· vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. the brihanmumbai electric supply and...

12
I n a major development, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal on Monday overruled the two controversial orders of the AAP Government to reserve Delhi Government-run and private hospitals in the national Capital for only Delhiites, and allowing Covid-19 test of only sympto- matic patients — terming that the City Government order were in contravention of the “Right to Life” under Article 21 of the Constitution. The move may trigger a confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the LG office. Baijal, who is also Chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), said all Government, private hospitals and nursing homes and clinics situated in Delhi have to extend medical facilities to all Covid- 19 patients coming for moni- toring and treatment without any discrimination of being resident or non-resident of Delhi. He also cited the Supreme Court judgements in this regard. The LG also directed all the departments of the Delhi Government and other authorities concerned to strict- ly observe the strategy pre- scribed by Indian Council of Medical Research for Covid- 19 testing in India without any deviation. “In order to contain the spread of Covid-19, it is essen- tial to conduct a thorough contact tracing of affected per- sons, especially in contain- ment zones and as such, the ICMR strategy for Covid-19 testing should be followed without any deviation,” said the order issued by the LG. Reacting to the LG order, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the order overruling AAP Government’s decision to reserve State-run and private hospitals for Delhiites has cre- ated a major problem and chal- lenge for the residents of the city. “May be God wants us to serve the people of the whole country. We will try to provide treatment to all,” he said. T he unclock India phase on Monday witnessed malls, restaurants and religious places re-opening after 75 days with utmost caution. Social distancing, manda- tory use of sanitizer and pres- ence of “Arogya setu” app on mobile phones were some of the safeguards that were made mandatory, but these were also flouted at many places. While several religious places refused to open up fear- ing the impact of crowding. Some other ran a trial run and postponed re-opening to two more days before new norms are put in place. Interestingly, while the Government is trying to unlock the country, Mizoram Chief Minister CM Zoramthanga has ordered a complete lockdown in the State (with 42 con- firmed cases) for two weeks from Monday midnight. States like Maharashtra has not given a green signal to tem- ples, hotels, and restaurants to reopen. However, the State Government has allowed pri- vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have resumed operations to carry passengers to their workplaces. However, only 30 people can sit and five can stand in a single bus. Only one passenger will be allowed per seat. In Uttarakhand, purohits advised against the opening of “Char Dham teerath” in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the State. The temple authorities though agreed that business- men engaged in religious trav- el tourism were facing eco- nomic problems, but said there is no justification for reopen- ing temples until June 30. T he Union Health Ministry on Monday asked officials of 45 civic bodies across 38 dis- tricts in 10 States, that are wit- nessing a surge in Covid-19 cases, to focus on house-to- house surveys, carry out prompt testing and undertake active surveillance measures to contain the infection and reduce mortality. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan along with senior officers of the Health Ministry held a high level review meet- ing, via video conference, with the district collectors, munic- ipal commissioners, superin- tendent of district hospitals and principals of medical col- leges from 45 municipal cor- porations. The 38 districts are from Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. In view of the easing of lockdown and lifting of curbs, States were advised to make a district-wise prospective plan for the coming months. Detailed report on P4 A fter a gap of 24 hours, Maharashtra was back to three digits in terms of Covid- 19 fatalities on Monday, as 109 more people succumbed to coronavirus and 2,553 others tested positive for the pan- demic in various parts of the State. With fresh deaths and infections, the total number of deaths mounted to 3,169 and the total number of infected cases rose to 88,528 in the State. Countrywide, India on Monday added 9,594 cases and 273 deaths, which took its the overall tally of cases to 2,67,096 and death to nearly 7,480. With 1,562 persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Monday, the number of active coronavirus afflicted patients in Tamil Nadu reached 15,413. According to a press release issued by the Health Department on Monday, till date the State has tested 33,229 persons. The day also saw 528 persons cured of the pandem- ic leaving hospitals for their homes taking the number of patients who were cured till date to 17,527. But the death toll is a blot on the Tamil Nadu statistics as 17 persons succumbed to the pandemic on Monday and the total fatalities stood at 286. A fter facing acute shortage of labourers, industries and companies are making all-out efforts to woo migrant workers by offering them advance pay- ments, increased wages, and confirmed train tickets for their return. In some cases, companies are also providing flight tickets to migrant work- ers to bring them back from their home districts. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are also luring migrant labourers back for paddy transplantation. They are also sending buses to vari- ous destinations in UP and Bihar. They have offered free train tickets, free liquor, foods, mobile recharge to their labourers back for rice cultiva- tion during kharif season. According to Paraminderjit Singh, a farmer from Pathankot, he has sent two buses to Buxar’s Rustampur vil- lage to bring back 50 farm labourers. Labourers were asking for almost 5,000 per acre for paddy transplantation. Earlier, it used to be between 2,200 and 2,700, said another farmer. Last week farmers of Bhatinda and Ludhiana sent buses to Bihar and eastern UP to pick up a group of 150 farm labourers from a cluster of vil- lages. Another bus sent by a Ludhiana farmer had earlier picked up 30 migrant workers from Haripur village in the same district. Paddy trans- plantation is a labour-intensive exercise in which nurseries are transplanted in puddled fields, for which at least two to three workers per acre are required. C oronavirus DNA left on a hospital bed rail from the infected patients was traced in nearly half of all sites sampled across a ward within 10 hours. The trace of the contagion lasted for at least five days. This alarming finding of a new study may explain why high number of hospital health workers are testing positive or succumbing to Covid-19. The study by researchers from University College, London (UCL) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), published as a letter in the Journal of Hospital Infection, shows how the virus may spread across surfaces in hospitals. According to a report on an average 6 per cent of all con- firmed Covid-19 cases are among healthcare workers. The report by the International Council of Nurses says that at least 90,000 health- care workers have been infect- ed with the coronavirus across the globe. Instead of using the SARS- CoV-2 virus, researchers arti- ficially replicated a section of DNA from a plant-infecting virus, which cannot infect humans, and added it to a mil- lilitre of water at the similar concentration to SARS-CoV-2 copies found in the respirato- ry samples of infected patients. The researchers also cau- tioned that the virus will like- ly spread within bodily fluid such as cough droplets, where- as the study used virus DNA in water. “More sticky fluid such as mucus would likely spread more easily,” warned the researchers. D efence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday reviewed the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and three Services Chiefs — General M Naravane, IAF Chief RK Bhadauria and Admiral Karambir Singh. This came two days after talks between senior military com- manders of India and China to defuse tension on the border due to month-long stand-offs at multiple sites. Favouring resolution of the ongoing issues on the LAC through dialogue after these talks, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in Beijing on Monday the situa- tion all along the border is “stable and controllable” and the two sides are ready to engage in consultation to “properly solve the relevant issues.” Answering questions on the talks between Lt General Harinder Singh and Major General Liu Lin, MFA spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “One consensus is that the two sides need to implement the understanding reached by the leaders of the two countries and make sure that differences do not escalate into disputes.” She also said two sides will work to maintain peace and tranquility along the bor- der and create a good atmos- phere. The reference to leaders pertained to the informal sum- mit meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jingping in the last two years. It was agreed between the two countries that boundary disputes will be resolved through the strategic direction given by the two leaders to their armed forces. D elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has gone into self-quarantine after developing sore throat and fever, and will get himself tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday, officials said on Monday. The 51-year-old AAP chief, who is also a diabetic, was feeling unwell since Sunday afternoon. “As the Chief Minister is unwell, he has gone into self- isolation. He has sore throat and cough. He will get himself tested for COVID-19 tomor- row,” Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said during an online media briefing. On Sunday morning, the CM held a cabinet meeting at his official residence which was attended by many Ministers, including Sisodia. C ongress president Sonia Gandhi has successfully persuaded former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda to contest the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka. Gowda will file his nomina- tions on June 9, his son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Monday. Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) patriarch took the deci- sion following the request from the Congress president, sever- al national leaders, and party legislators. The JD(S), which has 34 seats in the Assembly, is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own and will need support from the Congress with its surplus votes. A minimum of 45 votes are required for candidates to win. If he wins, this will be the sec- ond Rajya Sabha entry for 87- year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as PM. Gowda was defeated in Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Detailed report on P4 New Delhi: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a meeting on Tuesday to assess whether there is com- munity transmission of Covid-19 in the national Capital. Addressing an online media briefing, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said if community transmission of the virus was taking place in Delhi, the AAP Government would have to change its strategy accordingly to deal with the situation. New Delhi: Reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s swipe “Everyone knows the reality of the bor- ders”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said Rahul and some Opposition leaders had sought the Government’s clarification on what is hap- pening at the India-China bor- der and he will speak on it in Parliament. “As the Defence Minister of the country, I want to say that whatever I have to say I will say it inside Parliament, I will not mislead the people,” the Minister said.

Upload: others

Post on 03-Jul-2020

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

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

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

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

���������( �������������#��������%)*�+�,��-.�)� � "�������+����,����� �����������������-���� �������. ������ ������.���������������������������������������������������/�����0��� 1�2���������������������

�������

� �""���� ��� 34+�546!�

In a major development,Lieutenant Governor of

Delhi Anil Baijal on Mondayoverruled the two controversialorders of the AAP Government— to reserve DelhiGovernment-run and privatehospitals in the national Capital

for only Delhiites, and allowingCovid-19 test of only sympto-matic patients — terming thatthe City Government orderwere in contravention of the“Right to Life” under Article 21of the Constitution.

The move may trigger aconfrontation between theAAP dispensation and the LGoffice.

Baijal, who is alsoChairman of Delhi DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA), said allGovernment, private hospitalsand nursing homes and clinics

situated in Delhi have to extendmedical facilities to all Covid-19 patients coming for moni-toring and treatment withoutany discrimination of beingresident or non-resident ofDelhi. He also cited theSupreme Court judgements inthis regard.

The LG also directed allthe departments of the DelhiGovernment and otherauthorities concerned to strict-ly observe the strategy pre-scribed by Indian Council ofMedical Research for Covid-19 testing in India without anydeviation.

“In order to contain thespread of Covid-19, it is essen-tial to conduct a thoroughcontact tracing of affected per-sons, especially in contain-ment zones and as such, theICMR strategy for Covid-19testing should be followedwithout any deviation,” said theorder issued by the LG.

Reacting to the LG order,Delhi Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal on Monday said theorder overruling AAPGovernment’s decision toreserve State-run and privatehospitals for Delhiites has cre-ated a major problem and chal-lenge for the residents of thecity.

“May be God wants us toserve the people of the wholecountry. We will try to providetreatment to all,” he said.

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

��� 34+�546!�

The unclock India phase onMonday witnessed malls,

restaurants and religious placesre-opening after 75 days withutmost caution.

Social distancing, manda-tory use of sanitizer and pres-ence of “Arogya setu” app onmobile phones were some ofthe safeguards that were mademandatory, but these were alsoflouted at many places.

While several religiousplaces refused to open up fear-ing the impact of crowding.Some other ran a trial run andpostponed re-opening to twomore days before new normsare put in place.

Interestingly, while theGovernment is trying to unlockthe country, Mizoram ChiefMinister CM Zoramthanga hasordered a complete lockdownin the State (with 42 con-firmed cases) for two weeksfrom Monday midnight.

States like Maharashtra hasnot given a green signal to tem-ples, hotels, and restaurants toreopen. However, the StateGovernment has allowed pri-vate offices to resume with 10

per cent of staff. TheBrihanmumbai Electric Supplyand Transport (BEST) haveresumed operations to carrypassengers to their workplaces.However, only 30 people can sitand five can stand in a single

bus. Only one passenger will beallowed per seat.

In Uttarakhand, purohitsadvised against the opening of“Char Dham teerath” in view ofsurge in Covid-19 cases in theState.

The temple authoritiesthough agreed that business-men engaged in religious trav-el tourism were facing eco-nomic problems, but said thereis no justification for reopen-ing temples until June 30.

����34+�546!�

The Union Health Ministryon Monday asked officials

of 45 civic bodies across 38 dis-tricts in 10 States, that are wit-nessing a surge in Covid-19cases, to focus on house-to-house surveys, carry outprompt testing and undertakeactive surveillance measures tocontain the infection andreduce mortality.

Union Health SecretaryPreeti Sudan along with seniorofficers of the Health Ministryheld a high level review meet-ing, via video conference, withthe district collectors, munic-ipal commissioners, superin-tendent of district hospitalsand principals of medical col-leges from 45 municipal cor-porations.

The 38 districts are fromMaharashtra, Telangana, TamilNadu, Rajasthan, Haryana,Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka, Uttarakhand andMadhya Pradesh.

In view of the easing oflockdown and lifting of curbs,States were advised to make adistrict-wise prospective planfor the coming months.

Detailed report on P4

��� 34+�546!�

After a gap of 24 hours,Maharashtra was back to

three digits in terms of Covid-19 fatalities on Monday, as109 more people succumbed tocoronavirus and 2,553 otherstested positive for the pan-demic in various parts of theState.

With fresh deaths andinfections, the total number ofdeaths mounted to 3,169 and

the total number of infectedcases rose to 88,528 in the State.

Countrywide, India onMonday added 9,594 casesand 273 deaths, which took itsthe overall tally of cases to2,67,096 and death to nearly7,480.

With 1,562 persons testingpositive for Covid-19 onMonday, the number of activecoronavirus afflicted patients inTamil Nadu reached 15,413.According to a press release

issued by the HealthDepartment on Monday, tilldate the State has tested 33,229persons. The day also saw 528persons cured of the pandem-ic leaving hospitals for theirhomes taking the number ofpatients who were cured tilldate to 17,527.

But the death toll is a bloton the Tamil Nadu statistics as17 persons succumbed to thepandemic on Monday and thetotal fatalities stood at 286.

������������ 34+�546!�

After facing acute shortageof labourers, industries and

companies are making all-outefforts to woo migrant workersby offering them advance pay-ments, increased wages, andconfirmed train tickets fortheir return. In some cases,companies are also providingflight tickets to migrant work-ers to bring them back fromtheir home districts.

Farmers in Punjab andHaryana are also luringmigrant labourers back forpaddy transplantation. Theyare also sending buses to vari-ous destinations in UP andBihar. They have offered freetrain tickets, free liquor, foods,mobile recharge to theirlabourers back for rice cultiva-tion during kharif season.

According to ParaminderjitSingh, a farmer fromPathankot, he has sent twobuses to Buxar’s Rustampur vil-lage to bring back 50 farmlabourers.

Labourers were asking foralmost �5,000 per acre for

paddy transplantation. Earlier,it used to be between �2,200and �2,700, said anotherfarmer.

Last week farmers ofBhatinda and Ludhiana sentbuses to Bihar and eastern UPto pick up a group of 150 farmlabourers from a cluster of vil-lages.

Another bus sent by aLudhiana farmer had earlierpicked up 30 migrant workersfrom Haripur village in thesame district. Paddy trans-plantation is a labour-intensiveexercise in which nurseries aretransplanted in puddled fields,for which at least two to threeworkers per acre are required.

���������� �� 34+�546!�

Coronavirus DNA left on ahospital bed rail from the

infected patients was traced innearly half of all sites sampledacross a ward within 10 hours.The trace of the contagionlasted for at least five days.

This alarming finding of anew study may explain whyhigh number of hospital healthworkers are testing positive orsuccumbing to Covid-19.

The study by researchersfrom University College,London (UCL) and GreatOrmond Street Hospital(GOSH), published as a letterin the Journal of HospitalInfection, shows how the virusmay spread across surfaces inhospitals.

According to a report onan average 6 per cent of all con-firmed Covid-19 cases areamong healthcare workers.

The report by theInternational Council of Nursessays that at least 90,000 health-care workers have been infect-ed with the coronavirus acrossthe globe.

Instead of using the SARS-

CoV-2 virus, researchers arti-ficially replicated a section ofDNA from a plant-infectingvirus, which cannot infecthumans, and added it to a mil-lilitre of water at the similarconcentration to SARS-CoV-2copies found in the respirato-ry samples of infected patients.

The researchers also cau-tioned that the virus will like-ly spread within bodily fluidsuch as cough droplets, where-as the study used virus DNA inwater. “More sticky fluid suchas mucus would likely spreadmore easily,” warned theresearchers.

��� 34+�546!�

Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday

reviewed the situation on theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Ladakh with Chief ofDefence Staff General BipinRawat and three ServicesChiefs — General M Naravane,IAF Chief RK Bhadauria andAdmiral Karambir Singh. Thiscame two days after talksbetween senior military com-manders of India and China todefuse tension on the border

due to month-long stand-offsat multiple sites.

Favouring resolution ofthe ongoing issues on the LACthrough dialogue after thesetalks, the Chinese Ministry ofForeign Affairs (MFA) said inBeijing on Monday the situa-tion all along the border is“stable and controllable” andthe two sides are ready toengage in consultation to“properly solve the relevantissues.”

Answering questions onthe talks between Lt GeneralHarinder Singh and MajorGeneral Liu Lin, MFAspokesperson Hua Chunyingsaid, “One consensus is that thetwo sides need to implementthe understanding reached bythe leaders of the two countriesand make sure that differencesdo not escalate into disputes.”

She also said two sideswill work to maintain peaceand tranquility along the bor-der and create a good atmos-phere.

The reference to leaderspertained to the informal sum-mit meetings between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andPresident Xi Jingping in the last

two years. It was agreedbetween the two countries thatboundary disputes will beresolved through the strategicdirection given by the twoleaders to their armed forces.

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

� �""���� ����34+�546!�

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal has gone

into self-quarantine afterdeveloping sore throat andfever, and will get himselftested for Covid-19 onTuesday, officials said onMonday.

The 51-year-old AAPchief, who is also a diabetic,was feeling unwell sinceSunday afternoon.

“As the Chief Minister isunwell, he has gone into self-isolation. He has sore throatand cough. He will get himselftested for COVID-19 tomor-row,” Deputy chief ministerManish Sisodia said during anonline media briefing.

On Sunday morning, theCM held a cabinet meeting athis official residence whichwas attended by manyMinisters, including Sisodia.

����34+�546!�7,438�60*0

Congress president SoniaGandhi has successfully

persuaded former PrimeMinister HD Deve Gowda tocontest the June 19 Rajya Sabhaelections from Karnataka.Gowda will file his nomina-tions on June 9, his son andformer Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy said onMonday.

Kumaraswamy said theJD(S) patriarch took the deci-sion following the request fromthe Congress president, sever-al national leaders, and partylegislators. The JD(S), whichhas 34 seats in the Assembly, isnot in a position to win a seatin Rajya Sabha on its own andwill need support from theCongress with its surplus votes.A minimum of 45 votes arerequired for candidates to win.If he wins, this will be the sec-ond Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first timebeing in 1996 as PM.

Gowda was defeated inTumkur by BJP’s GS Basavarajby over 13,000 votes in the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

Detailed report on P4

! ��"#�����$�%�������������������

�������������������������������������

�������������&�&�������������'(���������

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

"�#��$�������%���������&������������������

New Delhi: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)will hold a meeting on Tuesday to assess whether there is com-munity transmission of Covid-19 in the national Capital.Addressing an online media briefing, Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said if community transmission of the virus wastaking place in Delhi, the AAP Government would have to changeits strategy accordingly to deal with the situation.

%������� ���))���������)�������������$�����������������*���������

'��������������������&�����$������������������������#��������

+��������������$���������������,� �����$�������������

New Delhi: Reacting toCongress leader RahulGandhi’s swipe “Everyoneknows the reality of the bor-ders”, Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday said Rahuland some Opposition leadershad sought the Government’sclarification on what is hap-pening at the India-China bor-der and he will speak on it inParliament. “As the DefenceMinister of the country, I wantto say that whatever I have tosay I will say it insideParliament, I will not misleadthe people,” the Minister said.

(��������������)������������*������ �����������+�*�#�����

����������������������������������������$������ !�����+�,����

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

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

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

� ��

����� -./�./�.0

������ /#01#230��� ���1#�42����5�����6#/4#407�� �5��6#/3#/22

� � �� � ���������� ������5��������������� 99�:'9 ;�1<= (2�=>:)�� ��3��� ;;�''= '9= 1>�:'>5�� � '=�=(; 41� 11�::>8�#����� '2�:>( 1�'92�������������1;�=<(0�����?������ 12�=(> '9;����������������<�;((*�#����� 12�9>< '(<����������������9�112������?����� =�<;9 (1(����������������<�:;<+����,����� 9�<1; (2:����������������;�(<:������� � :�><2 <(������������������'�:1=, ���� :�'(> ;1������������������'�:('!������ (�9:: ;=������������������1�>22������?����� (�91; >:������������������'�>'2$�����%����� � (�'9: (:������������������1�;'()�������� ;�<:2 1;>����������������1�>('@� �� '�==( 11������������������1�==;

A)�5� ��? ���� ����� ���7�� ��� ����'����$�����+

������������� ���

�����������7�� ��� ����7

B6����C �� 5%)81(��99�: 1:9B� �����������4-���� ������ �����

?��� ����D����546!���60C�3@+ ,!@?�6��,!0,�34�+�*

*�3C!��*��?0* C!�35�8�*!�54!*�503 !E54*�,�5�F�$�E+�5�

�9+�;)�9':&640���������������� ���������������� �������������������������������

��������# ����������3#/2/2<����6/�/

�1)./.1/�2

��6@38/5*�+3�+�*

(1*���3��334�?@6���C�)E�C@03C�6F@)4��)@�5����3)64�?@6�C4

��������� ������������������������ �

,)1*4� 5�06544?�)*E�38�

3@)�)@�0�4���6�F�

Page 2:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

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

����������� ������ ���������������� ������������������������� �������������������� ������������������������������������������� ��!��"����#����$����#�������%�&'((���)(�*+%��,*���� �-.(&+(+,,', ������������� ���� ����������������!�"#$�"%&'�����!(���")�����*�+������������,������� ���-����.�����/�����������+0� 0�1�02.��0��3�44.��/�������0�����5�� ���6��!����/���/7���/��� �$����� ������/5�(����$�������������/��������,����)�����/!��8�5�����2�� 5�6�� 5�������9����(�!�6,����"33444#� �����/433":4334:''�������������)�����/;"<3�������8�!)+,��2���5���!(�"#43<43� ��������/43#4":=%>=44$:=%>>44����-��6)�����/:��;���������������(�������;�? �0������-��6"##8438�@���������/4'##"#<:8::<":'

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

��� �!��6�

Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on MOnday

said that effective use of socialmedia should be made forproper and prompt dissemi-nation of news, adding that inthe present era of communi-cation, the role of media wasvital and the PR professionalsshould think out of the box foreffective dissemination of poli-cies and programmes of theState Government.

Presiding over the meetingof Officers of Information andPublic Relations Departmenthere, the Chief Minister He saidthat latest technologies must beused for publicizing the variousdevelopmental schemes,adding that success stories anddevelopmental features shouldbe brought out and provided toboth print and electronicmedia.

Thakur said regular publi-cations of the department'sGiriraj Weekly and Himprasthamonthly magazine could beeffective tools of publicity andhelpful in providing peoplefactual information regardingpolicies and programmes of theState Government. He saidthat more interesting andresearch based articles should

be published in Giriraj Weekly,adding that the contents to becarried out in the Weeklyshould be planned in advanceto make it more readable andimpactful.

The Chief Minister alsoasked the officers of the depart-ment to study other PR depart-ments of different states so thatsome innovations could bebrought out in the depart-ment. He said that the depart-ment should act as a bridgebetween the government andcommon people for which thePR professionals should main-tain better liaison not onlywith the media persons but alsowith the common people andopinion makers.

Thakur said creativity wasthe first prerequisite of effectivepublic relations, adding that PRprofessionals should be morecreative and articulate in mak-ing their stories more impact-ful. He said that the officersshould also ensure maximumuse of various social mediaplatforms like youtube, face-book, twitters and blog etc.

The Chief Minister saidapart from ensuring optimumuse of modern modes of com-munications, traditional mediashould also be given preferenceas it was more effective partic-ularly in the rural areas, point-ing out that catchy and attrac-tive hoardings should also beerected at strategic locations topublicise the policies and pro-

grammes of the StateGovernment.

Chief Secretary AnilKhachi, Principal Secretary toChief Minister J.C. Sharmawere present in the meeting inwhich Director Informationand Public Relations HarbansSingh Brascon made a detailedpresentation regarding vari-ous activities of the depart-ment. Senior officers of theDepartment attended the meet-ing.

