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MONEY 8INSOLVENCY LAW A ‘SWACHHATADRIVE' AGAINST NPAS: IBBI CHIEF

OPINION 6EXPEDITE LAWENFORCEMENT

SPORTS 11COVID-19 HAS FAILED TO

HAMPER PREPS: REID

VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY MARCH 23, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}PRABHAS IN SELF-ISOLATION

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 141*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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Page 12

CM extends lockdown till March 31For any emergency one can dial 104 and people should treat this as a medical emergencyPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Moving for a complete lock-down to fight coronavirus,Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy on Sundayannounced closure of inter-state borders for transport tillMarch 31 and asked peoplestep out of their homes onlyfor essential needs.

Speaking to the media hereon Sunday, he said inter-stateborders will be sealed, publictransport will be stopped, cin-ema halls and malls will beshut, along with non-essentialestablishments, while factoriesand offices will be running onskeleton staff on a rotationbasis.

A 100-bedded isolationhomes will be set up at the con-stituency-level and the healthworkers, village volunteers andpara medics have the data offoreign returnees and will reg-ularly be in touch with them

For any emergency one candial 104 and people shouldtreat this as a medical emer-gency and confine themselvesto homes, he advised.

Ration will be given onMarch 29, along with one kgdal, while Rs 1,000 would begiven to daily wage earners onApril 4. He thanked officials

involved in regulating peopleand collecting data besidesensuring home quarantine offoreign returnees and mappingtheir contacts. So far six posi-tive cases were reported in theState of which one person wasdischarged.

Vizag Railway Station without commuters and employees wears a deserted look, following a call given by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to observe ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday

Jagan, KCR clap tothank Covid fighters

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan stepped out of his camp office at Tadepallito applaud medical staff involved in the battle against coronavirus

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy and hiscounterpart TelanganaChief Minister K.Chandrahjekar Rao onSunday joined the nation inclapping to thank emer-gency service workers forworking to combat Covid-19.

Responding to Prime

Minister Narendra Modi'scall, the Chief Ministers ofthe Telugu states, alongwith their family members,leaders of their respectiveparties and top officialsclapped as a token of grat-itude.

In Amaravati, ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy also clapped at hisoffice.

‘States to earmark hospitalsto treat Covid-19 patients’PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministryannounced on Sunday thatstates would be earmarking acertain number of hospitals toexclusively treat COVID-19patients.

At a press conference here,Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) DirectorBalram Bhargava said a lock-down was the most essentialaspect to the break the chain oftransmission as of now.

The reaction came soonafter the Centre and state gov-ernments have decided tocompletely lock down 75 dis-tricts across the country wherecoronavirus cases have beenreported.

"Each state has pledged thatthey will earmark hospitalsexclusively to treat COVID-19

patients," Bhargava said. "Forexample, in Delhi, AIIMS'division of National CancerInstitute (NCI) in Jhajjar(Haryana) -- which has around800 beds -- would be used onlyto treat COVID-19 patients."

Bhargava stated that 60 pri-vate labs had registered so farto conduct coronavirus tests.

Five people have died inIndia as yet due to the deadlyCOVID-19 (coronavirus dis-ease 2019). The governmenthas given an order to procure1,200 new ventilators, HealthMinistry Joint Secretary LavAgarwal said.

The total number of novelcoronavirus cases in India roseto 341, including 41 foreignnationals, according to theHealth Ministry.

Millions of people across thecountry stayed indoors, streetswore a deserted look and barenumber of vehicles were on theroad in an unprecedentedshutdown on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's appeal for a'Janta curfew' on Sunday tocontain the spread of the novelcoronavirus pandemic, whichhas claimed over 13,000 livesworldwide.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The total number of positivecoronavirus cases in Indiareached 360 on Sunday,including the foreign nation-als, with 329 active cases, theUnion Health Ministry said.

While 319 of the positivecases were Indian, 41 areforeigners, the HealthMinistry said in the 6.30p.m. update.

"A total of 24 patients havebeen cured and discharged.Seven deaths have beenreported across the coun-try," the Health Ministry said.

Among the 23 states andunion territories where thecases were found,Maharashtra has the highestpatient count followed byKerala.

The number of cases acrossthe country has been increas-ing on a drastic speed.

While Bihar, Punjab, Delhi,Gujarat, and Karnataka havereported one each coron-avirus related deaths,Maharashtra has reportedtwo deaths as of now.

PV KONDAL RAOn BHADRACHALAM

In what could be regarded amajor offensive to occur fromthe CPI Maoists part in thedense forests of Chattisgarh,Seventeen police personnelincluding five STF officialsand twelve DRG personnelwere killed and some moreinjured in an encounter withthe dreaded naxalite wing ofCPI Maoists on Saturday night.The incident occurred in theChinthaguppa area on theDornapal region Sukma dis-trict and the bodies of the slainpolice were shifted to the statecapital of Chattisgarh.

The encounter occurredwhen the police were carryingout their regular naxaliteweeding operations in thedense forests under the oper-

ation prahar process. The vic-tims in the incident include:Geetaram Raatia , NaradNishad, Hemanth Poya,Amarjit Khalko, MadakamBuchcha of the STF, HemanthDas, Gandham Ramesh, LidruRam Bathel, Soyam Ramesh,

Uika Kamlesh, PediumMuththa, Uika Dhurva,Vanjam Nagesh, MadakamMasa, Podium Lakhma,Madakam Hidma neNithendrq Vanjami of theDRG command.

India observesJanata curfewPNS n NEW DELHI

Millions of people across thecountry stayed indoors onSunday in an unprecedentedand overwhelming responseto Prime Minister NarendraModi's appeal for a 'Janta cur-few' to help check the spreadof coronavirus, coming outbriefly at 5 pm to show grat-itude to health and otheressential service providerswith sounds of bells, conch-es and claps.

The prime ministerthanked the people but saidit was the start of a long bat-tle, as he urged them to fol-low social distancing to stopthe chain of transmission ofCoronavirus which hasinfected 360 people and

claimed seven lives in India.Be it Mumbai, known as the

city that never sleeps, Patna orAhmedabad, life came to astandstill in the country asroads, railway stations and air-ports wore a deserted lookand markets and establish-ments except those dealing inessential goods and servicesremained shut during the 14-hour self-imposed curfew thatstarted at 7 am.

In the national capital,roads which are usuallychock-a-block had only afew private vehicles and busesplying. The Delhi Police gavef lowers to people whostepped out of their homes,requesting them to stayindoors.

Janata curfew:Missing thewood for the trees K RAMYASREEn HYDERABAD

Prime Minister NarendraModi had announced 'Janatacurfew' on Sunday in rightearnest to help contain theaccelerating spread of Covid-19. Although the PrimeMinister had suggested a 12-hour voluntary shutdown,TS Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, uppingthe ante, asked people toobserve a 24-hour Janatacurfew i.e. till 6 am onMonday.

At the end of the day, themoot question is: Did thecurfew achieve its purpose?On the whole, it appeared asif people were missing thewood for the trees.

Of course, most of the cit-izens remained inside.

Centre announces total shutdown in 80 districtsPNS n NEW DELHI

All inter-state buses, passengertrains and metro services havebeen suspended across thecountry till March 31, while 80districts in 17 states and fiveUnion Territories includingDelhi where coronavirus caseswere reported will be undercomplete lockdown during theperiod.

Of them, five districts werefrom Telangana State and threefrom Andhra Pradesh.

The districts from Telanganainclude Hyderabad, Medchal,Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy andKothagudem while from APinclude Prakasam, Vijayawadaand Visakhapatnam.

The decision was taken at ahigh-level meeting of chiefsecretaries of all states and the

cabinet secretary andthe principal secre-tary to the prime min-ister.

The districts wherelockdown wasa n n o u n c e dinclude 10d i s t r i c t seach inMaharashtraand Kerala,six districtseach in UttarPradesh andGujarat, five each inKarnataka andHaryana, three each inTamil Nadu andPunjab.

State governmentswill issue orders allowingonly essential services to oper-ate in these 80 districts with

confirmed COVID-19cases or casualties, a

Union Home Ministryofficial said.

T h e

o f f i c i a l sstressed that

these steps werevital to end the

chain of transmis-sion.It was agreed that

there was an urgent needto extend the restrictions on

the movement of non-essen-tial passenger transport,including interstate transportbuses, till March 31 to contain

the spread of the deadlyCOVID-19, they said.

It was noted that several stategovernments have alreadyissued orders in this regard.

All the chief secretariesinformed that there was over-whelming and spontaneousresponse to the call for 'Jantacurfew' given by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The state governments mayexpand the list depending ontheir assessment of the situa-tion.

In the meeting, it was decid-ed to suspend all train servicestill March 31, including subur-ban rail services. However,goods trains are exempted. Allmetro rail services were alsosuspended till March 31, theofficials said.

The railways reported threeincidents on Saturday, wherepeople asked to remain inquarantine were found travel-ling on trains. Of those detect-ed in the three instances, 12tested positive for COVID-19.

The railways has alreadytrimmed down its services onFriday by cancelling a majori-ty of trains.

5 from TS, 3 from AP All passenger trains, Metro suspended till March 31

The districts from TSare Hyd, Medchal,Ranga Reddy,Sangareddy andKothagudem whilethose from AP arePrakasam,Vijayawada and Vizag

Balram Bhargava

India records360 cases,seven deaths

3

Seventeen police personnelkilled in Chhattisgarh encounter

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel visits Rama Krishna Hospital inRaipur to meet the security personnel who were injured in the encounter, in Sukma

3

33

The ever busy Charminar wears a deserted look onSunday following Janata curfew call given by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao

1st local transmissionof Covid-19 in VizagPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The local transmission of coro-navirus has begun in the State.A 49-year-old woman, a closecontact of a COVID-19 patientof 65- year-old man, was con-firmed positive for the virus onSunday.

The close contact does nothave any travel history to for-eign country. This is the firstsuch case in the State.

Senior officials from thehealth department, who said itis a case of local transmission,have also stressed in the samebreath the importance of socialdistancing to contain spread ofthe virus. With this positive caseof COVID-19, taking the totalpositives cases to two inVisakhapatnam city and six inthe State. It is the first womanto be identified as positive in theState.

All the two are undergoingtreatment in the GovernmentHospital for Chest andCommunicable diseases.Health department sources saidmany more from Allipuram,from where these three positivepatients hail, are likely to con-tact the disease since the 65-year-old man after comingfrom pilgrimage from Meccaand Madina hugged people inthe mosque. The medical andhealth department officials saidthat presently 11 persons areundergoing treatment in theGovernment Chest Hospitaland reports of seven wereawaited.

In Paderu three persons,who travelled abroad, are in iso-lation wards in Area Hospitaland their reports are awaited.Seven others are in home iso-lation. It may be recalled thaton Saturday, Krishna and EastGodavari districts reportedeach one positive coronaviruscase. A 23-year- old young-sters, who returned toVijayawada city of Krishna dis-trict from France, a few days

ago was tested positive forcoronavirus.The contact per-sons of the youngster ( fatherand mother) were also shiftedto the isolation ward in theGovernment Hospital inVijayawada and they were keptunder observation.

A 22- year-old youngster,who returned to Rajahmundryof East Godavari district fromLondon, was tested positive.

On March 12, 2020, the Statereported its first confirmedcase of the Covid-19 in Nellorecity. A student, who hadreturned from Italy to Nellore,tested positive for the coron-avirus. At present Covid-19infected patient in Nellore isrecovering from the virus. OnMarch 19 morning, secondpositive coronavirus case wasreported in the State after a 24-year-old youngster returned toOngole of Prakasam districtfrom England tested positive.The third positive case wasreported in Vizag after a 65-year-old man returned fromMecca.The Medical and Healthand Family Welfare depart-ment officials said that so far164 samples were tested in theState and six samples wereproved positive while 142 sam-ples proved negative. The testresults of the remaining 16 arepending.

Telangana lockdown till March 31, says KCRL VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onSunday announced totalshutdown of state till March31. He also announced closedown of inter-state borderswith immediate effect afterneighbouring Maharashtrawitnessing steep increase in

corona cases.Ne vehicles, including

TSRTC buses, RTC buses ofother states, private buses ,passenger vehicles whatsoev-er will be allowed to enter orply in Telangana till March31.

Even private taxis, cabs,autos will not be allowed.

Only goods vehicles carry-ing essentials like medicines,

food items, fruits, vegeta-bles, milk etc would only beallowed to enter and ply inthe State.

Addressing a press confer-ence at Pragathi Bhavan afterthe success of TS shutdownon Sunday, KCR thanked thepeople of state wholehearted-ly for making his shutdowncall a grand success.

n First woman was testedpositive

n So far six positive casesreported in the State

n First positive case patientin AP recovered anddischarged from hospital

nA 100-bedded isolation homes willbe set up at the constituency-leveland the health workers, villagevolunteers and para medics havethe data of foreign returnees andwill regularly be in touch withthem

n Inter-state borders will be sealed,public transport will be stopped,cinema halls and malls will beshut, along with non-essentialestablishments, while factoriesand offices will be running onskeleton staff on a rotation basis

3

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VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020 vijayawada 02

HC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

The habitual torch-bearers andpaid chest-beaters have onceagain shown their true colors inopposing tooth and nailPresidential nomination of theformer Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi under Article 80 ofthe Constitution of India. Thislobby of Lutyens' lobby raised ahue and cry against the nomina-tion of the ex- CJI and attributedquid pro quo to him just becausehe was the part and parcel of thelarger bench of the SupremeCourt that delivered historicjudgments on centuries-old mat-ters like Ayodhya Ram templeand security-sensitive issue likeRafale deal. In fact, by doing so,this infamous lobby, consistinghardly about 2 dozen advocatesof the Apex Court cast aspersionson the credibility and indepen-dence of the highest court judges.Other judges, who are in no wayconcerned about the presentcontroversy of ex-CJI's nomina-tion to the Rajya Sabha, also havebeen painted with the samebrush.

In fact, this pressure group orlobby has nothing to do with the

Courts' independence or credi-bility as they are following a par-ticular agenda of their politicalbosses who are determined totarnish the image of judiciary atany cost.

The appointment of RanjanGogoi is not the solitary incident.Earlier too many judges andChief Justices of higher judicia-ry have adorned prestigious posi-tions like Governorship,Chairmanship, Ministership andalike either under the govern-ment or through nomination bythe President of India.

The makers of theConstitution of India intendedthat intelligentsia and cream ofsociety representing differentwalks of life should be represent-ed in the Rajya Sabha so that thecountry gets the benefit of theirknowledge and experience whiletaking crucial decisions.Therefore, any opposition to thenomination of any personality isnot only against the spirit of theConstitution but also an affrontto the President's wisdom.

Incidentally, the very lobby ofvested interests had eulogizedJustice Rajan Gogoi when he satin protest, along with otherjudges, against the alleged arbi-

trary manner of allotting cases inthe roaster by the then ChiefJustice Dipak Misra and evenaddressed a press conference!

Obviously, the country can ill-afford arm-twisting tactics by alobby which is also patronized bythe Congress, the much-defamedparty which was responsible forthe imposition of Emergencyand thereby subverting theConstitution. The lobby has beennothing but a puppet in thehands of self-centered politicianswho hailed from a family whichis responsible for burdening thecountry with the illogical andimpracticable ideologies such assecularism and socialism againstthe will of the people. A few of thelobby members are also said to be

receiving active support, bothfinancial and logistic, from the leftparties, jihadis and extremists.

Indeed, in the appointment ofthe ex-CJI Rajan Gogoi, thecountry has given to itself themost shining jewel in its crownand therefore, his entry into theaugust house; called the RajyaSabha, deserves a red-carpetwelcome.Curtain falls on Nirbhaya case

At last, the curtains havewrung down on the much- dis-cussed Nirbhaya case and all thefour convicts were hanged in thewee hours of March 20. The nat-ion, thus, heaved a sigh of reliefif not rejoicement, after thedelayed justice in a case which

had evoked a lot of public inter-est.

The Nirbhaya case leavesbehind a tray of several unan-swered questions, including byresorting to the abuse of law howa smart lawyer can drag on thecase for a pretty long period. Italso raises the question of pro-priety of over-zealous defencelawyers who crossed the"Lakshman rekha" drawn by theRules of Conduct framed by theregulatory body, the Bar Councilof India.

Taking advantage of all thelegal remedies available in thelaw is undoubtedly a prerogativeof a lawyer representing a client,but at the same time, knowing itfully well the futility or ultra-viresof a chosen remedy just to gaintime and defeat the purpose oflaw is certainly condemnable.

Otherwise, what else justifica-tion could be there for approach-ing the International Court of Just-ice which has no jurisdictionover individual disputes. Even anelementary school student knowsthis fact. Obviously, the desperatedefence lawyers had lost the senseof proportion in putting forth theirdefence which really meant utterdisregard for the country's judicia-

ry and tarnishing its excellentimage before the comity ofnations.

True, the good old AkhilBharatiya Jansangh Party fromHyderabad has raised the lone-wolf voice against the evil machi-nations of the lawyers of thedefence lawyers in Nirbhaya caseand asked the regulatory body, theBar Council of India, to take sternaction against them.Surrender of passport incontempt case

The Supreme Court ofIndia in Shyam Sahani vs.Arjun Prakash and others(Civil Appeal No. 2210 of2020), has held thatthe High Court haspowers to order thesurrender of pass-port of the contem-nor in a contempt ofcourt case to ensurehis presence in thecourt.

A division bench,comprising JusticeR.Bhanumathi and JusticeA.S.Bopanna, in its reportablejudgment dated March 19 stated,"in order to ensure the presenceof Respondent No.1 and to

ensure further of the trial, theorder of the learned single judgedirecting Respondent No. 1 todeposit his passport before theCourt stands confirmed."Men seek home delivery ofliquor, fined

The Kerala High Courtslapped a hefty cost of Rs.50,000on the petitioner by nameJyothish for filing a writ petitionseeking a direction to theBeverages Corporation to take a

decision to make availablepotable liquor for deliveryto consumers in the Statethrough online platforms.

The petitioner had rep-resented to the

B e v e r a g e sCorporation

that since the outletsare inevitably crowded

during business hours;the outbreak of COVID-19 virus has rendered itunsafe for him to visit anoutlet for procuring alco-hol for his consumption.

