 positive,which was 1 per cent of thetotal.

"This is alarming. The gov-ernment needs to justify itsclaim before declaring GoaCovid-19 free. The govern-ment should not make unnec-essary hurry," he said.

5�-���/�''������� 6&)�

Pinarayi Vijayan, ChiefMinister of Kerala, who

was on Cloud Nine followingreports about his “effectivehandling” of the coronaviruspandemic in the State, findshimself under a shadow asreports about a deal signed bythe Government and Sprinklr,a US based company, has gen-erated a lot of controversy.

The ‘agreement’ reportedto have been signed betweenthe Government of Kerala andSprinklr was to make all med-ical data of persons tested pos-itive for coronavirus and quar-antined in the State would bemade available to the US com-pany which itself is facing legalaction in that country for ‘theftof data’.

Vijayan in his daily press

briefings atThiruvananthapuram evadedall questions pertaining to thedeal signed by the Governmentof Kerala and Sprinklr. RameshChennithala, leader of theopposition, in a press meet,accused the chief minister ofentering into an illegal dealworth hundreds of crores withthe US company.

Though the allegations byChennithala were played downby the Kerala media, thingstook a serious turn when for-mer Chief Minister OommenChandi, who is also the GeneralSecretary of the AICC enteredthe scene and said the deal wasfishy.

“An agreement of this kindshould have signed with theconcurrence of the depart-ments of law, finance and infor-mation technology. No such

thing has been done. I am sorryto tell that there was no formalagreement between the KeralaGovernment and Sprinklr USAwhen Chennithala held hispress meet,” Chandi told ThePioneer.

The former chief ministersaid that the whole dealsmacked of impropriety. “Thebeauty of democracy is trans-parency. Sprinklr USA wasbrought into Kerala throughthe back door and the ChiefMinister should explain whythis was done.

We all know that thewhole country was facing apandemic in the form of coro-navirus and we do not want toplay politics. But violation of allnorms and laws of the land atthis juncture does not augurwell for the Government. MrVijayan has a responsibility to

come clean in this issue,” saidChandi.

Meanwhile Janam TV, asatellite news channel, madeanother astartling disclosure byalleging that US based MayoClinic and an Australian tele-com company were involved inthe making of this “illegaldeal”. “Mayo Clinic is the placewhere Chief Minister Vijayanfrequents for his medical checkup and the it is the manage-ment of Sprinklr which takescare of his well being while heis in the US,” said G K SureshBabu, chief editor of the chan-nel. Suresh Babu is the jour-nalist who brought to light theillegal deal signed betweenCNC Lavlin of Canada and theKerala Government in 1996when Vijayan was the ministerfor power in the then E KNayanar-led CPI-M govern-

ment. The corruption case is

being heard by the SupremeCourt. K Shivsankar, the ITsecretary of Kerala, who ini-tially said that there was no dealwith Sprinklr was forced tomake a vault face and accept-ed full responsibility for thesigning of the agreement withthe US company. Interestingly,Mayo Clinic and Telstra, theAustralian telecommunicationcompany are clients of Sprinklr.

Sreejit Panickar, an ITexpert with 15 years of globalexperience said the deal withSprinklr was a blatant violationof all rules and regulationsregarding sharing of data.

“Any agreement or tendermade by the Government ofKerala should be signed by theChief Secretary for and onbehalf of the Governor. There

was neither agreement nortender in this case. The sharingof data involves so many legalprocedures which have beenviolated wantonly,” saidPanickar.

Ram Rajendrababu, a USbased IT specialist, also con-curred with Panickar. “A deallike this in US would have putthe main antagonists in prison,”said Ram over telephone fromUS who described the data asNew Oil. “It is that precious,” hesaid.

Though the CPI-M fieldedall eminent leaders like LawMinister A K Balan and politbureau member S R Pillai tosafeguard Vijayan, their argu-ments are yet to convince thedetractors. Balan said therewas a deep rooted conspiracyagainst Pinarayi Vijayan bysome sections.

-� ��5��%�� �� 7 �

After Srinagar, it isBandipora district of

Kashmir valley which is emerg-ing as one of the 'hotspots' ofJammu & Kashmir. Out of 91positive cases from the district,30 patients have tested positivefor Covid-19 from only onevillage in the area.

Now after receiving therapid testing kits, the healthdepartment authorities areexpected to start door to doorscreening of suspected casesand also conduct rapid testingin order to chalk out the futurestrategy to contain the furtherspread. For the time being,majority of population hasbeen advised to stay indoors inhome quarantine.

Meanwhile, with 14 freshcases from Kashmir divisionand zero from Jammu region,the total number of positivecases jumped to 368 in Jammu& Kashmir on Monday.

In Jammu district, samplesof Rohingyas lifted during spe-cial screening of red zone areason Sunday also tested negative.

samples were lifted by thehealth department teams asthey continue to screen the

Rohingya population alongwith local residents in areasdeclared as red-zones. DirectorHealth, Jammu and Srinagarhave both received rapid test-ing kits to start screening ofsuspected cases in red zoneareas in the next few days.

On recovery front, the totalnumber of 71 patients haverecovered fully. Out of these 58patients have been dischargedfrom different hospitals ofSrinagar and 13 from Jammu.

According to the daily bul-letin on Covid-19, "so far morethan 8600 samples have beentested in Jammu and Kashmirout of these 8244 have testednegative and 368 tested posi-tive".

At present the total num-ber of active cases stood at 292with Srinagar recording sec-ond highest positive cases at 79after Bandipora. 44 cases havetested positive in Baramulla, 33in Kupwara, 22 in Shopian, 14in Ganderbal,13 in Budgam, 6in Kulgam, 3 in Pulwama and8 in Anantnag. In Jammuregion, Jammu has recorded 26cases, Udhampur 20, Samba 4,Rajouri 4 and Kishtwar 1.

D e p u t yCommissioner,Udhampur DrPiyush Singla Monday tweeted,"three more covid positive casesrecovered and discharged fromisolation". All of them hailedfrom Narsoo, block Chenani inUdhampur district.

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Page 6: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

Novelist and activist Arundhati Roytold Deutsche Welle (DW),Germany’s public broadcaster, recent-

ly that the situation in India was “approach-ing genocidal.” The novelist claimed thatMuslims were being stigmatised because ofCOVID-19 and that the Narendra ModiGovernment was exploiting the pandemic“to ramp up its suppression of Muslims.”Shockingly, she compared the Government’stactics to the one used by the Nazis duringthe holocaust to use the outbreak of typhusto stigmatise the Jews. Finally, came this hor-rendous charge: “Indian mainstream mediais genocidal — TV anchors are like single-member lynch mobs.” This is probably themost reprehensible statement made by any-one with regard to India, the biggest and themost vibrant democracy as also the mostdiverse nation in the world. No individual,who wishes to be taken seriously, wouldbandy the “G” word so recklessly.

Equally shocking is the decision ofGermany’s public broadcaster to lend itselfto such invidious propaganda against theworld’s largest democracy. We all know thatas a nation, Germany is well acquainted withthe dreadful consequences of a genocide.This nation has struggled for 75 years to livedown that terrible past and build a robustdemocracy. Likewise, senior editorial staffand news anchors in DW, who take editor-ial decisions, would certainly be acquaint-ed with India’s glorious struggle for freedomand the secular, liberal and democraticConstitution that has been guiding its des-tiny since 1947. It is, therefore, inexplicablethat Germany’s public broadcaster shouldtake such liberties while talking aboutIndia.

Needless to say that Roy’s allegations arebaseless. The truth is that currently in Indiaa Muslim organisation — the TablighiJamaat — is in the news for its act of irre-sponsibility last month. It flouted StateGovernment orders and went ahead with aconference in the heart of the nation’s cap-ital, which was attended by people fromMalaysia and Indonesia among others.Hundreds of delegates have since got infect-ed with COVID-19 and are being treated inhospitals across the country. They havefanned out to various States and become thesuper-spreaders of COVID-19. The UnionGovernment and Governments in 28 Statesare working overtime to trace the unfortu-nate victims and treat them. Misled by someclerics and by individuals like Roy, many ofthese patients are attacking healthcare work-ers and resisting treatment, thus endanger-ing themselves, their family members, theentire Indian population and humanity itself.Indian newspapers and television newschannels are full of stories of the attacks ondoctors and nurses by these patients andtheir relatives, many of whom have been hos-pitalised. And this, according to Roy is “geno-cide!” It is unfortunate that DW did not evenmake rudimentary checks before running an

interview that was full of blatant-ly false assertions.

We shall now turn to theBritish Broadcasting Corporation(BBC). On April 14, it ran a storyon how India was “underreport-ing” the Coronavirus outbreak.What was the basis for thisreport? Two faceless, anony-mous doctors, who are too will-ing to air their views but lack thespine to identify themselves.

The BBC said “the reality isfar more grim than what statis-tics show.” One doctor claimedthat six patients with respirato-ry problems were brought indead but they were not tested,implying that they were allprobably COVID-19 victims.This is a serious allegation. Thedoctor must now identify him-self and publicly make thisclaim so that the health author-ities can verify and initiate suit-able action. Otherwise, he willopen himself to the charge ofabetting the spread of the virus.

Ever since the epidemic hitIndia, television news channelsback home have been talking totop doctors and heads of med-ical research in the country.These experts are just a phonecall away and deem it their dutyto keep the people informed butall that the BBC could find weretwo anonymous doctors. Itclaimed that one of the doctors,

who works in Maharashtra,wanted anonymity because hefeared “reprisal from theGovernment.” WhichGovernment?

One fact that is hiddenfrom readers and viewers acrossWestern media platforms,including DW and the BBC, isthat India is a federation and alarge number of political partiesrun the federal Governmentand the 28 States. It is indeed apolitical kaleidoscope, with overtwo dozen political partiesengaged in governance at justthese two levels. But this fact ishidden so that whenever thereis an insinuation that democra-tic traditions are flouted, a fin-ger can easily be pointed atPrime Minister Narendra Modi,as if he heads a nation ruled bya single party.

The question one must poseto the BBC is: How responsibleare you when you withholdsuch basic information aboutIndia’s democratic system? Also,all that you could get to furtheryour unprofessional assump-tions were two anonymous bytesin this nation of 1.3 billion peo-ple with top class experts in thefield of medical science?

In the days ahead, onehopes the BBC will turn its spe-cial focus to the human tragedythat is unravelling in thousands

of care homes in the UK inwhich hundreds of elderly citi-zens are dying every day ofCOVID-19 for want of adequateGovernment support.

Then you have the NewYork Times, which is doing itsbest to paint India’s decision togo in for a complete lockdownin dark shades. Its correspon-dents in New Delhi are claimingthat India’s “already fragile econ-omy will collapse” because of thelockdown. Meanwhile, therehave been two developments,which show how motivated andbiased these assertions are. TheInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) and other internationalfinancial institutions are unan-imously declaring that Indiawill have the highest real GrossDomestic Product (GDP)growth in 2020-21 among all theG-20 nations. India’s GDP isexpected to grow at 1.9 per centas against minus 5.9 of the US,minus 6.5 of the UK etc.Obviously, India is doing some-thing right? Also, an OxfordUniversity study has declaredthat India is one of those coun-tries where the lockdown wasthe strictest.

The time has come to scru-tinise every report put out bythese media corporations and tocall out prejudice. Obviously,there is more to it than just irre-

sponsible journalism. There is adeliberate attempt to run downthe world’s largest democracy,which, despite under develop-ment, social and economicissues and political diversity ofthe kind that no other nation hasexperienced, has displayed phe-nomenal unity, confidence anddiscipline to tackle the pandem-ic. These reports constitute anaffront to the 1.3 billion citizensof India.