HIMACHAL CM LAUNCH-ES PANCHVATI YOJNA FORSENIOR CITIZENS

Himachal Chief MinisterJai Ram Thakur on Mondaylaunched ‘Panchvati Yojna’ forsenior citizens of rural areas ofthe State under which parksand gardens would be devel-oped in every Developmentblock with necessary facilitiesunder MNREGA Scheme ofRural DevelopmentDepartment.

"The main objective ofthis Yojna was to provideopportunity to the elderlypeople to spend their leisuretime in entertainment andstrolling in these parks andgardens," he said, adding thatthese parks and gardenswould be developed on lev-eled land of minimum onebigha with convergence ofMGNREGA, Swachh BharatMission (Grameen) and 14thFinance Commission toenhance the life expectancykeeping in view the healthrequirements of the senior cit-izens.

Thakur said ayurvedicand medicinal plants wouldbe grown there besides pro-viding recreational equip-ment, walking tracks andother basic amenities forelderly people. He said duringthe current financial year 100such parks would be devel-oped in different parts of theState. He said the parks wouldprove a boon to the senior cit-izens to lead a healthy andhappy life.

Pointing out that theCovid-19 scenario has forcedthe policy makers to rethinkand reformulate policies andprogrammes with special focuson rural development, theChief Minister said that as 90percent population of the Statereside in rural areas thereforethe focus of the Governmentwas on rural oriented policieswhich had been ensuringaccelerated pace of develop-ment in these areas.

���������'�������� �������� ����������������� ������������������

��� C!�35�8�*!

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal’s decision to treat

patients only from the nation-al capital in private and DelhiGovernment-affiliated hospi-tals on Monday attained polit-ical proportions in Punjab withthe State Government seekinga review of the decision afterdescribing it as “completelywrong”.

Joining in, the ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) too con-demned the “inhuman deci-sion” to limit treatment to onlyDelhi residents in its hospitals,and demanded to withdraw thedecision immediately.

Notably, Kejriwal, in histelevised address on Sunday,made it clear that the hospitalsaffiliated with Delhi

Government will be reservedonly for the residents of Delhi,while the Central GovernmentHospitals will remain open forthe people who come fromother states to Delhi for treat-ment.

Reacting strongly, Sidhusaid: “India is one nation.Punjabis are the residents ofIndia, and Delhi is a nationalcapital, and the state shouldn'tmatter. We, in Punjab, have notstopped anyone. We have beentreating people even from othercountries. We have gave quar-antine facilities to the studentsfrom Jammu and Kashmiri,kept people from UP and Biharin isolation wards.”

“We will write a letter tothe Delhi Government askingthem to review the decision asit is not correct,” declared the

Minister.Sidhu pointed out that in

case “there is someone fromPunjab or other states, alreadyundergoing treatment in Delhihospital, they have to completeit from there, otherwise theyhave to start from the begin-ning.

If someone has undergonea heart or cancer operationfrom there, they have to com-plete their treatment from thathospital only. In fact, theyshould welcome such patientswith open arms….Delhi is anational capital…it is com-mon for all”.

SAD WANT “INHUMANDECISION” TO BE WITH-DRAWN

Condemning Kejriwal for

resorting to “inhuman con-duct by discr iminat ingagainst the people of thecountry” by stating that onlyDelhi residents would betreated in State GovernmentHospitals, Punjab’s regionalparty, Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), has demanded theimmediate withdrawal of thedecision.

“It is for the first time in thehistory of the country that aChief Minister has tried todiscriminate against country-men by announcing that theywould not be given treatmentin State hospitals,” said SADspokesperson and former min-ister Daljit Singh Cheema.

Stating that the decisionwas anti-people, Cheema saidthat this was not the first timethat Kejriwal had taken such

draconian decisions. “Earlier,the Delhi Chief Minister hadforced lakhs of migrants to fleeDelhi after denying themration. Now, he is denyingtreatment to lakhs of peoplewho might not have domicilepapers of residence in Delhieven though they are livingthere for work purposes,” hesaid.

Asking Kejriwal to with-draw this inhuman decisionimmediately, Cheema said thatthe Delhi CM could ask forCentral or even assistance fromother States to ensure no onewas denied prompt treatmentduring a time of the pandem-ic.

KEJRIWAL’S DECISION

A day before, Delhi Chief

Minister Kejriwal made itclear that the private andDelhi government-affiliatedhospitals will be reserved onlyfor the residents of Delhi,while the Central Governmenthospitals will remain openfor the people who come fromother states to Delhi for treat-ment.

The decision was taken asthe national capital continuesto witness an alarming rise inthe number of COVID-19cases with over a thousandfresh infections being reporteddaily. <

A whopping 1,320 freshcoronavirus cases were report-ed on Saturday, while 1,282fresh infections were reportedon Sunday, taking the COVID-19 tally in Delhi to 28,936 whilethe death toll climbed to 812.

���$�������������������'�������������� ����� �������� ������� ����� ������������

��� ,!0,�34�+�*

Atotal of 138 new Covid-19cases were registered on

Monday, taking the total num-ber in the State to 2,994.

Of the new cases reportedfrom 18 districts, 125 were inquarantine while 13 local con-tacts. Ganjam district registeredthe highest 33 cases followed byCuttack district 15, Khordha13, Sundargarh 12, Bhadrak 11and 10 cases each fromKeonjhar and Kandhamal.

Seven cases were reportedfrom Puri district, six eachfrom Jajpur and Mayurbhanj,three each from Nayagarh,Dhenkanal and Nuapada, two

from Kalahandi and one eachfrom Rayagada, Sambalpur,Balangir and Kendrapada.However, as many as 99 morepatients recovered from the dis-ease on the day, taking the totalnumber of recovery cases to1,993. Out of the new recover-ies, 11 were from Kendrapada,nine from Ganjam, 16 fromJajpur, 13 from Khordha, eightfrom Deogarh, seven each fromCuttack and Jagatsinghpur, sixeach from Baleswar, Bargarhand Balangir, four fromKeonjhar, three from Nayagarhand one each from Koraput,Sambalpur and Sundargarh,the Health and Family WelfareDepartment said.

'-.���� ����������/����������0$112

��� C!�35�8�*!

Haryana on Monday con-tinued to battle a surge in

infections with 406 new casesof coronavirus, raising the totalof infected cases to 4854.

Of the 406 new casesreported, 243 are fromGurugram alone whileFaridabad accounted for 97cases, the second highest dis-trict of the State followed by 15new cases in Rohtak.

The state on Monday alsoreported 11 Covid-19 deathswhile 226 patients recoveredfrom various hospitals of theState over the last 24 hours.

Haryana has a recoveryrate of 35.02 per cent, fatalityrate at 0.80 per cent whiletests per million being con-ducted are 5,926.

The doubling rate in theState is six days. As many as 20Covid-19 positive patients arecritically ill and have been puton oxygen support while 14patients on ventilator, said theofficials.

With 1700 people havebeen cured and dischargedfrom the hospitals, there are3115 active COVID-19 cases inHaryana now.

Gurugram reported 243new cases of the deadly disease,

taking the total in the districtto 2165. Faridabad reported 97new cases, taking the total inthe district to 773. Sonepatreported 13 new cases, takingthe tally to 436. Two new caseshave been reported in Jhajjar,taking tally to 111.

Ambala reported eight newCovid cases, taking tally to 95.Palwal reported five morecases, taking total to 129.

Two more corona viruscases were reported in Panipat,taking total to 85. Jind report-ed three more cases, taking thetally to 42. One more case wasreported in Panchkula, takingthe total to 34. Six more caseswere reported in Karnal, takingtotal to 105.

FOUR MORE DEATHS, 55NEW CASES IN PUNJAB

Four more people, includ-ing an eight-month-old boy,died of COVID-19 in Punjab as55 new cases of the infectionpushed the state's tally to 2663,officials said on Monday. Threeof the four deaths were report-ed in Amritsar, which is lead-ing the state COVID tally withthe maximum number of casesso far.

An eight-month-old babydied at a Amritsar hospital on

Monday evening, the officialssaid, adding that the boy wasseriously ill and had fever,cough and loose motions.

The other two fatalities inAmritsar were a 60-year-oldman who was suffering fromdiabetes and hypertension, anda 78-year-old man who wasalso a diabetic, they said. A 46-year-old Patiala man died of thedisease on Sunday.

He was also a patient ofdiabetes, the officials said.

However, the medical bul-letin recorded the deaths of the60-year-old Amritsar residentand the 46-year-old Patialaman, thus mentioning the tollin the state as 53.

Of the new cases, 14 werereported in Jalandhar, 12 inAmritsar, nine in Ludhiana,five in Patiala, three each in SBSNagar and Pathankot, two eachin Faridkot, Mohali andSangrur and one case eachwas recorded in Fazilka,Gurdaspur and Moga, as perthe bulletin. Eight of the freshcases contracted the infectionoutside Punjab, it said.

Twenty-two more coron-avirus patients were dischargedfrom various hospitals in thestate, taking the number ofthose cured to 2,128, the bul-letin stated.

(2<������C@F�5/1=������� �!������G��������1=������

��� *�3C!�

At least 147 fresh cases ofCovid-19 infection sur-

faced in Jharkhand on Monday,breaking all records of a single-day surge in the cases report-ed till date in State, health offi-cials said. This is also the firstinstance of a tripple digitincrease in the count of Covid-19 cases reported in a dayhere.

Out of the 147 casesreported on Monday, at least 46were from Simdega, 17 fromChatra and 15 from Gumla, abulletin released by theNational Health Mission(NHM) said. While cases werereported from 15 districts onMonday, no fresh cases came tolight in Ranchi – a district thatwas declared a Covid-19 redzone in April.

Besides, cases were report-ed from Deoghar, EastSinghbhum, Giridih,Hazaribag, Garhwa, Jamtara,Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga,Pakur and Ramgarh districts,the NHM bulletin said.Monday's findings take thetotal count of active cases inJharkhand to 764 and the totalnumber of Covid-19 cases

reported so far to 1290, the bul-letin added.

As per the bulletin issuedby the NHM on Monday lateevening, at least 921 of the 1290Covid-19 cases reported inJharkhand so far are migrantworkers. The recovery rate ofCovid-19 patients here alsosaw improvement as only 29patients won his battle againstthe virus.

At least 5 lakh migrants

have returned to Jharkhandsince the lockdown wasimposed across the country inMarch, health officials said.

The Government has so farcollected samples of 95,701Covid-19 suspects from acrossthe State, and more than 1200of them have tested positive. Atleast 92,325 of the 95,000-oddsamples collected have beentested so far, the NHM bulletinsaid.

��� 54!*�503

Instead of the earlier declareddate of June 20, the remain-

ing examinations ofUttarakhand Board would nowcommence from June 22 andwould end on June 25. Thechange was done by the edu-cation department keeping inview the fact that the stateadministration has declaredlockdown of Dehradun onevery Saturday and Sunday.

In an order to the directorschool education, the secretary,R Meenakshi Sundaram saidthat the remaining examinationof Uttarakhand board shouldbe held from June 22 to June 25

instead of earlier declared June20 to June 23.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the class X and XIIexamination of Uttarakhandboard scheduled on March 23,24 and 25 were suspended bythe Uttarakhand VidhyalayiShiksha Parishad (UVSP) afterthe lockdown to break infec-tion cycle of novel Coronaviruswas enforced by the govern-ment. The examination of classX started on March 2 while theexaminations of Class XII com-menced on March 3. A total of150279 candidates are enrolledfor class X while 121126 stu-dents are registered for class XIIexamination this year.

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

3���4�����������'2"��������� � ����&'1�

������ ������������� ������-��+�����$�������$ ��������������������������������������$��*���$����������������������'./)�+01���� ������������������� �����*�����������

Page 3:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

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

��� 54!*�503

In his last address to thenation, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi had asked cit-izens to be 'vocal for local'encouraging them to use andproduce more local productswhich can be helpful to revivethe country's economy in thecurrent crisis. Talking about it,several locals shared what'vocal for local' means to them.While most of them opinedthat it is important to stopusing Chinese products includ-ing digital applications andsupport local businesses, somesaid that production of quali-ty products is also necessary toensure the long-term businessof locals.

According to a post grad-uate student Nirav Tyagi, it isnot feasible to stop usingChinese products at once butthe least a citizen can do is to

uninstall the Chinese apps likeTiktok, UC Browser and gam-ing apps like PUBG. Theseapps earn millions of dollars forChina from Indian users. "Thecoronavirus pandemic is trag-ic but it has also given several

opportunities to produce andmanufacture products like elec-tronic items, toys, spare partsof machineries etc.

The government is alsoproviding cheap loans to startsmall businesses to promote

local products. Any personwith a business idea can utilisethis time to start his own start-up. I am also thinking aboutmy own start up with myfriend. At least, we can try. But,everyone should delete the

Chinese applications from theirmobile phones irrespective oftheir take on 'vocal for local'and avoid buying all theChinese products you canbecause such products snatchthe livelihood and opportuni-ties from so many Indians ,"said a local engineer SanjuRai.

“The purpose of 'vocal forlocal' is same as 'Made in India'campaign. It is nothing new butit is easier said than done. Onecannot purchase a product justbecause it is local.

A buyer should haveoptions to try out and select thebest products manufacturedin the local market. I am notgoing to buy a trash productjust because it is native. Theproduction of quality productsis the key to make customersvocal for the local products,"said Ekta Dwivedy, a localteacher.0

����������-������������ � �������� ��� ����� ����������������

��� 54!*�503

On receiving a complaintfrom the National

Association of Parents andStudent's Rights (NAPSR)about harassment and molesta-tion of students in some board-ing schools of Dehradun, thechairperson of StateCommission for Protection ofChild Rights (SCPCR) UshaNegi has directed chief educa-tion officer of Dehradun toinvestigate the matter.According to the complaint let-ter written by the president ofNAPSR Arif Khan to thecommission, several cases ofstudents being harassed inhostels of residential schoolshave come to light in recenttimes. While in some cases, theculprit gets the punishment butthe schools do not face any

consequences for their negli-gence towards the safety of stu-dents, as per Khan. He statesthat most of such incidentsoccur in the hostels of board-ing schools. According to him,some schools also try to harassand pressurise the victims tomaintain the reputation of

their institutes and in somecases they even help theaccused. He also mentioned arecent incident in his complaintletter in which a nine year oldchild was allegedly harassedand molested by the hostel war-den.

He said that though theculprit was arrested by police,the school administration didnot face any charges. He alsomentioned another case inwhich a school managementhelped an accused to escape.

Considering the complaint,Negi asked the chief educationofficer to investigate the mat-ter and submit the report toSCPCR within 15 days. Shealso advised the officer to can-cel the NOC of the schoolsfound neglecting the protocolsset by administration for thesafety of students.

� + ,��4���5��������������������������������������

��� 54!*�503

The Municipal Corporationof Dehradun (MCD) col-

lected �78,750 on Monday-the first day after resumptionof property tax collectionafter a gap of about threemonths.

The municipal tax super-intendent Vinay Pratap Singhsaid that only 25 people wereissued the tokens to deposit theproperty tax on the first dayand the remaining were pro-vided with 25 tokens for thenext day.

The taxpayers whoreached the MCD compoundby 11:30 AM were issued thetokens and seated in TownHall while maintaining thesocial distancing among peopleand officials inside the hall.

Due to the limited num-ber of taxpayers allowed perday, the process of tax submis-sion was finished in about two

hours. Moreover, a few locals also

arrived in the corporation afterthe said time to deposit theproperty tax but the MCDemployees asked them to

return on Tuesday for thetokens by the given time.According to Dehradunmunicipal commissioner VinayShankar Pandey, the decisionslike setting up the property taxcollection counters and com-plaint counters for locals inTown Hall was taken to con-tinue the work process of MCDwhile ensuring the safety oflocals as well as employeesworking in the corporation.

��� !�*�5+�*

The Mahakumbh to be heldin Haridwar in 2021 will be

held on schedule. Dispellingthe doubts about Kumbh's pos-sible postponement as baseless,Acharya MahamandaleshwarAvadheshanand Giri of JunaAkhada, has said that this timethe period of Kumbh Mela aftera gap of 11 years has occurredafter a long time, so there is noquestion of postponement ofthe Kumbh. The Swami saidthat after many years the paceof Guru (Jupiter) has increased,due to which the Kumbh Melais being held 11 years after theprevious Kumbh Mela insteadof the traditional 12-year gap.He said that the Kumbh Mela2021 will be held as scheduledand the first Shahi Snan willtake place on March 11.

Due to the Covid-19 pan-demic, it was being speculatedby some that the Kumbh in

Haridwar would be postponedby one year. It was being stat-ed that this was possiblebecause the last Kumbh Melain Haridwar was held during2010 and if it is postponed bya year, it will be held after a gapof 12 years in 2022.

However, AvadheshanandGiri believes that if the condi-tions do not improve at thetime of Kumbh, then therewould be a symbolic Kumbhbath, but the Kumbh Melawould not be postponed at anycost.

2�$���������3430����$�������� ������#� ��� � ������� ����

�C5����������>9�>:2���� ��������������������-������� ���������

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

�������

��� 54!*�503

With the Governor BabyRani Maurya giving her

assent to the declaration ofBharadisain (Gairsain) inChamoli district as the summercapital of Uttarakhand, a noti-fication to this effect was issuedon Monday. Expressing happi-ness at this development, theChief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat said that Bharadisainwill be developed as an idealmountainous capital. In thecoming times, Bharadisain willestablish its identity as one ofthe most beautiful capitals, hesaid.

The Chief Minister said,“We had announced on March4 earlier this year thatBharadisain would be made thesummer capital ofUttarakhand. That was hon-ouring the sentiments of 1.25crore Uttarakhandis. Now thatthe notification has been

issued, Bharadisain (Gairsain)is officially the summer capitalof the state.”

The CM further said thatmaking Gairsain the summercapital of the state was promi-nently mentioned in the 2017vision document of the

Bharatiya Janata Party. Work plan is being pre-

pared for facilitating basicinfrastructure in the area withinputs from planners andexperts. Necessary infrastruc-ture in accordance with thecapital status of Bharadisain

(Gairsain) is also being devel-oped.

To avoid taking a largequantity of files, work is alsobeing undertake to develop itas an e-Vidhan Sabha. This willencourage paperless culture.Further, for proper supply of

drinking water, Chairda lake isbeing built on the Ramgangariver.After the formation ofthis lake, gravity based watersupply will be enabled in

Bharadisain, Gairsain and near-by areas.

Rawat further said, “We arealso working on Gairsain’s con-nectivity. Roads connecting

Bharadisain, Gairsain will bewidened as per the require-ment. In addition to this, workis underway at a brisk pace onthe Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail

project. After the completion ofthis project, the rail will reachquite close to Gairsain,” said thechief minister.

��������� ����������������������������������������!��"�#��

$����"%������&�#������������������������������������

'����������(���#�����

����

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

��� 54!*�503

Reacting to the StateGovernment’s notification

on granting summer capitalstatus to Gairsain in Chamolidistrict, the UttarakhandCongress party has termed itas an effort to divert attentionfrom Covid-19 pandemic.

The vice president ofUttarakhand Congress, SuryaKant Dhasmana said that theState Government has failedmiserably in controlling thecontagion of Covid-19 and in

such a situation it has retort-ed to gimmick of notificationon Gairsain.

He said that the PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)President Pritam Singh hasalready cleared the stand of theCongress party on the issue.

Dhasmana said that theState Government should clar-ify as to what is the permanentcapital of Uttarakhand andthen explain the rationalebehind having two temporarycapitals of the state.

The Congress leader said

that aspirations of people of allthree regions of state, Garhwal,Kumaon and Tarai are deeplyassociated with Gairsain and itwas the symbol of unity andconsensus during the state-hood movement.

He said that keeping theaspirations of people andimportance of Gairsain inmind, the Congress govern-ment organised a cabinetmeeting in tents in Gairsain inthe year 2012 and followed itup with an assembly sessionthere. “It was the Congress

party which started work onconstruction of Vidhan Sabhabuilding and secretariat,

The BJP governmentshould tell people ofUttarakhand- whether a singlebrick was placed in Gairsainduring three years of its rule?The behaviour of BJP is child-ish in staking its claim onworks of Congress. It was theCongress party which initiat-ed the process on Gairsain andthe task would be accom-plished by the Congress alone,’’he said.

8��*���3�3@)�D�C�)�@3C��������� ��������� .�������������C. �/1=��� ����

��� 54!*�503

The State Minister for high-er education Dhan Singh

Rawat has said that strict actionwould be taken against the offi-cials responsible for delay inexecution of infrastructure pro-jects in the universities in thestate.

The Minister said thiswhile undertaking a reviewmeeting of the higher educa-tion at his Vidhan Sabha officeon Monday.

In the meeting the ministerexpressed his displeasure at

slow pace of constructionworks in the projects takenunder Rashtriya UchchatarShiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)-phase I. On a stern note he said

that action would be initiatedagainst the officials responsibleif the works are not completedon time.

He said that a sum of �87.43Crore was provided under

phase I of RUSA in the finan-cial year 2019-20 for infra-structural development of uni-versities but many have failedto spend the budget.

In the meeting the progressof the works of DoonUniversity, Kumaon University,Sridev Suman University andUttarakhand SanskritUniversity was reviewed.Senior officials of higher edu-cation department and ViceChancellors (VC) and registrarsof these universities attendedthe meeting.

�����������5���� ���

��� 54!*�503

The recovery percentagefrom the Covid-19 in

Uttarakhand went past ahealthy 50 per cent mark onMonday with discharge of 185patients after their completerecovery from the dreadedpandemic. The recovery per-centage in the state now standsat 50.60 per cent.

On Monday, the healthdepartment reported 56 newpatients of the disease whichincreased the number ofpatients affected by the Covid-19 to 1411 in the state.

On the day, 28 newpatients were reported fromTehri district while ninepatients were found inHaridwar district.

The health departmentreported seven new patientsfrom Dehradun and foundfour patients from Pauri dis-

trict. Two patients each were

reported from Bageshwar,Champawat and Rudraprayagdistricts while one patient wasfound in Chamoli district.

In Nainital, 83 patientswere discharged from theSushila Tiwari hospital onMonday after their recoveryfrom Covid-19.

In Dehradun 31 patientswere discharged while 20patients each were dischargedfrom Champawat andPithoragarh districts. InUdham Singh Nagar, 17patients were discharged whileseven and five patients weredischarged from Bageshwarand Chamoli districts respec-tively.

The additional secretary,state health department, YugalKishore Pant said that reportsof 641 samples were found neg-ative for the disease onMonday.

He added that reports of6150 samples are still awaitedby the department. OnMonday, a total of 583 sampleswere collected for COVID -19testing.

The authorities have so fartaken swab samples of 39133

suspected patients for COVID-19 test. Out of the total sam-ples taken, 4.31 per cent sam-ples have been found positivefor the disease. The doublingrate of disease in the state is16.05 days while the recoverypercent in the state is now at50.60. A total of 26252 personsare kept in institutional quar-antine by the state healthdepartment.

With discharge of 185patients, the number of activepatients in the state decreasedto 677 on Monday. Dehradunwith 199 active cases is main-taining its position at top of thetable of Covid-19 positiveactive patients.

Nainital district is at sec-ond position with 107 activecases. Haridwar now has 97active cases while Tehri has 51active cases. Pauri has 30 while

Udham Singh Nagar has 28active cases.

Pithoragrah district has 23active cases while Rudraprayaghas 21 active patients.Champawat has 20 activepatients now while Chamoli 18and Bageshwar 17 activepatients of Covid-19. Almoraand Uttarkashi have 10 and sixactive cases of the disease now.

The state administrationhas added three more con-tainment zones in the state onMonday. The state now has 55containment zones.

Dehradun district hasmaximum number of 23 con-tainment zone while 21 con-tainment zones are in Haridwardistrict. In Tehri eight con-tainment zones are made whileTehri and Pauri have two andone containment zones respec-tively.

������������*�'.#���������������������������� 54!*�503

The Covid-19 doubling ratein the state is improving

consistently and is currently atmore than 16 days. Statingthis, the chief secretary UtpalKumar Singh said that therecovery rate in the state is alsosimilar to the national averageat about 48 per cent. While thesampling rate per million pop-ulation is 3,169, the mortalityrate is about one per cent com-pared to the national mortali-ty rate of 2.78 per cent.