Hence, he made suggestions onalternative modes of delivery ofalcoholic liquor to consumers.

While dismissing the writ peti-tion with 'the contempt it

deserves', Justice A.K. Jayasanka-ran Nambiar observed: "it is witha deep sense of exasperation anda tinge of disgust that I write thisjudgment", and added, "the citi-zenry ought to realize that therestrictions imposed by this Courton the filing of the cases is with aview to ensuring that their funda-mental rights as citizens, foraccess to justice, are guaranteed tothe extent possible, even at the costof exposing the judges, lawyers,clerks, staff of this court to the riskof viral infection". Terming it asthe mockery of the salutary con-cept of access to justice, theCourt did not grant permissionto withdraw the petition andwent on to impose the exemplarycosts of Rs.50,000.Covid-19 brings court to agrinding halt

Like other sectors of society,the rapid spread of Covid-19 inthe country has also brought theregular court work to a grindinghalt in the country. In most of theStates, besides the Supreme Courtof India, all High Courts and sub-ordinate courts have curtailed orall together stopped the entry ofadvocates, litigant public, witness-es and staff at all levels.

LEGALROUNDUP

The Kerala High Court slapped ahefty fine of Rs.50,000 on thepetitioner by name Jyothish for filinga writ petition seeking a direction tothe Beverages Corporation to take adecision to make available potableliquor for delivery to consumers inthe State through online platforms

Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi in RS: Much ado about nothing

Gold shows upswing,silver follows suitPNS n HYDERABAD

With the Covid-19 spreadingto more countries in theworld and assuming alarm-ing proportions, people allover the world have becomepanicky. However, orthodoxreligious groups still find itdifficult to swallow the scien-tific logic behind the widespread of the epidemic andcontinue to be in a fool's par-adise.

Gold remained depressedtill March 19. However, itshowed an upswing onMarch 20 and 21 and finallyclosed at US $ 1,497.64 (perounce), while silver followedsuit and closed at $ 12.58 (perounce). Platinum and palla-dium also marched forwardand closed at $613.96 (perounce) and $. 1,712 (perounce) respectively.

Other economic parame-ters continued their journeysouthward. Brent closed atUS $ 27.21 (per barrel),while Crude MCX oilwas quoted atRs.1,938 (per bar-rel). While GoldMCX decreasedand stood atRs.40,358(per 10gms) evenMCX Silverhas also seen a decrease andclosed at Rs.35,843 (per kg).Sensex and Nifty 50 closed at29,915.96 and 8745.45 pointsrespectively. Leading foreigncurrencies' exchange rateswere: US $: Rs.75.62, BritishPound: Rs. 88.10, Euro: Rs.81.40, Singapore $: Rs.52.61,Swiss Franc: Rs.76.68,Australian $: Rs.43.81, SaudiRiyal: Rs. 20.12, New ZealandDollar: 43.08, Kuwaiti Dinar:Rs.244.01, Omani Rial: Rs.197.18 and UAE Dirham:Rs.20.59.

At home, trading contin-ued to be dull. However, fol-lowing the global trend, boththe precious metals surgedahead. Standard gold (24carats declined by Rs.460and closed at Rs.41, 670 (per10 gms). Ornamental goldtoo, moved in tandem andwas quoted in the range of

Rs.39,610 - Rs 39,710 on theclosing day. Similarly, Silver(0.999) depreciated by Rs.4,500 and closed at Rs.35,900(per kg). COMMODITIES

The sentiment in the prin-cipal wholesale commoditymarkets in the twin citiesremained moderate. RythuBazars and the various com-modity markets located inBegum Bazar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally, General Bazarwas from moderate tostrong.

In the coming days, spicyagro-products such as gar-lic, ginger and chillies areexpected to record consid-erable spurt. The reason isCovid-19 in China, whichsupplies 80 percent of gar-lic requirement to the world,

and 47 percent and 20 per-cent of ginger and chillies.The outbreak of Covid-

19 has resulted inlower production of

these products inC h i n a .

Incidental ly,d e s p i t efloods, Indiahas been ableto reap a

bumper harvest of thesecommodities. Therefore,there is no immediate pos-sibility of shortage of theseproducts in the indigenousmarket. However, as ourexports of these commodi-ties continue to rise consis-tently, the price levels willobviously go up.

During the week, com-mon pulses such as tuar dal,masoor dal, moong dal andurad dal and commoditieslike chillies, turmeric andgarlic recorded a marginalappreciation for the secondconsecutive week, while sta-ple food grains and com-mon edible oils remainedsteady at the previous week'sclosing levels and tamarindremained divergent withinnarrow margins, whilecoriander, ginger and jeeraremained low.

The Covid-19 scare has creat-ed understandable panicamong governments and

leaders. With the rapid spread ofthe virus and the surfacing of newcases almost every day, even thosewho are normally laidback in theirgovernance reflexes are being jolt-ed to action. The other day UnitedStates President Donald Trump wasin the news for getting agitated overa simple question. Likewise, ChiefMinister K Chandrashekar Rao wasagitated on Sunday over a questionposed by a reporter from a TeluguTV channel. The CM in fact lost iscool much before the reportercould complete the second part ofhis question. Although some ofthose present at the presser wereenjoying the scene thoroughly,

others felt that it was uncalled-forin the present context.Masked marriages and VIPs

Unfortunately, it is now a seasonof masked marriages in the state.Brides and bride grooms apart,almost all the relatives and inviteesat marriages are supposed to adoptthis elemental preventive measureto arrest the spread of Covid-19. Inrural areas of Telangana districts,the silver lining in such marriagesbereft of invitees is that socialmedia platforms came to theirrescue. Marriage parties switchedto the option of telecasting live the

ceremony via Facebook and othersocial media platforms. Over thepast one week-odd period, about ahundred-odd marriages witnessedextremely thin attendance due tothe restrictions imposed by the stategovernment on public gatheringsacross the state. Amidst all this,what beats Covid-19 watchers isthat, in spite of such restrictions,some marriages took place withoutthe guests following social distanc-ing norms. Neither did they wearmasks. At such lavish parties, theattendance of a large number ofVIP invitees was noticeable.

Several hotels and eateries in the

districts, however, ensured thatwaiters and stewards wore maskswhile serving bindaas guests.00000

Right or wrong, Covid-19 hasbecome a buzzword these days.Everybody is talking about the pan-demic. The dreaded virus has

shaken up the whole world andnegatively impacted the globaleconomy. Covid-19 has shown itsdisastrous effect on vulnerablepeople right from the beginning ofthe year 2020, after originating inthe Chinese province of Wuhan. Ithas since affected Italy, Spain, theUS and several European countries.Many messages on social mediaplatforms suggest that in order toprotect oneself from contractingthe deadly virus, one should main-tain social distance of at least onemetre and not shake hands as a wayof greeting.

Immediately, we all witnessed

that, right from the US PresidentTrump Donald to Prince Charlesand other big leaders across theworld, handshake made way to'Namaste', which is ingrained inIndia's culture and traditions.People started trolling that at lastthe World is following the Indiantradition if only to arrest the spreadof the deadly virus.Scribes did it in time

Reporters did their job perfect-ly by en masse clapping at 5-00 PMin response to the call given byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.This happened though Chief

Minister K Chandrasekhar Raodid not arrive in time at the PressMeet Hall in Pragathi Bhavan onSunday. The Chief Minister hadplanned to clap before the start ofpress meet. However, the ChiefMinister did not come in time forthe presser. Still, scribes, identifiedas emergency services providers,did their part perfectly at 5 PMsharp. The scribes once againclapped along with the ChiefMinister when the latter participat-ed in a programme outside theHouse, along with family members,officials and security personnel.

(Contributed by Naveena Ghanate,

PV Kondal Rao, Ch Pradeepand Kolishetty Venkateshwalu)

REPORTERS’

D ARY

KCR trying to pull off a Trump

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Asilmetta flyover sans hustle bustle activity Kdis had a field day due to shutdown. Picture shows cricket being played in frontof a petrol bunk

Buses parked in Maddipalen bus depot

Churches which witness a huge rush on Sundays looks deserted Sampath Vinayak temple closed after morning rituals Traffic personnel stop vehicles as part of ‘Janata Curfew’ on the Beach Road

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Visakhapatnam turned into aghost city with desertedroads, shops shuttered andhardly anyone in sight. Thiswas the first time, the citycops realised that Vizag cameto a standstill with people notstepping out of their homeswithout any police enforce-ment.

Giving a thumps-up to theclarion call of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to remainindoors, as part of 'JanataCurfew', denizens confinedthemselves for the whole day tobreak the chain of coronavirus.

Interestingly, some illiter-ate, who are not aware of'Janata Curfew' did not step oftheir home believing inrumours that governmentwould be spraying disinfec-tants from aircraft to kill thevirus.

The Beach Road, RTCComplex, railway station,

Jagadamba Junction andother prime locations of thecity turned silent. Police per-sonnel, who were deployed insome junctions, stoppedvehicles and asked the rea-sons for venturing out.

Right at 5 pm, sounds ofappreciation reverberated inthe city with people from allage groups clapping andclanging utensils from theirbalconies and standing infront of their house gates.

Appreciating the Vizagpeople for their amazing sup-port to make the 'JanataCurfew', a great success,Commissioner of Police RK

Meena clapped for peopleand all the frontline workers."We did not have to forcepeople to stay home. Theyvoluntarily stayed indoors.The way people understoodthe significance of 'JanataCurfew', as requested byPrime Minister NarendraModi and Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy. "I hopepeople wound maintainsocial distancing till the virusis wiped out," he said.

And, it was a rare sight tosee deserted tracks at thecity rai lway stat ion.Passengers of trains, whichhad originated before March

22 reached the station. As thecab aggregators had also

closed their services, pas-sengers faced a lot of hurdles

to complete their last leg oftheir journey.

Vizag gives thumbs-up to ‘Janata Curfew'

People standing in their apartment balconies join the nation in clapping in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, following a call given byPrime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy

n Gears up for extended lockdown

n The Beach Road, RTC Complex, railway station,Jagadamba Junction and other prime locations of thecity turned silent. Police personnel, who weredeployed in some junctions, stopped vehicles andasked people reasons for venturing out

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Life came to a grinding halt inVijayawada city for the firsttime with denizens confiningthemselves to indoors toobserve 'Janata Curfew' follow-ing the call given by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy to combat the deadlycoronavirus.

The busy Vijayawada cityroads wore a deserted look, aspeople in the city voluntarilydid not venture out of theirhouses from 7 am to supportthe cause and control the pan-demic Covid-19. It may berecalled that with the confirma-tion of Covid-19 positive casein the city on Saturday createda panic among people.

According to Collector MdImtiaz, Vijayawada MunicipalCorporation Commissioner VPrasanna Venkatesh and PoliceCommissioner Ch DwarakaTirumala Rao, mutton, chick-en and fish stalls, which usedto be jam-packed on Sundays,are shut down.

Churches, temples andmosques in the city were closedon the instruction given by thegovernment authorities torestrict huge gatherings.

Meanwhile, prayers were offeredand pujas were performed with-out the presence of devotees.Bleaching powder was sprayedon the roadside as a precaution-ary measure in the city.

Hotels, tiffin centres, shop-

ping malls, commercial com-plexes, parks and other publicplaces were closed in the city.Pandit Nehru Bus Station, rail-way stations in Vijayawada,which were flooded with pas-sengers, wore a deserted look.

A few passengers, who had noinformation about shut downin the city, took other means oftransport to reach their desti-nations. Auto-rickshaws in thecity are restricted to autostands.

‘Janata Curfew' brings Vja to a haltn Denizens confined themselves

to homes

n Hotels, tiffin centres, shoppingmalls, commercial complexes,parks and other public placeswere closed in the city

n Pandit Nehru Bus Station,railway stations inVijayawada, which wereflooded with passengers,wore a deserted look

n A few passengers,who had noinformation aboutshut down in thecity, took othermeans of transportto reach theirdestinations

n Auto-rickshaws inthe city are restrictedto auto stands

One of the junctions in Vijayawada wears a deserted look on Sunday as denizens observe ‘Janata Curfew’

As part of‘JanataCurfew' at 5pm, peoplecame out oftheir balconyand clapped.Minister forEndowmentsVelampalli Srinivas said thatIndia has reported very lessnumber of Covid-19 cases,however, all precautionarymeasures are being taken toprevent the spread of the virus."At present we are in a crucialjuncture and to control the virus,people's cooperation is a must.

‘Will pay price if won’tfollow norms’Noteddoctor anddistrict RedCrossPresidentDr GSamaramsaid: "If wedon't followthe instructions given by thegovernment and health expertsto prevent the spread of thepandemic, we would pay aheavy price. People are nottaking things seriously, as thenumber of corona positivecases is growing in thecountry."

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Collector Md Imtiaz said thatafter confirmation of the firstcoronavirus positive case in Vija-yawada city, the district author-ities swung into action and tak-ing precautionary measures.Addressing the media at theCollector's camp office here onSunday, he said that medicalcheckups are being carried out at500 houses adjacent to the Covid19 patient's house. People in threekm radius were alerted. Samplesof those whom the victim metafter reaching Vijayawada werecollected and sent for tests.

He said that Covid 19 patientfrom One Town reached NewDelhi on March 17 and laterreached Hyderabad and fromthere he took a cab and reachedhis home in Vijayawada. The cabdriver while returning toHyderabad took three passengersand dropped them at Kukatpallyand the information is passed onto the Telangana government.

The Covid-19 patient waskept under home isolation onMarch 18 and 19, on March 20,he developed fever and cough,and was rushed to the GGH.Later, samples were sent for testsand on March 21 he was declaredCovid-19 positive, the Collectorsaid. Medical teams are carryingout a survey at One Town areato identify persons with coron-avirus symptoms. People can callthe Control Room over7995244260, if they found any-one with corona symptoms.

Police Commissioner ChDwaraka Tirumala Rao said thecity is under high alert andSection 144 will be continued tillMarch 31 in the wake of coronapositive case. He appealed to peo-ple to cooperate with police, rev-enue and medical teams, as theyare monitoring the situation inOne Town. Joint Collector KMadhavilatha, VMC Commi-ssioner V Prasanna Venkatesh,sub-collector HM Dhyanchand,DCP Vikrant Patil and otherswere present.

Busy MG Road near PWD grounds without vehicles Pandit Nehru Bus Station saw no commuters with due to the shutdown Traffic police personnel display placards creating awareness among people on howto combat the coronavirus

Governor Biswa Bushan Harichandan, along with others, claps at the Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada on Sunday to thank thosewho are dedicating themselves to control the virus

Guv thanks people for their gesturePNS n VIJAYAWADA

Governor Biswa BushanHarichandan thanked peoplefor observing 'Janata Curfew'on Sunday following a callgiven by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. The Governor

said by taking necessary pre-cautions it is possible to pre-vent the spread of the coron-avirus.

He expressed gratitude tothe medical fraternity and vol-untary organisations for theiruntiring efforts in providing

round-the-clock service topeople affected by novel coro-navirus and preventing thespread of the virus. Officersand staff of the Raj Bhavan alsojoined the gesture by clappingtheir hands and expressedtheir gratitude.

Section 144 extended till April 14 in city

Govt sounds highalert in Vijayawada

Collector Md Imitiaz clapping in Vijayawada on Sunday as per the call given byPrime Minister Narendra Modi to thank the medical fraternity for toiling day andnight to provide treatment to Covid-19 victims

DGP seekspeople'scooperation tocombat virusVIJAYAWADA: Section 144 willbe continued till April 14 in thecity in the wake of coronapositive case, disclosed DGPGautam Sawang. As most of thecoronavirus positive cases arebeing reported from peoplecoming from abroad, peopleshould cooperate and follow theguidelines framed by thegovernment in order to preventthe pandemic, he said. The DGPsaid that only with the supportof the kin of foreign returneesone can bring the pandemicunder control. As per theinstruction of the medical andhealth department, peopleshould stay indoors andcooperate with the authorities tofight the virus, he appealed.Without following theinstructions of the medical andhealth department, if personsunder home isolation come outof the house, it would bedifficult for the authorities tocontrol the pandemic, he felt. Byfollowing the guidelines strictly,people under home isolationcan save their lives and families.The police station concernedshould put a strict vigil on theforeign returnees, he said andadded that police would extendcomplete support to personsunder home isolation and actionwill be taken as per law if theydo not follow the guidelines.

‘People cooperation amust to combat virus’

Entrance leading to Durga temple looks empty as the government has banned theentry of devotees

Priests perform puja at Durga temple in Vijayawada on Sunday Vijayawada Railway Station

Continued from Page 1

Chief Secretary NilamSawhney, senior officials andsome leaders of YSRCP alsojoined in the clapping.

K Chandrashekhar Rao, alongwith his son and Cabinet MinisterKT Rama Rao, other family mem-bers, Chief Secretary SomeshKumar, Director General of PoliceMahender Reddy and some topleaders of Telangana RashtraSamithi (TRS) clapped in thelawns of Pragati Bhavan, the offi-cial residence of the ChiefMinister.

KCR, who was attending ameeting over coronavirus, cameout and clapped to express grati-tude towards health professionalsand other emergency serviceworkers for working tirelessly tokeep people safe.

Jagan, KCRclap to thankCovid fighters

Continued from Page 1

KCR also showered praiseson people for coming out inlarge numbers at 5 pm onSunday to clap the hands toexpress support and solidarityto the people offering emer-gency services in state to con-tain the spread of coronavirus.

KCR appealed people toshow the same fighting spiritand cooperate with the govern-ment till March 31 like Sunday'sJanta Curfew so that the stategovernment could effectivelytackle the virus.

Except for essential serviceslike health, medical and powersupply, the State would be undercomplete shutdown, he said.

The CM announced sanc-tioning of Rs 2,417 crore toassist the BPL families (belowpoverty line) holding rationcards during the shutdownperiod card to ensure that therewas no break in the emergency

services and supply of essentialsto the poor and marginal.

They will be given 12-kgfree rice per head besides Rs1,500 monetary assistance foreach household possessingration.