In recent years, there havebeen incidents of violenceagainst the immigrant Turks inGermany and the GermanInterior Ministry has reportedthat there are 26,000 radicalRight-wing extremists inGermany, of whom 6,000 areneo-Nazis. The Islamic HumanRights Commission has said thatthe “British Government isresponsible for the alarmingrise of Islamophobia.”

But let us not say that thefascists are back in Germany, orthat Britain, the cradle of mod-ern democratic traditions, hasforgotten all that has happenedsince the days of the MagnaCarta and is now seeking solacein its medieval practices. Wemust behave responsibly.

(The writer is an author specialising in democracy studies. Views expressed are per-sonal.)

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Sir — Stone-pelting at COVID-19warriors has become more a normthan an exception. Such cases havecome down drastically in J&K butare now being reported fromsome of the virus-affected areas. InBareilly, a nurse was attacked. InMeerut, a doctor suffered murder-ous attack from a stone-peltinggang. Even policemen are notspared. Video clips showedwomen attacking policemen. Thiswas a planned attack consideringthat there was a stockpile of stonesand bricks on a rooftop.

That the Coronavirus war-riors are being systematicallyattacked is a disturbing trend. Itis ironical that security personnelthemselves need security. Stonepelters must be identified andeach of them should be jailed fora long period. It is unfortunatethat leaders of various groups areinstigating their followers toindulge in such criminal acts.Such leaders and their followersneed exemplary punishment forwaging a war against the nationand for being instrumental inspreading the virus.

KV Seetharamaiah Hassan

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Sir — It was appalling to readabout the incident where two res-ident doctors in Delhi, who hadstepped out to buy fruits and veg-etables, were assaulted by a man

who accused them of “spreading”the Coronavirus in the GautamNagar area of the national capi-tal. The attacker was their neigh-bour. The incident has, quiterightly, infuriated many people.

In times when the COVID-

19 pandemic has been claimingmultiple lives, countless doctors,nurses and medical staff haveemerged as our greatest hope tobeat the disease. They are endan-gering their own lives for us. Inspite of this, there are citizens who

are unleashing violence on doc-tors and accusing them of spread-ing the very sickness that they arefighting relentlessly to stop. Whathas happened to our humanity?And why is the Governmentdragging its feet over taking swiftand strict action in such cases?

AMS NadwiLucknow

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Sir — Amid the Coronavirus-imposed lockdown, there hasbeen an obvious surge in dataconsumption. In one way, tech-nology has helped us in overcom-ing loneliness and social dis-tancing while maintaining phys-ical distance but this luxury hascome at a cost. The technology weconsume is easily accessible, hasvast content and is highly irre-sistible that seduces us to besuperfluously dependent on it,thus leading to unhealthy addic-tion. Once succumbed to technol-ogy, breaking the shackles ofaddiction will be daunting.

Shubham SinghDelhi

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Late last year, when the doctors in the city ofWuhan, China, reported that they were treat-ing multiple adult patients having pneumonia

with an undetermined cause, the world could nothave gauged that there was a pandemic in the mak-ing. However, soon the situation turned alarming,as human to human transmission was confirmedand other countries confirmed cases. Indians con-tinued to live in psychological denial; ignoring thescientific evidence about something that was pro-gressing with alarming speed, fooling themselves intothinking that the virus would not touch us. The air-ports had screening processes in place, so that thepeople who screened positive could be quarantinedor asked to self-isolate but it soon became appar-ent that asymptomatic transmission was occurring,too. By the first week of March, Delhi, Agra andJaipur had confirmed cases.

For over three months, the virus has wreakedhavoc on the planet, gripping around 213 countriesand territories. This has put the spotlight on India’salready crumbling healthcare system. The positivecases have increased exponentially since the coun-try reported its first case on January 30. In Marchinfections were reported pan-India. Now, with closeto 17,500 people already infected and the death tollcrossing 500, it comes into question whether theIndian healthcare system can successfully avert a“health apocalypse.” If the virus can spread at light-ning speed and can overwhelm the healthcare sys-tems of Italy, France and the US, then it’s only fairto assume that with the current state of the econo-my and public health status, India is a sitting duck.

As a measure to control the spread of the virus,the country went into a complete 21-day lockdown,which now stands extended. It has disrupted all eco-nomic activities and threatens the already fragileeconomy. The population of 1.38 billion alsocomes as a bane in this time of turmoil and socialas well as economic distress. This lockdown has leftmillions of people struggling to make ends meet, outof which, a majority are migrant, daily-wage work-ers who have been left stranded, without a job,money or a home. This has led them to travel backto their native villages, in search of a safe haven andhas also caused several of them to die on the jour-ney home. This is a glaring evidence of our underpreparedness in the face of the pandemic and howthe current measures have taken a toll on vulnera-ble groups.

As speculated by healthcare and economicexperts, India is severely inadequately equipped tohandle an outbreak. Decades of low investments andinsufficient fund allocation to the health sector haverendered people unable to receive care and they aredependent on out-of-pocket expenditure. Kerala isthe only State that has tested extensively and report-ed comparatively higher number of cases which fur-ther highlights the inadequacy of other States indoing so. As soon as the initial cases were report-ed, Kerala took stringent steps towards quarantiningthe patients while the Centre delayed in announc-ing any such measures. It has also reported the high-est numbers of recoveries. The State employedaggressive testing measures, intensively tracing thecontact history, increasing the duration of quaran-tine and arranging shelters and camps for migrantworkers. All these have collectively led to a signif-icant fall in Kerala’s cases, while the other States lag

in terms of testing itself.One plausible explanation for India’s

poor testing ratio is its insufficiency interms of medical infrastructure and thenumber of frontline healthcare workers.

In contrast with China, which has 4.2beds per 1,000 inhabitants, India only has0.7, with some States such as Bihar onlyhaving 0.11 beds per 1,000 people. As perthe latest trend, infrastructure develop-ment has been privatised to such an extentthat less than a third of cases of disease arenow treated by public services.

The unwelcoming attitude of the gen-eral public towards services like healthinsurance cover also cripples people andleaves them unable to receive the requiredtreatment in most instances. India spentbarely 1.28 per cent of its GDP on healthservices in 2017-18, as per the figuresreleased by the Government.

As testing is vital to check the spreadof the virus, India is importing testing kitsfrom other countries, which has delayedthe country’s efforts to follow the Keralamodel nationwide. The testing laborato-ries are unable to cater to the needs of theentire population, without which, sever-al hundreds of cases might go undetect-ed and the lack of preventive measures willfurther overwhelm the system. Not justtesting, isolation wards where the patientsare admitted are unsanitary. TheGovernment has also been struggling withthe availability of quarantine facilities. Asper experts, the lack of testing and isola-tion measures also lays India open to thedanger of “community transmission.”

Had its health services been good,India could have opted for the isolationand treatment strategy. But, except in themetropolitan and big cities, the patient tobed ratio and doctor to patient ratio arefar below the national average.

As far as estimations go, if the worst

case scenario prevails, India will seearound 2.2 million cases by mid-May, outof which, around five to 10 per cent of thepopulation will need life support. Only anestimated amount of around 70,000 ICUbeds and 17,000 to 25,000 ventilators areavailable in India, so clearly the system lagsseverely. Although the Government hasbeen able to curb the spread of infectionsto a significant extent by implementing“behavioural interventions” such as handwashing, social distancing, self-isolatingwhen sick and others, the country is stillprone to the spread of infection in highpopulation density areas with poor sup-ply of water, food and sanitary provisions.The alarming spread of cases in Dharavi,South Asia’s largest slum, has already gotthe Government of Maharashtra on itstoes to prevent the further spread of dis-ease. As per the latest data, Kerala is lead-ing the nation in terms of curbing the ill-ness, while Maharashtra is leading in termsof the spread of infections.

The district of Bhilwara in the Stateof Rajasthan is a commendable exampleof how an inevitable large-scaleCoronavirus outbreak has been success-fully contained due to vigilant and ruth-less containment measures. Immediatecase mapping, contact tracing, clustermapping, tracing secondary contacts andimposing a curfew in the entire districtwere some of the intelligent measures thatmade Bhilwara emerge triumphant inavoiding the havoc that an outbreakcould have caused.

If India’s healthcare infrastructure hadbeen strong, the Government could haveadopted the Singapore model, as perwhich, the city-State has not shut any ofits operations and its people do not wearmasks. The authorities are still keepingtheir defences up against the virus byimplementing constant monitoring and

testing and isolating confirmed casesimmediately. It is safe to assume thatThailand and Taiwan’s previous experienceof battling a similar virus in 2003 has alsohelped their governments. Thailand iskeeping cases under control by employ-ing aggressive public health campaigns andonly 47 total deaths have been reported.The Taiwanese model of tackling the pan-demic utilises a combination of vigilance,proactive decisions and maintainingtransparency. This has led to only 422cases reported and six deaths.

All three countries have relied on ITand a strongly geared medical system. Thesame measures could have been imple-mented in India if the healthcare systemhad been dependable and the country didnot already have a crippling economy. Thenation’s under-preparedness and its strug-gle towards curbing the spread of the dis-ease, while also compromising the state ofits economy, is a testament to the veryfoundations of our inefficient economyand how a multi-fold increase in focus isrequired for the healthcare sector.

The pandemic has rendered oureconomy non-functional and incapable ofrecovering the loss it has already under-gone any time soon. Had the healthcareexperts been prepared and had theGovernment paid more attention to thesector, the curve could have been flattenedfairly easily. India could have easilydodged the destruction caused by the pan-demic and utilised this as an opportuni-ty to surpass China in the global econom-ic arena. But with the current scenario, allthis seems far-fetched and the countryonly has more restrictions to look forwardto in the future.

(John is faculty member of PublicHealth and Hospital ManagementDepartment, Jamia Hamdard and Kukrejais research assistant)

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The countrywide lockdownnecessitated by the Coronaviruspandemic has had a huge

impact on the economy, robbing mil-lions of people of livelihoods and alsorequiring additional expenditure onhealthcare. However, amid this gloomand doom, there is a silver lining forthe fiscal situation. This is the time totake advantage of the world oil pricescenario to strengthen India’s positionand fiscal parameters later. The petro-leum sector is the single most impor-tant one in terms of revenue andexpenditure for both the Centre andthe States.

India spends about 30 per cent ofits import bill on fuel sources and amajority of it is petroleum or crude oil.As per the all-India report submitted

to the Delhi-based PetroleumPlanning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), 70per cent of diesel and 99.6 per cent ofpetrol are consumed in the transportsector alone. Hence, the slightestchange in the global oil market willimpact our current account signifi-cantly. According to the PPAC, adecline of crude oil price by $1/bblimproves the current account by �965crore and if the rupee strengthens byone against the dollar, it improves theoil bill by �553 crore. On the revenueside, petroleum has generated a whop-ping �5.7 lakh crore in 2018-19 for theCentre and States.

The price of oil is hovering around$20/bbl and its major consumers (US(20 per cent), China (14 per cent),Japan (four per cent), just like India,are currently battling the pandemicand not likely to push prices soon.Some projections suggest that crudeoil price could hit $12/bbl in the com-ing months. Today, the US benchmark,West Texas Intermediate, has fallen to$15 for the first time in 21 years dueto falling crude demand. To add tothis, global oil storage is reaching itslimits. The situation is so dire, in fact,that the Department of Energy is con-

sidering paying domestic oil produc-ers to keep crude in the ground.

The US Energy InformationAdministration (EIA) and theInternational Energy Association(IEA) predict similar trends for crude.Its lower price bound is hoveringaround $20/bbl and other predictivevalues lie between $30/bbl to $40/bbl.

Now, let us look at three scenar-ios to see how India’s fiscal situationcan improve, banking on this fall in oilprices. For the sake of our argument,we will consider only two petroleumproducts i.e. petrol and diesel, whichare a major source of revenue for theGovernment in the petroleum seg-ment. We are assuming one financialyear (FY) i.e. April 1, 2020 to March31, 2021 for our calculation.