Addressing the media hereon Monday, the chief secretaryreiterated that though there hasbeen an increase in Covid-19cases recently, this is no causefor being afraid. The State hasconsiderably enhanced itshealth facilities. Currently, thestate has about 20,000 beds forCovid-19 patients while 243ICU beds and 126 ventilatorsare also available. Singh saidthat special stress is being laidon contact tracing with 6,294contacts of 1,380 Covid-19positive patients being tracedso far. The health of thesecontacts is monitored and nec-

essary action istaken based ontheir risk profile.Currently, thereare about 1.30lakh peopleunder quarantinein the state. Mostof these areunder homeq u a r a n t i n e .Further, 55 con-tainment zoneshave been estab-lished in the statewhere necessarymeasures arebeing implemented strictly.

Citing weekly data, Singhsaid that from May 25 to 31, thedoubling rate was 4.58 days andsample positivity rate was 8.83per cent. However, from June1 to 7, the doubling rate rose toabout 16 days while the sam-ple positivity rate is about 6.16per cent. Similarly, from May25 to 31 970 samples were test-ed while the number of bedswas 8,375 whereas from June1 to 7, the number of samplestested was 1,053 and the num-ber of beds is 18,234.

The chief secretary further

informed that strict action isbeing taken against those vio-lating the rules.

So far about 29,737 peoplehave been arrested, 7,977 vehi-cles have been seized and � 3.35crore has been collected inpenalty. Referring to guidelinesfor hotels, shopping malls andreligious places, he said thatphysical distancing, sanitisationand wearing of mask is manda-tory in such places. If disciplineis maintained and rules areobserved, facilities could beenhanced in the future, headded.

��� 54!*�503

In an objective of keepingan eye on suspected

patients of Covid-19, thestate government has askedthe chemist shops to keep arecord of the patients of cold,cough and fever taking med-icines from them.

The chemists have alsobeen directed not to givemedicines without the pre-scription of doctors.

In an order theCommissioner Food safetyand drug administration,Pankaj Kumar Pandey saidthat drug inspectors wouldconduct surprise checks ofthe medical stores to ensurethat the directives regardingthe cough, cold and feverpatients are strictly fol-lowed.

C�� �������� �������������.���������� ����

70���� ��� ����� ��< � �� ��������� �6�66

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

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

Page 4:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

�������)������������������ ����������� �

��� 34+�546!��

Due to the Covid-19 lock-down, the delivery of two

VVIP aircraft including, AirIndia One for the PrimeMinister, will be delayed.

According to officials, themanufacturer Boeing informedIndian authorities that thedelivery of these two custom-made aircraft will be inSeptember instead of the ear-lier promised delivery by July.Boeing will supply the custom-made B777 planes for VVIPtravel to Air India.

In October last year, gov-ernment officials had said thatthe delivery of these two planes,which are earmarked for VVIP travel only, would bedone by July.

“There has been somedelay, primarily because ofCovid-19. The two planes arelikely to be delivered bySeptember,” the officials said on Monday.

The two B777 aircraftworth �810 crore will be oper-ated by pilots of the Indian Air

Force and not of Air India. However, the new wide-

body planes will be maintainedby the Air India EngineeringServices Limited (AIESL),which is a subsidiary of theIndian national carrier, theofficials said. Currently, thePrime minister, the Presidentand the Vice President fly on Air India’s B747 planes,which have the call sign ‘AirIndia One’.

The new planes will beused for travel of the dignitaries only.

These two aircrafts werepart of Air India’s commercialfleet for a few months in 2018before they were sent back toBoeing for retrofitting them forVVIP travel.

The B777 planes will havestate-of-the-art missile defencesystems called Large AircraftInfrared Countermeasures(LAIRCM) and Self-ProtectionSuites (SPS).

In February, the US agreedto sell the two defence systemsto India at a cost of USD 190million for these two aircrafts.

��� 34+�546!�

The Centre has mandated a one-cmgreen sticker, providing registration

details, in all BS-VI compliant motorvehicles. The order will come intoforce from October 1, 2020.

“Vehicles complying with BS-VIemission norms shall have 1 cm greenstrip at the top in the third registrationplate,” as per a notification issued by theMinistry of Road Transport andHighways. The order was issued amend-ing the Motor Vehicles (High SecurityRegistration Plates) order, 2018.

Earlier, the Government has saidthat from April 1, 2019, all motor vehi-cles will be fitted with tamper-proof,high security registration plates (HSRP).

This HSRP or third number platewill be fitted on the inside of the wind-shield of each new manufactured vehi-cle by the manufacturers.

Under the HSRP, a chromium-based hologram is applied by hot stamp-ing on the top left corner of the numberplates both at the front and back besideslaser-branding of a permanent identifi-cation number with a minimum of 10digits into the reflective sheeting on thebottom left of the registration plate.

The third number plate will also

have colour coding for the fuel used inthe vehicle. The colour coding is donein order to detect polluting vehiclesfrom the non-polluting ones.

A Road Transport and HighwaysMinistry official said it has beenbrought-forth that the BS-VI emissionstandards, which have been mandatedfrom April 1, 2020, provide for strictemission norms, and requests were tomade to have distinct identification forsuch vehicles as is being made in othercountries.

“Accordingly, a feature in form of aunique strip of green colour of 1 cmwide on top of the existing third regis-tration sticker for the purpose of BS-VIvehicles of any fuel type i.e. — for petrolor CNG, which have a light blue coloursticker and a diesel vehicle which is oforange colour sticker — will have agreen strip of 1 CM on top has beenmandated,” he said.

��� 34+�546!�

The World MeteorologicalOrganisation (WMO) has

lauded the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) for its “accurate predic-tion” of Cyclone Amphan.

In a letter, dated June 2,addressed to IMD DirectorGeneral Mrutunjay Mohapatra,WMO Secretary General EManaenkova said the cycloneadvisories were provided to theWMO and in particularBangladesh which was alsoaffected by the storm.

“The accurate prediction ofthe genesis, track, intensity,landfall point and time as wellas associated weather like stormsurge, rainfall and wind by

IMD/RSMC New Delhi with alead period of more than threedays has immensely helped intheir early response andactions,” the letter said. “WMOsecretary general used theinformation from the bulletinsto communicate with the UNsecretary general aboutAmphan. Those bulletins werealso well-utilised by the WMOofficer in New York to dailybrief the relevant entities of theUnited Nations at its head-quarters on the status andpotential impact of CycloneAmphan,” the letter added.

WMO had earlier appreci-ated IMD for prediction ofcyclone Fani in Odisha in 2019.

Amphan intensified into asuper cyclonic storm. It hit the

Sunderbans and West Bengalcoast as an extremely severecyclonic storm on May 20.

The Regional SpecialisedMeteorological Centre forTropical Cyclones over theNorth Indian Ocean is based inDelhi. Through it, the IMDprovides cyclone-related infor-mation to all the related countries in the North IndianOcean, Arabian Sea and |Bay of Bengal.

The services provided bythe IMD have been showcasedas an “excellent lesson” and bestpractices in tropical cycloneforecasting and warning ser-vices and response actionsleading to sufficient prepared-ness for mitigation of losses anddamages.

�� 34+�546!�

The Supreme Court Mondaysought response from the

Centre and the NationalDisaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA) on a pleaby an NGO seeking framing ofa policy to prevent child traf-ficking which has allegedlyseen a sudden rise during theCovid-19 lockdown.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde, hearing thePIL filed by the NGO —‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’, runby Nobel laureate KailashSatayathi — issued notices tothe NDMA, Ministries ofHome Affairs and Labour andEmpowerment and nine states.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices AS Bopanna andHrisheksh Roy, took note of thesubmissions of senior advocateHS Phoolka on behalf of theNGO and asked him to findand suggest “some way” toensure that children are not“exploited”.

��� 34+�546!�7,438�60*0

Former Prime Minister HDDeve Gowda has decided to

contest the June 19 Rajya Sabhaelections from Karnataka, andwill be filing his nominationson June 9, his son and formerChief Minister HDKumaraswamy said onMonday.

He said the JD(S) patriarchmade his decision following therequest of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, several nation-al leaders and party legislators,and it was not an easy task to“persuade” him to enter theRajya Sabha. He is going to filehis nominations tomorrow.

“Thanks to Sri DeveGowdafor agreeing to everyone’s con-sensus…From the people, for-mer Prime MinisterDeveGowda has seen successand defeat. By the people, he hasacquired higher positions. It wasnot an easy task to persuadeDeveGowda to enter the RajyaSabha,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.

The JD(S), which has 34seats in the A`ssembly, is not ina position to win a seat in RajyaSabha on its own and will need

support from the Congresswith its surplus votes. A min-imum of 45 votes are requiredfor candidates to win. If he wins,this will be the second RajyaSabha entry for 87-year-oldGowda, the first time being in1996 as Prime Minister.

Gowda was defeated inTumkur constituency by BJP’sGS Basavaraj by over 13,000votes in the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls. As joint candidate of thethen ruling Congress-JD(S)coalition, Gowda had chosen tocontest from Tumkur at the lastminute after vacating Hassan-hishome turf, to grandson PrajwalRevanna (a current MP).

Election is scheduled onJune 19 to fill four Rajya Sabhaseats from Karnataka repre-

sented by Rajeev Gowda andBK Hariprasad of the Congress,Prabhakar Kore of the BJPand D Kupendra Reddy of theJD(S) that will fall vacant onJune 25, with their retirement.June 9 is the last date for filingnominations.

Responding to a questionabout Kumaraswamy’s tweetthat Gowda is contesting on therequest of Sonia Gandhi andwhether the State Congresswas kept in the loop, KPCCchief DK Shivakumar said whathas been discussed internally,cannot be shared outside.

Stating that the State lead-ership cannot interfere in thedecision taken by the highcommand, he said, “Thingshave been discussed with us...

Whoever is authorised to talkon a matter, only they have totalk about it. I cannot talk ona matter related to the formerPM…It is a national issue,national leadership has decid-ed something to send a mes-sage to the country, we willabide by it.”

“It is his (Kumaraswamy)greatness that he has made areference to our leader. I willleave it to him,” Shivakumarsaid and asserted that the Stateunit would abide by the nation-al leadership’s decision.

According to JD(S)sources, Gowda was not keenon contesting the Rajya Sabhapolls, and there was a feelingthat taking support from theCongress will make it difficultfor JD(S) prospects in the oldMysuru region, where theCongress is its traditional rival,as it happened during the 2019Lok Sabha polls, which bothparties fought in alliance. Afterthe alliance faced a rout in thepolls, dissidence sprung upwithin, which eventually led tothe collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition Governmentheaded by Kumaraswamy.

��� 34+�546!�7*�3C!�

In a reform that can bring abig cheer to prisoners and

their loved ones, the Centre isconsidering a digital interfacemeeting of jail inmates withtheir kin, to be enabled through a Government digitalportal like Common ServiceCentres (CSC).

After the prototype successof e-Mulakat of such a platformin Jharkhand, sources in theMinistry of Information andTechnology said the same canbe replicated across the Statesbut this has to be in agreementwith the Centre and States.

Jharkhand Government’srecently launched e-Mulakathas enabled around 300 suchmeetings between the jailinmates and their relatives.

“The family member has to pay�30 for such facility to the CSCoperator for a maximum of 15minutes interaction. It is esti-mated that this service hasreduced administrative andsecurity overhead of jails bymore than 60 per cent. Issues ofunhealthy practices as some-times reported from jails/pris-ons regarding such a meeting isnow negligible,” said aJharkhand Government official.

In normal cases, the fami-ly member has to travel a longdistance to go and meet the per-son in the jail incurring costsand inconvenience. Besides,the jail authority has to put ina lot of efforts and formalitiesto enable it and then there is ofcourse the risk of items beingsmuggled to the jail in suchphysical contacts between the

inmate and an outsider. Butthrough the digital platform,first a request is sent to the con-cerned jail authority onlineand after the request is accept-ed the interaction is allowed.

“Today the technology isavailable and what is requiredis a push at the administrativelevels. It is a fact that life of

common citizen can be sim-plified through such reformsand Covid 19 has provided thedesired opportunity to unleashthe same across the country,”said CSC CEO Dr DineshTyagi, when his commentswere sought on e-Mulakat.

If the system of all jails iscentrally integrated with CSC, it

is likely that a person of one State,say Bihar, staying in Maharashtracan visit the CSC in Maharashtraand do a Video Conferencewith the relative housed in jail inBihar. “The Home Ministryneeds to ask all the State gov-ernments to implement in all jailsacross the country. How long wewill give paroles. This is the safestmethod and an accepted normfor both the inmates and his rel-atives,” said the official.

Presently, the CentralGovernment’s digital arm —CSC — has presence in almostall panchayats across the coun-try giving access and servicesto most government relatedwork, issues and solutionswhich include banking ser-vices to even examinations,tele-law, tele-medicine, and e-pashu for animals.

��� 34+�546!�

The Congress on Mondayattacked the Centre over its

ineffectiveness towards theInternational border problemand in tackling the migrants’issue within the country duringthe corona pandemic lockdown.Former party chief RahulGandhi also took a swipe atHome Minister Amit Shah forhis remarks that India is strongin protecting its borders sayingeveryone knows the reality of thesituation at the country’s borders.

Rahul has been attackingthe Government and the PrimeMinister on the border stand-off with China in Ladakh andhas been asking theGovernment to come clean onthe situation there.

“Everyone knows the real-ity of the ‘borders’, but thethought is good to keep one’sheart happy,” he said in a tweetin Hindi. Rahul Gandhitweaked a couplet from notedUrdu poet Mirza Ghalib to takea dig at the Home Minister.

Shah had on Sunday said India’sdefence policy has gained glob-al acceptance and the worldagrees that after the US andIsrael, if there is any othercountry that is able to protectits borders, it is India.

Asking the Prime Ministernot to view Centre’s “reliance onthe Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment GuaranteeAct (MGNREGA) as the victo-ry of the scheme or of BJP’spolitical adversaries”, Congressspokesperson Abhishek Singhvisaid the Government shouldlook at the scale of benefits thescheme will provide to migrants.

The Congress asked theGovernment to expand thescope of MGNREGA to meetthe growing work demand of 8crore migrants expected torelocate in villages in the wakeof the coronavirus pandemic.He said Covid-19 has demon-strated the “unmatched value ofa people-centric scheme likethe MGNREGA with a hum-bled Modi Government beingconstrained to commit an addi-

tional �40,000 crore to it”.Singhvi said the scheme

was a Congress brainchild andit has proved to be the world’slargest social welfare schemeand “clearly the most efficaciousgovernment scheme”. He saidsince the PM is “compelled tofall back on a UPA scheme”, itis only appropriate that theCongress provides him withadditional guidance for the nextsteps. The Congress leader saidthe Government has rightlygiven �40,000 crore extra, but itmust remember that the scale ofthe disaster of Covid-19 willrequire its further expansion.

With 8 crore migrantsexpected to relocate due toCovid-19, the Congress leaderurged the Government toincrease the number of guar-anteed days of employment to200 from the current 100 underthe scheme. Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, in an article, hasalso said this is not about BJPvs Congress, but MGNREGAshould be used to help peopleof India.

��� 34+�546!�

Abortion access to around1.85 million women was

compromised at all points ofcare, including public and pri-vate sector facilities and chemistoutlets due to the triggeredrestrictions, according to a studyconducted by Ipas DevelopmentFoundation (IDF).

Vinoj Manning, CEO, IDFsaid, “As majority of publichealth facilities and their staff arenow focused on Covid-19 treat-ments and closures of privatehealth facilities, access to safeabortions have been affected,which is a time-sensitive proce-dure. The study assesses thenear-term impact of contagionon abortion access in India inthe first three months followingthe commencement of the lock-down beginning March 25.

Dr Sushanta KumarBanerjee from the Foundation

explained that telephonic sur-veys was conducted and con-sulted with several expertsfrom FOGSI and social mar-keting organisations like PSIIndia Private Limited.

Following analysis of thedata, “we have concluded thatof the 3.9 million abortions thatwould have taken place in 3months, access to around 1.85million was compromised dueto the pandemic restrictions.”

The study estimates thataccess to abortion was highlycompromised during lock-down between March 25 andMay 3, 2020, in which around59 per cent of women seekingan abortion could not accessthe services.

However, with the un-lock

phase, the situation is expect-ed to improve — with 33 percent abortions being compro-mised in 24 days.

To meet the needs of thesedeprived women, theFoundation has recommendedrapid mapping of facilities forfirst and second trimester abor-tions, assessing facilities’ pre-paredness especially for second-trimester abortions, improvingreferral linkage and spread theword about the availability ofthe service, streamlining thesupply chain for medical abor-tion drugs, and lastly includingmechanisms to offset addi-tional travel and out of pocketexpenditures.

“Many of these 1.85 mil-lion women will be cominginto public and private hospi-tals seeking second trimesterabortions and we should notbe turning them away a secondtime,” Manning said.

��� 34+�546!�

The HRD Ministry on Mondaystarted consultations with States

about the reopening of schools inthe country which along with otheracademic institutions and collageshas remained shut across fromMarch 22 onwards due to the Covid-19 pandemic related lockdown.

HRD Minister RameshPokhriyal Nishank, a couple of daysago, had indicated that theGovernment is planning to reopenschools across the country afterAugust 15.

The opinions and suggestionsfrom the State Governments willnow be forwarded to the UnionHealth Ministry for the necessarycoordination and prepare plan ofaction and the Standard OperatingProcedure (SoP).

HRD Ministry sources saidSchool Education Secretary AnitaKarwal spoke to her counterparts inStates and took their opinion on theopening of schools in the comingmonths, and online and digital edu-cation. “She discussed with State edu-cation secretaries about the pre-

paredness for the opening of schools,and what kind of arrangements willbe made by the administration forthe health and safety of students, andthe hygiene measures in schools,”Ministry sources said. Karwal earli-er this month indicated that the pan-demic has put the focus on the qual-ity of digital education.

A senior HRD Ministry officialsaid the States education secre-taries have updated the HRDMinistry about the opening ofschools and informed that every-thing will depend on the situationof Covid -19 pandemic in the Stateduring the coming days.

“Process for opening of schoolshas begun but it takes more than twomonths to open schools, dependingon Covid-19 pandemic situation,”said the official.

Earlier in the day, the HRDMinister tweeted, “I have directedAnita Karwal, the Secretary of SchoolEducation and Literacy department,MHRD is taking a meeting of all stateeducation secretaries to discuss healthand safety of students, hygiene mea-sures in schools and issues regardingonline/digital learning in their States.”

Pokhriyal directed officials tofocus on online and digital educa-tion as much as possible. He clearedthat no schools and colleges willopen without SoP issued fromHome Ministry for the opening ofschools and all schools and collegeswill have to follow the guidelines ofHome Ministry as well as HealthMinistry.

After the meeting sources said,“MHRD is taking all precautionarymeasures before the opening ofschools and colleges, and ensuringthat Covid-19 pandemic could notimpact students in any part of thecountry.”

“HRD Ministry doesn’t want totake any risk regarding the healthand security of students so HRDMinister has advised officials not totake any hurried decision for quickopening of schools that may spreadCovid-19,” he added.

As per the schedule announcedlast month by HRD Ministry, fromJuly 1 to 15, there will be exams andthe schools will open after the examand therafter all the pendingentrance examinations like JEE-IITNEET etc will be conducted.

6��������������������� !��������,����+�6������������ 34+�546!�

The Union Health Ministryon Monday asked officials

of 45 high-Covid-19-caseloadcivic bodies across 38 districtsin 10 States to focus on house-to-house surveys, carry outprompt testing and undertakeactive surveillance measures tocontain the infection andreduce mortality.

The 38 districts are fromMaharashtra, Telangana, TamilNadu, Rajasthan, Haryana,Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir,Karnataka, Uttarakhand andMadhya Pradesh.

“In view of easing of lock-down and lifting of curbs, Stateswere advised to make a district-wise prospective plan for thecoming months,” said UnionHealth Secretary Preeti Sudan ina high-level review meeting, viavideo conference, with districtcollectors, municipal commis-sioners, superintendent of dis-trict hospitals and principals ofmedical colleges from 45municipal corporations.

To reduce the case fatalityrate, the officials were briefed

on measures that include pri-oritising high-risk and vulner-able segments like elderly peo-ple and people with comor-bidities like diabetes while con-tact-tracing to prevent deaths.

During the meeting, issuesdiscussed include widespreadinfection in densely populatedurban areas, with areas thatshared public amenities, impor-tance of house-to-house sur-veys, prompt testing, clinicalmanagement of cases and con-tainment strategy which needs

to be implemented, it said.“The State officials were

advised on the measures to betaken in the containment zonesfor case management andbuffer zones surveillance activ-ities and promotion of Covidappropriate behaviour,” theMinistry said.

They were also asked tofocus on active surveillancemeasures, adequate testing andpromoting health seekingbehaviour for timely detectionof cases.

In terms of infrastructureand human resource manage-ment for containment ofCovid-19, the Health Ministrysaid proper planning for healthinfrastructure should be takenup, adequate number of sur-veillance teams should be pro-vided and a system should beput in place for bed availabili-ty management.

The Ministry also high-lighted that along with Covid-19 management efforts, careneeds to be given to regular and

essential health services that arealso available for the citizens.

Officials were asked to focuson areas like active house-to-house survey for timely detec-tion, augmentation of the sur-vey teams, efficient ambulancemanagement, efficient triagingof patients at the hospitals andbed management, clinical man-agement of the hospitalisedcases through rotational 24x7teams to ensure reduction in thefatality rates, the Ministry saidin the statement.

��������� ���#������������3�//)��������������$����������

�������������*����������� �����������������������7,�8.��������

6,��7��������������������������������������� ��������

&'� �� �����������'����#�������������������������������������$�������������� ��

�������$�������������*,�����������"�����

*��!��+��!����,+'�����-������ ��������.�����/�!������ ���

�������4�� �������%��������������)$�)������������

����$�&7���4�� ����������)�����������4��*����

� 0� ��!������ � ���������� ������� . ��� ���� . ���� ��������;9�� ��� ���� �12���������������������������� ������������� ����� .����.� ��������������������� ����� ����� ����������������� ��

� )��;9�� ��� ���������������������)����������)�� ��3����*�#�������!�������8�#������$%��������� ���0����� �������������?�����

� )��������������������� ������������� � ����������� ������������������� ��������� � � � ��� �/� � ����.�������������������� �������������������������� ������ � � ��� ��� �������� ���������/���� �������.���������

� )�������������� �������������� .�����.� ��������������������H�������� ����������� ����������� �����. ������� ����������� ���������

� )��� � ��������� �� �������������� ��C. �/1=������������������������������������ .���������������������� �����������. ����������������.� ������������� � "���

��/0 ��(��123���� ����������������2456������������

� �������������������������/���� ��� �$�� ������������ ������ � ������������� ������)��������� �������������������� ��������������������������� ��������� ������������� �����C����������������

� $�� ���&��������������������/���� ��������������������;22�������� ������������#� �� ������������� ������� .����)����� �������������������;2����������� � ��������C�C���������������- �����1:�� ������ ������� �

� �������������������#� ��� ������������ ����������� ��C�C�� �� ��� �������������������������������, �������� ��� ����������������. � ����C�C� ��������������������F ���C���������� ���������� .������ ��#� �� ��, ��

Page 5:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

�������6������������������ ����������� � ��5��=63�� �����

�������������� C!433��

The issue of illegal immi-grants from Bangladesh

have been haunting Kerala andTamil Nadu for quite sometime and the coronavirus sea-son has brought out startlingrevelations about the ever-increasing population ofmigrant workers who havecrossed over to India illegallyfrom the eastern borders.

The Pioneer came across asix-member Bangladeshi fam-ily who have settled in a colonyin Ernakulam district’s Cherai,a coastal village. MohammedZuhail and Mohammed Ruhailwith their families reachedErnakulam from their nativeplace Khulna district inBangladesh via West Bengal.They do not have any autho-rised papers that entitle themto travel in India. But theymanaged ‘to reach’ Ernakulamwhere they are employed as

helpers and managed to get Rs800 per day.

“Why you are targetingus? There are hundreds of peo-ple like us who have reachedhere and spread out in the dis-trict. Please do not make lifedifficult for us,” said Zuhailwhen asked about how theymanaged to reach Ernakulam.

Zuhail is accompanied byhis wife, two children andbrother. There were 15 mem-bers in the team and some ofthem have dissipated into theErnakulam population to domean jobs for survival.