"We will supply 3.36 lakhtonnes of rice costing Rs 1,103crore to over 86 lakh ration cardholders free of cost," the CMsaid.

KCR stated that the govern-ment had invoked the provi-sions under The IndianEpidemics Act, 1897, for impos-ing the shutdown and the gov-ernment would have specialpowers to tackle emergenciescaused by calamities like out-break of epidemics.

The CM said as per this Act,all the private companies aremandated to pay salary fortheir staff during the shutdownperiod. Even the labourersworking in construction sitesshould be paid by contractors.

The government employeeshave to attend duties on a rota-tion basis every day wherein 20per cent of the total employeeswill be allotted duties on adaily basis till March 31.

However, all the governmentemployees working in depart-ments offering emergency ser-vices like medical and health,power etc are required to attendduties as usual and they areexempted from shutdown.

He said the government willimpose tight restriction on themovement of public duringshutdown period.

Gathering of above five peo-ple will not be allowed andwhen people go out to procureessential commodities, a dis-tance of 3-feet should be main-tained between them.

Only one person for a fami-ly will be allowed to go outsidehome to procure essential com-modities. Liquor shops will alsoremain closed till March 31.

TS lockdown till March 31: KCR

Continued from Page 1

However, it had allowed alltrains that had already startedthe journey to continue. "Notrain except goods trains will runtill 2400 hrs of March 31. Howe-ver, a bare minimum of subur-ban services and the KolkataMetro Rail service will contin-ue to run till 2400 hours of Mar-ch 22. Thereafter, these serviceswill also be stopped till 2400hours of March 31," a spokesper-son of the Indian Railways said.

Railways runs around 13,523daily services which include5,881 Electric Multiple Units(EMUs), 3,695 Mail-Expresstrains and 3,947 passenger trains.

From March 23 to March 31,an estimated 49,000 passengerservices will remain suspended,according to official figures.

The national transporter saidin continuation of the measurestaken in view of the coronavirusoutbreak, it was decided that allpassenger train services, includ-ing premium trains, mail andexpress trains, suburban trains,Kolkata Metro Rail and KonkanRailway will be cancelled tillMarch 31. The trains that hadalready commenced their jour-ney prior to 4 am on March 22will run up to their respectivedestinations, the railways said.

The railways has also orderedclosure of all rail museums,heritage galleries and heritageparks up to April 15 as a preven-tive measure to control thespread of the coronavirus.

The total number of novelcoronavirus cases in India roseto 360 while the death tollclimbed to seven on Sunday.

Centre announces total shutdown... India observes Janata curfewContinued from Page 1

In some parts, policemenalso handed out masks andsanitisers to spread awarenessabout coronavirus.

As the clock struck 5, the airreverberated with a medley ofsounds from bells, conchesand beating of metal plates,with people coming out in bal-conies, lawns and terrace oftheir homes to express appre-ciation for medical and otherstaff who are on the frontlineof the battle against the coro-navirus.

From children to the elder-ly, common people to VIPs,residents of metropolitan citiesto villages, all responded toPrime Minister Modi's appealto show gratitude to doctors,

paramedics, police, snitaryworkers, mediapersons andother personnel associatedwith essential services.

Many took positions withtheir choice of instruments,including metal plates or what-ever kitchen utensils they couldget, while some played thesounds of conches and bells ontheir phones and music sys-tems. Police sirens too wereheard.

People also shared videos onsocial media on the response ofresidents in their areas. Moditagged a video which showedhis mother Heeraben beatinga plate in Gujarat.

Taking to Twitter, Modi saidit is an expression of gratitudeby the people and also thesound of the bugle declaring

the long battle ahead."With this resolve and

patience, let's restrict (socialdistancing) ourselves," Moditweeted in Hindi with thehashtag 'Jantacurfew'.

"Today's Janta Curfew mayend at 9.00 pm, but this doesnot mean we start celebrating...it is the beginning of a long bat-tle. Today countrymen havetold that we are capable, andonce we decide we can take onany challenge together," hesaid in a series of tweets.

He urged the people living inareas which are under lock-down not to venture out oftheir houses.

By evening, authoritiesannounced a slew of extraor-dinary restrictions includingsuspension of all interstate-

buses, passenger trains andmetro services in the country,while 80 districts in 17 statesand five Union Territoriesincluding Delhi where coron-avirus cases have been report-ed were locked down till March31. Commercial capitalMumbai, which is not new tonatural and man-made disas-ters, observed a shutdown onSunday unlike any. The icon-ic Gateway of India, Juhubeach and the Bandra-Worlisealink, which are otherwisealways bustling with activity,wore a desolate look.

The Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj Terminus and othersuburban train stations pre-sented an uncommon sight ofbeing empty as people stayedindoors to support the curfew.

Seventeenpolicepersonnelkilled...Continued from Page 1

The naxalites subsequentto the incident took 12 AK47, one UBGL, One Insaasand One LMG weaponfrom the deceased policeand left the scene. Somemore police personnel sus-tained grievous injuries andthey are airlifted from theencounter place. It may berecalled that in the Chin-thalnar point , which is justseven kilometers from thepresent t encounter site a to-tal of 72 CRPF jawans werekilled in a land mine blastten years ago. The police andCRPF gained the upperhand in this part during thesubsequent period.

Continued from Page 1

Yet, the moment the sirenrang at 5-00 pm, indicating itwas time to show gratitude to themedical personnel, peoplerushed out together in alarming-ly large numbers, thereby defeat-ing the purpose of the curfew.Although clapping was the rec-ommended mode to collective-ly express gratitude to medicaland other staff on the frontlineof the battle against the coron-avirus, many people went over-board with even bells, plates,conch shells, and in some caseseven crackers.

Social media was full of postsshowing people gathering inlarge numbers to register their

gratitude. In a majority of thesevideos, it can be seen that peo-ple did not maintain 3-foot dis-tance, let alone wear masks andgloves. Even cops are complic-it in this stark violation. Videosshowed them clapping andstanding near each other. In avideo put out by Anjani Kumar,Hyderabad Commissioner ofPolice, the cops neither woreface masks nor maintainedthree feet distance while clap-ping at Tank Bund. Even at theCM's Office, except for the firstrow, where the CM was seen,the rest of the group memberswere seen clapping while stand-ing closely, invariably failing theconcept of Janata curfew andsocial distancing.

Janata curfew: Missingthe wood for the trees

vijayawada 04

Roads wear a deserted look in Nagpur An aerial picture of deserted streets in New Delhi on Sunday

A worker spraying disinfectant on a street in Jammu on Sunday

Police officials take action against commuters for violating Janata curfew in Bhilwara

Marathahalli bridge wears a deserted look in Bengaluru

Bandra- Worli Sea Link road wears a deserted look during 'Janata curfew' in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Mumbai

Boats are docked at Dashashwamedh Ghat during Janata curfew in the wake of deadly coronavirus, in VaranasiA Catholic priest celebrates a private mass at Saint Joseph's Church in Secunderabad

Scene at Jaipur Pink cityChennai Merina Beach

People walk through a largely empty road near Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi

The usually busy Howrah Bridge wears a deserted look on Sunday

Firefighters participate in a decontamination processin Ahmedabad

Empty road near the Imam Bara and the Rumi Darwaza in Lucknow

MILLIONS RESPOND TO JANATA CURFEWPNS n NEW DELHI

Millions of people across thecountry stayed indoors,

streets wore a desertedlook and bare number

of vehicles were on the road onSunday in an unprecedented

shutdown on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's appeal for a 'Janata curfew' to help check thespread of coronavirus.

As the 14-hour ' Janata curfew'got underway at 7 am, people keptthemselves indoors as part of the

social distancing exercise to helpstop the spread of the virus. All mar-kets and establishments exceptthose dealing in essential goods andservices are closed for the day. The' Janata curfew' will end at 9 pm.

Ahead of the start of the curfew,Prime Minister Narendra Modisaid, "In a few minutes from now,

the #JantaCurfew commences. Letus all be a part of this curfew, whichwill add tremendous strength to thefight against COVID-19 menace".

He said the steps to be taken nowwill help in the times to come. " Stayindoors and stay healthy," he said onTwitter. In the national capital,roads were deserted with barelysome private vehicles and buses ply-ing. Vendors were off the roads inthe morning hours with people con-fining themselves to their homes.

Curfew-like restrictions on the

movement and assembly of peoplewere in force in Kashmir as part ofthe prime minister's appeal even asthe virtual lockdown to contain thespread of coronavirus in the valleyentered its fourth day.

In Kolkata, the usually bustlingEsplanade, and Dalhousie areas,besides airport and railway stationswore a deserted look as peoplestayed indoors to support the primeminister's call.

The Eastern and South EasternRailway cancelled all mail/express

trains originating from the twozones between 4 am and 10 pm onSunday but will run skeletal localtrain services on theday.Commercial capital Mumbaiobserved the restrictions on Sundaywith the usually bustling westernand eastern express highways andother arterial roads wearing anempty look and people stayingindoors to support the curfew.

In Madhya Pradesh where fourdistricts of Jabalpur, Rewa, Seoniand Narsinghpur have been placedunder lockdown, roadside shopsand eateries remained closed in thestate on Sunday.The ' Janata curfew'call received a good response inGujarat on Sunday as the entire statewas in a self-imposed lockdown tofight the coronavirus.Streets wereempty and shops and businessestablishments remained shut in thestate.

Ahead of the start of the curfew, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said, "In a fewminutes from now, the #JantaCurfewcommences. Let us all be a part of thiscurfew, which will add tremendous strengthto the fight against COVID-19 menace"

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Girl student testspositive in MP'sBhopalBhopal: A girl student hastested positive for novelcoronavirus in Bhopal inMadhya Pradesh,Commissioner KalpanaShrivastava said on Sunday.She told PTI that a 74-hourlockdown, till midnight March24, has been announced herein view of this development."The student has recentlyreturned to the state capitalfrom outside and her sampletested positive," Shrivastavasaid. "We are taking allprecautions to ensure safety ofthe citizens and there is noneed to panic," she said. This isthe first Covid-19 case inBhopal.

Coronavirus: 6 bookedfor wedding functionin Latur

Kolkata, several areasacross Bengal to beunder lockdown Kolkata: Kolkata and severalareas across West Bengal willbe put under a lockdown fromMonday 5 pm till March 27 inview of the coronavirusoutbreak, according to anotification issued by the stategovernment on Sunday. Onlyessential services will beallowed during the period, thenotification said.

Latur: Six people were bookedunder the DisasterManagement Act in Latur inMaharashtra for holding amarriage ceremony despitesocial distancing rules in forcein view of the novel coronavirusoutbreak, police said onSunday. The function tookplace in the premises of themunicipal corporation in SignalCamp area here on Saturdayand those booked comprisefour from the bride andgroom's family, the priest andthe hall owner, a Shivaji Nagarpolice station official said. Thecomplaint was lodged by thelocal municipal area officer, headded.

Student who returned fromLondon tests coronavirus +vePNS n BHOPAL

A woman studying law, whorecently returned fromLondon, tested positive forthe coronavirus in Bhopal onSunday, making it the first caseof COVID-19 in the MadhyaPradesh capital, an officialsaid on Sunday.

The student recentlyreturned to Bhopal fromLondon where she was pursu-ing a post-graduate law courseand her test report was foundpositive for coronavirus,Bhopal commissioner KalpanaShrivastava told PTI.

She is admitted to a hospi-tal and being provided treat-ment as per the protocol,another official said, addingthat the area where she residedis being sanitised.

Bhopal collector TarunKumar Pithode said there wasno need to panic as standardprotocols were immediatelyfollowed.

"Yesterday, as soon as we gotinformation, they were advisedto remain in quarantine. Hersample was collected and its

result was found positive today.She was admitted to a hospi-tal and her treatment hasalready begun," Pithode said.

The student's parents werealso advised to be in quaran-tine and not to meet anyone,he said, adding that all precau-tionary measures were beingtaken.

Meanwhile, taking the mat-ter seriously, the districtadministration has announceda 72-hour lock-down inBhopal till March 24 mid-night, Srivastava said.

"We are taking all precau-

tions to ensure safety of the cit-izens and there is no need topanic, she added.

Maha advisory toprivate hospitalsPNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra governmenton Saturday issued an adviso-ry to private hospitals askingthem to postpone non-emer-gency services and prepareisolation wards in view of thenovel coronavirus outbreak. Ithas also directed them tomaintain a minimum stock ofmasks, gloves and personalprotection kits.

Staff training has beenemphasised in the advisory,which also adds that patientsnot facing any serious ail-

ment not be admitted to hos-pitals.

Only one relative of theadmitted patient should beallowed to stay, it added.

POSTPONING NON-EMERGENCY SERVICES

Maha imposes orders toensure social distancingPNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra governmenton Sunday said Section 144 ofCrPC, which prohibits gather-ing of over five persons at pub-lic places, is being imposed inthe state in order to curb thespread of coronavirus.

Two Covid-19 patients havedied in the state.

Making the announcement,Chief Minister UddhavThackeray said the measurewas being taken in urban areasacross the state from Mondayto ensure social distancing.

"The state transport and pri-vate bus services will be sus-pended completely. The onlytransport that will continue tooperate is the intra-city bus ser-vices, which will only ferry staffof essential services," he said.

Essential services such asgroceries, vegetables vendors,banks, share markets and keyfinancial services will contin-ue to operate, he said.

The 'work from home' prac-tice should be encouraged toavoid the spread of coron-

avirus, Thackeray said. Thechief minister also indicatedthat the lock-down in urbanareas may be extended beyondMarch 31, if required.

"To avoid it, I need partici-pation and help of people dur-

ing the tough time," he said."Those who have been

advised home quarantineshould not mix with their fam-ily members. For the manda-tory quarantine period, theyshould stay away from the

family members as well fortheir own safety. If they devel-op any symptoms, they shouldapproach doctor," Thackeraysaid.

He also asked the industry totake care of its employees.

"Several companies andoffices will not function, but onhumanitarian grounds theseestablishments should pay atleast the basic salaries of theiremployees, he said.

"I have personally reducedthe state staff as well. Somedays back, we were runningoffices at 50 per cent capacity.From Monday, only five percent staff of the governmentwill come to work, he said.

Defending his decision, thechief minister said, "I haveunfortunately taken this deci-sion as we are at a stage wherethe virus is likely to multiply itsinfection."

To avoid it, like it has beendone in some European coun-tries, the Maharashtra gov-ernment has decided to go fora complete lock-down in urbanareas of the state.

Essential services such as groceries,vegetables vendors, banks, sharemarkets and key financial services willcontinue to operate, he said.

It has alsodirected them tomaintain aminimum stock ofmasks, gloves andpersonalprotection kits.

Thane civicbody todisinfectpublic placesPNS n THANE

The Thane district admin-istration began disinfectingpublic places on Sunday inview of the novel coron-avirus outbreak.

Municipal commission-er Vijay Singhal said railwayand bus stations, marketsamong others wi l l besprayed with disinfectants.

Each ward has been given10 tractors, 80 sprayingmachines, 10 fire brigadevehicles and 140 staff forthis drive, he added.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

While the whole of Kerala isunder a self-imposed lockdown in an effort to preventspread of coronavirus, person-nel of Department of Fire andRescue Services on Sundaywere on a mission to disinfectthe state.

The Fire and Rescue Servicesdepartment joined hands withthe Health department andbegan spraying disinfectantsolution at public places includ-ing railway stations and busstands across the state.

"We have been taking for-ward to the break the chain ini-tiative of the state government

in our offices. As part of that,today we are spraying watermixed with disinfectant at pub-lic spaces across the state,"DGP A Hemachandran, who

heads the department, toldPTI.

He said the fire force hasbeen using sodium hypochlo-rite solution and spraying it at

public spaces in the state."Our first response vehicles

can spray water using highpressure pipes. We discussedthe issue with the Healthdepartment and the exercise isundertaken with their help.

taking the matterseriously, thedistrictadministration hasannounced a 72-hour lock-down inBhopal till March24 midnight,Srivastava said.

Surat manfirst victim ofcoronavirus inGujaratPNS n SURAT

Coronavirusclaimed itsfirst victimin Gujaraton Sundayafter a 67-y e a r - o l dman, who hadtested positive for the infec-tion, died at a private hospi-tal here, officials said.

The man, with travel his-tory to Delhi and Jaipur,was admitted to the hospitalon March 17 with complica-tions related to kidney andasthma.

On March 21, he testedpositive for coronavirus aswell, they said.

"The man, a coronaviruspositive patient, diedat aprivate hospital here onSunday afternoon," SuratCollector Dhavalkumar Patelconfirmed.

Seventeen others havetested positive for coron-avirus in the state.

PNS n BENGALURU

The Karnataka governmenton Sunday announced shut-down of all commercial activ-ities other then certain essen-tial services in the nine districtsof the state including the cap-ital city, where COVID-19cases have been reported.

"After taking stock of thecoronavirus situation in thestate and in neighboring states,the Chief Minister hasannounced shutdown fromtomorrow till March 31 inBengaluru city, BengaluruRural, Mangaluru, Mysuru,Kalaburagi, Dharwad,Chikkaballapura, Kodagu,Belagavi- the nine districtswhere COVID-19 cases havebeen reported," Home MinisterBasavaraj Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters here,he said other than essential ser-vices like medical, grocery andagriculture, all other commer-

cial activities will be under"shutdown".

"In these nine districts in fac-tories where there are largenumber of workers, half workforce should be utilised onalternate day basis, 50 per centof the labour should be used ona day," he said, adding thatinter-district transport servicesfrom these nine districts hasbeen cancelled till March 31.

Chief Minister B S

Yediyurappa held a meetingwith top ministers and officialsof his government regardingCOVID-19 in the state andmeasures that need to be taken.

Bommai said, 'Janta Curfew'will end by 9 pm, but section144 (prohibitory orders) will bein force after that till 12 am tosee to that people don't gatherafter curfew time ends."

Streets in Bengaluru andother parts of the state wore a

deserted look as the 'Janta cur-few' proposed by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tohelp check the spread of coro-navirus received a tremendousresponse across Karnataka.

The Home Minister alsosaid that the public transportwill continue to remain shuttomorrow as well across thestate, and all AC bus serviceswill not operate till March 31.