Back to normal but less activity:To simulate this scenario, we will useoil consumption data of 2016-17, orthe demonetisation year data. The rea-son for taking the demonetisationdemand and not last year’s is that eco-nomic activity will return to the levelof a bad financial year. Under this sce-nario, India will enjoy a huge priceadvantage. The price of crude is hov-ering around $20/barrel and accord-

ing to sources, it is expected to remainat that level for the next six months.Thus we assume an oil price of$20/barrel for six months and $30 forthe rest of the year. In this scenario,additional oil revenue generated forthe Government could be �1.4 lakhcrore.

Slow and staggered normalcy:Under this situation, India will slow-ly recover and go back to normal eco-nomic activity. To simulate, we assumeonly 10 per cent activity in the first twomonths, 30 per cent activity in the nexttwo months, 50 per cent in the follow-ing two months and business as usualin the remaining six months. The pricesituation would be the same as in sce-nario one. In this situation, theGovernment can get an additional rev-enue of up to �90 thousand crore.

India lags in controllingCOVID-19 and the US recovers: Thepandemic has hurt the US the worst.Significantly, the US is also the largestconsumer of crude oil. If the USrecovers quickly from the current pan-demic and resumes normal econom-ic activity it will make the crude oilprice shoot to $30 for the first threemonths, i.e. April to June, then $40 for

the next three months and $50 for therest of the year. In India’s case thedemand situation will be slow inrecovering and experience a staggeredimprovement, like in the second sce-nario. In this situation, theGovernment can raise an additional�23,104 crore over the FY.

Our calculations show that India’sadvantage varies from �1.4 lakh croreto a few thousand crores. This showshow current actions can shape up ourfiscal situation in the next year and so.

Conclusion: The three scenariosdescribed above suggest that startingeconomic activity before the EuropeanUnion and the US will give India acomparative advantage international-ly and more importantly in domesticbusiness. It will also provide a windowof opportunity for the Government toimprove its fiscal situation.

India can use this opportunity toimprove its current account deficit(CAD) position and exchange rate.Less pressure on imports and hugeexport opportunities in the healthcare-related sectors should strengthen therupee and improve the CAD.

On the employment front, returnto normalcy can create huge job

opportunities in the petroleum sector.A few other sectors, like business ser-vices, education services and pharmacan also give comparative wage advan-tage to India, which according to eco-nomic researchers Dingel andNeiman, can completely shift to thework from home (WFH) mode. Theyused two Occupational InformationNetwork surveys to estimate share ofjobs that can be done at home in eachoccupation type. Combining thesefacts and adding information into thesocial accounting matrix (SAM)framework can observe an addition-al 11 lakh employment opportunities.SAM is a comprehensive accountingframework within which the full cir-cular flow of income — from produc-tion, to factor income, to householdincome to household demand andback to production — is captured.These estimates show that petroleum,pharma and the business service sec-tor can add 6,89,616 and 81,092 and4,04,630 new jobs respectively post-Coronavirus. These estimations arebased on moderate expectation of fiveper cent growth in exports in these sec-tors.

For all these to happen, India

needs to start some economic activi-ty as soon as possible, preferably byMay 3, even if partially. Hotspots canbe identified and locked down till thespread is contained. The Governmentshould not shy away from providingrelief to vulnerable sections. Theimportant thing is that as soon as Indiacan get back to normalcy it can reapthe advantages of a slack in globaldemand in a number of sectors.Petroleum is the prominent one butthere are sectors like pharma and ser-vices which will have a comparativeadvantage in the post-lockdown peri-od. The need of the hour is to identi-fy such domains and quick-start thoseactivities.

Again, in a nutshell, India’s strat-egy should be to get back to normalas quickly as possible by using moreresources; spending entire resourceson the hotspots (tests, tracking and iso-lation); providing wage-coupons todaily wagers to contain them in thehotspots; inter-sectoral transformableskilling; identifying potential sectorsand encouraging start-ups to harnessWFH advantage to boost exports.

(The writer is Fellow, IndiaDevelopment Foundation)

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Tattoo parlors and hairsalons in Denmark.

Beaches in Australia.Bookstores in Germany.Countries around the worldthat have seen coronavirusinfections flatten out beganeasing their lockdowns onMonday. In the US, mean-while, the debate took on anincreasingly political edge.

Over the past few days,President Donald Trump open-ly encouraged protesters whohave been demanding the lift-ing of the state-imposed stay-at-home orders, and somestates — mostly ones underRepublican leaders — havetaken steps to relax somerestrictions. But other gover-nors have warned that theycan’t move ahead without helpfrom the federal government inexpanding testing.

Around the globe, thegame plan is to open up butmaintain enough social dis-tancing to prevent new flareups

of the virus that has infected 2.4million people worldwide,killed more than 165,000 andcrippled the world economy.

The easing of the lock-downs “is not the end of theepidemic in any country. It’sjust the beginning of the nextphase,” the head of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO),Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,told G-20 health ministers inan online meeting.

He sternly warned gov-ernments not to rush to returnto normal, saying, “It is criticalthat these measures are aphased process.”

The death toll in the US,the worst-hit country by far,was more than 40,000 withover 7,50,000 confirmed infec-tions, according to a tally byJohns Hopkins University ofgovernment reports. The truefigures are believed to be muchhigher, in part because of lim-ited and difficulties in countingthe dead.

While Trump and mem-bers of his administration say

parts of the nation are ready tobegin a gradual return to nor-malcy, many governors saythey lack the testing suppliesthey need and warn that if theyreopen their economies toosoon, they could get hit by asecond wave of infections.

“We showed that we cancontrol the beast and when youclose down, you can actuallyslow that infection rate, but thisis only halftime,” New YorkGov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Westill have to make sure that wekeep that beast under control, wekeep that infection rate down.’’

Egged on by the President,protesters have taken to thestreets in places such asMichigan, Ohio and Virginia,complaining that the shut-downs are destroying theirlivelihoods and trampling theirrights. Defying the social-dis-tancing rules and, in somecases, wearing no masks,demonstrators have beratedtheir governors and demandedthe firing of Dr Anthony Fauci,the government’s top infec-tious-disease expert.

But on Monday, Fauciwarned, “Unless we get the

virus under control, the realrecovery economically is notgoing to happen.”

“If you jump the gun andgo into a situation where youhave a big spike, you’re going toset yourself back. So, as painfulas it is to go by the carefulguidelines of gradually phasinginto a reopening, it’s going tobackfire,” he said on ABC’s“Good Morning America.”

In the past few days, Floridagave the OK for beaches toreopen, and Texas on Monday

began a week of slow reopen-ings, starting off with stateparks. Later, stores will beallowed to offer curbside service.

Elsewhere around theworld, Isabel Pennekamp, shop-ping in the German city ofCologne, was grateful that partsof the country reopened smallstores. “Well, I think it’s good,because now people can get outa bit more and normality is a bitmore possible again,” she said.

German Health MinisterJens Spahn said the gradual

easing “is a step-by-step processwhere, after time, we will eval-uate what consequences it hashad for the infection.”

Cars will again beginrolling off some productionlines in Germany, Sweden andSlovakia. In Australia, the pro-duction of the country’slongest-running soap opera,“Neighbours,” planned torestart by having separate crewsfor each key filming site. Onecity council in Sydneyreopened beaches but stressedthey were only for exercise likeswimming, running and surf-ing, and not for sunbathing.

“Living along the coast, Iknow how important ourbeaches are to the mental andphysical health of so many,”said Danny Said, mayor ofRandwick.

Sydney’s iconic BondiBeach remained closed.

Hair salons, dentists, phys-iotherapists and even tattooparlors were allowed to reopenin Denmark but it was not busi-ness as usual. Christel Lerchesprayed customers’ chairs withalcohol at her salon in subur-ban Copenhagen and provid-

ed hand sanitizer and plasticcoat hangers — to be cleanedafter each use — to clients keento get their hair trimmed orstyled for the first time sincerestrictions began on March 11.No magazines were left for cus-tomers to share.

Iran began opening inter-city highways and major shop-ping centers Monday to stim-ulate its sanctions-choked econ-omy, despite major questionsabout the country’s officialinfection figures and death toll.

But not every Governmentwas ready to take its foot off thebrake just yet.

In Italy, tensions have beengrowing between northernregions, which are pushing toreopen industry despite beinghardest hit by the coronavirus,and the south, which fears con-tagion if the lockdown is eased.Premier Giuseppe Conte isexpected to outline what a“Phase 2” can look like thisweek, with the nationwide lock-down set to be lifted on May 4.

Still, Gucci on Mondayrestarted some workshops forleather accessories and shoes,agreeing with unions to provide

“maximum security for workers.’’The luxury fashion industry is amajor part of the economy inItaly, and deadlines are loomingto produce fall collections.

In Britain, where PrimeMinister Boris Johnson is stillrecovering from Covid-19 thatsaw him hospitalized in inten-sive care, a lockdown imposedMarch 23 is due to last at leastuntil May 7, and ministershave cautioned that measuresare unlikely to be significantlyloosened in the short term.

France also is still under atight lockdown, although start-ing Monday, authoritiesallowed families, under strictconditions, to visit relatives innursing homes once again.

In some places, lockdownfatigue was on the rise. Dutchpolice broke up two illegalgambling events and fineddozens of people for breachinglocal rules. In Japan, authoritiesemphasized that the time is notripe to loosen restrictions bymowing down tens of thou-sands of tulips in full bloomnear Tokyo. The problem wasthat people were coming toadmire the flowers.

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Canadians on Mondaymourned the shocking

rampage that left 18 dead in arural community in NovaScotia, after a gunman dis-guised as a police officeropened fire on people hun-kered down in their homes, set-ting many ablaze in the dead-liest mass shooting in the coun-

try’s history. Officials said the suspect,

identified as 51-year-oldGabriel Wortman, was alsoamong the dead in the weekendattack. Police did not providea motive for the killings.

Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau said the gun-man killed at least 18 peopleover a large swath of northernNova Scotia.

“The vast majority of NovaScotians will have direct link withone more more of victims. Theentire province and country isgrieving right now as we cometo grips with something that isunimaginable,” Trudeau said.“The pandemic will prevent usfrom mourning together in per-son, but a vigil will be held vir-tually to celebrate the lives of thevictims,” Trudeau said.

Islamabad: Pakistan ForeignMinister Shah MahmoodQureshi on Monday discussedthe latest situation in the Afghanpeace process with hisAfghanistan counterpart HanifAtmar and said the US-Talibandeal provides a “historic” oppor-tunity to bring peace and stabil-ity in the war-torn country.

Qureshi, during the tele-phonic call with Afghanistan’sacting Foreign Minister Atmar,also reiterated Pakistan’s supportto the Afghan peace and recon-

ciliation process.While discussing the latest

situation in the Afghan peaceprocess, Qureshi said, “the US-Taliban Peace Agreement pro-vides a historic opportunity forthe Afghan leadership to joint-ly work for the ultimate aim ofa peaceful and stableAfghanistan.” The US and theTaliban signed landmark deal inon February 29 to bring lastingpeace in war-torn Afghanistanand allow US troops to returnhome. PTI

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Wildlife authorities inNepal have ruled against

returning a rescued sloth bearto its home in India, citing theanimal’s unverified nationality.

Animal rights centreSneha’s Care rescued Dhutharu,the one-year-old sloth bear,from an animal tamer inNepal’s southeatern Siraha dis-trict six month ago.

Speaking to PTI, activistSneha Shrestha said, “After

reading on the newspaper thata little bear (Dhutharu) wasbeing made to perform tricksfor his trapper, I decided to gowith my team to Siraha to res-cue the animal from torture.”