It may be remembered thatmany top intelligence officialsin Kerala had expressed con-cern over the uncontrolledinflux of Bangladeshis intoKerala who enter the countryillegally through the open bor-ders along the eastern sector.Zuhail hinted that they got helpfrom the Indian side to makeit to Kerala.

,�������� � ����-������������ �������� ��������� �

����������� � � �@6��)�

Inadequacy of superfluouscash comes in the way of

Trinamool Congress organisinga BJP-like mega virtual rally,Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanejree said on Monday.

“There is a differencebetween the BJP and us. We arenot the same when it comes tofinancial capabilities. So it willnot be possible for us to spendso much of money for orga-nizing a virtual rally like theBJP,” Banerjee said when askedto comment on why she toowas not holding a virtual rallylike Union Home MinisterAmit Shah.

The Union HomeMinister’s June 9 Bengal rally --- similar to the one held forBihar --- has an expected tar-get of about two lakh attendees

and about 150 senior leaders.Shah's rally will be live-streamed on BJP’s officialYouTube, Facebook and Twitterpages on the 9th. State partypresident Dilip Ghosh earliersaid that he would send record-ed video messages appealing tothe people to join the rally vir-tually to make it a success.

Speaking to the media per-sons the Chief Minister who onMonday announced the exten-sion of a relaxed lockdown tillJune 30 said “they are spendingcrores of rupees for holdingsuch rallies which we cannotafford at this point of time…However we have been holdingvideo-conferences of partyworkers and leaders involving20-25 people.”

While Banerjee’s statementon the issue was guarded herparty MP from KrishnagarMahua Moitra spoke a differ-ent language.

Tweeting on the Bihar rallyshe asked whether the topicslike Ram Temple, CAA andTriple Talaq which were raisedby Shah in the Bihar rally hadbeen able improve the condi-tion of lakhs of migrant work-ers of that State.

“Bihar Virtual Jansabha byMr. Shah has him focus onRam Mandir, Art 370, TripleTalaq & CAA” but “has his sur-vey team asked 10lakhmigrants who have returned toBihar if ANY of these issueshelped them during lockdownplight and arduous journey

home?” Moitra said.She also confronted Shah

on his claims that the Biharrally had nothing to do with thecoming State elections in thatstate saying if Bihar rally wasnot connected to the Stateelections there then surgicalstrike too had nothing to dowith the general polls.

Meanwhile the ChiefMinister while introducing fur-ther relaxations on unlocking1.0 said the temples and wed-ding ceremonies could nowhost 25 people.

Earlier only ten peoplecould attend such places.Extending the lockdown for theremaining sectors --- particu-larly cinema halls, schools andcolleges --- Banerjee said deci-sion regarding such placeswould be taken afterJune 30.

������������� � �@C!�

Atotal of 91 persons testedpositive for covid-19 in

Kerala on Monday, accordingto a press release issued by theState Health Department. Thisincludes 73 expatriates whoreturned to the State followingthe commencement of theVande Bharat Mission flightsfrom West Asian countries.

The last three days hasseen Kerala testing more than100 cases each day andMonday’s figures have broughtsome relief to the healthdepartment of the State whichby a special order had bannedthe Ayurvedic and otherstreams of Indian medicinefrom attending to covid-19cases.

The day also saw twohealth workers in Thrissur dis-trict getting infected with thedisease. A 41-year old malewho was under treatment in aThrissur hospital for coron-avirus succumbed on Mondaynoon taking the total number

of deatyhs in the State to 16.The victim had co-morbidissues like kidney problemsand breathlessness. He wasunder dialysis for some time.

The release said that 1,174persons were undergoingtreatment in various hospitalsacross the State for Covid-19pandemic.

The number of hotspots inKerala reached 150 on Mondaywith six more places joining thelist following detection of coro-navirus cases.

The State heath depart-ment has till date tested 1.13lakh samples while 1.97 lakhpersons are under observationacross Kerala. MeanwhileGovernment offices and otherestablishments were reopenedon Monday as part of with-drawing the lockout in opera-tion. Public transport has beenrestored with strict guidelinesand regulations. But privatebuses across the State were seenplying with capacity crowdthrowing all guidelines to thewinds.

�������������� C!433��

With 1,562 persons testingpositive for covid-19 on

Monday, the number of activecoronavirus afflicted patients inTamil Nadu reached 15,413.According to a press releaseissued by the HealthDepartment on Monday, tilldate the State has tested 33,229persons. The day also saw 528persons cured of the pandem-ic leaving hospitals for theirhomes taking the number ofpatients who were cured tilldate to 17,527.

But the death toll is a bloton the Tamil Nadu statistics as17 persons succumbed to thepandemic on Monday and thetotal fatalities in the State stoodat 286. Out of the 17 whobreathed their last on Monday,nine were senior citizens, sevenwere in the age group of 40 to58 while one person was 22years of age.

The press release furtherstated that a total of 5.8 lakh

persons were testedfor the disease tilldate. Chennai testedpositive for 1,149covid-19 patientsand this took thetotal number ofcases ion the Metroto 23,298. The interesting newsfrom the districts ofChangalpettu, Kancheepuramand Thiruvallur (all neigh-bouring Chennai) is that thenumber of persons tested pos-itive for the pandemic hascome down, much to the reli efof the officials.

While Chengalpattu, hous-ing some of the major indus-trial parks in the State, tested134 positive cases,Kancheepuram tested just 18cases. Thiruvallur which hasbeen closely behind Chennai inthe number of patients tested57 cases and the number ofactive cases came down to1386.

Meanwhile the demand topostpone the Class 10 public

examination grewlouder on Monday. MK Stalin, president,DMK, asked theGovernment of TamilNadu not to play withthe lives of children byconducting the public

examination at this juncture.Dr Ramdoss, founder of thePMK, an ally of the rulingAIADMK came out in theopen questioning the govern-ment’s move to go ahead withthe examination scheduledfrom June 15 as there was nolet up in the spread of coron-avirus cases.Madras HighCourt will hear the StateGovernment on June 11 in apublic interest litigation whichquestioned the propriety ofholding the public examinationat the time of a pandemic. Thepetitioners said that the intran-sigence of the government ingoing ahead with the publicexamination would put thelives of nine children underthreat.

'$#80�)�����9�����:;

���� ��������� $���0

Director General of Jammu& Kashmir police Dilbagh

Singh Monday said Pakistanbased terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is planningto target vital installations inKashmir valley using theirfavourite terror tool-Improvised explosive device(IEDs) to inflict heavy casual-ties on the security forces andminimise its own losses.

Singh said that they haveinputs that Jaish operativeswere fabricating more IEDs.“Both our counter-terror andcounter-infiltration grid hasto stay alert. We have reportsthat JeM terrorists working atthe behest of their handlers inPakistan are developing moreIEDs. We have alerted all ourforces to thwart their nefariousdesign,” he added. Earlier, onMay 28, the joint teams of secu-rity forces had intercepted avehicle borne IED and deto-nated the same, preventing arepeat of Pulwama type terrorstrike.

Meanwhile, DGP onMonday also claimed severalother terror outfits operatingin Kashmir valley were facingacute shortage of weapons.

Addressing a small groupof TV reporters here in thelawns of the police headquar-ters, DGP Dilbagh Singh said,“after eliminating five HizbulMujahideen terrorists in Rebanarea of Shopian four moreHM terrorists were eliminatedin Pinjoora area of the samedistrict on Monday. He said inthe last two weeks, the jointteams of security forces have sofar eliminated 22 terrorists,which included 6 top com-manders, in nine operations.

He said, out of these 22, 18terrorists were active acrossthree districts of Pulwama,Kulgam and Shopian and withtheir neutralisation the localresidents are expected to heavea sigh of relief.

The DGP said that duringthe current year so far, 88 ter-rorists have been neutralised in35 operations, 40 terrorist asso-ciates who were providing a

direct support system to theseterrorists were arrested. Hesaid that 240 OGWs were alsoarrested for helping these ter-rorists by instigating law &order problems and many ofthem were booked under PSA.

Referring to the prevailingsecurity situation in Jammuand Kashmir, Dilbagh Singhsaid Pakistan is attempting topush small groups of infiltra-tors inside the Indian territo-ry from different routes alongthe LoC and the Internationalborder.

DGP said, for the firsttime we have noticed that thelaunching pads maintained byPakistan remained active evenduring winter. “They did notwind up. The first terroristgroup infiltrated the Keransector on March 31. But ouralert troops killed all of them,”DGP said. Responding to aquestion on the number of ter-rorists at launch pads along theLine of Control (LoC), Singhsaid: “There is an assessmentthat the number could bearound 150-250 for Kashmir

region and 125-150 for Jammuregion.”

On the launch of new out-fits like Tehreek ResistanceFront (TRF), Dilbagh Singhdescribed the same as anattempt to give Pakistan-spon-sored terrorism a home-grownand local colour. Elaboratingon it, he said that outfits likeTRF are basically proxies ofLashkar and Jaish. Giving newnames to terror fronts was anoperation of camouflage tomislead the world that Pakistanhas nothing to do with terror-ism in Kashmir, he explained.“Reality on the ground is thatterrorism in J-K is financed andsponsored by Pakistan,” Singhreiterated.

Commenting on theshortage of weapons faced bythe terror outfits operating inKashmir valley, DGP said, theirhandlers had assembled a largeconsignment of weapons inKupwara via Keran sector andwanted to hand it over to thecadre of Tehreek ResistanceFront (TRF) before furtherdistributing the weapons to

different terror outfits.DGP claimed, in a joint

operation, police teams fromHandwara, Kupwara andSopore busted the hideout andrecovered the consignment of22 weapons which also result-ed in shortage of weapons. Hesaid, now their border opera-tives are under pressure toferry consignments of weaponsfrom across the border. DGPsaid, “we have even receivedinputs that attempts were madeto utilise the services ofUnmanned aerial vehicles(UAV's ) for airdropping ofweapons but on ground zerowe have not received any con-firmed reports where we cansay categorically that UAV'swere used for airdropping ofweapons”.

DGP also confirmedground reports that a group ofinfiltrators had managed toinfiltrate via Nowshera sectorin Rajouri and in the past evenanother group had managed toinfiltrate via International bor-der before reaching Kashmirvia road link.

��� ������������ �� �� �� !"�#

��� 34+�546!�

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) onMonday conducted searches at five

premises of promoters, directors, CFO andauditor of Cox & Kings Group (CKG) inMumbai in a money laundering case in con-nection with �3,642 crore Yes Bank fraudprobe.

The searches were conducted at thepremises of Ajay Ajit Peter, Pesi Patel,Abhishek Goenka, Anil Khandelwal andNaresh Jain Promoter/Directors/CFO/audi-tor of Cox & Kings Group in Mumbai underthe provisions of Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA), the ED said.

The outstanding loans to the tune of�3,642 crore of Cox & Kings Group com-panies include �563 crors against Cox &Kings Ltd., India. �1,012 crore of Ezeego OneTravel &Tours Ltd., India, �422 crore of Cox& Kings Financial Services Ltd., India, ,�1,152 crore of Prometheon EnterpriseLtd, UK and �493 crore of MALVERNTravel Ltd., UK.

The ED had recorded a money laun-dering case against Yes Bank promoter RanaKapoor and Others on March 7 this yearunder PMLA, on the basis of an FIR regis-tered by Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) under IPC Sections relating to crim-inal conspiracy and cheating besides the pro-visions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the CBI FIR, it was alleged that dur-ing April to June, 2018, Yes Bank Limitedhad invested �3,700 crores in the short termdebentures of Dewan Housing Finance

Corporation Ltd (DHFL).Simultaneously, Kapil Wadhawan, MD

of DHFL paid a kickback of � 600 crores toRana Kapoor and his family members in thegarb of loan given by DHFL to DOIT UrbanVentures (India) Pvt. Ltd (Rana KapoorGroup Company). In addition to the above,Yes Bank Ltd. had also sanctioned a loan of�750 Crore to one of the RKW DevelopersGroup company beneficially owned byKapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan andtheir family members. This loan of �750crore was siphoned off by Kapil Wadhawanand Dheeraj Wadhawan through their shellcompanies and it was never used for thedeclared purpose.

“Investigation conducted under PMLArevealed the role of Rana Kapoor in moneylaundering and therefore he was arrested byED on March 8 and he is in judicial custodynow. During investigation, irregularities werealso noticed in relation to the loan sanc-tioned to Cox & Kings Group which had cre-ated multiple layer of onshore and offshoresubsidiary across the globe through whichthe monies were siphoned off. A formalcomplaint in this regard was filed on18.03.2020 by Yes Bank,” the ED said in astatement.

Malvern Travel Limited, UK (an entityof CKG) was having outstanding of Rs 493crores which submitted the forged bankstatement of RBS Bank, UK, State Bank ofIndia, UK and forged end use certificates ofBDO LLP ( Statuary Auditor of the UKbased Entity) to avail the said loan from YesBank, the agency said.

$%��&�� � ��!�����

Ayodhya: The work on themuch-awaited Ram temple inAyodhya will begin fromWednesday after an elaborate'Rudra Abhishek' ceremony.The ceremony will be attend-ed by a limited number of per-sons and will be held at theKuber Tila temple.

In view of the corona cri-sis, plans to hold a grand“bhumi pujan” ceremony hasbeen put off for now. MahantKamal Nayan Das, spokesper-son of Mahant Nritya GopalDas, president of the Shri RamJanambhoomi Teerth KshetraTrust, said that the templeconstruction work would beginafter 'Rudra Abhishek' on June10. “We will be following thetradition of Lord Rama byoffering prayers first to LordShiva,” he said.

Triloki Nath Pandey, 'bestfriend' of Ram Lalla, said thatthere is an ancient temple ofLord Shiva on the Kuber Tila.

The prayers would be held atthe same temple at 8 a.m. onJune 10.

He said that the specialprayers would be performed byMahant Kamal Nayan Dasalong with other priests onbehalf of Ram Mandir Trustpresident. The ceremony wouldlast about two hours, he added.

Meanwhile, devotees willfinally be able to offer prayersto Lord Ram as the temporary

temple at the RamJanmabhoomi will open onMonday after a gap of 77 days.

The temple will be open foreight hours, from 8 a.m. to 1p.m., then from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The devotees will have towear masks and maintain socialdistancing. Only five personswill be allowed to enter thepremises at a time and theCovid-19 protocols will be fol-lowed. IANS

����������������������������

�7�7.��8,"�����9�&:���"���;��<'�;

�������� ��� �0�,��

In a development that can come inhandy in combating Covid-19,

Defence Institute of AdvancedTechnology (DIAT), a Pune-based“deemed to be” University has devel-oped a Nano-technology based disin-fectant spray to disinfect all types ofsurfaces.

Named “Ananya”, the disinfectantspray can be used by anyone -- from acommon man to a healthcare workerand from individuals to people on amass-scale.

This spray can be used on masks,PPEs, hospital linens and also on con-taminated surfaces like medical instru-ments, elevator buttons, door knobs,corridors and rooms etc.

“This nano-technology assistedformulation will not only stop the coro-na virus from entering a human body,but it will also kill the virus when thevirus comes in contact with this for-mulation layer on masks, PPE etc,” aPune-based defence ministry officialsaid. According to the official, this isa water based spray and will be effec-tive for more than 24 hours. This for-mulation adheres very effectively tofabric, plastic and metallic objects, andits toxicity to humans is negligible.

���� ��������� $���0

In yet another 'horrific act ofterror', an unarmed Kashmiri

pandit sarpanch was gunneddown by the 'unidentified' ter-rorists near his house in SouthKashmir district of Anantnaglate Monday evening.

The deceased public rep-resentative has been identi-fied by the police as 38-year-oldAjay Pandita (Bharti), Sarpanchof Lokbawan,Larkipora inAnantnag.

He was an active politicalworker in the area and waselected as Sarpanch last yearafter defeating a BJP candidatein the Panchayat polls.According to local reports,Ajay Bharti was demanding

security cover for the last cou-ple of months but his requestswere ignored.

His family members react-ed angrily outside the hospitalpremises after learning news ofhis death. Feeling unsafe, theyshouted slogans demandingimmediate protection from theGovernment.

Several activists belongingto the Kashmiri pandit com-munity reacted angrily on var-ious social media platforms andraised serious concerns oversecurity of minority populationin Kashmir valley. They alsocondemned the targeted killingof a kashmiri pandit public rep-resentative in cold blood.

Police spokesman in astatement said, “at about 6.00

p.m Anantnag police receivedinformation about a terrorcrime incident in Lokbowanarea of Anantnag, where ter-rorists had fired on a CongressSarpanch”. Police spokesmansaid, “the deceased was iden-tified as Ajay Pandita (congressSarpanch) son of Om Kar Nathresident of LukbawanAnantnag. He was shot at bythe terrorists near his house”.The injured, with grievousinjuries was shifted to nearbyhospital for treatment where hesuccumbed to his injuries.Acase has been registered underthe relevant sections of law andinvestigations have been initi-ated to ascertain the motivebehind the killing of a publicrepresentative.

����)����+����������������������������������

�������� ��� �0�,��

With anxiety writ all overtheir face, Mumbaikars

ventured out of their homeson Monday morning to get totheir workplaces after 11-long weeks, only to spendhours on end either in queuesor get stranded en routebecause of a limited numberof public buses in operationand traffic snarls in variousparts of the metropolis.

As the maximum city –long known as a city that neversleeps, virtually woke up onMonday morning after theMaharashtra Governmentallowed 10 per cent attendanceat private offices, hundredsand thousands left their homesearly in the morning tobecome the first set of lot toreport to their duty, only toface unprecedented hurdles enroute.

With the suburban trains,called the city’s lifeline, and theMetro services still not havingresumed operations,Mumbaikars – hailed often fortheir quintessential resilience---had to depend on roadtransportation, a thing thatthey loathe during the normaltimes.

As early as at 7 am, there

were serpentine queues ofprivate vehicles at the twoentry points to the city–Mulund toll naka on thenorth-eastern side andDahisar toll post on the north-ern side. Before long, therewere major traffic snarls alongthe Eastern Express Highway,Western Express Highway,Eastern Freeway and othermain roads that lead up to thedowntown south Mumbaiwhere a majority of offices arelocated, with vehicles virtual-ly crawling.

Even the people workingat Bandra-Kurla Complex,Andheri and Goregaon had ahorrid time reaching theirwork stations. Not unexpect-edly, the attendance was rel-atively lower at private officesthan the mandated 10 percent because of lack of ade-quate transportation facilities– coupled with chaos trig-gered by long-windingqueues at bus stops and mas-sive traffic snarls en route tooffices.

With State transport andBEST buses reserved for them,the state government employ-ees made it larger number toMantralaya (the state secre-tariat) than the employees atthe private offices.

��� $���0

The death toll due to Covid-19 Monday went up to 45

in Jammu & Kashmir after fourmore patients died in Srinagarwhile 198 fresh cases weredetected taking the total tally ofcoronavirus cases to 4,285 andactive cases to 2,916.

On ground zero, the situ-ation is worrisome as severalhealth institutions are strug-gling to cope up with the rushof patients especially inKashmir valley.

A cursory look at the offi-cial figures tabulated by theGovernment of Jammu &Kashmir clearly suggests out of3,363 coronavirus cases, only774 are returnees while 2,589cases are local residents ofKashmir valley.

Shopian district with only20 returnees has so far record-ed 401 coronavirus positivecases while Baramulla districthas recorded 54 positivecases of returnees and 428local residents.

According to healthexperts, it is a clear indicationthat community spread hasalready started in pockets ofKashmir.

Sharing his assessmentover the constant rise in thenumber of positive cases inKashmir valley, Dr. A.G.Ahangar, director of the superspecialty Sher-e-KashmirInstitute of Medical Sciences(SKIMS) sunday said thatcommunity spread of Covid -19 has already started inKashmir.

Dr. Ahangar said,“Kashmir is facing communi-ty spread of Covid -19 . This isa reality and we must accept itand learn to live with it”.

Dr. Ahangar said there hasbeen a large spike in positivecases indicating obviously thatmore and more people are get-ting exposed to the virus.

'�%������������� ��� ��56����������� ������ 7����� 1=9������������ ��$%�&����������(�'9:

<� ������ �=�>�������������#��)�������?�����4� ��������

��% ��)�(�������� ���+�����$� ���� �������� ����������$������

�������� ��� �0�,��

After a gap of 24 hours,Maharashtra was back to

three-digits in terms of Covid-19 fatalities on Monday, as 109more people succumbed to coro-navirus and 2,553 others testedpositive for the pandemic in var-ious parts of the state.

With fresh deaths and infec-tions, the total number of deathsmounted to 3,169 and the totalnumber of infected cases rose to88,528 in the State.

Taking into consideration3,169 total deaths and 40,975patients discharged from varioushospitals ever since the out-break of pandemic in the state,the state health authoritiespegged the number of “activecases” in the state at 44,374.

Of the deaths reported onMonday, Mumbai accounted for64 deaths, while there were eightdeaths in Aurangabad, sevendeaths in Puhne, six deaths eachin Jalgaon and Solapur, fourdeaths in Dhule, three deaths inRatnagiri two deaths each inKalyan-Dombivli and Nashikand one death each inUlhasnagar, Vasai-Virar,Bhiwandi, Thane, Ahmednagar,Jalna and Nanded.

There have been a total of1389 deaths in Maharashtra dur-ing the previous 14 days. OnMay 26 (Tuesday) the state had

witnessed 97 deaths, while therewere 105 deaths on May 27, 85deaths on May 28, 116 deaths onMay 29 and 99 deaths on May30, 89 deaths on May 31, 76 onJune 1, 103 on June 2, 122 onJune 3, 123 on June 4, 139 onJune 5, 120 on June 6, 91 on June7 and 109 on June 8.

Out of the 109 people dead,71 were men while 38 werewomen. Fifty nine of thedeceased were aged over 60years, 44 were from the agegroup 40 to 59 years and 6 wereaged below 40 years. “Seventynine out of 109 patients (72.5%)had high-risk co-morbiditiessuch as diabetes, hypertension,heart disease,” a state healthbulletin said. Out of the totaldeaths reported on Monday, 32deaths occurred in the last twodays and the rest are from theperiod May 3 to June 5.

With 64 new deaths and1311 fresh infections, the totalnumber deaths mounted to1702, while the total infectedcases rose to 50085. TheBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) said thatthere were 26345 “active cases”in the metropolis.

)���� ��������������H������ ������ ��������� �� �������

'����%($���)*)++,�� �-.�

Page 6:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

The grim impact of theCoronavirus pandemic,lockdown and cyclonesAmphan and Nisarg thatlashed both coasts have

cast a shadow over the first year ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi’ssecond term. Still, it was an event-ful year, beginning with the defang-ing of Article 370, scrapping ofArticle 35(A) and the bifurcation ofthe State of Jammu & Kashmir intotwo Union Territories viz, Jammu& Kashmir and Ladakh. Coupledwith the Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA), this ended the nation-ality crisis of thousands of Hinduswho had fled East and WestPakistan during and after Partitionand gave justice to others who weredenied rights despite living in theState for decades.

Islamabad protested thechanged status quo in Jammu &Kashmir, though the internationalcommunity largely accepted thechange. The current face-off withChina in Ladakh is more complicat-ed: Is it an attempt to stave off achallenge to President Xi Jinpingwhose stewardship of the Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI) has causeddangerous distortions in China’seconomy, aggravated byCoronavirus, rendering millionsof Chinese jobless? Though mostWestern industries have not exitedChina, there is a steep decline indemand for goods. One will have tosee how events unfold in the mainland.

Within India, the virus hascaused immense suffering. As it wasalien and medical opinion confused,lockdown seemed a sensible precau-tion. But the virus defied three suc-cessive lockdowns and the summerheat that was supposed to kill it, andspread gleefully with every relax-ation of lockdown, beginning withthe opening of liquor shops in cities.Despite assertions that the virus isonly a flu (that causes commoncold), it is lethal enough to kill evenin the sixth month of its arrival inIndia.

What began as an “elite” diseasein most world capitals has becomepervasive and the mode of trans-mission remains unclear. Therewas no Coronavirus in the urbanclusters where migrant labour livedat the beginning of the lockdown.The Delhi-based labour that rushedto Anand Vihar bus terminal onMarch 28 did not have a single caseof Coronavirus. The labour class incities grew restive with no securityof job or salary under extended

lockdowns; the PrimeMinister’s appeal to employersnot to sack employees failed inthe absence of financial sup-port. Perhaps those who paidsalaries could have been offered100 per cent tax rebate duringthe lockdown period; loss to theexchequer would be minis-cule.