Asked whether in the wakeof shutdown in Bengaluru willthe ongoing budget session

Karnataka legislature be can-celled, he said the session willcontinue as per schedule,unless and until there is furthernotification, which will be dulycommunicated.

Responding to a question,Bommai said, governmentofficeswill continue to func-tion as usual to provide essen-tial services, while at privateand IT companies other thancritical services most of thework force is already workingfrom home.

He said the fireforce has beenusing sodiumhypochloritesolution andspraying it atpublic spaces inthe state.

"In these nine districts in factories wherethere are large number of workers, halfwork force should be utilised on alternateday basis, 50 per cent of the labourshould be used on a day," he said, addingthat inter-district transport services fromthese nine districts has been cancelledtill March 31.

PNS n DEHRADUN

Uttarakhand Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat onSunday thanked people of thestate for their “spontaneousresponse” to Janta Curfewand choosing to stay at theirhomes.

The restraint shown by peo-ple of the state at the call ofPrime Minister NarendraModi shows they are ready todeal with any challenge, Rawatsaid in a statement.

"The spontaneous responseevoked by the Janta Curfewmakes us confident that wewill definitely win our fightagainst coronavirus," the chiefminister, who himself workedfrom home, said.

The CM also thanked peo-ple who help in maintainingessential services like doc-

tors and sanitation workers.He asked people to main-

tain the spirit as there couldbe difficult times ahead.

Rawat, however, assuredthat there will be no shortagein supply of foodgrains andmedicines due to preventivemeasures being taken in thewake of coronavirus outbreak.

Even if a lockdown is

imposed, "we can even deliv-er foodgrains and medicinesat people's doorsteps,” thechief minister said the state-ment.

He said the state govern-ment will soon take a decisionregarding daily wagers.

“We won't let anyone gohungry," Rawat said.

UttarakhandChief MinisterTrivendra Singhalso thankedpeople who help inmaintainingessential serviceslike doctors andsanitation workers

Petrol bomb hurled at Jamia protest sitePNS n NEW DELHI

An unidentified man alleged-ly opened fire and hurled apetrol bomb at the emptyprotest site outside the JamiaMillia Islamia on Sunday,according to officials and stu-dents of the university.

The spot was inspected bya team from the ForensicScience Laboratory (FSL) anda case was registered at theJamia Nagar police station,Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Southeast) RP Meenasaid.

"A broken bottle, a lighterand an empty cartridge werefound from a spot near thedivider of Gate No. 6 of JamiaMillia Islamia," he added.

Multiple teams wereformed to trace the accused,the officer said.

The Jamia CoordinationCommittee (JCC), compris-ing current and former stu-dents of the university, hadtemporarily suspended its sit-in protest against the new cit-izenship law on Saturday inview of the coronavirus out-break.

In a statement, the JCC said

a miscreant opened fire andhurled a petrol bomb at theprotest site at Jamia Square,Gate No. 7 of the university.

The statement added thatCCTV footage showed themiscreant in the get-up of adelivery boy with a helmetand three bags on his bike,due to which its number platewas not visible.

"Police have taken awaythe bullet, while pieces of a

glass bottle are still there," itsaid.

According to a universityofficial, the incident occurredaround 9.30 am.

"The man came from theOkhla side, probably aftercommitting a similar act atShaheen Bagh. He hurled abottle at the tent near GateNo. 7," he said. The tent wasempty since the students hadsuspended the protest.

In a statement, the JCC said amiscreant opened fire and hurled apetrol bomb at the protest site at JamiaSquare, Gate No. 7 of the university.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi roads wore a desertedlook on Sunday as barring pub-lic transport buses and emer-gency vehicles, other vehicleskept off roads, as people joinedhands to fight coronavirus bykeeping indoors.

Prime Minister NarendraModi had proposed 'Janata cur-few' on Sunday between 7 amand 9 pm as part of social dis-tancing to check the spread ofthe deadly virus.

Delhi Metro servicesremained suspended and only

50 per cent of DTC and clusterbuses were operational duringthe Janata curfew.

Autos and taxis were a raresight due to the support extend-ed by various unions represent-ing such vehicles to PrimeMinister Modi's appeal for Janta

curfew. Several unions like theDelhi Autorickshaw Sangh,Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union,Delhi Auto Taxi TransportCongress Union and Delhi TaxiTourist Transport Associationsupported the curfew call.Unions of last-mile connectiv-ity vehicles also joined the cur-few. Such was the impact of thelockdown that most of theDelhi Transport Corporation(DTC) and cluster buses wereseen running without any pas-sengers. The inter-state bus ter-minals in the city too wore adeserted look.

Cooking,reading duringJanta CurfewPNS n NEW DELHI

Some donned their chef 'shats, a few picked up booksfor late morning reads, andmany enjoyed somethingthat has become scarce giventhe everyday noise pollution- listening to birds chirpingon trees - during the 'JantaCurfew' on Sunday. Proposedby Prime Minister NarendraModi to contain the spread ofnovel coronavirus, the "self-imposed curfew" inspiredpeople to stay indoors from7am till 9pm and spendsome quality time with theirfamilies.

Delhi wears deserted lookas vehicles keep off roads

Kerala Fire Services personnel on mission to disinfect state

Karnataka govt to shut down nine districts Rawat thanks people for ‘spontaneousresponse’ to Janta Curfew

Following the recent riots in thenational capital, a wholesomepraise of the Delhi Police inParliament by Home MinisterAmit Shah should not lull the

force into a sense of complacency. For, ear-lier, the Supreme Court had observed thatthe violence in Delhi could have been pre-vented had the police acted independent-ly. The apex court Bench of Justices SanjayKishan Kaul and KM Joseph went on tocomment, “Unfortunate things have hap-pened. The problem is the total lack ofindependence of police.” Very strongwords as these were, though only in thenature of obiter dicta, they were widely cov-ered by the print media, aptly reflecting theprevailing state of affairs in the Delhi Police.The Minister of State for Home informedParliament of the steps taken by the DelhiPolice to restore normalcy.

Nevertheless, after the recent appoint-ment of SN Shrivastava as the new DelhiPolice Commissioner, it was expected of theforce to undertake a detailed analysis ofhow the riots were handled so as to recti-fy the weaknesses. In our criminal justicesystem, police happens to be the funda-mental element and the very first point ofinterface with the public. It is from here thatperceptions, right or wrong, are createdabout the mechanics of delivery of justice.

Earlier, the top court had refused tohear any plea pertaining to the Delhi riotsas it observed that these would appearbefore the Delhi High Court. What tran-spired at the High Court made nationalnews. The High Court judge, who initial-ly heard the matter and passed urgentorders, was transferred midnight, anignominy usually meant for errant districtofficials. On the other hand, the very nextday, the Chief Justice of the High Courtadjourned the matter for a few weeks. Inthe face of severe criticism, the SupremeCourt had to step in and issue directionsto the High Court to list Delhi riots caseson March 6 but again, it was delayed by afew days.

Every action/inaction on the part of thepolice vis-a-vis its duties towards the pub-lic is justiciable. The higher judiciary, inparticular, is held in great awe and feared.It also exercises a great deal of moralauthority over the system. Any question orquery by them in the interest of the pub-lic not only sets the right tone and direc-tion for the police but also acts as the guid-ing principle for future handling of simi-lar situations. As such in the prevailing sit-uation in Delhi, where it was a question oflife and death besides home and hearth, theneed was for intervention from any levelas the police was generally found wanting.

A comparison with the situation postthe communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, justa few months before the General Electionsof 2014, readily comes to mind. TheSupreme Court had handed over a scathing

indictment to the StateGovernment. It went on to say,“The State Government wasnegligent and failed to protectthe fundamental rights of thepeople.” Also, soon after theriots, it intervened and direct-ed the Uttar PradeshGovernment to give equalcompensation to the victims ofall communities. Now muchlater, riot cases like these are inthe process of being systemat-ically withdrawn and whereever the trials are in progress,large numbers of witnessesappear to be turning hostile.Though it is not for the firsttime that riot cases are beingwithdrawn but in the matter ofcommunal riots, setting awrong precedent one afteranother does not help preventrecurrence and should invitepositive judicial intervention.

The initial inaction anddelay on the part of the policeappears to have sent a wrongmessage among the rioters.This issue has been extensive-ly debated and commentedupon. This became a major fac-tor in leading to a very high tollin the riots. There are numer-ous instructions and case stud-ies on the subject of handlingriots by the police. A calibrat-ed use of force is generally rec-ommended for the dispersal of

unlawful Assemblies. However,the situation is different inrespect of communal riotswhere the police is expected tostraightaway come down witha heavy hand and bring the sit-uation under control, withoutwaiting for any instruction.

In Delhi, considering theavailability of resources, in thenormal course, it should bepossible to handle a riotous sit-uation in a matter of hours. Inthe instant case, this did nothappen as lumpen elementscontinued to dominate theforce, resulting in a heavy toll.It is not as if the force isunaware of the tactics. Forinstance, just the other day, byits very swift action and reach-ing out to people, the Delhipolice was able to curtail thespread of rumours and was ableto prevent a serious clash inWest Delhi area.

It is now understood that avery large number of caseshave been registered and a fewthousand have been detained.This should have a salutaryimpact. It is, however, surpris-ing that in spite of the publicorder being seriously impaired,there has been no detention sofar under the National SecurityAct. There is no dearth oftechnological resources avail-able to Delhi Police but these

can never be a substitute forhuman intelligence. Whiledeveloping assets in right placesrequires a lot of time andpatient handling, the role ofbeat and field staff of the policestation would continue to bemost important.

The Supreme Court isheld in high esteem by all ofus. Being the custodian of ourConstitution and all the eth-ical and moral values attachedtherewith, a responsibility isthus cast on it all the time touphold the rule of law. Soonafter he assumed office, as theChief Justice of India, SharadArvind Bobde had asked var-ious States to file affidavits byFebruary, with suggestionsfor reforms in the criminaljustice system as well as thepolice.

This matter has been pend-ing since long and needs to beaddressed most expeditiously.While the usual post-mortemof the riots would be carriedout and accountability wouldbe fixed, it has been felt that wealso have an opportunity tousher in the much-delayedreforms in the police as well asthe criminal justice system.

(The writer is a formerGovernor and a Senior Advisorat the Pranab MukherjeeFoundation)

Not many in today’s generation wouldrelate to the legendary Pradip KumarBanerjee, PK as he was known, but he

was one of the charismatic footballers of histimes when this sport had its golden run inIndia. So much so that he was even recog-nised as the greatest Indian footballer of the20th century by FIFA. Few can match his recordeven today, that of two Olympics (Melbourne1956, Rome 1960), three Asian Games (58,62, 66), gold medallist as a player and a bronzeholder as a coach (1970 Bangkok). And at a

time when European football was a dream than a reality, PK’s pace, power andgrace were much talked about. When he played, football had a five-forward sys-tem. But he could double up as both a right-winger and a centre forward, anunmatched skill that got him 65 goals in 84 matches for the national team. Manyfrom his generation would agree, even in those competitive times when Europeanplayers struggled to create a niche for themselves, he crafted his own convinc-ing identity. The legend, who left us this Friday, rose early in his life and becamea superstar both as a player and a coach, making the best use of the other tal-ents he possessed of an administrator and commentator. In that sense, he camewell before his time, a perfect combination required for the professional footballcircuit in current times. For many in Kolkata, who relished the spectator versionof the sport during world cups — one of the reasons that Brazil and Argentinacontinue to be their favourite teams — PK was the only Indian hope despite theproliferation of local clubs and the abundant pleasures of what is called para (nigh-bourghood) football.

Throughout his association with the English game, he wore all his hats withdistinction, of course at different times in history, showing he could reinvent him-self with the times. Making his debut early at the age of 15, after completingbasic schooling, he started playing for the Eastern Railway, where the field set-up was purely amateurish and offered very little in terms of remuneration. Evenin stressed times, when he had to support seven of his siblings, he did not allowthis responsibility to overturn his passion for football. Hereon, he climbed therungs of the famed Calcutta Football League and won the title in 1958. He becamea member of the holy trinity, which included the likes of Tulsidas Balram andChuni Goswami. The trio dazzled together and helped Indian football team reachnewer heights. Even after retirement, there was no stopping PK. As coach, hehad game-reading ability, on-field strategy variations and man-management skills.He could boost a player’s confidence where there was no hope left. He had theunparalleled ability to motivate players with his careful selection of words lacedwith metaphors and anecdotes. Yet when Indian football did get the commercialbenefits with its domestic leagues, PK wasn’t happy. For somebody who rosefrom the streets, he lamented the decline in local football and standards. He believednot in the pomp and show but talent born of real-life circumstances. For thatwas original, rather than adaptive. And till his dying day, he wanted to encour-age the right spirit of the game.

In South Korea, medical investigators aretelling us the story about “Patient 31” of theSARS-CoV2 virus. This middle-aged woman

member of a cult in that country behaved verydifferently from the first 30 patients. She didnot isolate herself and instead went aroundher daily routine, which was to recruit newmembers into her order. It has turned out thatshe can be traced back to 80 per cent of SouthKorea’s 8,000 plus cases. Who will be the“Patient 31” in India? Will it be Kanika Kapoor,the Bollywood songstress who did not self-

quarantine and instead went around partying in Lucknow and Kanpur? Will it bethe bureaucrat’s son in Kolkata who did not isolate himself? Will it be the manin Kasaragod, Kerala, who met his MLA and attended a football match? Will itbe all those who fled quarantine and bled into the community? Will it be the learnedilliterates, who have taken advantage of their status in society to hide their con-dition and selfishly avail the best resources while infecting the many others less-er privileged than themselves? These are people who have been diagnosed withhaving the virus, not even counting the thousands of others advised to self-quar-antine and instead are moving around or the countless others who actively liedon their self-declaration forms or had an aspirin before immigrating into India toreduce their temperature. The viral outbreak has made a couple of things clear,and this is clear across the world. Most humans are selfish and stupid. One can-not expect them to be responsible, especially the entitled international traveller.Sure, there can be a sense of panic and people who want to avoid being underquarantine by the Government. These are people who are scared of using Indian-style toilets, for example. Others do not want to curtail their social lives. All thatpeople are being asked to do is stay under house arrest for a few days, cooktheir own food and drink their own drink. Yes, we might all be social creaturesand many of us might want to eat, drink and be merry but do not be as stupidas those youth who are busy hunting for deals as airlines cancel flights. Thiswill be a trying and tragic time. At the rate things are going, thousands will beinfected and many people will die. This will not just be an inconvenience to thewealthy and entitled because their help lost a parent or their factory shut downfor a month or so. Being in denial and thinking that nothing will happen to you,like the Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP taking out huge rallies, is simply asi-nine. India’s huge population density will work against it. It is critical that everyone of us takes the situation seriously. If you have come back from abroad, stayat home. If you feel respiratory distress, go to a hospital. Do not be in denialabout the situation. Denial is a killer.

This is why the Government’s containment protocols should now get aggres-sive. The testing sample spike notwithstanding, which is multiplying overnight,it takes no rocket science to understand that community-level transmission hasbegun already, faster than we think because of untamed human behaviour. Buteven these conditions do merit hotspot or staggered lockdowns to break the chainof transmission. The choice is ours to make. In the end, self-disciplining, self-isolating and social distancing can make the crucial difference between us becom-ing an Italy or at least closer to China. Remember in India, the existing healthinfrastructure would not be able to absorb the onslaught the way the Chinesehave done by setting up facilities overnight and installing disinfecting tunnels forthose out on the streets. So we have no option but to rely on non-phamaceuti-cal approaches to containment. There is actually no choice. Either we do it our-selves or have a military-like emergency imposed upon us.

Denial, the worst solution

Amend juvenile ACt

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Finally, a closure” (March 21).It’s indeed a sorry state of affairsthat it took seven long years forthe judiciary to bring closure tothe Nirbhaya rape and murdercase. Yes, most of us welcomedthe hanging of the four convictsbut what about the juvenile rapistwho has been allowed to walkfree? It is believed that he was themost brutal of the six convicted.

Glaring gaps within theJuvenile Justice (Care andProtection of Children) Act, 2015,must be rectified. The 2015 lawprovided a two-year window ofages 16 to 18 for teenagers commit-ting “heinous” crimes to be triedas adults. But owing to what theSupreme Court has called a “grossmistake”, the law considers heinousthose crimes which have as aminimum limit seven years impris-onment. As a result, crimes suchas homicide not amounting tomurder or abetment to suicide,which have no mentioned mini-mum limit although the maximumis more than seven years, have gotleft out of the Act’s purview.

MR AnandVrindavan

Plug loopholes

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Finally, a closure” (March 21).It is indeed satisfying that the fourconvicts of the Nirbhaya gang-

rape case were ultimately hangedto death after they tried everytrick in the rule book to appeal-ing against the verdict of capitalpunishment in the lower court,High Court and Supreme Court.

The “unduly” prolonged legalbattle has exposed many loop-holes within the system and hasmade a mockery of India’s archa-ic justice delivery system. Onehopes that existing loopholes

will be plugged by suitablyamending the relevant laws.

The provision for filing amercy petition must be doneaway with in case death sentenceis confirmed by the courts. Reviewor curative petition must beallowed only at the top court. That,too, to should be decided withina fortnight of the filing. Mercypetitions must be decided in atime-bound period of maximumthree months and must be allowedonly when any of the court has notapproved the death sentence.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

Safety first

Sir — In view of the Covid threat,it is not only the responsibility ofthe Government but also the cit-izens of the country to take pre-cautions and be safe. The anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Baghare endangering their lives andothers too. They must be made tounderstand the consequences andremoved from there.

SharadVia email

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

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

op nionVIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020

06

Expedite law enforcement

KK PAUL

While a detailed analysis of the Delhi riots would be carried out to fix accountability, there’sa need to usher in the much-delayed reforms in the police and the criminal justice system

Never forget — precautionsnot panic. It’s not only important to be home but alsoremain in the town/city whereyou are. Unnecessary travelswill not help you or others.

Prime Minister—Narendra Modi

Coronavirus has created havoc.At this difficult moment, if allof us cooperate, we can stopthis danger from doing moreharm, it will have to turn itsback on us and leave.