Dhutharu was handed overto the Government with therequest that he be transportedto a wildlife recovery centre inIndia as Nepal does not havesuch a facility. Private organi-sation like Sneha’s Care are notauthorised to keep under theircare rescued wild animals.

Islamabad: Prime MinisterImran Khan on Monday urgedthe people of Pakistan to show“self discipline” and refrainfrom going outside to stem thespread of the novel coron-avirus, which has killed 176people and infected 8,516 oth-ers in the country. MinisterKhan’s remarks came days after

he cautioned that Pakistan maysee an increase in the numberof coronavirus cases from mid-May and the healthcare systemcould come under significantpressure.

“My message for people isto stay home as much as pos-sible during this pandemic.The more people show self-dis-

cipline, the easier it will be forus to manage the Covid-19 plusease the lockdown gradually,”he said in a tweet.

According to health offi-cials, Punjab has registered3,822 Covid-19 cases, while2,544 infections have beenreported in Sindh, 1,235 inKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 432 in

Balochistan, 263 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 171 in Islamabadand 49 in Pakistan occupiedKashmir.

The Prime Minister’sAdvisor on Health, Dr ZafarMirza, said on Monday that 17more people died in one day,taking the total death toll to176. PTI

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Washington: The US said itwill continue to quickly expelmigrants it encounters alongthe border for at least anothermonth in response to theCovid-19 outbreak.

An order issued by theDepartment of Health andHuman Services on Mondaysays the policy should be keptin place for another 30 days tohelp reduce the spread of thevirus. The new order extendsthe policy until May 20.

US officials last month

launched the new policy, say-ing it would be dangerous forCustoms and BorderProtection to detain peoplebecause of the potential spreadof the virus in detention facil-ities. As a result, CBP has beenturning away thousands ofmigrants, including asylumseekers.

Adults from Mexico andCentral America make up mostof the border crossers and theyare being sent immediatelyback to Mexico. AP

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The worldwide death tollfrom the novel coronavirus

pandemic rose to 168,008 onMonday. More than2,444,698declared cases havebeen registered in 193 countriesand of these cases, at least640,342 are now consideredrecovered.

US: New York reported lessthan 500 deaths in a single dayfrom the coronavirus for thefirst time in nearly three weeks,Governor Andrew Cuomo said

on Monday, stressing that con-tinuous drop in hospitalisa-tions suggest that the state isdescending from the “plateau”of Covid-19 infections.

Cuomo said another 478people had died in New Yorkon April 19, the lowest single-day toll in more than twoweeks and the first time that theCovid-19 number of fatalitiesfell below the 500 mark.

“Worst news is the numberof lives lost, that number is stillhorrifically high. If you’re look-ing for the optimist view, it’s notas bad as it was but 478 New

Yorkers died yesterday fromthis terrible virus,” he said.The death toll of 478 was downfor the sixth straight day, bring-ing the total number of deathsin the state to 14,347. The num-ber of deaths from the coron-avirus in the United Statestopped 40,000.

Italy: Italy on Mondayreported its first drop in thenumber of people currentlysuffering from the novel coro-navirus since it recorded its firstinfection in February. The civilprotection service said 108,237

people were either being treat-ed in hospital or were recover-ing at home after testing posi-tive — down 20 from the totalreported on Sunday.

UK: A total of 16,509 peo-ple hospitalised with coron-avirus in Britain have nowdied, health ministry figuresshowed Monday, up by 449 —the lowest daily toll fora fortnight.

Figures are however alwayslower on a Monday due toreporting delays over the weekend.

Spain: A total of 399 peo-ple died of Covid-19 in Spainover the past 24 hours, downfrom 410 a day earlier, theGovernment said on Monday.The latest figures also showedthe number of cases soaring to200,210 in Spain, which hassuffered the third-highest number of virus deaths in theworld after the United Statesand Italy.

France: France PrimeMinister said the country wasstarting to beat back the coro-navirus as the outbreak’s death

toll approached 20,000 whilenew hospitalisations continueda slow decline. The countryreported 395 deaths in the last24 hours, the Government said,bringing the epidemic tally to19,718. But in a positive sign, thenumber of people in hospital

declined for the fifth day in arow to 30,610 — a small declineof 29, top health official JeromeSalomon told a televised pressconference. There were 5,744people in intensive care, addedSalomon, 89 fewer in the 11thconsecutive day of decline.

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China on Monday firmlyrejected US President

Donald Trump’s demand toallow an American team into Wuhan to investigatethe origins of the novel coron-avirus, saying it was also a “vic-tim and not a culprit” of theCovid-19.

Describing the novel coro-navirus as a plague, Trump onSunday said that he is nothappy with China where thepandemic emerged inDecember last year in Wuhan,the capital of central China’sHubei province.

“We spoke to them(Chinese) a long time agoabout going in. We want to go in. We want to seewhat’s going on. And weweren’t exactly invited, I can tell you that,” Trump toldreporters.

The US has launched aninvestigation into whether thedeadly virus “escaped” from theWuhan Institute of Virology.

Reacting to Trump’s com-ments, Chinese ForeignMinistry spokesman GengShuang told a media briefinghere that “the virus is the common enemy for allmankind”.

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#�3����>�����3��A�:������@�9�4 #��@���>�Geneva: The head of the WorldHealth Organization haswarned that “the worst is yetahead of us” in the coronavirusoutbreak, raising new alarmbells about the pandemic just asmany countries are beginning toease restrictive measures.

WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

didn’t specify why he believedthat the outbreak that hasinfected nearly 2.5 million peo-ple and killed over 166,000,according to figures compiledby Johns Hopkins University,could be even worse.

Tedros also alluded to theso-called Spanish flu in 1918 asa reference for the coronavirus

outbreak. “It has a very dan-gerous combination and this ishappening in hundred years forthe first time again, like the1918 flu that killed up to 100million people,” he toldreporters in Geneva. “But nowwe have technology, we can pre-vent that disaster, we can pre-vent that kind of crisis.” AP

Genava: World HealthOrganisation chief TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus insist-ed on Monday that the UNagency had not hidden fromthe United States any informa-tion it had about the coron-avirus pandemic. He said thepresence of embedded USGovernment secondees work-ing at the WHO headquartersin Geneva “means there isnothing hidden from the US,from day one”, adding: “Thereis no secret in WHO”. AFP

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) onMonday said after the coronavirus outbreak

the world cannot afford to take social cohesionfor granted, underscoring the need for countriesto calibrate their social policies to reduceinequality, protect vulnerable sections, and pro-mote fairness in access to opportunities.

In a blog post ‘A Global Crisis Like No OtherNeeds a Global Response Like No Other’ afterthe first-ever virtual spring meeting of the IMFand the World Bank concluded, IMF ManagingDirector Kristalina Georgieva said the globaloutlook was dire.

“We expect global economic activity todecline on a scale we have not seen since theGreat Depression. This year 170 countries willsee income per capita go down — only monthsago we were projecting 160 economies to reg-ister positive per capita income growth,” shewrote.

The IMF managing director said policyadvice will need to adapt to evolving realitiesto help lay the foundations for a strong recov-ery. “In the new post-COVID-19 world, we sim-ply cannot take social cohesion for granted. Sowe must support countries’ efforts in calibrat-ing their social policies to reduce inequality, pro-tect vulnerable people, and promote access toopportunities for all,” said Georgieva, who hasserved the acting president of the World BankGroup in 2019.

“We need to have a better understanding ofthe specific challenges, risks and tradeoffs fac-ing every country as they gradually restart theireconomies,” she added.

Economies across the world are looking tomaintain extraordinary stimulus and uncon-ventional policy measures. However, ques-tions persist on how long to unwind the, deal-ing with high unemployment and ‘lower-for-longer’ interest rates, preserving financial sta-bility, and facilitating sectoral adjustment andprivate sector debt workouts.

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The country’s power demandslips 3.25 per cent to 123

GW in the morning onMonday as a slight drop in tem-perature neutralised any rise inelectricity consumption onaccount of partial resumptionof industrial activities postlockdown relaxations.

Some states have decidedto ease curbs including onindustrial activities during theCovid-19 lockdown 2.0, whichis in place till May 3 in thecountry.

“The peak power demandmet was 123 GW at 9:30 am onMonday compared to 127 GWlast week around same time,” asource told PTI.

The expected rise of powerdemand did not happenbecause of cold weather acrossthe country which may not bethe case in coming days, thesource added.

The peak power demandmet is the actual highest ener-gy supply during the day acrossthe country.

During April last year, thepeak power demand met was176.81 GW. Thus the powerdemand is down by almostone-third, raising concernsamong industry bodies andanalysts in view of the financialstress the sector is facing.

The discoms (distributioncompanies) owe more than�92,000 crore to gencos (gen-erating companies) as ofFebruary 2020.

New Delhi: State-owned oilfirms will resume as many as511 projects involving over�42,000 crore of investmentwith immediate effect as thecountry partially exited froman unprecedented nationwidelockdown on Monday.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp(ONGC), Indian Oil Corp(IOC), GAIL, Oil India Ltd andsix other public sector firmsidentified projects that either inrural areas or have in situlabour for the resumption ofwork, oil ministry sources said.

The Government had lastweek allowed makers of infor-mation technology hardware,farmers and industries in ruralareas to resume operations asit looked to revive the econo-my that got stalled because ofthe outbreak of coronaviruspandemic.

As many as 319 projectswith these 10 PSUs are com-pletely in rural areas andresuming work on them willnot be much of a problem.Another 192 projects are with-in municipal limits but have insitu labour, they said.

In FY2020-21, these pro-jects would involve an expen-diture of over �42,000 crore.

The restarting of these pro-jects that spread from oil andgas exploration and develop-ment work to refinery jobs, gaspipeline laying and city gas dis-tribution network expansion,will generate around 7 croreman-days of employment, theysaid. PTI

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Union Civil AviationMinister Hardeep Singh

Puri took to Twitter onMonday to reiterate that noflights would operate until thespread of the novel coron-avirus disease is controlledeffectively and it poses no dan-ger to the citizens. In a series oftweets, the minister said adirective was issued on Sundayto airlines, restraining themfrom doing open bookings.

“I want to once again saythat flight restrictions that arein place as a result of India’sfight against COVID-19 will belifted once we are confidentthat spread of the virus hasbeen controlled and it poses nodanger to our country and

people,” he tweeted. His com-ments came after media reportssuggested some airlines hadopened flight bookings startingMay 4, expecting the lock-down to be lifted by then.

The minister said,”sincesome airlines did not heed ouradvisory and opened bookings,and started collecting moneyfrom flyers, a directive wasissued to them on April19,restraining them from doingso. They were also informedthat they will be given sufficientnotice and time to commencebookings.”

While Government-runAir India stopped the bookingsafter the government’s adviso-ry, private carriers ignored itand continued taking bookingsfor travel after May 3, prompt-

ing the aviation regulatorDirector General of CivilAviation to issue a circular onSunday.

“All airlines are herebydirected to refrain from book-ing tickets... Further, the air-lines may note that they shallbe given sufficient notice andtime for restarting operations,”the circular said.

All domestic and interna-tional commercial passengerflights have been suspended forthe lockdown period.

New Delhi: The Government should considerallowing e-commerce players to deliver non-essentials goods amid lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic, research firm CUTS Internationalsaid on Monday.

It said that the Government’s decision topermit e-commerce firms to deliver only essen-tial goods will add to the public hardship forconsumers in many ways, instead of mitigatingthem. It added that there are more than twen-ty thousand full time online sellers providingaround two lakh direct jobs whose livelihooddepends upon e-commerce.

“By not taking on board online-sellers’ andconsumers’ interests, the government has madea clear deviation from the multi-stakeholderprocess of decision making, which it has beenboasting about,” CUTS’s Secretary GeneralPradeep S Mehta said.