By May, restive labourersdemanded to return to their vil-lages as they could not pay therent. The Railway Ministrymessed up by not running freetrains. Asking StateGovernments to pay 15 percent of the fare was gracelessand logistically unsound; theSupreme Court noted the lackof food and water in the trains.Some trains going east endedup in south India; no headshave rolled till date. The airlineswere problematic. Over 600planes were cancelled on thefirst day on grounds that Statesrefused to accept the flights. Butthere was no intimation to thepassengers who were sent backfrom the Delhi airport aftertravelling from other States; noapology either.

The surge in Coronaviruscases began in the past fewweeks when the lockdowneased and travel was allowed.How did people get infectedduring the lockdown and

allegedly take the infection totheir villages? This is a verypeculiar contagion; doctorsmust admit they do not fullyunderstand it. Perhaps what weneed is not a costly vaccine(holy grail of big pharma) buta new hydroxychloroquine-type of tablet. Ayurveda needsspace in the COVID war.

Meanwhile, there is disqui-et in Jammu province thatdomination by Kashmirprovince may continue in thenew Union Territory if delim-itation of constituencies isbased on Census 2011, ratherthan Census 2021, which hasbeen notified. Former DirectorPlanning, J&K Government,HC Katoch, argues that the firstCensus was conducted in 1941;second in 1961. He has ques-tioned the integrity of the 1961figures.

In 1941, the population ofKashmir was 46.34 per cent(17.29 lakh) and Jammu 53.66per cent (20.01 lakh). The areaof Jammu & Kashmir was 2.22lakh sq km, of which Pakistangave China 54 per cent illegal-ly (27 per cent of Kashmir and18 per cent of Jammu). Thus,Kashmir lost a larger share ofthe population than Jammu.Katoch argues that it was wide-ly believed that Census 1961was manipulated to show high-

er population for Kashmir, apractice continued by theKashmir-dominated bureau-cracy in Census 1981 (none in1971 due to war; none in 1991due to unrest) and 2011.Effectively, Census 1961 wasthe base for all Census opera-tions. In 1991, KashmiriHindus fled and the Jammupopulation increased in almostequal numbers.

Katoch argues between1981 and 1991, populationgrowth in absolute figures washigher in Jammu, while in1991-2001, population ofSrinagar started touchingJammu figures. This showsthat population in Srinagarwas shown comparatively high-er even after the exodus of overthree lakh Hindus.

However, besides the exo-dus, Kashmir’s populationgrowth rate should have beenaffected by militancy-relateddeaths of marriageable agepopulation. Instead, there is agrowth spurt in most militan-cy affected districts of Kupwara,Baramulla and Srinagar. Forinstance, Kupwara populationrose from 26.34 per cent to27.51 per cent between 1961and1991 and jumped to 38.59per cent in 1991-2001. Yet inthe Jammu region, the popula-tion growth fell. Unless recti-

fied, this will deprive Jammu ofits legitimate share of seatsvis-à-vis Kashmir.

Another issue pertains tothe new rules for recruitmentof Class-IV employees. Whilethe provision that any personcan apply in any district ofJammu & Kashmir seems fair,Jammuites fear that this couldtrigger a demographic invasionof Jammu by “waves ofKashmiri settlements.” Giventhe province’s long fight against“land jihad” by illegal settlers inforest lands, Jammuites favourthe old recruitment systemunder which Class-IV districtand divisional level vacancieswere made from among candi-dates from the respective dis-tricts or divisions. They pointout that while Kashmiris canget jobs, buy or rent property,settle and live peacefully in anydistrict of Jammu, candidatesfrom Jammu lack similar free-dom. Hence, Jammu jobsshould be reserved for Jammuonly. These are valid anxieties.Prime Minister Modi andHome Minister Amit Shahinvested much political capitalon the full integration ofJammu & Kashmir with the restof India; they should not allowit to be frittered away.

(The author is a seniorjournalist. Views are personal)

)��������������� ����������������)����������� ��� �� � ������� ��� ���� �� ���������� � ������������������*����������������

�����������������������������������������������������������"�������������#�������� �������������������������� ������������� ��������� ������ �� �� �� ����� ��� �� ���� ��+�������������������������������������(����������������+������,���%����������������������-�������� ������������������������������������� ��������)���)�����+��������.�����!�����/)+.!0�����

1����2����.������ ����������������� �����3�4�������������������(�� +56)�(78�"�������������������5�������������9�8:���������� (����������������������������������;�:<��������������������������=��3��������9>�3<:����������������������������������������(���������������������������������7�>;;����������<�;;;������������ %��������� �������#���� ����������������������������������������� +!?)������������ ������������66)$����������������������� �����������?5������������������������������������������������������������������� ��)+.!���1����2����.������ �������?�������������� �*�����)+.!&����������������,����������������������������4;���������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������@��������������������� �����������������������������������������������%�����������������

A�� �������������������������������������������������������"���������������������������������������� �������#� �������������������������������������������$$A����������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%�������������������������� ���������%����������������������(��������������������+�������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������#������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������+56)�(78���������� ����������+����,��������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� ����������B�����������������������������������������������������������

.����������������������������� ������(� ����@����������������������+������������������������������(

���������������������������������������������2��.���������@=$����������,����������������������������������������(�����,����2����@=$%������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(�������������������������������� (��� ���������5��������������������������(��� �� ��� ������ �� ����� ��������� ��� ��

C���������)�����D,���(���� �������������������� &�����������������������(�������������������������������������������������+���.������ �����E�������������������������������������������������������������E��������������������������@=$���� ������������������������� ��������������������������������� �������������,���&�������������(���������������������������������������������������������������������(�����������������������������������,�����������������������(������������� 5�������������,����������������� ��������������������������������������� �������������������������@������������������������(��������@��������������������� �����&��������������������� ������������� �������������)���������������������������(����������������������(�����������������1����$����������������F������� ������������ �������������������������������������������#���@������������������������������(�����������������������+56)�����������,������� ��������������(��������������������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������#���������������������������������(�������� ������.�-���������������������@�������@=$��������������������������G��=��������$��� /G=$0����+�����$�����������@=$�����C���������������������D�������+���.������&�����*�������� ,�������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������

,����� ����������������������� ���������������������� ������������������������$�������E��������$����6���������������������������������9;7<������ ���������������"�������������������������2��������������������������@=$&�������������+���-���������������������������������������� �������$���������!�����/ $!0����� �������!�������+���-��/ !+0�����������������������������@���������������������������������� ��������������� ����������� ��������������������������� �����������������@=$�����������,�������������������������������������������-�����������������*���E�������������������������������������������������������@=$&��������������������������+���.�������������������������������������������������+56)������������������ ������������� �����������#�.��������F��������������������������G���F����&�!������ �=��������/!=�0�@�� �����&����������������������(�������������������������������� ���������������� �������������/A@+�0����������������4;�����������������.����������������������7<�������������������������������������9;73���������������������������������������-���������� ���������#������ �������:<����������(����@�����@��������������������������������������������������������������(��������������)��������� ����������������,���������������������������������� ������.����,�������������@=$��� �������������(����������� �#�@=$���������������� �� ����������������� ������=�/10&������������������������=�������������� ���������������� ����������7H7���(���������������������������@=$����������������(I(������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������@=$�,���&����� ����������@=$������.������������� ���������������������C��������� D����������������������B������ ������������� ������)�����������������������$�������������.�-���������������������������������������������������(������������������������������������@=$��������� �����������������)����������������@=$�����������������.�������������������������A������ �,��������������������������

����� ���������

������������� ������

Sir — It is appalling that Indianow ranks among the five worst-affected nations by Coronavirus.During the first lockdown, thecountry managed to check thespread of the virus well. Itreceived world acclamation forkeeping the disease under con-trol. Even during the secondlockdown, though we saw a risein the number of cases, the sit-uation was not that bad.

It was with the easing oflockdown norms that cases sawa massive surge. Now, the fifthlockdown is as good as no lock-down. Restrictions now are onlysymbolic. The spurt in the casesis a sequel to the movement ofmigrant workers. And now,reverse migration is happening.Places of worship, too, haveopened.

Movement of people is set toincrease manifold. The need tomaintain social distance hasgone for a toss. People are leftwith no alternative but to recon-cile to the saying, “What cannotbe cured must be endured,” untila vaccine/cure is found.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

����������� �

Sir — Amid a spike inCoronavirus cases, hotels, shop-ping malls and places of worshiphave resumed operations. Allsuch sectors must open up with

care. It will be difficult for thehospitality sector to get back tonormalcy as it struggles to getback customer confidence. Evenas the Federation of Hotel &Restaurants Association of Indiahas issued guidelines, much will

depend on the safeguards put inplace. Fewer guests and slowerservice will leave businessesreliant on home deliveries, whichmay need safety assurances.

HimanshuVia email

����������������������

Sir — India overtook Spain tobecome the country with the fifthhighest confirmed COVID-19infections. According to a WHOexpert, the virus has not explod-ed in India but the risk of it hap-pening remains. High COVIDTest Positivity Rates (TPR) andrising deaths indicate that Indiaisn’t seeing the full picture. Weneed to increase testing. At pre-sent, only those extremely sick arebeing tested and a large sectionof the population could be miss-ing out. While the national aver-age TPR is below 10 per cent andthe national case fatality rate isfive per million, areas with highpositive cases and fatalities suchas Delhi, Ahmedabad andMumbai show very high TPRand case fatality rate. Given thatthere are no chances of the num-bers going down, a coordinatedand comprehensive governmen-tal intervention with a focus onstrict implementation of socialdistancing can save the situation.

Venu GSKollam

# / # 0 1 2 3 4 5 # / � � 3 6 7

���! ���"������!�������� ���7�� ��� ������I A)�5� ��? ������I �����������7�� ��� ����7

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

�=

!�����&���������

�#$%&'# >�,&

C@F�5� ��������� �������� �G��������������� ��������&������������� ���+��� �������� �����������.��� ����������������-����H� ��/�������������������.�����������������

�� ������ ������.����.�������/��������� �������� � ����������!��������������� �������������������������������������� ����������/������ � ���

�:.�:�)� &>�?+�� J�����+ �� ����

E������������ ���� ��������������� �� ��������������������������������������� �/.���������������������� �����. ������

�>+%�J�����������

@������������K�������� �L ������������� ������������ ��������������� ����������������������� ���� �������,��� ����� ����� ��� ���������������������

�'� :9:%@@�>��)J!���C��� ���

� < � & ' 9 , � �

� � � � � " � � < � �� 7 � � � ' , � < "

���������������������������

�������������������.�������������������C���. ���������� ���������������� �� ������������� ����� ����)����������������� ��

����� ������"����� �������� � ����� �&������������������ ������ ������������� ���� �������������������������. �����,�������������� ������ ���������������� �����.����� ��������������������������M�D������������������ �������������������� ������������������� �� ����� ��������/��������� ������������ ��������������������������������������� ��������������� ������ . � ��� ������� ��������� ��� �����������������) �� �����������������8.�������������������������� .�������� � "���������������� �����������. . ������������.��� ������� � �����-�� ������������"�����������������. �����3���������������������������� �������� ����� ��������������� ���.���������!��.���� ������ ������������������������������������������������ ������������� ������������0� ��� � �������!������� ����� ���������������������� ���.���������������

���.������� ��� ����������� � ���� �� �����/����������������8.��������������������� ���������������������� ��� ����������������������� �

������ �� ����� ������� �.�� ������� ��. �� �� ������������8.��������� ������ ��� �����/� ����� ������� ������������������� ������� ������������ ��� �����+ ������������� �� �������������������� �� ��������������� �������8��C ��� � ��������� .��� ���������������������� ���� ������� ����������������� ������������ �.�������)��������������C ���� � ��������������� ������� ���������� �� ������!������ � �����H� ���������������������� ��������C@F�5������� �� ���������� ���H���������� ����

�>'��: % ����

&�������������$�� ����7):++:�9+%?�% ::�A!���)8>%�

2��� �������83������������������������������ �����C������������K�� �� �L�� ��������&���������������������*��������������� �����,$?���������.��� � � ���� �� ����������

�% !�:99):�&:�J5 �. #����� ��

����������;������������� ���������)������������$����3+��������&������������������)����������������������)

:������)�������������������������������� ��)������������������)�������)��@�:��$���$��������������

Page 7:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

����������

������������������ �� �" �� ��������������" ���������� ������� �� �� ������

��� �� � ��������#� �������8B�������������� ��

��� ����

�5����������� ����C��C� D����� �E�" �������D������E�� ���� ������ ���#����=��������������8B�������������������������

()�$*�<�&��"()�$*�

The decision of the Centre to ban 27 com-monly-used pesticides in all three main cat-egories, viz. insecticides, fungicides and

weedicides, in India has led to consternationamong various stakeholders, particularly a cer-tain section of the industry. To understand theissue and its implications, let us put a few factsin order. The manufacturing, import, sale, distri-bution and use of pesticides are regulated underthe Insecticides Act (1968) with a view to preventrisk to human beings or animals and for mattersconnected therewith. The Registration Committee(RC) — set up under the Act — registers everypesticide after scrutinising the formula, verifyingclaims of efficacy and safety to human beings andanimals and specifying the precautions againstpoisoning and any other functions. The RC isempowered to refuse registration of any pesticideif issues pertaining to safety have not been satis-factorily adhered to.

From time to time, the Ministry of Agricultureand Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) — the nodalMinistry for regulation of pesticides — ordersreview of the registered pesticides with particu-lar reference to the risk these pose to humanbeings, animals and the environment. Based onexamination by a committee of experts, it arrivesat an appropriate decision on “whether to allowtheir continued usage (with additional precau-tions, if any) or prohibit their use completely.”

In 2013, an expert committee was set up tostudy the continued use or otherwise of a totalof 66 pesticides, which are banned in two or moreother countries, but continue to be registered foruse in India. Based on its recommendations (thecommittee submitted its report on December 9,2015), the Government banned 18 pesticides in2018. However, it allowed continued usage of the27 pesticides, to be reviewed after completion ofrecommended studies.

In a gazette notification issued on May 14, theMoA&FW issued a draft order intended to banthe manufacture, usage and storage of these 27pesticides and sought comments or suggestionsfrom stakeholders over 45 days. The notificationsays: “Sixty-six insecticides, which are banned orrestricted or withdrawn in other countries butcontinue to be registered for domestic use in India,were reviewed by an expert committee set up bythe MoA&FW. The Ministry considered recom-mendations of this committee and recognised thatuse of 27 insecticides is likely to involve risk tohuman beings and animals as to render it expe-dient or necessary to take immediate action. Thepesticides to be banned include 2,4-D, acephate,atrazine, benfuracarb, butachlor, captan, carben-dazin, carbofuran, chlorpyriphos, deltamethrin,dicofol, dimethoate, dinocap, diuron, malathion,mancozeb, methimyl, monocrotophos, oxyfluo-rfen, pendimethalin, quninalphos, sulfosulfuron,thiodicarb, thiophante methyl, thiram, zineb andziram.”

The committee has found some of the abovepesticides to be highly hazardous with potentialto cause severe health effects viz. hormonalchanges, neuro-toxic effects, reproductive anddevelopmental health effects, carcinogenic effectsas well as environmental impacts such as toxic-ity for bees. For others, adequate data needed forregulatory purpose are not available. While, arriv-ing at the decision, the Government has also beenguided by the fact that “newer” and “safer” alter-natives are available for all the pesticides it intendsto ban. The generic industry (a euphemism todescribe manufacturers other than firms who areinnovators) has taken umbrage to the ban, citing

that this will chop off domestic sales —currently about �20,000 crore — byabout 20 per cent. The export of pesti-cides will also take a hit of around 10 percent on the existing �20,000 crore.

The manufacturers argue that farm-ers have been using these chemicals fora long time and have found them to beeconomical even as the alternatives areexpensive and will lead to increase in thecost of cultivation. They have alsoquestioned the timing of the decision.They argue that farmers have to put upwith frequent locust attacks, especiallyof late, that have gripped agriculture inseveral States like Rajasthan, Punjab,Haryana, Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra. Growers urgently need rel-evant pesticides like malathion whosesupplies could be affected by the ban.

The arguments advanced by theindustry are untenable. First, it is not asif this has come as a bolt from the blue.The Government has taken the decisiononly after a thorough examination andevaluation of their safety in the light ofavailable evidence — a process that con-tinued for seven years.

This process also involved consul-tations with manufacturers of the pes-ticides. They got full opportunity to pre-sent their case before the expert com-mittee, including submission of studiesto demonstrate their continued safetyand efficacy. If they believe that thesepesticides have caused no harm tohumans, animals or the environment,they could have presented requisitedata to substantiate their contention. Butthat was never done.

Now, 15 of the 27 pesticides that areproposed to be banned are considered“deemed to be registered pesticides” inthe country owing to data lacunaesince several years. It shows that fromday one, firms who applied and got reg-istration could not convincingly demon-strate their safety and efficacy to the reg-ulator (courtesy, void in data). This hasnot been done till date which eventual-

ly drove the Centre to banning them. Second, developments in various

States (they are expected to ensure com-pliance with regulations on groundzero) signalled that the ban was in themaking. In 2011, Kerala had bannedmonocrotophos, carbofuran andatrazine on grounds of public healthconcerns. In 2017, Maharashtra bannedmonocrotohos and acephate due to highincidence pesticides poisoning amongcotton farmers. In 2018, Punjab said “no”to fresh licences for 2,4-D, benfuracarb,dicofol, methimyl and monocrotophosciting harm to humans and the environ-ment.

Third, when it comes to a decisionon pesticides which are hazardous, theonly criteria the regulator relies on is“safety” and “efficacy.” It also seeswhether newer and safer alternatives areavailable. The decision can’t be guidedby any other consideration such as cost.Merely because an existing product costsless can’t justify its continued use evenif it is found to be unsafe. By the samelogic, a new and safer product can’t bedebunked — simply because it costsmore.

Without compromising on safety,even if one were to consider the econom-ics of use, we need to make comparisonon like-for-like basis. Here, one shouldnot be looking only at the price but alsothe dose; in addition, the impact on cropyield and crop quality has also to be con-sidered. Let us illustrate with an exam-ple.

One kilo of Acephate (this is on thelist of pesticides proposed to be banned)— used for controlling cotton pests —costs around �550 per kg against analternative say, Imidacloprid, a newerand safer molecule which is priced at�1,200 per litre. As regards dose, where-as 300 gm of Acephate is required tocontrol pests over an acre, in the case ofImidacloprid, the requirement is lessthan 100 ml per acre.

The effective cost per acre for the lat-

ter thus works out to be �120 against�165 for the former. Higher crop yieldand better crop quality withImidacloprid serve as icing on the cake.

Fourth, an argument that banningwill result in non-availability and affectfarming operations is fallacious. Thephase-out of any product takes prospec-tive effect. In the instant case, taking 45days for comments from stakeholders(from the date of notification i.e. May14, 2020), the earliest the order can beenforced is July 1. That apart, normal-ly the Government allows manufactur-ers to clear their supplies in the pipelinewhich are attuned to meet the demand.

To combat the locust attack, the veryfact that the Agriculture Ministry itselfis procuring malathion from none otherthan domestic manufacturers shows thatthe supply of even this pesticide (pro-posed to be banned) won’t be a con-straint for now.

Alternative safer products are avail-able in the market which will ensure thatfarmers don’t suffer. Finally, the 27 pes-ticides in the proposed ban list are lessthan 10 per cent of the current 289 pes-ticides registered for use in India.Hence, banning these 27 is unlikely tohave any adverse impact on agricultureproduction and India’s food security, allthe more when newer and safer alterna-tives are available for all of them — asbrought out in a comprehensive assess-ment by the expert committee.

Looking at all critical factors viz.safety, efficacy, availability, cost-benefitand so on, the Government’s decision toban 27 pesticides is apt. It will help inpromoting use of newer, safer and envi-ronment-friendly crop protection solu-tions. It will drive companies to focusmore on research and development andinnovation to meet diverse needs offarmers, thereby helping them in boost-ing agricultural production and increas-ing their income.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based pol-icy analyst)

:�� ��A����������������0"���))����&����������������������)�����������$��)������������$� ��������������������$������)��������������������

���!/��� �?@ , " � � � < � � + &

#��&#$#�'����

�6)4*3�)�F4���D4*?*@50C)���*4

�F��6�,64��3�)!4��*�4)�+!�C!

+�66�43�0*4�)!�)D�*�4*��5@3N)�0DD4*��D�3�66E�

)!4�'>�?4�)�C�54��3�)!4�?*@?@�45

,�3�6��)��*4�64��)!�3�12�?4*�C43)@D�)!4�C0**43)'9=�?4�)�C�54�

*48��)4*45�D@*0�4��3��35���

!43C4��,�33�38)!4�4�'>���

036��46E�)@�!�F4��3E

�5F4*�4���?�C)@3��8*�C06)0*4?*@50C)�@3��35

�35��N��D@@5�4C0*�)E���66�)!4

�@*4�+!43�34+4*�35���D4*

�6)4*3�)�F4���*4�F��6�,64�D@*��66

@D�)!4��

#�������������������� ��������������������������� ����������*����2����5�����������/*250�������(�����������������������������������C�������������

���������������������D���������"������������(����������5�����,����#������������������������ �������������� ������������+����������� ��������������������(����������::7������������������#�����&�����������$�������#���)��(*���������,�!,�������������"����(� ���������������� ����������������(��������������������������������������������������������������������(�����(�����������$������#������������������������6��($��������������������������������C����������� �������������(���������D ���������� �J������$���.������=�������������������������������C����� (�������������������������������������D=�������������� �����������������������������������+�����+������������������)���+�����(��������C�����������������������������������������(�������������������������������������������K�D�������� ���������,�������C������������������D� ��������(������ �������������C������������"����D��������(� ����������������������

�����.������%����+��������������������"������������� �������������������������������������� &�C���������������D,����������������������C����������������������� ��������������������������������������� �D.����������������������C���������������������������������(������������D���������%���� ������C������� ������(���������������+56)�(78D����������������� ���������� �����A����������������#������� ��������������������������������������$����E���L�=������M��������������������� �������������74���������������������)���������B������$����,����.�������������������(��� ������������������ �#� �������$�����A���,������������������C�������(���������������������������(���D�������������$���.�������.��B��������������������A�������������������@�������E����&�2����.������EE,����������� ���������(�����(������������������������(����������������������������� �����������������������������������������C���"�+56)�(78��������������������D��������)�����+��������.�����!�����/)+.!0�������C������������D

$����������������������������������������������������(����������������������������C�������������������������������������������������������������D#� ������������(� ��� ���� ��������� ����� ��������� ����������� ��� ������� �1�������� ��� ������������ ���� �������������1,�����(��������������C*��������������������������������(�����������K�������������������������������������KD*���������1,����������������C����&����������� �������������������������������������K���������������&����(�����������������������������������������������D.�� �������������������������C97������� ���������� �����������K���������� �� ���������������K��������������������������������������������������D$������� ����(1�2�"�����������$��������,����=����.����1������� ���������������C��������������� ����������������������� ������������������������������������K����������������������������(�������������������D

,����������������������������������������������C����("��������� ������������ ������K����"���(������������ ����������������������������������������������������D,������������������������&���������������C���������D.�� ���2���E���A������+����G��������������+56)�(78���������,����@�����&���������������������(�����������������������*�����������������,����E����6��������������������������������������� ������ ������������������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������

B��������N@������������������������������?*������������������������������������ ������������������������������������ ��������7;����������������������������������������������������������)�������������������������������������������������������C��������������� D���C����D����������������� ���!���6���������������)�����������+������!�������*�������������������)+.!&�+56)�(78�������������������������� ������������ �����������������C�������������������������������������������(� �������� ��������������������������������������������(�����������������������������&�������D

�������������� �������������������#�1 �������������������������C������������D�������������(�������������C���������������������������������������������������D)��&����������������������� ����������������(�������?

/����������������� ��� ������������������������������� ���� ���� �����0

The number of Corona positivecases and casualties is risingon a daily basis in India ever

since the Government decided toopen up the economy. Now we havethe dubious distinction of becom-ing the fifth worst-affected countryin the world. We are seeing a surgeof over 9,000 cases daily and thenumber of cases is 2,58,090 whilethere have been 7,207 casualties.