Actor—Shah Rukh Khan

It’s highly unlikely that Dhonicould make a comeback tointernational cricket. He is not someone to make bigannouncements, so I reckon he would retire silently.

Cricketing legend— Sunil Gavaskar

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

COVID-19 spread calls for a robust response

In his televised address to the nation, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi outlined India’s response to the engulf-ing health crisis set off due to the spread of Coronavirus.

He urged the citizens to act with “resolve” and exercise“restraint” in the face of the looming threat. Thankfully, herefrained from saying anything unscientific or obscuran-tist that could court controversy. Our response to theunprecedented health crisis must be robust enough to dojustice to how much we cherish life and want to cling onto it. The primordial urge to survive against odds must pre-pare us to wage a united war against COVID-19 with all thestrength and sagacity we can summon.

The Prime Minister’s reiteration of the importance ofsocial distancing as the primary defence against COVID-19 and other precautions like hand washing and coveringthe face while sneezing and coughing to stop/stem its spreadmust create greater awareness among the people. Slumdwellers and refugees in cramped camps must get specialattention and care. Cooperation between the Governmentand the citizenry is of great importance in the fight againstthe pestilence. We need to cope with and then outgrow anx-iety and stress linked to Coronavirus, forgo individual lib-erties and adjust as we move into uncharted territories. ThePrime Minister’s call for janta curfew seems to have beenconceived as a drill to be prepared for a complete lockdown

or mass social isolation, if it comes to that. His assurancethat supplies of essentials will be maintained should allayfears over shortages. The impoverished multitudes are veryvulnerable to the economic sting of the pandemic. Whenit comes to supporting those economically crippled by thevirus, the Kerala model can be followed by the rest of India.The Central Government must provide funds to the Statesto ameliorate Coronavirus-induced economic hardships.Considering their vulnerability, the low income groups mustbe given all the support they need to outlive the unparal-leled health crisis.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

IN DELHI,CONSIDERING THE

AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES, IN

THE NORMALCOURSE, IT SHOULD

BE POSSIBLE TO HANDLE A

RIOTOUS SITUATIONIN A MATTER OFHOURS. IN THE

INSTANT CASE, THISDID NOT HAPPEN

AS LUMPENELEMENTS

CONTINUEDTO DOMINATE

THE FORCE,RESULTING IN A

HEAVY TOLL

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

One and only PK

Coronavirus is wreakinghavoc on our fragileeconomy. Clapping won’thelp daily wagers. A hugeeconomic package is needed. Take quick steps.

Congress leader—Rahul Gandhi

The ‘nothing will happen to us’ brigade partied as if there’sno tomorrow. Except tomorrow will be a huge problem

The legendary footballer will always remain the pioneerfor whatever little Indian football has achieved today

S O U N D B I T E

Going for broke

AT THAT TIME THERE WAS NO ADVISORY ISSUED BYTHE GOVERNMENT ON ANYONE TRAVELLING FROM

ABROAD TO BE UNDER SELF-QUARANTINE. —SINGER

KANIKA KAPOOR

SHE (KANIKA) SHOULD NOT HAVE RETURNED FROMLONDON. THAT WAS THE FIRST MISTAKE SHEMADE. IT WAS IRRESPONSIBLE ON HER PART.—MUSIC COMPOSER BAPPI LAHIRI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

We are going through a time of uncertain-ty, fear and gloom, though stories ofhuman resolve, courage and sheer deter-

mination do give us hope for the future. We livein unprecedented times of which we have no pre-vious experience, little knowledge and even less-er understanding. There are none here who havesurvived either the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918that killed 33 million people (including approxi-mately six million from the sub-continent) or theBengal famine of 1942 that killed 10 million. Whatis, however, absolutely clear is that we are in a glob-al war against an unforgiving and unseen enemywho respects no borders, ethnicity, class, age, reli-gion or caste.

If we are to beat this enemy, not just physi-cally but psychologically, socially and economical-ly as well, we have no choice but to work togeth-er as a global community and act with compas-sion, forbearance and courage not just in our ownself-interest but for the community at large. It final-ly boils down to this, if we are to call ourselvescivilised. Most importantly, the time for politicalposturing or playing games is way past. In war, asis often said, there is no place for the runners-up.

If the information available in the publicdomain is to be believed, the Government has donea sterling job in limiting infections and fatalitiesfor now, through its rapid response. Unfortunately,the figures being bandied about are coming in forincreasing scrutiny for a variety of reasons. Thequestion of what is the policy governing testingand how many tests are being done is at the cruxof the controversy.

As per information available in the publicdomain, the existing capacity to test for the virusis 500 per day, which is being ramped up in thecoming days. Thus, at present only those comingfrom affected countries are being screened and iftheir condition seems doubtful, are being tested.Those cleared in screening are expected to under-go either supervised or self- quarantine beforebeing allowed to mingle. Tests are also being doneon those who may have fallen sick after comingin contact with someone returning from abroad.In addition, the Government has also done 800tests as on date on random patients across thecountry who, are at present admitted in hospitalswith acute respiratory disorders.

On the basis of these tests having turned upnegative the Government insists that there havebeen no cases of community spread. Therein liesthe rub, as many known positive cases, leave asidethose who are asymptomatic, have deliberatelyescaped from quarantine, no doubt infecting thosethey may have subsequently come in contact with,who in turn will infect others, which is what com-munity spread is all about. In a country with ourpopulation density to claim that hundred per centsource identification or tracking is even feasibleis akin to believing in Santa Claus. Of course, thereis the possibility that the Government is aware ofthe true picture and hiding it from the public toavoid any onset of panic.

If that be the motivation, the Government ismaking a huge error as most of us are well awareas to what is happening in different parts of theworld. As a matter of fact, conservative studies onthe subject suggest that actual cases are about tentimes the numbers that have been identified andgiven that the cases are doubling every three days,the number of people infected will be 1,024 timesthe present number within a month as simplemathematics suggests. This in our context, withtotal identified cases as 169 as on March 19 that

has increased by one-third along expect-ed lines on the March 20 will, in all like-lihood, range between 1.7 lakh and 17lakh by April 19, depending on whichfigures we wish to believe, if we do nottake further steps that are needed to haltthe spread. From within these numbers,as seen elsewhere, 15 per cent willrequire Intensive Care Unit facilities andtwo-three per cent will not survive.

The problem with hierarchies andthe bureaucracies that run them is thatthey abhor vacuums, as that conditionrequires them to assert themselves,avoid accountability for obvious reasonsand can only think and act linearly giventheir long-standing ethos and organisa-tional architecture. An emergency of thiskind requires lateral thinking, taking ofrisks and forceful interventions, all ofwhich fall in the realm of the politicalleadership that now needs to step for-ward, provide clear directions, impart themomentum required and most impor-tantly, accept accountability. WhilePrime Minister Narendra Modi hascertainly shown his interest in assuminga leadership role his known dependenceon the bureaucracy is a distinct disad-vantage at this time.

Thus we have adopted the bureau-cratic playbook to tackle the issue. As aresult our response has been bureaucrat-ic, admittedly much quicker but stillalong plodding linear lines with eachagency and department attempting toshow how efficiently they are handlingchallenges that they face. Forget the “Allof country” model that is absolutely nec-essary, we have not even been able to putan “All of Government” approach inplace. This is best brought out by thePrime Minister’s address to the nation onMarch 19. It was a motivational talk withno substantive future course of actionbeing announced, except for a voluntaryone day national “Janta (public) curfew”,which probably will be a harbinger oftougher measures in the future. In alltruth, the time for motivational talks is

long past, what we now need is a gen-eral who will lead us into battle.Moreover, such an approach is unviable,because by the time we take the next stepanother week would have passed andnumbers of those infected quadrupled,adding to avoidable stress on our health-care system and to fatalities.

It is essential that our political lead-ers and the average citizen comprehendthe nature of the beast that we are at warwith and face facts that have eitheremerged from experiences elsewhere orare peculiar to our situation. First, thereis no getting away from the fact that wehave a population of 1.3 billion and thecost of testing and providing the neces-sary support facilities are humungous.Obviously, no Government, whatever itsefficiency, can ever provide cover for allour citizens. Second, social distancing,which include forcible quarantine,despite its flaws, appears to have emergedas the only viable alternative for keep-ing the Coronavirus under check and inreducing the rate of infection, till a suit-able remedy is found.

The world around us has complete-ly changed and yet we seem to be livingin a time warp, hoping to avoid havingto face the dragon that has felled muchof the world. Let us face reality andaccept that in these circumstances thereis no time for half measures. Impositionof Section 144 of the CrPC, as has beendone in some places, or hoping toenhance testing facilities in the comingdays, which in any case is unavoidable,are measures that are simply not enoughand are just too little and too late. In mil-itary terms, we need to launch animmediate blitzkrieg and in fact, have lit-tle choice but to immediately adopt mea-sures that the Chinese and Italians didonly as a last resort.

It is essential that a nationwide cur-few for a minimum of 14 days bedeclared soonest along with other mea-sures such as reducing the frequency ofmass transit systems, banning taxis and

only permitting minimum essential per-sonnel to move out of their homes.Thesemeasures must be strictly implementedby deploying the military, assisted by theCentral Armed Police Forces (CAPF), onthe streets. While these are harsh anddesperate measures with dire econom-ic implications, we have no option, as wewill otherwise find ourselves over-whelmed with the possibility of serioussocial disruptions.

Undoubtedly, the biggest problemwill be faced by those whose very liveli-hood is dependent on their daily earn-ings. As in any major natural disaster thiswould require the Government to pro-vide the requisite relief to all thoseimpacted at their place of residence. Thisin effect requires that the armed forcesbe fully mobilised and deployed andtasked for conducting internal securityand humanitarian and relief operations.

Time is of the essence here and dis-cussions and committees have littlemeaning now and in fact these measuresneeded to have been implemented yes-terday.

To enable the military to mobiliseand deploy would require a minimumof three-four days, in which time wemust remember, the numbers of thoseinfected would have doubled.Implementation of such measures witha warning period will also allow citizensto stock up on essentials. For those whobelieve that such drastic action isuncalled for, would do well to study theimpact of a graduated response in coun-tries like Italy, Spain, the United Statesand France. By going for broke, if noth-ing else, we would certainly avoid muchof the stress that the healthcare infra-structure of those countries were putthrough, infrastructure that we are woe-fully short of and have little ability toscale up.

(The writer, a military veteran, is aconsultant with the Observer ResearchFoundation and a Senior Visiting Fellowwith The Peninsula Foundation, Chennai)

In a country with our population density to claim that hundred per cent sourceidentification or tracking is even feasible is akin to believing in Santa Claus

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

Use telehealthservices now

VIKRAM THAPLOO

As the Coronavirus pandemic grows, the Govtmust actively endorse and advertise telehealthhelplines to keep people away from hospitals

DEEPAK SINHA

IT IS ESSENTIALTHAT A

NATIONWIDECURFEW FOR A

MINIMUM OF 14 DAYS BEDECLARED

SOONEST ALONGWITH OTHER

MEASURES SUCHAS REDUCING

THE FREQUENCYOF MASSTRANSIT

SYSTEMS,BANNING TAXIS

AND ONLYPERMITTING

MINIMUMESSENTIAL

PERSONNEL TOMOVE OUT

OF THEIRHOMES.THESE

MEASURES MUSTBE STRICTLY

IMPLEMENTED BYDEPLOYING THE

MILITARY,ASSISTED BY THECENTRAL ARMEDPOLICE FORCES,

ON THE STREETS

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought nearly the whole world toa standstill, forcing people to find remote ways of performingtheir daily duties, purchases and tasks. Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau was said to be “tele-governing” the country in quar-antine after his wife tested positive for the Coronavirus. As remoteworking is being adopted on a large scale and workplaces open workfrom home alternatives for their employees in an unprecedented way,remote healthcare is another area whose use is surging.

The world over, healthcare systems have reported an increasein patients opting for the telehealth route to access physician con-sultations and keeping in step with this surge, healthcare organisa-tions are expanding the use of telehealth to safely screen and treatpatients for Coronavirus. In doing so they are doing the responsi-ble thing and are trying to contain the spread of the infection. In theUS, many (AI) Artificial Intelligence-based telehealth services providershave reported a significant jump in the volume of virtual visits eversince the Coronavirus scare caught the country.

In fact, in a bid to promote the use of telehealth, US PresidentDonald Trump announced that his administration was waiving somefederal rules to make it easier for more doctors to provide care remote-ly using video chats and other services. Many telehealth providersin India, too, have witnessed a nearly 100 per cent surge in patients’online visits. This trend is particularly visible in metropolitan citiesas internet penetration and awareness of these services is more hereas the urban population is used to the concept of videoconferenc-ing, “face timing” and “skyping” to keep in touch with colleaguesaround the country and world and their families too. Hence, moreand more telehealth centres are being put to use by people in urbanareas and they are screening patients and offering them consulta-tion and advice through video links.

Mainstreaming telehealth to tackle a public health crisis:Globally, as healthcare systems stand overburdened and overwhelmedby the sheer scale of the pandemic, conventional healthcare is find-ing it impossible to address the disaster. With hospital beds andIntensive Care Units (ICUs) being in grossly insufficient numbers,doctors in severely-hit countries are having to opt for the triage sys-tem. In India, where healthcare systems are already overburdened,a large outbreak will spell further disaster. It is important thereforeto act in time to leverage the use of alternative processes like tele-health and turn them from stop-gap arrangements to mainstreaminterventions. The COVID-19 pandemic will go down in history asa turning point in the journey of telehealth, given the fact that it isthe first time that the use of telehealth is being co-opted on a largescale to address a public health crisis. Telehealth will act as a majorcog in the wheel of Coronavirus management and containment.

Treating home quarantined patients and containing the spread:From testing to treating and isolating, our healthcare resources arescarce for every part of the treatment process for COVID-19. All peo-ple with symptoms can neither be tested immediately, nor can allof them be admitted to hospitals. Similarly, administered quarantinefacilities will also turn grossly insufficient once cases spiral to stage-II. Therefore, keeping as many sick people as possible out of hos-pitals is a major component of managing the Coronavirus conta-gion. Across the world, most infected people with mild to moder-ate symptoms have been asked to self-quarantine themselves athome while hospitals are taking in only the seriously-ill patients need-ing artificial respiratory support. This is where telehealth serviceswill have to be leveraged in a major way in monitoring and advis-ing such people. The Governments in partnership with private play-ers must actively endorse and advertise telehealth helplines andencourage people to seek consultations through the remote mech-anism. If every individual with a fever or a cough rushes to a hos-pital or clinic, it may wreak havoc on the healthcare system. Moreover,a number of these patients may be suffering from just the season-al flu. Taking the telehealth route will help in filtering and shortlist-ing the most serious patients who need hospitalisation. Doctors cancheck the patients’ symptoms through teleconferencing andadvice them about medication, precautions, as well as tests requiredand refer them to a healthcare facility in case their symptoms aggra-vate. Arrangements must also be made for pathologists to be ableto collect samples from home.

Addressing other health issues remotely: At a time when allhealthcare resources have been consumed in addressing theCoronavirus threat, a large number of patients, with other health con-ditions, be it chronic diseases or acute conditions requiring med-ical help, are at a loss. Not only is there lack of resources to addresstheir needs but they, too, face the risk of contracting the dreadedinfection while travelling to clinics and hospitals. Telehealth is a safeand effective route for this group of patients as well. Telehealthproviders and hospitals must make specialists in different domainsavailable to patients through telehealth services. This will ensure thatpatients with other health conditions requiring medical support arenot ignored.

(The writer is CEO, Apollo TeleHealth)

Millennials are redefining theresidential market in Indiaand affordability and job

mobility are the biggest factors affect-ing this sentiment. With rising urban-isation and soaring property prices inthe prime real estate markets, millen-nials that do choose to invest in a houseare increasingly looking at smallerapartments for their first home pur-chase. Globally, small apartments havebeen popular because they witnessperennial demand from young work-ing professionals who are always on the

move. This trend is only recently gain-ing traction in urban India as youngprofessionals migrate in large numbersto metropolitan cities for employmentopportunities. A small apartmentoffers an acceptable trade-off betweenconvenience and affordability andmillennials prefer to own cosy, conve-nient and cost-effective homes. Theyattribute high value to flexibility,instead of settling in one location foran extended period. With globalisa-tion, career advancement is movingprofessionals across cities and coun-tries. Small apartments are the fastestsellers on the resale market so they pro-vide the security and investmentadvantages of homeownership to themillennials.

While Mumbai leads the demandfor studio and one bedroom, hall andkitchen (1-BHK) apartments, othermetropolitan cities are joining the pushtowards 1-BHK and studio apartmentsto accommodate their growingmigrant population. For young adults,

studio apartments provide a popularalternative to conventional one 1-BHKand 2-BHK units. A studio apartmentin India typically consists of a livingarea, a kitchenette and a bathroom.Combined with affordable propertyrates, studio apartments also offerreduced commuting times, due to theircentral location and low cost of main-tenance. The inclination towards smallapartments is so widespread that theaverage size of flats in metro cities hasreduced over the last five years. The topseven Indian cities collectively sawaverage apartment sizes shrink bynearly 17 per cent between 2014 and2018.

A major factor contributing to theshrinking home sizes across cities inthe country is the rising demand forbudget-friendly housing. With prop-erty prices rapidly increasing, buildershave been reducing flat sizes to aligntheir offerings with a wider homebuy-er audience. This has largely been dri-ven by young adults choosing afford-

ability, convenience and connectivityover an abundance of space.

There is a growing focus on theaffordable housing sector among bothhomebuyers and builders. Attracted bygrowing job opportunities in metro-politan cities, consumer demand foraffordable housing has increased expo-nentially.

Affordable housing projects weregiven a major impetus in the UnionBudget 2017-18 by being grantedinfrastructure status. The ‘Housing forAll’ initiative aims to build 20 millionaffordable housing units across Indiaby 2022. Since the affordable housingsector is the most incentivised segmentfor all stakeholders, many reputedbuilders are launching such projects.