CUTS International strongly urges the gov-ernment to not just allow but encourage e-com-merce companies to leverage their infrastructureand help a large number of micro, small andmedium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to operatesmoothly. This will also advance health safety forconsumers, he said. E-commerce platforms, headded, must also ensure some measures to pre-vent inadvertent spread of virus, such as: prop-er social distancing in all its operations; frequentuse of hand sanitiser; sanitising the parcel justbefore delivery; encouraging cashless payments;advising buyers to properly wipe the package ondelivery, and wash their hands before touchinganything else. PTI

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The RBI on Monday asked banks and NBFCsto carry out money laundering (ML) and ter-

rorist financing (TF) risk assessment exerciseperiodically.

The Reserve Bank said it has added a newsection in the Master Directions on KYC.

This requires its regulated entities (REs) tocarry out ML and TF risk assessment exerciseperiodically to identify, assess and take effectivemeasures to mitigate its money laundering andterrorist financing risk for clients, countries orgeographic areas, products, services, and trans-actions or delivery channels.

“While assessing the ML/TF risk, the REs arerequired to take cognizance of the overall sec-tor-specific vulnerabilities, if any, that the reg-ulator/supervisor may share with REs from timeto time,” the RBI said in a circular.

Further, the internal risk assessment carriedout by the regulated entity should be commen-surate to its size, geographical presence, com-plexity of activities/structure, it added.

Entities regulated by the RBI include, banks,All India Financial Institutions, NBFCs, and allpayment system providers. “Also, the REs shallapply a Risk Based Approach (RBA) for mitiga-tion and management of the identified risk andshould have Board approved policies, controlsand procedures in this regard,” the RBI’s circu-lar added.

The new KYC has come in force with imme-diate effect, the RBI added.

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Benchmarks Sensex andNifty stepped back from the

day’s highs to settle on a flatnote on Monday, with gains inHDFC twins, RIL and IT shares pausing slide on theindices, as investors look for anew direction amid continueduncertainty surroundingCovid-19.

The 30-share BSE Sensexclosed higher for the thirdconsecutive session, afterswinging between gains andlosses during the day. At close,the Sensex was up 59.28 pointsor 0.19 per cent at 31,648.

While, the NSE barometerNifty was down 4.90 points or0.05 per cent at 9,261.85.

Index heavyweights HDFCtwins and Reliance Industriesmainly saved the day. IT stocksalso closed with gains.

HDFC Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying nearly 4 per cent, after thelender posted a 15.4 per centrise in consolidated net profitat �7,280.22 crore for theMarch quarter on healthy inter-est income.

Infosys jumped over 3 percent ahead of its quarterlyearnings, scheduled to beannounced later in the day.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, HDFC,RIL and TCS also closed withgains. On the other hand, AxisBank was the top laggard, fol-lowed by ITC, ICICI Bank,

IndusInd Bank and MarutiSuzuki. Sectorally, BSE IT,energy, teck, oil and gas, powerand realty indices ended up to2.67 per cent higher, whilemetal, telecom, FMCG andauto indices fell up to 3.4 percent. Broader BSE midcapclosed 0.21 per cent lower,while smallcap index finished0.80 per cent higher.

“Uncertainty ruled themarkets and lack of directionfrom earnings results or theglobal markets meant that theIndian benchmark indicesended flat after a volatile trad-ing day,” Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices, said.

Sentiments were mixedregarding the recovery in cor-porate earnings, post easing oflockdown measures, and effec-tiveness of RBI measures toinfuse liquidity into the finan-cial system, he said adding thatthe rate of spread of virus infec-tions and stock specific earningsguidance will be in focus.

Elsewhere in Asia, HongKong, Tokyo and Seoul endedin the red, while Shanghaiclosed on a positive note.

Stock exchanges in Europewere also trading on a mixed note. Brent crudefutures, the global oil bench-mark, fell 3.53 per cent toUSD 27.09 per barrel.

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Airline stocks on Mondaysettled up to 6 per cent

lower after the civil aviationregulator DGCA directed air-lines to stop taking bookingsfor travel after May 3.

Shares of InterGlobeAviation, parent of IndiGo,tumbled 6.05 per cent to closeat �1,004.50 per unit and those of SpiceJet fell by 1.85per cent to �47.70 apiece on the BSE.

DGCA on Sunday direct-ed airlines to stop taking book-ings for travel after May 3,assuring them that they wouldbe given sufficient time torestart flight operations.

The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) issueda circular stating, “all airlinesare hereby directed to refrainfrom booking tickets... Further,the airlines may note that theyshall be given sufficient notice and time for restartingoperations.”

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The nationwide lockdown, imposedsince March 25 to control coronavirus

outbreak, has affected housing demandbadly, but sales have not come to a grind-ing halt and brokerage firms are able toclose some transactions digitally with thehelp of freebies offered by developers.

Home-grown property brokeragefirm Anarock on Monday said in a state-

ment that it has sold properties worth�252 crore since lockdown through dig-ital transactions.

“Despite the coronavirus-inducednationwide lockdown and all on-groundactivity halted since March 25, theAnarock group has successfully closedthe digital sale of 240 homes worth�214.6 crore and 62 office spaces col-lectively worth �37 crore,” it said in astatement.

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Rudratej ‘Rudy’ Singh, the firstIndian-born head of German

automaker BMW’s businesses in Indiapassed away on Sunday after a heartattack.

He had taken over his current rolein August 2019 after having headed theglobal business operations for Indiantwo-wheeler manufacturer RoyalEnfield.

The graduate of the Institute ofManagement Technology (IMT),Ghaziabad had previously served inroles at Hindustan Lever and its glob-al parent, Unilever.

This was the second death to rock

the company in under two weeks,BMW India’s marketing head MihirDayal passed away on April 7 after ashort battle with cancer.

Rudy will be remembered as asmart and innovative marketer with an innate understanding of theconcept of luxury.

In a meeting with The Pioneer soonafter he took over at BMW, he high-lighted how he wanted to pivot the lux-ury business in India to becoming moreexperiential rather than being discountdriven, and to that end, BMW India wasmaking subtle changes to the way theywere marketing themselves.

An avid golfer, Rudy was also well-known for his philanthropic endeavours

and his last tweet on the social mediaplatform just a few days ago was to pro-

mote a community kitchen in Noida.He is survived by a wife and daughter.

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The Indian rupee declined by14 paise to settle at 76.53

(provisional) against the USdollar on Monday, amidstrengthening of the Americancurrency overseas and a sharprise in coronavirus cases in thecountry.

Forex traders said a firm US dollar weighed on thelocal unit. Besides, investor sen-timent remain fragile amid con-cerns over the impact of coron-

avirus outbreak on the domes-tic as well as global economy.

At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee openedstrong at 76.43, but soon lostground and finally settled at76.53, registering a fall of 14paise over its previous close.

During the session, therupee witnessed high volatili-ty and touched a high of 76.43and a low of 76.68 against theUS dollar. On Friday, the rupeehad settled at 76.39 against thegreenback.

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City-based consumer pro-tection forum Mumbai

Grahak Panchayat on Mondayurged the civil aviation min-istry to direct airlines to refundcustomers for the cancelledflights based on the date oftravel and not as per the dateof booking and has soughtsuitable modification in April16 order on this issue.

All domestic and interna-tional commercial passengerflights have been suspended forthe lockdown period. However,cargo and special flights per-mitted by the DGCA can fly inthis period.

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Page 10: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

The World Health Organisation, in arecent report cautions us about the ris-

ing cases of psychological disorders inIndia. The most common disorders afflict-ing Indian population include depression,anxiety, addictions and suicides. Moreover,the emotional and economic mayhem cre-ated by the current COVID-19 pandemic islikely to push the situation from bad to worse.In such times, we must rediscover ways tokeep calm, positive and nurture our mentalhealth. Taking care of our mind is as impor-tant because our thoughts have the powerto shape our life.

Whenever you are stressed, introspectdeeply on the source of the problem. Mostof us have a flawed perception which makesus worried, depressed and agitated over any-thing going wrong in our life. Under its spell,we tend to overreact to minor frustrations,losses and deprivations and wrongly con-clude that there is an emergency-like situa-

tion. To be mentally healthy, thiswrong perception needs to go.When faced with unpleasant cir-cumstances, remind yourself that

the situation is not as grim as itappears to you; reassure yourself that

you have the strength to deal with suchproblems. Enhance your mental endurance

by facing adversities peacefully andoptimistically and consider themas hidden opportunities to refineyour survival instincts.

Also, there is an intimate con-nection between our breath and the

mind — a calm breath can pacify an agi-tated mind. Therefore, whenever you are feel-ing nervous or sad, just pause for a fewmoments, check your breathing and nor-

malise it. Alter the pace of your inhalationand exhalation so that your breathingbecomes relaxed, regular, diaphragmatic andquiet. This type of breathing ensures opti-mum levels of oxygen in your blood,improves your attention and concentrationand induces a state of mental calmness andwell-being.

Our busy and chaotic lives, erraticwork hours and increasing distractionsleave us with measly time and space forwinding down. Although, it may seemdesirable to be a go-getter, but we usually takeit to an extreme and force ourselves to func-tion like machines. Without the much-need-

ed break from routines, our body and mindburn out and we become vulnerable to var-ious physical and psychological disorders.Encourage yourself to slow down andreclaim such long-lost interests and passions.This will brighten your mood, uplift yourspirits and help you enhance your immuni-ty and mental health.

Our mind has a tendency to wallow inpast memories around discomforts, losses,annoyances and irritations — big or smalland it ignores the positive aspects of life. Ifwe scan our memories carefully, we wouldrecall many moments of generosity —when family and friends supported usthrough thick and thin, when the universeanswered our prayers, when strangers wentout of their way to helps us or when some-one showered us with unconditional love. Itis important to hold on to these happy mem-ories so that we feel hopeful about the worldwe live in. Try keeping a diary of gratitudeand express thankfulness for everythinggood, whether big or small that comes yourway. During difficult moments, you can readthis journal and firm up your faith that comewhat may, the light will outweigh the dark-ness. Remember that you have an innatepower to be mentally healthy and happy.Trust this inner force and let it work freely. *��������������������������������������������������

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.��/��)�������������No doubt, pregnancy is the most beautiful phase in a woman’s

life. During this phase, a woman tends to experienceimmunologic and physiologic changes that often make themhypochondriac about their and the unborn child’s heath. And,when the world is fighting with deadly coronavirus pandemic,the anxiety and stress level increases in expecting mothers.

The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China in January,has rapidly spread across the globe, including to every State inIndia. As everyday so many people are getting affected by it irre-spective of age and gender, it’s natural to have questions aboutthe coronavirus and what it means for your pregnancy. Here’swhat you need to know.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), Coronavirus typically spread from an infected personto other people via respiratory drops that get into the air bycoughing or sneezing, close contact with an infected person, liketouching or shaking hands, or touching a surface that has beencontaminated with the virus and then touching your mouth, noseor eyes before you wash your hands can also spread the virus.

�&-���-�� �/'�%�� Fever, cough, and breathing difficulties.� In more severe cases, one may also get pneumonia, severeacute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.

What precaution pregnant women should take?Since pregnant women are immunocompromised, there-

fore they are more susceptibleto complications of respiratoryinfections, flu and if not treat-ed immediately it can impacttheir health severely.

Not only this, but pregnantwomen may also suffer fromsevere illness, morbidity andmortality compared to others.They have chances of gettingother related coronavirus infec-tions (including severe acuterespiratory syndrome coron-avirus (SARS-CoV) and MiddleEast respiratory syndromecoronavirus (MERS-CoV)) andother viral respiratory infec-tions, such as influenza, duringpregnancy.

A small study of nine preg-nant women in Wuhan, China,with confirmed COVID-19found no evidence of the virusin their breast milk and cordblood amniotic fluid.