Experts believe that we willsoon reach the number one slotbecause we still haven’t changed our

social behaviour and hygiene habits.And the only other reason for thedelay in reaching the top slot is thefact that the Government is tryingto control the numbers artificially.

Mumbai and Delhi continue tobe the worst-affected cities in Indiaand we are well and truly into thecommunity spread stage now.

The number of COVID-19cases in Delhi has now crossed27,654 and as expected, mostGovernment and private hospitalshave run out of beds with a longwaiting list for patients to get intoan ICU facility. This is quite evidentfrom the appalling stories of fami-lies of sick patients running fromone hospital to another in search ofa vacant bed for treatment of theirloved ones. One family even reachedthe doors of the High Court tosecure a bed but unfortunately losttheir loved one while waiting to gettreatment. This has prompted the

Delhi Government to issue a direc-tive under which no suspectedpatient will be denied admission andtreatment by any hospital but onlyserious cases will be admitted tohospitals. Any mild or asympto-matic COVID-19 patient would bedischarged by a hospital within 24hours and the area district surveil-lance officer (DSO) would beinformed about it. This has beendone to free up beds for seriouscases only. This is a positive step.

On June 2, the Governmentcame up with a new App whichallows people to search for vacantbeds in a designated Covid treat-ment facility. This, too, is a good ini-tiative. However, the App has beenfound wanting as the informationbeing fed into it is out of sync withthe ground reality.

Further, instead of making iteasier for people to get tested andtake precautions, the Government

has now set up new guidelines forCOVID-19 testing. The earlier cri-teria were stringent enough andobviously we were not testingenough numbers. Now, the newrules forbid testing of people whoare asymptomatic direct contacts ofCOVID-19 patients unless s/he isabove 60 or has comorbidities likediabetes, hypertension or cancer.

The new guidelines are morerigid than those issued by theIndian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) and are definitely not need-ed at a time when the city is expe-riencing a rampant and exponentialincrease in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Then on June 4, theGovernment decided to ban eightprivate labs in the city from carry-ing out tests for the contagion. Thereason given was that the labs werenot following protocols and by test-ing a large number of low-risk and

asymptomatic individuals, they wereonly making money and causingdelays in issuing reports for criticalpatients. This makes sense, butwhat is puzzling is that labs in pri-vate hospitals like Gangaram andFortis, which are among the largerprivate COVID-19 treatment facil-ities in the city, have also beenbarred from carrying out tests. Thedoctors at Gangaram Hospitalinvolved in the treatment of Coronapatients wonder if it makes anysense to ban a lab in a Covid-treat-ment facility.

In all, the ICMR had approvedonly 22 private labs in the city forCorona testing. Now eight of themhave been issued notices and test-ing has stopped. This will furtherreduce testing capacity and causefurther delays in issuing reports. Inview of the rising cases, UnionHealth Minister Harsh Vardhanhas himself stated that there is a

need to ramp up testing as well assurveillance, contact tracing andcontainment in Delhi. Anyone whocan afford it should be able to gettested by a private lab. Experts andepidemiologists have repeatedlymaintained that widespread testingis the strategy for identification andcontainment of an outbreak. Thepositivity rate in Delhi has been 25.7per cent for the last one week, thehighest in the country, meaning thatevery fourth person tested wasCorona-positive.

The rapidly rising cases havealso resulted in nearly doubling ofcontainment zones in Delhi within12 days, from 83 on May 24 to 163on June 5. When we limit our test-ing, how do we deal with an epidem-ic if we do not know the full extentof the disease? A study by ICMR hasshown that nearly 28 per cent ofasymptomatic people are positive inIndia. The other fallout of not test-

ing asymptomatic people is reflect-ed in the death rates of patientsundergoing planned and electivesurgery. A recent study, published inthe Lancet revealed that the mortal-ity rate was 18.9 per cent in patientswith COVID-19 undergoing electivesurgery.

Doctors are appalled by theGovernment’s decisions, whichreflect a bid to artificially control thenumbers in this pandemic. Manysurgeons have expressed theiranguish and have stated, “It does notmake sense to perform an electivesurgery on a patient without know-ing the true extent of the riskinvolved.”

The medical community sin-cerely hopes and prays for bettersense to prevail in the health depart-ment. Because additional knowledgeis never harmful.

(The writer is neurosurgeon atApollo Hospital)

B���������� ������)����)������C������������ ������������������������������������������ ����������������������� �����������������������

%���+$�*�+�',"����

������������������ ����������� �

���! ���"������!���

+**#,�:����

-���������������"�.������������� ���������� �������� ������������ �� ������ ������������������03������������������������������� ����������� ��������������.�

Page 8:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

���!���5������������������ ����������� �

�:�:F� D���: ��E������ ��?� ���� � �����3 ��?�� � ������������� ����� ����.����.���������������. ����?�� � ����� ���D���� ����������� ����� ���������������������� .������������������� ��� ���������������'�*�� C �����������������12/����������������� ����-��������,������������������������ ������ � ���������������������. ������ ������� ����=;2�� .������� �������<9�:2(���������% &% �)��0�&����������1(/����H������ ������ ��������.������������ ����� �������� �������� �������������������&�������������������� ����������������� �� ��� ���������:�)� �)��8������8.������� ������ ����������������� ����� /��� ��������������� � ������. ����� ����� ������������������1:�222������������������ ��,��� ������':�222���������� ���� �������������

!�������!�������

��������

Islamabad: Pakistan’s formerPrime Minister Shahid KhaqanAbbasi and incumbent RailwaysMinister Sheikh Rashid Ahmadwere tested positive for thenovel coronavirus on Monday,making them the latest amongstthe country’s top politicians tocontract the virus that hasinfected over one lakh people inthe country.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokespersonMaryam Aurangzeb confirmedthat 61-year-old Abbasi wasinfected by the virus.

Abbasi, who is the SeniorVice President of the PML-N,served as the prime ministerfrom August 2017 to May 2018after his party leader NawazSharif was de-seated by a courtruling in a corruption case.

He has gone into self-isola-tion at his house after receivinga positive COVID-19 test reporton Monday, his party officialssaid.

PML-N chief ShehbazSharif wished Abbasi a speedyrecovery.

Railways Minister Ahmadwas tested positive for the novelcoronavirus, according to astatement by his office.

“Sheikh Rashid has testedpositive for COVID-19,” thestatement said, adding that hehas gone into self-isolation andwill remain in quarantine fortwo weeks as per doctors’advice.

Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) leader and formerprovincial minister SharjeelMemon was tested positive forcoronavirus on Sunday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ’sprovincial lawmaker ChaudhryAli Akhtar was also tested pos-itive for the virus, his spokesper-son said.

The spokesperson sharedthat the Akhtar was in homeisolation and had gotten himselftested after showing symptomsof the virus. Akhtar was elect-ed from Punjab Assembly’sFaisalabad III in the 2018 elec-tions.

Five persons, including twoofficers, at Pakistan’s ForeignOffice have been tested positivefor coronavirus, Foreign Officespokesperson Aisha Farooquisaid on Sunday, adding that thecases emerged in the officewithin the past week. PTI

Washington: The policedepartment in the US city ofMinneapolis will be dismantledand rebuilt, city councilorshave said, after the death in cus-tody of George Floyd sparkednationwide protests aboutracism in law enforcement.

“We committed to dis-mantling policing as we knowit in the city of Minneapolis andto rebuild with our communi-ty a new model of public safe-ty that actually keeps our com-munity safe,” Council PresidentLisa Bender told CNN lateSunday.

Council Member AlondraCano tweeted that the decisioncame through “a veto-proofmajority of the MPLS CityCouncil,” which agreed thatthe police department “is notreformable and that we’re goingto end the current policingsystem.”

A white Minneapolis policeofficer has been charged withmurder in the May 25 death ofGeorge Floyd, after bystandervideo showed the officer’s kneepinned on Floyd’s neck fornearly nine minutes while hepleaded for his life and calledfor his mother.

It was the latest case ofwhite law enforcement author-

ities being blamed for the deathof an unarmed black person.

Floyd’s death has sparkedtwo weeks of mostly peacefuldemonstrations across thecountry against racism in USlaw enforcement. Somemarchers have called for thepolice to be defunded.

Last year, a black formerMinneapolis police officer wassentenced to 12 years and sixmonths in prison for the fatalshooting of an unarmed whiteAustralian woman trying toreport a crime.

Bender told CNN she waslooking to shift police funding

toward community-basedstrategies, and that the citycouncil would discuss how toreplace the current policedepartment.

“The idea of having nopolice department is certainlynot in the short term,” sheadded. AFP

London: The anti-racismdemonstrations in the UK are“subverted by thuggery”, PrimeMinister Boris Johnson hassaid, condemning the attackson police officers after ‘BlackLives Matter’ protests held overthe custodial killing of GeorgeFloyd turned violent and theCOVID-19 lockdown wasbreached by thousands of peo-ple for a second consecutiveday.

African-American Floyddied in Minneapolis on May 25after white police officer DerekChauvin pinned him to theground and knelt on his neckfor more than eight minuteswhile the 46-year-old hand-cuffed man gasped for breath.

The footage, which wentviral, showed Floyd pleadingwith the officer, saying he can’tbreathe. The four police officersseen in the footage have sincebeen charged. Floyd’s deathhas triggered widespreadprotests across the US and in

many other countries.Johnson took to social

media on Sunday to say that theanti-racism cause of thedemonstrations had beenbetrayed by the “thuggery” ofsome protestors as theMetropolitan Police made 12arrests for public order offencesas well as criminal damage tomonuments in central London.

“People have a right toprotest peacefully and whileobserving social distancing butthey have no right to attack thepolice,” said Johnson.

“These demonstrationshave been subverted by thug-gery – and they are a betrayalof the cause they purport toserve. Those responsible will beheld to account,” he said.

The Met Police said a“small minority” of protestorshad provoked scenes of vio-lence and launched attacks atofficers and threw objects,including glass bottles and fire-works at them. PTI

Islamabad: Special USRepresentative for AfghanistanReconciliation ZalmayKhalilzad discussed the stepsrequired for the start of theintra-Afghan negotiations dur-ing his meeting with PakistanArmy chief Qamar Javed Bajwa,the American embassy inIslamabad said on Monday.

Khalilzad visited Islamabadon Sunday and held talks with

Bajwa on the Afghan peaceprocess. He is travelling toQatar, Pakistan and Afghanistanas part of efforts to bring peacein the war-torn country. Duringthe three-nation tour, Khalilzadwill review commitments in therecently signed US-TalibanAgreement and the US-Afghanistan Joint Declaration,specifically reducing violenceand prisoner releases. PTI

Houston: Family and friends of GeorgeFloyd have started preparing to pay their finaltribute and goodbyes to him at a funeral ser-vice here on Tuesday, weeks after theAfrican-American was killed by a whitepolice officer in Minneapolis, triggeringwidespread marches and violent protestsacross the US.

The 46-year-old victim, a native ofHouston, was handcuffed and pinned to theground by the white police officer whokneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath.

Floyd’s death triggered nationwide vio-lent protests with a section of the protestersresorting to looting and rioting across thecountry, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

His body arrived in Houston late onSaturday for funeral service and burialscheduled for Tuesday.

In a tweet on Sunday, Police Chief ArtAcevedo confirmed that “George Floyd andhis family are safely in Houston”.

Floyd will be laid to rest next to hismother on Tuesday, confirmed a media rep-resentative for the Floyd family.

Former Vice President Joe Biden con-firmed he will meet with Floyd’s family inHouston on Monday, according to a cam-paign aide.

Biden is not expected to attend the ser-vice because of his Secret Service protection.However, he will still offer in-person con-dolences and will also record a video mes-sage for Floyd’s funeral service, the aide said.

There will be two memorial services inHouston this week, a public viewing onMonday and an invitation-only memorialservice on Tuesday.

The public viewing and private funeralwill both be held at the same church, TheFountain of Praise at 13950 Hillcroft Avenue.

The public viewing is scheduled fromnoon to 6 pm (local time). PTI

Seattle: Authorities say a man drove acar at George Floyd protesters inSeattle Sunday night, hit a barricadethen exited the vehicle brandishing apistol.

At least one person was injured.The Seattle Fire Department said thevictim was a 27-year-old male who wasshot and taken to a hospital in stablecondition.

Video taken by a reporter for TheSeattle Times showed part of thescene in the city’s Capitol Hill neigh-borhood, where demonstrators havegathered for days near a policeprecinct.

Seattle City Council memberssharply criticised Mayor Jenny Durkanand Police Chief Carmen Best afterpolice used flash bang devices and pep-per spray to disperse protesters a dayafter Durkan and Best said they weretrying to de-escalate tensions.

Authorities said rocks, bottles andexplosives were thrown at officers inthe city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood onSaturday night. Police said via Twitterthat several officers were injured by“improvised explosives.” AP

�� +��!�38)@3

Less than five months beforevoters will decide his fate,

President Donald Trump isconfronting a vastly differentpolitical reality than he onceenvisioned.

For starters, if the electionwere held today, he’d likely lose.

The president, West Wingadvisers and campaign aideshave grown increasingly con-cerned about his reelection

chances as they’ve watchedTrump’s standing take a pum-meling first on his handling ofthe coronavirus pandemic and now during a nationwidewave of protests against racialinjustice.

His allies worry that thepresident has achieved some-thing that his November foehad so far been unable to do:igniting enthusiasm in aDemocratic Party base thathas been lukewarm to former

Vice President Joe Biden.Trump was facing tougher

political prospects even beforethe death of George Floyd, theblack man who died after awhite Minneapolis police offi-cer pressed his knee for almostnine minutes into Floyd’s necklast week.

COVID-19’s mountinghuman and economic tolls —and the president’s defiantresponse — cost him supportamong constituencies his cam-paign believes are key to victoryin November. His signature ral-lies had been frozen formonths, and his cash advantageover Biden, while vast, wasn’tgrowing as quickly as hoped

because the pandemic put ahalt to high-dollar fundraisers.

Internal campaign surveysand public polling showed asteady erosion in support forTrump among seniors and inbattleground states oncebelieved to be leaning decisivelyin the president’s direction,according to six current andformer campaign officials notauthorized to speak publiclyabout private conversations.

The campaign recentlylaunched a television ad blitz inOhio, a state the president car-ried by 8 percentage points fouryears ago, and it sees trouble inArizona and warning signs inonce-deep-red Georgia.

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

���� ������ ��� ���� ����������������� ����89� ���� ���������������:&�'� �����;��������6���� $��#�&������������������ ��

�����������������������,������&������

D�)���$� ����������������� ������������D����

(����� ������;������<����������� ��������$����������������(��<������������ ������������ ����������� ��

Wellington: New Zealandappears to have completelyeradicated the coronavirus —at least for now — after healthofficials said on Monday thelast known infected personhad recovered.

The announcement wasgreeted with joy around thecountry and means the nationof 5 million people will beamong the first to welcomethrongs of fans back into sportsstadiums, embrace crowdedconcerts and remove seatingrestrictions from flights.

It has been 17 days sincethe last new case was reported,during which time an addi-tional 40,000 people have beentested, bringing the total num-ber tested to about 300,000.Monday marked the first timesince late February there havebeen no active cases.

Prime Minister JacindaArdern said she was confidentNew Zealand had halted thespread of the virus but it stillmust be prepared for more.

“We are confident we haveeliminated transmission of thevirus in New Zealand for now,

but elimination is not a pointin time, it is a sustained effort,”she said at a news conference.

“We almost certainly willsee cases here again, and I dowant to say that again, we willalmost certainly see cases hereagain, and that is not a sign thatwe have failed, it is a reality ofthis virus. But if and when thatoccurs we have to make sure —and we are — that we are pre-pared.”

More cases are likely to beimported as people enter thecountry. For now, the border

remains shut to all but citizensand residents, with some lim-ited exceptions.

Everybody who does enterhas to go into quarantine.

Ardern announced thatthe Cabinet had agreed toremove almost all remainingvirus restrictions from mid-night, with the exception of theborder strictures.

“We can hold public eventswithout limitations. Privateevents such as weddings, func-tions and funerals without lim-itations,” Ardern said. AP

;��E��������)��������������F������������������

���� ���� ���� ��� ����$���$���������������������� ����6������������������������������#�����������#���'��� ������#�����=�������������� ��

�� C�?4�)@+3

South Africa’s numbers ofCOVID-19 are “rising fast,”

according to President CyrilRamaphosa, who says thathe’s worried.

More than half of SouthAfrica’s more than 48,000 con-firmed cases have been record-ed in the last two weeks,prompting concerns thatAfrica’s most developed econ-omy is about to see a steep risein infections. South Africahas the most cases in Africa,whose 54 countries havereported more than 184,000cases including more than5,000 deaths, according to theAfrica Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention.

South Africa, with a pop-ulation of 57 million people,

expects to see the COVID-19deaths climb above 1,000 soon,Ramaphosa wrote Monday inhis weekly letter to the nation.

“Like many SouthAfricans, I, too, have beenworried as I watch these fig-ures keep rising,” Ramaphosawrote.

“While these numbers arebroadly in line with what thevarious models had projected,there is a big differencebetween looking at a graph ona piece of paper and seeing realpeople becoming infected,some getting ill and somedying,” he wrote.

Even as South Africabraces for increased cases andrising numbers of those hos-pitalized, the country is easingmany restrictions of its 10-week-old lockdown.

)�������� $���������,�����0����������������������

Tehran: Iranian media say law-makers in Parliament chanted“Death to America” during asession the previous day,allegedly in a show of supportfor protesters in the US over thekilling of George Floyd.

The report on Mondaysays the chants followed arequest by lawmaker AhmadNaderi for a moment of silenceover deaths of protesters.

Iran makes a point of daily

criticizing Washington in thewake of the ongoing turmoil inAmerica and protests overpolice killings of AfricanAmericans.

State television in Iran,which in November put downnationwide demonstrations bykilling hundreds, arrestingthousands and disrupting inter-net access to the outside world,has repeatedly aired images ofthe US unrest. AP

.���������$����������� ���������0�����������)���

)�����������)�0����&�*���$����������*����������������

!��&�����)������G����������������*�3������

/�� #���������� ��������(���������������������$����

������5�����������#����������"�������������"��������������

�� ?�*��

France’s Government isscrambling to address

growing concerns about policeviolence and racism withinthe police force, as protestssparked by George Floyd’sdeath in the U.S. Stir up angeraround the world.

The country’s top securityofficial, Interior MinisterChristophe Castaner, was hold-ing a news conference Mondayafter Floyd-related demonstra-tions in cities around France.

Castaner promised lastweek to be “unforgiving” withviolations by police, but pres-sure is growing on the govern-ment to act.

French PresidentEmmanuel Macron has stayedunusually silent so far bothabout Floyd’s death and what’shappening in France.

Macron’s office says hespoke to the prime ministerand other top officials over theweekend, and asked Castanerto “accelerate” plans to improvepolice ethics that were initial-ly promised in January.

Last week, the Paris prose-cutor’s office opened a prelim-inary investigation into racistinsults and instigating racialhatred based on commentsallegedly published by police ina private Facebook group.

Website Streetpress pub-lished a string of offensivemessages that it said were pub-lished within the group, thoughacknowledged that it is unclearwhether the authors were actu-al police officers or peoplepretending to be police.

Some of the reported comments mocked young men of color who have diedfleeing police.

B���D����������$D��������������������������������

Page 9:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

����/��3������������������ ����������� �

�� ,�38�@�

Global stock markets weresubdued on Monday as

investors weighed the strengthof US economic jobs data fromlast week against longer-termconcerns about the coronavirus’ impact on world growth.

Momentum continued insome markets from a rally onFriday, when the USGovernment said employersadded 2.5 million workers totheir payrolls in May, wheneconomists were expectingthem instead to slash another8 million jobs. That raisedhopes that the worst of therecession may have alreadypassed. But economists cau-tioned that many risks stillloom on the long road to a fullrecovery. “One should ... Becautioned against reading toomuch into any single month-on-month change, particular-ly during such times of uncer-tainty,” Jingyi Pan of IG said ina commentary.

After broad gains in Asia,European stock markets wereless buoyant, with Germany’sDAX edging up 0.1% to 12,866as the Govt reported that

industrial production plungedby nearly 18% in April. Thatcompared a nearly 9% drop inMarch at the height of Europe’scoronavirus lockdowns.

The CAC 40 in Paris fell0.1% to 5,193, while Britain’sFTSE 100 was up 0.1% at6,493.

US futures were higher,auguring more gains on WallStreet when it opens, with thecontracts for the S&P 500 up0.6% and those for the Dowindustrials up 0.8%. Crude oilprices were steady after majoroil producing nations agreedover the weekend to extend aproduction cut of nearly 10million barrels of oil a daythrough the end of July tocounter the blow to demandfrom the coronavirus pan-demic. The price of oil hadrisen last week on expectationsof that move, and lost some ofits gains on Monday afterOPEC officials did not committo extending the cuts past Julyor establishing a way to enforcethe production limits. Andamid reports that output in theU.S., which is not part of thecartel, was rising again, OPECsaid the outlook remaineduncertain.

�� �0�,��

The Indian rupee onMonday settled with a mar-

ginal 3 paise rise at 75.55against the US dollar as sus-tained foreign fund inflowsoffset impact of rising crude oilprices on investor sentiment.

The Indian currencyopened at 75.59 against the USdollar and finally settled at75.55, registering a rise of 3paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.58against the greenback onFriday.

During the four-hour ses-sion, the rupee saw an intra-dayhigh of 75.50 and a low of75.64. Forex traders said aweak dollar overseas alsohelped the rupee, but risingcrude oil prices weighed on thedomestic unit.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, fell 0.09 per cent to 96.85.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, rose 0.97per cent to USD 42.71 per bar-rel.

On the equities front, theBSE Sensex ended 83.34 points,or 0.24 per cent, higher at34,370.58. Similarly, the NSENifty closed 25.30 points, or0.25 per cent, up at 10,167.45.Foreign institutional investorswere net buyers in the capitalmarket, as they bought sharesworth Rs 813.27 crore onMonday, according to provi-sional exchange data.

The weakness in dollarindex and stronger global equi-ties supported the emergingmarket currencies. In the firstweek of June, foreign institu-tions have bought equitiesworth USD 2.6 billion, traderssaid. “Indian rupee gained onexpectation of foreign fundinflows and in line withstronger Asian currencies,”Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head ofRetail Research, HDFCSecurities said, adding thenear-term focus will remain onUS FOMC meeting onWednesday.

Vakil further noted thatthe rupee is expected to con-solidate in the range of 75 to 76in the coming days.

�� 34+�546!�

The Government onMonday rolled out short

messaging service (SMS) facil-ity for taxpayers filing ‘Nil’monthly GST returns, a movewhich will benefit about 22lakh registered taxpayers.

“In a major move towardstaxpayer facilitation, the gov-ernment has today onwardsallowed filing of Nil GSTmonthly return in Form GSTR-3B through SMS,” the CentralBoard of Indirect Taxes andCustoms (CBIC) said in astatement.

This would improve easeof GST compliance for over 22lakh registered taxpayers whohad to otherwise log into theiraccount on the common por-tal and then file their returnsevery month.

Nil return SMS can be sentto 14409 after 1st date of sub-sequent month. Now, busi-nesses with nil or no entry inall the tables in form GSTR-3B can file return through anSMS using the registeredmobile number and the saidreturn will be verified by aregistered mobile numberbased one time password(OTP) facility. These taxpay-ers with ‘’NIL’’ liability neednot log on to the GST portal,the CBIC said.

�� �0�,��

The Reserve Bank onMonday proposed a com-

prehensive framework for saleof loan exposures, which couldbe standard, sub-standard ornon-performing assets (NPAs),as part of the overall exercise todeepen the market for lending.

Loan sales may be resort-ed to by lenders for any reasonsranging from strategic sales torebalance their exposures or asa means to achieve resolutionof stressed assets by extin-guishing the exposures.

Presently, the guidelines for saleof loan exposures, both stan-dard as well as stressed expo-sures, are spread across variouscirculars of the RBI.

“A dynamic secondarymarket for bank loans will alsoensure proper discovery ofcredit risk pricing associatedwith each exposure and will beuseful as a leading indicator forimpending stress, if any, pro-vided that the volumes aresufficiently large,” the RBI saidwhile issuing the comprehen-sive draft framework for sale ofloan exposure.