Trust and ease of purchase alsoinfluence millennial homebuyers’ pur-chasing decisions. The Real EstateRegulatory Authority (RERA) has thepotential to be the most significant pol-icy intervention in the real estate sec-tor. The overall goal of RERA is to pro-

tect the interests of homebuyers in anefficient and transparent manner. Itsimplementation has introduced much-needed formality to the sector andboosted homebuyer confidence. UnderRERA, builders will have to provide atimeline for construction and deliverywhich has been verified by a validauthority. Without approval, buildersare not allowed to promote or sell anyproject. This has effectively weeded outunscrupulous players from the marketand allowed only credible builders toflourish — to the advantage of allhomebuyers.

The reduction of Goods andServices Tax (GST) on under-con-struction and affordable housing prop-erties is also a significant fillip for thereal estate sector. These initiatives haveencouraged house ownership amongyoung professionals. Tax relief mea-sures have also increased disposableincome for such homebuyers,Furthermore, many banks are target-ting the millennial demographic as the

primary customer base, thus makingit easier to obtain home loans, whichcarry additional tax benefits.

There is a growing trend amongmillennials towards energy-efficientand sustainable homes. They areaware that homes with reduced waterand energy consumption, enhanced airquality, use of natural lighting anddecreased carbon emissions have a sig-nificant impact on their health and thatof their families. There is a concertedeffort by builders to offer homes thatoptimise the use of local materials,minimise their impact on the localecology and most importantly, are builtto reduce power, water and materialrequirements.

As homebuyers and builders shifttheir focus towards environmentalresponsibility, the availability of greenamenities is on the rise in the coun-try including solar panels, rainwaterharvesting facilities, waste manage-ment and high-efficiency lighting.Combining value-for-money, conve-

nience and eco-friendliness, high-rise gated communities are fast becom-ing a popular option for millennials.Because, living in these gated commu-nities has many advantages includingstrategic location, security, amenitiesand neighbourly appeal. Many com-munities offer amenities that aredesigned to provide an improvedlifestyle for residents and increasing-ly, reputable builders are investing inmodern, luxury facilities includingclubhouses, fitness centres, swim-ming pools, spas, playgrounds andsports facilities. They are even integrat-ing smart automation systems foradded convenience and comfort.

Owing to the improved regulato-ry policies and rationalised tax struc-ture, millennial homebuyers have areinvigorated interest in the sector. Therevived consumer confidence has sta-bilised the real estate market and laidthe foundation for massive growth.

(The writer is Director, AparnaConstructions and Estates)

Small, green homes are the charm for millennialsWith globalisation, career advancement is moving professionals across cities and countries. Millennials are opting to buy small apartments

as they are the fastest sellers on the resale market and provide the security and investment advantages of homeownership

RAKESH REDDY

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

DLF raises Rs 1,000 cr viaissue of debenturesNEW DELHI: Realty major DLFhas raised Rs 1,000 crorethrough the issue of non-convertible debentures on aprivate placement basis. Thecompany has allotted 10,000senior, secured, rated, listed,redeemable, non-convertibledebentures of the face value ofRs 10 lakh each at par,according to a regulatoryfiling. The tenure of the NCDsis three years with coupon rateof 9.25 per cent and 9.5 percent annually. The debentureswill be listed on the BSE.Earlier this month, DLF'sfinance committee constitutedby the board of directors hadapproved the issuance ofNCDs, with an aggregateprincipal amount up to Rs1,000 crore, on a privateplacement basis. Last month,the company had reported a24 per cent increase inconsolidated net profit at Rs414.01 crore for the quarterended December as againstRs 335.15 crore in the year-ago period.

Coronavirus: Marutihalts production atGurgaon, ManesarNEW DELHI: The country'slargest car maker MarutiSuzuki India (MSI) on Sundaysaid it has decided to suspendproduction at itsmanufacturing facilities inHaryana with immediate effectdue to the coronavirusoutbreak. "The company willshut production and officeoperations at its facilities inGurugram and Manesar(Haryana) with immediateeffect till further notice," MSIsaid in a statement. Thecompany's research anddevelopment centre at Rohtakwill also remain closed, itadded. The duration of thisshutdown will depend upongovernment policy, MSI said.

No curb on export ofAPIs, formulationsfrom SEZ units: DGFTNEW DELHI: Exportrestrictions imposed oncertain APIs and formulations,including paracetamol, vitaminB1 and B12, are not applicablefor units in special economiczones (SEZs), according to acommerce ministry circular.On March 3, exports of 26APIs and formulations,including paracetamol, vitaminB1 and B12, have been putunder restricted category amidthe coronavirus outbreak inChina. The Directorate Generalof Foreign Trade (DGFT), anarm of the ministry, said that ithas received variousrepresentations from SEZunits and other exportershighlighting issues faced bythem on account of thedecision to put this exportrestriction.

PNS n NEW DELHI

In the wake of the coron-avirus outbreak, banking lobbyIndian Banks' Association(IBA) has made an appeal topeople to wash their handsafter touching or countingcurrency.

IBA has also asked cus-tomers to use online andmobile banking channels formaking their transactions andavoid visiting bank branches asit could pose a risk to banks'front desk staff.

"Wash your hands with soapfor at least 20 seconds beforeand after physicalb a n k i n g / c u r r e n c ycounting/AEPS (Aadhaar-enabled payment system)transactions," IBA said in apublic appeal.

The banking association haslaunched a campaign 'CoronaSe Daro Na, Digital Karo Na'.

It is encouraging people touse credit or debit cards formaking payments instead ofcurrency. Assuring that IBAand all its member bankswould provide uninterruptedbanking services, it appealed tocustomers to visit branchpremises only in the case ofabsolute necessity. "Our

employees are also facing thesame challenges that you all areand so, we are asking for yourhelp too."

It said all the non-essentialbanking services, internetbanking, mobile banking andelectronic payment optionssuch as RTGS and NEFT can

be availed. "We are workinground-the-clock to ensure allour digital channels are up-to-date and have all informationthat you need during this peri-od," it said.

IBA has also advised banksto use digital platform forlending.

Wash hands after handlingcurrency notes, appeals IBA

PNS n NEW DELHI

Eight of the top-10 most-val-ued Indian companies wit-nessed a combined erosion ofRs 3,63,884.03 crore in marketvaluation last week, withHDFC Bank taking the biggesthit. During the last week, theSensex plummeted 4,187.52points or 12.27 per cent as mar-kets were hit hard due to con-cerns over the impact of coro-navirus on the economy.

Hindustan Unilever Limited(HUL) and ITC were the onlytwo companies from the top-10 list to have witnessed gainin their market capitalisationfor the trading week closed onFriday. HDFC Bank's valuationtumbled Rs 1,03,470.28 crore toRs 4,83,720.15 crore.

The market cap of ICICIBank plummeted Rs 65,853.55crore to Rs 2,23,753.14 crore.

Valuation of RelianceIndustries Ltd (RIL) eroded byRs 54,961.45 crore to Rs6,46,732.07 crore and that ofHDFC dropped by Rs54,479.15 crore to Rs3,03,722.13 crore.

The market cap of KotakMahindra Bank tumbled Rs39,626.31 crore to Rs2,41,611.45 crore and that of

Infosys tanked Rs 24,382.12crore to Rs 2,49,123.50 crore.

Likewise, Bharti Airtel's val-uation diminished by Rs17,621.45 crore to Rs2,51,992.19 crore and that ofTCS declined by Rs 3,489.72crore to Rs 6,74,678.77 crore.

In contrast, ITC, which lastweek re-entered the top-10 listof companies by market valu-ation, added Rs 16,367.12 croreto Rs 2,15,790.12 crore. HUL's

valuation also gained Rs4,178.1 crore to Rs 4,44,329.52crore. In the ranking of the top-10 firms, TCS was leading thechart followed by RIL, HDFCBank, HUL, HDFC, BhartiAirtel, Infosys, KotakMahindra Bank, ICICI Bankand ITC. Tata ConsultancyServices on Wednesday wentpast RIL yet again to becomethe most-valued Indian firm bymarket valuation.

8 of top-10 most-valued firmswitness combined erosion

MARKET CAPITALISATION

PNS n WASHINGTON

Top-level negotiationsbetween Congress and theWhite House are pushingtoward resolution on a bal-looning USD 1 trillion-pluseconomic rescue package, asPresident Donald Trumpurged a deal to steady a nationshuttered by the coron-avirus pandemic.

With a popula-tion on edge andfinancial marketsteetering, all sidesindicated lateSaturday that adeal is within reach.At issue is how best tokeep paychecks flowingfor millions of workers abrupt-ly sidelined by the crisis.

Talks also narrowed on a so-called Marshall Plan for hos-pitals as well as industry loansto airlines and others all butgrounded by the virus out-break and national shutdown.The post-World War IIMarshall Plan helped torebuild Western Europe.

Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell announced

late Saturday all sides were“very close” to a bipartisan res-olution. McConnell instruct-ed committee chairmen toassemble draft legislation.Officials put the price tag atnearly USD 1.4 trillion andsaid that with other measuresfrom the Federal Reserve itcould pump USD 2 trillion

into the US economy."We are poised to

deliver the signifi-cant relief thatAmericans needwith the speedthat this crisis

d e m a n d s , "McConnell said.Talks will resume

Sunday morning when thetop four congressional leadersof both parties are set to con-fer privately at the Capitol withTreasury Secretary StevenMnuchin in hopes of strikinga final accord. A spokesmanfor Senate Democratic leaderChuck Schumer said there is“not yet an agreement.”Spokesman Justin Goodmansaid Democrats look forwardto reading the draft and fur-ther negotiations.

McConnell: ‘Veryclose' on rescuepackage topping $1tn

IT Minister asks social media firms to take down false news PNS n NEW DELHI

Taking cognisance of fake newsreports on the internet, the ITministry has asked all socialmedia companies to immedi-ately remove false news spread-ing misinformation about coro-navirus from their platform.

The Ministry of Electronicsand IT issued an advisory onMarch 20 asking social mediacompanies to inform their usersabout not posting false newsthat can create panic among thepublic and disturb social tran-quillity. "Intermediaries areurged to... take immediateaction to disable or remove such(false news) content hosted ontheir platforms on a prioritybasis," Meity cyber laws and e-security Group coordinatorRakesh Maheshwari said inthe advisory note issued to allsocial media companies.

The advisory said that thecoronavirus outbreak hasbecome a global concern withWolrd Health Organisationdeclaring it a global healthemergency. It said that as permedia reports there is a trendof circulation of misinforma-tion/false news and sharinganonymous data related to

coronavirus in social mediaplatforms creating panic amongthe public.

The advisory asked socialmedia companies to initiate"awareness campaign on theirplatforms for the users not toupload or circulate any falsenews or misinformation con-cerning coronavirus which arelikely to create panic among thepublic and disturb the publicorder and social tranquillity".

PNS n NEW DELHI

The "evolving" insolvency lawis a kind of "Swachhata drive"to clean up non-performingassets as well as put companiesin the hands of capable andcredible people, according toIBBI chief M S Sahoo.

Around 3,600 companieshave been admitted under theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) so far. Whileacknowledging that the Code isstill evolving, Sahoo saidauthorities are conscious ofthe emerging needs.

"As and when they find aproblem, they try to address itas expeditiously as possible.The insolvency professionals,creditors, NCLT, IBBI — all areon a steep learning curve. TheSupreme Court has been set-tling matters at a quick pace. Ibelieve the road to success isalways under construction,"he told PTI in a recent inter-view. Sahoo is the chairpersonof the Insolvency and theBankruptcy Board of India(IBBI), a key authority inimplementing the Code. Acase is taken up under the Code

only after approval from theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT).

When asked about theenduring benefits of the Code,which came into force in 2016,the IBBI chairperson said, "Thisis another kind of Swachhata(cleanliness) drive to clean upNPAs (non-performing assets)and to put companies in thehands of capable and crediblepeople". "This reinforces therule of law by treating everycompany on the same level-playing field, irrespective of itssize or the influence of the peo-

ple behind them. Repayment ofloan is no more an option, butan obligation," he noted.

With the IBC in place, as theSupreme Court puts it, thedefaulter's paradise is lost,Sahoo emphasised. The Codeprovides for a time-bound andmarket-linked resolution ofstressed assets. If the resolutiondoes not happen, the companyconcerned goes into liquida-tion. "Failing is succeeding inSilicon Valley. An entrepre-neur should not be stuck up ina business if he is failing todeliver," Sahoo said. On

whether the success of IBC isnot just in numbers, the IBBIchief said that given the behav-ioural change, the performanceshould be seen in totality. Itshould be seen in terms of"what happens under the IBC,what happens on account of theIBC and what happens in theshadow of the IBC," he said."190 companies were rescued,while 780 companies werereferred for liquidation. Thus,the number of companies get-ting into liquidation is fourtimes that of companies beingrescued. These 190 compa-nies, however, had assets, whichis four times of the assets of the780 companies.

Insolvency law a ‘Swachhatadrive' against NPAs: IBBI chief

The Code provides for a time-boundand market-linkedresolution ofstressed assets. Ifthe resolution doesnot happen, thecompany concernedgoes into liquidation

The advisory said that thecoronavirus outbreakhas become a globalconcern with WolrdHealth Organisationdeclaring it a globalhealth emergency

It said all the non-essential banking services, internet banking,mobile banking and electronicpayment options such as RTGS and NEFT can be availed

HUL and ITC were the only two companies fromthe top-10 list to have witnessed gain in theirmarket capitalisation for the trading week closedon Friday. HDFC Bank's valuation tumbled Rs 1,03,470.28 cr to Rs 4,83,720.15 cr

PNS n NEW DELHI

To mitigate the impact of coro-navirus outbreak on the econ-omy, India Inc has sought a hostof measures, including a year-long moratorium by banks ondebt repayment, tax cuts andfiscal stimulus amounting toRs 2 lakh crore to needy citizensthrough Aadhaar-based directbenefit transfer. India hasalready been facing growthdeceleration, with GDP growthfalling to 4.7 per cent in thethird quarter of FY2020. Theimpact of COVID-19 is likelyto drag it down further in thefourth quarter.

The GDP growth could slideto below 5 per cent in FY2021if policy action is not takenurgently, the Confederation of

Indian Industry said. “Fiscaland monetary stimulus mea-sures need to be announcedurgently,” CII Director GeneralChandrajit Banerjee said.

CII has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi seek-

ing a fiscal stimulus of 1 percent of the GDP amounting toRs 2 lakh crore to needy citizensthrough Aadhaar-based directbenefit transfer.

Giving a comprehensive noteto the Covid-19 Economic

Response Task Force headed byFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, Assocham hassought a blanket year-longmoratorium by banks on debtrepayment both for corporatesand individuals as also urgentinfusion of liquidity by theLife Insurance Corporation ofIndia into the NBFCs in aquasi-equity format.

"It is difficult to prepare fora Black Swan event like the out-break of the COVID-19 pan-

demic. India, like most othercountries, has been deeplyaffected. Unfortunately forIndia, this has come at a timewhen the country's credit envi-ronment was already fragile andthe economy was slowingdown, '' Assocham said in a let-ter to the Finance Minister.

To improve market senti-ments, that is currently witness-ing extreme volatility, the gov-ernment may consider remov-ing Long Term Capital Gains

tax of 10 per cent and fixing thetotal Dividend DistributionTax at 25 per cent, CII said.

It suggested that GST pay-ments should be on collectionof Bills than on raising ofinvoices. This will help avoidliquidity getting locked in casethere is a delay in payments.

"Medium to long-termfinancing is key to stability ofthe crucial NBFCs which areone of the main sources offunding for the MSMEs, hithardest by the coronaviruscrisis. The LIC investmentinto the NBFCs too wouldbear dividends for the state-owned insurance giant oncefortunes turn for the overalleconomic cycle," AssochamPresident NiranjanHiranandani said.

India Inc seeks fiscal stimulus, moratorium on debtCII has written to Prime Minister NarendraModi seeking a fiscal stimulus of 1 per centof the GDP amounting to Rs 2 lakh crore toneedy citizens through Aadhaar-based directbenefit transfer

PNSn NEW DELHI

Anticipating a spike in onlinevideo streaming demand amidlockdown and quarantine mea-sures to contain the spread ofcoronavirus, COAI has urgedthe government to issue imme-diate instructions to streamingplatforms like Netflix, AmazonPrime Video, and others to ini-tiate measures that will easepressure on network infra-structure, which is needed for"critical" functions at this junc-ture. The Cellular Operators'Association of India (COAI)has also approached streamingplatforms cautioning themabout surge in digital use

straining network infrastruc-ture of telecom operators, andurged companies to take urgentsteps like temporarily switchingto SD (standard definition)

from HD (hi definition)streaming, removing highbandwidth-consuming adver-tisements and pop-ups, andreplacing them with public

announcements on awarenessregarding the virus.

In a letter to TelecomSecretary Anshu Prakash,COAI has said, "Due to lock-down/ quarantine measures invarious parts of the country, asudden surge in demand foronline video streaming is alsoexpected to rise substantially."

COAI said that during thiscrucial time, it is absolutelyessential for the streaming plat-forms to cooperate with tele-com providers so as to managethe traffic distribution patternsthat are likely to strain the net-work infrastructure "at a timewhen it is needed for variouscritical requirements".

COAI for easing pressure on network infra

PNS n NEW DELHI

Mahindra Group ChairmanAnand Mahindra on Sundayproposed lockdown for thenext few weeks, express-ing concerns overreports that Indiais likely to havealready reachedstage-3 of c o r o n a v i r u s transmission.

He also offered thefacilities of the group'shospitality arm as medicalcare facilities while the groupwill work on how its manufac-turing facilities can make ven-tilators.

"Going by various reportsfrom epidemiologists, it ishighly likely that India isalready in stage-3 of transmis-sion. Cases could rise expo-

nentially with millions ofcasualties, putting a

huge strain on med-ical infrastructure,"Mahindra said in aseries of tweets.

He further said,"A lockdown over the

next few weeks willhelp flatten the curve and

moderate the peak pressure onmedical care. However, weneed to create scores of tem-porary hospitals and we havea scarcity of ventilators."

Mahindra proposeslockdown for few weeks

PNS nMUMBAI

The Reserve Bank is virtuallybeing run from a war-room ata city facility manned by justaround 90 critical staff as thenation's monetary authorityworks to insulate the financialsystem from disruptions due tothe coronavirus pandemic.