Though there is no evidence that suggests that pregnantwomen are at the risk of miscarriage or even of the virus pass-ing to the developing baby while the mother is pregnant, theresearch is still going on.

Pregnant women should take precautions in order to keepcoronavirus away. Similar to other members, they should alsowash their hands at regular intervals, avoid touching your eyes,nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, avoid close contact,cover your mouth while coughing and sneezing or wear a facemask and disinfect frequently touch surfaces.

If you are pregnant and you feel sick then consult your doc-tor immediately as your baby may also be vulnerable to thevirus.

As the virus has continued its spread across India, manyhospitals and birthing centers have been enacting new mea-sures to keep mothers and babies safe. They should restrict vis-itors from entering the delivery room. If a patient has beenexposed to or test positive for COVID-19, they should be shift-ed to anisolated ward with doctors and nurses wearing pro-tective gear.

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/�/�-"��4� A summerdelight, cucumbers are low incalories and have manyimportant Vitamins andminerals. Cucumbers havehigh water content and helpkeep the body hydratedduring the day. Eating two-three cucumbers a day isrecommended. They alsohelp in regulating bodytemperature andtransporation of wasteproducts and nutrients.

They also containantioxidants, includ-ing flavonoids andtannins, whichprevent theaccumula-tion ofh a r m f u lfree radi-cals and mayreduce the risk of chronic dis-ease. They are also rich in

Vitamin K, which helps inblood clotting and may alsosupport bone health.

Cucumber also helps inweight loss.

In all, Cucumbers are arefreshing, nutritious andincredibly versatileaddition toany diet.

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The scorching summer monthsare here and so is the anxietyand stress factor. The COVID-

19 pandemic has created a chaos ineverybody’s life with queries pour-ing in whether is it a good idea tosit and relax in home ACs withouthaving to worry about the spread ofthe virus. Some say that the risk ofinfection increases in ACs while oth-ers say that it is the centrally air con-ditioned spaces that pose a threatand not home ACs.

Dr Jasmeet Kaur Wadhwa,Senior Consultant PaediatricPulmonology & TB division, SriBalaji Action Medical Institute saysthat home ACs don’t pose anythreat of infections where properprecautions are being taken by peo-ple.

“As summers have approachedmuch concern has been raisedregarding home ACs in the contextof coronavirus pandemic, but homewindow or split ACs confined in aroom do not pose any threat at homewhere required precautions arebeing taken and family members areinfection free. But if any familymember is suffering from respirato-ry disease or having a mild infectionthen try to refrain from using AC.Because the droplets left by theinfected person can get recycled inthe common duct of the AC and caninfect others as well,” she tells you.

However, the challenge, shesays, lies with the centrally air con-

ditioned spaces. “The bigger chal-lenge is with central ACs, which areplaced in big offices, hospitals andessential food outlets, which are nowsupposed to be used with precau-tions. Since, COVID-19 is a dropletinfection, it remains in the environ-ment for a shorter time then get set-tled on the surfaces, hence it is moreabout coming in contact with aninfected person then getting exposedto the recycled AC air which con-tains virus,” Wadhwa explains.

Studies are yet to confirmwhether there is a significant effectof temperature on this virus butWorld Health Organisation andIndian Council of Medical Researchhave also stated that Coronavirus hasno direct relation with temperature.

This means there is nothing toworry about much using ACs athome. Following precautions willkeep you risk free. “Keep your ACfilter clean, do not use ACs contin-uously for several hours. Practically,there is no threat in cleaning ductstill do it with precaution. If anymember in the family is sufferingfrom upper respiratory disease orcarrying mild infection, then don’tuse AC for cooling, rather useexhaust fans for clear air. Keepwindows open for fresh air and crossventilation. Try not to be in a closedroom with AC switched on for along time, more so when a familymember is facing any type of respi-ratory issues,” she advises.

Breathe in fresh air as much aspossible to eliminate the slightestrisk of infection, she adds.

Abhijeet Shakya, an engineerwho is into the business of AC ser-vicing and repairing says that whenit comes to home ACs there are norisks involved because they cater toa limited number of people. Butwhat makes centrally air conditionedspaces a threat is the large numberof people who may carry the virus.“Recently, the Government issued anadvisory for offices, hospitals andmalls to avoid using ACs till thecoronavirus pandemic. Since theyare public spaces, the risk of infec-tion increases. The AC vents increas-es the risk of virus spreading to thewhole of the building,” he says.

Having said that, experts alsosuggest that the recommended tem-perature of the air conditionedrooms shouldn’t be less than 24degrees Celsius. This will furtherhelp eliminate any risks involved.

However, to be on the safe sidemany people are restraining them-selves from using ACs for the next15 days atleast. “I usually spend mostof the time in AC. Be it in office orat home, AC was a must. But amidthe coronavirus threat, till date Ihaven’t switched on my AC yet. Maybe after 10 days or so, once there isa confirmation on the same, I willthink about using them,” says KiranSingh, a resident of Noida who isfeeling the AC heat at the moment.

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Social connection is an integral part ofelderly people’s lives, and with the lock-

down in place, they need it more than ever.The pandemic brings with it a great degreeof uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Now thatface-to-face encounters are no possible, wemust come up with creative ways to helpthem stay connected.

People over the age of 65 are more vul-nerable to the outbreak. Their ageingimmune systems make it harder for theirbodies to fend off infectious diseases.Recoveries take longer than usual and besot-ted by complications. To add to the woes,most of them live alone on a fixed pensionwith undiagnosed depression. The risk ofCOVID-19 may end up amplifying theirpre-existing problems. Here is how you canhelp them through this difficult time

Provide social support: If you haveneighbours over the age of 60, check onthem regularly. Call them, or send them atext message. If they are not comfortablewith either, leave a note on their door ask-ing them if they need anything. It isimportant to let them know that you arethinking about them. If possible, cook a lit-tle extra and offer a dish to them so that theydo not have to go through the trouble. Makesure you put the food in a disposable con-tainer and wipe the outside of the contain-er with a disinfectant.

Buy food and essentials: With panicspreading faster than the virus, even non-perishable foods like rice, sugar, flour, cere-als and biscuits are fast disappearing fromthe shelves. A lot of seniors risk a trip to thelocal grocery store only to return emptyhanded. Consider shopping on their behalf,or help them with ordering groceriesonline.

Help getting medication: Either makethe trip to the pharmacy on their behalf, ortalk to the pharmacist to set up an ongo-ing delivery. If you are going to do the lat-ter, you may have to place a conference callwith the pharmacist. A lot of seniors alsohave trouble taking their medication ontime; you can have the pharmacist pre-pack-age their medication with labels, and youcan set a reminder on their smartphone.

Help with dementia care: Seniors suf-fering from dementia are going to hit thehardest by the lockdown. If you havesomeone in your family who is sufferingfrom dementia or know someone in yourneighbourhood who is struggling with thecondition, make sure you reach out to them.A lot of them use adult day care, which willnot be available during the lockdown.Support groups they attend to cope with thecondition will not be in session either. Theseservices are essential for them, and theirunavailability will only add to their stress.Set up video or phone conferencing withcare partners who can help them come upwith coping strategies.

Coming days will be difficult and weneed to stand together during these testingtimes. Through clear communication andeffective collaboration, we can prevent thelockdown from taking a toll on the physi-cal and mental health of seniors.

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On World Health Day,April 7, Godrej Interio

released an independentstudy: “Elevating Experiences,Enriching Lives’’. The WorldHealth Organisation had cho-sen this year to celebrate thework of nurses and midwives,and remind the world of thecritical role they play in keep-ing the society healthy. Inline with the theme, the studyby Godrej Interio discussesprevalent challenges faced bythe nursing forces while deliv-ering healthcare services in thecountry.

Caregivers face tremen-dous work-related stress,burnout due to workload, andlong working hours due to theacute shortage of trainedworkforce. The job also hassignificant physical demandslike standing for long hours,performing tasks in awkwardand sustained postures, andhandling patients while trans-ferring them. This poses ahigh risk of musculoskeletaldisorders.

The study revealed thatlong working hours, overtimeand work overload affects thephysical and psychologicalwellbeing of the nurses. Whilemore than 90% of nurses have

MSD (musculoskeletal disor-der), 61% also experiencedneck pain sometimes. Mostrecurring pain area (51%) isleg ache, followed by knee pain(51%). Similarly, 51% nursescomplained of upper andlower back issues, 41% report-ed to have taken leave(s) forone-three days whereas 7%nurses have taken leaves for 4-6 days in a span of two monthsto manage the pain, indicatingan evident productivity loss tothe organisation.

Even before the onset ofthe pandemic, India was suf-fering from a shortage of 2million nurses (WHO, 2019).The nurse to patient ratio forIndia is only around 2.1 nurs-es per 1000 population.

The study also exploredthe strain on the workforcedue to the acute shortage ofcaregivers.

It revealed that 88% ofnurses work for eight-10 hoursa day along with doing over-time at least thrice a month.Similarly, 74% of the nursesstand for more than four to sixhours a day at a stretch, caus-ing stress on their lower limbs.While 20% of nurses report-ed performing double-shiftduty at least twice a month.

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Iwanted to cry hearing thosebeautiful voices. These were

10 of India’s most versatilesingers, who had come togeth-er to sing Dharti Ma to com-memorate the 50th anniversaryof our network,” said the presi-dent of Earth Day Network,Kathleen Rogers.

Saluting mother earthwhich has sustained life forcenturies, the seven minutetrack is accompanied by greatvisuals. The pathos with whichthe lyrics are sung, during atime when we are taking stockand realising how much theearth means to each of us, ishard to miss. The music hasbeen composed by Chennai-based singer AmritRamnath. Not having access tothe recording studio duringlockdown was a challenge. Therecordings from all the artisteswere processed at Amrit’s homestudio.

Recorded in Delhi, Kolkata,Mumbai, Chennai, Bangaloreand San Francisco, the song issung by Bombay Jayashri,Shankar Mahadevan, classicalCarnatic vocalist AbhishekRaghuram, Bengali classicalsinger Kaushiki Chakravorty,Mahesh Kale, Shweta Mohan,Abhay Jodhpurkar, MD Pallaviand Hansraj Hans.

Through the music, eachartiste appeals everyone to doeverything that we need to doto protect our earth. Kaushikisaid, “We all have a responsibil-ity to protect nature and giveour younger ones a better plan-et, a better future.” Other artistestoo were glad for the opportu-nity that the song offered. “To

be able to pay gratitude toMother Earth and, that too,through a song with suchdiverse set of artists is rare. I amprivileged to be associated withthis song,” shared Mahesh.

The youngest of all, Abhayhad grown up listening to all theartistes he worked with on thisone. He said, “I am really grate-ful for being a part of Dharti Maas these are artistes I have liter-ally grown up listening to. Plus,I feel, one hardly gets a chanceto sing a semi-classical songthese days and for such a cause,it can’t get any better than this.”

Pallavi hoped, “We allemerge from this pandemic asmore sensitive beings. I am gladI am a part of such an amazingcause.” Mahadevan praisedAmrit. He said, “I loved whatAmrit has composed. It’s anhonour to sing the same song asall the singers are stalwarts.”

Singer Shweta Mohan feltthis song was needed now morethan ever. Representing Kerala,she sang her lines in Malayalam.“I am a budding environmental-ist, so I am really happy to bea part of this project. Sharingcredits with some really bignames in the music industrymeans a lot to me,” said she.

“Awaaz mein jo dardnikla hai, ye haalat ki wajehse tha. Insaan phas gaya hai.Humme pray karna hai kidharti ma humme bacha lo(The pain in our voice is onaccount of the fact that we allare stuck. We should pay thatMother Earth should saveus),” said Hansraj Hans.

(The song releases onApril 22.)