The stakeholders can sendtheir comments on the draftframework to the RBI by June30.

Lenders, the RBI said,resort to loan sales for reasonsranging from strategic sales torebalance their exposures or asa means to achieve resolutionof stressed assets by extin-guishing the exposures.

The draft guideline pro-posed by the RBI for sale ofloan exposures deals with var-ious issues like asset classifica-tion of the loan to be trans-ferred.

�� �0�,��

Benchmark gauges Sensexand Nifty on Monday

pulled back from the day’shighs but managed to settlewith marginal gains as investorsrushed to book profits follow-ing a stellar rally.

The 30-share BSE Sensexsurged over 640 points in earlytrade, mirroring bullish senti-ments in global markets in thewake of surprisingly strongUS jobs data, but an intensevolatility gripped the index asthe session progressed.

After fighting bouts ofvolatility during the day, theSensex ended 83.34 points, or0.24 per cent, higher at34,370.58.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyclosed 25.30 points, or 0.25 percent, up at 10,167.45.

On the Sensex chart,IndusInd Bank was the topgainer, soaring around 7 percent, followed by Axis Bank,Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Titan,Infosys and Tech Mahindra.

Among the top losers were:Mahindra and Mahindra,Ultratech Cement, HDFCBank, Tata Steel and NestleIndia.

Shares of RelianceIndustries (RIL) jumpedaround 3 per cent during theday, hitting one-year peak,after the company sold 1.16 percent stake in its digital unit JipPlatforms to Abu DhabiInvestment Authority for �5,683.50 crore.

Its shares, however, closed0.51 per cent lower as investorscashed in on recent gains.

Of the 30 constituents onthe Sensex, 16 shares closed inthe green and 14 in the red.Sectorally, BSE oil and gas, IT,industrials, consumer durables,utilities, bankex and financeindices surged up to 2.79 percent, while basic materials,healthcare, metal and auto fellup to 0.90 per cent.

In the broader market,midcap and smallcap indicessurged up to 0.93 per cent.

Meanwhile, crude oil pricesrose after major oil producingnations agreed to extend aproduction cut to counter theblow to demand in the wake ofCOVID outbreak.

International oil bench-mark Brent crude futures rose0.95 per cent to USD 42.70 perbarrel.

On the impact of coron-avirus cases and related devel-opments on sentiment, analystssaid that in India, the numberscontinue to rise and the mar-kets seem to be ignoring this,for the time being, giving morepriority to the news of theeconomy opening up.

����� 34+�546!�

As the stock price ofReliance Industries

Limited hit an all-time high of�1,624 on the BSE, the RILstory has defied experts andnaysayers who cast doubts onthe share’s instrinsic value andcommented that the price willfall post rights issue that closedon June 3.

The RIL all-time high cameon Monday, a day after itannounced 1.16 per cent stakesale in Jio Platforms, to AbuDhabi Investment Authorityfor �5,683 crore. Since thecountrywide lockdown wasannounced on March 24,Reliance has generated 66.5 %returns for its shareholders,more than double the 28.6%returns generated by the bench-mark Nifty-50.The all-timehigh of RIL has defied defiedexperts and naysayers and con-tinues to hit new record highs.RIL share price was adjusted forthe rights issue ahead of therecord date of May 14, 2020.The price had corrected near-ly 4% as the share went ex-rights. In the F&O segment,RIL’s lot size was revised to 505from 500 earlier. RIL closedIndia’s largest rights Issue with1.6 times oversubscription withstrong demand from the non-promoter category.

����� C!433��

In a policy-holder-friendlydecision, the Insurance

Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India (IRDAI) onMonday asked the heads ofnon-life insurers to encouragepolicy-holders to file electron-ically documents relating toCyclone ‘Nisagra’ claims.

“It is interesting to seeIRDAI asking insurers toaccept soft copies of docu-ments and encourage policy-holders to adopt electroniccommunication due to Covid-19 pandemic,” an industry offi-cial, speaking on the condition

of anonymity, told IANS.Cyclone ‘Nisarga’ hit

Maharashtra recently. Accordingto IRDAI, the cyclone has result-ed in damages to properties inMaharashtra, Gujarat and otherneighbouring States. The indus-try official said even in the caseof Cyclone ‘Amphan’ damageclaims, the regulator had askedthe general insurers to acceptsoft copies of the documents dueto Covid-19.

“Whether the IRDAIwould ask insurers to acceptsoft copies of claim papers inthe normal course as well hasto be seen,” he added.

Queried whether the insur-

ers would ask for hard copiesof the documents at the time ofclaims settlement, he said theguideline does not mentionthat. In order to mitigate thehardship for the policy-hold-ers/claimants who had losttheir properties/loved ones,the IRDAI has issued guide-lines for immediate registrationand settlement of claims.

The IRDAI has also askedthe non-life insurers to appointa nodal officer for each of thecyclone-affected states and alsoa nodal officer at district level,and publicise the contact detailsof the nodal officers and alsostart 24x7 helplines.

����� 34+�546!�

IL&FS on Monday said that ithas completed the sale of its

50 per cent stake in GujaratInternational Finance Tec-CityCompany Limited (GIFTCL) tothe Government of Gujarat.In astatement the crisis-hit lendinggroup said that the sale willreduce its consolidated debt byover �1,230 crore.

IL&FS has received � 32.71crore as equity value for sharesas sale consideration, it said.

The sale was completedafter the approval of thePrincipal Bench of the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) through its order datedMay 22, 2020.

Gujarat UrbanDevelopment CompanyLimited (GUDCL), as the jointventure partner and the hold-er of the balance 50 per cent inGIFTCL, offered to purchaseIL&FS Ltd’s share in GIFTCLthrough exercise of a contem-plated right of first refusalunder the joint venture agreement. GIFTCL is a com-pany engaged in the business ofreal estate development and iscurrently developing an inter-national financial services city in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region, includingdesign, development, financ-ing, operation and mainte-nance of the same.

�� 34+�546!�

Google CEO Sundar Pichaihad a special message for

the graduating class of 2020,urging them to be open, hope-ful and “impatient”, and exud-ed confidence that they have a“chance to change everything”.

Amid the coronavirus pan-demic, on-ground graduationceremonies are giving way tovirtual ones.

Google’s video platformYouTube organised a virtualevent to give a farewell to thesestudents.

The ceremony saw partic-ipation from former USPresident Barack Obama andformer First Lady MichelleObama, Korean pop groupBTS, singers Beyoncé and LadyGaga, former Defense SecretaryRobert M Gates, formerSecretary of State CondoleezzaRice and activist MalalaYousafzai.

“I don’t think this is thegraduation ceremony any ofyou imagined. At a time whenyou should be celebrating allthe knowledge you’ve gained,you may be grieving whatyou’ve lost: the moves youplanned, the jobs you earned,and the experiences you werelooking forward to. In bleakmoments like these, it can bedifficult to find hope,” Pichai said.

�� �0�,��

The COVID-19 pandemicand the ensuing economic

impact will lead bank creditgrowth to nosedive to only 1per cent in 2020-21, as againstthe 6.14 per cent achieved inthe the last financial year, areport said on Monday.Domestic rating agency Crisil,which estimates bank creditgrowth to come at 0-1 per centin this financial year, had ear-lier predicted it to expand by 8-9 per cent. Bank credit is animportant factor illustrative ofthe general economic climatebecause it denotes aspects likethe investments which are hap-pening in a country or con-sumption of high-value items.

Crisil expects a 5 per centcontraction in India’s GDP for2020-21. “The impact of thepandemic on credit growthwill be a whopping 8 per cent,”a Crisil statement said stressingthat lenders’ confidence needsto be boosted to push thenumber up.

“This crisis is unprece-dented and so will be its eco-nomic fallout – such as lowercapex demand as well as lowerdiscretionary spends, to namesome – which will slow downcredit offtake significantlyacross segments in the currentfiscal,” its senior directorKrishnan Sitaraman explained.

The low-base and a gradualeconomic recovery will pushup the credit growth to highsingle digits in 2021-22, theagency said.

It, however, rued that in thepresent, the uncertainty hasmade lenders risk-averse.

“While the Reserve Bankof India has been reducing pol-icy rates and the governmenthas introduced measures toencourage lending, banks con-tinue to be risk-averse, asreflected in higher surplus liq-uidity parked with the centralbank and the high creditspreads for most borrowers,” itsdirector Subha Sri Narayanansaid. Sitaraman said the cor-porate loan portfolio, whichconstitutes over half of theoverall assets, will be the worsthit and is expected to de-growduring the fiscal because thelockdown has led to significantdisruption in operations withlimited capacity utilisationacross sectors. Job losses andsalary cuts will reduce expen-diture on discretionary itemsand result in a slide in retailloans, which account for abouta fourth of bank credit, it said.

Purchase of new homesand vehicles are expected to bedelayed, impacting demandfor financing, it said, addingdisbursements across mostasset classes will see a signifi-cant decline this fiscal.

,���9&�/����������������������,���������������������"#@##�������H��������

*�6���� � �����/� ��� ����1�<'(����� �����������

��������� !�"�#$!%�$ &&�#'�� (��!#��)��*��!#�#( �� +,��!-��� ' &

B�����������)�=����������������H�����$�/+< ����

7������&������������&����������+�)����������������

����33��� �!���%�;&(������ ������������������ �����&�&

"9,� �� �������� �������(��������� �������!�����!����

)*><&� ��� �;)<(�'���� �� �����������0#3?4������$�

%,�!%��������������������)�������� �����)������

G2=�������������(�������5��0�2��� �������� ����

Page 10:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

������������������ ����������� �

���������������������������������� �� ���� ��������� ���&������ ���

�������O���&������ ����������/���������� ������������������������ .�� ����������������������������#��������������������� ������� �������������������� ������������H� � ����������������� �� ��� ����������������� ����������.��� �������H��������� ��������������

��� ����������� ����������&�������� �������� ��������������������� ������� ������������.������������������ ������� ���� ����

�� �����/���������� ����""���������������������� ��N����������������� .��� ������������������� ���� ������ ������ �� ����� �/

������������� �� ����

����������/���/������������ �5�. ��C������������������������� ����� ����� ������. �/������������������������ ���������/� ���

+����������� �������������� ������

��������������������������� ������. � ������� �O����� ��� ������������� ������������ ���. � ������/� ������ ���/��������

-����� �������������! ��������!�������!�������������4*��������(�!���������/������!!��

������ ������������������/��������!�(��#4��������!!/A����������� ���������������������������������� �������������������4�*����(������#����!�������������(�A��������������������������#�(���� ������ !���4.�B>��C�!����@�������D

�������!�� ����(����/0�+���

(�(���/�2�

E����� ���� ������#��!������������ ������#�����������1: ����������������������������� ��6�-���0�� ��N�����/�� ����������������������� ���� �������/���/��������� /����

)������� ���������������� ���������� �������#��/����������� ������ �� � �������� ������� �����������

�� � ������������ ����� �� � �����������������������������O��D�������������������� ��� ���� ������ �������� ���N����������������

Singer Sona Mohapatra releases a female interpre-tation of the classic Sufi hit, Nit Khair Manga.

The video is the first of its kind collaboration of artpieces and music in India. It has been composedby Ram Sampath.

The traditional Sufi Qawali is sung by manymale music stars across the ages but made famousby Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Sona has nowincluded a funk-fusion rendition of the same in herdocumentary film Shut Up Sona, which is current-ly being played at the documentary festival in NorthAmerica, Hot Docs Toronto. Retaining the soul andauthenticity of the original, Sona’s rendition is freshand powerful yet keeps alive the essence of this ode

A big admirer of Sufi music, the artist and per-former abides by the genre’s message of love andpeace but also wants to push the boundaries by chal-lenging the notion of as most of the songs in thisgenre is sung only by male singers traditionally.

At a time when the world stands divided anddistraught by the pandemic, she hopes that the songis a reminder of the goodness that exists around us.Sona says, “I am so happy to finally present myrecorded version of Nit Khair Manga to the world.I have performed this classic on stage for a decadeas an ode to Nusrat Saab and his artistry but myinterpretation is very different and from a feminineperspective. As an artist, I believe in taking a standfor what is right and also spreading positivity. Theworld really needs it at the moment, more than ever.I hope this helps us carry the message of unity andlove above all.”

Producer Ekta Kapoor has come upwith the third season of Kehne Ko

Humsafar Hai. It explores the dark,toxic and complicated side of rela-tionships. She believes that it’s goingto be dark, dogma and delicious thatshowcases life always comes a full cir-cle.

�What’s the biggest challenge andresponsibility as a maker whenyou speak about mid-life crisis andtoxic relationship?

The third season, primarilyrevolves around three main charac-ters — Rohit (Ronit Roy), Ananya(Mona Singh) and Poonam (GurdeepKohli), who talk about their tangledrelationships in the form of love,complexities and pain. I think, aftera point, most of the people come to

a point where they start questioningtheir own decisions in terms of rela-tionships, career or anything else,likewise the characters of the show.

�Infidelity is the core reason ofmany breakups. How would onejustify it in the society? Why arethere judgements when a womanhas an extra marital affair whilemen feel they can get away withthat?

Infidelity is perceived different-ly by both genders; for men, it’s morephysical and for women, it affectsthem more mentally, however bothare infidelity. I feel its actually thelack of communication that breaksdown a relationship causing peopleto look outside the marriage.

�This season also deals with anolder woman relationship with ayounger man. How important is itto normalise this taboo in thissociety with dignity?

I don’t think it is something newthat we are trying to showcasethrough the show. If a woman havehad a failed relationship in her 40s andis divorced, she could certainly fall inlove again with a man, irrespective ofhis age. She has the right to make thatdecision for herself without thinkingabout society or its norms.

�Is season 4 on cards?Yes, it will have a fresh new base

and may be loosely based on the reallife story of a Bollywood star-wife andher extra marital affair. The new sea-son will have the nuances that the firstthree seasons had, but with a totallyfresh cast.

The show is written by Mukta andJaya and directed by Abhijit. It alsofeatures some dialogues that truly jus-tify and showcase the emotionalmindset of each character that willstay with the audience for long.

During fragile times, one mustlearn to cherish the groundsthat continue to build you,for they also cherish your presencewith light, hope and creativity...

These lines asserted by GoitsemangMvula not just make one hopeful but askus to reflect upon the current world too.They make one believe in the fact that nomatter what, the show must go on.

Academician, Professor Emeritus inthe department of MechanicalEngineering at the Indian Institute ofTechnology Delhi, Dr Kiran Seth, shares,“Nature is telling us, ‘you better look intoyourselves, you better stay at home, youbetter not be greedy all the time tryingto get more sensual satisfaction outside’.You have to find your place within. Thewhole emphasis in our heritage has beenmoving inward.”

Now that the pandemic has pavedway for a new virtual world, various artevents have geared themselves up andhave turned it to their advantage by tak-ing themselves to the digital platforms.This has also helped them stay relevantin the current times. Dr Kiran, founderof the Spic Macay, Anubhav Series, cameup with the idea of connecting with ourinner selves. He did not have to look farfrom home, our own rich culture and her-itage came to the rescue. The series is aneffort to connect the youth with the leg-ends of classical music, dance and otherfolk art forms, with an objective to givethem a holistic exposure of our rich cul-tural heritage online.

He feels that if we are more interest-ed in the outward journey, that is, aboutthe transformation and modernity allaround, we will get more affected bythings like COVID-19. But if we focusmore on the inward journey, you will beless affected by such things as it demands

an introspection within us. “It is alifestyle change, which is being pre-scribed by nature to us. We must remem-ber our ancestors have taught us a wayof living and bounce back to our roots,”says he.

Virtual settings provide a new homefor self-expression. One wonders if it waseasy getting the youth for an online ses-sion. It is likely that there must have beensome challenges. Ask Dr Kiran aboutthem and how difficult was it to shift itonline? He tells us, “Since last couple ofyears, we started live Facebook streamingof certain events but didn’t publicise itmuch as the core aim has always been onthe experiential learning in presence of thegurus. Quite a few were apprehensive,some suggested that we should have the

sessions once the lockdown is opened,some debated about connectivity issues,there were some valid concerns too, onhow to monitor registered participants tofollow a holistic routine from 4 am yogato the day’s workshops, lecture demonstra-tion and evening concerts from 6.30 pmto 9 pm and much more.

Another main challenge is the diversecontent available online. You can’t keep theaudience hooked for more than half anhour as they switch to other events orvideos. But a few volunteers and I, includ-ing National Convenor Pankaj Malhotra,were convinced that this is the right timeand we stressed upon the fact that we havenothing to lose. Even if a handful of stu-dents are inspired, it will be an achieve-ment for us. That’s how it all started.”

“I admit that there were certainissues such as our Facebook page was notoperational for two days but technicalteam worked to restore as it was animportant part of our daily updates andcampaigns. The inaugural day startedwith a few glitches as every one couldn’treceive confirmation of their assignedworkshops, but these were resolvedpromptly with the help of volunteers,”adds he.

The change would bring about dras-tic transformation to the world as thingswouldn’t be the same the way we knew.So there arises a question naturally. Ascompared to the physical performances,did the event grab as much audienceonline? While on a digital platform, it’snever enough as to how many viewerships

we get, the 50,000 student registrations(majority in 14 to 26 age group) was asuccess considering a convention onpremise would have upto 2,000,” sharesPankaj. Certainly, he has a tendency tospot the brighter side.

The global health crisis has takenaway the stage from people, and therefore,their ability to perform in the publicspace. For the arts community, perfor-mance is their fighting spirit. To getthrough this uncertain time, they have tokeep on performing. This has got every-body wondering how the pandemic isreshaping the future of arts and culturein our society. Many artistes believe thatonline is great medium and there will bemore adoption of digital platforms in thenear future but classical arts thrives on theconnection with human beings. This fac-tor is here to stay.

Dr Kiran feels, “When it was decid-ed to hold the entire series of programmesusing online platform, there were con-cerns, whether it can really offer the samelevel of experience or not.” However, theyhad examples of various art galleries, lit-erature festivals, music concerts, andother public displays of art, happeningonline, which inspired them. The socialmedia was flooded with multiple pro-grammes by the hour making it difficultto choose.

“The slowdown of the economymight have an impact on the classical arts.People would want to first fulfill theirbasic needs. Art will no more be their pri-ority. But at the same time, we should notforget that arts and culture have survivedcenturies and will continue to adapt with-out losing their ethos and core values.Online medium is not a replacement forthe live performance experience. The keythought will be to figure out a way wherepeople are fine with buying tickets towatch a performance online,” adds he.

�96�014645050/14*������������ ����������,���"������������������������������ ����������������������������"��������������� ��������������������/� ����� �������������������

Sona brings Sufi froma feminine perspective�%D<���

!�DH��� %, �<?�������4�)����?@@*������������ �� ��� ����!�� ���" �������������������� �� ��� �����������.��������- � ��������� �

Page 11:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

To spread awareness about food safe-ty and to reduce the causes of food-

borne diseases, the second World FoodSafety Day (WFSD) was observed onJune 7, 2020. The calls to action areensure it is safe, grow it safe, keep it safeand eat it safe & team up for safety.

In the current scenario, with the pan-demic situation, its importance becomesmore relevant and needs attention fromall the stakeholders. While Government& business operations must ensure foodsafety, agriculture and food products needto adopt good practices, consumersneed to be aware of their rights for hav-ing authentic & safe food. While theworld needs a new era of smarter foodsafety, there are various challenges aheadin achieving this. One of them is foodfraud. It has become a major issuearound the globe. According toPriceWaterhouseCoopers study, foodfraud is estimated to cost the globalindustry $30-40 billion a year. Not only

is this issue causing an economicheadache but it is damaging peo-

ple’s health. Consumers are los-ing faith in their food as the

number of contaminant cases hasincreased exponentially. Understanding

its seriousness, Interpol, together with

Europol, has been conducting operationOPSON since 2011 targeting fake andsub-standard food and beverages. In thelatest seizure conducted betweenDecember 2018 — April 2019, 78 coun-tries took part in this and resulted in morethan 67,000 checks carried out at shops,markets, airports, seaports, and industri-al estates. 672 individuals were arrested,around 16000 tonnes, and 33 millionliters of likely fake food and drink worthEuro 100 million seized.

Unfortunately, the situation is notvery different in India. Recent newsreported in the media shows an alarm-ing state of affairs. Very recently, DelhiPolice busted a gang which hadbeen operating for the pastseven years who wereinvolved in the manufac-turing of fake cumin.More than 450 bagseach containing 20 Kgof fake cumin wereseized by the police.The seized fake cuminwas made of stonedust, semoli-na, and

a grass paste. Consumption of this couldcause serious health hazards. This is justone of the many instances across thecountry but reflects on the gravity of thesituation.

Harcourt Butler Technical Universityconducted a study in Kanpur (UttarPradesh), which is a big market for edi-ble oil and supplies to other states. Thereport found that 70 percent of the mus-tard oil available in the market is adul-terated. In another category, FSSAIbanned more than 170 brands of coconut

Oil in Kerala in 2018, after they werefound to be adulterated. Adulteration offood products not only decreases thequality but can also lead to several illeffects on health. Nearly 4% of the onelakh food and beverage samples analysedby the states and Union Territories lastyear were found to be unsafe, about 16%were sub-standard and 9% were misla-belled, shows data released by the FoodSafety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI).

All stakeholders need to becomeaware of the role they can play in devel-oping the food safety ecosystem andactively contribute towards it. As a coun-try requires more development in currentnational food laws and an urgent need toadopt an effective traceability system toimprove and change within the currentfood industry and food supply chain. Tobring about a change there are vari-ous challenges which need to beaddressed, such as enhancing visibili-ty and transparency for food export

products, minimising the risk of foodsafety issues such as certifications, agro-terrorism threats, reduction in foodwastage, and reducing product recall cost. (����������� �&������������������������&�����

�������� @�� ��������

'<�����5*�,!0�!�3�,!�F��*

�������������

������������ �� �5 � �

0����������"����������When the pandemic hit us in India earlier this year, it forced

us to look back to our rich heritage, for modern sciencewas unable to find a panacea. As the scientific community con-tinues its sincere efforts to develop a vaccine, developing immu-nity remains an individual’s best defence against the highly-con-tagious COVID-19 virus. The extensive knowledge base ofAyurveda on preventive care derives from the concepts ofdinacharya or daily regimes and ritucharya or seasonal regimesthat are key to maintain healthy life.

Immunity, based on the Ayurvedic principle, is categorisedas bala or the concept of strength, vyadhi kshamathwa or the con-cept of resistance to developing illness, and ojas or the conceptof supreme resilience. The concept of bala refers to the abilityof the body to repair and nourish itself and be effective in dis-ease prevention, whereas vyadhi kshamathwa is the ability of theimmune system to fight against the disease-causing pathogens.The former is acquired through proper aahar (food), vihar(lifestyle changes) and yoga, while the latter is immune powergained via aushadhi or various herbal supplements and medi-cines used for recovery after encountering pathogenic organisms.

Aahar: It is the most impor-tant aspect as food contributesto building the cells of the bodyand enable them to fight off dis-eases. It is recommended tohave fruits such as oranges,sweet lime, strawberries, papaya,guava, apple, and mangothroughout the year as per theseason of their availability.Include turmeric, ginger, cinna-mon, fennel, spinach, carrot,green leafy vegetables, freshasparagus, whole grains, honey,and nuts in the diet.

These are necessary forbeing rich repository of nutrientsas well as antioxidants thatguard the body against free rad-icals, molecules that can harmcells. Ayurveda prescribes drink-ing plenty of warm water. Avoidalcohol, meat, processed food,

products that are high in salt, fats or sugar, such as carbonateddrinks, packaged fruit juices and ready-to-eat food. In the mod-ern life, ghee and milk are taken in moderation but they are cher-ished in the ayurvedic tradition for their Ojas-enhancing prop-erties. Ghee contains essential fatty acids and can be digested eas-ily.

Vihar: Maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid irregular sleep,stress, smoking; all of these weaken the body’s defence system.Avoid stress and make every effort to stay happy — build a socialnetwork, think about the brighter side, and exercise a hobby.Ensure that your routine has some amount of exercise and a largeamount of good sleep to maintain healthy weight.

Yoga and pranayam: Yoga is the gateway to holistic well-being. Yogasanas, such as ardha matsyendrasana, uttanasana, mat-syasana, bhujangasan, halasan, dhanurasan, together withpranayam (breathing techniques) such as anuloma viloma andbhastrika help in boosting immunity naturally, without any sup-plements.