The facility, operationalfrom March 19 as part of theBusiness Contingency Plan(BCP), was up and running in24 hours of the central banktaking a decision to this effect,according to an official.

The war-room is in factmanned by 90 most critical

staff from the Reserve Bank, 60key personnel from its 600-people strong workforce fromits external vendors andaround 70 facility staff.

The operation is so con-trolled for the sake of securi-

ty and health of the personnelas also of the system that theBCP manual allows only halfof the 90 staff to be present atany given time and the rest areon standby.

"This is the first of its kindBCP implementation by anycentral bank in the world andis also the first in our historybecause even during the WorldWar II we did not have anysuch facility," the official fromthe Reserve Bank said.

The most critical functionsthat the war-room handles aredebt management, reservemanagement and monetaryoperations.

How RBI set up war-room in justone day amid coronavirus outbreak l Asks Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, others to take steps

e are living in aworld whereeverything hasbecome a compe-tition. Our currenteducation system,

particularly schooling, hasbeen reduced to commercialbusiness, forcing children tomiss out on the joys of child-hood.

“Children are now focus-ing more on marks andranks,” laments Dr Parimifrom Andhra Pradesh’sKrishna district. “My effortto help students enjoy theirchildhood and help themlearn life lessons in schoolhas brought about the ideaof starting the JeevanaVikasa Vidyalayam,” heshares.

Dr Parimi and his friendsstarted the school at Porankiin Krishna district with theidea that focuses on lessknowledge from books,more from practical lessons.“The school sets no stan-dards of marks and ranks forthe children. We put nopressure on the kids but treatthem all equally, with nopunishments or scolding,” heinforms.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Dr Parimi says, “I came toIndia in 1981 after spending

more than 15 years in theUSA. At the time, I searchedfor a good school for mykids only to find that mostof the schools are only madefor marks and ranks and didnot focus on imparting anylife lessons or encouragethem to take part in sports.”“My research showed thatstudents are stressed all dayin their efforts to achieve acertain rank or grade, whichrobs them off the joys ofchilhood,” he adds.

On how it all started,Parimi shares, “We startedthe school in the 50-acreland that I own at Poranki inKrishna District. The mainobjective of the school is togive students their joy backby indulging them in varioussports and other activities.”The classes last only for afew hours and during theremaing hours, students areengaged in various activities.“We don’t give them anyhomework and no student isallowed to take books home,”he adds.

Students are taught intheir mother tongue, withEnglish as one of the sub-jects till their fifth grade.Later on, English becomesthe medium of instruction.“We give students enough

time to understand English.After class five, we speak tothem in English,” Parimiexplains.

Before taking in any stu-dent, the school administra-tion explains the concept ofthe school and directs par-ents not to pressurise stu-dents to study at home. Theschool also has the facilty ofresidential scholars. “Wehave residential facility for

classes five and above.During the admissionprocess, we explain parentsabout our approach towardseducation and importance ofteaching life lessons to theirkids at a very young age,”Parimi tells us.

“We have a holistic educa-tion approach for students ofclass VI and VII. As part ofthis, students must spendone hour everyday for com-

munity work along withothers. They have to main-tain cleanliness and green-ery in the campus. Theyalso plant saplings of manykinds,” he adds.

Asked if they’re planningto expand the school toother places in the state,Parimi says, “We lack fundsto expand. But we’re morethan glad to set an examplefor many others to follow.”

LIFE LESSONS OVER

RANKS, MARKS

Jeevana VikasaVidyalayam, spread

over 50 acres inKrishna district, is

breaking the idea ofunhealthy competition

among children inschools. The school

that offers conceptuallearning with a holistic

approach was startedby Dr Parimi, a USA

returnee, finds V SATEESH

REDDY

W

We have a holisticeducation approach forstudents. They must spendone hour everyday forcommunity work. They haveto maintain cleanliness andgreenery in the campus.They also plant saplings ofmany kinds.

DR PARIMI

Educate to empowerIn her attempt

to empowerwomen,

Hyderabad-based advocate

ManasiChaudhuri

came up with‘Pink Legal', a

web portal thatinforms and

educateswomen about

their rights,ways to

approach thenearest police

station, andmore. Speaking

to SHIKHADUGGAL, theadvocate tells

us more aboutthe portal and

the reason shelaunched it

n a comparativelywell-informedworld of today,women are still lag-ging when it comesto reporting crimes

against them. From social stig-ma to lack of knowledge aboutone’s own rights and proce-dures are some of the reasonsstopping women from lodgingany complaint.

As a means to address theseconcerns, Pink Legal wasborn. It’s India’s first ever webportal dedicated to women’srights and laws. Brainchild ofadvocate Manasi Chaudhari,,the portal promises to educateand empower women to fightcrimes against them.

Brought up in Hyderabad,Chaudhari also assisted JusticeD.Y. Chandrachud in thelandmark judgements ofSection 377, Sabarimala tem-ple and Adultery beinglegalised.

The advocate stresses onhow Indian women areunaware about their legalrights and how this web portalspecifically targets them. Anonline survey among urban,educated women showed that80 per cent of them didn’tknow about their legal rights.This data pushed thisHyderabad youth to formulatethis website.

Speaking about the websiteshe says, “Pink Legal containsall the precise information onwomen related legalities rang-ing from rapes, sexual harass-ment, domestic violence,dowry, maternal rights toinheritance of property in amanner that is comprehensiveto most women.” “With just a

simple click on Google, PinkLegal helps women navigatethrough it to find what theywant to learn or understand,”she adds. The portal operateswith the help of a bunch ofvolunteers including studentsfrom law school, graphicdesigners, etc.

On being asked why thename ‘Pink Legal’, she replies,“The colour pink is usuallyassociated with girls and manya time, it is depicted as a signof gentleness. My website’sidea is to turn around this

psychology and use it todescribe a combination ofgentleness and commissioningwoman.”

Across the world, the elite,with the use of internet, cansurf this website. But this 27-year-old made sure that thebenefits of this website reachthe demographics of womenwho don’t have access to thisutility. How? “We held interac-tive sessions for them explain-ing them their rights in a verysimpler format,” she informs.

The website runs on inde-pendent funds from the advo-cate’s monthly income. Theadvocate urges every womanto get to know her basic legalrights. “Things like knowinghow to file an FIR, knowingthat she can’t be arrestedbeyond or before sunrise andafter sunset, and that she hasthe right to stay at the houseshe was married into, arebasics that every womanneeds to know,” saysChaudhuri.

Stating the example ofrecent case of actress NehaDhupia falling into a contro-versy where she bashed a con-testant which led the trollarmy to mercilessly attack heron social media, including herone year old daughter, thispractitioner from the HighCourt of Hyderabad says, “It’sour constitutional right to free-dom of speech and expression.Women being the maximumprey of cyber bullying, it takesa toll on their well-being too.”

Terming ingrained patri-archy and misogyny as themajor reasons behind womenfacing discrimination, sheyearns that every womanbreaks this chain by beginningtheir fight against these, rightfrom their homes. “Why can’tmen take care of householdchores? They must, it must bedistributed equally, andwomen must pursue activities/hobbies they enjoy,” she con-cludes.

I

HOW AN FIR IS FILED: o Victim files a policecomplaint. They willregister the complaint andgive you a copyappointing aninvestigation officer. o An initial inquiry takesplace.o Police then conducts adetailed investigation. o Upon completion ofinvestigation, police willfile a chargesheet with themagistrate.o Magistrate issues awarrant for the accused. o Trial begins, both sideswill present theirperspectives.o Court will decidewhether the accused isguilty or not.

‘Mirzya’s failurewas disappointing’

Saiyami Kher, granddaughter of Usha Kiranand niece of Tanvi Azmi, who was seen in

Mirzya, will now be seen in Hotstar’s SpecialOPS. She speaks with The Pioneer about her

role and the truth behind Zoya offering herLuck By Chance

hat attracted you to play Juhi?Two things. First, I have never played a RAW agent.I have never done any action-oriented stuff.Second, it was created by Neeraj Pandey and I havealways wanted to work with him. I have been a con-stant admirer of him after watching A Wednesday,

which is one of my favourite Neeraj sir’s film, Baby and Special26. I have always thought associating myself with this direc-tor.o There is such an extensive cast in the series. How was the

experience to be a part of it?This is the first time I have done such a project. It is always

exciting to work with new people as you get to learn a lot fromeveryone you work with. For this series, I have spent the mosttime with Karan Tacker (who plays Farooq Ali), Vipul Gupta(who plays Bala) and Meher Vij (who plays Ruhani). SharadKelkar and I didn’t have anything common to do so we could-n’t connect much. However, it was an altogether great expe-rience and I had fun shooting it.o A lesson that you took back home from the sets?

It was from Neeraj sir. He taught me not make a big dealout of everything what we do and to just keep it simple. Thisway the work can be done easily. Also, not to do unnecessarymelodrama. o Your Bollywood debut film Mirzya didn’t perform well

at the box office. Did it demotivate you? Yes, it did. It is extremely disappointing because there are

so much of efforts that goes into a film. But the performanceat the box office is not something that is in our hands. All wecan do is to just do good work. Going back in time and mod-ifying things or doing the same thing again is just not possi-ble. We can just wish that everything we do performs well.

W

MondayMarch 23, 2020

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

I’m starting fromscratch: YouTube

sensation Shirley Setiaon acting debut

inger Shirley Setia, whois set to enter Bollywoodwith Netflix’s Maska anddirector Sabbir Khan’sfeature length filmNikamma, says she is

starting a new phase in her careerand wants to develop her craft as

she go forward.Shirley, who is from

Auckland, New Zealand,started as a YouTuber by

singing cover versions ofBollywood hits. She went

on to win a competi-tion organised by

music labelcompany T-Series fewyears ago.

In 2016,the bud-dingartisteshiftedher base

to

Mumbai and soon made her markwith tracks for films like AGentleman and 5 Weddings.

“I was doing a lot of covers, orig-inal songs and that was anotherline of work, a completely differentspace. I wanted to explore this newworld of acting. It wasn’t a toughchoice as I knew I wanted to do it.”

“It has not been easy. I am stillstarting from scratch, I am learn-ing new field of work. This is allnew to me, I haven’t learnt it. Everywork, every experience is new,”Shirley told PTI.

The newcomer said she neverrestricted herself to just being asinger and was rather always opento the idea of exploring otheraspects of cinema.

“When I started my YouTubechannel, I had not called it as amusic channel. The purpose of thischannel was not just music, it iscalled Shirley Setia. I was exploringnew paths for myself. Now, I amacting in films for the big-screenand for OTT, this is all so new forme. I am both happy and nervous.”

In Netflix’s Maska, Shirley willstar alongside Manisha Koirala andJaaved Jaaferi While in actionentertainer Nikamma, she will fea-ture opposite Abhimanyu Dassaniand Shilpa Shetty.

“I am grateful for the opportu-nities that I have got in form

of Maska and Nikamma. Ithas been a great work-

ing experience. I amexcited about both

these films andhope people like

my work,” sheadded.

Maska willstream onNetflixfrom March27 andNikamma isscheduledto release incinemahouses onJune 5.

10

Vijayawada Monday March 23, 2020 what’s brewing?

S

Saif busy gardeningwith son Taimur on‘JANATA CURFEW'

tar couple Saif AliKhan and KareenaKapoor Khanknow the best howto keep their littlekid Taimur enter-

tained while abiding by JanataCurfew on Sunday, and stay-ing indoors in the wake ofcoronavirus outbreak.

Kareena shared a few pho-tographs on her Instagramaccount in which we can seeSaif and Taimur planting

saplings in their house’s bal-cony.

Dressed in white kurtapyjama, the father-son arelooking extremely adorable.

“My boys doing their bit,”Kareena captioned theimages.

The Jab We Met actresseven urged people to “makethe world a better place” and“play their part”.

“Stay Home...Stay Safe. #JanataCurfew,” she added.

S

Alia puts anend to break

up rumourwith Ranbir

Kapoorollywood actress Alia Bhatthas finally put an end to all

rumours about her break upwith Ranbir Kapoor

through a photograph onsocial media.

She shared a photograph of herselflooking at the sunset while standing inher balcony. But it was her caption that

grabbed all the attention.“Stay home and... watch the sunset...

#stayhomestaysafe... P.S: credit to my alltime fav photographer RK,” she captioned

the image.Alia’s sister Shaheen Bhatt commented:

“So he only takes bad pictures of the restof us then.”

Ranbir’s mother and veteranactress Neetu Kapoor posted a

heart emoji on the image.Alia and Ranbir will

together be seen in theupcoming film

Brahmastra, directed byAyan Mukerji.

B

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | MARCH 23, 2020

MUMBAI: Former West Indies batsmanShivnarine Chanderpaul has said India cap-tain Virat Kohli is the best batsman in theworld at the moment and also his favourite.

Chanderpaul was in Indiaa few days back for the RoadSafety World Series 2020, but itwas postponed due to the coro-navirus outbreak. “Obviously, it’sVirat Kohli. He has been workingon all the aspects of his game, andthe results are showing. He is work-ing hard on his fitness; he workson his skills. You see him puttingin the hard work, and he is one ofthose guys who always wants to dowell. He’s proven it, day in and day out.You have to give credit to him for that.It’s not easy to stay at the top of yourgame for so long. You got to put inyour work, and the results are

showing,” Chanderpaul told Sportstar.On West Indies’ chances in the T20

World Cup scheduled to be played inOctober-November in Australia, hesaid: “Well, West Indies have alwayshad players for the shorter format. Yet

again, it all depends on how well youperform on that day because, in the

T20 format, anybody could winon that day. We always have a lotof match-winners, that’s thegood thing about us.”

“With the power hitters,good bowlers they play a major

part in the shorter format. So, westill have one of the best T20squads around. But we still haveto go out and play well to winmatches. Don’t take anyone light-ly, play as hard as we can, and wewill win,” he added. IANS

PTI n NEW DELHI

Awary Mirabai Chanu has only one prayer onher lips that the Tokyo Olympics goes as per

schedule despite COVID-19 pandemic otherwiseall her efforts of winning an Olympic medal willgo down the drain.

For the last four years, Mirabai has labouredfor a successful Olympic outing but all she canthink right now is about the fate of the July 24 toAugust 9 Tokyo Games, which could be post-poned.

“If the Olympics doesn’t happen all our effortsfor the last four years will all go to waste. I don’twant it to cancel, I am praying to god every day.I just wanted a get an Olympic medal for myself,”Mirabai said.

Calls for postponing the Tokyo Games till thevirus is contained is also increasing with severalathletes lashing out at the International OlympicCommittee’s (IOC) advice to continue training ata time when governments across the globe are call-ing for social-distancing.

However, the two-time CommonwealthGames Gold-medalist, who has already sealed anOlympic quota, wants the quadrennial event togo as planned.

“The pressure (of winning a medal) haschanged to the Olympics should not be cancelled.That’s all I’m thinking. The rest, training, etc Iam not tensed about right now.

“Even if it’s postponed there will be a lot ofproblem because a lot can change in a short peri-od of time for us,” she added.

Weightlifting’s Olympic qualifying schedulehas also gone haywire. The InternationalWeightlifting Federation (IWF) had to cancel fivecontinental championships, including the Asiaevent.

The Asian Weightlifting Championshipswhich had been relocated from Kazakhstan toTashkent in Uzbekistan was the last tournamentbefore the Olympics for Mirabai. She had missedout on a Bronze medal by a whisker here last year.

The Manipuri, who has consistently betteredher personal best, had aimed to improve her totaleffort of 203kg (88kg+115kg).

“I was preparing for Asian very well. Therewas a lot of uncertainty whether it will happenor not. I have already qualified for the Olympicsbut in the Asian Championship we would havegot a clear picture,” she said.

“I wanted to improve my effort here so thatI go to the Olympics high on confidence. That wasthe target. If the Asian Championship had takenplace it would have been a good platform for meto better my performance.”

NEW DELHI: Postponement oftournaments, cancellation of tri-als and camps hardly matter at thispoint to one of India’s biggestyoung achievers in sport, ManuBhaker, who is hoping to see theworld win the battle against theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has cast seri-ous doubts over the upcomingOlympic Games but the 18-year-old, a medal prospect at the qua-drennial extravaganza, is cur-rently not thinking about thingsthat are beyond her control.

“Trials, events should be post-poned in current situation asthere are other very importantthings for the world to deal with,”Bhaker said.

The pistol ace was one of thefew shooters who have participat-ed in a trial organised not long agoby the National Rifle Associationof India (NRAI).

The trial was arranged toallow the shooters register theirscores after the postponement ofthe New Delhi ISSF World Cupand the Indian team’s pull-outfrom the Cyprus World Cupowing to the coronavirus out-break.

“Camp situation was fine asonly few shooters were there,there was no large gathering andit was for three days.”

Asked about the Olympics

Games that are shrouded inuncertainty, Bhaker said she willlook to carry on with her routinethat is part of her preparation.

“I am relaxed at home. Thecurrent situation doesn’t affect mypreparation and mindset. I amcontinuing with my yoga sessions,meditation and and things thathelp me stay calm and composed.

“The Olympics, whenever ithappens, is huge, so we need to beprepared.

“I am preparing for theOlympic as planned,” she said.

“Shooting is very competitivenow, especially 2019 and after, andit is evident from the scores,” sheadded. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Indian men’s hockey team chiefcoach Graham Reid believes eight-time champions India are better

placed than their opponents when itcomes to preparation for the TokyoOlympics, as unlike other nations thedeadly COVID-19 hasn’t hampered theirtraining program.

It is obviously disappointing that Indiawon’t be able to travel to Germany andEngland for their FIH Pro League match-es after the competition was put off tillMay due to the spread of the disease, butReid tried to look at the positives in thesetrying times.

He lauded the steps taken by theSports Authority of India (SAI) andHockey India (HI) amid the ever-risingdanger posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

“The authorities were quick to takeaction and isolate the SAI Centre. We areisolated but we can carry out our normalschedule. Things are very smooth. Wecan’t control the virus but we can controlour environment,” Reid said from SAISouth Centre in Bengaluru.