Over the past month, newsheadlines have reeked ofsorrow. Life seems to have

come to a standstill, almost fail-ing miserably to even uplift usout of the morass. There’s no run-ning away because stepping outof your house seems akin to step-ping into a pool of danger. Whilesome people are dying untimelyor losing their loved ones, someare just struggling to reach theirhomes or living with fear.

But amid all this gloom anddoom, there are some people whoare trying to bring attention tothat silver lining around thecloud. In various ways, they aretaking some unheralded initia-tives to benefit those in need inthese trying times. Here are someexamples of acts of human decen-cy and ‘a few good things’ tocherish in a world that’s current-ly strangled by Coronavirus.

/�''��������/�� %�����The COVID SOS

(www.covidsos.org) is a non-profit initiative to connect seniorcitizens and specially-abled peo-ple with volunteers from theneighbourhood who can helpthem with delivery of essentials(for instance, groceries, medi-cines). Due to the nationwidelockdown, there is a disruption inthe delivery and availability ofessential products and services.As per the WHO, older peopleand those with pre-existing med-ical conditions are more vulner-able to the virus.

Conceptualised byBangalore-based IIT-Delhi alum-ni, Sidharth Jain, the initiative issupported by the Green DreamFoundation and Helpage India.The website, https://covidfyi.in

provides consolidated informa-tion about nearby hospitals, doc-tors, government services andimportant helpline numbers. Hesaid, “It’ll help wherever we getthe volunteers. Currently, wehave 500 of them spread acrossIndia. Just register yourself andyou might also be able to helpsomeone near you. It enablesyoung people to assist senior cit-izens and those in need aroundthem by doing simple tasks likegetting medicines, groceries orfood.” And the process goes likethis. When they receive a requestwithin walking distance of youraddress, you will be notified ifyou want to help.

����/�-������-�% /�'����&

The ‘UberMedic’ is beingused by hospitals in the Delhi-NCR region to ferry heathcareworkers. Public hospitals like SirGanga Ram Hospital, Dr RamManohar Lohia Hospital andSafdarjung Hospital are gettingfree of cost taxis to transportfrontline healthcare workersacross the city. The initiative hascome as a part of the 10 millionfree rides being offered globallyas per the announcement madeby Uber CEO Khosrowshahi ear-

lier. It is being expanded up to 10Indian cities — New Delhi,Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune,Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore,Lucknow and Patna.

An UberMedic driver, PawanKumar said, “We transport doc-tors and nurses from their homesto hospitals and back. I feel asense of pride in doing thisbecause at the end of the day, weare doing our bit in this globalcrisis and helping protect theentire country. I feel proud. I feellike I am a soldier. Our doctorsand nurses are already fighting

this battle for the country and wewant to support them so we arealso, in a way, serving the coun-try.”

All the cars are fitted withroof-to-floor plastic sheetingenclosing the driver, which actsas a protective barrier to limitcontact between the driver andthe rider. To ensure safety andhygiene standards, the drivers arebeing specially trained in safetyprocedures and equipped withpersonal protective equipmentsuch as masks, gloves, sanitisersand disinfectants.

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Bihar-based social activistSarvesh Tiwari adopts indigenoussocial distancing methods to dis-tribute masks to the needy. Thedistributors use gloves and sticksas precautionary measures whilegiving away the masks to min-imise the chances of transmis-sion. Having started his cam-paign from Musahar Toli,Sarvesh aims to supply thesemasks to 20,000 people in need.

The masks that are being dis-tributed are of different colours,as it helps ensure that the masksaren’t exchanged within the fam-ily members, further ensuringtheir individual safety fromCOVID-19. For women, there arered and pink masks, for men,there are blue and black, whilechildren are being given whitemasks.

“During a crisis, the margin-alised communities are the worsthit. The first reason behind thisis the lack of awareness amongthem and second is the lack ofresources to avail precautionarytools and measures. Keeping thisin mind, I decided to distributemasks among such sections ofsociety as utmost priority whiletaking all possible safety mea-sures. In these times that demandsocial distancing, this indige-nous way of distributing masksusing a stick is very easy to putinto practice and people areadopting it very enthusiastically,”said Sarvesh.

���% ��������%&�Even though the government

stimulus plans are in progress,

families with no steady source ofincome are still waiting for aid toreach them. Coming forward insupport of such families, Bhopal-based Chandni Asrani and agroup of residents from the cityhave started the initiative —‘Feeding Bhopal,’ which aims toprovide meals to poor familiesand daily-wage earners. Since thelockdown, it has reached out tomore than 1,000 families acrossthe city and fed around 1,000stray animals.

The initiative procures foodgrains with the help of donationsthat it receives and then, suppliesone week’s ration to families inneed. This includes two kg wheat,two kg rice, one kg dal, salt,turmeric, chilli, cooking oil andsoap. In collaboration withMenses With Mansa, it is also dis-tributing sanitary napkins.Providing essential items for aweek to five families mainly cov-ers slum areas (Bastis) with largepopulations of daily-wage labour-ers and people with no means tobuy rations.

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The Forest Essentials is step-ping up in their efforts to eradi-cate the spread of the virus.Frontline healthcare workers weredonated Ayurvedic hand sanitis-ers, surface cleansers and medicat-ed soaps as a part of their initia-tive. Taking all the prescribed pre-cautions, they are working tohelp flatten the curve and ensuresafety conditions for all of theemployees currently mobilisedin their factories. The workershave been working in shifts tomaximise the output.

They are also in constanttouch with the local authoritiesand Uttarakhand state govern-ment for the formulation and pro-duction of sanitisers to meet itsincreasing demand. The handsanitisers are being produced asper the WHO formula for alcoholcontent as well as aloe vera juiceand glycerin to not dry out hands.

Superstar Salman Khan is again set to showcase hissinging skills as he sung a song, titled Pyaar Karona,

to cheer up people amid the Coronavirus lockdown.Written by Salman and Hussain Dalal, Pyaar

Karona was recently released on Salman’s YouTube chan-nel.

Sharing the news among his followers, he took tosocial media and wrote: “So I’m posting from my han-dle to let you know that tomorrow on my YouTube chan-nel, mine kya? It’s ours! A song will be out tomorrow,hope you can handle it.”

Along with it, the actor also shared the song’s teas-er video in which he is seen singing, pyaar karona, aitraatkarona.

Music composers Sajid and Wajid have composedthe track. Apart from this, Salman has also been seencreating COVID-19 awareness among people throughhis videos on social media.

Recently, he came out with a very serious messagefor those who have violated the

COVID-19 lockdown. He evencalled the violators “jokers” andsaid, “Appeal ye hai ki govtaapke liye aur hum sab ke liyebol rahi hai, isko seriously lo aurafwahein mat phailao (My

appeal is that you follow whatthe government is saying and

don’t spread rumours).Ye hamesha se prob-

lem hai, sabko lagtahai ke yeh hamaresaath nahi hoga.Ye Coronaviruskisiko bhi hosakta hai, basmein, train mei,market mein,har jagah, tokaheko pange lerahe ho baharjaana hai (No

one is safe fromCoronavirus and

you can get infectedanywhere).”

The actor is cur-rently self-isolating at his

Panvel farmhouse.H+��-

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Page 12: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today …...2020/04/21  · “The Azadpur Mandi has been catering to the people and procuring produce from farm-ers across the country

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- '��4 UEFA presidentAleksander Ceferin on Mondaysaid that leagues across Europeare ready to return to actionbehind closed doors in a bid tolimit the damage caused bycoronavirus.

Football leagues have beensuspended since mid-Marchdue to the global pandemic.

But the head of Europeanfootball believes that playingwould be an important steptowards a return to normal lifeand avoid heavy financial loss-es for leagues.

“I believe there are optionsthat can allow us to restart cupchampionships and to com-plete them,” Ceferin said in aninterview with Italian dailyCorriere della Sera.

“We may have to resumewithout spectators, but the mostimportant thing, I think, is play-ing games.

“It is early to say that we can-not complete the season. Theimpact would be terrible for clubsand leagues. Better to play behindclosed doors than not at all.

“In such hard times it wouldbring happiness to people and a

certain sense of normality evenif the games can only be seen onTV.

“All activities are beingorganised to start again, every-one needs to find their lives.

“If safety measures arerespected and if the authoritiesgive the green light, the trainingcould resume like the rest.

“Further consent will beneeded for matches.”

Ceferin said that if leaguesreturned “soon enough” thenChampions League and EuropaLeague matches could “beplayed in parallel” with no datelimit for the finals.

The Slovenian said he wasnot in favour of the seasongoing into September andOctober as it “would have aheavy impact” on the 2020-2021campaign.

“We can finish, but we mustrespect the decisions taken byauthorities,” he continued.

“The priority is the health offans, players and coaches.”

As for countries who havedecided not to finish the season,Ceferin said that UEFA “willreview the cases”. AFP

����� �����

Germany’s top-flight foot-ball matches couldresume from May 9,

regional leaders of the country’sbiggest states said Monday,although games can only takeplace without spectators to pre-vent coronavirus contagion.

Markus Soeder, state pre-mier of Bavaria, said it remains“completely unimaginable tohave spectators” in the stadi-ums given the need for socialdistancing to slow the virusspread.

But “we could perhapsfrom May 9 play such a roundof ghost games,” Soeder toldBild, using the German termGeisterspiele for matches playedin empty stadiums.

“A weekend with football is

much more bearable than aweekend without football,” headded.

Likewise, Armin Laschet,premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state which is home

to Borussia Dortmund, said theleague could resume “on con-dition that there is a thor-oughly thought-out concept”.

The German FootballLeague (DFL) has presented

“safeguards” in recent days,said Laschet, adding that he“can imagine us returning toghost games”.

The backing of the twostate premiers could prove to becrucial to the league as it mullsa resumption of the Bundesliga.

A decision is imminentwith a video conference due tobe held on Thursday betweenthe DFL and 36 clubs in thefirst and second divisions.

While Germany began eas-ing curbs and allowing small-er shops to open from Monday,large public events have beenscrapped through to August 31.

The DFL is desperate forthe season to be finished byJune 30 to secure an instalmentof television money, reported-ly worth around 300 millioneuros ($326 million).

�� �� 6 � )��

Former Pakistan head coach,Mickey Arthur says leaving out

pacer Mohammad Amir from T20World Cup squad would be detrimen-tal to team’s title chances.

Amir had quit Test cricket lastyear, a decision which did not go downwell with the team management.

It led to speculations that the pacermay be ignored when the squad ispicked for the World Cup, scheduledto be held in Australia later this year.

“I wouldn’t imagine Pakistangoing to the World T20 withoutAmir. He is a match-winner. If youleave him out of the fray you poten-tially are sacrificing chances of win-ning the tournament,” Arthur said inan interview on a YouTube channel.

“Amir spoke to me about it and hekept me in the loop on his decision.We discussed it many times. Butmaybe I was too hard on him playinghim in every Test I could. I could seehe was losing his hunger for Test crick-et and his body was not able to han-dle the pressure of three formats.”

“Amir is a top class bowler and amatch-winner. I love to watch himbowl. But by deciding to leave Testcricket I think he has given himself achance of extending his white ballcareer.”

About Wahab he said the experi-enced bowler had also taken theright decision.

Pakistan cricket reacted angrily tothe announcements by Aamir andWahab last year that they were notavailable for red ball cricket. Headcoach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach, Waqar Younishad said they let down Pakistancricket.

There have been doubts overwhether Misbah would allow both inthe national team even for white ballcricket but Arthur who coachedPakistan from 2016 to 2019 till last

year’s World Cup said it would be a bigmistake not selecting Aamir.

Arthur described coaching thePakistan team as a fulfilling period ofhis career.

“The thing about Pakistan crick-et is that the people are so emotion-ally attached to the game. Either youare king or you are down there.There is no middle way. I loved andhated that facet of Pakistan cricket.But I think people need to be patientyou can’t get instant results. You needto give chances to new players to findtheir feet.”