Aushadhi (herbal supplements): Referred to as rasayana,there are herbal supplements in Ayurvedic practise which act asstrong antioxidant and immunity builder. The popular and well-known ones include amla juice (dose: 10ml twice a day) andchawanprash (5 gm twice a day with warm milk). Herbs suchas ashwagandha, triphala, neem and guduchi are also used forbuilding immunity.

,�������������������(�����������������#��A�����!���A������������A

� �/�A�#�(�A� !�A��������#�

���#������/������ �������

�(��!���!�/4�,��!��������A�#��#��A

��������A������!A� �����A������

�� ���#�A����!�#�����A�����/����

������������

������� ����!"#����������������������� ����������� � 22

������$� ������� �$%�� �&�'�'���������(�()��*�((��� (� ������+%��&%���%

,�����'��()� '��� '�'�()�(����� �'%�(���*�(���)�� (���'��'����)�� �'�� �)� '

�����'���()�����$�'(�����(��*�� ��()��-�. �������/�$���������� ���%�('�%'��$��

��(�������(�'�(�0�1%�(�/�()�����(%���*�()� '��� '�'�

�!�� -���

���� "������ Lady Finger,also known as okra or bhindi, ishigh in dietary fiber andmetabolism and thus, it is goodfor digestion, constipation andalso aid in prevention ofdiabetes. Folates present inokra reduces the neural tubedefects in a new born baby. Soit is highly recommended forwomen during pre conceptionperiod or pregnancy.

It is high in Vitamin Kwhich helps instrengthening thebones in our body.People diagnosedwith asthma arestrongly suggestedto consume lady fin-ger. It helps preventsun strokes. With regularusage of okra, in either raw or

cooked form, you can avoid obe-sity.

Vitamin C found in okraactually helps maintain ayounger looking skin and repairbody tissues. If you are tired ofyour distressed hair, try usingokra to get that bounce back.Boil it with some water and thetransparent mucilage that youget can be used to get your

bouncy hair back.

� � � � � � � � � � � �

The population in general hasfirst hand knowledge of braintumour from movies orseri-

als,where the protagonist eitherdies in the end or comes out withsuccessful surgery, with bald headand a large bandage, and happyending prevails. Even in real life,large section of the society does nothave adequate knowledge aboutbrain tumours.

There is a misconception thatevery tumour will either kill orresult in coma with multiple prob-lems, mental and physical. A massawareness effort for the public isneeded. A large majority of thebrain tumours can be treated suc-cessfully.Most patients go back totheir normal life. According to astudy, central nervous systemtumours' incidence in India rangesfrom around 5 to 10 cases per1,00,000 population. Although asevere disease, adequate knowl-edge and timely treatment cansave many lives.Not all tumours are cancerous:-� Non cancerous tumours arecalled benign �Cancerous tumours are calledmalignant.

��� ���The symptoms of a brain

tumour depend on its location inthe brain, because each part of thebrain controls the specific func-tions in the body. The symptomsalso depends on the rate of growthand the rapidity with which thepressure rises inside the brain.

Not all headaches are due totumours.

Features with suggest that thesymptoms may be of a braintumour. � Severe headache not relived bycommon medicines.�Headache with persisting or pro-

jectile vomiting�Altered sensorium or loss ofconsciousness.�Unexplained confusion even innormal things � Seizures or fits in an adult.� Blurring of vision� Impaired hearing or abnormalsounds in the ear.�Hormonal imbalance� Sexual dysfunction�Drastic behavioural changes�Difficulty in balancing

������Till date the cause for brain

tumour is not establish thoughmany theories are being pursued.However this has not preventedincreasingly successful treatment.

The need of the hour is toincrease awareness about the disease,so that it can be reported in earlystage when disease is curable.

(����������� ����� �� ��&����� ���#�&�����'� ����#����� ����#

������ �������������&��� ����������� �����

These are trying times for all of us. WithCOVID-19 cases rising every day and

social distancing becoming the norm, weare struggling with being there for ourfriends and family the way we usuallywould. Especially if you have senior parentsthat don’t live with you.

Families need to create a shield forseniors in the family to ensure they’re takencare of and have a better chance of protec-tion against COVID-19. Here are a few tipsto make life easier for the elders in the fam-ily during the pandemic, even if you’re notliving with them:

Take care of their mental health:Understand and address the vulnerabilitiesseniors in your family might be dealingwith. It is important to ensure you are ableto help them process what is happeningaround them, the situation they are in, andthe repercussions they are dealing with.�Check on them regularly. While they mayknow you’re there for them, regular catchups can serve as reminders. Talking abouttheir situation can also help them processit better, in a healthier way.�Address any concerns they may have andtalk to them through the solutions you’reproviding.

For instance, if they are living alone andare worried about the task of going and get-ting essentials, you can arrange for them tobe delivered, while explaining the processand asking them for their opinion. Makingthem a part of the solution can help themdeal with anxiety.

Take care of their emotional health:It is important for them to convey what theyare feeling. They need to be able to man-age and express the emotions that arise fromwhat they are experiencing. You can helpthem by:�Getting accustomed to digital modes ofcommunication that can help add a touchof intimacy through video calls and photoexchanges. Encourage them to touch basewith friends and family as often as possi-ble on video calls.�Befriending their neighbours, whilemaintaining social distancing. A neighbourcan be a huge help, especially when you areaway. Small gestures like fetching groceries,checking-in in person, sharing a homecooked meal can make a huge difference.

Take care of their physical health:Ensure they have access to fresh, nutritiousfood, their medication, and are able to getample exercise.�It is important to ensure they eat sensi-bly. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables,timely cooked meals and cutting down onprocessed foods can help maintain ahealthy lifestyle. �If you live in a different city/ country,ensure they have an emergency contact.

Take care of their occupational health:Ensure they keep busy. If they are constant-ly occupied in one activity or the other, itwill help them keep their head above thewater.�Create mobility and ensure they exercise.Small walks around the house, someyoga/breathing exercises can go a long way.

(����������� �'A.�>���#������

%�����)�������������)������������@

6����$������� ���������

���� ���������������������������@�,!3%:�7<6:!��������������������

12�-#�2�)3�3�#+%

CARE & SUPPORT<��<,�?

�6��6�34

5 ����P�!��������������� ����������� ��������� ��

�������������������������������� ��������� ������+ ����� �������������������������� ������������������������������������ ����������� ����� ������ ��,� �� ���+���������� ��������.����/��������������������� ������-����������������� � ����������������� �������� ������ � � ������������������������122�� �����������������

��� � ���������� ��������/������������/�����������.�����C����D ��� ��������� ������/�/��/������ ����������.������������������ ��� ���������� ������������� ��������� ���������� ��������������� ���� ����� ��������� �������� �� ���

���������� ��� �����,� �� ����+����������������������'22�� �� �������� ���� ����� ���� ���������. �������� ����� ��� ����� �������C�8*���12Q��)�������������� �� � ������ ��� ����� ���� ����������������������C. ��/1=������� ��?���������������� ��� ����������. �������� ���������������������� ����� ������� .������ ���

!���������� ��������"(�������� �)����������������������)��4�����������@�;������� ��� �����������������������)��������������������)�����������������$������ 6!;�<,���3<<;!

<!�?�%;7%;�

Headache is the most commonmedical complaint in our soci-

ety. Almost all people experience itat some point in their life though theduration, severity and emotionalreaction to it differ from person toperson.

Most of the time the headache,though troublesome but is harmless.It can be a sign of stress or it may beresult of common medical disorderssuch as migraine, anxiety, depression,refactory error of eyes, sinusitis orhigh blood pressure. However it canbe a symptom of life threateningunderlying disease like brain tumor.

Headaches which start in the

afternoon and continue till lateevening, feels like tight band aroundhead and back of neck are most com-mon and known as tensionheadache.

Migrain is throbbing headacheusually on one side of head, associ-ated with pain in eye on same sideand nausea. One feels relief by tak-ing rest in a quiet and dark place.

If one feels bursting headacheearly in the morning along withvomiting it is usually due to braintumor. Person with brain tumor mayalso complain of visual deterioration,imbalance on walking, limb weak-ness and seizures. Young children

usually do not complain till advancedstage of disease. So parents needs tobe vigilant.

As headache may be symptomof serious disease it is important toseek medical advice if they becomesevere, regular or persistent.

The doctor after thoroughexamination may do certain tests likeCT scan or MRI of brain to diagnosethe cause of headache to treataccordingly.

(����������� ����B����C�) �����'��������� ����#�&�����'� ��������'�������

�����>�&����&�����#�������;�����'����) ����������� ������'����

:��)�Edible medicines can treat

Brain tumours: While some braintumours need urgent surgeries, infew cases surgeries can be avoidedwith medicines. Yes, this fact surpris-es many but this is truth, edible med-icines can also cure particular typeof brain tumours. Not all braintumours are alike. Cases can varyaccording to age and other factorsinvolved in those cases we doctorskeep taking follow ups timely andkeep monitoring the tumour. Hence,the treatment of every tumour isdecided by the location, size stagesetc of tumours.

The treatment of brain tumourscan include microscopic or endo-scopic surgery, radiotherapy,chemotherapy, etc. Apart from thatongoing progress in medical scienceand technology have made treatmentmore advanced and chances of

patient's coming to normal lives aregetting higher. Undoubtedly stillafter some major surgeries there is lit-tle risk of getting complications likeweakness, hormonal imbalance,impaired vision or other problems,but in most cases after timely andproper required treatments patientsnot even come back to their dailyroutine rather they lead healthylives as well. Treatment of braintumour requires patience and coop-eration with the patient. Strongemotional support of family mem-bers and friends is required for suchpatients as any type of mental pres-sure or stress can lead to more com-plications. Help such patients inkeeping positive attitude and healing.

(����������� ���������&�D��#�&����'� ��������'�������*���#����� �����

���&����&�����#����������� �����#;�����

%�.��������������� �����

+����,�� ��)�����5���������$����9��5����������������������� ������������������������ �� �� ������������������� ������.�����������������������

�<

Page 12:  · vate offices to resume with 10 per cent of staff. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) have ... Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019

� ���2������������������� ����������� �

�� 34+�546!�

Natural ability married to insa-tiable hunger for improve-

ment — that’s New Zealand skip-per Kane Williamson’s assess-ment of his India counterpart

Virat Kohli and his record-breaking batting achieve-ments.

Williamson highlightedthe difference in Kohli incomparison to 2008

when he made his ODIdebut.

“You can say thatit was only a matterof time before he(Kohli) was makingsome strong inroads

to the full interna-tional scene,”

Williamson was quotedas saying in Star Sportsshow 'CricketConnected’.

“At the moment,leading the way in cricket

and setting the standard as abatter and breaking all theserecords. A lot of that probablyhas to come down to his matu-rity, his ability to make verygood decisions,” he said.

Williamson said he is for-tunate to have played against

Kohli.“Not only is he gifted with

his ability and his natural abil-ity, but you’re marrying that

up with this constant driveand hunger to improveand just be better day inand day out,” he said.

“It has been great tomeet at a young age and follow

his progress and journey.”

�� ������

Kevin Pietersen reckons thatstar all-rounder Ben Stokes

must not be burdened withcaptaincy if regular skipper JoeRoot is unavailable for England’sfirst Test against the West Indies.

The former England skipperinstead backed wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler for the topjob.

England red-ball captainRoot is a doubtful starter for theseries-opener, starting July 8 ashis wife is due to give birth totheir second child.

As per the England andWales Cricket Board (ECB)guidelines Root will be requiredto undergo seven days of self-isolation before rejoining thenational team.

“Do I want to see BenStokes change from who he isand the current player he is?Probably not, Jos Buttler wouldbe my guy,” said Pietersen.

Pietersen is sceptical aboutStokes being loaded with addedresponsibility of leading theteam.

“The entertainers and theguys that have to carry themantle in the team sometimesaren't the best captains andsometimes struggle with theextra added pressure,” Pietersensaid.

“As a player you are looked

at completely differently untilthat phone call comes and youare announced as the Test cap-tain. Responsibilities change,communication changes, theway in which you carry yourselfin the dressing room changes,”he added.

Recalling his short stint ascaptain, Pietersen said he hatedthe job.

“I struggled with it, Iabsolutely hated it and I was rub-bish. You have to change and Icouldn't command the respectof the dressing room, you say

something and it is frownedupon, it is a completely differentstory,” Pietersen said.

Last week, Root threw hisweight behind Stokes for beingthe interim captain.

“I think if Ben was captainhe would be fantastic. One of hisgreat qualities as vice-captainand as a leader is that he sets theexample, the way he goes abouthis training, how he wants tobowl in difficult circumstances,the way he stands up in differ-ent scenarios with the bat,” Roothad said.

�� 60C�3@+

India’s left-arm wrist spinnerKuldeep Yadav has againstarted training in earnest,

bowling four hours daily, andis striving hard to curb his nat-ural instinct of applying salivaon the ball.

With lockdown restric-tions being eased out, andBCCI urging players to starttheir skill training at the locallevel, Kuldeep under tutelage ofhis childhood coach KapilPandey is sweating it out at thelocal Rovers ground, where helearnt all his cricket.

“I have started training atthe Rovers ground in LalBangla area. In fact I am doingtwo sessions per day. In themorning from 7:30 to 9 am, Ido my physical training. ThenI go back home and comebackin the evening. From 4 pm to8 pm, I am regularly bowling inthe nets," Kuldeep told PTIBhasha during an interaction.

“It’s only been a week thatI have started outdoor training.All this while, I was at homemaintaining social distancingnorms. Now I believe withinnext few weeks, I would beready for competitive cricket asand when it starts,” said Yadav,who has played 6 Tests, 60ODIs and 21 T20Internationals for the country.

For the 25-year-old, the

biggest concern is controlingthe habit of using saliva, some-thing that he feels is condi-tioned to follow.

“Look, since childhood,we have this habit of applyingsaliva on the ball to keep theshine. With new ICC rules inplace, I am trying to get rid ofthe habit.

“I believe it needs to beimbibed in training sessionsfirst. Hopefully, we will havesome alternative in place,” said

Kuldeep, who already has 167international wickets, acrossformats, in his kitty.

ICC has banned the use ofsaliva but players can use sweatto shine the ball.

Asked what is the formathe would like to play oncecricket resumes, Kuldeep saidthat T20 will be his choice.

“Once competitive crick-et resumes, I would preferplaying IPL. That is in casenormalcy returns.”

While he has started train-ing, he feels that cricket is notpriority right now when thecountry us struggling badly toflatten the curve of COVID-19pandemic.

“We have seen the crisis ofmigrant labourers across Indiaespecially in Delhi andMumbai. People are joblessand you can't just think aboutyour sport,” said the talentedspinner.

So how has he helped peo-ple who have faced financialdistress? Kuldeep replied, “Ihave always believed in thisphilosophy that charity shouldbe done quietly. Yes, I am asso-ciated with a few NGOs plus Ihave tried to help people in mynative Kanpur.”

“But if you ask me todivulge details, I won’t becausein my opinion, that’s not theright thing to do,” Kuldeepadded.

�� 34+�546!�

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingowants to create a team environment in

which players can openly talk about issuesrelated to physical and mental health.

Domingo also said he expectsplayers to be honest about theirmental health.

“Regarding mental fatigue Ithink it’s something players need tobe honest and open about,”Domingo told Cricbuzz.

“Not all players will be com-fortable to talk about those aspects,but we want to create an environ-ment where in our team, our play-ers can openly talk about how they

are feeling and whether they need abreak, and whether it’s mental or phys-

ical,” he added.

Mental health of elite cricketers hascome into the spotlight after Australianbatsman Glenn Maxwell took a break todeal with his unspecified problems, fol-lowed by young batsman Nic Maddinson.

English players like Steve Harmison,Marcus Trescothick and Graeme Fowlerhave dealt with depression.

Domingo said it is important that thecricketers share and open about any dif-ficulties they face.

“We have got to respect that becauseit's an important aspect to the game,” hesaid.

Former ODI captain MashrafeMortaza had recently spoken about men-tal health in Bangladesh cricket. He saidthe socio-cultural factors in his country issuch that mental issues are still considereda taboo and thus players are reluctant totalk about them.

�"� 6�F4*?@@6

Liverpool’s potential title-winning clashagainst Everton should be played at

Goodison Park instead of a neutralvenue, according to the city’s mayor JoeAnderson.

The Merseyside derby will be the firstmatch for Jurgen Klopp’s side once thePremier League restarts following thecoronavirus interruption.

If second placed Manchester City loseat home to Arsenal on June 17, then lead-ers Liverpool can wrap up their firstEnglish title for 30 years with a victoryover their city rivals.

At present the game is scheduled forGoodison on June 21, but there have beencalls from police chiefs to move it to a neu-tral venue to avoid fans congregating out-side in violation of social distancing rules.

The fixture was on a list of 'high risk'games drawn up by police chiefs lastmonth and Anderson previously said itwas not a good idea to restart the seasonbecause fans would not stay away.

Yet Anderson has changed his mindand believes the match could safely bestaged at Goodison.

“We are in a better place than we werefour weeks ago and we’ve been able toconvey why it’s so important nobody con-gregates outside or near grounds,” he toldThe Athletic website.

“We have had the opportunity sincethen to speak to fans and the clubs havedone their part and got the message acrossthat supporters need to stay away.

“Both clubs have made it clear.Jurgen Klopp has made it clear.

“So I would have no objection to thegames being played at our clubs' homegrounds, both the derby at Goodison andLiverpool's games at Anfield.”

Merseyside Police have no objectionsto the derby being played at Goodison.

The matter will be discussed atLiverpool City Council’s Safety AdvisoryGroup meeting on Monday.

�� �E534E

Australia’s World Cup-winning former captainMichael Clarke was on Monday appointed an offi-

cer in the Order of Australia, joining iconic ex-skipperslike Allan Border and Steve Waugh who have receivedthe national recognition.

Clarke, who led Australia to the 2015 World Cuptitle, has been appointed an officer in the general divi-sion of the Order of Australia, an honour for achieve-ment or meritorious service.

Reacting to the news, Clarke told Channel 9: “Tobe honest, I thought it was an April fool’s prank in June.Very surprised but in the same breath very honoured.”

The other Australian captains who have received anAO include Ricky Ponting, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh,Allan Border and Bob Simpson. Clarke has been hon-oured for "distinguished service to cricket as a playerat the national and international level, through leader-ship roles, and to the community”.

�� ?�*��

With discussions ongoing over whether theU.S. Open or the French Open can even

take place later this year, a new digitallyfriendly tennis tournament starts Saturday insouthern France with four Top 10-ranked play-ers involved.

Co-founder Patrick Mouratoglou hopes theUltimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) - whose firstedition features ATP Finals winner StefanosTsitsipas and U.S. Open semifinalist MatteoBerrettini - can change the way tennis is viewedby allowing a younger audience to access theraw feelings of players.

“I would like the fans to benefit from bet-ter access to the players' emotions, especially onthe court where the code of conduct is a sig-nificant obstacle to that,” Mouratoglou said.

“UTS aims to appeal to a younger, moreengaged new generation of fans in order to growits fanbase community.”

Players compete every weekend for fiveweeks in a round robin format, their matchesstreamed on a live platform, with multiplescreens, cameras and speakers capturing everysight and sound, according to organizers.

And that’s the whole point: allowing view-ers unprecedented access to all that goes on ina game. Ramping up the rawness, rather thanfiltering it out. Mouratoglou, who is also thecoach of 23-time Grand Slam winner SerenaWilliams, founded the UTS with Australianplayer Alexei Popyrin, who is also playing.

�� C!433��

Former Zimbabwe cricketcaptain Tatenda Taibu feels

that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’smental toughness separatedhim from his contempraries.

“...The first time I sawDhoni, if I’m to be honest...Hehad come with the India Aside. I thought Karthik wasmore natural than Dhoni.And still in keeping, he ismore natural...Even in battinghe is more natural,” Taibusaid on Fan Play-Sports Ruler'Inside Out With Baggs’ onYouTube channel.

Taibu then went on toexplain Dhoni’s technicalprowess.

“Now, the way he (MSD)keeps, his hands are notalways together like youalways have the little fingerstogether... When he catcheshis hands are always not likethat...

“But he always manages tocatch the ball and whip thebails in a flash with a very dif-ferent technique...Very dif-ferent and odd technique,”Taibu added.

Taibu also said withDhoni it was similar with his

batting as the technique wasdifferent but it was about hishand-eye coordination andmental toughness too.

“Same thing about hisbatting...Different technique.But great hand-eye co-ordina-tion. But I don’t think it’s onlyhis hand-eye coordination butprobably his mental tough-ness.

“Normally if you don’tlook the part, so to speak,it'seasy for coaches to just putyou aside. But Dhoni backsthat up with statistics,” Taibuadded.

About Australian greatAdam Gilchrist , theZimbabwean said he was anatural batsman but not a nat-ural ‘keeper and used to put in

more time on his wicket-keeping than batting.

“Gilchrist was a naturalbatsman and not a naturalwicket-keeper. He always usedto put more time on his keep-ing than his batting becausehis batt ing was ver ynatural..Hitting the ball wasquite easy for him,” he added.

Taibu, who had burst intothe scene at a young age andalso led the country, said hehad learnt a lot from theinternational stars like Indiangreats Sachin Tendulkar andRahul Dravid among others,especially about training.

�"� ��3C!4�)4*

Manchester City’s appealagainst a two-year ban

from European competitionopened before the Court ofArbitration for Sport (CAS) onMonday by videoconference, acourt official told AFP.

City are accused of over-stating sponsorship revenue tohide their failure to comply withUEFA's financial fair-play (FFP)rules between 2012 and 2016.In addition to the ban, theywere also fined 30 million euros($34 million, £27 million).

“The hearing has startedwell and the video conferenceis working well,” Matthieu Reeb,the secretary general of theLausanne-based CAS, said.

The remote hearing, whichpits Manchester City againstUEFA lawyers, opened 09:00local time (0700 GMT) and isscheduled to last three daysbefore closing on Wednesdayevening.

Reeb said a decision couldannounced in July.

Even if City’s appeal toCAS fails, the English champi-ons could present a furtherappeal before the Swiss FederalCourt, also based in Lausanne.

UEFA’s case was promptedby a series of leaked emails pub-lished by German magazineDer Spiegel in 2018 that seemedto show how City manufacturedextra sponsorship revenue froma series of companies with con-nections to the club's AbuDhabi-based owner SheikhMansour.

Under the Sheikh’s owner-

ship, City’s fortunes have beentransformed, winning fourPremier League titles in the pasteight years.

However, the billionsinvested in players and man-agers have not yet delivered theclub's first Champions Leaguetitle.

City are still involved inthis season's competition and

will be allowed to competeshould the 2019/20 edition ofthe Champions League returnin August, no matter the out-come of the appeal.

Another European power-house, Italian club AC Milan,has already been excluded fromEuropean competitions for fail-ing to comply with the FFPrules, after losing their appealto CAS in June 2019.

A two-season ban fromthe competition would repre-sent a huge blow to City'sprestige, finances and hope ofkeeping manager PepGuardiola and key players likeKevin De Bruyne and RaheemSterling.

“Two years would be long.One year is something I mightbe able to cope with,” DeBruyne told Het Laatste Nieuwslast month.

City banked 93 millioneuros from prize money andtelevision rights alone by reach-ing the quarter-finals of lastseason’ Champions League.

The further loss of gatereceipts and commercial rev-enue would make it extremelydifficult for the club to meetFFP regulations without cuttingcosts.

���!�F4��)�*)45)*��3�38��)�)!4

*@F4*��8*@035��36�6�,�386����*4����3D�C)������5@�38�)+@�4���@3��?4*�5�E���3)!4��@*3�38�D*@�>O;2�)@�=�������5@��E?!E��C�6�)*��3�38�

)!43���8@�,�C�!@�4��35

C@�4,�C���3�)!44F43�38��D*@��(�?�

)@�9�?�������*4806�*6E�,@+6�38

�3�)!4�34)��R

!&�� � ���� %�������D������ ���������������!

G��������)������������)�����)��������

Players need to open up mental fatigue: Domingo '��� ��������������������.��������� ������

*������������������ ���� �� ������$�����;���� �����

3������� ����������� ��D������� ������������ ����

Hearing on Man City appeal against ban begins

KULDEEP TRYINGNOT TO USE SALIVA

4�����������������4����