“Things are changing on a dailybasis but one of the great thing is our abil-

ity to continue training which othercountries don’t have. Australian players arebased with their families and train inPerth. Argentines have a centralised pro-gram but I don’t think they are trainingat the moment where as, our entire

group is together.“We have 32 campers here and we can

play competitive hockey against eachother. We are playing internal games ininternational tempo. We are playing dif-ferent styles of hockey everyday. One day,

we are playing like Germany, the next daylike Australia,” Reid added.

“We are continuing what we can dobest that is, play hockey in a closed andsafe environment. We’re still waiting tohear from Hockey India and the govern-

ment on their recommendations in thewake of the serious crisis. Definitely, wewill have reorganise our Olympic prepa-ration schedule,” the 55-year-oldAustralian said.

Reid said postponement of the TokyoOlympics because of the pandemic is apossibility, but hoped against it.

“I have no comment to make whetherOlympics should be postponed or not, itis up to the IOC and Tokyo Games organ-isers. But Olympics is something special,every athlete dreams to be a part of theevent some day,” he said.

Things are gloomy everywhere in thewake of the pandemic but Reid and hisboys have managed to keep their motiva-tion level high and the coach believes Indiacan finish on the podium in Tokyo, pro-vided they play according to their capa-bility.

“In these circumstances you have tomaintain positive mental attitude. Theboys gel in each other’s company and theOlympics is certainly enough motivation,”Reid said.

“We now have belief after playing 3Pro League matches against top 3 teamsin the world. Olympics is different but ifwe play our best, everything is possible.”

KOLKATA: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, India’s top-ranked paddler, feels it’s too early to decidewhether the Olympics should be postponeddue to the coronavirus outbreak, adding thatas an athlete he is ready to abide by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC)’sguidelines.

“I think its too early to decide on that. Wewill have to wait and see,” Sathiyan said fromChennai.

The No 31-ranked Sathiyan just returnedafter winning a Silver medal in the men’s dou-bles of the Hungarian Open, alongside veter-an Sharath Kamal.

“If things don’t improve, there is a highchance it might get postponed as players healthis definitely the priority,” he said.

“As an athlete I am ready to abide by what-ever IOC decides,” added the 27-year old.

Many athletes have complained about thelack of training opportunities now as all areconfined to their homes with most qualifiersalso cancelled or postponed.

“Definitely there is uncertainty and a lotof tournaments are cancelled. (We are) notbeing able to train fully as well. But I canunderstand as its a world pandemic and healthshould be the priority,” said Sathiyan. IANS

PTI n WELLINGTON

Describing his fallout withRoss Taylor a “bad stain for

New Zealand cricket”, formerskipper Brendon McCullumattributed it to a race for cap-taincy between the two in 2011and admitted that they stillaren’t the best of friends despitemutual respect.

Taylor, who is still active ininternational cricket, took overthe captaincy after DanielVettori stepped down from theposition following the 2011World Cup.

“It put some pressure onmy friendship and relationshipwith Ross. I have a lot of devel-opment and under-age cricketwith Ross. I was the captain ofthe U-19 team and Taylor was

my vice-captain. We’ve alwaysgot on really well,” McCullumsaid in a Sky Sports Podcast.

However, after a 1-1 drawin a Test series in Sri Lanka in2012, it emerged that Taylorhad issues with then coachMike Hesson. That followedseries defeats in South Africa,the West Indies and India.

“We had to go for an inter-view for the job. It was aboutpresenting the map for thefuture of New Zealand cricketto a panel. I don’t really knowwhat we were doing.

“If I had my time, Iwould’ve said ‘No I’m not goingto come and go through theprocess, you appoint Ross ascaptain and then we’ll see whatunfolds from there.’

“It’s a bad stain for New

Zealand cricket and put pres-sure on Ross and me. Then itled me to eventually take overthe captaincy from Ross,” saidMcCullum.

McCullum said that heand Taylor are still not the bestof friends but he has a lot ofrespect for New Zealand’s all-time highest ODI run-scorer.

“We are not best friends. Ihave an immense amount ofrespect for him. He has a love-ly family and a great career. Heis at peace and content in hispersonal life. He has done real-ly really well,” said McCullum.

Taylor was given the optionof remaining the Test captainwith McCullum leading thelimited overs sides but hedeclined.

“I was asked if I wanted to

take over the role of NewZealand captain in all three for-mats. So initially, I told them Iwould get back to them. Ineeded to think long and hardthought it.

“I knew it would be amajor controversial decision. Iknew it could have major ram-ifications on NZ Cricket, andalso on my time as a player,” hesaid.

“I sat down with my wife,and said ‘you are the bestequipped to do it if it doesn’twork out, it doesn’t work out,but you’re the best equipped todo it’. So I gave them a call andsaid I would do it,” he added.

McCullum eventually tookover in all formats in December2012 and stayed in the role untilhis retirement in 2016.

LUCKNOW: Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, whotested positive for coronavirus a few days ago,stayed in the same five-star hotel here as the SouthAfrican cricket team, who were in India for theODI series which later got postponed.

“There are reports that she dined in the hotel’sbuffet and also attended several guests in the lobby,”an official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

“She was living there at a time when the SouthAfrican team was staying in the hotel for the ODImatch, which eventually was called off. There isinformation that Kanika was seen briefly attend-ing a news channel’s annual conclave held at thehotel. Therefore, it is important to scan the CCTVfootage and list those who came in contact withher.”

The Quinton de Kock-led South African crick-et team were slated to play three ODIs in India butthe series had to be postponed amid the outbreakof coronavirus pandemic. They came to Kolkataand travelled via Dubai to their respective desti-nations and have seen been on mandatory quar-antine.

Kanika has been criticised a lot by netizens forher irresponsible behaviour for not self-quaranti-ning herself upon her return from London andthen attending several parties in Lucknow.

Her family members are now questioning themedical report which declared her as coronaviruspositive. IANS

AFP n BRESCIA

The president of Italianfootball club Brescia who

are based in the epicentre ofthe coronavirus pandemicsaid it was time to cancel theSerie A season because of ‘theplague’.

Serie A basementdwellers Brescia are destinedfor relegation — should thematches ever play out to theirlogical end in May.

No ball has been kickedin anger in the football-madcountry since March 9because of an outbreak thatbore down on Italy fromChina last month.

The nation of 60 millionis under a lockdown thatcould well run for many moreweeks.

Some big Italian clubshave been discussing the ideaof resuming practise in prepa-ration for possible matchesbehind closed doors.

But Brescia presidentMassimo Cellino told the

Corriere dello Sport newspa-per that people who werethinking of playing during acrisis were deluding them-selves.

“Everything has to bemoved to the next season. Itis time for realism, gentlemen.This is the plague,” Cellinosaid.

Brescia is one of the citiesin Italy’s northern Lombardyregion around Milan most

heavily hit by the killer dis-ease.

Lombardy’s death tollsurpassed 3,000 on Saturday.

The region of around 10million has reported morethan 25,000 infections —about as many as officiallycounted in Spain.

“You can no longer playthis year. Think about the nextone,” said Cellino.

Yet some Italian clubs

with title aspirations are plan-ning to resume training nextweek.

Second-placed Lazio —just a point behind perenni-al champions Juventus — hassaid they wanted to resumetraining as early as Monday.

Italian media speculatethey might postpone it untilafter the ban on public gath-erings formally expires onWednesday. Sixth-placedNapoli also aired plans to starttraining next week.

Prime Minister GiuseppeConte has already indicatedthat all the ban and closureswill be extended for weeks ifnot months.

Cellino appeared to firm-ly back Conte's approach.

“This season is finished.Anyone who wants thiscursed (title), take it. It isclosed. Finished. And I amnot saying this becauseBrescia is last in the stand-ings,” the club president said.

“We are last because wedeserve it.”

AFP n TURIN

Argentina striker PauloDybala said that he has

become the third Juventusplayer to test positive forcoronavirus while formerAC Milan defender PaoloMaldini revealed that heand his son have also beeninfected.

“Hi everyone. I justwanted to let you knowthat we have received theCovid-19 test results andthat Oriana (Sabatini, hisgirlfriend) and I are posi-tive,” the 26-year-old Dybalatweeted.

“Fortunately, we areperfectly fine. Thank you foryour messages.”

Italian championsJuventus said that Dybalahad been self-isolating sinceWednesday.

“He will continue tobe monitored. He is welland is asymptomatic,”said the club in a state-ment.

Later, AC Milan said

Maldini, now the technicaldirector, and his 18-year-oldson Daniel, a youth teamplayer, were also battling thedisease.

“Paolo and Daniel areboth well and have alreadycompleted two weeks athome without contact withothers,” said a state-ment from ACMilan.

“ T h e ywill nowremain inquarantineuntil clinical-ly recovered,as per themedical proto-cols outlined bythe healthaut hor i -ties.”

Former ManchesterUnited star MarouaneFellaini has also tested pos-itive becoming the firstknown case in the ChineseSuper League (CSL).

The 32-year-old Belgianinternational midfielder,who recently returned to his

CSL team ShandongLuneng, wrote onTwitter: “Thanks tothe fans, medicalstaff and the club fortheir care and atten-tion.

“I will followthe treatment andhope to return tothe game as soon aspossible. Please

everyone stay safe,” headded, posting a picture

of himself smilingand giving a

thumbs-up.

AFP n SENDAI

Tens of thousands of people flocked to acauldron with the Olympic flame in

northeastern Japan over the weekend despiteconcerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 50,000 people on Saturdayqueued to watch the flame displayed at Sendaistation in Miyagi, chosen as part of the‘Recovery Olympics’ to showcase the region’srevival after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami andnuclear meltdown.

Some had to stay in a 500-metre (1,650-foot) queue for several hours, local media said.

Many of them wore masks as they tookpictures with the cherry blossom-shaped caul-dron.

“I queued for three hours but watchingthe Olympic flame was greatly encouraging,”a 70-year-old woman told public broadcast-er NHK.

But organisers, concerned about the big-

ger-than-expected gathering, have warned theviewing event could be suspended if a crowdbecomes “extremely dense”, local mediareported.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI) centres, which

have been shut down due tothe COVID-19 pandemic, willbe used as quarantine facilitiesfor patients of the deadly dis-ease, the Sports Ministry saidon Sunday.

The decision to allow allSAI regional centres, stadiumsand hostels to be used as

quarantine facilities was takenfollowing a request from theHealth Ministry.

“Yes, we have decided toallow all our centres to be usedas quarantine facilities afterthe Health Ministry asked forit. It is a pandemic and all theSAI centres are public proper-ties,” Sports Secretary RadheyShyam Julaniya said.

“This is a crisis situationand whatever support the

government needs, we areready to provide that.”

Julaniya, however, did notspecify exactly when thesecentres will be put to use bythe health ministry.

SAI has 10 regional cen-tres and five stadiums in thenational capital under it. Thesecan be used to create quaran-tine facilities for at least 2,000people, according to an offi-cial estimate.

COVID-19 has failed to hamper preps: Reid

All efforts will go wasteif Olympics is cancelled:Mirabai Chanu

Not right time for sport butprepared for Olympics: Bhaker

Too early to comment on Olypostponement: Sathiyan

SAI centres to be used as quarantine facilities

Thousands flock to see Olympic flame

My fallout with Taylor is bad stain on NZ cricket: McCullum Virat is best batsman inworld: Chanderpaul

Kanika Kapoor, SA cricketteam stayed in same hotel

Dybala, Maldini test positive Serie A club Brescia warn of plague

Indian players acknowledge crowd support at the end of FIH Pro League match against Australia Hockey India/Twitter

People gather to take look at Olympic flame on display inSendai. The Olympic flame will be on public display insome areas affected by 2011 earthquake & tsunami AP

tylish star Allu Arjunutilised the gap-ofmore than a year —after Naa PeruSurya-Naa Illu Indiato line-up projects

with Trivikram, ARMurugadoss and KoratalaSiva for the next two andhalf years. Especially hisproject with Murugadossmade lot of waves backthen as it would’vemarked the actor’s

Tamil debut

after his failed attempt withLingusamy three years ago. A dis-cussion to this end has takenplace between both the parties.However, situations have changeddrastically over the last sixmonths.

With Sukumar convincingBunny to do his next-afterMahesh exited it, the actor’s wishof teaming up with theThuppakki director got a littlepostponed. But now we heartheir combination has been puton pause mode. A source says,“It’s unlikely that Bunny will beteaming up with Murugadoss any

time this year and it has some-thing to do with the poor far-

ing of the latter’s Darbar.The actor is looking to

collaborate with success-ful directors in a bid toimprove his careergraph further after amonster hit like AlaVaikunthapuramlo.Next up afterSukumar, filmmakerslike Surender Reddy

and Koratala Siva arewaiting for him. ARM

got a wind of Bunny’sfuture plans and decided to

make his next with Vijay,with whom he delivered three

super hits.”

Vijayawada Monday March 23, 2020

SUKUMAR’SFIRST FILM,ARYA, WAS

RELEASED ONTHE SAME DATE

IN 2004

12

tollywood

Devgn will beseen as a tribal

lord who inspireshis son to fight

against theBritish Raj and

the Nizam of Hyderabad

overtheir oppressive

regime, findsNAGARAJ

GOUD

hile SS Rajamoulihas alreadyrevealed what hislead actors — JrNTR, RamCharan, Alia Bhatt

and Olivia Morris — play inhis ambitious RRR, he choseto maintain silence aroundwhat Bollywood superstarAjay Devgn essays. The actor,who has shot for the film forclose to 10 days earlier thisJanuary, we’ve learnt, will beseen as Tarak’s father in thefilm.

A source close to thedevelopment tells us, “Devgnwill be seen as a tribal lordwho inspires his son to fightagainst the British Raj andthe Nizam of Hyderabad overtheir oppressive regime. It isthe reason why his portionswere shot in Vikarabadforests. He fights for thecause of Adivasis rights. Therole will be one of the high-lights of the film as its emo-tional arch has been designedin a way that it will inducegoosebumps upon watchingon the silver screen. Theactor, with his skills, liftedthe intensity of the scenes.

Shriya Saran will be seen ashis wife. The role’s durationwill be around close to 12-16minutes and will form theflashback segment of thefilm.”

Set in 1920s pre-indepen-dent India, RRR, being madeon a budget of Rs 500 crore,revolves around the fictionalexploits of two real freedomfighters Komaram Bheemand Alluri Seetharama Raju.Tarak is playing the youngerBheem, with English actressOlivia Morris paired along-side him, while Charan willbe seen as younger Ramaraju,with Alia Bhatt as his loveinterest.

After shooting in andaround Hyderabad for thepast seven months, the unitis gearing up for the Puneschedule next up in May. Itwill witness Alia Bhatt, whowill make her Telugu debut,joining the sets for the firsttime. Close to 75 per cent ofthe shooting has beenwrapped up as of now. Thefilm, a production venture ofDVV Danayya, will storminto theatres on January 8next year.

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ith cinemahalls shuttill March31 in thewake ofCovid-19,

the makers of Uppenahave deferred therelease from April 2. Alittle birdie tell us thatthey are toying withthe idea of release thefilm, a joint produc-tion venture betweenMythri Movie Makersand Sukumar Writings,on May 7. There is asignificance attachedto the date asSukumar’s first film,Arya, released on thesame date in 2004.Uppena marks thedirectorial debut of hislong-time protégé

Buchi Babu Sana.

The source adds,“May 7 is the date thatthe producers havelocked as of now. Ofcourse it depends onwhen the ban of the-atres is lifted as wellbut the producers don’tsee the shutdown con-tinuing post mid-April. They have con-veyed to their regulardistributors about thedate and they too werein favour of it.”

The film, a rusticlove story, is alreadymaking the right noise,courtesy the tworeleased songs, whichhave become huge hits.Fresh pairing ofVaisshnav Tej,Megastar Chiranjeevi’snephew andMangalore girl KrithiShetty, is also workingin increasing the buzzsurrounding it.DEVGN PLAYS

TARAK'S FATHER

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Aryasentimentfor Uppena

A violent Tanish inMahaprasthanam

he shoot ofMahaprasthanam,featuring Tanishand Muskan Sethiin the lead, hasbeen wrapped up,

with the filming of title trackin Hyderabad recently.Production houseOmkareswara Creations onSunday released the Tanish’sviolent first look and motionposter from the film. A crimedrama laced with romance, itis director Jaani’s second filmafter horror thrillerAnthakuminchi.

Speaking on the occasion,Jaani said that the intensitywith which Tanish played the

role will be something freshfor the audience. “The story’sstrength helped us to wrapup the film on time. Wereleased the first look andmotion poster simultaneous-ly to prepare the audiencethat it’s a different film. Weare presently in post-produc-tion mode, with re-recordinggoing on. We will spare noeffort to time the film for asummer release,” he stated.

The likes of Bhanu SreeMehra, Raja Ravindra, KabirDuhan Singh, Gagan Vihariand Kancharapalem Raju areplaying supporting roles inthe film, a Sunil Kashyapmusical.

n tune with central and state governments’ adviso-ry of asking its citizens to go into self-quarantinefollowing their return from foreign shores whichhave registered coronavirus cases, Prabhashas announced that he is in self-quaran-tine. For his upcoming film with Jil

fame Radha Krishna, he had participated in aGeorgia schedule of nearly 14 days for a majorpart of this month. He returned to Hyderabadlast week along with his principal team compris-ing of director, producer Pramod and stylistBhasker in a chartered flight.

Taking to his Instagram page, he wrote, “Onsafely returning from my shoot abroad, in light ofincreasing risks of COVID-19, I have decided toself-quarantine. Hope you all are also taking thenecessary precautions to be safe.” Earlier,Priyadarshi Pulikonda, who was the film’steam in Georgia, announced he will be ona self-quarantine.

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Prabhas inself-isolation

ith JanataCurfew inplace onSunday,Deverakondabrothers Vijay

and Anand decided topass time by playing agame of chess at theirhome in Hyderabad.While we don’t knowwho eventually wonmore matches, theyseemed fully concen-trated on the gamethough. Vijay’s filmwith Puri and Anand’sfilms with BhavyaCreations and a newdirector DamodarAttada have been hitby Covid-19.

MindgamesbetweenDeverakondas

W BUNNY, ARM film a non-starter

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