He said the only way forward forPakistan cricket was to rely and devel-op on the group of young players hehad spotted and tried to groom in histenure.

“Pakistan has some wonderfulyoung players, Fakhar Zaman, Imamul Haq, Haris Sohail, Shaheen ShahAfridi, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashrafand of course Babar Azam. I think thisis the core of players Misbah shoulddepend on to carry Pakistan cricketforward.”

�� �� ��������

The ICC’s Chief ExecutivesCommittee (CEC) will discussthe financial implications of

the COVID-19 pandemic over a con-ference call on Thursday in which theWorld Test Championship and theODI league schedule will also comeup for deliberation.

The ODI league was to start inJune but the first series under it —South Africa’s away three-matchrubber against Sri Lanka in the firstweek of June — was cancelled onMonday due to the pandemic.

ICC Chief Executive ManuSawhney said: “This meeting is thefirst step of a collective process as weassess the impact of this ongoingglobal pandemic and work togetherso the sport can emerge from it in astrong position.

“We need to share knowledgeand start to build a deep understand-ing of what it will take to resumeinternational cricket.”

It is clear that no concrete deci-sion can be taken unless the ICC isable to figure out how many eventsit will lose due to the global lock-down.

“We are almost at the halfwaypoint of the World TestChampionship, and the SuperLeague is yet to commence so wewill consider a range of options foreach with our Members. But it’s stillsome way to go before,” a seniorICC Board member said.

Sawhney admitted that theyhave a tough road ahead in uncer-tain times.

“The scale of this task shouldnot be underestimated and willencompass a myriad of factorsuntil the public health situation hasimproved to a point that it is safefor our players, our employees, ourfans and in a way that will notimpact the public health situationadversely.

“Countries will start to reopenat different stages and in differentways and we will need to respectthat and have a holistic view of thisto enable us to take well-informeddecisions that mitigate the variousrisks as much as possible,” the ICCChief Executive added.

Sawhney said that ICC is tak-ing advice from Australian govern-ment with regards to hosting theWorld T20 in October.

“...We will continue to takeadvice from experts and authorities,including the Australian govern-ment. We will utilize all of the dataand information available to us toensure we can take responsibledecisions around all competitionsat an appropriate time that are in thebest interests of our sport.”

The senior official, who hasattended a number of ICC boardmeetings, made it clear that cancel-lation of another couple of Test

series could heavily impact theWTC calendar.

“Look, we had to finish theleague phase by March 2021 withfinal at Lord’s in June, 2021. India aremore secured as they don’t have anycancelled series till now and theirnext Test series in Australia starts endof November,” the official said.

“But England already have lostone against Sri Lanka. Also you don’tknow if West Indies and Pakistan cantour England this summer,” headded.

Although everyone is tight-lipped, an option of extending thecalendar for the WTC might beexplored where teams get to completetheir bilateral Test engagements.

Add to that, the 13-team ODIleague with points system, whereeach team has to play eight bilateral50-over series (three-match series).

The ODI league will continue tillMarch, 2022.

As per points table as on March,2022, India as hosts (automatic qual-ification) and seven other teams willqualify directly to the World Cup.

The bottom five will play aQualifier with five associates and toptwo from there will complete the 10-team World Cup in 2023.

“At this time CEC will discuss thecollective process to consider impactof COVID-19 on the sport. Themembers would like to get an under-standing from each other as to whencricket might restart in their respec-tive regions and under what condi-tions,” a CEC member said.

It has also been learnt that as ofnow, the ICC won’t tinker with theexisting World T20 schedule inOctober-November as save Big Three— India, Australia and England —the smaller nations might find it dif-ficult to sustain without the event isexpected to generate.

In case the World T20 is shifted,

the revenue stream, especially cash-flow will be severely affected.

India will be represented at theCEC meet by BCCI secretary JayShah.

����� �&��&�

Lewis Hamilton hashailed Mercedes as his

“dream team” as the worldchampion made it clear hehas no plans to leave whenhis contract expires afterthe 2020 season.

The British driver waslinked with a move toFerrari after the six-timeworld title winner revealedin January he had yet toopen talks over a newdeal with Mercedes.

Ferrari chief execu-tive officer Louis CareyCamilleri said inDecember that he was“flattered” that Hamiltonhad agreed to discuss hisfuture in conversations

with the team’s chairmanJohn Elkann.

But the 35-year-old

appeared to end talk of aswitch on Monday whenhe said his future remainswith British-basedMercedes.

“There is no dream ofanother team. I am withmy dream team,”Hamilton said onInstagram.

“There’s not a thing inmy way, as I’m not tryingto move. I’m with the peo-ple who have cared fromday one.”

Hamilton, who addedthat Mercedes were “thebest team”, will have beenaware that any opportuni-ty to join Ferrari would bequashed if reports thatSebastian Vettel is movingtowards a new contract are

confirmed.Four-time world

champion Vettel, likeHamilton, is out of con-tract at the end of the sea-son, while the German’steam-mate Charles Leclerchas a contract with theItalian team until the endof 2024.

Vettel last week saidhe had made it clear hewanted to stay at Ferraribeyond the end of this sea-son.

“Whatever the dealwill be like, it is whateverI and the team will becomfortable with. In termsof duration, normally thecontracts I had in the pastwere all a three-year deal,”Vettel said.

����� �)������

Manchester Unitedcaptain Harry

Maguire believes the RedDevils are on the righttrack towards contend-ing for the PremierLeague title again.

United havenot won theleague sinceAlex Fergusonretired as man-ager in 2013 andwere a mammoth37 points behindleaders Liverpoolwhen the PremierLeague season wasput on hold due tocoronavirus lastmonth.

However, OleGunnar Solskjaer’s menwere on an 11-matchunbeaten run before theshutdown with Maguireand Aaron Wan-Bissaka

beginning to repay thelavish sums spent

on them lastsummer and

January sign-ing BrunoFernandesmaking an

immediate impact.“I knew when I

first came toManchester Unitedthat Ole said tome loads andloads it’s a buildingprocess but we’llbe where we want

to be.” Maguire told SkySports.

“There are plenty ofaspects we need toimprove to get to the topof where we want to be.We don’t want to be chal-lenging for thisChampions League spot,we want to be challeng-ing for titles.

“We know there’s stilla lot of improvement toget there, but we’re on theright track and I’m sureeventually we will getthere.”

United sat fifth inthe table when matcheswere suspended and stillin the running for silver-ware in the FA Cup andEuropa League.

�� �� 6 � )��

With the country underlockdown because of the

COVID-19 pandemic, thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB)on Monday started online fitnesstests for its centrally contractedplayers.

The PCB went ahead withthe online tests despite batsmanSohaib Maqsood suffering a leginjury during a similar exerciselast week.

A PCB statement said thatfitness assessments of HarisSohail, Hasan Ali, MuhammadAbbas, Asad Shafiq, SarfarazAhmed, Imad Wasim andShadab Khan were conductedon Monday while remainingplayers will appear for theirtests on Tuesday.

The board also started tak-ing fitness tests of its contract-ed domestic players last week,where Maqsood sustained the

leg injury. The PCB said strengthand conditioning coach of thenational team, Yasir Malik haddesigned the online tests andwas supervising them with headcoach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.

Misbah had already empha-sised that players need to remainin top physical shape and beready for challenges wheneverintentional cricket resumes postthe pandemic.

Pakistan’s next assignment istours to Holland, Ireland andEngland for T20, ODIs andTests which is scheduled to startfrom early July but uncertaintylooms large over these serieswith the deadly disease showingno signs of relenting across theglobe.

The England and WalesCricket Board has apparently setMay 15 deadline to decidewhether Pakistan’s tour canmaterialise.

��#�%�' + Bowlers using sali-va to shine the ball is commonsight in cricket but in a postCOVID-19 world, they mighthave to reconsider the practice,making their lives tougher inwhat, many believe, has alreadybecome a batsman’s game.

In the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, the scrutinyon ball maintenance has onlyincreased but using sweat andsaliva on it remains legal.

Given the worseningCOVID-19 situation, it is unlike-ly that cricket will resume any-time soon and when it finallydoes, former players, includingVenkatesh Prasad, PraveenKumar & Jason Gillespie, feel thegame’s custodians might have tosuspend the use of saliva.

“When the action resumes,they should use only sweat forsome time as safety of the play-ers is paramount,” former pacerPrasad, who played 33 Tests and161 ODIs for India said.

He reckons it will be toughfor the bowlers to stop using sali-va to work up the ball but it isthe need of the hour.

“When you are in the thickof things, you tend to forget it.

You have to get the upper handover the batsmen as you can’t useanything else besides sweat andsaliva.

“The question is what doyou do when the batsman is

pulping you? You need to swingthe ball and what helps swing theball is the aerodynamics,” the 50-year-old explained.

Without saliva, sweatremains the only other legalsource to shine the ball but thatcan be tricky, according toPrasad.

“Because not everybodysweats. In that case, you have tokeep throwing the ball to some-one who sweats. I am someonewho doesn’t sweat that muchwhereas Rahul Dravid does,” herecalled.

Praveen Kumar, known forhis prodigious swing, saidputting the right amount ofsaliva on the ball aided his artimmensely.

“For the first few monthsafter action resumes, they willhave to ban the use of saliva. Asbowlers, we will have to look forsome other source,” he saidwith a laugh.

“...It is very important for the

fast bowlers, also for the spin-ners, as it helps them generatedrift. For an off-spinner, theshiny side on the left will driftthe ball away in the air beforecoming back. It tests the bats-man,” he reasoned.

“For me, saliva was of greathelp while opening the bowlingas well as reversing the oldball,” said Kumar, who took afive-wicket haul at Lord’s in2011.

The world will never be thesame even when it is able toovercome the current crisis. Insuch a scenario, the way thegame is played is also likely tochange.

Former Aussie bowler JasonGillespie said time has come toreconsider the use of saliva in thegame. “I don’t think it’s a quirkyquestion. It’s an actual genuinething to be considered,”Gillespie, who took 259 Testwickets, told ABC Grandstand.

“I don’t think anything is off

the table. It could be a pointwhere at the end of each over,the umpires allow the players toshine the ball in front of thembut you can only do it then. Idon’t know. Is it just sweat? Canyou only use sweat?

“I don’t have an answer tothat but it certainly will be a con-versation that will be had. If youthink about it, it is pretty gross,”said the cricketer-turned-coach.

Prasad reiterated that theuse of saliva should be stoppedeven though it would be difficultfor the bowlers to let go of apractice they are so used to.

“For everyone’s safety, itshould be suspended but if youare getting smashed, you willsub-consciously try to do yourbest to swing the ball and thatmight include (using) saliva.

“If you are not able toswing the ball like you used to,you risk getting dropped. Howdo you address that?” Prasadasked. PTI

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South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka inJune was on Monday postponed

due to the COVID-19 pandemicwhich is still not under control.

South Africa were set to playthree ODI and three T20Is duringtheir short trip of the island nationin the first half of June, CricketSouth Africa stated.

“Our Proteas would not havebeen able to prepare properly tak-ing our own lockdown situationinto account and, more important-ly, health considerations for ourplayers, which are always para-mount, were the over-riding factor,”CSA's Acting Chief ExecutiveJacques Faul said.

The ODI leg would have beenSouth Africa’s first commitment inthe ICC’s new one-day league.

“It is very sad that we have beenforced to take this step and we willre-schedule the tour as soon ascricket returns to a sense of normal-ity and our international fixture listallows,” Faul said.

He admitted that the postpone-ment of the tour will hamperSouth Africa’s preparations for theT20 World Cup to be held inOctober-November in Australiathis year.

“It is very frustrating for theplayers who want to build on thegood form they showed at the back-end of our home summer againstAustralia,” Faul concluded.

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